Extra Links and Studio Tour Sunday

 Well, Christmas is finally here! Hooray!  I don't know about you, but I get in such a frenzy of crafting during the holidays that my studio work ends up looking pretty messy by the time January comes around. It's ok, it's the perfect time to get things cleaned up and organized and to start thinking of the new year and new goals.  Next year I am changing my Sunday links by adding some studio pictures and updates along with the blog links that I post every week.  I am starting the new habit early with today's pictures... a frightening look at all the piles of stuff crammed into my little studio room.  I will be out of town for the next few days, but when I return, I will be back to blogging and will start up with getting this mess cleaned up so I can move onto new things!  I am really excited about the new projects I have planned for 2011!  Some of these things include a new weekly challenge for myself, a new regular blog feature, new  plans for my website, and lots of new bead ideas.  See you January 1st!

  Today you have seen what has been going on in my studio, now check out these other stops on the Sunday Studio Tour: A Bead A Day
Lisa has received permission to share a project from her book, A Bead in Time! This necklace, using softflex wire, was inspired by a colored pencil drawing! 
About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy looks at least year's resolutions and thinks about 2011. Share your resolutions or lack of them.   Art Bead Scene
Come make a sleigh bell bracelet with ABS for the 6th Day of the annual 12 Days of free projects!   Beading Arts
Come enjoy some insider information on the fabulous fiber and bead artist, Joan Babcock!   Beads & Books
Michelle shares a handmade polymer clay ornament by Diva Designs and her favorite chocolate candy recipe. (You'll need to keep up your strength if you're going to bead over the holidays!)   Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi starts to work with resin cubes she made earlier in the year.   Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
Cindy shares the key to her designs.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie gets in the Christmas spirit with a holiday song to inspire three fun projects.   Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Come on over and get the shopping list for the next Blog Reader Challenge!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean makes some holiday themed jewelry for Rings & Things! The time flew by as she made these pretty creations!   The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Sue Kennedy of SueBeads offers up a really beautiful assortment of goodies in this week's Thursday Giveaway! Find out how you can win 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: Oi to the World

Well, technically, it is the last Song Lore Saturday of the year!  I have another transitional one for next week to ring in the new year planned for next week.  This week's song is another holiday favorite of mine.

Oi to the World is a great old-school ska song about racial unity and bringing together all of humankind.  It's gritty, violent, and tells a great story.  I must admit I first heard the No Doubt cover of it, which has led me to the original by the Vandals.  I have posted both songs below for you.

This week's piece is a series of parts made with mixed metals (including a Vintaj Arte Metal compass and an old key), Urban Steel resin clay, and some white paint.  The background of the clay piece is the iconic Ska black and white checkers, which always makes me think of the racial unity message that the Two Tone artists in particular were trying to promote with the music.  I cut it in a circle to represent the world and added the compass which makes me think of maps of the earth.  The found metal key and screw have an urban feel to them which matches the metallic surface of the clay.  I must admit, it is a pretty loose interpretation of the song, but my more literal attempts were not successful, so I opted for components with a cohesive look rather than making something overtly Christmassy. I would like to wish you all a very merry christmas and happy holiday season!  Oi to the world, mates!





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.

Snowy Greetings

I recently had a little time to play with resin again, which I really love to do. This time I used resin that the folks at Lima Beads* sent me, which worked really well. I had a couple of very wintery vintage christmas greeting cards that I bought in antique stores over the year and I cut them into pretty little circles and layered them onto the Vintaj pendant frames with some additional brass charms and accents.  I added some PearlEx powder to the resin to add an iridescent green shimmer.  I still haven't figured out how to photograph the resin to show all the details that pendants like these have, but they are really quite lovely.  The Pearl Ex powders have been really fun to play with, bringing an additional depth to the resin work. These pendants have a very pearly, snowy feel to them with a little bit of green bursting through, like snow on evergreen. 

*FTC compliance disclosure: the book mentioned in this post was provided as a promotional gift for review or design purposes from Lima 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.

Creepy Cute Gnome Ornament Project

 At some point in my collecting of ephemera, I received this sheet of paper cut outs, perhaps vintage German, of kinda creepy and cute and colorful gnomes.  They are sorta weird, but I sorta love them.

Recently, I made some little ornaments with them, cutting them into circles and gluing them to old poker chips and pouring resin over them.  The paper was really thin, so I should have treated them first with a sealant, but I sort of like the way the resin soaks through the paper and ages them even further.  This would be a fun project with any sort of holiday paper... you could recycle gift wrap and christmas cards and make all sorts of pretty ornaments!  They just need holes drilled through them and a jump ring and ribbon for hanging.  They would make great pins or pendants too!

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.

Frozen Windows

Here is a detail of one of the necklaces I made for Beads, Baubles, and Jewels as a display sample.  It's called Frozen Windows and it is made from green Apoxie resin clay which was painted with silver paint after curing.  There is also some copper resin clay in the details, under the machine screws and an old key held in place by the clay.  I poured some blue tinted Ice resin into the cut out windows, so they look like frosted glass.  It is a really nice effect!
I am posting this because I did more experiments with resin in cut out windows last night, this time using some of my porcelain components.  I love the way they turned out and when they have cured, I will photograph them and post them.  I wanted to make a visual note here because I want to make more window pendants to do more of these experiments!  Maybe I can finally develop that line of bezel frames I have been wanting to make...

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.

Book Review: Chain and Bead Jewelry Geometric Connections

Chain and Bead Jewelry Geometric Connections: A New Angle on Creating Dimensional Earrings, Bracelets, and Necklaces by Scott David Plumlee*

 

Ah, the simple jump ring...the most basic of jewelry supplies. But from such a simple and basic foundation, an amazing variety of complex and beautiful jewelry items can be constructed.  This book celebrates the jump ring by showing many uses for it, showing seemingly endless possibilities with very clear description and instruction.  From the very basics of working with wire and metal to make your own jump rings, earwires,  and wire wrapped beads to how to work with rings to make the most intricate jewelry designs, this book has it all!

Plumlee explores some basic chain patterns like the classic Byzantine design, and shows how it can be altered into different variations to create contemporary jewelry.  The addition of mixed metals and brightly colored stone beads makes the chain designs very modern and wearable.  The book is full of clean, clear photographs and organized steps so these complicated beauties can be easily understood and constructed.

As a jewelry artist who has not worked extensively with chain and jump rings, I am pleased to have this book in my library.  If you are interested in learning chainmaking, or are already skilled and are looking for innovative variations, I would highly recommend this book!

 

*FTC compliance disclosure: the book mentioned in this post was provided as a promotional gift for review or design purposes from Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House.

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.

Glass Beads from Auntie's Beads

 I have been a bit behind on blogging about some amazing new products I have received in the last couple of months, so I will try to focus on those items this week.  This month, I received some gorgeous pearly Glass Beads from the folks at Auntie's Beads! My eyes widened like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened the box and saw these beauties!  They are big pearls, and the quality of the pearl finish is very fine.  I received these items*:

Glass-Pearl-Bead-Strand-Crystal-Champagne-6mm

Glass-Pearl-Round-Bead-Strand-Evergreen-14mm

Glass-Pearl-16mm-Bead-Strand-Evergreen

Glass-Pearl-Round-Bead-Strand-Evergreen

Glass-Pearl-Bead-Strand-Crystal-Champagne

 In November, Auntie's Beads sent me these great assortments of glass seed beads*, which I couldn't even touch during the busy month, sadly.  The colors are wonderful autumn tones, which I love all year round, so I know I will make great use of these when I have more time to spend on beading.

Miyuki Multi Bead Mix, Good Earth
Miyuki Seed Bead Mix, Good Earth, 11/0
Miyuki Seed Beads, Metallic Gold Iris, 11/0
Miyuki Seed Bead Mix, Good Earth, 8/0
Miyuki 8-2006, Matte Met Dk Bronze
Miyuki Seed Bead Mix, Good Earth, 6/0
Miyuki 6-1255, Matte Met Dk Bronze, 6/0
Miyuki Multi Bead Mix, Golden Grains

I ended up using the 10mm Evergreen Glass Pearls and the 6/0 Matte Dark Bronze seed beads to create this necklace, which is what I wore during my Flea Market Finds segment on the Beads, Baubles, and Jewels filming. The centerpiece is a vintage poker piece with an antique greeting card image which is coated in Ice Resin.  The image is a dove holding a banner that reads "may true friends be around you".  There is a little brass evergreen sprig attached to the bottom with a micro fastened, which I think ties the pendant to the clasp colors visually.
I also used the larger pearls to make a holiday ornament design, which I posted on Saturday.  *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.

Last Day for Holiday Shipping and Extra Links

 Well, it *was* a goal to get lots of jewelry listed in my etsy shop this year, but I didn't mean to do it so late.  Oh well, better late than never!  I have some momentum built up now, so I hope to fill the shop up with jewelry early in the New Year while I am working on my website and developing new products.  I've got Big Plans!

 One of the items I added is this Wooden Door necklace, which was very popular early in the year.  It came along with the launch of my Lumber components and I had requests for the necklace itself.  It took me all fall to collect all the parts at antique stores (the key pendant) and bead shows.

  Along with the new items, I have been listing items that have been published over the years, like this Alchemical Nightingale necklace.  This is one of the first things I made with Vintaj brass and is very likely the first thing I had published that used it.  This beauty was in the April 2008 issue of Simply Beads Magazine.
Just a reminder that there is free gift wrapping and US priority upgrade in the Earthenwood Galleria until tomorrow afternoon.  I am doing the last of my holiday shipping tomorrow, so time is running out.  I shall leave you today with this week's Extra Links: A Bead A Day
If you are interested in chainmaille, Lisa had the opportunity to host Blue Buddha Boutique's, Rebeca Mojica, as she kicks off her virtual book tour for "Chained". 
About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy reviews an innovative new web-based magazines from Interweave.   Art Bead Scene
It's the ABS annual Twelve Days of free art bead jewelry projects! Stop by and try out the Jingle Berry Lariat!   Beading Arts
How about an entire month of fast and easy tutorials for handmade jewelry gifts?   Beads & Books
Michelle shares ideas for beaded napkin rings to decorate your holiday table.   Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmis makes a button pin much more attractive with a felted background!  Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
Inspired by the snow on the ground, Cindy created a new ring - the Flurry Flower!   Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei has moved her bead studio, yet again!    Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is delighted to present one of her latest book reviews of a remarkable book called 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs. Come and immerse yourself in the fascination of the heights which can be achieved using this medium through the brilliance of a collection of fantastic jewelry designers!   The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Want to win some luscious lucite components from The Hole Bead Shoppe? Seize your chance in this week's Thursday Giveaway! 

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: Thanks for Christmas

With the holidays upon us and my Christmas spirits at an all time high, I wanted to include a holiday song in the Song Lore series.  I was pondering all of my options, when at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair, during tear down, I heard a Christmas song I had never heard before.  It sounded like XTC!  Upon further research, I discovered it was XTC in a form called Three Wise Men.  Apparently they recorded a holiday album sometime in the 80's.  The song I heard is "Thanks for Christmas" which, in typical XTC fashion, provides a humanistic and all-encompassing perspective that I find endearing.

I knew I wanted to use the word "thanks" to create some gifty items.  So I created some little "thanks" tags out of black Apoxie resin clay, using a rubber stamp.  I added some silver RubNBuff to the tag above and used it as a tag on a pillow box.  I would love to receive a gift wrapped like that, wouldn't you?

I have had these gorgeous Evergreen Glass Pearls* from Auntie's Beads sitting on my desk for a few weeks now.  They are large pearls, about 16mm at the largest.  And when I opened the box, I immediately thought they would make a nice wreath ornament.  So I made one!  I wired one of the "thanks" links to the wreath (this one painted with gold Rub N Buff).  I thought it needed more detail so I added a tiny leaf charm and some deep red pearls to resemble a holly leaf and berries.

I loved the way the green glazed leaf and red pearls looked!  How have I never thought of this great holiday combination?  Especially when paired with brass filigree!  So I wandered off track, but still in the Christmas spirit to create this:

I think this is a very elegant holiday look, with a twist of nature.  I have listed this necklace in my Etsy Galleria and I am pretty sure I am going to have to make a few more (one for me, one for mom, one for...)

*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.

More Woodland Themed Jewelry

I created this adorable asymmetrical Owl Perch necklace design during my last art fair and it was quite a hit!  I love the little twig perch, which I think makes a great home for my little fat owl pendant and a little matching pine cone charm.

I also created this version of a necklace called Intertwined Leaves.  It is not quite the same as the original design I came up with, which I would like to make again once I get the same parts, but I like this new design also. 

I have also put together a few pairs of simple Little Leafy earrings to go with all of these woodland themed designs.  All of these items can be found in my Earthenwood Etsy Galleria!

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.

Earthenwood at Lima Beads!

I am super excited to announce that the fine folks at Lima Beads are now carrying my beads!  They have been wonderful to work with and selected a delightful assortment of nature and house themed items.  They have lots in stock so check them out!  I am very proud to have them selling my beads and wish them much success!
In other website news, today I closed down my regular website for the holidays and for the upcoming construction and inventory system I am getting ready to launch. I made a lot of progress today behind the scenes, so this task seems much more manageable now.  I am really excited about how this will change my business in the New Year!

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.

Woodland Treasures

 This is a recent series that sprouted up in the middle of my last craft fair. On the second day of the show, having sold out of one popular style, I brought along these pretty copper leaf sprig centerpieces and strung them up with the handful of little Terra Trinket charms that I had on hand.  They were just as popular as the sold out item that I was replacing, I am pleased to say!

 I noticed that this particular audience appreciated the cute, earthy nature themes that I had in my booth, which has me excited to return to that style next year.  I got many new ideas for jewelry and display and it feels good to come back to natural motifs after working with the industrial and steampunk themes I have been focused on for the past couple of years.  It has almost been like they have been two separate interests (the industrial and the natural themes).  Perhaps I will seek a way to combine them in future works.

I call the series Woodland Treasures and have listed several of the Sweet Sprig necklaces and related items in the Earthenwood Etsy Galleria.

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.

Holiday Specials in the Earthenwood Galleria

I have a new special holiday offer in my Etsy Galleria shop...Until December 20th, all orders will receive free gift wrapping and upgraded US Priority shipping!  After the 20th, I will be closing down for a few days to celebrate the holidays.

I have restocked the popular Arteria Arcanum pendant in the usual colors but I also tried a few new colors.  The one above in a rich amethyst glaze is sure to be a hit with some purple lover!

I love this ancient looking one with the crackly glaze!  I called the color White Chocolate because it has the white and the deep brown.  This is my personal favorite and I will surely be making more like this with the other crackle colors I have.

Of course, there is the classic candy red pendant... perfect for a festive holiday outfit and very romantic.

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.

Beads Baubles and Jewels Wrap Up and Extra Links

Kinda still running around crazy here lately!  I jumped right from Beads Baubles and Jewels into getting ready for a sales call tomorrow and my home show on Wednesday.  I wanted to share a couple of pictures from the taping before I get back to work though.  Above is me and Katie Hacker after filming my last segment (gotta love the myspace self portrait style picture!)

Look, it's me on the set!  Check out all the crazy cameras and stuff!  I had a blast and it went so quickly.  Katie is a great host and has a way of making everyone feel so calm and relaxed.  Even when I am bumbling through my steps with a runny nose. (yeah that happened...embarrassing!..hehe)

I also got to snag a picture with the fabulous Candie Cooper, who was working on all sorts of fun stuff!  I was really inspired by some of the things she was doing.  I also saw Cythia Thornton of Green Girl Studios, who did a great job with her segment too!  I had a really great time... I am so glad I did it again!

I missed my Sunday posting this week while getting back into the swing of things, so here are last week's Extra Links:

A Bead A Day

Jewelry Stringing vs. Stitching... Have a passion for one or the other? Stop by and express an opinion or encourage someone to try a new approach!

About.com Jewelry Making

Are you feeling blue? Good, because that is the perfect color for beaded jewelry.

Art Bead Scene

This month's challenge artwork is by John Anster Fitzgerald - who is that you may ask? Come over to ABS and find out!

Beading Arts

Mama's Minerals returns with another fabulous giveaway for Cyndi's readers!

Beads & Books

Michelle turns a ceramic pendant into a Christmas ornament.

Carmi's Art/Life World

Carmi creates a very special wooden brooch for her "no knit" scarf.

Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva

Cindy's been stamping metal and has some thoughtful things to say about Lisa Niven Kelly's book, "Stamped Metal Jewelry."

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

Melanie shows that inspiration can come from anywhere, including the bathroom sink!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!

Jean has a new book giveaway! 500 Enameled Objects--a celebration of color on metal--what a divine, mesmerizing book to own and cherish! Please come and sign up for this very special giveaway!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

This week's Thursday Giveaway is brought to you by Cindy Gimbrone, the Lampwork Diva! Enter to win an assortment of inspiring jewelry components!

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: Rook

I was a little at a loss for this week's Song Lore post, as I have been preoccupied with the holidays and getting ready for my trip and taping of Beads Baubles and Jewels.  But then I recalled that as I was making the piece above for my BBJ segment, I was humming along with the song "Rook" by XTC. The centerpiece of the necklace is made from an antique store find: a playing card from the game Rook with a beautiful drawing of a bird, which I glued to an old poker chip and covered in resin. The rest of the necklace is made from additional old game pieces such as bingo chips, smaller poker chips, and a checker.  I would love to make another version of this with a rook chess piece to match the song a little more, even.

I am a little sad that I have run out of steam on this project so near the end.  It's really just that I don't have the time to devote to it, even though I would really like to explore more songs.  I have a list of songs I would still love to have inspire me, so I will likely continue this line of thought another time without the pressure of the self imposed deadlines.  While I am not feeling like I am experiencing a creative block (just a lack of time) I do find myself relating to what Andy Partridge had to say about the writing of this very song:

“I was frozen with writers block. Then suddenly this song came out. I was really frightened. I mean, I couldn't even finish the demo because I was in tears. It felt like seeing yourself in a mirror and recognizing your own mortality. Maybe it's something in the chord changes. I don't understand the lyrics, which is rather exciting.”

I love that it moved him and he didn't even know what his own song was really about. Maybe he understood it later, or maybe it was always a sketch or an exercise to get him to another point.  Sometimes one has to just work through these things, not fully understanding them, to get to the next destination in the creative journey.

"Rook, Rook, By hook or by crook
I'll make you tell me what this whole thing's about!
Crow, Crow, Why can't you show
If that's my name on the bell?

On the wings of night, I fly too, above field and stream
My head bursting with knowledge 'till I wake from the dream
If I die and I find that I had a soul inside
Promise me that you'll take it up on its final ride"

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.