Still Working on the Layers

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Andrew Thornton, Artists for Animals Auction

I made another necklace to use in layering. Although it only layers with one other necklace, not the two I had hoped. I might not be someone who really enjoys wearing layers even though I love the look. Also, I’ve realized that a lot of the layered looks I see are necklaces on chain and not beaded, so they lay easily with each other, whereas mine are all beaded and add bulk on top of each other.

metal heart charm by Andrew Thornton

I used tiny rubies (my favorite gemstone) from A Grain of Sand with a crystal heart. It is choker length, so it will layer with just about any other necklace. It also looks great alone. Both the rubies and the heart are very sparkly.

I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell in creating jewelry. That doesn’t happen to me very often. I’ve been working on some mixed media paper items and painting boxes for the next Artists for Animals Auction. I’d better start making jewelry for the auction, though, as well!

Vintage Love

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton: Project Destash, Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash

There is just something about vintage beads that isn’t like modern beads. That’s not to say I like vintage beads more than contemporary beads, but vintage things do give me a thrill. 

This necklace consists of a vintage white ball pendant. It’s heavy, though I’m not sure of the material. Possibly enameled metal? I got it in a mixed box of vintage materials from Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash. That is where the owner of A Grain of Sand is selling off her vintage stock to focus on gemstones on her website.

I also got the large fluted pink beads and elongated fluted AB beads from the Hoard Destash. They are plastic of one sort or another. I don’t think modern day plastic is generally as nice, and I like using plastic because it is light weight and easier to use larger beads. I went with a pop of color and a little more heft with a few vintage floral Chinese porcelain beads that I got from Andrew Thornton: Project Destash. That is where the owners of Allegory Gallery sell special items, personal stock, first looks, etc. I love destash and VIP groups because I can get things there that I usually can’t get elsewhere.

I used some vintage chalk white beads (I love vintage white) and some pink plastic barrels from a repurposed necklace I got in a destash. The colors of this necklace make my heart flutter. My ideal (albiet not practical) item of clothing is a white linen dress. I don’t actually own this item, but I tend to imagine my jewelry with it. Any necklace I make that would look great with white linen thrills me. This one definitely fits the bill.

Quick and Easy – Holiday Edition

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Andrew Thornton, Cathy Collison, Diane Hawkey, Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash, Gina Chalfant, Kelly Luttrell, Mary Redman, My Elements, Soul Relica, Suzanne Branca, Wendy Wallin Malinow, Yvonne Irvin-Faus

Nothing that I will show in this post took much effort on my part, but it doesn’t mean I’m not pleased with it or that I don’t love it. I do like some things that take more effort so that I can express my creativity, but some easy things are fun. And when I am using really beautiful materials, sometimes it doesn’t take much else.

First, I’ve been having so much fun going through some mixed boxes of vintage things I’ve gotten from Suzanne Branca of A Grain of Sand. As she sells off her vintage stock, she has included some monthly subscription boxes she had back in the day. It is so wonderful to go through them and see all the treasures. She is posting things on her Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash page as she finds them, and I’m hoping that she will come up with a few more boxes since they have been such fun. One of the things I’ve gotten is color-coated metal (aluminum?) corrugated beads. They are so cheerful. 

These don’t have to be holiday depending on how one uses them, but they certainly read that way to me this month. I was in the studio cleaning and organizing, and I decided to go ahead and just quick make a necklace and an ornament. 

I have an ornament tree in my studio all year long to display lovely things that make me smile. You can see the simple red ornament I made with one of the beads between a Diane Hawkey creature and a Wendy Wallin Malinow sundae deer. You can also see a couple of ornaments by Andrew Thornton, Mary Redman, Gina Chalfant, and part of one by Cathy Collison.

Then I made a very simple necklace. I wanted just one of the big beads hanging from chain to wear around when I am feeling festive. I had the perfect chain, available from Yvonne Irvin-Faus‘ shop My Elements. 

Fun, right? Then as I was unpacking more of the vintage Suzanne Branca goodies, I came upon some beautiful chain. I have recently bought a couple of gorgeous pendants by Kelly Luttrell of Soul Relica. Here is one.

I decided they do not need anything except a way to hang around my neck. I was planning to go through my chain stash when this chain presented itself to me, so I cut it to size and slid one of the pendants on it. 

It’s really beautiful chain, so perfect for this piece. I’m thrilled to have found it.

With not much work on my part, I was able to feel creative and have two new necklaces and an ornament! It was part of a really good day.

 

Cats, Vintage Metal and Tiny Gemstones

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton: Project Destash, Artists for Animals Auction, Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash, Madison Cat Project, Sondra's Estate Beads Destash Depot, Suzanne Branca

I think the title of this post sounds a little like the title of the first in a cozy mystery series. I’ve been having so much fun getting boxes of vintage supplies from Suzanne Branca. She has a huge inventory she is selling through her Facebook page Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash so that her online store, A Grain of Sand, can focus on gemstones. Back in the day, A Grain of Sand had the Curiosities Club where members would get a monthly box filled with vintage goods. I am loving getting access to some of these boxes. It is so fun to sift though them to see what treasures are there. One thing that is not in short supply is vintage metal, something I absolutely love. I’m taking advantage of some of it to make items for the upcoming Artists for Animals Auction, starting on November 11th.

First, I got some of these long brass pieces. They are such a lovely shape and have beautiful movement. 

I added a square of vesuvianite to the top of each one. I think they are beautiful in their simplicity with the wonderful patina on the metal.

Next, I got some cute glass cat beads from Andrew Thornton: Project Destash. I can always count on Andrew and Allegory Gallery, where he is Creative Director, to supply me with great beads. My sales from the auction will support Madison Cat Project, so what better than cat beads?

Here, I’ve used this colorful tabby and a Czech glass fish from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash Depot with some jasper and matte seed beads to create a fun necklace. I knotted it on orange linen to bring out the one nice orange stripe on the cat’s cheek. Such a cutie!

Last but not least, I got some cool earring hoop forms in one of the boxes of vintage items. I still have a pair of these with a hologram disc in the middle that I got at a vintage shop in Chicago when I was in college. I wore them all the time with a secondhand white blouse with big orange polka dots. Yep, that’s how I rolled in the ’80s. Actually, that is something I would still wear now if I had it! Anyway, on to the earrings!

I briefly toyed with hanging something in the middle like my earrings, but I decided to update them to my current favorite look – rustic glam. I used tiny, uneven labradorite beads and wire wrapped them roughly to the forms. I love the look. Since the metal form and wire are pretty plain, I made my own simple sterling silver ear wires to bump up the glam quotient.

I’m having fun creating a variety of pieces for the auction. I still have more ideas, so I hope to have a good number of pieces done. Please visit me and the other artists to check out the auction. Don’t worry; I’ll remind you. 😉

Allegory Gallery July 2019 Design Prompts

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Artists for Animals Auction, Classic Elements, Cynthia Thornton, Fluttering Wings Summer Camp, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Jesse James Beads, Patti Vanderbloemen, Vintaj

Allegory Gallery started my 2019 off right by having daily prompts in the month of January. I felt so creative and made some wonderful pieces. I was happy to see that they started weekly prompts in July. Here is what I made.

Week One – Make Earrings

These tensha beads from Jesse James Beads wanted to be earrings, so I wrapped them onto the ends of sections of vintage chain from A Grain of Sand – and done! These are shoulder dusters for sure. They will be available later in an Artists for Animals auction.

Week Two – Make Something Using Czech Glass

I had this wonderful kitty pendant from Classic Elements that I mixed with some beautiful Czech glass gifted to me by Patti Vanderbloemen and horn beads from Allegory Gallery. The coloration makes me happy.

Week Three – Use Gemstones

I had filled this Cynthia Thornton bezel with resin and glitter opals. I used it with peridot and green kyanite nuggets from Allegory Gallery. This feels very luxe to me.

Week Four – Make a Boho Design

This necklace was prompted by the Allegory Gallery Challenge and inspired by a wonderful necklace by Vintaj. I still want to get their component and make another one!

Week Five – Make Something Inspired by Nature

I just took the Fluttering Wings Summer Camp online workshop from Heather Powers of Humblebeads. It was the best experience! I found that things that had seemed way beyond my skill level weren’t! The online format was perfect for me. I often don’t have the energy or attention span to learn about something and then do it in the same day. I was able to read the instructions and watch videos one day and actually do the making the next day. The polymer bead in this necklace is something I made in class (from a butterfly wing cane). I framed it with a couple of vintage crystals and knotted it with beads from a vintage necklace and Czech glass flowers.

William and Andrew of Allegory Gallery intend to continue these challenges. I am in! If you would like to check out what people make, you can visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenges Facebook page.

Chunky, Not Heavy

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Famous Vintage Bead Hoard

I struggle to use the chunkier beads I love because when they are all together in a necklace, they can be quite heavy. I make a necklace like that, think it is beautiful, but then never wear it because it’s not very comfortable. Enter: faux nut beads. They could even be faux bone. They are large, but weigh almost nothing because they are some sort of plastic. Whoever made them did a great job of making them look and even feel authentic, and kind of rustic, old and natural. I love them because they go so well with my heavier beads, like African glass. 

Here I’ve mixed them with various African glass beads. Some of them are new, so not only do the faux beads make the piece comfortable to wear, but it gives it the old, worn look I love despite the newer beads.

I got the faux beads from Famous Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash. Suzanne Branca, the owner of A Grain of Sand, is selling off her vintage stock at amazing prices. The things she has are just so fun to see, especially if you are a long time beader and like seeing unusual items. It’s even more fun when I can buy some! They go fast when she has one of a kind lots. Her Grain of Sand website is worth visiting too. She has beautiful, high quality gemstones and clasps.

Weekend Experiments

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Art Elements, Cynthia Thornton, Ice Resin Opals, Lorelei Eurto, Nunn Design, Vintaj, Yvonne Irvin-Faus

I was visiting with family this weekend, and we did some experimenting. My mom used Vintaj patina to color ball chain to go with some Yvonne Irvin-Faus Ethereals pendants I shared with her. The picture doesn’t really show it, but she nailed the colors and the finished necklaces look great. 

I was inspired a while ago by Lorelei Eurto when she painted some keys to great effect. I also thought about how my dad uses bark to make pins, and the repurposing ideas from Art Elements. So I decided to paint some wood. I asked my parents to look for some good specimens on their walks, and they found some great ones a couple months ago after the snow melted.

At first I had thought about painting stripes of different colors, then possibly a stencil, but I ended up painting a first layer of a beautiful steel grey and then dabbing on some white with paper towel. I got a driftwood or stone look. 

I auditioned several chains, and decided on some Very Vintage white chain from A Grain of Sand. I think it turned out great! I even braved a power tool to drill the hole, pretty good for a chicken!

My mom, sister and brother-in-law joined in for some resin fun. Some things are still busy drying. My mom and I tried the double pour where we poured some, let it dry, then poured more so we could make things look like they were floating. I can show that experiment later. I have two things to show today. 

This was just an extra bezel. I asked my BIL to draw in his style on a scrapbook piece of paper. I stuck it in the bezel and the resin is so glass perfect you can’t even see it! I’m going to use this in a bracelet. I’ve asked him to draw on another piece for a future project. 

I’m hoarding some of these beautiful handmade brass bezels by Cynthia Thornton. I wanted to use some Ice Resin Opals in the fire opal color to make it look like a geode that got cracked open. I wanted the green color in the mix to show the most, and I had seen a video that suggested painting the back of the bezel to do that. I painted the inside of the bezel an emerald green. I don’t know if it helped or not, but I think I got a really nice look. It looks fantastic in the light.

It was so fun to try some things. My brother-in-law is keen to try resin again, and my mom and I are going to try texturing it using this Nunn Design tutorial. I hope you are having a wonderful time where you are.

Chain Love

Tags

A Grain of Sand, B'sue Boutiques, Joan Miller, Miss Fickle Media, My Elements, One Piece at a Time, Sondra's Estate Beads Destash Depot, Who Knows What, You Are Not the Boss of Me

I am currently smitten with chain. I just love a long necklace with one or a few great beads. It’s elegant and boho at the same time, and I like being able to use the pendant as a sort of fidget device during meetings at work.

For years I’ve been collecting interesting chain. I have a few places I love to get colored, vintage or other types of chain. Let me share those with you.

My Elements for colored chain in a variety of materials and Miss Fickle Media and Supply Your Soul for hand patina chain. For vintage chain: B‘Sue Boutiques Supplies, One Piece at a Time, You Are Not the Boss of Me, and Who Knows What. Right now, A Grain of Sand is having a half price sale to move out the vintage products (coupon code VINLOVE) including some great chain. Recently, I’ve gotten both vintage and colored chain from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash.

The first necklace I made uses chain from A Grain of Sand called very vintage white. It is a shabby chic look I love. I used it with a Joan Miller kitty pendant on a hand patina hammered brass hoop from Miss Fickle Media (great stuff besides chain too!) I wanted to keep the blue patina at the bottom so that and the blue kitty eyes could play off each other, so I wire wrapped four labradorite beads on each side to be stoppers for the chain. That also helped bring in another design element and sparkle, and take up some of the negative space.

When ordering from Sondra Jackson, she always sends a little freebie goody bag. Oh my, this last time when I bought some black acrylic beaded rosary style chain, the freebie bag contained this fabulous faceted glass crystal.

Judging from the wire loop and the heaviness, it was probably a chandelier crystal. I used it with the rosary chain for a simple and really elegant necklace. The light weight of the acrylic chain balances out the heavy crystal to make a comfortable necklace.

It’s easy to make pretty necklaces when you have nice, interesting chain. I’m also looking forward to using patina on some of my more mundane chain to fancy it up.

Miriam Haskell

Tags

A Grain of Sand, Ava Motherwell, B'sue Boutiques, Miriam Haskell, Sondra Jackson, Vintage Bead Vault

I love old jewelry. It doesn’t matter if it is fine jewelry (seeing the Cartier exhibit in person is still one of my favorite memories) or costume jewelry (I still have some of the Trifari, Napier, and Monet items I saved my money for and bought when I was young.)

I follow B’Sue Boutiques, especially enjoy buying vintage items from the etsy shop, and was moved to research Miriam Haskell a little more when A Grain of Sand had a competition to make a piece inspired by her designs. I also love the idea of a woman back in the day making such a successful business.

When I saw these beads available for purchase from Vintage Bead Vault, I loved them anyway because they are fantastic. But the fact that they were from an old Miriam Haskell piece gave them just a little bit of extra cachet.

Oh my gosh, I can hardly stand how fantastic these crystal and glass beaded beads are. Those glass drop beads look so unusual paired with the blue crystals; I just love everything about them. So I bought these four beads from an old Miriam Haskell piece – all that were available. I didn’t have a plan, but my favorite way to design is to buy beads I like and believe they will find their place. And these did.

I got some vintage glass macaroni beads from Sondra Jackson and some vintage German glass matte blue rounds from Ava Motherwell. I had all of these beads separately in my collection, and one day it hit me that they might all go together. I’m not sure what brought it to mind, but I got them out, and it was like they were made for each other!

I can’t believe how perfect the colors are. Although I love this bright orange, it’s not something I really see often. Since they are both vintage beads, maybe it was a popular color sometime in the past? 

I might end up adding some beads to the back that would lift the macaroni beads off my neck a bit. They seem like they could be pokey, and my skin never misses an opportunity to complain. I’ll wear it and see.

I’m thrilled how this necklace came together.

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