And the winner is...

by Patti Vanderbloemen

Thank you for all of the lovely comments on my last post!  I truly appreciate each and every one - so THANK YOU!

I had several people comment that they cannot believe I have been making jewelry for only 4 years...I feel the need clarify, as my writing was a bit misleading/unclear (self-editing one's work - whether writing a sentence or checking the length of ear wires on a pair of earrings- can be hard sometimes)! I have been creating jewelry since late 2008/ early 2009. I jumped on the bandwagon and started SELLING my jewelry in November 2011...I just felt the need to clarify!

Anyway.... to choose the the winner of my little package of loot....

I used the Random Number Generator, which selected...

Ms. Julie Burgard!  Julie is the artist behind Outwest Beads her (shop is here)- utterly beautiful lampwork beads that I have been using in my creations for years now!  They are earthy, rustic, colorful, - always symmetrical in size - and she makes the BEST DISCS! When I picked her name, I went through my archive of designs just to see what I have made with her beads, and came up with just a few....

Jewelry made with Outwest Beads

Again - many thanks to everyone!  Thanks for stopping by today!

xo

Patti

Many thanks!

I have come to the conclusion that artists have BIG hearts.  I have known this for a while, but things keep happening that only reinforce this fact.  

Recently, Julie Burgard  - the artist behind Outwest Beads (OMG - awesome beads) contacted me on Facebook.  She had a set of beads that she purchased from a lampwork artist years ago, before she started making beads herself.  She offered them to me, as I am constantly bombarding Facebook with images of my jewelry, and I note that the proceeds are donated to Miracle Horse Rescue.  Anyway, of course I said "yes"!  Though I do not have  a picture of the whole strand here, it is a large strand of 12 pillow-shaped beads (my favorite shape) and each bead is different.  Julie cannot remember the name of the artist, who no longer makes these beauties, so I am afraid no credit can be given to the artist - just a heartfelt YUM!

These beads were screaming at me to be matched with copper, so I made this bracelet:

This adjustable style bracelet is fast becoming my "signature style" - if I actually had to put a name to it.  Let's face it - it hard work to fill one's shop with jewelry that appeals to "the masses", yet represents one-of-a-kind.  I find that making adjustable bracelets helps.

I also prefer to use as many handmade components as possible, so the chain is comprised of my textured, soldered links.

I love the colors in these little story-telling beads!  I see the horizon, a moon, a tree...love them!  Heartfelt thank you to Julie for these little beauties - and I have 8 left...yeah me!!!

Please be sure to visit Julie's shop here - her work is no less than A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

In other jewelry making news......my mother has been asking me for a black pendant that she can wear on a stunning sterling chain maille necklace that she made years ago.  She asked for a specific style, too.  So black to me means onyx...

Isn't her chain gorgeous!  Mom prefers "shiny" silver over the antiqued silver look - but, I wanted the details that I painstakingly soldered onto this piece to pop - so, just a quick bath in liver of sulfur and a good buffing helped to make the texture stand out just a bit.

The bail is more like a hook - slips right over this very thick chain.  She learned this technique years ago when she was making jewelry while living in Florida.  Makes it easy to slip it on and off the chain, too.

So glad that this turned exactly how I pictured it in my mind!  That is a rare event for me!

Thanks so much for visiting me today - I hope you all have a wonderful week!

xo

Patti

Barbie...or Lolita...and some New Work

I have been on a quest to find a mannequin.  I FINALLY found one that did not cost a fortune. I need said mannequin to assist me in taking a photo of my necklaces "when worn".  I am not into self portraits...ergo, I needed a mannequin.

Here she is in all of her naked glory!  She is a perfect size 8...I just need to find some proper clothes for her ... they will NOT be found in my closet, as I am not a perfect size 8!

I tend to name inanimate objects - my car is named "The Beast" because I am 5'0" tall and the length of my car feels like four times my height.  Anyway, since my mannequin was labeled "a perfect size 8" by the manufacturer, I feel that the name I give her must suit her perfect figure.  I am toying between Barbie and Lolita.

My next problem is where to put Barbie/Lolita. My "studio" is in my unfinished basement, which also happens to house my photography setup.  IT'S DARK DOWN THERE.  I work with 4 Ott lamps all concentrated on the same place of my table.  I repeat - it's dark down there!  I do use two photography lights for images of my jewelry.  I played around today for a bit - the lighting (or the backdrop) is still not right.  I got frustrated and quit for the day! But, at least I have the tools necessary to get a good picture of necklace when worn...eventually! 

The picture above shows a necklace on a my naked Barbie/Lolita.  I must find clothes for her, or a least a drape of fabric from my mother's fabric stash!

Here are a few pictures of the same necklace taken in my makeshift photo booth, in collage format.

I combined several sets of beads I recently purchased from Julie of Outwest - 23 beads to be exact.  I soldered a few rings as connectors, swirled some wire and some handmade "ladder chain", and came up with a 2 strand necklace.  I love this style! 

I recently purchased some beads from GlassBeadArt and made 2 bracelets.  Her beads are truly gorgeous, aren't they?!  I cannot get enough of these beads...I believe I have had every single color...if not, that will be my mission! :)

I made the toggle from 10 gauge silver soldered and formed into an off-center circle shape -- kind of like a belt buckle.  I added a cocoon bead made of silver, which I learned from a tutorial from Kay Sommers.  I have not made these in a while - so pretty!

The next bracelet also features more stunning "Sparkling Rock" beads from GlassBeadArt.  I call this bracelet Silver and Gold.

See that hand?  I bought a mannequin arm, too!  Anyway, I have made a few of this style of bracelet - it is so much fun to make, and the focal stays right on top of the wrist - where it is supposed to!

The next bracelet is in the same style, with all beads made by Kerry Bogert.  I have had these beads since I bought them at ArtBliss last year!  It was finally time to bring them out to play!

Kerry is the Queen of Color - and these rainbow stripes on her beads look fabulous! Even the back of the focal has a cool textured design - love it!

One more bracelet was made - again, with gorgeous beads by Julie of Outwest.  I call this one Night Sky - although in my neck of the woods, the night sky does not look this good! 

I added a "messy" wrapped bead in sterling.

I suppose I need to come up with a name for this mannequin arm, too...hmmmm

Last up are two pair of earrings - both made with beads made by Julie (Outwest).  Her disc beads are simply awesome - both in color and shape!

I have had a heck of a time with computer issues in both listing my items on Etsy and writing this blog post today. Phew!  I made it!

I hope everyone has a SAFE Labor Day Weekend!  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Patti

What do Skye Jewels and Outwest have in common?

I'll tell you what they have in common - two beautiful pieces of art that stand on their own but combine to form a perfect color combination!

I am anxiously awaiting my copy of Cindy Wimmer's new book The Missing Link.  I admire Cindy's mastery of wire, and I have read rave reviews, too! In the meantime, I was playing with a gorgeous tile I have handmade by Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp of Skye Jewels and More Skye Jewels.  It is of a beautiful tree with subtle tones of purple, gorgeous yellows and greens.  I have many of her tiles...some with holes, some without.  I keep them in a pretty little ceramic bowl on my bench, which I bought from Jennifer Jangles...pretty artwork in a pretty bowl.  Anyway, I wrapped the tile in a Vintaj filigree component.  I then went to my enormous bead stash and found a perfect color match of lampwork from Julie of Outwest - and I mean perfect!

I wired up the beads and decided that I needed a new link to incorporate into this necklace.  So, I coiled up some 20 gauge copper, strung it on a length of 16 gauge copper, and wrapped it.  I loved this link!  But, could I duplicate it?  Amazingly, I did...three times!

The necklace terminates with a little bit of handmade chain.

The picture below is of the necklace before I added Marie's focal.

And, after:

The colors are so perfect together!  I wonder, did Julie and Marie collaborate on their color selections?

Newsflash - it is still Summer in Northern Virginia.  I listened to the meteorologist today remind me of that fact.  It has been a glorious 5 days here - no humidity, temperatures in the 70's.  Even the rain yesterday was palatable, as it only hit 70 degrees.  Alas, good times are over as it will be close to 90 degrees for the foreseeable future.  Oh well..

I hope you enjoy your week! Thank you so much stopping by!

Patti

Outwest

No...this post is not about the location Outwest...it's about Julie, the artist behind OUTWEST or Indian Creek Art Glass.

I have posted about her beads in the past, but today, my mail carrier actually delivered MY mail (instead of somebody else's mail....story for another time) and I received gorgeous beads I ordered from Julie last week. 

I am fairly new to using lampwork glass disc beads, but I ordered some of her chunky disc beads and wanted to "kick it up a notch" and do something just a little different for me.  

First up is this lovely, pale lavender set of beads.  Oh my, but this is one of my mother's favorite colors!  Luckily, I have already made her at least 10 pair of purple earrings.....

Aren't these soft, pale colors gorgeous!  I double wrapped and messy wrapped at the same time!  Let me tell you, it is not easy to messy wrap, at least for me!  These earrings are also small - only 1 1/2" in length - I really like this style.

Next up is this gorgeous shade of pale green.

Is anyone else craving a life saver?  I mean, this is a really luscious color people!

The last pair I made today are from a pale aqua, with beautiful striations of pale green.  I actually made this pair first and I will not tell you how much silver went right into my "silver recycle cup"!  I kept on changing the design until I finally came up with one I liked!

Look at those gorgeous colors below!  Swoon!! I banged out some bead caps with silver sheet - I made the texture by using my riveting hammer - it always reminds me of tree bark - love it!

I VERY CAREFULLY forged the ends of the 16 gauge silver to create a paddle shape on each side to capture the bead.  I only use butane and mapp gas torches in my studio (I have not graduated to the Big Girl torches yet, so my flame would be too big and too hot to ball up the wire on the ends - it would crack the glass.  I learned that one the hard way a long time ago!)   Anyway, this was my solution to create a type of pendulum effect for the earrings. 

This has to be the hardest pair of earrings to photograph!  They are on the long side - just under 2 1/2", and they do not lay flat!  So, I had to resort to including my chunky fingers in this picture so that one could see how they would hang when worn:

I had a good 3 hours in the studio today - it is located in my unfinished basement where I can make as big a mess as I want.  Not to mention, it's about 10 degrees cooler down there, which I love during this nasty heat wave we are going through right now.

Julie if you are reading this blog post, I am truly, truly in awe of your talent and I thank you for creating such beautiful beads! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Patti

Focus on Life - 4/52

This week's prompt from Sally Russick's "Focus on Life Challenge" is to Create Art.  While I do consider my self somewhat creative, the mediums in which I dabble are limited.  I do not draw - I do sketch jewelry designs occasionally, but they tend to fall in to the category of doodles.  I do not own paints - though many years ago, I painted bisque ceramics (this art form came from my mother).  I do not own a journal - correction - I own several journals filled with completely blank pages.  I have not picked up a crochet hook in MONTHS ... and I miss it.  But at this point in my life, my jewelry is my way expressing my art.

 

I did not want to bore you with tons of pics, so here is a collage of just a portion of what I have created this week.  

In addition to my newest love - Jasper - there are lots of artbeads above, including lampwork from Kerry Bogert, Outwest, Unicorne, JavaBead, and SueBeads.  Have I mentioned I love lampwork beads???

I am still very much involved in Kerry Bogert's Aspire to Wire e-class - a new wire project every day for 30 days.  I open my emails at 5:30 am and BAM - a new project that I cannot wait to try!

Head on over to The Studio Sublime to follow the links of this week's Challenge participants.

Thanks so much for stopping by - I love to read your comments!

The Challenge of Color Blog Hop!

The lovely Erin Prais-Hintz of Treasures Found is hosting another fun hop: The Challenge of Color.  Erin's challenges are always SO.MUCH.FUN!
 

The Challenge goes like this: Erin tasked the participants to select their favorite palette from one of two unique palettes she sent to us. These amazing palettes were created by  Miss Brandi Hussey. The pictures are from the Earth As Art exhibit from the United States Geological Service taken from the Landsat 7 satellite.  The participants are required to make something...a piece of jewelry, or an accessory...anything that captures the colors from the assigned palette.

 

Here is the first palette:

 

(click on pictures for larger view)

 

 

The first thing I did - after gasping at the gorgeous colors - was to find out about these volcanoes.  While I knew from my long ago geography classes in high school that Chile had volcanoes, I had no idea that there were over 70 volcanoes located within this long - but not wide - country!  I am - and will always be - a lover of the Mountains.  I'll take mountains over oceans any day. 

 

The blues and greens in the palette spoke to me in volumes.  I knew I had the PERFECT beads that not only reflected the colors, but the shapes of my well-loved mountains.

 

 

The picture above is of the beads I chose, laying on top of my Color Inspiration.  The beads are by Outwest....do I really need to elaborate on her beads???  LOVE THEM.  The swirls of color throughout each bead speak to me - and again - it wasn't just the colors - it was the "mountain top" shape of the bead.  I wanted to use more than one in my piece, as in a mountain range. So I hammered out some discs from copper, and made a bail of sorts for each bead.

 

I was lucky to find the perfect blue beads in my stash from another outstanding lampwork artist - Rachel Bishop (Puffafish on etsy) - to mimic the water in the inspiration, as well as the hint of blue in the "mountain beads" from Outwest.  These blue beads have so many varying hues of blue - so pretty in person!

I made all of the copper elements - the "messy beads", the awesome clasp from a Cindy Wimmer tutorial, bead caps, - the head pins and the ear wires, too.  Love the pop of red achieved when heated copper hits the water for quenching!

 

I am so pleased with how this turned out!

 

 

 

Not good at making choices, Erin sent me a second color palette - so I rallied to this challenge, too.

 

While I knew Algeria was a desert territory, I did not know how truly large a country it is - the 10th largest in the world.  Over 90% of the country is desert - I would not survive here - the hottest recorded temperature is 123 degrees Fahrenheit.  I wilt when the thermometer approaches 70 degrees! I am still fascinated by desert terrains - hot as Hades in the day, and near frigid at night.  Quite an adjustment for those that live there.  Anyway, on with the reveal!

 

I had this most beautiful set of beads by Shelia Davis (Stone Designs by Sheila on Etsy) - see those deep, reddish brown beads in the center of the photo?  Those are the ones that caught my eye when I opened up my bead box.  Say desert to me and I instantly see a burnt red.  I found the beads, but could not think of what to do with them.  So I went through my huge shelf of books and I found a bracelet design that was perfect (again, by Cindy Wimmer in Wire Style 2).  The links of the bracelet are very free form and flowing, with the beads attached by very large jump rings to either side of each link.

 

I really love this bracelet!  I have to thank Cindy for her inspiration today in both of my pieces...thank you Cindy!

Thank you Erin for hosting this hop!  We all have times when our muse takes a vacation - and my muse came back, thanks to you! I can honestly say that your blog hops push me, creatively speaking, like no other.  For that...I am very grateful!  And Brandi, thank you for creating such beautiful inspirations!

 

Sorry my post was so long today, but thank you for hanging on!  Your comments mean the world to me!

 

If you haven't already, please visit all of the participants:

 

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Kris Auderer http://strandedinthecity.wordpress.com
Chrizette Bayman http://beadsoupmix.blogspot.com
Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/
Lynsey Brooks http://yellowunicorncreations.blogspot.co.uk
Stephanie Buss http://maxandlucie.blogspot.com
Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/
Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com
Lisa Cone http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/
Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com
Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com
Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com
Jeannie Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/
Kim Dworak http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com
Pam Farren http://www.re-maker.blogspot.com
Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com
Gloria Ferrer http://judetaama.blogspot.com.es/
Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.co
Therese Frank http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com
Ambra Gostoli http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com
Jess Green http://tabbiekoshka.blogspot.co.uk/
Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com
Mary Harding www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
Karla Hartzog http://www.karlakrafts.com
Kim Hora http://www.kimmykats.com
Brandi Hussey http://brandigirlblog.com
Emanda Johnson http://ArtemisiaStudio.blogspot.com
Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com
Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com
Lee Koopman http://Stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com
Kirsi Luostarinen http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com
Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Beth McCord http://www.ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com
Mary K McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/
Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com
Cheri Mitchell-Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Aimee Moisa http://threecatsdancing.blogspot.com
Karla Morgan http://www.texaspepperjams.blogspot.com
Penny Neville http://copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com
Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com
Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Kayla Potega http://www.teejewelry.blogspot.com
Debbie Price http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk
Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com
Caron Reid http://caronmichelle.blogspot.com.au/
Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog
Cynthia Riggs http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com
Andrea Ross http://silvermapledesigns.blogspot.com/
Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com
Annie Scherz http://www.studioluma.ca
Pam Sears http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Sandra Stein http://sannipanni.wordpress.com
Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com
Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com
Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com
Lola Survillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com
Kay Thomerson http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
Jo Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com
Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com
Cory Tompkins http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com
Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Michelle Tucker http://michellescreativemusings.blogspot.com/
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/
Rachel Van-Walsk http://balancedcrafts.com/blog
Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com   <--You are here
Lesley Watt http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Lynn White http://lynnwhitejewelry.com/Lynn_White_Jewelry/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog.html

Joan Williams http://www.lilrubyjewelry.com

Ears to You Blog Hop

Amy Freeland, of Copper Diem fame, is truly a generous soul.  She makes and donates tons of jewelry to numerous organizations...and I like that.  Well, this blog hop entails making 3 pair of earrings and donating them to Ears to You, whose mission is to provide earrings to lift the spirits of women undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.  A fabulous idea!

 

The only requirements for the earrings (3-5 pairs for this hop) is that they be new, and lead and nickel-free.  They welcome a variety of earrings, including silver, gold, hoops, dangles, pierced or clipped. 

 

I have three craft shows this month.  I have only done home shows in the past.  My very first craft show is today (Saturday) and it has the weirdest hours - 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, continuing at 6:00 PM - 8:30PM.  It then continues tomorrow at 7:30 AM - 2:00 PM.   I have had a serious set-back with a bulging disc in my back, which is pinching the nerves in my right leg (particularly my sciatica nerve), coupled with a flare-up of bursitis in my hip.  My right leg is useless to me.  I also just found out that I tore my meniscus in my left leg.  Went to the orthopedic yesterday to get some shots and drugs...I hope I make it! Luckily, my sweet niece Sarah has agreed to help me tomorrow!

 

Anyhow, my point in boring you with my physical ailments is that my crazy schedule has only allowed me to make 3 pairs of earrings - but I guarantee, I will be sending Ears to You more earrings!  Here they are:

 

I think these are my favorite! Gorgeous beads by OutWest (LOVE her beads!) Handmade sterling silver ear wires.

 

These were so hard to photograph!  They are much prettier hanging!  Anyhow, really cool lamp work beads by Rachel Bishop of Puffafish - she calls the bead style "asteroids" - LOVE THEM!  I added some pewter beads, silver bead caps, and handmade sterling silver ear wires.

I love this style of earring - I banged on some 10 gauge Sterling wire to make a paddle shape, textured the remainder of the wire, punched a hole for the ear wires and added some very cool lamp work beads.  I am normally so organized and can tell you the bead artist - but these were orphans from a full set used a long time ago, and I cannot remember her/his name (shame on me!) 

 

I already mailed my earrings and received the sweetest email from Ruth Crane of Ears to You. I sent my earrings as if they were a jewelry purchase:

 

Tip if you have not sent your earrings, or if you will send more in the future:  Ears to You does not save the boxes  - they hang the earrings on their own earring cards.  So, save yourself the expense of using your pretty boxes!

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Your comments are so very much appreciated!  Please be sure to visit the other participants for this most worthy cause!  Due to my crazy schedule, I won't be able to visit all participants until Sunday night or Monday - but I will get to it, I promise!

  

 

Copper Diem

My Addictions <------------You are here!

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