Artisan Jewelry Times

Hey everybody, guess what?? I've been featured by a very impressive online jewelry magazine, Artisan Jewelry Times! Yay!! Be sure to click on the link and check out this great publication--it is chock full of great tutorials, gorgeous photographs, and informative articles. Many thanks to Tracey for sharing my story and one of my favorite pieces of jewelry--"Art Deco Surprise"--which is built around a fabulous Mykonos verdigris openwork panel from Stinky Dog Beads. Enjoy!

Stinky Dog Beads Black Friday Sale

Stinky Dog Beads, One of my favorite online jewelry supply stores is having a Black Friday sale, from Friday November 27 through Wednesday December 2--20% off of already great prices!! You MUST check it out--use code BLACKFRI20.

SALE!!!

Here are some items I made this fall from Stinky Dog's offerings:

These earrings are made with Mykonos glazed ceramic cubes, in a soft turquoise with a wonderful copper raku spatter effect. The little verdigris flower beads at the bottom are also Mykonos, as are the Czech glass beads adorning the chain and on the earwires--all from Stinky Dog Beads! ("SDB", to us insiders.)

These two pair of earrings are made with Unicorne lampwork glass teardrops (usually available at SDB but currently out of stock), and two different styles of "sea glass" beads, from SDB. The first pair is a little spicy...

And the second pair is a little sweet!

Here's another SDB teaser...

I made these using some of my favorite Mykonos elements--big chunky brass stars! I threw in some metallic matte Czech glass spacers and Czech glass English cut beads in champagne for a mixed metal party look:

For this pair I went all Aegean, with Mykonos seahorses, cherry red sea glass nuggets, striped Czech glass Picasso beads, translucent aqua Czech glass beads, and little pewter shell charms (ADORE those):

But wait, there's more! These I made with some wonderful antique finish red round leather cord (very supple too, for a colored Greek leather), big Czech Picasso beads, pewter flower crimp connectors, and little Czech glass rondelles in vivid aqua (on the earwires). This was a really fun design to do! (Of course all of these parts and pieces--not including the earwires, which I made myself--are from SDB.)

Then I made this little matched set of necklace + earrings from some of my favorite Mykonos items in the verdigris finish:

My Art Deco Surprise necklace (because I was surprised it turned out Art Deco). That wonderful cut-work panel in verdigris is another Mykonos element, from SDB (not available just yet). The rest of the elements I pulled from here and there.

I made this pair of earrings to go with it--and was floored/thrilled when they were actually purchased together! That NEVER happens. You might recognize those little Mykonos flower beads from the first pair above. Love them!! And little Czech beauties in azure are on the earwires.

If I quit my job and had all the time in the world, and had piles of money anyway (like a highly unlikely lottery scenario) I would buy Stinky Dog clean out. If you've not shopped with The Dog yet, it might be time!

Sun

Sun

I designed this piece around a pewter sun totem from Happy Mango Beads. These are my favorite totems at HMB! They make me happy. I made another bead frame for it (think I'm done with the bead frames for a while, just wanted to experiment a little), and ended up going with a kind of classic Southwest palette. (I originally was going to try a kind of autumn palette--olive green, goldenrod and brick red--combined with turquoise but it just wasn't working for me.)

I combined the turquoise with a wonderful etched red agate cylinder from a local bead store, some little yellow jasper rice-shaped beads, and a twisted oval of red agate. I added some wrapped silver bars, lacing I cut from a big swatch of saffron-colored, luxuriously-napped suede, and some burly sterling silver rolo chain.

I guess there's a reason this color scheme is a classic--it plays very nicely together! It feels good to use some of my silver, and break into new beads and other supplies. I am LOVING my Gentec mixed fuel (MAPP and oxygen) torch (now that I'm no longer afraid of it and have gotten all the connections together without leaks). What a difference having the right flame makes! (I am also excited to have gotten a fume extractor--my fan-aimed-toward-the-open-door approach wasn't working very well.)

Turkey and mashed potatoes are calling my name so I have to go (no, you didn't miss Thanksgiving.)

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl
(sold)

When I recently pulled out my stash of pewter totems from Happy Mango Beads with the intent of using them in necklaces, when I saw the owl totems I immediately thought of Snowy Owls, and sublime Botswana agate in its subdued, wintry colors--like owl feathers.

Here I've created a frame for the totem in Argentium silver wire, and combined it with wonderful Botswana agate pebbles from DayBeads at Etsy. (I loved the first strand I got so much, I had to go back and get two more.)

I went with an asymmetrical design incorporating more pebbles, finishing it off in warm brown Greek leather, sterling silver donut beads, and a short length of sterling silver rolo extender chain.

 As is my wont, I added another little bead at the end of the chain, oohing an aahing to myself over the wonderful chevron pattern.

Fabby!!

I love this stone! (And this pretty girl below.)

Snowy Owl From Wikimedia Commons
User Connormah

Totems

The Warrior

It's been a while since I made any necklaces, so I thought I would get back to it (it took me several weeks but I did it). I have a lovely collection of pewter Northwest Tribes-inspired totem pendants from Happy Mango Beads, so I thought I would start with those. I've also bought a lot of silver wire lately, taking advantage of the dip in price, and I thought I should use it! My plan is to make a necklace from each of the totems I have. These are the first three from my little stash.

This pendant is "The Warrior." I've combined it with lapis, turquoise, clear quartz, recycled glass in cobalt, leather and sterling silver (both Argentium and traditional sterling.) (Click on the links provided to see the item in my Etsy shop.) (Clear quartz wheel beads and recycled glass disc also from Happy Mango Beads.)

The next necklace I made features a "greeting" totem. I combined it with turquoise, a recycled glass disc in root beer brown, and a little frosty clear glass rondelle (glass beads again from Happy Mango Beads). I decided to keep it simple, and suspended it from some buttery soft suede deertan lace.

Hello, Friend

I just can't seem to get away from this caramel-turquoise combination--the veining in this turquoise is a lovely amber color.

The third pendant is one of my favorites--the Orca totem. I made a necklace with one of these eons ago, and decided to stick with the same color palette--indigo and smoked glass.

Orca

Whenever I think of Orcas I think of the Pacific Northwest and the sea and sky on a cloudy day--slate blue and steely gray waters dotted with whitecaps.

I am looking forward to making more necklaces with the totems I have left--owls, suns, salmon, ravens and eagles!

Crazy for Bracelets

Flower of the Southwest

Short-sleeve weather always makes me think of bracelets, so I've gone a little crazy making bracelets. I have this hoard of bracelet bars from Captured Moments on Etsy, and I've always adored the embossing and glaze on these "copper brown" ones--just like tooled leather! I thought, well, tooled leather--has to be Southwest. So I hauled out my bin of turquoise, and my small stash of Hill Tribes silver paraphernalia, my silver wire, sheet, and torch and got to work. This is what transpired! I tossed in a little Red Creek Jasper, Wood Jasper, and Tiger Eye to repeat the coffee/caramel browns, as well as a sprinkling of sterling silver freeform nuggets that I cannibalized years ago from a Coldwater Creek bracelet I had bought.

I have been really into knotting lately, and my remaining stash (which is generous) of drilled beach stones seemed made for waxed linen cording, so I went for an all-neutrals palette with this bracelet below, and what is more neutral than Botswana agate? I love the grays, and taupes, and creams, and almost-pinks.

(Sold)

I love love LOVE the striping on the agate, and I was doubly thrilled to have a chance to use some more of my Silverleaf Jasper rondelles. I love these sweet little beads. I found several strands of "donut heishi" Botswana agate that were perfect for covering up termination points at clasp areas--it's like a little stone bouquet!

For the next four bracelets, I decided to go back to a style I used to use a lot--a curved focal piece, with either a beaded strap, some chain, or a solid metal "underbar" that fastens with a toggle closure. This bracelet was designed around some delicious "wing dings" by Geneal Crivello-Knabe of Genea Beads. I LOVE these colors.

Sweet Tarts

I did them up in copper, as I thought it would compliment the fall colors, and accented them with lampwork spacers in pale apple green and olive from The Spacer Bead Shop (Etsy), and lampwork rondelles in amber from Happy Mango Beads. I couldn't help dangling a few things from it--A little pale carnelian donut, a Picasso Czech glass teardrop in variegated olive from Stinky dog Beads, and a funky copper bead from Jewelry Supply. I made the toggle closure from a couple of my embossed copper rings, and one of my hand-forged wrapped toggle bars.

Then I dipped into my stash of recycled glass from Happy Mango Beads. Creature of habit that I am, I couldn't stay away from the sea green and azure beads. The bracelet below was built around some tulip-shaped recycled glass beads--the first time I have used these. Perfect size for the focal on a simple bracelet.

Art Deco Tulip

I got all clever and added a couple triangular copper beads to echo the shape of the glass bead. The chain is one of my favorites from Lima Beads. I love the Art Deco shape to these glass beads--this stylized lotus/tulip shape is so iconic to that era.

For this bracelet, I harkened back to the hinged bangle bracelets I used to make with lampwork--this one sports a rectangle of recycled glass flanked by two donut shapes, with one of my wrapped "underbars." I love the rustic feel of these beads! I like how they look with glossy, burnished copper.

(Sold)

I love how this semi-matte glass glows--there's nothing more luminous than etched glass! Except maybe a light bulb.

This bracelet was constructed around some recycled glass tablets from Happy Mango--one in transparent azure, one in solid teal, and another in a lovely robin's egg blue. I went dual-metal with this one--sterling/fine silver and copper. The underbar is heavy-gauge copper wrapped with 22 gauge fine silver wire, and the focal section is also wrapped with fine silver wire (its pliability is so nice for wrapping).

Caribbean Dreams

I love how the light comes through that glass! I adore the bubbles and flaws in it--just more things for the light to reflect off of.

Well that's all I got for now! Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday evening.

The Bird and the Dragonfly

The Bird

I have my own stash of Czech, Mykonos and other fabulous goodies from Stinky Dog Beads--I have been hoarding these Czech bird and dragonfly coins, trying to think of a design that would really showcase them. They're a smaller size--perfect for a modest choker-length necklace, bold earrings, or a layered set of necklaces--but I wanted to make a giant pendant out of them. I swear I wracked my brain for weeks (but my brain wasn't working too good at the time so it wouldn't have normally taken that long) trying to think of how to construct a bead frame (never did that before) and hang the coin from the inside. When my brain started working again I came up with this design.

I combined the lovely persimmon-hued bird (with subtle greenish Picasso effect) with pale carnelian, ivory bone, poppy jasper, a little more Czech glass, and my oval link chain.

My Stinky Dog Coin Stash

I went with same design with a gorgeous green and lavender dragonfly bead, matching it up with white shell, faceted glass in deep amethyst, green opal, olive green snakeskin agate, and Czech glass roundels in olive and periwinkle.

The Dragonfly

I used the rest of my oval chain, and one of my poppy caps on the long agate spear.

I really like how they turned out!

I would love to turn the little yellow bird up there into a knotted choker, with silver and turquoise blue beads. It would be part of my Yellow Desensitization therapy (I seem to have a psychological aversion to canary-type yellow colors, and I am trying to overcome it.)

Stop by Stinky Dog Beads and check out the delectable offerings!