Whimsy Wednesday!

Bonjour!
Summer feels like it has finally arrived, just in time for the first day of June! YAYAY!
To celebrate the season of warmth, fun and sun I've two new creations to show off!
You might recall when I won the Rings & Things drawing for brushed copper beads... and I've been busy creating more with them!!

A water theme flows through both of these creations, so let's ease into the pool of creativity gently, eh?
First, a pair of earrings....
Title: Waterfall
Ingredients: brushed copper beads, Czech glass, permanently-coated copper wire, niobium earwires.



I loved playing with the wire to create a "messy" or perhaps "organic" feel throughout the creation!

The second creation requires a little explanation as we wade deeper into our pool. While the brushed copper was left alone to shine in all of their natural glory in the creation above, I again painted the copper with hand-coloured resin.



Below you'll see the copper "spool" with the three other items that were enlivened with the sparkly resin.



Let's take the final plunge and see what the big splash is all about, shall we?
I was determined to use the spool-like copper bead as a clasp and what matches brushed copper better than ... more copper? I shaped 16 gauge copper wire and then work-hardened it by mashing it between my hammer and anvil! (That was fun! Heehehehehee!) and then set about stringing, wire-wrapping and so forth to create what you see below...
Title: A Mermaid's Tale (Do you see the pun?!)
Ingredients: hand-painted with hand-coloured resin brushed copper and metal mermaid and starfish, amber, Czech glass, vintage shell boot button, metal, acrylic, hand-wrought copper clasp, lead-free pewter, yarn, aluminum, hand-finished brass filigree, thread.



Actually, there are a few puns here.. there is the play-on-words with the Mermaid's Tail/Tale and there is the pun of a tale also known as a yarn...which is one of the main ingredients of this creation! And! by tying the yarn to the hand-coloured copper bead, the creation reminds us yet more of yarn being unwound from a skein or spool!

The idea of this creation is to follow the journey of the mermaid via the little trinkets and charms that we see on the necklace... where has she been and what has she seen that involved a cat, a fairy, a bit of amber, a roller skate!?, a mysterious Carnival mask and more? !

So, there we have it!! I'm hoping for a wave of appreciation on this creation and this post..perhaps enough to be swamped, but hopefully not cape-sized!
(Hee!)
Ok.. I'll tie this up for now and wish you-all calm seas and fair winds!


Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from rings-things.com and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: all brushed copper beads pictured above.

Fini Friday!

Hello Everyone!!!

I have new nifty shinies to show you today!!!
Do you remember when I won the Rings & Things drawing for brushed copper beads?

I've experiments to show you using some of those beads!
I hand-coloured resin and painted it on two pairs of those beads. The first pair were used as a brilliantly-coloured focal in the earrings you see below...

Title: Fire Tribe
Ingredients: Hand-coloured resin on copper, lead-free pewter, base metal, surgical steel earwires

I wanted to experiment with a bright opaque colour and this red is just sizzling!

The second bead pair were more round and flat and I wanted to use the coloured resin like a glaze slip on ceramic. So, I mixed in some blue/green/glitter pigment and painted it on!

As you can see below, this particular pigment didn't really show up against the copper. I do love how the resin drips down on what was then the underside of the bead and pooled to hard there. So! I decided to incorporate that into my design!
And Voila!

Title: Space Age Faerie
Ingredients: Hand-coloured resin on copper, Czech glass, sterling silver.


Teaming the hand-coloured beads with similar flat, iridescent rondelles, a textured-look star and dangling from a sleek circle gave these earrings a very modern look, while tying in the pooled resin artifact stunningly well!

And now I'm loading up and loading out to head down to the Waterbury Building in NE Mpls (MN, USA) for the Art-A-Whirl ! Stop on by and see me if you're in the area!!



Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from rings-things.com and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: all brushed copper beads pictured above.

Whimsy Wednesday!

What a beautiful day this is in my neck of the woods!!!!! I hope the same for you-all!
Today is Whimsy Wednesday and I have lots of fun things to share with you!

I've two pairs of earring creations to show off, fun bits of brushed copper beads to play with and links to some lucky folks who've won March goodie bags from Rings & Things!
How's that for a preface?!
Now, let's dive into the good stuff!

Here is the first of the two earring creations I mentioned earlier.
Title: Easter and the Old Ways
Ingredients: Czech-pressed glass, Bali and Sterling Silver, lead-free pewter bunnies.


Based on myth and legend, Easter is a Springtime celebration that began long before Christianity. Though there is little literary evidence, this holiday is connected with Ostara or Eostere. A goddess of Springtime, Dawn and the East, she is often associated with bunnies and fertility, for obvious reasons! You can find more information here.
These purple Moon and Star beads remind me of ancient symbols carve into fanciful stone and illuminated by moonlight...pairing these with a delightful bunny charm and finishing with little details like the star-shaped Bali Silver spacers... I imagined that these earrings could represent an ancient prayer for the return of Spring!
Where is the whimsy in such a serious inspiration? The bunnies, of course!!! How could anyone resist that one charming ear that flops enchantingly askew?

Onward to the next creation!
These have really nothing to do with spring except beautiful pastel pink colors and perhaps a rebirth by retail therapy..? You decide!
Title: Modern Woman
Ingredients: Faceted glass rondelles, Czech glass, metal charms, sterling silver.


Seriously, though I don't usually work with pastels, I was delighted to match the high-heel shoe with the whimsical, feminine purse and beautifully coordinated both with the delightfully-faceted, strong yet gentle pink colours you see above.

And now for a peek into some of what I'll be playing with in the month of April!


Rings and Things has graciously sent me loot(!), a portion of which you see above, as part of their Brushed Copper Beads Design Challenge!
I have ideas for these beads.. including some playing in the studio with coloured resin, dapping, perhaps firing up a torch.. who knows!!!
I have design ideas already.. so look up that blog link often to see what myself and the other fabulous artists create!!!

As we draw this edition of Whimsy Wednesday to a close, I want to take a moment to Congratulate! and link to the winners of another Rings and Things Contest!
The lucky folks you see below have won a bag of goodies for the month of March! I'm excited to see what they create with their loot! Inspiring, being inspired by others and spreading the inspiration-love is very important to me so I'm pleased to participate in this!
Congratulations to......
1. Debbie St George
2. Julia Benson-Slaughter
3. Jan Baxter
4. Jenny Stark
5. Penny Illemszky
6. Wella Cornelis
7. Jeannie Dukic
8. Dee Gordon
9. Chris Jackman
10. Kassie Inman



Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from rings-things.com and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: all brushed copper beads pictured above.

Fini Friday and An Announcement!

Hello!!!

It is Friday and time to show you what the creation you saw on Whimsy Wednesday grew into!
A fabulous clasp, some jumprings and drilling into the popcap pendant we saw before and voila!

Title: Treasures, Rediscovered
Ingredients: hand-made popcap pendat (non-toxic hand-colored resin, czech glass, shell, metal), hand-finished brass filigree and findings, silver, lead free pewter, plastic cord.




I'm so pleased with how the colored resin is reminiscent of the ocean swirling around and unearthing treasures that might just be a bit of ocean glass and a few shells, here and there...
Do you see the swirls echoed in the pattern of the clasp up at the top? Isn't that awesome?!
And I just *love* that spiral link and the mixture of metals on those jumprings, don't you?

One more thing before I bid you adieu for the weekend!
Rings & Things is having a Brushed Copper Beads Design Challenge! You can find details here!
This looks like a lot of fun, so click on over if you're intrigued.

See you next week!

Happy Halloween!!

I know it is a little early, I will be out and about this weekend and so won't be around the Interwebs much. I have new goodies to show you in celebration of Halloween!

I was approached by The Healing Loft and asked to donate to this cause Tick or Treat Fundraiser . Many folks in my more rural area are affected by Lyme's disease and other tick-borne diseases, so this event, the family and their story really struck a chord with me.

Here is a peek at the three pairs of earrings Sprite Creations is donating.

Devilishly Cute

Boo-tiful Flowers

Ghost Candy (No Calories!)

Though the subject matter is serious, this really looks like a fun event! Stop on out, support the family and maybe come home with a nifty pair of earrings to celebrate Halloween!

In wrapping up this post, I wanted to show you what arose from the Coffin Pendant I created a little while ago. As you might remember, I used a picture of the incomparable Bela Lugosi as the original movie character Dracula and I wanted to create something as elegant and creepy as him!

I gathered some sterling silver bats, Czech-pressed glass 'jewels', sterling silver chain with coffin-shaped links and an elegant clasp and set about creating!

(One of my favorite details is the bat hanging off the coffin-chain extender! Check it out!)

And here it is! Simply and undeniably elegant... and creepy.

Title: Undying Elegance

A suitable homage for Mr. Lugosi, don't you think?

MMMMMmmwwwwwwaaaahhahahaha!!!

*insert the sounds of a bat winging through the night*

Happy Halloween!

Legalese: MANY THANKS to RingsNThings for providing the Coffin Picture Frame Pendant, Ghost Raw Brass Charms and Glass Candy Corn, Sewn Devil Skull and Boo Beads free of charge via their Blog Partner Program!!!! I am honestly reviewing them and have not been paid for my endorsement of the above listed materials.

A Walk Down Memory Lane and News!

Hello! Hello!
It's been a little bit since I've posted here, so I'm glad to see you've joined me once again!
It has been a busy Fall so far and I am just loving the WARM temperatures!! It helps motivate me to complete a few more tasks in preparation for winter and the accompanying snow!

I've been brewing up a great many new creations since we last visited and this week the theme seems to be Boo-tiful Halloween earrings! I'll show you more in a moment...
Before I do, let me job your memory... do you remember the batch of lovely charms I received in the mail? The collection that was SteamGothtastic with a Spritely twist? It was heavy on the wrenches, which, in the beginning, I wasn't quite sure what to do with. However, inspiration struck and here is one of the many designs I've used them in so far.
The title is: Drop Forged
metal wrench charm, fire opal swarovski crystals, metal, plated silver surgical steel earwires.


And now on to the Spooky Goodness! And another walk down memory lane...a little while back, I received scary-fun stuff RingsNThings Blog Partner Program and I'd a lot of fun creating with it all. But the rest of the ghosties, skulls, cats, tombstones, pumpkins and so forth sat waiting for more ideas. More inspiration came ghosting in with Halloween and the Day of the Dead looming more closely on the calendar. Here are a few pairs of earrings to for your viewing pleasure!
Graveyard Guardian
brass charms, aluminum, plated silver surgical steel earwires

Devilishly Cute
glass, metal, plated silver surgical steel earwires

I'm so excited to share this next bit of absolutely-shiny-new-up-to-the-minute-news with you-all! I've been chosen as an ArtBeads Blog Partner! I have ideas.. so many ideas!!! You'll just have to check back to see what grows into life!


Stay tuned!



Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from RingsNThings and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: Glass Sewn Devil Skull, Raw Brass Charms-Cat,Ghost,Tombstone.

More Spooky Goodness!

I've made steady progress this week on a number of fronts, yet I find it is Friday afternoon and I feel like I haven't done enough this week! I think it is because plans have changed so much from Monday to today and in the midst of adapting, I feel like not much was done. But enough of that!
I have Creations to show you!!

This first creation is not so much spooky as cool, modern and a bit industrial and a bit steampunk. I created the pendant from fishing lures, old watch parts and ICE resin. I love using "unconventional" materials in creating jewelry. Did you see the little synthetic garnet in the lower right hand "corner"? I *love* little details like that! I've paired the pendant with an unusual chain and gunmetal clasp to match the darker nickel lure in the pendant.
Without further ado, here is Chronos:



And now, the Sppoooooky part of the post!!! In a previous episode of "What is the Sprite Up to Now?", we found our Sprite twirling around with delight at the spooky wonders she received from RingsNThings Blog Partner Program. Now, let us see what she has done with the Coffin Picture Frame!
Front:

Back:


Since this was so clearly a coffin-shaped picture frame, I wanted an image and a feel that was spooky, elegant and preferably majestic. One character stood out from all the others to to fill that criteria...Dracula, of course! And only one actor could possibly honor all of those ideals...Bela Lugosi!!!! And so it is! An iconic image of inimitable Mr. Lugosi as the famed Dracula in our coffin!

The Nitty-Gritty:
The picture needed scaled and futzed-with for proper print and image quality. Once printed, I took a few moments with an art pencil and eraser and set about highlighting (or rather darkening) details in this image (since it was suggested that the glass might wash out some of the fabulous details of the now-minute image).

This frame is meant to sandwich the paper (or fabric) art between two panes of glass, but the over-engineering part of me was a bit concerned about a single sheet of paper slipping out between the framed panes. I cut out two of the same images and affixed them back to back so the paper art would be thicker and less likely to slip out accidentally(this also gave me double the spooky goodness!). I then carefully glued the back image to the back glass pane.
Thankfully, the advertisement of the glue drying clear is true, so none of the image was harmed in the glueing of it to the glass!

And there you have it! Grand Spooky Goodness!
I have yet more boo-tiful plans for the remaining haunting baubles, so stop back by to see what's brewing!

Amidst the Buzz and Whirl...

Of preparing for the upcoming Deerwood Days in Deerwood, MN, I've finished several pairs of earrings, a few necklaces, rings and likely a mixed-media creation to show!
*whew*
Deerwood Days actually starts tomorrow! at 9am!! Figuring in travel and set-up time...I'll have everything ready tonight so we can merely pull out at O-Dark-Hundred tomorrow morning. Not a fan of that, BUT! the fair aspect of the show closes at 5pm tomorrow and runs from 9am!!! again on Saturday and ending at 4pm. The shorter evening closing time will be quite welcome!

I wanted to show you a few photos of what I've been up to before I disappear into last minute preparations!

First, a general photograph of most of my recent new creations:


In the midst of all of this, I didn't resist playing with my new shinies from Rings-N-Things!* I'm looking forward to more time to play with these next week, but I took some time and played with some of the brass charms!
Voila!! Earrings!
Title: A Charming Halloween



While I found these charms quite detailed, I wanted to add some color and "punch" to the monochromatic palette they presented. That's when I was inspired to use the colored jumprings. I wanted these earrings to be whimsical and fun and to still center the attention on those cute charms, so I used three colors of the jumprings, but kept the hanging of the charms to a simple, single dangle.
I *love* them and hope they charm you, too!
Stay tuned next week for more Boo-goodness!


*The charms were provided free of charge through Rings-N-Things Blog Partner Program.

Shinies in the Mail!!

I am so excited to share this with you-all!!
I was notified last week that Sprite Creations was one of winners of the monthly drawing to be a Rings N Things Blog Partner!!! This means I receive free shinies via the mail to play with!!! WOOHOO!!!
SO!! Here is a photo of the loot fresh out of the box (or still in the box...rather!)



As you can see, there is a definite Halloween/Day of the Dead/Harvest theme here.
I see twoooo owls, two witches, multiple cats, pumpkins, skulls of all sorts, a coffin picture frame, candy corn, gravestones and ghosties, oh my!

I have to tell you-all, I Love, LOve, LOVE those little owls!!!! Ideas sprang forth as soon as I saw them!! AND I have something in mind for that coffin picture frame!!!! *MMMMWWWAAHAHAHAHA!!*
(Hey, It's a Halloween theme, the PERFECT time for an Evil Laugh!)

So!!! I'll keep you posted as each creation that include these materials grows into completion and together we'll spread the creativity love!

If you'd like to check into this program, click here!