Small Change

For many years, my family gathered for Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. The food and company were always fabulous, and the conversation was lively. Not to risk a lull, my aunt had a clever idea one year to mix up the inter-generational conversation and spark some new stories: We each found a penny at our place. Between courses, we were asked to share a simple memory from the year on the penny. Easy idea, and a great way to retire the "chestnuts" that seem to resurface each year and learn something new about your dining companions!

This craft is inspired by that memory. Choose a penny with a year that's meaningful to you. Kids' birthdays, anniversary date, graduation year... Create a simple memory necklace by punching a hole and adding a jump ring. Mix in a few sparklies, and you've got a great accessory or gift.

What you need:

Penny

2 crystals or beads

2 headpins

3 5mm jump rings

2 headpins

purchased  chain with clasp

Flush Cutter

Metal Hole Punch
Round Nose Pliers
Chain Nose Pliers

What to do
1. Punch a hole in the penny. To make it easier, turn the hole punch over so you can line things up just as you'd like.

2. String a bead on a headpin and make a wrapped loop above the bead. Repeat with the second bead.

3. Open a jump ring and connect the penny to the chain. Close the jump ring. Repeat with each dangle made in step 2.

That's it!

Fifty for Fifty

For a special friend's birthday, we were asked to bring a gift of 50 things. I chose pennies, and with the help of a few others, found every year from 1964-2004. Here's the result:

Craft-tastic

I am pretty particular about my DIY projects. Is it clever? Would I use it? There is just too much clutter out there, and not enough originality. Last week I came across a really great project: this
 "accoutrement" from P.S. I Made This. Part jewelry, part accessory, all genius.

Ready for the weekend

I know it's been forever since I've posted. I've been busier than I can imagine! Part of that has been getting ready for a local sale this weekend. Here's a sneak peek of my newest jewerly:

Fall Class Preview

I just finished my samples for fall classes at Ben Franklin Crafts, my local shop. The challenge was to design interesting projects with a good teaching value, but keep the overall materials cost reasonable and to use products available in the store. Here's what I came up with. What do you think?

Early Frost necklace

Early Frost Bracelet

A Little Loopy necklace

A Little Loopy earrings

Joy

Her friends say she has a smile that lights up a room, so I knew my donation for the silent auction for Lynne's Legacy of Hope would be all about color and Swarovski crystals. Here's my bracelet, called Joy.

Here's more about Lynne and the event:

Lynne Sater, wife of WISN-TV news anchor Terry Sater and mother of 3 beautiful girls, Savannah, Autumn, and Sierra, has been battling Stage IV Bile Duct Cancer. She was diagnosed in December of 2009. As she has been valiantly fighting this terrible disease, medical expenses have mounted. Lynne's Legacy of Hope is a fun way for you to show your support for the Sater Family! So mark your calendars and join us on July 24th, 2011, at Lapham Peak State Park for an unforgettable day!

Stash Busting

Every now and then, you need to take a hard look at your stash and try to use up some of the beads that have been hanging around for a while, or might be lonely leftovers from a larger, long-ago completed project. That’s what I did this weekend. I tried to make pretty, unique projects without buying anything new. Here are my results:

Lampworked glass and sterling silver beads

Charm necklace with labradorite briolette, Czech glass, and silver

Quartz, fluorite, and India glass

Is it spring yet?

Working with what you have can be challenging, but it can be freeing as well. I love these bead combinations, but I never would have "planned" these designs in advance. What do you think?

Artbeads Winter Enchantment Project

My backyard in January

For this season's Artbeads.com blogger project, we were asked to design jewelry based on winter. Here in Wisconsin, winter is a long season. Our first cold snap comes in October and we're usually not seeing daffodils until late April. The season is long, but it isn't bleak. We have wonderful white snow, beautiful bare brown branches, and brilliant blue skies peeking through whenever we can. For this project, I wanted to explore working with some new-to-me materials. While I often use glass beads in my designs, I haven't worked with artisan-made lampworked beads before.  I was immediately drawn to these lampworked art beads when I started planning my winter-white necklace. Brass accents and just a hint of blue completed the palette, and I had this design together in no time.



Winter White necklace



Earrings

Beaded links connected by large jump rings

This necklace and earrings set came together very nicely. My original intention was to string the necklace, but I wanted the lampworked beads to be visible from all sides. Making beaded links instead set the beads off. I rummaged through my supplies for brass jump rings, thinking 5 or 6 mm would be the perfect size. I only found these super-sized rings, though, so I decided to try it out. I like the look even better. It's more open and airy. 

Do you design by purpose, by "happy accident," or a little of each?

Disclaimer: The lampworked beads, brass beadcaps, and brass findings  used in this project were provided to me free of charge by Artbeads. My review is my opinion and I have not been paid for my endorsement.

Spring Class Sneak Peek

Although there's snow on the ground and a chill in the air, I've been thinking spring as I design beginner projects for my local craft shop. Here's a sneak peek, and if you're in the area, the schedule opens up in January!

Stretchy bracelets with matching earrings:

Key to My Heart Bracelet and Necklace set (lots of loop practice!):

and my current favorite, Summer Sunrise necklace and earrings:



Here's wishing you a little sunshine, and a very merry, happy, warm and fuzzy holiday!

Colors of Fall Design Challenge

My first job out of college was at a small advertising and public relations firm in Philadelphia. I was a PR writer and I loved everything about that job -- my new Mac (circa 1985), my downtown office and commute, crisp business cards, exciting clients, demanding deadlines -- all of it. But what really intrigued me was the art department. They did magical things with x-acto knives, tissue paper, typography books, markers, fine-line pens, and Spray Mount. But the most magical of all was the Pantone color set. I found it mesmerizing.

I must say 25 years later the world of graphic design is still magical and mysterious to me. But thanks to modern technology, I can pretend every now and then, and play around with type, color, and layouts on my own.

That's why this month's Artbeads Blog Partner challenge was so much fun. We were asked to visit Pantone's site and review the newly released Fall Fashion Color Collection. I had a little too much fun playing with the Color Scheme Designer 3 tool. It helped me see combinations in new ways, and kept me from relying on my usual favorites.

For my inspiration colors, I selected lagoon, chocolate truffle, rose dust, and endive. I started with chocolate truffle (who wouldn't?). In the glass bead category I found 8mm deep cut nuggets in brown tiger eye and topaz. For the endive, I went to the gemstones and selected these adorable little peridot rounds. The copper-plated leaf links brought in the rose dust. At first I was challenged to find a blue that was true to Pantone's Lagoon and then I remembered to check the ceramics. These aqua glazed porcelain roundels were just the accents I needed.

Here's my two-strand necklace, accented with autumn leaves and copper chain. For fun, I tried adding color to the copper components with ammonia. My hope was to capture the color of the porcelain beads. You can see traces of aqua on the leaves. It worked much better on the earrings!

These earrings combine peridot dangles with porcelain beads and copper leaves. Perfect for summer-into-fall accessorizing.

Finally, I took all the extras and assembled this jumbled bangle bracelet. I love how the tiny peridot beads peek out from the copper web.

What are your inspirations this fall?

Disclaimer: The beads and copper links used in this project were provided to me free of charge by Artbeads. My review is my opinion and I have not been paid for my endorsement.

Summer Days, Summer Nights

This month's Artbeads blogging theme was summer-time fun. When I think of summer, I think of sun, sand, and slowing down. These sunny day bracelets are a perfect way to capture the mood.


I love, love, love the Czech glass from Artbeads. My new favorite is the fire polished fuchsia and lemon. Just like a summer sunset! I combined the fuchsia and lemon with Ruby AB, Orange AB, and a mix of pink tones. I like using pre-mixed blends for bracelets like these, because there are always some unique colors I may have not found myself.


Whenever I went on vacation as a little girl, I would always pick a silver charm for my charm bracelet to remind me of my trip. Today, you can pick charms like these to represent a memory, or maybe just to dream about a vacation you wish you had! Check out all the charms here.

When I finished my sunny day bracelets, my thoughts immediately turned to summer nights. What better frame for this dragonfly charm than a twinkling of crystals, just like the first stars that emerge from the twilight?

I am still having camera trouble, but hopefully these pictures are clear enough to spark your imagination and inspire a little summer time creativity!

Disclaimer: The charms and Czech glass beads were provided to me free of charge from Artbeads. My review is my opinion and I have not been paid for my endorsement.

Look! Look! It's My Book!

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of Spring, and after a little snowfall yesterday, we have sunny skies and warm(er) temperatures. In honor of this delightful day, I bring you my latest Artbeads creation.

When I heard the theme was "The Beauty of Spring" I went immediately to the Czech Glass and selected large bell flowers in translucent white and pink crystal. I also chose small fuchsia crystal and a blue/purple/jonquil combination. I knew balled headpins would add the detail the flowers needed. Because I would be using plain loop connections, I only needed 1 1/4" long headpins. Here's my tray of goodies before I got started:





I was going for the look of a group of naturalized flowers that had just burst forth from the ground. While we do have a few shoots peeking out from the muddy ground, we're still about a month away from flowers, so I had to use my memory and imagination for inspiration. Fixing the looped flowers to chain would give the clustering look I wanted. I started with the largest beads, since I had fewer of those. I added a tiny daisy spacer to the headpin, and then the glass flower.




Are you wondering about that out-of-place coral round? Well, that's what I use to measure so I get uniform loops. It takes 1 cm of wire to turn a plain loop. My red bead is a 10mm. So, by placing it on my headpin, making a flush cut above it, and then removing the bead, all my loops will be even. I ended up making more than 60 for this necklace, so having a guide really helped.




Here's the cut wire just before I made the loop:



Enough of the tutorial! I know you really just want to see the end result! Here's the necklace:




And a closer view:




I made these silver connectors to help space out the crowded chains. I like a lush fullness but not a jumbled mess!




I liked the connectors so much, I thought they would make nice earrings:



And just for fun, I made a hula-hoop inspired pair:


How did you celebrate the first day of Spring? To win a pair of earrings, leave a comment and let me know! Become a follower or link to this post on your blog, and you'll get a second entry. I'll draw the winning names on March 31 -- one for the hoops and one for the dangles.

Disclaimer: I have received these beads (glass flowers and headpins) free of charge from Artbeads.com. My review is my own opinion and I have not been paid for this endorsement.