Sparkly Goodness from Auntie's Beads

I recently received a sampling of new goodies from my friends at Auntie's Beads.  This time, they sent me some of the most sparkly beads!  First up, the Rhodium 12mm Crystal Ball beads in Multi Colors.  These are really fun discoball-like pieces with lots of glitter to them.  I like how they have so many random colors in them, from bright blue and red to more muted pinks and browns. They are well constructed and have a nice bright rhodium plating. If you are looking for lots of sparkle, these beads are definitely for you!

I also received several strands, which I really love and can't wait to work with!  The two above: 

Chinese Crystal Rondelle Strand, Red Velvet, 6x8mm and Deep Burnt Orange Angelic Crystal Rondelle Bead Strand, 7x12mm are my favorites.  They are really rich and deep in color and I like the way that the two colors work together. The rondelle shape is a favorite of mine and they are faceted enough to be very sparkly but still soft looking.

 Finally, another two strands: Angelic Crystal Rondelle Bead Strand, Copper, 10 x 13mm and

Chinese Crystal Rondelle Strand, Wheat AB, 4x6mm.  These are going to be great for some fall designs, and perfect for my work in bronze and copper metals.  They shine with delightful metallic and lustery rainbow finishes!

These are just a few of the sparkly goodies that Auntie's Beads has to offer!  If you haven't checked out their site, click on over to take a look!

 *FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Auntie's Beads were provided as a promotional gift for review or design purposes.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Wheel of Time Bracelet and Extra Links

  I made this bracelet at Bead Fest!  I wanted to have an example of one of the Time Wheel toggles in use, so I made this to show how it works.  I decide I was a little crazy to bring only these teeny seed beads to the show with me, but I finished it and three other pieces using nothing much more than the seed beads and my porcelain beads.
Here are this week's Extra links! The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
SueBeads has generously supplied an assortment of goodies for this week's Thursday Giveaway. 
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is totally WOWed by the fabulous Margot Potter's latest book: scroll down to read the truly intriguing review of this unique book--it is SO worth it!    Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei shows off her loot from her Bead Fest Philadelphia trip!   Katie's Beading Blog
Katie shares a couple of ideas for jewelry using crystals and pearls, plus, announces a giveaway winner.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shows off the treasures of her shopping spree at Bead Fest Philly   Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
While Cindy's off enjoying the bead-ch, let's get ready for the upcoming HalloweenMas newsletters by checking in on a re-wind. It's Barbe Saint John's magic with Cindy's Calaveraz.   Carmi's Art/Life World
The new Katiedids components are responsible for Carmi's new pearl necklace design.   Beading Arts
After receiving a wonderful package of crystals from Auntie's Beads, Cyndi set out to make a bracelet that would show them off!   Art Bead Scene
While Art Bead Scene Editor, Cindy Gimbrone is on vacation, she's left us a gem from Studio Saturday - her box of inspiration!   About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy announces her first About.com jewelry making video.   A Bead A Day
Do you like to mix crafting with jewelry making? Lisa is looking for crafty ideas for using a filigree pendant to create a unique piece of jewelry.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Song Lore Saturday: Holocaust of Giants

 Ok, remember the assortment of fossils I found at Bead Fest?  That is the physical source of inspiration for today's Song Lore post, along with a quirky song by Rasputina.  More on that later, first are some pictures of my process.  Nothing finished to show today...it's a mold making day.

 Above are some quick rubber molds I made of the fossils, because I am impatient and wanted them NOW.  Then I made the clay molds, because that's what I really want to work with.  They need to be sanded and detailed and dried and fired.  I did the spark plug as a clay mold, too, from a fired ceramic model pulled from the rubber mold I made last week.  These clay molds will work better for making altered spark plug pendants that look weathered and like fossils.

 Aw, terrible picture of some clay pieces I pulled from the rubber molds. I added little industrial details to them.  This will be much easier to do with the clay molds, as the pressings come out right away, where they have to get rather hard in the rubber molds before they come out.  Trilobites and ammonites above.

 And I made some hand sculpted little bone links with industrial details, too.  I am excited about these.  I have a new crusty crackly white glaze to try over a dark underglaze, and plan to glaze others in metallic pewter and bronze with the bone white porcelain exposed.  I will be adding bright neon pops of color for contrast and that industrial edge so these are not too dirty/dark/brown.

 

So I was looking for another song about fossils to inspire me while I work on my new series of mechanically inspired fossils that started with last week's spark plug project. I came across the song "Holocaust of Giants" from Rasputina, along with blog post about the song at Tor.com (which, by the way, has a regular blog series on songs that feature speculative fiction themes!)  I was familiar with Rasputina, as I discovered them while I was doing my Steam Week research and blogged about them then.  I am rather charmed by Rasputina, they are wonderfully strange but I have to be in the right mood to listen to them, and I don't really want to be in that mood too often.

Anyway, I think this is a really fun song and it has helped me visualize some of the things that I want to do with these fossils.  Stay tuned!
"When I was nine years old
Way back in Ohio
The hired man was digging up a well
On my father's land
He found a fossil there

It was a massive bone
And since then I’ve known
That a race of giants lived in the northern hemisphere
Ten thousand years ago they lived right here

It seems incredible
But yet it's the truth
That a fossilized and petrified
Calcified primeval brute

Was turned to stone
But he was not alone
There were hundreds of them walking on the sand toward river
Even giants think they'll always live forever"


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Bead Fest Treasures!

It's taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things after Bead Fest, but I think I have mostly recovered!  I wanted to share with you all the goodies I collected at the show! 

I was particularly interested in fossils, which started with the idea of the spark plug fossil that I am working on. I wanted to get some real fossils to use in jewelry designs and also some to make molds of.  Above is a strand of ammonites.  They are very subtle and beautiful in person, with little rainbow shimmers and nice detail.  I'm not sure what I will do with them, but I liked them a lot and they were surprisingly affordable.

Above are more fossils.  I got the trilobites and the pyrite ammonites from the same vendor as the strand at the top, one that had tables and tables of strands and stones.  I will probably mold them and then maybe figure out a way to set them in Vintaj brass.  The other cabs and beads are more unique, hand cut from the studio of Gary Wilson.  His family business is also Michigan based, so I enjoyed talking with the staff about my Detroit fossil project and I picked up some perfect things for it: the beads made of Fordite (the two white-ish pieces above), the copper beads, the beautiful cut ammonite, and the rusty license plate stone.

Next up, I collected a fun array of items from Yvonne at My Elements.  Her booth is really fun!  It's full of lightweight, very colorful things that is a treat to the eyes.  Of course, I tend toward the earth tones, so I ended up finding the darkest and brownest items in her booth, it seems.  I found some fun olive chain and this really cool olive rubber tubing and a bunch of colored O-Rings.  I did get some reds and yellows and limes, so I think that will add a nice splash of color to something.  I don't know how I will use these yet, but they will be fun to play with.

ooh boy, did I have fun in the Glass Garden booth!?!  Old watch faces, old keys, coin tokens...some of my favorite things!  And now I have a reason to collect them, as I have been using them in my mixed metal pendants.  I also got some of their delightful flower shapes cut out from bottlecaps and some new hearts (called Tarts) that were cut from recycled sheet metal (like old trays and file cabinets). Oh and look, a pretty, glassy beads hiding in the mix...made by the lovely Kerry Bogert!  I was so happy to get to spend time hanging out with her and Lorelei and Nancy and the other girls!  We had lots of fun!

Last but not least, I managed to do a trade with my booth neighbor Jennifer from Spotted Moon Designs.  She was a great show neighbor and had really beautiful glass and metal work.  I had spotted the earrings on the first day and when I noticed they were still there on Sunday, I snatched them up, along with a set of beads and a cool copper toggle.

So that's my show stash!  I got some real treasures, dontcha think?

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Back from Bead Fest and Extra Links

I am back home from Philly today!  We got in this morning and I have been running around all day, taking care of business, resting, and visiting with family and friends.  I missed my doggie!  And I get to see my sweetie very soon too!  Here is a quick picture of my bead show stash.  I'll tell you more this week, but I am exhausted tonight!  The internet connection at the hotel was not great and I didn't have much time or energy to blog.  I missed posting the Extra links yesterday, so here they are now:
A Bead A Day
Do you have plenty of beads in all the right colors? Lisa is exploring the meaning of the color purple and discovers she might need to do some bead shopping!

About.com Jewelry Making
Have you ever thought about expanding your jewelry business but need a little mulla to do so? Then you may want to learn more about this jewelry grant.

Art Bead Scene
It's the Art Bead Scene Monthly Carnival Blog! Join us as we embark on an exploration.

Beading Arts
Chapter three of Cyndi's e-book is available for download! "Dimensional Beading" looks at how to use textural stitches in your bead embroidery!

Carmi's Art/Life World
This week Carmi makes a floral tribute necklace with fabric flowers.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
This week Cindy's Mad for Monday is about the frit.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shows the results of her experiments with Ice Resin and LEDs... Light! Science!

Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!
Jean reviews Making Mixed Media Art Charms and Jewelry: not to be missed!

Strands of Beads
Melissa unveils her new Saturn charm.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
For this week's Thursday Giveaway, TWO winners will walk away with beautiful bead sets created by Gaea Ceramic Beads.


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Song Lore Saturday: River of Orchids

Today's Song Lore inspiration is the song River of Orchids by XTC.  This song is really quite simple, lyrically, with just a few lines repeating over and over.  But those lines are full of brilliant imagery that has haunted me for many years.  This song could inspire a whole year's worth of work, it is just that meaningful to me.  

The toggle clasps above are inspired by the line:

"It's all in your back yard
You've the whole world at your feet
I said the grass is always greener when it bursts up through concrete"

I love that image so much... Nature bursting through the concrete, showing us who is in charge, even when we think we can pave over it.  I have really been feeling this lately as I fight to tame the back yard.  And it makes me think of the pictures I have seen of "feral houses", particularly the ones taken in Detroit.

The line of the song that has really inspired me is this:

"I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil"

 I have long wanted to make an object that looked like it was a fossil of a car.  I chose to use a spark plug to do this, because it is a small and recognizable item associated with a combustion engine and the auto industry, and it looks a little like a small fossil (say a trilobite or something) and is a nice, wearable size.  I molded a spark plug and above is the first pressing of it.  I need to make a second mold and my intention is to make more of them, adding more fossil-like textures and surfaces. 

The concept behind this object is not just about Nature, but also brings in my thoughts about living in Detroit, the Motor City, in a time where the industry is so troubled and seems to be dying and fossilizing around itself.

Here is a rather trippy video of River of Orchids

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Leaving for Philly! Free Bead Fest Passes!

I will leave early this morning for Bead Fest!  (leaving... leaves... see what I did there?)  I hope to have internet access and the time and ability to blog from there, but who knows what adventures await?  Hopefully good ones!  If you are in the area, please stop by to say hello!  I will be sharing booth #1240 with Diane Hawkey. I even have free passes for you to print out if you are coming to the show:

Click for a larger version to print out.  Hope to see you there!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Stringing Magazine Blog Carnival and Giveaway!

 Welcome to the Blog Carnival to celebrate the fall issue of Stringing Magazine!  I have written projects for Stringing for a number of years and am very excited about this new issue because it shows off their new look!  The projects are even more beautifully photographed and larger and the layout really compliments all the unique jewelry.  Nice job!

I designed and wrote the project above called Clockwork Scarab.  I was inspired by the beetle component from Vintaj brass and wanted to blend them with my own Clockwork Scarab cabochon. I wanted to create something that had an Egyptian and Art Deco feel mixed with a little steampunk, so I used a deep brown green glaze and brass to make a subtle collar effect.  I used some of the Vintaj brass in interesting ways, so this was a really challenging design to create, and I was pleased to share it with Stringing.

 And now about the Blog Carnival Giveaway...The full rules for the drawing are on Michelle Mach's blog: www.michellemach.com/blog/.  We've got 3 great prizes: a copy of the fall issue of Stringing magazine, a handmade porcelain pendant and coordinating beads by Gaea, and a small goodie pack of filigree, gemstones & other findings from Rings & Things.  Leave one comment on one or more of the blogs below and you will be entered into the random drawing. Each comment on a different designer's page is another chance to win.  (Multiple comments on a single designer's page counts only as one chance to win.)  Giveaway closes on the 23rd and winners will be announced the 24th.  Good Luck!

Kristy Abner
Kelly Angeley
Marianne Baxter
Ruby Bayan
Carrie Beckwith
Melanie Brooks
Gaea Cannaday
Lorelei Eurto
Amy Haftkowycz
Beth Hemmila
Tari Kahrs
Stephanie LaRosa
Michelle Mach
Denise Yezbak Moore
Kelly Morgan
Sharon Palac
Anne Perry
Lisa Petrillo
Erin Prais-HintzMolly Schaller
Erin Strother
Heather Trudeau
Jennifer Judd Velasquez Jennifer Zeiger

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Lorelei Eurto, Bead Fest, and a Blog Carnival

I did not yet mention that the always fabulous Lorelei Eurto had two projects featuring my beads in the latest issue of Creative Jewelry magazine.  I don't have scans or pictures of them to show you, but both use my steampunky gear themed beads like the one shown above.  Her pieces Key Elements and Gunmetal & Gears are both gorgeous and fun!  I am very excited about the possibility of meeting Lorelei in person in the next few days while at Bead Fest.
I had a really great time with my friends at Construct this past weekend!  There was all sorts of crazy fun: giant paper airplanes, a cupcake decorating contest, a custom made game of Family Feud, swimming and hot tubbing, games, crafting, and hanging out and relaxing.  It was a blast!  I had managed to get some big orders out and get pretty organized for Bead Fest before leaving, so I was in a good state to relax a bit.   Yesterday and today I got together some more of the details for my trip including a new backpack that also has an extending handle and wheels so I can bring my beads for sale as a carry on.  I also found some great battery operated Ott Lights which will be great for a little extra lighting.  I set up my bead bowls and got them all labeled, and made a list for tomorrow.  I even have most of my laundry done.  I am surprisingly calm about this trip. Tomorrow I will be taking part in a Blog Carnival to celebrate the latest issue of Stringing!  Michelle Mach is throwing this party and there will be links and prizes!  I will unveil the project I wrote for this issue and talk about the inspiration behind it.  I hope you will join us.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Big Orders, More Experiments, and Extra Links

 I snapped this photo on Friday of the big order I have been working on for about two months before I boxed it up to ship out.  I added up the numbers and discovered that it is 498 items!  That's almost 500 pieces I made by hand, glazed, and fired.  It's a little mind boggling when I think of the numbers like that.  Also, I ended up making at least 2 or 3 extra of each item to allow for kiln and glaze failures, so that's even MORE beads!  These beauties are heading off to add to my line of beads that the fine folks at Fusion Beads carry.  I am very excited for them to have these Terra Trinkets, leaves, and many more of my favorite designs.

 Here are a few more pictures of some experiments that happened in the studio this week. We made a golf ball mold and poured blue Ice Resin with about 9 LEDs embedded into it.  I'll send this one off to Jimmie Rodgers to make something magical with!

I made the golf ball mold as an example, but didn't have plans for it afterwards, so I asked Alex to see what happens if he poured pewter right into the rubber.  It worked!  This is good info, and may result in more pewter castings in the future. Here are this week's Extra Links About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy found some inspiration by way of some very cool clasps!   Art Bead Scene
Get your inspiration on for the August Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge. Think "Sunrise."   Beading Arts
Do you like art charms? Visit Beading Arts and sign up to win a copy of a brand new book on making them! 
Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi pulls out her buttons to make a jeweled attachment for sweaters.   Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
Cindy previews an upcoming newsletter series, Happy HalloweenMas. Sign up for her newsletter to find out what it's all about.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie joins some up with some hacker friends to play with LEDs and Ice Resin   Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei is always inspired by music, and shares a favorite tune by Tori Amos. 
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean continues her analysis of the jewelry designers whom she admires--wait!!!--loves! with some of her favorite seed beaders and weavers on "The Jean's List"!  Strands of Beads
Melissa puts a new twist on her skully charm by pairing it with a new cutlass design.   The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Do you have a collection of lampwork beads nobody ever sees? Embrace simple, easy designs to showcase your glass treasures! Andrew shares five quick projects to inspire you to finally wear them!  

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Song Lore Saturday: She Blinded Me With Science

Today's Song Lore inspiration is the classic geeky song She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby.  My friends have a tendency to call back to this retro song when we are talking about science related things by yelling out "Science!" like the professor does so dramatically in the song.

The pictures in today's post are the results of the Ice Resin and LED experiments I did earlier in the week with Jimmie Rodgers and Mitch Altman.  The casts turned out wonderfully!  The LEDs are embedded inside and I was even able to test them out with a battery:

Neat, huh?  The one above is an amber resin cast of one of my fairy flower designs with a green LED when pressed against a small coin battery.

We tested several colors and combinations of LED color/resin colors which we cast into vintage button molds that I had on hand.

Jimmie's favorite seemed to be the mold I had made of a gummy bear, into which he inserted two LEDs for the eyes.  So cute!  I would love to try to do a robot design of some sort.  Of course now, I need to learn a little bit of circuitry and electronics or engineering to set these into some finished item.  I learned a lot from this experiment, and look forward to seeing what happens if I apply more SCIENCE! to my work!


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Nailed

It's crazy busy glaze-a-thon day!  I am trying to get as much glazed and ready to fire today so I can enjoy ConStruct this weekend (though I will be bringing work there too, but fun work I can share with others).  I have to get all my stuff ready to leave on Wednesday for Bead Fest, which will be a challenge, because I have to pack a half booth of beads, display, and sales stuff for air travel, which is new for me. I am a little bit of a panicked mess, but I will get it together, somehow... I always do. Just taking a break to blog while my lunch heats up.  I took the picture above in the neighborhood while walking the dog yesterday.  It is a light post that is filled with staples and nails, and I really like the look of it.  I think it has a sense of local history. I think of all the garage sale signs and lost dog notices were attached to this piece of wood over the years.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Viridis Machina

In the latest issue of Creative Jewelry, Andrew Thornton created a gorgeous necklace called Viridis Machina using a pendant of mine from the Toolbox Treasures collection.  I listed it on my website for anyone who is interested.The resin experiments of yesterday were successful and I will photograph them later.  I also would like to get a coin battery and see if I can make some light happen!  It was fun to play around with different things yesterday, but today has been about getting back to work.  I have been glazing like a little machine and I am so tired of it.  But I only have one more set of beads to glaze and then we are all going out to dinner and for a brainstorming trip to Ikea!  I am ready to think about some fall projects like doing my bedroom.  But for now, back to work!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

LED and Ice Resin Experiments

 Wow, what a day!  It started crazy before I even got out of bed!  I received two very large orders this morning before I even had my coffee, which is great, even though the timing will make me a little bit crazy with leaving for my show in a week.  When it rains, it pours, as they say.  So I spent some time getting organized and the beads for my orders and for Bead Fest sanded and ready for bisque, and then got ready for visitors!

 I had been brainstorming some ideas with hacker extraordinaire Jimmie Rodgers since he saw the amber lock pendant I cast out of resin.  He had seen great effects done with using resin with some of the materials that he loves: electronics and LEDs (shown in the pictures above).  I was curious, too, and have been wanting to try a few new things with the resin, so we got together and did a few experiments.  We tinted the resin and cast it in rubber molds with LEDs embedded in the resin.  I suppose this means I will have to learn a little more about electronics and circuit boards to put these into use, and I will send some of the experiments back to Jimmie to see what he can do with them. 

Also a part of this exciting studio day was the great Mitch Altman, who helped brainstorm the experiments and was just awesome to hang out with.  Mitch and I took a trip to the post office to do errands and I found we have a lot in common, job wise, as we talked about things like order fulfillment and traveling for shows.  Later in the evening, Alex and I walked up to I3Detroit to hear Mitch and Jimmie show all their wonderful gadgets and get ready to teach a workshop.  We walked back through the park and settled in for Kick Ass the movie while I glazed.  I'm exhausted now, but am really happy with today and all the great ideas and experiments that happened!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.