Fini Friday!

Hello Everyone!
Here we are at Friday on this sunny day! I am preparing for the JS Bean Factory 10th Annivesary Celebration tomorrow and Artist Market on Sunday!
In a slight change of the idea of Fini Friday, I'm going to finish up showing you the rest of the current Flash Drive collection! These, as all my other USB Flash drives are 4GB and are chock-full of Pirat-ey goodness! Yaaaarr!!!

Title:21st Century Loot
Ingredients: 4GB USB Flash Drive, Silver coin, hand-finished eco-friendly brass(USA), bone, lead-free pewter(USA), metal.



The little skull charm is actually the holder-thingy for the cap of the USB drive, which is ensconced in durable rubber... because pirates are notoriously hard on their stuff! I wanted these to have the feel of an accoutrement that a buccaneer might actually hang around their neck, which is why I chose the big, luscious chain and hung treasures galore off of it!! It is replete with an old coin, carved bone and swords, treasure, keys and a ship! The necklace is long enough to lift over the head as needed in an emergency! Not that pirates EVERY get entangled in emergencies.....

Title: A Pirate's Treasure
Ingredients: 4GB USB Flash Drive, silver coin, cultured pearl star, hand-finished eco-friendly brass(USA), bone, lead-free pewter(USA), metal.



This necklace has many of the same treasures and one important difference.. for where would a sailor be without their guiding star? And a pearl, no less!! A rare and beautiful thing!

There ye have it mateys!!! Fini Friday all rigged up and ready to sail!
May this weekend be filled with good mates, tasty vittles and drink and grand adventures!
Yaar!

Whimsy Wednesday!

Hello Everyone!!!

I'm so pleased to have a few things to announce today!!
#1: My first Internet TV with Cheryl Patton of 1 Woman's Wisdom over at NAPPN was a success! There was much good discussion, laughter and a bit of audience participation.
#2: I'm doing it again!!!This time Cheryl and I will be on BlogTalk Radio
#3 I'll be at the J&S Bean Factory this weekend to help celebrate their 10th Anniversary on Saturday and the Bean Factory Artist Market on Sunday! If you're in the area, stop on by!

And finally!! The Really, REALLY Big NEWS!!!
One of my Sprite Creations has been chosen to be part of Art Perchance 2011! This fabulous creation along with several excellent others of all sorts of media will be auctioned off on August 18th during Art Perchance . Here is MIA's explanation of Art Perchance!

"Art Perchance, an evening of art and artfully clever carnival games, will again partner with the MIA’s Third Thursday. On August 18, Target Park will become a midway where participants may play, feast, and frolic ­­-- and vie for a chance to win art generously donated by artists and galleries.

Art Perchance is a fundraiser benefiting the outreach programs of the Friends of the Institute. The Friends support the MIA in many ways: funding educational initiatives, busing schoolchildren to the museum for docent tours, purchasing and providing conservation for works of art, sponsoring major exhibitions such as “The Louvre and the Masterpiece” and the upcoming “Edo Pop” (opening this October), and much more."

Isn't that awesome!! I'm so excited!!

So!! Let me show you which creation was chosen and tell you all about it!!

Title: Roman the Universe
Ingredients: Hand-crafted lampwork glass pendant by A. Ray, ancient glass shard(dating back to Roman times), mood bead (with glow-in-the-dark stars), hand-dyed fiber (USA), furnace glass (USA), dichroic glass, lucite, goldstone, copper, sterling and bali silver, thread.


Isn't that gorgeous??!
I'm so pleased with how it turned out!!!
Did you get the pun in the title, too? Roman glass - Roman The Universe? Hee!!
All of the fiber you see here is hand-dyed by an artist in Idaho, USA. She actually is no longer dying fiber so these fibers are irreplaceable! I love the vibrant colors that peep out betwixt the more sedate blues and blacks. I especially love the bits of silver in some of the fiber that echoes the silver in the focal and elsewhere! The stunning lampwork glass pendant is by artist A. Ray and evokes galaxies within galaxies to me!
The shard of glass you see on the right is actually from Roman times (a nice tribute to a museum collection, don't you think?) and the lucite flower from which sparkly goldstone stars cascade nicely echoes the glow within the pendant and the universal(HA!) theme. There are furnace and dichroic beads nestled here and there as well as a mood bead with glow in the dark stars!!! How awesome is that??!!!
The necklace creation is finished with luminescent Bali silver cones (99% silver) and Sterling Silver wire and clasp. Both the cones and the clasp continue the galactic theme with spirals (Spirals are a type of galaxy!) stars and moons.

So!! That's what's happening here!!
See you SOON!!!

Fini Friday - On Monday!

Hello All!!
Yes, this is a bit later than I anticipated...this day and the weekend have gotten away from me!!!
No matter! Let's get right to the good stuff!!!
I have a Custom Creation (commission) that is very special to show you today. The stone that you are about to see in the photo below is a mineral named Staurolite, also know as a Fairy Cross. This particular specimen was hand-picked in Central Minnesota by my Mother-in-law for her Granddaughter, also my niece. She asked me to wire-wrap the stone and mount it on the chain she obtained. Needless to say, this is a special piece.

Title: To Infinity and Beyond
Ingredients: Staurolite, Brass
Here is the front..


and the back...


Working with the brass wire was a bit cumbersome as the metal is stiff and heavier to work with..however the balance to that is that it is quite durable as well!

Tibits about staurolite or fairy crosses that you may not know...
The most valued staurolite specimens are very much what you see here.. the crystals in the mineral have grown at perfect 90 degree angles! These are also rare to find. Staurolite, when cut and polished for fine jewelry use displays a deep red very similar to garnet.
Fairy crosses were said to aid travelers with good luck, good fortune and safe adventures along their journeys.
So! There you have it!!
Fini Friday on a Monday!
See you Wednesday!

Fini Friday - will be on Sunday!

Just a quick note that with all the preparation for the Rec Fest 2011, the Fini Friday post slipped past! I'll have that for you tomorrow!

Have an awesome weekend!

Rec Fest 2011 - Where in the world is Sprite Creations?

Hello All!!
Just a quick post to let you-all know that I and Sprite Creations will not be at Rec Fest 2011 due to inclement weather! I hope you enjoy this lovely rainy day and I'll see all of you next week at JS Bean Factory 10th Anniversary Celebration!!! (and the posts inbetween!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday!

Whew!! and here we are at Whimsy Wednesday and at the beginning of the post where I tell you-all that I so very much appreciate a working air conditioner!!! Though the temperature is lower today, the humidity is nearly as high as the temps, I believe!!

The two necklace creations that I have to show you today are very summery and eco-friendly!!
They are eco-friendly as they are repurposed necklaces that I've embellished and transformed!
I used the same hand-coloured resin for both creations and hand-painted it on the pieces.
I'm not certain if the beautiful sparkly blue colour is satisfactorily visible in the photographs...the resin is a bit challenging to photograph!

Title:Summer's Crowning Beauty
Ingredients: Repurposed metal and glass necklace, hand-coloured non-toxic resin


This second creation has a bit more elaborate enrichment to it.
Title: Faerie Leaves
Ingredients: Swarovski crystals, glue, hand-coloured non-toxic resin, repurposed metal necklace.


The brilliant spots of colour you see on nearly every leaf is a Swarovski crystal in a shade that changes colours depending on how the light plays on it!!! I've glued every crystal on nearly every leaf and then securely sealed them in under that lovely coloured resin!

And for those who don't see the whimsy in these creations... it is in the transforming of what some would call unwanted or worthless into creations of beauty (and the colour-changing crystals!!! WHEE!!!)

I'll look to see you on Friday!!!!
P.S. Please join me this Saturday, July 23rd at Rec Fest 2011 from noon to 9pm in Milaca, MN (if you're in the area)! There will be food, fun, sky-diving, art, live music (including bluegrass) and more!

Fini Friday!

Hello Hello!!
I have a little different and fun post for you today!
I spent a little bit of time out and about yesterday and brought my mobile studio to one of my favorite relatively local coffee shops Cafe Caffeine!
Laura is the lady proprietor of Cafe Caffeine and she brews a fabulous cup of chai!! In fact, she mixes her own chai powdered mix and it is definitely the best chai around in my opinion!
Not only are the beverages nummy, but she has ice cream, cookies and other tasty treats!! And Laura runs a very cool shop with a wonderful laid-back vibe! So, I stopped by for a few hours with some shiny, beady things and soaked up the atmosphere!

In honor of their place of birth, I photographed both pair of earrings dangling off of a funky metal tea cannister! Quite appropriate, don't you think?!

How is this Fini Friday, you ask?
Well, I brought along some vintage Lucite stars that I'd been meaning to do something with for a while as well as some beautifully coloured Czech-pressed glass leaves and lo! two pairs of earrings were created!

The first pair was created with the aforementioned vintage Lucite star beads and is titled
The Glamour of Stars
Ingredients: Vintage Lucite, Czech-pressed glass, copper, jeweler's bronze, gold-plated surgical steel earwires



This pair reminds me so much of the golden age of the silver screen stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman and so forth.

I loved the Czech-pressed glass leaves that inspired the design on the second earring pair! I love the unusual mix of opaque light blue and translucent warm amber! When I spied the faceted round beads with the oxidized looking finish in my drawers, I knew I was on to something exceptional! Here they are:
Title: Moonlight Forest Memento
Ingredients: Czech-pressed glass, permanently-coated copper wire(USA), silver plated surgical steel earwires



I love the mystery and the sense of a beginning of a story.. or perhaps we're jumping in right in the middle, eh?

And so, with that, I wish you all a wonderful and intriguing weekend!!
See you next week!

Whimsy Wednesday!

Hello Everyone!
I have loot to show you today! I procured these materials and components during CONvergence, which was the first week in July.
The first photo is of two spinny latches and two elegantly decorated rings. The spinny latches are normally designed to use with fabric, but I foresee using them as clasps somehow!



And the big rings? I'm not sure yet.. maybe paint with resin.. maybe texture with something else.... we'll see!!!

The second photo is of a batch of grandfather clock gears, cogs and assemblies.



At the top, you can see an entire cable and pulley assembly (Isn't that fabulous!?) and along the sides you'll notice a gear (with sprocket!) assembly on the right and a chime assembly on the left. I believe that the chime assembly would create the music that you'd hear as the grandfather clock struck the hour. The rest are assorted gears, nifty things and chain!

I love seeing the internal workings of clocks and machinery and am looking forward to using these in my designs soon!

If anyone is asking how this is whimsical.. it would be the fact that I get to play with such useful and utilitarian parts intended for something completely different and use them to create fabulous jewelry and Sprite Creations!!
WHEE!!!!!

See you Friday!!!

Fini Friday!!

Hello Again and Thanks for checking back here with me on this lovely Friday afternoon!!!

I have that second USB Flash Drive cued up and ready to show you, as promised!!

The Flash drive is cast metal in the shape of a coin and is a 4 GB LaCie CurrenKey drive.
You simply twist the "coin" to extend and retract the port (the part that fits into your computer).

This creation is all about the warm tones of brass and copper, sturdy yet delicate and most of all - whimsical!!!

Here is the idea...growing into completion..


And here it is... all grown up!

Title: Flashy Currency
Ingredients: 4GB LaCie CurrenKey flash drive, hand-finished, eco-friendly brass and brass filigree (hand-formed into a pouch), repurposed lobster claw clasp, brass-finish winding key charm.



With the Coin Drive outside the pouch...



And finally.. with the Coin Drive Port extended....



Don't you just love that winding key as a clasp?? I do!!
So, Thanks for starting your weekend with a little bit of a giggle and have fun!
P.S. If this creation is perfect for you or someone you know, click here to see it in my Etsy shop!

Whimsy Wednesday!

Hello Everyone!
I am back from my vacation/holiday and I have some awesome whimsical goodies to show you today!! Some of you may have seen these in the CONvergence Art Show, but this is the first time I'm showing them to you on the world-wide Internets!

The focals and ideas for both of these center around 4 GB Flash drives!! Yup! That's right!!! Flash drives.. for storing files and enabling those files to travel from computer to computer! Heh!! Can you see the whimsy already??! If not, read on!!

The first creation I have to show you is a 4 GB Flash Drive in the shape of a key!!! When I saw that, I knew I had to steampunk it up!!! I sealed in old watch gears and an old watch hand with hand-coloured resin (non-toxic, jeweler's grade) on one side of the flash drive. I was so pleased that the resin formed a uniform border well short of the port portion of the flash drive (the part that plugs into the computer)!



A lovely, lovely focal!!!
I knew I wanted an interesting yet simple design for the creation, so that the attention remained on that fabulous pendant! In looking around the studio, I found this intriguing yet simple copper-plated chain...



In keeping with the mixed-metals theme, I suspended the flash drive from repurposed brass-finished rings.
And last, but certainly not least was the clasp. I wanted to use the most secure clasp style available for this creation and so you'll see a gunmetal lobster claw clasped securely around a golden-toned lock charm!



Isn't that just fun!?
So, there you have it, chock full of whimsy!!!
And I'm changing the schedule of this post a little. I'll leave this post here for now and show you the second flash drive on Fini Friday!! Both of these creations were the result of much work and upon further reflection, I think they deserve to have the spot light all to their respective selves!!

By the way.. you can find both of them listed in My Etsy Shop !

See you Friday!!!