Vintage brooch as front and center focal

I love this brooch, which was a birthday present (and the first gift of jewelry my husband ever gave me) 25 years ago.  According to this recent post by Andrew Thornton, that makes it vintage! I wore it all the time in the late-‘80’s, at the center of a buttoned-up collar, but must admit that it has languished in my jewelry box for the last 20 years. Until this week, when I was looking for a focal for an Alchemy of Objects class challenge.

My first thought was to remove the clasp and drill holes in the side petals to attach the neckstrap. I was debating the best place to drill to achieve just the right balance, when it occurred to me that I could keep the pin back attached. The brooch is concave, and the clasp would not interfere with it lying flat as a focal. I particularly liked this option because it allowed me to create some fringe to echo and accent the gray stamen in the brooch.

Faceted quartz, bali silver, chyrsocolla rondelles, and herringbone sections adapted from a Carol Wilcox Wells design in  Beadwork (April/May2011)

Pin back detail: Square-stitched loops connect the neckstrap to the brooch; fringe cascades from removable peyote-stitched tube.

The upside of retaining the pin back: the integrity of my brooch wasn’t compromised (I’m an absolute novice with a drill!) and my necklace is now convertible. It can be worn without the fringe, which can easily be slipped off its pin. Also, the brooch itself is completely detachable – it will be jacket season soon, and, when it's not enjoying its second life as a necklace,  it can still be used as a pretty, single accessory to punch up a black blazer.

Ears To You Blog Hop

Amy Freeland of Copper Diem is hosting a blog hop today to benefit Ears To You, a very special jewelry donation program for women undergoing chemotherapy.

Ruth Crane founded Ears To You after undergoing chemotherapy herself, and finding that she felt more attractive, more "normal" when she was able to accessorize. “I started Ears To You to help other women deal with hair loss and provide a way for them to feel good about themselves at a time when life can seem uncertain and scary.” Thanks to Amy for pointing me to this thoughtful organization - I am so happy to be included in this effort to send a bit of support and encouragement to these women during a challenging time.

There are dozens of artists participating in today's hop. You'l want to check out the work of each and every one:

Copper Diem
My Addictions
Beads, Tea and Sweets
Juls Beads
Fabric of my Life
Blogging Business Artisans
Jeannie's Blog
Lorelei's Blog
One Kiss Creations
Backstory Beads
According to Katie
Cherish Designs
Beads: Rolling Downhill
Falling Into The Sky
Garden Path Beads
Antiquity Travelers
Sissy and Jacks
Erin Siegel Jewelry/Art Bead Scene
Northwood Creative Studio
SilverRose Designs
Dreamin of Beads/SAS Jewelry Design
Cabe Woman
Summers Studio
Honey from the Bee
Shaiha's Ramblings
Mama's Got to Doodle
Beads for Busy Gals
Tanya McGuire
Creative Atelier

October Fest Celebration: Bumps in the Night

Rita of Toltec Jewels is hosting a blog and Facebook hop today to celebrate the splendor of Autumn – participants were encouraged to take up the challenge with jewelry, beads, home decor, recipes – all manner of creative pursuits will be on display.

I chose to celebrate the brilliant oranges, yellows and reds of Fall and pay homage to the ghosts, the goblins and  the thrills and chills of Halloween. My “Bumps in the Night” necklace is designed around three beaded beads. The central  geometric bead is from a pattern by the uber-talented Jean Power and the banded beads are from a tutorial by the wonderfully creative Sharri Moroshok. Most of the season-perfect yellow and orange supporting beads are from SueBeads.

 

Click on this link to see our host, Rita’s, offerings and links to the list of 40+ participants. Then join me on this delightful hop - I can’t think of a more inspiring way to celebrate the last week-end of October!

A Time to (St. Petersburg) Stitch

Thanks so much to Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller for sponsoring another blog hop, and for challenging us with right-angle weave and St. Petersburg chain. I’ve been wanting to learn St. Petersburg stitch forever, but just never set aside the time. When I saw their challenge pop up in my reader, I knew the time had come!

I also knew I wanted to make something casual. More than any other season, I tend toward a uniform in Fall – long-sleeve white tee, dark jeans, and a pair of Naots. If I have an outside meeting, I change into a white shirt and low heels, and can go from bead table to door in ten minutes! I needed an everyday accessory to brighten up my look, wherever I’m spending my day.

After watching a couple of online tutorials, it seemed that St. Petersburg stitch could be adapted to a wide range of beads for many different looks. After several experiments, I decided a single St. Petersburg chain stitched with 1.8mm cubes and a mix of 4mm firepolish beads would keep the look casual, while giving my necklace  a slightly chunky drape and enough visual weight for a bronze Saki pendant.

This stitch is easy to grasp after the first few rows, is really fun and relaxing to do, works up very quickly and I am so happy with the results! My necklace brings lots of color to crisp white, and looks great against dark colors – like this morning, when I left the house at 7:00 and threw on the other staple of my Fall wardrobe – my warm black cardigan.

Thanks again, Therese and Christine – I’ve already started a second St. Petersburg project, and may have found my new favorite stitch!

There are two dozen beaders who took up Therese and Christine’s challenge – click on the list below - you'll want to savor the work of each one.

Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller

Nikki Byers

Kristen Stevens

Shirley Moore

Cynthia Machata

Lola Surwillo

Maryanne Gross

Alenka

Karin Slaton

Katherine Gale

Sally Russick

Amy Severino

Alicia Marinache

Sonya Stille

Tanya Goodwin

Lisa Stukel

Marla Gibson

Sarah Sequins

Mandy

Andra Weber

Kim Hora

Karen Williams

Finally, a Keeper

The lesson on proportion in my Alchemy of Objects e-course sent me to my focal box for this pendant. Added to my collection nearly two years ago, I've designed (and discarded) many beadwoven straps for it -- at least half a dozen. I have ripped apart untold rows of netting, right angle weave and herringbone - never quite finding the right combination of beads and technique to complement the gorgeous pendant.

So, time to try something new. I realized the proportions were wrong in each of my previous attempts, both in color (I had previously used the focal's gold accent as my main color) and in size (I tried seed beads from 11's through 6's.) I now had the confidence to try a strung design.

 

For this challenge, I focused on the pendant's rich browns, choosing faceted smoky quartz nuggets and rounds. I used sterling silver accents to tie it all together visually, only hinting at the gold with my pearl strand. Finally! I think I have a keeper.

Mismatched Art Bead Earring Swap Reveal

Today is the reveal for the Mismatched Art Bead Earring Swap organized by Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio. I jumped at the chance to participate in this swap because I personally love this trend. Mismatched earrings are so much fun, but every inch a challenge – much thought and skill go into designing a well-balanced pair that look like they belong together. My very creative partner, Kari Asbury of Hippie Chick Jewelry, did a fabulous job making a statement with the earrings she designed for me.

The challenge required that participants have a blog and use at least one art bead in each earring. Mine are just brimming! The polymer charm is by Martha Eason of Menagerie Studios, where you’ll also find some fantastic fleur-de-lis and crosses. The green lampwork bead and headpins are from Raida Disbrow of Havana Beads, an Etsy shop lush with the colors of fall. And the red ceramic bead is by super-talented artist, Nan Emmett, of Spirited Earth.

Now, head over to Kari’s blog where you can see the earrings I designed for her. Then check out the work of the other swap participants. I know I can’t wait to savor all the asymmetrical goodness!

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury http://www.hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Anderson http://www.songbeads.blogspot.com

Lesley Watt http://www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com

Lori Bowring Michaud http://www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com

Renetha Stanziano http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Holly Westfall http://www.silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

Theresa Fosdick http://www.thoughtful-notions.blogspot.com/

Ali McCarthy http://www.northwoodscreativestudio.blogspot.com

Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/blog.html

Carolyn Collins http://www.sparklingwaterstudio.com

Elaine Ray http://www.elaineray.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

Charlene Jacka http://clay-space.com/blog

Jan Onipenco http://www.MoltenMayhem.typepad.com

Stephanie Woods http://www.rainydaysdesigns.com

Eleanor Burian-Mohr http://www.cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Shelby Foxwell http://www.sundownbeaddesigns.blogspot.com

Pam Sears http://www.crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com

Mary Harding http://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Lisa Johnson http://www.Whimsyswonders.blogspot.com

Kashmira Patel http://www.sadafulee.blogspot.com

Penny Neville http://www.copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com

Dee Elgie http://www.cherryobsidia.blogspot.co.uk

Sarah Small http://www.bysalla.blogspot.com

Carolyn Lawson http://www.Carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com

Karin Slaton http://www.backstorybeads.blogspot.com

Ashleigh Becker http://www.seladesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Kay Hand http://www.creativetangent.blogspot.com

Rana L. Wilson http://ranaleadesigns.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff http://www.skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Dawn Pierro http://www.turtlemoondesigns.me

Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com

Melissa Trudinger http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Focus on Texture

My focus this week was to highlight texture, both physical texture through my beads, and visual texture through color and contrast. It seemed only natural to choose a Gerhard Richter painting as my inspiration point, so I turned to this wintry forest scene, one of my favorites.

I already had pearls, crystals, daggers, wood and glass beads in the painting’s color palette.

A visit to a ribbon store produced the rosy cream-colored crystal and fiber shapes, which I discovered nestled in a display case with a collection of vintage buttons. The store owner explained that they were intended to be used as appliques to upcycle jean jackets.  I thought their six sides suggested snowflakes and knew I had found the perfect answer to my search for some softer texture.

My snowflakes were whisper light and would need some reinforcement before I could use them in my focal. In the photo below, the top snowflake shows the original back view of the appliques, two of which I backed in Lacy’s Stiff Stuff and upholstery-weight ultrasuede. I stitched the third snowflake to a starburst shape constructed with the daggers and right-angle weave.

A rivoli in the same shade as the snowflakes’ crystals connects the focal elements, which I hung from two strands of pearls in the painting’s darkest and lightest browns.  

 

It was so much fun working with texture. Up next week: Proportion!