Trees and Branches

It seems I've been on something of a tree and branch kick lately. Must be wishing for the cooler temps of Autumn and the colors it brings as I seem to have also been in something of an orange mood too. More of a pinky/coral orange than a pumpkin orange but still an orange.

FW Pearls, Peach Coral & Copper Necklace

Instead of a full on Tree of Life this time I opted for a branch of twisted copper cherry blossoms.

This one is something of a convertible, being wearable at different lengths. The vintage style hook closure allows for an 18 inch length when hooked at the first cap, a 22 inch length when hooked at the flower and a 25 inch length when hooked at the end of the extender. I love the soft colors of the coral I got from House of Gems and how sweet it looks combined with the FW pearls I picked up from Fire Mountain Gems recently during their Dutch auction sale. Perfect as we head into fall and will still be awfully sweet when he head into spring.

                                      

I took pics as I made this one thinking I might do something of a tutorial. Then I found this paper plate cookie basket tutorial by One Good Thing by Jillee and darn if it wasn't exactly what I did to make my end "cones" well minus the tape!

One Good Thing by Jillee

*I punched mine out of copper and ran them through the Big Kick to match the cherry blossom focal first.

*I used my flat nosed pliers for spacing and marked the back side with a sharpie so I knew where to cut to. 

*Punched a hole dead center then followed the fold and cut pattern to make the box. 

*Instead of cookies we have crimped bead ends on an eye pin inside a nice neat little open ended copper box that matches the focal, giving it a special one of a kind touch. 

Isn't it fun to think outside of the "box"?! These can be made to any size you need. I love taking techniques I learned from other crafts growing up and applying them to jewelry.  This will even work for a flower petal bead cap if you use a smaller circle or a larger bead. Just be sure to file those edges and corners, they can be a little sharp if you don't.

Thanks for stoppin by!

Feel free to post any "Out of the Box" techniques you use in the comments.

See ya next time!

October is… Pink

This has been a rough week. It's October and that makes it Breast Cancer Awareness month. My Mom's birthday was last week, she is a survivor. Go mom! Today (the 15th as I write this) would have been my Dad's birthday, he died of lung cancer when I was in my early twenties. Sometime this week my Grandma comes home to hospice care. At 90 she has been diagnosed with breast and colon cancer. The surgery went well, but the recovery has proven to be too much for her body. First the incision blew, then the pain meds gave her hallucinations and a devastating fall breaking her hip. More meds, more hospitalization and her heart just can't take any more, she's developed congestive heart problems. They are sending her home to die in her own bed. This was a very large part of my tumultuous August, the initial diagnosis and surgery. I had truly hoped the recovery would be much smoother than it ultimately was and am heartbroken to say the least.

Back in August or sometime in September, I'm not really sure at this point. Heather Powers issued a design challenge on Art Bead Scene She had posted a photo of a painting Tres Personajes by Rufino Tamayo Its reds and purples, greys and golds were very striking and as I loved the jewel tones I thought to design a little something to play along. But with everything going on at the time all I could see was Day of the Dead. So I sketched but my heart wasn't in it.

Last week I had a little downtime and as Day of the Dead is approaching I pulled out my sketch and played a little. I first embossed a piece of copper and gave it a dark patina. Then I dapped an oval to support my sugar skull and pulled out the clay. I hadn't sculpted anything in ages and it was a very nice change of pace. I sculpted the skull in layers of black and grey and added a crown of flowers. I had originally planned on using the vibrant colors of the painting but opted instead at this point to go with the traditional colors of Marigolds. I remembered the wonderful leaf charms Jennifer sent during bead soup and knew they'd be perfect to balance her crown, I even tucked in a couple vintage leaves I received in an order from a sweet little shop on Etsy.



The chain took an evolutionary turn as I wasn't entirely happy with the size or style that I had been working on and decided instead to rivet larger links. The links slight arcs reminded me of ribs and they just seemed to fall into place perfectly, the original chain I had worked up balanced it well and I finished it off with one of my hand crafted clasps.



Once it was finished and I thought of the celebratory nature of it all it seemed it might be the perfect cathartic release. A celebration and remembrance of the lives of my family by love and by blood. The people who were and are closest to me and are most responsible for who I am today.

I found the challenge if you're interested in seeing the results - gorgeous colors!
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-monthly-blog-tour.html

Thanks for stopping by!
We'll see you next time!

A Little Color Inspiration

While I'm finishing up my pieces for the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop I thought I might take a moment to share a little color inspiration. My brain has been in a pink mood all year long. I can't shake it. If you look at my color palette board on Pinterest you might notice that little trend. Pink pink pink, sometimes with green most often with gold. I knew I was going to HAVE to make something in those colors soon or people were going to think I was pink obsessed lol

It saddens me Pinterest no longer allows sharing pins at least that I can find - this photo was pinned from the blog Romancing the Home ltd, I really miss having all the info pertaining to the pic being attached to it.

I read somewhere pink is the color of healing and health. With the tinglies and the numbness in my hand, NOW is as good a time as any to listen to my brains persistent call for pink. Making jewelry for the Hop was difficult at first not being able to feel, dropping dropping dropping - first the beads then the tools and finally the necklace itself as I was holding it up to check length, sighs. But as I worked the stress eased and some of the strength came back so I dropped fewer beads, stopped dropping the tools and only dropped the earrings once or twice (ahem). PINK was definitely what I needed.

Pinned from Tumblr, never did find the originator but I love the soft colors of fruit and flower pics this one is gorgeous

Next weeks post will be early as the hop is on Saturday, hope to see you then! I've got some pretty pinks to show you :D

Thanks for stoppin bby!
Til next time!

Quickie Update = Boutonniere

Still working on corsage and boutonniere, just popping my head up long enough to show an in progress pic of the boutonniere. It still needs a pin, debating on which way to pin it :)

Corsage is coming along nicely. The beaded rose still needs a couple more petals and then I think we're ready for assembly. Debating on making it a wristlet......two nights and two days to go.



Well, I'd better get back to work!
See ya next time! Thanks so much for stopping by!

What's in the Garden.....

While I'm nursing the hubs back from his surgery I thought you might like to see what's in bloom in my garden. It will be another couple years before it's in it's full glory again, transplanting always takes it's toll but as you can see, the Iris's seem to be adapting quite well!


We have wild black berry EVERYWHERE up here it's been a battle to get it under control, but the fresh berries are wonderful and the flowers are much appreciated too, especially by the swallowtail community!


The hostas seem to have survived last years summer melt down and the peony seems to have as well. I'm pretty sure I've lost my roses but their root stock survived, it will be interesting to see what they reveal themselves to be. Sadly the deer seem to have bitten the top off of one my lillies :(


My seedlings seem to be doing well so far, the little paper pots and cloches I made for them seem to really be doing the trick - of course I think what helps most of all is the cats aka the magpies haven't discovered them in the laundry room. As of now I have cantaloupe, tomatoes, petunias and a hummingbird mix successfully started. No true leaves yet, so successfully getting them into the garden remains to be seen. It almost made 90 today, already! Getting the seedlings in the garden may be only the first major feat of the growing season. Hoping to get some more veggies going soon and get some more of my garden transplanted too!


Since writing this to put in the queue - which I forgot to do lol) the cantaloupe and tomatoes have true leaves yay! and the peachy orange Iris are blooming now too! I've even brought my first bouquet of the season in!! The honeysuckle has started blooming and the boxwood is close behind and then the air will be heavenly to breathe! If I were smart I'd cut a peach Iris and some Cherokee rose for a bouquet too, no I should wait for the box wood to bloom first!!
I love spring :)!

Thanks for stopping by, we'll see you next time!