Creative *sparks* Fridays and a Totally Twisted Design

Happy Friday to all!  I'm going to just jump right into this week's *spark* project.  Our Inspiration for 10/8 - 10/15/2010 was this:

...and here's my creation, combining the *sparks* with a design inspired by "Timeless" from Kerry Bogert's book, Totally Twisted:

I used all copper wire with this piece and incorporated a beautiful ceramic focal made by Kristie Roeder at ArtisanClay.

On a sadder note, this will be our last Creative *sparks* Friday, as the fabulous Becky Caldwell of The Gritty Bird is taking a break for a while.  I want to thank her for the inspiration she has given me personally these past few months.  I've loved participating in these weekly *sparks* that have really pushed my creativity to another level.

If you are interested in purchasing this bangle, you will find it in my etsy shop.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Creative Sparks Fridays: 10/1 - 10/8/10

FINALLY we are starting to see some cooler weather down here in Phoenix - I'm so excited to be able to leave my windows open during the day again!  The colors in this week's *sparks* were perfect for the project I wanted to make to honor this beautiful fall weather:

I pulled out the new kiln and got to work, and here's what I came up with:

I love the crazy color combination of the inspiration picture, and was able to manipulate the enamel to give the desired 'disorganized' effect.

I have been inspired by Becky Caldwell's handmade chains in her past few designs, and decided to make my own chain for this project.  boy, has it been a while since I made my own chain!

The earrings turned out just great as well.  All in all, I am super-happy with how this set turned out.

As always, huge thanks go out to Becky Caldwell of The Gritty Bird for hosting these great *sparks* - go out to her blog and check out the other participating artists' works as well.

If you are interested in purchasing this necklace or the earrings, you can find them both in my etsy store sorry - they have sold!.

Happy weekend to all!

Creative Sparks Friday - 9/24 - 10/1

Hello all!  Can you believe it's already Friday again?  My goodness the time flies these days!  Well, I'll just jump right in then - here are this weeks *sparks*:

And here is how I interpreted them:

I used beautiful Autumn-colored dyed jade beads that I wire-wrapped with copper and steel wire. 

 

The gorgeous butterfly focal is from talented artist Martha Eason at Menagerie Studio.

Take a few minutes to go out to Becky Caldwell's blog, The Gritty Bird, and see what the other *sparkers* are creating this week!

** This necklace is available for purchase in my etsy store. **

Creative *Sparks* Friday (yes, I know it's late, but it is still Friday in my time zone!)

OK...it may be late, but I did get my *spark* done today - I promise!  OK...here's this week's *sparks*:

I was immediately drawn to the peacock feathers in the picture, and I had the perfect beads to use:

I love how the gold compliments the cool colors of the peacock pattern, and how the copper pulls the warm colors out of the bead design.

I must say that this has been my most difficult *spark* to date, and came up with my final design at the last minute.  I do like the final result, but this week really stretched me!

If you are interested in purchasing this necklace, you can find it in my etsy store.

As always, thanks go out to Becky at The Gritty Bird for hosting this weekly *spark*!  Take a few minutes to check out the other artists' creations here.

Autumn With Artbeads, 2 of 2 and Creative *Sparks* Friday!

Earlier this week, I posted my first Autumn piece that I made with my gorgeous beads from Artbeads.com (you can see that post here).  Today, I finished my second Autumn piece and combined it with this week's "Creative Sparks Fridays" project. 

This week's sparks are:

And here are my interpretations of them:

"Wing And A Prayer"

 

I was immediately drawn to the graphic pattern in the moth's wings, punctuated with that vivid splash of red, and I knew I wanted to attempt to duplicate that feel in my pieces.

In my Artbeads.com package, I received some beautiful Iron Zebra Jasper beads that have the striking graphic patterns I was looking for.  Using antiqued sterling wire, I combined those beads with 10mm carved wooden beads, a warm-toned 30mm wood ring and a striking tomato-red magnesite coin to create the effect I loved in the *spark* picture.

The necklace measures approximately 21.5", with the wooden ring hanging in front.  This allows the red to hang off-center, much like the streak of red in the picture.

These pieces will be available for purchase in my etsy shop.

As always, I really enjoyed working on this Creative *spark* Fridays project, and want to thank Becky of The Gritty Bird for all her work in hosting this weekly challenge. 

Happy creating and have a fantastic weekend!

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

Creative Sparks Friday and Another Totally Twisted Design: "River Through The Canyon"

Happy Friday!  Another Creative *sparks* Friday is upon us, so without further ado, here were this week's *sparks*:

•Theme Color Palette•

I took the opportunity to incorporate this week's *sparks* into my version of "Framed" from Kerry Bogert's book, "Totally Twisted".

I found these beautiful beads at Shimmering Light Creation's etsy shop, and knew they would be perfect for this project.  Little did I know how perfectly they would fit into this week's *spark* as well!

Here's how the finished piece turned out:

"River Through The Canyon"

The beautiful colors of the beads reminded me so much of the inspiration picture.

I love the copper with these colors - so warm and earthy.

As always, big thanks go out to Becky of The Gritty Bird for all her work in hosting this weekly challenge. 

If you would like to purchase this bracelet, you may do so in my etsy shop. 

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

Creative Sparks Friday: On Wings of Hope

Well, we made it to Friday, and that means it's time for another Creative Sparks Friday!  Here are the "sparks" for this week:

**CREATIVE SPARK ONE**

•Artistic Theme•

The Flowers of Summer

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**CREATIVE SPARK TWO**

•Theme Words Poem or Phrase•

When a gauzy purple butterfly,
softly tilts a golden flower...
it's cool wings ease the summer flame
as laughter sooths a troubled hour.-

Courtney E. Cottam

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**Creative SPARK THREE**

•Theme Color Palette•

...and here's what I created:

"On Wings Of Hope"

I torch-fire enameled a copper butterfly and a brass flower, and attached them using a rivet.  I then re-fired them, covering the rivet in enamel.

I had planned on using sari silk with the chain, but I liked the simplicity of the chain by itself.  I attached a deep red Czech flower charm to the handmade clasp to finish off the piece.

This was a fun "spark" to work on, and I'm looking forward to next week's inspiration.  If you are interested in purchasing "On Wings of Hope", you can find it in my etsy store.

Take a few moments to go out to The Gritty Bird, Becky Caldwell's blog, to see what has "sparked" other artists this week!

Creative Sparks Fridays (and Another Totally Twisted Design): Better Late Than Never!

I'm a bit late this week in posting my "Spark", but, as the title says, better late than never, right?

THE WEEK'S (8/20-8/27) SPARKS ARE-

**CREATIVE SPARK ONE**

•Artistic Theme•

A Summer Breeze

---------------------------------- 

**CREATIVE SPARK TWO**

•Theme Words or Phrase•

Breeze, Fresh Rain, Family, Flowers, Hammocks,

Picnics in the Grass, Icy Lemonade, Fresh Fruit

---------------------------------- 

**Creative SPARK THREE**

•Theme Color Palette•

---------------------------------- 

I absolutely LOVED this week's inspiration piece!  In fact, it is my favorite Friday "spark" so far!  The color combination is right up my alley, and I love the crazy patterns that all seem to go together seamlessly.  So here's my very eclectic necklace, which is also inspired by the design, "Delightful", from Kerry Bogert's book, Totally Twisted":

The "crazy quilt" feeling of the inspiration piece led me to pull out brightly colored, patterned and textured beads and components.

I ended up using six different colors of artistic coiled wire, and tried to stay within that color palette with my bead choices.

Really, this has been one of my most favorite pieces that I've made in a long time, and it will be available in my etsy shop soon. 

 

So, there you have it - my weekly "Spark".  Take some time to go out to   The Gritty Bird, Becky Caldwell's blog, to see what other artists have done this week!

Creative Sparks Fridays: Another Totally Twisted Design

I can't believe another week has come around - is it just me, or does the time seriously speed up the older I get?

Well, it's Friday again, and time to share my "sparks" with you.  The theme this week is:

THE WEEK'S (8/13-8/20) SPARKS ARE-

**CREATIVE SPARK ONE**

•Artistic Theme•

Maiden of the Sea

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**CREATIVE SPARK TWO**

•Theme Words or Phrase•

Sea Voyage, Ship Wrecked, Fairy Tail, Mist, Mermaid

---------------------------------- 

**Creative SPARK THREE**

•Theme Color Palette•

(the above image belongs to prozac1, please visit him by clicking here)

____________________________________

 

What really caught my creative eye this week was the photograph of a beautiful sunset at sea.  From the picture, I knew that it would be color and texture that would define my piece, but I wasn't sure exactly what direction I should take.  As I was working on my "Totally Twisted" project (posted yesterday), I decided to base my design on the alternative view that Kerry shows in the book.  Here's what I came up with:

"Sunset At Sea"

 

I used "orphaned" links from older projects, as I thought they would lend a rustic and eclectic feel to the piece.  The beads are a mix of quartz, lapis and mookaite, picking up the subtle hues of the sunset.

For the clasp, I twisted two lengths of wire together and then coiled the twisted wire around a mandrel.  I really like the texture it created, supporting the "spark".

I love how the grouped bead charms jangle and move when I wear the bracelet, which reminds me of the way a boat on the sea is never perfectly still, always moving in the waves.

If you like this bracelet, you can purchase it in my etsy store.

So, there you have it - my weekly "Spark".  Take some time to go out to   The Gritty Bird, Becky Caldwell's blog, to see what other artists have done this week!

Creative Sparks Friday!

Hello!  I've had an unbelievably busy week, and FINALLY made time to sit down and concentrate on the newest CSF project: 

THE WEEK'S (8/6-8/13) SPARKS ARE-

**CREATIVE SPARK ONE**

•Artistic Theme•

Woodland

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**CREATIVE SPARK TWO**

•Theme Words or Phrase•

Trees, Birds, Fly, Clouds, Moss, Grass, Twigs, Mist

---------------------------------- 

**Creative SPARK THREE**

•Theme Color Palette•

(the above tree image belongs to Dan - please visit him by clicking here)

I've been wanting to create some Autumn-themed jewelry for my Etsy shop, and this was the perfect opportunity to get started.

So, without further ado, here is my latest "Creative Sparks Friday" project:

I started with copper wire that I soldered and shaped into a large leaf pendant.

I felt that texture needed to be a prominent elements in this piece, so I pulled out some of my vintage wooden beads that I wire-wrapped with copper and steel wire.  The rest of the chain is made from beautiful 'misty' brown organically-shaped brown glass beads I got at the Rings and Things Bead Show, and some turquoise green magnesite lentils connected with antiqued copper wire.

 

I decided to create three charms made of small turquoise green magnesite beads and copper wire to dangle from the leaf pendant, adding movement to the piece.

I'm pleased with the overall "earthiness" feel of the piece, and I think I stayed within the overall theme.

If you are interested in purchasing this necklace, you will find it in my Etsy shop here.

Thanks to Becky from The Gritty Bird for the inspiration!  Take some time to go out to Becky's blog and check out the way other artists have interpreted this week's "spark".

Creative Spark Fridays

I've decided to participate whenever possible in a new (to me) weekly challenge called "Creative Spark Fridays".  Becky from The Gritty Bird is hosting the challenges, and I am excited to be part of this group!  So, without further ado, here's my Creative Spark Friday contribution:

THE WEEK'S (7/30- 8/6) SPARKS ARE-

1. *Creative Spark* Color(s)-

Lady Image is Property of Hope Wallace/Paper Relics

2. *Creative Spark* Word, Phrase or Sentence-

Dressed to the Nines

(oh... I love this one!)

3. *Creative Spark* Wire or Stringing Material(s)-

Stringing Wire

4. *Creative Spark* Bead Type(s)-

 Czech Glass

5. *Creative Spark* Shape(s)-

Free Play Spark

and for my mixed media gals..

6. *Creative Spark* Art Element

 Think Vintage Up-cycled or Repurposed

~~~~~~~~~~

So...here's what I came up with:

"Roses, Rhinestone, Leather and Lace"

I had purchased this beautiful mocha-colored rose trim a few weeks ago, and was really excited to see how it could fit into the color scheme of this week's challenge. 

 

 

I paired the rose trim with antique lace and brown sueded leather, held together with clear rhinestone rivets.  This bracelet is now available in my etsy shop.

 

Take some time to go out to Becky's blog & check out the way other artists have interpreted this week's "spark".