Art Elements Theme of the Month: Repurposing

For this month's Art Elements Theme of the Month, Lesley Watt has given us an interesting prompt... repurposing!  This is a really broad theme and I had super grand plans at the beginning of the month.  I'm sure that some of you can relate to the fact that time has sort of gotten away from me this time!

I'm guessing that my contributions are not going to be as impressive or exciting as what many folks come up with, but meet the challenge where you're at, right??

I started out by making a necklace with another one of the vintage keys that a friend gifted me awhile back.  I've still got quite a few keys left in my stash, so I'm guessing you'll see more key-filled designs from me in the future now that I've broken them out!

The perfect addition to the key pendant was a sweet little heart charm by Mary Harding.  Then the light bulb went off and I decided to stamp "Key to My ♥️" on a silver plated circle to tie things together.  I picked Czech glass and vintage lucite beads to go with the colors in the heart charm. 

This one is long and can just be slipped over your head without any monkeying around with a clasp.

Next up, I played more with some of the vintage tin that I broke out for the Art Bead Scene Art Journey 2 challenge.  This time I'm using some of the pieces from the edges of the containers lid (I'm so glad that I didn't toss them... Packrat for the win!!)  I had really hoped to be able to cut a taller triangle, but I just didn't have the material to work with this time.  I'll have to revisit my other idea later.  After cutting the two trapezoids instead, I hammered the rolled edge of the lid flat and filed all the edges smooth.  Because of the shape, I knew that I needed two connection points at the top for them to hang correctly... so then I had to decide what to put up above the tin pieces.  The solution?  My (very under-utilized) Now That's a Jig!  Yay me!  I whipped up two cute little connector pieces to fit perfectly and hammered them a bit for strength and texture.

Lastly, because I was needing to get ready for a little home jewelry party I'm doing at a friend's house this weekend, I started to make a new batch of my up-cycled beer can earrings.  I had a lot of new beer can colors and patterns that I wanted to play with for the first time.  Unfortunately, I didn't finish any of them... this is where things were at yesterday when I called it a day.

In the next couple of days I'll get them all put together but I always underestimate the amount of time it takes to complete these.  There are so many steps... emboss the metal blanks that serve as a base, smooth the rough edges of the aluminum punch outs, punch holes in the centers of the flowers and the metal blanks, rivet, hammer in the dapping block, pick out beads, complete the bead links, attach earwires.  Whew... tired just thinking about what I need to get done!  Those aluminum circles at the top edge of my photo will hopefully become medallion style necklaces this week too.  Fingers crossed!

This is a blog hop... Check out what everyone else created by repurposing this month!  This should be a fun one!

Guests

Tammy

Alysen

Evie & Beth

Karin

Hope

Divya

Anita

Sarajo  - You are here!

Kathy

Rebecca

Martha

AE Team

Niky

Laney

Cathy

 Caroline

Jen

Jenny 

Sue

Claire

Lesley

Bead in the New Year: Part 2

My friends Andrew and William of Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pennsylvania have designed a fun creative challenge to kick off the new year.  They're calling it Bead in the New Year and it's been a wonderful way to get my creative juices flowing after a bit of a holiday break.  January is often a time of year that I find myself in a slump and this has been a fun way to get me out of that funk and making something everyday.   This is my second installment chronicling what I've made for the challenge.  You can see Part 1 HERE.  Here's the calendar that they've come up with for us:

Here's what I've make for the challenge over the last week and change...


Day 8: Use a stringing material that you don't usually use.

I rarely use memory wire, but I whipped up this little bracelet using mostly leftovers from an Allegory Gallery design challenge kit.  I think I'm feeling ready for some warmer weather!

Day 9: Produce a piece using gemstone chips.

Prehnite and Labradorite chips (both from Allegory Gallery), pendant by Artisticaos.

Day 10: Challenge yourself by using sari silk ribbon.

The kernel of this idea started Day 9 but by adding the sari silk at the back worked for this next prompt.  The organic ceramic pendant is by Mary Harding and the strung portion of the necklace is made up of many gemstones including Burma Jade, Fancy Jasper, Chalcopyrite, and Petrified Green Opal.

Feeling a bit lazy, I really wanted to cheat on the sari silk challenge and stop with these little earrings featuring sari silk cocoons by Saga Hus and lampwork and Czech glass.  I'm glad that I pushed through! 

Day 12: Make a project from a craft book.

Ok, this was more of a booklet than a book, but hey, creative license!  The top left image is Heather Powers' original project from the 2015 Bead Cruise booklet and the other two are my takes on the design.  The polymer clay charm in the pink bracelet is from Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.

Day 13: Get inspired by music!  Make a piece based off a song.

This may have been the toughest prompt for me so far... mostly because I find it hard to translate from the auditory to the visual.  Luckily, seeing this "Dream" bead from Jangles sparked an idea.  This necklace is inspired by the song Dream a Little Dream of Me.  It was fun to break out the metal stamps and use the little star stamp for the first time!

Day 16: Ask a friend for a creative challenge.  

For this one you're just going to have to wait for the reveal of the January Honey Do List on January 21st!  But here's the inspiration for this month... see the full post HERE, there's still time to play along if you're inspired!!

Day 17: Use the Pantone Color of the Year: Living Coral

This feels like cheating since the reveal for the We're All Ears challenge on the Earrings Everyday blog is Friday, but this pair featuring sweet charms from Heather Powers of Humblebeads will just get extra exposure!  You'll have to check back for my January 18th post to see the other pair I made!

As it is January 16th as I write this, I'm caught up for the moment!  I'm actually a day ahead since I wanted to space out my blog posts.  I'll share more of what I accomplish for the various prompts as the month goes on... at least that's the plan!  Thanks for stopping by for a visit today!

Art Bead Scene: July 2017 Take Two

I managed to create a second piece of jewelry inspired by this month's Art Bead Scene challenge, the lush jungle scene by artist Henri Rousseau entitled Tiger in a Tropical Storm.    You can read more about the artwork and the artist over on the ABS blog HERE.  If you missed it, you can see the necklace I made earlier in the month HERE.

Tiger in a Tropical Storm

Henri Rousseau

1891

Oil Painting

I had a fun pair of fern patterned ceramic tiles by the talented Mary Harding that I liked for this challenge.  They reminded me of the leaves that are right in front of the tiger in the painting and even have a tinge of orange to them.  I did a little bit of wire wrapping with some green matte banded agate and Czech glass beads.  

I had another earring idea percolating in the back of my brain that I didn't quite get around to making.  As much as we've had on our calendar (I was out of town 12 days this month!) I'm shocked that I even got this pair finished.  I'm guessing I'll be keeping up the same frantic pace through the end of September when my big art show is done.

Artisans Create Together Inspiration Challenge: October 2016

There's a new group on Facebook called Artisans Create Together that I just learned about and I was thrilled to discover that they do a monthly inspiration challenge (actually they do two, as you'll see below!)  And you know how I adore a challenge!

Fall is without a doubt my favorite season and I enjoy all the luscious colors that come with it.  While I enjoyed both of the October Inspiration color palettes, I found this group too late to get much completed by their deadline.  The combination of turquoise (or teal) with orange has long been a favorite for fall... or anytime really... so I had to start there.  In fact, I had so little time for this challenge that despite pulling tons of turquoise and orange beads and focals onto my bead mat, I only managed to complete and photograph one set of earrings before the deadline.  Here is that first pair:

Enameled leaves by Gardanne, Carnelian, & Czech Glass

As you can see below, my table was still covered in an embarrassment of beady riches arranged into half thought out projects.  I couldn't just walk away and waste all that effort... and I certainly didn't want to have to put all those beads away!  What choice did I have but to keep on creating with one of my favorite color combinations??  I had to share with you the rest of the goodies that I made.

Yup, this is pretty much how I always work.  I'm incapable of working on just one thing at a time!

It made sense to start by continuing with the little earrings that I had started (but not finished) for the challenge.  Once I added my favorite Czech glass flowers above an orange pair of Gardanne enameled oak leaves, I knew that it was a design that had potential without the charms too!  Before I knew it I had whipped up these three pairs of earrings:

With some things cleared off my mat, it was time to move on to some necklaces!  First up, a necklace featuring one of the polymer clay pendants that I made from my very own mold at the Inspired by Nature Retreat.  (You can read more about my exploits at the retreat HERE.)  Lots of Czech glass and a little bit of copper make up this little number!  I'm looking forward to using the rest of my creations from this project at the retreat!

Next up, I moved onto a gorgeous birch leaf pendant by the talented Mary Harding that I've had squirreled away for a while.  This piece had a brighter, more yellow-toned orange that just made me happy.  For this necklace, my brain wanted to go asymmetrical and I went along with it!  Once again I used a variety of Czech glass beads in turquoise and orange tones but added in some carnelian and vintage plastic as well.  I had fun playing with the leaf motif from the pendant... adding in some Czech glass maple leaf beads and a brass beech leaf charm.  This one is hard to let go of... I adore the finished product!

Lastly, I wanted to make something with a Vintaj brass pendant that I had painted a little while ago.  When I started adding color I was planning to stick to shades of orange but on a whim I dabbed on a bit of turquoise making it perfect for this challenge!  Since I had been doing a lot of stringing, I decided to switch things up and make beaded links for this one in a collection of Czech beads.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my little collection of turquoise and orange jewelry!  I'll be taking most of these designs into Unearthed Arts this week so there will be some pops of orange in my display just in time for the annual D.E.A.R. Hunting event this Saturday!

Art Bead Scene: March 2016

I think I may have uttered an audible gasp when I saw this month's inspiration artwork Still Life with Pussy Willows by Taisia K. Afonina over on the Art Bead Scene blog.  This painting just feels like a perfect spring morning to me... I think it's something about how she captured the light.  Usually I respond to color more than anything, so I'm a little surprised that I like this piece so much with it's muted tones.  Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic about the ending of Downton Abbey and the oh so civilized act of having tea.  :)  You can read more about the artwork and the artist HERE.    

"Still Life with Pussy Willows"
By Taisia K. Afonina
1964, Oil on canvas

Despite my favorable reaction to the painting, I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to make... or even what art beads I might want to use.  Finally, having cleared some other projects off my work table, I was able to get down to business.  It turns out I actually had quite a few art beads that would be appropriate... here's a peek:

Art bead overload!!

 Eventually I narrowed it down and got to work on three different projects... a necklace, a bracelet, and earrings.  I wanted to keep going, but then I never would have gotten a blog post written!  I may find time to go back and play some more with the goodies I had pulled out.  For now, here are my finished jewelry designs!


The first thing I finished was the simplest... the earrings.  Not shocking that I whipped those up before completing anything else.  Truth be told, I started with the bracelet but then started second guessing one of the elements.  But I digress!  My starting place was a pair of polymer clay beads by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  I love working with polymer clay beads for earrings because they are so light weight.  That allowed me to pair them with some heavier teapot shaped charms without making things too heavy.  To pull out the lighter tones from the painting, I topped things off with some small aquamarine rounds. 

Tea Time earrings!

 Next up was the bracelet.   Since I made a different version of a bracelet that Lorelei Eurto shared in Bead Style magazine for the February ABS challenge (you can see that one HERE if you missed it), I knew that this couldn't be the only thing I made.  That just felt a little like cheating.  The highlight of this design is a lovely lampwork lentil by Sheila Davis of Stone Designs that Eric gave to me for Christmas.  I also used an etched lampwork bead by Tanya McGuire, a large hole gemstone, Czech glass and some various seed and peanut beads.

 
My final design is probably my favorite... a necklace featuring a gorgeous ceramic maple seed wing pendant from Mary Harding.  I started with some kyanite coins and blue aventurine rounds then added in some coordinating Czech glass.  I was lucky enough to have a tube of seed beads that thought were gold when I bought them but (surprise!) ended up being Montana blue with gold luster finish.  (Perhaps I should be more careful when shopping, but it all worked out in the end!)  I finished the back with a length of pale blue silk ribbon... just the perfect way to add a touch of softness to my design.

Mary's pendant deserves a close up!

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to!  You can see what others were inspired to make over on the Art Bead Scene challenge Pinterest board HERE.

New Earring Monday: Weeks 47 and 48

As another year of New Earring Monday posts winds down, I hope that you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving last week.  I think I may still be in a turkey coma, but earrings wait for no man (or bird!)  This is a very special New Earring Monday for me since, in addition to the two pairs I'm sharing here on my blog, I'm also a guest blogger over at Earrings Everyday today!  I'm so honored to have been asked to do a post for one of my favorite blogs about my favorite thing to make.  I hope you'll check out that post HERE.

When I got the invitation to be a guest blogger I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to share over there so I worked up a few different pairs.  For this installment of New Earring Monday I'm sharing the other two pairs that were under consideration.

First up, I received a couple of ceramic headpins from the talented Mary Harding (thanks, Mary!!).  The colors made me think of some photos of tulips we took on a trip to Amsterdam and I ran with that idea.  Here is a little taste of my inspiration.

Since the headpins were mismatched, I went for asymmetry but tried to keep things pretty balanced.  Sometimes it feels like I have all the flower beads, so I knew that I could find suitable "tulips" to top my little earring stacks in colors to coordinate with the headpins.  To round things out, I chose a piece of faceted carnelian (one of my faves!) and an English cut Czech glass bead plus silver plated bead caps and wavy discs.  I realize that mismatched can be challenging for some customers, but hopefully these little cuties will find a good home.  Personally, I'm just proud of myself for getting brave and actually using fancy headpins instead of being terrified of messing them up! 

My second pair is a rare foray into making post style earrings.  I bought these cute copper plated flower earrings from Ezel Findings when Lima Beads was discontinuing them.  (Not only are they adorable, but I also appreciate that the post itself is sterling... great for folks with metal sensitivities.)  Anyway, I attached lengths of decorative leaf chain to the loop on the bottom of the flowers and then further embellished the chain with some tiny crystals in a teal and bronze color.

Now it's your turn!  Please add your links to your own earring creation in the comments.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too!

Inspired by Reading: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

September just flew by for me... I can hardly believe that it's already October 1st!  I had to skip several of my favorite challenges (even though I had some perfect beads) since I was so busy getting ready for the big show I had last weekend.  Thank goodness Andrew Thornton decided to push back the date for this reveal or I would have missed the Inspired by Reading Book Club too!  Hopefully October will be a bit more calm and I will get back into the swing of things.  Ok, let's be honest, that's probably wishful thinking!

Anyway, onto the business at hand... the September selection for the Inspired by Reading Book Club was Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.  I picked this one up in paperback at a library conference a while back on the recommendation of my friend Dena... and now I finally had an excuse to read it!

I'm going to apologize for not having super deep or coherent thoughts about the book... it's been more than a month since I finished reading it and all my brain power has been siphoned off in other directions.  This was a super fast and fun read for me and I plowed through it to find out what was going to happen.  This is totally goofy, but I also loved the fact that the paperback edition that I have glows in the dark... so fun!

Our main character, Clay, finds himself working the overnight shift in a very strange 24-hour bookstore where actual sales are few and far between.  The story ends up being part mystery and part adventure as Clay seeks to unravel the mysteries of the bookstore and it's odd owner and discovers that something much bigger is going on behind the scenes.  I don't want to give too much away, and also I have mush-brain, so I'll leave it at that.

Blame it on all my pre and post show craziness, but I went fairly literal again this month.  I had gotten the cutest little ceramic book bead from fellow book club member Mary Harding and I decided that this was the perfect time to finally use it.  I knew from the moment I saw that little book bead that it was for me and me alone, so this challenge was perfect timing for me to actually make something for myself.  We'll consider it a reward for a successful show!

There are some great colors in that little book (and if you know Mary's work you aren't surprised to hear that) so I had a good starting point for pulling together a design.  Feeling in a mostly gemstone mood, I grabbed some agate, petrified green opal in a great diamond shape, carnelian, and a yellow gemstone of some sort.  (Any guess on that one?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!)  For an extra pop of orange I also pulled in one Czech glass rondelle... I had two different ones pulled out and I'm not 100% sure if I'm happy with this one, but I was past out of time!

I added some little charms dangling off the bottom of the book including a little brass key that symbolizes the unlocking of the mysteries of the bookstore and ancient order behind it.  I would normally just use chain at the back of a necklace like this but, on a whim, I went digging through my ribbon stash and found the perfect piece.  I keep trying to get myself to do more with various fibers, so this was good for me.  I like the soft feel of the ribbon on my neck, so, who knows, maybe I'll try this more often.

Head on over to Andrew's blog HERE to see what everyone else created for this month's challenge.  My sweet husband is playing along again this month with his photography and you can find his post HERE.