Whimsy Wednesday! Writing the Story of Spring & Mermaid's Treasure!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday and posts chock-full of ...you guessed it...whimsy!
Warm temperatures are definitely heralding Spring in, here in my neck of the woods, and one of the creations I have to show is inspired by that!

Title: Writing the Story of Spring

Ingredients: Artisan glass, hand-made silk bead (USA), lead-free pewter, metal, brass and copper pen (USA).

 The tender, spring-time palette begins with the lilac-hued pen, accentuated by the blue hand-wrapped silk bead inscribed with lovely French words (the language of l'amour, some say...). The focal point of this pen and design is the beautiful floral bead in silvery tones, both lush and spare at the same time, and reminiscent of the spring growth waiting to burst forth!  This is flanked by two artisan glass beads of subtle yet fiery hues and shining silver-coloured accents abound!

Also, all of the beads spin freely, making this the perfect fidget toy to use when mulling over that perfect word choice in your head! I tested this pen myself, and the weight of the silver foliage bead towards the end of the pen gives this pen a very comfortable feel while writing! 
Whee!!!

Onward to the second creation of this post!  A wine bottle stopper!

Title: Mermaid's Treasure

Ingredients: Mermaid's Tale Mood bead, Rosy-Posy Mood beads, Stainless steel (and rubber).

 My favorite parts of this creation are the Mood Beads (of course!).  These beads change colour as they change temperature! How fun!  The larger round bead in the center of this wine bottle stopper features a Mermaid!  I've included a photo of both her head and her tail, so you can see how she's swimming around the bead!  Isn't she gorgeous?!

She is surrounded top and bottom with two smaller mood beads in a rosy-posy pattern (which also change colour).  This colour-changing ability would be especially fun to see as this is used for it's most practical purpose- a wine bottle stopper!  Other fun things about this creation - the mermaid!  Mermaids are, of course, denizens of the deep and tend to be pack-rats (or is that pack-fish?) or hoarders of wonderous and valuable things!  What a lovely statement (and inspiration for this creation's title) of how one values their fine bottle of wine!

YAY!

Well! I think this post has gone swimmingly (couldn't resist), yet it is time to batten it down (ha!) for the day.

I'll see on Fini Friday!

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Sweetness and Passion!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope your week has been grand so far!

This post will be a bit shorter than usual as I'm making the final preparations for my first show of 2013!  Yes! In spite of the snow, we intend to be at the 10th Annual Burst Into Spring event in Cambridge, MN (USA)!

I had so much fun creating earrings with the Honey Bee Mood beads you saw on Wednesday, I decided to create one more pair!  Here they are!

Title: The Sweetness of Life

Ingredients: Honey Bee Mood beads, Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

I'm so pleased with what these grew into! I love the bit of sunny yellow that shines through those gorgeous dark teal flowers! And it's neat that the illusion of the Bee drinking from the flower is made! YAY!

This second creation is an earring and necklace ensemble. The ceramic links and pendant are hand-crafted by Melanie of Earthenwood Studio. They've been languishing around the studio for quite a while and I'm thrilled that they've grown into completion!

I adopted the two round links and Passion pendant together because they evoked a sense of weaving Passion into life in the style an Old World (or perhaps Fairy World!) tapestry. I also love the idea of Passion growing!

Let's start with the entire ensemble: Title: Passion Grows Ingredients: Earthenwood Studio ceramic links and pendant, artisan glass, lead-free pewter(USA and other), metal, surgical steel (silver-plated) earwires (earrings), steel cable neckwire (necklace).

And the focal of the necklace!  I adore the accent of matte black leaves that form a sensuous fringe around the generous slices of fiery artisan glass! What a luxurious feel!

Our last photo is of those fabulous earrings!  I've always found keys mysterious and intriguing and love the idea of giving people the key to their own locks.  I thought it was fitting to use a heart-shaped lock, since what is Passion without Heart?  More of those matte black leaves add an organic flow!

These creations (and more!) will be available for adoption at my first show of 2013!

Burst Into Spring!

It is in Cambridge, MN, USA and details are here! 

It would be grand to see you there! 

In the meantime, I'll see you tomorrow or Monday! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Winging Towards Spring!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

This post is chock-full of whimsy and winged-things! 

The perfect thing to help celebrate many of us as we look forward to Spring! Whee!! 

Both winged creations are earrings and we'll start with a bit of buzz! 

Title: Abuzz 

Ingredients: Honey Bee Mood beads, Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), metal, surgical steel earwires. 

The Honey Bee beads are Mood beads, which means they change colour according to the temperature around them! Isn't that nifty? They are accented with honey-coloured beads and dangle from hypo-allergenic surgical steel earwires! Honey was considered to be the food of the Gods in Mayan and Greek cultures. Bees have long been associated with kings and gods and even the birth of the human race! Little wonder given the yummy richness of the honey they produce! 

 

Let us turn to another winged creature - the dragonfly! 

Title: Dragonfly Alights 

Ingredients: hand-made metal dragonflies, Czech glass, Artistic wire, Sterling Silver. 

I found the hand-made, metal dragonflies on Walkabout and knew they were destined to grow into some much more! Don't they have such a wonderful, architectural feel to them? 

I suspended them from a lush green vine from sterling silver ear hoops, wrapping in a vibrant leaf the colour of new growth. The idea was to capture the vision of a dragonfly pausing to rest on a stalk of grass. Dragonflies have long been associated with the ability to see through the illusions of life and that which holds a person back from their dreams and goals. 

Both of these creations will be available for adoption at my first show of 2013!

Burst Into Spring!

It is in Cambridge, MN, USA and details are here! 

It would be grand to see you there! 

In the meantime, I'll see you Friday! 

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

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

The Coffee Grounds!

1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

Ciao!

Fini Friday! A Stargazing Mood!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!
I have new shinies to show you! I've been needing to restock my Mood Bead collection and have been wanting to play with a new design since it came out a little while ago. Alas, but the last order found it out-of-stock! This time, though, it was in stock and mine, ALL MINE!!! ...Ahem....
So let me show you a little bit of what just arrived!

The big round beads in the center? They remind me of space ships and the design is named Star Gazer! How awesome is that?
Also in the pile of loot are mermaids, flowers, bees, flames and sun blossoms! All mood beads, isn't that fun?!

Ok! Now on to the creation!
Title: (You guessed it!) Star Gazer
Ingredients: Mood beads (with glow in the dark stars!), leather cord dyed with lead-free dye(USA), sterling silver, aluminum, metal.

Yup! A space ship among glowing stars! Really, it was only a matter of time until I created this... 'cause really...yeah.. it needed to happen!
This might even save the wearer from being sucked into a wormhole... or something like that...but don't bank your insurance policy on that!
OK! I'm a little goofy at the end of this week! But I am completely serious when I tell you that this can be found in my Etsy shoppe here!
And with that, I'm outta here for the weekend!
Have a fabulous one!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! New Mood Creations!

Hello Everyone!!
It's FRIDAY!!!!
I'm packing up for the show tomorrow, but wanted to give you a few glimpses at the newest creations I'll have with me tomorrow!!
I wanted to more play time with those new mood beads and needed to create more finished creations with them, as many of the previous mood creations have been adopted! So!! Here we go!!

Title: An Opulent Mood
Ingredients: "Opulent Arches" Mood bead, Swarovski crystals, hand-finished brass, Czech glass, metal, lead-free pewter.


Mmmmmmmm.... Cobalt Blue Swarovski Crystals!!!!!

Title: Travelling Turtle Island
Ingredients: "Turtle Island" and "Rosy Posy" Mood beads, lead-free pewter, sterling silver, suede, anodized aluminum.



I love the turtle design on that center mood bead!! There are two turtles swimming around that bead, each with a different pose! Also, I love the legend of Turtle Island! In Native American lore, Turtle Island is the land masses of the Earth. Legend has it that humans live on the back of a great turtle who swims in the oceans of the Earth. So, we could be travelling Turtle Island as we go about our daily lives. The clasp reminds me so much of spiral galaxies... of which our Milky Way is one. So, our Turtle Island is travelling around our galaxy, too!! Many meanings, one necklace!

Title: A Flair for the Romantic
Ingredients: "Fountain Fern" Mood bead, Swarovski crystals, Czech glass, copper-plated metal, metal.



I love the fern design on this mood bead and the vibrant hues of Ruby, Padparadscha and Light Amethyst Swarovski crystals!

I'll have these available at the Artisan Fair in Chanhassen, MN (USA) this Saturday!
It would be grand to see you there!!! Either way, have an excellent weekend!!
Ciao!