AJE September Component of the Month Reveal ~ A Wild Horse in Grey

This month we got our gorgeous challenge component from the talented Lesley Watt of Thea Jewellery and Thea Elements. These are her Bursting Seed Pod caps. She made them each in bronze clay with beautiful textured motifs and patinas in rich autumn tones. Mine is the ochre one -- I love the color and pattern!

I knew even before my cap arrived that I would do a tassel design. I went back and forth a little on a theme and style, but all along I knew I wanted it to be a necklace.  Then I remembered that I have a pretty turquoise bracelet and two favorite turquoise rings and I had really wanted a necklace with turquoise to wear with them... so that was my starting point -- a necklace with turquoise and a tassel. My bracelet is in silver, one ring is copper, and the other ring is silver, copper, and bronze. I don't really wear a lot of silver jewelry -- I prefer bronze, brass, and antiqued gold -- warmer toned metals, so I really wanted this necklace to pull everything together without straying from my style. I did some sketching and a LOT of thinking. I finally started putting it together on Saturday.

Yeah, that's Saturday the 28th. When it comes to jewelry making, I have my design process down to a science... most people would call it procrastination and maybe it is, but I like to think every little detail through before creation begins. If I can see it in my mind, I can make it.

Here it is...

I call it "A Wild Horse in Grey" The horse lover in me said tassels and turquoise must have a horse too. I love how the necklace has a southwestern feel to it without screaming cowboy -- it has just the right amount of rustic to it, but also a feminine flair. Lesley's ochre cap is such a nice finishing touch to the tassel and I think the soft silvery golden color helped tie the bronze together with the scattered silver beads.

The wild horse focal is one of my own hand painted polymer focals. I chose it for it's smokey grey color to further help tie the silver beads into the necklace. I also chose it because I love grey horses. Before getting my own two current horses, I had this crazy idea that I would get a wild mustang and tame her... she of course, would be a grey one. I now laugh at the idea -- I hadn't even learned how to ride at that point, but my heart has never let go of that dream and I know one day I'll have my grey wild horse...

Those little itty, bitty, turquoise beads? Yep, I made them too! I didn't have any small turquoise beads in my stash and when you live an hour away from the nearest bead store and don't know if they'll have what you want when you finally arrive, you think up other ways to get what you need. I already make my own turquoise polymer mix for my pony beads, so making these beads was of course the solution!

I hung the tassel on linked Czech glass (I like how the texture echos the sunburst pattern on the horse focal), fluted silver beads, and turquoise rounds. And finally to finish up, I strung a mixture of chips in black agate, labradorite, and tiger's eye around the back.

Here are the bracelet and rings that inspired me to go with turquoise.

And all together -- it's such a fun set and so very me!

Of course, I couldn't end this post about my new horse necklace without sharing a few photos of my two favorite horses...

Sweet noble Strider. He's the horse that taught me to ride -- oh-so gentle and at times oh-so stubborn.

Lovely Lady... the trouble causer -- she's always wanting the grass on the other side of the fence. And sometimes she finds a way out to get it!

And one last photo of Strider -- I love this one of him!

I hope you enjoyed my post!

Be sure to check out the links below to see what everyone else created!

Guest designers:
Erin Prais-Hintz - Tesori Trovati

Cate - Fulgorine

Claire Lockwood - Something To Do With Your Hands

AJE team:

Jennifer Cameron

Kristen Stevens

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Francesca Watson
Melissa Meman

Linda Landig

Susan Kennedy

Rebekah Payne

Caroline Dewison

Lesley Watt

On AJE Blog ~ Where did all the time go?

You've probably noticed I've been a little absent from my blog here… and my studio. Life can be crazy and there never seems enough time for creativity these days.

source

Time management is the topic of my post on AJE Blog this weekend. I know I'm not the only one who struggles to find the time for doing the thing we love most—creating! Come join us here.

 

On AJE Blog ~ picking flowers on Etsy

Summer is nearing its end, but I'm still enjoying the lovely colors and inspirations! Come see my newest favorites from Etsy on Art Jewelry Elements blog today!

Have an inspired weekend!

On AJE Blog ~ two more pressed flower bead how-to designs

Yes, I'm making more pressed flower beads over at Art Jewelry Elements blog. These have been so much fun to make!

Join me here on AJE Blog to see how to make them.

Or go here to get some for your next jewelry creations.

Happy Saturday!

Making New Hearts

Happy Labor Day! First off, I want to say thanks to all of you who left comments and suggestions on my puppy dog post… I've had some internet connectivity issues so wasn't able to respond to them each personally… but, that doesn't mean I didn't read and appreciate them. I did. And the creative juices are flowing. :-) Thank you!

Today I have these new heart focal beads to show you:

I love rainbows, don't you? I few weeks back I saw a beautiful double rainbow—right after a particularly violent thunderstorm when the sky was still very dark with grey clouds and everything around was shimmering with raindrops—it was glorious!

I've redesigned the shape and made them about twice the size as my usual rainbow hearts. And my favorite new touch is the twisted or "twister" point. You can probably guess my inspiration behind that idea.

Sometimes I make a mold for beads so I can make the same one over and over again—I make basic rough molds (no fur, tail, eye detail) for my sleepy critters to keep size and shape consistent—but for these two hearts I simply shaped them freehand. I rolled each cloud individually and then I "drew" on the rainbow, rain, and sun details with a blunt ended needle.

And, then I painted them—my very favorite part—always!

I hope you like them! They're now in my shop here.

Now I'm off to redecorate my studio (i.e. rearrange tables, put away messy stuff, and dust). And then spend time with family and kitty.

Bead making starts again tomorrow!