Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Guest spot in the Echo Creative Club

So Jeannie Dukic of http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/  has what she calls the Echo Creative Club.  What is an Echo Creative Club you may ask.  In Jeannie's own words "What does the name, Echo Creative mean?  Echo is something you put out there and it comes back.  I put my beads out there and they come back in a creative design from you."  Jeannie has several jewelry designers that use her art beads and pendants and make a piece.  She sends you the piece at no cost and you must design and show you piece by the 25th of the month.  Recently on the Polymer Clay Collective group page on FB https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/361965820521794/  Jeannie asked if anyone was interested in having a guest spot in the Echo Creative Club and I responded with a "yes."  She made the decision to allow all who responded have a guest spot.  My month is June.  Jeannie said she mailed my piece yesterday.  She gave me the option of picking what I would like and I went to her shop and found several things I felt would be fun to work with, however I narrowed it down to about 3 items and told her to just pick and send me something.....I love surprises!  I can't wait to see what I get....I will be sure to show you when it arrives.  Until then, have a wonderful day!

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Cocktail Hour Blog Hop



Amy from http://copperdiem.blogspot.com/  invited us to join her in a fun cocktail hour blog hop. So pull up a chair and have a cocktail with me.  I am serving Bellini's


.
  I went to the Internet, "the source for all knowledge" and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellini_(cocktail) and got the following information:

"A Bellini is a long drink cocktail that originated in Venice. It is a mixture of sparkling wine (traditionally Prosecco) and peach purée often served at celebrations. It is one of Italy's most popular cocktails.[1]

The Bellini was invented sometime between 1934 and 1948[1][2][3][4] by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. Because of its unique pink color, which reminded Cipriani of the color of the toga of a saint in a painting by 15th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini, he named the drink the Bellini.[1][5]"
  

I searched and searched for a picture of the Saint, but could not find one. 


"The drink started as a seasonal specialty at Harry's Bar, a favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis and Orson Welles.[1][5] Later, it also became popular at the bar's New York counterpart. After an entrepreneurial Frenchman set up a business to ship fresh white peach pureé to both locations, it was a year-round favorite.[2]

The Bellini is an IBA Official Cocktail, thus indicating its popularity and making it a well-known cocktail to many professional bartenders.  In relation to the United States: "I think that the Bellini growth is tied to the very strong Italian chain restaurant growth, especially Olive Garden, since Italian restaurants are where Bellinis and drinks like them are featured and promoted," says Jack Robertiello, editor of Cheers magazine.[1]
A frozen Bellini was the signature drink of Romano's Macaroni Grill, a chain restaurant in the U.S.A.
Bellinis are consumed throughout the first half of Geoff Dyer's Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi.
The maitre d' at the Manhattan restaurant Pastel in Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho brings 3 rounds of complimentary Bellinis, none of which the men drink.
In the 2011 American comedy film Jumping the Broom, Bellinis were served when the families of the bride and groom met for the first time.

 I went all out in doing research and preparation for my Bellini inspired creation!  My sweet husband went out and brought home all the ingredients to make a Bellini.  I made a batch, did not wait and let it get frozen, so we had them right after I finished blending.  They were very tasty, a little sweet, but very good.

I also went to both Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill and had a Bellini.  At Olive Garden I had a strawberry Bellini, it was frozen and very good.  While at Macaroni Grill I had their signature Bellini, which is no longer frozen and it was not good. 


This is the Bellini that was not tasty!
Although I much prefer pink colors to peach, I decided to make my design with peach colors.  I did use just a hint of pink.  I thought  the Cellini spiral would be the perfect thing to go with my Bellini.  I stitched the center of the necklace using the Cellini stitch and the sides of the necklace were done using a regular spiral stitch with the same beads.  I joined the two spirals using orange flowers.  I finished the necklace with a stitched toggle clasp.  Over all I am pleased with how this piece turned out. 


I used light pink delicas in the center and pale orange on the sides of the spiral portion of the "Bellini Cellini". 


I will be making some Bellini's to enjoy while I visit all the other cocktail blog parties.  If you would like to make your own Bellini, here is the recipe I used. 

 Please take the time and visit all the other blogs and enjoy their cocktail inspired creations. 


Hostess:  Copper Diem 
 
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mother's Day!

I know it is past Mother's Day, but I just had to share the wonderful video my DH made for me of our amazing two boys.  All three of them truly are the love and light of my life.  I feel so blessed.  I hope that all of you had a wonderful day too!

Video link - Jacob and Noah, my amazing sweet boys!
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Saturday, May 5, 2012

One Color Crayon Challenge

 One Crayon Color Blog Hop: Monochromatic  Designs


Sally Russick at http://thestudiosublime.com  is hosting this challenging and fun blog hop.    The directions were for us to create  using hues of just one color from the original crayon box.  We were not limited to just jewelry.  We could create jewelry, a painting, and a set of beads, fiber art, or any other sort of creative project.   I chose the color blue thinking I would challenge me but not be overly difficult.  Well let me tell you it was harder than I thought it was going to be.  I love color and really thought blue would be fun.  It was fun but still a challenge.    I wanted to bead weave my design.  I pulled all the blue from my stash and made a trip to my local bead store.  www.yayabeads.com

I apologize for my horrible pictures…I am asking for a photo tent for Mother’s day…let’s hope!

I picked several colors and settled on creating a spiral necklace.   I unfortunately was not able to finish due to having to go out of town (to the beach….I know poor me!)  I brought the stuff with me, but you know how that goes!

I also made some torch fired enamel beads.  I just recently learned this technique  and love it, I am still not very good and my supply of enamels is not built up yet so my blue is cobalt blue.  The two lighter of the beads are a blue I did from when we had a studio day. 

I also did some beaded beads. 


I used one of the enameled beads and some fresh water pearls and some Swarovski crystals to make a bracelet.  I unfortunately did not bring any finishing items with me so it is waiting.  We are in Myrtle Beach, SC and I will be making a trip to the local bead store so I may get it done in time. 


I am really enjoying these challenges and love visiting all the other blogs to see all the wonderful creations.  I am sure that I will be inspired to create a few other pieces in other colors! Please take the time to visit the other 65 participants.

Hosted by:

Red

Bobbie Rafferty   http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Orange

Rebekah Payne   http://treewingsstudio.com

 Yellow

Blue

Rebecca Anderson  http://songbeads.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache  http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Charissa Sloper   http://blog.obsidiansoda.com

 Green

Jenny Davies Reazor   http://www.jdaviesreazor.com

Purple

Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com/

Brown

Diana Ptaszynski   http://suburbangirlstudio.com

Black

Birgitta Lejonklou  http://lejonklou.blogspot.com/
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

New Blog in town

There is a new blog in town and she is giving away Lori Anderson's new ebook.  Go visit her blog and become a follower.  http://moodsbymarianna.blogspot.com/
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Friday, April 27, 2012

Messy Workshop Blog Hop

The wonderful Brenda Sue Landsdowne of   Bsueboutiques http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com/ decided to host a Messy Workshop blog hop.  I have Brenda and my lovely friend of Sweet Freedom Designs http://sweetfreedom-designs.blogspot.com/ to thank for pushing me to start blogging.  Although I am very new to blogging and still have so much to learn (like actually blogging more, lol)  it really has opened so many new doors.  If you remember when I finally dove in and started the blog it was to participate in another of Brenda's hops,  The Sari Ribbon Challenge  It was so much fun that I had to do this one too!  With this hop all we had to do was share our workspace...easy!  So here goes.


My workshop actually does quite a bit of traveling....I know weird, huh!?!  When I am at home I have a wonderful desk that has been moved about 3 times now.  I believe it has finally found a home in the old nursery.   I am in the process of converting and making the ENTIRE room mine!!! YEA for me!!



Right now I am really just using a corner of the room, but that will all change.  I have really big plans!  I try to be really organized and have similar items in each plastic bin.  The plastic bins also make it really easy to transport things back and forth.

Boxes in the back of the van!


The pink bag in use with my box of enamels.

  We spend many many (ok almost all of them) weekends in the country and if I want to get any beading done I have to take stuff with me.....well as my DH often says "Do you really need ALL that stuff"?  but I do....I often don't know what mood I will be in, do I want to etch, play with clay, resin, do some bead weaving, or what!?!?  I usually take way way more than I will ever have time to use in one weekend!  This particular weekend I had all kinds of things totally spread out over two dining room tables.  I had my choice of things to do, etch, emboss and anneal metal, use some alcohol inks or gilder's paste, bead weave, wire work, etc.  I took the end corner and did some wire work.  I never even used half of the stuff I hauled out to the country with me that weekend.  The big pink bag is the most used, usually I will just take what can fit in the bag, but this weekend I just really felt like I needed as much as I could carry!

The small corner on the end of the table is where I was actually working!
 

You can see I had lots of ideas and things I wanted to do.....LOL!


 

A few things I finished!  Three pairs of earrings, a necklace with enameled hearts and a bracelet.

 We often have a Sunday studio day at my local bead store, YaYa beads and I travel with my stuff there too!


My torch fired enamel station set up on studio day!


 Enjoy a few pictures of some of my creations made at home, in the country, and at the bead store :) Please forgive the horrible pictures, I am going to invest in a photo tent very soon.
 
Lampwork beads, fresh water pearls, and Swarovoski  crystals.
 
Beautiful fall lampwork flower (wish I knew who made it), fresh water pearls, and Swarovoski crystals.

ICE Resin and some gemstone chips.  I really like the texture on this one.

Alcohol inks and embossing powders, this was really fun to make- I did this one during one of our studio days.


My wedding necklace, fresh water pearls, Swarovoski crystals and sterling silver. 



Spiral bead woven necklace with an amazing lampwork octopus!
 I really hope that you enjoyed the journey through my various messy workshops, please visit all the other participants and see how their workshops shape up.....messy or not!?!


MESSY WORKSHOP BLOG PARTICIPANTS
Brenda Sue Lansdowne
Robin Delargy:
http://looloosbox.blogspot.com/
Kim at Cianci Blue
http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Jazwick-Smith
http://hudathoughts-jennifer.blogspot.com/
Mary Shannon Hicks
http://www.uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Tracy Swartz
http://tracyswartz.com/category/blog
Jacqueline Marchant
http://jaacquelinesjewels.blogspot.com/
Lynnea Perry Bennett
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
Terry Matusyk
http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com/
Laurel Steven
http://laurelsteven.blogspot.com/
Dr. Brassy Steamington
http://drbrassysteampunk.blogspot.com/
Pamela Takeshige
http://www.crittersandthings.blogspot.com/
Kris Lanae Binsfeld
http://www.cherishdesigns.wordpress.com/
Outre Art
http://theartistspaintbox.wordpress.com/
Linzi Alford
http://www.magpieintheskyspoilheaptales.blogspot.com/
Deb Davis
http://naturaltreasuresbydeb.blogspot.com/
Tamara Jones
http://irrysistablejewels.wordpress.com/
Harry Wood
http://www.oscarcrow.blogspot.com/
Gerry Nickerson
http://gersgems1.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Owens-Dwy
http://www.thepolymergeek.blogspot.com/
Georgene Lockwood
http://sylvanavintagedesigns.wordpress.com/
Charisa Sloper
http://www.blog.obsidiansoda.com/
Jennifer Justman
http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Beanzie
http://the-vintage-heart.blogspot.com/
Mary Deis
http://mdeis.blogspot.com/
Cheri Reed
http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Sondra Kolner
http://scrappybydesign.weebly.com/index.html
Sonya Ingersoll-Stille
http://www.dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Lori Anderson
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/
Sandra McGriff
http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca/
Shelly Joyce
http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/
Joan Williams
http://www.lilrubyjewelry.wordpress.com/
Kashmira Patel
http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Deb Beechy
http://beetique56.blogspot.com/
Ginger Bishop
http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/
Kelli Jacobson
http://creativemoonjewelryandthings.com/
Natalie McKenna
http://www.grubbi.co.uk/
Andrew Thornton
http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
Mary Govaars
http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com/
Kate Mulligan
Lisa Lodge
http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com/
Tami Luchini
Monique Lula
Lee Koopman
http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com/
Jayne Capps
Susan Lloyd
http://designsbysusan-dbs.blogspot.com/
Cynthia Wainscott
http://www.exoticperujewelry.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Amanti
Alicia Marinache
http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Sam Hamp
http://hampgirl59.blogspot.com/
Lennis Carrier

 http://www.windbent.net/
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Look what I got!!

A few weeks ago I joined an awesome group on Face book, Creative Bead Chat.  https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/323057074410586/
This in an open group and in their own words "
A home for creative component and jewelry designers to share new creations, tool tips and help build our creativity and ...sales ! A home for new designers as well experienced to share your experiences and ask questions. Ultimately we are a team and work together towards the goal of being proud of our accomplishments and accomplishing our dreams...welcome to Creative Bead Chat!
Only rule...Treat others as you would like to be treated :-) "
 
They held their first giveaway from March 20th to March 27th.  It was a CBC $400 Member Giveaway.  You had to post a link to your favorite jewelry supplier(s).  I put one of my favorites... my local bead store, YaYa beads located at 109 Shartom Rd, Augusta Ga.  http://www.yayabeads.com/index.html
 
CBC was going to randomly select 15 people that posted links to win various prizes.  I was one of the lucky ones!  I won a beautiful beaded artisan bracelet from Jennifer Justman of Soul's Fire Designs.
 
The braclet came in the mail early last week.  Here are some pics.  It really is beautiful!  Thanks to CBC and Jennifer Justman!
 


 
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