Crazy Busy!

I know, I'm a slacker with this.  I'm still getting used to the idea of sharing my thoughts with others.  It's a little weird sometimes for an introvert.  This will be a quick update though.  I plan on doing a longer one with pictures later in the week (for real, I mean it).  I had my first ever craft show a few weeks ago, and it went really well.  I'm planning on doing another one in the spring.  The more exciting news is that my etsy shop is finally open!!!  Now that I think of it, I might have to do separate posts for some of these.  ;) 

Until later in the week, here's the link to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JenRenJewelry.  I would appreciate if you check it out.  If you have a shop too, I'm happy to add you to my circle.  I love promoting handmade!

Really, I mean it.  There will be updates.  If I don't, I'll let you throw snowballs at me or something.

Although, if you choose to throw the pink ones, I'll send you my address.  I promise I will throw them at myself. ;)

Quick Update

Outside of crafting, I have a job.  Now, while I love my job a lot, sometimes it gets in the way of what I would rather be doing.  I haven't had the chance to make much since my last update.  But, that is about to change.  I'm going to have a three day weekend this upcoming week, so I'm hoping to get a lot of stuff done.  I have my first solo craft show in November, a Lucite and Clay blog hop that reveals in February, and another blog hop that we haven't picked the reveal date for yet.   As you can tell, there will be many new blog posts soon. :)  I'm also thinking about doing another two hops and the details are below in case you are interested in joining me. 

I'll also give you a little preview of something new I've been working on.  Here's my first set of polymer clay beads:

I got the tutorial from Michaels website.  I loved the colors they used in the tutorial so much, I ended up using the same ones.  If you want to make your own, go here.  If you play along with me, send me a picture or blog about it, and I'll blog about you.  I haven't baked these yet.  I'm a little nervous to do so.  Anyone have any baking tips for me?

As promised, here are some fun blogs and giveaways to enter if you're interested:

1. Erin at Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere is hosting a Michaels Toast of the Town Blog Hop.  She created a versatile necklace design that Michaels has been showcasing this month in their October Jewelry Celebration.  She is giving away three different color palette sets of Michaels beads for you to create your own version of her design.  Even if you don't win, you can still participate in the hop.  Head over to Erin's blog for all the details, and come hop with me.

2.  Shelley Graham Turner and Marlene Cupo hosted a Holiday Bling Blog Hop on October 6th.  I really wanted to participant, but I knew work would get in the way.  So, I was thrilled to find out this morning that they are now hosting Holiday Bling Blog Hop 2.  You have until October 28th to sign up.

3. Skye at Creative Chaos has some really fun Halloween/Fall giveaways going on now.  Go visit her for all the details.  My favorite way to enter is to share a spooky or funny Halloween story that happened to you.  There are already some really great entries.  Be sure to check out the picture of the giant carved pumpkin while you're there.

I guess that wasn't really a quick update. ;)

Sometimes, you just have to get out of town

A few weeks ago, I took a day trip to Charlotte, NC.  I try to visit there a couple of times a year because they have some stores that we don't have here in Columbia.  Besides shopping, they also have some great museums. The Mint Museum Randolph has two exhibits I was interested in seeing: Fashionable Silhouettes (three centuries of fashion history) and  And The Bead Goes On (fashion featuring 20th and 21st century beadwork embroidery).  While I couldn't take pictures of either one of those exhibits, I thought I would share with you some of the ones that I was able to.

Here's a few from the Art of the Ancient Americas collection:


Jaguar Effigy Bottle with Bridge Spout
Peru, 400-200 B.C.

I love the various patterns on the front legs and torso, and the design on its' face. 



Jadeite and Greenstone Necklace
Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, or Honduras  250-850 CE

I couldn't not take a picture of jewelry. ;)  I like all of the different shapes of stone here, it's given me some ideas for my own pieces.

Horse Stirrup

I didn't take a picture of the place card with this, so I don't know anything about it.  I guess I was just distracted by the fact that it's a stirrup with a cat.  I don't see how this would have been practical at all, but it's neat.

Here's are two from the special exhibition, Threads of Identity: Contemporary Maya Textiles:


Perraje
Jacaltek, 20th Century



The flowers and birds remind me of the Scandinavian Folk Art I've been looking at lately.



Wedding Cinta
Awakatek, 20th Century

I like all of the colors, shapes, and patterns.

This one is from the Performance Masks of Mexico Exhibit:


Coyote or Wolf Mask
Guerrero, 20th Century

 It's a wolf, that's why I like it. ;)



The next ones are from the various ceramic and pottery exhibits:



Pottery with black and white slip paint
Carrie Chino Charlie
Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico 1979

I like the pattern on this.  In a way, it's so simple, but it's not.



Agateware Teapots and Cream Jug
leadglazed earthenware
Whieldon (attr.)
Staffordshire, England 1740-1750

  

The glaze on these are amazing!   Here's a closer look at one of the teapots:

Han Vase
Benjamin Wade Owen
North Carolina, 1937

I love the interaction between the teal and magenta.

Owl Jug
Staffordshire, England 17th Century

How cute is that?

Finally, I can't go to a museum without taking pictures of crowns:

I forgot to take a picture of the place card again.  I'm fairly certain that this was in the Ancient Americas exhibit.



Ritual Crown
Yoruba Peoples
Nigeria, 20th Century

I can't even imagine the hours and amount of patience it took for the artist to cover a crown with seed beads. 

My goodies from the gift shop:

I adore hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments.  The larger one might get displayed somewhere in my house year round if I can find a stand for it.

Of course, I had to stop by a bead shop to get my fix.  I had been going to The Bead Lady, which is about 20 minutes outside Charlotte in Concord.  It's a great store, but I didn't think I had the time to go to Concord and see the museum.  So, I stayed in Charlotte and checked out a 'new to me' store Beadlush.  I had been stalking them on their etsy site, mainly because of the raspberry and blue edelweiss beads.  I have teal and black ones already, and wanted to add to my collection.  This store is so amazing!  They have such a wide selection of glass, gemstones, chain, swarovski, and vintage lucite!  I think I circled around the entire store ten times until I felt like I had seen everything.  The staff is wonderful and so friendly!  Here are the goodies I got:

Finally, I can't leave you all without sharing some giveaways I've found!  Head over to Pretty Things for a chance to win one of four books published by Lark!  I really hope I get Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies -- 30 Romantic Projects.  I've been eyeing that one on Amazon for a while.  This giveaway ends on Tuesday, but I think Lori will be doing another one because she has more books to giveaway.  If you're not following her blog, you should!  She is a great writer.

The Art Bead Scene Blog does a giveaway every Saturday with a featured artist.  This week, it is the amazing Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  If you haven't seen her work before, get ready to be blown away.  She is giving away one of her Oak Leaf Pendants.  I actually just order two pendants from her yesterday.  :)

Thanks for reading!  I hope some of the pictures I posted have inspired you to create.  If they have, I would love to hear about it in the comments section.  :)

Link Challenge Reveal

Today is the big reveal for the link challenge!  As a reminder, here's what I began with:

I'd had many ideas for the links.  My original idea was to string sead beads, wrap each link with the beads, and then connect them to make a bracelet.  After receiving the links, I decided that I may not be able to connect the links if I seed bead wrapped them.  The reason I mention this is that idea led me to thinking about wire wrapping the links.  Now, I've never wire wrapped.  I mainly use fireline and memory wire, so I thought it would be fun to try a new technique.  After I connected some of the links together, here was my first try:

The wrapping didn't turn out how I wanted.  I also discovered that you have to pay attention to how the links are connected, so the connection point is either on the top or the bottom of the links for it to lay correctly.  So, it was back to the drawing board, or the beading board in this case.  ;)

 If you ever work with these, you should know two things.  First, they aren't the easiest to snap together sometimes, so be sure to have the links arranged how you want them before you connect them.  Second, when you try to take them apart, this could happen:



Luckily for me, this was the only link out of the twenty five I received that I broke.  After I started over and got to wrapping, I realized that my idea might look better as a necklace than a bracelet.  I made two separate sections of links, and then looked though my lampwork glass mix that I had from Firemountain Gems.

I decided on beads that matched the wire I used and got some black beads to tie in with the links.  Here's my finished piece:

I got some gold ribbon to finish off the necklace and to make it adjustable.  I also wire wrapped the ends and added black bicones.  What do you think?

I had so much fun doing this!  I just want to thank Peggy for hosting this challenge.  If you would like to see what the other participants made, all of the blog links are below.  After you finish visiting all of the blogs, be sure to go back to The Charm Barn and vote for your favorite!  The blog with the most votes gets a $20 certificate to Peggy's store, WillowBranchBeads.  I would appreciate the vote! :) 

Ilenia Ruzza

Shelley Graham Turner 

Tania Spivey

Ambra Gostoli

Kashmira Patel

Linda Florian

Jami Shipp

Terri Gauthier

Miranda Ackerley

Mischelle Fanucchi

Mary Govaars

Sarah Goode

Paula Hisel

Shai Williams

Kay Thomerson

Denielle Hagerman

Janeen Sorensen

Emma Todd

Audrey Bélanger

Michelle Andrade

My Free Beads for Blogging have arrived!

I was super excited to get my free beads from Tanya at Fusion Muse !  I was really surprised by how fast they arrived.  It took about a week for them to travel from Thailand to South Carolina.  Here are my goodies:

From top left to right:  Brass Wire, 6 Swarovski Rounds, Clear Glass Cab, handmade links with blue and purple beads

From middle left to right: Shell ( I think) butterfly pendant, Very light pink rounds, Handcarved ox bone skulls

From bottom: Light green pearls

I've never worked with ox bone, pearls, or cabs before, so this soup will be a lot of fun.  Tanya, you outdid yourself with this.  You are such a generous person!  Did you make the blue and purple links?

If your interested in getting your own free beads for blogging, click on the pic on the right side of this blog.  It will take you to the Free Beads for Blogging post on Tanya's site.  If any of my readers have participated in this before, please post a comment with a link to your blog.  I would love to see what everyone else received and made with their beads!

I'll post pictures when I'm done with my creations.  I think I will probably make more than one piece with all of my goodies.

My link challenge reveal in on August 17th!  My piece is already done, I just have to take some pictures and send them off to Peggy!

Thanks for reading and now I'm off to run! :)

Beads of Clay Monthly Giveaway

On the first Wednesday of every month, Beads of Clay does a giveaway on their blog full of amazing handmade porcelain, stoneware, and earthenware beads and pendants donated from different artisans.  This month's giveaway happens to be full of my favorite colors, so I'm hoping I win.  :)  If you want to enter, head over to their blog and get all of the details. Good luck!

The Goodies

A Giveaway that gives back

I've posted about some giveaways before, but this one is by far the most special.  My friend Tanya at Fusion Muse is giving away a lovely rubies and pearls necklace and earring set. 

You can have up to four entries by doing various things.  Check out her blog for all of the details.  The most important way you can enter is to go to Sinarin Silver and ordering some of there silver beads for your creations.  The owner of the store and his wife just had triplets.  Unfortunately, two of the babies have passed away.  The third baby is alive, but is in ICU and could be there for another six weeks.  It goes without saying, but I think we all know how expensive their hospital bill will be.  Please check out their store.  They have many beads to choose from at very excellent prices.  I've posted some of my favorites below.


20 mm Cylindrical Prakeuam Bead



20 mm Diamond Prakeuam Bead

 

11 mm Semicircular Prakeuam Bead

Thanks for reading :)