No More Boring Ikea!

A few years ago, I bought a light fixture from Ikea. It was ...meh... THEN, I recently bought a paint color I would like to call "Wasabi", but Benjamin Moore calls "Springtime" (no imagination), and my brain sparked. Really, really sparked. I have a few projects centered on Wasabi, and this is just one of them.

 It started out as a plain Jane brushed metal light. I didn't get a picture of it at the beginning stage, but here it is after I sanded and primed it.  I will admit right now that my photos leave much to be desired. I hadn't thought of sharing them at the time... Anyway...

Out came the Wasabi. Then I primed and painted wire and chain and painted those to match. I also used some black wire and black chain. After everything dried, I got out the fun stuff. Several years ago I bought some vintage chandelier crystals and finally got to use them. Hanging from the bottom is a hand-made glass heart.







The photos on the left are not the correct color, I had to make some adjustments to show some detail, but you get the design idea.  I could have used spray pain to make the whole job easier, but the color was more important than ease.

We love our new light fixture. It just makes the dining room sparkle!

Friendship Bracelets

My daily addiction to Pinterest has lead me to a new fashion craze. The trusty "Friendship Bracelet". They've come a long way baby. and I've been creating up a storm:





This is your basic model using large seed beads and a vintage copper button for a clasp. I sewed the beads around a black skinny rope cord.

Now some "Joy", using black leather cord, mother of pearl beads and Czech beads, with some pewter highlights and a toggle clasp. The "Joy" circle was from a multi-pack of circles.

I love the colors on this one. I used embroidery floss up the sides and a mixture of different beads for the focal. Then, for the clasp, I used this funky black clasp that I found at Joann Fabrics.





The Large pewter beads really look great next to these genuine turquoise beads.  My favorite part is the clasp. It's just so chunky and fun. Tan leather was a change of pace. This took just a few minutes to put together as opposed to the others.

All right, this is the Queen Bee of them all. It's designed to wrap around the wrist  three times with the toggle underneath. It has a sparkly touch with the use of black crystals, but down to earth with the Czech and pewter beads.  Love the light blue cord too.

Get Inspired By...

I'm not a big fan of beige.  My furniture is white, but it's not because it's boring, it's because I like to use lots of color everywhere else.

My jewelry creations reflect my love of color, and I would probably have to gouge my eyes out it I had to make something out of one color.  Strands of pearls?  Love to wear them, wouldn't want to hand-knot them.

Color pretty much inspires everything I create.  The design follows the color scheme.  I have notebooks full of inspiration, and very few of those things are pictures of jewelry.  I'm inspired by colors from a sunset (corny, I know), or the shape of a tree sans leaves.  Inspiration can come from a drawing or an advertisement for a blender.  I believe a true artist finds inspiration from good design whether it's from God or Dr. Seuss.

Look at the world through different eyes.  Find inspiration from unlikely things and let your design and creativity reflect your world.

Functional AND Pretty

It seems that no matter what I do, I have to figure out a way to do it prettier. I needed trays in my studio. So I grabbed some cardboard lids, decopaged them with beautiful Japanese Washi papers, and voila.  Functional and beautiful. I love to surround myself with aesthetically pleasing objects.  They don't even have to match each other (I'm not a big fan of "sets"), they just have to look pretty.



 I also love to take old crappy, junky furniture and turn those pieces into funky, functional useful items. I'd rather do that then buy something perfect and new.  Straight edges are over rated.

 Don't get me wrong.  I love beautifully handcrafted furniture.  My favorite piece in my house is the bookcase my Dad made for me.  It's beautiful, unmarked, straight and gorgeous.  Also, handcrafted!  It's a work of art. 




  For Christmas this year, he made me a jewelry box that is so wonderous it makes my heart leap just looking at it.  It is now filled with my jeweled creations and I'm a happy girl.  As a joke, I told him I was gonna paint it.  He laughed, but I detected just a tiny note of fear...

My point is, my life, my home and my world are not filled with perfection.  They are what I make them out of the materials supplied.  Infused in my crazy mix are some order and straight lines that are provided for me by the people who love me.  Without these things, chaos might well reign supreme.

Lampwork Beads

Lampwork beads are one of my favorite ingredients in creating jewelry. My preference is for artisan quality as opposed to those made in India or China. The major difference is how they are annealed (a process used to gradually cool the beads so they won't crack or break easily). Artisans "kiln anneal", which is the best method. The beads are more durable and less likely to crack. The beads made in India and China are annealed using a variety of methods which don't produce as strong of a bead. I still use those beads, but not in a bracelet. Durable is better for bracelets