My Addictions...Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

Saturday, February 25, 2012

7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop

What is The Global Genes Project and what are 7000 Bracelets of Hope for?

The Global Genes Project exists to raise awareness and support for the more than 30 million people affected by rare diseases. There are currently over 7,000 rare diseases identified, and 75% of those affected are children. With the 7000 Bracelets Campaign, the Children's Rare Disease Network gives artists and crafters an opportunity to lovingly share their creative gifts with families who have a child suffering with a rare disease.

Erin from Elysian Studios and Christine of One Kiss Creations Beaded Jewelry are hosting this Blog Hop for the 7000 Bracelets of Hope this year. 7000 Bracelets of Hope is run through the Global Genes Project . The bracelets are donated to the mothers and caretakers of these children, as a way to give them a little support and lift their spirits.

The theme is to make a bracelet with hues of blue, and to try to make the bracelet adjustable. I am a bead whore - it is terrible! Because of this self-imposed illness, I made not one, but four bracelets - all blue, and all adjustable.

The first bracelet above features deep blue freshwater pearls, wire wrapped with tiny white freshwater pearls to a bold silver chain. The clasp was hand formed from heavy gauge, sterling silver wire.

The second bracelet features ceramic rounds, which have been wire wrapped with heavy gauge, silver plated wire. The bracelet can be fastened into any of the large, wire wraps, making it adjustable. I placed a small, "believe" pewter charm in the last ring.

The third bracelet features a focal bead by Unicorne Beads - it has beautiful shades of blue throughout, including little dots of dichroic glass. This has been wire wrapped, with heavy gauge sterling silver wire and sweet, powder blue ceramic rounds, and a hand formed clasp. The bracelet terminates with a lovely headpin made by Kelley's Bead Studio.

The last bracelet features varying shapes of turquoise beads and antique brass beads, wire wrapped to a heavy duty, brass chain. I placed a lovely dragonfly charm by LeAnn of Summers Studio on the last link.

It is my hope that whoever ends up with one of these bracelets (ANY of the bracelets in this blog hop as well) gains comfort and a little bit of hope in knowing there are people "out there" who are praying for a cure for their little ones.

Please be sure to visit all of the blog hop participants, and thank you for stopping by my little world!

Elysian Studios and One Kiss Creations

The Studio Sublime Crafty Hope
The Gossiping Goddess
SilverRose Designs
Firefly Visions
Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry
Michelle Mach
Pine Ridge Treasures
Backstory Beads
Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean
Carefree Jewelry by Lisa

Sue Beads

MiShel Designs

Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Wedding of the Century - or at least May 2012

My dear sweet godchild/niece Rachel is getting married to a wonderful man ...Jon....in May! She has been engaged since January 2011, but picked May 2012 as her wedding date. I was both honored and scared to death last fall when she asked me to make necklaces and earrings for her attendants.

Rachel & Jon's official engagement photo (so cute together!)

Rachel's favorite color, to quote another Pretty Woman who shall remain nameless, is pink. So, she needed to have the bridesmaids choose their dresses first. She is having a late afternoon wedding, and the bridesmaids (8 of them, including 2 junior bridesmaids!) chose a sleek, strapless black dress (falls just above the knee) with a watermelon-toned sash around the waist. These dresses are really beautiful!

Since weddings are by nature a dressy affair, the jewelry needed to be either pearls or crystals, at least in my opinion. Crystals won! The first thing I did was obtain several different Swarovski crystals in various shapes and sizes of pink...so I could find the right color! Luckily, she gave me a swatch from the watermelon-toned sash, 'cause there are lots of pinks to choose from! I also used sterling silver, exclusively.....it's a wedding!

I also added some black diamond Swarovski crystals...just because they are so pretty and I think snazz up the finished look, as well. Once I was done with the necklaces and earrings, I thought...their arms will be naked! So, I threw in some bracelets, as well!

Some of the design techniques were inspired by Denise Peck's Wire Style 2 - particularly Cindy Wimmer, Jodi Bombardier, and Kerry Bogert. These women are absolute magicians with wire! Since none of the jewelry was sold (after all, it was a gift from Aunt Patti!), I felt it was okay to use some of their awesome techniques when creating the jewelry.

Rachel is giving the bridesmaids the jewelry at her bridal shower on April 1 - I sure hope they like what I created!

I also JUST finished a pair of earrings to give to Rachel for her wedding day - not sure if she will wear them or not - they are made with LOTS of cubic zirconium and sterling and are stunning! If not for the wedding day, I am sure she will find a suitable occasion!

I want to thank Rachel for trusting me with this challenge on one of the most important days of her life! Rachel has been my "guinea pig" for all my jewelry - she is a true cheerleader! Thanks, Rach!

And thank you for stopping by my little world!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

ABS Challenge - February 2012

The Conference of Birds by Habiballah

From the ABS website - The Art

This painting illustrates the beginning of Attar's mystic allegory where the birds begin their pilgrimage in search of the Simurgh (representing ultimate spiritual unity). Under the leadership of the hoopoe (perched on a rock at center right), who exhorts them to be steadfast and unwavering in their joint quest, the birds ultimately learn that they are identical to the Simurgh (which means 'thirty birds'). This illustration depicts a scene from the mystical poem "Mantiq al-tair" (The Language of the Birds), composed by the twelfth-century Iranian Farid al-din `Attar. The birds symbolize individual souls in search of the Simurgh (a mystical bird representing ultimate spiritual unity) and are assembled here to begin their pilgrimage under the leadership of the hoopoe (perched on a rock at center right). The idyllic landscape in which the birds have congregated appears to be in harmony with the late-fifteenth-century Timurid miniatures in the manuscript. The hunter carrying a matchlock (firearm), which is irrelevant to the story, was a popular motif at that time. In contrast, the tree with a snake climbing toward a bird's nest may have been inspired by the same motif on another Timurid folio page. The motif of goats on a mountain is also typical of Timurid paintings. Probably Habiballah used these Timurid motifs to visually align the additional Safavid illustrations to the original Timurid pages.

My Interpretation

What I first see when I look at this painting is a winding river, surrounded by trees and shrubs along its river bank, speckled with birds feeding on its nourishment. The red of the birds' beaks and the green foliage pop. I tried to capture that river in my vast selection of beads, and I think I found it in this gorgeous lamp work bead by Kelley Ford Wenzel, which she aptly named "Desert Creek". Though my picture may not truly show the colors of her bead, there is a tinge of blue-green swirl, which is reflected in the blue-green of this sweet little lamp work bird, by Elise Thomas.

The red beaks of the birds in the original painting are also reflected in Kelley's focal bead, which I accented throughout the necklace with red agate beads.

I wire wrapped some vintage resin "wooden" beads that mimic the towering tree and earth-toned shrubs in the surrounding landscape of the original painting. I used a simple wooden donut and sterling silver wire to create the clasp. This is another asymmetrical design from me, with the clasp worn to the side, in the front. This was a challenge for me - way out of my comfort zone. But....I kinda like it!

Thank you for stopping by my little world!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

BSBP - What I Sent My Partner (hint: lots of Artisan Beads!)

I was paired with Natasha Lutes of N's Whims for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. I shared in a previous post what her soup contained. Natasha does not work with a lot of silver - but that is the metal that I tend to veer towards. So, going by Lori's suggestion to send what "we" like, I picked from my favorite color palettes, as well as my favorite artists. Here is what I sent to Natasha:

Two gorgeous, handcrafted porcelain focal pendants by Nancy Schindler. These pendants are made in my favorite color – blue. She is so creative, and I just love her work!
Two sets of lamp work spacer beads by Kelley Ford Wenzel in two different shades of blue. Kelley was one of the first lamp work artists that I found on the Internet and I love the colors of these beads - especially with the chosen focal.
A set of white, sparkly mini-spacer lamp work beads by artist Sue Kennedy. I have purchased A LOT of beads from Sue – her work is phenomenal! She has named these beads “white sparkly pixie” as the glass is rolled in pixie dust. Such a nice shimmer to these beads!
I needed a secondary color - something that popped with the blue. So, I included two, yellow enameled filigree rounds from Anne Gardanne. Anne also makes exceptional lamp work beads, but her enamel work is just gorgeous!
I also included two, fairly large sterling silver Bali beads and some sterling silver chain.
I had the hardest time finding a clasp! Ever since I bought Denise Peck's book "Handcrafted Findings", I have been making alot of my own clasps (as well as ear wires, connectors, etc.)! So, I made two of them:

I worried most about the clasps - I hope they don't appear to be "too homemade", if you know what I mean!

I cannot wait to see what Natasha has created! Be sure to come back on March 3 for the reveal!

Thank you for stopping by!

Monday, January 30, 2012

New Work!

I have had some fun with some beautiful artisan beads!. First up, this sterling silver wire-wrapped bracelet with the most fascinating beads by Lori Lochner! These are my favorite colors - turquoise, teal, blue, plum...yummy!!

Next, I took a cue from the Pantone Color of the Year - Tangerine Tango - and made a beautiful, sunny bracelet with torch fired enameled glass beads by Sally Russick! I was in luck to remember that I had this gorgeous, orange enameled vintaj toggle clasp by Anne Gardanne...this is probably the most comfortable bracelet I have ever tried on!

I also had fun with beads by one of my favorite glass makers, Sue Beads. She made these stunningly deep green baroque-style beads, which I wire wrapped with a Green Girls Studio Pewter Flower Cross to make this bracelet:

I had ordered a bunch of porcelain charms from Marla James just because I though they were beautiful! I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to make with them. But, I lucked out and found a vintage resin necklace in my stash, took it apart, and the resin beads look exactly like wooden beads. I though it was a perfect match! The porcelain has the sweetest splash of light blue in the glaze.

More earrings with porcelain charms from Marla James - this time with some sodalite gemstones wire wrapped to the charm:

The last pair of earrings features one more set of Marla's charms, but this time, I paired them with some beads (leftovers from a bracelet, below) from a bead set by Gaea. I mentioned on facebook that I would swear that the beads and the charms were glazed from the same paint chip - another perfect match!

All of the earrings above have gorgeous, solid copper ear wires that I picked up from Melina Orr during the Craft Fair late in the fall of 2011, held by Lori Anderson at Pretty Things.

Last but not least, I made this pretty bracelet using these sweet, ceramic beads by Gaea, and some more vintage resin beads from another necklace I had on hand.

Well, that is what I have been up to this past week!

Thanks for stopping by!