BALLOONS AND OTHER PURDIES!

The Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic, and this darlin' friend of mine who kept encouraging me to start attending that celebration with our grandson, is the inspiration behind this wonderful creation.  Aimee has always loved the balloons, and she finally got me hooked.  So, a few years ago when I saw that Bo Hulley was making these incredible balloon pendants, I immediately knew I had to have one.  Bo is not making beads now, so this balloon took on a very "secure" life thereafter - mostly staying securely in my bead room :) Ha!    It has also taken me a few years to "feel the creativity" of properly accentuating the pendant with beads that make it stand out.  A light bulb went off while watching a Heather Powers Bead Table Wednesday video on how to make this wire component.  I really love the hammering of metal and the process of creating your own form.  No one makes one the same way, so "original" still applies to the finished product.  Happy Birthday Aimee!!!  I hope you enjoy it and feel the balloons soaring above every time you wear it.  

The earrings are the modified St. Petersburg stitch, and I originally posted a Halloween set on October 24.  I love that the earrings are light on the ear lobe and also the way they drape so nicely.  

JANUARY CREATIONS ABOUND!

The new year brings lots of "necessary" creativity -- both for my own sanity and in preparation for many birthday celebrations.  So, right after Christmas I happily begin the process of designing or coordinating that perfect piece for each of my specials!!  Here's the first one of 2018, which began with a beautiful pendant from Claire Braunbarth @ Smitten Handmade.  Claire does gorgeous work, and I have several of her beautiful creations that I am hoarding!  Ha.  I created everything around this pendant, with stitching, wire working and some painting thrown in for a bit of extra color.  The necklace turned out so gorgeous... ooh la la... beautiful gem stone pieces to bring it all together. 

And last, but never least, some earrings to compliment the necklace.  A simple assembly of fun combinations, as not to fight with the beautiful necklace, which should command most the attention when being worn!  

PLAYING CATCH-UP AND REFLECTING!

Ah, December... how did you arrive and depart so rapidly?  I'm still back in November, or maybe even October!  I was already playing catch up, and then some family health issues came to the fore, and that's all you need to know to understand that the extra consecutive hours I thought I would have to get last minute projects done, quickly vanished into thin air.  But, alas, let me highlight the projects I did complete before that occurred.

Projects from my fall collection -- first a necklace showcasing several different techniques learned from Heather Powers of Humblebeads in her generous "Bead Table Wednesday" videos.  The metal hammering, the painting of metal, the making of a bead using wire and sari silk (LaShell from her shop on Etsy) -- all so dang fun and different than my normal bead stitching.  The hammering is so awesome and very cathartic... the harder I hammer the better I feel.  Ha ha.  (the picture below shows the hammered wire before I added a bit of dimension.)

The beautiful sari ribbon bead I made.  Love the colors in this ribbon from  LaShell.  Her Etsy shop address is above.

In the pictures below I added some wire wrapping embellishment to the hammered connector.

And below some earrings of fun!  I only knew which beads I wanted to include and I started wrapping (with 20 gauge) on a frame of 16 gauge copper wire.  

Another fun pair with some sari silk below.  The colors of fall just speak to me so I wanted to include as many of those as possible.  :)

MORE HAMMERING!

The creative juices are flowing from the end of a hammer...another hammered wire design, using a favorite "go to" artist's pendant, Staci Louise Originals.  There are some truly talented artisans whose work is incredible -- they never disappoint, and you will see their beads and pendants, etc. in my work over and over again.  And, as each artist's view is unique, it helps me change gears to incorporate their style and quality into my own creation.  This hammering art (thanks again, Heather Powers) could not have come into my consciousness at a better time, I tell ya!  Timing is everything and I am really enjoying it. I also incorporated a Golem yellow round in the bottom charm. 

TURQUOISE AND COPPER

Turquoise and cooper are meant to be together! A summer necklace with lots of fun ingredients.  The pendant started free-form with 18 gauge wire and I linked it at the top with a criss-cross and hammered it a bit for texture.  Then I wire wrapped 26 gauge wire w/turquoise chips, czech glass, crystals, seed beads, lentels, copper 3 and 4mm etc. The sun charm dangles on top of a shell donut round.  This necklace SOLD itself while I was wearing it!  Thanks Kriss!  I think the "sun" caught her eye... She's truly one of my most avid supporters, which I appreciate so much!  See the earrings below that I whipped up for her to go with.

 

 A button closure - copper button glued to a shell round and it clasps on the side, which shows it off!

EARRINGS to match.  These turned out so lovely.  Very light and airy... I again did a little bit of wire wrapping - across the front of the copper pieces w/28 gauge copper wire.  Added top spacer, bead cap, turquoise chips, czech drops and voila!  A really nice combo. 



A different necklace . . . simpler version w/gemstones, turquoise, bronze, copper with a leaf and a bee dangle on the front.