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!

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! Pen and Ink!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope this second week of January finds you well!

I have Pen Creations to show you today! Let's start with the prototype first! I was playing around with different combinations of materials, this grew into completion!

Title: Faerie Pen

Ingredients: Steel and Brass Pen (Pearl White)(USA), Furnace glass (David Christensen, USA), metal.

  It was hard to capture in photo, but that big, beautiful chunk of hand-made furnace glass is actually transparent with all sorts of colourful sparklies in it! I actually purchased it from David Christensen himself, at a bead show many moons ago! He is a cheerful, intriguing person and fun to interact with! I am pondering keeping this pen for myself!

Title: A Wise Companion

Ingredients: Steel and Copper Pen (Pearl White, USA), lead-free pewter, acrylic, brass.

This second pen also uses that Pearl White blank as it's base and I wish the photographs did the pen's finish justice! The description Pearl White is very apt! The white is luminous with little sparklies of colour! Gorgeous!

I've been wanting to play with more pen creations and when I saw this white finish, thoughts of Athena and her wise Owl Bubo popped to mind!

If you don't know the legend, here is the link to a Wikipedia article explaining the myth! Happily, there was a Bubo Owl Bead (from Green Girl Studios) in my inventory! The Greek Key beads were a perfect accent and I'm really pleased with this creation!

The last photo is a close-up of that intriguing owl!

So! That's it for this Whimsy Wednesday!

One announcement before I bid you adieu!

I'll be on BlogTalk Radio with a Message From the Faeries specific to January!

Tuesday, Feb. 15th from 3-3:30pm (CST, USA)!

Come on over and listen for a spell!

See you Friday!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Whimsy and the Practical!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope this mid-point in the week is treating you well!

This has been a busy week for me so far and will continue to be so as I ramp up for the Holiday Geek Expo this weekend(see details below!)!

That said, I have a few creations that are both practical and whimsical for you today!

Let's start with the most whimsical first!

Title: Cat's Paw

Ingredients: 8GB USB Flash Drive, Green Girl Studios "Kitty Comfort" bead, lead-free pewter, metal.

And a close-up of that Cat's Paw, which is also the USB Flash Drive! Hee Hee!

The "kitty Comfort" bead is on the right, below the iridescent fish. It has a serene and mysterious kitty on the side facing us and the words "Kitty Comfort" on the back. This bead was hand-cast by Green Girl Studios in their South Carolina studio!

Other nifty details include a whole fish kitty-corner (did you see that pun?) to the skeletal fish remains, an adjustable wrench charm, little black feathers (perhaps also the remains of a recent birdie repast?)fluttering here and there and a cat-and-mouse toggle clasp! Oh yes! I forgot to mention the chain!  It is made of alternating links of double-hearts and infinity symbols!  Very cool!

Here is a better view of the cat-and-mouse clasp and that fabulous chain!

There is a whole bunch of whimsy wrapped up in this very practical storage-device/necklace-creation!

Wheee!!!

 

I've one more creation to show you today! 

Title: Words of Love 

Ingredients: Brass&Copper Pen, hand-made silk bead (with French words), hand-made furnace glass, lead-free pewter, acrylic. 

This creation leans towards the romantic side of whimsy! The bead with the French words on it is hand-rolled silk fabric (USA Artisan made)!  The two golden-coloured or striped beads are hand-made furnace glass.  The bottom bead has a wonderful texture due to the bubbles made during it's creation!  The other glass bead (just above the silk bead) has a core that traverses between garnet and cranberry, wrapped with clear glass and swirled thin gold stripes.  This entire creation has a wide variety of rich colours and depth of textures with a sensual feel!  Perfect for writing words of love! 

Also!  Gold has long been associated with both wealth and spiritual ascendancy, while red is legendary as the colour of love. Of course, en francais is known as the language of romance and amour! So much wrapped up in one creation!  Whew!

 

So, where can you find these beauties?

Meet them in-person at my next show!

The Holiday Geek Expo this weekend!

Saturday 10am to 6pm

Sunday 10am to 5pm

Plaza 5&6 (1st Floor, Short Tower)

 DoubleTree Hotel

Join us for all things Geek!!! 

It would wonderful to see you there!

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Happy Halloween!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday and Halloween!!!! 

I hope this day and night are filled with many, many treats and no tricks! 

Also, let me wish a most fun-filled Samhain, All Hallow's Day and All Saint's Day (tomorrow) to those that celebrate! 

So! I have new creations to show you today! 

One is elegant and creepy and the other is noteworthy and fun! 

First up! The noteworthy and fun! 

Working Title: The Dragon's Garden 

Ingredients: Dragon bead (Green Girl Studios) hand-cast of fine pewter, Mood beads, lead-free pewter, steel pen (USA).

Did you see my pun there?  Note-worthy?  It's a Pen..Hee hee!!!

The beads that flank the Dragon are Mood Beads, which means they will change colour with the temperatures around them! That fabulous Dragon is three-dimensional and is hand-cast by Green Girls Studios! He is so awesome!!! I love the mystery that this simple design evokes!!! 

And now! The elegant and creepy! 

Working Title: Gothi-Pop Elegance 

Ingredients: Chalk Turquoise skulls(dyed), cut crystals, vintage and non-vintage Czech glass.

I generally prefer to stay on the lighter side of the Goth/Noir aesthetic and that includes any type of skull or bone. With that in mind, I brought these colourful skulls home to experiment and stretch my creativity a bit. If I was going to play with skulls and so forth, they needed to be colourful or whimsical or unusual in some manner!  Speaking of stretching, this bracelet stretches too! It is strung on stretchy cord, so no clasp is needed! Just pop it over your hand for instant skull-appeal! I love the mixture of textures, colours and the feel of this bracelet! It is a bewitching mix of elegance, creepiness, intriguing colours and a bit of the Fae! 

And that's a wrap (though perhaps not a mummy's wrap - HA!)! 

Have a fun-filled Holiday and I'll see you on Friday! 

Boo!

Whimsy Wednesday! In a Creative Mood!

Hello and Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

Today has been a beautiful summer day here and I hope the same can be said for you-all!

I've a Mood Bead Creation and a Custom Creation to show you today, so let's get started!

This necklace creation was borne of both the fabulous knotwork in this neck cord and the Mermaid Mood Bead!

Take a look!

Title: Celtic Beauty

Ingredients: Mermaid's Tale Mood bead, lead-free pewter, rayon fiber, quartz. 

I thought the Mermaid a fitting combination with the fine Celtic tradition of sea-faring adventure. Other nifty details are the fluid spirals in the accent beads that are reminiscent of the Celtic triple-spirals (meaning the never-ending cycle of life)!
You'll see this in my Etsy shoppe tomorrow!

Let's end this blog post with a peek at a Custom Creation! 

A lady who adopted a Pen Creation from me at a show in May commissioned a Pen with a Turtle on it somehow and this is it! 

 Title: Just Keep Swimming! 

Ingredients: Turtle Island and Blue Mystique Mood Beads, lead-free pewter, steel pen (USA), ink.

That's about it for me here!! 

I've lots going on in the studio, so stay tuned! 

I'll see you here for Fini Friday! 

Ciao!