Sharon's Jewelry Garden

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Build A Line Challenge Final Reveal: The Birds and the Bees

It's been a long, crazy ride through this challenge featuring components from B'Sue Boutiques. We've learned and discussed many topics in class, including just what the heck IS a line? Now I know through the guidance of Brenda and my classmates. A jewelry line consists of cohesive design elements, such as focal, theme, color, and era. I discovered my era is neo-Victorian. I love the feminine design elements of that period combined with a modern sensibility, so vintage modern, if you will.

I chose birds and bees because the brass stampings not only possess personality, they evoke the natural world combined with whimsy. If you read my last BALC blog post, you will notice that my style changed from shabby chic to neo-Victorian. My newly styled necklace is done in soft, muted cream and gold, the chain is lovely vintage rosary chain.

The focal and charm I chose for my bracelet is different, yet still encompasses the bird and bee theme, and the vintage chain is repeated for cohesion:

My second necklace and bracelet set is done in soft copper and pink colors and finished with an aged brass rollo chain:

Again, the same bird and bee in different hues as my first bracelet and the same brass chain as the necklace for cohesion:

And lastly, a coordinated pair of earrings:

This was a great learning experience for me, both fun and frustrating at times, but the end result is pure joy. Thanks so much for checking out my blog; I love comments! Please visit my classmate's blogs below to discover their new jewelry lines and leave them a friendly comment!

Brenda Sue Lansdowne Jewelry Making Outside the Box
http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com

Diana Buynak Butterfly Emporium Ceramic Studio
http://butterflyemporium.indiemade.com/blog

Irene Hoffman, Heart’s Dezire by Irene
http://heartsdezirebyirene.wordpress.com

Clare Wells Nemeth, Creative Magick
http://www.craftingmagick.blogspot.com

Mary Reckmeyer, Afrayed Not
http://www.afrayedknot.net

Marcia Tuzzolino, Aurora Designs
http://auroradesignsjewelryblog.me

Elizabeth Wilks, Wearable Art by Lizzie
http://wearableartbylizzie.blogspot.com

Jeanette Rose Belmont, One Canvas At A Time
http://www.onecanvasatatime.com

Lyn Joy Reeve, A Journey From Jewels To Jubilation
http://lnreeve00.blogspot.com

Beth Trubman, The Journey of Jewelry
http://thejourneyofjewelry.blogspot.com

Carole Carlson, Bead Sophisticate
http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com

Jann Tague, Clever Designs by Jann
http://janntague.wordpress.com

Shari Gardner, SLG Jewelry Designs
http://slgdesigns.wordpress.com

Susan Bolton, Fern’s Place
http://www.fernsplace.org

Chris Kemp, Noodle Pie Bracelets
http://noodlepiebracelets.com

Susan Bowerman, Woodside Wireworks
http://woodsidewireworks.com/

Pamela Anger, Novegatti Designs
http://novegattidesigns.blogspot.com

Joan Donovan, Hailey’s Cottage
http://haileyscottage.com/

Alison Huie, Ally’s Baubles
http://www.allysbaubles.blogspot.com

Sharon Palac, Sharon’s Jewelry Garden
http://www.sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com

Erica Olmos, Beeb’s Closet
https://beebscloset.wordpress.com

Erin Whitacre, Shattered Time Jewelry
https://shatteredtimejewelry.wordpress.com

Fran Sitton, Sitton Up Front
https://sittonupfront.wordpress.com

Ginger Hammond, Lynn Leigh Designs
https://lynnleighdesigns.wordpress.com

Paula Gaskill, Lovely LaylaBug Jewels
http://www.lovelylaylabugjewels.com/Blog.php

Mary Deis, The Rose Sword
http://theroseswordmdeis.blogspot.com

Renee Webb Allen, Small Stuff Design
http://smallstuffdesign.com

Valerie Tilghman, ArtJewelsandGifts
http://www.artjewelzdimensions.blogspot.com

Chris Cravens, Vintage Cravens
http://christinecravens.blogspot.com

Leslie Carver, Adorn Divine Designs
http://www.adorndivinedesigns.blogspot.com

Donna Parry, JewelryDonna
http://jewelrydonna.typepad.com

Gina-Marie Hammer, Tangles, Twists and Treasures
http://tanglestwistsandtreasures.com/blog/

Kelly Wymer, Winged Wisdom Enchantments
https://wingedwisdomenchantments.wordpress.com/

Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Birds and the Bees

Welcome! This is blog hop number two for the Build a Line Challenge brought to you by Brenda Sue Lansdowne, of B'Sue Boutiques fame. I've never worked with brass stampings before so this is a new learning curve for me, but to my surprise, I found myself calming down when applying Lumiere paint and colorful patinas to the raw brass. It became a soothing meditation in the Zen Zone! Here are the components I chose to use this time around:

I spray painted the brass filigree in cream, but oddly it looked quite gray, so I switched to Lumiere Pearlescent white, and then patinaed the dogwood flower, bird, and bee with Vintaj Patinas. I added a brass flower cap and inserted a crystal chaton, and voila!

I am quite pleased with the overall effect of shabby chic vintage. The vintage rosary chain from my own stash complements the pearlescent highlights on the filigree.

Please hop on over to our blog participants beginning with our hostess with the mostest, B'Sue!
Brenda Sue Lansdowne Jewelry Making Outside the Box

Diana Buynak Butterfly Emporium Ceramic Studio

Irene Hoffman, Heart's Dezire by Irene

Clare Wells Nemeth, Creative Magick

Mary Reckmeyer, Afrayed Not

Marcia Tuzzolino, Aurora Designs

Elizabeth Wilks, Wearable Art by Lizzie

Jeanette Rose Belmont, One Canvas At A Time

Lyn Joy Reeve, A Journey From Jewels To Jubilation

Belinda Reed-Ingle, Vogue Rocks

Beth Trubman, The Journey of Jewelry

Carole Carlson, Bead Sophisticate

Jann Tague, Clever Designs by Jann

Shari Gardner, SLG Jewelry Designs

Susan Bolton, Fern's Place

Chris Kemp, Noodle Pie Bracelets

Barbara Kelley, Angels' Keep

Susan Bowerman, Woodside Wireworks

Pamela Anger, Novegatti Designs

Joan Donovan, Hailey's Cottage

Alison Huie, Ally's Baubles

Sharon Palac, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

Erica Olmos, Beeb's Closet

Erin Whitacre, Shattered Time Jewelry

Fran Sitton, Sitton Up Front

Ginger Hammond, Lynn Leigh Designs

Paula Gaskill, Lovely LaylaBug Jewels

Mary Deis, The Rose Sword

Renee Webb Allen, Small Stuff Design

Valerie Tilghman, ArtJewelsandGifts

Chris Cravens, Vintage Cravens

Leslie Carver, Adorn Divine Designs

Donna Parry, JewelryDonna

Gina-Marie Hammer, Tangles, Twists and Treasures

Kelly Wymer, Winged Wisdom Enchantments

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Let Me Tell You About...

Welcome to my little corner of the B'Sue Boutiques Build a Line Challenge Blog Hop! I am participating to learn all about the fascinating history of jewelry, and to create a cohesive line of jewelry using B'Sue Boutiques brass stampings and components.

I began dabbling in jewelry about eight years ago just out of curiosity to see if I could really make something wearable; boy was I surprised when Stringing Magazine accepted my first submission comprised of my own polymer clay focal and wirework necklace. From there, I attended several semesters of community college silversmith classes, and now I'm embarking on a new journey with gorgeous brass stampings, shimmering crystals, and those luscious Miriam Haskell pearls.

As I mentioned in my last post, this is a new genre for me as my past work involves metalwork, wirework, and polymer clay focals:

I have been attracted to sparkly baubles ever since I was five years old, when I became aware of my Hungarian Grandmother's Art Deco, Art Noveau, and trendy 1950's sparklers. I was hooked! Grandma made sure I was decked out every Easter, and my fondest memory was that gorgeous woman dressing me up in a white rabbit fur batwing jacket and matching pillbox hat. My frilly pink and white embroidered dress was not complete without the little gold and pearl duckling brooch with matching cufflinks. I was stylin'! I still have that pillbox hat, reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy. Those were the days.

Brenda Sue has made sure our challenge group is well versed in jewelry history, including such styles as Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco. The stampings used in the challenge originate from vintage and antique dies and are crafted by expert casters. They hail from the historical periods mentioned, so the designs our group creates will have a certain historical flair. Here are a sampling of my components I will use to create my designs, can you guess my theme?

Let me tell you about the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees, and how I will love to put these components together into a romantic and feminine jewelry line. My theme is The Birds and the Bees! Please join me and the challenge group in our first of three blog hops charting our journey. Click on the links below! Tell us what you think!

Brenda Sue Lansdowne Jewelry Making Outside the Box

Diana Buynak Butterfly Emporium Ceramic Studio

Irene Hoffman, Heart's Dezire by Irene

Clare Wells Nemeth, Creative Magick

Mary Reckmeyer, Afrayed Not

Marcia Tuzzolino, Aurora Designs

Elizabeth Wilks, Wearable Art by Lizzie

Jeanette Rose Belmont, One Canvas At A Time

Lyn Joy Reeve, A Journey From Jewels To Jubilation

Belinda Reed-Ingle, Vogue Rocks

Beth Trubman, The Journey of Jewelry

Carole Carlson, Bead Sophisticate

Jann Tague, Clever Designs by Jann

Shari Gardner, SLG Jewelry Designs

Susan Bolton, Fern's Place

Chris Kemp, Noodle Pie Bracelets

Barbara Kelley, Angels' Keep

Susan Bowerman, Woodside Wireworks

Pamela Anger, Novegatti Designs

Joan Donovan, Hailey's Cottage

Alison Huie, Ally's Baubles

Sharon Palac, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

Erica Olmos, Beeb's Closet

Erin Whitacre, Shattered Time Jewelry

Fran Sitton, Sitton Up Front

Ginger Hammond, Lynn Leigh Designs

Paula Gaskill, Lovely LaylaBug Jewels

Mary Deis, The Rose Sword

Renee Webb Allen, Small Stuff Design

Valerie Tilghman, ArtJewelsandGifts

Chris Cravens, Vintage Cravens

Leslie Carver, Adorn Divine Designs

Donna Parry, JewelryDonna

Gina-Marie Hammer, Tangles, Twists and Treasures

Kelly Wymer, Winged Wisdom Enchantments

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

B'Sue's Build a Line Challenge Blog Hop!

Hi there, it's been a long time between blog posts, but here I am ready to jump in again through participation in B'Sue's BALC. Why B'Sue? Well, I have been collecting her yummy brass stampings and other delights for a few years now but never did anything with them. I guess you would call me a bead hoarder, right? That's a good thing, as bead hordes are pretty with lots of potential, whereas plain old hoarding is a horse of a different color. We won't go there!

Have you ever seen so much yumminess?

I have been creating some jewelry here and there, but this challenge will give me the proverbial kick in the butt. Keep Calm and Bead On will be my motto! I still love pounding on sterling silver and making my own polymer focals, but the vintage tooled brass stamping siren call beckons me to try my hand at a new jewelry genre, but I will strive to make it uniquely my own. Here are a few pieces that I crafted recently in silver and poly clay:

I also reconfigured the necklace on the right by removing certain elements and adding a handcrafted solder stamped cross and new chain. Much improved, I think!

In anticipation of the first BALC blog hop commencing on January 29, 2016, here is a list of the participants. Please be sure to join us for the fun!

Brenda Sue Lansdowne Jewelry Making Outside the Box

http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com/

Diana Buynak - Butterfly Emporium Ceramic Studio

http://butterflyemporium.indiemade.com/blog

Irene Hoffman - Heartsdezirebyirene

http://heartsdezirebyirene.wordpress.com

Clare Wells Nemeth - Creative Magick

http://www.craftingmagick.blogspot.com

Mary Reckmeyer - Afrayedknot

http://www.afrayedknot.net

Marcia Tuzzolino - Aurora Designs

http://auroradesignsjewelryblog.me

Elizabeth Wilks - Wearable Art by Lizzie

http://wearableartbylizzie.blogspot.com

Jeanette Rose Belmont - One Canvas at a time

http://www.onecanvasatatime.com

Lyn Joy Reeve - A Journey from Jewels to Jubilation

http://lnreeve00.blogspot.com/

Belinda Reed-Ingle - Vogue Rocks

http://voguerocks.blogspot.com/

Beth Trubman - The Journey of Jewelry

http://thejourneyofjewelry.blogspot.com

Carole Carlson - Beadsophisticate

http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/

Jann Tague - Clever Designs by Jann

http://janntague.wordpress.com

Shari Gardner - SLG Jewelry Designs

http://slgdesigns.wordpress.com/

Susan Bolton - Fernâ€™s Place

http://www.fernsplace.org

Chris Kemp - NoodlePie Bracelets

http://noodlepiebracelets.com/

Barbara Kelley - Angels' Keep

https://angelskeepbandbdotcom.wordpress.com/

Susan Bowerman - Woodside WireWorks

http://www.woodsidewireworks.com/

Pamela Anger - Novegatti Designs

http://novegattidesigns.blogspot.com/

Joan Donovan - Haileyâ€™s Cottage

http://haileyscottage.com/
23. Alison Huie - Allyâ€™s Baubles
http://www.allysbaubles.blogspot.com/

Sharon Palac - Sharonâ€™s Jewelry Garden

http://www.sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com/

Erica Olmos - Beeb's Closet

https://beebscloset.wordpress.com/

Erin Whitacre - Shattered Time Jewelry

https://shatteredtimejewelry.wordpress.com/

Fran Sitton - Sitton Up Front

https://sittonupfront.wordpress.com/

Ginger Hammond - Lynn Leigh Designs

https://lynnleighdesigns.wordpress.com/

Paula Gaskill - Lovely LaylaBug Jewels

http://www.lovelylaylabugjewels.com/Blog.php

Mary Katherine - The Rose Sword

http://theroseswordmdeis.blogspot.com/

Renee Webb Allen - Small Stuff Design

http://smallstuffdesign.com

Valerie Tilghman- ArtJewelsandGifts

http://artjewelzdimensions.blogspot.com/

Chris Cravens Vintage Cravens

http://christinecravens.blogspot.com/

Leslie Carver

http://www.adorndivinedesigns.blogspot.com/

Donna Parry, JewelryDonna

http://jewelrydonna.typepad.com/

Gina-Marie Hammer - Tangles, Twists and Treasures

http://tanglestwistsandtreasures.com/blog/

37. Kelly Wymer Winged Wisdom Enchantments
https://wingedwisdomenchantments.wordpress.com/

Please mark your calendars and join us!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Inspired by Reading Book Club with Andrew Thorton: October Reveal

With the ghoulish title of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, what's not to love? This little gem is an anthology of re-told fairy tales edited by Kate Bernheimer, and a perfectly delicious macabre read for the Halloween season chosen by Andrew Thornton, our fearless leader of Inspired by Reading Book Club.

This book brought back memories of my childhood and my introduction to fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. My father would take me to our local library every week to fill my voracious need to read. One especially cold California winter I happened to choose an old musty leather-bound book of fairy tales by Christensen published in the late 19th century. What really caught my eye were the grotesque illustrations of demons dancing around an evil mirror in The Snow Queen, quite a shocking sight for an eight year old Catholic school girl who mused "Am I really allowed to read this?" "Yes, you may." replied Dad. What sort of dreadful things would I read and dream of if I read these seemingly forbidden stories? I thought I had gotten away with a Mortal Sin!

Hence, my fascination with The Snow Queen, so I saved that story for last in the anthology and wasn't disappointed. The tale was modernized to discuss homelessness, the vagabond lifestyle of brooding creative types, and drug abuse. In the re-told story I could envision how the splinters of the evil demon-created mirror could cause drug abuse and homelessness, as every beautiful thing in the world worth seeing and feeling becomes distorted and ugly.

I decided to create a necklace that represents the mirror before it became contaminated by evil in my hand made pendant that depicts beautiful flowers. The wire wrapped crystal represents the shards of broken mirror and the chaos of distorted vision that ensues.

The eerie glow of the labradorite stones represent the demons attempt to reach heaven in their hope to pervert the angels visage. The moss aquamarines represent the demons fall back to Earth, their evil plan eventually destroyed through love and human kindness.

Be sure to read all the participants blogs to see their creations, and Happy Halloween dreams!

Andrew Thornton
Sharon Palac
Mary K McGraw
Jeanne Steck
Sarajo Wentling
Mary Harding
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Sue Kennedy
Sally Russick
Erin Prais-Hintz
Diana P.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Inspired by Books Reading Club with Andrew Thornton

Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik is the featured read for Andrew Thorton's Inspired by Reading Club on Face book. While Paris is the city of lights, this non-fiction work left me in the dark as I found the author's work tedious. It did however, spark a memory of Paris in a different era, an era of dark Gothic shadows, a story of unrequited love, and beautiful gypsy girl, and a pitiful hunchback. Yes, Paris is shrouded deeply in its violent past.

The epic tale takes place in the Notre Dame Cathedral, known for its elaborate stonework and eerily watchful gargoyles. I decided to create a necklace that evokes just a bit of that old Gothic feeling, featuring a gargoyle pendant and added Swarovski emeralds for Esmerelda, clear rhinestones for the water she gave Quasimodo when no one else would, and a pearl drop for the purity of the hunchback's sacrifice.

Next month's A Rumor of Gems promises to be a great read. Check back next month for the continuing story of Andrew's Book Club. Viva Andrew!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Soup's On!

My Bead Soup partner, Patti Pruhs, sent me gorgeous beads of faceted moonstone rounds, onyx, vintage rhinestones, silver spacers and a hammered silver box clasp. Check out that fabulously huge faceted sea opal focal that Patti soldered, it's stunning!

I really wanted to do this pretty soup justice, so I decided to create a necklace that looks royal and rich, befitting the color combination that Patti chose. I created an asymetrical scroll sterling bail from which I hung the focal, look how that opal glows!

I created sterling silver curly-q links and wire wrapped the onyx, moonstone, and vintage rhinestone rounds, as well as a few of my own rhinestone spacers.

Thank you Patti for being my partner! I hope you enjoyed my necklace and please hop on over to our hostess Lori Anderson's blog for the list of Bead Soup participants. Thanks Lori, you've done it again!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Bead Soup on the Menu!

Here is the soup my lovely and talented partner, Patti Pruhs, sent me recently:

I love the color combination of opalite and black onyx. The faceted and soldered opalite focal is to die for, big and beautiful! I can see several possibilities and can't wait to dig in. I have my spoon and napkin ready!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Wellness Word Challenge Reveal!

Tracy Statler of Make Bracelets Blog challenged jewelry artists to choose a wellness word for 2013 and transform that word into a beautiful piece of jewelry. I decided to play and chose the word "Bloom".

I thought about where my life is today and how I want to grow and blossom. My hubby Walter and I made a major decision to relocate from the busy megalopolis of Las Vegas to Prescott, AZ, the "other" Mile High City! And what a change it was, slower pace, beautiful mountains, pine trees, deer, eagles...Prescott is a far cry from the generic brown birds and mountains of Vegas!

We did leave family and close friends behind, which is tough, but we do visit from time to time. I confess this last year has been difficult for me creativity-wise. Feathering your nest can be quite time consuming and sometimes exhausting, with painting, moving furniture around to achieve that perfect aesthetic balance, planting a garden...well, those are creative pursuits but left me little time to set up my workbench.

I decided that I must bloom where I am planted, and that was the genesis for my necklace. To grow you must tend and nourish new friendships, as well as old. You must plant roots in your new community and make sure your new found family flourishes.

I created my Bloom necklace using vintage brass chain and fob clasp which represent the past. I added rough nuggets of moss aquamarine and two vintage faceted Swarovski rounds. My brass bezel contains beautiful pink larkspurs embedded in Diamond Glaze, which represents planting new flowers with the intention of permanency. I hid the secret message "Bloom where you are planted" on the back bezel, close to my heart.