Bead Friends Are The Best Kind Of Friends...

Sometimes the postal carrier brings beads that I have ordered and then there are times when he delivers bead goodies that are complete surprises! I wanted to share with you some of the wonderful treasures I have received in the mail over the past few months. Gifts from friends I have made in the jewelry/bead artisan world. 

Karyn Bonfiglio of Plus Size Bangles sent me this gorgeous agate focal. Karyn was my Bead Soup Block Party partner last year and knows that my design style is mostly bold and modern. She had purchased this focal and thought I might enjoy designing with it. It was so thoughtful of her to send me this natural beauty! I have been contemplating incorporating this focal into a design of either a long pendant necklace or a choker style necklace. 

These beautiful lampwork discs were sent by Cindy Ritchie of Simply Cindy. I met Cindy a few summers ago at the Arts in the Park craft show in Inlet, New York while vacationing in the Adirondacks. I have been purchasing her lampwork beads each year-she is one of my favorite vendors at this particular show. The coral and gray remind me of the many sunsets I have seen in the Adirondack mountains. I have already designed a cuff bracelet with one of the coral discs and am envisioning a necklace with several of the others.

These stunning earrings and metal beads were a gift from Stacie Florer. The earrings are a new design that she has been working on-a brilliant design if you ask me! I met Stacie while taking one of her classes at ArtBLISS last September. She taught us how to make these cool metal beads in her class, but I have yet to master them as beautifully as hers. She is a fantastic teacher and I highly recommend taking her classes-you will leave inspired!

These breathtaking seashells were created by Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio. I met Michelle a few years ago at Bead Fest. She lives along the coast of Florida and finds her inspiration in nature and by the sea! I love working with her bold starfish, seahorses and sparrows and am working on a simple necklace with the seashell as the focal and an ocean inspired bracelet with a variety of sea inspired charms.

Thank you, thank you, thank you ladies for these beautiful and inspiring gifts. 

It really makes me feel special to be thought of by such talented artisans!

Reston Arts Market - My First Craft Show Of The Season...

This past Saturday was my first craft show of 2013. I was one of 50 vendors that participated in the Reston Farmers and Arts Market at Lake Anne. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was assigned a spot in a fantastic location right beside the lake!

My tables are always adorned with nature inspired elements. This table has one of my favorite words spelled out in wooden letters: create! New this season are the gorgeous shelves that my husband made for me out of red oak, stained in an espresso hue named Kona. They have hinges so they fold flat; easy to transport and store. Brilliant idea from my brilliant husband!

Some of my pieces inspired by the sea. 

A closer look at one of the gorgeous shelves my wonderful husband created for me!

Also new this year is the addition of curtains. This particular market doesn't allow any walls to be put up on the tents, so I tied them to the poles creating a welcoming entrance. I love their nature inspired pattern!

This table showcases my other favorite word: inspire.

One of my colorful new designs for summer.

A cuff bracelet that I created from brass and copper sheet. 

This necklace was published in the April issue of Bead Trends!

My most recent design, a tribal influenced multi-strand necklace.

A view of some of the artisans at the market.

It was a beautiful day that brought a lot of people out to enjoy the market. I had a wonderful time meeting new people, seeing some of my regular customers from last season and having a good day sales-wise. I look forward to participating in the market again soon!

The 7th Bead Soup Block Party Reveal...

Today is the reveal day for group two of the Bead Soup Block Party, hosted by the ultra sweet and talented Lori Anderson. There are three groups in this years BSBP due to the overwhelming response of over 500 participants!

Lori does a great job of pairing people up. This is my fourth Bead Soup and each time she has paired me up with an amazing artist who inspires me. This time was no exception with Julie Panusus of Cats Meow Co. She sent me a wonderful, earthy bead soup that had shades of orange, copper, aqua and blue in it. It also included a stunning artisan porcelain frog and a gorgeous red creek jasper pendant. My eyes were wide when I saw them!

This is what I created...

Taking inspiration from the red creek jasper pendant, I cut and filed rectangle and square shapes from textured brass sheet that I purchased from Metalliferous. I painted them with Vintaj patinas from Orrtec and coated them with EF formula Clear Guard from Bity Mold Supply. The copper chain from Lima Beads and toggle, sent in my bead soup, helped tie the design together nicely.

My second and third designs were inspired by the blue and orange color palette in my bead soup. I seldom pair this combination together, so it was a lot of fun to see where my creativity would take me. As it turns out, I really enjoyed working with these colors!

All of the beads used in this design were part of my bead soup except for the Tierra Cast toggle and copper ring. I created the textured ring with copper sheet, my awesome Pepe disc cutter, a ball peen hammer and a fun loving torch that I learned to use while taking a class with the awesomely talented Eva Sherman. If you aren't familiar with Eva's work, check it out-you will be left in amazement.

The third piece that I created was inspired by the porcelain frog that Julie sent me. The detail on it is absolutely amazing!

 I added in some silver plated brass spacers and a hammered rhodium plated toggle clasp. I really like how the orange enameled bead, beige frog and blue Czech glass beads compliment one another. 

Thank you Lori for organizing this amazing, inspiring event and Julie for inspiring me with an awesome bead soup- you helped me to think outside my color comfort zone!

Stop by Julie's blog to see what she created with the bead soup that I sent her...

...and the rest of the participants in the second reveal: BSBP Group Two

Spring Inspiration...

Some new pieces inspired by the colors of spring.

ceramic beads; Elaine Ray

Swarovski pearls in coral

antiqued brass

Antiqued brass

lime quartz

silk yarn

Focusing On Life: 52 Photos - All Wrapped Up

The theme for week 10 of Focusing on Life - 52 Photos is "All Wrapped Up". Sally asked us to visually show what we were wrapped up in last week. With spring approaching, craft show season is right around the corner and that means getting on the ball and creating jewelry so that I will have enough inventory! I also create collections for three shops that sell my jewelry. I send them new collections every two months, with April 1st as my next deadline. So last week, I worked on creating new designs. Oh, how I love when I can devote an entire day to creating jewelry!

This is one of the pieces I created...

This is a cuff design that fell into place while playing with different components on my bead table last week. 

Simply Cindy sent me a box of ruffled lampwork discs that she created in coral and gray. They are really beautiful and unique; the colors make me think of summer. The center of the flower is a green enameled copper headpin from Sue Beads. I created the copper disc from 24 gauge copper sheet, using a Pepe disc cutter and a doming block. I then textured it with a hammer. The brass cuff is from Orrtec. I used a Miland Tools sand texture hammer to give it some dimension, then sanded it to a matte finish. I glued 5mm brown leather from Lima Beads to the inside of the cuff to make it more comfortable to wear. It wraps around the wrist beautifully and feels wonderful on! 

My studio is very organized, but this is the state of my bead table!

Focusing On Life: 52 Photos - Knock, Knock

For week nine of Focusing on Life - 52 Photos, Sally sent us a prompt titled knock, knock: 

"let's open some doors and see what awaits us on the other side". 

Is it a door that holds opportunity?

A door that holds a story?

Is it a door you have been hesitating to open?

Is a gate to a new life?

A door to a new adventure?

Is it a door that holds a memory?

Is it the perfect door for a simple picture?

I spotted this door while visiting The Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, Virginia. 

It grasped my attention because of the many possibilities it holds. 

It is for sale, so it has opportunity. 

It tells a story of the past. 

The possibility of adventure awaits the new owner. 

It holds memories, perhaps of the person who once owned it. 

It also is a unique door that makes a simple, beautiful photograph.

Inspired By Snowflakes

While the spring season is just around the corner, winter still lingers here in northern Virginia. I for one have decided to embrace the beauty of winter a little bit longer! One of my favorite aspects of the winter season is snow or more specifically, snowflakes. Amazing ice crystals that take on beautiful shapes, no two alike.

Ceramic snowflake pendant: Classic Bead, silver plated brass spacers, navy blue Chinese crystal, bronze peanut seed beads: Veni Vidi Beadi, Vintaj ladder chain: Lima Beads.

Focusing On Life: 52 Photos - Monochromatic

The theme for week eight of Focusing on Life - 52 Photos is monochromatic. The idea was to tell a story through a single color. When I think of the word monochromatic, my mind always takes me to images of a bygone era. 

I have a small collection of vintage books and buttons. The books in the photograph are titled "The Charm School" published in 1919 and "Familiar Features of the Roadside" published in 1898. The buttons are from a collection that I have attained over the years from yard sales and antique shops. The key was a gift from Lorelei Eurto.

When I look at these items, I wonder about the people who first owned them. Did they enjoy reading and have a collection of books lining a book case? Were they a seamstress whom worked in a factory and made all of their own clothes? Did the key open the door to their home or was it to a secret room only they had access to? I will never know the actual answers to these questions or who the people were that once owned these items, but I can create my own unique stories with my imagination! 

A Birthday Gift For My Mom...

My mom's birthday is in February, so I thought a necklace with her birthstone, amethyst, would make a perfect gift! While shopping at the International Gem and Jewelry Show at the Dulles Expo Center back in December, 

I came across a beautiful strand of 13mm faceted amethyst.

The vendor HIJ and Co., whom I have purchased from before, told me this strand is aaa grade amethyst. He insisted that they are natural amethyst that have been heat treated. They were shaped and faceted by a 70 year old man who is retiring as his eyes are no longer as good as they once were. As many of you may or may not know, 

heat treatment is common in gemstones to bring out color and clarity. 

While my style is bold and modern inspired by nature, my mother's style is more classic. 

With that in mind I created a simple, classic design that would focus on the beautiful amethyst beads.

I added in Tierra Cast silver spacers and a sterling silver adjustable toggle.

Presentation is everything and this necklace deserved extra special packaging! I decided to make a keepsake box for it. I upcycled a jewelry presentation box that was in brand new condition. The photo, of ferns, was taken in the Adirondack mountains two summers ago while on vacation.

I created a label insert for the inside, set the necklace in place, gift wrapped it and shipped it off to my mother via USPS Priority Mail, insured! She was stunned upon receiving it and has apparently worn it everyday since!

Bead Soup. The Ingredients Have Arrived!

This is my fourth time signing up for the fantastic Bead Soup Block Party hosted by Lori Anderson. 

This year, there are over 500 participants from all over the world!

Lori partnered me up with the ultra talented Julie Panusis of Petaluma, California. She has a blog titled Cat's Meow Co that has an entertaining photo of a cat or cats at the end of each post. Some of them really crack me up! She is a very creative lady who seems like she is a blast to hang out with! Her recent interests include matalwork and wirework.

A girl after my own heart as I too have been exploring both mediums, thanks to some fantastic classes I took at Bead Fest with Eva Sherman and Brenda Schweder. Lori Anderson really is a genius at pairing people up!

Just as exciting as finding out who my partner would be for this round of Bead Soup, was receiving my bead soup ingredients in the mail! Julie sent me a fantastic assortment of beads and findings in this cool plastic box...

This is the soup that I sent Julie...

I am very excited to dive into the fantastic ingredients that Julie sent me. I wonder what I will create this time around. Stop back on April 6th to see where my creative imagination takes me!