Brooches

I like to make jewelry.  Not a surprise since I talk about it constantly.  I love all sorts of jewelry especially when it combines different media into one piece.  Here are some recent brooches I made for our spring shows.

Sweet Spring

This brooch was a quickie, I started with wide polka dot grosgrain ribbon did a running/tacking stitch to gather it as I went and then embellished with a stacked Lucite/Swarovski crystal flower and a large teardrop shaped Mother of Pearl bead.  Looks like it belongs on an Easter bonnet or large floppy brimmed hat!

Wild and Retro

This is the 80s!  I did a covered base and then a twisted rose with polka dot fabric and then embellished with fun resin and acrylic beads and a bit of colored chain mail that I made with bright blue and green rings.  Fun and funky don't you think?  I actually started this last year, but couldn't figure out what was lacking.  I think if finally spoke loudly enough that I heard it!

Grow

I put this piece together after fighting with the base fabric for some time.  I embellished with felted and button flowers stacked together with a Lucite leaf and funky lime green discs.  I also ventured into the realm of metal stamping (since I couldn't find a stamp to say what I wanted).  It says "Grow" and has ladybugs on it.  Fun and bright!

left - Morning Coffee and right- Vintage Lace

The pin on the left features a group of Czech glass coffee bean beads, a lampwork donut bead made by Palm Tree Queen Lampwork, and a miniature coffee cup (courtesy of the miniature dollhouse furniture at Hobby Lobby).  It was awesome!  I made it Thursday night and sold it Saturday!  The brooch on the right is lacy ribbon accented with a group of brass leaves, a gorgeous Kabela design (Small Beautiful) accented with a vintage Swarovski crystal glued into the center of the flower setting.  It is really lovely and looks vintage, but the photo doesn't do it justice.
Hope you enjoyed the new photos!  Check out the real pieces at our shows this weekend!

Michelle Mach's Very Vintage Fall Challenge REVEAL DAY!

Michelle Mach's Very Vintage Fall Challenge
A few weeks ago I joined up on "Creating the Hive" to more easily follow some of the blogs I track and to find new ideas and connections. 






I came across Michelle's blog through The Hive (and you can follow me there) and the day I did, just happened to be the day she had posted about her Fall Beading Challenge.  I hopped right over to her shop and purchased a kit (one of only 26). This is the picture I took of my kit items,

 and this is the picture of kit items from Michelle's shop Beads and Books.

 Here is what I made:

front view

right side

left side

full view (without me modeling)

close up for detail

the complete lovely piece

I had a lot of fun with the mix in the kit.  Loved the vintage Lucite pieces.  I received the autumn "peppermint" pendant, the amber open drop, and a cool purple/brown button which I couldn't get to work in my piece.  Luckily I had just purchased metal punch pliers, so I was able to put holes in my branch for hanging.  I made the chain on the right side using Lucite links (from MyElements on Etsy) and pieces of chain looped through them to connect them together.  I love the way the khaki green blends in with the browns and ambers.  I did a couple wire wraps on the side with the green loops incorporating some loose natural stone I had lying on my bead table.  I added a piece of ribbon cut from a decoration wrap on a package of beads from my friend, Carla's shop (Beads by C from beads and botanicals on Etsy).  It reminds me of leaves, which continues the theme of the necklace and add texture with the fiber.  On the other side of the necklace, I used the oval teardrop, did a link with jump rings to the pendant and the branch.  From the branch I added the Lucite leaves and some crystals from my stash made into drops.  To finish out the side, I used chain and made bead drops with some of the mix beads that came in the kit.  I love the finished design, have worn it several times and I am really enjoying playing with the eclectic designs that come with these bead challenges.  It helps me "branch" out (pun intended) and work on my asymmetrical designs.  The first time I tried making an asymmetrical design, I thought I would have an aneurism!  It actually hurt my head to force myself to think in "non-matching" designs.  It has gotten much easier, and now I almost have difficulty in going back to the "matching" way of thinking!  I hope you enjoyed my design, and please visit the other artists participating in the challenge!  Stop by tomorrow for some fun new fall designs!

Here's the list of everyone participating in this current challenge:
Andrew
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Cat
Boo Beads
Chris
beadjewelry.net

Cilla
Tell Your Girlfriends

Cyndi
Beading Arts

Cynthia
Cynth's Blog

Dawn
Morning Glory Beading

Donetta
Simply Gorgeous

Heather
As I Bead It
Holly
SilverRose Designs
Kate
We Can Make That at Home
Kristina
Wild Roses and Blackberries

Lauren
Laurel Moon Jewelry & Beads

Linda
Lutka & Co

Lisa
Lucid Mood Studio

Lola
Bead Lola Bead

Mary
MLH Jewelry

Melinda
Melinda Orr Metal & Clay Jewelry Designs

Michelle H.
Firefly Visions
Michelle M.
Beads & Books

Salla
Blog by Salla

Shannon
Falling into the Sky

Shay
Shaiha's Ramblings

Shel
MiShel Designs

Shirley
Beads and Bread

Stephanie
Pixybug Designs  YOU ARE HERE!!

Tari
Pearl and Pebbles

Terry
Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Tracy
The Bead Junkie

More Titanic

hopemore

Yesterday, I revealed my passion for all things Titanic.  I think my fascination with the details of the tragedy stem from time in High School Drama class and a play about a group of women on the Titanic.  It started out with the women happy, drinking (we used ice tea in tumblers to look like whiskey),  chatting and as time went, the reality of the iceberg and the inevitable sinking sat in and changed the tone of the play.  We dressed up in long dresses and shawls.  The play got to go to State Speech Contest, and we did well for what I remember.  Mostly, I remember the ice tea trick and changing into our costumes in a broom closet!  I also did an entertaining speech from an Erma Bombeck passage, I was so nervous!

Anyway, after showing the items from the hopemore shop, I searched for a few others.  Here are the ones I really liked:

pattisprimitives

How many of those days have we had?  LOTS!

anroldesigns

This is very funny and I would have never thought of that!  I am very careful about Karma though...

aboundingtreasures

I think these are very interesting.  I love the whimsical feel of the butterfly design combined with the pictures from the Titanic.

Bellasoiree

Aren't the details of this dress lovely?  So delicate and wispy!

LDelaney

This gal has some very interesting pieces.  She makes dollhouse furnishings and miniatures.  These are designed to lie on a table or desk in the dollhouse.   Miniature postcards, tickets, photos of before and after the sinking, and news clippings.  All VERY tiny and detailed.  AMAZING!  In her bio, she says that her grandparents were dollhouse builders and she does this in honor of them.  How Awesome!