ArtBeads Winter Enchantment Challenge

Artbeads.com presented another challenge which I simply could not wait to partake in!  The challenge called to design pieces that represent what you find beautiful or inspirational about the winter season.  Well, glistening ice certainly comes to mind for me!  I hate the cold, but I love translucent, glistening ice!  After a hard starting, the final pieces worked out beautifully.  You see, sometimes when designing jewelry, things don't always work out the way you sketch out your design.  Designing jewelry is somewhat like architecture: the foundation must be solid or it will all topple down.  Well, my original design worked out great on paper, but made for an unstable piece that just did not drape well.  So, after disassembling and redesigning, here are the results:

Necklace

The major components of the pieces (outside of the antique buttons) is the fire polish beads and the silver plated clasp in the front. 

One of my favorite choices in creating pieces are Czech Fire Polish Beads.  They come in many sizes and finishes and really pack a punch in the sparkle factor!

 Necklace

For these pieces, I actually chose a few Fire Polish Bead Mix.  I really appreciate the bead mixes as they combine great colors together around a theme and allows you to sample all the colors without having to invest in full packages of each color and each mix comes in packages of 100, so there are plenty of beads to work with.  As for quality, these beads are made by hand in small batches, so they have the high quality of handmade beads but yet, ever so slight "differences" that makes handmade so charming.  For being hand made, they are very uniform and the differences are really so slight that you have to really study them to find them, if you can even do that.

 Bracelet

In these pieces, I used the fire polish beads in bead woven "beads", as well as hand wire wrapped them into components and strung on tiger tail.  In all three applications, the beads were just a dream to work with.  In fact, I could not stop designing after the necklace and made a bracelet, earrings and a ring with the left-over fire polish beads!

The second major component used was a silver plated base metal clasp, which can be found in the Base Metal Clasps.  This particular clasp is the Antiqued Silver Vintage Heritage clasp, and I really wanted to design the piece so the clasp is part of the focal point. 

After ironing out my design flaw, the clasp is acceptable as a front hooking clasp that remains part of the design.  In fact, I think the boldness and the vintage look really pull this piece together.  It was certainly inspiration for the earrings that I created with remaining fire polish beads.

Earrings

The antiqued silver plating just goes so well with the fire polish beads. 

Earrings

All of the pieces were wired with silver plated wire to give it that added icy sparkle.

I am very pleased how these pieces worked out, despite the fact that the original design had to be altered. 

So, at this stage of the game, the pieces reflect more of the melting ice from winter.  Oh well, either way, they did turn out gorgeous!

Now is the time to shop at Artbeads.com.   Order $60 or more in supplies and get $20 off!  Sale ends at midnight tonight!

****This post is NOT a paid post.  All supplies were furnished by Artbeads.com at no cost to me in exchange for a review of the parts used in conjunction with their blogging program.  I was not paid or compensated in any way from Artbeads.com.****

Birds of Fancy

After a year of studying the art of millinery, I finally put out my first piece!  Yes, I admit that I started small.  I did this not so much in distrust of the millinery skills I have learned, but because I didn't want to make a big piece and if it didn't work, I just wasted all the expensive millinery supplies!

The fascinator hat features an antique button, vintage lace, vintage glass pearls, and goose and peacock feathers.  The base is constructed from a handmade wired buckram frame lined with wine bengaline and topped with hand crochet in dark charcoal wool roving.

Of course, you just knew I had to get the button in there!  The button is 1 1/2" diameter and is an antique Victorian brass picture button.

To see more about this fascinator, as well as more pictures, simply go here!

In other news, the studio is rocking with custom orders, the house is decorated (pulled out all my antique blown glass ornaments!!!), the tree is up and I'm getting ready to fill the kids' shoes with tasty goodies tonight!  Well, I might put my son's next to his shoes.  I don't trust those sneekers!!!  I am planning on beginning baking this weekend.  Last year I was so unprepared that I didn't start my baking until a week before Christmas!  Oh, those Christmas preparations!

What have you been doing to prepare for the big day?!

Colors of Fall Artbeads Challenge

As a Design Partner for Artbeads.com, I was presented with a challenge to create a piece using Pantone's fall color palate.   The choices were difficult as there were so many to choose from.  I ended up choosing Kimora Lee Simmons' interpretation of "Chocolate Truffle".   This palate is characterized with plums paired with bitter green and midnight black.  To tie in with the fall theme, I added luxurious copper.

The main component of my piece was hand blown furnace glass beads from Fire Designs in Purple.  These beads were so smooth, uniform and deliciously yummy to work with.  The inside holes vary and the purple stripes are very bold...the perfect bold statement to your piece.  Keeping with Ms. Simmons' interpretation, I added fire polish faceted beads in olivine and matte black.

To add my own interpretation of the color palate, I added copper.  Lots of copper.  I began with copper plated chain, which is a copper plated base metal chain.  I selected the Big, Medium, Small oval link chain for this piece to add texture.  Then, I wired all the beaded components with copper wire, sprinkled copper beads, copper bead caps and Swarovski 5000 crystals in Copper (which have a fabulous, fiery aurora to them)  in with the "charms" and added a couple hand wired copper loops over the chain for more texture.  For the clasp, I used a copper plated toggle and while wiring it to the chain, added a few more olivine fire polished beads.

For the final touch, as you can expect, I took a vintage button from the 1950's and wrapped it with natural brass filigree (so as not to hurt the shank).  This component was added as the focal point in the piece.

This piece will be offered in my shop just in time for the holiday season, so keep updated!

Disclaimer:
As a blogging Design Partner, Artbeads.com has furnished these supplies to me free of charge for my honest review purposes.  I have not been paid or compensated by Artbeads.com in any way, shape or form.

New Holiday Treats For Your Coat

I found another use for vintage rhinestone buttons.  Felted wool pointsetta brooches!

Pretty cute, huh?  

For more info on the brooches, visit my shop!

In the mean time, let me know what you think of them :)

Yummy Holiday Treats!

Frosty Quilled Snowflake with Antique Button 
Dusted with German Glass Glitter 

Okay, okay.  I know I have jilted you on the Artbeads project.  Please have patience with me as it will be coming soon.  For the time being, my attention has been a little diverted with Christmas!

I'd love to share with you some of the holiday goodies I have created for this season.  To learn more about the piece, simply click the links :)

Vintage Button Scottish Yo Yo Garland

Antique Button Hand Tatted Snowflake Ornament

Felt Snowflake with Vintage Buttons Ornament

Frosty Quilled Snowflake with Antique Button
Dusted with German Glass Glitter

 Victorian Yo Yo Garland with Vintage Buttons

 Wool Felt Pennyrug Ornament with Vintage Buttons

There is so much more where that came from, feel free to mull around the Newly Listed and Holiday categories in my Etsy shop.  Soon, these items will become available in my Artfire Studio, also.

Now, back to the studio to finish that Artbeads piece :)

Artbeads Fall Challenge

Okay, so I'm a little late on this one.  It's fall now, isn't it?  Hmmmm....that went quick!

So the challenge was to create a piece for fall using Pantone's color forecast.  The choices were so hard to make.  I, of course, settled on Chocolate Truffle...loaded with rich plums and accented with bright apple green, lush black and dusty charcoal.

These are the components I chose for my piece:

I envisioned a modernized charm necklace loaded with these rich plum tube lampswork beads.  Looks like candy, eh?  For the accents, I chose these rich copper Swarovski crystals......

these bright olivine and midnight black fire polish glass beads and some warm copper beads and bead caps to tie the charms in with the chain.

Now...the only problem I'm hitting is time!  I am hoping to find time to work on this piece over the weekend as preparing my shop for the holiday season has been keeping me pretty busy for, I don't know, say 10 hours a day :)

If all goes as planned, you will see the completed piece by next weekend!

Antique Button Cuff Wristlets - Edwardian

New to the shop!

 

Antique Button Hand Tatted Wristlet

by Alterity

(click to view in the shop)

Love the romantic fashions of the Edwardian period (early 1900's)?  Indulge your love with a pair of hand tatted wristlet cuffs.  Tatting is done with my original design, of course, and was done in a super soft cotton appropriately called 'softball cotton'.  Not scratchy and with enough flexibility so as to drape so graciously over your hand.  Gorgeous under that white blouse or peeking out from your black dress jacket.  Closure is, of course, antique buttons...black glass buttons to be exact.  The buttons date to the late 1800's to the early 1900's.  The wristlets come in pairs of two.

 

Inside of wrist

Button detail

To view more details about these cuffs, as well as other button goodies, stop by my shop:  Alterity Button Jewelry & Gifts, the otherness of antique button jewelry!

Summertime....a new piece

You may have remembered the wonderful mix of beads I received from Artbeads.com several weeks ago. Well, as you can expect, I threw in some antique mother of pearl button from my private stash. The final product is finished!

The challenge: Summertime
The materials: Glass beads and metal charms

Designing this piece was a walk on the beach...literally! As soon as I saw all the components piled in front of me, I grabbed my sketchbook and furiously drew this design. I wanted a design that captures the asymmetrical shifting ocean on the beach as well as a variety of design techniques.


One side of the necklace features Czech glass pearlized beads in emeralds and ocean blues, with hand knotting between each pearl using variegated blue/green/purple cotton. They were super easy to string with a hole large enough to accommodate the cotton (most pearls have tiny holes that are difficult to string). Mixed among the pearls are two components of crocheted Czech pressed glass beads and Vintage glass beads using the same variegated blue cotton. I have only crocheted seed beads in the past and found crocheting with the chunkier Czech and vintage beads quite fun. I even took the surplus beads not used in this piece and crocheted bracelets to match the necklace.

The other side of the necklace contains three strands to counter balance the weight of the pearlized and glass beads. Two strands of antiqued brass plated chain feature more Czech glass pearls, pressed Czech beads and an antique carved smoky mother of pearl button from my collection. Add to that a bead woven rope of antiqued bronze glass seed beads.


Together, the four strands compliment each other, and yet they stand out on their own.

The clasp is hand wired and designed to clasp in the front just above the focal, both for ease in clasping and another element of design.


The focal consists of a hand wired antique carved mother of pearl button from my collection and featuring more Czech pressed glass beads in turquoise with Picasso so that they resemble stones straight from the ocean. In reality, I had to keep reminding myself they were Czech glass beads and not actual carved stones, they were so realistic! Shift the eyes down further and you get to the main focal of the piece.


A seashell from my private collection was hand drilled to allow for a spray of ocean charms. The charms were individually wired with brass wire along with more turquoise with Picasso Czech glass beads to give the effect that the tiny sea creatures were spilling out of the shell in a wave of water. If found the charms very impressive in detail, especially the starfish.

Altogether, the necklace is a stunning piece, versatile for both casual and more formal ensembles. I'm toying with the idea of giving this to my mother. What do you think? Give it to Mom, have a giveaway or offer it in my shop?

Artbeads.com is offering tons of specials right now, so be sure to head over and be taken away into bead heaven!

Disclosure: Artbeads kindly provided, free-of-charge, the materials reviewed above within the frames of Artbeads.com Design Partner blogging program. The review of the materials in this article is based on my own honest, personal opinion of working with them. I, the author, have received no payment from Artbeads.com for this review.

My Creative Space...a day late

I have been working on my Artbeads.com Designing Partner piece and as you can tell from the colors will definitely reflect the "Summer" theme. The necklace will be asymmetrical in nature. Here I am working on one side of the necklace. I am absolutely loving working with the vintage beads that came with the mix. So retro!

I'm hoping to have the piece completed by the end of the weekend. Although time has not quite been on my side this week, it is a long weekend and the kids left for a 5 day out-of-town vacation a day early last night, so I am hoping to make up on some time while they are gone. Working when they are away helps keep my mind off the fact that they ARE gone. I miss them so much. They are just glad they got out of school a day early!

Prototype New Name!!!!

Well, my "keep-your-hand-from-burning-while-holding-that-tea/coffee" thing-a-ma-bop has a new name. It was a tough choice...there were so many great suggestions.

I pinned it down to two:

Duni's "Hot Stuff Cuff"

and

Patrice's "Mean Hugger Mugger"

Now...for the winner....

Duni!

Why? Because I loved how it indicated that it was to hold hot things, is a cuff that goes around the cup...and I loved the *stuff/cuff* rhyme! Patrice, yours was a VERY close second! But you would expect that Patrice would come up with a cool name...have you seen her shop?!

Okay, Duni...email me your address and I'll shoot one out to you next week :)

Thanks for playing, everyone! It was fun. Now I know where to go when I'm having a hard time naming something :)

New Prototype....Watcha Think? Help Me Name It!

I wanted to have these ready for spring....well, you know how it goes!


A travel mug cozy. Should be named "Don't burn your hand" cozy!


They were crocheted using super-soft baby yarn (as well as the hand embroidery). And, of course, you know it has to have buttons on it! These are antique utilitarian pearl buttons.


...and you have to have the button closure!


I have been using one on my stainless steel handle-less travel mug (constantly full of peppermint tea!). My mug gets so hot because it's stainless on the outside as well as the inside and sometimes it is just too hot to pick up....hence these little babies! I love it (mine is baby green)!

So, whatcha think?
What should I call them?
I will consider any names! If I choose yours, I will send you one :) (Yes, Duni, you can try for it, too!)

The Beauty of Spring - May Flowers Vintage Button Charm Bracelet

Artbeads .com enlisted their partner designers to interpret "The Beauty of Spring" in a jewelry design. Immediately after I learned of the challenge, charming visions of pink, purples, blues and yellows with a little twisted wire danced in my head. Oh, and of course, you knew I had to throw in a few vintage painted glass collectible buttons in the mix!

Miyuki Delica seed beads in Peachy Coral, Turquoise Green and Light Lilac were used to create the vintage button bead woven charms as well as the bead woven beads. Every bead weaver knows that Miyuki Delica beads are the beads of choice for techniques such as peyote as the sizes are very uniform which makes your rows line up perfectly every time. However, Miyuki Delica's prove to be perfect for other bead weaving techniques. The large holes accommodate for many more passes of the needle than other seed beads, which can only accommodate several. If too many passes are made, the bead breaks forcing the designer to start the piece all over.

After creating the beaded components, I used pressed Czech bell flower glass beads to create the remaining dangles. They were hand wired with 22 gauge artistic wire in rose and random beads. The chain of the bracelet was hand wired using 18 gauge artistic wire in rose, also. I was dying to try this wire as a lot of craft and jewelry wires prove to be too soft to hold up to the demands of a bracelet. I was quite pleased to find the 18 gauge wire to be sufficiently hard enough to make jump rings and a hook clasp without fear of the wire stretching and thus leading to the components to fall apart. The 22 gauge wire seemed a little softer than other 22 gauge wire brands, however, the wire worked well for the purpose of charm components. I would be afraid of the wire bending out of shape in using for ear wires or other components that need a stiffer wire to hold it's shape, but the 18 gauge was surprisingly stiff enough to ensure to me the shape will hold. The color quality of both the wires really impressed me. With many colored wires, the color scratches off when using hand tools. In both cases, the color did not scratch off at all. The package states that the wire is silver coated; perhaps this is the secret to good color quality. I plan on using this wire much more in the future as it turns out the wire was my favorite material out of all those used in the creation of this piece.


One final part that deserves mention is the vintage glass leaf brass head pins. I absolutely love working with vintage beads and components. They have that old-fashioned flair that is so hard to reproduce. Upon doing a search for "vintage" on the Artbeads.com website, the search turned up a whole slew of vintage beads and components. Since my piece was tied around spring and I knew flowers were going to be involved, I simply had to incorporate some of the vintage head pins into the design. I was impressed with the quality of the head pins. The wire was a little thin, maybe 26 gauge, but the wire was certainly brass and parts of the wire had a great patina. They were great to work with and as you can see, added the perfect icing on the cake.

I have offered this piece to the public and it can be found in my Etsy shop, Alterity Button Jewelry and Gifts. What a great addition to your spring ensembles! And you will love the jangle of the whole charm concept, too!

I also want to mention that Artbeads.com is currently offering a Tax Relief Sale, where the more you buy, the better your savings! Be sure to stop by the website and check it out!



Disclosure: Artbeads kindly provided, free-of-charge, the materials reviewed above within the frames of Artbeads.com Design Partner blogging program. The review of the materials in this article is based on my own honest, personal opinion of working with them. I, the author, have received no payment from Artbeads.com for this review.