Blog Partner

I'm so pleased to say that I've become a member of Artbeads.com Design Partner Program.  I know a lot of bloggers are members of the team and it's an honor to be included with these bead artists.  I was just accepted into the program, but I was still able to participate in the current "Winter Enchantment".  The idea behind the theme is what you find inspirational about winter.  I have to say that winter isn't my favorite time of year.  Once the glitter of Christmas is stored away for another year, I tend to huddle in the house as much as I can.  But, since I was a young girl the bright spot of winter was Valentine's Day.  It's not because I'm  an extreme romantic, although I do like soft pretty things, but because it was a touch of bright red and cheeriness in the midst of the gray of February, when everyone had enough of gray skies and gloomy, snowy weather.  It was a chance to make things with the color red, to enjoy pretty things like hearts and flowers and to eat fun things like heart shaped cakes iced with pink icing.  Yes, my mother always made me and my cousin a chocolate heart shaped cake with pink icing.  I still have her heart shaped pans!  So, when I found out that the theme of this installment was Winter Enchantment I knew immediately what I was going to chose.

These were the items I ordered for my project.  I love the Crystal Red Magma heart and I love that color with copper. So, copper chain was an obvious choice. I, also chose the copper heart leaf pendant because I've been wanting to use one of those copper leaves in some project. This one was so pretty and perfect for my idea that I was thrilled to find it.  So, as I ordered my pieces I designed my project.  I don't ever do that, but this idea presented itself almost as a whole as I began chosing components!  Wish that would happen more often!

This is the finished necklace.  It came together almost as I had envisioned it.  Again, very unusual for me since most of the time I don't start with a clear idea of what I'm going to end up with!



And, here's a close up.

 

I used the copper pendant as a closure, making the hook out of 16 gauge copper wire.  A nice feature of the design is that I can use the hook in one of the links of chain and have the copper heart hang free.  That was something I hadn't anticipated but I like the option of having a long necklace, or a shorter one depending on what I'm wearing it with or my mood!

Well, I hope you all have a restful Sunday.  The weather in my part of the world is gloomy and rainy, a perfect studio day!

To comply with FTC regulations I must tell you that I review products for Artbeads.com free of charge.  My statements are an honest assessment of the products and I receive no compensation from Artbeads.com for my endorsement. 





It always needs beads!

I've always loved fibers and fabrics.  But, just as long as I've loved fibers and fabrics I've loved beads.  So, you'll usually find beads in almost everything I make. I love to embellish everything!!  I usually don't consider a jacket completed without a bead or two.  Same with an art quilt.  And, once I started knitting with beads, I started feeling the same way about fibers.  When I began felting knitted bowls and handbags it didn't take long to realize I had to get beads in there somehow.  With handbags, I often needlefelt over the machine washed handbag.  Then I'll sew beads onto the bag, embellishing the needlefelting.  But, then I discovered a pattern for knitted, felted bowls.  I love bowls and vessels made out of fiber or  beads.  Of course, I had to try the pattern! I knitted the bowl out of two colors of Manos kettle dyed yarn and then threw it in the washing machine.   This is the result.  Of course it's been embellished!

I decided I would applique ribbons, trims, beads and ribbon flowers in a vining pattern.  I made ribbon fuschias, and then stitched ribbon wrapped wire down with beads.  I added leaf trim, one of my favorite trims, and then stitched scattered beads to fill in.  I was especially pleased with the results.  I love the ribbon fuschias.  Here's a close up.

I was hooked on making these bowls for a while.  I made an all white/ivory  frosty one for a Christmas charity auction.  Unfortunately, I finished it with no time to spare, so there's no photo of it.  And, I made a royal purple which my daughter had to have for her college dorm room.  She took it back to school before I had a chance to jazz it up!  But, she likes it plain.  I don't know what's wrong with her!!!  Then I had two skeins of yarn left over from a sweater I made so I made a bowl to keep knitting tools in.  I thought it would be fun to sew buttons on it rather than ribbons and flowers.  So, I chose shell buttons in different sizes and colors and stitched them down with beads.  You knew I'd get the beads in there somehow!

The yarn had slubs of color in it which gave the felted bowl an interesting play of color.  I used those colors in chosing the buttons and stitched them down with green and turquoise beads. To fill in between some of the buttons I added some shaped beads.  I also decided to line this bowl.  I could see some of the stitching inside the bowl, so I decided I would cover it with a coordinating batik fabric from the stash.  You can see a little of the fabric in this closeup.

I like the look of the lining.  I cut a circle of fabric large enough to fit the interior of the bowl and then pleated it as I hand stitched it to the top of the bowl.  It's a great place to keep tape measures, point protectors, scissors and such on my table. 

I made these bowls a couple of years ago and I've been wanting to experiment with other yarns and styles.  So, stay tuned and we'll see if I get back to felting bowls.  I have some fun ideas for embellishing them and when I start to get new ideas I usually can't resist trying them out. 

Thanks for visiting today.  Hope you have a great day.





Happy Heart's Day!

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!



A new spiral necklace



There have been many things going on in the family this winter which have cut into the time I spent in my studio.  Winter is usually a very productive time for me.  The cold weather and the inability to work in the garden gives me lots of studio time.  But, this year I haven't accomplished much.  Our lives are settling down now and so I had the time to finish a necklace that I started in January.  My friend Kathy, who owns Bead Soup in Savage Mill, showed me how to do this variation on the Dutch spiral stitch.  It's a fun stitch to work, requiring just enough concentration to keep it interesting!

The colors I chose were frosty, wintery colors reflecting both the weather we were having at the time and, to a certain extent, my mood.  Gray, white, black and cool sage green spoke of what I was seeing out my window.  Many of you know that I'm a lover of bright colors, but sometimes the softness of a winter palette is soothing.  The next time I make one of these necklaces I'll be using my beloved brights! 

I'll leave you with a close up of the necklace.  Enjoy your day, do something creative and thanks for visiting!



Wire Working for a friend

A friend of mine makes beautiful baskets.  I love baskets.  I use them to store things, but I also use them as decorative pieces.  I love the tactile and sculptural appeal they have.  Well, anyway, my friend makes these wonderful yarn baskets.  I asked her if she would make me one.  As all you knitters know, you can never, ever, have too many yarn baskets!  I was planning on paying her for the basket, but she had seen a wire and pearl ring I had made myself in a class I took at Bead Soup and she loved it!  So, we decided I would make her a ring and pendant to match and she would make me a basket!  Perfect!  Well, life, and the holidays intervened, and we're just getting our projects done.  I gave her the ring and pendant on Thursday and she's in the process of finishing up my basket.

The ring is a freeform design, so it really appealed to me.  I love the idea of using a little wire and a few small beads to make a really cool ring.  I used pearls in mine and Judy wanted pearls also. 

It uses 16 gauge wire and 24 gauge for caging the beads.  It's a very easy design and each ring, like in freeform beadwork, looks different. 

This is the pendant, which is made in the same way.  I used a bracelet mandrel to shape 20g wire and made a loop on each end, attaching a jump ring to the top.  I then strung the pearls on 24g which I wrapped around the ring.  You can use as many, or as few, beads as you want, and again, each pendant is different.  I've seen this pendant idea many times, and not always in a circular shape, but the idea of caging the beads randomly is very appealing to this freeform kind of gal!  The next one I make is going to be a rectagular one for myself.  I just have to decide on the beads I want to use. 

Well, it's a cold day here, so I'll spend it in the studio, cozy and warm, finishing up a project that never was finished before the holidays.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.





Remember this pendant?

It's the pendant I made before Christmas at Bead Soup in Savage Mill.  I really liked the finished pendant.  It was so frosty and wintery looking that I didn't want to let it sit in the studio collecting dust.  So, as soon as things settled down a little after the holidays I stitched a necklace for it. 

Since I really love spiral rope stitch I decided to use that for the necklace.  I just finished it yesterday and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  As you can see in the picture below I peyote stitched a toggle bar and used a white frosted glass ring that I found at Michael's some time ago for a toggle. 



So, now this is my new favorite winter jewelry!  I say that when I finish all my jewelry!  We're going to be joining friends for dinner tomorrow evening so I can wear it!  It's pretty cold and frosty here, which makes it very appropriate!

Here's a picture of the entire necklace.  Enjoy!



Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the coming weekend.  Don't forget to do something creative today!



Have to share!

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the new year! My birthday was yesterday and so while we're cleaning up Christmas, my wonderful family is planning surprises for me so that my day doesn't get lost in the shuffle. This year my daughter, Carrie, found out that the old '60's group The Lovin Spoonful is in concert in town. The show is tonight, so they're taking me to dinner and the show this evening. To present me with the tickets, she created this wonderful envelope using some of Michelle Ward's new stamps. We love these new stamps, and so Carrie decided to use them to decorate the envelope using some of my favorite colors.

It made my whole day bright!  I hope you're having a great day.  I'm looking forward to dinner and a concert of oldies with my lovely family!

Thanks for stopping by.