Red, Yellow, Green

Two things are clear lately. After creating pieces for our upcoming book, I realize I use entirely too much green in my work.

So this weekend I break out of the green shell I'm in and start using colors I wouldn't normally.

Such as lemon yellow. And red!

But here's the thing. Green seems to appeal to buyers more than yellow or red. At least this is true for me.




Or maybe yellow and red together, don't appeal to buyers.  Or maybe it's a seasonal color palette that would sell in the Summer but not the dead of winter.

I just find the whole color palette science interesting.

Speaking of Color Palette science, have you seen Brandi's Color Palette blog walk happening?  You should check it out! I saw a participants list this morning over at Cindy's blog.


I'm going to play around with this tool and make my own color palettes today. Brandi posted instructions at her blog here.

Bead Soup's Done!

Suhweet!! You made it!!  What a trip I bet you are taking, traversing through all of the 200+ blogs participating in this most recent Bead Soup Party! I wasn't sure when you'd stop in, so I hope you haven't petered out from all the soup happiness happening today.

What is a Bead Soup Blog Party?

Each beader was paired up with another jewelry designer and tasked with sending 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, but we could use anything from our own stash to round out the rest, and choose to use the coordinating beads or not.  The goal -- to push ourselves creatively by using beads we may never have used before, and to meet beaders from around the world.
Thank you Lori for putting on some a cool party- you can read more about past Bead Soup Parties here!

My partner this time around is the lovely and talented Terri of Terri's Blooming Ideas. Check out Terri's post to find out what kind of bead soup I sent her. Terri sent me a rustic, and earthy grouping of wood, resin, silver spacers, unakite, dark green and black stone squares, a Sun/Moon pendant and toggle clasp.

 To beef my necklace up a bit, I layered the sun/moon pendant on top of a coral etched shell pendant from Lilly Pilly. To add more color, I included some coral colored Swarovski pearls that match the shell pendant perfectly.

 I decided to do a double-stranded necklace in a nice random pattern. At first I wasn't sure if I would include the large wood beads- she sent along 4 of these. But I think they work out okay with the large size of the pendant.

 Between the larger beads, I used some  octagon shaped seed beads in a matte eggplant color with some green iridescence.  I am really happy with the overall design, and color palette! I think it has a nice boho feel to it, and can see it being worn in the summer with a cute dark brown tank dress and sandals.

Thank you so much for stopping in to see my final project!

Good News!!  I have decided to offer this necklace as a giveaway- Please leave a comment on this post, and I will draw a Random final winner for this piece on Wednesday March 2nd. Don't just leave any comment- Tell me what you like best about the Bead Soup Blog Hop!



But wait~!
Are you up for ANOTHER giveaway?? Head over to A Jewelry Accord, where I have joined up with my co-Author to give away a fantastic motherlode of Silk ribbon- and Dupioni Ribbon- AND some pendants!! Quick! Go there first before you continue on with the hop- it'll only take a minute, I promise- you won't be sorry!



1.  Lori Anderson, Pretty Things (your hostess)
2. Kitty Durmaj, Perles and Life 
3.  Michelle Heim, Life In the Bead Lane 
4.  Lisa Petrillo, Lucid Moon Studio
5.  Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations
6.  Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs
7.  Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things
8.  Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe
9.  Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto
10.  Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio


11.  Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas
12.  Rachel Walsh, Balanced Crafts
13.  Marian Hertzog, M's Place
14.  Mary McGraw, MK's Musings
15.  Sarabeth Burke, Chronicles of Sarita
16.  Deci Worland, Gem Trails 
17.  Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found
18.  Laura Zeiner, Stick Lizard Designs
19.  Kristin Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs
20.  Cathryn Brooks-Williams, Chile Cats


21.  Holly Westfall, Silver Rose Designs
22.  Janna Harttgen, Palima-Lim 
23.  Libby Leuchtman, Libby Leu
24.  Rebecca Anderson, Songbeads
25.  Deb Hunter, Living On Air
26.  Diana Ptaszynski, Suburban Girl Studio
27.  Jennifer VanBenschoten, VanBeads 
28.  Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter
29.  Cyndi Lavin, Beading Arts
30.  Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul


31.  Stefanie Teufel, Stefanie's Sammelsurium
32.  Patricia Gasparino, My Life Under the Bus
33.  Tari Khars, Pearl and Pebble
34.  Kristi Bowman-Gruel, Kristi Bowman Design
35.  Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle
36.  Becky Fairclough, Chameleons Designs
37.  Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead & Metal Works
38. Lynne Bowland, Islandgirl's Insights
39.  Barbara Lewis, Painting With Fire
40.  Lorelei Eurto, Inside the Studio ** YOU ARE HERE!


41.  Stacy Hartis, Sissy & Jack's
42.  Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions
43.  Marcie Abney, La Bella Joya 
44.  Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations
45.  Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles 
46.  Melissa Mesara, One Eared Pig  
47.  Amanda Davie, Articulations
48.  Cherin Poovey, Lanyard Lady
49.  Virginia Joste, ViviBijoux


50.  Andrew Thornton, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
51.  Lori Dorrington, Lori's Glassworks
52.  Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
53.  Kate Gardenghi, Tropical Blonde
54.  Serena Trent, PinkIce Jewel's Blog
55. Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin de Koning
56.  Shai Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings
57.  Francy Inman, 8 Second Studio 
58.  Amy Freeland, Copper Diem
59.  Lisa Liddy, Joolz By Lisa


60.  Sandi Lee James,  Do Be Do Bead Do
61.  Mary Harding, Mary Harding Bead Blog 
62.  Stacey Curry, Star Hitched Wagon
63.  Leslie Gidden, Mad Maggie Designs
64.  Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals
65.  Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats
66.  Linda Djokic, Lutka and Co.
67.  Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass, and Recycled Trash
68.  Laurel Steven, Rue's Daftique
69.  Ingrid McCue, Wrapped In Silver



70.  Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit
71.  Diana Hawkey, Diana Hawkey
72.  Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
73.  Jeanette Ryan, Jeanette Blix
74.  Jackie Ryan, Silver Lodge Gems
75.  Jean Yates, Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to Be Done!
76.  Debbie Goering, Prairie Emporium 
77.  Valerie Norton, Hot Art 
78.  Jana Trupovniece, Stories of the Secret Garden  
79.  Amy Severino, Amy Beads 


80.  Emma Thomas, Fred Beans Nook
81.  Karen Zanco, Everyday Gypsy
82.  Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria
83.  Janet McDonald, Singing Woods
84.  Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs
85.  Kristina Johansson, Wild Roses and Blackberries
86.  CJ Bauschka, CJ Bauschka
87.  Angela Barribea, Re: Angela Rae
88. Marcy Lamberson, Studio Marcy
89.  Tanya Floyd, Glass Migrations


90.  Lisa Kavanaugh, Beading Bliss
91.  Sue Hodgkinson, Hello Gorgeous 
92.  Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Bead 
93.  Nally Parfyonova, Nally's Creations 
94.  Karyn White, Releases By Rufydoof  
95. Emanda Johnson, Artemisia Studio 
96.  Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box
97.  Cindy Dolezal,  Cindy Dolezal Designs 
98.  Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue
99. Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads


100.  Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings
101.  Nicole Valentine-Rimmer, N. Valentine Studio
102.  Jacinta Meyers, Jamberrysong's Creations 
103.  Charlene Gary, Gray Girl Studios
104.  Rubiee Hayes, Glitter and Keys Galore
105.  Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations
106.  Elizabeth Freeman, Turquoise Sky
107.  Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric
108.  Lynda Moseley, Diva Designs
109.  Grace Danel,  Grace Beading
110.  Lois Moon, Que Onda Quitman


111.  Agnes Shapiro, Beader Bubbe 
112.  Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo 
113.  Judy Glende, Judith B. Designs
114.  Mary Ellen Parker, Bee Tree By Me
115. Barbara Bechtel, Second Surf
116.  Charlene Sevier, The Bead Dreamer
117. Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles 
118.  Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie 
119.  Ronda Adams, The Ravished Heart 
120.  Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe Designs 


121. Anna Lear, The Laughing Raven 
122. Susie Hibdon, Vintagesusie & Wings  
123.  Amanda Austin, Sea Shore Glass 
124.  Jennifer Velasquez, Jen Judd Rocks 
125.  Hazel Ward, All Those Things 
126.  Brenda Salzano, Salzanos 
127.  Dee Gordon, Runako Designs by Dee 
128.  Anna Denisova, Anita-M 
129.  Margaret Saari, Mags-Jewelry


130.  Genea Crivello-Knable, Genea Beads 
131.  Penny Neville, Copper Penny
132.  Angela Blasingame, Hopemore
133. Helena Fritz, Beadwork by H's Blog
134. Stephanie LaRose, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder
135. Stephanie Haussler, PixyBug Designs
136. Diane Cook, Rosa & Josies  
137.  Maryse Thillens, Glass Bead Art
138.  Jennifer Pride, Jewelry by J.P.
139.  Shannon Chomanczuk, For My Sweet Daughter


140.  Lisa Godfrey, Bead Happy
141.  Heather Pyle, Welcome to My  Muse
142.  Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings
143.  Liz DeLuca, Creative Arty Facts
144.  Sig Wynne-Evans, Beaded Bear's Nonsense
145.  Loretta Carstensen, Loretta's Boutique
146.  Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads 
147.  Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul 
148.  Shelly Graves, Stars Dance With Me  
149.  Jess Italia Lincoln, Vintaj Blog 


150. JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions
151.  Carrie Tahquechi, Carrie T
152.  Staci Smith, Staci Louise Originals
153.  Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Quiet Area 
154.  Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs
155. Magdalena Sikora, Poranna Gazeta
156.  Nicole Keller, Nicki's Reef
157.  Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye
158.  Noemi Baena, Fire, Metal, and Color 
159. Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman 


160.  Barbara Blaszczyk, Labotorium Flory
161.  Collette Collins, Firefly Myst
162.  Carola Greiser, Polymer Clay Shed
163.  Joanna Kopijczuk, Bizuteria z Filcu
164. LeAnn Weih, Summers Studio 
165.  Cassandra Watsham, Design by Cassandra
166. Anna Motz, Stunning
167.  Shea Zukowski, Gr8findings
168.  Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads
169.  Lisa Boucher, Lisa's Clay Happenings


170.  Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
171.  Alison Crenshaw, Beads by Earth Tones
172.  Dorcas Midkiff, Wondrous Strange Designs 
173.  Melissa Rediger, Sea of Glass 
174.  Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre  
175.  Julie Nordine, Julie Nordine | Credit River Art Glass 
176.  Menka Gupta, Menka's Blog
177. Patsy Evins, Patsy Evins Studio
178.  Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie're
179.  Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux


180.  Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me
181.  Lyn Foley, Lyn Foley Wearable Art
182. Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog
183. Natalie Schuetz, Natalie S Perlen 
184. Kim Hutchinson, Running on Ink
185. Haley Frank, Wide Eyed Smilin 
186. Grace Caputo, Suddenly Last Summer
187. Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp, Skye Jewels 
188. Erin Siegel, Erin Siegel Jewelry 
189.  Janea McDonald, Organized Chaos


190.  Kristi Evenson, Colie Bug & Co.
191.  Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry
192.  Hilary Frye, FryeStyle
193. Whitney Lassini, Whitney Lassini
194. Nancy Schindler, The Rabbit Muse
195. Pam Brisse, The Blue Between
196. Beth Bricker, Vintage Sweets
197.  Ruthie Stickney, Rose Works Jewelry and Gifts
198.  Rose Noble, Lady Noble Designs
199. Karen Williams, Baublicious


200.  Claire Maunsell, The Next Bend
201.  Christine Damm, Stories They Tell
202.  Kerry Bogert, Kab's Creative Concepts
203.  Wendy Blum, Sand & Sea Designs
204.  Juli Cannon, Julsbeads
205.  Jenny Robledo, La Dona Boutique
206.  Krista French, French Elegant Jewelry
207.  Pam Krinski, Ewa Beads
208.  Melissa Meman, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
209.  Dana Jones, Dana's Jewelry
210.  Shirley Moore, Homeschooling Life

Recent Inspiration

Inspired by....


old coins from the Archeological Museum in Spain

Ceramic donut: Artisan Clay 

Vintage coin; 

brass wire; 

vintage chain; 

green garnet rounds; 

swirl charm: Vintaj Brass Co.

Inspired by....

Necklace from Selvedge Dry Goods catalogue

 

Memory Thread;

Wood, seeds, bone

Ceramic beads: Jangles

Sneak Peek: Bead Soup

Be sure to tune in this Saturday for the full shot of my Bead Soup necklace! A very fun blog hop will traverse you through one of the best beading challenges of the year! Thank you Lori, for all of your hard work and dedication in planning this! I can't wait to see what participants have done with their soup!

Nothing to do with Presidents

I had the day off from work- it was great. Although all I did was procrastinate on getting my taxes ready to file. I hate Tax Time! Although I am considerably more organized this year than I was last year. So, yea. There's that.
But I dread going to the Tax Lady's house. She's a wicked smoker,  and I leave there feeling extremely deflated, poor, and like I'm gonna die of an asthma attack. So yea. There's that.
But on the upside, I spent some time in the studio and made these three lovelies for my shop. I am digging them all, but mostly I am digging the rustic feeling that this wood background gives my pieces. find them at etsy

I also wrote this cool post at The Jewelry Accord blog, all about silk ribbon. Check it out if you have a minute.

Cabs Cabs and more Cabs

Shops like these make me wish I was a Silver artist.  Or had more skills with drilling holes in stones, or creating bezels. Check out Silurian Era on Etsy. They have some of the coolest stone cabs I have ever seen. Not that I've shopped a lot for cabs, but I have seen them here and there. I picked out some of my favorites and threw em in a collage. Drool-worthy, yes?

Andrew's Thursday Giveaway

Hop on over to Andrew Thornton's blog to enter to win a big bunch of Green Girl Studio's newest treasures! He'll be drawing a random winner on Monday Feb 21st!
Look how sweet these are! My favorite is either the turtle or the little bunny charm. Doesn't get much cuter than that!!

Anthropologie Design Boards- Spring Edition

All jewelry from Lorelei Eurto

All accessories and clothing from Anthropologie

Why not a third blog post for today??

I am listening to this in the house, in the studio and in the car, that's how much I love it. Mumford &Sons, you rock.my.world.

Revisited

I am revisiting a design that I created back in 2008- Similar idea, different color palette.

 

I created this piece for an Art Bead Scene challenge. A glass owl, beads and a brass locket, dangle from a Vintaj Brass Toggle. The ceramic connector from Earthenwood Studio is one that I got from my local bead shop. I love the rich color of the glaze Melanie used.  I paired it with a deep green silk cording and brass findings.

The new pieces is quite similar, but with a more royal feel. Purple and red tones always give a rich feeling. The ceramic heart and connector bead are both from Earthenwood Studio. I also dangled a brass charm and faceted labradorite from the toggle. The silk cording is a deep purple.

Spring Cleaning at Big Cartel

You'll find the following jewelry on sale now at Big Cartel, check out the SALE section! Prices have already been lowered.

Spring Cleaning!

A little spring cleaning is in effect. The following items are now discounted on Etsy! More will be discounted from Big Cartel tomorrow.
happy shopping!

Spring Fever!

Yea, clearly I have Spring fever. And I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it was 60 degrees and sunny all week in Spain.

These will be available soon on Etsy.

Flight Patterns

 When I bought these hand-painted ceramic rounds in Madrid, this was the design I was thinking of. A beaded bracelet with an asymmetrical twist, paired with some faceted agate rounds that KJ sent me. THANKS KJ!


The designs on the beads, reminds me of clouds or wind patterns. They have a really cool organic feel to them that I just love. And of course, they are my favorite color of all time.

 The Sparrow with wings spread, is a pewter bead from the very talented Green Girl Studios.

I used hematite spacer in between the ceramic beads, to help with the wearability- the beads have very large holes.
In this detail you can get a better idea of the patterns on the beads. Love the little hint of red.

This bracelet is available at Big Cartel.

Winter Enchantment: An Artbeads.com Installment

Here is the follow-up post to the vlog I posted the other about doing some resin in a bezel for my Artbeads.com blogging project.  Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice, but I ended up just leaving it as is and created my necklace around it. I am just not one to redo things. Once it's done, it's done- that is just my lazy way.  Is it really that bad? Um, yes. It kind of is- not very pretty. The idea wasn't even really a great one, as far as what I filled the bezel with. So I guess I'm not surprised that the whole thing just didn't work out. After being out of the studio for over a week, and then jumping head first into a project with resin, I don't know what I was thinkin'.

 The Nunn bezel that I used is a nice large square shape, nice and deep and great for resin filling. I cut the Wintery definition and bird image out of a really old dictionary that I have had for years and years, and layered them on top of starry sky scrapbook paper.

 The little Hill Tribe silver flowers and charms were strung onto a beaded necklace with faceted agate, and sapphire rondelles, and small ceramic blue and white melon shaped rondelles.

This cute bird pendant would have made a better focal for my necklace. You live and you learn I guess!

Resin sucks sometimes!

Videos

more videos at my youtube channel!

Beat it, Jet Lag!

I'm back! I am really stinkin' tired, but I am back! I thought all day about how to start the blog, and my mind is mush so I'll just post pictures, and try to explain what they are-
We had the BEST TIME. If you ever need a cool travel partner, Lisa is your chick. She's the best. We had some really great conversation, a LOT of laughs (til it hurt in the gut), and we really enjoyed Madrid and all it had to offer.

We enjoyed a nice stroll in the Botanical Gardens.... and met Don the Squirrel. Isn't he cute??

He really liked having his picture taken. Lisa and I spent a lot of time watching him- there wasn't much blooming in the gardens.

 We enjoyed a trip to the Prado Museum of Art, the permanent collection was great, but my favorite was the Renoir exhibit. I also picked up a really cool book (all in Spanish ;)  unfortunately)  The Birds of the Prado- Lots of paintings feature birds and owls- lots of inspiration!

Plaza Mayor was a cool place to hang out with lots of shops and restaurants. The weather was beautiful the whole week!
Everything went well with work as well. Nice and smooth with no issues except for a bit of a language barrier but I got through it!

We got a bit of shopping in- a few bead and button shops there. These cool wooden spools spun and were FILLED with buttons of every shape size and color.

Had a bit more of this jamon than I was expecting and was quite sick of it by weeks end.  They served it on the plane as well. and in every restaurant. I did enjoy this French Fry, Jamon, with fried egg on top- nothing beat it the whole week.

The Paella however- delish!! I shared this with Lisa, but probably could have conquered it myself.

 And the Chocolate and Churros- best thing on the planet. Seriously! Was like going to heaven,
in a cup full of chocolate.

Got a little Face Down Tuesday fun in while we were there. Took this pic in front of some palace, and got another at Rialto park but the pic is on Lisa's camera.

I was lucky enough to get together with blog reader Bea, for some bead shopping. She showed us the town and was the best hostess. A real sweetie, and a beading fanatic as much as I am- if that is EVEN possible!!

I found a few treasures on this trek- mostly the bead shops offered strands of stones- I was able to find a few unique things!

The look on my face in this pic says it all. We accidentally stumbled on the best button shop in Madrid- La Nueva Parisien.  I was LOVING it!! Here are the buttons I brought home.

Tried not to go nuts, but it was so hard. I was tempted to get so many more than this- but kept it under control. Didn't want Lisa to know what kind of NUT I am when it comes to shopping for this kind of thing.

 We had a nice stroll through Retiro park and enjoyed some beautiful scenery. There was this man playing these really cool drums- I have a flip video of it but until I can figure out how to make the 47 day download turn into a quicker download, I will have to wait on sharing it. Damn thing- I'll figure it out eventually. 
Took these pics with my iphone! The hipstamatic app is the best.

okay that's it for now.  i am so tired.  But I promise- More videos later, and if you want to see more of my pics, you can hop on over to my picasa web album.