znetshows Summer 2015 Creative Spark

It's time for another znetshows Creative Spark issue. The design team was asked to do things a bit differently this time. We were given a choice between creating non-jewelry items, or creating sea-inspired jewelry, or veggie/garden-inspired jewelry, or some other-inspired topics. I did not hesitate. I wanted to finally follow through on an idea I've had for quite some time. I offered to make wind chimes.
First of all, I love wind chimes. I have many hanging on my back porch. Some of them don't make much sound, while others need just the slightest breeze to ring. But I really love it when a storm is kicking up, and they are start clanging and clinking, like an orchestra before a performance. (the lightning in the sky is the "house lights", letting me know to take my seat!)
Another reason I wanted to make wind chimes is that I've had one partially started for a while now (maybe several years?). I bought a dark brass butterfly on the internet a few years back. I, apparently, did not convert the millimeters in to inches correctly in my head, and I was surprised when the package arrived - the butterfly is huge! I like a big statement necklace as much as the next gal, but this butterfly is just too big!
So, I thought it would be cool to make a wind chime or sun catcher out of him. I drilled/ punched holes in it, and then he sat on my bead desk, waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the inspiration to hit me.
Then I received the email about the znetshows Creative Spark summer issue, and it was kismet. ;-)

So, my first wind chime (yes, I made more than one) is made with my big brass butterfly and znetshows yellow sea glass. These sea glass beads are left overs from previous challenges/ issues. I wire wrapped tusks and hung shards with butterflies from Vintaj chain. It makes me think of a butterfly flitting around the flower garden on a sunny day.

Next up is another large brass stamping that was bigger than expected. I really should get a ruler out when I'm binge buying online!! But I love this - so Art Nouveau! And it's not sooooo big that I couldn't have used it for jewelry, but it is big enough to use as a wind chime! I was given a choice of znetshows sea glass beads. I picked the bottle rings in turquoise and "coke bottle" aqua, fancy shards in turquoise and 2 hole shards in "coke bottle" aqua and green, and some periwinkle small nuggets.
I used some of the shards and rings for this wind chime, in turquoise and green. I used chain to hang the sea glass, and leather cord at the top, to hang the wind chime on the porch.

While I was on  a "wind chime roll", I looked for more things in my stash that would work. This copper daisy was purchased to be torch fire enameled. And it could be enameled, but it would take a lot of time, and a lot of enamel! This daisy already had pierced holes on the petals, perfect for hanging chain and beads, for a wind chime! The znetshows sea glass beads used in this wind chime is the "coke bottle" aqua rings and 2-hole shards, and one periwinkle small nugget at the bottom




 

All of the sea glass beads used to make these wind chimes are available for purchase at the znetshows website!
Please check out the Creative Spark Summer 25015 issue HERE!

I think I hear a summer storm coming.....gotta run and take my seat on the porch!

CCA Trunk Show

I sell jewelry in a small shop, which is part of the Cheltenham Center for the Arts. They have monthly Trunk Shows, and ask me to participate in one this past week (Mother's Day weekend). They feature a wall artist and a table artist. The wall artist was Rashida Salaam. Her painting's colors and patterns were so happy and pretty. Her art and my art were a very nice marriage. She and I hit it off well too, which made it all the more fun!

It began Friday night with a wine & cheese opening reception from 5 to 7 pm, and the items remained until 4pm the next day. I could start setting up at 3pm on Friday, and I needed to pack it up at 3:30 on Saturday.

I did a trial run set up on my dining room table at home, so I wouldn't need to make any critical last minute decisions. I took a couple extra necklaces and an extra tray, just in case. I also bought a set of bed risers (I saw this idea on other jewelry blogs), to raise the level of the table a bit, to make it easier for people to look at the jewelry. The store manager loved that idea so much, I left the risers for her to use.

My set up is very beige on purpose, so that my dark brass jewelry shows better. I also transported and displayed jewelry in trays. This was due to only having 2 hours to set up and very little time (30 minutes!) to tear down.

You can see Rashida Salaam's painting on the wall - so pretty!!

 

 The one exception to all the beige is my moss display for my enameled flower necklaces - everyone loved this fun display, although I did not sell any of the flower necklaces.

sorry for the blurry photo!

The trunk show was a blast, and a big success!

Tribal guitar pick?

As an off-shoot of making the filigree tube bracelets, I wondered if I could use the same technique in a necklace. And in the meantime, my friend Suzan gave me a handful of lovely turquoise Zuni bears. Also fueling this particular design, I re-located my bead desk in another room in the house, so I have touched all my beads in the past few weeks. I ran across a small box of Vintaj blanks that I embossed (on my Big Kick), and I had painted some with Vintaj patinas.
The Zuni bears were sitting next to the green fern embossed guitar pick and looked pretty good together and I was thinking about the bracelets.....serendipity.

I put together the focal with messy (bird-nesty) wire wrapped loops. Then made the filigree tube sections, adding the focal half way through. I used fold-over end caps, as opposed to tying knots (mainly because I did not have quite enough cord on the ends). Then I cut and frayed the ends of the cord and added the jumprings, chain, clasp. I used a lobster claw clasp because the necklace is light weight.

 

It has a tribal, native feel to me. Not at all like Native American jewelry (except for the bear), but reminiscent of it somehow.

 

This gives me other ideas for bracelets too. Like, putting a big bead or a charm in the middle of the bracelet, perhaps? Or making short sections and attaching them with jumprings or connectors. Hmmmm.....

 



It's a bracelet frenzy!

Looking back over the years, I could count on one hand the number of bracelets I've made. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it would not be more than 20. (fingers and toes!)
However, I have been a bracelet making machine lately!!
Part of the reason is that I have been invited to have a "trunk show" at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts gift shop in May, so I am busy making new things to take to it. I know I don't need to fill an actual trunk, but I'd like it to at least fill the table!
So, I have been making bracelets!

I made just a couple of the leather and chain bracelets I've shown in the past. I have been amassing different colors of chain. I started out with only gun metal and matte copper . Now I have shiny silver (shown below), shiny gold, antique brass (shown below) and I just got matte black at Bead Fest (can't wait to make one with that!).
Two handmade buttons from Mudalicious. The brick red leather bracelet has a modern button, but I could not resist the fleur-de-lis.

 

And I've been making lots of the filigree beads bracelets I wrote about in an earlier post. I ordered more of the filigree tube beads in silver and gold colors, just to have options. But until they arrive, I only have the dark brass.

Here they are all together....

 

 

And now we'll break it down.

There are 2 bracelets with more cool handmade buttons from Mudalicious. And I am now out of them. But not to worry. I think I have other buttons by other artists in my dragon hoard.

 

I love the turquoise glass pony beads!

 

There are 4 bracelets with vintage buttons. The black button is plastic, the white button is pearlized plastic. The other two are brass.

And ELEVEN bracelets using lampwork orphan beads. These beads are from 2 Bead Sisters and Juls beads.
Yummy!

Lastly, these are just beads from JoAnn's or Michael's. Nothing fancy, but fun to wear!

 

I have been using cotton woven cord, ramie cord and waxed linen cord. I bought some 1mm leather at Bead Fest Spring and am planning to make some of this type of bracelets in leather. Hopefully I can squeeze it through the filigree beads with out it cracking!

side note:

I just happened to notice today that I have 100 followers!!! I would like to thank all 100 of you for following and reading my blog!!!

Beading with friends

Beading with friends....do you? Do you bead/ make jewelry in solitude? Or do you have some beady peeps to bead with?
I do most of my jewelry making alone, but I enjoy making jewelry with others. I get more accomplished when I'm alone, but beading with my beady friends is always more fun and more inspiring.

I also enjoy going to my local Bead Society. I've said it before....it's just nice to be with people that "get it". They like beads and jewelry as much as you do. Each meeting we usually learn a new technique taught by another member, or bring a project to work on. Just a room full of ladies (but we would welcome a man) making jewelry together. Fun.

And even, taking a 45 minute "class" at Bead Fest Spring's "Inspiration Playground" this past weekend was fun (and it was only $2!!!). We learned how to make wire bracelets with the Beadalon 3-D bracelet jig - more to come about that later! We all sat there, bending our wire, helping each other, learning the technique. Fun.

Recently, I've had two jewelry making play dates with two different friends. The necklaces I posted in March (made with old brooches) were the outcome from my "jewelry day" with my friend Joan. We spent all day together, making jewelry. We worked on our individual projects. After completing something it was fun to hold up a finished piece to show to her immediately, and also just to declare I finished it. It would be a bit strange to say "Done!" out loud when I'm by myself. (although I don't think the cats would mind). As one of us would finish a design, the other would offer supportive comments. Fun.

Last week, I went to my friend Suzan's house. It was only for a couple hours one evening, but still enjoyable. There is something about sitting and working on jewelry, and chatting at the same time. It's calming, but also inspiring. Suzan always has tons of cool bits and bobs to drool over. She had asked me to show her what I do with old buckles. So, I grabbed some silver metal butterflies from my stash we could use to practice with (they were a thrifty find from a couple years ago - very shiny and not really my style).
She had collected quite a few buckles, so we looked through them (I was oooh-ing and ahhh-ing). I picked one that was not especially special, to demo what I do, wrapping the metal around the buckle. Then I did another one, showing another wrapping variation. She wasn't loving those shiny butterflies either, so she said I should just take them home. She also gave me a fabulous buckle with a pink rhinestone....later in the week, I made all of them into finished jewelry....and here is where the inspiration lead me....

The first shiny butterfly...wrapped around a vintage round black buckle. I used various black beads...faux black Cinnabar, polymer tubes, two of my enameled beads, some silver bead caps...and Arte Metal black chain (from Vintaj).

These shiny butterflies are growing on me....

The same butterfly on a vintage maroon plastic buckle. The lampwork beads have been in my stash for forever (picked up at a bead show, from China or India?). Added to that, dark red glass pony beads, and rustic matte small beads. The jumprings, claps and bead caps are gun metal. I  just got the silver chain at Bead Fest Spring!

Perhaps I can add wire antennae through the hole in his head...hmmm.

And, then there's the fabulous buckle she gave me! It's really half of a buckle. There would have been another piece that hooks into this piece, to make a belt. Can you imagine the dress that this went with?
Anyway, another enameled bead, Czech glass flowers, dark brass beads caps and chain.

 To clean or not to clean? I don't mind the signs of wear, but I may try to get that dark blob in the middle off...either way, I love, love, love it!

Many thanks to Suzan (I know you read this blog!) for the buckles, the inspiration, and your friendship. I look forward to beading together soon. Fun!

filigree bracelets

After making several of the leather and rolo chain bracelets I thought I'd try to make other bracelets. As an experiment, I made one like the below bracelet, but with 1mm leather and a light weight clasp. Maybe it's the leather I used, but the leather cracked where it was bent, going in and out of the beads. It also made the bracelet stiff and was hard to put on. I have tons of these filigree tube beads, in 2 sizes (from Panda Hall), so I really wanted to figure out a cool way to use them.

So, I wondered what I could use to replace the leather. Then, while shopping at Auntie's Beads, I found some small spools of woven cotton cord. It was a great price, so I took a chance and bought a couple colors. I'm really happy with how the bracelets turned out. The cord is small enough to fit through the filigree tube beads (twice!) and flexible enough so the bracelet lays against the wrist. It's very comfortable to wear and the bead hangs like a charm when worn.
My friend, Diane (of 2 Bead Sisters) gave me the gorgeous lampwork bead to use for this bracelet.

This bead is fabulous in person!

I made 6 of these, but put 5 of them in the Orchard Artworks gallery already (before I could take photos). I decided to keep this one ('cuz I *love* the bead!!), and have been wearing it practically everyday!

A dear friend is traveling to China & Taiwan soon, and needed gifts for all her friends (she is originally from Taiwan). She purchased many necklaces from me for this purpose. While she was looking over all my available necklaces, she kept commenting on the necklace I was wearing. It is from my personal collection, made from an old brooch, with purple glass stones. It is one of my favorites....

It was missing a stone at the top, so I covered the hole with a piece of filigree!

Her interest in it motivated and inspired me to make some of my other old pins and brooches into necklaces....

First up is a blue butterfly pin I've had mere inches away from my bead desk for over a year (actually, me hoarding something for a year would be a short amount of time!) Let the digging begin. I dug through my blue beads to find beads to match. The round dotted beads are cool, I don't remember where I got them. They are round and covered with gold dust with the dots being sliced away, to reveal the blue glass under the gold. Kinda cool. The rest of the beads are left over bits I had in a baggie of mixed, mostly Czech, beads.

 How lucky that the butterfly's antennae had holes in the ends, to attach jump rings!!

 

 Next up is this fabulous rhinestone Art Deco piece. I do not know what it was in it's earlier life - it does not have a pin back or any other finding attached to the back, and no evidence anything was ever attached. It certainly looks like it would have been a dress clip, in my opinion. I got it at a garage sale a while ago. I've been on a Jesse James bead kick lately (making Pandora-ish necklaces on ball chain) and the 2 white beaded beads are left-overs from that, as well as the square crystal beads, and the green faceted rondells. The opaque round green beads near the front are vintage (from a broken vintage necklace). The balance of beads are Czech glass, or vintage rhinestone beads and spacers (from Margola Imports). This necklace is a bit longer than I normally make, about 24" or so.

 

 Another angle....she doesn't have any bad angles!

 

 A close up of the rhinestone focal. It has 3 green cat's eye glass cabs.
I threaded wire through holes in the design to create the wire wrapped loops.

 

 And, what fabulous necklace would be complete with out matching earrings? The oval melon beads are a bit greener in real life than this photo shows,

 

 This next necklace is made entirely with left-overs from the Jesse James beads mentioned above. These beads have normal sized holes, and wouldn't work on the ball chain. I added the Vintaj filigree bead caps, jump rings and chain, and wire. The smaller beads towards the back are slightly lighter in color and the 2 bigger ones towards the from have a slight AB finish. But they all still match each other.

 

 This necklace looks like something a royal would wear (except they'd be real gems, not glass).

These necklaces are a bit blingy-er (more blingy?) than my usual style, yet they are still "me". I do like crystals with the Vintaj brass, like opposites attracting each other.

Sheryl's bracelet

A while ago, I received a phone message out of the blue from a woman named Sheryl. She was given my name and number at one of the galleries I sell my jewelry in. She really liked my style and wondered if I'd be willing to take her broken jewelry and create something new with the parts.
This is not something I had done before, but I agreed to meet her, and look at her broken jewelry. I knew that if she liked blingy, shiny things, I'd be in trouble (I do a little bling from time to time, but I really don't do shiny). I probably should not have been nervous. After all, she said she like my jewelry in the gallery.
We set up a meeting. She is really a lovely woman, and she loves jewelry, especially jewelry made with natural stones. While that's up my alley, it's hard to make stone jewelry on 20 gauge wire, since the holes are usually too small.
She also really likes the necklaces I make with Mahjong playing pieces. I am "famous" in her circle of friends..."this is the jewelry designer that makes the Mahjong necklaces..." she says. Her friends reply knowingly "Ahh".
I took on 4 or 5 projects and she was happy with them all. I made 2 Mahjong necklaces for her, with my mahjong piece and her beads and a few other necklaces using her beads.

So, over the last several months, I've made jewelry for her. And I did some minor repair work on a couple pieces. I really wish I'd taken photos of the jewelry I made, so I could post the photos here.
But I forgot. (with my head lowered in regret)

But I have finished a bracelet re-design for Sheryl, and, believe it or not, I took photos!!
Here is the before photo, sorry it's not great. I took this photo, to get her feedback on the surrounding beads. This bracelet was heavy and had two clasps. There is a carved Sterling clasp that is lovely, but it felt a bit too curved to fit a normal wrist. The focal, which is Sterling and Lapis, is also a clasp. I decided to only use the focal as the clasp (that leaves the other clasp for another project).
Here is the before photo...

 

 

Here it is "after". I looked through my stash of blue beads to see what matched the Lapis focal. It took me a couple months to firm up my idea. I knew it had to be at least 3 strands, so I made one strand chain, one strand beads, and the third strand chain and beads. There's lots of Czech glass, some lapis and sodalite beads, some cloisonné. While the clasp is Sterling, I did not use any other Sterling components, which was fine with her. (this would have been fabulously expensive if I had) And I added in some green beads with the blue beads.

 We met a few weeks ago, so she could see it and try it on. It was a tad too big (she has petite wrists!) I switched out some larger beads for some smaller beads and removed a couple links of chain.

We met up again this weekend. It fits her wrist like a charm! I hope she is happy with it and will wear it often.

Up Up and Away!

After our success with creating a collaborative work of art AND actually donating it to a local hospital,  Park Avenue Artisans Collective is starting a new project. Due to the exposure from our first project, we actually attracted some new artist members!! We have doubled our group (to 8!) and we may be gaining more! If you are an artist in the Montgomery-Bucks Co area and would like to know more (or join us!), feel free to contact me.

Our next collaborative piece is a long way from being finished (we have coated the board with gesso), but we are finished the planning phase. Our subject matter this time around will be hot air balloons. We will collaborate as a group on the background, and then each artist will make a balloon (or 2 or 3) to mount on the background. Each balloon will be unique, one of a kind, and hand made by each artist, in the medium they choose. At our last meeting, several members already had completed their balloons! Wow!  They are really motivated, and they motivated me! So, I got my rear in gear and made my balloon. I may make an alternate one later, but for now, this is my balloon...


My wire balloon and sketch

Before making the wire balloon, I sketched it and cut it out, to use as a template. It is 3 inches high, from the top of the balloon to the bottom of the basket.

It's made of copper wire. I created the frame from 14g wire and then wove and wrapped 28g wire in and around the frame. I wove the "basket"  in 20g gunmetal wire, to be a slightly different color. I attached it with little bits of dark brass chain. It's slightly dimensional - the center frame wire is bowed upward, to give it a slight 3-D look. As I said, I might make an alternate balloon between now and the end of summer, with some colorful beads or enamel, but I kind of like the lack of color in my "all wire" balloon.

Hopefully it will be "uplifting" without any colorful beads.

 

I am already thinking of hot air balloon inspired jewelry to make, for when we display the finished piece in public (hopefully fall 2015 at the library). Stay tuned!

 

Creative Spark Winter 2015 released!

Today is the day! The znetshows Creative Spark Winter 2015 e-magazine is released today. It is stuffed full of jewelry designs and other fun stuff!

For this issue, a handful of designers from the design team (including me) were to receive surprise packages of the cultured sea porcelain. I received an email when they shipped, so I sneaked a peek at mine (shhh! don't tell). They are all blue and white, to look like old china patterns. I showed you a photo of the cultured sea porcelain in a previous post.

When I saw these hoops, I knew instantly that I wanted to do a little byzantine chain mail and hang them from it, for earrings - so here they are! I think I will keep these!

 

 

This necklace was made with the pendant from the same set. I used 3 of my enameled beads and some filigree bead caps, arranged ombre-style, and some larger link chain across from the beads for visual balance.

 

 

 

Next, we have another pair of earrings. These are from another 3 piece set. I just used some dark brass chain with blue crystals (that were already out on my desk!) The blue crystals matched really well.

 

 

 

The matching necklace (the pendant from the same 3 piece set)....I started out thinking I'd make a rosary type chain with the blue crystals, but ended up making 3 bead links separated by large jump rings.

 

 

 My next little "set" had 2 pair of earring components. And I originally made 2 pair of earrings. But, it was just too many pairs of blue and white earrings! The components are beautiful, but similar, and all the earrings were getting repetitive. So, I took apart one pair, and made them into 2 necklaces!

This one I put in a wire "bird nest" frame, and used some red Czech flowers from my stash, along with brass beads caps and small fluted round brass beads. And, just to be a little different, I used Arte Metal Chain, instead of dark brass.

 

 

 The other half of the earring pair was made into this necklace! I used more Czech flowers, but in aquas and greens. I was reminded of Celadon, or Peking Glass or something... I hung the porcelain pendant in front of an Arte Metal leaf and used some more brass bead caps, more Czech flowers, more blue crystals. The 2 round green beads were just odd beads on my desk. I really have no recollection where they came from. They have a satin finish (slightly smoother than matte).

 

 

 These earrings match the necklace, but they do not contain any beads from znetshows. More Czech flowers.

 

 

The last thing I made with my znetshows sea porcelain was with the last earring pair - and I made earrings. (surprised?) I used a filigree brass bead cap at the top.

 

 

 

 BONUS: Everyone like a little extra of something, right? While I was making earrings, and digging through my stash, which includes some znetshows sea glass from last summer, I stumbled on to these 2 blue ovals. I tried to use them together with one of the components, but as earrings they were way too heavy. As I was taking them apart, I noticed these as they are, and I liked them, so I stopped taking them apart!

 

Please view the Creative Spark Winter 2015 e-magazine here!!

or below