Giveaway

So much to say and so little time!  I'll skip the rest for the moment and go straight to the important news.  Cat Ivins, (shop owner and artisan of Polarity and Uncorked), has sponsored a giveaway for me.  I've enjoyed Cat's blog, Olive Bites, for sometime now.  It's a perfect balance of instruction, news, and humor with a generous splattering of great finds.  There is still time to enter the drawing for a CUSTOM belt cuff with your choice of bottle cap.  So head on over to Olive Bites for some fun reading, you'll be glad you did.

Time Flies

As I edited my background and headers this evening, I looked at some of my past posts and was amazed at how long it had been since my last posting.  At that time I was busily working on updating my business presence and much of my time was taken away from my blog.  I have a lot to catch up with but I'll leave you with a few teaser pictures while I gather my thoughts.

Opportunities

Consignment

Wholesale

New Ventures

Family

Signing Your Artwork

     It's important for an artist to sign his/her creations.  The artist signature or mark identifies it for all time and is often the final step in the creative process.  Something about applying that signature or mark closes a creative verse and leaves a sense of well being with the artist.  Jewelry artists have struggled to find a way to apply their mark to the artwork.  For metal artists that often involves a stamp that is hammered into their piece or attached as a separate tag.


     Bead woven jewelry still does not easily lend itself to an artist's mark and again most of this work is left unsigned or tags are attached that don't often remain with the work.  Why should you care?  Ultimately the mark is there for the future.  Beadwork encompasses a huge body of work that has lasted for centuries and has had historical significance. Time will tell if patterns emerge and whether we can trace an artist's growth and influences through the years.  At the very least, your mark will be important to your buyers and/or your family for future generations. 


     Bead embroidery artists have learned from quilters and embroidery artists and many have begun finding small ways to mark their creations.  Since most of this type of work has a fabric backing of some sort, there are places the artist can write or embroider their initials.  It's this type of beadwork signature I'm currently exploring.  In this post I concentrate on my first steps in branding my designs. 
 

     Cat Ivins hosts a series of giveaways on her blog Olivebites.  It was there that I discovered Bullfrog Laserworks, and owner Roberto Sand.  He was giving away a custom stamp, so off to his shop I went.  I was astounded at what I saw.  I had been looking for awhile at having a custom stamp made for cards and packaging, and Roberto's are not only functional, they are beautiful.

  

     These well made stamps have wooden handles engraved to match your design and can be made in practically any size and shape you need.  I ordered two stamps.  The larger one will serve as my Thank You on boxes and cards but I can also cover the words and just stamp the larger logo when needed.  The smaller logo was purchased with the intent to mark my ultra-suede, metal work, and the tops of plain bottlecaps to use in packaging.


     These stamps are wonderful, but they weren't the most amazing item I found in his shop.  The second item is still in the prototype stage, but we're getting close.  Roberto has wooden tags he initially designed as wedding favors.  The slots in these tags caught my eye because I had been looking for slotted buttons (also called ribbon slides) to use on my laced back cuffs.

     Because of the small size of the button (7/8") the slots are not centered to allow room for the text.  Roberto is sending me a sample so I can see if it rests properly on the cuff, if it doesn't we'll go back to using two holes for the ultrasuede to hook through.  I'll be able to color these buttons and perhaps put artwork on the reverse side.  I'm looking forward to playing with them and seeing where else they can be used and how I can alter them to coordinate with my design. 

     But wait, there's more!  As excited as I was about these discoveries, I was nearly jumping out of my chair when I saw his listing for 50 faux suede labels custom engraved!  We began a long exploratory journey into faux suede while I considered the most practical use of these amazing labels.  I knew it would be too expensive for me to have multiple shapes cut, so I settled on a large circle with my logo at approximately 25mm in the middle.  This would fit the majority of the cabochon pendants I make.  The faux suede Roberto offers in his shop is not ultrasuede, it's a polyester blend that frays.  This is not the end of the world, when the laser cuts out your shape it seals the edges.  For me, though, that would require pieces to match the size of all my cabochons, I wanted more flexibility.  I asked if I could send him some ultrasuede to use and was delighted when he agreed.

    
     We were both thrilled with the results although I did discover that light to medium colors work best.  As you can see, the logo did not show up well on the black and I loved the tone on tone result on the Orange ultra suede.

 I quickly worked up a couple of Izze pendants and couldn't be happier with the look.  They add a professional touch while also keeping to the whimsy I like in my beaded work.  I'm looking forward to incorporating the stamps on my metalwork and anticipate a more industrial feel if what I envision works out as planned. 

      So now what to do for my cuffs?  Since these are made in various widths, it just wasn't practical to laser engrave them.  My first experiment was with heat embossing.  I was at one time addicted to HGTV.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  My realization came when my daughter (then only 2) exclaimed "it's Joan" when the host of one of my favorite shows came on the air.  I learned about heat embossing velvet from Carol Duvall a longtime host of all things crafts.  I thought I'd try to see if it worked on ultrasuede.  It will be hard to see in this picture, but it works amazingly well.  I set the iron at the "wool" setting, placed the stamp image side up and layered the ultrasuede on top.  I held the iron on the ultrasuede for 10-20 seconds, pressing firmly.  I lifted carefully and repeated until I could begin to see the indentation of the stamp.

It worked beautifully.  It's much more subtle than the laser engraving, but it still marks effectively.  Unfortunately, I did not get the same results with my new stamps.  The handles made it hard to get a firm press, I'd have to have them mounted on a flat wood block instead.  But the biggest reason is the detail.  My logo is too detailed for this method.  You need a stamp with deeper impressions, something to consider when you have your stamp cut.  

My last experiment for this post was using the stamps and Staz-on ink.  The image to the left is the larger logo and the one on the right is the smaller one.  Both work well and this is the method I'll use for my cuffs.  With the smaller stamp, I'll need to press very firmly to work the ink into the grain of the ultrasuede.  I did these quickly and got good results, taking time and experimenting with ink colors will yield even better results.  I like the boldness of the laser cut images, but these are a great alternative.


    Roberto opened his etsy shop in 2008 and has grown quite successfully due to his unique product offerings, great prices and flexible customer service.  He has targeted the bridal market in the past, perhaps now the bead market will be a new venture for him as well.  You can find more in his etsy shop:  http://www.RobertoSand.etsy.com

What's Old is New Again - ArtBeads Blogging Project

 

A Comedy in Three Acts

Act I

ArtBead's blog theme, What's Old is New Again, immediately sent my thoughts to my coveted stash of champagne caps.  These were sent to me all the way from Belgium by my friend Sigrid.  Selecting materials is almost as much fun as working on the project.  I've literally spent all day browsing the shop, oohing and aahing at all the possibilities until I've narrowed my selection.  Keep in mind, at this stage I only have a rough notion of theme, the design often doesn't evolve until I have the materials in hand.  This can create challenges when something doesn't work, but that's part of the fun.

I selected materials that reminded me of vineyards, grapes, and imagined sipping on a mimosa while shopping (alas no champagne in the house to make an actual mimosa).  I wanted to try some of Artbead's new Kabela filigree pieces so that's where I began my selection.

• Kabela Design Antique Brass Vino Pendant

• Kabela Design Antique Brass Andrew's Fire Link

• Antique Brass-Plated Split Ring Cable Chain

• Kabela Design Antique Brass Filigree Leaf Hook and Eye Clasp

• Czech Glass Druk Beads in Opaque Rose, Opaque Amethyst Luster, and Jet Picasso.

From My Stash 

• Kabela Design Antique Brass Lovely Filigree

• Antique Brass-Plated 5+1 Round and Twisted Rectangle Link Chain

• Antique Brass-Plated Rollo Chain

Although title Saint Andrews Fire, this awesome link reminded me of Demetrius, god of wine.  I select two of these beauties and intend to put one on each side of the focal piece to be the major component of the necklace.  I also selected one foot of chain and leaf hook and eye closure to complete the neck piece.

I interrupt this design for a story....a funny thing happened on the way to the pre-school.  One day a friend asked me to pick up her son from pre-school.  I was happy to help and my daughter and I drove off and arrived at the school with only a little confusion (mainly which door do we go in).  With the children secured in the back seat, I pulled out of the lot and proceeded to turn the wrong way.  I got about a 1/2 mile before realizing I wasn't heading towards home.  My daughter pats her friend on the arm and said "don't worry, mommy always gets lost, daddy never gets lost.  Daddy doesn't like to turn around, but Mommy always has to turn around."  True story, I kid you not!

Act II

You can see from the picture above, these links were not going to work as planned.  My directionally challenged brain forgot to take into consideration that I'd need a mirror image of the link to be able to place one on both sides of the focal as planned.  This mistake totally messed up the design. I toyed with using one link for an asymmetrical but I didn't have enough chain to complete the neck piece.  Also a link of this size needed a counterbalance on the opposite side.  

In the meantime, I'd noticed that the hook end of the clasp was missing.  Duchess Erickson from Artbeads could not have been more accommodating.  I've always had excellent service from Artbeads and it's one of the many reasons I frequently shop with them.  Duchess offered to exchange the clasp and links so that I could rework my design.  But I love nothing more than challenge and I just couldn't ask her to go through the trouble.  I didn't really have a concrete design, just a rough idea and oftentimes a problem leads to something better than what I envisioned.  Plus I loved these St. Andrew's links so off they went to my little box of pits and pieces from these blog designs.  I already have a couple ideas in mind for them.  And, lets not forget, there was that very cute story about my directional impairment (I'm missing the sense of direction gene, I'm sure).  Despite my protest not to go to any trouble, Duchess sent me a replacement clasp as soon as it was available (these components are provided to me free as part of the blogging program so this was a very nice thing).

I began working on a revised design and pulled the following out of my stash.  

• Kabela Design Antique Brass Lovely Filigree

• Antique Brass-Plated 5+1 Round and Twisted Rectangle Link Chain

• Antique Brass-Plated Rollo Chain 

All of these components were purchased from Artbeads for another project that I hadn't yet completed.  I had purchased the filigree with no project in mind, just to play with molding it around a cabochon.  It fit the champagne cap perfectly and a bit of wire was all it took to add it the Vino filigree center piece.  The edges molded perfectly into four grooves along the side of the cap (where the cage holds to cap to the champagne bottle).  The only regret is the filigree is so pretty its a shame only a little bit shows on the front.

I love these antique brass chains.  They come in a multitude of styles and I attached one long chain to allow me to place it over my head while I worked on the focal piece.  I need to see how it laid while on to make sure I was getting the components placed correctly.

ACT III

I just happened to take the emerging necklace along with me to a family Easter dinner celebration.  My niece Brittany asked if she could put it on.  As she was admiring the chains, I told her that I planned to put a clasp in the back and shorten the length.  "Why" was her response, "I love long necklaces."  "Can I have it when you're finished?"  Thus, began the third evolution of my design and Brittany's Choice was born.  Had I used the clasp, shown to the left, I probably would have shortened the neckpiece and the  chains dangling from the focal piece.  Brittany loved it the way it was, and I plan to give it to her when we visit again.  I now have a gorgeous clasp to use with my other project (a Full Sail bottle cap design) and with the St. Andrew's links, renamed Demetrius, perhaps soon to be renamed Poseiden.  

Disclosure: The above mentioned beads from Artbeads.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.  You can find additional participating artists and their blogs on Artbeads' facebook page. 

 

Events and Opportunity

This post is a collection of upcoming events and new contests.

The first is Flint Handmade.  I try to attend this show once a year.  I have good friends in the area and I love the work the community has undertaken to revitalize an area hit hard by the downturn in the automotive industry.  Friends, Art, Good Food, everything one could possibly want to enjoy a good day.

 

I'll be at The Loft, come join us if you're in the area.  For more information please visit Flinthandmade.com.

In honor of Mother's Day, Artbeads is sponsoring a contest but hurry, it ends May 7.  Click on the link below the picture for more information.



Make it for Mom Challenge



I love the writings of Cat Ivin's, her blog Olive Bites is informative and a fun read.  She also sponsors the best giveaways not only of her own creations, but that of other artists she's met along the way.  This month's giveaway is one of her cork board sets for mom (or to keep for yourself).  Click on the link below the picture on how to enter.

Uncorked Giveaway

Thanks for stopping by and if I don't win, I hope you do.

Renewal Step Two

If you read my previous post, one of my goals this year was to reinvigorate my art.  I've invested in a lot of different supplies over the years, but haven't practiced enough to utilize them or the skills I've picked up in classes.  I was quite grateful that Anne, from El Milagro Studios, began posting tutorials and invited us to play along.

I had to break one of my goals, "not to buy any supplies" to get the gloss gel medium, but I felt it was well worth it as I was still using a lot of what I already had.  Anne has directions if you'd like the play along, here I'm just showing you my results and a couple of things I've picked up in the process.

First Lesson Learned

No matter how aggravated you get at your child's mess, don't throw everything away.  I am not a neat person, but even I have my limits.  Unfortunately for my daughter, when I reach my limits, a purge usually follows.  She made valentines from foam hearts when she was about 4 or 5, the kind that you had to punch out of the background foam.  I had saved the left over outline and they would have been the perfect stencil for this project.  Nope, in the last purge not a single piece of foam remained but two of these flowers (you don't know how tempted I was to go the Michael's and buy another bucket of them, $4.99 cheap).  I had a small heart cookie cutter so I was able to make a stencil using Anne's directions.  

 This is what I created following along with Anne using the gel medium and a bin of beads I've collected from leftover projects.  Anne mentioned that her beads bled into the gel.  I've had the problem with resin as well.  There are a couple of types of beads to avoid if you don't want this to happen; color lined and dyed.  I'm sure some others will do the same, but those two I know will cause problems.  My beads are larger than what Anne used and the effect is much lumpier.  In the first heart, I tried to cull out the larger ones; on the second I just let it be.

 This is how it looks after a day of drying.  It still has a lot of drying time left.  The bleeding I'm getting around the edge I think is from the alcohol ink I used on the mat board and not from the beads.  I'm curious to see if the white will disappear completely.  I don't really like a couple of the beads sticking out, but I stopped myself from picking at them....patience.

Second Lesson Learned
You really do need patience to get good results.  I didn't like my background color and squirted diluting liquid all over it and nearly ruined it.  I'm not upset about the near mishap, I could always paint over it, it was wasting a quarter bottle of the liquid...not cheap stuff.  Of course I had to relearn this lesson with the next project.  I didn't let the layers dry completely and nearly ruined my background again....patience (that little white spot in the middle of the page is from the paper coming off on my hands).

 This project involved gluing a sheet of paper to the background.  This time I spray painted the background lightly with black then overcoated it with Pepeo Setacolor transparent paint in Oriental Red with a very wet brush.  I used the same color on a page from an old poetry book I use for a prop in my photos.  I adhered it to the mat board with gloss medium/varnish (yep I had gloss medium but not gel, go figure).  I then lightly tapped on alcohol ink in Slate to tone things down a bit.

Now I had a dilemma, I didn't have any foam left and I didn't want to use the little heart I had cut out earlier, it was so much smaller than the mat board.  

Did I tell you I have a lot of different supplies?  This is a die cut board from my scrapbooking endeavors.  I punched out a few of the shapes and I had a pretty good stencil.  Not as good as the foam, cardboard will not stand up to repeated washing, and it didn't lay as flat so I had to be really careful applying the gel.  This time Anne used German glass glitter.  Crap, I didn't have that so I used some microfine glitter left over from one of Heidi's projects (she's banned from glitter you know).  In hindsight, I probably didn't need this deep of a stencil and could have gotten by with one of my brass stencils (it would be dry by now too, lol).  I'm not sure what the results will be, the glitter may not show up enough since it's so very fine.

I'm pretty proud of my control here, there were a lot of open spaces on that board I had to avoid and a very high risk of seepage under the stencil.  It's not as smooth as I'd like it, but I was afraid to play with it too much.  It would have been easier had I found the quilt basting spray I was looking for (of course I found it AFTER I finished).  It's similar to the light tacky spray you use on stencils to hold them down while you paint.  But, who knows, it may have damaged the background and I did fine without it.  I'll post a follow-up picture when both dry completely (could take awhile, it's pretty thick and it's cold in the house).  I'd used the heat gun, but I'd probably melt the gel....patience.

Check out Anne's blog for instructions and to learn more.

Winter Wonderland

Winter themes typically involve crystals, glittering snow, ethereal fairies in winter white garb, angels, ice cycles, and children frolicking.  A winter theme involving jewelry will often capture that imagery in spectacular ways and I am looking forward to the responses to Artbead's Winter blogging theme.  

As we leave January and enter February, Michigan's winter often has a harsher look.  The snow is no longer pretty but grimy with dirt, we begin to tire of huddling for warmth, and our arms ache from shoveling mounds of the no longer white stuff out our driveways.  By the end of March, when it is still frosty cold in the Midwest, I will admit to being downright grumpy and feeling more like Robert Brynes, "Winter is Nature's way of say 'Up Yours'.  Should snow fall in April, you'll hear a collective groan from even children who would rather go to school than huddle one more day in the cold.

It was this imagery of winter that captured my imagination.  My husband's yells from the other room as the hockey game played locked in my response to the theme.  I wanted to show winter in an industrial city like Detroit; beautiful but grimy, hard edges and raw power, a raw uncut diamond and a dangerous yet elegant opponent.   

My husband is from the Detroit area and I'll never forget my first Redwings game.  It was before we were married and we went to Joe Louis arena with his parents to watch them on New Year's.  Needless to say, it was an incredible experience.  Nothing beats being at a live game; the pounding of the men hitting the boards, the roar of the crowd, and yes the excitement of the fighting surely chases off the winter chill. 


Hockey, like winter, is many things.  It is beautiful; the shear grace of the players as they maneuver, their unrestrained joy as the puck reaches it's target, the equal joy when a goaltender thwarts a goal, all of it at amazing speed on thin little blades of steel.  It is also brutal, not many players make it through a career with their front teeth intact.

Winter is also breathtakingly gorgeous.  Freshly fallen snow is like a blanket of fine opals while nothing compares to the sun glistening through ice.   And there is no doubt that winter is the harshest of seasons especially to those without adequate heat and shelter. 

Industrial Chic

After a few searches, I selected these items from Artbeads:

I chose the charms as a literal representation of the Redwing's team and the black agate coin beads represent the puck.  From my own stash, I selected stainless steel jump rings to represent the skates.  A hockey sticker and a plumping washer add an industrial element to the back.  A sterling silver washer and sterling wire completes the front of the bezel, effectively invoking the beauty of the season hidden under a layer of patina.  The bottle cap I used originates from Labatt's celebration of Stanley Cup winners.  Usually, I cull the heavily scratch caps from my collection, but these hockey caps are relatively rare and, after all, hockey is a tough sport.  A pristine, unscratched cap would be a bit out of it's element representing what it means to be a Stanley Cup champion.  

The silver bezel was not my first choice.  I've been experimenting with a wire wrap bezel that allows the edge of the bottle cap to show to make it more apparent a bottle cap was used.  However, I still have not captured the right look with wire, it's too delicate and pretty for the more masculine look I wanted.   After two scraped attempts with wire, I found this sterling washing in my stash, left over from a class with Anne Mitchell.   I gently formed the center circle of the washer with pliers, then hammered it to fit the cap.  The rivets holding the layers in place are a combination of aluminum welding rivets and eyelets (where an open area was need for the charms).  

The reverse of the pendant is more industrial looking but still mirrors the front.  The necklace is not quite reversable, (unless you don't mind seeing the hockey player from behind).  I see a lot of potential in these pipe fitting washers from my late step-father's garage.  I believe he would be quite proud that I found a use for them and did not allow them to go to waste.

The chain alternates between the black agate coins wire wrapped with sterling wire and chain maille sections done with square stainless steel jumprings in a Jens Pind pattern.  I love the richness of stainless steel, it is every bit as beautiful as sterling yet tougher.  These rings are 18 gauge, the heaviest I can use with my hand strength and I envy those who work with the heavier gauges.  The Jens Pind pattern is one of my favorites and is a suitable look for men and women alike, and is especially elegant in 20 gauge sterling. 

The clasp is a textured sterling silver magnetic hook and a ring of fine silver I made in a PMC class I took with Kate Mckinnon.  The final piece is not a traditional winter look, but I believe I captured both the feeling of winter in Detroit and the fun of that first hockey game.

As a final note, I selected two additional items from Artbead's; a link that reminded me of an Octopus and a another that reminded me of a goalie mask.  They didn't make it into the design, but I believe I'll purchase another set to use as earrings.  So for now, I'll keep them a surprise. 


You can learn more about the products used in this project at Artbeads (the product codes are included in the picture) and find charms here and semi-precious stones here.


Disclosure: The above mentioned beads from Artbead.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.  You can find additional participating artists and their blogs on Artbeads' facebook page.