Maker Blogs 7.20.18

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Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Anne Choi, Beading Arts Blog, Blythe dolls, Tapping Flamingo, The Crafty Princess Diaries, Treasures by Terry

I really enjoy reading blogs, so I thought I would share some other makers’ blogs. It’s interesting that so many creative people explore – and excel at – more than one medium.

On the Beading Arts blog, Cyndi makes a lovely pendant from Bead & Button magazine using dagger beads and then changes it using her own design twists (photo below). It’s always fun to see how artists take inspiration and make it their own. 

Have you ever thought you’d really enjoy something and then been reluctant to give up the idea? On The Crafty Princess Diaries, Tammy Powley talks us through her experience deciding not to be a Blythe doll customizer. She prefers other doll related crafts, like sewing clothes. Notice the doll’s cute dress in the short video included on the post. 

In this Tapping Flamingo post, Terry talks about the trials and tribulations of setting up an etsy shop. She’s learned some valuable lessons along the way. I know this is a topic many people are interested in. Am I ready to open a shop? Should I use etsy as their platform? Learn from Terry’s experience!

Do you like bug beads? If so, you are in luck. Andrew Thornton shares some wonderful examples from his personal collection, including the Anne Choi bead below. I always love a good “look at these gorgeous beads” post. You might even be introduced to a new-to-you artist!

Over at Allegory Gallery’s blog, they are launching their latest design challenge kit, Coral Coast. This kit was inspired by the treasures that might be brought to us by the surf while sinking our toes in the sand. The colors of this kit are peach, coral, creamy ivory, reds, pinks and shell browns. Delicious! You can see the full kit on the blog, except the handmade mystery component. That is a secret until it arrives at your door. I’ve just purchased my kit. They are limited, so don’t delay!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour through some other makers’ blogs. Maybe you’ll find some new ones to follow!

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Color Explosion

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Andrew Thornton

Color gets me every time. There are a lot of things that go into making a bead one that I want to buy, but color is definitely what catches my eye first. That is true of the beads in this necklace, especially the handmade focal beads by Andrew Thornton.

These multi-color focal beads are porcelain that Andrew hand painted and then covered with liquid polymer. So gorgeous. The pictures below show both sides so you can see how colorful they are. 

I also love the organic pod-like shape and the fabulous textures. I combined them with some vintage Czech glass (vintage Czech and German glass are so great)  in front and two other kinds of Czech glass in uplifting colors I love but that I think still let the focals shine.

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Allegory Gallery Design Be Challenge

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Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Be Challene, Staci Louise Smith

April 26th was the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge: Be Edition. I had this post all ready but forgot to post it until now! So, here it is.

This challenge offered a choice of eight kits, and we could choose as many as we wanted. The Be Challenge kits include Be Here, Be Mindful, Be Calm, Be Creative, Be Wise, Be Strong, Be Kind and Be Inspired. All good things! All the kits are beautiful, but I only ordered one because I didn’t think I would have time for more (and I was right). I chose Be Kind. I love the colors, and I feel as though I’m not as kind as I used to be. Maybe this kit and the piece I make will influence me in a positive way. 🙂

Here is a picture of the kit.

These kits came with a mix of beads, a strand and a handmade pendant made by Andrew Thornton. Here is a closer look at the pendant. It has a lovely texture and subtle gold accents. 

I put together a few things from my stash I thought I might use and went to my assistant’s office. MooKitty inspects all beads to make sure they are not food. Very helpful. 

I had decided to use some beads from Staci Louise Smith as part of the pendant. I thought about adding old off white or champagne glass pearls I had gotten from Staci in a destash, but after I finalized the components in the pendant, I wanted a more rustic organic look. I started to use a variety of beads from the kit. After a couple of different designs, I saw that the look I was really going for could be best accomplished by using just the strand of chip beads.

I wanted it to be long enough to slip over my head without a clasp, so once I used up the chip strand, I added other beads from the kit to achieve the desired length. I think the colors are lovely.

Visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Facebook page to see what others made with their kits.

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No Thanks for the Drama

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Andrew Thornton, Miss Fickle Media

The first time I heard the saying, “Not my circus, not my monkeys” I liked it right away. It perfectly described my desire to stay out of messy situations not of my making that I have little hope of solving. So when artist Andrew Thornton made a beautiful metal pendant with the saying, I snapped one up!

Although the saying is funny and kind of sassy, the piece is beautiful and elegant, so I wanted to use beads with it that were in keeping with that look. I had recently thought about using these long pearl with the holes lengthwise (I don’t see that often) with another metal pendant, but I liked it with this one better.

I used a stardust gold filled bead on either side of the pendant to keep it in place and faceted gold fire polished Czech glass beads as spacers.  I finished it off with a small swirl clasp by Miss Fickle Media. I love it!

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Charm Bracelets

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Andrew Thornton

At different times in the past, charm bracelets have been all the rage. I think they are kind of timeless, but they do go in and out of fashion as far as popularity. Recently, artist Andrew Thornton was commissioned to make a charm bracelet that turned out great and also made another beautiful charm(ing) bracelet that got me to remembering my charm bracelets. I hadn’t looked at them in a while, so they were fun to revisit.

This is my first one. It was actually my mom’s to start with. I can see she had some traditional things like a marriage certificate, a baby shoe and baby carriage, a house. She also had things from visits to Florida and perhaps California. The Illinois charm was probably hers. Both she and my father grew up in Illinois and both my older sister and I were born there.  After my mom gave it to me, I started adding my own charms. I suspect the Wisconsin charm is mine, as I grew up here.  I added the shoe and purse. I love charms that add color, and that was my shoe and purse fashion phase. I always loved those split charms, and I got one where one side was “mother” and one was “daughter”.  I wonder if my mom knows where hers is.  I added things I thought were pretty like the encased flower; I love that one!  My parents got the articulated jogger and jester for me on a trip to New York as I remember. That’s a big part of the fun of charm bracelets – the memories!

My pre-etsy shopping site for beads and the like was ebay. I believe that is where I purchased this one. I don’t think I added any charms; they all came with it. It looks like this person was a traveler, or wanted to be. Again, I love the ones with color – the rooster, the eye on the whale, the streetlight and the orange crate.  It’s fun to think of where each charm might have come from and the adventures the person had.

Then I decided to start a new one that was just mine. I got a couple of my colorful charms in there with the grapes (I see I really liked grapes because I have a silver one too) and the garnet dragonfly.  Garnets were my first gemstone crush, and I still love them now. Again, I love the traditional charms, and someone gave me a round “happy birthday,” The tea set is very me. For many years my family in Wisconsin would go for tea each December (my birthday month) at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. It was lots of fun. My sister who lives in New York has treated me to birthday tea at a couple of tea rooms, including this past year. I love a good English tea. The computer mouse symbolized my career shift. I had been a sign language interpreter and was in school for computer networking.

The chakra symbol is a bit of transition to my “new” bead life. I had gotten into yoga during this period to help me deal with chronic migraines at their worst. This was also my introduction to art beads. I remember bidding on the set of these handmade chakra symbols on ebay. I loved that there was so much attention to detail in handmade such as the artist kept the charms unpolished as a sign of humility. I ended up buying a second set of those charms because I couldn’t stand the thought of using one and no longer having a “full” set. I still do things like that!

Thanks for coming along on this trip down memory lane!

 

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WIPs

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Andrew Thornton, Cynthia Thornton, Dot Winchell, Joan Miller Porcelain, Nancy Adams, Nikki Thornburg, Round Rabbit, Winchell Clayworks

I’m very pleased with how occupational therapy is going for my thumb, but I’m still not to the point of being able to bead. I got a new exercise yesterday, and in doing it this morning I could only hack one set instead of two. But I can feel that I’m getting better all the time.

So, in the absence of new makes, I will show some old works in progress (WIPs).  These are materials I’ve had gathered for a project for quite a while but have never actually put the piece together. These things may or may not work out in the end. It will be interesting to see whether they come together or I end up releasing the beads back into the wilds of my stash.

The first grouping started with beads by Joan Miller Porcelain.

This heart, and steampunk elements are by Joan Miller. I’m pretty sure I got the chain with these beads in mind. I know I bought the red and gray/silver pair by Nikki Thornburg with this project in mind.

Next up is an idea for a necklace with a hand painted pendant by Dot Winchell of Winchell Clayworks. 

I think these pink melon Czech glass beads will be wonderful with it. I have a Swarovski shank button I got at Mood that could be a good closure. I love this little floral/filigree button. I took a picture of the wrong side; the other side looks like mother-of-pearl. I’m not sure how I’d use it, but it’s worth trying in the design. 

This pendant is by Nancy Adams of Round Rabbit. She doesn’t make beads any more (that’s how long I’ve been hoarding this) but she does still make beautiful handmade items, so still check out her shop. Czech glass and amethyst are perfect for the pendant; the actual design of how the beads will fit together remains to be seen.

Here is a bronze coin by handcrafted by Andrew Thornton (and designed by Cynthia Thornton) with some lovely carnelian calla lillies.

One last project is actually going to be a remake of a vintage necklace my mom bought and then gave to me. 

Look at those gorgeous beads and clasp! I really like it just the way it is, but it needs to be restrung and is just a little short for me. I’ll try separating the beads with some seed beads my mom also gave me to match or add a chain extender in back.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to show you some of these in finished form in the future.

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What’s New?

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Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Diane Hawkey, Earthenwood Studio, Tinkersphere, Tracey Ann Finley Art

I was recently on vacation in New York City to visit my sister and her girlfriend. It’s always fun to go, and I had such a wonderful time. I’ve always loved everywhere my sister has lived in NY, and she’s always had great apartments. But recently she and her girlfriend, Lisa, won the housing lottery and got this fab affordable housing in Manhattan with my favorite view evah! I’m a city girl and could just sit in this living room with all the blinds up day and night. (In fact, I slept in the living room with the blinds up.  That couch folds down into a comfy bed.) 

Lisa is crafty herself and thoughtful as well. She’s often given me ideas for things to use in jewelry making. This visit she presented me with a gift to go to a place called Tinkersphere, complete with handmade card and tag! Look at that sweet little blue eyelet!

So one morning after having a delicious breakfast at The Organic Grill, which thrilled my little vegetarian heart, we ambled over to Tinkersphere in search of jewelry-making supplies and other cool things.

Just as an aside, I love all the wonderful public art available in NY.  We passed this on the way, part of a mural on the side of a building.

One of the fun things I got that I don’t have a picture of is a metal model of a Dalek (from Dr. Who) for my sister and brother-in-law to put together. They have a collection of Daleks, and I was thrilled that this one was new to them. Anywho, on with the rest of the show!

Cute robot necklace! This will probably find itself on a fancier beaded necklace in future. 

I really want to learn to solder, but until I do, I know there are some projects with copper tape that can be made to look soldered without the scary heat factor.

Various useful components.  The perfboard on the left reminded me of this Lori Anderson project. I love the pieces by Curio Jewelry using an assemblage of pieces, and I see this red bit in a piece like that. The last piece is, of course, a charm holder!

These striped blue “beads” come ready to wire wrap as connectors! And I’m so glad Lisa pointed out this magnetic bowl they are in. I am constantly searching for my ends – I don’t know what they are called, but they are metal things you put on the ends of your stringing material when working on a necklace so the beads don’t fall off. Now I can corral them in this magnetic bowl!

This shop was really fun. Thank you, Lisa!

I also wanted to show a few new beads because, well, beads. I love a rabbit motif, and the hare and moon is a favorite of this genre. Here is one from Earthenwood that I got from Allegory Gallery.  That cool background is by my brother-in-law. It’s a card he drew for my birthday. I was going to frame it. I might have to put it in something I can take it out of frequently because it’s a really great photo background!

Here are couple of beads by a favorite artist, Diane Hawkey. This Mad Cat bead reminds me of my Junkyard Dog from Tracey Ann Finley Art.

And last but not least, two “ancient” eye beads by Andrew Thornton. I’m going to admit I already have one or two of these, but when a couple more became available, I had to have them. I love them so much that I want to have some to just keep as beads and that will allow me to use the others in jewelry. I know it’s weird, but I also know some of you reading understand because you have the same weirdness!

Thanks for visiting with me. It’s always fun to talk beads and making.

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Art Bead Scene Challenge – November 2017

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene

The inspiration for this month’s Art Bead Scene challenge is a 1906 oil painting –Crozant, the Bouchardon Mill by Armand Guillaumin.

When I look at inspiration, I often first look at colors. In this painting, the color that presents itself to me first is purple. But the other colors and subject matter reminded me of a polymer clay autumn scene bead by Andrew Thornton. Looking at the inspiration color palette, Andrew’s bead has it (almost) all – brown branches, green leaves, a gorgeous blue background that could be the sheen of the sky at dusk or a body of water turning colder. There is also a pop of bright red, just like in the painting. Perfect.

I chose some dark green manik-manik glass beads that are a real favorite and Czech glass the same blue as in the art bead. The polymer has a subtle sparkle as do the Czech glass facets. I’ve also used some small red white heart beads as spacers to brighten up the look and bring in more pops of red.

There is a slight asymmetrical element to the spacing of the beads, and the necklace is meant to hang asymmetrically as well with the larger art bead a bit up on the side. Also, remember that purple was the color that stood out to me? I didn’t feel that it fit in with my design with beads, but I chose purple waxed linen as the stringing material. Although the color doesn’t show, I know it’s there. I do that often to make a design feel more complete to me.

As soon as I saw it, I knew Andrew Thornton‘s autumn bead was meant for something special. I haven’t made anything for the Art Bead Scene for several months; I’m glad I was so inspired this month.

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Allegory Gallery Design Challenge – Yearning

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Allegory Gallery Design Challenge, Andrew Thornton, Christi Friesen, William Jones, Yearning

Today is the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge – Yearning. The inspiration for the kit is a piece by artist Christi Friesen. The kit colors are beige, gold, red, pink, and green. I love the color mix – so fresh! I had my first necklace idea almost immediately based on the beige. Generally, I love bright colors. But there is a certain type of beige bead – vintage German and Czech glass –  that I just love. Opaque, often with etched designs or facets in a variety of shapes and sizes. The kit included some spacers in this color.

Originally, I thought it would be fun to make a long necklace. When it was finished, it was pretty but not quite right. I wrapped it in two when I put it down to think about it and saw it would be much better as a double strand necklace.I strung it on waxed linen from the kit and also used two sizes of opaque beige spacers, beige crystals, and gold spacers from the kit. I used several shapes of the beige glass beads from my stash. I also brought in some other colors from the kit with Czech glass from my stash – tiny beige/green spacers, and red/pink flowers, crystals and ice pearls. At the back of the necklace, I used some tiny versions of the ice pearls that were in the kit. I love how these colors pop against each other. 

I have had this vintage clasp for a long, long time. I’m thrilled that I found the perfect use for it. I feel like the clasp and the necklace have a 1950s vibe, and gold fits right in with the kit.

This challenge snuck up on me a bit, and I only got this one necklace done. I still had fun! Thanks William, Andrew and Allegory Gallery for another wonderful kit and challenge! Visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenges Facebook page to see what other participants created.

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#Makeover Monday – Gummy Fish

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#makeovermonday, Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, William Jones

In my past, I often had good ideas that I wasn’t able to execute as well as I would have liked.  I didn’t have a lot of design knowledge, but mostly I didn’t know where to get the best beads (or even what they were.) There are pieces from that time that I don’t wear (and didn’t wear much then) but that I didn’t take apart because I really loved the idea of them. One such necklace is the gummy fish necklace. 

That is the necklace there on the right made many, many years ago – like maybe 15 or 20. I have no idea where I got the Czech glass fish; I didn’t even know the term Czech glass at that time. I’m not surprised I bought them; I like beads that look like candy. Also, I can see that I often loved just the strand of beads as it was, as I still do, and tried to change it as little as possible. Back in the day, that usually involved just separating things with seed beads. That can look a little skimpy, as with these larger fish beads. My designs are still often simple, which I like, but they are more balanced and pleasing.

When I got the chance to get these gorgeous vintage Czech glass light blue rondelles from Andrew Thornton of Allegory Gallery on his destash page, I jumped at it. I just love the shape and, like my previous set of blue rondelles, I loved that it was a long strand. I know I mention Andrew and William and their shop and the destash often, but I’m so thrilled with the variety and quality of beads I can get. When I saw these and thought what to do with them, my gummy fish necklace came to mind. I could finally make it something I would like to wear.  

It’s not really that different. It just has a bit more heft and a quality, finished look. It is true to the original concept – my lovely gummy fish swimming through a bead sea of blue water. I’m so thrilled with the makeover and can’t wait to wear it.

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