9/30/2015

Oldies but Goodies - Autumn again

Actually this was also the topic that started the regular featuring of the Oldies but Goodies on my blog last year. Can you believe it?
So this week we got out the autumn colors for the Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge once again. Autumn colors never go out of style. We love the earthy look, we love the brilliant reds and yellows of autumn leaves and it's getting hard to believe that there were days when we are almost burning up from this year's summer heat.

Are you looking forward to autumn? What do you like about it? Tell us!
Maybe this picture will help you a little to get in the mood.


1 2 Fab Fristers
2 Violetmoon's Corner
3 Jewelry Art by Dawn
4 The Crafty Chimp
5 MC Stoneworks
6 Cat's Wire

9/23/2015

Oldies but Goodies - Onyx

What do you know about onyx? I looked up the history and found this interesting little fact.
"Onyx has long been associated as a ‘captured’ demon, imp or spirit."
Does that make you look at this week's pieces from the Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge a little different?
If you want more facts, check them out here, but now just enjoy some onyx beauty.


1 Jewelry Art by Dawn
2 Violetmoon's Corner
3 RioRita
4 MC Stoneworks
5 Cat's Wire
6 The Crafty Chimp

9/20/2015

Quote of the week

When I was a kid, my friend's parents often took her and me hiking. Hours of walking and picking flowers here and there which we then looked up at home.
I don't remember when I stopped going hiking, but it's really not my thing anymore, for several reasons.
It's not Kenya's thing, either, but her landscaper Brian won't take no for an answer.

Kenya: Who in their right mind would go out in heat like this? I mean, what is the point?
Brian: Don't look down, look up. Look at the mountains.
Kenya: I'm looking for rattlesnakes.
Brian: Don't worry about rattlesnakes. The mountain lions eat most of them.
Kenya: Very funny.


Okay then ....

Something New, USA, 2006

9/18/2015

Tackle that stash - Beaded blue hearts bracelet

The other day I made a pair of earrings for the monthly Jewelry Artisans Community challenge, shoulder dusters, larger deep red firepolished crystals, black and golden seed beads and red crystal drops, very gothic.
I figured the design that had come from a slightly messed up filled netting bangle would also work for a bracelet ... and how about using bicone crystals ... silver and blue maybe ... what do I have in my little drawer ... hey, wait!

It's amazing. I go through that crystals drawer a lot, sometimes just to take in the sparkle, but I hadn't seen that small bag of blue firepolished crystals in months. How they worked their way to the front all by themselves, I don't know, but they were certainly looking for attention.
At first I wanted to make another pair of earrings, but the longer the line of little "hearts" became, the more those crystals wanted to be a dainty and sweet bracelet. Who am I to disagree?


These are the earrings, by the way.
Due to technical reasons which caused a lot of hair tearing, hitting my head on the table and sobbing uncontrollably none is listed yet, but let me know if you would like to see more in this design, maybe with some other colors, too?

9/16/2015

Oldies but goodies - Sunflowers

On Monday I told you about my sad experience with cacti. Today I'll share another experience with you, this time about sunflowers.
I have to start with a visit on a farm when I was a kid, though. I'm not sure why we went there, my friend, her family, and I, but I remember the little pigs and how the farmer's wife gave me some daisies to plant at home. Believe it or not, they actually lived for a while. We didn't have a garden at home, only a strip of soil along the driveway, and my Mom said I could use one corner.
After the daisies were gone, I hadn't lost my gardening motivation yet and planted some sunflowers. The first ones were about three feet high. I used their seeds to grow new ones, completely ignorant about their needs. The last generation were dwarfs, but I loved them because they were mine. So when a friend of my little brother's pulled them out, I really showed him. Verbally. He started crying. Don't judge me, I had to suffer quite a bit from that bunch, and to be honest, the kid was a bit of a crybaby back then (which he confirmed many years later when we happened to meet on a train).

These sunflowers from this week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge are beautiful enough to give you back that summer feeling if you are headed into fall like we are here.



1 Jewelry Art by Dawn
2 MC Stoneworks
3 Salara Jewelry
4 RioRita
5 Cat's Wire
6 Violetmoon's Corner

9/09/2015

Oldies but goodies - Chunky

Drum roll for a new Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge (say that three times very fast)!
If you have followed the challenges for a while, you'll know that chunky which was the topic for this week is not the easiest for us. It took some digging in our personal archives, but you know we don't give up until we find something. Even if we have to stretch the rules a bit from time to time ;-)

And now some chunky goodness for you to look at!


1 Echoes of Ela
2 The Crafty Chimp
3 MC Stoneworks
4 Violetmoon's Corner
5 Cat's Wire
6 RioRita
7 Salara Jewelry

9/06/2015

Quote of the week

You know how sometimes when you really don't want to make a mistake that seems to trigger all kinds of mistakes?
After Herbert H. Heebert's girlfriend leaves him, he is determined to stay away from women. Fate has a different idea for him, though. He takes up a job at what turns out to be a boarding house for young ladies. Now Herbert is always eager to please and to do everything just right.
So when Willard C. Gainsborough, a quite dangerous looking fellow - the C stands for killer, you know - comes to pick up his girlfriend, Herbert does his best - and fails miserably.

Willard: Well, where's my girl?
Herbert: Well, I just wanted to tell you ...
Willard: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You went up to get my girl, right?
Herbert: Yeah.
Willard: You didn't get close to her, right?
Herbert: No.
Willard: You didn't get even near her, right?
Herbert: That's right.
Willard: Now you come downstairs, you got lipstick on your face.
Herbert: Oh, that's not ... when I went ...
Willard: Hold it! I don't believe it. Do you know you're sitting on my hat? Do you know that's my brand new hat? Do you know that you better get up and give me my hat!
Herbert: Maybe we could get it weaved.
Willard: Fix the hat.

And that's what Herbert does. Well, kind of. So when Willard's girlfriend is coming downstairs ... look for yourself.

 
The Ladies Man, USA, 1961

9/04/2015

Tackle that stash - Necklace with Biggs jasper and freshwater pearls

Welcome back to "Tackle that stash"! *insert merry jingle here*
I know it has been a while. Don't think that I haven't made anything during the time. I started a personal project, the "fan wall", so far with one bead loomed portrait of a favorite actor, I played around with new beading techniques and with patterns. Somehow none of them made it onto the blog, though.

Now I am back with an announcement.
I love jasper. Yeah, ok, so I said it before, but I really can't imagine why there was a time when I thought it was boring just because it didn't sparkle.
Whenever my muse Mabel is out of town and takes my beading mojo with her, I grab a cab. Not always does that actually make something happen, but sometimes it does.
This great Biggs jasper cabochon had been in my stash far too long because I wasn't able to decide on a color combination.
Picking it up for the umpteenth time I finally decided to go for the earthy look, use some copper wire and see where it would take us, that's the Biggs and me. Wire knit bezels are fun for me. They leave so much options to play with them, add another layer, connect those layers, add beads on the inside or outside. With a wire knit bezel I hardly ever know what it will look like in the end.

In this case I ended up with chocolate brown pearls which look good enough to eat and a brown rope to pick up the colors of the jasper. Aren't they perfect together?

Now tell me again - why didn't I use to like jasper?

9/02/2015

Oldies but goodies - Rings

Not that long ago I told you about the problem of not having enough arms ... to wear bracelets.
Today is about the problem of not having enough fingers on the arms you do have ... to wear rings.

As you can tell, I'm still behind on everything, so once again instead of talking I give you the hard, cold facts ;-) The Oldies but Goodies Challenge at the Jewelry Artisans Community is presenting rings this week!
Unfortunately not all of our regulars made it this time, but you should still head over to the complete thread for many more pictures, you won't regret it.



1 Echoes of Ela
2 Cat's Wire 
3 Violetmoon's Corner
4 2 Fab Fristers
5 Jewelry Art by Dawn