Monday, October 17, 2011

Fun for me!!

The Sari Ribbon Party Blog Hop hosted by B'Sue is over and I am a little sad.  The hop was fun and exciting.  It was so much fun to hop from blog to blog to see what the different participants created.  Each piece was unique and beautiful.  Most interesting of all is how many participants had never worked with Sari Ribbon before.  

Here is another shot of my piece 


To see photos of the different pieces that were created during the hop you can follow the links in my post here or go to Flickr to B'sue Boutiques Creative Group.  These photos as well as many others with pieces created with components from B'sue Boutiques can be found in the Flickr photos.  There are discussions going on about another upcoming hop, individuals looking for ideas or help, how different people started their jewelry making journey, and more.

Right now, I am most excited about the discussion going on around the theme for the next hop (maybe in January)!!  The theme is POLYMER CLAY!!  I have never used polymer clay before, but have always wanted a "reason" to buy supplies and get started playing with something new.  

Today I went out and bought some basic supplies because I just couldn't wait any longer to start playing.  So Aidan and I have been having fun tonight conditioning clay, learning that if the clay crumbles it is usually beyond repair, and playing with cutters, textures and colorizing.

I will be taking photos of my trial and error pieces as I learn this new medium and what it can offer.  I am already excited about what I can do with it.  I am watching different YouTube videos, reading tutorials and playing with the clay.  

Although down the road (at least around the curve), I am super excited about making my own canes to create signature looks for my own work.  How awesome is that!? Handmade by me with more handmade by me.  

The possibilities are endless when clay is involved.  I am only beginning to see what can be done with this wonderful medium.  I hope that you will join me in my exploration of polymer clay.

Much love, 
Shell

Friday, October 14, 2011

Sari Ribbon Blog Hop

Today is the reveal day for the Sari Ribbon Blog Hop hosted by Brenda Sue at B'sue Boutiques.

Sari Ribbon Party Blog Hop

And here is what I created for the hop


I braided Sari Ribbon and Gypsy Ribbon that I purchased from B'sue.  I incorporated some wonderful beads from Gaea .  Rather than wire wrap the beads and attach with jump rings.  I coiled the excess wire of the headpin and connected it by stringing it on the gypsy ribbon prior to braiding.  To finish it off, I added a Vintaj Natural Brass Swirl Clasp.

Below is a close up of the clasp area.  I need to work on the colors so I will probably rewrap the ends in Vintaj Natural Brass wire and remove the copper and well as update the jumps that I used to better match the clasp.  Also, Any suggestions on how to finish off the ribbon ends would be appreciated.



I hope that you enjoyed my creation.  Here are the links for the other participants in the hop.


Sari Ribbon Party Blog Hop

Vickie Wills

Susan Kennedy

Michelle Mach


Michelle Lee Hardy

Ruth Crawford


Hilary Frye, FryeStyle


Diana P.

Brenda Sue Lansdowne, B'sue Boutiques

Elizabeth Owens-Dwy

Connie Rios-Relyea

Jennifer Justman

Deb Davis

Beanzie
             
Cathie Carroll

Rosemary Cowit

Georgene Lockwood


Cathy Buckley

Harry Wood

Sonya Stille

Mary Deis

Heather Goldsmith

Susan Rouleau

Terry Matusyk

Pam Chesbro

Mary Shannon Hicks

Janice Everett

Davinia

Kristina Johansson, Maneki

Kris Binsfeld


Mandy

Charlene

Catherine Jeltes

Jackie

Sharon Palac

Deb Beechy

Jean Yates

Patrice Pfeiffer

Dorcas Midkiff

Lynn Perry Bennett

Linzi Alford

Deb

Cynthia Wainscott
Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp
Alice Craddick

And here you will be able to see all the participants photos.

B'sue Boutiques Creative Group

Friday, October 7, 2011

Lima Beads Challenge

Lorelei and Shannon teamed up with LimaBeads.com to create this stunning kit.


First let me begin by saying that the colors in this kit are outside of the colors that I normally use.  To challenge myself a little bit more, I decided that I was going to create at least two necklaces from the kit. Since I usually only work with bracelets, this was a stretch for me.  So for my reveal, I will be showing the two necklaces.

On the first one, I used a few of the Turquoise Zebra Jasper Tumbled Nuggets and one of the Lemon chrysoprase ovals.  I added some rustic antiqued copper chain from Antiqued and a Vintaj natural brass hook and eye clasp that I purchased through LimaBeads.  The focal pendant is ceramic from Seven Seas Beads



The second necklace was created using the Czech Glass Gladiola Flower Buttons, the Vintaj Brass Framed Scrollwork pendant, one of the Czech Glass Luster Transparent Amethyst Teardrop, and the MissFickleMedia Patinated Violet Oval Toggle Clasp from the kit.  From my stash I added ceramic beads from Gaea, very vintage filagree stampings from GypsySpiritStudio, and circular rings links antiqued brass chain from Antiqued.



Thanks for stopping by to see some of my creations with this wonderful kit.  I will post more pictures of more creations from this kit later this month.

Use the links below to view all the other participants in the challenge.



Much love,
Shell

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Very Vintage Challenge

Today is the day to reveal the what I made with the Very Vintage fall challenge kit from Michelle Mach.

I was so excited to get started on my project that I didn't snap a photo of the kit when I received it, but here is a photo from Michelle's blog


And here is one of the items that I created, a bracelet

I incorporated the Vintaj branch and used a hole punch to create a hole in each end of the branch.  Then 24g copper wire was used to attach 2 leaves to the branch by wire wrapping.  The acorn bead cap that was included in the kit was added to a ceramic bead from Gaea.  Another ceramic bead from Gaea was transformed into a link with wire wrapped loops.  I added Gypsy Ribbon from B'Sue Boutiques, a small amount of antique brass chain from Antiqued and a toggle clasp from Miss Fickle Media.

I will have more photos of another creation later this week, I am having some technical difficulties with my camera and so am unable to upload to my computer.

Please take a moment to visit the other participants in the Very Vintage fall challenge

Cilla





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

Tari
Pearl and Pebbles

Terry
Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Tracy
The Bead Junkie

Much Love, 
Shell