Tag: swap

Treasures delivered…

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Over the last few weeks the postman has been steadily delivering magical packages to my door. Well, my mail box anyway. Thought today was a good day for “Show and Tell”. 

First up – Staci Smith. Her shop is chocked full of goodness. She works in a variety of materials: fabricating components and jewelry, sculpting in polymer and bronze clay, silks, sea glass… but thoughout maintains her sense of style. It’s gypsy/folk/tribal/boho if you ask me. And I quite like it! We had a chance to trade…so I selected the “Moon Baby” focal and she selected other treasures to surpirise me. (Sorry for the pix. The moon baby and discs on the lower left are a dark peacock patina that is gorgeous in person. )

trade from Staci

Then there arrived a sweet package from Australia! I have followed the blog and shop of Penny at Sparrow Salvage for years. She has a finesse at upcycling materials that never ceases to amaze. Her style is very gypsy/tribal/boho and I have wanted a piece forever. Recently Penny had a series of traumatic events in her life and I was happy to help out with a purchase, however small. Check out her shop, make a purchase, show some support for a fellow self-employed jewelry artist!

Sparrow Salvage earrings

They are definitely shoulder dusters! I look forward to wearing them at my next festival!

Sparrow Salvage earrings2

Imagine my luck – when I won a give away. You know the type – like our FB page… Secret Scents is line of perfume lockets by Mystic Memories. I was familiar with them because my friend Brigid Ashwood is one of their featured artists. So I left a comment, and Fortune smiled… Its really a lovely piece and smells fantastic. I like the idea of wearing it choker length on velvet ribbon. Suits the locket well. And great packaging too!

Secret Scents locket

And last – but definitely not least: BUTTONS! Cindy Wimmer (Sweet Bead Studio and ArtBliss) is hosting a button challenge blog hop. I am partnered with Sandi Volpe – who treated me to this lovely package…

sandi buttons1

and this treasure trove of possibility. Vintage buttton covers, tiny antique buttons, lovely earthy colors, and the sculptural button bottom right? She cast that one. I see a female form in there. Its calling my name. 

detail buttons1

The hop reveal will happen here and on my colleagues blogs on May 13th. Stay tuned. I have ideas flitting around my head. The possibilities are endless, really. 

detail buttons2

 

There IS one more thing I wanted to mention in this epic post. Sandi and I have nearly met… We both attended ArtBliss workshops last year, hosted by Jeannette Ryan and Cindy Wimmer. (Yes, the button hop Cindy.) This weekend long art/jewelry retreat is held in Northern Virginia/DC in late September.  This will be its third year. It is a great weekend of learning, sharing, immersion, socializing, creating, and camaraderie. I have made great friends there that I look forward to see every September. If you are interested in lampworking, metal smithing, polymer… check out the classes. Registration is open!

Art Bliss badge

 

 

Charmed I’m sure! or “The Postman rang thrice…”

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Lucky Charms. Hearts, stars and clover? Yes, and more! 

The crafty creative chicas at Ornamentea in Raleigh NC hosted a “Lucky Charm Swap”. Send in 7 charms, made by your own hands. Pay for shipping. Recieve 7 charms! What a deal! So here is the first package of bead goodness: 

charm pkg

charms1

How tickled was I to recieve charms from Diana P. of Suburban Girl and Elaine Ray! Friends and fellow ceramics people – and both hearts. Too funny. 

charms2

Hey wait – Dawn Gallup is my friend from ArtBliss! Thats her adorable clover charm on the vintage Irish postcard. Nice!

And love the other charms – thank you one and all. Check out the origami box this one arrived in…

charms3

But I did say the postman rang thrice… Package number 2! My custom, one of a kind quote bead! Erin of Tresori Trovati drew names from the contributors in her Challenge of Music blog hop. I won; and I love that she found this quote here on my site and surprised me with it! Lovely! Her packaging is top notch…

treasures found

Oops! I untied the ribbon in my excitement before I thought to take a picture…

Magritte bead

“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.” Rene Magritte

(Hand stamped and hand painted polymer.)

My third delivery – just arrived today from Staci at Artisan accents. We had met at Berks Bead Bazaar – and she sent me some beads I passed up, and regretted leaving behind… So excited – I respect the polymer, although I prefer “real” earthenware and stoneware. I love her antique finishes. 

artisan accents

So tomorrow definitely a studio day; looking forward to designing with the new bits and baubles.  Today was errands, housekeeping, settling in after a weekend out/reunion with the college girlfriends – what did we do? I will post a few pix tomorrow. The hint: “Aloha” …until then…

 

 

 

 

Ornament Swap! Make new friends and keep the old…

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OK – Good morning! Sorry I wasnt “here” sooner. This is the first Saturday in over 2 months that I haven’t rushed off early to teach Ceramics classes at the studio. But I can’t think of a better morning than coffee and a blog hop/swap!

 I met Sally Russick at ArtBliss in DC. Can I just pause here to rave about that retreat! Close to home! Fantastic national teachers? Great hospitality! Fantastic hosts – Cindy Wimmer and Jeannette Blix! Ok – back to the blog post… Sally posted about an ornament swap – a million years ago – it seems. Of course I was interested! Make a pretty and recieve a pretty? Yes! Meet new friends? Yes! Keep in touch with old freinds? Yes!

When it came time to make, and mail said ornament, I realized time had crept up on me. What was a generous time frame, well – I procrastinated a bit. I usually work in clay. Earthenware and stoneware. Now with drying time, firing time. glazing… it wasnt going to work. So, I turned to polymer. I like it. I want to experiment with it more. I respect it after taking a class with Christi Friesen. The most frustrating thing is weeding out the old and crumbly in my stash that frustrates me every time I try to work. Fresh polymer is quite nice!

I wanted to do a winter theme. My preference in decorations are seasonal, and having email-chatted with my partner  Christine Altimiller and perusing her blog – I thought this would be a good fit. ( Enough chatter – pictures please!) 

my ornament

I went with the shrine shape as that is a style I work with often. A reporoduction of an antique postcard shows a winter angel decorating a tree. She is framed in polymer and stamped copper. 

ornament detail

For the dangles I knew I had to include river rock,  a fav of Christine’s and an artist’s bead – one of my stamped ceramic eucalyptus charms. The pod print recalled snowflake shapes in my mind. 

The ornament I recieved, you ask? It was as if Christine had been in my house! So perfect! She must have super mind reading powers…

Christine's ornament

Driftwood, ethereal beautiful seed beaded snowflakes in icy blues and lavendars! Delicate and gorgeous!

details

details 2

I was completely stunned. I am so appreciative of the delicate seed bead work done here! The time and patience it takes! Mad skills! Thank you to my ever talented and creative partner for sharing this sliver of winter magic with me!

So – refill your coffee and please head over to Christine’s blog – One Kiss Creations! And definitely check out the other ornaments. I am feeling festive already! 

 

Thank you for stopping by! I would love to hear from you… 
Happy Holidays!

 

You can never have too many earrings. Earring Swap reveal…

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Good morning – are you ready for the earring swap? Well, go get a coffee or brew some tea. If you are in the mood for Bead Soup – it is still simmering, here.)

A few weeks ago my friend Diana of Suburban Girl Studio organized an earring swap. I wear jeans and tees to the studio most days, so this is great…You can never have too many earrings!And featurign artist beads/ Even better! I was thrilled my partner was Diana herself! She does lovely raku components. 

Here is what arrived. Happy Day!

Ear swap pkg

There they are! Dramatic, yet gypsy boho as well, which is very me. I can see them dressed up with a little black dress, and adding some spark to a mundane tee and jeans outfit. They are super long for me, and very light; a good thing. I think the crystals are a great partner for Diana’s raku pieces – shell/spirals that I adore. I will confess I had seen similar pieces in her Etsy shop and loved them!

earring reveal!

I love that they dangle below my hair. Great visibility. (Well – did you want my whole face, or the earrings? I figured – earrings!)

my earrings!

And what did I send her? I will give you a hint…

earring mania

I call that earring mania – I was getting ready for Art on the Ave in Alexandria. You will have to tune in to her blog to see what else I added to my ceramic charms to complete her custom pieces! Take a look at the other offerings, and leave comments! We love that! And thanks to Diana! This was fun, pure fun, and I was thrilled to be a part of it!

 

Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://www.jdaviesreazor.com (thats me…)
Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp  http://www.skyejewels.blogspot.com
 

 

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

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Standing over a cauldron, tossing in snippets of this, portions of that – brewing up a potion, a recipe in a cauldron. You imagine them, sisters three, over a large smoky steaming cauldron, aged, gnarled and bent – Shakespeare’s Three Witches. Or perhaps you imagine a younger more contemporary potion maker – young Hermione sitting, small cauldron inher lap, brewing Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. (I DID just get back from vacation to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando…)

Cauldron are symbols of creativity, inspiration, transformation in Celtic myth (see the myth of Cerridwen I blogged recently.) So I find it apropos that I am participating in a creativity challenge/bed swap dubbed “Bead Soup Blog Party”. I have been sent the beady ingredients and I will start brewing up a creation of my own – little of this, pinch of that…and what comes out will transform the disparate parts into a wearable piece, or two, or three…

Jelveh's box

This lovely arrived inthe mail from my talented partner Jelveh of Jelveh’s designs. Eager with anticipation…

BS box 3

So full, so many treasures… 

BS box4

…irridescent beauties….

BS box5

…a riot of color…

BS box6

…metallic medley…

coral and clasp

Sterling and coral…

lampwork and focals

…and the focals! WooHoo. Oceanic landscape and a goddess? Sweet! The detail on the Oceanic treasures necklace is stunning. I want to do that bead justice, and really show it to its full glory. And of course I love the goddess bead for me; and she has a little flower on her bottom… Not to mention the gorgeous colors in the lampwork beads. They range from pinks, mauves, lavenders, blues -and are so harmonious together, just my style. 

Many thanks go out to my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Jelveh, for this fantastic generous package! And to Lori at Pretty Things for masterminding this whole event! I have to say – I started working with my soup last weekend. I have the focal planned, and have already created a few other pieces since my soup was so bountiful! Stay tuned for the big reveal on September 17th! (There are 362 participants around the world!)

 

 

Bead Fest, bead swap, bead abundance.

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When I left for Philadelphia Saturday morning, with Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio, I had the best laid bloggy plans. We were headed to Beadfest. I wanted to take pictures of inspirational items, gorgeous gems, beautiful beads, and the people…Here is all I managed: 

beads1

beads2

Once there – it was a frenzy of shopping, familiar faces, chatting, shopping… Such a great day! And the camera stayed in my pocket. Oh well. I can show you the loot, and there is some loot…

A highlight of the day was the Bead Swap organized by Diana of Suburban Girl Studio. This wasnt about a contest, or a challenge, or a blog entry – it was simply a great way to meet, and share the beady goodness with friends old and new! My new friend and swap partner was Meredith Arnold – a very talented and humorous lady! I crashed her class and got a handful of her gorgoeus polymer beads! They are a bit of a challenge as I am a gemstone junkie, but I already am starting to have some ideas!

swap beads

Then there is the shopping, the loot, the treasure. Lets start with artist beads, shall we? 

artist beads

goedes and fossils

Geode slices and fossilezed starfish!

loot1

Amazonite, calcedony, mystery gem, sapphire!!!, kyanite. 

loot 2

Moonstone, calcedony (?) and yes, more moonstone…

gems loot

Apatite, mystery gem, amethyst, smoky quartz, rutilated quartz, moonstone, lapis, garnet, labradorite, amazonite. 

I know. I bought quite a bit. I get dazzled by the gemstones in all their glory. But I am officially doing Art on the Avenue in October as a “jewelry/mixed media” artist. Meaning I am juried in for jewelry, a coveted spot, and I am allowed to bring tiles and shrines as well. So excited!

After the shopping and swapping marathon – time for a little wine and conversation! The large group of us settled in at Legal Seafoods, and had a great evening! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and chat with people whose work I admire, people who were inspirational/influential to me when I began making ceramic beads, people whose blogs I read regularly. Thank you all, it was a pleasure!

candid camera

Candid camera with Lorelei Eurto and Diane Hawkey. (Elaine Ray and Cynthia Deis look on…)

dinner 1

Nancy Schindler/Round Rabbit, Lisa Petrillo, Lorelei Eurto, Diana P/Suburban Girl. 

dinner2

Mary and Molly Hubbard/White Clover Kiln, Melanie/Earthenwood Studio

dinner3

Kristie Roeder/Artisan Clay, Melinda Orr, Marsha/Marsha Neal Studio. 

I hope there are many future meetings in our futures!

 

 

Good things happen in threes…

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Well, I am back. Back to the blog. Back to the studio after teaching for the summer. Back from vacation. And I am happy to get to work on a few things that have come my way…

The first is this little gem. It is an enameled bezel by C-Koop Beads. Lorelei – bead blogger extraordinaire, is hosting a challenge/ blog hop. I was thrilled to be pulled out of the proverbial hat as a participant. The real challenge for me is what to do that leaves that gorgeous enamel color visible. I do many bezels – collaged, with resin, found objects, and the like. But this one I need to fill, and yet not fill… Hmm. The reveal will be here on August 27th, so stay tuned! ( The list of all participants, and their log links will be on Lorelei’s blog that day.) 

enamel bezel

Then there is Bead Soup. The Bead Soup Blog Party to be exact. I have wanted to be a part of this for years, and never knew who? how? where? when? This year I heard the siren song in time. The tireless Lori Anderson has matched up all 350+ participants by hand. No random generator, there! A true labor of love. I mailed my package today to my partner. Here is a sneak peak…

bead soup

soup package

That little treasure box is headed to California into the hands of Jelveh J. She is a lampwork bead artist and I cant wait to see what treasures she sends me to work with! Once they arrive, I will detail the beads, and my process, my ideas, and my methods. There will be a focal, a clasp, coordinating beads, inspiration. Sweet! Here is a pix of Jelveh’s work from her site: 

Jelveh's beads

See what I mean? Eagerly awaiting that box! The big reveal will be September 17th. I will post my creations here, but the list of ALL the participants can be found at Lori’s blog – Pretty Things. 

This weekend is Beadfest in Philadelphia. I have to say – I usually dont go, and my wallet thanks me. But this year, I am participating in a swap! Yes, another swap! Purely for the love of beads this time. Diana of Suburban Girl Studio organized the group of us. Swap, meet and hang out, dinner… What a great way to end a day of bead orgy – I mean shopping. My partner is Meredith Arnold – who will be teaching, so I can pop into her classroom and see her students polymer creations. Looking forward to meeting many of the bead blog friends. 

 

Last but not least – I had work featured on the Faux Bone blog. Thrilled! I am experimenting recently with Faux Bone and I am really liking it. Looking forward to taking a class with Robert Dancik (he developed the material) at ArtBliss in Sept. Now if I can just get her finished so I can wear her Saturday to Beadfest…

FB goddess