We're All Ears May 2020 :: May Flowers

For this month's We're All Ears challenge, Erin chose the theme of May Day for us.  I'd never heard of the idea of flowers in cones or baskets for May Day... May Poles... yes, cones... no.  Either way, I can totally get on board with the idea of flowery earrings.  For someone who doesn't consider herself super flowery or girly, I do love flower beads!

I started with a fun pair of pressed pansy flower charms in resin from Twinkiedinky that I've had for a while.  The purple and yellow combination is not always an easy one for me, but how can I argue with Mother Nature?  I added some purple Czech glass flowers and little yellow rondelles for some fun and lightweight earrings.

Next up, I finally made something with some pretty yellow rose charms made by our hostess Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  These have been languishing in my stash since 2016 (hangs head in shame) but they are finally getting their day in the sun!  I used some faceted citrines and little turquoise Czech glass beads to bring an extra pop of color into the design.

I also couldn't resist playing with some cool components from Artisticaos.  The colors were just so yummy, and the shape with it's wire "handle" does remind me a bit of a flower basket.  Once again I picked some coordinating Czech glass flowers as well as some little dyed agate rondelles.

After playing with a bunch of of my flowery art beads I decide to try my hand with a more May Day specific idea that came to me in the shower of all places, lol.  I thought it would be fun to have some little Czech glass flowers coming out of a cone shaped bead cap.  I had to play around with the lengths of the headpins until I was happy with how they behaved, but I think the end result is pretty cute!

Before I was done creating for this challenge, I managed to get in some play time with some new patterned cork that Heather Powers of Humblebeads turned me onto.  Here are a few variations on an earring idea using a thicker version of a floral cork sheet.  All are paired with brass charms from Vintaj, Czech glass flowers, and plated hematite beads.

This is a blog hop.  You can check out what other folks were inspired to make over on the Earrings Everyday blog HERE.

We're All Ears April 2020 :: Safer at Home

I'm so glad to see the We're All Ears Challenge back this month over on the Earrings Everyday Blog!  Earrings are my favorite thing to make so I truly look forward to this monthly challenge from my friend Erin Prais-Hintz.

As I type up this blog post it is April 8th and Governor Walz of Minnesota has just extended the stay at home order another two weeks until May 4th.... so the theme is super timely.  I'd really like to challenge each of you to do your best to reframe your view about being home right now.  We aren't "stuck at home," we are Safe at Home.  I wake up each day so thankful that I have plenty of food, a home that provides shelter and plenty of comfort, access to a variety of means for communication, lots of books to read, plenty of movies and shows I'd like to watch, and, of course, a stupid amount of beads to keep me busy.  So, to commemorate this strange time of social distancing and stay at home orders, I've created a mini collection of house jewelry for your viewing pleasure!

First up, a totally sweet pair of enameled houses from Gardanne Beads.  The white on the rooftops is appropriate for all the April snow we've been having in my neck of the woods, lol.  These houses are a little bit chubby so I decided to keep the rest of my design fairly compact.  I just added some cute teal Czech glass flowers with bronzed edges and tiny faceted hematite in a bronzey plating.  I do so look forward to a time when real flowers bloom around our house!

I also managed to snag some of Blue Hare Art Wear's house charms in one of her Facebook sales.  Score!  I love how she mixed so many colors in these charms without coming across as too bright or garish.  It's tough to tell in my picture, but the little striped roofs are actually corrugated... such a fun detail!  I picked a fun stripey pair of polymer clay discs from Humblebeads topped with some bright blue Czech glass to play off the stripes in the charms without getting too heavy.

Not satisfied to just make something with the house charms in my stash, I wanted to play with an idea for constructing some little mixed metal houses.  I brought out my box of Vintaj metal blanks and started to see what might work to bring my seed of an idea into bloom.  For the main body of my houses, I ran some Arte Metal rectangles through my BigKick with an embossing folder and then sanded them a bit to highlight the design..  I loved the lines that made if feel a little like siding or brick.  The roofs were cut from square brass blanks.  I felt a little guilty cutting up the nice finished blanks, but it meant I only had to do a tiny bit of cutting and filing... plus I love the finish on the Vintaj brass.  I still wanted some texture so I used a tiny ball peen hammer all over the "roofs" before I riveted the two pieces together.

Not earrings, but I couldn't help but translate the same house idea into a larger format for a necklace.  This time I used the geometric pattern on the Art Metal roof piece and then used fun flourish pattern for the body of the house made with a brass blank.  I also added a little decorative piece from Vintaj that I painted with their patina paints to give it some color.  At first I wasn't sure where to go from there... or even if I would get a finished piece of jewelry done.  I decided that I wanted it to be a longer necklace, but knew it needed a little more physical weight.  I found a little pewter nest bead from Green Girl Studios that I wire wrapped with some Czech glass and crystal beads that coordinated with the painted flower on the house.  As another perfect little detail, the nest says "home" on the back side.  In keeping with the mixed metal theme, I used some Arte Metal chain right by the pendant and then brass chain at the back.

I hope you'll stop by the Earrings Everyday Blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to make!

We're All Ears February 2020 :: Sculpt the World

I was sailing around the Caribbean when Erin announced this month's We'er All Ears challenge... since so many of these amazing designs seem to be "built" in the sand, that seemed kind of perfect!  I am just smitten with these designs created by Jon Foreman out of natural materials including rocks, shells, sticks, etc.  The spiral designs are particularly appealing to me.

I couldn't help but be reminded of an amazing geological map we saw on our trip to Great Britain in June...  There was a super cool piece in the middle of a park in York where the Yorkshire part of William Smith's 1815 geological map was all laid out using a variety of natural stones by artist Janette Ireland.  You can read more about the project HERE.  (I really meant to do a real write up with highlights of that fabulous trip, but I still haven't gotten around to it!)  I'm glad I could find my pictures of this art installation to share today.  I could have stared at this thing for hours!

There are fossil patterns in each of the four corners – fossil ferns, ammonites (seen here), crinoids and sea urchins.

Kind of cool that York is represented by an icon made from stone discarded in the renovation of York Minster.

Ok, sorry for that little diversion... onto the main event, the earrings!!  I had grand plans of making a new pair of spiral wire earrings like I made in Tracy Stanley's class on the very first Bead Cruise I ever went on in 2014.  Let's just say that I'm rusty and that it didn't go so well.  I'm going to keep working on it to see if I can finally make another pair in copper.  My sterling ones are my go-to earrings for everyday.  (I'm actually wearing them as I type this!!)

When I got frustrated with my first idea, I moved on to some long dangly earrings that were far less cantankerous!  I saw that I had some little teardrops from Unicorn Beads in colors that reminded me of polished stones.  I slipped a few on large brass jump rings and then decided they needed a little something else to complete the look.  I grabbed some metallic English cut Czech glass, a brass spacer, and then a smaller Czech glass rondelle to connect the jump rings to the ear wires.  I like the look even if they are a little subdued for my normal taste.

Inspired by the red spiral piece in the bottom left of the collage at the top of this post, I managed to whip up a second pair of earrings just before the deadline.  I had some fun red glazed spiral lentils from Golem Design Studio that felt just right.  (I actually bought this design in a variety of colors because I was smitten with the style.)  I added some Czech glass and blackened components for a fun pair of dangly earrings!

This is a blog hop!  Pop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to make!

We're All Ears January 2020: Pantone Color of the Year

Each January, my friend Erin Prais-Hintz challenges us to make earrings using the recently announced color of the year for the We're All Ears challenge over on the Earrings Everyday blog.  I don't know about you, but this is the first time in ages that I've actually liked the Pantone Color of the Year!  Happy days are here again!  Not that I normally pay much attention to color trends and whatnot... I tend to just make what I want to make. 

I had a surprising amount of earring-appropriate blue beads in my stash to potentially play with this month... this picture doesn't even capture all the art beads!  As is often the case I had more options than I had time.

I have to admit that I wasn't really considering the different color palettes featuring Classic Blue.  Probably because I have a strong tendency toward more monochromatic designs!  I did pull together a couple of things that I think fit with specific color groupings though so I'll start there.

First up, a little take on the Ponder color palette.  I had some fun abstract enameled moth shapes from Gardanne that just needed to fly into a earring design.  The picture doesn't do them full justice, but there is some great color and texture on the solid side of the moths from the silver she used.  I decided to go for a slightly larger bead dangle than I might normally, but these faceted labradorite teardrops were too perfect to pass up.  The stone has some nice flashes of blue fire that was difficult to capture.

My next pair features some fabulous polymer clay charms by our gracious hostess Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  With the fun metallic foil accents and the super dark blue, these were perfect to go with the Desert Twilight palette.  I chose metallic coppery English cut Czech glass beads and some bright blue dyed agate for the dangles.

The last two pairs that I made for this month focus just on the Classic Blue itself!  I had a couple of fun spiral swirl beads from Marsha Neal that decided to come out to play.  I just added some small dark navy Czech glass beads and a bead cap at the bottom and a little silver toned bead at the top.  These are on sterling ear wires.

Next up, I salvaged some faux tin pieces from this past fall's Inspired by Nature Retreat.  The colors were perfect, but the original rectangles were a little flawed on one end.  No problem!  I just trimmed them down smaller and then got busy filing the edges down.  After punching holes at top and bottom I just wire wrapped some adorable little Czech glass flowers with crystal centers on the bottom.  Tiny, simple, and cute!

Not made specifically for this challenge, but still celebrating the 2020 Color of the Year, here's a few more.  These were all made at the end of December for the Art Bead Scene Art Journey #9 challenge.

From left to right:  polymer clay charms by Humblebeads and cocoon beads by Saga Hus; ceramic charms by Artisticaos, polymer clay discs by Humblebeads, and dyed agate; porcelain charms by Kiyoi Design.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  As this posts, I'm at the tail end of what I hope will be another fabulous Disney World vacation.  I'll catch you on the flip side!  For now, pop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog to see what everyone else was inspired to make HERE. 

We're All Ears December 2019: Use Your Leftovers

This is the fifth year of the We're All Ears "Use Your Leftovers" challenge!  I haven't looked back to last year but I expect that I'm doing something similar since I've been knee deep in salt water etching for the second year in the row!  I honestly have made much of anything else this month... I knew had good stock built up of everything other than Christmas ornaments for my holiday shows.

If you want to see most of the ornaments I made this year, I have them for sale in my Etsy shop.  You can see them HERE.

Anyhoo... for my contribution to the Use Your Leftovers challenge I present you with the pieces that I made from the etched copper sheet left over after I cut out my ornament shapes.  I used my handy dandy disc cutter to cut as many circles as possible out of the extra copper then gave them a good tumble to help smooth any rough edges.  Then it was time to match things up for earrings, punch holes, and dome them.  Yes, there are some necklaces in the mix too, but that's just how I snapped my pictures as I was making things.    

This is a blog hop.  Pop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog HERE to see what everyone else made with their personal craftermath!

We're All Ears September 2019: Dotty

Dots, Dots, Dots!  This month's We're All Ears challenge is all about the mighty polka dot!  I didn't have a ton of extra time to play, but I did manage to whip up three pairs of earrings this month.  I grabbed a few pairs of spotted art beads and sat down to play last Saturday.  These will be for sale at the Art Wander Studio Tour at the end of the month.

First up, I finally played with some lampwork beads by local artist Jeff Barber that I've had for a while.  I loved the bright turquoise dots against the frosted clear/grey glass.  There's also a couple of black dots amidst the stringer work at the bottom of the beads.

I have a tendency to buy pretty much every earring sized bead that Golem Design Studio makes, so of course I had a couple with polka dots to play with!  These two are variations on a theme that I've done before with other beads from Golem.  I really like to let the ceramic pretties shine!  I just added a metal bead at the top and bottom then topped it off with a wrapped loop.  I then used size 11 seed beads and 26 gauge wire to embellish the arched ear wires.  Easy peasy!

This is a blog hop.  I hope you'll check out what everyone else was inspired to make over on the Earrings Everyday Blog HERE.  Have a fabulous weekend!  I'll be busy with a final push of shop prep for Art Wander!

We're All Ears: April 2019: Wanderlust

This month for the We're All Ears challenge over on the Earrings Everyday blog, Erin encouraged us to create earrings inspired by travel.  This was a broad net as it could be about the act of traveling or inspiration of a particular destination.  I love this as an idea!

Feeling a bit crunched for time between some other projects, moving my jewelry into Unearthed Arts' new gallery space, and some real life travel I wasn't sure if I'd manage to get anything made for this challenge.  I only made one pair of earrings, but I'm still considering that a win this month!  I had some other ideas but just couldn't get my act together.

I made a new variation of a pair of earrings that I made awhile back.  I'd actually forgotten about that design until I was moving my earring display into the new building and shifting things around.  I curled the pokey bits on some fun compass themed Decorivets from Vintaj and used those resulting loops to attach the moonstone teardrops and the ear wires.  I'm still sad that Vintaj discontinued their Arte Metal line... I love how you can bring out the silver underneath with a little buffing for an fun look. 

Stop by the Earrings Everyday blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to make this month!  Have a great weekend.  I'm off to the bead table to finish up some things to share with you all next week!

We're All Ears: March 2019: Leaping Greenly

OMG.  I need the snow to stop already!  We've had more plans delayed or ruined by weather this winter than the last 4 winters combined.  Like so many others, I'm just done with snow, sleet, ice, and crazy cold weather... I'm over it all!  Erin, our fearless leader for this challenge, is in the same boat and has chosen greenery as the theme for this month's We're All Ears challenge.  Here's hoping we actually see some green (or al lest less white!) in the next month or so.  For now, I'll make do with some new earring designs!

I had fun pulling out tons of great green beads for this challenge.  I have to admit that I didn't necessarily think about the specific images that Erin shared, but more the color green in general.  I am super excited about the thought of little green leaves eventually budding... I'm sure it will happen someday... maybe by May??

These first two designs feature some goodies that I had picked out from some Allegory Gallery kits and such when I was putting things away earlier in the year.  (Whenever I'm digging through a mix or kit I like to grab out matching pairs and set them aside for later use!)  I loved the little pale green leaf charms... I'm pretty sure that they are vintage.  I was making room for some new beads and had emptied some millefiori glass out of a container and noticed two little green and yellow coins.  Turns out that they worked nicely with the leaves and some other little Czech glass beads I already had pulled out.  For the second pair I had the funky bright green beads set aside and added in some green crystals from another kit as well as little Czech glass rondelles.  The longer brass ear wires from Vintaj make for a nice dangle!

Next I dug into my art beads!  Some sweet leaf charms from Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio called out to me.  Turns out that they were a nice match for some brand new green Apatite that I picked up from Dakota Stones at the recent Twin Cities Bead Bazaar.  It took me a few tries to get the wire wraps where I was happy with them.  I had to give up on making the wire loops to go through the charms... it just wasn't playing nice.

This next pair is going to play double duty and make an appearance in my next post for the Art Bead Scene... consider this your sneak peek!  The amazing green and black charms are from Lesley Watt and have a wonderful crackle finish.  I hid the loops on the charms with brass bead caps and then added some fun polymer clay disc beads from Heather Powers of Humblebeads and Czech glass.

Last but not least, I decided it was time to finally make something with these adorable vine covered rounds by Heather Powers.  I paired them with copper wire and some pale green Czech glass beads.  I initially thought I'd have the flower beads on the top, but then I flipped it around and liked it even more that way!  These were the hardest pair to photograph... the rounds really need to be hanging to see them properly.  (They're hanging from one of my parents' fine china plates that I've appropriated.)

This is a blog hop... head on over to the Earrings Everyday blog to see what everyone else was inspired to make!

We're All Ears: February 2019: Frozen

This month's theme for the We're All Ears challenge is Frozen.  Well, Erin could not have chosen a more apt prompt for this month, at least for those of us living in the great stretch of the country dealing with the polar vortex and stupid amounts of snow.  Minnesota is already having the 4th snowiest February in history, and we're not even half way through the month.  Whoever pissed Elsa off needs to apologize!!! 

I have to admit that at first blush, I honestly wasn't sure I had much to use for this month's challenge.  I used lots of snowflake themed items for the December Art Elements Theme of the Month (which was "White."  You can see that post HERE if you like.)  I was surprised at how many ideas I suddenly had when I shifted my thought process from actual snowflakes to beads with an icy feel!

My first trio of earrings all focus on frosted or Mercury finished Czech glass.  These all have a winter woodland theme going on with leaves and wee pine cones.

Next up, a couple of pairs of earrings with long ear wires.  The ones on the left feature some vintage plastic from Allegory Gallery paired with snowflake bead caps and dyed agate.  The pair on the right uses some cultured sea glass under some of my favorite pewter bead caps that remind me of lily of the valley.

I didn't ignore my art beads either!  The pair on the left has some fun swirl pattered ceramic charms by Marsha Neal dipped in teal matched with polymer clay discs by Humblebeads, crystal, and brass.  The pair on the right is totally fit for Elsa!  Photos don't do the sparkles in the clear pale blue lampwork glass justice.  I added crystals and leafy bead caps to the design and topped things off with some Swarovski crystal and sterling ear wires.

I wasn't done yet... but I'll say that these last two are a bit outside my normal design comfort zone.  I played with some oval pewter links and iridescent Czech glass teardrops for the pair on the left.  I'm unreasonably happy about the pair on the right which are in no way my normal style!  I've been working on getting my studio under control and have been sorting through beads and supplies.  In this process, I found these fun caged gems that I got in a goody bag at a retreat.  I didn't have anything appropriate to hang them from, so I got out some copper wire and my hammer!  Although I like how the hammered copper curves in this instance, I do wish that I was capable of getting this sort of thing to stay straight!  I like the way the gold and copper tones work together in these shoulder dusters. 

Pop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to make this month!

We're All Ears: January 2019: Color of the Year

The January prompt for the We're All Ears Challenge over on the Earrings Everyday blog is always a celebration of Pantone's Color of the Year.  For 2019, that means Living Coral!!

Here's what the fine folks at Pantone have to say about their choice:

Vibrant, yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.

In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.

Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.

As has been the case for most of the years since I've started paying attention to such things, Pantone's choice for Color of the Year has not exactly knocked my socks off!  The peachy-pink of Living Coral is not a color that I'm likely to gravitate too, especially as a main color.  I like it far better as a small accent with other colors, especially blues.  That leads me to the added irony that the color palettes that I ended up using were the ones without blues and greens!  

I'm not 100% sure which of the above palettes fit my designs best, Shimmering Sunset or Sympatico.  Maybe the truth is that they are a bit of a mix of the two.  But anyways... onto the earrings!!  

First up, a jazzy pair with tons of movement!  I wanted to break out of my normal design rut when it comes to earring charms... instead of just doing a stack of beads wire-wrapped above the charm, I wanted something a bit more interesting and out of my comfort zone.  The charms are by Heather Powers of Humblebeads and have some of the more orange tones in addition to the coral.  I used some fun flame colored copper rings and attached seed bead decorated jump rings, groups of coral colored Swarovski pearls, and of course the charms!  These are definitely statement earrings!!

My second pair of earrings is more of my normal style.  I had the perfect little cocoon beads from my friend Anna Pierson of Saga Hus in pale yellow with touches of a coral pattern.  They are on copper wire, so that was fortunate too.  I made some dainty dangles in peachy crystal and more of those coral Swarovski pearls on copper headpins.

This may be the extent of my embrace of the 2019 Color of the Year, lol.  I'm excited to hop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to create!