Friday, August 31, 2012

Fini Friday! Myths and Charms!


Hello Everyone! 
Welcome to Fini Friday! 
I hope many of you are well on your way to celebrating Labor Day Weekend (if you're in the U.S.A) or simply celebrating your weekend! 

I've a little bit of a follow-up on the the charms that were gifted to me at the beginning of August! The story of how they arrived in my world is here
I've finished embellishing them and they are ready to show you! 
A group shot first...
  I hand-painted each of the charms with various colours and then painted on the differing, hand-coloured resins. 
Below are close-ups of each charm... 
This is has the working title of Blue Sky Eagle and was painted white with a bit of black and then sealed with blue-green tinted (non-toxic) resin. I love the fine glitter effect of the pigmented resin and the very ethereal effect it gives! 

The second Eagle/Hawk pendant has a working title of Earth Eagle and has a bit more detail to it.... 
I painted the Eagle/Hawk a beautiful copper-y colour and meticulously applied an ebony black to the wings to give a bit of depth and distinctive marking to those wings. I also hand-mixed and painted the rocks or earth below the glass marble a darker, rich brown. The resin is tinted with a fine gold glitter and I love the beautiful sheen it gives! 

The last of the gifted pendants is the skull. 
This one was more challenging and I think it's look is distinctive. Working Title: As Yet Unknown
  This, too, was hand-painted with many colours and sealed with a blue-green tinted resin. Perhaps one could describe the style of the pendant now as Tribal? 

Let's wrap up this post with that new creation I mentioned at the top of the post! This is a creation that has been languishing for long enough that it warranted a complete redesign! 
Working Title: For Brigit
Ingredients: Amber, Fire Opals, Carnelian, sterling silver, Swarovski crystals, lead-free pewter, Artistic Wire, leather, metal.

Brigit or Brigid is a Celtic Goddess known for her skills in all things poetry, blacksmithy (or craftsmanship) and healing. These diverse accomplishments often lead her to be described as a Triple-Goddess or having a triple-aspect. That redesign included a move using mainly cable as a stringing material to leather and wire. Leather seems a natural fit, since that is something most blacksmiths and craftsman of yore would wear as protective gear. Wire and metal in the design also seemed appropriate for the same reason. The redesign was also simplified a great deal, which shows off the gemstones to good advantage. Amber is said to be sacred to Brigid and the Fire Opals and Carnelians continuing the flame-y feel to this necklace are a nod to both the black-smithing, but also to perpetual flame, which is held to be sacred to this Goddess. Her main temple in Kildare, Ireland has such sacred flames attended to and maintained by nuns. I had a lot of fun playing with wire in this creation and am very pleased to have both completed this creation and completed it in a better manner than the original idea! 

And so! 
It is time to celebrate the weekend! 
One little note of where you can find me next week! 
 
Fall Art Festival 
Saturday, September 8th Only! 
10am to 4pm City Center Market 
122 North Buchanan Street Cambridge, MN (USA

Until Monday, then!
Ciao!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Whimsy Wednesday! Cats, Colours and Summer!

Hello Everyone!! 
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!! 
This post will be a bit of mixed media as I have a few photographs to show you as well as some very whimsical beads I'm looking forward to creating with! 
Let's continue to mix it up and I'll show you the beads in-between the photos! 
 
Title: Looking Upon Summer
I love the lush greens and the serene pose of the kitty!...and especially the little details like the clover flowers in the foreground!
These beads are hand-made by Serena Mira Asta! These were created some years ago by her and she has since moved on to eco-friendly silk scarf art, drawing, writing and so much more! She is also a sweet and jolly person! They are a bit of prototypes as she was combining textures, techniques and styles while creating them. 
I'm looking forward to playing them, yet they will need a special person to adopt them as they are experiments and may be evidence all those little features that such unique creations usually have! 
I wanted to say a bit about the colours of these beads... they remind me of all that is soft and warm and bright... and perhaps snuggly.. reminiscent of a comfy quilt...YAY! 

And the last photo! 
Title: What Catches a Cat's Attention
Again, I love the gorgeous colours and the classic, whimsical pose of the cat! 




So that's it for Whimsy Wednesday! Where will I be next, you ask? 
Why just look to the left for my next show!!   
Fall Art Festival 
Saturday, September 8th Only! 
10am to 4pm City Center Market 
122 North Buchana Street Cambridge, MN (USA

It would be lovely to see you there!
 Ciao!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Magical Monday! Fun Food Stuff!

Hello Everyone! 
Welcome to Magical Monday! 
As I looked at the line-up of things that struck my fancy (and that I'll show you in just a moment), I realized that they all have to do with food! 
Since I'm not aware that I'm hungry right now, I'll just chalk that up to being naturally well-organized (heh!) and a good bit of luck that things fell together in any easy theme! 
And with that... here we go with another bit of nifty stuff that (hopefully) will brighten your Monday!
I *love* this kitchen knife set!
  Note to self: Must plot how to have this in my own kitchen... with a fully-functional mini-claymore, of course! 
Adding a little dash of Geekiness thrown into this Magical Monday mix.... YAY Dr. Who Cookie Cutters!!!
 WOoOOOOOOOO!!!! 



And wrapping up this Magical Monday... I think the caption is aptly applied... Complimentary Materials!  
We'll see you on Wednesday! 
Ciao!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Fini Friday! Repairs and Reclaimation!

Hello Hello! 
Welcome to Fini Friday! 
I hope your week has been excellent and your weekend looks to be even better! I'm pleased with my progress this week as I've finished several creations that have been languishing for some time! Let me show you!

These cloisonne beads (the elongated pyramids with the orange flowers) have been in my bead stash for quite a while and I felt the call to create something with them today! (Hence the reclamation of them as materials in a finished creation and my time and creative energy as well!) These are some of the beads used in the finished creations, just below! As I was playing with the bead colour combinations, I found two that I really, really liked! So, I created both! Cloisonne is a process of forming small containers on the surface of the artwork (in this case, the beads) by soldering together metal (gold, silver, brass, etc.) and filling in those containers with gemstones or enamel. Enamel is the "filler" in the beads you see here. For more information on cloisonne, click here.
Titles: As Yet Unknown 
Ingredients: Cloisonne beads, Swarovski crystals, gold or foil-lined glass, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

This final photo features two bracelets that I was commissioned to repair utilizing stretchy cord!  I don't often play with this cord and so it was fun to experiment a bit with this type of material!

So there you have it!
Fini Friday is Fini!
Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!
Ciao!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Whimsy Wednesday! Heat and Light!

Hello Everyone! 
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 
I hope this mid-week check-in finds you well! 
I've had a busy week so far with many things both within and without the studio! 

I'll show you a little of what's been going on outside the studio first! This is a photo of an old claw-foot tub we acquired from my Aunt-in-Law a bit ago. It's been stored for a while and was unearthed during some outside clean-up. My elementary school library had a similar claw-foot tub, filled with pillows, in the center of it. I was fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time there! We hauled this tub home with the idea to recreate that in our home! My husband suggested the brilliant twist on that concept, which was to put it on our deck for "sun-bathing"! I am pleased to say that it works quite well for that! YAY WARMTH!  

And now, a little peek into what happened in the studio!
A new creation! 
Title: Fire Leaf 
Ingredients: Czech glass, acrylic, metal, artistic wire, gold-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic).
  
These were pure experimentation from start to finish! I found a bunch of beads of a particular colour palette and played! I knew I wanted to create asymmetrical earrings of a more organic design and Lo! these were born! 
More warmth and FIRE!!! 
YAY!!! 

That's it, then, for Whimsy Wednesday! 
Have a magnificent next few days and I'll see you here for Fini Friday! 
Ciao!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Magical Monday! Places to Go, Things to Do...

Hello Everyone! Welcome to Magical Monday!
This is one of those more comfy, laid-back Magical Mondays filled with places and things I'd love to travel and see and/or perhaps would own in my own life! Come along on this brief adventure!
Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France! I'd love to spend some time here! Doesn't it look like fun!?!






Perhaps these Fish Tricycles could help me get to Mont Saint-Michel?  You just never know!  I think these are incredibly colourful and fun!





And the last stop on our little adventure is to show you something I could have fun with in my own home!


Hey!  Guess what I'm up to tomorrow?! 
My BlogTalk Radio Interview!  I'll be discussing Messages From the Faeries #10!
Join me and Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom as we discuss life, Faeries and possibly everything!
Ciao!


Friday, August 17, 2012

Fini Friday! Flowers, Faerie Dust and Dragons, Oh My!

Hello Everyone! Welcome to Fini Friday!
I hope you have some fun things lined up for your weekend!
Let's start this blog post out with something fairly mellow!

These earrings have been languishing for some time as they require a degree of wire-wrapping skill and confidence that I lost (mostly the confidence) part-way through their creation!

Title: Twining
Ingredients: Glass, Artistic wire, Niobium (hypo-allergenic) earwires

Much of the wire-work I do is free-form and so it is with these! They are of my own design and designed-in-the-moment. Sometimes when I'm in the midst of that and the results are not what I'd like, I become discouraged and hide the creation away for a while...I used to do this much more often. I'm much more fearless now and am continuing working towards that end of the spectrum!
Next up are more Faerie Dust Bottles!
These are popular at shows and I love playing with glitter, so it is a win-win for everyone!  The bottle on the right shows a more dreamy mix, the center bottle is so very Pink! and the mix on the left is very warm and rich...perhaps reminiscent of something like stumbling upon a Faerie coffee shop in the Woods?

 
This last photo is of two delightful little dragons hand-sculptured by Nikita of Dragonrose Designs!  I'm proud to call her friend and fellow artist and she is letting me play with these handsome fellows!  I can't wait to see what they grow into!!!
  
So that's it for this Fini Friday post!
 Below is where to find me next week!!!!

My BlogTalk Radio Interview discussing Messages From the Faeries #10!
It would fabulous to hear you in the audience!  Join us for all things Faerie!
See you on Monday!
Ciao!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Whimsy Wednesday! Books, Dreams and Blog Love!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!!!
This will be a bit of a whirlwind post as my evening is rapidly passing me by!
I've a new creation to show you!  So let's start there!
This is the fourth book in the Book Collection.  I've created the Book of Mysteries, Book of Life and the Book of Love.  The Book of Mysteries was adopted first, then of Life and the Book of Love is still waiting to find it's person!  That and this new creation will be up in my Etsy shoppe tomorrow!
And now, I give you.....
The Book of Dreams!
Ingredients:  Book(fabric, paper, embellishments), Fairy Ribbons, Czech glass, hand-finished Brass, thread, Fray-Check.


And now, about that Blog Love referenced in the title!  Sharon Wagner of Sharon's Paws Create blogged about one of my necklace creations today!  Wasn't that so generous of her?!  She wrote about the necklace creation Under Wrench and Stone and click here to read all about it and her!  She's an excellent painter, illustrator and talented artist as well as a good friend! 
THANKS SHARON!!!

What's up for me in the remaining weeks of August?
My BlogTalk Radio Interview discussing Messages From the Faeries #10!
It would fabulous to hear you in the audience!  Join us for all things Faerie!
See you on Friday!
Ciao!


Monday, August 13, 2012

Magical Monday! Giggles, Geekery and Art!

Hello Hello!
I hope your weekend was full of excellent adventures and good-natured hi-jinks! Today's post is all about amusing, somewhat geeky things and (of course) art! First, a bit of geekery....and art!
Most Awesome Elevator Ever!
  Credits for the photograph and original link here!

This would be an excellent setting option to have on one of my fans!
 
Credits for the photograph and original link here!

And, to wrap up this post, an epic piece of art! WOW!
Credits for the photograph and original link here!

Hopefully this is an excellent start to your week and I'll see you on Wednesday!
Also!  I've another BlogTalk Radio Interview in a little more than a week!
Tuesday, August 21st at 3pm (CST, USA).
Messages From the Faeries, fun and how to apply all of it to your life!
Join us! 

Ciao!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Fini Friday! Studio Reorg and a Space-y New Creation!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!
I hope your week has been filled with wonderful adventures so far!
I've some fun and interesting things to show you today!
Let's check out a bit of studio reorganization first!

I brought home two of these rolling cabinets a little more than a week ago and was excited to see how they could move the progress of my studio forward! As some of you know from listening to my July BlogTalk Radio Interview, I've been looking at options in replacing my flat files (which I blogged about here). They are absolutely marvelous still and an excellent storage/work area, but I'm finding that I'm losing materials and things in the back of the files. This has become a case of having a little too much room! (I know, what a problem, huh?!) I don't have a completely coalesced vision of what will replace all of it, especially the very sturdy workspace that the top provides, but I am looking at mechanic's tool chests! I've been pondering on these for some time and I love many things about them, including the more finite space (less opportunity for 'lost' things), more storage on wheels (YAY!) and just the whimsy of having my artistic things in tool chests! Hee! So! Here is one of the rolling cabinets clean and empty (but not for long... Mwwwwhhahahahaha!!!)
The second photo shows the two cabinets and another organizer that had been languished unused and is now pressed into service all full and sitting next to those lovely flat files!

I've the bottom three drawers as well as another mostly empty, so that's progress!

Ok!  Onward to more fun stuff!
I've a new earring creation to show you!
I was playing with these bead-caps and beads and these grew up quickly!  Their title was literally singing in my head as I finished them (courtesy of the Muppet Show, let's see if you get the reference!)
Title:  Faeries In Space!
Ingredients:  Glass, lead-free pewter, metal, surgical steel earwires (hypoallergenic)

Get the reference?  The short min-series on the Muppet Show - Pigs In Space?
Anyway!  
These will be available for adoption at my show tomorrow!  
The show is just outside an independent coffee shop on the North end of Saint Paul, MN (USA)!  There will be yummy beverages and nummy treats available, most excellent art and enticing music (especially by our friend Todd Madson)!

It would be grand to see you there!
August 11th!
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Have an excellent weekend!
Ciao!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Whimsy Wednesday! Custom Creations and Unusual Jewels!

Hello Hello! 
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 
Today is all about unusual jewels, including a Custom Creation that is winging it's way to it's person now! 
Let's start with the new creations! 
I've been playing with Mood Beads as part of earring creations lately and this is what has grown into completion! 
Title: Secret Garden, Faerie Wisdom 
Ingredients: Secret Garden Mood bead, hand-finished brass beadcaps (USA), metal, Czech glass, surgical steel earwires.
  These are a Custom Creation for a woman who will shortly be walking the El Camino and it is my honor to create earrings that might accompany her on this epic journey! 

Title: Jeweled Lotus Mood 
Ingredients: Blue Mystique Mood beads, Czech glass, metal, surgical steel earwires.
These were the second Custom Creation prototype. They remind me of a lotus flower, adorned with jewels! 




In wrapping up this post, I wanted to show you these last creations, which were adopted at the Bean Factory Artist Market!  They were chosen as an ensemble by a lady clothed all in blue! 

Earring Title:  Water Dragon Eggs
Necklace Title:  Celtic Beauty
  

She mentioned that she loves water, dragons and the darker shades of blue...which made these and she a perfect compliment for each other! 
I love it when my Creations find the perfect home! YAY! 





Speaking of adoption... this is the next opportunity to see these creations in person!
August 11th!
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Ciao!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Magical Monday! Inspirations, Invention and Kindness!

Hello Everyone! 
Welcome to Magical Monday! 
I hope your weekend was fabulous and your week is looking bright! 
This post will be a bit video-heavy and includes only one photo, but is chock-full of goodness! 
First up! A security guard at Disney who loves his job and brings joy to many each day!
 epic win photos - Making Their Day WIN 
I have long loved to ponder how the world can be changed one joy-full act from each of us at a time! 

These next two videos are amazing, each in their own way!
The first is about a 90 year old pole vaulter who still holds the World Record in his age group! AWESOME

I'm closing this post with a subject and phenomenon near and dear to my heart! Actually, TWO subjects near and dear to my heart.... Tesla (and the Tesla coil) and Dr. Who! Electricity
Isn't that fun?! YAY! 
Here is my wish for you to have an electric day and I'll see you on Wednesday!

Below is a little reminder of where I'll be in a little less than two weeks!
August 11th!
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Ciao!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Fini Friday! Everyday Faerie and An Intriguing Experiement!

Hello Hello! 
Welcome to Fini Friday! 
I hope your week was fabulous and that your weekend is equal to or better than that! I've had a whirlwind of the an end to the work week and am looking forward to some fun with friends in and amongst some other events this weekend! YAY Friends! 
I've finished a few pairs of earrings with some of those green with-white-polka-dot beads which were debuted on Wednesday
Let me show you! 
Title: Forest Faerie Mushrooms 
Ingredients: Bali silver, Glass, metal, surgical steel earwires.
  
This was the first idea that popped to mind upon receiving these beads and I love how the beads shift and change just a bit as they dangle... just as real mushrooms are not always perfect, and adapt to the environment around them!

Title: Faerie Gambling Tools
Ingredients: Bali silver, Glass, Artistic wire, surgical steel earwires.
  
 These square beads reminded me right away of dice and I love the idea of Faeries, dice and good-natured gambling games!  How these dice are used and how the games are played is left to Imagination and the Faeries!

And finally, a new challenge that I'm giving myself!  Below are three charms that were gifted to me from another artist who received them as a gift.  No ideas came to her as to what to create with them and so they were passed on to me.  I'm thinking of possibly brushing on resin on the hawk/eagles' wings, but the experiment I've set myself is with the skull.  I normally don't really care to work with skulls much, especially those that are specifically designed to be menacing or scary.   However, an idea has surfaced regarding this and I'm pondering painting, using resin or etc. to the style of the Sugar Skulls seen at Day of the Dead celebrations.  Other inspirations may emerge as the creation starts, and I'm intrigued to see what happens with it (and them all!)

That's it for this Fini Friday!  
Below is a little reminder of where I'll be in a little less than two weeks!
August 11th!
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Ciao!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Whimsy Wednesday! Whimsy and Abundance!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!
I have loot, unexpected and nifty, from this past weekend to share today!
Just before we dive in, a photo of the entire ensemble! 
A quick loot tour!  Those are defunct keyboards flanking the top right and bottom bottom left corners, fun green with white polka-dots beads at the top left and a fabulous variety of new Squinkies at the bottom right!

Now for the close-ups (Mr. DeMille!)...

Those happy green beads in a few different shapes...These were given to me by a fellow artist at the Art Market this weekend, passed on from her Father. I've ideas already as to what to create with them, so stay tuned!!!

Next is the most whimsical of the bunch...new Squinkies!  A brown-haired Fairy, Elf, Prince (Charming, I presume?), A Fairy Kitty and A Fairy...Chimpunk?! Yes! Indeed!  Joy and Whimsy! YAY!
 
This last photo is of a very unusual keyboard that came my way and I am very much looking forward to playing with it!
  It may be hard to see in the photo, but this keyboard actually shimmers from a cotton candy pink to a sparkly white and back again! Isn't that just awesome?!!!! WHEEEE!!!!!! 

So that's the end of our Whimsy Wednesday tour! 
I'll see you on Friday! 

What's this down below? Oh look!! 
There is a nifty poster to go with the announcement of where I'll be in August! Take a peek! 

My next event is August 11th!
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
 1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Ciao!