Did you see what my friend made?

In the Dec/Jan 2011 Issue of Beadwork, I was asked in their contributer question about the beader that I'd most like to know and learn from.

My choice was Caroline Fung because of her amazing versatility.
She does everything!
She does bead embroidery, metal clay, she paints her own cabochons...and she does it all so well.
Well, soon after that issue came out, she wrote to me and asked me to send her my physical address.
Well, I am sooo glad that I did, because she sent me this:

Amazing, no??

She made everything....dyed the lace and made the butterfly from metal clay. It is truly a stunning piece and I'm so happy to own it!

Thank you, Caroline!

(Oh, and by the way, she said she painted the cab to look like me!! How sweet is that?!)

New Growth

I've had growth on the the mind lately.

The colors here are amazing, bright buttery yellow, hot magenta, and deep garnet...and those are just the roses! The world is blooming, welcoming Spring, and I can't help but feel the growth in my soul as we prepare to move houses.

In the meantime, it shows up in my work.

A deep, milky dot of green onyx for the leaves that have sprung to life both in my garden and on my little workbench.  

The maker's current initials (soon to change!)

(I've thought about initialing out La Bella Joya, but I don't want someone 100 years from now to find my ring and assume it was handcrafted by a former US President.)

The little leaves on either side look like they're growing from the onyx. That was what I wanted, the rough imperfection of nature hand wrought with a saw and silver from the faceted perfection of the lapidary wheel ground from green onyx.

This ring is all Spring, and a celebration of the true birth of the new year.
It's here if you'd like to see more. 
Enjoy this beautiful Spring day!

My Brand of Feather Fling

I told you I'd be back with feathers!

This is the first of my flirtation with feathers.

It's an embroidered medallion of jasper and pressed czech glass overlaid on a pad of coppery guinea feathers that I've laid out over a lightweight but sturdy aluminum headband.

These headbands are always difficult to photograph, but I think worth just about every second of the work. I really wanted to mimic the shape of the feathers in the medallion so I chose to use the pointed czech leaves and to kind of have the feathers coming out from behind. 

It's big, I mean really big. It has a lot of substance and width and plenty of glitz and glamour to match. I've decided to list this one in the shop, but I'll have to list it later this afternoon. I've got an appointment this morning, so keep checking back in if you'd like a new fascinator for the summer! 

Oh, and I'll be putting the Bloom Where You're Planted cuff in the shop as well. I'm very thankful for the response that I got from it. I've been wearing it around the past couple of days and I just love it!

It's really not a difficult create as far as metal goes but the result really was a cute cuff! 

Have a great day and hopefully I'll see you at the shop later this afternoon! 

Feather Fling

I have found myself suddenly in love with feathers.

I'm not really sure why, but I purchased a few beauties in some of the deepest most gorgeous colors.

I've been running them through my fingers and matching them with beads and stones from my collection.

I can't wait to make some beautiful pieces...a combination of soft whispy colors with striking stones and flashy finishes.

In the meantime...

here's some of the feather inspiration that's got me going...

Forest Nymph by FeathersofArtemis

Feather Bracelet by Studio Tambria

Hera's Cuff by Beadmask

Beaded Collar Necklace by AnnicaJewelry

Peacock Fascinator by FoothillCreations

I'm also thinking feathers for the wedding. Just little whispies in my hair and my sisters'.

On that note...the last piece of inspiration...

Ivory and Gold Veil Comb by SurroundingsOnline

How about you?

Bitten by the feather bug yet?  ;)

Grow where you are planted...

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately and it's been creeping into my work bit by bit.

I'm feeling the upheaval of the move and the wedding and I've been pulling out things we've collected over the years that will finally sit in hallways and on countertops and hang on dining room walls....

The weather has also been beautiful 70 degree days that have been perfect for flower planting and bike riding and reading books outdoors.

So, it was no surprise to me when this cuff evolved from a simple strip of copper.

The design is an art deco inspired row of little blooming flowers that I've etched onto the copper.

I then sawed out the whole thing following the line of the flowers to give a lot of texture to the edges of the cuff.

I sanded and smoothed the edges so it won't catch your skin and then I riveted a little brass bloom onto only one of the flowers. Why one?

Well, that's me, or maybe you, individually special, my own bloom.

It was given a little bit of an aged patina and then hand rubbed again to make it glow.

I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing this one today and probably tomorrow as well.
I'm still debating as to whether or not to put it in the shop, if you're interested, please let me know.  

I also set this cab the other day.

It is a gorgeous chunky piece of Imperial Jasper and I love this swirling orb pattern.

Each time I looked at it, my mind kept wandering back to this:

^"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
-1 Corinthians 13:12

There's this really old dresser at a local antique store that has been sitting there for probably two months now. The glass is old and chipped and faded and has these lines running through it, so it's almost impossible to clearly see yourself in it.

I wanted to reflect that dresser and that verse in this piece so I roughed up the back plate by hammering the metal into concrete, and then I cut out window panes with a saw that was too big so that it kind of chunked out the silver instead of giving it a clean edge.

I stamped my favorite part of that verse on the back to remind myself that things that look so hazy and unclear now will eventually be pulled into the light and clearly seen if we're patient enough to wait.

Finally, I created just a fun piece.

The little initial charm was a little piece of copper that I sawed out and enameled in bright cobalt blue. I followed the lines of a handwritten M that I doodled on a piece of copper.



The bracelet was really thrown together to match the charm, but I love the intense colors and I'll probably end up wearing it all summer long to compliment the hot summer skies and deep blue swimming pools.



I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend and that you'll enjoy the upcoming week.

 Mine promises to be busy...

How about yours?

The Mini-Charm Challenge Reveal!

The mini-charm challenge is here!

I was so excited to get three lovely entries from three supertalented fellow beaders.

Here they are and I hope they give you a little creative jolt on how you could use my mini morrocan charms!

First up is Ms. Emma of Fredbean's Nook she went the earring route and I think the results are super cute. These are perfect Spring earrings and capture the soft pastels of Easter. Notice the briolettes that she added at the bottom?!

Genius!

Next up, Tanya of Pixiloo decided to use the charms as links but really punched it up with an awesome focal. I think the links do such a great job of complementing the colors and shapes of the focal and I love this teal/peacock green color.

Great piece, Tanya!

Finally, Therese of Therese's Treasures created this bright Spring green version of the links and connected them using a few stunning bronze clay links from Lesley Watts.

Beautiful color combo Therese! 

Thank you ladies for participating!

These pieces are just gorgeous and they definitely show the variety of ways that you can use my morrocan charm links.

Now, for the good stuff:

Ms. Emma wins a free tutorial from my shop!

Just hop on over and pick out any tutorial you'd like. Drop me a line and I'll send it out to you!

Thank you again, ladies!

Oh, and also, one more thing before I go...

Today and tomorrow are the last two days for my sale

There are some beautiful things in the shop that have to go. My fiance and I have found a little place to move into after the wedding, and I'd like to move with a little less inventory and in the meantime give you a chance to save on gifts for Spring birthdays and Mother's Day.

The code is

WEDDINGSALE

and you'll get 20% off all jewelry purchases in the shop!

Enjoy your Easter weekend!

Are you ready?

I can't believe it's already April 5th! Yikes!

You remember what tomorrow is, right?

April 6th?!

That one snuck up on me big time.

It's the last day to get in your entry for the Mini-Charm Challenge!

So grab your latest issue of Beadwork Mag and start creating.

Send your photo to me at abney_m(at)yahoo.com and on Saturday I'll post all the photos here on my blog. If you're new and just now hearing about this one, the details are here.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what you create!

Wedding Sale!

I promised y'all a sale to celebrate the wedding and I intend to make good on that promise.

I wasn't able to get my newest piece photographed and listed yesterday because of the rain, but it's here today!

I call this one Sacred Geometry. I've embroidered this little medallion with picasso jasper and granite gray peanut beads, and then wove this square piece of filigree onto the bottom of the pendant. I wanted the embroidery to mimic the little florets in the filigree.

It's listed here:

Sacred Geometry

Okay, on to the good stuff!

I'm offering 20% off all of the jewelry items in the shop!

I've brought back a couple of oldies but goodies for you and I've got quite a few new Spring pieces in fresh colors like spring green and lavender that would make gorgeous Mother's Day gifts!

I've got a couple Catedral bracelets in there.

This first one in Green and Lavender....



And this second Copper and Plum version from my blog header.

If you like bright colors for spring, you can't beat this beauty!

A floral fabric button graces the center and carefully beadwoven along the outer edge is a mix of teal blue, lime green and shots of fuschia.

I've listed Flowering Mandala in the shop.

There are definitely more goodies still in the shop so you're sure to find something for mom!

Be sure when you check out to include the coupon code:

WEDDINGSALE

This will automatically take 20% off the purchase price! That's huge!

I hope you enjoy my little gift to you and thank you so much for your support and your sweet comments about the wedding. I will definitely share pictures when all is said and done.

Have a great April Fool's!