Whimsy Wednesday & Fini Friday! A Charming Dragon!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to a double-feature of Whimsy Wednesday and Fini Friday!

I've a charming Dragon and whimsical charms to show today along with how each either have grown into completion!

Let's get started! First, the charms!

These charms are cast of lead-free pewter by a company here in the U.S.A! I love working with their materials as everything is so well-formed and of excellent quality.  The dark little recesses that you see are little holes in which to glue crystals or other cabochons. I used Swarovski crystal (Colours from left to right are: Sun, Fern Green and Volcano) rhinestones because I love the precision of the faceting and the beautiful flash of colour that produces. I'm not certain where I'll use these, whether in earring creations or as a dangling detail in a necklace or bracelet. They are so very fun, I'm excited to see where they venture to next!

And now!

For the Dragon!  We're on a journey from material to finished creation!

First, some of the materials!

The two gold-coloured beads are hand-made brass from the Ivory Coast. Their holes were a little uneven due to the hand-casting, so I widened them on my drill press! The top bead is our Dragon and his is hand-carved boxwood! It takes the Master Carvers up to four hours to carve one of him and each one is signed on the bottom! I absolutely love the three-dimensionality of him!

 You'll see what I mean in the following photos! Title: As Yet Unknown Ingredients: Hand-carved boxwood Dragon, brass (Ivory Coast), glass, Copper and Brass Pen (USA), brass.

A closer look at the front of our Dragon!

  

A close-up of the back of the Dragon... 

Gold and Red are colours of good health, long life and prosperity in the Orient (and in other cultures!). I wanted this creation to be quite interesting, yet with a simple design so as to keep all the attention on our Dragon friend! The finished creation is reminiscent of absolutely elegant, yet fire-y and timeless and perhaps sacred! Very fitting for a Dragon! 

So!  There you have it, the end of our journey and the finished creation, as promised!

I'm taking a mini-vacation for the rest of the week, so I won't see you until Monday! 

Until then, I'll just mention my BlogTalk Radio Interview in February!

Tuesday, Feb. 19th 3-3:30pm (CST, USA)

A Special February Message From the Faeries! 

I'm not giving any hints, so hop on over for a listen that day to hear their message!

See you on Monday!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Portraits of Growth!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

I've been playing with bead frames and bead caps today and have a few little vignettes in the form of earring pairs to show you! 

Let's get started!

Title: Portrait of a Rose

Ingredients:  Swarovski crystals (rose, olivine), Czech glass, lead-free pewter, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

I love these bead frames! They remind me of vintage picture frames and so spark my imagination to ponder what to fill them with and the stories to be told in doing so! 

 

Here is another portrait and another story! 

Title: Portrait of a Gothic Flower Ingredients: Czech glass, lead-free pewter, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic). 

The beads within the frames shaped like flowers have a wonderfully darkened iridescent coating on the back, lending a graceful, gothic feeling to this creation! The faceted glass beads closest to the earwires are edged with a weathered gunmetal finish, completing the gothic beauty of these earrings! Ah! You can almost hear the stories being whispered out loud, can't you?

I'm looking for a little bit of input from you, the reader, regarding this last creation! 

Two titles popped to mind and so I'd like to hear your thoughts on which is a more suitable title! 

Working Title #1: Another Time, Another Rose 

Working Title #2: Roses Show the Way 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals (light amethyst), Lampwork glass roses (Artist Unknown), hand-finished brass bead caps, Czech glass, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

So! Let me know your thoughts about those titles and I'll see you on Friday! 

Would you like to see these and my other creations in person? 

If you're in the central Minnesota(USA) area this Saturday, you can! 

Here is where to find me!

 

Fall Art Festival 

Saturday, September 8th Only! 

10am to 4pm City Center Market 

122 North Buchanan Street Cambridge, MN (USA

Until Friday!

Ciao!