October Musings

Where in the World did October go?

Way back the first weekend of October, I think, The Intergalactic Bead Show came to town. I had the pleasure to visit with (and shop with) The Fire Goddess, Susan Barnes. What a treat!

Although I made several purchases, her Artisan Lampwork bead set and a silver disk bead are incorporated into these "Stones" designs:





Thank you, Fire Goddess, for inspiring beads and charming converstion!
Please visit The Fire Goddess at her site and look for her in the industry magazines - she's a talented artist, designer, and business woman!


Disclaimer - I was not compensated in any way by the Vendor mentioned in this post. I simply love her artisan components and told her AFTER my purchase that I blog, and would no doubt blog about how I used her goddess goodies she made in my own creations!

Happy Halloween - El Día de los Muertos!

Harvest Moon and Sundry Items

Fall is finally here and as much as I love summer and spring - Fall is truly my favorite time of year. In a few days will we have a Harvest Moon shining over us - a spectacular sight I am so looking forward to seeing! Spending evenings on our back deck gazing at the moon through the live oak branches...


Last night and today I finally found time for creating - a few weeks ago I bought this gorgeous brass pendant from Artbeads.com and have been playing around with designs in my mind...



I am quite enamored with using ribbons as clasps - these silk ones from Artbeads.com are simply the best! The next necklace is called Halloween Treats - I got these amazing dyed Howlite slabs from The Country Bumpkin (my favorite local bead & arts & crafts store), the Dichroic pendant eons ago from an artisan on Overstock (remember that? The Big O? I had a store there lasted about a minute :) )crackle glass beads from Fire Mountain Gems also bought eons ago, Dichroic beads from Artbeads.com and the rest from The Country Bumpkin or just my stash.





Just for fun, here are some earrings I made last year - Can you tell I get inspired this time of year?
Till Death Do Us Part - Day of The Dead Earrings

Falling Acorns

Spiders and Bats


Happy October! Be sure and take a peak at the moon all next week - you may just see The Man In The Moon!

-Blanche

Queen of Hearts

The second edition to my Jewelry Wardrobe designs is Queen of Hearts, also inspired by Alice in Wonderland.


This set incorporates gold to accent the 14 karat gold in the middle pendant and earrings. The longest strand is capped off with another Lilly Pilly pendant - that I adore! This one reminds me of Painting the Roses in Alice's Adventures!

The set is created as explained in my Alice in Wonderland post using beads from Artbeads.com CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements for their generous blogging program, which I am honored to be a part of!





Check out the trailers for the new Tim Burton movie scheduled for release in March 2010.



Beads

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Yes...It is a busy time of year for me. Working in HR at our local school district - back to school time is our busiest ever! So not much time for jewelry making, but some things are on the back burner and hopefully I can finish a few Works In Progress on Labor Day and post them for you.

Other than working at my day job, we decided to paint the interior of our house with COLOR! No more dull, drab ecru - Needless to say after work I have been putting the house back together each evening cleaning, reorganizing, and tossing things right and left! It feels like Spring cleaning, but better and we will be ready for the holidays :) And it's nice to have some COLOR around the house!




-Blanche

South Carolina Artisans on Etsy

The Heart Garden - Phillip Simmons

South Carolina is incredibly well represented across many genres of handcrafted goods on Etsy! Everytime I look, I am truly amazed at the talent of these gals from all over the state of South Carolina!

TEAMSC Etsy Street Team is a active group that promotes Handcrafted goods from South Carolina. Right now through the end of September there is a cool pamphlet for sale chauk full of discount coupons, SC lore, photos, recipes, and tutorials from SC Etsy vendors all in pdf form.

I am honored to have the photo I submitted grace the front page of this unique discount publication! The week after I submitted my photo, esteemed Master Craftsman, Philip Simmons died. In the sweep of celebrity deaths, none had a greater impact on me than this one that was so close to home.

His work lives on through his contributions all across Charleston and within the hearts of those who followed..follow his work and appreciate the craftsman ship that is his legacy. Charleston would not be the same without his contributions that set the standard for the Holy City's iron wrought decorations.

To purchase a TEAMSC discount pamphet (downloadable in Adobe Acrobat Reader) TEAMSC Etsy store.

Alice In Wonderland

Last month Artbeads.com gave their blogging team their choice of CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements to blog about. I'm a bit late with this, but I hope it's worth the wait! Artbeads.com made it real easy to design 'In My Mind' just by browsing their offering of jewerly artist supplies.

I came up with an idea and was able to flow through ordering this-n-that components to satisfy my initial design ideas. When I received my order, I laid out the 'bounty' and started lining up patterns, mixing in beads and findings from my own supply. Feeling good about the patterns and colors came quickly. Once Alice came together, I could not have been happier!

Like many others my love for the charismatic Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass started with the Disney animated classic film. Enamored with Alice's Adventures, when in high school, I choose to read the book/s for an oral book report where I studied the 'backwardness' in Through the Looking Glass. My new line of Jewelry Wardrobes reflect my jeweled interpretation of Alice's Adventures.

In this phase of my Alice in Wonderland line (many more are in various stages of completion and planning) I have used Swarovski Red Magma crystals, Pearls in Bordeaux, Black and White, a Lilly Pilly pendant (I am so in love with these! see Use The Muse posts), and the key to making this Jewelry Wardrobe work - silk ribbon! To round it out I used various beads and findings from my personal stash.

Each necklace is different length and can be adjusted however you like.

The smallest necklace can also be wrapped around your wrist for a stunning bracelet!
Earrings made with Woodland Brass Fleur de Lis are also included in the Wardrobe.


So - luxury designs - worn however you wish! Comment and let me know what you think about Alice & this Jewerly Wardrobe!

-Blanche