Earring Swap Blog Hop

This is the first hop hosted by Jessica Wensell Murray of Whimsical Monkey. You can visit her blog and Etsy shop. My partner is Shaihi Williams who is an avid reader if her blog is anything to go by! I may have to try out some new reading material. Shai and I decided we needed a theme and picked Art Deco inspired earrings as our inspiration. Here are some of the lovely pictures I found to admire.

I did my best to meet her tastes. Her favorite colors are green, blue and brown. She didn’t want earrings that had a drop longer than 1.5 inches, prefers posts and french hooks, is not a huge silver fan, does not like yellow and wants bolder earrings because she has lovely long hair. I have to admit this was a challenge for me because of the shorter length and no silver. I usually use brass anyway, but those are definitely the two things I think of when I think Art Deco so I used a little Revival inspiration from the 50′s as well. I would have probably used lever-backs because they look more period, but Shai doesn’t like them so I decided to do posts. She likes gold so I decided to hand paint the brass and sealed it. I also aged it underneath so if the paint gets worn over time, it will just look antiqued. (I hope!)

I was very excited she listed one of her favorite colors as brown because I have some lovely vintage brown beads and cabs but it’s not always the most popular color. A shame really! I have some awesome vintage Czech glass buttons without shanks that are Art Deco and look Steampunk so I knew right away what I wanted to do.  As you can see from the pictures above, the fan shape is something that attracted me also. Here’s what I can up with.

Then, I got to thinking…what if she hates them? So I decided to make a back-up pair just in case. She likes blue and I have some Deco style glass cabs c. 50′s-60′s and was drawn to the hoops as you can see above and I even have the connectors from those amethyst earrings, so I came up with these.

Shai apparently had the same idea about a back-up pair so I was very pleased when my earrings arrived and she had also made me two pairs with two of my favorite colors, green and purple. The purple pair are really long–proper shoulder dusters!

Here are the lovely green pair also.

It was lovely to meet Shai, challenge myself and get lovely earrings in the mail to add to my collection. Please go see what the other participants made and find some inspiration for yourself.

Jessica Wensell Murray: http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/2013/05/earring-swap-blog-hop.html

Inge von Roos: ingetraud.wordpress.com Nancy Smith: wirednan.blogspot.ca
Marianne Baxter: http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com/
Leah Tees: mybeadylittleeyes.blogspot.ca
Andrea Trank: www.heavenlanecreations.com
Miranda Ackerley: http://blog.mirandack.com/
Cheri Mitchell-Reed: http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Susan Kennedy: www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Michele Dotson: http://star-jewels.blogspot.com/
Deanna Cox: www.deannaaki.WordPress.com
Shelley Graham Turner: www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Ingrid McCue: www.wrappedinsilver.com
Lennis Carrier: http://windbent.wordpress.com
Ginger Davis Allman: http://thebluebottletree.com/
Mary Anne Flesch: www.handcraftedserenity.blogspot.com
Nicole Valentine Rimmer: www.nvalentine.blogspot.com
Stephanie Weiss: uniquelymebwd.blogspot.com/
Silvia Sernicola: http://pipa-the-latest.blogspot.it/
Karla Morgan: www.TexasPepperJams.blogspot.com
Kay Thomerson: http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
Paula Hisel: http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Carol Dillman: http://dillmansdallies.blogspot.com/
Spun Sugar Beadworks: Spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
Tara Plote: http://newbiebeader.blogspot.com/
Rachel Baron: http://rbarondesigns.blogspot.com/
Laurie Keefe: http://treeofliferootedinmysoul.blogspot.com/
Kashmira Patel: http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Gina Hockett: http://www.freestyleelements.blogspot.com
Shellie Grindy: http://www.creativeeclectica.com/
Shai Williams: http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/
Dyanne Cantrell: http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com
Mimi Gardner: www.OtherCuriosities.blogspot.com
Jessica McMullen: http://pheonixgatedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jennifer LaVite: www.drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com
Laura Medeiros: http://zoeowyn.blogspot.com/
Alenka Obid: www.pepita-handmade.blogspot.com
Elsie Fonseca: http://www.ladelizchica.blogspot.com/
Cheryl Dunham: www.renaissance-jewelry.blogspot.com
Sandra McGriff: http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca
Tania Spivey: http://moobiegrace.blogspot.com/
Mowse Doyle:  http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com
Mischelle Fanucchi: http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
Beccy Peterson: Beccy’s Baubles
Marde Lowe: FanciMar Designs

Spring Into Bead Soup Blog Party 7, Reveal 2

The time for Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Party 7, second reveal is finally here. If you missed the first reveal, the list is here. Hopefully, you saw my previous post about my partner, the lovely Klaudete Koon, and what she sent me but here is a little reminder:

This hop has many participants so I did not write a play this time (I know you were wondering…) because we all have a lot of hopping to do. So…

From the Soup: one of the clasps I was sent and the tiny, green Czech glass beads.

This includes the first clasp I have ever made, so be kind to me!

From the Soup: all the beads in this, including the lamp-work, glass pearls, shell/resin beads and black crystals and the wire for the clasp I made.

This is where I had a little emergency…I broke one of the cord ends that Klaudete sent me to finish the Viking Knit and I already had the glue on the ends…setting. Eek! So I grabbed the only silver-tone end caps that would fit and did my best. I don’t usually work in silver a whole lot since I love brass, so I was lucky to have anything on hand.

From the Soup: Viking Knit, handmade by Klaudete Koon.

All the pictures previous to this next one, are the extra pieces I made when I found out we had a little more time for our reveal. I spent most of my time beforehand painting this…

From my Soup: the beaded pendant handmade by Klaudete Koon, and the box clasp with the beads I set in Ice Resin.

I do love the vintage copper stackable petals and copper plated flowers. I used Victorian glass buttons for the two side flowers and added the vintage crystals. I tried to match the colors of the beads Klaudete gave me with a blend of Vintaj patina paint, Adirondack Alcohol Inks and Lumiere paint.

Here’s the set together:

Complementary rather than too matchy-matchy is right up my alley.

Please go visit my partner to see what she created with the Soup I sent her. The rest of the Blog Hop participants are here:

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/2013/04/7th-bead-soup-blog-party-2nd-reveal.html

Holiday Bling Blog Hop 3 Reveal: Spring Equinox

Welcome to another great blog hop hosted by Shelley Graham Turner (of Tori Sophia) and Marlene Cupo (of Amazing Designs). This HBBH is the third and we were supposed to pick any holiday from February or March to celebrate. My partner for this event is the talented jewelry artist Toltec Jewels, host of Jewel School Friends. To see more of her work, please visit her on Pinterest.

We decided to celebrate the Spring Equinox or Ostara, which is March 20 and marks the beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere to celebrate the fertility of the land. It is a time Pagans focus on: the balance between light and dark, rebirth and renewal, and new life. Many symbols of Ostara have been incorporated into the modern celebration of Easter such as: lambs; rabbits; calves; eggs; seeds; ladybugs; caterpillars; daffodils; lilies; milk; and honey. Pastel colors are usually associated with Spring.

That’s why it was such a lovely surprise when I got this:

Inca Puño variation, chainmaille closeup

That’s when I knew Toltec Jewels had not only done her homework on me (my favorite colors are aqua, purple, lime green, and black and I love mixed metals), but had been extremely thoughtful about capturing the dual nature of the holiday. This set is titled “Sunrise of the Spring Equinox.” She used handmade (by her!) anodized aluminum jump-rings in a variation of the Inca Puño weave to look like little flowers, gunmetal finished copper, mystic hematite, Czech glass and Austrian crystals.

Sunrise of the Spring Equinox by Toltec Jewels

She took better pictures than I did (surprise! *wry grin*), so I will steal one to show you a close-up of the lamp work bead by H.J. Sanders of Dichoric Dreams. Someone looked at my banner and thought about my name!

Picture courtesy of Toltec Jewels.

I have to say that if you are lucky enough to get her as a partner on a hop be warned-she will spoil you! She generously sent me handmade incense, a scented candle, lilac oil, a piece of amethyst and a lovely beaded bag all of which can be used in my Ostara celebration.

Bet you’re wanting to know what I made her. Well, I made a set I named “Thicket Fairy Awakening” which features a handmade polymer clay focal, my first ever handmade chain using my super cool new hammers, vintage cobalt and amber glass, modern crystals and Czech glass, and lots of love. You’ll be able to see on the Toltec Jewels blog, but here’s a stolen teaser:

Close-up of my necklace courtesy of Toltec Jewels

Now please join our Hop and visit the rest of the participants too.

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3.html

Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com

Chris Schlicht http://marshellswaps.blogspot.com/p/visiting-bloggers-reveal-day.html

Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3-reveal.html

Gina Hockett–http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com/2013/03/hbbh-3-celebrate-carnival-day.html

Jennifer Reno http://jenrenjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/03/its-holiday-bling-blog-hop-time.html

Laura Reed http://marshellswaps.blogspot.com/p/visiting-bloggers-reveal-day.html

Leanne Loftus http://firstimpressiondesign.blogspot.com

Lennis Carrier http://windbent.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/hbbh3-reveal/

Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com/2013/03/reveal-holiday-bling-blog-hop-3.html

Marti Conrad http://marticsclay.blogspot.com

Mary Govaars http://www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3.html

Rita/ Toltec Jewels http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3-celebrating.html

Sandra McGriff http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com/2013/03/hbbh3.html

Sarah Goode http://pookledo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/marshellswaps-holiday-blog-hop-march.html

Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3-reveal-happy.html

Sonya Stille  http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3.html

Tammie Everly http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com/2013/03/holiday-bling-blog-hop-3-st-pattys-day.html

Therese Frank http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com/2013/03/hbbh3-reveal.html

Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com/2013/03/hbbh-3-the-reveal.html

Shelley Graham Turner http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/2013/03/reveal-holiday-bling-blog-hop-3.html

My Partner and Ingredients for BSBP7

My partner for Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Party 7 is the talented Miss Klaudete Koon of Coldcrimsonember Designs. You can find her Etsy store here, her Facebook here, her Twitter here and her blog here. Klaudete has been sewing since the age of 7 so, of course, she would be a bead weaver, but she also does some lovely wire wrapping. Check out some designs she did for ZNet that they displayed at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show 2013. She is also lucky enough to live by America’s oldest glass company, producing since 1888, Kokomo Opalescent Glass. As you can see, she made the focal and the viking knit while the lamp work beads are from KOG. So, without further adieu, these are my Soup ingredients:

For those of you who were patiently waiting to see what I sent her after my last teaser post, here it is:

Thank you for looking and please come back to see our reveal on April 6, 2013.

Preparing My Soup for BSBP7

As we many of us were waiting to see who our partner was going to be for the Bead Soup Blog Party this year, Lori Anderson encouraged us to go ahead and work on getting our beads together: part of the idea for this being to create out of our comfort zones. That was when I was lucky enough to see this bead made by Nicole Weltch (SRA #W5) of Beadswap USA and Black Cat Beads.

When I received it, I fell more in love with it. It was not quite the colors I expected and it was smaller than I thought (not really a focal) so I decided to keep it for myself, *cheeky grin* however, it was reason I picked the colors I did for my partner! Teaser Alert!

Having my colors in mind (you’ll have to wait until my partner gets her Soup), I went to shop. When I saw Hannah Rosner’s (SRA #R21) work at Good River Galley, I knew I wanted to make a Soup with some of her work. She’s teaching (classes B130944 and B130620) at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee this June so go see her if you get a chance.  Here is one of my favorite of her beads because it looks like she was mining and struck a vein of malachite:

Beads. Check!

Now onto a clasp. For this I asked Shelley Graham Turner of Tori Sophia to play with her new kiln and make me a toggle.  I was ready to move on to a focal when the sprites of the USPS thwarted me. My toggles where broken when they arrived. Being worried about the timing and my lack of a back-up plan (lesson learned), I begged Cheryl Provost Foiles of Get Your Bead On to make me something since she lives closer than Shelley and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get replacements. Cheryl also sells her jewelry at Anvil in Raleigh, NC.  She’s one of these talented omnicrafters. Here is an example of her playing with enamel:

Clasp. Check.

Now about that focal…I admit it; I had blown my budget and was worried about how to live up to the wonderful work of these ladies. I played with the idea of a metal focal but I really wanted everything to be handmade. I thought about painting brass (one of my favorite things to do). At that time I was right in the middle of a little crisis since I had been paid to make some beads for folks and had hurt my back. When I got back on my feet, I had a mammoth bead and pendant making session over several days. I made a pendant with my Soup colors for fun…I really liked it. Normally I would not consider putting myself this far out there but I knew that if I wanted to keep it for myself, I was proud of it. It’s all about going outside our comfort zone, right?

The beads were due out by Sunday. Monday at 4pm I got my mail and there were the beads and clasps from Hannah, Cheryl and Shelley.  Hannah threw me for a loop by sending me a surprise (I had a photo of what she was sending). In the end, I spread it all out: 5 toggles, 28 beads and 3 possibilities for focals. I chose what I felt matched best–what I would love to receive and be proud sending–and I packed them up to drive to the post office by 5pm.

Bead Soup. Check!

Support From Peers Brings Great Cheer

I try to only blog when I actually have something to say; (to me) there’s nothing worse than reading a blog when someone posted because they thought they had to.  We all get wrapped up in our day-to-day lives and, hopefully, creating art. Since I just recently hurt my back I’ve had time to catch-up online while laying about driving my husband nuts.

Now, I have the time to publicly thank some people who have been very kind and supportive; I’ve been getting a lot of love lately from people I consider very talented. It’s so exciting, I could pinch myself. If you haven’t already, please go visit the Tori Sophia Designs blog to see her entry for the AJE (Art Jewelry Elements) Earring Challenge: Week 3, featuring beads made by moi! While you’re hopping around, the amazing Jami Shipp also features me on her Celebrating Life blog. I was completely surprised and very honored.

You can find Jami’s work here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/damamashipp.

You can find Shelley’s work here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/torisophia.

I also have a wonderful friend who has really supported me and is helping to grow my business and take my jewelry to the next level. Since I don’t think she would like a public kudos, I’ll just say that with the new tools, and equipment I will soon have, I’ll really be able to learn new skills. My goals for this year include: having an online trunk show; creating a new line to go in the places locally that sell my jewelry; and to reinvigorate my neglected Etsy shop. These goals aren’t too big because this is really a year for me to learn new skills and grow. To that end, I also have two blog hops coming up: Holiday Bling Blog Hop 3 will happen in March and Bead Soup Blog Party 7 will happen in March/April.

This year, I will share with you the joy of success and the agony of defeat as I experiment with new techniques. (What’s the worst that can happen?) I hope you join me.

Picture by http://rockangelreika.deviantart.com/

Love in a Box

This post is going to be about the giving and the getting; it went something like this…

Some of you might have noticed the last blog post was a re-blog from UWSLoves. This is a great grassroots organization that sprung up to help people recover from Hurricane Sandy. The Red Cross has its place (and in the past I have volunteered for both the British Red Cross and the American Red Cross for many years), but local people and groups with less overhead can help in different ways. Sometimes you have to be wary of giving to people who say they are doing charitable work and sometimes, sadly, even organized charities. I have a personal connection with someone involved in this group, so when Lea Avroch of LA Jewelry Designs asked for donations to auction off for a fundraiser, I said yes. This event was put together so quickly, I had to just give her a few pieces I had lying around.

I was thrilled that some of my friends took the time to at least look at the items being auctioned off to raise money for food and supplies. One of my friends started bidding on these beautiful beads by Laurie Ament of Isinglass Design.

Then, he starting bidding on these lovely beads by Mallory Hoffman of Rosebud’s Lampwork Beads.

Now I thought, that’s odd–what is he going to do with beads? Well it turns out…he’s going to give them to me as a Holiday present! Obviously, not everyone can afford to buy beads like these for their friends. Of course, this is beyond a lovely gesture and I’m thrilled. There is also a little guilt that I have these lovely beads while there are people who’ve lost their homes and are cold and hungry right now. Getting something for myself was not the purpose of my participation.

Then, my friend said something to me that really made me pause and think about what it was he was truly giving to me…he said, I want you to have nice beads to make a piece for Spring into Art next year. To understand what this means to me, I need to tell you about some comments I’ve been getting lately from people I know. When I first told a (different) friend of mine about participating in this fundraiser she said to me, “I’d do that too if I didn’t have to work.” While it’s true I don’t go to an office everyday, I assure you, I work. I have gotten other comments similar to this and it’s patronizing and demoralizing. I work very hard on: scouting out interesting components for my designs; keeping spreadsheets of supplies and sales; labeling and organizing components for restocking; designing the jewelry; hand aging, painting, decoupaging, or making components from scratch; online marketing of my products; taking, editing, and organizing photographs of my work; and pricing and organizing my products for travel to locations to sell. For an acquaintance to say that to me is one thing, but for people who are supposed to be my friends to make comments similar to that shows they don’t understand or respect what I do everyday. She didn’t mean anything by it, but I found it hurtful and it echoes the sentiments told to me by various people over the last four years.

So his gift to me, rather than the money he spent, or the glass beads he gave me, was HIS SUPPORT FOR WHAT I DO. That has no price tag. I really cried about that. I have received my shipment from Laurie today and, sweetheart that she is, she gave me extra beads. She already donated the beads to raise money for charity and is “out-of-pocket” so she certainly didn’t have to do that. She made me cry too. So, if you want to know what love in a box looks like: think about the boxes of food people are receiving because of these artists and the generous customers who bid on their work. For me, this box of beads sitting here is a reminder of the generosity of so many, how there are many ways to touch the lives of others, and how you never know how the decisions you make to help can end up helping you in return.