Sign of Spring

I love this still life painting by Taisia Afonina! It has a real old-world charm about it, when a tea party was a normal everyday occurrence. I can feel the breeze fluttering through the window, ruffling the soft sheers, causing the light to glint off the silver tea service. I can smell the fresh flowers in the glass, as if they were just picked by the roadside. I love the way the the cobalt blue cups rimmed in gold give this an air of formality, even though they are more haphazardly arranged, as if someone was just setting up the table.

But what attracted me most was the profusion of pussy willows in the tall vase.

I love pussy willows. I have a similar tall vase of them in my house all year round. I love their fuzzy little buds and the straight, dark branches. It brings to mind when I was a child and I would walk 10 blocks to my elementary school. Along the way I would find bushes of these tiny treasures in very early spring and swipe a few branches to carry to my teacher wrapped in water soaked paper towels. So pussy willows always remind me that spring is coming!

Here is what I learned about my favorite furry buds:

Most of what people see and think of as pussy willows are, in fact, the male flowering parts, or male catkins. The female catkins tend to develop and open a little later than the males, but they can form attractive pussy willows, too. And what, to us, is the most attractive stage in the pussy willow is actually very early on in the emergence of the catkin. The soft, silvery hairs that we see are the "fur coat" that helps to keep the developing reproductive parts warm. Remember, pussy willows emerge in early spring when it's still quite cold. But when the sun shines, the temperature of the center of the catkin can rise above air temperatures by trapping the heat from the sun with it’s insulating hairs. This additional warming aids in the development of the pollen within the anthers and of the ovules within the carpels. The willow flowers are fully "open" when the yellow pollen-bearing anthers are protruding and the stigmas are visible.

-- http://www.naturenorth.com/spring/flora/pwillow/Fpwillw1.html

OLD pussy willow stick pendant, circa 2013

A few years ago I tested out carving on scratch foam and came up with a pussy willow pendant (it was featured in Stringing, Fall 2013). As you can see, from the stamp I carved on the foam that resulted in an "inny" for the image, something I wasn't quite pleased with, although I loved the colors and the soft pearl catkins. But after awhile it was impossible to get a good impression with the foam so I had to discontinue making them.

I knew that I wanted to revisit that image, but with a twist… I was following a tutorial on how to make a sort of faux ceramic look with polymer clay using inclusions in the clay, chalk pastels and a crackle medium. It called for making your own mold of sorts, so I carved a piece of scrap clay and baked it. That way I would be able to replicate this look. Impressing the mold onto the clay in the bezels resulted in the "outy" look that I was hoping for. I colored the clay with the chalks and used a little bit of Lumiere pearl paint to make those catkins glow. 

NEW pussy willow pendant, circa 2016

Then I baked the clay in my favorite long rectangle bezels, as they are long and lean in that tall crystal vase. 

After they were done baking, I brushed a layer of crackle medium onto them. As the medium dries it makes all these great fissures. But you don’t really see them. So I added a little blend of some acrylic paint over the top to settle in those cracks, wiping off the excess. That was exactly the look I was going for!

before and after

I am quite pleased with the way they turned out and so happy to have my own hand-carved mold so I can continue to make them! I call this Sign of Spring as they remind me that the warmer days are coming and the return of the flowers is not far behind. These were made for my Simple Truths Sampler Club members, but I would love to make a limited edition one for you before spring turns into summer and they will disappear again! 

I also made one for two of my fellow ABS editors, Mary Harding and Michelle McCarthy. Check back on March 22nd for a reveal of how we used each other's components inspired by this month's painting inspiration!

Happy spring to you!

4th Day of Christmas :: The Hoots Family Reunion

I went a little nutty making owl pendants last weekend. Every so often I revive the owls and try to add something new. This time I added a whole family of owls to the collection!

I call this the Hoots Family Reunion.

I decided to give them all names, because every time I make one, no two are alike, and the each have distinct personalities that I have no idea who they will be until I put my hands to their little bodies. The only thing I wanted to be sure is that they each got some winterwear, scarves and hats.

I had been playing around with a Stroppel cane this fall that uses up scrap cane clay. I really enjoy making that. So much so that I find myself purposely creating 'scrap' clay to do it! It looked a lot like knitwear, so that is what inspired me.

Then I decided that different branches of the Hoots family would be swooping in for the festivities. First came the Jingle Bunch: Merry, Joy and Pax. They came all the way from the frozen tundra. They have a slightly different look (as they are distant cousins) and are snowy owls, of course, all bundled up in their brightly colored hats and scarves.

And finally came the Northwoods brothers: Fraser, Balsam and Noble. These great grey owls are burly and large with booming hoots that announce their presence. They hail from the northern Rockies and live in tallest fir trees. Their lumberjack buffalo check hats and scarves keep them toasty and they each have a different personality.

Wouldn't these look cute all nestled in the branches of a tree? I thought that with the addition of some wire and some leftover beads they would make a great tree ornament. And of course, once the holiday is over, they can easily be strung on a necklace for a gift that keeps on giving.

Do you have a bin of old jewelry that never sold, or didn't work? If so, you have a great start to ornaments! Earrings and pendants easily translate into adornments for your holiday tree. Last year I made some necklaces with my favorite little Humblebeads houses. These remaining necklaces that didn't sell were languishing in a box... until I removed the pendants and turned them into ornaments. I am sure that you have a box like that in your craft room that has a lot of potential for ornaments. These deserved to be loved and I hope they find a new home on someone's tree this Christmas.

If you are interested in welcoming your own Hoots Family Reunion, the pendants are available in my shop. I have various ones available for immediate shipping (PM me), or I will custom make them for you! They would love to fly in to keep you company over this long cold season. But they are limited edition for the winter and will fly away come spring!

P.S. The free shipping is still on in my shop! (Don't let the 12/4 deadline fool you!) Get your bundles while you can!

Inside the Studio :: Erin Prais-Hintz, Tesori Trovati Jewelry

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive, we offer a prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard and tell us what you think. The following week a winner is chosen at random from all eligible entries.

Congratulations to thecolorofdreams on winning a $20 gift certificate to Mary Harding's  Etsy shop.
Email Miss Mary to claim your prize!

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Today we visit with Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.

My studio is a shambles and I have been so very busy with traveling for beads, ballparks and ballet the entire month of June. And July will be no different. But in between all of the busy-ness, I have some projects that have popped up that involve making kits for sale. So I thought I would let you in on how I go about kitting a project. I call these Creativity to Go kits. I got my first taste of kitting late last year. I enjoy it and I hope to offer more in the future!

The first thing that I do is come up with a project.

That is the easy part! One of the kits that I am making this month will be sold through Interweave (keep an eye out!). The Interweave kit requires a brand new, on-trend jewelry project that will be targeted to new crafters. It will be mixed media in nature, and I think that the idea I have will be fun to play with.

The other kit I am making is a based on my own design featured in the upcoming Create Jewelry magazine. (I can't wait to get my copy of this! It is always a highlight of my year!) Their themes are based on color and one of the pieces that I submitted is called "Seek Beautiful Moments" for their Warm Hues section. Since the focal is only available from me, I thought that a kit would be a good idea.

The focal for this bracelet is from my 'Sari Snapshot' line of Simple Truths. The bright colors are complemented by the marquise-shaped dangles and a chunky brass chain. It is a fun and flirty look that has a lot of impact and movement.


The second thing that I do is come up with a list of all the items that make up the project, right down to the last bead and crimp.

I start with scribbled notes and sketches, and then hit the internet to start researching. To keep track of everything, I put together a spreadsheet so that I can track where I purchase the materials and at what per piece price. That way I can have a record of what I bought and from where, in case I have to duplicate it, plus it helps me with the kit pricing.

It takes a lot of research to put together a kit. Unfortunately, there is no 'one-stop shopping' when putting these types of things together. Sometimes I have to make changes for things that I can no longer get, like the chunky chain. You might notice that the one below is different than in the example above. I had to do my best to come up with a similar substitution. One of the key pieces was on back-order for over a month, and so I sat on pins and needles hoping I could actually get them in time!

Could you find all these things yourself from the list of materials in the instructions? Yes. But the cost of a kit covers the fact that I am pulling it all together in one place so you don't have to search it out or buy it in bulk. It takes a lot of time (this one took me almost 3 months to put together!) and effort to track down the best elements in the right quantities. I am hoping that having all the pieces in one place will be the selling point.

Bezels waiting to be filled and chunky chain... a substitution from the one in the magazine that I couldn't find!

Then I need to divvy up the materials.

When I did my kits in January for the Fabulous Facets DVD from Interweave, they left it completely up to me as to what I would include and how to package it. I know that branding is important and I wanted my buyers to feel like they were getting a gift, the gift of creativity. So I put just about everything in the box that they would need, right down to the paint brush and paint palette and made it feel a bit like a present, which of course it was!


For the 'Seek Beautiful Moments' kits, I have decided to do the same, and make sure that everything needed is included.

However, I decided that I would create it in two limited edition colorways...

'Seek Beautiful Moments' bracelet kit - the original Spicy color palette

 ...warm and spicy reds and pinks, similar to the piece in the magazine...

'Seek Beautiful Moments' bracelet kit - new Breezy color palette

...but also in cool water colors of blue, green and purple. Because I am all about variation and choice! I am even offering the focal by itself, if that is more your style and you want to create your own piece (but I am hoping that at least some will want to buy the kits!).

For both kits, you can see that I have included everything you would need, right down to the last jump ring. The only thing you have to bring is your pliers!

Packaging production for the Fabulous Facets bead kits, December 2014

Finally, I assemble the packages.

Now...how to present them? I have been more than inspired by Rebecca's recent posts about packaging. I could certainly just put the pieces in a zip baggie and send them on their way, but I like it when it feels like a bit of care and planning went into the package.

I have decided to package them in a cute drawstring muslin bag with my skeleton key logo stamped on the outside, and I always  - ALWAYS - include a little personalized note. I can jazz it up with ribbons and my little copper skeleton key charm. I just ordered the bags and they should be here in the next few days. I am also getting a custom stamp created so I can further brand the creativity to go kits from a company called The Stampin Place. Sally Booth was a delight to work with, super responsive and I think that price is right! Now I can use this on all sorts of things. When it is all here in the next few days, I can get my 'kit-elf' on the job personalizing the bags for me. Forgot to mention that...everyone needs a helper when putting together kits! It is good to have another set of eyeballs on them to be sure they are complete. My 'kit-elf' is a stickler for details, so I know they will be done right! ;-)

It is a lot of math (*shudders*), with the calculating cost per item, per kit, and the counting out of each and every supply. So while that part is not something that I look forward to, I do love the idea that others can learn from something I have created, which is one of the biggest pay-offs.

In the end, it may be a lot of hassle, but it is worth it to me to offer kits. I like coming up with the ideas, researching where to find all the supplies and then packaging it up to make it special. I hope those that get them will feel the same and that they will spark their own creativity!

These limited edition kits are now for sale in my web shop, www.tesoritrovati.com. Would you like your own? I will give away one 'Seek Beautiful Moments' bracelet kit - in your choice of SPICY (reds/pinks) or BREEZY (blues/greens) color palette just for the price of some sort of answer to the following questions (you don't have to answer them all, just tell me your thoughts on kits!):

Do you buy kits? What kind?
Is there a kit you would you like to try?
Do you prefer them complete, right down to the tiniest finding with the most precise instructions, or just a kickstarter with components and a suggested image you can use in any way possible for your own variations? 
Is there a technique that you would like to be able to learn from a kit? 
What price point do you think works best for a kit?
What do you think about the packaging of a kit?
Or perhaps you sell kits of your own... what kind? Do tell!

P.S. There is a special coupon code in an ad I placed in the Create Jewelry magazine. Be sure to look for the ad I have in there so you can get the coupon code!

When Inspiration Strikes...

... you must follow her wherever She leads!

You might know that I do a little thing called Simple Truths. And I offer these Simple Truths in a Sampler Club. Over the course of the past few years of doing the Club it evolved into being about the Art Bead Scene. The purpose of the Simple Truths Sampler Club is threefold: (1) I want to push myself to come up with a new design each month; (2) I want to challenge myself to learn new-to-me techniques in polymer clay; and (3) I want use the inspiration artwork for the month to guide my creative endeavors. Basically, the members of the Club on any given month are fans of my work and must love surprises. That is not only a great honor, but a nerve-wracking proposition! I truly don't want to disappoint.

One my greatest disappointments is that I am not usually ready to go with the pieces to send to my Club members in the first week of the month. That has happened on occasion, but often I have to wait to clear my schedule to have a play date and then hope that Inspiration will come to play. Now I do get a bit of a heads up as an Editor to see what is coming... and I print off those inspiration artworks making notes about what I might do or what motifs grab my attention... and I even go about ordering supplies for things I think I might need (I am waaaayyy ahead of the game for October right about now)... I even seek out tutorials or books or online classes that might help me with my quest to learn. But that desire to learn and try new things often means that it takes me longer to fit it into my busy life than I think!

With every installment of the Simple Truths Sampler Club (participants sign up for 3-, 6-, 9- or 12- months at any time (and there is a limit of 20 in the Club at any given time - but I have never come close to filling it up), I send the piece with a full page synopsis of what I made, what inspired me about the artwork challenge, and a little bit of my process. Normally, that is reserved for my Club members, but at the risk of ruining the surprise for what is coming to them this month, I am going to share with you the letter that is on the way with the bead for the month along with some of my in process shots.

Simple Truths Sampler :: April 2015 

I have to admit that I didn't know much about Frida Kahlo before this month, just that she was a fiery Mexican artist who painted a lot of self-portraits in a hyper-realistic style. Oh, and she had those eyebrows. 

So on Saturday, I finally had a chance to sit down to devour this art. I sat with it. I put it as the background on my computer. I re-read Tari Sasser's post with the back story. I poured over every detail. Truthfully, there was so much going on in this painting that I think I was having a sensory overload! 

Layered leaves, transparent dragonflies and butterflies, the monkey, the cat about to pounce, the dead hummingbird dangling from the thorn necklace, the drops of blood, the infinity shaped knot in her hair... where to start? 

You know that I love quotes and words. So I turned to the prolific writings of Kahlo, who kept diaries throughout her short, tragic life. A few that stood out to me...

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly."

"I want to be inside your darkest everything."

"Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away."

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."

(That last one is my favorite.)

But I still wasn't sure how to pull this all together. So I watched the 2002 movie with Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo. (It is a great film, totally transporting, evocative, tender and passionate.) What I kept coming back to was that Kahlo lived life deeply. She tasted every experience with a great hunger for more. She painted not because she needed to, but because she had to. Her body may have been broken, but her spirit soared. 

Looks like I am ready for the bonfire! ;-)

Her paintings are very raw, deeply personal and highly symbolic. That is when I remembered a tutorial that I had purchased from CraftArtEdu called Symbolic Beads by Aussie artist Debbie Crothers. I really enjoy her style and knew that these beads would be the perfect way to capture the meaning and beauty of Kahlo's style. 

Hard to see when everything is all in white. Sometimes the details won't even be clear to me until the next step!

It took me some time to get the first two beads done, as it was all just an experiment at this point. That is what I love about doing this Club, that you all trust me enough to let me be freely expressive in my miniature works of art! Part of this technique involves making a lot of molds. Thankfully, I had a lot already but it was a good excuse to make some more. I found some things that worked perfectly... a bunch of leaves, a tiny dragonfly, a hummingbird, a butterfly, and even some twigs that looks like those tangled thorns. 

Misshapen lumps of clay magically transform with antiquing. Now I can see the details! Time to hand paint each one.

I created the bead cores and then used the molds to create a multi-layered effect with the clay. Layers of patina, added color and sealed for durability. A true labor of love. Each bead is completely different and has either a hummingbird, butterfly or dragonfly on it along with leaves and flowers and twisted thorns in a soft matte finish. I think that Miss Frida would approve!

I call these beads 'Frida's Triumph', the first in a series of Symbol Beads. Click HERE for a link to purchase your own Limited Edition 'Frida's Triumph' Symbol Bead.

 Where is your INSPIRATION leading you today?

Perfect Pairings :: Tesori Trovati Jewelry + Art Bead Scene

Since we just started the month, I know you are all percolating your ideas. There were no entries yet for this challenge painting, so I thought I would share with you what I have been working on these past few months.

You might know that I have a little component line that I call Simple Truths. I offer a Simple Truths Sampler Club where members can select a 3-, 6-, 9- or 12-month subscription to get a new mystery component each month. In 2013 I was struggling with what to use for my inspiration when it hit me. Duh. Use the challenge art on the Art Bead Scene as your guide! This allows me to also try out new techniques and processes through the Club pieces.I have been doing that ever since and it has been awesome!

Unfortunately, I had to walk out of my studio on March 7th to focus my attention on some personal family issues. I actually left the March Sampler in the toaster oven baking! I didn't walk back into my studio until April 12th and then had to pick up the pieces of where I left off and have been playing catch up ever since.

But last weekend I finally finished up the March, April and even the May Samplers all based on the artwork for the last three months right here on ABS. Woohoo! And since there were no entries yet (let's get those creative juices flowing!), I thought I would share with you what my Club members are just now receiving in their mailboxes. I like to send them the goodies with a little note about the artwork and what tickled my fancy about it, so I am sharing with you what I sent to them.

March 2014

I loved the illustration for March 2014! This so perfectly captured the way that winter was still lingering around here. The birds have come back and are slightly confused by the cold and the snow, but twittering excitedly and showing off their pretty plumage!

This made me think of how I longed to leave this frozen wasteland. I have a taste for travel and it just isn’t going away. Of course, I don’t have the wherewithal to travel at will, so I had to travel in my mind, and birds are the perfect image for that, flying off at a moment’s notice.

I release a limited edition bird pendant a few times a year. This seemed like the perfect choice! I was inspired by tribal patterns and bright colors that I was seeing everywhere and it inspired me to create a new series that I am calling Wanderlust.

wan·der·lust

noun \ˈwän-dər-ˌləst\

:  a strong desire to travel

:  strong longing for or impulse toward wandering

I will be offering this very limited edition bird on my site as well as some other pieces in the same style (you can see them in my sponsor graphic in the left column). They are impressed with stamps that I carved myself in all sorts of geometric and tribal shapes and painted with a totally different patina that gives them their bright palette and shiny finish. A complete departure from what I usually do, but I quite like the effect!

 

April 2014

This painting by Degas is a very apropos choice for me in April. You see, my own Tiny Dancer performs her big show in April each year. She does jazz, tap, modern and ballet. And this year is the first year that she was en pointe! So while she didn’t have a costume that looked like this, every time I see this painting, I think of her twirling on the tips of her toes!

I love the way Degas captured the ethereal nature of those tutus. I can almost hear them swishing as a dancer waiting in the wings. The tulle made me think of lace, and I loved the seafoam green with the flecks of peach and black. An unexpected color choice, but very rich and very now!

“On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined.”

~Lord Byron, The Eve of Waterloo

I wanted this piece to have that same tutu effect so I chose a lacy bezel setting and used an ecru blend of clay to keep it looking like old parchment. The intricate swirls of lace are colored with layers of wax pastels  for a more matte finish and the clay was embedded with some glittery embossing powder( that is hard to capture in the picture) for a subtle shimmer. From knowing my own Tiny Dancer, I can tell you that there is no more joyful experience than that of the dance. This piece is my homage to her and her fellow corps de ballet.

May 2014

What grabbed me immediately on seeing this landscape, was the strength of the tower and the graceful arches of the bridge. I am not sure that I will ever see the great structures of Europe, but I imagine that they still look like this, as if plucked from the past, immortal. I find it fascinating the engineering that goes into making these grand structures, how each brick was carefully placed by hand.

“A great building will never stand if you neglect the small bricks.”

~ Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha, life coach

I think about the foundation of my own designs. They are built around something strong and appealing, usually colorful and unique. But often it is the little bricks, the smaller beads that make the piece stand the test of time.

I created what I am calling Building Blocks, brick inspired pieces that work together as the foundation of a design or perhaps stand alone as a unique element. I always struggle with beads in polymer clay that have too tiny holes or that lose their shape from the piercing. I think I solved that with a vinyl core for more of a big hole bead, each set with unique markings and colored and antiqued for that weather brick aging. Yes, they look good enough to eat! But I hope that they will lay the foundation to some wonderful designs.

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I hope that you are inspired by the strong architectural details, the brilliant blue skies and the earthy stone color palette and create something for this month for ABS. We sure would love to see it!

If you are interested in learning more about my Simple Truths Sampler Club, there are some newly opened spots available - limit of 20 in any one month -  please check out the descriptions on my website. And occasionally I have extras of the monthly Samplers that I offer for sale...and I will get those listed as soon as possible!

Inside the Studio :: Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati

Welcome to Inside the Studio! 

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

  This weeks winner is  Carol of Dillman's Dallies. Congratulations!
You have won a Jack-O-Lantern pendant from Gaea Cannaday of Gaea Handmade.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

This week we visit the studio of Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati Jewelry.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

 I have small but mighty group of talented designers who have signed onto my
Simple Truths Sampler Club.  

Each month, I promise to send them a goodie in the form of one of my Simple Truths polymer clay designs. These will be limited edition and available first to the Club members but then possibly released to the public at the full retail value through my Etsy site.
They don't get to choose, but they tell me that is part of the fun!

This year, I decided that instead of making what the spirit moved me to do, I would challenge myself to make something inspired by the artwork chosen for the monthly Art Bead Scene challenges. Sometimes that is a daunting thing to do because I am so very inspired, and just like you, sometimes I am not inspired at all! But it is an extra challenge to me to come up with something new and exciting every month, it helps me push my creative boundaries and try new techniques, plus the Challenge Art is just so darned impressive, that it is a joy to create! 

I hope that my Club members enjoy what they get (I have several members who keep coming back year after year, so they must love it) and I love to see what they do (I have a Pinterest Board devoted to their clever and inspiring designs). 

Want to see what you may have missed out on? Here is a look at the limited edition offerings that my Simple Truths Sampler Club has received in 2013:

It's really gratifying to see all the progress that I made this year! I have tried new techniques, like carving my own molds in January, using an open backed bezel in March, making my own scenic canes for the first time in June and a Stroppel cane in August and even hand sculpting a design in September.

So, you might be asking,  what is next for the Simple Truths Sampler?
I am not really sure, but I already have designs in the works (read: in my overworked brain ;-) for November and December (I picked the art for December and I am so excited to share it with you!).  I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out! And I can't wait to see what happens next year! I intend to keep this plan in place for the 2014 Club as well. And while there are only a maximum of 20 spaces available any month (there are spaces open now, you know, in case you are interested), I would love to have you. You can choose from 3-, 6-, 9- or 12- months subscription that suits your budget and needs. 

Wouldn't that make a great gift for a jewelry designer you love? (Or you! Especially you! ;-)

Since this month the theme of the painting features an owl, and I recently released two new owls to join my parliament of Woodsy and Motley owls - Snowy and Great Grey - I gave a choice to the Club members of one of the four types of owls. And of course, I have a few left from this batch that haven't made it into jewelry for my holiday shows or the new boutique that is carrying my owl jewelry. 

I will select one of the remaining owls (surprise!) to fly to the home of a random winner drawn on October 25th if you answer one of these questions: 

If you regularly participate in the ABS monthly challenges, why do you do it? 

 or

If you do not regularly participate in the ABS monthly challenges, what would encourage you to participate more? 

We have over 3,000 members who follow us regularly from around the world. And there are likely many, many more that also follow us. We would love to see more entries in our Monthly Challenge Recap/Blog Hop and have been making changes around here to spruce things up and bring you even more inspiration. We would love to have your feedback! We can't thank you enough for being a part of our Art Bead world and look forward to the future!

Studio Saturday with Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati Jewelry

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner. 

This weeks winner is Ann Schroeder of Bead Love. Congratulations! 
You have won a Pendant, a Button and a Cabochon from Tari Sasser at Creative Impressions In Clay.

Send Tari an email with your address and she will get them right out to you.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

 

This week we visit the studio of 
Erin Prais-Hintz at Tesori Trovati.
 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

 

"Don't listen to those 

who would give you reasons 

why you can't succeed. 

You're a child of God 

and with credentials like that 

you can do anything." 

~ Linda Lee Elrod

I truly believe that we are all called by a higher power to be creative.

The act of making something new and valuable is the driving force behind the tallest buildings, the tastiest meals, the most vibrant paintings, the most heart-wrenching lyrics, that is what it means to be creative.

People frequently tell me they are not creative. Does that ever happen to you? Usually this occurs in response to seeing some sort of art that I have created. At that point, I tell them that they are indeed creative. I will argue with them, passionately, if need be.

We are each creative in our own way. My creativity comes through in my art, in pushing beads around and wrangling them into something more beautiful together than they might be by themselves, in seeing the possibility in things that are not even typically used for making adornments, in telling the story of the person who is wearing a personal talisman that I will manifest just for them.

It doesn't mean that other people are not creative, it just means that they are not creative in the same way as I am. That sort of negative comparison is so detrimental. But we all do it. We look at our friend who is an amazing scrapbooker and takes the time to document her children's life story so beautifully and we find fault in our own inability to even put one picture in a frame, despite the fact that we have all the paper and embellishments in the world (maybe even a mini scrapbook store in their basement... ahem!). We see those who have a perfectly ordered household with beautiful art on the walls, a place for everything, a knack for arranging furniture in such a way that is is so welcoming and think that we don't measure up because the dust bunnies in our own house compete with the spiders weaving fortresses and the piles are threatening to topple over and bury you under an avalanche.

(Or is that just me?)

We are all called to be creative, whether that creativity comes through in making the world's best creme brulee, or raising really compassionate children, or painting portraits, or coaxing gardens into bloom, or making beads that tell a story and jewelry that makes people happy.

I just wrote a post about a dear man who recently passed away. His name was Erv and he was a larger than life personality. Erv gave me that mug above for my 20th birthday on August 11, 1988. It is amazing that I have kept this mug all these years; in fact, I used those words to make a bulletin board in my classroom each fall to greet my new group of students when I was a 7th grade English teacher so many years ago. Last week I shared the story of how I received this mug with his grieving daughter and dear granddaughter. They were incredibly touched by the story, but not at all surprised. He lived that statement and he truly believed that we could do anything.

And that last line, about being a child of God really resonated with me. So of course it came through in my creative way as a new Story Tube bead in my Simple Truths line.

YOU are a 

child of GOD & 

with credentials 

like that you can 

DO ANYTHING

Soon I will be offering these in my Etsy Shop, but as a belated birthday gift from me to you, I would like to give away one of them. (I am also giving away two more, for a total of three, through my blog: Treasures Found. Feel free to enter there as well. But there will only be three individual winners total.)

[NOT the new beads, but these are other Story Beads so you get the idea ;-)]

I am ready to put the finishing touches on them. Right now they are 'naked' without any color [the beads above will just give you an idea of what they will look like]. I haven't painted them yet, so YOU get to choose the colors. [I think they look best in a wash of 2-3 tones. Your choice.] You can choose silver or copper for the metal.

But here is the twist... if you win, you have to agree to do a little blog reveal with me in a few weeks, on Friday, September 20th. I want to see how this message and this bead inspire you!

So, who is with me?

Just leave a comment on this post answering the following: 

If you are a Child of God and you can do anything,
what is that anything that you are called to do? 

 

 

On the 8th Day of Christmas: What to do with Christmas Leftovers

Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.
~Thomas Fuller

Do you ever have leftovers after the holidays and just don't know what to do with them? I actually hate eating leftovers, but I love BEADING leftovers. After making all the ornaments and necklaces and earrings and bookmarks and other beaded goodies, I ended up with a lot of leftovers and a great idea... make a potluck! A potluck Wrist Garland, that's what!

I started with some 'simple truths' initials in red and green to spell out L-O-V-E and J-O-Y. I have been making these as sweet little initial pendants and bookmarks for my family and friends so I hade bunch left over. Why not spell out a message for the New Year? I picked those two words because they are more than just holiday words, but ones that work all year long. I kept the colors fairly traditional in red and green, but you could mix it up and combine colors or use other ones like blue or purple if that is your thing. The key is to use up your leftovers, so see what is in your prodigious stash and let that color be your guide. If you don't have some 'simple truths' lying around, how about an assortment of other art beads in the same color family?

Next, find a sturdy bit of chain in your left over bin. You don't have leftovers bins? Just wait... you will! Fish out a jump ring or round link to add to the chain and a trigger clasp. If you want to get even more fancy, check out the tutorial I posted on dressing up your plain clasps.

Then I went to the bowls and containers that cover my desk filled with the leftover bits and pieces from the past six years. I am notorious for not cleaning up after myself, so every once in awhile I just dump all the pieces that didn't make it into bowls. I keep buying more pottery bowls for my table. I have them for pieces of chain, art beads that I didn't use, and all manner of beads. If I were smart I would sort them into colors, but that would be thinking ahead too much!

Sort through your leftovers and pick out beads that suit your color scheme. Then just wire wrap them all on headpins and start attaching them to the links in the chain. I prefer to wire wrap them directly to the chain (this is where a ChainSta would come in handy for me!) or you can just make the wrapped head pins and then add them all at once with jump rings. Your call.

Et voila!

I thought these looked like little garlands you might hang on your tree but are instead for dressing up your wrist. Wrist Garlands! Enjoy using up your leftovers. ;-)

Wishing you JOY and LOVE in abundance in the New Year!

P.S. Psssst! I am giving away one of these bracelets! Just hop on over to my blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere and leave a comment! Winner will be chosen from comments on my blog only and announced on December 27th! Merry Christmas!