ART BEAD SCENE JANUARY CHALLENGE

Well, I decided to enter my Earth Metals necklace in the Art Bead Scene's challenge for January. The inspiration was "Trellis" by William Morris and I just tho't the colors in my Earth Metals were perfect for it!


I entered it over on Flicker, per the instructions, but let me make this easy on all of you.  Here are several shots of the necklace. 

The focal was originally intended to be a clasp and I bought it from Melinda Orr over at Orr Tech Designs. I had every intention of making the focal both the focal AND the closing clasp but... well... beads have a mind of their own and, once the chain got involved in the rebellion, this is how things turned out.
The copper clasp used to close the necklace is from Melinda, as well.  I love how the design echoes Mr. Morris's artwork, yes?  I decided to use black leather cording and antiqued wire to connect it to the brushed antiqued chain the beads are attached to. The medium yellow fret-work beads are from Pam at Ferrari Original Beads over on Etsy (yum!) 
The copper beads are from Hobby Lobby and the smaller ochre beads are from Lima Beads.  And I just felt like the teal seed beads completed the whole look. 
Anyway, this is my first (completed) challenge at Art Bead Scene.  I'm excited.  (and I love this necklace, it's hard to leave it up on Etsy!)




Anyway, go on over to ABS and check out what everyone else has done for this challenge! It's just amazing how creative minds all work.

Someone once said "Great minds think alike."  I beg to differ, great minds think differently or they wouldn't be great!  (and we wouldn't have the Theory of Relativity ~thank you Mr. Einstein~ or "Tom Sawyer" ~love ol' Twain~... you get the idea! Everyone enjoy the differences!)

A Treasury Of Headpins

by Sue Beads on Etsy

I created another treasury over on Etsy. Allow me to share it with you.  It's all headpins, either lampwork glass or enamel, and all the artists are quite good!  I'm still learning how to network but this seems like a good way (plus, I drool over everything and get some great ideas for creating more jewelry!)

"Glass & Enamel Headpins Treasury List by Crazy Creative Corner"



by jennifertough on Etsy 





by veeanca on Etsy

 Aren't they all just luscious?  Go check out the rest by clicking on the link in the title just below Sue's pins' shot.

Com-Mission Complete

Yes, I have managed to finish the other two commissioned lanyards. You saw the purple, hot pink & black one in the previous post, here; these two were requested as black & silver and black & gray, respectively. 

 BLACK AND GRAY LANYARD


the tag has a couple of dragonflies on it and
reads "Handcrafted For You By:
The Crazy Creative Corner"



the "tan" in the bead is a lot more gray looking
in normal light (stoopid iPhones)

again, the color is more black and a creamy white than
the lighting in the pic shows.

BLACK AND SILVER LANYARD

the focal stone is a pyrite.. again, the colors
aren't quite how they look in life. It's much
more gray/silver in look.



MUCH more gray and silver in real life!!!

   I'm taking this Friday off work and plan to do a lot of bracelet and lanyard making (I've got a LOT of earrings right now... SO easy to make!)  I also plan to use the three day weekend (have Friday off, remember? Keep up, here... or do you need more coffee?) to take and post pics on here and on Etsy. AND on Facebook... Keep an eye peeled!

Lanyards and Upcoming Photos

I'm really getting into designing lanyards recently.  My pal, Witchi-poo, is selling them at her office and I'm making a "plan of attack" to go after business at our local Kaiser offices, too.  I mean, what woman wouldn't prefer to wear a lanyard that looks more like jewelry than most on the market?  If you wear the ones normally sold, they're just industrial nylon and they tangle with your necklace if you try to wear one.  Let's start wearing lanyards that ARE necklaces!  And, buying more than one means you have style choices for the whole week! Not a bad idea, eh!? 

Anyway, at Witchi-poo's office, they've been going so fast, they're more commission than pre-made right now. I've got two on order (I need to buy some beads in the right color) and I just finished one last night (that's the only pic I have right now... sorry it's not better quality, but iPhones only do so much, y'know?).  I'm hoping to get ahead of the curve so I can make a larger number for selling, both in person and on Etsy.



Black, hot pink and purple by request.  I used a
hammered and inked disc I bought from Melinda Orr
to cover the tag holder so it would look more
like a necklace. Thanks, Melinda!

 Man, the ideas are a-poppin' right now!

Have a great one!


Aqua and yellow on silver chain.
It's hanging out at Witchi-poo's office,
waiting for it's Forever Home.
If you want it, it's just $20...
email me and we'll work it out!



Everyone Needs A Lift Sometimes...

...and the best lift I know of is laughter.  And the best laugh-inducers I know of are animals.  Whether they're our pets, others pets, or what-cha-ma-callums from Nature, animals can cause us to smile, giggle or just fall over laughing (occasionally peeing ourselves just a little from laughing too hard).  Animals know when we're down but don't get the why's and wherefores of it so they do what they can.  Beg for a scratch or a treat, behave in a silly manner, invite us to play or simply lay their head on our lap.  But they can always bring a smile. 

There's a web site called I Can Has Cheeseburger that allows people to post pics of pets and/or other animals caught in... uhmm... unique poses.  It also allows us to caption them.  Sometimes, those captions are just dead-bang on and you can't help but giggle (or "snork").  Anyway, here are a few pics from the LOLDogs side of the house (go check the site for what else they have altho', be warned, it's not all pets and some of it you may want to avoid... like, maybe, the one's labeled NSFW ~means Not Safe For Work~ as well as the tattoo section... if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, fine, but you've been warned!)
(p.s., I only put in doggies, but they have cats and whats-its, too)



who could say 'no' to that face? huh?
uhm, well, me! (snerk)




And now you know, clearly, what the word "snark" looks like!

 

No. And neither does the drooling. Do you mind?



And I no longer have an opinion.  I've been
out-opinioned by this cutie!



guess even dogs can get tickled, eh?



I just set off the "awwwww" in everyone, huh?



Laugh! Or we'll bite your butt!

     p.p.s., I'll be back later this week with some more pics only, this time, of my jewelry instead. Hope you enjoyed the smile!

Another Self-Challenge and Updating a Jewelry Line

Carson in his Halloween Costume... yes, that's
a wheel chair; yes, he's only 2; yes, he really does
know how to move that thing around on his own!

I have a line of jewelry on my Etsy store that's dedicated to Spina Bifida. There's an adorable little boy in my church, Carson, that was born with this malady that inspired this line and, when my line starts selling, I'm going to be donating a portion of the proceeds to an SB charity or for SB research. 



Anyway, in the not-too-distant past I had created a set of necklaces for for Carson's mommy and some friends of hers who each have a child with SB.  We called the necklaces "Perfect Imperfections" because the stones were all one color except for this one line of yellow running thru them... a "flaw," if you will.  And that's what I'm changing the name of my SB line to, "Perfect Imperfections."  The challenge for myself is this, several of the pieces I make are going to have a "flaw" in them somewhere.  Some obvious (like a bead or link that doesn't "belong" with the color or scheme) and some "hidden" (you'll have to look to find it; after all, not all physical maladies are obvious either).  I wrote a poem for Carson and his mom, as well, also called "Perfect Imperfections."  It reminds us that God can use what we see as imperfect or useless, either in our lives or someone elses.  It's not up to us, it's up to Him.

PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS

Man says "They're broken, throw them away."
God says "I can use them, give them to me."

Man says "What can they do? They're useless."
God says "What can't they do? I will use them!"

Man says "Don't bother, they're imperfect!"
God says "for my strength is made perfect in [their imperfections]."

         "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my [imperfections], that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  II Corinthians 12:9

Mellisa's "What Would You Do?" Wednesday Challenge

Mellisa over at Chinook Jewelry has a "What Would You Do" challenge every Wednesday and I almost didn't get to join in. (it's been cuh-ray-zee!)  BUT!! I found some lovely items over on Etsy that I think will complement her bracelet focal just wonderfully.

These are from GemsJewelryBeads; Azurite gemstones that
I think will complement the blue in Michelle's focal.

These Natural Topaz beads would be a good dose of
color for not only a bit of "pop" but to bring out the tan
in her focal. These are from mywing588 on Etsy (and are
a part of one of my treasury lists!)

Top it off with this complementary clasp from Melinda Orr
at ORRTECH on Etsy and you've got it!  I like how the work
in Melinda's clasp echos Mellisa's focal juuuust a bit.

What did YOU dream up? Eh? Eh?

Etsy Treasuries, Pinterest and My Birthday

Well, I'm getting a little more "internet social savvy" than I was before... which is hard to do when you consider I'm at work for most of the day.  Still, it's happening.  My product is slowly getting out there and I'm networking.  Hopefully, my store will begin to make the rounds, too. 

The Etsy Treasuries were first.  I did one for all purples, then all reds, and then gray (yes, gray is a great color) and today, I did one that's for garnet.  That's because January is my birth month and I absolutely LOVE garnets.  I love them red, orange, green... whatever color they come in (and they come in a lot!).  So here's a link to the Garnet/January Etsy Treasury.  There are some seriously talented people out there!

Now, I have to admit, while I liked everthing I put in my Treasury, there were a few things I liked a bit more than the others.  They just caught my attention and kept drawing me back.  So, for your enjoyment (if you're too lazy to follow the link to Etsy!) here are a few of the treasures I found:



by Izovella ~ isn't it a beaut?




I love tea and this teacup by Sheilasart is terriffic



by FebraRose. Love her use of various beads.



meredithdillman  draws these herself
before turning them into fun pendents

 So, that's it for today.  I also pinned a few of my items over at Pinterest if you'd care to go see what's up there.  I'm sure some of these artists wouldn't mind the extra exposure, either.

Wow!

I have to say, I really enjoyed seeing what everyone did for their designs in Michelle's snowflake challenge. It's a bit funny (to me... but my humor is weird!) to look at what someone else has done, then smack yourself in the forehead and say "Why didn't I think of that!" 

Really, tho', everyone had such beautiful designs.  It's quite the idea jogger to look at them and try to figure out how they did what they did.  Great job, ladies.  And thank you to all who left such nice comments for mine. Seeing what you all did, then receiving your compliments is humbling.

I'm getting ready sometime next week to work on the card design-add that Michelle sent out, but I'm looking forward to seeing what her next challenge is.  Don't know if I'll be able to participate or not but, either way, it'll be fun!

Bead On!

Michelle's Snowflake Challenge

Normally, I'd do this tomorrow, but I'll be in church when the challenge starts, so I need to post this tonight (if there's a way to set it up to post later, I haven't figured it out, yet).

Michelle Mach set up a snowflake challenge near the end of last year with the reveal being tomorrow (January 15th).  I almost didn't get in on the challenge, to take some ceramic bead/pendents she had made by Michelle at Chinook Jewelry but I slid in juuuuust under the wire (as in, she was down to three kits when I found her blog! ~whew~)

Anyway, when I received my kit I was so excited I didn't even take time to photograph the beads as they came.  I simply sat down and immediately made my necklace and earring set.  It just came together.  I had some ribbon in my stash, along with some white glass tubes and some tiny red beads and it actually came together in about 30 minutes (usually takes me much longer what with all the fiddling around and redesigning).  So, here are my pics of the set I made.


Necklace strung on winter blue and brown
ribbon with white glass beads as accents on
the ribbon. Around the pendent are little red
beads to represent cranberries and crystals to
represent the iciness of Winter.



Close up of pendent with dangles



Close up of earrings. LOVE the
frosted drops! The blue flowers
just seemed to echo the snowflake
perfectly and the silver accents were
also reflective of Winter's iciness.



An extra set of earrings with some
beads from my stash and Michelle's kit.
I call it Winter to Spring since it's going
from icy to red hot.

   So, there are my designs from her challenge.  It was loads of fun and a lot of us got in on it.  Go see what everyone else has done and feel free to leave a comment for them!

Alice (Alice Dreaming)

Chris (beadjewelry.net)

Christa (Adventures of One Beady Woman)

Crystal (Here Bead Dragons)

Cynthia (Cynth's Blog)

Dawn (Morning Glory Beading)

Donetta (Simply Gorgeous)

Erin A.

Jennifer (JenniferJW)

Jennifer (Jewelry, Art and Life)

Kari W.

Kate (We Can Make That at Home)

Kay (Palm Coast Art)

Linda (Lindy's Designs)

Lisa C. (A Bead a Day)

Lisa (Inspired Adornments)

Mary (MLH Designs)

Michelle (Beads & Books)

Michelle B.

Millie (AMM Jewelry)

Norma (Moonlit Fantasies)

Pam (The Crazier Sister) **"We're all mad, here"

Rebecca J.

Renetha (Lamplight Crafts)

Rosemarie (Gem Rose Designs)

Shannon (Falling into the Sky)

Susan (Bead Inspired)

Therese (Therese's Treasures)

Therese (Domestic Goddess Enterprises)

Necklace for Glasses

Again I say, this is why I don't (normally) work my beads on a week night. I was creating some earrings and a commissioned lanyard Monday night (which sold, btw, in spite of the lousy pic she was shown... stoopid lighting!) and was up until midnight with my playing around.  So, I determined I would set myself a time limit for Tuesday night.
Right.
SO didn't work!
Started by making a bunch more earrings. (I'm getting very good at those! ~haha!~) and then thought, why not make a chain for holding my readers when I have to take them off so I don't lay them down and then waste five minutes (or more) looking for them!  Inspiration!
Because I didn't want them to be heavy and drag my glasses off my face, I turned to my wooden beads.  Now, I don't have a lot of those BUT!  I found some really cute ones at Michael's one day and bought them out.  They had a dragonfly etched into them!  (yes, I am the dragonfly queen around here!)  Then, I looked next to them and saw daisies!!  Saner Sister LOVES daisies so I had to buy a bunch of those!  But... they've been sitting forlornly in my stash for weeks and weeks, now, without me having any inspiration for their use.
Until Tuesday!
They would be PERFECT for my glasses chain!  Cute as a bug (get it? get it!?) and light as a daisy! (aw, c'mon, help me out here, folks!)  Anyway, just as this inspiration struck, I looked at the clock and realised it was 9:00pm! 
Okay (I tho't to myself), I can do this.  Get the design laid out and, maybe, wire up a few beads before shutting down for the night.
Did that work?
Oooohhh, noooo! 
You parents know that whine you get from your kids on a school morning when you're trying to roust them out of bed?  "Just a few more minutes, Mom!"  Yeah, that one.  It was sort of like that. 
Glance at the clock - 9:30... okay, I've done the design, I can do a few beads and then I'll quit.
Glance at the clock - 9:45... well, just a few more. I'll quit at 10:00 for sure!
Glance at the clock - 10:30... glance at the beads. Well, I'm 1/2 way done, might as well wire up all the beads!
I'll say this, I did manage to get the beads done and everything put away by 11:00, but still.... Oh, well.  Here's the chain as is right now.  I'm going to make a few changes; for one, I'm going to alternate daisy beads every other one and, for two, I'm going to make a pendent so that I can take the part that holds the chain to the glasses off and wear it as a necklace if I choose!  But, here's a few pics of what it is for the moment:

So... what would you make a glasses chain/necklace from?  Tell me your design?  Oh, and, don't forget to go here and read (and comment) about my Personal Challenge.  You really, really want to do that.  So far, there are two ladies who've earned their part and only three more will get to.  Will you be one of them? (but, follow the rules!

WEDNESDAY CHALLENGES

Mellisaover at Chinook Jewelry is doing a Wednesday challenge each week.  She's putting up a pic of one of the focal beads she's made and asked us to show her the beads, chain, cord, etc., that we'd use with it.  It's hard for me, not because I can't find anything, but because I want to go in SO many directions at once.  Having to narrow it down so the bead pics don't look like a TOTAL mess is hard.  But, okay.  Here are my choices.  It was harder to decide what to use for the focal to hang from, I had three items I was looking at (all will be pictured) but I think I'd end up going with the chain. 
This is Mellisa's pendent:

Cute, huh?

My choice of beads are:


These aren't as yellow as the beads on the right imply, they
are a lighter color that go well with the creamy yellow in
the pendant and would bring that color out, I think.

 

I decided these glass teal beads would be a good accent so
the creamy yellow wouldn't be overwhelming.



These are creamier in color than the monitor
shows (it's also possible the background
washed out some of it and made them whiter
than they are)  I like them for added interest
and to off-set the yellow glass beads juuuust a bit.

  

I liked the richness of this color ribbon for the
pendent to depend from, but....



....I also like this velvet cord (it's much
richer than the monitor shows)
 Again, buuuut......

 

...I finally settled on this as what I would
use to hang the pendant. Love the brushed
look and the way the chain echoes the shape
of the pendent. 

So, these are the beads and findings I envision to go with Mellisa's pendent bead. I went for simplicity because I want the beauty of the pendent to shine through.  I also think I'd make it a long necklace... maybe 12" to 14" in total.
So, what's your vision?

Weekend Slump - (sort of)

Well, I didn't do very much this weekend.  I was lazy.  I did do a few more earrings.  I read (in a blog or in one of my numerous jewelry magazines I buy ~ I should have stock in their companies by now!) about using items you can find in your local tool store, such as copper piping, and went to Lowe's a few weeks ago.  I've been playing with the copper pipes I bought ever since.  Got a new Dremel for Christmas (yes, copper gets hot when being drilled; no, you should not hold it with your bare fingers!) and stole a pipe cutter from my dad. (I guess I should say "borrowed", but he knows he's never getting it back ~ heeee! ~)  One of the pair of earrings I made are these and I liked 'em SO much that I decided to keep them. Selfish!  Oh, well, I'll make more pairs with the tubes and beads this week (and break the table top studio back out... yes, it's repaired but, as mentioned earlier, I was SO lazy this weekend!)  Oh, ALso!  I made this necklace last week.  I took an idea from Linda over at Objects & Elements and went a slightly different way with it. (see? this is what I love about stalki...er... following all you creative ladies! you can get great ideas from the crafts of others)

AND! I got to make the inner Pyro happy!  I used flame to darken the copper in the necklace.  I'm going to have to break down and buy a small hand-held torch.  Those candle lighter lighters don't do a great job (tho', if you're patient, and heat from underneath or aim the flame inside the tube, it works better... prettier colors... just sayin')

1"  long copper tubes that have been pounded
by the peen on my craft hammer. Winter blue
beads and a lighter blue crystal bead as accents.



Closer look ~ can you see the hammer marks?
What they say is true, even if it's not pounding,
it's still theraputic to beat on something! :)



MY version of the necklace Linda created.
I'm also not as good with the metal as her...
yet!  Some day... Still liking this, tho'!



A closer look at the flowers I made. Yellow
crystals added to blue plastic flower forms
and all hooked to a jump ring and hooked
onto the end of the wire.