Fini Friday!

Hello Hello!!!
I hope this Fini Friday post finds all of you well!! I have had a day of disappointments and good stuff, so I guess I've run the gamut today!! I'm learning a few new bits of software for Sprite Creations and I'm definitely encountering the learning curve!! Not to worry, I'll get it all figured out!!!

In the meantime, I have a Fini Friday post for you!!!

This is the last necklace in the series of three using the glass focals that I mentioned last week .

Title: Faerie Art & Science in Space

Ingredients: Dichroic glass, hand-dyed fiber (USA), hand-finished brass filigree(USA), Czech glass, permanently-coated copper wire (USA), thread, metal.

And here is a close-up of that fabulous focal and intriguing clasp!

I love how pairing such an interesting focal with an unusual clasp can make a story practically leap into a person's mind with this necklace! There is definitely something here waiting to be written!

Hmmm... I'll have to ponder that!

I hope this weekend is full of joy and love and I'll see you next week!

Whimsy Wednesday!!

Hello!!!
I can't believe we are at Wednesday already!!! I am happy to say that our mini-heat wave is over and we are back down to mid-70 degrees (fahrenheit) for our high temperatures! Whew!!! I'm a fan of open windows and fresh air much more than air-conditioned air!

I've gathered materials and am busy on several creations that will be shown at CONvergence Art Show! I'm really excited about these projects they give me an opportunity to stretch my creativity!
I have the first of the creations to show you today!!!
I think the whimsy will become obvious when you see it!

Title: Rebel With A Cause
Ingredients: Repurposed Die Cast Metal Millenium Falcon, thrust needle bearing, roller bearing, repurposed clock part, repurposed chain, permanently coated copper wire (USA), anodized aluminum, lead-free pewter.


And a close-up on that fabulous ship!!
Top:

Underside:


The ship is copyrighted 1996 and, of course, all rights are reserved by LucasFilm Ltd. and Galoob Micro Machines.

Is this not made of Awesome and Win?
Yes!! The antenna dish and laser cannon on the top of the ship and the laser cannon on the underside of the ship are moveable!! The ship rests on it's permanently engaged landing claws, which are coated with rubber and actually quite stable and comfortable.

Hee!! I had a lot of fun imagining how I would suspend the ship and what I would do with it and now it is finished!!!!
YAY!
See you on Friday!!!

Fini Friday!

Hey There!
We're at Friday!! This was a short week for many due to Memorial Day and so it was with me! I crammed a lot into this week, but I still feel like I could use one more day for creating!

I've some very simple yet beautiful necklaces to show you today!
I hand-picked the glass focal pendants at a trade show some years ago and so they have languished, waiting for me to complete creations with them. There were a total of three pendants that came home with me that trip and I've two finished necklaces to show you. The third is still in the works and I'll show you that next week!

I wanted to keep these necklaces spare and the design clean so as to show off the pendants, yet still have enough detail to satisfy my criteria as a one-of-a-kind Sprite Creation.

Title: Woodland Treasure
Ingredients: Glass pendant, hand-dyed fiber (USA), hand-finished brass filigree, copper-plated, lead-free pewter (USA), thread.
First, a shot of that lovely focal, with special attention to the sparkly!!!!

And then the entire creation!

It's the little details like the beautiful twisting pattern to the bigger jumprings to which the clasp fastens, the hand-finished brass filigree wrapped around that fabulously vibrant hand-dyed fiber and the patterned clasp that accents the pattern of the glittery gold bits in the pendant that make all the difference to me as I create.

Title: Water As Gold
Ingredients: Glass pendant, aluminum chain, recycled metal chain, lead-free pewter.
The Pendant - which is two-sided!
Side 1:

Side 2:

The clasp:

And all together now!

I really wanted to keep the option for this necklace to be reversible, since the focal pendant is wonderfully textured and lovely on both sides. Keeping the modern, clean lines while playing with textures were a priority for me with this creation and I was happy to use the anodized aluminum chain you see here as that, too, has been languorously biding it's time in my studio for some years!

There you have it! Another Fini Friday...well.. Fini!!!
See you next week!!

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 Hello!!!!

I've been out and about most of the day running errands and collecting nifty things along the way!!!
While what I'm mentioning here is not strictly finishing creations, I did bring home materials and tools to help me finish some, start others and help make others looks pretty in photos!
Speaking of photos.... let me show you what I mean!



Isn't that an intriguing little cache of objects?
Let's progress from left to right on our tour.
On the left is a small tray with a mirror for the bottom. This will most likely be used for displays at shows, possibly also for creation photo ops!

A tiny cabinet is next up, with a few shinies spilling out from each drawer. The chain and flowers I will use for future creations. Indeed, already I have a few ideas! The tiny cabinet can be sanded and painted or stained and I've a few ideas for using it as a display, but also as a creation itself! Perhaps a few Faerie treasures in it .... hmmmmm... we'll have to see what happens next!!!

We continue on to a block of alphabet stamps. I plan to experiment with these both with images on paper and in clay!

The silvery "C" shape you see is actually a bracelet form! One of the balls unscrews and so larger-holed beads can be popped onto the metal and then secured by screwing the ball back onto the form. I'll have to see what I have in my oodles of beads for those with larger holes! This will be fun!

And lastly, the wonderful leafy and scroll-with-flower backgrounds you see will likely be used to help with creation photo ops... but you never know where gorgeous textures like these will pop up around here!

So, there we have it!! A fabulous start to a long holiday weekend says I!!!
Have an amazing weekend and wonderous holiday!

Whimsy Wednesday!

Today is a little different Whimsy Wednesday!
I have photos from Art-A-Whirl this last weekend to share with you!
I'm happy to say that quite a few creations found their people and much fun was had!

The first photo is of a fellow artist and fabulous lady with awesome dreds who purchased one of my Mood Beads intending to grace her hair with it!
Here she is!


The second photo is of Meg of ScribbleNest. Meg makes wonderful, whimsical hand-felted creations and was our booth neighbor at the show!! She fell in love with Fae Forest Stream and that is the necklace creation you see flowing around her neck!



We're all so excited by this adoption!

I have more to show you this week, so check back by later!!

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.