3rd Do-Over Challenge-- REVEAL/PARTY!

... Okay, so I feel like a complete moron. I totally thought the hop/reveal was today-- so I'm a day late to the party!

(Next time I should probably write the deadline on my calendar, instead of in my head...)

It's all for the best, really. I wasn't feeling that great yesterday, health-wise, so I spent the whole day recuperating and resting. I'm feeling much better today-- albeit a little sheepish about the mix-up.

So I have been RIDICULOUSLY excited about this reveal. A while back, I received a package in the mail~ a necklace from Jeannie, as a participant in her third do-over challenge. All of us who participated, received one of her older pieces, one that she made when she first started doing jewelry-- in her words, an "old, tired piece" that she "won't" sell-- and our challenge was to transform it into something different and new.

Here is the piece I received:

The glass colors are VERY subtle-- I had to put the piece against my watercolor paper, to show the color of the piece! In reality, it's much less bright. It's more like a watered-down shade, more like a white glass with a slight tint of color.

I loved the construction of her necklace, but the beads themselves were very pale-- and those who know me, know that I don't "do" pale pieces. I love color, and love bright things. It was definitely a challenge for me! But here is the piece that it became:

I figured, since I photographed the original on plain paper, it's only fair to do the same to mine~

I absolutely LOVE this necklace, and I'm so proud of myself! I had never done the wrapping technique used in both her necklace and mine, so it was quite the learning experience for me. I used brass wire and brass links-- and in addition to the faceted glass from Jeannie's piece, I threw in some crystal beads (faceted, slightly smaller-- you can see them flanking the off-white and blue beads) that I got from Suma and some beads that were VERY special to me!

I was so proud of this piece that as soon as I finished it, I woke Hubby up to show him!

The small square beads (between the green, purple, pink and blue ones) were absolutely perfect for this, since they only came in those four colors! I got them *years* ago, when I was only twelve-- my grandmother gave me a gift card to a bead shop near her house, but the items I sold back then weren't "right" for the beads. I've held onto them for years, waiting to find the right project to use them. And I am SO GLAD for that... because they were beyond perfect for this necklace!!!

You can see the square beads and the small faceted crystals much better in these next couple of photos~

I wish I remembered what the squares were made out of!

Oh, and I almost forgot-- in addition to doing over Jeannie's jewelry, I also took apart one that my mom gave me-- the large amber-colored glass beads, between the blues towards the bottom, were taken from a bracelet that was past its prime:

It's got three sections to it, design-wise~ this is one side, the one I took the beads from! See what I mean?

The center cabochon and brass focal bead is another "special" item for me. A local handmade jeweler used to sell her items once a year out of her house, and my mom and I always went. She was so impressed with my interest in the jewelry that she gave me (and I bought) BAGS full of metal pieces that were fixed up by her. This center piece was one of them-- like the square beads, it was one of those things that I'd held on to, waiting for the perfect piece of jewelry to come along. And here it was, and here it is!

Close-up of the focal "bead"-- it's more like a component, but details-shmetails...

I absolutely love this piece-- I am so proud of myself and of the work! I was originally planning on selling the finished piece, but now that I've seen it I think I'm going to keep it for my own collection. I have a few outfits that will be completely completed by this-- and I put aside a few purple beads to put together some earrings, to match! I just have to wait for some brass ear wires to arrive...

Looks like it's time for me to do some hopping, and catch up on the A to Z when I'm done with that~ see you later!

A to Z, 2012-- Q is for... (PART ONE)

Quick Commercial Announcement(S)!

...Okay, so it's not going to be my *real* letter Q post. That's going to come later on, sillies!

However, I have a few quick things to talk about today.

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER ONE:
I am taking part in another giveaway by Rebekah. I didn't get any of her sets from last time, but they are so beautiful I can't resist trying again~ there are three sets, but these two are my favorites:

This one's called "Bright And Sunny"...

... And this one is called "Deep in the Forest."

I think I'm partial to "Bright and Sunny", but "Deep in the Forest" is a close second, and equally lovely. There's one more set, too, that is also exquisite... click on the link above if you want to see it, or to sign up to win these beads for yourself!

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER TWO:
The handmade jewelry community recently lost one of its own-- Judy Glende-- to a battle with melanoma. In honor of her jewelry legacy, many are selling tribute items in their shops. The money earned will be donated to research, in memory of Judy "gaining her wings". I do not have an online shop yet, and I did not know Judy... but many others do, and did, and are participating. Rebekah (the same lady mentioned above) is selling this bracelet in her online shop, donating all the proceeds to Judy's cause:

This one is called "Bluebirds Fly"~ in memory of Judy~

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER THREE:
I am pleased (and excited) to announce that I won a lovely focal bead in a giveaway, hosted by one of my blogging friends, Jelveh!

Isn't it just gorgeous???

She is hosting yet another giveaway (she offers them quite frequently, actually!)-- and while she doesn't ask that I promote her blog and her business, she is just so generous that I feel it would be a disservice to her to NOT say anything over here about it.

That's all for now-- I'll return to write my REAL entry shortly. 'Til then~!

A to Z, 2012-- C is for...

COOKIE!

(Okay, so this post is not *actually* all about cookies~ but I couldn't help it~ what can I say, the tiny child trapped inside my adult body just can't associate the letter C with anything else! Talk about word associations that just won't die...)

So since C does not stand for cookie, in this instance, it must stand for something else. Now what could that be?

For the longest time, I had the whole thing planned out and set up. C was SUPPOSED to be for Cables. But then today happened.

I had two doctors appointments today, two very important appointments, and I ended up being out of the house all day. It was a great day-- I was able to go to the bead shop AND the metal shop AND my favorite food chain of all time.

I absolutely *love* eating at Pret, and they're all over the city. The food is good and fresh, and it has my latest culinary addiction-- Brie cheese. Specifically in the form of a sandwich, with tomato and fresh basil. YUMM-O!

Anyway, back to the letter C.

As I mentioned above, I ended up at the metal shop... my first time there. And OH MY GOODNESS! I found metal components that really bring me back to my childhood, things that spoke to me as an artist, things that inspired me to create.

Among other things, I bought my first CABOCHON. And some filigree to wrap it up.

As long as I'm recovered from the day's activities, I'll be putting this together tomorrow. It's my first one, so I'm hoping it turns out as pretty as I imagine it to be in my head~!

 And that, my dear friends, is the story of how the letter C became associated with something completely different and unexpected and new.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more alphabet-ty goodness~ and don't forget to sign up for my giveaway from a few posts back!

A to Z, 2012-- B is For...

BLUE!

But first, a quick welcome to any new visitors I might have from the A to Z challenge-- and a reminder to all visitors, old and new, to sign up for my very first giveaway! Now that I've taken care of that bit of business...

Those who know me should not surprised that for me, as an artist, B stands for blue. Not just any blue-- Royal Blue.

I could have used the photos from MY wedding, since our color was Royal blue, but this was just way easier~!

Aw, hell, I might as well share one photo from my wedding! Pay no attention to the oversized bridal train, gorgeous as it may be. Look instead to the color worn by my bridesmaids-- yes, that blue-ish blur next to the beautiful big white thing.

This color of blue is near and dear to my heart for reasons I could never put into words. I even have several clothing items in Royal Blue~ a jacket, a skirt, a pair of shoes, a pair of earrings, a turtleneck, short sleeved tee-shirt...

I have NO IDEA what I'm running towards in this photo of myself from last year, but I think it has something to do with a fight between some cousins. I am the oldest, after all! All I know is that I'm NOT running from the all-in-black monster behind me. That's just one of the other "little" cousins, sillies, blacked out because he's still a "kid." Don't remind me that he's taller than I am...

Oh yes. And a royal blue sun dress. Only to be worn with the silliest of faces, of course.

A dear friend of mine told me that my strongest chakra is the throat. To those of you as ignorant as I was,  this means that my strengths lie in communication with others and expression of ideas, both expressive and receptive. It relates to creativity and the act of creating, and listening on all levels: to my own intuition, to those around me, and to the universe that surrounds me. Metaphorically speaking I wear many "hats", and as I write all of this, I realized that every one of them somehow relates to these ideas~ Artist... Musician... Fashion Designer... Teacher... Counselor... Blogger/Writer... Event Planner... the list goes on, but you get the idea.

And wouldn't you know it, the color of that chakra is blue.

Now I KNOW that someone out there is wondering what in tarnation this all has to do with my art.

The answer is unbelievably simple: I have an addiction to creating all things that are blue.

I absolutely ADORE my bead supplier (Suma in New York City) for having such a gorgeous wall. And for letting me take a photo of it, no less~!

Since I'm so drawn to blue shades, I always work extra hard to NOT create things in the color-- or better put, I experiment with other colors much more, because I don't want to have a jewelry line with no other color options. Sometimes it works and I end up with a nice variety of color options; other times, I go too far in the opposite direction and create NOTHING that is blue. But I always try to find that balance, despite my love affair with my absolute favorite color.

Do any of you have a color that "speaks" to you?

Another Quick Commercial Announcement~

Again, we interrupt your regularly scheduled jewelry viewing for this quick commercial announcement.

Natalie, over at NKP Designs, is hosting a super-fun giveaway. She is offering a HAND-CRAFTED WHISTLE-- yes, you heard that correctly!-- she made a real working whistle out of clay, and is giving one away to a lucky reader.

How gorgeous and cool is this?!?! I didn't win the bead giveaway that I posted about last week, so I'm hoping that my good luck will help me with this one!

Click here to be taken to the page that details exactly how you can win the whistle. Even if you don't enter, if you're into beads, you should seriously check her work out. Her bead designs are truly lovely-- the kind of thing that you save up your money to purchase. Which is what I'll be doing quite soon, if all goes according to the plan.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Next up? You guessed it... MORE EARRINGS!!!

Tree Wings Studio Giveaway, Times Three!!!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog for a quick commercial announcement...

Rebekah, over at Tree Wings Studio, is sponsoring an amazing giveaway! She is giving away three different sets of her beads to three lucky winners... so generous! All three are amazingly gorgeous, but my absolute favorite one has to be her "Sunshine and Rainbows" beads.

She'll be announcing the winner on March 22, so keep those appendages crossed~! And send me all the good karma/prayers/vibes/rubber chickens you can spare.