Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Gold Dust Reveal

Waxed linen mutistrand bracelets are my 'go to'. I love them!

Thanks to Andrew for the awesome kit! I saved the pyrite and used it in a necklace I'm still working on.

 

Last Harvest Reveal

Another boot bracelet! These are fast and fun. Thanks Andrew for an amazing kit again!

 

Friday, October 30, 2015

Brave Angel Kit Reveal

Andrew Thornton of The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton put out a special kit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of pink goodness PLUS a handmade pendant!

I missed the first kits announcement (dumb Facebook!) and luckily he put a second one together! Once I buy one, I always split with Laurel and we start our creations.

I tried something a little different and made a boot bracelet. It has an extender chain on the clasp so you can put it on skinny boots like this or the big fuzzy ugg type boots as well.

Please know that Laurel and I can personally attest to Andrew's LOVE and hard work in picking out, hand making, and putting together these kits...

  • There are big bowls of mixes SITTING AROUND that got started and NEVER FINISHED because he didn't like the way the one color popped out too much.
  • We've seen the mixes get bagged and taken apart not just once, but THREE times because the mix didn't fill ALL the bags. And it would be WRONG to just 'top off' the bags because then it wouldn't blend correctly.
  • We've seen him buy enormous amounts of beads, just to get the PERFECT one for next months kit, and just hoping the rest of the beads will sell somewhere.
  • We've seen pendant carvings that NEVER MADE IT past the carving stage because it just didn't feel right.
  • And we've seen him try new finishes only to recoat them with a different one because it JUST WASN'T RIGHT.
  • We've seen him lovingly finish 20+ pendants and THEN they still aren't JUST RIGHT and ACTUALLY get TOSSED (yes, thrown) aside.

To Andrew- Thank You for always trying new and different things to keep your pendants fresh and unique. We understand that, just like Clinique Bonus Time at the department store, sometimes the strawberry colored lipstick just isn't one's particular shade. But it's a BONUS AND IT'S A SURPRISE AND who in the heck doesn't like those two things! And just like the Clinique Bonus, we save up $ and wait and buy YOUR kit with baited breath to see the final result of ALL your hard work and creativity. But UNLIKE the Bonus Time at the department store, yours is hand crafted and each one is unique which makes it all the more special and we love it for that reason! And we know that you are a human being and we know you love to give of yourself and share your talents and we appreciate you!

Please hop to Andrew's blog, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton, and see what others have lovingly created with some or all of Andrew's kit. There may be some auctions to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness, so keep your eye out for those.

 

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Lunar Eclipse Challenge Reveal

For this Andrew Thornton kit, I made a double wrap bracelet with loads of kit pieces! I added a Golem bead that reminded me of a lunar eclipse.

I didn't think I'd like this kit because at first I thought how drab the colors were... Then I played with the mix and fell in love with it. This bracelet is a 'go to' for me now, as it goes with everything! Andrew does such a fantastic job putting these kits together, even a sceptic like me falls in love with the colors.

Hop back to Andrew's blog to see the others that fall in love every month with his kits!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

 

Inspired by Reading: Mr. Penumbra's ...

Very late post! Sorry!

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore was a FUN read! Hard to pick out inspiration, but I loved these passages about the first time they went down into the secret reading room. Why it is secret, and what was there are spoilers, so I'll leave it to your imagination.

 

 

My necklace consists of vintage wood, new wood, stone, metal, and crystal.

Thanks for looking! Return to Andrew's blog to see who else played along this month.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Inspired by Reading September Blog Hop...

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Inspired by Reading: The Night Circus

Loved it! One of my favorite books! So much to be inspired by, as well!

I chose The Circus itself as my inspiration for my necklace. The black and white tents are portrayed by these amazing black and white bicone Czech glass beads I found at allegorygallery.com. In between the tents is the black night sky plus two tiny Swarovski red crystals to represent Widget's and Poppet's bright red hair.

The Circus was all laid out in circles and the tents themselves were circular. The next picture is of the following tents recreated in bead form:

  • The white rose represents the performers OUTSIDE of the tents, one of whom is always given a rose by someone every night
  • The Illusionist - the square Swarovski representing Celia's black silk top hat
  • The Cloud Maze - the opal and white represent the layer upon layer of the clouds
  • The Hall of Mirrors - two different metallic coated square beads (plus a red crystal to represent the Reveurs)

The next picture expresses the following tents:

  • The Pool of Tears - the smooth black stones that are tossed in the pool shown in another circle
  • The Stargazer - the tent that is only open on clear nights to be able to see the stars in the sky
  • The Ice Garden - the AB Swarovski drops I Fell In Love With from Allegory Gallery represent the tent where everything is frozen in ice

 

Here it is all in one picture:

 

But wait... that's not it! Check out what these participants made with "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern in mind:


Ann Schroeder

Eric Wentling

Sarajo Wentling

Jeanne Steck

Marie D'Onofrio

Alison Smith

Andrew Thornton, Terri Greenawalt, Dawn Berkebile, Amy Roadman, and Laurel Ross

 

 

Halcraft Pretty Palette Challenge

Thanks to Erin for hosting this Challenge on Pretty Palettes :: August Reveal - Halcraft USA. I always enjoy searching out the beads that she finds and trying to find the exact same ones to use. Then I split them with Laurel and we start creating. This time I had some lava stone from Allegory Gallery already so we used it. The rest of the beads are all from Michaels Stores. Here is the inspiration picture and the bead picture from Halcraft USA.

Fairy chimneys formed from volcanic rock, rise to the sky and have been carved out for churches, homes and hotels over the centuries.

 

Neutral tones play with textures for the August Pretty Palettes inspiration.

 

I made a wire wrapped dangle bracelet. It is reminiscent of the landscape of Cappadocia, Turkey and its fairy chimneys that are made from volcanic ash.

Take a look at the Pretty Palettes :: August Reveal and see what all the other designers made from the same inspiration!

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Andrew Thornton's Dreaming Tree Challenge Reveal

 

This challenge I decided to use the chips on the strand from the kit and nothing else. So I was on a mission to find interesting ways to use chips in designs. I came across a designer on etsy, TesoroDelSol and I really loved her scalloped chip necklaces. So in her honor, I tried a smaller version.

I love finding new designers and designs while working on these challenges. Thanks to Andrew for putting these kits together!

Hop around and show some support to THESE fabulous designers...

Tammy Bowman http://innermusejewelry.blogspot.com

Gloria Allen http://www.wingsandbeads.blogspot.com

Michelle McCarthy - Playing with Clay http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com/

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Dolores Raml http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com

Shaiha Williams http://www.shaihasramblings.com/

Andrew Thornton, Nancy Noyes-Ward, Laurel Ross, Cheryl Lee Tucker, Dawn Berkebile, and Melissa Wynne http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Jade Challenge!

Andrew Thornton (The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton) had this amazing faceted round dyed Jade for sale at Allegory Gallery (Allegory Gallery — Store Home). We all fell in LUV with it! It was cotton candy colors in two different sizes.

Soooo, Laurel bought one strand of each color, then gave me half... Then we BOTH gave Zach all that we had left when we finished our projects. So we kind of had an impromptu "Jade Challenge by Friends of Allegory Gallery". (no, this group doesn't exist... you can't join... I just made it up right now)

So here's what we all made...

First up is Zach's piece:

He strung a super long necklace with awesome triangle silver spacers and clear faceted rounds.

Next up is Laurel's necklace:

She also strung a looooong necklace and she used beautiful Czech glass and a Saki clasp.

And here is mine:

I made a beaded tassel and knotted mine on silk thread (and managed to find yet another reason to use a Green Girl Studios piece!)

Thanks Andrew for inspiring us and having such amazing beads to work with!

 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Inspired by Reading: Swamplandia! By Karen Russel

For this months book project I focused on the color purple, the trees in the swamp, and the alligators.
Ossie wears a purple turban, a purple skirt, and a purple ribbon in her hair. Purple is often associated with Spirituality, Faith, Magic, Mysticism. It is associated with the seventh chakra located at the crown of the head. This is the chakra of connection to ones spirit.
The swamp cypress trees with their visible roots above the water line are described throughout the book. As well as the melaleuca tree, the invasive tree that was planted with hopes of a brighter future but all it did was take over like a cancer.
And of course who could forget the 'Seths' , all the alligators, that the story has. These are the lifeblood of the Bigtree families survival in the swamp. They are the only reason Swamplandia! Theme park exists.

I used artisan made wood beads, purple glass triangles, purple and green Czech glass rondells, purple alligators and a decoupage wood artisan focal the reminded me of the swampy trees and roots. Oh, and an alligator clasp!
Thanks Andrew! For a fun meet up and book club night.
Here are the participants for this month.

Andrew Thornton, Amy Roadman, Dawn Berkebile, Terri Greenawalt, Laurel Ross, Nancy Noyes-Ward, and Marie D'Onofrio

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Halcraft Pretty Palettes Challenge Reveal

I have been very behind in posting! Make sure to hop around to see the others that are posted on Pretty Palettes :: July Reveal - Halcraft USA.

Here's Erin's inspiration...

Here are the beads from Michael's ...

Here is my Aurora Necklace ...

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Art Elements: September 2019 Challenge

September Art Elements Challenge Wow, it’s been a year since I last used the blog. I always liked using my blog instead of Facebook, I act...