La Bella Joya: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Por Fin...

I know it is tempting to think that I've fallen off the face of the planet for my strange silence, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

I'm planning a wedding...my wedding...por fin!

Let's just say it has been a long time in the making and we've finally reached a point where everything has fallen into place and the time is right.

We've found a place to live and will be working on getting it ready to live in.

The wedding is set for the end of May.

So, you'll probably hear a little less from me in the next few weeks but just know that if I'm not writing I'm reading.

But, this weekend as a celebration, I'm going to add a few new things to the shop and mark everything down for a celebration sale.

Stay tuned for more details about the sale and I promise to post wedding pictures.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

These are small pictures

I realized too late that I had my camera set on the lowest possible resolution, so these aren't the best photos you'll ever see and don't try clicking to make them bigger, it just won't work!

But here's what I've been working on all week.

The stone is Tiger's Eye Jasper and it's got the deepest mustards, reds and navy blues.

My inspiration for whatever reason was music, I cut the backplate to resemble the curves of a cello or bass and then added little cut-outs and details that reminded me of sheet music.

I also stamped a little phrase into the band. It reads: "musica del alma", "the music of the soul".

I'm very proud of it, it's only the second ring that I've ever completed in silver and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I haven't purchased the missing part to my tumbler yet, so this has been completely worked by hand.

The band is super thick 14 gauge silver with an 18 gauge back plate.

I'm still working on size. I'm having a lot of difficulty creating rings to size, so I'm probably going to end up if I start selling, making rings and then selling them at size.

Sorry I've been so absent lately, there has been A LOT going on around here, things that will require another post to tell you all about.

I hope you're enjoying your wonderful weekend and that the weather is cooperating for you. The rain showers went through late last night for us, so today should be sunny and bright.

Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Strong Desire To Learn

I've told you before that I have beaders ADD.

That I don't make large sculptural pieces (no Bead Dreams for me) because my patience runs ever so thin.

Well, I think it's moved on to crafters ADD...or maybe artists ADD (I think "artist" sounds so much more regal). I've been browsing the internet in my moments of creative dry spell and have been looking at Bead Fests and Bead and Button and ArtFest and so on and have once again awaken the desire to learn something new....

Like this owl by Doreen Kassel have you ever seen such beautiful detail?

I think I'd make a dozen to hang in a kitchen above a row of cabinets, such gorgeous colors!

Or these little half-face bowls by Stephanie Lee I think they'd be really cute full of round fruit filling out the head, maybe lined up on the counter.

Or this Steampunk Little Lady by Clarissa Callessen, you know my love of Steampunk and I have no idea where I would put her, but she'd be beautiful!

Last but not least, learning to draw this cute little owl with Juliette Crane. She's got a dozen of these cuties and my fingers are itching to recreate.

Alas, the discretionary income has been depleted or will be in a few months (more on that later), so I can't go flitting off to all parts of the country in search of artistic satisfaction.

So, what are my alternatives?

Here's where I turn to you for suggestions.

Any good online courses for learning the arts?

What do you do when you're in a creative rut and want to stretch your creative muscles?

Do you do local classes or travel to all parts in search of new and fresh inspiration?

Please, do tell!

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Mini-Charm Challenge

The newest issue of Beadwork arrived yesterday!

I've got a super simple piece in there this time around, but it's also super versatile.

You'll find the instructions for my itty bitty morrocan charms in the Apr/May issue.

I've shown it done two ways.

Here I've created a necklace using the charm and a saffron hoop from MissFickleMedia.

Or your can get creative and connect the little charms to make a light and dainty bracelet, and the color choices are only limited by your imagination.

But, the most obvious use for these little charms would be earrings. (Unfortunately, I don't wear them, or I'd make up a version with earrings.)

So here's my challenge to all my beadweavin' buddies and even you that aren't! (This is a great beginner project)

Grab your Beadwork Magazine Apr/May issue and create your own version of my morrocan charm, use it however you'd like....bracelet....necklace....earrings.... and send me a picture!

I'll give you three weeks to create and when I've got everyone's entries I'll post them all here and draw a random winner to receive a free tutorial of their choice from my shop!

Spread the word!

Remember, send your name and photo to abney_m(at)yahoo.com with the title Mini-Charm Challenge.

You've got three weeks so get your entries in by April 6th...what are you waiting for?

Monday, March 12, 2012

Playing with color

I try to make my tutorials very color friendly.

I know not everyone is fond of my particular color leanings, but I don't think that that should stop them from making a perfectly beautiful piece of jewelry.

I also find playing with color helpful when I'm stuck in a creative rut!

When I can't come up with a new design that I really really love, I fall back on my old designs, trying new colorways and perfecting my weaving skills.

This one I call Lavender Fields. It's a Spring mix of purple and spring green with some shimmer and shine from the faceted glass beads.

I've decided to list this one in the shop.

I haven't been putting as many beadwoven pieces in the shop lately. It seems that the embroidered pieces sell better so when I create for the shop I tend to lean toward one of a kind embroidered pieces.

I think most customers are really in the market for something absolutely unique.

So the only version of my La Catedral in Lavender Fields is available here.

And not to be outdone by the bigger and bolder shape of the bangle, I created a La Rondella in a mataching colorway.

I really like the small and dainty shape of this pendant.

This one is also one of a kind and I've put it in the shop here as well.

I hope you'll try playing with color this season when you're working on your pieces.

Who knows, you may find an entirely new and favorite color combo?!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Kuler and Springspiration

Have you used Kuler?

It's a color palette creating software designed by the geniuses at Adobe.

If you have Adobe, apparently you can use your program to really manipulate your color palettes, save them and do all kinds of cool stuff.

Unfortunately, I don't have Adobe, but I do have a Print Screen button!!

Here's what I do to create really inspirational color palettes for Spring.

First up, find a photo, these are fashion runway shots from the Spring 2012 collections of these designers. I've taken the screen shot and used Paint to crop it into a photo that I've then saved on my desktop.

This is a very Katherine Hepburn-esque design from Caroline Herrera.

I then visited my Kuler page (link above) and clicked on the little "Upload" button...I found my photo, plugged it in, and viola!

Instant inspiration and color breakdown:

You can also play around with the buttons on the left changing the color scheme, or move the little dots where you want them to create your own from the best colors in the outfit.
I really find endless inspiration from doing this.

Here are a few to get you started:

Emilio Pucci

Burberry London

(Even in Spring, they're wearing sweaters in London!)

Dolce and Gabanna

Have fun!

Oh, and to save your inspiration, just click the PrtSc button on your keyboard and then paste into Paint. Save the Paint picture as a JPEG. Start a little folder on your desktop and when you find yourself in a creative rut, just hop on over for a little Springspiration!

Enjoy!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Bead Soup!

I really struggled with this one!

The colors were not my cup of tea and I really had trouble creating something that I really, really liked. In the end, I decided to create this long lariat-style charm necklace.

I used the beautiful Earthenwood focal and added little charms of amazonite and pewter with pink czech glass leaves.

I loved the pink leather cord she sent along, so I cut it long, looped it over in a lark's head knot and used the silver loop toggle to hold it together.