Earthenwood Design Team Update

Erin Prais-Hintz has made another amazing piece with beads I sent her!  Check out the details on this Lucky Cowgirl piece!  Erin is just showing a little teaser in the hopes that this piece gets picked up by a publication.  It's so awesome, I bet it will!  Check out her blog post about it, where she says sweet things about yours truly, and talks about her creative process and thoughts about luck.  Another great piece, Erin!

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.

Leafy Trees and Owl Feathers

 These new Leafy Tree pendants have been flying out of both my Etsy shop and Rust Belt booth! 

 I am really pleased at the way the rubber stamps of my drawings turned out. I love that the design is so versatile too!  I started out with the rectangles but I added the leaf shape, which I love just as much, if not more!

I also have some of these new owls in my Etsy shop!  They turned out really well too!  I am making a big list of new stamps I want to make so I can expand this line. What subject matter or design would you like to see?

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.

Small World

 So I wasn't expecting much this weekend at the Rust Belt, since the city of Ferndale had major power issues right down to the wire of the weekend and for some time we expected to be closed on Saturday entirely.  The power got fixed finally and we opened for the weekend and it was much more busy than I expected.  I even had a special guest come shopping at my booth:

 The lovely Cari Cucksey of HGTV's Cash & Cari dropped by my booth and made herself one of my mix-and-match necklaces.  She really liked the one shown above, so she made a similar design, choosing her own charms and colors from my selection of goodies. She was kind enough to stop for a picture in my booth!

I have some of these earth pendants, which were used as the base of the necklace shown, listed in my Etsy shop, along with many other new designs!
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.

Moving Along

I had a pretty tough week that involved doctors, insurance companies, dentists, veterinarians, electricians (all mostly unrelated, mind you) and a good amount of stress but I am moving along now.  I am getting ready to leave for my Sunday sales day at Rust Belt Market, but I wanted to stop in and post a picture of a new item in my Etsy shop and let you all know that I am around and coping. At several points in the past week, I wanted to pack up my car and just drive away from here, but I am still here!  Next week will have more appointments and unpleasantries in store, I am sure.  Also, my brother and my boyfriend will be out of town so it will be quiet around the house.  That's a little sad, but I am also looking forward to the quietude.  I think I am going to start a health kick next week, while they are gone (it's easier for me to do that without the extra temptation of going out to dinner and other such treats).  I think I am going to try to stop drinking caffeine for a while (starting tomorrow after my early ride to the airport to drop Jeremy off).  I don't think anyone will want to be around me when I stop drinking coffee, lol.  Have a good rest of your weekend, everyone.


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.

Trees and Leaves

Here are a couple more new designs I have been working on!  I am so in love with this leafy tree design which I made with a rubber stamp that I had made from one of my drawings.  I have made this pendant as a rectangle but I also like it as a leaf shape.  I am experimenting with lots of earthy colors, which is fun.  These are not items I am planning on putting on my website (yet!) so I am using up some of my glazes that are more irregular and inconsistent.  It make it sort of fun to look in the kiln and find new treasures!

This leaf is made from a stamp I made ages ago for my Candy Ornament line  I stopped making those for a variety of reasons but I still love the designs, so I am trying to work them into pendants. I am looking forward to playing with some of the fruit and veggie and holiday designs as pendants.

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.

Modern Hippie

 I have added some new pendants to my Etsy shop in a section I am calling "Modern Hippie"  These designs are in response to requests I have been getting from customer at the Rust Belt Market.  I think "peace sign" has been my most requested thing. First is a gear themed peace sign design called Working for Peace.  I wanted something steampunky and industrial but with that classic peace sign symbol and in bright hippie colors!

 This peace sign is an old stamp I made a long time ago.  I have SO many cool stamps I have made over the years from drawings I have done, it is nice to get them back out to use again.  And my slab roller has enabled me to be able to make lots of consistent clay slabs very quickly, so I can stamp and cut and have a huge pile of pendants in no time.

 I am super geeked about this pendant!  Especially since I got my new bike!  I haven't been feeling well enough to ride lately (plus it has been hella hot) but I do love that bike and I have found that there are lots of bike lovers in Ferndale, too, so this was a popular design for its debut last weekend.

Another old stamp is this earth, I am just using it in a new way that I haven't tried before.  It's clean and simple and symbolic and I think it will make a nice addition to my line.
You can find all of these pendants for sale in my Etsy shop!

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 Design Team Update

Hoo Boy this summer has been BUSY!  I have been trying to write this post for over a week now.  I may be slacking on my Earthenwood Design Team duties, but the team has not been!  First up, new team member Michelle Mach has done something a little different with the Fable Pebble I sent to her. On her blog, she shows several different bead choices that she is thinking about using with the pebble, including the gemstone bead option shown above.  I love seeing all the different possibilities!  Check out Michelle's blog to see some of her other design options.

 

 Gaea Cannaday made this colorfully gorgeous piece using the Lucky Pebble I sent to her!  I think this is a great way to use up several one of a kind charms and beads in one piece.  The consistently knotted cord and color repetition makes all the pieces work really well together.  Read more about Gaea's Lucky Star, Lucky in Love on her blog.

Check out what the rest of the design team is up to!

Andrew Thornton

Gaea Cannaday 

Denise Yezbak Moore 

Erin Prais-Hintz 

Erin Siegel 

Heather Powers 

Lorelei Eurto 

Lori Anderson 

Jean Yates 

Marie Dodd

Michelle Mach

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.

New Stamps for New Pendants!

I have been wanting to do some new designs for a while but have had no time at all.  I decided to try something new... having some individual rubber stamps made with some new designs, which I can easily make into new pendants.  I used Rubberstamps.net to make these stamps.  It was great because I could easily upload a few jpegs of drawings that I had done and scanned into the computer.  It was quick and easy and now I have a bunch of new things!  Can't wait to see them glazed!

 

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.

Studio Tour Sunday

Quick post today to show you two new necklace designs featuring keyhole elements that I am making at the Rust Belt Market.  The top is called The Masonic and features a brick style pendant.  I like the crusty rusty textures with the little pops of subtle color.  The keyhole adds a bit of mystery.  The one below is called The Whitney and has more of a fancy, antique garden party feel to it. 

 That's the news from my studio this week... check out what is happening with some of my beady friends: About.com Jewelrymaking
Tammy has a new book review posted that will appeal to those who love little beads.

Art Bead Scene
Take the June monthly challenge blog tour.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has a fabulous copy of 30-Minute Rings to give away, Come and enter to win!

Beads and Books
Michelle is hosting a Mostly Metal Design Challenge with 3 different kits of materials: Filigree Fun, Gunmetal Love, and Antique Brass Romantic. Come join the fun!

Carmi's Art Life/World
Carmi creates a peace bird brooch with artbeads.com components.

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Come take a peek at what Cindy's got on her bookshelf!

Earthenwood Studio
Melanie shares some new designs made with her new Fable Pebbles made by members of the Earthenwood Design Team

Resin Crafts!
Carmi shows you how to make a piece of crochet look like filigree!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Second chance to sign up for Beaducation DVD giveaway, time lengthened due to last week's holiday! Come on over and see what's up on jean's blog!

The Bead Dreamer
Join Charlene in a jewelry challenge to celebrate summer and long days. Click to find out how to participate.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew introduces some NEW vintage beads to his online Shop!


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.

Market Muse Medleys and Studio Sunday

I am calling these new hand selected bead mixes Market Muse Medleys. Oh how I love alliteration!

I thought it would be fun to make up some fun little assortments of things I have at my Rust Belt Market booth for those of you who can't visit me on the weekends.

The market was a little slow this weekend, probably because of the holiday.  It was also rather hot and I could tell today that people didn't have the energy to put creative effort into their purchases.  I could see them melting down and glazing over.  I was pleased to be in the cool air conditioned building, making beads, chatting with people, and making the occasional sale.  Not a bad Sunday. That's what is going on here in my studio during the holiday weekend.  Click on some of these links to see what some of my beady friends have been up to lately: A Bead A Day
Lisa takes a walk down memory lane, re-visiting some old jewelry stand-by's while preparing to design a new favorite piece.  About.com Jewelry Making
Get some red, white, and blue jewelry inspiration and ideas from these free jewelry tutorials.    Art Bead Scene
Here are some random bead related links for you to enjoy!   Beading Arts
Are you clear on your goals for your bead and jewelry blog? Cyndi has rounded up some articles that are sure to help!  
Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi works on a little bit of an antler for a surprising result!  Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
The Earthenwood Design team is serving up lots of sweet jewelry treats!    Resin Crafts!
This week there is a special piece featuring a mold and a resin pour!    Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a GREAT Beaducation DVD on soldered rings and bezels and also announces a giveaway from Beaducation of a DVD of the winner's choice just for liking Beaducation's blog! What's not to like?  The Bead Dreamer
Charlene features a young jewelry artisan and snags a pretty sweet pair of earrings in the process.   The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Exciting news! Andrew launches his FIRST ever Reader's Challenge! The Design Kit for July features summery shades of green and lots of art 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.

Rusty Barnhouse and Wikio Rankings

It's a busy glazing day, so this is just a quick post to show off one of my new Wholesale Bundles.  This one is called Rusty Barnhouse and has lots of great earth tones and textures.

I also have a list of July's top Jewelry Making blogs as ranked by Wikio.  They have asked me to share this list with you, and I am pleased to do so, not only because I am ranked #3 on the list, but because these are some of my very favorite blogs to read daily!  Check them out:

1	Art Bead Scene Blog
2	Andrew Thornton
3	Earthenwood Studio Bead Blog
4	Beading Arts
5	Lorelei's Blog
6	Pretty Things
7	Carmi's Art/Life World
8	About.com Jewelry Making
9	Humblebeads Blog
10	Beads And Books
11	A Bead A Day
12	Lampwork Diva aka Cindy Gimbrone
13	Gaea's Ceramic and Art Studio Blog
14	Jennifer Jangles Blog
15	Erin Siegel Jewelry
16	Denise Yezbak Moore
17	Blog for Beaders
18	Barbe Saint John - New Treasures from Forgotten Artifacts
19	Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
20	Cynthia Thornton of Green Girl Studios
21	Copper Diem
22	Crafty Hope
23	Rings & Things
24	hint
25	What's New at Chinook Jewelry
26	Beading Daily
27	Beads of Clay Blog
28	The Rabbit Muse
29	Melissa J. Lee
30	LLYYNN

Ranking made by Wikio


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.