Fini Friday! Fairy Inspiration!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to the first Fini Friday of 2014!
I hope your 2014 has been full of hope and joy so far!
I've a bit of Fairy inspiration to share with you today!

These two lovely pendants found their way to me through a good friend!  
The smaller leaf pendant is carved from either stone, wood or perhaps buri nut!  I love the organic shape and colour of it and can't wait to play with it more!

The Fairy pendant is so cheerful and sweet!  I love the details in the visual tableu that is this pendant, from the Fairy's wings to her bouquet of simple flowers! 
She calls for a design that is beguilingly simple, yet rich in details and possibly textures!
Stay tuned to see what these grow into!
See you next week!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! FairyTale Companions!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday and a post of all things whimsical! I hope your week has been grand so far! 

I've new Squinkie earring creations to show you today, so let's get started! Working Title: FairyCats! 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals(Aquamarine), Bali silver, Squinkies(rubber), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

I was delighted to see these Fairy Cat squinkies and was excited to play with them! I love the mix of colours and even the idea that there are Fairy Cats!!! YAY! 

The Swarovski crystals are in Aquamarine Blue (a fabulous colour to compliment jeans or informal clothing!), whilst the Fairy Cat's wings are more of a teal or dark Sea Green. Blues and Greens are among my favorite hues so I was happy to mix these up together! 

Next Up! 

Title: Must Love Cats 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals(Purple Velvet and Fuschia), Bali silver, Squinkies(rubber), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

What are the requirements for Prince Charming in a Fairytale Life? Must love cats, of course! And Fairy Cats most especially! The Swarovski crystals in these earrings match both Prince(Purple Velvet) and FairyCat(Fuschia), as it should be! 

And let's wrap this up with what could be a most excellent partnership! 

Title: Fae Partners 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals(Purple Velvet), Bali silver, Squinkies(rubber), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

 Who would compliment each other better than a Fairy and an Elf? Our Fairy is both sweet and mischievous, whilst our Elf has a bit of paint here and there...hinting at his artistic and creative endeavors! 

What have they been plotting and planning and building together? We may never know for certain, except that it is a wonder-full, magic-filled life! 

So there you have it! 

The conclusion of this Whimsy Wednesday! 

I've a few upcoming events I'd like to announce! 

Next Tuesday, April 16th at 3pm (CST, USA)! 

I'll be returning to BlogTalk Radio with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom! We'll be chatting about the April Messages From the Faeries! 

What do the Faeries have to say about this boisterous month? 

Tune in to find out! 

Also in April... I'm so pleased to be a returning Guest Artist at the Lowertown Lofts Artist Co-Op during the Saint Paul Art Crawl! 

I'll be in the 3rd Floor Atrium Friday, April 27th; Sat. April 28th and Sun. April 29th! Click the links for details! 

Whimsy Wednesday! BookMarks Abound!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

My week, so far, has been productive so far and I hope the same can be said of yours! 

I've been playing with some of the loot I brought home at the end of September and have some of the first finished creations to show you! 

I found the bookmark blanks and fell in love with the details stamped in raised into them! I chose one each in an antiqued brass and antiqued silver finish, which showed the stars, moon, flowers and etc. in lovely detail! 

Here is what they grew into! 

Title: Fairy Tale 

Ingredients: Vintage German Glass, Czech glass, metal

  Did you see the pun in the title? Hee! 

My vision was to combine a variety of colours and textures in this creation much like a tapestry!  The golden-yellow bead is actually Vintage German glass and always reminds me of the sun!  It seemed a fitting match to a lovely strand of flower beads and a leaf dancing in the breeze with our Ballerina Fairy in the midst!  if you look closely, you might be able to see the extraordinary chain from which these are suspended!  It is an infinity symbol and two hearts set back-to-back!  Isn't that just intriguing!?!

And now! 

For the second bookmark! 

Title: Stars and Fish 

Ingredients: Earthenwood ceramic starfish, cultured Pearl, Czech glass, metal.  

I relish the bright ocean-inspired colours!  Perfect for warding off thoughts of the upcoming winter chill!  

I was delighted to find the star-shaped cultured pearls and have had so much fun weaving them into various creations!  That's the star you see beside the Ocean Blue spiral bead at the top!  I treasure the whimsical addition of the bright green, petite fish swimming just above the ceramic StarFish!  Speaking of the StarFish.... that's a hand-fashioned porcelain bead from Earthenwood Studios! I adore Melanie's work and have so much fun playing with her creations as materials! 
Whee!

Well there we have it!
The end of another Whimsy Wednesday!
I'll see you right back here for Fini Friday!

Ciao!

Fini Friday! An Unusual Balance!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

I've a whole bunch of the unusual to show you today! 

I took a break and a brief trip to some of the woods on our property this afternoon. What glorious colours!!! I had to share them with you! 

How is this an unusual balance? I'm not certain how many others besides me are blessed to be able to travel to the woods on their breaks and breaks are, of course, part of the balance of "work" and play! 

The remainder of this post is devoted to the finishing of a creation that is unusual for me and that has languished too long in mid-growth! Here are the materials.... To the left is a new tag that could be used to attach to a cow, bull or steer for identification (with a wire-wrapped Wild Heart Swarovski Heart in Jet Black), black velvet ribbon drapes across the middle and a Fairy and her Serpent pendant are to our right. I love using materials that are meant for something other than jewelry, so the use of the cow identification tag is not unusual for me. The Fairy and Serpent pendant is not my usual style and came to me in a batch of nifty beads and materials from another artist! I decided to challenge myself and design something with these two companions  and the their overt sensual nature than re-gifting her to someone else. 

In keeping with this challenge, I decided to modify this pendant so that it was became the bar portion of a toggle-and-bar clasp, with the identification tag being the toggle.  Here's the back of that pendant, showing the wire-work that turned this into a bar portion of a clasp. 

Next is a close-up of the focal-clasp all complete!

And finally, the necklace in all it's completed glory!

Title: Sensual Balance

Ingredients:  Cow Identification Tag (plastic), Swarovski Crystal Wild Heart (Jet), Velvet ribbon, metal, copper wire.

There are so many delicious details in this necklace creation and I'm so pleased with it!

So, there you have it, a Fini Friday all finished!

Have an excellent weekend!

Ciao! 

P.S. Want to know where I and Sprite Creations will be "in person" next?

Oct. 12th, 13th and 14th, we'll be at the Saint Paul Art Crawl in the Atrium of the Lowertown Lofts Artist Coop! 

This is the 20th Anniversary of the Saint Paul Art Crawl and it would be lovely to have you celebrate it with us! 

Whee! 

  

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

The Coffee Grounds!

1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Have an excellent weekend!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! A Peek into Preparations!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I've been busy preparing both for the Bean Factory Artist Market this weekend and creating new shinies!

I'm excited about all of this, so let's get right to what you'll see this weekend if you stop by for a visit!

First, a little project...

The white sign that you see to the left in the photo below is my current earring price sign.  The beginnings of the new sign are to the right in the same photo.  The current sign has weathered the shows well, but now looks a little the worse for wear. I've also wanted to try something more in keeping with the Faerie feel of the booth.  And Lo! The idea for a sign that looked like an old scroll was born!

And this second photo is the new sign all rolled up, secured and with the dots filled in! I'm pleased with this first prototype and look forward to seeing how well it works this weekend! 

I just received more Mood Beads in the mail and so will have a nifty selection of them for adoption this weekend! Take a gander! I love creating with Mood Beads, they are so much fun! 

And finally! A pendant that is still growing! My current idea is to wire-wrap or otherwise suspend or secure these beads to the bicycle finding. The rest of the creation will grow from there. 

I'm interested to see what you, the audience, think of which beads to include and where (and perhaps, how)! Leave a comment with opinions, if you like! 

 And onward to the weekend!!! 

This is where I'll be! Maybe you can join me!!!

Bean Factory Artist Market

July 28th and 29th
Saturday 10am to 7pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm

J and S Bean Factory

1518 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN (USA)

It would be grand to see you there!

Also! Coming Up In August!!!
August 11th
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
The Coffee Grounds!

 1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

See you soon!

Ciao!

Fairy Tapestry

I wanted to show you-all my new backdrop for all of my shows, faires and festivals! It was love at first sight with this Fairy Tapestry and I knew it had to come home with me! It fits perfectly with Sprite Creations!
I've been using it for a table cover until the recent construction of the framework that is portable, light weight and compact. And, voila! Now it is a backdrop!
So, look for it at the Faires and Festivals that you'll see me at this summer and stop by and say HI!
(Hint, the next one is June 27th and 28th in Loring Park, Minneapolis, MN USA.)