Tag: silk

Bloom and Grow – Suburban Girl Design Team Spring Challenge

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Good Morning! I am pleased to welcome you to the Spring edition of Suburban Girl Studio’s Design Team Hop and Reveal. I was thrilled when Diana asked me to be on her design team. She and I totally hit it off, and have so much in common – including the fact that we make ceramic pendants, charms… So why be on her team? Her work is lovely, and totally different from my own. What a creative  ‘shot in the arm” to be sent lovelies in the mail and get to make jewelry with them! And to be in a sisterhood – the Design Team…I know – all you bead/jewelry colleagues out there know of what I speak. Had to put it in context for the Muggles. So this is what I unwrapped from the postman…

It arrives...

Uh – pink? orange? Not Jenny colors. Excellent. Like I said – not like my work… And look at the gorgeous lampwork bead! A challenge bonus from Jan – from Molten Mayhem and fellow design team member…Going to think on this a bit…

The plan

OK – thought it over, sketched it out as I always do. My personal challenge was to use metal. Metal smithing was one of my two areas of concentaration in art school. (With painting the other) But teaching art full time, living in rental apartments right after college – not a torch friendly lifestyle. I am thrilled with the new equipment available in the metals world and glad to have a chance to dive back in…Sorry, I digress. I decided to tab set the flower in copper and use the words “Bloom and grow” on the border. ( I use text frequently in my work) And dont miss those glass headpins from Sue at Sue Beads. They were very inspirational in the design plan…

raw materials

The cast of characters; Jan’s bead, Czech glass leaves and flowers, assorted silks and suedes…

Fit and finish

Ready, set, go! To me the antiqued copper gives an earthiness and grounds the vibrancy of the glaze color. 

clasps?

There it is! Set ceramic flower with a frenzy of floral inspired goodness hanging below. The flower centers are the SueBeads glass head pins – just the right color pop and size. It is long, and there is a lot going on visually so I decided to keep the rest simple. Those clasps? No, thank you. I made them to correspond with the piece – but wont need them now. Worth a try…

first option second try

chain?   winner!

Top row: I tried wide silk, and thin suede. Nope. 

Bottom: Chain – yuck. Need a green element. The winner – fairy silk from Marsha Neal Studios!

put it on.

(Sorry for the wet hair/just out of the shower shot. Had to take the picture minus dog hair…)

I would wear this short, with a v-neck. Thats my style. But with the silk you could wear it long as well. What do you think? I would love to hear from you before you click away to visit my bead sisters on the design team… Thanks for stopping by!

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com/

Jenny Davies-Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

Jan Onipenco http://moltenmayhem.typepad.com/

Marla James http://marlasmudmoments.blogspot.com/

Sandra Basara Miller http://www.sandra5461.blogspot.com/

Michelle Buettner http://misheldesigns.blogspot.com/


FaerieCon m.a.g.i.c – G is for good friends, good neighbors

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Robert Frost said “Good fences make good neighbors” That sprang to mind when I sat down to gather my thoughts  for this post. Good neighbors make for a good festival. Good neighbors also make good friends – and vice versa. This FaerieCon I was in my regular space, my home away from home. I have vended the event three years running in the upstairs hall. Yes, its hard to select and filter what to bring for a 6′ table display when I am accustomed to a booth. But to be surrounded by friends, old and new; to listen to fantastic music during the Masquerades; take a look: 

JDR table

Let me introduce you to some of my gypsy fae family. 

Sarah and JDR

Sarah and I have been friends for years – she was one of my first friends when I moved to Delaware. One summer she and her teenage kids ( my students) gave me a wee soft sculpted artist doll mermaid. A few years later, she and I are set up side by side at FaerieCon. She was the person who introduced me to FaerieCon and planted the seed that we should each vend! And she is one helluva a baker, too…

Toadstoolsntreestump

You can find her on Etsy at ToadstoolsNTreestump!

Sarah and I met Kimberly of Goblin Bazaar at the first Baltimore FaerieCon. If her shop is closed – she is either out geocaching of catching fae critters… She runs an adoption agency of sorts, coaxing the critters in from the wild and finding them homes with open minded magically aware humans. Some need love, others understanding, but they find the right match in the end. 

Kimberly and JDR

And there are goblins. Nose Goblins, Oak goblins… goblins wearing exquisite leather masks – they might let you wear one as well with just the right bribery. Of course I am talking about Goblin Road! Robert represents this husband and wife business/team at FaerieCon, and he is a welcoming presence, a wealth of information, freely shared. He has a certain “je ne sais quoi”. 

Robert Goblin Rd

We adopted Dru` the oak goblin a year ago (?) and he is a welcome addition to our family. (Dru` is Gaelic for oak, naturally.)

oak goblin

One additional friend, although not on our hallway – Noelle! She is a multi-faceted actress, performer, artist who never ceases to amaze me. I am so glad that FaerieCon and Frenchy and the Punk brought us together! Wouldn’t quite be the same if you werent there, darling! (Scott and Samantha you were missed! Hope you can return to the Realm next year!)

Noelle and JDR

And this hallway was the place to be! New people to meet! Much fun to be had! (And the lights bounced! Inside joke…)

Meredith Dillman – I was familiar with her work from the Interwebs – great to meet her. A picture, you ask? Sorry, no. How about her work? I love “Kitsune”!

Dillman Kitsune

There are many faeries and lovely and mysterious ladies on her site as well. But I can never resist a fox fae!

I was thrilled to see Reyen Design Studios on the map across from me! I am familiar with their wool and silk felted creations from previous FaerieCons and Spoutwood. Hand dyed, merino wool felted onto silk – they defy words. A must to see, feel, wear. And such good neighbors! ( This picture is a rough phone shot, but I had to do it…) Serenading Satyrs!

Reyen satyrs

Last but not least – Danielle from Earthly Leather Designs. We were Etsy acquaintances, and I am thrilled her first FaerieCon was a smashing success! Here’s to many more! (And hoping we get to chat a bit next time!) 

Earthly Leather

Thank you for being the best neighbors a girl, and her dryad, could wish for. Have a wonderful year, til next we meet!