Art Jewelry Elements May Component of the Month Reveal

Today is the day at Art Jewelry Elements when we reveal our designs created with lampwork glass components by the uber-talented Susan Kennedy of Sue Beads. Susan was always a lover of lampwork beads and started making them herself six years ago, and also now makes enameled components as well. I am so glad she decided to make beads, because I love them!!

Here is the delectable assortment that Susan offered for this month:

Flower Chiclets!!

And cabochons!!

I fell in love with the chiclets immediately (I haven't tried setting cabs yet and I was chicken to try under the gun so that might have had something to do with it--otherwise cab number 6 up there might have been mine!), and went for set number 4 up there (although number 1 was also extremely tempting):

Delicious!!

I initially was going to do a bracelet, but I couldn't figure out how to weight it properly with the beads I wanted to use--I was afraid the lampwork beads would have ended up in a heavy section that would always be hanging under the wrist so that you'd never see them, and I can't stand that--pet peeve of mine. So I opted for a necklace.

I really wanted to keep the tone earthy and rustic, and I just happened to have recently acquired a collection of fabulous recycled and Indonesian glass beads from Happy Mango Beads that I thought would be perfect:

Of course this color scheme cried out for copper!

I looked through my stash of metal components and found a large textured washer I had made a while ago--I decided to do a front toggle closure (it's so easy to make a focal section out of the clasp). And it even had flowers on it! (I was starting to feel the need to stay with flowers).

I debated knotting it but the holes in the beads were too big to make it really work so I opted for copper links. Because these recycled glass flowers are kind of funky and odd shaped, I didn't think wrapped loops would really work, so I used simple loops hammered flat to make them seat better in the beads.

Here is the configuration I eventually chose:

I just love the subtle detail, and quietly whimsical quality these little chiclets add to a piece of jewelry!! And I'm a sucker for that tablet shape, I don't know what it is about coins and tablets...And the colors of the lampwork are so rich and saturated--I especially love that ocher one with the olive green flower, it really pops! These were really a pleasure to design with, just the right size--not so big that they overwhelm the other beads, but large enough to really stand out.

All the metal in this piece is solid copper--even the ball chain! I had some nice plated oval chain I could have used on the pendant portion to hang my green flowers from, but the purist in me rebelled and I used some of my own oval chain instead (I made a small amount once as an experiment). I made it kind of long, so you could layer it with copper chains if you wanted:

Pay no attention to the beer can behind the mannequin.

(I just love the bell shape of those tobacco-colored recycled glass beads.)

(You'll notice I used Melissa Meman's ultra-cool ball chain ends again! They are an interesting design element all by themselves.)

Sue has a lovely assortment of chiclet beads and cabochons in her shop right now (not to mention lots of other fabulous goodies!)--swing by and get 'em while they last!

Keirsten

This is a blog hop! Be sure to check out all the other participants' designs:

Guests

Shai Williams

Erin Prais-Hintz

Kari Asbury

Carolyn Lawson

Merja Sundstrom

Art Jewelry Elements Members

Susan Kennedy

Diana Ptaszynski

Linda Landig

Lesley Watt

Melissa Meman

Caroline Dewison

Francesca Watson

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Rebekah Payne

Keirsten Giles

Kristen Stevens

AJE Earrings Challenge Reveal 18 weeks 37-38

Caught behind the eight-ball again with the earring challenge...but I coincidentally have three new pair of earrings to share!

Lily Pads and Roses

I soldered a bunch of copper rings, and patinated them in different colors; I mixed dye oxide patinas from B'Sue Boutiques to achieve this lilac-rose color. I thought I'd go girly and combine them with Czech glass dagger beads in moss green from Happy Mango Beads, and ivory lampwork in a lily pad theme from Kelley Wenzel. I put little Czech glass roundels in bubble gum on the earwires. (Also notice the little seed pods--from my Mommy's garden! I love new props.)

For these, I started with olive green copper rings, and fished around in my stash for some beads--aha! More Czech glass dagger beads from Happy Mango, in olive and azure, lampwork glass spacers from Julie Miller in cornflower blue, and Indonesian seed beads in olive green also from Happy Mango. I thought sterling silver would be nice (sterling silver beadcaps also by me):

Cornflowers and Moss

I just love this etched lampwork, it glows!

These remind me of fields of hay in September on the plains--golden! (More seed pods from Mom!)

Fields of Gold

I started with copper rings that I patinated with Old Lace and Violet dye oxide patinas from MissFickleMedia, and combined them with Czech glass leaves in caramel from BobbiThisnThat, lampwork glass "dragon eye" beads from Kelley Wenzel (somebody tell her to start making beads again, I mean it), glass tile beads in amber on the earwires, and antiqued brass.

Phew, that's all for now!

You can see more at my Etsy shop HERE.

Yes, I Do Actually Still Make Jewelry

Sometimes you just can't see it because it's going straight to Italy. Or to my Mom's house.

The Celtic Abbess

This one is a custom creation for my good friend and customer in Italy (the only person I do custom work for, so don't get any ideas. What can I say, she's special). It was a collaboration, based on an old design of mine that morphed into something different. I created the medallion from 26 gauge sterling silver sheet, creating three stylized poppy blossoms, texturing them with foreign coins, and riveting them together. The stones include moss agate, prehnite, and quartz. The gorgeous "avocado" hand-dyed/sewn silk ribbon is from Jamn Glass.

I created this bracelet to go with it:

Sterling silver button from Cathy Dailey.

I created this bracelet to coordinate with a necklace that I made a LONG time ago that is finally finding a home. I used aragonite and apple jade (I'm not exactly sure what kind of stone that is, but the color assortment is definitely apples--well, apples and caramel apples):

I made the brass button myself--I made a bunch of them! In copper too. I can't wait to use them all.

(Here is the unloved necklace, with golden jade, from eons ago--re-antiqued, tumbled and lacquer-sealed):

And here is another of my etched, double-sided pendants colorized with gilder's paste:

A dragonfly! The little transparent teal glass beads are Indonesian, from Happy Mango Beads. The three big black and teal beads are long-hoarded lampwork by Kelley Wenzel. I have a few more that I am still hoarding. This is the first design that seemed worthy of them! I touch them regularly. I made some ladder chain for it, I haven't done that in a while.

The pendant is reversible, there are different patterns with similar coloration on the other side:

This li'l dragonfly is going to live with my Mommy.

This pendant was made to coordinate with a bracelet from my shop (etched brass pendants by me):

I am in LOVE with these lampwork beads. They are from Lampwork by Amy. Amy lives in Canada. They're like confetti inside!! She has more like this in her shop and I WANT THEM. And I want all the other stuff in her shop. Except maybe the cremains beads. Not those. I'm like a dragon with gold. Sleeping on a big fat pile of lampwork beads. Or like a crack ho'.

Look at them:

"Straw Fire"

Just look at them. I want to re-buy them now.

Recent Work, and a New Friend

In case you were wondering, I am still here, and still making jewelry! Very very slowly. I have a new overseas customer I am collaborating with to produce some fun pieces, and we have many great projects lined up. For now, while I still juggle a full-time "day job" with my jewelry, this is the only custom work I am going to do--for my new European friend and patron! The materials my customer has chosen are so enticing to work with, I find myself much more drawn to working on her commissions than adding things to the shop. We seem to be very "simpatico" on many levels, so this is very satisfying work to do. My shop inventory has been dwindling while I work on these commissions...But I will try to add pieces here and there in the coming months.

This is a recent piece we did, based around etched lampwork from Radiant Mind on Etsy.

I wanted to keep with the color scheme in the lampwork--turquoise, amber and black--so I added Tibetan butterscotch amber (acquired in a trade with Lori Anderson--thank you Lori! the remainder will be for a matching bracelet. These were PERFECT for this piece), green turquoise heishi, matte amber and black seed beads, black leather and waxed linen, and a carved donut of golden horn I've had FOREVER. Silver seemed to be the way to go, so I added an Orca totem from Happy Mango Beads, and assorted sterling silver and pewter accents.

The first pieces I did for her were variations on older work I had done. This is based on a piece I had done a few years ago with aqua agate and silver. Here I used copper, obviously, and added one of my copper hearts:

This was also a variation on an earlier piece, just slightly reconfigured:

We did coordinating bracelets for these, and for one other piece:

I did some other pieces that were largely copies of older work, so I won't share those here. But I think from here forward everything we do will be new, original pieces. Our aesthetics are very similar, and she gives me great latitude with our designs, so it's very enjoyable! We have some fabulous fluorite and ametrine stones to work with, as well as lampwork glass from Naos Glass, an assortment of feathers and hearts (my customer is partial to hearts) by Kristi Bowman, and a couple of resin and coin pendants by Lorinda3LJewelry on Etsy. I am itching to get busy!

Nightmare Insomnia!! AJE Design Team Blog Hop

Nightmare Insomnia

On July 1, I stopped by the Art Jewelry Elements blog, and saw a post by Jennifer Cameron featuring her "Nightmare Insomnia" bead series. I was utterly fascinated by these beads!! Jennifer was hosting a drawing to win five of her "Nightmare Insomnia" focal beads, the winners of which would then create pieces with them for a blog hop at the end of the month. Regular AJE partners would also be participating. I threw my hat in the ring and was thrilled to have my name drawn! I received the bead pictured above--and I think had I been able to choose from the beads featured in the post, I probably would have chosen this one! It was delightful to design around!

I was really wanting to do something dark and nightmarish with it--like really play up those spidery, gunmetal endcaps--but I just didn't have the right things. I contemplated using polished, annealed steel (which would echo those hematite-like endcaps and have this urban Underworld kind of vibe), but I like a heavier gauge wire, and my annealed steel wire was just too thin (plus if you could even find heavier gauge annealed steel wire, it would be too stiff to work with). I opted for sterling silver (I've never been able to do a sterling piece in a gunmetal patina. I Must. Shine. It. Up.)

I wanted to have a little more length descending from the bead itself, and it seemed like a faux toggle bail might be easiest to accomplish that with.

The sterling silver toggle bail, once in place, really drew my attention to the luxuriousness of the bead--as you can see, the endcaps really have an iridescence and shine to them, and the pattern in the center of the bead introduces a little bit of lighthearted whimsy into the whole design--they are seaside colors to me, and the pattern makes me think of confetti. So perhaps it was that advanced stage of insomnia, where you've gone without sleep for so long you're getting maniacally cheerful (right before you fall over).

I didn't want to add too much more color to it, as I didn't want to turn it into something sugary, so I stayed with the charcoal/black theme as much as I could. I had some awesome faceted Czech glass in a hematite color (they glitter, but, like, menacingly--haha!) that seemed perfect for the bulk of the design, and I liked the sea green accents best with the focal. A recycled glass bead in Coke bottle green from Happy Mango Beads seemed just right. For the extra length I wanted, I attached a short section of black silk string, with another glittery charcoal bead and a few faceted Czech glass rounds in Prairie Green (which I was thrilled to find matched my recycled glass beads--going to pair those up for earrings in the future!)

I finished it off with wide deertan lacing in black, nickel silver end treatments, and sterling silver chain and handmade clasp. My handmade sterling silver rivets on the leather ends turned out very rustic indeed. (I'm not very happy with the riveting block I bought, I think I'm going to go back to my vise for mushrooming rivet heads.)

Scroll down below to visit the other artists in the hop!

Beti Horvath: Stringing Fool

Gretchen Nation: Art Food Lodging

Karen Totten: Starry Road Studio

Kathleen Douglas: Washoe Kat's

Keirsten Giles: The Cerebral Dilettante

Kristen Stevens: My Bead Journey

Lola: Bead Lola Bead

Lori Anderson: Pretty Things

Nancy Pederson: Something Heartfelt by Nancy

Pam DeBoer: Purple Notes from the Studio

Rana Wilson: Rana Lea Designs

Shannon Chomanczuk: For My Sweet Daughter

Bead Trends August

My "Bohemian Lavender" pendant was featured in the August edition of Bead Trends!

I like the mauve background they chose for it!

The fabulous lavender beads are handmade lampwork by Kelley Wenzel. I love how they transmit the light!

It reminded me of a satchel when I finished it. A quilted one, for collecting lavender.

Flower Child

Spring must be drawing nigh, because I just keep making these flower beadcaps...I have fuchsias on the brain!

With swirling berry lampwork from BeingBeads:

Berry Blossoms

With icy blue Czech orbs and pearls:

Ice Blossoms

With minty aventurine and Czech glass in "prairie green":

Minty Blossoms

With Czech glass in semi-mirrored copper, with copper pearls:

New Penny Blossoms

With more lampwork by BeingBeads in delicious cobalt and kelly green:

Cobalt Blossoms

With big fat roundels of glowing, milky opalite!

Glowing Blossoms

I have some flower caps in gunmetal-finish nickel ready to go too...Maybe tonight! "Rustic Blossoms."

Some Earrings

I decided the weekend would be for earrings. I made five pair, and one more pair is half done.

This pair features little orange-red seed beads from my Bead Soup from Donna Millard, tiny green turquoise heishi, large blue magnesite discs, pewter heart charms, and ruffly sterling silver beadcaps. The magnesite and heart charms are from Happy Mango Beads.

This pair is based around some "oil slick" lampwork beads from BeadAbundant (Etsy). They have such a lovely antiqued brass shimmer, I had to combine them with brass. I added garnets and pale purple seed beads to bring out the plum tones.

I started with Karen Totten's ceramic leaf charms for this pair, and added some verdigris patina discs from Shannon LeVart, pewter birch leaf charms, and little seed beads in periwinkle. Sterling silver earwires. Birch  leaf charms from Happy Mango Beads.

This pair is a little plain, but I really love these beads. The olive green is sort of glassy and rich. I like how the ivory base has some buttery golden patches, like a perfectly toasted marshmallow.

This pair below is my favorite new design. I wanted to try them first with just a smooth copper cap, but I think I would prefer them to be textured. They remind me of a fuchsia blossom--that's what I was going for with the little "stamens" dangling from the bottom. This pair sports a pair of lampwork beads from BeingBeads. I have another pair half done with green aventurine roundels and little Czech glass stamens in prairie green.