Artists for Animals Auction Begins Today!

Tags

Anna Pierson, Artisan Clay, Artists for Animals Auction, Gaea Handmade, Kristie Ann Roeder, Madison Cat Project, My Elements, SagaHus Components, Sue-Lin Tarnowski, Yvonne Irvin-Faus

I am part of the Artists for Animals Auction. It is a Facebook group where artists join together to auction our handmade goods in support of our favorite animal charity. The auction runs through Sunday, May 20th. My proceeds will go to Madison Cat Project. They are a no kill shelter/foster program that finds homes for hundreds of cats who come into their care every year. 

This is my sweetie pie, MooKitty.

I’m putting a variety of necklaces and earrings in the auction. Here are pictures.

Tuxedo Kitty Earrings with striped beads by Gaea Handmade and charms by Mary Redman.

Blingy Kitty Earrings for when you want to have a little sparkly fun

Jasper and Pyrite Necklace with Gaea Handmade Accent Bead (This necklace is a favorite from the things I made for this auction!)

Hugs and Kisses Earrings with Charms by Sue-Lin Tarnowski

Queen Kitty Necklace with Gaea Handmade (Come see more pictures at the auction; it’s so cute!)

Skellie Friend Earrings with Bead and Fiber Drops by Anna Pierson of SagaHus Components

Necklace with Pendant by Kristie Ann Roeder of Artisan Clay 

Turquoise and Wire-Wrapped Key Necklace with Disc by Yvonne Irvin-Faus of My Elements on Leather

Royal Kitty Earrings with Kitty Drops by SagaHus Components and Drops by Yvonne Irvin-Faus

Knotted Necklace with Mother-of-Pearl and Repurposed Dangle Pendant

If you want to check out my auction or those of the many other artists, please visit the Artists for Animals Auction page. The other artists and I will be posting things through the day today and throughout the week, so please check back.

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Bead Soup Blog Party – Bead Hoarder’s Edition Reveal

Tags

Art Incendi, Artisan Clay, Golem Studio, Kristie Roeder, Lorelei Eurto, Marsha Neal, Marsha Neal Studio, Miss Fickle Media, Sherri Stokey, Staci Louise Smith, The Classic Bead, Tracee Dock, WoolyWire

I always hoped I’d be able to take part in one of Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Parties, and this year I am! This year it is the Bead Hoarders Edition with the idea of counteracting the negativity in the world by sending someone else something we treasure.  Host Lori Anderson advised us to pick something we love and hoard and package it up with a note prior to knowing who our partner is.  That is what I did, but it wasn’t easy because I hoard everything bead related. My partner is Lorelei Eurto. I love all her work and own several of her pieces. I learned a lot about art beads from her blog and shops, and I believe I have every one of her tutorials and the book she co-authored.  (No pressure!) She sent an amazing group of things!

The resin charm and copper wrapped key are from Miss Fickle Media, three (!) coils of WoolyWire, two packages of enameled beauties from Art Incendi, a beautiful donut from The Classic Bead, an owl pendant by Golem Studio and another gorgeous donut from Marsha Neal Studio. Wow!  I love everything.

It was not my intention to use most of what Lorelei sent in time for the hop, but I did!  So, on with the show.

This necklace uses the trio of Art Incendi hearts with beads from my stash on waxed linen with a macrame loop.  I included a few beads I’ve had for many years (we’re talking double digits) – the dark green irregular shaped beads with gold and the pumpkin shaped light green. I ended it with a painted polymer clay box clasp by Sherri Stokey that I’ve been hoarding for just the right piece.

Lorelei included so many lovely items, I decided to make a charm necklace. In keeping with the theme of this hop, I used some of my own favorite items.

Here is a close up of the charm part so you can see them better.

I used one of the enamel over brass charms from Art Incendi and the resin piece from Miss Fickle Media.  From my own stash, I wire wrapped some garnets (my first gemstone crush and still a favorite) and a fabulous Staci Louise Smith crystal and polymer drop. I hung all of them off of a verdigis metal triple ring, also from Staci Louise Smith.  I used a strand of every other way simple cut turquoise.  The simple cut is my favorite shape, even more so when the holes are drilled through every other bead top to bottom and every other bead side to side.

Lorelei is a big owl fan, and she generously sent me a beautiful owl pendant by Golem Studio. I often feel I “should” try new things and new designs.  But with this pendant, I went classic.  I just love a simple, knotted necklace.  Meditative and relaxing to make, easy to wear.

I used several different Czech glass beads, waxed linen and a sterling toggle clasp.

I told Lorelei that I was glad she had sent some donuts because I find those a little challenging.  I love the Marsha Neal green and turquoise donut she sent. I have a small Marsha Neal stash, and this will help me become more confident in using the donuts. I absolutely love the colors and the multiple textures.

I thought roman glass would be perfect with the donut, but I couldn’t quite get my shapes to work for me.  I did put a few pieces above the donut on wire to form a pendant, and I do love how they look! I tried a variety of other beads with the pendant, but nothing worked as well as the leftover turquoise from the charm necklace I also made for this hop! I added some suede, chain, one dyed malachite bead and a toggle clasp from Miss Fickle Media.

I used the enamel starfish by Art Incendi in a bracelet with some jasper and copper. I strung it on leather and added a wire wrapped stone and copper goddess charm.

I just couldn’t stop being inspired. The Miss Fickle Media key is such a unique statement piece, I knew I wouldn’t need much with it. Some very large ball chain I got at the hardware store came to mind as something that was also a bit different and could hold its own with the key!

I added a wire wrapped black tourmaline nugget with some irregular large holed glass beads on a large jump ring for a little color.

I like what some might consider unusual color combinations. I find them very exciting and energizing, so that’s what I’ve used here – red and chartreuse – with the donut from The Classic Bead.

Many pendants by Tracee Dock of The Classic Bead (yes, I have a stash) bring to mind the country cottage look – comfortable, pretty, soft.  I decided to take this one a different way!  I used a mix of vintage Czech glass beads (I love the whimsical nature of the dice), and metal.  I even put chartreuse seed beads in this peek-a-boo toggle bar.

Last but not least, Lorelei said she included WoolyWire to boost my creativity. I have to admit, I struggled a little with how to best use some of it. Then I decided to put a smoke-fired heart pendant by Kristie Roeder of Artisan Clay with some matte amazonite rounds.  I made a bail form for the pendant and wrapped some WoolyWire around it.  Perfect color!

I had so much fun creating for this hop and am grateful to my partner Lorelei Eurto.  Please visit her blog to see what I sent her and what she made.  Also, visit our host Lori Anderson’s blog to see what she made and access the links to the over 150 other people who have also taken part in this Bead Soup Blog Party Blog and Pinterest hop.  You can also click on the links below. Have fun; I will!

Lori Anderson :: Hostess

Claire Fabian

Jennifer Strehler

Rochelle Brisson

Annita Wilson

Melissa Trudinger

Loralee Kolton

Valerie Tilghman

Mischelle Andrade

Elizabeth Bunn

Marianna DeLuca Wehner

Johana Nunez

Jenny Kyrlach

Elizabeth Hodges

Lennis Carrier

Candida Castleberry

Mary Govaars

Sandi James

Arlene Dean

Kristina Eleniak

Nan Smith

Nadine Edris

Denise McCabe

Donna Marie Hanna

Audrey Belanger

Nicole Rennell

Robin Reed

Gail Zwang

Terry Jeanette Carter

Donna Hoblit

Ann Schroeder – You are here!

Klaudete Koon

Veralynne Malone

Lorelei Eurto – This is my partner!

Ann  Sherwood

Jackie Locantore

Mowse Doyle

Dorit Woldenga

Cheri Reed

Dolores Raml

Palak Udeshi

Laurie Vyselaar

Heather Canepa

Dorothy Supri

Sharyl King

Elaine Robitaille

Heather Marston

Terry Matuszyk

Andra Weber

D’Arsie Manzella

Sooz Anzalone

Karin King

Leona Smith

Tania Spivey

Jasvanti Patel

Danielle Kelley

Shai Williams

Jacqueline Marchant

Erin Kenny

Becky Pancake

Kelly Schermerhorn

Renetha Stanziano

Rana Wilson

Janine Lucas

Kelly Hosford Patterson

Andrea Glick

Joanne Bell

Sarah Strover

Sam Waghorn

Helena Hatten

Jackie Ryan

Bridget Torres

Inge von Roos

Krafty Max

Iveth Caruso

Rebecca Ednie

Amy Severino

Sandra Wollberg

Blanca Medina

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell

Samantha Wescott

Christine Stonefield

Silke Groeber

Alenka Obid

Lori Bowring Michaud

April Grinaway

Yvette Goodridge

Kathy Lindemer

Kathleen A Breeding

Joyce Becker

Pam Farren

Divya N

Sherri Stokey

Terri DelSignore

Kate Gonska

Jean Wells

CJ Bauschka

Bonnie Coursolle

Barb Fernald

Noemí Baena

Dana Phillips

Karen Firnberg

Michelle  Escano Caballero

Natalie Ettinger

Valerie Norton

Rachel Malli

Denise Milward

Bobbie Rafferty

Vonna Maslanka

Elisabeth Auld

Hannah Rosner

Carla Fry

Terri Gauthier

Teresa Fischer

Tanya Goodwin

Barbara Judy

Leanne Loftus

Carrie Stalcup

Lori Schneider

Joelyn Bissing

Kate Dufour

Gail Poveda

Katie Nielsen-Nunez

Pam DeBoer

Dee Elgie

Judy Jacobs

Elisabeth Matouschek

Shawn Elkins

Sally Russick

Susan McClelland

Tracy Stillman

Robin Lynne Showstack

Marianne Baxter

Maria Rosa Sharrow

Therese Frank

Sandi Volpe

Leslie Scholz

Joan Williams

Laura Guenther

Liz Engriser

B.R.Kuhlman

Bev Breisinger

Radel Vela

Kim Dworak

Carol Dillman

Alice Craddick

Janeen Burlingame

Leah Curtis

Ann Marie Hodrick

Donna Millard

Hajer Waheed Khalil

Lucy Clasen

Michelle McCarthy

Maria Rios

Babette Cox

Natalie Davidson

Brenda Ballou

Christina Hickman

Heather Gunther

 

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Art Bead Scene Challenge – February

Tags

Art Bead Scene, Artisan Clay, Erin Prais-Hintz, Kristie Ann Roeder, Tesori Trovati

The monthly Art Bead Scene Challenge offers a piece of art for participants to use as inspiration for making an art bead or something that contains an art bead.  The inspiration piece this month is the oil painting The Two Crowns by Sir Frank Dicksee.

The colors in this piece are so rich, and that’s what inspired my piece. I was first drawn to the white of the horse, and I thought I had a white clay and glass pendant by Kristie Ann Roeder of Artisan Clay. When I went to look, it was white and teal, which worked as well!

I also used a rosebud charm by Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati, a gold flower connector, moonstone rondelles and some teal and rose colored Czech glass.  I kept trying to think of a design I liked using gold sari silk because the painting definitely brought that to mind. But they just didn’t work for me, so I used a little piece of it as a photo prop.

I think this necklace looks appropriately opulent (more so in person with the moonstone flash.)  I’m pleased with this necklace, and I love the Art Bead Scene challenges for encouraging me to use and combine materials I otherwise might not.

 

Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Reveal: Autumn Fire

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Artisan Clay, Autumn Fire Design Challenge, Erin Siegel, Lorelei Eurto, My Elements, Passion for Paper Beads, Yvonne Irvin-Faus

Today is the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge – Autumn Fire edition. Challenge kits are put together by artist Andrew Thornton and consist of a variety of fun beads along with one or more Mystery Components hand made by Andrew.  Here is a picture of the kit.

Look at it!  Such delicious colors, a double strand of chip beads in case I decide to make something long and luxurious, browns, umbers, oranges, yellows!  I love it. And then there is the Mystery Component.

I’ve managed to capture a little bit of the sparkly vibrance of these blowing leaves. It really represents my favorite kind of autumn day.

First up, I made a necklace with some of the strand of chip beads and some of the tubes from the kit. This reveal, I thought I’d try showing one of my sketches with the piece it became.

I didn’t know where to find (or maybe I don’t even have) the multicolor fall toned spacers I was thinking of, but I had these apple green seed beads on my table, so I used those. The seed beads that came with the kit were slightly bigger, plus, I’ll be honest, I love the color, so I’m sort of hoarding them.

I added some great paper beads I got from Passion for Paper Beads on etsy a couple years ago. I like that beads wait around until they find a project that is right for them. Then I added three cool beads from the kit at the back of the necklace just for fun. I’m very pleased with this.

Then I made a couple pairs of earrings.  First with these tabs I loved from the kit and immediately decided to make into earrings. The shape reminds me of Elaine Ray’s beads for some reason.  (She’s retired from bead making now.)

Then I decided to make some earrings with more of the chips and two of the faceted yellow beads which I love! When I was sketching, I had noted wanting to use some pop, like sparkle or color, between the chips. So I used some of the sequins from the kit!

I really think these turned out pretty and fun. I moved on to another necklace. I was inspired by this fiber necklace on Pinterest.  I had a variety of ideas, but decided to use the Mystery Component with a variety of beads from the kit and three vintage plastic discs, a bi-colored old wooden round and a textured yellow ceramic bead by Kristie of Artisan Clay.

Next I decided to make a bracelet with some of the chunky plastic beads.  I am very inspired by Lorelei Eurto’s jewelry, and I was looking at this bracelet in particular. If you visit the blog post it is from, you can see she used a premium mix from Allegory Gallery, similar to the Luxury Blends that are included in challenge kits!

I used three of the juicy orange marbled plastic beads from the kit along with an orange, turquoise and olive bead by Yvonne Irvin-Faus of My Elements on one side.  On the other side, I used beads from the kit, my stash and more goodies from the My Elements shop.

Then I wanted to make something completely different – a bookmark!  I’ve wanted to make one since I saw them on Erin Siegel’s blog. She did a tutorial of the bookmark using art beads on Art Bead Scene.  This was a really fun one.

This was a very, very fun kit and challenge! Thank you William, Andrew and Allegory Gallery! If you’d like to see more creations from this kit, please visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Facebook page to see what other participants made.

Allegory Gallery Luna Moth Challenge Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Artisan Clay, Earthly Beads, Kristie Roeder, Luna Moth Challenge, Vincenza Fazz

I have two reveals today!  The Luna Moth reveal is below.  To see the Tribes Competition Challenge Reveal, click here.

Today is the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Luna Moth Challenge.  Look at those gorgeous colors in the picture above.  I’m a green gal, and the soft green of the luna moth is really beautiful.  Here is a picture of the challenge kit from the Allegory Gallery blog.

Andrew also hand makes a Mystery Component for each kit. Below is a picture of his lovely luna moth pendant.

I’ve really been enjoying the look of chip beads lately, so I decided to use the jade chip  separated by bronze seed beads with a beautiful pendant by Vincenza Fazz of Earthly Beads.  I added a couple of the glass crow beads and two of the fabulous rough wooden beads from the kit.

Next I turned to some of the luscious donut beads in the kit. They made me think of the beautiful clay and glass donut beads by Kristie Roeder of Artisan Clay.

I used a strand of faceted agate separated by seed beads from the kit.  A few other beads from the kit are in the strand, including some lovely soft green discs surrounding teal glass from my stash I used to connect to that beautiful color in the pendant.  This photo in no way does any of these beads justice! I added the remaining two wooden sticks from the kit as dangles near the pendant. I used a copper woodland toggle that felt right since the picture in my head with this kit is the woods from the book Girl of the Limberlost, which was part of the inspiration.

There were two leaf dangles in the kit that I liked, and I considered various designs.  Earrings won.  I also used green crystals from the kit and some big vintage paper beads from my stash.

I had a lot more ideas inspired by this kit, but no more time!  They will have to wait for another day.  But I had a great time, as I do with all the Allegory Gallery kits.  Visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Facebook page in order to view the other participant creations.