Margie and Me: Oil on Canvas

June was a challenge for me.

I knew she would be.

Bright orange?

I found this chunky teardrop of Botswana Agate and mixed it with all the bright orange beads I had in my stash.

I hung it from an antiqued copper finding that I've had forever. I left the finding blank, no etching, no words. It's a place to keep your secrets. Just like June.

She's here if you'd like to see more of her.

The second little girl needed something smaller, more dainty.

Two little bobby pins.

Embroidered in creamy beige and surrounded with chocolate brown, creamy yellow and cadet blue.

Sweet, small and unpretentious just like their inspiration.

Finally, as a thank you, I'm extending an offer to you guys that I put to my newsletter subscribers on Wednesday.

To celebrate 400 sales I'm offering a

$25 Gift Certificate

to the next customer purchasing jewelry from my shop.

It's a little thank you, and it will arrive via your inbox and I'll send it blank, so you could give it as a gift, or keep it for yourself to redeem later for a rainy day.

This is first come, first serve and once it's gone, it's gone.

UPDATE: One of my lovely customers has taken me up on my offer for the gift certificate and it is no longer available. Congratulations lovely lady and thank you! :) 

Thank you guys and I hope you'll leave me a comment with a link to your Margie and Me creations. I can't wait to see what everyone has done!

Enjoy the long weekend, and come back tomorrow for a big announcement!

Margie and Me: Oil on Canvas

I thought about giving Margie and Me a spring break this month because there were so few people who were able to play along last month, I thought maybe we should take a break.

But, I really do enjoy the challenge regardless of how many people take it on, so I decided to stick with it at least definitely for May.

Okay, here is the first palette, and this one is the one that I chose.

I've told you before that art and architecture are much more inspiring to me than nature and also that I really have difficulty designing with anything approaching orange, so I decided when I came across this painting that it would be the challenge for this month.

It's entitled Flaming June by Frederic Leighton and it's

definitely a color scheme with a lot of umph.

Obviously the main color is the bright tangerine that's slapping ya' in the face there, but if you notice even though it is bright, the muted tones around the painting work to soften the bright color of her dress and make it less harsh to the eyes.

If you'd like a little short bio of the painting, it can be found here.

This second portrait is the one that I chose from Margie Deeb's book, The Beader's Color Palette.

I wanted to stick with the theme of women in art and so I chose one of the most famous portraits of a woman ever painted.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a classic work created by Vermeer, one of the dutch masters.

This painting has become one of the best examples of the use of light in portraits as you can see how the girl seems to be illuminated only from one side.

In Margie's book, this color palette is #72 and she gives you exact Delica #'s if you'd really like to nail down the color.

If you're interested in playing along, here are the guidelines:

- Create any piece of jewelry (woven, embroidered, strung, etc..) in any medium, with any materials, using one or both of the color palettes.

- On May 16th, we'll have an inspiration day, and I'll try to post an Etsy treasury with the colors or maybe even a few items that I've found which really capture the color scheme.

- On May 28th, we'll all reveal what we've created, which means you can post a picture of your creation to Flickr or your blog and then come back here and leave a link so we can see what you've created.

I hope you enjoy the color palettes and that you'll get a chance to play along and challenge yourself!

Happy creating!

Margie and Me: The Glamorous Ladies of Hollywood

I really enjoyed working on this month's palettes.

I made a decision to not skip out on either palette, but to definitely try to tackle both of them.

They really were very different in their color sense, but I am very, very happy with the pieces that I created this month, and I've been wearing them since I finished them earlier this week.

The first up was Ms. Grace.

I took the background color of the light gray that I was seeing in the photo, and made it the main color in this piece. It's a soft pleasing color and by adding the little punches of the yellow and garnet in the embroidery, it kept the piece simple, but pleasing to the eye.

In the close-up, you can see that the ocean jasper bead has these little inclusions in it that give it a druzy-esque finish. 

It's a substantial pendant, measuring just over 2" in length, and I beaded a chain to add a little color up the neck. (It really needed it for balance!)

I've called it Grace's Pendant, and I've put it in the shop here.

The second color palette really had me stumped. I don't think I've ever put together these colors and I really struggled with proportion when I started working.

I tried adding the red, subtracting the red, using black as the focal....

In the end, the red got canned. It just wasn't working.

But, I REALLY like the resulting pendant. It's simple, nothing fancy, but it features this really chunky piece of turquoise surrounded by mustard yellow seed beads with transparent turquoise and matte black.

I worked in the soft pink around the edges by creating a picot that is a smooth transition from pendant to skin. The little drop adds some movement and interest to the piece.

I call it the Warhol Pendant and it's also in the shop here.

The best part about both of these pendants?

I kept records as I worked, noting the exact amount of the supplies and the hours that I spent on each piece and then took into account listing fees, paypal fees, shipping materials and time spent photographing each piece which means that they are priced fair to both myself and my customers.

Which means that I'm proud to put them out there knowing that I've given myself and my work the value that it deserves.

It really feels good to know that it's not arbitrary and that the past three years of learning through trial and error and gaining experience through practice are reflected in my work and in the prices that I charge for it.

I do hope that if you played along this month with Margie and Me that you'll leave a comment with a link to your creation!

I would love to see how everyone was inspired by the color palettes.

Have a great weekend all!

Margie and Me: All about the Yellow...

Thanks so much guys for your input on Thursday's post. It really helped me to narrow my focus for the color challenge this month.

Can you guess what color I chose to focus on??!

YELLOW!

Most everyone said that yellow was the color that sent chills up their spine, so I figured we'd face our fears head on.

From Margie Deeb's book, The Beader's Color Palette, I chose an art palette.

This time it's The Sower with the Setting Sun by Van Gogh and I tried to narrow the palette down to just a few colors to keep it easier to work with.

This palette is definitely a stunner and the colors are intense, vibrant, loud.
(Apparently, Van Gogh did a couple of these, because while doing the research, I found another painting very similar in color and composition.)

Don't forget to check out Margie's book for the Delica #'s to really nail down the palette!

Okay, here's my palette for this challenge. It still uses yellow, but is a slightly more muted version as opposed to the intense colors above.

This palette really uses the neutral tan and a little mocha while keeping yellow and blue as accent colors rather than the focus of the palette.

I hope between the two of these, you'll find something to float your boat!

Here's the guidelines and dates to recap.

- The challenge is to make a wearable piece of jewelry by employing one or both of the color palettes. You may use any materials you'd like.

- We'll have an inspiration round-up on March 7th, which means that you can post on your blog a sneak peek of your project, or you can create a treasury, or maybe show some inspiration pieces that you found on Etsy.

- The reveal date will be April 2nd, which means that you have a full month to create your piece(s)! On that day, just post a picture of your piece and come back here to link back so we can all see!

I hope you enjoy the palettes for March!

Margie and Me: February Reveal

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and admit it...

I was only able to do one of the Margie and Me palettes for this one.

See, I ordered some Tilas that would go perfect with the Constructivism palette, and they never arrived!!!

So, I stuck with creating something for the Madrid palette.

I chose to pair this cute little component link that I bought from Nancy and add a few wire-wrapped links, a little bead embroidery, and some leather.

I'm still debating on how I feel about it. It's a lot different than my norm, but ya' know, sometimes you've just got to go for something. I'll let you know if I intend to keep it that way or not.

I also finished my RAW for the week, and it's a wire-wrapped ring that incorporates a little beadweaving.

I used a little beaded beads and suspended it between two arms of wire.

I also created a second ring. This one is straight out of Jodi Bombardier's book, with the exception that I added the two arms on the side instead of just the one.

The purple ring is not quite as comfortable to wear as the brass one.

But, the thing that I worked the most on this week and that I am really, really proud of is this...

It's a wire wrapped pendant that I created using Jodi Bombardier's techniques.

But, while I used her techniques to create the weave, the chain, and yes, the clasp, the design is all my own.

My inspiration was the peacock. I started out with the pendant facing up, like a peacock's tail, and added the color along the edges and at the top. (Did you think I was gonna leave my little seed beads behind?)

I then wire wrapped the components together and finally created the chain and clasp that finish it off.

It's not silver, though it looks it.

It's actually a high quality copper wire with an antique brass coating that has such a great oxidized color.

It's much more cost effective than silver and is great especially when you're just learning! (That would be me.)

I'm actually going to list this beauty in my shop, it's here if you'd like to see more photos.

Also....

It's my Birthday!!!!

So, I've decided to share the love with y'all! That being said, if you use the code

BIRTHDAYSALE2011

anytime this weekend, you'll receive 19% off any item in my store, including tutorials!

It's my way of saying thank you for a great year.

Be sure and tell your friends, because this deal only lasts until Sunday night, and then it's GONE!

Okay, if you participated in Margie and Me this month, go ahead and leave a comment with your link. I'll try to come back and add the links to the bottom of the post, but if you didn't play, be sure to check out the comments to see if I missed anyone! 

Here's a couple that I've already caught this morning: 

Beading From the Heart 

Beads for Busy Gals

Kokopelli Design

Amybeads

My Earthly Jewels

Beadwork by H

Preserve Jewelry Studio

Beads and Bread

Bead Origami

Have a great weekend guys!

Margie and Me: The Modern Madrid

For those of you who've been around for a little while with me and Margie, you'll know I like the art.

Which is to say that the color palettes generated by art tend to be among my favorites.

Nature? Eh...not so much...so, of course, for the month of February I'm skipping the little hearts and tiny naked baby angels, and we're going with some more modern lines and mature color palettes.

First up is the palette from Margie. The Colors of Constructivism is #102 in her book, The Beader's Color Palette. The palette is awesome. Some deep grays and light grays with just a splash of black and a pop of teal. (I love the mix of teal with gray).

Of course, check out Margie's book for the Delica numbers, and this time around, she even has a pattern for this design in the book!

The second palette is one I chose myself...and to stick with my theme of visiting the Spanish-speaking world, we're jumping from Mexico to Madrid and specifically right onto somebody's balcony. I love this bright mustard yellow color with the punch of denim blue around the balconies.

I've also got a million ideas about shapes running through my head.

Image from JMDasso

Okay, here are the dates so you can keep up!

Jan. 31: New Palettes (see above)

Feb. 7: Sneak Peek. I'll post a sneak peek image of mine and leave some space on my post so you guys can leave links to your sneak peeks.

Feb. 19: The Reveal! I know it's a little early, but there's no way I'm gonna try to compete with the Bead Soup Blog Party! So, we'll do our reveal a little early.

Okay, here are the rules:

Create a piece of jewelry using one or both of the color palettes above as inspiration, show off your piece on your blog and come back here on Feb. 19th to show a link so we can all enjoy it! You can use any kind of technique, just as long as it's jewelry.

Thanks to everyone who played along last month and I hope you like this month's palettes!

Margie and Me - The River and the Village

Okay, here it is! I think you guys have waited long enough for a Margie and Me. But, remember last year I promised a little twist. Well, here's the twist.
This time I've decided to give us a month to work on the challenge! Also, I'm throwing out TWO color palettes. One from Margie and the other from me! I really want to challenge myself this year to create my own color combinations. Obviously I won't have any Delica numbers for my color palette, but I'll give you a photo and a color combo to work from.

Okay, here's the first color palette and it's from Margie. It's #24, The River Sea and it's inspired by the Amazon River. You can see the deep greens and the yellow greens in the forest with the murky brown waters. This is almost a monochromatic color scheme, but still one that is very challenging. Be sure and check out Margie's book, she does a great job balancing the colors.

This is my color palette. I'm calling it the Village Corner. It's a little medicine shop in Dolores Hidalgo, a little village in Mexico. I was lucky enough to make a stop in this cute little town 5 years ago when I went there to study Spanish. We ate ice cream and toured the church there. This is very bright and also almost monochromatic, with just punches of the coral and white.

photo by JBFmx

Now, I know that these two color palettes are totally different from one another, but that's kind of the point! You can choose just one of them to be inspired by or both! Make as many creations as you want and try different inspirations with the colors!

Here's how this monthly challenge will work.

- On the first Monday of the month,  I'll put up the color palettes for the month (I know we're a little late, but roll with me!) and we'll spread the word.

- On the third Monday, I'll do an inspiration and sneak peek post and I'll put up a linky list so you can sneak peek your creation if you'd like to. (Or, in my case it will probably be a pile of beads) For this month, we'll do that on the 17th.

- The final reveal will be on the last Saturday of the month, this month that's on the 29th. I'll be sure and put the linky list up on that date so we can all go visit and see what everyone has created.

I'm excited about new inspiration for the new year.

Let me know what you think about the new challenges. I figured you'd enjoy having a little more time and another color option. I know the more colors the merrier.

Have a great Monday and happy creating!

Margie and Me Color Champion!

Today is the day you've all been waiting for!

The Margie and Me 2010 People's Choice Award goes to.....

Kokopelli!

She created this gorgeous pendant based on the Venus of Urbino color palette and definitely deserves the win!

Congratulations!

Also, I promised to draw a name from all the contests and send them a little goodie bag, and the person getting that is...
Nancy

Congratulations!
And congratulations to all the contestants who did such a great job. I was so impressed with your work and so honored that you decided to join me!
We'll be starting Margie and Me again on Monday of next week, so make sure that you're back here for your new color challenge!

Before I go, I wanted to let you guys know that I worked super hard all week to get the tutorial finished for my Shooting Stars Bracelet. I've had quite a few of you ask when it would be available, and well, here it is!

I also worked up a little pair of earrings to show you what you can do with the pattern.

You can find the tutorial here.

Thanks guys again for everything, have a great Monday getting back into the swing of things!

Margie and Me: The Finals: Time to vote!

Well, It's here!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I've got all your entries with a number and name below each one. If you have a blog link that I know of, or sent me one, I tried to link to your shop/blog.

The voting poll is to the right. Simply choose your favorite number and click it to vote! I'll leave the voting open until Jan.2, so spread the word!

Here we go!

First Color Palette:

Titian the Venetian

The entries:

1. Amy's Beaded Bracelet

2. Kokopelli's Embroidered Pendant

3. Jess's Beaded Necklace

4. Emma's Leather and Beads Bracelet

Second Color Palette:
The Ishtar Gate

5. Jess's Ishtar Wing Necklace

6. Nancy's Beadwoven Beauty

Third Color Palette:
The Lady and the Unicorn

7. Elisabeth's Necklace and Earrings Set

8. Karyn's Beadwoven Necklace

9. Marge's Bead Embroidered Cuff

10. Lody's Beaded Pendant

11. Jess's Embroidered Pendant

Fourth Color Palette:
The Lilies Fresco

12. Jess's Mixed Media Necklace

13. Kristen's Beadwoven Necklace

14. Elisabeth's Ribbon and Beads Necklace

Fifth Color Palette:

The Pink Tablecloth

15. Jess's Mixed Media Necklace

Great job, Ladies! Some beautiful entries and I enjoyed seeing each one.

I chose to work wih the Pink Tablecloth palette. It is one that I had worked with in the past, but did not like what I had created, so I wanted to revisit it to see if I could create something that I did like. Here are the results:

Thanks so much for playing along ladies, it's been such a great and challenging year. We'll definitely be doing this again next year, but I may add a little twist to the challenge!

In the meantime, spread the word about the vote, and I'll leave the polls open until Jan. 2nd!

Thank you guys!