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?