Floppy Goodness?

Tags

Cynthia Thornton, Heather Powers, Helen Backhouse

The question mark in the title of this post is for two reasons. One because I don’t know that anyone reading this blog could determine the goodness of the parts or whole of the necklace because it is difficult to photograph. It is floppy, long and the bottom metal piece of the pendant is dark compared to the other parts and the polymer bead is very shiny. Two, I feel as though I should like it more than I currently do. I’ll have to wear it and live with it for a while before I decide if “goodness” describes it. I do love all the parts. 

The pendant consists of a a metal drop by Helen Backhouse, turquoise, rustic metal and a polymer clay bead by Cynthia Thornton. I have several of these polymer beads Cynthia made. They are gorgeous. I had gotten them out to consider them for another project that didn’t come together. But seeing the turquoise and ruby swirls in the bead made me pull out my turquoise and ruby beads. I intended to use more of the turquoise beads, but the thing was so heavy after those top two turquoise beads, I decided to add chain. I put some wire-wrapped small turquoise chips to fancy up the chain.

I really love all the elements. I’ll get a chance to wear it this week and also get some family opinions on it in person to see if it needs anything. I have been trying to analyze jewelry that I like to see what I like in it that I sometimes feel is missing from my pieces. After thing about that, I added the wire wrapped seed beads between the metal and turquoise in the pendant because the connection looked skimpy and added the turquoise dangles.

I feel like I am ready and can go to the next step in my jewelry making by being a little more intentional with my designs rather than going for the immediate gratification of getting something done quickly. I also have started to make some of my own components – just beginner ones like ear wires and clasps. After the last online class I took from Heather Powers, I signed up for another one. (I still have one necklace to finish from the first class that involves my nemesis, wire wrapping.)   I want to do like I did last time and take a few days off to focus on the class. That allows me to enjoy it more.

Gemstones!

Tags

Heather Powers, Sondra's Estate Beads Destash Depot

I got this great carved moonstone pendant from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash Depot and wanted to make a long necklace that would fit over my head without a clasp, my current favorite style.

I considered using some special glass beads, but couldn’t find just the right ones, so gemstones won out. I used moonstone cubes and citrine nuggets. I used dark red seed beads to make the gemstones pop. 

So pretty! I love gemstones, especially in the nugget shape of the citrine. Rough, yet elegant. My studio is such a mess, it is difficult to get anything done. I need to clean before I can really focus on the projects I am trying to finish. (I brought this down to the living room to work on.) I have one more necklace from my last Heather Powers class and then I’m going to finish gathering materials for the next class. Exciting!

Finishing Some WIPs and Class Projects

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash, Fluttering Wings Summer Camp, Heather Powers, Suzanne Branca

Hello! Weekends are too short. I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. But there is so much to do and not enough time, including creative time! I am going to try to fit more of that into my weekdays. I did it in January when following Bead in the New Year with Allegory Gallery. I have more jewelry related things going on now, so I am not keeping up with the current prompts as well, but they will be there for me when I am ready.

For this weekend, I wanted to get some works in progress done. I wrote earlier about a wonderful online class I took from Heather Powers in early August. My beads did not cure fully in their first bake. An oven thermometer showed how much my oven 1) lies and 2) varies over the course of a bake. So it took me three bakes to get them fully cured. With that done, I was able to finish the earrings and necklace that used them.

The jewelry and bead designs are Heather’s. I etched and finished the metal and made the beads, ear wires and finished jewelry with her instructions. I am so excited to be able to add my own handmade components to my jewelry! It will be fun when I can design my own beads. I need more instruction first, but I am starting to have ideas. 

This set is also from Heather’s class. I had the etched metals and earrings finished, but was stalling on making the sari silk, wire and seed bead connectors. It was much easier than I thought. I might turn the one around because I must have all the seed beads on the back now that I look at the photo, but I’m pleased in general. I loved the etching lesson. I have bought copper to do more, as well as sterling silver wire to continue making my own ear wires.

I finished one other work-in-progress: a bracelet. I got some vintage filigrees from Suzanne Branca’s Famous Vintage Bead Hoard Liquidation Destash and had bent one for a bracelet focal. I finally made the bracelet by adding a couple types of beaded chain and a lovely Swarovski crystal dangle.

It always feels good to get things done. Only 9,999 more to go!

Heather Powers’ Fluttering Wings Summer Camp

Tags

Heather Powers, Humblebeads

I have wanted to learn to work with polymer clay for some time, but like many things, I put it off. Then I saw what looked like a wonderful opportunity: the Fluttering Wings Summer Camp with Heather Powers of Humblebeads. I already knew Heather was a good teacher; I had seen many of her free Bead Table Wednesday video tutorials. Here is a bracelet I love that I made based on one of them.

I was excited that not only did the summer camp include some polymer clay projects but also a metal etching lesson and some finished jewelry projects using what we made. The course is set up in three distinct parts, so I took three days off of work. I thought it would be too easy to put it off and say I would do it “later” if I didn’t. I was so glad I did. I found that the online format is great for me. There are written and video instructions that I could read/watch the day before and then get right into a project the next morning. I’m a morning person; it’s easy to lose my get up and go by the afternoon if I’m not already into it. I can go back and watch/read things as many times as necessary. I have lifetime access to the materials to try them again and again or use them as the springboard for other projects. There was also a Facebook group where we could share with others and ask questions. Although this is no longer available, there were a limited number of kits containing many of the course materials. I would highly recommend getting that if you ever take a course where that is an option. It was so helpful and beautifully organized.

My things turned out pretty well. (Although I have to bake my beads again because I didn’t use an oven thermometer.) When something didn’t go as planned, I was able to figure out why and knew how to fix it or re-do it based on the excellent course information and/or answers from Heather. Here are some of the beads in process.

Here are some practice ear wires and bezel pendants – one finished (blue) and one that needs a repair, rebake and finishing. The kit included sterling wire for finished earrings, but Heather even included some copper wire for practice. I made a couple of charms from scrap because I wanted to see how easy (or not) it was to embed wire in polymer. (It was easy.) 

Here are a couple of finished pieces using the etching. The earrings are a class project. I love the ear wires! 

The necklace is something extra I made.

I haven’t finished the rest of the jewelry projects yet because I got sick as things were winding down and decided to take it easy. I’m still recovering and will get to those projects when I am able. At the end of the course, Heather did a video showing even more great jewelry projects using the components (or versions thereof) that we made. A great bonus!

I have kind of a bad attitude toward learning new things. I’m always worried they won’t work out, I’ll feel like it’s all been a waste, and I won’t want to keep trying. I think I can change that outlook now. My mom and I have been doing resin experiments and on the whole, they have been turning out. When they don’t, I can figure out why and even want to try again. The same can be said of my work for these lessons. Everything was so much more doable and worked out so much better than I could have imagined. I loved it, and it was an incredibly positive experience. I am planning to take more of Heather’s online classes and have even looked at other polymer tutorials I bought and never used. It’s an exciting new way to explore my creativity.

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.

Jewelry Summer Camp and Preparing for Fall

Tags

Artists for Animals Auction, Fluttering Wings Summer Camp, Ginger Davis Allman, Heather Powers, Heather Powers Art, Humblebeads, Miss Fickle Media, The Blue Bottle Tree, The Muse

Whenever I feel inspired to work on things for the Artists for Animals Auction, I go for it. I don’t like doing things at the last minute, so it feels good to have some items ready. The next auction is in the fall sometime, and I’ve already made three – possibly four – sets of earrings.

First up, pink cornflake pearl earrings. 

I fell in love with these pink cornflake pearl earring dangles when I saw them in the Miss Fickle Media shop. I’ve been trying to use them ever since, and have never made anything work quite right. I think I’ve finally found their design.

Next are olive citrine earrings.

I love long kidney wires. I think they are so elegant. One beautiful bead hanging there, and your earrings are made. Here are two views: one that shows the citrine better and one that shows the beautiful handmade balled headpins. I’ve been hoarding those for a long time. Love these!

My third pair is made with beautiful, large coin pearls.

The second photo is so you get a better look at the finding they are on. I really love these large coin pearls and therefore these earrings.

I recently read an article by Ginger Davis Allman of The Blue Bottle Tree. She was saying that it is a myth that people with sensitive pierced ears can use surgical steel, sterling silver and other metals. She recommended niobium as what works. I used to feel naked without earrings. Then my ears became sensitive and no metal worked – including sterling silver and 14 KT gold. I thought that meant there was no hope, and I haven’t worn earrings in years. I don’t remember trying niobium at that time, even though I know about them now. So I’m going to order a few pair and see if I can wear them. How great that would be!

I got that tip from Ginger’s The Muse newsletter. It’s a thrice weekly email newsletter that has great short bits and tricks, so it’s easy to read but always really valuable. I recommend it!

The reason I said possibly four pair of earrings is that I’m not sure how much I like these. I love the reverse painted scruffy cat on these beads. However, they are large hole and so swing around on the wire a bit. I put some seed beads inside, but it’s always hard to get the exact right size to keep beads steady. Maybe it’s not a problem. Scruffy cat has a cute backside too! I show them both here.

The other part of this post is an exciting creative and educational opportunity I’ve gifted myself. Heather Powers of Humblebeads is offering a wonderful online course called Fluttering Wings Summer Camp. The learning includes techniques in polymer clay, copper etching and metal work, silk ribbon beads, ear wires, and finished jewelry tutorials. I’ve taken three days off work to use it as a little creative staycation for myself and make sure I get things done. However, it’s an online class you’ll get lifetime access to, so you can do it any time. If you are able, check it out. I think it is going to be a lot of fun and teach me some great techniques.

 

 

Creative Weekend

Tags

Bead Table Wednesday, Beads to Blooms, Diane Hawkey, Heather Powers, Loralee Kolton, Miss Fickle Media, Sarah Moran, Yvonne Irvin-Faus, Z-Beads

I did more creating this weekend. Some I’ll show here; others are still in process and/or in preparation for my next resin pour. I’m really loving resin.

First is also an in progress piece. I got this large vintage cuff from Beads to Blooms Destash. The owner also has an etsy store, but I’m always looking for the one off pieces. I used some Vintaj marble patina on the design part. I need to clean it up and relief it back some more. I might also paint some colors on the design and then relief those back. I love the ’70s look it has so far with the size and the bright metal. 

I also made a couple more simple bead-on-chain necklaces. The first uses one of my precious Sarah Moran beads from z-beads. I own exactly one strand of her beads, and this was a little mini-me bead that was included, so I felt ok using it. There is a little ring of tiny green dots, and I used that color chartreuse enamel chain that I got from Yvonne Irvin-Faus for a simple necklace. I love how the pink and blue look with the green. I’m such a fan of unusual color combinations. 

A second simple chain necklace uses a Diane Hawkey word bead. 

It is a somewhat rustic bead, and what could be considered a harsh word, so I liked the idea of putting it on this elegant chain. The textured chain is black without color on the higher parts. That makes the metal sparkle. I finished it with a Miss Fickle Media clasp. I feel like this word is ripe for reclamation. It’s used against women any time someone wants to let us know we aren’t “acceptable” in some way. I sometimes hear women use it to empower themselves, giving themselves permission to be assertive, to have an opinion, to speak up, to not back down. I often say I can be perceived as rude to someone else or I can be rude to myself. I have no desire to be rude to myself. If that makes someone think I am or call me a bitch, I’ll take that as a compliment. So I have this necklace to reclaim that word for myself.

Last, I finally finished something that has been languishing on my bead table since my first resin experiments at the end of last year. I made a wonderful pendant I really loved. However, it was already kind of heavy, and no matter what beads I put with it, it seemed even heavier, both in visual and physical weight. A necklace the fabulous Loralee Kolton showed today on Facebook had a kind of fancy way to knot it on leather cord from a Bead Table Wednesday tutorial by Heather Powers. I realized that would be the perfect way to finish my resin pendant. 

The connection is called the cat’s paw knot, and it’s just a little nicer and fancier than my regular lark’s head knot, so I will be using this again. I really love how this pendant looks on simple leather cord, nothing to distract from the pendant, which has enough going on.

I’ll be showing the other things I was working on in the weeks to come as they are finished. I am happy to be doing more things that are multiple steps. It feels like the next step in creativity to make or alter some of the components I’m using in my jewelry.

 

Welcome to My Studio

Tags

3crows, Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Cynthia Thornton, Diane Hawkey, Erin Prais-Hintz, Gaea, Gina Chalfant, Heather Powers, Holly Strope, Jules Sontag, Mary Harding, Peter Max, Sara Pulver, Signe Baumane, Staci Louise Originals, Stephanie Schroeder, The Polymer Arts Blog, The Polymer Studio, Wendy Wallin Malinow, White Swan Studio

I’ve been wanting to do a studio tour and finally have. I love studio tours and getting ideas from other artists. I mention this blog post from The Polymer Arts Blog (which I call The Polymer Studio because that’s the name of their magazine I get.) It talks about studios in a really helpful way and links to some fun studio tours.

I tried to do a nice intro, but then I couldn’t figure out how to turn the camera around. It did give me a funny post for Facebook!

I am by no means a videographer or a smooth talker, um, but here is a link to the tour. I can’t figure out how to embed it, even though I’ve done it once before. I hope you find it interesting and maybe get an idea for your own space!

Here are links to the artists that I mention in the video.

Cat lady picture is by Sara Pulver of 3crows

Holly Strope

Erin Prais-Hintz

Gaea

Peter Max

Signe Baumane

Heather Powers

Cynthia Thornton

Also find Cynthia here at Green Girl Studios

Find Andrew Thornton’s work (and other fabulous things) at Allegory Gallery 

Find Gina Chalfant (I’m sorry I pronounced her last name wrong!) at White Swan Studio

I should have re-listened to the Allegory Gallery podcast with Gina to get that name correct. But this gives me the chance to tell you that Allegory Gallery has a podcast featuring interesting interviews with artists. Check them out here.

Wendy Wallin Malinow

Diane Hawkey

I’ll give you a tip. Diane doesn’t post a lot on her site, but you can find some things in shops, at shows or sometimes when she does trunk shows on Facebook. I know as of this writing, Allegory Gallery has a really nice selection of her beads and pendants.

Jules Sontag

Staci Louise Smith

Stephanie Schroeder

Mary Harding

 

Artists for Animals Auction 2019 – #2

Tags

Andrew Thornton, Heather Powers, Madison Cat Project, Miss Fickle Media, Patty Way, Sondra's Estate Beads Destash Depot, Supply Your Soul, Vintaj

I haven’t been feeling as inspired as usual lately, so I was a little worried I wouldn’t have much for the Artists for Animals Auction. But this weekend I have been feeling really inspired and have made quite a number of things. I feel good about what I have now, and I think I will have a few more! Here are more things I made since my last post (yesterday!)

Fun, arty earrings with “shards” by Patty Way. (I can’t find a link for a shop or site for her. If you have one, let me know.)

Elegant bugs! Cute beetle charms from Miss Fickle Media with gold dagger dangles from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash Depot. 

I love whimsical, so I couldn’t pass up these metalized plastic pineapple charms. So cute! I paired them with some polymer beads Andrew Thornton made in a class Heather Powers taught about her technique. 

These might be my favorite. Textured boho Vintaj rounds that started out bright silver. I used two colors of Vintaj patina and their reliefing block to get this weathered look and paired them with metal beads with ancient relic patina from Supply Your Soul.

Please visit the Artists for Animals page to bid starting April 29th. There will be many artists with a variety of items participating. Each artist supports their chosen charity. My proceeds will be donated to Madison Cat Project.

2019 Art Journey One with Art Bead Scene

Tags

Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Art Journey One, Heather Powers, Miss Fickle Media

Art Bead Scene has a new format. They offer multiple inspiration pieces on a theme (topic, artist, etc.) and provide artists more time to create a piece using an art bead. They are calling these art journeys, and there will be nine per year. The first uses inspiration by Heather Powers. There are two drawings that are so fabulous. When I saw the first one, I thought “what wonderful inspiration!”

Then a second inspiration piece was added, and I liked it even more! (You can buy Heather’s art prints, including these two in her shop.) 

I really love both of the inspiration pieces and the colors, but I admit I struggled with this challenge. I have plenty of things in my stash that would work, but I’ve found that nature based inspiration is not easy for me. That is something I can work on.

I feel like Heather’s drawings show natural elements as jewels, so I wanted to make something sort of “fancy.” I ended up choosing this polymer and resin butterfly focal by Andrew Thornton. 

I remember Andrew saying it was a faux version of a technique, but I can’t remember the name. He made it for a magazine. You can see how the design in the wings is translucent. It was already assembled with the dangles (I love how the balled headpins make the pearls look like little legs.) I added some small gemstones to the center holes for additional color.

I wanted to bring in a metallic to highlight the edging around the wing designs. I’ve had these fancy Czech glass ice pearls in gold and cranberry waiting for the right project. I also used vintage metal spacers. To bring in a lighter color, I used irregular stone beads because they reference the color of the center moth in the first picture. I finished off the back with hessonite garnets and a clasp by Miss Fickle Media.

Have you joined the Art Bead Scene’s new Art Journey yet? The deadline for this first one is February 9th. To see what others have made, visit the blog.