Friday, October 29, 2010

Happy Halloween!!

I know it is a little early, I will be out and about this weekend and so won't be around the Interwebs much. I have new goodies to show you in celebration of Halloween!

I was approached by The Healing Loft and asked to donate to this cause Tick or Treat Fundraiser . Many folks in my more rural area are affected by Lyme's disease and other tick-borne diseases, so this event, the family and their story really struck a chord with me.

Here is a peek at the three pairs of earrings Sprite Creations is donating.

Devilishly Cute


Boo-tiful Flowers


Ghost Candy (No Calories!)


Though the subject matter is serious, this really looks like a fun event! Stop on out, support the family and maybe come home with a nifty pair of earrings to celebrate Halloween!


In wrapping up this post, I wanted to show you what arose from the Coffin Pendant I created a little while ago. As you might remember, I used a picture of the incomparable Bela Lugosi as the original movie character Dracula and I wanted to create something as elegant and creepy as him!

I gathered some sterling silver bats, Czech-pressed glass 'jewels', sterling silver chain with coffin-shaped links and an elegant clasp and set about creating!

(One of my favorite details is the bat hanging off the coffin-chain extender! Check it out!)


And here it is! Simply and undeniably elegant... and creepy.

Title: Undying Elegance





A suitable homage for Mr. Lugosi, don't you think?

MMMMMmmwwwwwwaaaahhahahaha!!!

*insert the sounds of a bat winging through the night*


Happy Halloween!


Legalese: MANY THANKS to RingsNThings for providing the Coffin Picture Frame Pendant, Ghost Raw Brass Charms and Glass Candy Corn, Sewn Devil Skull and Boo Beads free of charge via their Blog Partner Program!!!! I am honestly reviewing them and have not been paid for my endorsement of the above listed materials.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Soaring Home...

Hello All! Remember last week when I mentioned that I had something up my sleeve in connection to the ArtBeads Blog Partner Program ?
I have the first Creation finished and ready to show you!
Artbeads has so much bead-y goodness to choose from that I knew I would have fun playing with all the materials from them! Here is a photo of some of my loot from them!

I was intrigued by the Swarovski Crystal Yarn and decided to combine the Smoked Topaz Suede Yarn and Montana Blue Cotton Yarn with a bit of hand-dyed Art fiber in a beautiful mix of smokey Fall colors that I’d purchased some years ago. My inspiration for the color scheme were the sunsets in the Fall and those vibrant yet dusky hues of blue, russet and brown. Once I saw the Soaring Bird link in a rich brass color, a second inspiration struck and I knew I had my focal. I’ve been playing with nests lately (if you’ll remember the Dreaming Nest I created a little while ago) and the migratory cycles of birds coincided perfectly with my Fall theme! I was surprised and delighted to find that Artbeads carried Leaf Chain I loved, but left behind, at a trade show a few months back! I snapped up a length of it in a rich copper finish and found a matching Antique-copper Spiral Clasp in a delightful texture reminiscent of the wind swirling about on it’s journey elsewhere. I was ready to create!

I wove the basket and added the faceted resin-encased pearl ‘eggs” first, then hung it from the Soaring Bird link. I was happy to note that the link is both sturdy and quite detailed! I then cut and sewed the fiber strands together and folded the brass filigree tubes around the necklace ends. Next came the hanging of the Bird and I was delighted and gratified to find that the blue of the nested pearls matched the Montana Blue of the Swarovski yarn as closely as I had anticipated! Final touches included cutting and hanging the copper colored leaves from the necklace, securing the clasp and adding the pearl ‘egg’ near the clasp. I found the Swarovski Yarn easy to work with (when cutting, bear in mind that the crystals are secured with thread and thus can fall off) and provided just the exact amount of sparkle I envisioned accentuating the rich but more subtle colors in the necklace. The Leaf chain was fun to play with (danglies!) and I look forward to using it in more creations. The clasp is well-made with crisp detail and a vibrant copper finish.
And here it is!
Title: Soaring Home


Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from ArtBeads.com and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: Swarovski Crystal Yarn-Smoked Topaz Suede and Montana Blue Cotton, Antique Brass Soaring Bird Link, Tierracast Antique Copper-Plated Spiral Toggle Clasp and Antique-Copper Plated Leaf Chain.
Beads

Thursday, October 21, 2010

A Walk Down Memory Lane and News!

Hello! Hello!
It's been a little bit since I've posted here, so I'm glad to see you've joined me once again!
It has been a busy Fall so far and I am just loving the WARM temperatures!! It helps motivate me to complete a few more tasks in preparation for winter and the accompanying snow!

I've been brewing up a great many new creations since we last visited and this week the theme seems to be Boo-tiful Halloween earrings! I'll show you more in a moment...
Before I do, let me job your memory... do you remember the batch of lovely charms I received in the mail? The collection that was SteamGothtastic with a Spritely twist? It was heavy on the wrenches, which, in the beginning, I wasn't quite sure what to do with. However, inspiration struck and here is one of the many designs I've used them in so far.
The title is: Drop Forged
metal wrench charm, fire opal swarovski crystals, metal, plated silver surgical steel earwires.


And now on to the Spooky Goodness! And another walk down memory lane...a little while back, I received scary-fun stuff RingsNThings Blog Partner Program and I'd a lot of fun creating with it all. But the rest of the ghosties, skulls, cats, tombstones, pumpkins and so forth sat waiting for more ideas. More inspiration came ghosting in with Halloween and the Day of the Dead looming more closely on the calendar. Here are a few pairs of earrings to for your viewing pleasure!
Graveyard Guardian
brass charms, aluminum, plated silver surgical steel earwires

Devilishly Cute
glass, metal, plated silver surgical steel earwires

I'm so excited to share this next bit of absolutely-shiny-new-up-to-the-minute-news with you-all! I've been chosen as an ArtBeads Blog Partner! I have ideas.. so many ideas!!! You'll just have to check back to see what grows into life!
Beads

Stay tuned!



Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from RingsNThings and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: Glass Sewn Devil Skull, Raw Brass Charms-Cat,Ghost,Tombstone.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Tropical Minnesota!

Well, maybe not quite, but 80 degrees in October is darn close! What a beautiful day! I found it interesting to be crunching through the leaves outside (which I tried to enjoy as much as possible!) while wearing a T-shirt and light jeans. It is marvelous!!!
I'm back home today after a busy day of appointments and The Healing Loft's inaugural Healer Sampler! It was so much fun to be surrounded by 5 other Healers and, of course, the wonderful co-owners and staff! The space is beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing it develop fully into the vision set forth by the three owners.
Also! New Sprite Creations can be found at Pappagallo and SaraCura ! Head on over and take a peek!

This also means that I have inventories to update as well as my Etsy and Artfire shops in the next little bit. Feel free to stop by and visit either shop for newly-listed shinies!

And now, in honor of the wonderful, warm weather, pictures of a new pair of earrings titled:
Walk On the Ocean:


These may be found in one of my shops, you'll just have to stop by and check!

Au Revoir !

Monday, October 4, 2010

Wrenching Life

Today has been a good day, which is a happy continuation of a good weekend! There has been the kind of busy-ness that I like best-that of mixed tasks. I was able to spend time outdoors, clearing out a little part of a storage shed close to the house. This is now where my bucket weights for the outdoor tent I take to shows live! It felt good to clear out and clean up even just a little corner of the shed, especially working in the sunshine of the day. And, of course, one of our outdoor cats was 'helping' me the whole time.... she was a diligent escort as she made certain that she was everywhere I wanted to walk during the clean-up. And, she fiercely defended me against the 2-wheeled steel monster that *clearly* was devouring each bucket weight and had me next on it's menu! (2-wheeled steel monster=2 wheeled hand cart I used to haul the buckets over to the shed)....at least until the rays of sunshine distracted her from her mission *grin*

This was a welcome break from most of my other accomplishments, which are generally done indoors. They include scheduling appointments, researching shows and all manner of communication for upcoming plots and plans!

I've noticed that a great many of my friends are in their own stage(s) of cleaning, clearing out and generally carving out a life that works better for them, in parallel with me today!
So, in honor of that combination of old and new, and the wrenching and fine-tuning of life, I present these two new creations to you!

Ancient Faiths Wake at Midnight


The charms dangling down are reproductions of the old Celtic crosses in a rich copper! I love how the copper lends vibrant color to the texture of the age-old Celtic knotwork and cross design!

Painting with Words


See the wrench, leaf, diary and rainbow-colored glass heart? I love the unusual and intriguing mix of dangly charms!

Ciao!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Chain, Chain, Chain!

I am feeling better and have many new shinies to show you! I've been experimenting with different kinds of chains and combining color with the metallic textures. I'm quite pleased with what I have to show you! Chains also remind me of machines, and specifically of motorcycles. I've been pleased with the recent beautifully warm Fall days that make riding my motorcycle such a joy! The motorcycle is new to me, so I need a lot of practice and hours of riding for us to be completely comfortable with each other. And I put some good time in with her yesterday! YAY!
Here is a showroom picture of her cousin:


And now, on to the Shinies!

To Make The Heart Soar:


Colors of the Soul:


So! Lots of fun with textures, colors and words!
You can find all of these in my Etsy shop!
And now, for the weekend! Have an awesome weekend!