February 14, 2011 by bahamadawn

Creative Project #13 ~ Artbeads Winter Enchantment Challenge

As you know from previous posts I am an Artbeads Design Partner. The challenge that was recently sent to us was “Winter Enchantment”.

Down south, in the tropics, we don’t see snow and cold is in the 40’s if we are lucky!

On cool, crisp days all the colors seem brighter and more vibrant. The ocean beams and the trees are screaming green because it is a comfortable temperature for them.
I went with a blue, green and silver color palette.

The design was simplistic with sterling silver chain, a sterling silver toggle, some sterling coiled wire and my lamp worked beads. This toggle was perfect because it looks like a branch from the trees who’s color I was trying to capture.
There are so many neat toggles at Artbeads that it was difficult to decide which one I wanted to use.

I am calling this necklace and earring set “Winter Colors”.

I am so in love with the diamond cut rollo chain that I got from Artbeads that I have already ordered more. It is on sale right now so hurry over and stock up!
These earrings are so light that you cannot even feel them on.

The bead just floats below your ear.

I went a little crazy adding beads to the toggle, but I was having so much fun with the beads being the perfect color and adding the coiled sterling silver wire for some fun and texture, that it was difficult to stop.

This design is a lot simpler than I normally do, but it seems that the designs I have in my head to do now are headed in that direction. We’ll see what happens!
Hope your weekend has been fantastic!

The Artbeads.com products in this post were provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com, as part of their Design Partner & Blogging program. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion – good or bad. My comments and opinions about these products are my honest, personal opinion and I have not been paid for any endorsement.

February 12, 2011 by bahamadawn

Creative Project #12 for February……G.I.V.E.A.W.A.Y. for my 100th post!!!!!

Today is the day!! WOW, one hundred posts!!! This creative challenge I am participating in has helped me get to my 100th post quicker than I normally would have.

This is what I decided to use for the giveaway prize:

Swirls with Swirls earrings. As always the wire is fine silver wire and they are my lamp worked beads. I love how that color combo turned out and hope you all like them too.

I have been selling a lot of earrings lately, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with these for a giveaway prize.

Let’s go over the *rules* again:

1. Post a comment under THIS POST for one chance to win (not on Facebook)

2. Become a follower of my blog for a second chance.

3. Write about this giveaway on your blog for a third chance!

4. For each one of the above tasks you do, PLEASE write a separate comment. This will make it easier for me to use the random number generator.

5. You will have until tomorrow when I make my next post to play 🙂 I am guessing sometime after lunch – eastern time.

Yesterday I showed you a terrible picture of a ring I was working on yesterday. I got a half way decent shot this morning even though it is cloudy here.

(the ring is not included in the giveaway prize – only the earrings)

Good luck in the giveaway!

Have an awesome weekend!

February 10, 2011 by bahamadawn

Creative Project #10 for February……earrings and a few new things!!!

Yesterday I posted a pair of earrings that I said *might* be the giveaway for Saturday’s 100th post, but they were snatched up. So I am not sure what will be my giveaway….maybe something you have seen, maybe something I haven’t blogged about yet. Surprises are good 🙂
I spent the morning making more beads and letting them anneal while I ran some errands.

Some I am saving for a necklace, but I used one pair for earrings.

The same but different from yesterday 🙂

I also got some new tools in the mail today and spent some time making a glass button and practicing a flower shaped bead.
Here is my glass button still on the mandrel. I only made one mistake…..I only ordered one mandrel, so I can only make one button at a time!

Here is my first try at a flower bead. I thought it was okay for a first try.
The shape is somewhat close. Just got to work on getting the petals even…..making that liquid glass *SIT & STAY*!

Here they both are off the mandrels.

I am looking forward to playing with both of these new techniques!
See you tomorrow 🙂

February 9, 2011 by bahamadawn

Creative Project #9 for February……earrings on the brain!!!

Just a quick Create! project today since I have been in and out of meetings I havent had much creative time. I have tons of earring ideas in my brain. Quite a change for me since I usually HATE doing earrings since I have to do the same thing TWICE! Oh well, I seem to be on a roll now so I will go with it.

These were fun to make and are a combination of fine silver wire, copper wire and colored copper wire that is non-tarnish.

The shape reminds me of a birdcage or a bird perch.

I am *thinking*, but not sure yet, that these may be my giveaway prize for my 100th post.

Just so no one misses out let me go over the *rules* again.

1. Comment under the post for the 100th post (this Saturday) ~ this gives you one chance.

2. Become a follower of this blog, thru your email, not thru facebook ~ this will give you a second chance.
3. I will give you until Sunday evening to comment and will announce the winner on Monday.
Hope you all want to play 🙂

February 7, 2011 by bahamadawn

Creative Project #7 for February……Valentine’s Day is a week from today!!!

I have been on quite the roll lately with my blogging!! I am very proud of myself!

For Create! day 7 I am still in feeling the Valentine’s spirit, and got such a great response to my heart jewelry that I thought I would make some more with a slightly different twist.

Floating Hearts Earrings:

The glass beads are dark pink with black swirls. The hearts are made of fine silver wire and soldered.

Just in case a matching pendant was needed, and since I had so much fun with this pattern:

I was looking through my box of finished beads, trying to decide what I would make and found I had enough beads to do earrings and a pendant.

The top bead was so much fun to make.

I had all this space to doodle on with the stringers.

Now my head is bursting with heart designs and ideas for jewelry!

Just five more posts until I do a giveaway for my 100th post! I think that will fall on Saturday. Here is how it will work…..first you will have to comment under the post, on Saturday, for your first chance at the giveaway……..BUT…if you become a follower of my blog that will give you an extra ticket in the drawing.

I am still trying to decide what I will giveaway, but will decide soon!

Until tomorrow……happy creating!

June 15, 2010 by bahamadawn

Stepping Out of My Color Comfort Zone

Not sure how many of you have noticed, but every piece of jewelry I have created this month has been in blues and greens (maybe with a hint of purple). So last weekend I had a gift to make and decided to throw in some RED! This friend has adopted a potcake, and for those of you that don’t know……potcakes are the Bahamian mutt. Like this one here……

That is my potcake Trixi. Potcakes are smart dogs who are always willing to please.

Here is the necklace I made as a gift. “Potcake Love”

I am having a great time with the book “Totally Twisted” by Kerry Bogart. Every jewelry artists need to take a look at this book. Great techniques and even some tips on color.

This necklace is made up of sterling silver and copper components, as well as copper colored wire (that is non tarnish) and my own flame worked beads.

As I was looking back over my photographs of the jewelry I had made this month, I could not believe that EVERYTHING was blue and green, or some shade close. So for this necklace I threw in some red to push myself outside of that color comfort zone.

I also have components pulled for two more necklaces. One color combo is pink and green and the other is red, orange and pink.

Hopefully I will finish those in the next few days, and be back to share those finished pieces with you.

June 7, 2010 by bahamadawn

Summertime Creations

Summertime is a favorite season for so many people. It is when beaching and boating are most popular, and everyone works on their summer tans.

This month at Artbeads.com their theme is “Summertime”. I am now a design partner with Artbeads.com so I was able to choose some items from the Charms, Glass Beads or Pendants categories to work with, review and blog about.

Being a lamp worker I was very happy to pick from the glass beads category. I picked the 14mm Crystal Fish Bead in the Silver Shade; some Czech Glass Nautical Shells; a Picasso Square Bead Strand in cobalt, white and purple; and TOHO Round Seed Beads 8/0 in Lined Aqua Opal, Lined Dark Aqua and Lined Cobalt. Glass has the right amount of sparkle and shine, I was not disappointed in any of these products, and would like to order more for my *stash*!!

For a pendant I chose a Plated Pewter Elongated Heart Picture Pendant.

Then finally, I chose a few Sterling Silver Mermaid Charms to complete my summer pieces.

Here is the first piece I made…..

I filled the heart pendant with sea glass and shells, then sealed it all in with resin. I also hung one of the mermaid charms in the front of this pendant.

I used 3 strands of the TOHO seed beads and mixed the Crystal Fish Beads with them. I then continued the necklace with the Picasso Square Beads and the Glass Nautilus Shells beads.

On the other side I did some sterling silver wire work along with some of my lamp worked beads and a glass disc and sterling silver hook for a clasp.

I absolutely loved the nautilus shell beads and the square glass beads and will be ordering more of these. The heart bezel pendant will also be in my next order. I was making these myself from sterling silver, but these are so easy to work with and can keep my costs down.

Here is a close-up of the pendant…..

And another picture of the entire necklace…..

I also think the Crystal Fish Beads work so well with the seed beads and add just the right amount of sparkle. Who doesn’t like *sparkle*!?

Of course no necklace is complete without a matching pair of earrings, so here is what I made using the seed beads and Sterling Silver Mermaid Charms. These mermaid charms are the perfect size for earrings.

From another angle…..

Still having beads left over from Artbeads.com and ideas popping into my head I came up with this abstract, art quilt which I am calling “Bahama Bubbles”.

After piecing and quilting this art quilt, I hand stitched the seed beads on to look like bubbles and then stitched on the Nautilus Shell Glass Beads, as if they were on the ocean floor. Both the lined seed beads and the glass shell beads add just the right amount of quirky-ness to this piece which measures about 7″ x 11″. Here is another picture of the quilt before I added the blue nautilus shell beads, and when the sun was out…….

So even if you are a quilter, or mixed media artist, remember to try out other objects on your artwork. Even items that are normally considered for jewelry artists! Think outside the box!
I hope these items inspire you to make something summery and get ready for the summer season!

The Artbeads.com products in this post were provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com, as part of their Design Partner & Blogging program. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion – good or bad. My comments and opinions about these products are my honest, personal opinion and I have not been paid for any endorsement.

May 27, 2010 by bahamadawn

Goodies Make Me Happy :)

I got goodies in the mail today!!!! YIPPIE!!!

Above is my order from ArtBeads that I need to make something with and blog about. Incase you didn’t notice my little button on the right of this post, I am a “Design Partner” of ArtBeads 🙂 So I will be blogging more about my creation soon.

The buttons, on the top right, are from a Facebook game I won with Interweave. One of the editors was going to a flea market and asked what we would want from the flea market. One thing I mentioned was buttons, my name was picked and she found me buttons!

On the bottom is my Bead Soup Party package from Janet. The quote on the card I totally agree with also…”Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be!”…so true!

I LOVE everything inside……..

Everything is from the awesome ceramic jewelry designer Gaea. Go check out her website and blog. She makes some really neat beads, pendants and spacers. My mind is overflowing with ideas of what I will do with them…..thanks so much Janet!

Earlier this week I tried my hand at making headpins with a glass bead attached….and it worked!

Now I have another component, made by me, to incorporate into my jewelry pieces.

I also sent off a crocheted potholder for a potholder swap on Raverly. The tag on the potholder says “trust your crazy ideas” I think I have lived this my whole life, and certainly in this potholder swap. I had never crocheted a potholder before and had never worked with cotton yarn, but joined the swap anyway! All I have ever crocheted are granny squares.

I am pretty pleased with the result, and have already started more.

To be a functional potholder it had to be made from cotton yarn (acrylic would melt) and it had to be two sided. So I basically had to make two potholders and join them together.

Here is the back……

Well, that’s all for now….back into the studio to create….my head is overflowing with ideas!

May 15, 2010 by bahamadawn

Birthday Celebrations!

I went over to Hope Town, a cay a few miles off the mainland of Abaco, to celebrate my good friend Janie’s birthday. Her birthday is not until next week, but today was a good day for everyone to get together.

This card above is a funny card she got. Inside it said “Happy Birthday, your margarita will be ready shortly”!!!

I don’t have to go far to find an animal to drag home……..

This little fresh water turtle wasn’t being cared for so he was delivered to me in a bucket. Poor thing was so hungry that he ate half of my sandwich!!!…..not quite but he ate ALOT.

Look at the beautiful cake….too pretty to cut!!! Made by my other friend Kent, and boy was it ever YUMMY!!! Carrot cake with cream cheese icing……mmmmmmmm!

I have gotten some work finished this week…….

This is called “Sea Glass Love”. It is a mixture of bezeled sea glass, my lampworked pieces, bezeled coral, silver chain and sterling silver wire work.

Those swirled wire links I learned to do from the book “Totally Twisted” by Kerry Bogert.

Anyone that does jewelry needs to check out this book and Kerry’s blog. Very inspirational work!

Have a great weekend!

May 11, 2010 by bahamadawn

Some New T’ings

I have been fiddling around with some new stuff these past few days. Needed a break for my imagination.

First I had to do some potholders for the Potholder Pass in Flickr, and I had this idea in my head to do the free form letters on them. This was the outcome, and now I wish I had a set for me!

“Live Love Laugh”

One of my, many, favorite sayings!

I have also been itching to try some new things at the torch. So I took some time this morning to try out a frog:

I thought it was okay for my first attempt. Here is his back:

And I had tried a hollow bead a few weeks ago, couldn’t get it to work, but I am not one to let that discourage me, so I tried again:

It is not the perfect bead shape….BUT it is HOLLOW!! I know some flame working pros are probably thinking “I can’t believe she is posting these ugly beads”, but since I either figure things out in my head or read a book, I am pretty proud of myself.

Also attempted a heart….this needs work: