Black and White

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Jenny Davies-Reazor, SagaHus Components

I fell in love with some image transfer on polymer pendants by Jenny Davies-Reazor. This art nouveau style pansy has also been accented around the edges with paint which might be the touch that stole my heart. I do love a black and white scheme too. 

I had these simple cut black beads sitting on my bead table for a while because I had many ideas for them. I had never completed any of the design ideas because apparently the beads were waiting to be united with this pendant.

I also had a pair of SagaHus Components in black and white on my table. I love the stitching on the fabric! 

I added some lightweight aluminum chain at the back to have a choice of lengths depending on my neckline. I believe these black beads have found their project. I’m really happy with how it all looks together. 

 

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Artists for Animals Auction Begins Today!

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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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Artists for Animals

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Anna Pierson, Artists for Animals, Firefly Design Studio, Madison Cat Project, Michelle Ann McCarthy, Sagahus, SagaHus Components

Artist Michelle Ann McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio makes beautiful pottery. I love her ceramic beads and other creations.  She also has a heart for animals. In the past, she has done fundraisers for animal rescues and now she has invited others to join in. I have never sold my jewelry before, but I could not pass up the opportunity to raise funds to help animals. I think how little they ask for and how much they give. 

This is my sweetie girl, MooKitty. She was born a barn cat and then lived in a home where she was abused before she found her way to my sister when she was 6 months old. She came to live with me about a year and a half ago, and she has enriched my life in so many ways.

Michelle blogged about the Artists for Animals fundraiser on the Art Bead Scene Studio blog. November 6 – 12, 2017, artists from around the world will auction off their handmade items to raise money for their favorite animal charity.  The sale of my items will benefit Madison Cat Project, a no kill organization dedicated to finding a home for every cat who comes to them. I like that they work extra hard to find homes for cats with behavioral or medical issues who might not have a chance in a different shelter environment. They have creative solutions to finding a good outcome for every cat.

I wanted to whet your appetite with a couple pictures of pieces I’ve made so far for the auction.  I hope you like them!
Here is a necklace in lovely fall colors with a peek-a-boo cat pendant by Michelle herself! I love her peek-a-boo animal pendant series.  So cute!Here is a bohemian style necklace with wood and colorful clay beads and a brass lizard pendant.

I’m also planning to make some earrings.  I was excited to get these lovely kitty drops by Anna Pierson of SagaHus Components for this project.  I haven’t designed them yet, so I hope they turn out really great!

I have more made and have more to make, but I’ll leave you with just this preview.  Not all of my pieces will be animal themed, so if you are not an animal jewelry person, there will still be things for you. Please join us November 6 – 12, 2017.  Maybe do some holiday shopping or just get yourself something.  There will be lots of artists (not just me) and the animals thank you!

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Turquoise and Leather

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SagaHus Components, Sundance Catalog

My mother got a Sundance catalog the other day.  We were looking through it, and I was trying to get her to play the “if I were rich” game and say everything we would buy. She’s practical enough that it wasn’t quite her game, but I excel at it! However, both of us agreed on a number of things, including this simple yet beautiful necklace. So while I was playing in the studio recently, I decided to make my own version. 

Of course I had to add my own little touch, so I used a dangle from SagaHus Components.  I often get my connections not quite to my liking. I wanted the flat side of the leather to show where it connects to the pendant instead of the suede side. I might change it, but I’ll wait and see if I’m going to untie it anyway to shorten it. 

The necklace is very long, but I see that is the style these days. I like it when I see it, but I’ll have to decide how practical it is for me. I see this banging against things at work. But it’s worth trying because I think it’s very chic. UPDATE: I wore this to work, and it was wonderful! I’m going to leave it as is.

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Evolution

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BubbyMcGurk Beads, Ragged Robyn, SagaHus Components, Slate Studios Supply, Uglibeads, Vintaj

I tried Vintaj patina the other day, and colored some chain I really like.  

I had an idea for it, but when I tried it, I didn’t think it came together that well despite using wonderful components.

While I love these beads by Ragged Robyn and wire and fabric component by SagaHus Components, the necklace didn’t work the way I thought it would.  So I tried something else.

I liked this version with dagger beads by Slate Studios Supply better, but it still wasn’t quite right.

As I pondered what the issue was, I realized that most of my beads are more rustic and this chain is more refined in style, even with the patina.  So I thought about what I had in my stash that would be a bit smoother for it.  I have pictures of many of my beads, so I looked through those which is a way of going through my stash (at least part of it) without making a big mess.  I envy people with things like printer cabinets where they can open a drawer and see lots of things. I have to paw through baggies and small boxes in bigger boxes I then can’t close properly to stack.

Anywho, I thought a lampwork bead with lovely colors from Uglibeads would be just the thing, but really, it was a bit rustic as well. So I looked at some other lampwork beads and found this set of orphans by Dean Abner of BubbyMcGurk Beads. 

I decided these go best with the chain. Each part lets the other shine, and there is plenty of interest with the different colors, sizes and patterns. They have relatively large holes, so I used some thicker 7-ply waxed linen to attach the beads to the chain. The knots are a bit bigger due to the ply, so I’ll have to decide if that bothers me.  But I’m pleased I found a way to use the lampwork orphans and the chain that I think works and will gives me a necklace a bit different than things I often make.

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Bird Queen

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Allegory Gallery, Gaea Handmade, SagaHus Components

I saw this bird queen pendant when Gaea showed a preview of some upcoming listings recently.  I really wanted it and was a little amazed when I got it.  Her pendants (not only the birds) fly right out of her shop or Facebook almost as soon as they are listed! 

Soon after, I was doing a little shopping with Allegory Gallery and saw the perfect periwinkle shade of Czech glass beads to go with it. I found some orange/red Czech glass in my stash along with a few bone colored German glass beads that would look great in the design as well.

I was taking my materials on a visit to my parents, and I had some fabric and wire components from Anna Pierson of SagaHus.  As soon as I showed her my choices, my mom picked these out as perfect, and they are.  She gave me a few antique ivory beads she had lying around and ta-da!

I also used a clasp by Gaea.  I really love how it turned out!

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Saturday Success

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SagaHus Components, Staci Louise Originals, Staci Louise Smith, WoolyWire

I’ve had the materials for this necklace sitting around for a short time and this morning I put it together.  I love these hand drawn pendants by Staci Louise Smith.  I also love pink, so I especially love this one.  Then I recently got some wire wrapped fabric components in a variety of pink and red (including one pair with tiny mirror elements!) from Anna of Sagahus Components and thought they would look good with the pendant. 

I used those components with some faceted red beads and large jump rings to create a chain.  I didn’t especially like my wire wrapping near the pendant, so I covered it up with some WoolyWire in a colorway that works with the necklace.

I’m pleased with how this turned out. Now to find time for some of the other hundreds of ideas in my head to come to fruition!

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Vintage Plastic

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Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Anna Pierson, Saga Hus, SagaHus Components, vintage plastic beads

I have really gotten interested in vintage plastic beads lately.  I blame Andrew Thornton and Allegory Gallery – in a good way!  Andrew often includes plastic beads in his kits for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge (super fun and inspiring challenges, by the way) and their etsy shop.

Recently, Anna Pierson of Saga Hus was having a component sale and destash on her SagaHus Components Facebook Page. I love her wire and fiber (and sometimes beaded) components, and I also got some great vintage plastic beads!  I could not resist the fabulous egg shape and swirly pumpkin texture. Reading that description, maybe I was hungry!  It worked out, though, because soon after I got them, I made a delicious necklace!

I strung them all together on waxed linen with yellow seed beads as spacers.  I added a pair of glass beads that seemed to fit in for added interest at the front and a few trixies for fun at the back. It’s long enough to slip over my head. I really like vintage plastic beads and the fun, lightweight looks I’ve been able to get with them.

Rough Amethyst

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Anna Pierson, Cynthia Thornton, Green Girl Studios, Saga Hus, SagaHus Components

Yep, another necklace today.  I’m having a great time creating during my vacation!  Today I used some rough amethyst nuggets, a steel and plum sari silk connector by Anna Pierson from her component page SagaHus Components and a pewter bird pendant designed by Cynthia Thornton (though not Green Girl).

I love LOVE how this turned out.  I had been trying to do wire wrapped loops for the amethyst, but I can never make wire wrapping on irregular beads look nice. It finally hit me that I could do simple loops, and it would be better because I wouldn’t feel quite so much like it wasn’t neat enough.

Thanks for stopping by.  I might have something else to post tomorrow!

A Necklace with Heart

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Anna Pierson, Jennifer Tough, Julie Wong Sontag, Saga Hus, SagaHus Components, Uglibeads

I love it when I can use special components.  I know, I know; I think every component is special!  But I mean extra special once they all come together. Tonight I put together a necklace I really love.  I recently purchased some cocoon components made by Anna Pierson of Saga Hus.  She has started selling them on her SagaHus Components Facebook page.  I had an idea right away to link some together to make a sort of chain at the front of a necklace. As I worked on it, it morphed into something more and more special.

I added a rough bronze heart by Jennifer Tough I got on her destash page.  I love everything by Julie Wong Sontag of Uglibeads. Her shop tag line is “wearable art made with spirit & good energy” and I can feel it in every piece.  I used two pair of her weenie lampwork beads in the colors of the fiber Anna used in her cocoons.  I finished the whole thing off with some beaded chain in the back.

I absolutely love how everything works together so perfectly in this necklace. Thanks to all the bead and component makers who helped this come together!