Art Elements Theme of the Month :: Snowflakes

Fittingly enough for the crazy winter weather that has spread across most of the United States this month, Jennifer Cameron chose the theme of Snowflakes for the February Art Elements Theme of the Month.  Little did she know when she picked it...  While much of the country is getting rocked by the extreme weather, it's mostly just been bone chillingly cold here in Minnesota.  So, basically, business as usual!  

It's pretty hard to design for Spring when you are in the depths of winter (at least for me!) so this theme was perfect for where my head was at this month.  Maybe after this round of designs both me and the weather will have the heavy snow and crazy cold out of our systems!  A girl can dream.

I was lucky enough to snag some gorgeous snowflake cabs from the talented Lisa Peters Russ at the end of last year.  This challenge gave me the excuse to play with a couple of them before the spring thaw... and I'm so happy I did.  I'm also pretty proud of myself for taking on a more ambitious project right out of the gate!  

I started out with the big snowflake shield cab from Lisa (I had already glued that one and two smaller shield shapes down to backing) since I had an inkling of an idea for it.  Since the cab was sizable I wanted to play around with some vintage crystal components that I had picked up for just such an occasion.  It's hard to see in the picture but the large center element has two holes while the smaller side ones have just one center hole.  I used small clear silver lined seed beads to attach the crystal elements.  I played with a new to me technique for filling in the background at the top... a sort of random sewing down of one bead at a time.  As luck would have it, once I got the pendant all finished, I discovered that I had the perfect dyed silk ribbon to compliment it.  Such an easy and elegant solution for finishing the necklace!

Still on a bead embroidery kick, I completed a second smaller snowflake pendant.  I just love Lisa's pieces!  Since this cab was a smaller scale to begin with, I did an extra row of beads around the entire thing.  For a fun, frosty affect I did a picot edge around the pendant with a nice grey pearly colored size 15.  I'm still not sure how I will finish it into a necklace, but that's a problem for another day!

I was in the process of putting some new(ish) purchases away when I realized that the TierraCast charms I had gotten had a snowflake looking pattern on one side (the other is very much floral).  So I went digging through some other homeless supplies hanging out on (i.e. cluttering up) my bead table to whip up these sparkly snowflake earrings.  Hard to tell from the photo, but the bead caps are a snowflake pattern.

I still have some other snowflake goodies hanging out on my bead table, but the sun is out and I may opt for some tropical designs next!

Honey Do List December 2020

Wow.  What a year 2020 has been!  It's been long and stressful yet I have much to be thankful for... not the least of those things continued health for myself and my sweet husband.  We are drawing to a close the fifth year of the Honey Do List! Thanks to all of you who continue to follow and play along with this monthly design challenge.

This is a shot from up near International Falls from last year.  This was just after sundown, and I really like the vibrant blues and purples.  This is kind of a strange one for inspiration but I'm curious what people will do with it.

What I mostly remember about this photo shoot was a lot of waiting around and trying not to be eaten alive by mosquitos!  But the end result sure is pretty!  I may have missed an opportunity to play with some of those purple tones, but my muse pulled me more toward the green/teal colors.  Hey, I was just happy to find some energy to create!

I started out with a major necklace this time that started with a lovely ceramic connector from Lisa Peters Russ that I got at Bead & Button last year.  My photo doesn't do it justice (thanks, crappy winter light) but it's a rich mix of greens and turquoise with a green crystal at it's center.  I balanced the weight of the ceramic focal with a nice slab of chrysocolla on the opposite side.  I strung a chunky mix of fluorite and turquoise nuggets with some interesting Czech glass square pillows, matte Czech glass melons, and vintage corrugated steel mesh beads.

Next up, earrings!  I snagged these fabulous ceramic earrings charms from Artisan Clay during a benefit for one of my good friends.  Always happy to buy beads for a great cause!  The crackle glass in the middle made me think of the water and the blue was a nice compliment to the photo.  I paired the charms with moon glow lucite, Swarovski crystal spacers and silvery Czech glass.  

Next up another pair that feels "watery" to me.  I combined some fun Czech glass melon drops with super fun swirled glitter confetti acrylic rounds.  There's an extra touch of bling with the crystal spacers tucked in there.

One more pair of earrings celebrating the green tones as well as the wavy patterns of the grass and water.  I managed to snag these awesome colored pewter charms by Inviciti and while working on putting them away I saw that they went really well with some new green glass drops with a wonderful sheen to them.  A simple but cool design I think!

Last up, another quick necklace I whipped up at the last minute.  I made a chain tassel with Czech glass and crystal bead dangles to hang below the lovely teal ceramic bead by Golem Design Studio.  I added a few faceted Czech glass rounds and a pair of Apatite ovals along the long brass chain for extra interest.  

Now it's your turn!  Please add links to/photos of your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too!  Check back on January 1st to see what Eric has in store for us next month!  Until then, wishing you all a joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year!

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Art Elements Theme of the Month May 2020 :: Butterflies

I love me some butterflies and moths so I was a happy girl when I saw the Art Elements Theme of the Month challenge was all about butterflies!  I may have an embarrassing amount of butterfly art beads... so the biggest problem for this challenge was deciding what to use.

I had to start with some beautiful faux tin butterfly charms from Humblebeads that came with cute decorative copper charms attached.  The just seemed perfect for Springtime!  Of course I had to dig around for the perfect Humblebeads discs to coordinate with the charms.  Instead of going with a super matchy bead on the top, I picked a Czech glass flower in a bolder coral color to make it pop.

I had also just snagged a few pairs of enameled butterfly and moth charms from Blue Hare Art Wear in a recent show so of course I had to whip up a sweet little pair of earrings with some of those!

Next up, I made a long necklace with a gorgeous butterfly wing pendant by Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  This was a special edition piece that she made only for her Simple Truths Sampler Club.  Pictures really don't do this little treasure justice (especially mine since lighting was iffy when I took them.)  There is a lovely iridescence to it that I wish you could see.  I strung the pendant with tons of yummy Czech glass and Swarovski Pearls with gold plated chain at the back.

Even though I had tons of other butterfly charms and pendants, I turned my focus toward my newest obsession, bead embroidery!!  Even though I took some classes on the Bead Cruise a few years ago, for some reason this year really got me excited about doing more with it.  (I'm hoping to share a little post soon sharing a bit of my bead embroidery journey.)  Anyway, the rest of my designs took a little more time as I learn and play with this new medium.

First up is my very first totally original design... this is the piece I'm most proud of this month.  The idea started with a butterfly shaped porcelain button from Round Rabbit that I've had lingering for years.  When I started plotting it out I thought I could keep it to a nice rounded square shape.  As I worked on it though it continued to grow and morph into a more organic shape.  Here's a little peak at the progression this pendant took in its shape and orientation. 

And drumroll please.... here's the finished pendant!  I'm so happy with the texture and movement I managed to get in the background.  I think it feels really rich.  I'm currently wearing this one on some simple brass chain.  The pendant makes enough of a statement all on its own!

I wanted to let you see the back of this one too.  I used some cork for the backing instead of the more traditional ultra suede. 

My last completed piece is a pendant with a gorgeous ceramic cab by Lisa Peters Russ that I got in another recent Facebook sale.  I'm still pretty new to doing peyote bezels, so every time I successfully bezel something I'm over the moon!  I had fun picking out different bead colors and textures for this one trying to echo the colors in the cab.  I used a navy blue ultra suede for the back of this pendant and plan to just hang it from chain.  I can assure you it was unintentional, but I like the way the top loop echoes the shape of the flower detail at the bottom.  Happy accident!

I didn't quite get my last piece done, but it's ready to trim and get it's backing now.  This is another fabulous cab by Lisa Peters Russ.  This one has a nice matte finish.  Wanting to add a pop of the red and corals from the cab's flower, I gave this one a little crown of flowers to match.  I feel like being a seed bead hoarder is finally paying off since I have tons to choose from for bead embroidery projects!  I need to decide if I'll do a simple brick stitch edge or go for a pretty picot.  If you have opinions on that, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my little collection of butterfly designs!

Honey Do List August 2019

This is the fourth year that my husband Eric has been giving me a design challenge each month to get me out of my comfort zone and to help clear out my bead stash... it's the Honey Do List 2019!  I know that I'm not the only one who loves a good design challenge, so I'm hoping folks will continue to play along with us!

Here's this month's inspiration and what Eric had to say about it:

This month I've chosen a wall from Nunney Castle in England as your muse.  I love the patterns, shapes, and colors of the lichen, with a little pop of green from the fern.  Hopefully this will point you in an interesting direction for inspiration!

When Eric gave me this month's photo, I knew that I had to use at least one of the pendants that I made at the Adornments Retreat in Erin Prais-Hintz's Petri Dish class.  I had one where the colors and blotchy patterns were just perfect for lichen.  Hooray!!  I paired this pendant (one of my favorites from that class) with lots of yummy Czech glass beads.  Picasso finish beads with their mottled colors felt like a perfect pairing!  I added a few Amazonite rounds to pick up the blue in the pendant.

Next up, a lichen inspired pair of earrings!  There's something about the organic look of these awesome chandelier connectors by Happy Fish Things that made me think of lichen.  The yellow and brown colors work nicely with Eric's photo (the backs are a lovely rich brown too) and they also have great texture.  I added dangles made up of crystal and pearl as a nice counterpoint to the rustic nature of the ceramics.  I think these will be really fun to wear!

I had already made a couple of fun bracelets based on a tutorial from Heather Powers, but as I was finally taking photos of them I realized that some of them worked for the Honey Do List.  Voila!  The flower shaped ceramic button is from Lisa Peters Russ and the others are from Marsha Neal.  I snagged all of them at Bead & Button.  The glazes on the ceramics and the Picasso finish on the seed beads both echo the lichen even if the colors aren't 100% perfect in some of them.  I've just added a couple of these bracelets to the Arts Consortium of Carver County gallery in Victoria, MN and Unearthed Arts in Waconia, MN.

Happy to have some solid lichen representation, I moved on to focus a little bit on that intrepid fern growing from the rock.  It's so amazing how life always finds a way!  I've had a little bag filled with components to make a pair of earrings set aside.  I have no idea why I never got around to actually making them other than that they are for me!  Anyway, I had some silver leafy components from Candice Wakumoto and fun little lampwork beads by Jennifer Ionta.

Next up, another foray into my pile of abandoned projects!  When I was looking for something else in an art bead drawer, I rediscovered a fern patterned and filigree wrapped pendant that I made ages ago in 2012 when I attended a Vintaj Two Day Workshop in Galena, Illinois.  (Seriously, I can't believe it was that long ago!)  Again, not exactly sure why this one was still waiting to become a piece of jewelry, but I'm glad it was.  I had gotten out a bunch of beads that I was considering, but then a light bulb went on in my brain.  What if I made a piece on my Now That's a Jig! to connect the pendant and chain?  I tried a couple of different versions before I decided for sure.  Once I had a shape that I liked, I hammered it for strength and texture and then wire wrapped coils around the component on each side.  To let the pendant shine, I just used unadorned Vintaj brass chain... completely ignoring all of those bead that I'd pulled!  

Ok, this last necklace features a polymer clay focal that I made at Heather Powers' Inspired by Nature Retreat in 2016.  (Seriously, what's up with me, ferns, and unfinished projects?!?)  To create this piece we made a custom mix of polymer clay colors that we rolled out into a sheet and pressed actual fern fronds into.  After baking we used acrylic paint to bring out the fern patterns.  It was a super fun class!  Anyway, after lingering for almost 4 years, I used Heather's "Metal Sketches" technique to decorate the back side of the copper piece I cut to go behind the polymer clay house shape.  (And I totally forgot to get a picture of the back side when I had light!  Doh! Thus the background that doesn't match the others.)  I riveted the polymer clay to the finished back and then wrapped a little brass fern piece around the top.  Since the fern piece was brass, I decided to do a mix of brass and copper plated findings in the yoke of the necklace.    

Now it's your turn!  Please add links to/photos of your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too!  Check back on September 1st (our 18th wedding anniversary) to see what Eric has in store for us next month!

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Inspired by Reading: The Marriage of Opposites

I skipped last month's Inspired by Reading Book Club, but I'm back in action for the September selection!  This month we read The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman.  I'd never ready any of Hoffman's adult books before... only one or two of her young adult titles.  It took me a little while to get into the story, but I'm so glad that I stuck it out.

The novel tells the story of Rachel, a young Jewish girl growing up in the early 1800's on the island of St. Thomas and follows her and those close to her through to her old age.  There was much beauty in the story as well as sadness and the frustration of coming up against society's rules and norms which are often so very unfair.  Rachel is such a strong, stubborn, and resilient character albeit often prickly to those she cares for the most.  This is a story filled with love, loss, and longing that was wonderful to watch unfold.  I loved how the stories of the characters ended up being even more entwined than you first thought as the lives of what seem like secondary characters come into view.

Despite a lot of lovely imagery and language in the novel, it took me awhile to decide what themes or images from the book I might use as a jumping off point for my creation this month.  I eventually settled on the idea of the Flamboyant Tree whose branches and flowers were repeatedly mentioned.  (I honestly wasn't sure if it was actually a real thing until I did a Google search!)

Flamboyant Tree or Delonix Regia

So just last week, and not for the first time in my beading life, I fell prey to not paying attention to what size something bought online actually was.  Shocking, right??  I've always loved the gorgeous pinks and oranges of Patricia Healey's copper and am particularly fond of her flowers.  So it seemed like a no brainer to snatch up one of her flower pendants that was on last chance clearance at Lima Beads (with an additional 10% off no less!).  But here's the thing....  55mm is HUGE!  Lol.  I'm sure none of you would have been surprised by the size when you opened up your package, but I sure was!  Ooopsie!  But no matter, I knew that someone out there would favor the bold design that this powerhouse of a pedant would need.  The color and flower shape were perfect for a flamboyant tree inspired design... I regret nothing!!

I dug into my box of orange beads and found a good number of chunkier carnelian and Czech glass beads that were contenders for the design.  In truth, I probably could have gotten away with even bigger beads, but this is what I had on hand!  I ended up using carnelian nuggets, faceted rounds in two sizes, and smooth rounds... so many yummy shades of orange, dark red, and peach.  

Not being super knowledgeable about plant life, I also wanted to see what the Bougainvillea flower looked like.  I found a picture where the blooms were just a wonderful mix of bright colors.  Most of what I saw were the pink to purple flowers, but this picture was perfect for the Golem Design Studio bead that I was thinking about using!

Bougainvillea

I decided to make a variation of a design that I've done before with the carved almond beads from Golem.  (I'm seriously addicted to their amazing designs and COLORS... so yummy!!)  I picked up a strand of this shape in what they call peacock in a mix of orange, pink, and purple.  Despite the name of the pattern, I think looks like flower petals in this color way.  I made a chain tassel and added tiny Czech class beads to the end of each piece of chain in complementary colors.  Sometimes I leave the chain plain for this style of necklace, but I wanted the extra pop of color for this one!

One of the other thoughts that had been vying for my attention while I read the books was the mention of moths beating against the windows.  This imagery came up several times, and though not in any way really central to the story, it stuck with me.  And, hey, a good excuse to pull out my moth beads!  It seemed appropriate to grab one of the small moth pendants by Lisa Peters Russ that I bought from Allegory Gallery after seeing them in a Facebook post (or it might have been a video).

I grabbed three of these cuties, but chose to work with the one with touches of palest green and tiny specks of what I would definitely call "haint blue."  Because of the diminutive size of the pendant, I tried to give it a little extra punch with some beads dangling from lengths of chain that sit behind the moth.  It was fun to pull out some of my tinier gemstones for this design like some AB vessuvianite, prehnite rice beads, faceted smoky quartz, and some Czech glass.  I finished the back with a bit of ribbon in shades of green.

Usually after a big show I go into a sort of jewelry making hibernation period.  I work so hard heading into a show that I'm just done for awhile afterwards.  I'm thankful for book club getting my mojo back way quicker than normal!