Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Michael's Beading Challenge

 
I always love a good challenge!  Especially when it comes to jewelry design.
Do you ever feel like your jewelry looks the same, but with maybe a different pendant?
I do....my rut is designing with blue.  It's my go to color.  And sea life....what's not to love?
 
 
I found out about this challenge on Facebook.  I really enjoy Lorelei's and
Heather's designs,  our challenge hostesses.  I took a picture of the chosen beads, wrote
 down the SKU numbers and went shopping to the Michael's store in Port Charlotte,
Florida.   I found the first couple of strands no problem.  I can't say that for all of them! 
I found "similar" styles and colors, so I threw them into my shopping basket.  The strand
 that is the most unique  to the challenge is the hot pink beads.  They are a little bigger...
but they are pretty!

 
 
We could add 2 more bead styles to our design.  I was inspired by the wood beads and the
flower beads, so I went with a nature theme.  My owl face, swirl bead and faceted bead are
my ceramic components.  For those of you first meeting me, I am a ceramic bead artist,
 so it's a must  that my design is centered around my handmade beads!  The second
 component I chose was gold metal chain, clasp and spacer beads.  I went with the gold
accent  on the blue glass beads.    I usually reach for silver accents with blue.
 
 
The last blog hop I participated in was all about waxed linen.  I have fallen in love
with the stuff!  I used a turquoise waxed linen to string the beads onto.  After tying
an overhand knot onto my owl face, I had 4 strands on each side.  I strung different
beads on each strand, twisted them, added the ceramic accent and tied them to the chain. 
 I also put my oversized lobster claw clasp on the side instead of the back....just because
 I thought it was cool and didn't want to hide it.
 
 
 
I hope you like my design!  I had fun with this challenge.  If you'd like to see more
of my beads, please visit my etsy shop at www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com
 
 


Saturday, May 24, 2014

Waxed Linen Design Blog Hop

Ceramic Paisley Waxed Linen Necklace and Earring Set
 
 
I am excited to be experimenting more with new jewelry making supplies, and waxed linen is one that I am really enjoying.  It takes away the worry that your wire crimps won't hold up.  I also sell my jewelry in many gift shops and galleries, and every now and then, a customer will break a necklace by attempting to pull apart your toggle closure.  Not cool!
 
I am a ceramic bead artist, so my first step was deciding which pendant and glaze I wanted to design with.  I love my new paisley and I am a blue fan, so I chose Blue Lotus glaze by Mayco.  It has a fun brown crystal burst which gave me my second color inspiration.  Plus, I like the way wood looks with the ceramic, so that's what I used as my accents, along with some 8mm hand rolled ceramic spacer beads glazed to match the pendant.  My favorite metal color is antique copper, so I reached for some chain and a lobster claw clasp to finish the necklace.  I also wanted a pair of earrings to match.  Here is my tray of beady goodness before I sat down to create the finished designs.
 
 
While designing the necklace, I though it would look nice to have some vertical drops, so I did add 4 more ceramic spacer beads glazed in Caribbean Blue to the mix.  Here's what I came up with....and I love it!  I hope you do, too.
 
 
Thank you to Diana P. from Suburban Girl Studios for being our blog hop hostess!  She also makes gorgeous ceramic beads.  I am the proud owner of quite a few of them!  Please hop around to visit the other participants blogs and see what they designed.  If you'd like to design with my ceramic paisley pendant, they can be found in my etsy shop at www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com
 
Diana Ptaszynski  

Kelsy Vincent
http://jillofalltradescraft.blogspot.com


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

Shai Williams

Blanca Medina

Cheryl Brown

Johana Nunez Rivera
http://www.artincendi.com


Lori Bowring Michaud
 
Kelly Morgan
Barbara Bechtel
 
Kristen Stevens
 
Heather Boardman

Janet Bocciardi

Kathy Lindemer

Lesley Watt

Susan Kolovson
http://www.beadinspired.blogspot.com


Jayne Capps

Cynthia Deis
 
Erin Siegel
 
Becky Pancake
Kelly Hosford Patterson
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson
 
Inge von Roos
 
 
Linda Younkman
 
Sandi Volpe

Toltec Jewels

Michelle Mach

Jen Cameron

Dorothy Winchell

Darlene Mansue
 

 
 


Friday, May 9, 2014

8th Bead Soup Blog Party

This is my first time participating with the Bead Soup Blog Party.....and it's been so much fun! Thank you to our Bead Soup hostess, Lori Anderson.  I am partnered with Debbie Rogers from Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Her blog address is www.debbiestreasuresandgems.wordpress.com  We emailed each other and found out what kinds of beads we like.  Debbie is a nature fan, so I chose my ceramic tree of life for her focal piece and paired it with an assortment of other goodies.  I told her blue is my favorite design color, and she sent me so many blue beady treasures to play with!  This is what I received:



This next picture is what I used to design my necklace with.  We could add or take away what we wanted to from our own stash.  I used everything except the gunmetal toggle, cream satin necklace and the silver chain.  The glass heart focal has gold in it, so that is the metal color I designed with.  And....wax linen is really hot right now and I just happened to have a nice blue shade that matched the components.  It was a fun change from stringing on wire and using crimps.  Knots are so much easier!



Here is my finished design.

 
 

 Don't you just love the jangle spacers? They consist of  3 round circles....you string the middle on your design and wire wrap dangles (or jangles) on the outside 2 circles.  I get them from T Beads.  They come in all the metal shades.  For the 4 jangles, I made 32 wraps of beads and spacers.  It takes some time, but the result is worth it!  I made some ice blue ceramic round beads to compliment the heart focal.  I just can't make jewelry without including some of my handmade ceramic beads.  I hope I made Debbie proud, and I can't wait to see what she designs with the soup she received from me!

Please take some time and hop around the blogs of other Bead Soup Designers.  There were roughly 500 participants, so here are the blog links to my direct group:

Nicole Valentine Rimmer                  www.nvalentine.blogspot.com
Marge Beebe                                         www.rockcreekcreations.blogspot.com
Michelle McCarthy                              Www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Chandra Merod                                    www.Junipergoods.blogspot.com
Nancy Olliver                                          http://nancyolliver.com/blog/
Alison Sachs                                            http://beadsbyearthtones.blogspot.com/
Kay Mallery                                             www.kaymreflections.blogspot.com
Beth Petricoin                                        http://createmyworlddesigns.blogspot.com/
Marta Grabalowska                             http://galeriakota.blogspot.com/
Clare Etheridge                                     http://www.catseatdogs.com
 
 
The complete list can be found with Lori Anderson, Hostess     www.PrettyThingsBlog.com

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Auction to benefit the Phillipines Disaster Relief



Ceramic Fish Bone Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings Set
 

I love the bright green glaze with the pop of brown flowing through it!  That's why I chose it for my ceramic fish bone necklace, bracelet and earring set that I am donating to raise money to the people in the Phillipines that lost everything from the recent typhoon.  This is one of the many wonderful items that will be auctioned off.  What a great way to make a difference....  Here's more information on the jewelry I created:

*The necklace is 22" long, but has a lobster claw clasp that can be closed on any link in the chain.  So it can be worn as short as 16" and any length in between.  The chain is an open link antique copper with a handmade swirly wire accent, copper crystals, ceramic spacer beads, and starring my unique and fun ceramic fish bone pendant.  The glaze is called Pistachio and anything named after food is a good thing in my book!
*The bracelet is also adjustable so one size fits all with a lobster claw clasp and antique copper chain.  It features a handmade swirly wire accent, copper crystals and a ceramic bead.
*The dangle earrings have antique copper ear hooks, antique copper wire swirls, ceramic beads and crystals.  What a fun jewelry set for yourself or a gift!


 
A very big thank you to our blog hop host, Andrew Thornton, for coordinating this awesome FUNdraiser!!!!  The starting bid on my jewelry set is $1 with $5 bid increase increments.  The retail value is $75.  You can leave your bid in the comment section of my blog with your name and email address.  The winner will be announced here on my blog and on my Facebook page on Thursday, December 5, 2013.  Shipping is free worldwide (part of my donation) and a Paypal invoice will be sent to the winner.  The money will then be sent to the charity of choice, which is Care  http://www.care.org/emergencies/typhoon-haiyan.  Please hop around to all these blogs that are also raising much needed funds for disaster relief and Bid, Bid, Bid!
 
Here's a current list of participants:
 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Love Art Charm Swap and Benefit

I have really been enjoying swaps, blog hops and donating to benefits lately.  Sure....I love to create, and yes, it is good marketing for my business.  But the best reason to get involved, is it's FUN!!!!
 
This swap was all about LOVE.  When I think about love, a heart comes to mind, so I created a cute little ceramic heart.  I love the "Key to my Heart" sentiment, so that is what the finished charms theme would be.  A key symbolizes home, and home = family, and family = love.  Plus, I travel almost every weekend to art and bead shows, so I really appreciate the time I can spend at home.
 
Thank you to Jennifer Cameron for being our swap hostess.  There are over 40 participants that you can hop around with on their blogs.  The links are below.  At the very bottom of my post is an Ebay link where you can bid to win a charm from every artist!  How cool is that?  And the money raised will be donated to Beads of Courage.  They help ease the pain of being hospitalized through creativity time with beads.  I love that!
 
Here is what I received and one of my "Key to my Heart" charms was returned to me.
 
Now what could I create with these fun, loveable charms?  A charm bracelet!
Please check out the rest of my swap friends blogs, enjoy and bid!

 
 
 
Caroline Dewison:http://blueberribeads.co.uk
Charlene Bausinger Jacka: http://clay-space.com/blog/
 






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Monday, October 28, 2013

Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop



Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop
 
My friend Diana P. from Suburban Girl Studios loves Halloween, so she decided to host a blog hop celebrating artist created beads with a Dayof the Dead, Zombie, Halloween theme.  I wanted to join in, so I created my new blog, "Playing with Clay" so I could participate!  Plus, how could I not yet have a blog?  Lol  Too busy making beads, I guess!  Here's how my necklace design came about:
 
My ceramic sugar skull was perfect for a focal pendant.  I paired it with three 14mm black ceramic round beads, size 6 black seed beads, and used 6 jangle spacers from T-beads that has 8 wire wrapped components each.  That's 48 wire wrapped head pins containing crystals, seed beads and metal spacer beads for fullness and the Wow! factor.  It's a cool necklace that has gotten me many compliments when I've worn it.  It's been fun, and I'm sure I'll be participating in many more blog hops and design challenges.  Please be sure to check out other designs from my fellow blog hop participants.
 
 
 

 
Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com
 
 

Dianne Miller http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com
 
Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com
 
Toltec Jewels http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
 
 
Laura Medeiros http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com
 
Veralynne Malone http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com
 
 
 
Jenny Davies-Reazor http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog
 
 
 

 
 
 
Stephanie LaRosa http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com
 
 
 
 

Nicole Valentine Rimmer http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
 
Dawn M. Gallop http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com