Bead Trends magazine again!

I have had the good fortune to be published this year (2010) in Bead Trends magazine not once but twice!  These earrings were in the October issue.

And this necklace is appearing in the recently published November issue.

Add to that the excitement of knowing that the editors at Bead Trends have also selected a piece for the upcoming April issue... well, my PR cup runneth over! 

Woohoo..... super excited on my end of things!

FREE PENDANT!

Now that I have your attention, Tracy Harmon of Harmony in Metal at Artfire is hosting a giveaway for me in her blog this week.  The fabulous prize?  A gorgeous handmade copper wire pendant with fresh water pearls made by yours truly!
We need to bump up the entries... so get over there and check it out!
http://www.harmonyinmetal.com/blog/2010/09/15/enter-to-win-a-fabulous-handcrafted-pendant/

Here's the fabulous prize.... in case you were curious....

AJG August Challenge

I am a member of the Artisan Jeweler Guild on Artfire and we just put up our August challenge blog this morning.  I have a piece entered in the challenge but there are MANY wonderful choices.  The theme this month was Artist's Choice... so we each chose one of our favorite pieces to be entered.  Please go check it out and vote for your favorite!
http://artfireajg.blogspot.com/
Here's the piece I entered.

Piece in progress....

... but now I need help.  I need some input about what to make this piece into.  A pendant?  Necklace?  Brooch?  Something else?

Any ideas out there in blogger land?

A new piece in progress

So, I haven't done a piece in progress post in a while.  And now I have a piece in progress to share.

A friend of mine from back in MN was looking over one of my recent steampunk pieces and remarked that it was lovely.  She then lamented that she has longed to see a steampunk necklace, pendant or brooch that has a skull and cross bones and wings.  Her Steampunk costume persona is that of an airship pirate.  I decided that day to order some brass embellishments and get after that idea. 
I started with an old vintage rhinestone buckle.  A lot of the rhinestones are missing but it still has a lot of shine to it.  I then wired swarovski crystals around the oustide.  I added the brass charms and am now about halfway through adding cogs and other watch parts to it.  I haven't decided yet if it should be a pendant or a brooch.  I also think it needs some additional wire work and perhaps some more beads....

Recycled Vintage piece

I took care of my sick bf all weekend.  But in between fetching him water and making meals I did manage to create another new piece.  This one is made around a piece of broken vintage costume jewelry.  I simply took the rhinestone encrusted piece and did some wire magic around it adding various crystals and beads.  Then I added some antiqued brass chain and voila!  More vintage bling.

New Steampunk/vintage inspired offering

I sat down last night and created this lovely bit from a great copper filigree setting with a large rootbeer rhinestone and LOTS of wire, cogs and other beads.  Steampunk meets vintage bling! 
This piece has been listed in my Artfire Studio and is also on sale, like everything else, for 25% off!

Bead Trends May issue

I have a necklace featured in the May issue of Bead Trends magazine! I am super excited about this. I've had a ring featured previously. Its always a thrill to have someone else out there validate your work as an artist. I just listed the piece in my Artfire Studio this morning. I've also submitted about 14 more items for publication in the October issue. They are featuring "Wire Artistry" in that issue and I feel my items more than fit that category. Maybe if I keep submitting pieces, they'll ask me to be their featured artist in an issue.... Dream big right?

Featured Studio piece 4-21-10

I am going to feature a new set that I just listed in the past couple of days. This is a necklace and earring set using gold colored coin beads and deep blue iridescent czech glass beads and gold toned chain. I think it's very gypsy like... and has a sort of Aztec feel as well. Perfect accessory for a gypsy or pirate! $35

More new pieces!

I have been trying to keep my hands busy so my mind won't focus on the miserable head cold that has struck me down. And thus, I have many more new pieces to show you all!This lovely pair of chandalier earrings have been waiting to happen it seems. I bought the lovely green cubic zirconia drops in Santa Fe this past Thanksgiving and haven't had the opportunity to use them yet. I paired them with earthy brown swarovski crystal bicones as well as antiqued brass earring components and brass wire. This pair of earrings once again showcase swarovski crystal bicones but also uses swarovski crystalized pearls. I used silver toned components and wire to add to teh sparkle of these chandelier earrings.

I absolutely LOVE this necklace. I saw this metal flower component with rhinestones and knew I just HAD to use it. I also happened to have these lovely faceted glass beads and silver toned spacers sitting in my stock and it was a perfect combination. I also am in love with the asymetrical design that is popular nowadays. Its classy and elegant and really stands out in a crowd, just like this lovely necklace!

Featured Studio Piece 4-14-10

Today I would like to feature one of my more colorful and complicated wire pieces. It was inspired by the look and shape of peacock feathers. I used a light purple mothe rof pearls coin for the focal point or "eye" of this feather inspired necklace. I then surrounded it with brass beads, deep green freshwater pearls, and smokey quartz beads for a grounding neutral. The frame and wrapping wire is brass. The chain I used is a gold toned chain. This is a large necklace, a real statement piece, very bold and bright. $65

Featured studio piece 4-7-10

I haven't been able to keep up with my studio featured pieces lately... life and my day job tend to get in that way sometimes.

Today I would like to feature a necklace I made with blood quartz, cherry quartz and some copper wire. I made some little floral designs and attached them to a larger copper wire frame, then added some copper colored chain and some fresh water pearls for extra sheen. A lovely piece that is large enough to make a statement but with just the right amount of feminine touch! $40

New pieces!

I have completed a few new pieces! I just got them listed in my Artfire studio but thought I would share pictures of them here anyways.

The first one is a LONG silver toned chain that features handmade lampwork beads made by ME! I made these beads a few years ago but hadn't been able to find the rught jewelry project for them. Finally last night, I felt inspired by a trend. This chain is meant to be worn long and doubled up but it could possibly be tripled up. It's that long. I added some faceted czech glass beads in for color and balance.

The second piece I finished is actually a necklace and earring set that has a very vintage feel. I bought these gorgeous vintage rhinestone spacer beads in Santa Fe NM in November and have been just waiting to find the perfect use for them. I paired them with creme colored swarovski crystallized pearls and POOF! The perfect prom or bridal set for that vintage gal!

Piece in progress

OK. So, i donated three pieces to our local art gallery to auction off at their annual wine tasting and art auction. All the profits go to the gallery so they can remain open and continue to show local artist's work. I currently have a few pieces in the gallery so I figure this is a wise donation. I got free tickets in return for my donation to the auction. This is great since I attended last year and had a great time.

I bought these great, huge, blingy earrings while I was on vacation and I plan to wear them to this event. But I decided I wanted to "advertise" my own jewelry as well. So, I began working last night on a necklace to wear with my big rhinestone earrings.

For this piece I decided I wanted to go the upcycled vintage route. I have a lot of miscellaneous vintage jewelry bits and pieces that have been waiting to be used. I decided to use three fancy silver toned links form an old necklace. They have blue rhinestones on them. Then I decided against the vintage faux pearls I had in favor or using some remaining swarovski crystallized pearls instead. Then I took apart an old vintge earring to use the AB crystal beads on it. So far, I am liking the design. I am hoping to finish it up either today or tomorrow. The picture above is of the piece thus far. I used silver toned artist wire instead of sterling. Sterling silver was too bright for the rhinestone links.

Featured Studio piece 3-22-10

Back again with the daily featured studio pieces! Today's piece is a beaded piece that I strung using silk thread. It combines the lovely pale pink of these freshwater pearls with the stunning green of aventurine. In between I have done some lovely sterling silver spacers. Topping the whole piece off is a gorgeous silver flower toggle and bar clasp meant to be worn in the front or even to the side. A truly gorgeous necklace worthy of a spring queen! $50

Featured Studio piece 3-16-10

Today's featured piece is a LARGE necklace I made while selling at a craft show this past November. It is composed of three different sized copper wire wrapped paisley tear shapes with garnet and freshwater pearls. It is attached to atiqued copper chain and adroned with some garnet coin shaped beads. This piece is fairly large (the quarter is for size reference) and is a real statement necklace. $100

Featured piece 3-13-10

I am on a mini-vacation this weekend so featured pieces might be getting into my blog a little later than usual.

Today's featured piece is made from copper and brass wire, wrapped around a swarovski rhinestone and adorned with different gemstone briolettes. I then used a brass colored chain to dangle it from, completing the piece.

Featured Studio piece 3-10-10

Today I would like to feature a piece that I just listed to my studio last night. I created it back in November while spending an evening on the couch watching WWII in HD with my sweety (he's a history buff especially WWII). When I had finished the pieces, I showed it to him. He told me it was neat. It reminded him of a bright saxophone and jazz music in a smokey bar. And it does look like that to me, so I named the piece "Jazz night". It is made from a copper wire frame wrapped with red colored copper wire and decorated with brass and plastic round beads. I then put it on a brass colored chain. It costs $30.

Sodalite

This is hands down my best friends FAVORITE stone. And its easy to see why! With its deep blue hues and the bright white veining throughout, its a beautiful contrast or colors. I use a lot of sodalite in my custom jewelry work. People tend to be drawn to the sodalite rings I make more than anything else.

Sodalite properties center around being receptive. Its a stone that is used for meditation and healing. Many associate the stone sodalite with wisedom. I have personally used a ring I made myself with sodalite for its calming and stress relieving effect.

I like Sodalite for rings because of these properties. Being able to glance down and see the deep blue colors and white swirling reminds me of water. There's a calming effect that looking into pools of water provides for me and this stone creates that same effect. I also like to use sodalite in rings because it is held right up against the skin that way. It also makes it easy for the wearer to reach down and touch the stone or rub it to help relive stress, the same way one would rub on a worry stone.

Whatever your reasons, sodalite is a wonderful stone to include in your work.

Some of my older pieces

I often concentrate so much on the new things I have in my studio and what I am working on next that I forget about all the things in my studio that have been around a while. When I started wire work, I originally started out stringing beads onto wire and making a sort of beaded chain. It was a good, simple way to get familiar with the wire tools and learn how wire sometimes can have a mind of its own. Today I would like to show you one of my oldest pieces. I made this adorable little necklace with simple czech glass beads and copper wire. It features lady bugs in a deep purple color and accented with some pink and teal beads. I have always wanted this necklace to go to a good home, maybe for a little girl to enjoy.