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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Koi Necklace

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Bead and Button Show, Diane Hawkey

I bought a koi pendant by Diane Hawkey at Bead & Button in June. I was sure I would be hoarding the pendant a long time. But I saw this strand of citrine and thought it would be beautiful with the pendant. 

I like how the citrine beads aren’t perfectly clear. They look like maybe they’ve been battered by water sloshing them against rocks over time that also smoothed the shapes. I auditioned a number of things to dangle from the pendant’s three bottom loops. I decided on these pieces of dyed coral.  That is a testament to the idea that everything will eventually come in handy if you are patient. The last time I tried to use these coral beads was for an Art Bead Scene challenge three years ago.

You can’t really see the lovely metallic accents that frame the pedant and dot and wave inside. The coral is also dyed with a subtle gold shine. I really love how those blingy elements look together.

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Bead & Button Fun #2

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Diane Hawkey, Hand of the Hills, Holy & Pure Gemstone, Humblebeads, Joan Miller Porcelain, Patti Cahill

Welcome to part 2 of my Bead & Button show and tell.  I had intended to focus somewhat on gemstone strands, and one of the booths I had seen people post nice stuff from was Holy & Pure Gemstone. But as I’ve noticed at other shows, I find all those strands too overwhelming, especially when I have to calculate the discounted price in my head. But, I did get some wonderful, colorful beaded chain there. 

They had a ton of chain, very good value, priced a marked.  Next year I would spend more time getting chain and maybe try to be patient and get at least one strand of beads.  Knowing what to expect is half the battle.

I love, love, love Joan Miller Porcelain, so I got a couple things from her. 

Joan Miller was sharing a booth with Patti Cahill, and I fell in love with this bead. I believe this is my first Patti Cahill bead, so that’s good I bought something new.  I’ve noticed that I stick to what I already like.  Next year I would like to branch out more.

I am very happy with my Humblebeads purchases. I have wanted the monarch items for a while. I knew I would get some disc beads because they are my favorite. I love the black, blue and white ones. I saw those posted by someone on preview night and set my sights.  I am going to try this project by Heather Powers with the lentil bead.

I did get some metal spacers like I planned from Hand of the Hills. I liked how they displayed their strands. They were on colored velcro strips. Each color of velcro indicated a specific price. I loved just opening the velcro to get the strand, so easy!

Last but not least, I got some Diane Hawkey beads. I am a huge fan. I got some beads and a cabochon (that I’m going to ask my mom to bead around).

And I got some pendants.  I especially love that little bar that says “I exist as I am, that is enough.” 

I would like to go back next year. I feel like I would be able to focus on other things. At shows, I do tend to stick to what I already know and like. I did get a couple new things, and I didn’t get any African strands, which is something I usually focus on. I feel so satisfied with my purchases this year that I think I could branch out a little next year to maybe see who has other things like vintage beads or maybe some fun or fancy clasps or artists who are new to me.  After all, the artists I love now were new to me at one time.

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I’m Going to the Bead & Button Show

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Bead & Button Show, Diane Hawkey

I haven’t gone to the Bead & Button show since 2013. During the intervening years, I have gone to the Madison Art Glass and Bead Show which is smaller but a nice show and right in my own town. I didn’t go this year, so I’m going big and traveling to Milwaukee on Friday to spend a little time (and money!) at Bead & Button.

I hope to be able to meet some of my Facebook bead peeps in person. I’ve read several posts with tips about attending a bead show.  I’ve made and honed my master list of vendors I must visit. I love all beads and materials and get totally sucked in by everything, so I’ve tried to make my list with an eye toward things I will actually use (eventually) and can’t easily order online.  For example, I’ve identified a couple of vendors for gemstones and metal spacers.  Although I can get those things online, I find it difficult to pick them out because no matter how good the description, I often can’t picture size. 

And then there are the art beads. That’s a major part of what I’m in it for. When I went five years ago, I didn’t know all the handmade bead artists were grouped together on one side. I started on the other side, and by the time I got to the art beads, I was running out of money. That should not happen this year. Although I’m not necessarily going there first – because I actually have a pretty good stash of art beads and need the aforementioned gemstones and spacers – I won’t make the mistake of buying things I’m not in love with prior to getting to the art bead row! I have said for a long time if I get to go to Bead & Button again, I would immediately swoop down on Diane Hawkey’s booth. I feel a little less pressure because I got the above fabulous stash of her beads online last year. But they are not always readily available online (except some of her well know beads like word beads and a few others) so I will definitely be stopping there while feeling slightly less desperate!

I have little bottles of water, peanut butter and jelly Larabars (not too crumbly and possible to eat without water if necessary) and a list of other things to take. My sister and brother-in-law are going with me. I don’t think either of them has ever been to a bead show before, so I will be interested to see what they think. I’m excited and hope I find and pick all the right things. Tune back in next week and I’ll do a show and tell. See you then!

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Monochromatic in Color

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Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Bead & Button, Diane Hawkey, Gaea

Diane Hawkey is one of my favorite artists.  One of the things she makes is beads.  Other than her famous word beads, it’s not easy to get her things outside of bead shows. I got a little stash at the 2013  Bead & Button, and a few things various other places.  But recently, she had a show on a Facebook page. I had my finger poised to pounce, and I was amazed at how many things I was able to get.  Amazed and thrilled.

So, I’ve used my first bead from this group, the neighborhood pendant in the upper left corner.  I bought a variety of Czech glass rondelles from William and Andrew of Allegory Gallery and thought right away that they’d go well with the neighborhood. I often have quick thoughts like that – these beads would go well with this. But I know it is partly inspiration from things floating in my brain.  I think this necklace was inspired in part by this necklace I made with melon beads and a Gaea pendant and this necklace by Andrew Thornton.

I call this monochromatic in color because although this necklace isn’t just different shades of the same hue, the colors of the Czech glass echo the colors in the pendant, so it is kind of blendy that way. I love high contrast and pops of color, but I find this look very comforting and happy. I finished it up with a beautiful copper clasp by Gaea.

Art Glass and Bead Show

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Aardvark Art Glass, Art Glass and Bead Show, CB&Co, Dakota Stones, Diakonos Designs, Diane Hawkey, East of the Sun beads, Elka Designs, Papio Creek Gems & Gifts, Tanya McGuire, Taylors Falls Bead Store

This weekend I went to the Art Glass and Bead Show right in my town of Madison, Wisconsin.  It has been many years since I’ve attended this show, so I was interested to see how I would like it.  I am pleased to say I was very happy with the experience.  There was enough variety and quality in the vendors for me to feel like I got what I wanted, yet it wasn’t totally exhausting for me like Bead and Button can be. I went with my parents, and they felt the same way.

Taylors Falls Bead Store

One thing I wanted to get at the show was chain.  I never have enough chain.  I never feel like I can find what I’m looking for on line, and even if I read measurements, I’m terrible at translating that in my head.  So it was nice to be able to pick it out in person.  I love that blue dangle chain!

The chain motherlode, though, was at Diakonos Designs. They had a huge selection of a nice variety of chain.  It’s a store I’ve been to in person since it’s in a town only about 30 minutes away.  I’m starting to wonder why I don’t go more often because I was fairly impressed with their nice variety of beads when I went one or two times.  They have a different variety of things than my local bead store.  They’ll be seeing me more often, especially as I need more chain.

Diakonos Designs

I also got a few other bits and bobs from the Diakonos booth.  They have some good clasps.  They even had some Diane Hawkey beads!

I picked up a cactus pendant from local lampwork artist Cathy Lybarger of Aardvark Art Glass.  I really love her work and have other beautiful pieces.

Aardvark Art Glass

Tanya McGuire

I also got some lampwork from Tanya McGuire.  That big, multicolor bead in the upper left corner is big, but it’s very light because it’s hollow.  I love that!

Papio Creek Gems & Gifts

This strand of coral is very unlike something I’d usually pick, but I saw it in someone’s tray as I was passing a booth, and it looked so good I found it in the display and bought a strand!

I have wanted a pendant by Kristi Evenson of CB&Co for a while, and this was my chance!  Her booth was a beautiful set up with old wood and beautiful fabric. It was fun to stand there, look at her wares and choose the one I wanted.  I had narrowed it down to this one and maybe one other when my mother looked at the display and picked this one out immediately.  She knows me well.

The East of the Sun booth was quite popular.  There was a ton of stuff I wanted, but when I saw these trade beads, I looked no further.  I really hope proprietor Ramsey Finger is there again next year!  He said he wants to get his website up and running but he travels a lot, so I’ve linked to his placeholder.  I’ll be checking back patiently because he really had nice stuff and great prices.  He told me these are kakamba beads.  I had a strand of them years ago, and they were some of my favorite beads ever.  I am so happy to have gotten some more.

Dakota Stones

I was thrilled that Dakota Stones was there. Their booth was this huge layout of gorgeous strand after gorgeous strand.  My mom and I said that’s where we want to spend our time next year.  I was standing there trying to talk myself into or out of (I’m not sure which) buying this apatite and citrine.  Another shopper picked up the only two strands of apatite in this cut, size and finish. She was carrying it around while shopping, and I stayed in the booth for at least 15 minutes to see if she was going to buy them both.  I moved slightly (and picked up the turquoise) but the minute she decided not to buy them, I picked one up, scooped up the citrine and made my purchase.

Elka Designs

At the end of the show, my mom and I had purchased much more than my dad, so my mom pointed out some metal beads she thought he would like in the Elka Designs booth near the entrance. Of course while he was looking, so were we.  I am not good at focusing when looking at a ton of strands, but my mom found these keshi pearls.  She mentioned they were half price while she was waiting in line to buy them, so I couldn’t resist and bought a strand too.

I really enjoyed the show and look forward to going again next year.  I felt like Goldilocks – it was just right!

Art Bead Scene January Challenge

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ABS January Challenge, Art Bead Scene, Diane Hawkey, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Genea, Imagine Tomorrow's World (orange version), paper beads

The Art Bead Scene January Challenge inspiration art was immediately exciting to me. A jumble of bright colors, Imagine Tomorrow’s World (orange version) by Friedensreich Hundertwasser is a wonderful work.

Copyrighted artwork – shown only as inspiration

I thought making something would be easy as the the inspiration pieces I love on sight often present an idea right away.  I did think immediately of beads I have in the bull’s-eye pattern as well as orange beads.  Although the poster is busy, my first attempts had too much going on to work.  I tried several different construction methods, including Irish waxed linen.  I liked that idea the best (in theory) because I chose black linen and it would surround the colorful beads like the black border surrounds the picture.  Alas, it did not work out.

I decided I needed to simplify, and the art beads I ultimately chose are by Diane Hawkey and Genea.  I focused on the colors purple, orange and turquoise and the bull’s-eye design.  I did manage to work in a tiny piece of the black linen to dangle Genea’s lampwork beads from Diane Hawkey’s connector.

I also used purple glass beads with small vintage turquoise beads as spacers and sections of tiny faceted gemstones in orange and purple.  I kept trying to work more art beads into the front of the piece, but the necklace was not interested.  So I used some orange textured tube beads that remind me of the lined orange columns.  I still feel like the piece is a little busy, but not in a way that takes away from the things I wanted to focus on.

The very first beads I thought of when I saw the inspiration piece were some paper beads my Mom gave me.  Aren’t they perfect?  When I read more about the inspiration piece, I really wanted to include these recycled paper beads because the poster was for a conservation organization to raise money for their environmental projects.

I did manage to keep one of these as part of the clasp in the back.  I was so pleased to be able to use one, bring a little interest to the back of the necklace, and continue the bull’s-eye motif.

Thanks for another great challenge, ABS!

 

Waxed Linen Jewelry Blog Hop Reveal

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Bead & Button, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry, Diane Hawkey, Diane Ptaszynski, Erin Seigel, Irish waxed linen, Kandu Beads, Keith O'Connor, Lorelei Eurto

Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio recently got started on a waxed linen kick.  Who can blame her?  Waxed linen is great! Diana decided to have a waxed linen jewelry blog hop.  What a fun idea, and today is the reveal!

I love waxed linen and have been practicing in the last year to get better using it in my jewelry designs.  I had several ideas for this blog hop, but in the end I went with a necklace design using these gloriously grungy connectors by Diane Hawkey.  I got them last year at Bead & Button.

I like that though sometimes beads turn around while you are wearing a necklace, in this case it won’t matter because both sides of each bead are great! I was originally going to hang some beads from the bottom hole of the dangling connector, but I kind of forgot about it as I went along.  I might add something later, but I have a bad habit of complicating jewelry, so maybe I’ll just leave it. I like it as is.

I knotted the three connectors together on brown waxed linen, added two round beads in the same color family and then added sections of rough little ceramic beads from Kandu Beads.  The clasp consists of a linen loop and an orange raku bead by Keith O’Connor.  There is a little bit of the same color orange in one of the connectors.  I love that!

 

I knotted between sections of the tiny beads to give the necklace more structure and a little more heft.  What I like about waxed linen is that it’s flexible and comes in so many sizes and colors.  You can choose a color that blends in like I did or use the linen as a pop of color.  Things made with linen drape so nicely. It’s also easier to save materials if a design doesn’t work out.  I’ve been able to take apart entire necklaces because the wax makes the linen easier to unknot.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge and look forward to more designs using waxed linen.  If you are looking for inspiration, check out Erin Siegel’s Pinterest page.  Erin is the one who inspired Diana’s waxed linen adventures, and Lorelei Eurto and Erin co-authored the wonderful Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry with lots of great projects using fibers, including waxed linen.

Thanks so much Diana for this fun blog hop, and thank YOU for visiting!  Now please go check out the beauties all the other participants made on the blogs below:

Diana Ptaszynski – Our Host!

Kelsy Vincent

Susan Kennedy

Linda Landig

Kashmira Patel

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Vanessa Gilkes

Sandy Huntress

Kay Thomerson

Sarajo Wentling

Kari Asbury

Rebecca Anderson

Melissa Trudinger

Ann Schroeder – You are HERE!

Shai Williams

Blanca Medina

Cheryl Brown

Johana Nunez Rivera

Lori Bowring Michaud

Kelly Morgan

Barbara Bechtel

Kristen Stevens

Heather Boardman

Janet Bocciardi

Kathy Lindemer

Lesley Watt

Susan Kolovson

Jayne Capps

Michelle McCarthy

Cynthia Deis

Karla Morgan

Erin Siegel

Becky Pancake

Kelly Hosford Patterson

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson

Inge von Roos

Carolyn Lawson

Linda Younkman

Sandi Volpe

Toltec Jewels

Michelle Mach

Jen Cameron

Dorothy Winchell

Darlene Mansue

October Art Bead Scene Challenge

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Antelope Beads, Beadtopiavintage, Diane Hawkey, fromNothing, Joshua V. Davis, Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp, MissFickleMedia, More Skye Jewels, Samunnat beads

I love this month’s inspiration, Owl on Gingko Branch (Scops Owl Under Crescent Moon) by Ohara Koson.

 (Please note this art is copyrighted and is to be used only as inspiration.)

This is a woodblock print, and I love the block print style of art.  The framed piece over the couch in my living room is a set of 14 small block prints by Marvin Hill hand painted by Wendy Hill from their series Periodic Table of Elements.  Koson’s color palette is just so lovely.  I find it calming, and I can almost feel the night air on my skin just looking at the piece.

The elements of the painting called out to me right away as well.  Ginkgo leaves are a favorite of mine, and I have several lovely representations of them, although I didn’t end up using one in my necklace for this challenge.  Owls are also very popular in the art bead world, and I have not been immune to their pull.  And there is something I especially love about branch beads.

I immediately decided I would use an owl tile I have by Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp of More Skye Jewels (who by the way is on a break and posting fun things about refinishing furniture if you are into that like I am!)  I also knew I wanted to use a branch bead I have by Diane Hawkey.  I have been seeing a variety of necklaces where the branch is used as a sort of connector between a focal and the neck strand, and it looks so great.  I used a dark coffee Samunnat spice rondelle from Antelope Beads.

 

I also thought of these vintage beads I got from Beadtopiavintage.  They are so unique; I had never seen anything like them before.  The little glass half moons the beads consist of echo the crescent moon in the print.  In addition, the fact that there are topaz crystals between the crescents create a nice juxtaposition of sparkle and fancy in contrast to the more earthy elements of the rest of the necklace.

When I went looking through my stash, I realized I had a bunch of things that would work with this color palette.  In the end, I loved the color, look and material of these gorgeous handmade natural clay beads by Joshua V. Davis.  Check out his shop fromNothing.

I finished with some knotted brown waxed linen, Vintaj chain and a saffron yellow toggle by MissFickleMedia that I’ve been hoarding for a while.

I’m so pleased with how this necklace came together.  I love it when elements that I really enjoy individually unite to make a single piece without overwhelming each other.

Bead Fest Pity Party – Inspiration Adventure

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Bead Fest Pity Party, Diane Hawkey, Happy Mango Beads, lilruby, omekit, PottyMouthGems

Today is day two of the Bead Fest Pity Party.  Welcome!  Today the challenge is to find some inspiration – go to a farmer’s market, museum, park, etc. – and take some photos.

I didn’t have time to stray too far from home today.  In addition to taking part in the Pity Party, I have some home improvement projects going on and a bunch of cooking to do so I use what is left of my most recent farm box before I go on vacation.

But what a lot of inspiration can be found just walking around my neighborhood!  Orange is one of my favorite colors, and I love this beautiful flower with the olive green middle and little white dots that look like Nonpareils.  This is great color combination to use in a piece of jewelry.

The rock wall above reminded me of some granite beads I have from Happy Mango.  Maybe I can figure out some way to put them together in a little “wall” as a bracelet focal.

In addition to showing me how close autumn really is, my walk and the things I decided to take pictures of showed me that I take as much (or more) inspiration in shapes and textures as in colors.  I love the look of these stumps, and they remind me of some great wooden beads and buttons I’ve seen lately.

I love the industrial look and dotty texture of this access cover.  Although the angle of the sun washed out the pretty yellow color, it brought to mind a dotted connector I got from PottyMouthGems and this fun found object necklace from lilruby that has been one of my etsy favorites for a while. When my first idea for the dotted connector did not work out, I became a bit stuck.  This could help unstick me by associating that component with a different style.

This tangle of foliage, some still green but most turning brown, made me think of suede lace.  I thought of braiding some green lace (I have some I got from omekit) and brown lace together for a bracelet and using a Diane Hawkey acorn I have as a charm.

I took a bunch more photos that are really inspiring me.  I’m usually very focused on my goal – walking to get to the bus stop, shopping the farmer’s market to get cooking supplies – but this exercise has shown me that if I take a moment to look around, inspiration is waiting for me everywhere!

Let me know about your inspiration adventure.  You can still enter my Bead Fest Pity Party giveaway through Sunday.  And come back tomorrow for Bead Fest Pity Party – Class of One where the challenge is to try something new.