Spirals and Stars ~ 52 Earrings: week 20

Today I was feeling very uncreative. (I'm not the only one that gets that way sometimes, right?) I wasn't in the mood to make some new beads, so I thought I'd try for something that was easy. I dug through my box of unused and "nearly" discarded beads—beads that hadn't turned out as exciting as I'd expected and had been saved for a later date in hopes of gaining new life. I found two discs with a carved spiral. They were originally a blotchy yellow and brown. I quickly changed that with layers of blue and copper paint. While the paint was drying, I searched though drawers of glass and gemstone beads and found some sodalite rounds and stars, opalite, and some iridescent faceted crystals. I simply wrapped them in a circle with brown Zebra Wire, hung them on some brass earwires... and that was that... my result of a very uncreative day.

I think I like them. :-)

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week twenty.

See you next week with another pair!

A Happy Birthday Sale!!

*** Go to the previous post here to see my Button Swap Reveal ***

Tree Wings Studio just turned 3 years old today and I'm celebrating with a 15% off sale in my Etsy shop running through the 26th... which happens to be my birthday! :-) In my family, May has the most birthdays—my mom, myself, and my twin brother... and now Tree Wings Studio too. But of course, you can't give gifts to a studio, so I figured a sale was the best way to celebrate!

Use code HAPPYBDAY15 for 15% off your entire purchase!

Happy shopping!

Button Swap Reveal!

Hi all! And welcome to my reveal in the Button Swap Blog Hop! Thanks so much Cindy, for such a fun challenge! I had sooooo much fun swapping buttons with my awesome partner Sue Kennedy and a load of fun creating with the buttons she sent me. Thank you Sue, for my buttons!

Here are the buttons Sue sent me: a really neat fish one, a beautiful glass one (Sue made that one herself—I'm so lucky!), an incredibly adorable Scottie dog, and a lovely blue flower made by Lisa Peters. I used three out of these four buttons.

Come see what I made...

My first creation used the fish button—I call it "Sea Worn". I knew right away that this button was totally me and this design fell together so perfectly, I was shocked! I don't think I've ever had a design come together so quickly and without any kinks along the way.

The focal, or focals of this necklace are, of course, the fish button, with a ceramic bead from Gaea tied in the center, and two ceramic pendants from Birgitta Lejonklou.

From there I combined a mix of ceramic rounds (also from Gaea), large-hole ceramic rondelles (from Michael's—I love how the glaze mimics the look of shallow sea waters), chocolate pearls, carnelian discs, mother-of-pearl chips, and a few scattered brass beads and bead caps.

And for the closure, I used another of the large-hole ceramic rondelles and I made a small macrame loop.

The next piece I created uses the glass button Sue made for me. This one was a real challenge. You know me and blue—we don't always get along! And green—well, green is blue's best friend... and best friends stick together, so green doesn't always like me either. But I reeeally wanted to make something with this button... and I wanted to do it justice too. After a few retries here's what I came up with, and I have to say I'm super pleased with it!

I call it Magic in the Water. The colors of the glass remind me of glistening water and also of dragonfly wings. So pretty!

I've had these pretty faceted glass beads in my stash for quite some time and they were the first beads I thought of when I saw this button—and they match perfectly! The addition of fiber (yep, this is my first time using fiber in a design!) was my little work-around for a slight problem. You see, the button is clear glass... and that was my problem. Up against my skin it all turned sort of yellow looking (no, I don't have yellow skin! Skin just does those sorts of things!). So I needed something light colored behind it to bring out the colors. Fiber was the solution!

I took a long strip of blue chiffon fabric, frayed the edges, and then threaded it onto the wire behind the button, folding as I went.

And I did the same thing for the beads, but only on one end. I really love the ruffly, airy look it added. This bracelet is such a fun one to wear!

And for my third design, it was my little girl, Pepper that inspired me...

Here she is. She's 100% Rat Terrier and the sweetest little thing. She's a bit nervous and shy, she's spunky and playful, she's my fierce protector, and she's my bestest friend. She's not just my little dog, she's my terrier... and that says it all.

And so, when I got a little Scottie button from Sue that was super special. The button belonged to Sue's grandmother who was Scottish, and she loved Scotties. My mom's side of the family is from Scotland too, so that made it even more special. And here's what I made...

I call this bracelet "Terrier 'Tude". It's simple, but something I'll wear all the time. I wanted to use something red for the band and I searched for a while for a red cord to match the Scottie's collar, but couldn't find anything quite right. And then I remembered Pepper's old bed was plaid. I say "old" because that bed met its end a while back—first the washing machine had a fight with it and tore a small hole in it, and then Pepper decided it wasn't puffy enough for her and she tore it up to make it puffier... and so I had to buy her a new bed.

Plaid and Scotties go together perfectly! I used four strands of the fabric from Pepper's bed and made a braid for the band and stitched the little Scottie on in the middle. My second ever fiber design! I love it!

And here's how I did the closure—knots on each end wrapped with wire and a hook clasp.

I showed it to Pepper when I finished and I think she recognized it as her "old" bed, and she looked a little confused... she probably would have liked to make it puffier!! :-)

And there you have it—three designs with three fabulous buttons! The blue flower is next on my to-do list... Go see what Sue made with the buttons from me here!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy hopping!

Alice Peterson and Kim Bender

Angie Blasingame and Billi R.S. Rothove

Billi R.S. Rothove and Angie Blasingame

Birgitta Lejonklou and Pam Farren

Bonnie Coursolle and Tania Hagen

Brenda Salzano and Hope Smitherman

Cat Kerr and Heather Powers

Cece Cornier and Jeannie Dukic

Celeste Thurston and Christine Damm

Christine Damm and Celeste Thurston

Christine Stonefield and Dana James

Cilla Watkins and Lori Bowring Michaud

Cindy Wimmer and Mimi Gardner

Cynthia Machata and Julia Johnson

Cynthia Riggs and Lori Finney

Dana James and Christine Stonefield

Diana Ptaszynski and Erin Prais-Hintz

Emma Thomas and Rebecca Anderson

Erin Prais-Hintz and Diana Ptaszynski

Erin Siegel and Sharon Borsavage

Heather Powers and Cat Kerr

Holly Westfall and Sally Russick

Hope Smitherman and Brenda Salzano

Jayne Capps and Kim Dworak

Jeannie Dukic and Cece Cornier

Jenna Meyers and Kristi Harrison

Jenna Tomalka and Karen McKillip

Jenny Davies Reazor and Sandi Volpe

Julia Johnson and Cynthia Machata

Kalaya Steede and Kylie Dickman

Karen McKillip and Jenna Tomalka

Karen Mitchell and Renetha Stanziano

Karla Morgen and Mary Govaars

Kay Thomerson and Shannon Chomanczuk

Kim Ballor and Laurel Steven

Kim Bender and Alice Peterson

Kim Dworak and Jayne Capps

Kim Roberts and Partner unable to participate at this time.

Kristi Harrison and Jenna Meyers

Kylie Dickman and Kalaya Steede

Kym Hunter and Lynda Moseley

Laurel Steven and Kim Ballor

Linda Djokic and Patty Gasparino

Line Labrecque and Teri Baskett

Liz DeLuca and Lorelei Eurto

Lorelei Eurto and Liz DeLuca

Lori Anderson and Niky Sayers

Lori Bowring Michaud and Cilla Watkins

Lori Finney and Cynthia Riggs

Lynda Moseley and Kym Hunter

Marianna Boylan and Tracy Statler

Mary Govaars and Karla Morgen

Mary Harding and Stacie Florer

Maureen Baranov and Tracy Bell

Melissa Martin and Theresa Fosdick

Michelle Hardy and Peggy Johnson

Mimi Gardner and Cindy Wimmer

Nicole Valentine Rimmer and Niki Meiners

Niki Meiners and Nicole Valentine Rimmer

Niky Sayers and Lori Anderson

Pam Farren and Birgitta Lejonklou

* Pam Ferarri and Stefanie Teufel (will share their reveal on a later date)

Patty Gasparino and Linda Djokic

Peggy Johnson and Michelle Hardy

Rebecca Anderson and Emma Thomas

Rebekah Payne and Sue Kennedy

Renetha Stanziano and Karen Mitchell

Rose Binoya and Shanti Johnson

Sally Russick and Holly Westfall

Sandi Volpe and Jenny Davies Reazor

Shannon Chomanczuk and Kay Thomerson

Shanti Johnson and Rose Binoya

Sharon Borsavage and Erin Siegel

Shirley Moore and Veralynne Malone

Stacie Florer and Mary Harding

* Stefanie Teufel and Pam Ferarri (will share their reveal on a later date)

Sue Hamel and Terry Carter

Sue Kennedy and Rebekah Payne

Tania Hagen and Bonnie Coursolle

Tania Spivey and Teresa Gagne

Teresa Gagne and Tania Spivey

Teri Baskett and Line Labrecque

Terry Carter and Sue Hamel

Theresa Fosdick and Melissa Martin

Tracy Bell and Maureen Baranov

Tracy Statler and Marianna Boylan

Veralynne Malone and Shirley Moore

Scattered Roses ~ 52 Earrings: week 19

This week's theme is "anything faux"—that's an easy one for me! I immediately chose turquoise and coral. I love doing turquoise and coral! The challenge came in when I had to decide WHAT to make. I thought about it all week and didn't come up with anything really fabulous, until last night when I found some vintage rose beads in a box hidden away in my closet. (That box holds odds and ends from broken and old jewelry, and I was searching for something for my button challenge designs... just in case you're wondering... I didn't end up using the beads I was originally looking for, but when I found the roses, I was glad I had gone looking! :-)

So anyway... I used the rose beads to make a mold with a scattered rose pattern and then I cast the turquoise beads. For the coral beads, I just smushed two little balls of coral clay around until I got a nice coral-y shape. Both the turquoise and coral beads got a black patina and a light buffing for a soft sheen. And then I wrapped them up with silver wire—I think these are the first earrings that I've made in silver for this challenge.

I got a little carried away with photographing and got a couple extra shots...

I just love the way these turned out! I'll definitely be making some for my shop soon!

And here's one last shot that was just too cute to not share with you all...

Peter Rabbit came for a visit and says "hi" to all in blogland! :-)

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week nineteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Bead Table Wednesday ~ 5/9/12

My "bead table" today is my packaging and shipping table... I use it when my other table is TOO messy—which it happens to be at the moment—all covered in bead making stuff. And now, BOTH of my tables are very messy!

Actually, I find I work best when my table is a bit on the messy side. I think the creative juices flow much better when everything is within reach. Today was very productive—I designed and actually finished one of my button creations. I can't tell you what sort of creation it is yet, but I can tell you that I'm so excited with the way it turned out! And if you look closely at my table you'll be able to figure out which button I used. ;-) Three buttons remaining... I have good ideas for them too and I should be able to finish at least one more, but I'm not sure I'll get to them all.

And speaking of buttons... here's a peek at what I sent Sue:

I sent these off to her before I got the ones she had sent to me and imagine our surprise when we opened our packages and found we had both sent very similar things—buttons from our grandmothers, buttons we had made ourselves, and ceramic buttons! That's got to be the neatest thing ever and really makes this swap special!

Go to Sue's blog to see more!

Happy Bead/Button Table Wednesday!!

(click the BTW button to see what everyone else has on their table)

Rusty Orange ~ 52 Earrings: week 18

*** See the previous post for my One Crayon Color Challenge creations ***

I still had orange from the One Crayon Color Challenge on my mind when I designed these new earrings. I wanted something that coordinated with the bracelets, but wasn't too match-y. I started by making a pair of polymer beads using the same rusty orange I had used to make the pony bead. I gave them both a black patina with gold accents and combined them with carnelian, amber "sea glass", and antique brass. And just for fun, I added a hemp tassel. I'm putting tassels on all kinds of things these days! I think I've been bitten by the tassel bug! :-)

And here's how it all looks together! This set is SO me!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week eighteen.

See you next week with another pair!

The One Crayon Color Challenge Reveal!

Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime came up with the fabulous idea for a challenge—pick one crayon color and create something using only the monochromatic shades of that color.

Sounded like fun! So I signed up and chose orange—my favorite color! And then after I signed up, I suddenly questioned why I had chosen my favorite color—where would the challenge be in that?

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to make from the start (or so I thought). And so, thinking I'd have an easy time, I allowed other things to distract me... until Friday—yes, yesterday—and then the panic hit! Creating in orange was MUCH harder than I thought!

Come see what I made...

No, I didn't make this! First of all, he isn't orange, and second I don't know how to make things with wood. This fabulous horse, aka Little Strider, sparked my imagination for my creations. I love the mix of aged wood and metal!

And this is what I made! Two horsey bracelets!

For my first bracelet, I sculpted a little prancing pony in dark burnt orange polymer clay, echoing the design of my wooden Strider, and strung it with amber "sea glass" rounds and carnelian discs.

Little tiny polymer Strider in all his cuteness!

The real Strider. He's kinda orange, don't you think? :-)

Malin of Beading by Malin de Koning was my inspiration for this second bracelet. She's makes some incredibly beautiful macrame bracelets! So, I dusted off my old macrame book, wondering if I'd still remember how to tie square knots... surprisingly it all came back to me and I had everything all strung together in a very short time! Don't look at it too hard—there may be some mistakes! For my first macrame bracelet, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, if I do say so myself! :-)

I used a mix of horse-stamped beads (I made them in polymer too), red creek agate, carnelian, fire agate, and one carved bone bead for the clasp.

Thanks for the fabulous challenge Sally! I learned that even my most favorite color can be a challenge! And rising to that challenge was so much fun!!

Check out what everyone else created with their colors...