Artisan Clay: Walk Down Memory Lane

This month the Artisan Clay Design Team is doing a fashion show a la Paris or Milan.

So here's my collection rockin' the runway (from youngest to oldest!)

I hope you like!

The first up is my most recent piece that we saw last month called the Clock and Dagger.

In case you didn't catch last months post, The blue shard that the whole pendant hangs on is a button!

I riveted two textured sheets of copper and clock pieces to the front to create a very industrial, steampunkish pendant.

This second piece was heavily inspired by the arte deco shapes from architecture from the 20's. I wanted to capture the sharp angles and tight curves of arte deco and still find that layered look as well.

(Hint: If you want two pieces of metal to reflect themselves perfectly, cut them out at the same time by taping them together!)

Okay, now we're going back in time a bit.

This piece is an embroidered pendant that I created around a connector from Kristie that I turned into a cab.

Same thing with this one in just softer colors.

(To convert a connector to a cab, just snip the metal connectors from the edges, and file them down until they are flat against the new "cab")

Because Kristie's pieces are porous, they hold really well with E6000 if you're embroidering.

Now going waaay back in time. This was the first embroidered piece that I ever created with Kristie's work.

It's a big chunky pendant featuring one of Kristie's glass cabs. The inspiration was water and really tall high waves.

I really like this piece and I've had it for about three years and it still looks great and is totally wearable!

Be sure to head on over to Kristie's blog and check out the runway shows from the other designers!

Have a great day all!

Giving Handmade

I find that most of the people who give handmade also make handmade.

I know this has been true for me.

Every year when Christmas rolls around, I like to buy one item for my fam and then make an item for some matchy fun.

It saves some money on my part to make half of my presents and then the other half is used to support independent designers.

I've been doing some shopping and thought I'd put together some great combos featuring artist-made items from Etsy and jewelry created using my tutorials.

I'm still shopping and "favoriting" so this is by no way my complete shopping list, but I loved these combos and thought I'd share!

This warm orange combo features a dress by BrokenGhostCouture and my Charlotte's Path Bracelet.

I love her dress. It seems so light and it's all upcycled and I think with some warm tights and a chunky sweater you could switch it up for fall.

This next combo needs a soft black 3/4 length sleeve and a dark pair of jeans.

I've paired my La Catedral Bangle in Garnet with this super soft scarf from Windsongknits.

The great thing about giving accessories is that they can be worn with anything!

This next pair is one of my favorite colors.

I love this bright teal/turquoise combo.

My Arc Pendant is combined with a petite geometric ring from Little Cherry Hill.

Now, this one is not for everyone (neither in price nor in style). The first time I saw this dress I thought it was gorgeous. It has such presence and hearkens back to a medieval/guinevere-esque time when there really were knights in shining armor.

The dress is from Dig for Victory and I've paired it with Shooting Stars bracelet which captures the olive green of the skirt and the bright brass of the bodice.  

This one is a fun, bright geometric combo. I think the detail lines of the bodice are so interesting and I like the contrast of the curves in my Carnaval Pendant with the triangular shapes made by the stitching.

The top is from Out of Line and is available in a few different colors.

I hope you're planning on supporting independent designers this season and I hope you enjoy spending some free time creating your own gifts for friends and family.

To make it a little easier for you, I'm holding a special sale!

TODAY ONLY...

Purchase any tutorial from my shop and receive another tutorial of equal value absolutely free!
Simply purchase the tutorial and in the notes to the seller, give me the name of your second tutorial!

That's a BOGO for all you beadweavers out there!

Visit my shop here.

So spread the word and take this opportunity to get a jump on Christmas gift making!

Have a great day!

Chinook Jewelry

My sister has been into long necklaces with little clusters of charms and mixed media pieces in easy colors. I'm having a great time pulling out the orphan beads and components floating around in my stash to create these charm necklaces that are light and easy to wear and reflect her personality.

So, when Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry sent me a couple of lovely ceramic pieces, I knew they would look great combined with a few other components to make one of those necklaces.

I used this gorgeous purple and pink button and combined it with a cute little ruffled beadwoven charm, an antique brass key and a round charoite round.

These are simple to make and look great as little clusters.

Try making a few of these to give as gifts this year by raiding your stash to create interesting and unique pieces. They are the perfect gift that combines color and meaning to create a necklace that's custom made for the wearer.

Mellisa has some gorgeous ceramic pieces in her collection that would make beautiful jumping off points for these little cluster necklaces.

To show you some options, I've put together a couple of collages with some color combos inspired by Mellisa's gorgeous pieces and the people I'll be creating for this Christmas.

The first is a bright and gutsy mix for the wearer who's not afraid of a little color and tends to walk to their own beat.
The Professor

(clockwise from L to R)
1. 6mm Crab Agate Rounds

2. Altered Patina Key

3. Black Brass Rollo Chain

4. Mellisa's Buttered Rum Spanish Leaf

5. Vertigris Copper Links from Missficklemedia 

This next grouping is a warm fall mix with a safe color palette but funky shapes and a steampunk theme that hearkens back to days gone by.
The Architect

(clockwise L to R)

1. Mellisa's Aurora Borealis Jigsaw Pendant

2. Hammered Copper Links

3. Antique Copper Gear Button

4. Acrylic Faceted Nugget

5. Textured Antique Copper Chain

The last is an intense mix of the deepest blues with a floral theme that captures the lightness of summer but is just deep enough to wear year round.

The Gardener.

(clockwise L to R)

1. Mellisa's Cobalt Floral Oval

2. Chunky Blue Agate

3. Pewter Leaf Pendant from Mamacita

4. Gunmetal Oval Chain

5. Hummingbird Charms from Missficklemedia

So, who will you be creating for this Christmas?

Will you be using bright reds and oranges or deep dark blues and violets?

Will floral shapes dominate your bead table or are you looking for symmetry and geometry?

I hope these combos have sparked your imagination and happy creating this holiday season!

You Can Too.

Remember this tutorial?

I told you it was easy.

That it didn't take long.

And that the results made perfect gifts.

Yamani agreed and sent me two pictures of a gorgeous set of earrings and a chunky bracelet that she made.

What are you waiting for?

Get beading!

Guessing Game

It's been so long since I've done one of these, but they are sooo fun!

All of these items have been put together with a theme.

Now, it's your job to guess what the theme is!

(HINT: think way back)

Visit the treasury here to leave your guess.

Have fun!

The truth about free patterns

Have you heard about Craftsy?

It's basically a show-n-tell site for designers who create patterns and create from patterns.

I was invited to drop a few of my creations onto the site by one of the site admins and I've made some new bead buddies and loyal customers through the experience.

I highly recommend checking it out if you're looking for great patterns for a handmade Christmas (oh, and they don't just do jewelry...).

Well, recently on the Craftsy blog, Stefanie addressed the issue of free patterns and why not all patterns can be free. I really think she hit the nail on the head when she mentioned all the different reasons why designers can't just keep cranking out free patterns.
(Definitely a must-read)

I remember having the same discussion about a year ago when I found out someone was e-mailing one of my projects out willy-nilly to whomever wanted it.  

Their argument was that art should be common knowledge and that you should be willing to share what you know with everyone and not expect compensation.

This kind of thinking is totally foreign to me, I was taught that nothing came from nothing and that hard work and good work had its rewards.

It really is a disservice to a designer who works so hard to create what he or she creates.

When I create a pattern I take the following things into account:

- the hours it takes to edit the designs and illustrations and write the copy (some of my designs can take up to 20 hours for just illustration editing alone!)

- the cost of the materials (sometimes for two or three versions of the designs)

- the hours I spend making two or three prototypes (yes, designing is trial and error)

-the time it takes to photograph and edit photographs

-the cost of listing each design on Etsy (and the small chunk Etsy takes out for the sale)

These are just a few of the considerations, not to mention sending out patterns and addressing questions from my customers.

I've never really taken the time to sit down and explain why my tutorials are priced what they are and I've often thought myself, why would someone purchase a tutorial from me if they can buy a magazine from interweave for $6 and get a whole gaggle of tutorials?

In the end, I think it comes down to a few things, my customers like my style and want to wear my creations, they like the idea of having the designer "on call" if there are any problems, and they trust that my designs are well-written and illustrated and easy to follow and reliable and that when they're finished they'll have a piece that looks just like mine (albeit with a few color variations).

So, thank you to those of you who have purchased my designs to make and create and who have been kind enough to honor me and the time and effort that goes into each design.

In return, I'd like to give you something.

I've thought long and hard about this and I'm making some changes to the permissions for my patterns.

I still request that you don't make versions of my designs to sell online.

However, if you're doing an outdoor or indoor handmade market this year and would like to offer a few versions of my designs to sell, I don't have a problem with this.

I only ask that you label your pieces:

Created by: (your name)

Designed by: Marcie Abney

And one more thing, I encourage you to try to create your own designs. Pick a stitch that you love and play around with it to see what you come up with (and be sure to label those pieces Created and Designed by: Me!)

Enjoy your Christmas designing and be sure to check out Craftsy in the meantime for some great gift projects.

Thanks again for your support! 

Enjoy your weekend!