My Jewelry Making Class ...

Jewelry. Humans have been adorning themselves with it for thousands of years. In fact, jewelry is one of the oldest types of archaeological artifacts, with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewelry. But the first signs of established jewelry making didn’t happen until around 3,000-5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt.

Since then, much has changed, yet much has stayed the same. Whether you call it jewelry in the States, jewellery in the UK or jewelery elsewhere, these accessories make a statement,  and showcase our personal style.

Forget items being cranked out by the thousands (or millions) at a factory. There’s something much more satisfying in creating your own jewelry designs. Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces forge style and sentiment into a single, unique DIY accessory that has a story to tell.

Just like any good story, we must start at the beginning: The Fundamentals. My jewelry making for beginners class will show you how to make jewelry that is functionally sound, aesthetically pleasing and professional looking so that you can wear it proudly or happily give it to friends and family.

I give jewelry making classes at Blue Haven Studio in Blue Ridge, GA. I have a wide selection of beads, chain and pendants to create custom, handmade jewelry. Students can choose to make a necklace, earrings or bracelet.  Browse my selection and samples when you arrive, and I’ll be there to help you create something you’ll be proud to wear. We also enjoy adult beverages and bring snacks to share. 

The students from my last class showing off their creations.... Each gal picked the materials and length of the necklace.  They did a wonderful job.

Check-out upcoming classes at:  https://www.blueheavenstudio.org/ 

Cheers!

Lori in Blue Ridge

Beautiful Camping Spot….

This past weekend my Sweetie and I needed some down time so we decided to hook up the travel trailer and head out on an adventure.  We camped in the Lake Hartwell Tugaloo State Park, it was a gorgeous camp ground with most sites facing the lake.  Because we booked our site at the last minute, we were not lakefront, but we did have a very large meadow next to our site for our puppy Sophie to run and play.  

It was so hot and humid (98 degrees, 80% humidity) that we spent more time inside the trailer this time.  I worked on beaded wrap bracelets and Sweetie worked on trailer projects and read two books.

 Sophie enjoyed the A/C too, she especially liked lounging on the pull out bed with her ‘Dad’ and snacking on chicken chips. She has her summer cut in the photo below...Sophie is a Goldendoodle, but she looks more like a poodle when her hair is so short.  She is a very good little camper!

Our next camping adventure will be to Disney's Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World in Florida. Can't wait!

Cheers!

Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

Wire Wrapped Triangle Bead Bail

I have been asked what technique I used to wire wrap the triangle focal bead on my turquoise and pearl earrings.  I originally experimented with 24 gauge wire until I got the look I wanted.   Today I found a good tutorial for the process on the Fusion Beads website.  Below you will find (from their website) a step by step tutorial to help with this technique….

Cheers!

1.) Cut a 4" piece of wire (24 Gauge). Slide wire through the hole of the bead, leaving about 1 1/2 in. on the left side.

2.) With your fingers, bring the wires up - crossing the wires. The short piece should be in front of the longer piece.

3.) Using your fingers, form the wire to the briolette.

4.) Use the tips of your chain nose pliers to grasp the short piece of wire directly above where the wires cross.

5.) Bend the wire down to a 90° angle.

6.) Use the tips of your chain nose pliers to grasp the longer piece of wire directly above where the wires cross.

7.) Bend the wire straight up, forming a 90° angle between the two pieces of wire.

8.) Grasp the triangle that was created with your chain nose pliers.

9.) Wrap the short piece of wire around the longer piece about 1 1/2 - 2 wraps.

10.) With your wire cutters, cut the short tail as close as possible.

11.) Using the tips of your chain nose pliers, grab the wire directly above the wrap.

12.) With your finger, push the wire to a 90° angle.

13.) Using your round nose pliers, grasp the wire right at the bend.

14.) Pull the wire around the round nose pliers until it is almost pointing directly down.

15.) Reposition your pliers by opening your round nose pliers (but do not pull the pliers out of the loop) and pivot your pliers so the bottom tip is on the top.

16.) Continue pulling the wire around the nose of the pliers until the loop is completely round.

17.) If you are attaching it to a chain or ring, this would be a good time. To then wrap the loop, grip the loop with the chain nose pliers and grip the wire with your fingers.

18.) Wrap the wire around the base wire. Continue wrapping the wire down to the first wrap.

19.) Using the wire cutters, cut off the extra wire as close as you can to the wrap.

20.) Congratulations, you have now created a wire wrapped triangle bail!

Thanks for dropping by my blog!

Lori

Refined Halloween Designs...

I was browsing on Etsy and stumbled upon an artist with an amazing shop filled with wonderful mixed media designs. Several of her creations caught my eye for a refined Halloween party idea that has been lingering in the back of my mind for several years. 

Mirjana Cesar’s designs are a fusion between acrylic painting and fiber collage with emphases on incorporating natural and recycled materials. It's constantly evolving with extensive use of old artisan techniques to achieve original, one of a kind pieces.  She incorporates weaving, beadwork, and embroidery in her mixed media artwork.

I think the fiber art spiderweb heart and the beaded bird from her Etsy Shop would be fabulous on the fireplace mantel for my refined Halloween party...

She says that she is greatly influenced by nature, with its inexhaustible beauty.  She is inspired by the plants and flowers of central Florida, as well as vivid memories of her naturally diverse Croatian heritage and seeds of creativity from her artisan grandparents.

“Beauty lies all around us. We forget to look at the simple, small things, like fern buds unfurling, unfolding just like life itself. We should walk the fields of flowers instead of concrete sidewalks.“

The fiber cuff and collar below would work well with my idea of the modern refined witch. No flowing skirt, pointy hat or broom stick, my modern witch would wear a fabulous little black dress and these lovely accessories.

Mirjana works with burlap (rather than canvas) because of its organic roughness and its receptivity to her specific techniques. Acrylic paints, fabric cutouts, various yarns, threads and wood beads allow her to achieve a dimensional, primitive but contemporary theme.  Fabulous!

Take a peek at her shop, there are many fun and colorfully works of art available: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Cesart64?ref=si_shop

Cheers!

Check out what I got in the mail…

 

This week I got some new beads from a favorite lampwork artist: Melanie of Moonraker Beads.  I’m working on a birthday present for an old friend who lives on the Atlantic coast and loves the beach.  Our birthdays are on the same day and we have been celebrating this big day for more years than I care to mention.  I’m going to use these beads and some sea glass to make a multi strand bracelet for her.  I can’t wait to get started.   I’ll post pictures after the big day. 

 

Information about Moonraker Beads:
  Melanie started lampworking in 2002, after seeing some beads online and realizing that *actual* people made them…one by one…by 'playing' with glass.  After a little digging, she found a beginners class in lampworking and signed up. It was a very basic class, learning to do simple rounds and applying glass.

 

She went home and ordered a simple kit to continue working on her new craft.  After much practicing and a rapidly growing pile of finished beads Melanie started selling online in the fall of 2002. Not surprisingly her whimsical beads were a hit and a new business was born.

 

Take a peek at her shop:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/moonrakerbeads

 

Cheers!

 

Challenge of Color Blog Hop

WooHoo! I’m one of the 80 participants in the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color.

If you’d like, you can read about this challenge in detail HERE.

Erin of Treasures-Found randomly assigned me two uniquely different color palettes based on satellite images of the planet earth. The challenge is to use one of the pallets to design and create a piece of handmade bead jewelry. Here are the two images I was sent:

 From the two options I selected the Lakes District for my jewelry design.  I love the vibrant colors and immediately thought of beads in my stash that fit beautifully into this color mix.  Since there will likely be more than one person using the same palette, it will be interesting to see how the same image and palette produce different results.

Now I need to get busy selecting beads, clasp, findings, and the technique I want to use for this challenge! I think I’ll make a necklace with matching earrings. Stop by my blog on Friday November 30 to see my finished design.

If you're interested in seeing some of the other stunning pictures that inspired the color pallets for this challenge, check out the Earth As Art image gallery.

Cheers!

Help pick the ornament design...

Sitting on the front porch with my Sweetie, enjoying a glass of wine after work, is one of my favorite ways to relax.  Looking at the large pile of wine corks that we’ve collected over the years, you would think we must be very relaxed by now…  Not with that pile of corks just begging to be turned into something cool!

Ornaments by Donna Patton

Inspiration for repurposing the corks came by looking at cork projects on pinterest and Etsy. There were many cute ideas, but I was most captivated by the Christmas ornaments. Donna Patton (not a relative for those who know my maiden name) has a great way to display the ornaments on her Etsy site: an ornament tree.  

Here is how I need your help: If you were picking out a tree decoration for yourself or for a gift, which design would you choose from the following designs…



Garland - $25.00





Simple Button Ornament - $8.00





Holiday Ribbon Ornament - $10.00





Fancy Ornament - $14.00



Thanks in advance for your help and input. Cheers!

Summer 2012 Bead Soup Blog Party Goodies...

Take a peek at the goodies I received from Kayla Potega, my partner for the July 2012 Bead Soup Blog Party. Kayla from The Eclectic Element creates lovely jewelry featuring up-cycled vintage beads and findings. I love the fact that her designs are 90% recycled materials, even elements of her packaging is up-cycled. Based on her eclectic style and vast collection of vintage materials, I was excited to see what she would send.

I was delighted when I opened the package from Kayla, so many wonderful vintage items to play with! The goodies are spread out on my bead bench so I can think about how I will use them in my Bead Soup design. I want to really challenge myself this time, so in preparation for the event, I outlined 10 ways

(see them here) to improve my experience and grow as a designer.

Just look at all the treasure Kayla sent!

I removed the individual bags to reveal the materials I will use for this challenge. The idea is to work outside our comfort zone to design a jewelry piece using the beads selected by a partner. Kayla's selection for me included fabulous textures and shapes... there are so many great items, I don’t know where to start. The clasp is really wonderful and I have several focal beads to choose from.

Check back on July 28 when my finished design(s) will be revealed. I will also post a list of the other participants so you can hop around to the other blogs and see what they have created using the beads they received. Cheers!

 See Kayla's Etsy Shops Here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEclecticElement

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEclecticElement2

WOOHOO! Things are back to normal…

I’ve been a bit slack in my regular blog posts lately. My husband and I were quite busy working on our daughters’ wedding during the month of May. Anyone who’s planned a big wedding can probably understand that life was a bit hectic prior to the big walk down the aisle. The wedding was a success and it’s behind us now, so life is back to normal and I’m working on new items for my Etsy shop.

I’ve been wire wrapping like crazy so I can list some new pearl cluster bracelets. Each dangle must be individually wrapped so this design is fairly labor intensive. The design has been one of the top sellers, so I hope to breathe some new life into my inactive shop. Below you will see an example of the pink bracelet I’m working on. I’m also working on a purple one at the same time. I’ve found that working on the bracelets with an assembly line approach makes the task a little less time consuming. I will be posting the finished products in my shop this weekend.

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal – Spring 2012

Yippee! Today is the Bead Soup Blog Party reveal. Each Bead Soup participant was paired with another jewelry designer and asked to send their partner the following:

~ A focal
~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)
~ Some coordinating spacers or beads

Using the focal and the clasp was mandatory, and we could use anything from our own stash to round out the project. The choice to use the coordinating beads or not was left up to us.

This is the Bead Soup package I received from my partner

Maria Rosa Sharrow

Here is the first necklace I made…

Rosa designed and created the beautiful pressed flower pendant and sent a generous amount of coordinating beads that inspired me to create a multi-strand necklace. I love wire-wrapping so I wrapped individual freshwater pearls to make the chain link strand. The second strand is a mix of the colorful vintage beads that Rosa sent and more of the sage green freshwater pearls. The final strand is a simple oxidized chain holding the flower pendant. I love the vibrant colors!

Take a closer look at the lovely pendant and this perfect little clasp Rosa sent. I think the size of the clasp works perfectly with the overall piece and will be comfortable to wear all day.   

The second necklace I made…

Rosa sent plenty of ingredients for a second necklace and although I don’t generally work with seed beads, I enjoyed working out of my comfort zone and I am pleased with the result.  I used three different colors of seed beads twisted together and separated with the smoky glass and lampwork beads Rosa included in my soup ingredients. The focal is another wonderful pressed glass pendant that Rosa made.  It holds a tiny butterfly wing which is well-matched to my design style (note my shop banner at the top of this page).

And I even had enough ingredients for a bracelet…

How could a southern gal go wrong with a lovely handmade pink flower focal in her soup? Spring in the south is all about pink! Flowering cherry trees, azaleas, camellias, and mounds of impatiens burst into the world with amazing pink blooms. I like the contrast of the antique brass findings with the glass and crystal beads; to me, this design has a vintage feel.

Send me a note, tell me what you think of my Bead Soup Designs.

Click on the names below to see what the other bead artists participating in Lori Anderson's Blog Party have created with their Bead Soup ingredients.  

Thanks Lori A. for your long hours and hard work organizing this fun event!!!

Hostess, Lori Anderson


Special Book Sneak Peeks, Cindy Wimmer

1.  Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)

2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)

3.  Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)

4.  Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman

5.  Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil

6.  Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman

7.  Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu

8.  Amanda Dittloff and Brandy Thomason McNair

9.  Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank

10.  Amy Freeland and Kay Mallery 

11.  Andra Weber and Christine Murrow

12.  Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte

13.  Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert

14.  Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt

15.  Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)

16.  Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)

17.  Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock

18.  Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley

19.  Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins

20.  Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman

21.  Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski

22.  Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)

23.  Christine Damm and Deb Brooks

24.  Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)

25.  Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs

26.  Cindy Cima Edwards and Eleanor Burian-Mohr

27.  Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg

28.  Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey

29.  Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck

30.  Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter

31.  Debbie Goering and Heidi Post

32.  Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)

33.  Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)

34.  Diane Cook and Lyn Foley

35.  Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge

36.  Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles

37.  Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)

38.  Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman

39.  Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)

40.  Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere

41.  Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)

42.  Erin Grant and Jean Wells

43.  Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday

44.  Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers

45.  Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)

46.  Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg

47.  Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman

48.  Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent

49.  Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic

50.  Jeanette Ryan and Jelveh Jaferian

51.  Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey

52.  Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan

53.  Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto

54.  Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)

55.  Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)

56.  Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle

57.  Karen Hess and Linda Landig

58.  Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik

59.  Kashmira Patel and Kat White

60.  Kat Barron Miller and Kelly Morgan

61.  Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya

62.  Krafty Max and Sandra Miller

63.  Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari

64.  Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch

65.  Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)

66.  Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)

67.  Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver

68.  Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna

69.  Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks

70.  Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit

71.  Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta

 72.  Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons

73.  Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney

74.  Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars

75.  Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow

76.  Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)

77.  Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth

78.  Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)

79.  Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart

80.  Mary Jane Dodd and Stacey Curry

81.  Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander

82.  Melissa Meman and Michelle Escano-Caballaro

83.  Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)

84.  Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)

85.  Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley

86.  Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen

87.  Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne

88.  Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades

89.  Rebecca Anderson (UK) and Lori Anderson

90.  Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll

91.  Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk

92.  Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde

93.  Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick

94.  Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins

95.  Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)

96.  Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle

97.  Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)

98.  Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

99.  Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka

100.  Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum