Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal: Earrings!

It's the last Friday of February.

It's the day for the Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal.

We've been doing this goodness for a whole year now.

This is the finale!

I made some earrings.

They highlight Kristie's beautiful ceramic and recycled glass charms.

Memory wire can be your friend.

I get a peacock feather vibe from them even though I didn't plan it.

They're asymmetrical solo but symmetrical as a pair.

It was fun to "shop" my own stash and find greens and blues.

I haven't made jewelry in a long time.

It feels good!

Thank you, Kristie!!

There's more to be seen on this reveal day from my fellow team designers...

Pineapple, Lemon...Sweet, Tangy

It's the last Friday of July!  That means it's time to show off some Artisan Clay!

This month's piece was a challenge for me.  When Kristie gave the team options to pick from I immediately wanted the yellow donut...it made me think of summer:  sweet, tangy citrus lemonade yellow.  I can picture a frosty glass with that pale tart and sugary goodness right now and it just makes me feel happy and refreshed.  Well, I got my wish and had a lovely big donut with pretty, crackling yellow glass "floating" within its ridges.  I immediately went to my yellow bead drawers and pulled out the lemon quartz and pineapple chalcedony...it seemed like the natural flow.  I actually have a lot of different shapes and sizes and tones of yellow stones so it became harder and harder to choose as all the options came out.  I kept laying out more and more choices in the monochromatic yellow theme.  Then, suddenly, I saw a pink and yellow art bead on the table and started moving down that path with two-color ideas and ended up with pink leather, sari ribbon and all a whole new set of beads added to the mix.  I have to admit that I got a little bit overwhelmed and had trouble keeping the focus on the Artisan Clay piece that's supposed to be the star.  My editor had apparently gone to lunch so I just had to walk away from the table.

I eventually made it back to work (along with my editor) and decided to put away the pink and go with my initial instinct and keep it simply yellow.  I pulled out some thin brass chain and went to work making a longer necklace design so the donut would be a focal pendant hanging a little lower.  Why long this time?  I shop at Chico's and am a fan of their styling in the store so I'm loving the look of a long necklace combined with a scarf.  It seems like a kind of modern twist on the scarf & brooch combination so that's the direction I took.  It's hard to take a good picture of the length but you can see all that chain...

Of note, you'll see that the original chain bail idea that I had earlier in the week was replaced by a piece of sari ribbon.  I did a little wear test on the long chain and the swinging around of the chain on more chain on earthen clay was not a really pleasant sensation.  I had to remove some of the movement so there wasn't any grating between rough surfaces.  To go back to the lemonade analogy, it's like when you're drinking the fresh carnival kind of lemonade through a straw and you suck in a big mouthful of sugar from the bottom of the cup.  :)   I like the addition of the ribbon, though, both for softness and for the better wear-feel.  

I used some more of my lemon and pineapple stones to put together some dramatic earrings with big faceted pieces and then twisted up a quick bangle.  That's actually a plain brass Chico's bangle that I got on a super clearance sale that I wrapped with some wire, ribbon, and chain to add a simple accent that highlights the summer yellow stones perfectly.

And that's the end of my story!  I got up bright and early this morning to post this because, of course, I waited until the last minute.  I actually had to take the photos with my iPhone because my "real" camera is at the office.  I'm kind of impressed with how they came out!  

Thanks, Kristie!

Of Muffins & Earrings

Humblebead-y Heather threw out a challenge this week on the Art Bead Scene that required planning, creativity, and a muffin tin.  I decided to go with my mini-muffin pan because I always have it on my bead table to collect good bead combos.  When I start working on something I like to see if beads fit together or coordinate and sometimes there are happy accidents that I don't want to focus on right that moment but eventually want to purse--I put a couple of those beads into one of the muffin cups for inspiration later.  I actually had some earring pairs started in this pan so I filled out the rest of the cups with little earring "recipes."  I decided to start with artisan beads for each of them and round them out with pieces and parts from my stash--nothing new allowed!  I rocked this challenge, if I do say so myself...I have 12 lovely pairs of earrings that are little works of art plus a couple of extra pairs that feature wood and stones that were leftover from a few of the cups.

Here's the layout of my muffin tin results!  I numbered them so I could highlight the artists behind the handmade beads in each pair.

1.  Gardanne - enameled oval beads in a yummy purple along with some bubbly findings by Ezel that I picked up back in April at Bead Fest Wire in Philly

2.  Suebeads - long enameled beads in a pretty turquoise-ish green finish and a couple of vintage silver circles that I'm "upcycling" from an old necklace.

3.  Cherie Ranfranz - purple & yellow etched lampwork glass combined with some vintage lucite flowers and copper

4.  Julsbeads - lampworked glass with awesome raku & texture combined with a big copper ring

5.  Donna Millard - clear blue lampworked disks and vintage tin bead caps are the highlight

6.  Julsbeads - more yummy lampwork from Juls in a rich chartreuse surrounded by a bit of copper

7.  Suebeads - loooovely rounds in blues with a slight green and black accent that I paired with some "Roman" glass, lava rock and vintage Czech glass.

8.  Brendan Blake - lampwork glass in a bubbling boro finish featured in a long dangling arrangement with a silver oval and a chunk of pyrite

9. HMB Studios - lampwork glass "wacky chunky" disks combined with some bright blue pearls I picked up in Hawaii and some clear resin dangling loops

10.  Brendan Blake - a green tone of lampwork glass with brown lava rock rounds and a sweet bit of silk sari ribbon that I just got from Darn Good Yarn.

11.  JEN JUDD! - I dyed these wooden rings myself with a mix of turquoise and blue Indian ink.

12.  Barbara Lewis - pretty blue enameled flowers along with vintage copper floral pieces and a pretty copper spikey dangle


My muffin tin is empty so I guess I should go start over!  This time I'm going to take a little more than a week.  :)

BTW: Starting with Earrings

I've had some random pairs of earrings hanging around on my bead table for a long time now so on this Bead Table Wednesday, I'm sharing progress!  I think I made them back when I lived in Alabama so it must be at least a year since that's how long I've been in Hampton.  My goal has always been to make up a necklace and bracelet to go with each and create a full-up set.  They sit over in a little bowl waiting for me to get inspired.  I know we all have different selling experiences, but I've found that I frequently get asked for something to go with whatever piece I create...so I've gotten better about making things that coordinate.  I try not to get too matchity matchy so that each piece can stand on its own.  Long story short is that I finally got some of these sets done. 


The first pair of earrings that I decided to tackle feature lampwork by Kathy Perras (I just went back to make sure I cited this artist right and figured out I bought these in April of 2010, nice.)  They have a great periwinkle purple and grassy green that I paired with silver and aquamarine.  (I just noticed that both earrings have the nugget on the same side instead of being opposite as I would put them now...will have to go back and switch one around.)

I stayed with the periwinkle color and added some Donna Millard lampwork and a couple of her new vintage tin bead caps then finished it off with a summery green suede cord and my new fave steel wire. 

 I went for a different look with the bracelet and used lots of the aquamarine nuggets to highlight a focal group with more of Donna's glass, a little wood and more vintage periwinkle glass.

 Here's the whole set together...it's listed in my shop now.

The second pair of earrings I decided to work with have a different feeling to them...more earthy with the turquoise and forest green Barbara Lewis enameled rounds.

 This necklace took me off the artisan bead path and over into my semi-precious stones where I picked out this big green garnet nugget for the centerpiece.  It's highlighted with some rolled paper beads, turquoise heishi, a little brass and then steel wire to finish and connect to the smooth brown leather.

 I went with memory wire for a simple bangle with little danglies at the end.

 And here's the whole thing all together which is also listed as a set in my Etsy shop!

Hope everyone's having a great, productive week clearing off the bead tables on this Bead Table Wednesday!

Squiggly Posts

Oooooh, tried something new!  Squiggles as earring posts!!  There's a lot of emphasis out in my blogging world about making unique findings like clasps and earwires.  I'm on the bandwagon, officially.  Here's one of two pairs I finished up and put in my Etsy shop...

I used 20g sterling silver so they're nice and light and the posts are comfortable.

I'm off to try a few more variations!

Bead Babes Get Blissed Out

If you've been watching the news you've seen the budget issues and the possible US government shutdown.  Well, I work for the US government and happen to deal with personnel issues so we've been very, very busy figuring out how to actually execute a furlough.  Because it hasn't been 'really' happening, there hasn't been good guidance coming down, so we had to sort of make it up as we went.  Oh well...I guess it's a good thing I don't mind getting creative and making things up as we go!


On that note, I was able to chill out this evening and reminisce with some 80's flashbacks for inspiration on my blissed out blog hop...The German bead babes Janna, Stefanie and Nicki are hosting their first challenge ever: Blissed out by your favorite song. 


12 bead artists have created a piece of jewelry based on their personal favorite song. There were no other rules but to blog about the piece, and share your excitement about the favorite song. Today is the big reveal day, so have fun looking at what we all made, and leave us a comment if you’d like. You will find the links of all bead babes below.

Janna, Stefanie und Nicki veranstalten ihre allererste Challenge:  „Blissed out by your favorite song”, was soviel heißt wie “glückselig - oder auch inspiriert - durch dein Lieblingslied”. 12 Kreative haben ein Schmuckstück kreiert, das auf ihrem Lieblingslied basiert. Abgesehen davon,  dass wir über unser Schmuckstück bloggen sollten und dabei auch  erzählen sollten, was wir an dem betreffenden Song mögen, gab es keine Regeln. Heute ist der große Tag, an dem wir alle unsere Stücke zeigen, also viel Spaß beim Entdecken – und über ein Kommentar von Euch würden alle Teilnehmer sich natürlich sehr freuen! Die Links zu allen Teilnehmern findet Ihr unten.

How to pick just one song...it's so hard for me.  Right away I decided to go with an 80's vibe.  I will openly admit that I graduated from high school in 1989, so I lived my most formative years under the influence of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard with a little Kix thrown in. (If you don't know Kix, I'm not talking about the cereal here....).  I just went to a Bon Jovi concert last month with some of my girlfriends and sang along with all the classics until my voice was completely gone.  We laughed and laughed about the days when we cruised the block in our little home town with "Livin' on a Prayer" blasting over the diesel engine of Juli's parents' station wagon.


Oooooooh, we're halfway the-eere, OOOOhhhHHHH, livin' on a prayer.  Take my hand, we'll make it I swear...(visualize me on my way to work with my window down, uniform on, coffee cup in hand absolutely screaming about Bobby and Gina and their hard knock lives--this happense on a regular basis.)


I guess on that note, about my earrings...they're a tribute to when life was simple and we really were living on a prayer with a little heavy metal and a little rock and roll all mixed together in the kind of carefree teenage lifestyle that you can only appreciate when you're counting down the weeks to your 40th birthday.  They're about as "heavy metal" as I get nowadays with a sweet little mix of brass, silver and copper.  I was motivated to try a cool earwire by an article I just read (but can't remember what mag it was in at the moment) so I took a cool headpin and used it to string a silver textured disk, a vintage brass piece, and a hammered copper ring.  

Simple rock and roll that makes me happy....that's what it's all about!

Check out the work and inspiration from the rest of the babes from around the world!

1. Janna Harttgen - Palimpa-Lim

2. Stefanie Teufel - Stefanies Sammelsurium

3. Nicole Keller - Nickis Reef

4. Berit Borchardt - Berit Borchardt

5. Rebecca Anderson - Songbeads

6. Maryse Thillens - Glassbeadart Lampwork

7. Krista French - French Elegant Jewelry

8. Linda Djokic - Lutka and Co

9. Karola Stein - Karolas Fundstuecke

10. Doris Radlicki - Doralila Beads

11. Jen Judd - Jen Judd Rocks - yeah, you found me already

12. Saskia Kaffenberger - Perlendistel

Thanks, ladies, for the great project!  It was just the thing I needed after this crazy week!!  It's time for me to get ready for Bead Fest Wire in Philly...leaving tomorrow!

Playing Wire Freestyle

I joined the Bead Haven team at a show on Saturday at the Hampton Convention Center.  It was a long, long day as shows tend to be, but I got to be the demonstrating designer of the day, so I got to sit most of the time!  haaaaaaaaaa

I spent most of the time on crimping and stringing since it was easier to have those supplies, but there was also some wire coiling and wrapping on the schedule.
I haven't done much with wire like this lately because I usually use sterling silver and that is just waaaaay too expensive to play with nowadays.  But, I picked up some 16g plated wire that Joanne, my BHBF (Bead Haven Boss & Friend), keeps in stock for people like me to try.  I was afraid it would be too hard and my pliers would dig into the finish too much, but, as it turned out...it was just fine!  And, I just sort of went freestyle, added some coils, and came up with some pretty funky designs.

I'm kind of excited to try some more--especially with the gold-tone metal since I did up a quick swirly pair for Margo, the third member of the team manning the booth on Saturday.  I was surprised at how nicely they finished up!  I wouldn't say I have my groove completely back, but it feels good to come up with something new and unique, that's for sure.  :)

More Custom Work

I can't believe I just got distracted by The Bachelorette.  Reality TV is just so wrong sometimes.  This show in particular makes me appreciate my sweetie so much...thank goodness the big Air Force got small enough for us to find each other.  :) 

Anyway, now that I just watched some dumbass sing her a song about himself and another one do a flip off the top of the limousine it's time for me to get down to posting business.  The other day I posted about a custom piece of work for a lime-green dress for my friend, Patty.  Well, she loved it.  But, as an extra bonus, I had the box of goodness on my desk at work and one of the instructors was wandering by to chat with some other students in my seminar.  I was laughing about how much I've progressed through the year...not so much in air power expertise, but more in blogging numbers.  :)  He didn't understand, so I showed him the goods.  He immediately wanted "a set" for his wife...the only specification was to use the olive green blister pearls in it somewhere.  So, here's the necklace...

I was inspired for the whole color scheme with the Cindy Craig lampwork glass focal that I picked up in Philly at BeadFest Wire.  The amethyst and olive are soooo pretty!  Here's the whole set:

I am now in "set" mode...made three of them tonight!  (It's dark now, so no pics 'til the morning.)  We had a three hour panel discussion at school on the military and the media.  Well, it gave me plenty of time to work on my creativity to-do list.  There are only a few days left in the month which means challenge deadlines, submission deadlines, and just plain old finishing up projects before I have to pack everything up for the big trip.  June 10th is right around the corner and that's when the movers take off with everything I own!  Except the beads...I pack those myself so they'll be jammed in the car with me and the kitty boys.  I can't wait.  haaaaaaaaaaaaa.

"I need a 'wow' piece for a lime-green dress."

First, off, many thanks to my friend, Stella, who hosted a little show for me the other day out by her pool.  I probably ate most of the cheese and drank most of the wine, but I also had a great time feeling the love of my friends for my jewels.  And, yes, Stella is one of those girls in the picture that I posted the other day so we've known each other a loooooong time.  haaaaaaa  Somehow, though, we haven't aged a bit...isn't that perfect?  haaaaaaaaaa

Okay, then, onto the business of this post.  One of the girls at the party the other night is specifically in the market for a special piece to go with a simple, summery lime green dress.  So, I told her I'd take the challenge.  She's going to her hometown in week for big family graduation parties and wants to have something that everyone will ogle.  That's some pressure, but I love working with green so I sat down last night right away to work it.  I opened up my "special glass" drawer and right away saw this kick-ass focal from Donna Millard.  (By the way, she is killin' me with the new beads...they have to be my latest faves.)

And the rest of the piece worked itself out from there...

- Funky blue jasper faceted nuggets
- Vintage turquoise lucite rounds
- Smooth onyx nuggets
- Lime green pearls & South American beans

And since everything was there on the table, there's a bracelet and little earrings to complete the set...

Cross your fingers for me...I hope this is "wow" enough for her!!!

***Post update from a week later...she LOVED the whole set!!!  :)

Beads 2010 Project: Marsha Neal Studio

There were massive thunderstorms last night and we expect that there'll be more storms all day today.  Looks like it's going to be a work-in-your-pajamas-doing-crafty-stuff sort of day.  In typical Air Force fashion, I got about 20 emails and pop-up alerts on my computer warning about tornadoes.  So, what do I do?  At 1100 last night I put the flashlight battery in the recharger and took pictures of my bead studio in case I need it for insurance.  I briefly thought about what I would do with the cats, but then decided they'd just run around like crazy anyway.  Nice.  Nothing like having a plan.

Anyway, to focus on what this post is really all about...another artist from Beads 2010:  Marsha Neal.  I love the variety of textures and shapes and materials that Marsha uses.  I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on her blog a few months back and got some seriously awesome treats.

First, a necklace...

It's all about circles and wire.  One of Marsha's decaled porcelain donuts was the inspiration.  I added some "totally twisted" wire, a recycled glass ring, and a little wooden ring to create a focal trio.  All are strung on a pretty blue silk ribbon from Riverstone Bead Co. that's finished off with a toggle

Now, for the ears...check out the "shards"...

I have to admit I was a little stumped by Marsha's porcelain "shards" when I first looked at them.  But, with a little gunmetal grey wire-wrapping, they make a great pairing with some lightweight paper beads.  I love when a design challenge works out into something cool!

You can shop for either of these pretties in my Etsy shop!

La Bella Joya - Un Artista Dulce de Cuenta

Did someone order a pink lemonade?  haaaaaaaaaa

Thanks to Marcie at LaBellaJoya for these awesome yellow and pink beaded beads!  They look like tiny disco balls--perfect for a Barbie dream house!  :)  About a week ago, I saw her post about them and thought to myself, "Self, didn't you ask her to make pink and yellow beaded beads?"  Then, I answered, "Why, yes!  I must have these!"  As it turns out, she made them with me in mind but didn't want me to feel pressured to buy after my overwhelming haul at Beadfest...how awesomely thoughtful is that?!  But, of course, I got them.  And, when I showed her these pieces, I think I made her proud.  Let me quote her..."Wow! Jen! You made my beads look like rock stars! EXCELENTE!"  haaaaaaaaaaaa  For the record, she says she loved working with colors outside of her norm, so if you likey, you should go see her shop!!

I initially thought they'd all go into one project, but when I started mixing and matching around on my worktable.  Plus, I just got my Beads 2010 issue and have flipped through it so many times the corners are worn.  I highlighted (yes, with an actual yellow highlighter--I have at least three of them) some of the bead artists I already know and love and some of those who I don't yet know and love.  I'm going to try to incorporate some of my blog-world superstar friends' work.  So, the pretties ended up in two projects...

Here are what I call "Disco in the Garden" earrings...

The sparklies from LaBellaJoya are matched up with an earthy, glittery bit of bronzite and a fun plexiglass flower cutout from MyELEMENTS (which you can see in Beads 2010...including a project from Yvonne!)

Not to be left out, the pink Beadity McBeadersons decided on a bangle with a super-eclectic mix of beads.  This is where the sweet elixir comes in...it's called the Pink Lemonade bangle.

Not to be satisfied with just one artist represented in this bracelet, I included some lampwork glass rondelles in a golden-yellow with a purplish-pink band by GardanneBeads.  Then there are beans, recycled glass, resin, lemon quartz, pink wire coils, and Czech glass.  You can't even imagine what a mess my table was after picking out all these components.  :)

You can buy either of these for your very own in my etsy shop.

So, cheers to Marcie!!  If I translated my title right, it means she a "sweet bead artist!"  :)

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.  :)

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.