Funky Bracelet

I made this with the intention of challenging myself into something out of my comfort zone. I linked different stones with Vintaj elements as well as a lampwork bead. Honestly I think it turned out pretty well, but I am not sure what to do about the clasp. It just seems to fall out. I don't remember ever having this problem before. I assume I combined two pieces that were not suited to each other, I just can not figure out why. Technically the ring is not supposed to be a toggle but it has worked well with other pieces, so I assume it is the knot bar. I guess I will have to experiment to find an alternative clasp.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Marie

Bead Trends Delivery!!!

OMG!!! It is here :) I just got my copies of the October Bead Trends and I got to look at my bracelet on page 20 and grin a huge grin and dance accross my living room floor and grin some more. lol

I am way too excited, and here I thought Christmas was the best. This is WAY better!!! Being published for the first time only happens once, so I guess I am allowed a little celebration.

I will post the pics as soon as I know I am allowed.

Big Hugs!!

Marie

Picasso as my Muse

I have recently discovered Picasso Jasper. I can not tell you how astoundingly stunning these stones are in your hands. I first saw them on Etsy and got them right away, and ever since then I just look at them with awe and inspiration. I am on a buying lockdown right now from my husband so I am carefully hoarding these. If I could just sneak in a few more into my Etsy cart...

This first necklace was made with a combination of wire wrapping and linking. I used all Vintaj brass findings to assemble it as well as wrap the pendant. The colour of the brass is stunning with the multi-coloured Picasso Jasper. They have to be one of my favorite combinations.

Same with this bracelet, all Vintaj wire and hook. I just wire wrapped this one and did not use any jump rings to link it because I wanted to get the most stones possible into the bracelet.

This is the most stunning of all the pendants I purchased. The colours are stunning and warm and vibrant. I did a random pattern of wire wrapped stones with chain links. I also used some rectangular and some square beads to add to the pattern.

I hope you love these pieces as much as I do. They are truly some of my favorites.

Thanks for your continued visits and support

Marie

A Gift For Mom

I totally fell in love with this particular bookmark hook. It is so simple and elegant and maybe even timeless. My mom really likes these colours and after making this bookmark with my favorite lampwork bead {one of the ones I made} I was really having trouble parting with it. My mom came to visit this weekend and wanted to look at my new goodies and she spotted that bookmark right away. How could I resist giving it to her? If I don't sell it to someone, and I give it to my mom, I am sure to get to see it again. Plus my mo reads more than anyone I know on this entire planet, so she absolutely needed one of my bookmarks, don't you think?

For those of you who are twilight fans...

I know that my photography is once again lacking, but you get the idea. I made this bead with clear glass and added a little fritt that the girl at Bavin Glassworks was making. A mix of Persimmon and some kind of Orange. She said she thought it would look good together, and she was right :)

All I think about these days is when I can go to the studio in town and make more beads. I really enjoyed it. I can not afford to set up my own thing anytime soon, so I would be happy to go for a few hours here and there.

Hope you come back soon...

Marie

Copper and Green Charm Bracelet

I made this one last week and was glad that I took pictures of it right away since I managed to sell it this weekend. I used some copper wing charms and a nice variety of green beads including some rhyolite beads, light green crackle glass, bicone beads and Czech glass beads.

The chain I used was very ornate and solid. It really added a lot of texture to the entire piece.

I love the mixed greens and browns of the Czech glass as well as the bevelled edges. The colours really worked well with the copper.

I used bead caps with the rhyolite, and I wire wrapped almost everything directly to the chain for durability.

Now I just hope the girl who bought the piece with love it as much as I for a very long time.

Marie

New Charm Bracelets in my Etsy Shop!!

I have been working hard on a line of charm bracelets. I have completed 6 so far and have more waiting to be assembled. This first one is copper with lampwork glass and a mix of pink and blue beads.

I love the copper key charms, they are really cute and fun.

This one is also copper but with rose colours and vintage pearls. Both of these bracelets are now listed in my Etsy shop along with another one made with greens and brass.

Short post this morning since I have so much to do, I just hope you keep coming to visit me :)

Marie

Teacup Pansies

These wonderful earrings were made with my absolute favorite lampwork beads by Sue Beads. The colours in these ones are my absolute favorite. A mix of green and purple that is to die for!! These pics were taken by my friend Terri. She does a way better job than I do, so of course I am going to use her pictures over mine. I love how she found a teacup that totally matches the beads!!

The earrings are made with lampwork beads as mentioned above, they are hung on sterling silver earwires and silver plated head pins with Cubic Zirconia micro beads from Art Beads. They came on a mixed strand and are just wonderful for using  in just this way. I have a couple more hung on an eyepin just above the focal beads, to give it more of a dangle look. Long and dangly are very "in" right now and are one of my biggest sellers. Now if I could just sell a few things online...

Come again soon

Marie

The Crown Jewels {or I like to think they could be}

If only my photography could do this stunning necklace and earrings justice. Alas, my skills once again diminish the beauty of my pieces. I am going to show you many examples of this set, I just hope you get most of the effect I tried to create with my masterpiece.

These are the earrings. They are all made with Genuine Swarovski Crystals that were sent to me by ArtBeads. I am part of the group of beaders that blog, and we got to pick a certain amount swarovski crystals to create something with. I chose this gorgeous colour of Copper Crystals with an idea to create something with a vintage feel. I could just picture these amazing crystals with some Vintaj findings.

This is part of the necklace, the main part at least. You can truly see the large 16mm Cosmic Swarovski Crystals surrounded by rich antiqued brass bead caps and spacer beads.

I also used some of the much smaller crystal roundelles 6mm I believe, this particular shade is Light Colorado Topaz. There are so many wonderful colours, shapes and sizes to choose from, the possibilities are endless. You could create something like this with light blue crystals and sterling silver for a very different look. You could use gold and green or red crystals for a very regal look. 

This is a slightly different view of the necklace, laying on black velvet.

Last but not least here is a picture of the pieces worn by me. I truly believe these are the most elegant pieces I have ever created. Someday perhaps someone will purchase these and wear them out to the delight of onlookers. So there you have it, my crown jewels.

You can find similar items to the Vintaj findings I used at Art Beads. I found some copper bead caps that are almost identical to the brass ones I used. You could use a different pendant like this oak leaf I found that would be stunning in this type of necklace. You could also use sterling silver for a softer, lighter set. These bead caps are again almost identical to the ones I used and for a pendant you can certainly take your pick in this section here. There are all sorts of leaves and hearts and even a sand dollar.

I hope you try it out and come out with something stunning!!

Marie

Sparrow's Feast

I had these pictures taken by a friend of mine. I made this set using a continuous row of Garnet chips on either side of the sparrows. I really love the way they turned out. They look like rows of berries, which is where the idea for the name came from.

The driftwood is fun and gives it a nice background and a lot of texture. I love how rich this set looks on my neck. Very elegant. This has special meaning to me in a way, my mother is a January baby so this is her birthstone. Rich Red, like wine. The "Vintaj" sparrows just give anchor the garnets.

Thanks so much for visiting me

Marie

Earthy Reds, Perfect for Fall!

This Necklace is made with Red Jasper nuggets and copper beads. The big chunky look is going to be big this season and earth tones are always strong during the fall so I thought I would give it a try.

This is just a more muted close up of the stones. I love how imperfect they are and how rough and unpolished some of the edges are. They just seem so much more natural this way.

This is a close up of the back clasp. Because the necklace is so heavy I wanted to make it very strong in the back. I incorporated 4 crimp beads on each side and added a few extra copper beads so it would not be too noticeable. I think it worked out quite nicely.

Thanks for stopping by

Marie

Bling Bling for your Bow Wow!!!

I have been thinking about this since a member of my family mentioned that Doggy bling is THE thing right now. These a Chihuahua sized Bling collars. Decorative only, not to be used as a restraint. They are made with Magic Stretch Elastic cord. I just used beads that I happened to have on hand, these are mostly prototypes so I did not want to go right into the good stuff. Now I am just looking for a Chihuahua to try it on. lol.

I am just hoping that I can get some feedback from you guys as to what I should try next, give me some ideas or just leave me a comment. Would you buy one of these types of bling collars for your cute little pooch? What would you do differently?  The last one is my favorite. The colour mix and the sparkle of the beads. The first three were mostly to test out the theory. I do want to go more bold too. I just need a "model". Luckily my neighbour has a great dog training business, she is looking for just such a pup.

Come again soon!!

Marie

Check out Jewelry Stores Online!!

Fun and Funky Earrings

While on holidays in Panorama, I was lucky enough to discover "Bavin Glassworks". The little cabin had a lovely selection of handmade jewelry mostly made with lampwork glass beads. They had other wonderful art there as well like hand blown glass and paintings made by the owner. I of course had to get a couple of beads to satisfy my craving. In a previous post I had pictures of myself taking one of their classes on lampwork beads. These lovely beads were sitting there calling my name. By now I am sure some of you know that I really love green. I went right back to where we were staying and put together these fun earrings using Vintaj findings.

I also found these lovely beads {sorry about the fuzzy pic}. I don't usually gravitate to orange, it may even be the last colour that catches my eye, but there was something about these. I think it took me about all of 10 minutes to make both pairs of earrings. I could just picture the end result so clearly, that does not happen very often, I am usually a fly by the seat of your pants kind of artist.

I hope you enjoyed these little treasures, hope to see you again soon.

Leaffy Bracelets and More Publication news!!

I honestly was not expecting to get the e-mail today, but I was overjoyed when I got the news that Bead Trends Magazine has picked two more of my pieces for their February issue!! I am overwhelmed and truly humble that I am lucky enough to be published by this amazing magazine 5 months in a row. I am not bragging, so please don't think that of me, I am just so happy I wanted to share my news with you.
I have been away for the last few days so I was unable to post. I made these bracelets just before the end of summer holidays. {what a relief to have two of them in school} The top one is made with light green agate nuggets, wire wrapped and finished with this fun leaf toggle clasp. {nuggets are from Fire Mountain Gems}

This one is made the same way but with Russian Amazonite and finished with the same leaf toggle. Has anyone noticed I tend to use a lot of green? I am realizing lately that it pops up everywhere. Not a big deal really, you sell what you love and I love green. I wish I could remember where I got the Amazonite, it might have been at my local bead store. Anyways, I really love how dark it is compared to the regular Amazonite. I have been thinking of trying out the milky pale Amazonite with some black agate nuggets, just to see how it would turn out...

To be continued???

Marie