Fini Friday! All That Glitters is ...Copper?

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!  
This week has been a bit of busy-craziness and a time of rest in hopes of warding off any winter ick!
I hope it has been an excellent week for you-all!
I've a creation just beginning and a creation still growing to show you today!

This is a copper candle sleeve.  I've had it for quite some time and have always thought of weaving beads into it.  Perhaps watery colours for an Atlantean feel... perhaps with gears, metal bits and filigree for a Steampunk theme... or something else entirely!
What will I do with it?
Stay tuned to see!

This is a necklace creation that is still growing!
It may look finished, yet I'd like to secure the 10-sided die a bit better in that hand-shaped filigree setting as well as create a wire-wrapped bail for it rather than the simple chain harness it has now.  There are all sorts of Fairy and sparkly details in this creation!  See if you can spy them all!
Check back here for photos of how this grows into completion!

News for the rest of December!
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)!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Skulls and Spice!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Fini Friday!
It is Fall in our neck of the woods and we've already had a bit of snow and ice! The snow has nearly completely melted (thankfully!) as it was too warm for the ground to freeze just yet.
Pumpkins, scarecrows, crops being harvested and so forth are common sights and I love the rich, warm colours associated with this season! Why mention any of this? Read on and you'll see!!!

First, some creation ideas that are brewing...inspired by the upcoming All Hallow's Eve Holiday!
Methinks these will be earrings and the design touches a bit upon the Day of the Dead as well as the Fae.
The vision I've in mind is wire-wrapping the luscious, smaller multi-coloured beads around the skulls.
YAY!

These second set of skulls, dyed an intriguing yellow, are slated (at least right now) to be a bracelet...possibly on black leather! ...
Possibly with wrapping or braiding...
Hmmm...
Stay tuned to see what happens next!!!

And now...for the spice!
I love tea. Absolutely yes!
So, one of the ways I'm celebrating the season is with a seasonal tea!

MMMMmmmmmm!  Doesn't that look yummy?!  I've found that this company makes scrumptious teas, on the whole, and I'm looking forward to trying their Pumpkin Spice tea!
Not all spiced teas are created equal, so wish me luck on this one!!
Whee!!!  
By the way... did you notice the background?  Perhaps it might look familiar....say from a post on Wednesday, perhaps?  
Hee hee!

One last thing before we part company... There is a second session in the Welcome to Being Human series on BlogTalk Radio!
Sunday, Oct. 27th at 5pm (CST, USA) Cheryl Patton and I will be chatting about often impossible pedestal we humans (especially those in the healing arts) are placed on and the stifling effects of "always staying positive".  
Who put us up there anyway?  
Join us for insight, laughter and fun as we poke at the foiables and follies of life as Human Beans!
See you next week!
Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Revamping!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

Here is to a fabulous week so far! 

YAY! 

As you might guess, I have things to show you that center around revamping and renewing! 

These are bits of fabric!  Why are they important?  They are part of the revamping of some of my smaller cases.  The current padding is in need of replacement and this fabric will form part of the new padding!

How is that whimsical, you might ask?  The fabric colours!  The grey is a soft, warm hue perfect for this misty, romantic day.  The sunny yellow needs no whimsical explanation in my opinion!!

I'll be certain to show the finished product, so stay tuned for that!

Let's wrap this up with something a little more fun!

These are feathers from a molting Macaw!

Two photos are included so you can see the beautiful shimmer of colour and play of light!!!

See the gorgeous green shifting into a vibrant ocean glue in those top two feathers?  

Don't you LOVE the brilliant yellow of the centre feather?  

And how lovely is the combination of the golden yellow that shifts into that azure blue?

YAY!

I've ideas for these!
More later!

Ciao for now!

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!

Fini Friday! Beautiful Beads and Beginnings!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

The weather has cooled off for us here in Minnesota and I am truly enjoying the lovely, cool breeze!! 

(Did I mention that it is cooler today? I think I did! *wink* *grin*) 

I hope there are similar blessings in your neck of the woods! 

This post is all about beginnings and beads! 

First up! 

A menagerie at the beginning stages of growth...

The ceramic pendants are hand-made by Melanie of Earthenwood Studio. I adore her work and love the colours, textures and simple shapes she brings into the world! 

The two pewter-coloured pendants to the left of the Earth and tawny Cat are three-dimensional, with different designs and words on both sides. I've glued in Swarovski crystals on opposing sides. 

The first photo shows one side, whilst the second shows the other. 

The spiral is one of the oldest sacred symbols that is found in every culture that I'm aware of and it always seems to represent eternal life.  How fitting to pair with the Earth!  Also completely appropriate is the word "Live". After all, if you're seeing this, you're living upon the Earth! 

Cats have always symbolized mystery and the unknown, so matching them with stars, a colour-changing crystal and the word "Imagine" was truly natural.

The second, seafoam-coloured cat pendant is growing on a path of it's own and undoubtedly will be accented with the hand-coloured fiber seen in the photo as well as other interesting charms, bits and thingees (Yup! That's the word I'm going with, though it likely isn't an official word in the English language *grin*).

Let's wrap this up by showing you those beautiful beads mentioned in the title!!

On the left is a stunning nugget of sunny Citrine.  

Citrine is thought to help with creativity, personal clarity and help weed out self-destructive tendencies, whilst helping the liver, digestive tract, heart, and muscles. 

The center bead is a gracefully cut Agate with dramatic flowing inclusions.  Agate is purported to be helpful in discerning truths and is an excellent healer for emotional upsets.  Legend says that it assists with memory, concentration and focus.

The last stone on the right is probably a sort of Jasper.  Legends surrounding Jasper state that it is stabilizing, healing and can help bring joy into life.  This stone would seem to have been formed by sedimentary action, then pressurized for eons to become this beauty!  There are so many different patterns to see in this single bead, I'm excited to see what happens next with it! 
Stay tuned to see!!

And so, at the conclusion of this post, I wish you a very joyous weekend!
See you on Monday!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Progress!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday and the end of many folks' work week! 

In true Fini Friday style, this post is chock-full of creations in various stages of growing! 

Come walk with me and I'll show you! 

I've been playing with resin with different projects and so the next steps of growth are unfolding! 

On our first path, we are witness both a re-acquaintance and rebirth! You might remember this post where materials gathered on Walkabout were shown. 

I've brushed resin on the first side of those faux bank notes (among other things) and here are the results! 

The resin is hand-coloured with pigment and settled very nicely over the paper! The next steps are to encase the other side with resin, then pierce the paper for hanging! 

Stay tuned for that! 

Whilst we're on the path of progressing to the next growth step, here are a few more creations that received a bit of resin this week! 

 I found this distinctive necklace on Walkabout and wanted to add a Faerie touch to it! 

The pendant in the center is a paper illustration of inner watch workings secured to a wood back that I've wrapped in brass filigree. 

It is my hope that the resin will not only add beauty, yet also durability to this pendant-creation! 

As we near the end of this Fini Friday path, we're going to take a slight jog over to a creation that is beginning to grow...with a button that was brushed with golden-coloured resin a little while ago! 

I absolutely love that the Pegasus is a button! 

The suede cord, fiber and feather pendant are all materials I'm toying with weaving into this creation! As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts, dear audience, with me in the comments section! 

So! At the end of this Fini Friday path, let me mention a few upcoming events!!! 

Saturday, May 18th only! 

Spring Psychic Faire at Lake Harriet Spiritual Center! 

Many of you have seen me at this Faire offering my Sprite Creations jewellery and creations. 

However! For the first time ever!!! I'll be offering Faerie Readings during this fundraising-event! 

There will be good food, hand-made art of all kinds and wonderful insights offered, so consider joining us! 

I have another Faerie-inspired BlogTalk Radio Interview!!! 

Tuesday, May 21st from 3 to 3:30pm (CST, USA) with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom! 

Join us to see what insight the Faeries have for the month of May! 

See you Monday!
Ciao!

Fini Friday! Creation and Resolution!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

I hope your week has progressed swimmingly, so far! This has been an interesting week both creatively and using my time constructively! I'm stretching and preparing for new-ish things to me as well as dealing with a lot of paperwork. 

This Fini Friday is really a good reflection of my week and so let's get started! The first project is finished, though not in a way I normally care for. 

You might remember this Fini Friday where a simple necklace creation featuring a lampwork glass Geisha and pearls was starting to grow into completion. Today seemed like the perfect day to complete the creation and so I started wire-wrapping. Take a look at what happened next! 

Unfortunately, I wound the wire a little too tight (the heavier-gauge wire is also a bit more cumbersome to deal with) and that lovely focal bead sheared right in two! The bead could be glued back together, but I am reluctant to do that as the spot where the bead sheared off is one of the major stress points of the focal pendant. I wouldn't be able to trust that it would hold up. The hunt for another Geisha bead may (or may not) prove successful, yet it feels as if this idea is resolved. It feels as if it could be laid to rest as complete and the other materials moved along to other projects. This may be the first time I've done this with one of my designs! 

The second creation I have to show you fared much better! I introduced you to this design during this Fini Friday. I'm happy to say this pendant is now complete! 

Working Title: Vintage Ride 

Ingredients: artisan-crafted Furnace glass (USA), vintage German glass, Czech glass(some Vintage), lead-free pewter, antiqued copper wire.

I had a lot of fun wrapping these lovely beads into the vintage bike charm! The pendant looks part Faerie and part Vintage/Art Nouveau with a nod to Steampunk and tip-toeing through Goth! I'm not certain yet if it will remain only as a pendant or be incorporated into a necklace! I am in love with what it grew into, though! 

So, that's it for this Fini Friday! 

Here is what I have going on this weekend and into Tuesday of next week! 

I've a newly-scheduled BlogTalk Radio Interview this Sunday!

I'll be chatting with Marie and Beth of Divine Goddess Radio at 6pm(CST,USA) about Faeries and Freedom! I'll answer some of the most common questions I receive about Faeries and impart a specific message for this listening audience. Perhaps that will include you? 

And I'll be back on the BlogTalk Radio air in a few days with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom! 

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!

Both of these will be in the archives for later listening if your schedule does not allow you to listen to me live! 

I'll see you on Monday! 

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Popcap Pendants-Still Growing!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Fini Friday and then end of many folks' work week!

I hope your week has been excellent to you so far!

This post is all about creations in the mid-stage of growing into completion!

I've finished creating a batch of Popcap Pendants and they are ready to be hung! The next step is the composing/designing of the (probable) necklace creations they will grow into.

Let me show you what I have so far!

  The Popcap Pendant at the top has a Swarovski crystal fire-y jewel embedded and surrounded with golden-hued non-toxic resin. Behind the Fire Jewel is ancient-looking paper with mysterious writing on it. It seems natural to pair this with antiqued-copper chain and so that is coiled around the pendant. The other pendant contains sparkly orange gears amidst lightly-coloured gold non-toxic resin. I like the contrast of the bright orange and modern texture of the gears with the antique look and feel to the chain curled around it! 

Three of the four pendants in the photo on the right have sparkly blue gears encapsulated in blue-green non-toxic resin.  I'm not certain which of these pendants will grow into that fabulous aqua-coloured chain, but at least one of them will be suspended from it!  The designs will probably stay fairly minimal so that the chain can shine! 

I also like the Art Noveau feel to the chain on the far right and am thinking it is a fine match to the pendant nearest to it.  I like the mix of textures, colours and ambiance they lend to each other.  This creation will likely have other goodies dangling from the chain besides the pendant.  

The pendant at the top reminds me of the glitter, glamour and glitz of the casino and Las Vegas life!  While the chain itself is a fairly plain design, this creation will likely have the most dangly-goodness and the most interesting charms and drops hanging from it! 
Stay tuned to see what they grow into!

So that's it for this Fini Friday!

Just before we close this blog entry out, I'll draw your attention to the next event on my horizon!

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 Monday!

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!

Fini Friday! Mechanics and Fairy Berries!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope your week was full of wonder and your weekend looks to be grand!

I've more earring creations in the Fairy Berry Collection and a creation that is still growing to show you today!

Let's start with more Fairy Berries!

You might remember that the first few Fairy Berry earring pairs were introduced Wednesday.

Title: Fairy Berries: WinterBerries

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

These, to me, capture all the beauty of Winter in Faerie Land! 

I love the subtle rainbow colours! 

Title: Fairy Berries: Fantasia 

Ingredients: Swarovski crystal(ruby), hand-finished brass(USA), acrylic, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

I absolutely love mixing colours and textures and these definitely grew out of that love! They also are quite a study in contrast to the Winter Berries that preceded them! These are a little bit Art Noveau, a bit timeless elegance and lots of Faerie Sparkle! 

Let's switch gears now (HA!) to a creation that is still growing into completion! The pendant in the middle is a PopCap Pendant that I created from a hand-tinted, non-toxic resin poured into a recycled pop cap. The resin cures for 3 days and I drill the pendant out with my drill press! The neck cord is actually automobile hose (unused)! Not only is this fun because of the unusual materials, but the ends of the hose nestle into each other, so the "neck cord is actually self-clasping!!! Woohooo!!! This necklace is going to be so much fun to create! So there you have it! 

The resolution of this Fini Friday! 

Have a fabu weekend! 

See you on Monday! 

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!

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!

Fini Friday! Flashes of Creation Insight!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

I hope your week has been full of Joy and Adventure so far! 

This post will be a bit shorter than others as I'm still in a bit of vacation mind-set from celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday! 

So, I'll show you a bit of the raw materials I've received recently and natter on a bit about what I hope to use them for and then be done! 

These are flash drives! 

They vary in storage capacity from 4 to 8GBs. I'm going to embellish them with all sorts of shiny-goodness and some will become necklace creations! 

I've a few materials of which I am awaiting arrival before creation for some of these. Others are waiting for ideas! 

Stay tuned to see what grows up! 

That's it for this Fini Friday post!

One final thought before I bid you Adieu for the weekend...

We'll be at the Holiday Geek Expo, in Plaza 5&6 at the DoubleTree in Minneapolis the first weekend in December! This hotel is nestled near the intersection of 494&Hwy 100 and is the hotel of choice for many of the Midwest's largest and best Science Fictions/Fantasy and Anime Conventions! Look for us on the first floor, in the "Short Tower"! 

We'll have flash drive creations, faerie adornments and finery, original photographs and more! 

Also! There will be food and drink and space to hang out whilst browsing all manner of geeky goodness! We'll have chain-mail, comics, hand-made clothing and coats, jewelry, and so much more! Stop in to shop for those hard-to-buy-for Geeky Loved Ones and for yourself as well!

And with that, I wish you a lovely weekend! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Autumn Leaves and Forest Critters!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday! 

I hope this mid-point to the usual work-week is treating you well! 

This post will be a bit of whimsy and a bit of a peek into an artist's life! 

The creation I anticipated finishing and showing you hit a snag and will probably require a redesign. So, I'll show you all of that! 

But first... lovely photos of autumn leaves and kitties! 

Title: The Purrfect Halloween Cat Photo 

This is indeed (atleast to me) the perfect Halloween cat photo! 

Title: An Autumn Invitation 

Can you see the impression of someone laying in the leaves? Perhaps someone who has raked the leaves and then fallen into them? What a fabulous invitation to enjoy Autumn! Also....When we leave impressions in the snow, we call them Snow Angels and so it occurred to me that there could be Leaf Angels as well! So this could be the first record of a Leaf Angel in all of human history! 

Hee! 

These next photos are of the still-growing creation mentioned earlier...the first photo is of a collection of buttons I acquired yesterday on Walkabout. 

They are a menagerie of Forest Critters and every one of them is so charming and whimsical!!!

I envisioned creating a bracelet with them on twin strands of brown and green leather... and so I did... the first attempt proved that I cut the leather strips too short to accommodate all the necessary knots. 

The second attempt is shown in the photo. All went well until the green lace snapped as I was adjusting the tension on the knot! So.. here is where this will rest tonight and I'll have another go at it soon! 

 

So! There you have it! 

A Wednesday full of Whimsy! 

See 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! 

Fini Friday! Growth Spurt!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I hope your week was good and the week-end looks to be even better!

Today is a good, old-fashioned Fini Friday post where I have a finished creation and a creation that experienced a growth spurt after languishing for a long while to show you!

Let's begin with the finished creation!

You may remember this past Whimsy Wednesday where I introduced some bead-frames I was playing with... One more earring creation grew out of that experiment, which is below!

Title: Ruby Jewel, Framed.

Ingredients: Czech glass, lead-free pewter, metal, gold-plated surgical steel earwires (hypo-allergenic).

 

I love those Czech glass window beads and the idea of a frame within a frame and so forth! Also, aren't those luscious colours? Mmmmm! 

Onward to the newly-grown creation! The inspiration for this necklace is Australian Aboriginal culture. The dots-as-design style is something that can be seen on digeridoos, bullroarers and other items unique to this culture and can be seen on the round red beads with dots of cobalt and sky blue as well as sunflower yellow. 

Dolphins are said to be messengers to and from Dreamtime, which roughly translates as Nirvana/Heaven/Divine Unknown in other cultures. Hence the beautiful dolphin pendant at the center of the necklace creation! 

Each of the jewel-shaped glass beads represent both the colours of the rainbow and also colours commonly associated with each of the seven chakras of the human body. So, there is much meaning, myth and magic woven into this creation already! 

As you can see, the creation still needs a completion in terms of clasp or a way to secure it around the neck. I'm also considering painting the dolphin pendant with hand-coloured resin...I'll ponder it! 

One more update around the studio before the weekend commences! 

 

Here is where I'll be tomorrow! 

Fall Art Festival 

Saturday, September 8th Only! 

10am to 4pm City Center Market 

122 North Buchanan Street Cambridge, MN (USA)

Hope to see you soon!

Ciao!

Fini Friday! A Peek into Preparations!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I've been busy preparing both for the Bean Factory Artist Market this weekend and creating new shinies!

I'm excited about all of this, so let's get right to what you'll see this weekend if you stop by for a visit!

First, a little project...

The white sign that you see to the left in the photo below is my current earring price sign.  The beginnings of the new sign are to the right in the same photo.  The current sign has weathered the shows well, but now looks a little the worse for wear. I've also wanted to try something more in keeping with the Faerie feel of the booth.  And Lo! The idea for a sign that looked like an old scroll was born!

And this second photo is the new sign all rolled up, secured and with the dots filled in! I'm pleased with this first prototype and look forward to seeing how well it works this weekend! 

I just received more Mood Beads in the mail and so will have a nifty selection of them for adoption this weekend! Take a gander! I love creating with Mood Beads, they are so much fun! 

And finally! A pendant that is still growing! My current idea is to wire-wrap or otherwise suspend or secure these beads to the bicycle finding. The rest of the creation will grow from there. 

I'm interested to see what you, the audience, think of which beads to include and where (and perhaps, how)! Leave a comment with opinions, if you like! 

 And onward to the weekend!!! 

This is where I'll be! Maybe you can join me!!!

Bean Factory Artist Market

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

J and S Bean Factory

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

It would be grand to see you there!

Also! Coming Up In August!!!
August 11th
Saturday only!  10am to 6pm
The Coffee Grounds!

 1579 Hamline Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55108

See you soon!

Ciao!