Beady Goodness for Winners!

Beady Goodness for the winners of the Thanksgiving Treasures Game Giveaway!  These will go into the mail shortly.

 

Each kit will be different but all include a ceramic art bead or button, various gemstones, buttons, seedbeads, and czech glass.  Congrats again to the winners!  Have a great weekend!

Day Four of Artist Showcase

I am in a funk.  It could be the glorious weather today (it's raining).  Plus, I need to do a tutorial that's due in a few days that I've been putting off.  I've never done one before and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by it.  Ugh!  

Anyway, I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the beginning of sign ups for BeadFest Wire in King of Prussia.  I'd love to meet you there if you are going.  I'll be taking "Wild Woman Bangles"  by Debora Mauser #2153 and I'd love friends to go shopping with.

Let's get going with day four of my blogging buddies creations.

The first artist today is Renate of Stregata  and she lives in Germany.  I always enjoying look at her flea market finds.  They are so interesting.  Totally different than what you'd find in the US.  She even found a hedgehog once in her yard.  So now whenever I think of her I think, "Hedgehog Whisperer".  Sorry, Renate.  I hope you don't take offense to that.  For those of you living in the US, I'm sure you remember the movie "The Horse Whisperer".

"I have had a fascination with jewelry for a very long time – I love to look at vintage and ancient pieces at the museum. In my metal work, I prefer a somewhat imperfect look; a little rustic or primitive perhaps. Currently, I am having a love affair with copper. Beads of all kinds are another passion, be it glass or gemstone.

For the exchange, I chose to combine etched bronze sheet - shaped into cones, with copper and beads of faceted turquoise (these have been colour enhanced) and matte teal glass beads. I love the archaic feel of these and the teal combined with the patinated copper/bronze. Hopefully, my exchange partner, Jeanette, will also love them."

Up next is Lisa from Lucid Moon.  Lisa is getting married very soon or maybe she already did.  Can't remember!  So wish this newlywed your best.  

Veronique wrote that she likes long earrings, prefers copper, earth tones and has sensitive ears.   I used niobium earwires which are hypo-allergenic and also a copper tone.  Then I used oxidized copper wire to wire wrap vintage pearl buttons of my late grandmother's, copper washers that I etched with a floral pattern, mossy agate teardrops and Swarovski crystals.  I made them pretty long since she said she liked long earrings, but I was afraid they might be too long.  However, Veronique said they are not, and she likes the length.  I also included some fun extra goodies for her to possibly use in future jewelry designs.  I noticed that she seems to like vintage things, and mixed media components, so I kept that in mind when choosing some
extras to send to her.

 

Cindy Wimmer from Sweet Bead Studio is next.  Cindy is one of the first artists I started blogging with.  She has a very big heart and mad wire working skills! 

"I wanted to create something to celebrate the season, so I chose autumn colors.  I knew Esther liked crystal with the AB finish so I chose a large, 8mm Swarovski crystal AB for the center.  I hammered the sterling silver wire a bit to create a frame with a coiled top section.  I made my own earwires...and I had to make a few before I was happy that the two matched up well enough!  I had fun coiling the wire and stretching out the coils as I went, adding a few Swarovski crystals here and  there for a random look.  I oxidized the earrings as we all know Esther loves a good patina!  Then I polished the earrings and was all finished!"

Last on the list today is Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  Erin has very inspirational chats with her bloggers about the daily grind of life on her blog with fun photos.

"When I got the word about LeAnn Weih of Summer's Studio as my secret earring match I was so very nervous. She makes the most gorgeous components! I am not sure how I could compare. But I knew i wanted to make her something that could be dressed up or down. Her color choices were blues and green, especially with brown and that made it easy! She wanted longer earrings. So I used some antique copper chain and picked out some lovely peacock blue-green faceted pearls (I love the way the facets make them so translucent, like little stained glass windows). I also used my favorite Montana sapphire tabac bicone crystals on some longer kidney shaped ear wires. This was a really fun treat to participate in, and I thank Leslie for connecting all of us!"

 

We should be finishing up probably tomorrow with the rest of the artists.  And if the sun is shining where you're at could you please send some my way.  :(

Day Three of Artist Showcase

We're on to day three of the artists in the Thanksgiving Treasures earring exchange.  

The first artist today is Sharon Palac of Sharon's Jewelry Garden.  Talented artist in wire and also beautiful clay creations.  Sharon made these gorgeous earrings and a necklace to match for Barbara Lewis.  The colors and swirls  are intoxicating!  Here's what she had to say about her creation. 

"I know she likes rustic, so that's what I aimed for. I made the beads from polymer clay and oxidized the copper."  

Our next artist lives in France making her intriguing pieces.  Her name is Véronique of Narrative Jewelry.  My favorite are her metal etchings which you will see in her creation for  Lorelei.   I just love the French script on these.

"I had been very proud to create something for Loreleï, but it put some pressure on me too. I decided after a lots of hesitations to make something with etched copper, as i read in one of her post that she would like to try it. As she asked for teal, i just put little beads of turquoise, all wrapped in oxydized copper wire. Except the beads, all is handmade."

Next up is Judy from Judith B Designs.  And guess who she made her lovely earrings for?  Me!  And I have to say they are my favorite.  They go with everything and are perfect for my style.  Thanks, Judy!  Here's what she had to say about her creation.

"I was so thrilled when I saw your name as the one to receive my earrings...I felt like I was making them for a friend and not a stranger.  The beads are Picasso glass beads, I just love the colors of them and bought them especially for you. I found the beads in a little bead shop in Nashville ( I have since ordered some similar ones from ArtBeads.com)"

And the final artist today is Lorelei from Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio.  I remember when I first started beading and looking in all the various beading magazines.  I kept seeing the same name over and over.  It was Lorelei's name.  Who was this Lorelei?  I started following her blog and found out why she's in all those magazines.  Amazing artist with a big heart!  

"I drew Sharon Palac's name in the earring exchange. Sharon asked for silver, longish earrings in a teal and brown color combination.  I used some lovely ceramic glazed beads in a sage blue green and brown finish. I knew Sharon would like them. I hammered some little fine silver swirls and dangled them below each of the lentil beads and attached a wire wrapped faceted silvery glass bead to add a little bling. The earring wires are silver.  I had such a fun time going through Sharon's blog and trying to figure out what she might like, so I could move in a certain direction. Sharon has bought jewelry from me before and I tried to play off her previous purchases too."

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the artist's inspiration for their pieces.  Please stop back tomorrow for even more!

 

Day Two of Artist Showcase

First off I want to say that there must be something wrong with me.  I went to bed around 4am last night or morning, whichever you'd like to say.  It's not that I'm not tired because I am.  But I seem to find so much to do on the internet around that time.  Why?  Is that part of the day any better than the morning?  No so I should just make myself go to bed at like 11pm every day so I'm able to get up at 7am to get Lauren off to school without fussing at everyone.  So today I might be a little slow and grumpy so please excuse me if I am.  My cup of joy will hopefully soon wash all that grump away.  On to business!

We are at day two of these talented artists and their wonderful earring designs.  Please take a look!

We will start with the extremely sweet and talented LeAnn from Summer Studios.

"When I saw Lisa's name as the recipient of my pair of earings the simple design of these literally flew into my mind. You see I know a little about Lisa without even having to read what she liked in earrings. I already knew she has a fondness for dragonflies, blue, and silver. When I read that she also liked mixed metals, combining copper with sterling was an easy choice.

So what I've done is combine my porcelain beads and copper dragonfly charms with sterling silver heads pins and ear wires and copper bead caps. The copper charms and bead caps were given a patina to provide more contrast with the bright silver. They were all simply linked together to create a pair of earings that are a little over 2" from the top of the earwire to the bottom of the charm. Hope Lisa likes them!"

Our next artist is Shelby from Sundown Studios.  "Beautiful work, Shelby!"

  

"I designed earrings for Renate Starke-Krammer, she prefers copper and her favorite color is green or a green/blue mix. Right away I knew that I wanted to try a new technique that I have been trying to perfect for some time. Fusing copper...sometimes I have great success and others...well lets just say I fail miserably. As luck would have it...the day that wanted to create the rings for the earrings I had great success and not only twice but many times. So it seemed meant to be. 

These beautiful lampwork beads were the chosen focus because of the dominate green color with the subtle blue mixed in. Scrolled copper wire acts as bead caps on both the bottom and top of the lampwork bead. The fused copper rings are hammered for texture and two dangles were added to play on the colors in the lampwork beads. Then the earrings were oxidized and polished. These earrings are different than anything I have ever made because the lampwork dangle and the ring component are not attached, they each swing independent of one another on the earwire. Of course, had I been thinking at the time...I should have used a ball tipped ear wire so that the dangles could be removed easily, then Renate could have worn one or the other, or both together, as shown in the picture."

 

 Talented ceramic artist Erin Siegel is next and she is from  Every Heart Crafts. 

"When I received the information on my exchange friend and I read her list of favorites, I immediately thought of a colorful design with multiple gemstones. I took elements from her given info. and combined it with my own earthy style to create my earrings for her.

Wood & Stone Stack Earrings
These earrings are colorful, earthy and just a little funky! I started with red coral rounds, added some wooden bar beads, then I stacked on my own handmade Porcelain Pebble Beads and topped them off with some Lapis and Turquoise chip beads. I made custom sterling silver ear wires with wood bead accents." 

And our last artist of the day is the marvelous Jeanette from Fundametals.

"These earrings were created especially for Erin Siegel for the Thanksgiving Treasure Exchange.  I call these earrings, Pendulum Riveted Earrings.  I textured copper and sterling silver discs and then riveted them to 14 gauge copper wire that has been hammered. The earrings were attached to sterling silver earwires and then oxidized and tumbled to add contrast and shine."

Stick around for more artists tomorrow!  

Giveaway Winners and Day One of Earring Exchange

Happy Monday afternoon, ladies!  Hope your weekend was lively and fun.  I have many things to talk about today including the winners of the game for goodies.

First off, it's Monday so I need to first put up the spotlight item for the week.

Warm Sunset Fire Agate Necklace (in Bei Mondi shop now)

10% off all week bringing this beauty from $53.99 to $48.59.  This one features lots of blushing fire agate with oxidized copper all linked together in an interesting figure eight pattern.

And now the winners of the "Game Giveaway":

Only 2 wrong were Shelby from Sundown Bead and Judy from Judith B Designs.
Only 3 wrong were Rebecca from Songbeads and Mary K. McGraw from MK's Creative Musings.

Congrats winners!  I'm surprised at how close you gals got.  You must have really been paying attention.  I decided to go with four winners rather than three since the girls were so close.  Please email me your addresses for your goodies!

Ok, now we will start showcasing the artists for the lovely earrings in the "Thanksgiving Treasures Earring Exchange."  Our first artist is Barbara Lewis and here is what she had to say about her creation for Cindy Wimmer.

"When I received my notice that I had "drawn" Cindy Wimmer's name in the Secret Santa drawing, I was thrilled.  I've just recently met Cindy online and am enjoying getting to know her through our internet visits.  Cindy requested black and silver earrings -- something she could enjoy over the holidays. She didn't want long danglies, either.  I decided to make an enamel bead because I knew it would be lighter weight than a semi-precious stone, such as onyx, or glass.  I also knew that I wanted to make something fun ... not too formal ... because of Cindy's youthful presence.  I gave the sterling bead caps a texture using a nail set. They were oxidized, given a brushed finish, and domed.  Most of the time when I make a piece of jewelry, I don't know the person who will be wearing it.  This was a real treat because every decision I made was with Cindy in mind."

Our next artist comes all the way from France!  Her name is Esther and she created this lovely set for Julie Pishney.  Here's what she had to say.

"I've made these earrings for Julie, she likes a combo of blue and black, and silver.  So i've made this. Beads are 12mm saphirre blue swarovski,and 8mm black onyx swarovski.  I hammered a little piece of pure silver, and stamped them with J for Julie.  The "crochet" part on the ear hole I made myself."

What wonderful creations made by beautiful artists!  Please give these girls a visit on their blogs and say hello.  I'll be showing off all the artists work this week so please stop by and check it out.

Everyone enjoy your Monday! :)

Game Giveaway!

As most of you know we had a earring exchange in the month of October.  I will be featuring all of the artist's pieces next week but I thought we'd play a game until then.   So, how well do you know your friend's style?  Can you tell who made which pair?

Here's how you play.  I will post a list of the participants of the swap.  Take a look at the collage of earrings below.  Each box has a letter associated with it.  Your job is to figure out who made which pair of earrings.  Send me a list numbered 1-16 with a letter of the person you think created the earrings.  If you get them all right then you go into a drawing for a prize.  What's the prize you ask?  Beads, of course.  All winners will get a nice little stash of beadiness from my collection.  I would be surprised if many people got all 16 right.  So I'll choose 3 people at random that get all the answers right or who ever comes closest.  Here's a little hint for you, look on other people's blogs.  They've been posting pictures of the swap. Please post your answer on this blog post by Sunday the 15th.  I'll hopefully have the winners by Monday morning.

1. Fundamentals (Jeanette) http://jeanetteblix.com/
2. Lorelei1141 (Lorelei) http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com/
   
3. Narrative Jewelry (Veronique) http://verodarmor.blogspot.com/
4. Sharon's Jewelry Garden (Sharon) http://sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com/
5. Tesori Trovati (Erin) http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/
   
6. Judith B Designs (Judy) http://judithbdesigns.blogspot.com/
   
7. Sweet Bead (Cindy) http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/
8. Summer Studios (LeAnn) http://summersstudio.blogspot.com/
9. Stregata (Renate) http://putalittlemagicinyourlife.blogspot.com/
10. Lucid Moon (Lisa) http://lucidmoonstudio.blogspot.com/
11. Sundown Bead (Shelby)  http://sundownbeaddesigns.blogspot.com/
12. Bei Mondi (Leslie) www.beimondi.com
    
13. Prairie Thistle (Julie)  http://gardenology.blogspot.com/
14. Mes Illusions Baroque (Esther) http://lilibulle-illusions.blogspot.com/
    
15. Jewelry of Distinction (Barbara Lewis) http://jewelryofdistinction.blogspot.com/
16. Every Heart Crafts (Erin Siegel) http://everyheartcrafts.blogspot.com/ 

Just leave me a comment here with your answers.  Good luck everyone! :)

New Exchange in the Works

Just a quick note.  I'd like to try another exchange possibly after the holidays maybe about February.  If you are interested please let me know.  And for the next exchange would you guys like a necklace or bracelet?  And I had an idea for a theme of sorts.  How about each person will get a secret name along with a secret style.  So for instance, Victorian, rustic, Asian, something along those lines.  Each person when filling out their questionnaire can state what type of style they would like.  What do you think?

Just a reminder for the Thanksgiving Treasures Earring Exchange.  If possible, I would like you to send me a picture and a short description by this Friday, Nov. 6th.  I will be using these to show off your "goods" on the blog.  I'm thinking of spotlighting 4 people a day starting on Monday, Nov. 9th since there are 16 people in the exchange.  These will be on the blog in the order I received them in.  I've seen some really great earrings so far and I can't wait to show them all off!

Thanksgiving Treasures Earring Exchange

Everyone participating in the Thanksgiving Treasures Earring Exchange should have received an email from me yesterday.  If you didn't please let me know.  There's info in there that I'd like everyone to read when they have the time.

Enjoy the weekend!

Let's Get Started!

Everyone who joined in on the earring exchange should have received a name and info last night.  Please let me know if you did not or if you have any questions.  Here's a list of participants.  We had 16 in all!  I added everyone's blog link in case you have someone you aren't familiar with.  Maybe you can do some "stalking" and get to know that person better.  Have fun with it girls!

 (Just a random picture of mine to get you guys in the earring mood)

• Jeanette Blix - http://jeanetteblix.com/
• Lorelei Eurto - http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com
• Véronique Perez - http://verodarmor.blogspot.com/
• Sharon Palac - http://sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com/
• Erin Prais-Hintz - http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/
• Judy Glende - http://judithbdesigns.blogspot.com/
• Cindy Wimmer - http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/
• LeAnn Weih - http://summersstudio.blogspot.com/
• Renate Starke-Krammer - http://putalittlemagicinyourlife.blogspot.com/ 
• Leslie Zabel - http://beimondi-leslie.blogspot.com/
• Lisa Harrington - http://lucidmoonstudio.blogspot.com/ 
• Shelby Foxwell - http://sundownbeaddesigns.blogspot.com/ 
• Esther Ramos - http://lilibulle-illusions.blogspot.com/
• Erin Siegel - http://everyheartcrafts.blogspot.com/  
• Barbara Lewis - http://jewelryofdistinction.blogspot.com/
• Julie Pishny - http://www.gardenology.blogspot.com/   

My daughter is doing much better today.  By noon yesterday her fever was completely gone.  I took her to the doctor anyway and he said he thinks its just a cold.  Yippee!  She's back at school today and every time I ask her how she's feeling I get a thumbs up.  

My parents are coming in from Tallahassee on Thursday so I'll be busy getting things ready.  You may not see much of me until next week.  Enjoy your Tuesday and let me know if you have any questions about the exchange.

Anyone Else Want to Join in On the Fun?

Just a reminder that the last day to join in on the Thanksgiving Treasures Earring Exchange is this Sunday, Oct. 4th.  Also, if you haven't sent in your info. yet please do so by Sunday.  Here's the original blog post about the exchange for anyone else who is interested and here's the blog post about the list of questions to answer regarding the earrings you would like.  I have 12 people so far, me included, that are participating.  On Oct. 5th I will send each of you a name and info. about a person to create your set for.  This will be a random drawing to see who gets who.  If anyone who isn't doing the exchange would like to help me out with this random drawing please let me know.  If not, my DH will have to be the person to send out all the info. to make things fair so I,as well as everyone else, doesn't know who is making my set of earrings.  Basically like "Secret Santa" which I'm sure all of you are familiar with.

Here's my list of participants:

• Fundamentals (Jeanette)
• Lorelei1141 (Lorelei)
  
• Narrative Jewelry (Veronique)
• Sharon's Jewelry Garden (Sharon)
• Tesori Trovati (Erin)
  
• Judith B Designs (Judy)
  
• Sweet Bead (Cindy)
• Summer Studios (LeAnn)
• Stregata (Renate)
• Lucid Moon (Lisa)
• Sundown Bead (Shelby)  
• Bei Mondi (Leslie)

We really have a great group here and I'm so excited to start.  If I left anyone off the list please let me know.  I'm human so I make mistakes.   If there are any questions please don't hesitate to ask.  I'll go over everything in detail again when the names and info. are sent out. 

And I felt like we needed a picture for this fabulous fall Friday.  Here's something that I'm currently working on.  It will remain a mystery for all of you until next week.

Have a wonderful weekend my blogging buddies!

Metal Etching and Earring Exchange

Wow is it cold here.  I'm huddled up to my cup of joe trying not to look outside at the wind blowing the trees all around.  October is definitely here and a little early too.

I was busy yesterday trying out the metal etching technique Barbara Lewis at Jewelry of Distinction had mentioned in her blog last week.  This is a 2:1 of hydrogen peroxide to muriatic acid (HCl).  I mixed it up in a 16 cup plastic container with an airtight seal.

I'm familiar with HCl since I worked with it just about every day in the chemistry lab.  The laboratory grade is much stronger than what's sold at your local Home Depot but you should keep the same safety guidelines in mind when working with it.  This is serious stuff.  Here's a few things to keep in mind when you are doing the etching process.

• Wear your goggles! Oh, and don't wear contacts when you are etching.  If you accidentally spill HCl in your eyes the acid can get in between your eye and your contacts.  Also, the vapors from working with HCl can creep in between your contact and your eye.
• Accidents happen.  If you get the acid on your skin please wash immediately with soap and water.  I have a scar on my wrist from HCl so I know accidents can happen.
• One of the biggest things to remember is to not breathe the vapors.  It's common sense, right?  I noticed in the tutorial I was following the guy said he etched in his kitchen.  What?  Go outside.
• Don't pour any of your mixture down the drain.  It will definitely corrode your pipes.  It's for etching metal, right?  This was obvious when working in the lab.  Our facets had corrosion on them just from the fumes.  And we only worked with it in a hood with strong suction.  We had glass pipes so luckily we didn't have to worry about that.  So, it will do the same to your pipes as well.  When I worked with it yesterday I first wiped off my pieces with paper towels then I set them in a bath of soapy water.  I then scrubbed them and rinsed.  Then I left the water run for 15 minutes down the drain.  
  
• Here's one more thing that doesn't have to do with safety but about the hydrogen peroxide in this mixture.  Have you noticed how hydrogen peroxide comes in dark brown bottles?  Well, the hydrogen peroxide solution sold in drug stores is really only 3% hydrogen peroxide and the rest is water.  It is a very strong oxidizing agent so it is diluted considerably.  And when it is exposed to sunlight the molecules decompose.  Don't keep your mixture out in sunlight or you'll end up having acid diluted in just water with no oxidizing agent.  Work outside in the shade if possible.
  

I was happy with the results of the etching process but not my stamping process.  I tried acrylic paint, a Sharpie paint pen, and a regular Sharpie.  I loved the freedom of using the Sharpie to draw my own designs but it didn't etch well.  The paint etched much better but I tried using stamps with the paint and the paint would either dry before I had a chance to stamp it or it would glob up in places.  You should have seen me yesterday.  My hands were covered in black paint and I had a huge frown on my face.  I'm guessing that I'm using the wrong technique for the stamping part and if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

I'm also finding out about the Angel policy.  I've never used stamps for anything I've planned to resell before and it can be a little tricky to know what you can and can't do.  I know several of you are into scrapbooking or mixed media so you are familiar with the policy but if you aren't here some info about the Angel policy. 

So, here's the results from my first etch.  These were etched then oxidized and polished.  First photo is with paint and the second is with Sharpie.

Earring Exchange

Ok, I have eight people including myself signed up for the earring exchange.  If anyone else is interested in joining the group please let me know ASAP.  Here's the Thanksgiving Treasures blog post of when I had originally talked about the idea.  For those of us doing the swap here is a list of questions I need you to answer.

1. What is your favorite color or color combination?
2. Do you prefer silver tone, copper tone, or gold tone metal?
3. Do you like longer of shorter earrings?
4. Do you have sensitive ears?  If so, what type of metal would work best for you?
5. What is your favorite type of beads (gemstones, lampwork, porcelian, etc.)?
6. What is your address along with your full name?

Now we haven't talked about price range for these.  I'm thinking $15-20 dollar price range.  And this is the range at which you would normally sell these not your cost in materials.  I will send out a name and info to everyone by Oct. 4th.  Everyone will have the month of October to create their earrings and they should go into the mail no later than Oct.31st.  Please feel free to send a business card along with your gift or a personal note.  And we'd all love to see pictures of the items once you receive them.  Any questions?  Is there anything I forgot to cover?  Please let me know.

Please email this info to leslie@beimondi.com as soon as you can so we can get started.

Lizzy Lizard Lampwork Bracelet

And here's Lizzy!  This cute little lizard is the highlight of the lampwork bracelet.  She likes hanging around to give a little giggle to your day.  What big beautiful eyes she has!  Lizzy will go into the Bei Mondi Etsy shop today so please say hello to her if you have the time.

 

Lizzy says have a great day!