Showing posts with label Beads and Supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beads and Supplies. Show all posts

Saturday, November 19, 2011

A good idea for those extra beads ...

After a while of actually having this up on my wall, it had suddenly hit me that I haven't shared this beautiful piece of art all of you.

My craftie-bestie Karen - responsible for a certain green dress - took a dive into my destash bead collection with a very ingenious idea.  The result was this beautiful surprise she made for me.


Karen had mounted this beautiful spring day bead picture on layers of recycled cardboard.  She used a paint with a really nice lacquer finish that complements the sheen of the beads oh-so-beautifully.  I think this whole project started off when she saw a collection of acrylic rose beads in the destash pile, she had asked at the time if I was doing anything with them.



I'm currently cleaning up the workspace/dining room right now to make my supplies less conspicuous, so it's in a safe place with no risk of damage.  I'll be finding a new place to hang it with love.  :)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

"What's Old is New Again" With Artbeads.com!


You see, it's projects like these that make me think Artbeads.com and I share a brain.  Our latest assignment is to transform vintage jewelry and components into modern works of wearable art - that's one of my favouritest things to do!  I love to visit local thrift stores and pick up jewelry with interesting character and butcher it apart when I get home, transforming something someone got tired of into a new favourite.  Not everything I end up snagging at these stores are 'vintage' and 'antique' by definition, but they tend to carry a worldly or rustic attribute that attracts me.  Not only are you being 'thrifty' in fashion, you're buying something with a history, as supposed to just getting onto the racks from the factories.  It was owned and loved by someone who had great memories attached to this piece, whose family photo albums probably have a few images of that particular piece you just bought at your local thrift store.  Now, you'll carry on those happy memories into your own, however you reshape them.  Why not reshape the piece?

So, I went rummaging through a few places to come up with everything that I had 'antique'.  Even after taking these photos I managed to find even more stashes of vintage and repurposed components that were making me giddy.  It was getting to a point of madness where I couldn't focus - and decided on a select few that I would focus on.  I even tried to map them together in a way, and I was pretty close to sticking to it ... well, kind of.  I really enjoy the eclectic madness of steampunk fashion, blending industrial and organic elements together with a "storybook" mystique.  These pieces are what I'd call "rusted romance", with telling stories unique to each wearer.  Here's a list of repurposed and vintage components you'll see in these pieces:
  • Mixed metal links in gold-, silver- and red copper-plated finishes with riveted detail from a thrifted pair of earrings.
  • Vintage beads with a iridescent gold finish, thrifted from a gifted necklace, circa 1970s.
  • Vintage gold Love pendant, gifted by a family member, circa 1980s.
  • Components from a vintage bracelet (of the costume jewelry variety), featuring a blue and white striped glass cabochon set in a silver-plated pewter frame.
  • Repurposed sew-on appliques of 'metal' plates from a vintage tunic blouse, circa 1980s.
  • Gold-plated authentic vintage Chanel charm, the last of the 'garage sale stash'.
  • A few vintage and antique earrings that had lost their mates (some only had components 'borrowed' from them).
  • A few of my favourite vintage charms and pendants from my personal collection.
Let's take a look!
    click photos to enlarge

    Friday, April 22, 2011

    Here's an idea ...

    'Sketching' some ideas for my upcoming Artbeads.com project with vintage elements. 

    No. 1 - pin/brooch with ribbon detail and charms, reclaimed bracelet component



    No. 2 - two-tone metal (gold, brass) gears and charms, vintage Chanel charm and gold-plated rope chain

    Wednesday, April 20, 2011

    Bead Table Wednesday, Issue #3: Vintage Possibilities

    I'm getting ready for my next Artbeads.com Design Partner Portfolio project, which will require me to incorporate a vintage item into my jewelry design.  I went rooting through my stash and came up with a few things ... now I just can't make up my mind!


    The vintage fabric is courtesy of a few dresses that were given to me by a family friend, handsewn in the 1960s with these incredibly psychedelic patterns.  I've already started using the fabrics in other projects, experimenting with sewing and shaping techniques.  The porcelain pendant, rose brooch and copper-tone brooch (that one's bottom left) were all picked up from a local thrift store.  The striped blue-and-white glass cabochon in oxidized copper setting were previously part of a bracelet; in fact, you've already seen its part of the bracelet's "repurposement" in the Winter Enchantment project!  I have a few more pieces left over that are in need of a home.  The antiqued silver owl pendant with lucite setting - owls are always on trend, it seems - are vintage from the '70s, if I remember my mother telling me correctly.  (The pendant belonged to my grandmother.)  The gold-plated Chanel charm - an authentic! - was part of an awesome find Nick happened upon at a garage sale; the thoughtful man he is, he bought them for me and surprised me with them.  I've this one left, and I'll need to make it special.  The gold-plated piece with filigree detail was part of a necklace I had picked up at an antiques store in Sherkston Shores whilst on vacation with Nick and his family.  The gold-plated rope chain originally held the asymmetrical heart-shaped pendant that found its setting in the Desert Heart necklace, part of the Bead Soup Collection.  Maybe it'll find it's way into something here?

    I already have about three or four ideas cookin', but I gotta focus and pick one.  Which ones are your favourites?

    Wednesday, March 23, 2011

    Bead Table Wednesday, Issue #2: DBC Does 'Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'

    Y'all folks are so kind with the previous - and my first! - BTW post, thank you so much for your comments!  If you enjoy my posts, you ought to check out the Flickr page featuring beaders and jewelry makers from across the world, sharing what's on their bead table every week!

    Last week, you loved the Rockslide necklace, which will be available for sale in my Etsy shop very soon with other new designs.  This week is a very unique design concept and thrifted repurposed piece I picked up during a shopping spree at Value Village.  (Oh my, I will have to brag about that stuff in a later post.  Incredible finds!)  Nick has been playing quite a bit of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, an XBOX video game with its setting in 16th century Rome/'present day' 2012, with an epic yet complicated story about an ancient brotherhood called the Assassins and their lineage as they try to protect mankind from the Templars and protect an ancient 'biblical' artifact with the potential of great power to whoever possesses it.  It's a pretty damn cool game.  Eighty-five percent of the game's characters and events are historically accurate accounts of the House of  Borgia's power and influence through 15th and 16th centuries in Italy.  It's a pretty cool game, and he plays it a lot.  He's playing it right now.  (Not just as I type this, but probably as you're reading this a few days from now, too!)

    You play as Ezio Auditore, a trained Assassino like his father, hailing proudly from city of Firenze, Italy.  The traditional Assassin costume is white and red, his traditional armour is patterned much like feathers of birds wings.  Nick had been bugging me for a while to make something inspired from the game, and I just happened across the coolest find at Value Village.  This'll be perfect for an Assassin's Creed-inspired piece.

    Friday, March 18, 2011

    Bead Stories in Pictures

    So, I'm photographing away, bag o' beads after bag o' beads from my destash pile that I'll be listing on Etsy.  I've constructed a rudimentary 'white box' with natural sunlight, which is really helping capture a true colour representation.  I'm lining them up with the best features, excusable flaws, in groups, in pairs, in piles and all these fun configurations.  I had even included a prop; a white porcelain teacup from my Japanese tea set.  (It has the Japanese character for 'tea' on the side, hidden appropriately!)  It's pretty handy for keeping the smaller round beads together when I photograph them, especially when it's laying on its side.

    The photos turned out really well!  The white made the colours and textures pop, and reflected light nicely around some tricky shadows.  Something else came from these photos, too - unexpectedly, I had created these little picture stories with the beads in the photos I took and ran with it.  These 'storyboards' were coming to life, putting personality into these little guys.

    Here are a few of my favourites for you to enjoy!  Which one's your favourite story?

    Thursday, March 17, 2011

    Just Call Me The Bead Hoarder ...

    It's the curse of most jewelry makers and beaders I know, that we're buying stuff left, right and centre for potential future projects.  I've amassed such a collection of beads I'm not even looking at anymore, it just seems like too much to do.  I've started organizing the beads I know I'll use and the beads I can separate with, and I've put in a good dent.  I figure with the beads I'm not using I'll sell on my Etsy shop to make a little money back.  I'd even be up for trading if anyone has any stuff they're looking to let go of, too!

    Here's a look at some of the beads I'll be offering up!  (My photography skills are starting to pay off, too!)


    More to come, believe it!

    Wednesday, March 16, 2011

    Bead Table Wednesday, Issue #1

    Welcome to what's-on-my-table-this-week!  I had discovered Bead Table Wednesday, or also affectionately known as 'BTW' (ha!), through Sue at Hello Gorgeous Design.  I found a nifty button on her blog that lead me to a Flickr group of international beaders sharing the mess on their own bead tables!

    I'm a little too embarrassed to show you my actual workspace right now, I really let myself go.  I'm in the middle of a mass exodus of bead-sorting and material-purging, some may find itself for sale on my Etsy shop.  I'm also happy for the opportunity to review what I have in my own stash and focus on what materials I've been using the most lately.  You know what they say, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  This stuff certainly isn't trash, it just got lost in the mix and, consequently, I lost interest.  There are a few that, with fresh eyes, I find new ideas and stash it away for later, like these ones here!


    Friday, March 4, 2011

    Winter Enchantment with Artbeads.com!

    Welcome to another Artbeads.com creation!

    Our latest project is called "Winter Enchantment", to design a piece inspired by what we love about winter.  I have to be honest and say that the only reason I like snow and winter are for sentimental reasons; around Christmas and New Years, the snow makes those lights outside glow at night.  Other than that, it's cold, wet and gets in your boots and makes you uncomfortable the rest of the day.  There is one inspiration I did turn to, however, to feel the 'enchantment' of the winter season, and that was to The Group of Seven, a famous group of painters who pioneered Canadian landscape art when many artists thought at the time it to be "unpaintable or unworthy of painting."  Their works of art are now part of a rich, artistic culture and these images serve as iconography to our picturesque beauty of Canadian wilderness.
      
    I remember a field trip in grade school to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg, ON, where nearly 6000 pieces of art by the Group of Seven are housed and displayed.  I loved these paintings, and seeing the beauty of my country through the eyes of artists such as these men and women make me proud to be a Canadian ... thus, by default, enjoying the 'enchantment of winter'.  No?  My choice inspiration for this project is one of my favourites, Mount Lefroy by Lawren Harris.  I had also found a lovely pendant that I thought echoed the styles of many of the Group's works.

     


    Wednesday, March 2, 2011

    Bead Soup Blog Party: THE BIG REVEAL SEQUEL!

    Hello!  I'm so glad you could make it back!

    Well, the laptop's still an expensive paperweight, so here I am on hubby's computer once more.  I took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather we had yesterday and put together a new photo shoot of my Bead Soup pieces, made with the beads lovingly chosen by Sue at Hello Gorgeous Design, my Bead Soup Partner for this round.  Y'know, I really like how these photos turned out - so much, that I had already replaced the photos on the 'prequel' post.  Check out this post to see what Sue had sent me and previously revealed pieces, and let's get to these beauties!


    Desert Heart necklace.  This one was just waiting to happen, because I had this gold heart pendant for so long, waiting for the right inspiration.  I had purchased it as a necklace in a department clearance section a few months ago, and there was something about the odd symmetry of the heart shape itself.  The pendant was strung through a simple gold rope chain without any other embellishments; I would imagine it being worn in a 'multistrand' look with a few other pieces.  Well, the chain's still around here somewhere, and I'm sure I'll use that for something else, but I immediately saw everything come together as soon as these lemon honey jade nuggets and polished flourite in burnt orange were unwrapped from the tissue paper.  The clasp is left at the side of the necklace for easy access, the loop handmade from a brass headpin.  The gold tone bead holding the clasp is repurposed from a vintage necklace I bought at a thrift store.  The small fire agate bead that hangs inside the heart and faceted carnelian nugget are both from my own stash; gemstones bought from Earthworks, one of my favourite local bead stores.  Antiqued brass findings are used in the whole piece, adding to the aura of warmth the stones give in energy and colour.  Warm earth tones have always been a favourite of mine to use, and I was very lucky to have such a generous partner to spoil me with these delightful gems.  I'm going through a severe separation anxiety with this one, I love how this turned out so much.

    Thursday, February 24, 2011

    Bead Soup a la Gorgeous!

    My Bead Soup Blog Partner, Sue at Hello Gorgeous, has been a loving daughter and attending to her father's ailing health as of late, which you may have been following on her blog.  I am sending lots of love into the universe for Mr. Hodgkinson and that his health returns and his recovery is speedy.  Sue, you are a wonderful lady for taking good care of your parents, and we all wish you and your family health and happiness, no matter what the future brings.

    With all the attention she's been showering on this dear man, she's finally had the time to photograph the ingredients I had sent her for the Bead Soup Blog Party!  I spent quite a bit of time in my favourite local gemstone bead store, Earthworks, handling beads, trying to figure out a palate that would excite her and challenge her.  Sue had written that she was considering venturing outside of her usual repertoire of summery colours, sterling silver and gemstones.  Although I stuck to gemstones - because gemstones are just so gorgeous! - I thought I would try a different approach to the colour scheme ... or lack thereof!


    Here's what's in the soup!
    • black onyx and crystal quartz chips
    • zebra agate rounds and focal bead
    • white freshwater pearls
    • silver triangle spacer beads
    • 'kitty clasp'
    The stripes in the focal bead ultimately lead to the purchase of the clasp ... my childhood cat, Thumper, was a beautiful gray-and-black tabby, and the focal bead reminded me of him very much.  The freshwater pearls and chips came from my very own stash, and the zebra agate gemstones, silver spacers and 'kitty clasp' came from Earthworks.  I'm interested to see if Sue will feature other colours or keep the 'black and white' theme going!

    Saturday, February 19, 2011

    The "Swear On Chanel" Collection

    Those little words uttered by Carrie Bradshaw to Aiden when dishing on Steve and Miranda's breakup seemed to stick to me as a fashion appreciator.  If the art of fashion had a religious following, the House of Chanel would be the most appropriate to lay your hand upon and swear the truth.

    I was very lucky to be one of five winners of the book Coco Chanel: The Legend and The Life by Justine Picardie from HarperCollins Canada, and it's a mesmerizing read.  Behind such an iconic figure and empire, one wouldn't expect such sorrow and sadness to help propel it to such heights.  I'm not quite done the book yet, and I suspect at the rate I'm reading I'll have it done before the month ends.  Yet so far, from what I have read about this astonishing woman, she was a force to be reckoned with.  Born in a poor house in Saunur, France in 1883, her childhood in an orphanage run by nuns, to her bourgeois lifestyle scorn with heartache, loss and death in her early adult years - and I'm only halfway through!  You can have a read of an except of the book here!

    Nick had found a collection of vintage Chanel charms at a garage sale and brought them home for me a few months ago, because he's a good boyfriend. *sigh*  I had also received a $25 gift card from the good people of Artbeads.com, and spent it wisely on the beautiful beads used in these pieces.  I had been waiting for the right setting for these charms, and the images in Justine's book have started to craft colours and silhouettes that I could shape around them.  Chanel believed in simplicity in design and well-cut garments.  "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury," Coco had once said.  These pieces pay tribute to the classic style of Coco Chanel and her contribution to timeless luxury fashion. 

    Diamond-shaped white howlite with black veins dangle on gunmetal headpins from a silver-plated square-link chain, and a smokey grey acrylic bead dangles from the end.  The Chanel cut-out tag and Eiffel Tower stamp are both vintage pieces, repurposed from previous lives as souveniers of la vie en rose, n'est pas?  This is all secured around your wrist with a gunmetal lobster clasp.

    Friday, February 18, 2011

    Bead Soup Sneak Peek!

    Without giving too much away, I've already made a few pieces from the lovely batch of beads sent to me by Sue of Hello Gorgeous Design!  Here's a sneak peek before the big reveal on February 26th!



    No hints!  Nada!  Nothing!  Other than the colours ... that's about all I'll give you.  Keep an eye on the BEAD SOUP! page for more updates!

    Saturday, February 12, 2011

    Tasty Ingredients for Bead Soup from Hello Gorgeous!

    My package had arrived a few days ago, and I couldn't wait to tear it open!  I must say, Sue's just too generous for words - and she knows my weakness for candy!  Check out the surprises in the package!


    Here we've got a Hello! British tabloid rag, a package of Percy Pigs, a Galaxy chocolate bar (which I'm told is the best chocolate), and a couple rolls of Love Hearts.  And, of course, not one - but two! - Bead Soups!  Take a look below!

    Sunday, January 23, 2011

    Artbeads.com 48-Hour EXCLUSIVE TierraCast® Jewelry Supplies Sale!

    click here to shop!

    An offer not to miss!  Artbeads.com is having an exclusive sale on all TierraCast® jewelry supplies - save up to 15%!  The offer is only up for 48 hours - better have your orders in no later than Monday, January 24, 2011. 

    Check out some of the beautiful selections that have made my 'favourites' list:


    TierraCast® Antique Silver-Plated Large Labyrinth Pendant

    TierraCast® Brass Oxide Pewter Hammered Ellipse Clasp Set

    TierraCast® Antique Silver Paloma Bead

    TierraCast® Black Finish Pewter Buddha Bead

    TierraCast® Brass Oxide Pewter Skull Bead


    Happy shopping and creating!

    Saturday, January 22, 2011

    Hello Gorgeous! Time For Some Bead Soup!

    I am very excited to introduce to you Sue Hodgkinson and her blog, Hello Gorgeous!  We've been matched as Bead Soup Partners!

    hellogorgeousdesign.blogspot.com
    Sue hails from Cardiff, Wales, where she lives with her husband, three teenage boys, two cats and a "gorgeous, sweet-souled dog named Millie."  New to the jewelry-making scene, Sue has been keeping her hands busy since 2008 making beautiful and inexpensive pieces featuring unique gemstones and Karen Hill Tribe/Sterling Silver components.  Strikingly elegant and poignantly simple, her pieces highlight the natural beauty of the beads she chooses, making them glow with sterling silver chains and settings.

    Moss bracelet

    Wednesday, January 19, 2011

    Artbeads.com 48-Hour Valentine's Sale!

    Click here to shop!
    Artbeads.com is having a 48-hour sale on all things love!  It's time to break out those Valentine's Day ideas and be inspired by a fantastic selection of gorgeous pearls and beads, pendants and craft supplies - just about anything and everything you need to create beautiful gifts for your true love this Valentine's Day! But hurry - sale ends at 9:30 am (PT) on Thursday, January 20, 2011.  Check out what's on my wishlist!

    Sterling Silver Script Love Slider

    6mm Pink Opalite Roundels

    Hill Tribe Silver (Thai Silver) S-Clasp With Flower

    Rose Large Nugget Pearls

    Hill Tribe Silver Textured Heart Bead

    Hand-Dyed Silk Ribbon, Pink/Gray With Metallic Trim

    Small Rosebud Pendant



     Visit Artbeads.com to take advantage of this great sale!
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