Treasury!

Gladys George of Touching Prayers has included my rosary bracelet in her treasury"Teal's the One"
Thanks so much! And the the rosary sold this weekend. Synchronicity!

Kate Has Done It Again!

Remember the challenge I had earlier? I posted some images of the works of Richard Shilling as a challenge and Kate Clawson of Organic Odessy was the winner. Read about it {HERE}

This is the image that inspired Kate. It is called Mayday.

And this is Kate's entry . . . don't you just love it?

Well, when I told Kate she was the winner, she said she wanted to do something special for me. I had no idea . . .

Earlier this week I got a package in the mail. I knew right away it was from Kate because I know she makes her own mailing packages from calendar pages and magazine covers.

Look what I found inside! Miniature Mayday Earrings.

They are just a bit large for my style, but I will hang them in my studio area as a reminder of my creative friends.

If you were to collaborate, what would you do and who would you want to work with? Do Tell!

Treasury!

Deb from ZurDesigns and Handmade Artists Forum (HAF) posted a beautiful Treasury that includes one of my Anglican Rosary Bracelets. The Treasury is called "Your love is better than chocolate" Mmmm! Click the photo to go to the treasury and check out my companions. Thanks Deb!

Commission Finished!

I heard from my friend last night and she told me she really like the third design on the first photo, so that is what I finished this morning with the birds singing outside my open door. The piece just seemed to flow from my hands. I love it when that groove sort of happens, don't you?

And don't you just love the way Lisi's Lampwork Beads play with the pearls and rose and cherry quartz?

I probably should have waited until this afternoon to photograph the finished bracelet -- strong shadows and all, but I really wanted to move on with my day (so much to do!)

I have been a bit of a slacker -- I have not posted my Bead Soup Swap yet. I will post a teaser this afternoon, once it is in the mail.

LandArt Bracelet Challenge

As you all know, I am a big fan of the self-taught Land Artist, Richard Shilling. He lives in the Lancashire region (Northwest) of England and makes his art in the forest, meadows, and beaches near where he lives.

I have posted several of his works on this blog and many of you have found his work to be as inspirational as I have. I have corresponded with Richard and he has agreed to allow us to use some of his beautiful photographs of his ephemeral works for this challenge. If this challenge is successful and well received by you, dear reader, I will host another challenge at a later date.

Now, for this challenge. The images:

Here are the individual photographs:


Ice and Snow Sandwich Towers


Constriction Balance


Middlewood Trust Project


Icicle Sunset


Mayday Colour Totem

Here are the details of the challenge! {With Thanks to Kelly Morgan of the Silver Parrot for the text I modified for this post! No reason to re-invent the wheel!}

Select one of these photos and create a bracelet whose color scheme is inspired by the photo. Post it on your blog with a bit of explanation as to why you chose that particular photo and how you incorporated the color scheme into your bracelet. Come back here to the comments and leave a link to your blog post.

Please post a link to Richard’s site in your blog, so that he benefits from this challenge as well (http://jrlandart.blogspot.com )

Prize: Some Beady Goodness (one pound of assorted beads and things) and a surprise! More about that in a later post.

Rules:

1. You can create and post as much as you like, but you will only get one contest entry.

2. For anyone who publicizes the challenge (and links back here) on their blog, Facebook or Twitter, I will put in a second entry – MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE ME A COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU DID THIS.

3. I have to limit this contest to people with shipping addresses in the U.S. unless you’re willing to pay the shipping on your prize. If you are outside the U.S. but are willing to pay shipping, make sure to note that in your comment so I know about it.

4. Deadline to post your entries and comments is midnight May 31st.

5. Winner will be randomly drawn from all the entries on June 1st.

That should cover everything, but feel free to contact me with questions.

I am going to buy a Lottery Ticket!

My luck is turning and I need to cash in on it while the getting is good. I won the bug-bracelet challenge hosted by KJ at Silver Parrot.

My Bindweed Beetle Bracelet was selected to win a stash of beads and some art books, including GreenGirls Studio’s new Enchanted Adornments. I am so excited I can hardly see straight. And what is more, the company was pretty impressive, Lorelei Eurto did a couple of bracelets, Cindy Wimmer, and . . . well, the list is long and bracelets are gorgeous, so check out KJ’s blog to see the contenders.

This luck comes on the heels of an intense weekend. I was hostess for the regional chapter of Studio Art Quilt Associates . I was nervous about this because I am a relatively new member and I was concerned that we would have a light turn-out. We did, but it was great because several of my fellow guild members showed up and filled out the ranks.

After the meeting I went to the local arts center to hear an artist talk about her show she just installed. The artist is Susan Lenz, and she is one to watch! Her installation is titled “Blues Chapel” and it is a mixed media installation piece (the whole exhibit is considered a work of art in and of itself). Textiles, graphics, sculptures, found-objects all represent some aspect of the early female blues singers who, for the most part, are forgotten. It is a very moving show.

In her talk, Susan also showed us another body of work that is taken from an unusual source. She makes small, beautiful, hand-embroidered quilts that began their lives as silk fabric grave-rubbings . I saw her blog and read every word about this second series and was just over the moon to get to see it in person in her artist’s talk. She has been kind enough to let me use this image here in this blog.

One of the loveliest things about this weekend is the openness and encouraging spirit I have encountered from KJ, my guild friends, the SAQA members, and Susan Lenz. I feel the “reveal” for the next part of my life/career is just around the corner and it is going to be artistic and wonderful.

Bug Bracelet Challenge

Found out from reading Lorelei’s blog that KJ of Silver Parrot Designs is having a Bracelet Challenge on her blog this week using one of these bug pictures as inspiration.

Check out KJ’s Blog for the rules and details and leave a comment there.

I happen to have the perfect beads for a bracelet inspired by those gorgeous beetles!

Think cool thoughts. Think cool thoughts . . . . AND A GIVEAWAY!

Here it is the first of August, and if you think it was hot in Texas in July, you “ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” I have been­­ staying close to home and in the cool of the house, but I still have my own little “power surges” or ”personal heat-waves”, if you get my drift. And when that happens and the AC is as cool as it is going get, I repeat to myself, “Think cool thoughts. Think cool thoughts . . . .”
I was doing that today as I was making this bracelet.

It is a bit of a departure for me and I hope you like it, because I made it especially for this giveaway. (More on that in a moment.)

The bracelet is sterling silver links with a variety of glass beads (5mm – 12mm) dangling down from their silver wire wraps. The five orphan lamp-work beads are in shades of aqua and teal. They remind me of Monet’s Water-lily series.

I gave it a test wear this afternoon, and it is light and comfortable, and as you can see from the photos, it goes with anything from denim to chintz and lace.

Now, for the giveaway:
I really appreciate all my readers and I am so surprised that my counter has turned over 1,000 visits. To thank you and to increase readership, here are the rules:

#1 On your blog tell your friends about the giveaway and ask them to post a comment on this blog
#2 Stop by and post a comment on this blog – only one comment per person counts (if you should forget and post again)
#3 Check back next Saturday (August 8) to see if you were the lucky winner selected at random.

How easy is that?

And again: Thank You Thank You Thank You