Waiting with Bated Breath

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of my bead soup party beads from my partner, Tammy Jones, of Interweave's Jewelry Making Daily. Can't wait to get started creating!

I check the mail box several times a day!!

Flight of the Dragonfly

I switched things up a little; I actually started AND finished a jewelry design without letting myself get distracted by other projects.

This is "Flight of the Dragonfly."

Its working title was "Kitchen Sink", because I started off by laying out on my workbench all the various components I wanted to incorporate: beautiful etched lampwork beads, some green fire agate, the porcelain dragonfly component, brown freshwater pearls, Czech glass accents, some bronze metal disc beads, Swarovski crystals, and lots of Vintaj Natural Brass components, including chain, wire, leaves, dragonflies (or butterflies - I can't tell), bead caps, and rings. Everything but the kitchen sink, it seemed!

By the time I had gathered everything and carefully laid it out, I couldn't see my work surface anymore, and had to shove everything a lot closer together in order to have about 8 square inches to work!

There is so much going on in this necklace, and I just love how it turned out!

2 very different elements converged to inspire this piece.

One was this beautiful porcelain Dragonfly focal connector. I had bought it several weeks ago, and it was actually for sale in the shop (my B&M bead shop), but I guess it was burned into my subconscious.

I told you a couple of weeks ago about my foray into alcohol inks.

I have played around with a lot of colors, and designs, and different spins on the technique, and we actually dedicated an entire studio day to seeing how many different ways we could use alcohol inks, embossing powder, and paints on various metals.

Shortly after that studio day, I walked past the display where the dragonfly focal was, and picked it up, and started grabbing various leaf and dragonfly Vintaj pieces, and began playing with the techniques to color my metal components. I didn't want them all to look the same, so there are actually 4 different coloration techniques demonstrated here.



And it never occurred to me that it would take a mighty big necklace to work all these components together!

I just started walking around the shop with the porcelain dragonfly and my colored metal components, and began grabbing things here and there that went together, and soon I had an awful lot of stuff to put together!

It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed a matching jumprings, in several different sizes, in order to make this all work, so I wound coils of Vintaj Natural Brass wire, in 5 different sizes, and 2 different gauges, and then cut and tumbled them.

This picture shows what I called "phase I." It has the porcelain dragonfly focal, one of the lampwork beads, and a few of the colored Vintaj components. There is a Vintaj ring (to the left of the focal in this pic) that I embellished with a picot stitch. Everything is connected with chain, jumprings, and some artful wire-wrapping that serves both as a structural component and a design element.

The porcelain dragonfly focal bead had 3 holes, and I love the chain tassel I created (with the little dragonfly flitting by!)

It was at this point that I realized this was going to be more than a one strand necklace. I had only used a few of the specially-colored Vintaj elements that I specifically created for this piece. And only one of the lampwork beads! And none of the unusual green fire agate. And by gosh, I was going to use everything I had picked out!!

After all, my motto is More is More! I am the queen of embellishing!




And all this time realizing that my components and wire-wrapping couldn't extend up around my neck, or I wouldn't be able to wear my own design.

Here is "Phase II."

I have added another of the lampwork beads, and another of my green Vintaj leaves. And in order to balance the second strand, I worked in some more of my luscious bronze metal discs, and needed a 3rd focal element for the other side of the second strand, so I got up and searched for yet another element to add to this necklace! I found an abalone donut with the perfect colors, so I borrowed a page from Denise Peck's brand new book on Wire Findings, and used Vintaj Wire to wrap the abalone donut and incorporated it into the second strand.
I still had components I wanted to add, and I wanted to soften all the wire and metal elements, and in my mind I saw a 3rd strand, softly nestled between the 2 strands here, consisting of off-white freshwater pearls, small teal seed beads, and delicate Vintaj Natural Brass chain, all twisted together.

And I couldn't do any more embellishing to the top strand until I had that middle strand in place.

This might have been the point where I realized I had lost my mind, or should have stepped back for a reality check. Danger, Will Robinson!!

I strung the seed beads, one at a time.

I strung the off-white button pearls, one at a time.

I sat there, twisting them with the Vintaj chain, trying to figure out how to attach this torsade element without using another bulky component (e.g. a cone), but none of the beadcaps I had were large enough to cover the crimps. So I ultimately ran the pin holding the crimped seed beads, pearls, and the chain up through a cone, and attached it to one side of the necklace. And the 3 strands hung there on the bust (the seed bead strand and the pearl strand clamped of with Bead Stoppers) while I tried to figure out how to calculate the correct length, twisted, to get this strand into position. I didn't want to be stringing and restringing, crimping and recrimping, and repeatedly re-wrapping the headpin on the other side. I just wanted to do this once!

And then it sat there on my workbench for 2 full days while I played with it, held it up, tried it on, and procrastinated. I was so determined to attach this middle strand just once. (LOL)

I knew I just needed to go for it - make my best calculated guess at the length, and if it was wrong, it was wrong. I pulled the crimps through the wrapped loop on the other headpin, and hung the chain on the pin; ran the headpin through the cone; tried it on while holding the headpin/cone in position, and it looked great.
So I crimped everything, wrapped the loop, and tried it on, crossing my fingers. Because I really didn't want to do this part over.

Too bad I forgot to calculate for the length of my wrapped loop where the 2nd cone attached to the necklace. Because sure enough, the twisted 3rd strand was exactly 2mm too long. Just the length of my wrapped loop! The middle strand just didn't hang exactly in the middle between strands one and three. While it wasn't touching the 3rd strand, it was hanging just low enough to bug me. And if Momma ain't happy, she won't be wearing the necklace.

I pouted for about 15 minutes, and then cut the offending wrapped loop.

I tried to salvage my stringing efforts by carefully cutting the crimps, hoping to avoid having to restring the pearls and seed beads. HA! I spent an hour trying to avoid the restring, and ultimately couldn't get the crimps off. I actually shredded the beading wire trying to remove the crimps. So I started all over, and got it right the 2nd time. Yay!

I began embellishing again, hanging dangles here and there. I managed to include all my desired elements and while it looks a little crowded on the bust, remember that it hangs differently on any real person, as the bust's neck measures only about 12 inches. So when worn, the 3 strands and all the various elements spread out nicely and evenly.

Ta Da!

Bead Soup Blog Party

So excited to be a participant in the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Watch here for a picture of the beads I'm mailing to my partner, and the ones I receive, and ultimately, what I create!

Alcohol Inks, Embossing Powders? Scrapbooking? Nooooo....

Seems like I spend more and more time in the scrapbooking aisles at JoAnns, Hobby Lobby, and Michael's. Each of these stores carry different, intriguing items that I'm incorporating into my jewelry!

These are Vintaj Natural Brass components, that I have colored with a combination of alcohol inks and Perfect Pearls paint, and then the dragonflies were embossed with glittery embossing powder and a heat gun. These items are for my current project - kind of a "kitchen sink" necklace, as I am tossing in a little bit of everything I have media-wise, and having a blast! Will post the entire necklace once it is done! Alcohol inks and embossing powders courtesy of the scrapbooking aisles.

This is a strip of copper that was textured, and then colored with alcohol inks, and will soon be riveted or grommeted to a larger strip of copper to create a copper cuff. Alcohol inks, rivets, grommets? All from the scrapbooking aisles!

Another piece I colored with alcohol inks, and then embossed with a different technique, causing all the alcohol inks to run. I call this one "Spinach Omelet." Do you see it?

Then I bought a Big Shot. And lots of embossing folders - thank you, JoAnn's Online, and your 40% off coupon!! Had NO idea what to do with the Big Shot, but it was on sale!!

Then a friend show me how to texture the metal with the folders and the big shot, and another world opened up! This piece was run through the Big Shot, and colored with alcohol inks. And I riveted on a few gears I had cut out of the brass.



This rose was created by deeply etched with acid, painted with alcohol inks, and then embossed with clear powder and the heat gun

These earrings and the pair below were creating with dimensional stickers (from the scrapbooking aisle, of course) and embossing powders. Clear powder for the bees, and matte powder for the starfish. Not sure which I like better!

Showing off this pendant just to demonstrate the use of a grommet (again, from the scrapbooking aisle) as a connector for the bail.

So, you might want to check out the scrapbooking section (if you haven't already) to get some ideas!
And if you know of some scrapbooking ideas I am missing, please share! I'm hooked!

Shedding Dog Hair is Sweeping the Nation!

I apologize for being a terrible blogger- am currently putting in 50-60 hours a week at the shop (it takes a lot to keep it running; I don't just get to sit around all day making jewelry!), and there's the Etsy shop,  Facebook, Bailey and all his social activities, and Gumball, and just trying to have a little time for sleeping and eating. How does anyone keep up with everything? I could seriously use a cabana boy!

I haven't had much time at all to make jewelry over the past month, but have done a little bit of metalwork, primarily - this cuff is new since I last blogged:

as is this pendant, which includes a piece of my own fused glass:

I have a made a few pairs of earrings:

and

Both of these pairs of earrings sold so quickly that I have decide to deviate from my own OOAK rule, and recreate both of these pairs, and list them on Etsy. When I get some free time!

And speaking of deviating from my OOAK rule - I made an enamelled copper pendant sometime last year:

it was my own creative take on the South Carolina Palmetto Tree symbol. One of my customers fell in love with it, and her husband eventually came in and bought it for her as a birthday gift, but before he could give it to her (he kept it in the console of his car so she wouldn't find it) his car was broken into and the pendant was stolen. So he contacted me and asked if I could re-create it, and this time "add a little blue". So this was the result:

They both loved it, and so the husband asked if I could recreate the original. I was playing with techniques, and decided to solder the moon to the pendant instead of riveting it, and evidently the application of all that heat to the copper changed the way the copper took the enamel, because this was the result:

He loved it though, and has asked me to make another - but that one is way way on the back burner (he's in no hurry.

I brought home a kumihimo project that I desperately want to do JUST FOR ME. And I am slowly but surely completing a super-secret beadweaving project that just "came to me" one day about a month ago - I am determined to finish it (it's gorgeous), and I have a new rule (that I break almost everyday) that I absolutely canNOT start a new project until I finish another project, but this beadweaving thing is so tedious, that I need a break. So I am going to Kumihimo this weekend. At least, that is the plan. And we all know what happens when we make plans!

Oh - speaking of Facebook, Bailey and I (OK,. mostly I) were feeling a little goofy this morning. You see, Facebook makes these weird suggestions of pages it thinks you will like, I'm sure based on some complicated algorithms, but yesterday it suggested to me (on 2 separate occasions) that I join:

 and then:

Really?  Rock, Paper, and Scissors? In first place: WHY??
And in the second place - why are there groups of thousands of people who have joined each of these pages. Do they log onto Facebook and go, "Gosh, I sure do like scissors. I think I will go join a Scissors fan page so I can get ALL the latest scissors news?"

So, since the Rochambeau of Facebook suggestions was egging me on, Bailey and I have created a fan page for ..... drum roll please ...... Shedding Dog Hair. Go ahead - check it out. Click the Like button - Join us! We want to be the most popular idiots on Facebook!! Our motto, in case this will sway you, is Share the Link, Share the Love, Share the Hair.

Just for me!

Last week I bought a ($5.00!!) green and blue T-shirt at WalMart; green and blue are my favorite colors, and this is just the cutest shirt. So cute, in fact, that my friend Sonya, who also works with me, bought the same one (separately, and she also bought the same gorgeous grey and purple one I bought! Great minds think alike!) so now we have to call each other the nights before we work together to make sure we won't be twinsies!

So naturally, I needed some bling to wear with my new shirt, so I made this necklace, bracelet, and earring set to go with my new shirt:

Russian spiral necklace, with green 11s and blue 8s.



Rear closure, which IMO must be as pretty as the rest of the necklace!



 Matching green and blue fringe bracelet; nice and full., I used 6s, 8s, 11s, 4mm cubes, 4mm Swarovski bicones (in peridot AB), and 4mm Czech firepolish rounds. I have taught this fringe bracelet a couple of times, but have never actually made one myself, so this is my very first fringe bracelet, and I love it. Must make more!

Matching Earrings

Some lovely blue and green lampwork beads had gone unsold in the shop for quite a long time, and they matched the necklace and bracelet perfectly, so I paired them with some Bermuda blue Swarovski Cosmic rings to make these dangle earrings.

And besides the fact that I have this great set of matching jewels to go with my new shirt, I got an idea for a totally new design, that I hope to work on next weekend.

I'd show you a picture of the shirt, but it is wadded up in the hamper, plus the camera is over at the shop in Augusta. I'll try to remember to get a pic of the whole ensemble together.

'Til next time. TTFN!

Follow-up

As a follow-up to Tuesday's post: Am I the only one who sees this resemblance?

Don, Jr. seems like a nice-enough guy, but he may quite possibly be the Eddie Munster of this generation.