Year-End Wrap Up

Right before Christmas, I received my "round robin" bracelet back from the journey it's been on for the past year.  My theme was "mother nature, earth goddess," and I asked everyone to stick with blues and greens, with copper findings.  Above is the beautiful finished work of collaborative art!  If you remember from the original post, a journal went along with the bracelet.  The person right before me in the sequence still has it, along with her final charm, so I haven't yet read the thoughts and purpose behind each artist's contribution, but I'm looking forward to reading that and wearing this!

As that year-long project finished up, I looked back on my goals for 2013.  Luckily, I kept them within reason - nothing too ambitious!  I completed most of them (see them here), thanks to my FANE group.  I completed the two pieces for our group shows, experimented with adding text to my art, and played with my silver Artclay kit.  I haven't yet added a bio or gallery pages to my blog - that can be recycled for this year.  Although I didn't create a huge quantity of art, I was happy with the quality of each piece.

One of the year's highlights was having our kimono-inspired pieces on display in Manhattan (see this post here).   It's so great to be part of this group, which pushes me to challenge myself, and takes me places I never thought I'd go!  I'm looking forward to new challenges and successes as I step into the New Year.  (I'll save my new goals for the next post...)

Holiday Sale

I'm happy to announce that some of my charm bracelets will be included at the Putnam Arts Council's annual holiday craft sale!  If you're local, stop by to see all the beautiful gifts and support local artists!

Look-ee what I made!

A couple of years ago, my DH asked me to look around for a piece of jewelry he could wear with the symbol of St. Joseph, which looks like this:

I went to several local silver jewelry shops, searched online, and even contacted some silver jewelers on Etsy, but was unable to find anything remotely similar, or someone who'd be willing to custom make one for me at a price that wasn't outrageous.  

When I decided to test out my silver art clay kit, I thought I might attempt to make one myself.  After watching the video, I realized this was probably a challenging first project, but decided to go ahead and give it a shot anyway.  And look how it turned out!

I'm quite pleased with the results!  The clay is easy to use, but it dries out very quickly, especially this time of year when the humidity in the house is low.  I managed to make it in stages, first the background shield shape, then the carpenter's square, then the lilies, and just moistened the clay to get the pieces to stick, like you would with pottery clay.  The flowers were the most challenging, and came out a little rougher than I would've liked.  I smoothed them as best I could with the files that were in the kit, and I have to say, it's not perfect, but it's not half bad!   Using the butane torch was actually pretty easy as well - I followed the directions and it all worked!  When the substrate burns off, it leaves a piece that's 99.9% pure silver - pretty nice for a kit that only cost about $100.  And I only used about half the clay.  I think I may try to make a silicone mold of this so if I ever want to make another one, it will be just a matter of pressing the clay into the mold.  I may also antique this piece with liver of sulpher so it looks a little more aged.  I think it will make a nice Christmas gift for him, no?  What will I make next, something for myself or for the girls?  Hmmm...

Slumpity Slump

It's been over a week since my last blog post, but I can't say it's because I've been excessively busy.  I'm not sure what's going on - I guess I'm in a bit of a slump, missing the warm weather and the garden, and giving in to the need to be lazy.  Maybe I'm just feeling my age (say it isn't so!) or I'm frozen like a deer in headlights with the approaching holidays speeding towards me.  Whatever it is, I'm hoping it will soon pass and I'll be back to my creative, energetic self.

When I get like this, I'm not drawn to TV or other electronic entertainment - I read.  And just like an alcoholic cannot stop until he's drunk, I can't stop until the book is finished or I can't keep my eyes open - whichever comes first!  During the months of August, September, and October, I read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (there are 7 books so far, the first of which is being made into a series on Starz which will air this winter!  The 8th book comes out next March).  When I finished those, I picked up a few odds & ends, including Dan Brown's latest, Inferno, which takes place in Florence.  It's another fast-paced scavenger-hunt type of book, with the main character, Robert Langdon, going from one famous locale to another.   Reliving our visit to Florence made the book that much more enjoyable for me, as I was familiar with many of the places he goes for clues.  We even have a photo of Dante's death mask, which contains one of the big clues in the book.  Of course, I finished that very quickly and now I'm waiting for Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, which was recommended to me by several people.

I do sometimes manage to get down to my studio and putter around, but I'm hesitant to dive into anything big just yet, although I've collected materials for some projects and they are just waiting for me...  I did manage to make myself a cute new pair of earrings yesterday, which didn't take long, but maybe will be the inspiration I need to get moving of some larger projects.

What's New Monday

Ta-dah!  This is the latest bracelet I crafted using all the leaf charms I received in the "Falling Leaves" swap through my ArtCharms group.  I happened to have an extra length of copper chain with little leaves all over it, as well as a leaf toggle clasp, so it came together quickly.  The variety of colors and materials made it a real joy to put together.  I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it too!  Happy Monday, everyone!  What's new with you?

Paying it Forward

Last year in this post, I promised to "pay it forward" to my first three readers leaving a comment on this blog.  Well, I'm finally making good on my promise and sending off these little gifts.  The one above is for Norma, a very talented quilter in my FANE group who has been reading this blog faithfully for a long time and always has a supportive comment for me!   It's a little charm cluster necklace, with a spring green button from which the four charms dangle.  I made one special fabric leaf charm, since fabric is Norma's medium of choice for her art, and used other components that I already had in shades of green and blue, colors that are prevalent in her wardrobe.  Wear it in good health!

The earrings, below, are brass rings with purple teardrop crystals.  Mary R. in my Artcharms group will be receiving these.   Thanks for playing, you two, and now it's time for you to pay it forward to someone elsc!

Getting Back in the Groove

For some reason, I haven't been very motivated to create lately (or even blog regularly, for that matter!).  I don't know if it's my busy summer work (and home) schedule, the oppressive heat we've been having, or the sacro-iliac joint dysfunction I've been struggling with, but I just haven't had the impetus to get downstairs and make anything.  All I feel like doing after a busy day is strolling down to the garden for a few minutes and then relaxing with a good book!  But my schedule is gradually easing up a bit (I have one or two more busy weeks), so I'm finally beginning to think about new ideas for art quilts and auditioning some fabric combinations, above.  (Can you guess what's on my mind from the fabrics pictured?  I'm so predictable!)

Today I even had the day off work, so I made a detour to the craft store before my grocery run.  I wasn't really looking for anything specific, but all the strung beads were half price, and a few things caught my eye...

 Some of the upcoming round robin bracelet themes are "crystal bliss," "steampunk," and "amythyst and silver" so I kept that in mind as I shopped.  Those open rings in various metal finishes looked interesting and different.   I started thinking about the possible combinations of metals and beads that might go in the center.  I found several things that could work, and knew I had some things already at home as well.  After the groceries were all put away, I had a little time to play around.  Here are some of the combinations I came up with:

The one with the gunmetal ring and black crystal might work for the Steampunk theme and the other one for the amythyst and silver.  Then, just for fun, I tried the distressed brass finish with some emerald crystals.  I really like these!

Finally, I tried these copper rings with pressed glass leaves in the center.  I think these are my favorite, but the copper blends with my hair so much that they hardly show on me!  I may use them for charms instead of earrings.  One of them would look great on my "Mother Nature" themed bracelet!

So now all my new craft room furniture is covered with a mess of beads and fabric but at least I'm getting back in the groove!

A Year-Long Project!

Late last fall, I decided to join another round robin, this one with the ArtCharms yahoo group, so it's for bracelets rather than fabric.  The idea is that each participant starts a bracelet with a theme and one charm, then sends it on to the next person.  Each one adds a charm until it comes back to the originator with twelve handmade charms in December of 2013.  We were to include a small notebook or journal so each person could document what they made, as well as a box to protect your bracelet on its journey.  

Everything needed to be in the mail today, so I've been thinking about and planning for this for a while.   I chose the theme "Mother Nature: Goddess of the Earth" since I'm drawn to earthy colors, leaves, flowers, natural materials etc.  I had bought 2 different chain styles in advance (the top two in the photo below) but when I sat down to put the clasps on,  they felt too flimsy for such an awesome project.  So I quickly went onto the artbeads.com website and fell in love with the little leafy chain at the bottom, which goes so well with my theme.  Because of the holidays and the delays with the mail, it just came TODAY so I very quickly put everything together.

 But while I was waiting for it to come, I decorated my journal!  I had some leftover sheets from the Sketchbook project I did in 2010-11 so I made a cover out of an old gift bag (stained green with thinned paint and decorated with copper gel pen).

 I also painted the inside pages with shades of blues and greens.  This took longer than I thought, and I made a huge mess by spilling a dark blue ink, which I then didn't want to waste, so I tried to scoop it back up, and water it down.  My pages are kind of splotchy and random, but I suppose you could look at it as being "natural" and fitting in with the theme!

 Then came the box.  I picked this little thing up at the dollar store, figuring it's just utilitarian, not for show.  But then I saw all the cute boxes others in the group were making, and I also coincidentally had saved a round cheese box from a wheel of Brie.

 So I put two and two together and came up with the fabric-covered box below! I almost like it as much as the bracelet!  I hot-glued in a little batting cushion with a round indentation perfect for nestling the bracelet.  I used acrylic gel medium to adhere some lacy leaves I had in my stash.

Below is a close up of the bracelet with the clasp I selected and two charms (I couldn't settle on just one!).  One is a fabric leaf with painted edges and two little bead and bead-cap flower dangles, and the other is a polyclay seashell look-alike with a copper goddess symbol attached.  I can't wait to see what other treasures it will collect along the way!

Now I'd better get to the post office!

Advent Begins

Once school begins in September, it isn't long before we're seeing Halloween costumes and candy in the stores, the leaves change and fall, it's November and Thanksgiving, and suddenly December is upon us!  The last four months of the year just seem to fly by!  And even though I've been thinking about Christmas since September, and trying to get as much as possible done early on, I always feel a mild sort of panic settle in when I see that 12 in the month column.  So many things to think about, plan, accomplish in these few meager weeks!

So this year, I bought myself an early gift:  the little Nativity pin you see above.  I found it at Darlene Hardenbrook's Etsy shop Freeheart1 (where she has some beautiful polymer clay pieces - the design of this one is so special, she had it copyrighted!).  I hope it will be the perfect little reminder to myself not to get caught up in the anxiety of rushing, buying, wrapping, overdoing, but instead to take it one moment and one day at a time, and try to prepare my heart for the Savior's birth.  Amen to that!

Another Disappointing Setback

In 2010 when I contacted the Putnam Arts Council to sell my bookmarks at their annual holiday art sale, it was so late in the game that they had already mailed advertising postcards.  Even so, they accepted my items, probably because they were a little out of the ordinary and were in a lower price range than most of their high-end silver jewelry, hand-blown glass, and hand-thrown ceramics.  This year, I planned ahead, made close to a dozen bracelets, and contacted them several weeks in advance, but THEY DON'T NEED ANY MORE MERCHANDISE!!!  Of course, I hadn't really considered this possibility, since they took my stuff so readily last time and now I'm disappointed and frantically looking for somewhere else to sell these bracelets.  I already contacted a local flower and gift shop, but they have not gotten back to me and I must assume they are not interested.  I have another local gallery in mind, but I haven't worked up the nerve to approach them in person yet.  I don't feel prepared to hit the craft-sale circuit at this point either.  So for now, I am listing things one day at a time at my Etsy shop, as I've heard it's better to list daily several days in a row than all in the same day.  AGHH!  Better luck next year!

Blue Skies

Our electricity came back on Saturday afternoon and things are almost back to normal.  The girls are back in school, programs are running at the library again, and I've restocked the fridge.  Life is good...
(until the next storm, a nor'easter which is supposed to arrive tomorrow!  Keep your fingers crossed!).

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to finish things up around here.  Just before the power clicked off last Monday, I took the final machine stitches on "Summer's End", which I started back in September.  I had been working on the hand quilting and embroidery embellishments over the last few weeks and finally decided it was done and needed to begin its new life as a pillow.  It adds a nice touch of color to our casual downstairs couch, as you can see below.  I made it an envelope-style cover so it was easy to make and I can still take it off if it needs to be cleaned.  I'm running out of wall space and you can probably never have too many pillows!

I also created another winter-themed charm bracelet, this one in white, silver and crystal, below.  I didn't thing I'd like this so much, since it lacks any real color, but I find it makes up for it with shine and sparkle.  It was really fun to make and I've already started on a second one.

 Finally, I started photographing some of these so I can send them over to the Putnam Arts Council for consideration in their annual holiday sale.  It usually opens at the end of November, so I'm right on time.  I made a few earrings too, as you can see below.  The next step will be figuring out how to display everything at the sale and deciding on packaging (typical white gift boxes?  sheer fabric pouches?  I'm not sure...).

Anyway, that's what's been going on in this neck of the woods.  Hope you all survived the storm and that the next one will be a piece of cake in comparison!   By the way, did you vote?  Every vote counts, so get out there and make your voice heard!

In the Midst of Many Projects...

... and trying to get some of them finished!  I haven't blogged that much about the various projects going on in the house right now, partly because I've been so busy going from one to the other, and partly because I haven't stopped to clear a space to photograph anything!  Time to catch you up a little on what's been going on around here.

Let's start with the charm bracelets.  I've been trying to craft a decent variety and quantity so I can submit them to sell at the Putnam Arts Council's annual holiday craft sale.  I've made at least two with a red and green Christmas theme, two with a pale blue and white winter/snow theme, and two of the retro 70s Bohemian denim and copper style.  I also have one with a spring "flowers and birds" theme and one of the ocean themed turquoise and silver.  I'd like to make one more of each of those and then take some great photos of everything, which I'll post.  Meanwhile, here's a group shot of some of the jewelry on a display rack with two cluster necklaces (which you can't see in the photo - I'll rephotograph them all individually soon!)

In addition to my ongoing projects, my daughters have also been taking their turns at the craft table.  One recently finished a large batik project using Elmer's glue gel and acrylic inks, but she gave it away before I had the chance to photograph it!  My younger daughter painted the black t-shirt below with the symbol of her zodiac sign, Libra.  We used freezer paper as a stencil and sponge-painted on acrylic paints.  It looks great and she's so proud to have made it herself!  She also created a cool sculpture of a dragon head using paper clay, and designed felt horns for a sweatshirt hood, which I stitched in place.  I'm so glad the girls see the value and pride in making things with your own two hands!

Friday after school they had a friend over for a pumpkin carving session.  Our town hosted a Pumpkin Fest this weekend and gave free pumpkins to any school-age child who promised to carve or decorate it and bring it back to the town park for display.  I'll post pictures of those another time, but meanwhile, here are the pumpkin spice cupcakes I baked in honor of the occasion.  The recipe is very simple:  pretty much just stir a whole can of pumpkin into a carrot or spice cake mix.   Add 3 eggs and 1/4 cup each of water and oil.  Mix and bake for 16-20 minutes, then frost with cream cheese frosting.  Delish!

Last Thursday, my FANE group met and we started a second round of Renga fabric exchanges.  This time, we each altered a half-yard of white fabric, then cut it into two fat quarters which each went to two different people.  Below are the two pieces of cloth I received:

 One group member added a design to her fabric using shapes cut from artist tissue paper, which bleeds when wet.  I decided I liked the blurry pastel colors that it produced and thought I'd give it a try.  I picked up this package of art tissue and went to work!

 I stuck with the raspberry and lemon color palette for the first piece of fabric.  I didn't want the shapes to be too angular and geometric, to match the tie-dye effect that's already there.  I went with irregular trapezoid shapes and scattered them around on the fabric like this:

 Then I spritzed the whole thing very well with water.  Sometimes air bubbles got trapped underneath the tissue, so I had to smooth everything down and make sure it was in contact with the fabric.

 Here's the finished product:   (I shot this in a different light than the photo above and it looks kind of washed out.  It really has more of a pale yellow color than this almost white).

 With the second piece of fabric, I chose to go with wavy lines in a teal green shade.  I like the look of this one (I really have some obsession with fabric that looks like water, don't I...?)

I managed to get the worktable cleaned off just in time for my DH to begin building a new wall in order to enlarge my daughter's bedroom.  Here are the studs going up...

 ... and here is the shelf I had to clear of stuff, which is now all over the worktable!  These cubbies will be turned on end and move against the second new wall, ...

 ... which will be several feet out from where this wall (with the door) currently is.  This room was originally his home office and he graciously gave it to her for a bedroom, but it had no closet.  When it's all done, she'll have a larger space as well as a closet.  This way, her room will be that much neater and more organized, right?  Right! (LOL!  I'll believe it when I see it!).  It better be worth all this effort!

Now all that is going on indoors, of course there are all the outdoor chores coming up.  I just cleared off this deck on Saturday, but the winds from approaching hurricane Sandy have already shaken enough oak leaves down to cover it up again!  If that's the worst we get from the storm, I'll take it!

Of course, we are all preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.  I stocked up on everything I could think of and made great efforts to keep up with the laundry and housecleaning this weekend.  I learned a lot from the two big storms we had last year and I know how to prepare now!  Since the brunt of the storm seems to be headed well south of here, I'm hoping we'll only get some heavy winds and rains - enough to close the schools but not enough to take down power lines!  (From my lips to God's ears...)
Have a safe week and see you on the other side!

Helping Hands

In the past year or so since I've been  putting together these charm bracelets, I've struggled with attaching the charms one at a time with jump rings and pliers.  It's tricky, because you can't do it with the chain lying flat on a worktable, you have to hold it up, and the weight of the chain, which only gets heavier with each added charm, pulls it away from you.  I've managed, but I've always known there had to be a better way. 

Well, recently, I came across a commercial product that sells for about $12 that consists of a flat base with two upright columns about seven inches apart with hooks or clamps to hold a chain.  This way, the chain is suspended and it's much easier to attach the charms from underneath.  I intended to order one from Artbeads.com the last time I placed an order (I had a 20% off coupon), but I completely forgot.  Since I've been making so many charms lately with the intention of making a whole bunch of holiday-themed bracelets, I knew I would need something to make the process quicker and easier.  

Luckily, we had a dowel and a scrap piece of 2x4 and my husband was able to quickly put together this:

 Isn't it fabulous?  He put a nail in the top of each dowel so I can hook a link over it and suspend the chain.  It makes the whole attachment process so much faster and less aggravating!   What's more, it cost next to nothing to make, is made of all-natural, biodegradable materials, and wasn't imported from China!  Why didn't I think of this sooner?  I was able to put together 3 bracelets this weekend!  Thanks a million, honey!

It even makes a great holder for displaying the bracelets for photographing.  This one came out cute, didn't it?  Very festive, I think.  After I make a bunch, I'll do more photographing and figure out how/where to market them...

Art is Work

One of the quotes me from the book Imagine by Jonah Lehrer that stuck with me is "Art is Work" which Milton Glaser has hanging in his studio.  I've been working at coming up with 15 or more different red and green charms to use on some Christmas-themed jewelry.  Below are some shrink film charms and the different attempts I had to make with the same rubber stamp.  First I used the stamp on the white opaque film in two different shapes (on the left), but they looked too small.  Then I used the translucent rough-n-ready film and colored the back with colored pencils (in the middle).  I liked it, but I wanted to add the words "Merry Christmas" on it somewhere.  In the next version, I stamped the words "merry, merry, merry Christmas" around all four sides of the stamp and colored the back with a red pencil.  I liked the design, but the red background made the words difficult to read.  Finally, I made the last version with only a border colored red so the words are visible.  Success at last!

 Below are some of the additional charms I've come up with.  Most of these did not require quite as many attempts before I got it right, but there is always some trial and error.  Now that I've got most of that worked out, the bracelets should come together pretty quickly.  I'll have time to get them photographed before the holiday rush...  and hopefully make some sales!

New Jewelry and Old

 Here are two of the new bracelets I finished last week.  Above is my tropical "Margaritaville" bracelet featuring a mini margarita charm right in the middle, as well as a little bit of beach in a bottle, a flip-flop, some glass fish beads, and a little shrink plastic charm reminding the wearer to "chillax."  I love the way it turned out.  Chelsea saw it and loved the colors, so I ended up making a second similar one for her (without the margarita!).

Below is a more sedate version of a beach charm bracelet:  plenty of reminders of the water but all in shades of aqua (click on the photos to see a close-up).  They are both on silver-plated chains with toggle closures.  Maybe I'll bring some with me when we go to the Jersey Shore next week and see if any of the boutiques might be interested in carrying them next summer...

 By the way, how do you like my photo staging for these pieces?  I wanted to make the pieces look like they just washed up on shore.  I'll take some without the sand as well, so all the details are visible.  Below is a pair of earrings I made from the wooden beads I dyed and decorated.  I really like the unusual look of the beads combined with the filagree caps and the little fantail bead on the bottom.

Finally, here is the first piece of "art jewelry" I ever bought for myself (maybe the only one!).  I got it in a shop in Durham, NC more than 20 years ago.  It is made of brass and originally had more of a verdigris patina to it. When I saw it, I just fell in love with the handmade quality and diversity of all the charms.  The little oval charm to the right of the bar part of the clasp has the artist's signature on it.  His name is Lochlin Smith and I recently found his website.  He lives and works in Vermont and is still creating unique jewelry like this.  I still enjoy wearing it, although now I have quite a collection of charm bracelets to choose from!