Whimsy Wednesday! Fresh Paint!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

This marks the mid-point in many a folks' week and I hope it has been wonder-full so far!!

The title of this post comes from my description of when I have my hair freshly dyed unnatural (though it feels natural to me!) colours.

This happened again yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you-all!

Photo!

I recently changed the pattern to vertical stripes and have been having fun with my first Mohawk!  Or racing stripes...*shrugs* it is all fun!  This is what you'll see if we have the pleasure of meeting each other at one of my shows!

Don't you just love the vibrant colours?!!!!!

I DO!

Whee!!!

I've one more bit of whimsy to show you today!  It is a creation that is still growing and the whimsy is in the design idea!

These are red plastic swords that I blogged about here!  I'm absolutely inspired by both the symbology and whimsy of matching the martial and destructive aspects of swords with the growing, blossoming and nurturing aspects of leaves and flowers.  What fun!

Stay tuned to see what these grow into!

That's it for us here!

Have a fabulous week!
See you on Friday!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Natural Good Luck!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday and Spring! 

Today is the day of the Spring Equinox and many people are chomping at the bit for warmer weather! 

In celebration of the new season, I have wonderfully whimsical new earring creations to show you! 

Take a look! 

Title: Natural Good Luck 

Ingredients: Czech glass, Artistic wire, silver-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic). 

These are a "riff" along the same design idea of ladybugs perched on leaves. I decided not to decide on only one design and create both! 

I find these both incredibly cheerful!!

Title: Nature's Tableau 

Ingredients: Czech glass, Artistic wire, silver-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic). 

I love the idea of asymmetrical earrings and the expansion on the bright and sunny colours of the initial design! 

Did you know that ladybugs are thought to be a symbol of good luck? 

They are! 

And so I'll wrap up this post by wishing you-all a huge bit of good luck! 

I'll see you on 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! Fairy Berries and Flowers!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope your week is full of laughter and warmth so far! I've been involved with a good bit of learning new things this week! I've also come off of a small streak of BlogTalk Radio interviews, both of which I really enjoy!

I'm beginning to look ahead to March, the start of Shows and the first peeps of Spring! I've new ideas that will grow into completion between now and the first show, so stay tuned!

The creations I have for you today are in perfect keeping with what was just described above and life at this moment!

Title: Fairy Berries: Blooming in Winter

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals (Purple Velvet), Czech glass, acrylic, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

I love the luscious bits of dusky colour that surround the snowy bead-cap on each of these earrings. These are reminiscent of winterberries, fairy-style! (Hmmm... perhaps that would be a better title!....I'll think on it!)  I'm getting hungry from all of this thinking about berries!  Yum!

Working Title: A Fairy Flower, for Luck 

Ingredients: Vintage brass, Czech glass, metal(vintage and new). 

The golden-toned metal flowers are vintage, as is the silver chain from which they are suspended! These are cast brass and so the edges in the back were a bit sharp. I filed them down to a more comfortable texture. This design began with the vintage flower castings, especially when I noticed the center holes might be large enough to thread a chain through. I knew it was to be a silvery-toned chain because I love to mix metals! Not only is the contrast of colour and texture intriguing, but it means that this jewelry can be worn with a large variety of other accessories and clothing ensembles! Rarely can I create something monochromatic and so the burst of colour with a fairy flower was in order! Other little details include a four-leaf clover and leaf charm, all in that shiny, shiny silver! 

It just occurred to me that these could be wedding earrings! Something old (the vintage brass flowers), something new (the Czech glass), something borrowed (the repurposed vintage chain) and something blue (the fairy flower!)! How exciting! 

Look for these in my Etsy shoppe tomorrow! 

And that concludes this Whimsy Wednesday post! 

Come on back for a visit on Friday and see what I've been up to! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Playing With Materials!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

I hope your week is flowing well! It amazes me that this is Wednesday! 

I didn't have a particular idea in mind for this blog post, so I picked up some wire and beads that I haven't used in ages and played! 

This is what grew out of that playing! 

Title: Let's Play! 

Ingredients: Carved bone, Cultured Pearls, antiqued copper wire, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires(hypo-allergenic).

 I started with the carved bone beads because they reminded me of games that include boards with indentations in them meant to hold markers of any sort, marbles, seeds, etc. The pearls are meant to evoke the idea of those markers or game pieces as I wanted it to look like the game was in process already. The two pearls of each color hanging off the sides are the spare playing pieces that have not yet been used. I'm pleased with how this turned out and hope you are, too! 

This second creation is also a pair of earrings, again using beads that I haven't played with for a while. 

This design came together quickly and, though simple, has a lot of colour and texture going on! 

 

Title: Flowers of Industry 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystals, Czech glass, antiqued copper wire, surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

I love the idea of flowering, growth and whimsy, even in the midst of potential toxins, dis-ease and hazards. 

So, there you have it! 

Another Whimsy Wednesday at an end! 

I look forward to seeing you on Friday! 

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! 

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!

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!

*Tuesday, August 21st 3-4pm (CST, USA)

It would fabulous to hear you in the audience!  Join us for all things Faerie!

See you on Monday!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Summer and the Sea!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I have a bit of a potpourri of nifty things to show you on this beautiful summer day!

These two lovely photos are of summer flowers that bloomed or were given to me over the last few weeks!  I love the vibrant orange of the hibiscus and indian paint brush and the daisies have always held a simple , vibrant beauty for me.  I hope you enjoy them, too!

 The next news is a bit of promotion!  An Etsy Treasury titled Sunny Must Haves featured a Sprite Creation!  You can see it here!

My Gifts From the Ocean creation is the third from the left and top! Isn't that a gorgeous, summery collection?!

I've included a close-up of that featured Faerie Flower Barrette!

Let's continue and conclude our summer and sea-sational theme with a photo of a newly-grown creation!

Title: Mermaid Finery

Ingredients: non-toxic, hand-coloured resin, upcycled brass bracelet. This was created with several layers of hand-coloured resin that I poured myself and I'm so pleased with the multi-dimensional texture and colour of it!

Wondering where to find me in July?  

Check out my event schedule below!

Tuesday, July 17th from 3-4pm (CST, USA)

BlogTalk Radio Interview with Cheryl Patton!

Messages From the Faeries #9!

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

Bean Factory Artist Market

J&S Bean Factory

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

See you soon!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Flowers and Fire Fae!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!
It's a day when many end their work week and look forward to a few days off! I, too, am looking forward to some time to relax! I have not had an overabundance of patience today, for no specific reason that I can fathom. I decided that this ties in perfectly with Fini Friday as one of the ideas behind showing you-all my creative process was to show the good, bad and the frustrations!
So! Here it is...the source of a bit of my frustration today....

Doesn't that look so sweet and innocent? Hardly a thing to be frustrated about, I know... This was originally inspired by a celebration of Spring and I do love the soft colours, flowers and sparkly of the Swarovski crystals! This is a simple bracelet design and I think that is adding to my dissatisfaction. Something so simple shouldn't be taking so long to grow into completion! Yet, you can see, on the left-hand side, that the cable was cut too short (kinking, crimping and other problems are to blame) and so I'll need to restring and recrimp all of this again. And so I have decided I am going to let the frustration go and leave the creation be for now and return to it another time.

As a finish to this post, I have a set of old friends in new digs to show you!
The earcuff:
Title: Fire Fae
Ingredients: Swarovski crystal (Fire Opal), Czech glass, antique brass-coloured copper wire, gold-plated metal earcuff.


Title: Fire Fae
Ingredients: Swarovski crystal (Fire Opal), Czech glass, antique brass-coloured copper wire, hypo-allergenic surgical steel earwires.

These earrings and earcuff creations would make a lively and unconventional ensemble! Interestingly enough, they are both in my Etsy shoppe now!

So, here we are, at the end of the post and looking forward to whatever our week-ends hold!
I wish you much fun, warmth and beauty and I'll see you on Monday!
Ciao!