Whimsy Wednesday! Sheriff's Star and News!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!
This post will be more of a highlight reel of what is new in both creations and Sprite Creations event news, so let's get to it!
If you were able to join us at the Holiday Geek Expo, these two creations will be familiar to you!  So many of you are unable to join us in person that I wanted to show them off to YOU!
Title: Cycles of Time
Ingredients: lead-free pewter, suede, leather, aluminum, metal. 
I love the mystery of this bracelet...and the contrast...both of colours, textures and symbols!  The Sheriff's star makes me giggle and I hope you do, too!  The close cuff-style of this leather bracelet in space-age, yet antiqued silver suede evokes the idea of a law-person's bracer from another culture!  Add to that the red leather wheel and unusual key charm and you have an enigma wrapped in sumptuous suede!  There is a story just waiting to be written by this creation!  Are you the one to write it?

And now for the news!
Due to some last minute glitches, Sprite Creations regrets to announce that we are bowing out of the Women's Art Festival this Saturday at the

Midtown YWCA. If you are in the Minneapolis area, we highly encourage you to visit the Festival and support all the fabulously talented artists there!
If you were looking forward to seeing us there, please keep in mind that we are also available for home Sprite Creations shows as well as shows via Skype!
Feel free to visit my website or contact me for more details!  


Last, but certainly not least....
I've ONE more BlogTalk Radio Interview in 2013!
Welcome to Being Human!!! December 22, 2013, 5:00pm to 6:00pm (CST, USA)! 
I'll post the link for this as soon as I have it!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Leather and Steam!

Hello Everyone!
A very short post today as I show you one of the new creations available for adoption at the Holiday Geek Expo and then I'm off for the weekend!

This newest creation is a leather bracelet inspired by Steampunk!
Title: As Yet Unknown
Ingredients:  old watch gear, hand-finished brass(USA), lead-free pewter(USA), 
 suede, metal.

Isn't this gorgeous?  And yes!  That is an old watch gear hanging as an accent on that fabulous wing!!
The wing, by the way, is a scrapbook finding that I drilled out on my drill press, antiqued and then hung from the softest of suede!
YAY!
Here is where you can find this lovely creation this weekend!!

Holiday Geek Expo!

DoubleTree Hotel - 2nd Floor, Atriums 4 and 6

December 7th& 8th    

Saturday    10am to 6pm

Sunday    10am to 5pm

7800 Normandale Blvd.

Bloomington/Minneapolis, MN 55439

Women's Art Festival!

Midtown YWCA

Saturday Only!

December 14th     10am to 5pm

2121 East Lake Street

Minneapolis, MN 55407

BlogTalk Radio Interviews!!
December Message From the Faeries!
Tuesday, December 10th 11:30 to 12:30 (CST, USA)! 

And!!!!
Welcome to Being Human!!! December 22, 2013, 5:00pm to 6:00pm (CST, USA)! 
I'll post the link for this as soon as I have it! 
YAY!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Faerie Flowers Redux!

Hello Hello!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!
This has been a busy week for me as I prepare for the upcoming shows as well as other tasks such as managing the weather this week!  There is snow, snow and more snow in my neck of the woods!  This is not unusual for this time of year, yet the snowfall has been steady since yesterday and with a mix of freezing rain.  It makes for interesting times!
I've listed a few creations that are new to my Etsy shoppe and that is what this post is all about!
Below are a few of the Faerie Flower barrettes just listed!
Title: In the Days of Ancient Egypt
Ingredients: Czech glass, ceramic scarab beetle, lead-free pewter(USA), jeweler's bronze, barrette, fabric, glitter, Fraycheck.

I embellished this fabric flower from an old lei that had been languishing around my studio for some time with glitter and Fray-check along the edges of the petals and then wire-wrapped elegant Czech glass beads in black and gold lotus flowers and a cat! Also nestled in the centre of the flower is a lapis luzuli-blue ceramic scarab beetle and lead-free pewter charm(USA) inspired by the lotus flowers on the ancient Egyptian pyramid columns. All of these details are firmly secured with Jeweler's Bronze wire. This Faerie flower is all about the sacred symbols of mighty ancient Egpyt and the adventure one might have there!

Title: Under the Harvest Moon

Ingredients: Czech glass, Artistic wire, glitter, fabric, Fraycheck, metal.

The wire-wrapping on this barrette includes beautiful and vibrant Czech glass beads in mysterious moonlight hues! This Faerie flower is all about the magic, majesty and mystery of the moon and doubly-so under a Harvest Moon!!
Let's wrap this up with December schedule news!!

Holiday Geek Expo!

DoubleTree Hotel - 2nd Floor, Atriums 4 and 6

December 7th& 8th    

Saturday    10am to 6pm

Sunday    10am to 5pm

7800 Normandale Blvd.

Bloomington/Minneapolis, MN 55439

Women's Art Festival!

Midtown YWCA

Saturday Only!

December 14th     10am to 5pm

2121 East Lake Street

Minneapolis, MN 55407

BlogTalk Radio Interviews!!
December Message From the Faeries!
Tuesday, December 10th 11:30 to 12:30 (CST, USA)! 

And!!!!
Welcome to Being Human!!! December 22, 2013, 5:00pm to 6:00pm (CST, USA)! 
I'll post the link for this as soon as I have it! 
YAY!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! At the Show!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!! 

I've decided to go a different direction with the whimsy today! 

I'm going to show you a little bit of what it is like to visit with me and Sprite Creations at a show! 

Let's start by showing you some of the creations that were adopted at the last show, which was the Women's Art Festival.

This was a Custom Creation for a formidable guy who is satisfied enough with them that he wears them all the time! He commissioned a second pair for a present and picked those up this past weekend! YAY!!!!

  The jumprings from which the wrench charms are suspended are woven in a mobius-strip (infinity sign) pattern. Cool, huh? 

This second creation was adopted by a good friend as a Yule present for herself! I love those kinds of presents! 

Title: Rare Beauty 

This friend truly is a rare beauty and I love it when the perfect creation and person find each other! 

This last creation was adopted as a present for a sibling! 

Title: StarShine 

Apparently the giftee is highly interested in both stars and Sprecher soda! 

Again, a perfect choice! YAYAYAYAYYYYY!!!

   

I'll wrap this post up with a photo of our booth at the last show! 

I really enjoy being able to use this set-up because the merry, multi-coloured lights immediately draw people's attention! This is also a fun way to set a very Faerie mood, which is very important to me. 

 So there you have it! 

A post chock-full of whimsy! 

I hope you are able to take this whimsy with you out into the world! 

I'll see you on Friday! 

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Ringing in New Treasures!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

This will be just a quick post whilst I am preparing for my show tomorrow! 

Onward to the Treasures! 

First, A Ring! Title: Jewel of a Bygone Era 

Ingredients: Vintage German glass, lead-free pewter, glue. 

I love this ring! 

It is the perfect mix of ageless beauty! It is also adjustable! WOOT! 

Next up! A Tinker Faerie Treasure Bottle! 

This is something a little bit new, inspired by suggestions from folks who visited us at the last show! 

Ingredients: a spring, Amber, Kyanite, Rock Crystal, glass, acrylic, lead-free pewter, metal, cork hand-felted "Faerie Stone" (England!). 

These are all little treasures that a Faerie who values mechanics as well as natural things would gather! 

I'll wrap this post up with a little bit of creations that are still growing! 

These are all Popcap Pendants that I finished over the weekend! Some have particular designs and ideas already attached and some are still in the dreaming! You might catch a glimpse of Swarovski crystals, old watch parts, vintage rhinestones, stickers, beads, and an old Kachina pendant in amongst these pendants! 

Stay tuned to see what they grow into! 

Whee!! 

Ok! 

The top two creations will be with me tomorrow at the Women's Art Festival! 

The 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!

Saturday, Dec. 15th only!

10am to 5pm.

There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

P.S. The weather is looking rather winter-y and entertaining! Yes! I promise you, we will be there!
 It would be lovely to see you there!

If not, I'll see you on Monday!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Playing Hooky!

Hello Hello! 

I’m writing the bulk of this post whilst listening to The Cars “Moving In Stereo” in stereo, in the car and on the road to visit a friend! 

I’m playing hooky from the studio for a little while! Wheeee! 

This feels grand!

I’ve been rather busy preparing for both a home Sprite Creations party tomorrow and the Women’s Art Festival this Saturday and I’m excited about all the new creations I have to share! 

Below are just some of the newest shinies! 

Title: Transcend 

Ingredients: 4GB (working) Flash Drive, non-toxic resin (hand-coloured & hand-painted), Swarovski crystals, vintage German glass, Czech glass, lead-free pewter(USA), aluminum, metal. 

There are all sorts of details in this creation, and let’s start with that fabulous Flash Drive! It is a working 4GB Flash Drive! The swirls are part of the factory design of this drive and it was named Transcend before it arrived in my studio. Since the creation design of both the Flash Drive and the necklace centers around the Drive, it seems fitting that it lends it’s name to the entire creation. The shiny flashes of colour on top of the Flash Drive are Swarovski crystal rhinestone, set in a rainbow pattern. (Some believe this pattern of colours also matches those of the 7 major charkas of the human body.) I would have loved to place each rhinestone in the center of each circle or swirl, but too much resin too close to the edge of the convertible flash drives can be a problem. The rhinestones are set and sealed with non-toxic resin that I’ve hand-coloured with pigment and literally paint onto the Drive. The Pegasus, Star and Sun all speak to traveling to other realms, realities or mythologies. The “Love” circle is also hand-painted with hand-coloured resin by me and fits the title quite aptly! After all “Love transcends all things”! Even in looking at the “Love” ring, there are hidden details. This is a repurposed charm and so while the Love is immersed in flecks of gold, there are marks of wear and age in the shiny metal underneath the golden resin. This is a love of strength, beauty and wisdom, wrapped with whimsy in the mixing of both modern and timeless. 

The second Flash Drive creation I have to share is just below… 

Title: Traveling With Turtle Island 

Ingredients: 8GB Flash Drive (Iamakey), non-toxic resin (hand-coloured & hand-painted), hand-finished brass, old watch parts, metal. 

The key-shaped metal bit is actually the working 8GB Flash Drive! I’ve worked with this shape before and had so much fun, I played with it again! The turtle charm enabled me to mix both dark and shiny metals and the turtle shape echoed the more boxy key shape of the Drive. 

I placed the old watch parts in a column down the shank of the drive, four gears and all over-lapping. This is what I love best about creating! I had no set vision of what to do with the gears, only that I wanted round gears on the shank. It seemed right to have four overlapping, and then the story of the "Four Ages of Man" popped into my mind! Very fitting since the Earth has been named Turtle Island by many aboriginal tribes in times past! The myth of the "Four Ages of Man" by Ovid is recounted here. While the resin is speckled with golden flecks, I also meticulously dropped alcohol ink onto the resin once it was painted on. That is the ethereal green you see. The ink pools and flows as I work with it and the resin and I love the “swampy”, yet misty and mysterious feel that it created! Perfect for a turtle in the water and the legends described above! And, again, wrapped with whimsy in the blending of both modern and timeless! 

So, there you have it! 

I'll leave you with information of my final show for 2012!

When is that, you ask?

The 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!

Saturday, Dec. 15th only!

10am to 5pm.

There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

I’ll wrap this up as I am almost at my friend’s house and see you Friday!

Ciao!

Magical Monday! Thinking Outside the Box!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Magical Monday! 
Winter has finally come to my neck-of-the-woods with lots and lots of snow! 
I'm glad about this as the snow makes it seem truly like Winter and Christmas/Winter Holidays to me, rather than just one long Fall! The snow is fluffy and sparkly and lovely! YAY!
I've one of my favorite kinds of posts for you today! 
I have all sorts of examples of "thinking outside the box", that is using things for useful purposes for which that they weren't intended! I often have great fun doing this in my jewelry! 
First, an unusual Christmas Tree! 
Credits and details are here! 
Since I love nearly all things books, I adore this Christmas Tree! YAY!!!! 


Next is an unusual application of pinball machines and an awesome way to create art! 
Credits and details are here!
Isn't that fun??!


And finally, let me show you something along the lines of the Tiny House movement... a Transforming Home!
Click here for pictures, details and credits!
I think it's wonderful to take old shipping containers and repurpose them in this manner! 
 How intriguing!!!

I'll leave you with information of my final show for 2012!

When is that, you ask?

The 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!

Saturday, Dec. 15th only!

10am to 5pm.

There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

And with that, I'll see you on Wednesday!! 

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Flashy!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I usually use these posts to show you either creations that are still growing or creations that have been languishing and have been (finally!) completed.  Today I'm going to show you creations on both ends of the spectrum!

Let's start with the completed creation!

You might remember this Fini Friday back in September, where I showcased a cat, sunstone and kyanite necklace that I was restringing.  I was not impressed with the crimps I had on-hand and so progress was stalled while more of my usual crimps were obtained.  They have been acquired and the necklace is finished!

Title: SunCat

Ingredients: Jasper, Sunstone, Lapis Lazuli, Kyanite, Bali silver, Sterling silver, lead-free pewter, steel cable.

The first photo is of the entire design and the second is a close-up of the wonderful cats, intriguing and flashy sunstone and gorgeous lapis lazuli! 

There are so many legends and meanings associated with the stones used in this creation, I'll just take you on a quick tour through them!

Sunstone: Thought to bring luck, increase optimism, strength and vitality, and to help harness the healing power of the Sun. 

Lapis Lazuli: Used as both a cosmetic and medicine through the ages, Lapis has been used as an aphrodisiac, to strengthen the skeleton, increase Divine awareness, cure insomnia and improve sleep as well as to ward off negative energy. 

Kyanite: Thought to never retain negative energy, Kyanite also helps to improve communication and intuition, clarity of thought, and help manifest dreams into action. Legend says it helps nurture optimism and open the mind to lighter, brighter and better ideas and perspectives. 

Jasper: Legend says that Jasper is protective, grounding, healing and stabilizing. It is thought to align all the chakras and balance yin yang energies. 

Silver: Though not a stone, Silver is thought to nurture intuitive knowing. All in all, a very positive creation, wouldn't you say? 

The next and last photo are three USB Flash Drives(part of the Flash Drive collection) that I've finished the embellishment and will continue to grow into completion as necklaces and etc.

I believe two out of the three flash drives will be necklaces and yet the drive to the farthest right may end up remaining a pendant.

The green colour that you see is alcohol ink that I dripped strategically onto and into the resin after painting it on the drives.  I absolutely love the effect!  The center drive arrived with that nifty swirl pattern and so I accented it with Swarovski crystal rhinestones and a subtle gold glitter pigment in the resin!  I'm quite pleased with how these turned out!

 More on the designs embedded in the resin and their meanings when the creations are complete!

You may see these at my next show! 

When is that, you ask?

Why, I've conveniently provided details about that very subject just below!
Take a look!

My next and final show of 2012 (it is so weird to type that!) is the 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!

Saturday, Dec. 15th only!

10am to 5pm.

There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

And with that, have a fabulous weekend! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Land and Air!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!!

I hope your week has been most excellent so far! I've been busy in the studio! I've made progress putting it back-to-rights after neglecting my organization a bit as well as creating more!

I've a few more unusual creations to show you today! They are more unusual because of either the materials or the subject of the focal bead!

So let's get started!

This first creation has two titles that popped to mind!

Title 1: Air Spirits

Title 2: Air Travel

Ingredients: Acrylic, Swarovski crystals, hand-finished brass filigree, Czech glass, cut crystals, antiqued copper wire, steel and magnetic-metal neckwire.

I'll be interested to see which title you-all like better! Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts! The materials of this creation are a bit unusual in that I don't usually use a lot of acrylic, especially for the focals of my creations. However, the swallow and the butterflies are really quite dramatically simple and beautiful!

I suspended them from antiqued copper wire and Czech glass that seems to change colours with the light. Further embellishment came with the cut crystals and hand-finished brass filigree, accented brilliantly with Swarovski crystals that match those fascinating butterflies! I love the mix of modern and vintage in this creation!!!

The next and final creation features a cute little fellow that is unusual in that I haven't created with a hedgehog before!

Title: As Yet Unknown

Ingredients: Green Girl Studios Hedgehog bead(fine pewter), Czech glass, lead-free pewter, rayon and quartz adjustable neckcord.

I just love the little hedgehog dude and have been waiting for some time to create something that is just right to feature him in! I believe this is it!

A title hasn't yet popped to mind, but I'm open to suggestions!

Look for these to appear in my Etsy shoppe shortly!

My next and final show of 2012 (it is so weird to type that!) is the 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!
Saturday, Dec. 15th only!
10am to 5pm.
There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

And with that, have a fabulous rest of the week! 

I'll see you on Friday! 

Ciao!