Rondelle Challenge - Sue & Donna Rock!

 A few weeks back, Sue from Suebeads threw out a Rondelle Challenge and gave five lucky readers a set of her enameled rondelles.  It's a new shape for her, so she's giving us a chance to work with them and show off the possibilities!

I decided to take these rondelles from Sue and combine them with some of her other lampworked glass as well as more glass from Donna Millard.  I ended up with three pieces to share...the first is this memory wire bracelet that features lots of bright colors and shapes:

 I love the pinks and oranges together. 

 I made up some twisted blue wire beads to pull in the blues.  I love how the shape of the wire wrapping mimics the shape of the blue lampworked bead from Sue.

The second piece is a sweet pendant hanging from a simple fuchsia choker wire.  I created a little stack of handmade goodness including one of the rondelles.

I had a set of two big blue pearls from a Hawaii trip in recent years and was able to use them here and in the bracelet.  

The final piece ended up strung!  I was working with wire and created a lot of links.  Then, after walking away for a while, I ended up cutting them all apart and starting over.

I strung this asymmetric section and then attached it to some nice long leather with a fancy clasp at the bag.  

 The piece ends up hanging really long and I love it.

The rest of the rondelle bunch can be seen at their blogs linked here:

Holly Westfall - SilverRose Designs

Erin Prais-Hintz - Treasures Found...Inspiration Everywhere

Barbara Fernald - Barbara S. Fernald Jewelry

Kristi Harrison - It's a New Day

and, you're already here with Jen Judd Rocks!  :)

Thanks again to Sue for the great idea and the great beads!!

Artisan Clay Design Team - Pennsylvania Girls

Hi all.  Welcome to my January Artisan Clay Design Team reveal post.

Kristie Roeder, the magic hands behind these wonderful stoneware and recycled glass pieces of art, challenged the team to start out the new year.  She picked pieces for all of us sight unseen.  I lucked out with this blue and white pendant that's bright and summery and happy...perfect for the doldrums of a mediocre, muddy winter.  Plus, blue and white are my high school alma mater's colors, so I figured this little project could do double duty as a birthday present for one of my hometown buds as we move into our "over 40" years.  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  

Right away, I thought it'd be easy...it's blue, for crying out loud.  But, alas, matching the tones of these blues was harder than I thought it would be.  I think the darker one looks like the crayon called "cornflower" and the lighter one is a clearer version of the same.  You can see in the pic above that I started towards fibers that were in the right color family for this design.  I picked out some white-washed, pale wood disks and then re-discovered my little crystal hoard...that's when the design took a different turn.  

I have experienced a dearth of inspiration, lately, when I sit at the bead table.  But, one of my fave designers of late is fellow Team member, Staci over at Staci Louise Originals.  She just has a cool way of putting unique bits together into a composition that doesn't seem like it should work but just does!  So, I used her designs as inspiration for this piece...I hope she sees it as a suitable tribute. :)  

There's one other art bead included in the design:  that little blue lampworked glass round is from Sue at Suebeads, another Design Team member.  

That brings the total number of Pennsylvania girls involved in this project to four...Kristie, Staci, Sue, and I all hail from the Keystone state.  How cool is that?

Purple Pieces for a Thursday Morning

I just got back from the track and while I cool down/sit here and wish I didn't have to get dressed for work I just wanted to post a few pics of the summertime pieces I've been working on.  These are two of the purple sets.

Kick-ass purpley-pink faceted magnesite rounds are the standouts here, but there is still some fantastic glass goodness from SueBeads, some vintage glass and some pearls...all finished off with my new leather luv and a steel wire.  I'm psyched about how cool the clasps look 'cause I made them myself!

And, of course, the matching bracelet. 

A four-artist masterpiece:  a Barbara Lewis enameled bead, a Cherie Ranfranz lampwork focal and then a Gardanne enameled pendant...who's the fourth artist?  I'm taking that credit because I'm so proud of my little twisted wire clasp. :0

Another matching bracelet with a Barbara bead and a pretty little glass round from SueBeads all arranged with some leather, brass and steel.  Love this one!

Sh*t...now I'm going to be late...haaaaaaaaaaaaa

BTW - Working with Art Beads

It's Bead Table Wednesday, so time to share what I have out on my bead table this week.  Since my AF job has become nearly overwhelming I've had scarce time to actually sit and create so this photo is from a few nights ago...the table hasn't changed, though, since then.


First off, a little play with Artisan Clay pendants for this month's design team.  They're lovely rich green and turquoise so I've been having fun matching things with them.  Kristie wrote a post about them this week on her blog.  I'm mixing them with some lampworked glass from Genea...those little striped sprees and some striped glass headpins.  She's getting ready to move her whole household so decided to have a little sale this week in her Etsy shop...if you're not a "bead" person and you're in the mood for jewelry, some of her original designs are on sale, too.

Here's another view of the table...more art beads in the line up.  There are some Barbara Lewis enameled  beads over there on the right piled up with some of Juls' lampworked glass.  I think it's funny how the orange bead selection all got moved to the back of the table.  I was working on a piece inspired by Marcie's Margie & Me inspiration for the month but got frustrated with the simple stringing design I was trying.  So, moved it all over and got into the green!

And the next color in line is blue to match up with some more Artisan Clay charms.  I pulled out lampworked hollow glass beads from Kay Bolden.  She's a local artist from Poquoson so I get my beads from my local bead shop but she has an Etsy shop, too.  The little turquoise & raku bits are from Maryse Thillens of GlassBeadArt.  There is a little set of lampworked rounds in there from SueBeads, too!  I recently reported to my husband that I've slimmed down my bead purchases...I realize this doesn't look like it, but there are all beads that I've gotten over months and months...nothing from May!  haaaaaaaaaa

The rest of my beady friends have laid bare their own bead tables for this regular Wednesday update and you can see them in the BTW flickr group!

Art Bead Scene: Beads 2011 Giveaway

I have to post about this giveaway because I want another chance to win it, but I don't necessarily want anyone else to join it because I am seriously coveting the big prize and don't want to decrease my chances...what a dilemma!  haaaaaaaaaaa  


The Art Bead Scene editor, Ms. Erin Prais-Hintz, has gathered bits and baubles from tons of artists and businesses featured in the recently released Beads 2011 and is having a huge giveaway!

I have a copy of this issue sitting right here in my living room and the corners are dog-eared because I spent a lot of time looking for my friends and favorite artists who I've met through blogging in there.  Luckily I found a ton of them who I already buy from on a regular basis....
- Suebeads is Sue Kennedy from Pittsburgh.  Since she's a fellow Pennsylvania girl, we've gotten to know each other with lots of bead sharing and tips, ideas, and inspiration.
- Shaterra Clay Studio has some luscious pieces and she actually just put a bunch of new goodies in her Etsy shop.  (I have to make a little note here because I just almost cramped up laughing...I put "shaterra.blogspot.com" into my navigating line and when the results came up the post at the top said, "I'm looking for cartoon characters having sex." Apparently this wasn't Sharleen's blog! haaaaaaaaaaaa)
- Summers Studio ceramics are always lovely...and really show off her style.
- Heather from Humblebeads showed off her latest components...she's been adding new things to her polymer clay line like crazy!
- Elaine Ray beads are a fave of mine...I tend to hoard them, though, rather than use them.


I know this isn't a complete list, but I have to go to work eventually.  I was there until almost midnight trying to analyze data and figure out how the Air Force's civilian hiring controls are going to affect all of our units.  With about 10K positions out there and just about as many civilians filling them, it was a bit of a challenge.  Gotta get back to it!

Art Beads, Memory Wire & Rubber

I have been on an art bead high lately...that's what it's like when you go on an Etsy spree and start buying beads you don't need and then you get tons of little packages in the mail.  It's such a rush!

To help me deal with that addiction and actually give me some justification to do more "support of other artists" I finally sat down to make something.  Memory wire and rubber tubing are two of my favorite things right now.  I just love how easy it is to create something fun and dramatic so quickly.  I have two designs to share...

First, this is a springy piece in honor of the coming season.  I actually have a lot of purple and yellow beads and didn't really think about it until I started looking.  The lead bead in this batch is the etched rondelle from Cherie R. and then the others fell in line:  a disc from HMB Studios, a big rondelle from Libelula, and two shades of purple from SueBeads.  I threw in some bright yellow Swarovski crystal and some purple coils to keep things interesting.  The brown rubber tubing makes it look like leather, but then you get faked out because it just wraps around your wrist without a clasp and stays there!  

The second one has a different, more serious, vibe.  The chartreuse-based lampwork from Julsbeads gets mixed with a speckled enameled oval from GardanneBeads for the focal grouping on this one.  I used some cool heishi pearls from a recent trunk show over at Bead Haven along with black rubber tubing to fill in the blanks.  It's just the right balance of beads for a bangle.

I put these both for sale out on my Etsy site.  :)

ABS Challenge - Persia in September

The work of art that the Art Bead Scene folks picked out this month for inspiration in their challenge is a work called "Persia" by George Barbier.  I focused on the orange of the lovely robe for my art beads this month and came up with this set...

There are a few different artists represented in these pieces:

A set of Brendan Blake lampwork beads called "Orange Violet Pebbles,"

some lampwork discs from HMB Studios, and

enameled beads and bead caps from SueBeads.

For some reason, I just can't get enough of this antiqued brass looking metal.  So, I splurged on some Vintaj leafy branches to round out this look--love them on the earrings.  Plus, I'm not a big user of beadcaps, but I love the effect of these little brass floral ends.

I used spiny oyster, vintage brass, and random orange stone rondelles and rounds to finish the long necklace.  Then more of the same on memory wire (my personal addiction), with some tourmaline nuggets--it took a while to separate out the purples from the rest, but it was worth it.

Feel free to shop...this one just got listed in my Etsy:  jenjuddrocks

Boom, Baklava, Beer...

Boom - This morning while getting dressed, I heard a loud noise.  I figured it was the cat knocking over his carpet-covered-bowl/perch while trying to jump through the door to catch a bird.  But, when I looked out at him, he just looked at me, sitting all comfy in his favorite spot there by the screen door, with that "what are you looking at me for? are you going to give me treats?" look.  So, then, my next thought was that the furnace or something blew up.  But, I didn't smell smoke so I left for work as usual.  Lo' and behold, according to the radio, I was aural witness to the space shuttle flight towards Florida and it was the sonic boom that I heard.  I laughed so hard I almost wrecked my car.  I can now be certified as the crazy cat lady:  I thought a space travel miracle was wacky cat action.

Baklava - I don't think any dessert item with 2.5 sticks of real butter can be wrong.  It's in the oven and smells fantastic!  My class is studying Turkey tomorrow and in lieu of doing the required reading and preparation for our group project (everyone loves group projects, right?) I'm baking (and blogging) a traditional Turkish food.  haaaaaaaa  Is there irony in being the fat girl who brings snacks?  haaaaaaa  Is there even more irony that I've spent more time composing this post than I will the two powerpoint slides that I'm going to deliver tomorrow?  haaaaaaaaaaaaa

Beer - I found some Miller Lite cans in the back of my cupboard the other day.   It's like a little extra treasure for the evening.  It goes perfectly with the leftover pistachios. 

Beads - It was a good mail day yesterday.  I got some beaded beads from my La Bella Joya connection. Sweetie Marcie listed some pink and yellow beads and I just knew they were for me because I hinted to her back in the Bead Soup Party that I needed some strawberry lemonade beads.  I'll have pics to show later this week.  Another cool package that I got was from an old high school friend and recent customer who happened to be at a Bead Fest with some friends and didn't know what to make of it.  She thought of me and sent me some Sonoran glass and a couple of My Elements bits.  It's like she could read my bead mind and we haven't seen each other in over 20 years!!  haaaaaaaaaaa

Bangles - My current mission is to use as many fantastic art beads in eclectic bracelets as humanly possible.  Here's one with the following ingredients:  a pair of purple and silver lampwork rondelles from Suebeads, an organic purple and brown lampwork focal from Bronwen Heilman, an etched Tibetan agate bead from Happy Mango, a bone flower accent that I picked up in Hawaii in 2008 (has it been that long?!) at The Bead Gallery.  Oh, and there are some South American beans that my friend, Stella, brought me from Brazil.  :)  There's wood on there, too...I think that's from Michael's.

Bright - I got an A on my air campaign planning test!

Boring - The lecture we had this morning was nearly interminable.  Monotone is not a good briefing style when discussing the law of war.  Yes, in one day I can learn about how we strive to avoid civilian casualties in conflict, make three pairs of earrings, and chef up a baklava.

Brave - I got all my hair cut off.  Pics will follow, but for those who've known me for years, I'm back to my roots.  Pun intended.

Baby Boy - My little one-eyed sweetie fattie cat is doing great!  The other day he was resting outside in the sun with me and the next thing I know he's jetting across the yard after a baby bunny.  Since I don't like walking in grass without shoes (I have a weird bug creepy feeling if I do) I ran in the house to get some flip-flops before going to find out if he had a bloody bunnilet (my new word for baby bunny) in his grasp.  Lucky for the bunny (and for me), one-eyed fattie didn't catch him.  haaaaaaaaaaaaaa I'm glad I can look at him as my sweet half-blind angel and not as a killer.  :)

Blessed - I love my blog friends and my family and my near friends and my far friends and my sweetie husband and my sunshine life that seems sad sometimes, but seems to get better every gorgeous morning!!  Thank you!!!

Beer & Nut Jewelry

I have a test in the morning on joint air campaign planning.  Yep, a four page essay on the command and control of our country's air power...should be a cinch, right?  haaaaaaaaaaaa  Apparently I'm on a study break.  In honor of my little snack time, here are some of my newest pieces....

These earrings have all the beer and nuts you need!

The brown glass rings are recycled from bottles...from Art by the Case

Purple enameled headpins from SueBeads

Nuts from Brazil.  :)

Of course, a matching necklace would be great, right?

This necklace is copper cool.

The big copper toggle is from Artbeads.com.

The purple stone focal and crazy lace purple beads are from my random stash.

Most importantly, the recycled brown glass ring is from Bronwen Heilman.

Many thanks to my friend, Anne-Marie who did some proxy shopping for me out in Santa Fe.  :)

Oh, and there are lots more Brazilian nuts!

These beer-nut specials are in my etsy shop.  :)

It Started With The Little Spotted Beads

I went through a phase probably about a year ago that I felt like I just had to have all these spotted "peacock beads."  There's just something about the color and fun and dottiness of them that makes me happy.  But, alas, they were sitting undiscovered in one of my various workshop drawers.  So, they're out and about, now, and playing well with others....

Yellow peacock beads from Artbeads.com

Light blue lampwork glass from SueBeads

Mykonos Greek ceramic square disks from LindenAvenueDesigns

Little yellow beans from my friend's trip to Brazil :)

Red peacock glass beads from Artbeads.com

Red & turquoise ruffled lampwork glass disks from HMB Studios

Blue textured lampwork glass from Blue Seraphim

Little red beans from my friend's trip to Brazil

Feel free to get your shopping on...these pairs are listed in my Etsy shop.  :)

Anticipation - Focus on the Positive

The way I see it, when you're waiting for something, in anticipation, you're in one of two mindsets...
 ...you're excited because something positive or good or fun or wonderful is most likely to happen
or
 ...you're worried or afraid that something bad or negative or scary or yucky will probably happen.


For the April Art Bead Scene Carnival post, it's my task to write on "anticipation."  Well, I want to delve into how important it is to look forward to something...and creating something for yourself to look forward to in a positive and exciting way, in particular.   I think we all tend towards viewing life in one way or the other...an intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.  What the h*ll am I talking about?  Well, I think you can either feel like you have some control over your own destiny, and see things as positive opportunities; or you can attribute things that happen to you to someone else--"they" or "them"--and see the negative consequences.  What I'm trying to say is that you can create opportunities for yourself to look forward to--that pleasurable feeling of anticipation--in small and big ways through art and creating and even growing a business.  (I'd say that family and career and relationship are all in here, too, but I've got to have some focus, right?  haaaaaaaaaa)


Now, I am not Miss Positive Energy all the time, believe me.  But, when it comes to my craftiness, that's where I really like to focus on the positive...here are few examples...


First, trying new things.  I wanted to try making glass beads.  What's the worst that could happen?  I could burn Juli's workshop down?  haaaaaaaa  A week or so ago, I shared a post about meeting Julianna Cannon and getting my first try at the torch.  I was sooo freaking excited to try it that I really didn't even think about the whole "what if I can't do this?" or "what if I hurt myself?" because even if I can't do it the first time, I know I can try again and even if I hurt myself it will be a funny story!  Not only did I have the anticipation and excitement about working with fire, but then, once I was done, I had to wait to see how my beads came out!  Juli annealed them and cleaned them for me, I had no idea how any of my random color efforts would come out.  Well, TA DA!!  They are some jacked up wonky beads but I love them!!!!!

Second, ordering new things.  Another one of the best parts about creating is buying tools, supplies, or other people's art on-line!  If you haven't experienced the sweet anticipation of packages on the way from your fave Etsy shops or on-line bead suppliers or tool shops, then you don't know what you're missing!  You can wear pajamas, drink coffee, talk to the cats and have snacks all at the same time (if you're a weird cat person who likes to wear pajamas a lot like me).  So, in the spirit of giving yourself something to look forward to, I picked a couple of Etsy shops out of my list of favorites to share...

Purple Tie-Dye Polymer Beads by ArtyBecca

Art Museum Letters for Mixed Media Applications from KathyOrf

Blood Orange Ceramic Beads from MAKU Studio

Third, meeting new people.  I enjoy being a part of this blogging community and getting to know the work of so many wonderful folks.  Looking at the latest posts, seeing the latest magazine issues, and sharing in the experiences of so many people who have the same passion that I have is something I look forward every day!  That's the definition of anticipation right there!  And, even more exciting to me is April's BeadFest Wire in Philly.  I get to meet other creative people and vendors from all over the place--some of you are going to be there, right?  One of the things I'm most looking forward to is taking a class from Kerry Bogert in person!  Her latest book has really lit a fire on my coiling so I can't wait!  Here's a peek at some of the "Totally Twisted" inspiration that has me going lately...

These are my version of bangles with TONS of great glass artbeads...SueBeads, HMB Studios, Lisa New, and even some by Kerry!

So, I hope that was enough positive energy sharing so you can go anticipate something great for yourself.  I actually get to go think about my car being in the shop with some sort of crack in the engine (I don't think that's good); on of my kitty boys, Brando, who had to stay overnight at the vet because he got a cut in his eye and they have to take it out tomorrow (yes, the whole eyeball); and the ever-inspiring physical fitness test that I have to take in the morning.  Awesome...I think I'll go make something!  haaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Enameled Beads 'R' Cool

Enameled beads are the best...especially when they're in some earrings.  I've been in an earring sort of mood lately.  Quick projects...attention deficit design. :)

These baby blue beads and the matching enameled headpins are from Barbara Lewis, that Painting With Fire gal.  :) I was hoarding these, but I still have a couple, so it's okay to let them go, I guess.  Barbara just got a book deal, so if you want to own some of her "fireworks" before she's too famous for all of us to afford, you can get these earrings in my etsy shop.

Quite a few of my blog-world bead buds have caught the enameling torch fever from Barbara...a recent class in Northern Virginia was a great success!  I'm so ready to get back to the North...with luck my orders will be coming down some time soon.  :)  Just to name one of these new enamelers:  my recent bead swap partner, Sue Kennedy, from back in my home state of Pennsylvania, has been going crazy with enamel!  She just posted some new beads today and they'll probably be gone momentarily.  :)  Check them out on the SueBeads blog.

Another of my blog buds, Sharon, at Sharon's Jewelry Garden has been trying her hand at enameling and sharing some great stories of her progress.  I need another jewelry habit like a whole in my head, so I just have to cyber covet all these new skills.  Oh, and keep buying their pretty beadies!

Some Lucky SueBeads

Gotta give a shout out to my bead swap bud, Sue Kennedy, with these earrings!

Sue sent me a great selection of beads, but the bestest ones are the ones she made.  For these two pairs of earrings, I picked some pairs :  one set of lampwork glass and one set of her new enameled beads.

First, the vibrant red enameled bits are combined with some bronze-colored copper coils that I twisted for a nice dramatic dangle.  Then, for the second pair, the olivine green lampwork rounds are set up with some striped agate and purple, yes, bright purple, coils.

I think it's so cool that a session at the work table can come up with such different pieces...but with just the perfect things in common:  awesome handmade beads. 

Feel like getting your shopping on? 
First stop at my etsy shop to see all the latest goods--I just added a few earrings and some necklaces. 
Then, go see the latest SueBead offerings.