Chris's Newest Creations

How adorable is this?!  Chris recently decided to make a sculpture to enter in the Nebraska State Fair.  This is what he came up with!  The flowers and leaves are created on black steel wire and then annealed in the kiln.  The flower pot is also glass created on the end of a large hole mandrel so it has a bottom but is also open to be able to insert the flowers.  Once all of the components are created, Chris uses 2 part epoxy to set the flowers into place and to attach the aluminum disc to the bottom of the pot.  Chris also made the aluminum discs from recycled blanks and used a machine to add the engraved grooves to the disc.  So creative and cute!  We plan to make quite a few to have at Graham Gallery during the Holidays. 

Here are a couple others Chris made that are available for sale:

I love the free-form blue daisy and the stone-look flower pot.

This is probably my favorite flower!  The outside edge is a pretty, soft peach and the inside a darker coral.  The flower pot looks like a well weathered terracotta pot!

As for me, I have been beading, beading, beading to get ready for all of our shows next month.  Lots of new designs being churned out!
Earrings:

Left to right: free-form nugget turquoise with Vintaj brass leaves, abalone, and fire agate with carnelian dangles.

Bracelets:

 Lots of Czech glass, crystal, stone, Clay River focal (top), and FanceeThat focal (bottom).  This batch was focused in the antique brass color for the findings.  My favorites are the second from the top and the second from the bottom.  The matte finish on the agate on the bracelet near the bottom adds a wonderful texture to the piece and the leaf charm adds movement.  On the second from the top, I used pieces of chain as dangling charms to add movement to the piece.  It also has a small chicklet style bead from Clay River designs.

This group of bracelets focuses on antique copper.  There are lots of fun goodies in this batch, recycled glass ring from Trinket Foundry, natural stones, Czech glass, copper filigree butterfly, double hole drilled bone bead from Wild Things Beads, Clay River Designs, and chain.  Chris's favorite is the top one, and I also liked it.  My favorites are probably the bottom two, one of which sold last weekend. 

So that is a bit of an update on the jewelry and glass front!  Sorry for the long silence!  It may be a bit quiet here for a couple weeks while we prepare for the shows!

Bead Soup Party Mini Bead Swap REVEAL!!!!

Once upon a time...
That line has been used in so many beautiful fairytale stories. It brings to mind a lovely princess, a brave and strong prince, a fierce but interesting dragon, and a castle with a moat filled with man eating snails, VERY BIG MAN EATING SNAILS.  Or not, as this case happens to be.  My fairytale does not have a prince or a princess or those creepy snails.  Instead my tale has an Elephant, named uh, Ollie.  Ollie is living in the "Arabian Nights" type fairytale instead of the Prince vs. Snails type of story.  So without further ado, let me introduce Ollie the Elephant to you.

Bead Package from my partner, Sandy Richardson.

This isn't Ollie, she is a good friend of Ollie though.  Fanny the Elephant came from Sandy, my Swap partner, along with a lovely mix of crystals, antique brass spacers, coppery bi-cones, and a bag of seed beads.  Fanny got her own story, she was designed into a bracelet that matches Ollie's necklace.

Fanny's Charm Bracelet

When I saw Fanny, I knew I had to add to her group of friends and went on the hunt to Etsy to find a few more Elephants for our story.  In Fanny's bracelet you can see a couple tiny, elephants.  I also used those in my earring design.

Ollie's Arabian Jewel Necklace

This is Ollie.  She and Fanny go well together as they both love BLING and SPARKLE (and let's face it, who doesn't?)!  For Ollie's necklace, I used two strands of chain and LOTS of headpins to make dangles from the beads Sandy sent me and a mixture of other crystals, Czech glass, and miscellaneous beads.   Between the bracelet, necklace, and earrings there are almost 100 head pins used!!  I have been wire wrapping myself silly this week!

Me with Ollie and Fanny

The earrings didn't photograph well, so here I am modeling the Arabian Jewel set for you.  I REALLY love how it came together.  Now that you have visited with Ollie and Fanny, stop by the other blogs participating in the Fairytale Bead Mini swap!  Here are the links:

Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads

Courtney Breul, Beads By Breul 

Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta

Evelyn Hall, Dragon Lady Evelyn

my partner> Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box

Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Design

Tara Plote, Newbie Beader

Christine Brandel, A Hot Piece of Glass

Lisa Sittniewski, Alterity Art

Joanna Matuszczyk, Filcowe

Jenni Connolly, Jenni Bead

Geneva Collins, Torque Story

Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

Sally Russick, Wireworked

Mary McGraw, MK's Creative Musings

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found 

You are here~Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs 

Shai Williams, Shaia's Ramblings

Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations

Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do

Sweet Addy Designs

Valerie Norton, Hot Fused Glass 

My Bead Story for Sandy

The Treasure Trove of Beady Goodies!

 I added a couple photos of the items I sent to Sandy!  Can't wait to see what she makes with them!

BTW= Bead Table Wednesday

Technically, none of these are on my bead table, but they are the projects I have finished recently!

Peace Garden Earrings

Calypso Earrings

Party Cube Charm Bracelet

Nature Wrap Charm Bracelet

Limeade Chained Charm Bracelet

Lavender Delight Suncatcher

Nature's Wind Chime Suncatcher

close up of top of the suncatcher/wind chime

Ocean Blue Suncatcher

Crystal Color Suncatcher

Orangeade Suncatcher

 Things I learned this morning:

• I shake when I take pictures, leading to blurry pictures.
• Suncatchers are very difficult to photograph well.
• I need to make more charm bracelets!  They are cute and fun to make!  Thanks to my friend Carla for the inspiration!

The Nature's Wind Chime Suncatcher has a tiny brass bird charm at the top and sea urchin spines (which are hollow and make a lovely tinking sound) for the wind chime dangles.  The Orangeade suncatcher utilizes a large holed bead Chris made a couple summers ago  to add an extra bit of interest.  The Limeade charm bracelet has faceted millifiori beads and colored aluminum chain maille rings.

Here is a preview of the mini Bead Soup Swap I am participating in.  These are the beads I received from my partner Sandy: