Merry Christmas!

'Tis the Season (almost) for Holiday Jewelry

This month, I've shared three different Advent calendars made with beads from the 'Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, and now I want to share some fun jewelry pieces I've made from them as well.  

Apparently I was in a bracelet-making mood when I sat down to make jewelry:

This bracelet is made from some fun beads that look like peppermint candies.  I used 14g copper wire to string the beads, and half-hard 12g wire to make the clasp.  I particularly like the swirl pattern in the beads, and I wanted to accentuate it in the clasp of the bracelet.  This swirly copper clasp is BIG - approximately 1.5" w x 1" high - and is meant to sit as the focal of the bracelet.  

To bring out the Christmas colors, I pulled out my lime green artistic wire and wrapped it around the candy beads, and added a bit of coiled lime green wire to the clasp.  

I liked how the bracelet turned out so much that I made a matching pair of earrings:

(Tip: Jewelry Making Daily shared a great article sharing how to photograph jewelry - including using fruit for earrings shots - here.)

The next bracelet I made is also in the traditional Christmas colors, but in a much more rustic design:

First I coiled lime green artistic wire onto 16g brass wire and strung the big-hole beads on top of the coil.  Then I did a "messy wrap" around the whole bracelet with bright red artistic wire, added a handmade clasp with a small coil of lime green wire to add color.

The next two bracelets I made combine the 'Tis the Season beads with some of the Trinkettes Collection beads I received in July from Prima Beads.  I wanted to make some jewelry that wasn't so overtly Christmas-y, so these are made to be worn together for a Christmas-y effect or separately:

These bracelets were strung on 12g half-hard copper wire, and have various pewter and silver-plated spacers and jump rings to coordinate with the silver metal on the beads.

The last pair of earrings I made is a festive pair of snowmen that I hung on ear wires from Prima's Silver Plate Collection:

I used beads from the 'Tis the Season line along with some of the findings from that same line, threaded them on silver-plated headpins from my personal stash and simply added them to the ear wires. Love these!

Now I want to share some jewelry that I made using some of Prima Bead's ready-made charms and components, making it easy to create gifts for the jewelry-wearers in your life:

The first is a simple bracelet made with the big-hole beads and charms that easily string on and off to change the look of the bracelet:

This one is made from beautiful wintery blues and silvers and is strung on the Trinkette Bracelet with a toggle clasp.  It would be so easy to swap out the beads for each season with other beads from the Trinkettes Collection.

The next bracelet is made from a pre-made silver-plated bracelet that I switched the clasp out on for a toggle clasp (both from Prima's Silver Plate Collection):

These sweet charms reminded me of the Nutcracker, and I think this bracelet would be a perfect gift for a little girl.

To make these earrings, I simply took the charms and hung them on more ear wires from Prima's Silver Plate Collection:

So simple, and SO cute!

The next pair of earrings are just as easy:

I hung some of the ready-made gold-toned charms on a pair of gold-plated ear wires from my stash - elegant and fast!

The final piece of jewelry I made is a necklace that I thought would be perfect for New Year's Eve:

All I did was to take some silver-plated chain from my personal stash, added a clasp and, from the middle of the necklace, hung another length of chain to use as the base for the charms.

Making sure I paid attention to spreading out the colors and sizes of the charms to keep the design aesthetically pleasing, I started hanging them on the length of chain, creating a lariat-feel to the long necklace.

Can you tell I've had fun playing with all my goodies from Prima?

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

And Here It Is - The Third (And Final) Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar

Earlier this month, I posted two different Advent calendars that I made using upcycled items and "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, and now I'd like to share the third and final advent calendar I made:

The base is made from a 16" wooden tree form from Woodworks, Ltd. that I spray painted a dark green.  I also spray painted 3/4" wooden circles in a deep red and doodled the numbers 1 - 25.

Using a small paper punch, I punched holes in the top and bottom of the circles, hung on various charms from both the 'Tis the Season line and others from my stash, and hung them on pre-made Christmas tree ornament hangers I found at Joann.

I then added coiled green wire to help hold the ornaments in place, and mounted the whole thing to an antique wood rosette that I found at a local salvage shop which makes the whole thing more stable.

So, there you are - three ways to make the countdown to Christmas more fun in your home:

Come back soon to see some fun holiday jewelry made using more of the "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Countdown To Christmas

I've always wanted to make an advent calendar, and this year I've committed to making three - yes THREE - of them!  I want to share the first one with you today:

I've been itching to mosaic lately, and decided that this was a perfect project to break out (no pun intended) the red and green plates and get going.

First I found an 7" x 10" unfinished framed chalkboard at Woodworks, Ltd. and started gluing on the broken plate pieces.  For this type of project, I like the finished frame to look more chunky & rustic, and so I used larger pieces and let them hang over the sides of the wood.  I attached a teacup handle to use as a hook for hanging the chalk.

Next I grouted with an off-white color to further the rustic feeling of the finished piece, and then used a paint pen to write "Countdown To Christmas" on the top of the board, and do some doodling.

To incorporate the "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, I coiled and flattened dark green artistic wire, carefully drilled holes through the grout, tapped in some nails and wound the wire ends around the nails after hanging the pre-made bead charms to the loops in the wire. 

For a final touch, I attached some beads to the ribbon holding the chalk as well:

I usually like to make my own charms, but these look great and saved me SO much time!  They come in a huge variety of colors and sizes, and are super-cute!

I am so happy with how the final piece came out.  Simple and sweet, and a great way to keep track of the days until Santa comes with your family!

While I was in the mosaic-ing mood, I made a couple of star ornaments using the same process:

Love these!!!

Come back to see more projects through the month using "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:11-14 NIV

Ornaments!!!

I just finished listing all of my 2011 mosaic ornaments:

They are already starting to sell, so get yours soon!  You can find them in my Etsy shop!

SUPER-DUPER PRE-CHRISTMAS BLOW-OUT SALE!!!

As a

HUGE Thank-You

for everyone who has supported me in my artistic endeavors, starting at midnight tonight and running through midnight on November 30th, I am having a:

EVERYTHING in my Etsy shop will be marked down a whopping 25%!!!

And, if that wasn't enough, I am offering

FREE SHIPPING TO THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA!!!

If you've had your eye on anything or are looking for unique and affordable gifts, now is the time to pick them up!

Merry Christmas!

John 3:16-17

From me to you,

may you have a very

Merry Christmas

and the

Happiest of New Years!

Fostering a Family...

I want to thank Lana Manis of Honeysuckle Lane for allowing me to share our family's story about how being a foster family to our foster son, Josh, over the past two years has changed and shaped our lives.  If you get a chance, please hop on over there to check it out. 

There are so many children like Josh in need of safe, loving homes, and being a foster family is a fantastic way to provide just that to the thousands of kids in every city who need them.

Our family would also like to take this chance to wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and the Happiest New Year!

Love,

Shawn, Molly, Zach and Josh

Merry Christmas To All!

And the Final Secret Santa Reveals are Here!

Ta-Da!  I would like to share the final Secret Santa jewelry pictures with you, so here we go!.

First, Here is the beautiful and unusual necklace that Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime made for Sally Turlington from Imagine This:

“The Monkey’s Paw”

Second, here is the gorgeous necklace that Jeanette Blix-Ryan of Jeanette Blix Metal & Wire Jewelry made for Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime:

And finally, the beautiful and original brooch that Crystal Neubauer of Other People’s Flowers made for Jeanette Blix-Ryan of Jeanette Blix Metal and Wire Jewelry:

Wow – what a wonderful experience this has been!  thank you so much, ladies, for your willingness to participate and for the obvious care and attention to detail you each put into your pieces.  I can’t wait until next year!

Even More Secret Santa Reveals!

Hello!  Here are some more Secret Santa gifts made by the incredible ladies in this swap:
First are pictures of the necklace and earring set made for Tami Roth of Cat Tales Etc. by Diane Cook of Rosa and Josie’s:

These pictures are of the earring set made by Carolyn Mallin of Fanciful Expressions for Jan Thomason of The Polkadot Barn:

And the third set of pictures are made by Jan Thomason of The Polkadot Barn for Crystal Neubauer of Other People’s Flowers:

 Aren’t these pieces beautiful?  Keep checking back – there are still a few more pieces to feature!

Thank You, Secret Santa!

The only downfall to hosting a Secret Santa swap is that your Secret Santa really isn’t much of a secret.  The flip side of that, however, is that I knew who was going to be sending me my piece of jewelry, and I was so excited to see what this fantastic, artistic woman would send.   So you can imagine my excitement when I opened up my mailbox yesterday to find a beautifully wrapped package from my Secret Santa, Sally Turlington from Imagine This.  With anticipation I opened the box to discover the most beautiful necklace that incorporates so many of my favorite things:  found objects, vintage chain, the color red.  It couldn’t be more perfect for me! 



I love the asymmetrical design with the beautiful handmade watch reliquary.



The beautiful handmade clasp and use of different metals is right up my alley!



Thank you, Sally, for this beautiful gift.  I can see how much time went into it, and I will treasure it always.