Fini Friday! Paw-sitive News!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope this week has been full of warmth and adventure so far!

I'm excited to show you some of the fun I've been up to this week! 

I finished a second USB Flash Drive necklace!! YAY! 

Title: Paws For A Byte 

Ingredients: 8GB USB Flash Drive, aluminum, lead-free pewter(USA), metal. 

The clasp is the silver lobster-claw that you see just up from that fabulous paw-shaped Flash Drive! 

This means that the necklace not only clasps in the front, but is adjustable! Other details include the silvery key charm (made in USA) suspended near the clasp and infinity chain-mail weave I used to secure the Flash Drive, key charm and clasp to the ebony chain! This is one of my more simple creations and yet I love the punk feel of it!

What else have I been up to? Playing with Faerie Dust! I've a new collection of Faerie Dust Bottles, just in time for the Holiday Geek Expo this weekend! Take a peek!

The third bottle from the left is inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night painting!  The last four bottles on the right are inspired by the Four Elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Wind).  Can you guess which bottle is which element?

Hee hee!

So there you have it!  All sorts of "paw-sitive" news!! 

HA!!!

These creations will be with me this weekend at the Holiday Geek Expo (details are below!)!

If you're in the area, it would be a great way to see these and all my other creations in-person!
Also? Visits are always Grand!
 

The Holiday Geek Expo this weekend!

Saturday 10am to 6pm

Sunday 10am to 5pm

Plaza 5&6 (1st Floor, Short Tower)

 DoubleTree Hotel

Join us for all things Geek!!!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Whimsy and the Practical!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope this mid-point in the week is treating you well!

This has been a busy week for me so far and will continue to be so as I ramp up for the Holiday Geek Expo this weekend(see details below!)!

That said, I have a few creations that are both practical and whimsical for you today!

Let's start with the most whimsical first!

Title: Cat's Paw

Ingredients: 8GB USB Flash Drive, Green Girl Studios "Kitty Comfort" bead, lead-free pewter, metal.

And a close-up of that Cat's Paw, which is also the USB Flash Drive! Hee Hee!

The "kitty Comfort" bead is on the right, below the iridescent fish. It has a serene and mysterious kitty on the side facing us and the words "Kitty Comfort" on the back. This bead was hand-cast by Green Girl Studios in their South Carolina studio!

Other nifty details include a whole fish kitty-corner (did you see that pun?) to the skeletal fish remains, an adjustable wrench charm, little black feathers (perhaps also the remains of a recent birdie repast?)fluttering here and there and a cat-and-mouse toggle clasp! Oh yes! I forgot to mention the chain!  It is made of alternating links of double-hearts and infinity symbols!  Very cool!

Here is a better view of the cat-and-mouse clasp and that fabulous chain!

There is a whole bunch of whimsy wrapped up in this very practical storage-device/necklace-creation!

Wheee!!!

 

I've one more creation to show you today! 

Title: Words of Love 

Ingredients: Brass&Copper Pen, hand-made silk bead (with French words), hand-made furnace glass, lead-free pewter, acrylic. 

This creation leans towards the romantic side of whimsy! The bead with the French words on it is hand-rolled silk fabric (USA Artisan made)!  The two golden-coloured or striped beads are hand-made furnace glass.  The bottom bead has a wonderful texture due to the bubbles made during it's creation!  The other glass bead (just above the silk bead) has a core that traverses between garnet and cranberry, wrapped with clear glass and swirled thin gold stripes.  This entire creation has a wide variety of rich colours and depth of textures with a sensual feel!  Perfect for writing words of love! 

Also!  Gold has long been associated with both wealth and spiritual ascendancy, while red is legendary as the colour of love. Of course, en francais is known as the language of romance and amour! So much wrapped up in one creation!  Whew!

 

So, where can you find these beauties?

Meet them in-person at my next show!

The Holiday Geek Expo this weekend!

Saturday 10am to 6pm

Sunday 10am to 5pm

Plaza 5&6 (1st Floor, Short Tower)

 DoubleTree Hotel

Join us for all things Geek!!! 

It would wonderful to see you there!

Ciao!

Magical Monday! Beauty, Art and Play!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Magical Monday!
I hope your weekend was fabu!!
I have gathered a wide range of art, beauty and play for you today!
So, let's get started!
First, the beauty!
This photo is of the Solar Eclipse on Nov.15th of this year by former NASA photographer Ben Cooper in Queensland, Australia. Isn't it gorgeous?! Details and credits are here!

And then the Art! I don't have a lot of details about where this next bit of art is or how it is done, excepting that it is made of thread.
Details and credits are here!

And finally, the Play!
This has to be one of the Ultimate Leaf Party!
Click here for video! Doesn't that look like fun?!

A bit of news before I take my leave...
We'll be at the Holiday Geek Expo this weekend!
Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm
Plaza 5&6 (1st Floor, Short Tower)
 DoubleTree Hotel
Join us for all things Geek!!!

Fini Friday! Flashes of Creation Insight!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

I hope your week has been full of Joy and Adventure so far! 

This post will be a bit shorter than others as I'm still in a bit of vacation mind-set from celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday! 

So, I'll show you a bit of the raw materials I've received recently and natter on a bit about what I hope to use them for and then be done! 

These are flash drives! 

They vary in storage capacity from 4 to 8GBs. I'm going to embellish them with all sorts of shiny-goodness and some will become necklace creations! 

I've a few materials of which I am awaiting arrival before creation for some of these. Others are waiting for ideas! 

Stay tuned to see what grows up! 

That's it for this Fini Friday post!

One final thought before I bid you Adieu for the weekend...

We'll be at the Holiday Geek Expo, in Plaza 5&6 at the DoubleTree in Minneapolis the first weekend in December! This hotel is nestled near the intersection of 494&Hwy 100 and is the hotel of choice for many of the Midwest's largest and best Science Fictions/Fantasy and Anime Conventions! Look for us on the first floor, in the "Short Tower"! 

We'll have flash drive creations, faerie adornments and finery, original photographs and more! 

Also! There will be food and drink and space to hang out whilst browsing all manner of geeky goodness! We'll have chain-mail, comics, hand-made clothing and coats, jewelry, and so much more! Stop in to shop for those hard-to-buy-for Geeky Loved Ones and for yourself as well!

And with that, I wish you a lovely weekend! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Gifts and Growing!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

This is also the day before the American holiday of Thanksgiving!

Regardless of nationality, I love the idea of pausing for a day of celebrating plenty, generosity and gratitude!

And so, I'm taking a moment to say Thank-You!

Thank-you to all who read this for being here and sharing this adventure with me! Thank-you for all that you do and all that you are! You are undoubtedly a priceless gift to all you visit with every moment of your life. May this Winter Holiday Season bless you and all you cherish with Love, Joy, Abundance and Freedom!

Onward to the shinies!

Speaking of the Winter Holiday Season...

I've a whimsical bit of gifty-ness to share!

This is a scarf created as a gift...

This is a statue that is going home with the same Loved One as the scarf.  And which absolutely needed to be embellished!

After all, don't all kitties and birds need scarves to help ward off the winter chill? Heeeeeeee!

One more whimsical creation and we'll be off to celebrate!

Title: Grow

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals (Volcano), Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), Artistic Wire(USA), silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

  The Swarovski crystals (hand-glued by me!) in the center of each flower are namedVolcano and shift from a beautiful, sunny gold to a vibrant violet with pauses at fiery orange in-between! I included a couple of photographs in the hopes of capturing some of this chameleon colour change! Perhaps you'll have to meet them in person to see the fabulous effect!  Look for these in my Etsy shoppe by Friday!

So!  Have a wonder-full few days and we'll see you on Friday!
Ciao!

Magical Monday! Tech for the Win!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Magical Monday!
First, I'd like to say a huge Thank You! to everyone who graced us with a visit on Saturday at the Arts Fest!
We had so much fun with all of you and I'm so very pleased that many Sprite Creations were adopted (and look to be given as gifts!)! YAY!!!!
 So! On to the Magic!
Let's start with the lowest-tech!
This is a novel approach to stress relief that uses bubble wrap (and the delightful popping of it) as stress relief! Some kind soul(s) thought of this charming and practical idea! Squares of progressively larger sheets of bubble wrap were cut out, temporarily secured onto a prop of some kind with the signs attached and then taken to a bus shelter and secured against the shelter! Details and credits are here!
How very awesome!!!!

Next, is bat-inspired technology that helps blind people ride mountain bikes! The details and article are here.
The basic principle of it seems to be that a device on the bike emits ultrasonic waves, which are then received back to the same device, which give a tactile form of feedback to the bike rider! Very, very cool!

And, in closing, I'd like to introduce you to Solar-powered, floating schools! Photos and details are here!
Apparently in some parts of India, the monsoons interrupt a good portion of school time, especially in river-side communities. So, the idea of solar-powered boat-schools was invented! It is especially heart-warming to note that education is also extended to adults and that solar-powered lamps are provided to students so that they may study at home! YAY!!!

So, I'll leave you with this thought as you delve into your week...
I have a Blog-Talk Radio Interview tomorrow at 3pm (CST, USA)!!!! We'll be discussing Message #12 From the Faeries! Stop by for a listen and hear how this applies to all aspects of your life! The link with details is here!
See you on Wednesday!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Re-Creation Redux!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Fini Friday and the work week end for many! 

I hope this week has been grand for you-all! My week has been busy preparing for the Arts Fest tomorrow! It would be fabulous to visit with you there, if you're in the North Branch, MN (USA) area! 

I've many re-creations to show you today, so let's get started!

First, more earrings that have been refined and re-imagined!

These are all single earrings.

Title: As Yet Unknown

Ingredients: Czech glass, Swarovski crystal, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwire.

I left this design largely untouched and simply added better materials (the Cobalt Swarovski crystal and additional Czech glass). The simplicity of this design is belied by the compliment of delicate and vibrantly saturated colours. 

Perfect for a Sprite Creation!

Title: As Yet Unknown

Ingredients: Czech glass, Rose Quartz, Mother of Pearl, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwire.

The golden-hued beads in between the chips of Rose Quartz and Mother-of-Pearl were added to give a sort of framing effect to each stone or shell. 

I think this adds more interest and a soft glow of life and beauty to this spare design!

Title: As Yet Unknown

Ingredients: Czech glass, Shell, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwire.

This was the most changed of the earrings featured in this post. The original creation had these shell chips simply stacked on top of each other. 

I love the colour and texture variations of the shell chips and wanted to echo that in the rest of the earring.  As with the Rose Quartz earring above, I framed each shell with a flower-like spacer above and below.  Additional colours and textures were lent by the ribbed silvered-metal round bead and finished with antique-copper-hued, tiny, plain bead.

And we'll wrap up this post with photos of the original design and materials and the re-creation! 

Title: Warrior Fae 

Ingredients: Czech glass, hand-made clay beads and claws, glass, sterling silver, lead-free pewter, steel cable.

The original design....

  

The re-creation... 

I can definitely tell the difference between the materials available for the original design and what I have access to now! I am extremely thankful for both the innovations in the bead industry and expanded budget that have taken place between these two creation points in time! It truly makes a world of difference!

So, there you have it! 

Another Fini Friday finished! 

I'll be at the Arts Fest tomorrow from 9am to 4pm! 

We'll have everything hand-made from fabric to jewelry, photographs to glass creations and absolutely everything in between! Much of the proceeds go back to the Middle and High Schools of North Branch, so this is a fabulous opportunity to support independent artisans and businesses as well as local schools!

Look for us in the Middle School Cafeteria! 

Spot 5E! 

North Branch Middle and High School

37775 Grand Avenue, 

North Branch, MN 55056

Have an awesome weekend! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Rare Beauties!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

I hope this mid-point of the week finds you-all well! 

I'm excited about the new creations I have to show today! They are, as the blog post title indicates, rare beauties! 

And with that, let's get started! 

Title: Hangin' With The Fae 

Ingredients: Squinkie Elves (Rubber), Czech glass, lead-free pewter, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

As everyone knows, it is rare to glimpse those of the Fairy world and so this sighting is a special treat! I love these guys!! They are calm, casual and collected, yet with glimmers of mischief in their eyes! They keep it cool in the Woodland Neighborhood! 

More Fairy sightings ahead!

Title: Fabulous Fairy Friends 

Ingredients: Squinkie Fairy Chimpunks (Rubber), Swarovski Crystal (Purple Velvet), Czech glass, lead-free pewter, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

I love the way the purple Swarovski crystal dangles over one eye! It gives a sort-of punk-glam appeal to this rare fae creature that is fab-u-lous! 

Our last rarity is comprised mainly of repurposed laptop keyboard keys! 

Take a look! 

Title: Stereotype Reset 

Ingredients: Repurposed laptop keys, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

I've never before had a pink keyboard come into my collection and so this is truly a rare beauty! I have no idea if, much less when, I'll lay hands on one again, so this is truly a very limited edition (of one). 

These creations will be up on my Etsy shoppe tomorrow! 

And if these singular creations aren't snapped up by then, I'll have them available at this Saturday at the Arts Fest! 

Saturday, November 19th Only! 

9am to 4pm 

Look for us in the Middle School Cafeteria! 

Spot 5E! 

North Branch Middle and High School

37775 Grand Avenue, 

North Branch, MN 55056

Magical Monday! Structures and Building!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to Magical Monday!
I hope your weekend full of adventures and joy!
I wanted to say a special Thank-you to all who stopped by for a visit at our Shop Local event at Monthei Fine Art Studio! It was much fun! I always enjoy visiting historical places as I love the architecture and the stories the homes and buildings seem to whisper!
So returning to historic Uptown/Downtown Minneapolis was a treat!

Speaking of buildings... this post is all about structures and what folks build out there in the wide, wide world!
Let's start our travels in India!
This is a tree-bridge are woven from the living roots of the fig tree!
Details and credits are here! Absolutely beautiful! The link to the BBC video about these bridges is here!


Next we arrive in Zundert, Netherlands for the Bloemencorso Flower Parade! Dahlias are grown all year long and then used to create these absolutely stunning parade floats every September!
This is my favorite of the floats! It is so true to life and and full of play-full-ness and whimsy!
You can find more photos, details and credits here!


And we end this post's journey today in Poland!  A tiny Poland!
Click here for the video, credits and details! It is amazing!


And there you have it!  
A magical journey for your Monday!
Thank-you for travelling with me today and I'll see you on Wednesday!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Re-Creation and Dreamtime!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

I hope your week so far has been full of joy! 

I've both re-creations and a finished creation to show you this Fini Friday! 

Let's take a look at a small gathering of early Sprite Creations of earrings! Before:

 

And some of the Afters... 

Title: As Yet Unknown Ingredients: Glass, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

 

Title: As Yet Unknown 

Ingredients: Red Tiger Eye, Citrine, Bali and Sterling Silver. 

There are more re-creations but I'm saving them for future Fini Friday viewing! 

The last creation of this post is a necklace that's been languishing for some time and is now all grown-up! 

Title: Dreamtime 

Ingredients: Glass, leather(USA), Sterling Silver.

The idea for this necklace came through the beads. The round beads with the dots of blue and yellow reminded me of the traditional Australian Aboriginal art often seen on digeridoos and bull-roarers. Legends in Australian hold that dolphins are escorts to and from Dreamtime, which is thought to be similar to Nirvana, Bliss, Heaven and so forth. Hence the connection with the leaping dolphin pendant... The hand-knotted glass in rainbow colours also are in sequence of colours most often associated with the 7 chakras of the human body. This creation is finished in sterling silver (silver is often a colour linked with intuition) and a clasp shaped as an infinity symbol. This is one of the more spiritual of my creations and I'm pleased with how it has turned out! 

That's it for this Fini Friday! 

I hope you will join me (if you're in the area) tomorrow for the Shop Local event at Monthei Fine Arts Studio! 

Come browse through fabulous art and gifts in a more intimate setting in the heart of historic Uptown Minneapolis! 

We'll be at the Upper Carriage House from  9am to 6pm! 

314 Clifton Avenue, Suite 300 

Minneapolis, MN 55403
It would be lovely to see you!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Owls, Cats and Colours!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

This has been a very interesting and productive week for me so far and I hope it is the same for you! 

I've been busy with creations that were in-statis as we waited for the finishing materials to arrive. The materials did arrive and so I have finished creations to show you today and Friday! 

Whee!!! 

Let's begin with the most whimsical first! 

(Working) Title: The Perfect Companions for a Psychedelic Trip 

Ingredients: Lampwork glass owls, Swarovski crystals, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic).

I really love these unusual owls! I wanted to keep the design simple, both to highlight the fabulous feathered friends and to create something that would be equally at home with casual jean-based outfits as well as club wear! I wonder if these would glow under black-light?! Hmmmmmm! 

These next earring creations are all about whimsy and elegance! 

Title: Miss Kitty 

Ingredients: Lampwork glass kitties, Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic).

Miss Kitty's expressions are so droll that they encourage me to giggle! I love the little pink dots reminiscent of a bow just below her right ear! I gave her accenting pink cathedral-cut Czech glass beads just below her chin so that she would have a very elegant collar...as all well-mannered cats should! Hee! 

And now to take the Whimsy in a different direction! These earrings are fun in the way the colours of the furnace glass and the faceted vintage Czech glass play with the light! 

Title:  Playing with the Light

Ingredients: Furnace glass, vintage and non-vintage Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic). Designing asymmetrical art and creations is always intriguing and I'm quite pleased with how these turned out! 

Speaking of art and creations, you can see these and many other creations "up-close and personal" this weekend at my first show of November! I'll be with a smaller group of independent, fine artists offering an early opportunity to shop for your Winter Holidays or for those who have birthdays in November and December! 

Come browse through fabulous art and gifts in a more intimate setting in the heart of historic Uptown Minneapolis!

Shop Local 

Saturday, Nov. 10th Only! 

9am to 6pm  

Monthei Fine Arts Studio 

Upper Carriage House 

314 Clifton Avenue, Suite 300 

Minneapolis, MN 55403
It would be grand to see you there!
Ciao!

Magical Monday! Art and Fantasy into Real Life!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Magical Monday!
I hope your weekend was filled with warmth and joy!
I've some really nifty bits of Art that have been transformed from fantasy into real life to show and tell today! If that isn't Magical, I don't know what is!
Let's start with the more "Artsy" bit of Magic...
The idea of the Booooooom + Adobe Remake photo project is to remake a famous work of art using photography.
More details, photos and credits are here!
I, personally, liked the photo remake of this painting by Van Gogh's, titled Bedroom in Arles.  It is about half-way down the page of submissions, which means you should have plenty of time to immerse yourself in the wonderful level of creativity and talent on display!

The second bit of magic I have to show you is Fantasy literally made into reality! 
A giant Gollum (from Lord of the Rings books & movies) installation at a New Zealand airport!  Details and credits are found here! W
hat an incredible amount of work, time and talent went into all of that! I wonder what J.R.R. Tolkien would think of it? I bet he would be astonished, astounded and amazed!

And our last bit of magic for today is a light-hearted video that was made in response to the recent selling of all things StarWars to Disney.  Click here to view the YouTube video!
My heart goes out to that poor StormTrooper who can't get a drink! All in all, I have to say that this is a brilliant thing! 
Let's wrap up this post up with a little note of a show I'll be at this weekend!

Get a jump-start on your Winter Holiday shopping and support independent, local artists at the same time!!!

Shop Local 

Saturday, Nov. 10th Only! 

9am to 6pm  

Monthei Fine Arts Studio 

Upper Carriage House 

314 Clifton Avenue, Suite 300 

Minneapolis, MN 55403
It would be grand to see you there!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! In a Creative Mood!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope this week has been fabu to you so far!

I've been busy creating this week, in between sorting and other things around the studio and have a few completed creations to show!

You might remember last Fini Friday when I introduced you to a few necklace-creations that were still growing... The base of these creations is a coated steel neckwire with magnetic clasp and I looked forward to embellishing that foundation with cut crystals and Mood beads!

And so I have!

We'll start with the most simple design first!

Title: Talisman

Ingredients: Blue Mystique and Fleur-De-Lis Mood beads, metalized acrylic, steel neckwire.

This evokes a feeling of a simple, yet significant necklace born in an more ancient, otherworldly time. A time when jewelry held mystical meaning as well as great beauty!

Playing with the cut crystals is where we're off to next!

Title: Rare Beauty

Ingredients: Hand-crafted Furnace Glass(USA), cut crystals, antiqued copper wire, steel neckwire.

I played around with different colours of the faceted crystals and wrapped them in gradation from darkest, smokey violet and ruby to lightest shadowy gold and crystal. The crystal colors accent the ribbons of colour in the hand-made furnace glass bead that is the focal of this necklace as well! YAY!

Title:  Playing in Turtle's Secret Garden

Ingredients: Turtle Island and Secret Garden Mood beads, hand-finished brass(USA), cut crystals, antiqued copper wire, steel neckwire.

Let's start with the Turtle Mood bead! I love this bead because it is three-dimensional! The turtle is swimming forward on one side and swimming with his head over his shoulder on the other!!! Neat! The brass bead-caps are hand-finished and made here in the USA.The cut crystals shimmer from verdant green to metallic silver with pauses at sky blue and dark smoke!  I wanted to play with juxtaposing the feel of the materials in this creation! Specifically, the steel neckwire and Mood beads are quite modern, yet the crystals, bail and beadcaps lend an older, more elegant ambiance to the creation. Very intriguing!

We've started a new month and that means new shows to tell you about (and new opportunities to see these creations in-person!)! 

Get a jump-start on your Winter Holiday shopping and support independent, local artists at the same time!!!

 

Shop Local 

Saturday, Nov. 10th Only! 

9am to 6pm  

Monthei Fine Arts Studio 

Upper Carriage House 

314 Clifton Avenue, Suite 300 

Minneapolis, MN 55403