CATCHING UP FROM 2020!

New Year 2021... Here it is March (WHAT?) and I haven't posted in soooo long.  Time to get back to it.  I have made some shareworthy pieces since my last post, but the year of covid-19 -- to the present -- has been such a struggle for a lot of us.  It's been hard to get my creative cap on, but when I have, it has provided me absolute joy!  I thank all these magical beads for so much happiness... plus the thoughts of all the people I love drive me onward to provide special gifts and creations.  Here we go... back to the fall of 2020 and then forward to March 2021...

The pendant below started with a metal connector of 16 copper gauge wire, hammered and colored a bit with some Vintaj paints.  I have made several different types of connectors, but Heather @ Humblebeads  inspired me on this one.  The beautiful leaf pendant is made by Ashley at Summerwind Art.

My JDreams design of some fun fall leaves and dragonflies for the ears.  The lucite leaves added to the czech glass help to keep these remarkably light.

This next set started with the Grubbi Ceramics pendant.  I found Grubbi on etsy and fell in love with this mountain flower scene.  Perfect for my MT  daughter in law!  I stitched a herringbone connector for the necklace, added in some peanut beads for added sparkle, a small czech flower and some bell flower beads for movement.  

Beautiful earrings to match in multiple blue tones - the czech glass flowers have been in my stash forever.  I only had two, so they were perfect for this project. Lucite beads above the czech flowers and sparkly glass prisms on the bottom.

Last for this post, a winter set using a Heather (Humblebeads) snowflake bead and a pre-cut wood piece, painted and grooved for some design.  These are so great, Heather!  I also wire wrapped some rounds and added Heather's metal dangle gloves.  So adorbs together!  Love the cool colors of this set.  Not my normal, as I tend more to the warm, but absolutely love this ensemble.  Something about the snow and winter made these beads pop out of my stash and come together.

HALLOWEEN & FALL PROJECTS

Some of my spooky Halloween projects, the day after Halloween!  :)  I'll start by showcasing this incredible Staci Louise Day of the Dead pendant.  I used 16 gauge copper wire for the outside frame, hammered it flat and then molded it around the pendant with my free form wire wrapping.  The finish is siri ribbon, in three different colors to add some pizazz.  I truly love this unusual pendant.  I've been holding onto it for awhile ... it took me this long to determine how to do it justice.  These colors are not the "norm" for this time of year, and I think that's what I love about it, along with the beauty of Staci's creativity.

Pumpkins and more pumpkins... the colors speak for themselves don't they?  F A L L harvest.  I love using good quality lucite too -- when I can find it.  It's so light and sometimes you really can't tell what it's made out of.  I found pumpkins, leaves, copper spacers and other quality beads on Etsy at Lula Beads.  She's fast at shipping too. 

The top green pumpkins are Czech glass, but the two below are both lucite.  The larger pumpkin truly looks like glass, but without the weight.

The earrings below are Czech glass on top, w/lucite caps and translucent rounds below, and then fire polish rondelle dangles.  Such a fun combo.  Luckily I have a husband who lets me spread LOTS of beads around the table as I create, so I can see what I have to choose from as I go.  . it's not always a very pretty site, but lets my artistic juices flow a bit smoother... :)  Thanks, Noah!

These pumpkins are hand blown glass from Heart Beads in Murray, UT.  So darling, but glass can be heavy, so I was careful not to add too many other beads, to keep the weight doable. 
  

Now for a few darlin' witches.  Using good quality anything -- gemstones or Czech glass or whatever - always raises the level of any finished product in my opinion.  And, these are not the normal colors of Halloween so can be worn throughout the fall.  I think these came together so adorbs!  The copper spacers add some real interest and some fun to the overall look! Scroll on down for a few different options.

Some unusual bone skulls added for fun with crystal inlaid pear drops.  I purchased these at that incredible store I mentioned above -- Heart Beads.  They are not on-line, unfortunately.  But, its certainly well worth a trip just to walk in that store.  Wonderful selection and nice people too.

PLAYING CATCH-UP!

No great excuses for my absence from my blogging, other than life getting in the way and time being more limited.  Life has a habit of doing that now and again, but I'll do my best to get myself back on track as I love my creative time so much, and I've been missing it so... here we go... 

Last fall, I had continued on the raku trail because I love the rugged pendants with copper wire, coupled with the softness of the sari silk fibers from LaShell Wyskochil.  These pieces were made for special people.  I find the wire wrapping to be so relaxing... that is, once I get over my fear of it.  Each one takes on a life of its own, which spurs me on to try another, and another, and another!

and of course, all good raku pendants need something to go with, like a bracelet or earrings.  Here are a few of what worked as compliments.  The colors were so delish!  Copper heart is from Green Girl Studios, and the design for the earrings is from Svetlana Chernitsky published in a 2015 special edition of Beadwork magazine.

RAKU WINGED HEART.

More raku!  I love it -- and what's better for Valentine's than a big heart with so many beautiful colors pouring outward from the center.  The colors of the glaze truly do change with the light.  You'll see that in the pics below.  Unfortunately, this is the last of my Dragonfly purchased rakus... boo hoo.  It's also part 2 of my last post - more wire wrapping to embellish, encompass and compliment a flat back medallion with no holes.  I added a necklace of wonderfully dyed siri ribbon from LaShell (Etsy shop) in two coordinating colors and tied it to a clasp on the end.  Very easy and soft to wear.

This next pic highlights the change to more copper/orange tones, with the purple and blue at the top.  Ooh la la...

THE THRILL OF WIRE!

 

I do quite a bit of wire wrapping, but there is ALWAYS so much more to learn.  New ways to do things, new tools to use, etc.  So, I had a free Saturday and Beth Routhier was teaching a dainty wire wrap "Floating Infinity" design class @ Bead Street so I joined the group!  It was definitely a learning curve for me, just holding the pliers so as not to mar the thicker wire took some time - I bead tight - but it was oh so fun and I did learn so much.  I learned about bail making pliers, and how to patina.  I've wanted to know that technique for so long, and now I know (really, enough to be dangerous!)  Love this pattern - thank you Beth!  I went home and finished the hook closure, even though I originally thought that type of closure would be too difficult for me to connect on my wrist, but it was a cinch!  I also made some darlin' butterfly earrings to match.  As time permitted over the weekend I made a second bracelet in blue hues.  I'm now hooked on using 16 and 18 gauge wire (I usually work with 20-24 gauge), and using these bail making pliers in differing sizes.  PLUS the patina process - love how it makes the copper wire look, without having to wait so long for the natural aging process.