tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37619800096392606922024-03-20T03:12:17.357-07:00Jewelry Art by DawnMusings about the art of jewelry design. I reserve the right to explore other topics if the mood strikes!JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-25644154817058053262021-02-22T22:55:00.000-08:002021-02-22T22:55:14.785-08:00Jan/Feb, 2021 - Use of Color<p> The subject of this <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> blog carnival is "Use of Color" which is something I've given a lot of thought since our topic was announced. What I've realized is that I have yet to meet a color I don't like; I love and appreciate colors of all shades including black and white. I also realized that I don't give much thought to use of color in the early design stages.</p><p>I've never been much of a planner when it comes to creating jewelry. I make it up as I go along including deciding which colors I will use in any given piece. I might start out deciding I want to use a particular cabochon or a strand of beads that caught my eye. Or, I might be influenced by the seasons or something I saw in the yard. </p><p>This is not to say that I don't coordinate the colors I use; it's just that I don't start out thinking about color. Like most people, I am drawn to certain colors which does have some influence over what I use in my work. I like earthy tones, blues, greens and reds. Black is a favorite as is pink. I rarely use purple, yellow or white, not that I don't like those colors, but they don't look good on me which tends to take them off of my radar when I'm buying beads or making jewelry.<br /></p><p>In the case of this necklace, I started out wanting to use the cabochon and turn it into a pendant. I knew I wanted to use a wire netting technique, so the first thing I had to do was select which color of wire to use. My go to is copper, but the colors in the stone sometimes determine the color of the wire. A cool blue might look better in silver or an emerald green might be more at home in gold or bronze. Although, I have found antiqued copper wire to be a pretty good fit for just about every color, but that might be my bias towards copper coming through.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HMLOdu6SKO3CpHE_wkw-EvO8IjqkpRR3QVsORPiJkliXOjtSR_uLYDqwjsUlaaMn5lXSNKl2053rslxfgt-u4jTj-3DRvGpuxC8fDyA9-G2WnmIu0FuJ9NeqlCQU45leFMu1QNieUy71/s500/1j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HMLOdu6SKO3CpHE_wkw-EvO8IjqkpRR3QVsORPiJkliXOjtSR_uLYDqwjsUlaaMn5lXSNKl2053rslxfgt-u4jTj-3DRvGpuxC8fDyA9-G2WnmIu0FuJ9NeqlCQU45leFMu1QNieUy71/w300-h400/1j.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /> For this stone, with its earthy colors, copper definitely felt like the best choice. Once the netting was done, it was time to decide if I wanted to let it be the star of the show and suspend it from a simple chain or did I want to dress it up with some beads or other findings? I decided to dress it up. <p></p><p>After selecting several different types of beads in the same color family and placing them next to the pendant, I found the beads that seemed right. They had the same earthy tones and looked like they could have been cut from the same stone. Now, I don't always try to perfectly match beads to a cabochon, sometimes I like to use contrasting colors. In my world, there just aren't very many rules when it comes to color.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yioOVFRz8HsT0hxrATgCU3paCDdOTs3vYOdCeA1oLBF09wTtBz2-oCiXdNMgTbVyYHVhHUXxVuMP9PQUT4dlukiPMDcQBSOkr-slY2uRLRxOlo4qzjOEur_roqOHCHqfJk5xUhPS5eR-/s500/3j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yioOVFRz8HsT0hxrATgCU3paCDdOTs3vYOdCeA1oLBF09wTtBz2-oCiXdNMgTbVyYHVhHUXxVuMP9PQUT4dlukiPMDcQBSOkr-slY2uRLRxOlo4qzjOEur_roqOHCHqfJk5xUhPS5eR-/w400-h400/3j.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Which brings me to my main point about color. It's a really personal choice. Use what you love. If you are drawn to blue and brown like my good friend, Mindy, use blue and brown. Mindy often says that she needs to expand her wardrobe colors, but she always goes back to blue and brown. I once told her if that's what you like, don't worry about wearing other colors.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMM-D6zWRRxo-nKjrUDGpe-FCneH__jrvxxVn85LnThqmcUrZYxKwz49v4OSplTfXGHDEOSKN373zjNesu1fAdLHDxBAXspFQXnW_cVi77BDq9uEUG2wMIIFKk9QsHH-8G2POEFrIBhkiu/s500/2j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMM-D6zWRRxo-nKjrUDGpe-FCneH__jrvxxVn85LnThqmcUrZYxKwz49v4OSplTfXGHDEOSKN373zjNesu1fAdLHDxBAXspFQXnW_cVi77BDq9uEUG2wMIIFKk9QsHH-8G2POEFrIBhkiu/w400-h400/2j.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHiBobM1tjszZYISVBpK_qP-_UJumOoguuAfFfvzyZNCczG1TgG9e1A_yYx4XuesBbL_pdNUJKRNqhnRVnTfnVgSkZCcxWTbyqZ0ntU0f8NPn9XJ8m3mPt_90PMkYYJ_fGs0s1U1g8MMa/s1000/E1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1000" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHiBobM1tjszZYISVBpK_qP-_UJumOoguuAfFfvzyZNCczG1TgG9e1A_yYx4XuesBbL_pdNUJKRNqhnRVnTfnVgSkZCcxWTbyqZ0ntU0f8NPn9XJ8m3mPt_90PMkYYJ_fGs0s1U1g8MMa/w400-h374/E1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the other hand, my close friend, Bonni, loves color. She wears every color in the rainbow and her home also reflects her love of color. She'd die of boredom if she was limited to two or three colors. I always look forward to seeing her latest outfit because I never know what she will do next with color.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2agPHspSJknjtmmmIosWj6Jo0uw3eu0_ulcyV5KLs4ur7NebXwqnmvWhYug9kwNPSQWAruBWHo-GEDitd0EiClufmQRMmCs9kGKNYlF5WxVf-_Aewserb8euPJjnKRYaynrl_WO8LnbZK/s1000/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2agPHspSJknjtmmmIosWj6Jo0uw3eu0_ulcyV5KLs4ur7NebXwqnmvWhYug9kwNPSQWAruBWHo-GEDitd0EiClufmQRMmCs9kGKNYlF5WxVf-_Aewserb8euPJjnKRYaynrl_WO8LnbZK/w400-h360/12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7SN9VZavUBzL5mAZ0QGPQjdNsoxIJO7aA6K2C1zV2ORQoUWHYvf4BL9HNTGVWU9SFsbhdk-Z5JEaNoHC50ah_A7Ndx4hrM18XGoBgkhguO45v6T6j1xCCGyMYUpG2zyqfsCaDxab8D5b/s1000/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1000" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7SN9VZavUBzL5mAZ0QGPQjdNsoxIJO7aA6K2C1zV2ORQoUWHYvf4BL9HNTGVWU9SFsbhdk-Z5JEaNoHC50ah_A7Ndx4hrM18XGoBgkhguO45v6T6j1xCCGyMYUpG2zyqfsCaDxab8D5b/w400-h350/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p>A few of my personal favorites - you'll see that I go for the earthy colors, but I also like bold choices like red.</p><p>And, this one just happens to be yellow - I just surprised myself. Go figure!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnho_wHracPXOcDa-R64L87y3boC0LvhcQIe5ETFOq6shTq3VhHfzsz7GIs7zKzyBYgxm30cTZjso5Csc2QnCix14HWomdy3D0XBnovSzDtiJ662Fttwhbisai2NsUttejRXSdmQ_8oUAi/s1000/e1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="1000" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnho_wHracPXOcDa-R64L87y3boC0LvhcQIe5ETFOq6shTq3VhHfzsz7GIs7zKzyBYgxm30cTZjso5Csc2QnCix14HWomdy3D0XBnovSzDtiJ662Fttwhbisai2NsUttejRXSdmQ_8oUAi/w400-h351/e1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YBf_n64YkdbaejJe0m5tgmN5QI6xwJkrowUuFZiUs7YAjdRt4QXKLXVX5FRlxT-TQYnrSuSKdUZDRy-5aWMKF2_e__VHYNUW4Fe3gcg2bXgTeqE1mVDd_Hz3tjhnmaVo5qQRRPU9KzOq/s1000/2e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1000" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YBf_n64YkdbaejJe0m5tgmN5QI6xwJkrowUuFZiUs7YAjdRt4QXKLXVX5FRlxT-TQYnrSuSKdUZDRy-5aWMKF2_e__VHYNUW4Fe3gcg2bXgTeqE1mVDd_Hz3tjhnmaVo5qQRRPU9KzOq/w400-h393/2e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi617_6QR31BKWzD-PI6z0KRhX8-TaeXF40Z4J5wgmM392jpAqQeRmQ0nr5m8gCQ14SQq_wlx8ptVLriRjP5jsFMRD69ZrSIiI3XjMmhMJxVaqFErq25sR3Erog0tQUBdLr66cBtOn6dsjL/s1000/3e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi617_6QR31BKWzD-PI6z0KRhX8-TaeXF40Z4J5wgmM392jpAqQeRmQ0nr5m8gCQ14SQq_wlx8ptVLriRjP5jsFMRD69ZrSIiI3XjMmhMJxVaqFErq25sR3Erog0tQUBdLr66cBtOn6dsjL/w400-h400/3e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6nT5CnoAEa9lbWR3PgcB_p3vKjzbuQ8W2rmt8XjLcdxJ1eXzJ82pwDmTb6PQWxByjxD0qXLKXSGU1GBvtRT74sbCIWHFrE3gXyoLPQXqea6d-Tjrn6RTGocd2Z1rGi5czXvFFxitE0fm/s1000/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6nT5CnoAEa9lbWR3PgcB_p3vKjzbuQ8W2rmt8XjLcdxJ1eXzJ82pwDmTb6PQWxByjxD0qXLKXSGU1GBvtRT74sbCIWHFrE3gXyoLPQXqea6d-Tjrn6RTGocd2Z1rGi5czXvFFxitE0fm/w400-h400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilDXdA5QlQnGaDw5yIC0ZnV-LOWmNyCfrPwEJ3n7YXpB_WSZ94SSzbf7D_Qcgd99KvRXCDrCkCMz5jwqq8pUomVl4WEb-_sZ-gHWoyC-yBEZdo-S3V1-xmWgCmy8kFBTAcvV1_eTfZpu3/s428/Hot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="428" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilDXdA5QlQnGaDw5yIC0ZnV-LOWmNyCfrPwEJ3n7YXpB_WSZ94SSzbf7D_Qcgd99KvRXCDrCkCMz5jwqq8pUomVl4WEb-_sZ-gHWoyC-yBEZdo-S3V1-xmWgCmy8kFBTAcvV1_eTfZpu3/w400-h385/Hot3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Sure, colors trend, they come and go and it's perfectly ok to make jewelry in trending colors to add to your business inventory if you are selling your jewelry. But, even then...make stuff in the tones you like as well regardless of whether or not they are trending. I guarantee that you will have more fun designing and creating and it will show in your work. </p><p>To see what the other members of the Jewelry Artisans Blog Carnival have to say about color, please click on the links below:</p><p><a href="https://catswire.blogspot.com/2021/02/colors.html">Cat's Wire</a> </p><p><a href="https://mybijoulifeonline.com/~bijoube2/color-choices-in-jewelry/">My Bijou Life</a> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-11937128409565104582021-01-14T18:36:00.003-08:002021-01-14T18:36:40.204-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Spruce Up<p> The Jewelry Artisans Community weekly Oldies but Goodies Challenge was "Spruce Up" this time. We were challenged to share past work that we would be pleased to wear with our favorite holiday outfits. Did we ever have some beautiful work submitted. There is no end to the talent of the ladies in this group. Without further delay, I give you "Spruce Up."</p><p>From Cat of <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a> there was this simply elegant beaded bracelet. It is beyond elegant and perfect for nearly any holiday or formal occasion. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLrJ6jp3ReHQUk-Rl0ebAmvS5Cb2RwjMp6XlSGkboZAgveRtmSWceLaeCKHGSjENuuVfJNB2MXuIeP8-6bGPz7Ov8I4rVyzLh9U3YepY0tHcQp9Prpm_ZENTPorfiNGiHV9gaq_wM-E_V/s1300/Cat1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1300" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLrJ6jp3ReHQUk-Rl0ebAmvS5Cb2RwjMp6XlSGkboZAgveRtmSWceLaeCKHGSjENuuVfJNB2MXuIeP8-6bGPz7Ov8I4rVyzLh9U3YepY0tHcQp9Prpm_ZENTPorfiNGiHV9gaq_wM-E_V/w400-h375/Cat1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Next, Cat share this absolutely amazing necklace. It's incredible with multi-colored stones, each encased in its own wire woven bezel and wire swirls galore. Cat's creativity seems to know no bounds!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvT89ropQxC5iwhqqRtQGQ9SdEYNvne1oLKsbVF2sLnYvhg7-wJZmrGQ5wLMKgF3fo5ib0Fl8222w7RTDtPnfEOVtc5lFCkaFP2TlzTn7AvpDaqyBaAnkn92mNyGcGY8XypY__MMHiqc3C/s1515/Cat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1515" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvT89ropQxC5iwhqqRtQGQ9SdEYNvne1oLKsbVF2sLnYvhg7-wJZmrGQ5wLMKgF3fo5ib0Fl8222w7RTDtPnfEOVtc5lFCkaFP2TlzTn7AvpDaqyBaAnkn92mNyGcGY8XypY__MMHiqc3C/w270-h400/Cat1.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><p> Caroline of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyChimp">Crafty Chimp</a> shared her amazingly intricate bead work with us in the form of these two gorgeous bracelets. I can't imagine the time that goes into creating these beauties.</p><p>Purple and green has always been a favorite color combination of mine, so I am very drawn to this dramatic piece: <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWyVPp4JuAoSZ2FDWJlLWt6-qXLWfI07EfsRm6nUybTPfjyfzxs7ijArXxz5D71xr8udtwrSzv9vhuYSE6fPV0k7336cxHCXvVZMAnElNRVPubbeoTLEQIGUQSVgMsNBKpaGyixl-0Q0N/s1728/Caroline1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWyVPp4JuAoSZ2FDWJlLWt6-qXLWfI07EfsRm6nUybTPfjyfzxs7ijArXxz5D71xr8udtwrSzv9vhuYSE6fPV0k7336cxHCXvVZMAnElNRVPubbeoTLEQIGUQSVgMsNBKpaGyixl-0Q0N/w400-h300/Caroline1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>This one done in blues and greens is fit for a princess.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFlPyFTI8J_fxmf5kOgjhcK0k6k04XCfC0cEdfr1xURCK-ADbT_R8NM3-OK8psgUZLX_S9YGxKCf4H27443WKzFPWpThlCb2CAwngh7UIJGM18x5U3Ri4ttzcfgJafrAOVw3gqHOqn0kI/s2048/Caroline2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFlPyFTI8J_fxmf5kOgjhcK0k6k04XCfC0cEdfr1xURCK-ADbT_R8NM3-OK8psgUZLX_S9YGxKCf4H27443WKzFPWpThlCb2CAwngh7UIJGM18x5U3Ri4ttzcfgJafrAOVw3gqHOqn0kI/w400-h225/Caroline2a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Irith, of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> jewelry never disappoints and she wowed us again with this bold statement ring. I love the deep blues of the faceted Kyanite stone that has been set into a flower pattern. What a beautiful ringy!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaWxxAcKcLryjLyPo5MaYPpv_0FvjJYyFy_JrZIyJoarjCLzUUe1X6aZ9pOl8BRfptz8dhDd10XppEXoylSYRkm_YHIx4z3xWsLSIn3MO3Y5WCe15Tp9vsFh-D7zm9kzmWJ9-lVH3fSPT/s794/Irith1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaWxxAcKcLryjLyPo5MaYPpv_0FvjJYyFy_JrZIyJoarjCLzUUe1X6aZ9pOl8BRfptz8dhDd10XppEXoylSYRkm_YHIx4z3xWsLSIn3MO3Y5WCe15Tp9vsFh-D7zm9kzmWJ9-lVH3fSPT/w400-h400/Irith1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyz0LnQB8LLtbc7scTPJXE4ZthvGcJ6to5fG8tyihzFJ5YJdv9ztRLR5Pe7jL6iD_HWDM0Valxd95BGN2Ji2Zka2cnAQT0iOdBDXZRjTqOZDXcZWRMDwiSI-TPrOPpO-vfzVBOkFlHFH9/s794/Irith2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyz0LnQB8LLtbc7scTPJXE4ZthvGcJ6to5fG8tyihzFJ5YJdv9ztRLR5Pe7jL6iD_HWDM0Valxd95BGN2Ji2Zka2cnAQT0iOdBDXZRjTqOZDXcZWRMDwiSI-TPrOPpO-vfzVBOkFlHFH9/w400-h400/Irith2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>This wonderful three strand black and gold necklace by Michelle of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/mybijoulife">My Bijou Life</a> would look equally at home with a little black dress or dressing up a pair of jeans and a sweater. It's one of those pieces that easily transitions from casual day wear to glamorous evening attire.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50RNzBs5bjzpPRPyTQzWzkpvApoikANyFv6jxdLBA0U3xuxaQrC59ZqtWArVJnOx72q1xkSzFP3sDOgkPSfNOWZF186PadTdY45K0pbR6KnHt9fy-UMD-iyr6p6yROz5LA9kuDJWUg-ID/s800/Michelle1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50RNzBs5bjzpPRPyTQzWzkpvApoikANyFv6jxdLBA0U3xuxaQrC59ZqtWArVJnOx72q1xkSzFP3sDOgkPSfNOWZF186PadTdY45K0pbR6KnHt9fy-UMD-iyr6p6yROz5LA9kuDJWUg-ID/w400-h400/Michelle1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p> Also from Michelle was this stunning wire woven red pendant. Beautifully done and I especially like the addition of the red crystals at the top of the pendant.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8JpnDc_opfQ4b1DFLmZbI6jk0_2XEm640ejN-u9fRaaxhcfgMoMB9GuXbBmbGZuIHybeDSlv10HjRVdrNyZVsVY3FoXJ2p-9laOQ4sHbfcdWKBuGZCvSJaWd24qJROz9vW5U2E_AgQIt/s800/Michelle2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8JpnDc_opfQ4b1DFLmZbI6jk0_2XEm640ejN-u9fRaaxhcfgMoMB9GuXbBmbGZuIHybeDSlv10HjRVdrNyZVsVY3FoXJ2p-9laOQ4sHbfcdWKBuGZCvSJaWd24qJROz9vW5U2E_AgQIt/w400-h400/Michelle2a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>My offerings for the challenge were this hand painted pansy pendant suspended from a chain made of purple crystals and brass wire. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZVEClRpxqGmPEQrBgwCIGeMUA_qIUcYT1etROVtFP4-ySoci0OlaC2IsMiDKCwdE1bY-3EIYQm3wPoIe8B6trpOKiHWPyB6LZAc1A8DUTglcxgV4LLQt_yagCabfNimRZnR__IegLQxG/s500/Dawn1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="500" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZVEClRpxqGmPEQrBgwCIGeMUA_qIUcYT1etROVtFP4-ySoci0OlaC2IsMiDKCwdE1bY-3EIYQm3wPoIe8B6trpOKiHWPyB6LZAc1A8DUTglcxgV4LLQt_yagCabfNimRZnR__IegLQxG/w400-h374/Dawn1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>My other contribution were these fun and very long dangly wire woven leaf earrings made of copper wire that has been oxidized to a warm, antique finish. Shoulder dusters is not an exaggeration when describing these earrings!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26z66bOpoQlbot-NTf239se7O4BhnbJFo8EOoPpgEtdzJTHhta5N76GnEpNusamFUoDDrKf8_c__3P798XzuOxWJYutEnIfu00sREzD6PRoQcuVJBN3LHl8pY5_McozClZuLvU6JOea-D/s505/Dawn2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26z66bOpoQlbot-NTf239se7O4BhnbJFo8EOoPpgEtdzJTHhta5N76GnEpNusamFUoDDrKf8_c__3P798XzuOxWJYutEnIfu00sREzD6PRoQcuVJBN3LHl8pY5_McozClZuLvU6JOea-D/w396-h400/Dawn2a.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><p>I hope you have enjoyed this collection of "Spruce Up" jewelry. I know many of us live in our jeans, but there are times when we want to feel elegant and pretty - these pieces are guaranteed to accomplish exactly that!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-75510987003476617482020-12-31T21:11:00.003-08:002021-01-01T09:49:25.830-08:00Creativity and Covid - November/December 2020 Blog Carnival<p> The topic for the Nov/Dec 2020 <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> Blog Carnival is "Creativity and Covid." The Covid pandemic of 2020 has turned lives upside down this past year and it has been a time of great sorrow, frustration, boredom, anger, hope, fear and despair. Since Covid is on all of our minds, the blogging community at JAC thought exploring how Covid has affected creativity a topic that we would like to explore.</p><p>When this all started back in February, 2020, I initially thought I'd be spending a lot of time in my studio designing and creating because we were not leaving home except to buy groceries every two weeks and I'd have a ton of time to create (lack of time being something I often complain about). As it turns out, I was mistaken - I've spent very little time in my studio this past year.</p><p>Instead, I felt an almost urgent need to be outside. We live on 3.5 acres that is in constant need of tree thinning, brush clearing and burning of the resulting vegetation piles to reduce fire danger. Weather allowing, we were outside nearly every day taking care of our land back in February, March and April. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZNFwPlJZ5eNPPDBqj2Ykr5ze95V8CWYq5ksmQMsGe0eGi7RkB57uBbbiSIFBPHH5xcawyn-rovL8N3X38mjP-MK_d1QvPkgMcs2M7k3hyphenhyphenlEavVGhFdmtoZxMl2XuDLoHofBfP3PbiB0y/s1080/1dwork.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1080" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZNFwPlJZ5eNPPDBqj2Ykr5ze95V8CWYq5ksmQMsGe0eGi7RkB57uBbbiSIFBPHH5xcawyn-rovL8N3X38mjP-MK_d1QvPkgMcs2M7k3hyphenhyphenlEavVGhFdmtoZxMl2XuDLoHofBfP3PbiB0y/w400-h334/1dwork.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGz_X3XEwtEXOwhYQpSzv8lWQJhfKjeyxPoDQfMuc90Vnmuu7vTAVdYbgGfv4iwyHHREP39lmb3hYtZWFNH2NOpAhWlJSBz8A40OnsxF65Ma7blBMaeGYlKegGADzoE86b6TKiPh_rbyB/s1500/1thinning.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGz_X3XEwtEXOwhYQpSzv8lWQJhfKjeyxPoDQfMuc90Vnmuu7vTAVdYbgGfv4iwyHHREP39lmb3hYtZWFNH2NOpAhWlJSBz8A40OnsxF65Ma7blBMaeGYlKegGADzoE86b6TKiPh_rbyB/w400-h300/1thinning.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8_Atr51IiwLz_tou6RbvEjw4LxHYdKAU-tAcgyWe3eNliGX9rGlcwYnxZPQ5vRcb24ldelfePiD92-rIgLTip1ssxO4pg-nATzmhU3UnVwCXA4uNZ6KKjN4Mn9oRot80ILjwjepYFRRl/s600/1bonni.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8_Atr51IiwLz_tou6RbvEjw4LxHYdKAU-tAcgyWe3eNliGX9rGlcwYnxZPQ5vRcb24ldelfePiD92-rIgLTip1ssxO4pg-nATzmhU3UnVwCXA4uNZ6KKjN4Mn9oRot80ILjwjepYFRRl/w400-h300/1bonni.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkrfaABsCf-kZYKu2VTRRSViXV8Yn2Koc4QiXeplZG9-nqhg2GfbQxJAcIjozRarU-vJG9JBgVJSk9zbbL3mHn7pbDnFbuGHxjfk0MNqBbLF5TAJc6Vb7W_JdbIivrUVbbAb6KgJ7ffEL/s1000/1marshmallow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkrfaABsCf-kZYKu2VTRRSViXV8Yn2Koc4QiXeplZG9-nqhg2GfbQxJAcIjozRarU-vJG9JBgVJSk9zbbL3mHn7pbDnFbuGHxjfk0MNqBbLF5TAJc6Vb7W_JdbIivrUVbbAb6KgJ7ffEL/w400-h300/1marshmallow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>As the weather became too hot to work outside, I found myself wanting to spend time in the kitchen. I was baking bread, cookies and other desserts and trying out new recipes. I've always enjoyed cooking, but really took it to a new level. I believe that there is aconnection between preparing food and taking care of our families and I think this was a way to nurture my husband and myself.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9XSgPPpr9jZNe1RhVBqZPHbjVVaHvakuZ_L5JkmfBxvoyfsTfV06pYNUcnN5J9gutvpMWSVdMdCfNqRkH6j5RPi1YTzlEUSoNMDOVuKjIFB6O3SLqZcbYPbdOOJzH0K_LXUFKc5zl90s/s2048/1quinoa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9XSgPPpr9jZNe1RhVBqZPHbjVVaHvakuZ_L5JkmfBxvoyfsTfV06pYNUcnN5J9gutvpMWSVdMdCfNqRkH6j5RPi1YTzlEUSoNMDOVuKjIFB6O3SLqZcbYPbdOOJzH0K_LXUFKc5zl90s/w400-h300/1quinoa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy95sjp6mdwdeOPe0wg35TiP7bgBRbIqbUbYLCM_DCb9v_-asX6Djz7g-vn9BV91EscPwNxVzavWn1fGMc89_w8ljWjHRkttbqDo80AmsIHu2v7eG7DyEn5vYWTqDr-CKr_zcZPFyDGYlu/s780/1carrots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="780" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy95sjp6mdwdeOPe0wg35TiP7bgBRbIqbUbYLCM_DCb9v_-asX6Djz7g-vn9BV91EscPwNxVzavWn1fGMc89_w8ljWjHRkttbqDo80AmsIHu2v7eG7DyEn5vYWTqDr-CKr_zcZPFyDGYlu/w400-h346/1carrots.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqkC8VCkjvUJXoubCHtXM4pSmIFdvYI0bcnNmc-b5xWrgttjfFRrw8j1fgsvr54xc5Nxn7XRijP5rBFR-pPXNrvbZzvyyG_IZm_VWXjHdF76i3np7VeUxOAautYw6VvCP9YMXYvsp6Of4/s1200/1+chicken+enchiladas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqkC8VCkjvUJXoubCHtXM4pSmIFdvYI0bcnNmc-b5xWrgttjfFRrw8j1fgsvr54xc5Nxn7XRijP5rBFR-pPXNrvbZzvyyG_IZm_VWXjHdF76i3np7VeUxOAautYw6VvCP9YMXYvsp6Of4/w400-h300/1+chicken+enchiladas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Hl4F8HhRW_6V8r_7gs6suq51VaMvvNIPCYV260aqGXrfeMgDmuPK-1YQeY8SsbxThWgd3WqFTuj36mko1kRunW3AtlKB3tYgcXvrKw3ld8l0IXyQE2KXD5SnqtVs4wWq6jKk_scLyWfO/s1200/1stirfryfb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Hl4F8HhRW_6V8r_7gs6suq51VaMvvNIPCYV260aqGXrfeMgDmuPK-1YQeY8SsbxThWgd3WqFTuj36mko1kRunW3AtlKB3tYgcXvrKw3ld8l0IXyQE2KXD5SnqtVs4wWq6jKk_scLyWfO/w400-h300/1stirfryfb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oNXwvyVPonsmjsjKXb24qiQtIdnf6kCNFAuCx0PiKGOtMFqA25iQHHhML7hGtkoWH7xUPh-YUADeNWrQWZUv4C3YPJvYhgMUroBXsCxKJtHKMz4a42t79jPHOQrST_MuMxwAGNEIWPyo/s500/1mungdalbonni.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="500" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oNXwvyVPonsmjsjKXb24qiQtIdnf6kCNFAuCx0PiKGOtMFqA25iQHHhML7hGtkoWH7xUPh-YUADeNWrQWZUv4C3YPJvYhgMUroBXsCxKJtHKMz4a42t79jPHOQrST_MuMxwAGNEIWPyo/w400-h321/1mungdalbonni.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcQVrWXDk0HW0pE7XKbwbGtR62UmmBOqWHqLG55R-DbHD62ahFyhE5Xs3PAi3SoFPVvAvHUrAcBqEqcC7m-H5uHxD-lUM58qlMJD-M_Yq152J05G9pWvoKIuK37f9bWOcDKBUzU9bVisZ/s1200/1EngMufFB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcQVrWXDk0HW0pE7XKbwbGtR62UmmBOqWHqLG55R-DbHD62ahFyhE5Xs3PAi3SoFPVvAvHUrAcBqEqcC7m-H5uHxD-lUM58qlMJD-M_Yq152J05G9pWvoKIuK37f9bWOcDKBUzU9bVisZ/w400-h300/1EngMufFB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE1nK1kDxY14qM_ySyJZ2ydm12rQXS3S7KLbqEayKTCWhqZVyUi2Oi3rkbYNzVQ3K6AQoN5BH_sq9Z7v9eaiGt6v3vbpku_1RpGkJQvzdai4bQxXayNpWBZ05aB4jQyuffmQssN2ING_a/s2048/1TomYum.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE1nK1kDxY14qM_ySyJZ2ydm12rQXS3S7KLbqEayKTCWhqZVyUi2Oi3rkbYNzVQ3K6AQoN5BH_sq9Z7v9eaiGt6v3vbpku_1RpGkJQvzdai4bQxXayNpWBZ05aB4jQyuffmQssN2ING_a/w400-h300/1TomYum.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>All of the above isn't to say I didn't make any jewelry. I did here and
there and derived the same sense of satisfaction as always; I just
didn't feel driven to make it.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif0Ni3OOIZYbnDtjGwwqwNk9HlMKuhlXGGzPJVWPrizuIZwnjnSKWE85_pOmfGCQUb7kcZtX6b1tfxKsEV4kYt8RfkOkNyC0PcjICoM6cdgsc3FEqtbX0h4x11wELfW4IP1D_lgCCAdZd/s2000/1buge.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="2000" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif0Ni3OOIZYbnDtjGwwqwNk9HlMKuhlXGGzPJVWPrizuIZwnjnSKWE85_pOmfGCQUb7kcZtX6b1tfxKsEV4kYt8RfkOkNyC0PcjICoM6cdgsc3FEqtbX0h4x11wELfW4IP1D_lgCCAdZd/w400-h399/1buge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8V1_tT6ryUq3V7R4Mwy_LrxG_YV5B0fD7a48zqTeHVnPcJgzEEXFKEwmZnfbfx_odvpggnUGv7-Yfj7iWH2QlSSE9lqU9hmVObGEAYP7BYlbjm0sYPVL6FtlmIZJQB3oXxON_YI1jdJ3/s800/1birddiojac.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8V1_tT6ryUq3V7R4Mwy_LrxG_YV5B0fD7a48zqTeHVnPcJgzEEXFKEwmZnfbfx_odvpggnUGv7-Yfj7iWH2QlSSE9lqU9hmVObGEAYP7BYlbjm0sYPVL6FtlmIZJQB3oXxON_YI1jdJ3/w400-h300/1birddiojac.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU54fVhfIMi0mZ9-ln7MGtN-aQJkxLHsL62srPs09lwFO4aLUCh3MBU2ATEGEvBkVcka8zIFRNaELr4SX37rOHUtL7Iow_vfWp1Kjbn7DJ1CeIkHoRgIrphc1YnhxuFofxpbsIJoORzo0/s1000/1jac.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU54fVhfIMi0mZ9-ln7MGtN-aQJkxLHsL62srPs09lwFO4aLUCh3MBU2ATEGEvBkVcka8zIFRNaELr4SX37rOHUtL7Iow_vfWp1Kjbn7DJ1CeIkHoRgIrphc1YnhxuFofxpbsIJoORzo0/w400-h300/1jac.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPdJpD16LL2imt3dD322IQxItiiJTDbB0pkp_M2vlhnlyhbZcX1nbZP-RMHoeBSf9FdU2ABCYUm9JyJFf5dMp6QVjJHBTu2IhSoxgG0erE4kOVMkjMLegv7iOOPSxbWQ-kngotAYASDdS/s2000/3strand3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1797" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPdJpD16LL2imt3dD322IQxItiiJTDbB0pkp_M2vlhnlyhbZcX1nbZP-RMHoeBSf9FdU2ABCYUm9JyJFf5dMp6QVjJHBTu2IhSoxgG0erE4kOVMkjMLegv7iOOPSxbWQ-kngotAYASDdS/w360-h400/3strand3.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJInRnX4MrfNEQ8ckazbbhSxO12zBB0XzIMKv7ET1r_tIBhBk7YKvQ1qBKBW8HGvPHVLUqvYy1WVjla3dDh27e_NfgB1bL_XXNRg41C33KeD-e4vjL6AADt7p4lpQ8w52yGb6h6lrgXux/s2000/BigLeaf1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1999" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJInRnX4MrfNEQ8ckazbbhSxO12zBB0XzIMKv7ET1r_tIBhBk7YKvQ1qBKBW8HGvPHVLUqvYy1WVjla3dDh27e_NfgB1bL_XXNRg41C33KeD-e4vjL6AADt7p4lpQ8w52yGb6h6lrgXux/w400-h400/BigLeaf1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjFzwmijcgn7dtqU0qtXKYZxT1wHjKykUhCCIkwgBy2RcDvG_CPYnUrE2JLQJ1wuc3h2bEk8YOn1CvXn6FptOw065XHE_9J6qC965FqvkTqHLEZpZqZjqpDfT_ZAxWq36_Jjor1QzSVuv/s2000/anklet3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1998" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjFzwmijcgn7dtqU0qtXKYZxT1wHjKykUhCCIkwgBy2RcDvG_CPYnUrE2JLQJ1wuc3h2bEk8YOn1CvXn6FptOw065XHE_9J6qC965FqvkTqHLEZpZqZjqpDfT_ZAxWq36_Jjor1QzSVuv/w400-h400/anklet3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>I've come to think that this lost year has fostered a different kind of creativity. Working outside freed my mind to wander and my body to become strong and fit. Cooking and baking is something I've always thought of as another art form and it was something my husband and I could share, whereas making jewelry doesn't allow for that kind of closeness. The cooking and subsequent consumption of the food provided comfort to both of us. </p><p>When I think about making jewelry, it seems inconsequential compared to what so many have had to endure, yet any activity, whether it is jewelry design, knitting, cooking, gardening, reading, writing poetry, bonding with pets or zoom chats with family and friends are all creative outlets and that provide what we have needed to help us get through this difficult time. My hope is that by spring, we will be seeing the light at the end of the
tunnel and that people will be able to begin to re-claim their lives
and pick up the pieces. <br /></p><p>To read what other members of the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about Creativity and Covid, please click on the links below:</p><p><a href="https://catswire.blogspot.com/2020/12/creativity-in-covid-times.html">Cat's Wire</a><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-75884550939582934872020-12-28T17:28:00.002-08:002020-12-28T17:28:23.741-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Candle Light<p>Our Oldies but Goodies Challenge at the <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> was to share our jewelry designs that were reminiscent of candles. As always, our group showed how talented and creative they are.</p><p>Cat of <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a> didn't waste any time in reminding of us of how creative she is with this beaded candle decoration. It's not jewelry, but designing and creating it required many of her jewelry making skills. Cat tells us she puts this darling ornament in her hallway during the holiday season:</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn35-F4LOO8YrAj34ZLW9RDK9HhaWoRqMdQzp3grRMj3c9ZlHpv6nDEpBkQAHsDx_9z5Ehjfn4F_vaQunqeLjgjtMGksiqqGZRrUdjBNYCKUgIhtSVDSdswS9pw2HkZObSKhx6EpmWthm/s200/Cat+Candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="84" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn35-F4LOO8YrAj34ZLW9RDK9HhaWoRqMdQzp3grRMj3c9ZlHpv6nDEpBkQAHsDx_9z5Ehjfn4F_vaQunqeLjgjtMGksiqqGZRrUdjBNYCKUgIhtSVDSdswS9pw2HkZObSKhx6EpmWthm/w134-h320/Cat+Candle.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><br />This beautiful cuff looks like it is reflecting the glow of candle light. Such a romantic piece of jewelry - wouldn't that be pretty to wear in a restaurant where the tables are lit by candlelight?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHSFZ4wHCPNUH5ri85Z8IkILMHcXlHwM5lAl5Np1vLStvbhTLhwlOcJJEzmoBuXkqVdfW53zdygN3VAh4CcKFROtebrzVuZ2KAniyfFfli-SOHqnjmLTM2c3EecTEKRWBy0EjZDmQV07d/s690/Cat+Cuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHSFZ4wHCPNUH5ri85Z8IkILMHcXlHwM5lAl5Np1vLStvbhTLhwlOcJJEzmoBuXkqVdfW53zdygN3VAh4CcKFROtebrzVuZ2KAniyfFfli-SOHqnjmLTM2c3EecTEKRWBy0EjZDmQV07d/w400-h400/Cat+Cuff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Caroline, of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyChimp">The Crafty Chimp</a> presented these amazing beaded tea light designs. They are so clever and I just love how they look like festively wrapped Christmas gifts. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuLp1zEujBZVVXctEslqI94OShiTQxpkXa0R03VUQHotd10SyBLuebh2eGt2Z-5Zr1b5gzZWaubPxXYP3O0S0gV7TvoYLxcG5T0Wzcw2IwLgyFbB5S3DTG6LsiMuXmDFT2iEg-iJul8g-/s960/Caroline+Candle+Holders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="528" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuLp1zEujBZVVXctEslqI94OShiTQxpkXa0R03VUQHotd10SyBLuebh2eGt2Z-5Zr1b5gzZWaubPxXYP3O0S0gV7TvoYLxcG5T0Wzcw2IwLgyFbB5S3DTG6LsiMuXmDFT2iEg-iJul8g-/w220-h400/Caroline+Candle+Holders.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /> For my own submissions, I felt like this orange stone that practically glows from within was a perfect choice to represent candle light. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7KTMjunY0vKG1olLfGrxv4axLMjqZRpSdbPLbdCvOrQcA6ru02OmMPHCe7IVmzcznq5u-5i-tDO3FNQ6PJlThgS0JAqJKcik2YfCux849KHteRXFIraOpX5I1z8jH8k5zU-TdAK3DQ_7/s200/Dawn+Candle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="200" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7KTMjunY0vKG1olLfGrxv4axLMjqZRpSdbPLbdCvOrQcA6ru02OmMPHCe7IVmzcznq5u-5i-tDO3FNQ6PJlThgS0JAqJKcik2YfCux849KHteRXFIraOpX5I1z8jH8k5zU-TdAK3DQ_7/w320-h298/Dawn+Candle+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The orange crystals in these earrings remind me of the flickering light of a candle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1_RI6Dvtpg8wvaLg2bJ9U4ikeq5lXVBJOhgResiv71b3lUfelOYslWPs_FxhtoCL4f6dVk79jeAiWpyKYZVWLkGNYAQwztkMK9jsgVy43c4_P6xX6sGe3fddwaZNK3FIt7JR521xZ-0_/s200/Dawn+Candle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1_RI6Dvtpg8wvaLg2bJ9U4ikeq5lXVBJOhgResiv71b3lUfelOYslWPs_FxhtoCL4f6dVk79jeAiWpyKYZVWLkGNYAQwztkMK9jsgVy43c4_P6xX6sGe3fddwaZNK3FIt7JR521xZ-0_/w320-h240/Dawn+Candle+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Irith of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> gave us these gorgeous tear drop earrings with deep red faceted stones. They almost look like they are on fire.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WRxapgLvFzHob9ivk0XT30_3cuknqW8cVlUQE-8x-PBZB7XZyL0qgcByFHkXUCCSr7-tKyRG_lwKGPcrTX3W1Nd-Sd10a1uZU023IU1U0fJbxGJKzoH59c2pWL-0O3vu9FON3PvLmdga/s794/Irith+Candle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WRxapgLvFzHob9ivk0XT30_3cuknqW8cVlUQE-8x-PBZB7XZyL0qgcByFHkXUCCSr7-tKyRG_lwKGPcrTX3W1Nd-Sd10a1uZU023IU1U0fJbxGJKzoH59c2pWL-0O3vu9FON3PvLmdga/w400-h400/Irith+Candle+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Irith also shared this warm golden pendant and it's shape looks very much like a candle flame. I love the way the stone is set with Irith's signature earthy style.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVJIwdzEyomcAOehZO6DK8s-gfH6123J85jlQtA-A7nSLDVf1yS8KPr1CmuFq3rv98QrmBMy8-kYatMvFb0HXRv5HBI3q1glpPR_iGvQfwK1mSR3YR7H3_p1LGpfa2dqsOA40uOE7bDfz/s794/Irith+Candle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="794" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVJIwdzEyomcAOehZO6DK8s-gfH6123J85jlQtA-A7nSLDVf1yS8KPr1CmuFq3rv98QrmBMy8-kYatMvFb0HXRv5HBI3q1glpPR_iGvQfwK1mSR3YR7H3_p1LGpfa2dqsOA40uOE7bDfz/w400-h300/Irith+Candle+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Such lovely creations from these lovely and talented artists - it's always a pleasure and a joy to see your work!<br /> <p></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-26973217561322088972020-12-22T15:15:00.002-08:002020-12-22T15:15:37.941-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Christmas Colors<p>The theme for this <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> Oldies but Goodies Challenge was Christmas Colors, and boy, did we have terrific entries. It always amazes me how the members of this group can take the same theme and come up with such diverse designs. <br /></p><p>Without further delay, let's get right to these beauties!</p><p>Cat of <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a> gave us these fabulous spiky Christmas ball pendants. I've always admired these balls that Cat makes and they come in earrings, pendants that can be worn on a chain, tree ornaments or simply put in a pretty bowl or basket. They also come in all sorts of colors.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuFNheQPbZNsMLOePnDwapax1qZs56zV9qqWkNw9tq85Y60kPqD6vvqSa7ecnvAeKhCutT7BlywW3xyy0yeBmwXb_QfHAL0rh-Tmq62IJNaJWHLXSwHJsYX1OuaFsstQVhg1-0ic9EHZP/s690/Cat+Spiky+Balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="690" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuFNheQPbZNsMLOePnDwapax1qZs56zV9qqWkNw9tq85Y60kPqD6vvqSa7ecnvAeKhCutT7BlywW3xyy0yeBmwXb_QfHAL0rh-Tmq62IJNaJWHLXSwHJsYX1OuaFsstQVhg1-0ic9EHZP/w400-h340/Cat+Spiky+Balls.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Next, Cat showed us her playful side with this loomed beaded black cat wearing a Santa hat. Now, doesn't he look naughty? No treats for him; I think he will be getting a lump of coal in his stocking!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpyLXvLwqJgEMew2MNulZdRuBHqGnBic4QvrCix_-vjnEsrzkg5nYPJ_ZsszVMq0CPYLuhw8oqlfApli30Wgdx6mY9MjcN7b5nmi0-k7qr-W2_6vh7Ioz9uDAt9VJJ9loz6hWa6t0ffOb/s690/Cat+Xmas+Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpyLXvLwqJgEMew2MNulZdRuBHqGnBic4QvrCix_-vjnEsrzkg5nYPJ_ZsszVMq0CPYLuhw8oqlfApli30Wgdx6mY9MjcN7b5nmi0-k7qr-W2_6vh7Ioz9uDAt9VJJ9loz6hWa6t0ffOb/w400-h400/Cat+Xmas+Cat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Irith of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> shared this wonderful silver bangle set with green Tourmaline and red Garnet. This stunning bangle really shows off Irith's very unique and earthy style.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2MucnX9EaCmuBigjYZiycBtrjmRuiN3dqHb0H0DGqXdq8VxSSQLphduY_X-kVQa6kr0Yj722YMmzXxe-1t2-jYUh-UNIFpsMrHtnahy-f2cjevclFxJGhwcg9ldKmYvHM5hSYMg3z10j/s1059/Irith+Xmas+Colors+Bangle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2MucnX9EaCmuBigjYZiycBtrjmRuiN3dqHb0H0DGqXdq8VxSSQLphduY_X-kVQa6kr0Yj722YMmzXxe-1t2-jYUh-UNIFpsMrHtnahy-f2cjevclFxJGhwcg9ldKmYvHM5hSYMg3z10j/w300-h400/Irith+Xmas+Colors+Bangle.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Irith wowed us once again with this heart shaped pendant that features what I believe to be red and green sea glass. It's absolutely lovely and versatile enough to wear all year round. No need to save this beauty just for Christmas!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9_E4ikMDaGaVlOhDC0zSR1K3SqNRRomHDlL-I3q4JM_hQxq9Kw8qS7zFQ4rSd2UiVmjy5_G3mkyQJ9Mya4pwKSNkSEEhHloZbnNmjghw5QK5VPzpt8C_uMeFRZBlVg-mTwUnIfgWVJba/s1058/Irith+Xmas+Colors+Pendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9_E4ikMDaGaVlOhDC0zSR1K3SqNRRomHDlL-I3q4JM_hQxq9Kw8qS7zFQ4rSd2UiVmjy5_G3mkyQJ9Mya4pwKSNkSEEhHloZbnNmjghw5QK5VPzpt8C_uMeFRZBlVg-mTwUnIfgWVJba/w300-h400/Irith+Xmas+Colors+Pendant.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p>This free form copper wire sculpture bracelet is accented with red coral and green turquoise beads and has a knotted red cord band. Whimsical, yet elegant, this submission is from Dawn at Jewelry Art by Dawn (me).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHp1GrsuyojAT4r8SZqm9Cp8sIedn40tkkv0MA-BYCy70Ylf_pHQIyIi0i44HVBwZZysSGQRnS8UJsbYhLtLTA-w_u-ZT1lx96Il0oHrqiv60TMDy9g7XXUY1bWD7ouEPysJjAJutLsH7m/s200/Dawn+Xmas+Colors+Bracelet+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="200" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHp1GrsuyojAT4r8SZqm9Cp8sIedn40tkkv0MA-BYCy70Ylf_pHQIyIi0i44HVBwZZysSGQRnS8UJsbYhLtLTA-w_u-ZT1lx96Il0oHrqiv60TMDy9g7XXUY1bWD7ouEPysJjAJutLsH7m/w320-h253/Dawn+Xmas+Colors+Bracelet+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I also chose these icy blue earrings with snowflake accents to share in this challenge. I really like these colors together; they make me think of a snowy Christmas morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iVJNKilRKPW91xiZmkl8gcWTWUaDvVrw_7x28cVINWIA5S794MnV2JUSIONSp2EAKeNe_oWqCzgpHE1P1ehWArfGXueCsk7ovswB_aoRyi8PtpkuVcaFpK7036c10PNuaQa2YjHbTAi7/s200/Dawn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="200" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iVJNKilRKPW91xiZmkl8gcWTWUaDvVrw_7x28cVINWIA5S794MnV2JUSIONSp2EAKeNe_oWqCzgpHE1P1ehWArfGXueCsk7ovswB_aoRyi8PtpkuVcaFpK7036c10PNuaQa2YjHbTAi7/w320-h306/Dawn1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Last, but certainly not least, Michelle of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/mybijoulife">My Bijou Life</a> got everyone in the Christmas spirit with these awesome beaded Jack Skellington tree ornaments. Now, I ask you...who doesn't love Jack Skellington! I can picture a tree decorated with nothing but these fabulous ornaments - what a tree that would be!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvEkL5YrhowQauhTQPMqX3lzbswuRgPfvPTkx2yhwt-lzmx9T6znMDLhKaupiTmY2hHGQ3BlDOXCg0fMe9ZV6XzTnU55r5cAhAB6Y41QmWTHQEMkYmYDIawivtCUH6hnAAGfzmoejxVuC/s200/Michelle+Jack1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvEkL5YrhowQauhTQPMqX3lzbswuRgPfvPTkx2yhwt-lzmx9T6znMDLhKaupiTmY2hHGQ3BlDOXCg0fMe9ZV6XzTnU55r5cAhAB6Y41QmWTHQEMkYmYDIawivtCUH6hnAAGfzmoejxVuC/w256-h320/Michelle+Jack1.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDJJQ8s6ZkgKLeWq_ER-jukKnkSRG-Ol90gwI8QoeFwsheItQx4Lj6owk_zGjU_0srMRxr-dB590M1SlJjhy1haibZFdE9ZtrbeYyQ0okCGE8DB97U0Td1xscqEVeri0AhmboSHAxn3jO/s200/Michelle+Jack2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDJJQ8s6ZkgKLeWq_ER-jukKnkSRG-Ol90gwI8QoeFwsheItQx4Lj6owk_zGjU_0srMRxr-dB590M1SlJjhy1haibZFdE9ZtrbeYyQ0okCGE8DB97U0Td1xscqEVeri0AhmboSHAxn3jO/w256-h320/Michelle+Jack2.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p></p><p>I hope you have enjoyed seeing the work of these talented artists. It was just what was needed to bring on the Christmas cheer. However you celebrate, Happy Holidays to all!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-35739894865906658542020-12-12T22:55:00.000-08:002020-12-12T22:55:00.832-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Seeds & Nuts<p> This week, the Oldies but Goodies Challenge over at the <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> was "Seeds and Nuts". The entries were simply amazing!</p><p>From Cat at <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a>, we were treated to examples from her felting period and I really looking forward to more felting from Cat. Look at these gorgeous, yet playful earrings!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXobDRgPusp7o_YuVPmDq0v3qwxKiXLFnFuSAREVz3SfhCbJwFvNaZN-q7SMAv6VW_9gi8QCjGdpV_SV2bqYplNSdUHDsHK9ym3oB_6OUHge9QqAfGYfvSw6jkgQq50TYa8P-WldqnR2s/s690/Cat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXobDRgPusp7o_YuVPmDq0v3qwxKiXLFnFuSAREVz3SfhCbJwFvNaZN-q7SMAv6VW_9gi8QCjGdpV_SV2bqYplNSdUHDsHK9ym3oB_6OUHge9QqAfGYfvSw6jkgQq50TYa8P-WldqnR2s/w400-h400/Cat2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQS7hWfd0ZZOY6G2IWglbuVMyV7OWkx71n-U-6jnmtO-b-YIwSfQoCIc2ZThRn0Vq-3QKCBC1_InxdNY-nILsG0ufG5gKDOyrehmLQ4ex2req1p2fxvz3E0w8jRsHjEvDH9HPZLZXSWlis/s690/gallery_hero_e3438e24-1aee-4b56-b582-48c6efec002d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQS7hWfd0ZZOY6G2IWglbuVMyV7OWkx71n-U-6jnmtO-b-YIwSfQoCIc2ZThRn0Vq-3QKCBC1_InxdNY-nILsG0ufG5gKDOyrehmLQ4ex2req1p2fxvz3E0w8jRsHjEvDH9HPZLZXSWlis/w400-h400/gallery_hero_e3438e24-1aee-4b56-b582-48c6efec002d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Michelle over at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/mybijoulife">My Bigou Life</a> gave us these sweet hoops earrings that featured amethyst beads wrapped on sterling silver wire. They remind me of peas in a pod.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3ta_iYBNyNTfDWoIiMvTq0vILApzmL4-I9qKEOHauti6FgfnG7SentDul9HsWM6lu9uwW_dmtleRgtVxlX12sKLtC8Gl_ty2_AxZZWA-Q5pDAOzF8ZdrYpTuMJL6nqHwpyWbbFpsj8fP/s200/Michelle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3ta_iYBNyNTfDWoIiMvTq0vILApzmL4-I9qKEOHauti6FgfnG7SentDul9HsWM6lu9uwW_dmtleRgtVxlX12sKLtC8Gl_ty2_AxZZWA-Q5pDAOzF8ZdrYpTuMJL6nqHwpyWbbFpsj8fP/w400-h400/Michelle1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then she WOWed us with this beautiful wire woven Petosky stone pendant with little fossils embedded in the stone. Michelle said that the fossils reminded her of the spiky seeds that attach themselves to our socks. That they do, but without the annoyance factor of those darn stickers. This is one gorgeous pendant, Michelle!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrg_fhHgR5ymmbX57JelX0xwkov2UXO9dAfXggTDvDkVmhHZTqZ91el_q4Dms7WL5gk2736cTEb0g5VB9Izr2RCGZ0Z9fpLQoF0R7L_XCjR5YIuU9gQkmEcpVJ3qHWI4xqbh27ltOU6-ul/s200/Michelle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrg_fhHgR5ymmbX57JelX0xwkov2UXO9dAfXggTDvDkVmhHZTqZ91el_q4Dms7WL5gk2736cTEb0g5VB9Izr2RCGZ0Z9fpLQoF0R7L_XCjR5YIuU9gQkmEcpVJ3qHWI4xqbh27ltOU6-ul/w400-h400/Michelle2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Irith of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> wasn't sure that her offerings fit the theme, but there was no doubt in my mind that they did and more. </p><p>I love this necklace with little silver flowers and it's no stretch to imagine the seeds that those little flowers might make.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREBJr9EwE8fCsHWKlNNGFzmaAevQ6IcUDP_yEj7a4sENVHkuO43fvbypdKHogczw2ziXA8YM3FtoH5DKr0fNdaWr8l9c6HEM74nH6luU7m5BOwQxESdH43oophQCn-dc179774uv-_bjz/s794/Irith1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="794" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREBJr9EwE8fCsHWKlNNGFzmaAevQ6IcUDP_yEj7a4sENVHkuO43fvbypdKHogczw2ziXA8YM3FtoH5DKr0fNdaWr8l9c6HEM74nH6luU7m5BOwQxESdH43oophQCn-dc179774uv-_bjz/w400-h300/Irith1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>And, then Irith went from dainty to big and bold with this beautiful ring. That wonderful stone makes me think of rich and delicious hazel nuts. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UcSjQ5y2I_F7U1p3AD_c_d_xZR4u33cZaVX3dO96uqnHLc5pDhWguhbNehNsPn3VbM75cJ9_87f6nnQQuz7ITiSBBa7JhdLaw89WKtCV2JO_wWNymTE7a_n9nHI0e1XmQNGVDT42fWWe/s1216/Irith2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UcSjQ5y2I_F7U1p3AD_c_d_xZR4u33cZaVX3dO96uqnHLc5pDhWguhbNehNsPn3VbM75cJ9_87f6nnQQuz7ITiSBBa7JhdLaw89WKtCV2JO_wWNymTE7a_n9nHI0e1XmQNGVDT42fWWe/w261-h400/Irith2.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /> And, lastly there were my submissions.<p></p><p>This pendant features a butterfly hovering near a flower. The wing is real (found on a sidewalk) and the body is made from the seed of a wild native grass that grows in my area.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHs8gYgiFJ-UiV6mvTfdATyWrEmu_S9xz7D4zwMtAz-5Gxm2LkmtWEIPtfzzF-0cGIuuPLJ0cjjEuiS9ouIxmpvX4FZAKgFGCnIwH1NW6A1uCnGnAeCxEoXpSifUEAS4LfYg9mvA3qdN_/s800/2AEblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="800" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHs8gYgiFJ-UiV6mvTfdATyWrEmu_S9xz7D4zwMtAz-5Gxm2LkmtWEIPtfzzF-0cGIuuPLJ0cjjEuiS9ouIxmpvX4FZAKgFGCnIwH1NW6A1uCnGnAeCxEoXpSifUEAS4LfYg9mvA3qdN_/w400-h290/2AEblog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Chipmunks love sunflower seeds and this hand painted pendant tries to capture the moment when a little chippy found one of its favorite foods and chowed down while perched on a picket fence.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbJrcUmw45U3PS0dsrk-RyS2nwwHy7z9SucZSOS768vNMYyTkPSf6LrA7hPbhj2X3mkh0n84q_wxfzzeVvLZqVqkwHsJKnvvA_2K4JXaIGKjQYaig6kx5SEjsSdrhGwgkrHRYUOD7M6b2/s200/Dawn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="200" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbJrcUmw45U3PS0dsrk-RyS2nwwHy7z9SucZSOS768vNMYyTkPSf6LrA7hPbhj2X3mkh0n84q_wxfzzeVvLZqVqkwHsJKnvvA_2K4JXaIGKjQYaig6kx5SEjsSdrhGwgkrHRYUOD7M6b2/w320-h312/Dawn2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Thank you for checking out this week's Oldies but Goodies Challenge - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-22526029172485664412020-12-09T09:24:00.000-08:002020-12-09T09:24:39.069-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Mushrooms and Moss<p> The <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> but Goodies Challenge theme this week was "Mushrooms and Moss." Participants were challenged to submit jewelry designs that they made recently or years ago that captured the mushrooms and fungi that show up with the arrival of moist fall weather. The entries are gorgeous and I am thrilled to share them here:</p><p>From Cat of <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a>:</p><p>The whimsy and creativity in this wire woven mushroom complete with woodland fairy swinging underneath is magic:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OGuSqAyZpQX8mOVzTiaLJ_oCg7EwtVhloBDmgcNhZAWLNa98dQR496GnVFITOG4Kcn3ZT2_fud1tVVAM2qyfcYuUCSl3x-gXECV1GonsDwXDUmhtvGBGa9AxYefK6Wiucm3JYa3cBznY/s690/CatFairyMushroom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OGuSqAyZpQX8mOVzTiaLJ_oCg7EwtVhloBDmgcNhZAWLNa98dQR496GnVFITOG4Kcn3ZT2_fud1tVVAM2qyfcYuUCSl3x-gXECV1GonsDwXDUmhtvGBGa9AxYefK6Wiucm3JYa3cBznY/w400-h400/CatFairyMushroom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>And, then Cat turned around and shared this elegant mossy ring with us. Wouldn't that be a great ring to wear to a dinner/cocktail party?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyT8p66HLLTt2d2yl03vh-kGK5xuKwM84qodzud0gXiIffKj23-WQljl5qP_k2YVr2lB3yJRKDvZ1EPkZw8J2lF64P4NdbVWQBEU6b1gpQLhunA9VQHwMYPqpG1kNmggVrGtjm372UBTd/s690/CatMossRing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyT8p66HLLTt2d2yl03vh-kGK5xuKwM84qodzud0gXiIffKj23-WQljl5qP_k2YVr2lB3yJRKDvZ1EPkZw8J2lF64P4NdbVWQBEU6b1gpQLhunA9VQHwMYPqpG1kNmggVrGtjm372UBTd/w400-h400/CatMossRing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Next to share her beauties was Michelle of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/mybijoulife">My Bijou Life</a> with this beautifully wire wrapped and woven cabachon with a pattern reminiscent of mushroom colors. I think I see mushroom shapes in there too! This is such a unique piece - well done, Michelle!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7djdij_5jyGIkv0LVDyUF_qhNn57xzafVv0512X0Op-bDNS1tkq2Ey0bHbG1N-MrCz0taabBnwtQlHGQHBa52TmHLnla9ZPgjTBvO42vO4rZBA0mffbw50zHqHZha_Buezbzdpp1todoj/s200/MichelleMushColors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7djdij_5jyGIkv0LVDyUF_qhNn57xzafVv0512X0Op-bDNS1tkq2Ey0bHbG1N-MrCz0taabBnwtQlHGQHBa52TmHLnla9ZPgjTBvO42vO4rZBA0mffbw50zHqHZha_Buezbzdpp1todoj/w400-h400/MichelleMushColors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Michelle mused that these sweet earring were too blue green to be make us think of moss, but to me they bring to mind a patch of mossy stones under a big blue sky.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBgHTtrx-H_0_rNGRTxkBx31ytUd8qbVfai9429pSNrAgg6ccg34BfrPco8hlwUFmWZ22TqiZHDMTyNBJUVl-mFYMmx9U87sb0JyAGmXCplwzgG1VU7NvQJNUVhBAUdeLGdfJYdOfo71F/s200/MichelleMossEarrings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBgHTtrx-H_0_rNGRTxkBx31ytUd8qbVfai9429pSNrAgg6ccg34BfrPco8hlwUFmWZ22TqiZHDMTyNBJUVl-mFYMmx9U87sb0JyAGmXCplwzgG1VU7NvQJNUVhBAUdeLGdfJYdOfo71F/w400-h400/MichelleMossEarrings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Irith of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> never disappoints and she thrilled us again with these lovely domed earrings that immediately brought to mind the shape of mushrooms. Not only that, but the gems stones she chose to use are the perfect representations of Mushrooms and Moss. Thank you so much, Irith!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJLDT5oYSMTsJgnY9h4qppiTsBxpXBCKrdi11jdu3shjZ8AakModinwHxchXHEzCYmn7K5uD6LGnTWhAjhSfIfYAhNRpA31VmouONwVUcgj4tatiWBdM0eaa2bU-tQjuQ876Q3vzTmNtD/s1058/IrithMushEarrings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJLDT5oYSMTsJgnY9h4qppiTsBxpXBCKrdi11jdu3shjZ8AakModinwHxchXHEzCYmn7K5uD6LGnTWhAjhSfIfYAhNRpA31VmouONwVUcgj4tatiWBdM0eaa2bU-tQjuQ876Q3vzTmNtD/w300-h400/IrithMushEarrings.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6y6iNQQRHdNCsCzQJ6qohU5Tm6mcs38XFxNFSJ5Gdt1oMlcqaP7br4wI7noENop_gMZtC3vAhgK06qrtsjRspRhFKL0krGJHfxE61aaeK3jAOXGNLAXaFkCvjUNNeu-bEX7LZcs0Hl1f/s794/IrithMossEarrings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="794" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6y6iNQQRHdNCsCzQJ6qohU5Tm6mcs38XFxNFSJ5Gdt1oMlcqaP7br4wI7noENop_gMZtC3vAhgK06qrtsjRspRhFKL0krGJHfxE61aaeK3jAOXGNLAXaFkCvjUNNeu-bEX7LZcs0Hl1f/w400-h300/IrithMossEarrings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Dawn of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelryartbydawn/">Jewelry Art by Dawn</a> (me) chose to submit this hand painted mushroom pendant...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_vorY4PCJ7pxPzAG_216jpMZnFvd5Pk9VxGPuSlKh-qqRiSNiEcWQIwFTn0ySR1imdRXziMKqJ-2fkGh0ai-wMfOaGYbW6ae58f926USBeQ69V9CUR9G_BTXM7075aC64PT7IjMemmNI/s457/DawnMush.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="457" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_vorY4PCJ7pxPzAG_216jpMZnFvd5Pk9VxGPuSlKh-qqRiSNiEcWQIwFTn0ySR1imdRXziMKqJ-2fkGh0ai-wMfOaGYbW6ae58f926USBeQ69V9CUR9G_BTXM7075aC64PT7IjMemmNI/w400-h373/DawnMush.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4Kx4ktmo5ADrxms1UqqN5QPfgjTInaiK1HO0Cq5lMemJGoZLZFP9v4sphdlD-la3DfIOUdigAzW_WodWx1zuui00X0Ijpsz9J_w-dJEqMTP0gJB364rPJaMJUFk2tpoTOcwvXsGxvoty/s200/DawnMushEarrings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="200" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4Kx4ktmo5ADrxms1UqqN5QPfgjTInaiK1HO0Cq5lMemJGoZLZFP9v4sphdlD-la3DfIOUdigAzW_WodWx1zuui00X0Ijpsz9J_w-dJEqMTP0gJB364rPJaMJUFk2tpoTOcwvXsGxvoty/w400-h374/DawnMushEarrings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's always interesting to see how different artists interpret a theme and this week was no exception; I hope you enjoyed seeing these lovely takes on "Mushrooms and Moss".<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-82635668725844316992020-11-21T15:07:00.000-08:002020-11-21T15:07:38.199-08:00Oldies but Goodies - Fall Colors, 11/15/20<p> At the Jewelry Artisans Community some of our members participate in a weekly "Oldies but Goodies" challenge. Participants are encouraged to go through their stash and post photos that pertain
to the theme. It can be something they made yesterday or something they
made five years ago. For many of us it is a fun trip down memory lane and for others we are seeing the shared items for the first time. Either way, it is fun and kind of magical.</p><p>The theme for the week ending 11/15/20 was fall colors and our members did not disappoint.</p><p>From Cat of <a href="https://www.catswire.com/">Cat's Wire</a>, we had this gorgeous wire woven pendant:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K3nyvdMnWyYFnFNXluweOs-Gdrec3swIDYNkdJBEggEiqB1_9C_Y19ks7nQusCtysfWSCvr39dGzmEtGlwhx1pGy5Nzavv-UGUG92eJAMlC3i0ZaA1HJ8TO7YxyMn8PKHh2wUFYqQSaB/s690/CatFall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K3nyvdMnWyYFnFNXluweOs-Gdrec3swIDYNkdJBEggEiqB1_9C_Y19ks7nQusCtysfWSCvr39dGzmEtGlwhx1pGy5Nzavv-UGUG92eJAMlC3i0ZaA1HJ8TO7YxyMn8PKHh2wUFYqQSaB/w400-h400/CatFall1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>And, this stunning beaded cuff.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu61qbq7q8gICAWfAjLiQZvEOX2iU8jEhL3ZPJiEMcrNlGyeEjEMzgBRBk2rscn82W_GMnfbdJL6GGPvybSYLigKkiWO0YDUgLn3SdjsO4iiAXPz8QtMM_QzQJ8GuUW-JCkibSMclfqG0/s690/CatFall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu61qbq7q8gICAWfAjLiQZvEOX2iU8jEhL3ZPJiEMcrNlGyeEjEMzgBRBk2rscn82W_GMnfbdJL6GGPvybSYLigKkiWO0YDUgLn3SdjsO4iiAXPz8QtMM_QzQJ8GuUW-JCkibSMclfqG0/w400-h400/CatFall2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Irith of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita/">Riorita Jewelry</a> shared these beautiful examples of her uniquely organic style. I'd recognize Irith's work anywhere.<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYXuxZxtsHkMyyAwoqmPUu2QnW7VMmNClqxPIMhvKXmOY2hfFB6LV4HIprBkcy7Xyqv_ZKgkcfHu9ugvwtEC4KOQKYvAm2V7HOjoZ7Fki8ntg0tAvcHcxY06wv0n5uLBG7QfWOpJC1iPW/s953/IrithFall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYXuxZxtsHkMyyAwoqmPUu2QnW7VMmNClqxPIMhvKXmOY2hfFB6LV4HIprBkcy7Xyqv_ZKgkcfHu9ugvwtEC4KOQKYvAm2V7HOjoZ7Fki8ntg0tAvcHcxY06wv0n5uLBG7QfWOpJC1iPW/w334-h400/IrithFall1.jpg" width="334" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGJXVh4DffoOK4qQSUVor_57TqwBRKFJHv2FTtkZlTctfcvA_K_tAS4xORFHuxXb02Y-AkXtxATnlLGDusntOJYlE1V2gySJV9E4pk2SyUdXX16jpgS-wEXJi4loaAQvrFQ59EtIm7bQ_/s1059/IrithFall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGJXVh4DffoOK4qQSUVor_57TqwBRKFJHv2FTtkZlTctfcvA_K_tAS4xORFHuxXb02Y-AkXtxATnlLGDusntOJYlE1V2gySJV9E4pk2SyUdXX16jpgS-wEXJi4loaAQvrFQ59EtIm7bQ_/w300-h400/IrithFall2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This three strand seed bead bracelet and these lovely dangly earrings by Michelle of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/mybijoulife">My Bijou Life</a>really captured fall colors.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU-rBW63F23K8yNPnUyrGMoq035uo1cFvJWKOzA3_qxN0HlawO39ciQbkx8befQ6gbZ2WjD251vFFHT9dQnj7vJ5PvtR0Wu1e3s8Xa_Z-HdYQXF0MjBunAj2INcGUZ71AHMFlxfCayx0X/s1200/MichelleFall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="1200" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU-rBW63F23K8yNPnUyrGMoq035uo1cFvJWKOzA3_qxN0HlawO39ciQbkx8befQ6gbZ2WjD251vFFHT9dQnj7vJ5PvtR0Wu1e3s8Xa_Z-HdYQXF0MjBunAj2INcGUZ71AHMFlxfCayx0X/w400-h365/MichelleFall1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ryA9sprCjJrXP0cfLSTJYO8Yvmtj-jahExSB3HLEWMS1gwGx9orYT72VOzGRtOxvg7IFj1QePDc0L3KBsbV0w8Pwv7EAJ-PoozhNxD-ccyyxr9mJWzo3dIZk0uTahK3vBaTPWHUCbdTo/s1280/MichelleFall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ryA9sprCjJrXP0cfLSTJYO8Yvmtj-jahExSB3HLEWMS1gwGx9orYT72VOzGRtOxvg7IFj1QePDc0L3KBsbV0w8Pwv7EAJ-PoozhNxD-ccyyxr9mJWzo3dIZk0uTahK3vBaTPWHUCbdTo/w400-h400/MichelleFall2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>And, bringing up the rear, I ( <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelryartbydawn/">Jewelry Art by Dawn</a> ) submitted this painted wood beads necklace...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkd2yxIlPDaD_Tbp7fEQW5XmZu-1opKY9JnlCu8IzwtpCnGBlFOz_OQ0vWQOQDZPvpioVw2_4HPGTJZ6j7DhQqB9MoURiq42zYoUmj1VbJ5UXrFIx7LuYsg71-wWVMsS5weCdxL1OP61V/s432/FallDawn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="432" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkd2yxIlPDaD_Tbp7fEQW5XmZu-1opKY9JnlCu8IzwtpCnGBlFOz_OQ0vWQOQDZPvpioVw2_4HPGTJZ6j7DhQqB9MoURiq42zYoUmj1VbJ5UXrFIx7LuYsg71-wWVMsS5weCdxL1OP61V/w400-h388/FallDawn1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />...and, a real autumn leaf preserved in resin pendant.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SSUcQVFrzwTDgLLRr8wRO_Jfzwr0W7X5XmhDfGfD91XST19hqDz1blz1wEoTbXPwEIsREZMRKJ-BSdm_LtkFxLLi-aVWpQZrgU0ZpDSc1473eIgh7q3MZib3QPDtTCDgQFWeH3ajaJ4O/s800/FallDawn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="800" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SSUcQVFrzwTDgLLRr8wRO_Jfzwr0W7X5XmhDfGfD91XST19hqDz1blz1wEoTbXPwEIsREZMRKJ-BSdm_LtkFxLLi-aVWpQZrgU0ZpDSc1473eIgh7q3MZib3QPDtTCDgQFWeH3ajaJ4O/w400-h398/FallDawn2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This is my favorite time of year and I truly enjoyed seeing all of these fantastic creations from such talented members. Thank you all for participating in our challenge - it was a treat!<br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-14466186253070892622020-10-31T23:54:00.000-07:002020-10-31T23:55:25.176-07:00Holiday Jewelry<p> This month's <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a><span style="font-size: small;"> Blog Hop is about holiday themed jewelry - do we make it or not? I'll be right up front - not very often. I'm not sure why, but holiday jewelry has never really been on my radar. I don't have anything in particular against it; I even own a few fun pairs of holiday earrings, but I'd rather spend my time making things that can be worn year around, not just for a few days around holiday time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"> After, I typed the above, I gave this topic more thought and I realized that when I think of holiday jewelry, my mind naturally thinks of Christmas jewelry. As I'm not a big fan of Christmas, it makes sense to me that I'm not into making Christmas jewelry. I just feel like Christmas expectations put too much pressure on people and it's often not a fun time for many.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"> Now, a holiday I do enjoy is Halloween and looking in my stash, I came across all sorts of Halloween jewelry I've made over the years. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"> Spooky Spider Webs:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_jWAh6suSqHvPYe4qPEfSFw49mGuDqyqQJieAcQjq9B2z_LjpQSYUDCu55GFDL9ZM1666zW5ArFi72wEu5FmPIB5lWxr8m5WSOfpRqXXvwp8W_4C8iYJGyY8q9DRowlgfeSzmgPtasIQ/s1200/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="1200" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_jWAh6suSqHvPYe4qPEfSFw49mGuDqyqQJieAcQjq9B2z_LjpQSYUDCu55GFDL9ZM1666zW5ArFi72wEu5FmPIB5lWxr8m5WSOfpRqXXvwp8W_4C8iYJGyY8q9DRowlgfeSzmgPtasIQ/w400-h316/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />And, colorful webs too!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQ2uzrgrNzJmwYz-ZgDccklLPq4GwiZIuLZ1HTN9HQxOPn8HF9jtW0Vvhdi8qsVOyAqejP9oKUpAmCZmlqV0MXmhmLRfKc7DNrRBQCqGTXsI5GOzMPwZb7VFWG0U3HEdPfK3AXCElhECV/s600/JAC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQ2uzrgrNzJmwYz-ZgDccklLPq4GwiZIuLZ1HTN9HQxOPn8HF9jtW0Vvhdi8qsVOyAqejP9oKUpAmCZmlqV0MXmhmLRfKc7DNrRBQCqGTXsI5GOzMPwZb7VFWG0U3HEdPfK3AXCElhECV/w400-h300/JAC1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Dangly ghosts...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvLS3hTBSTDRqJRlmJtuaX-fej9IbJtmqlkhu72Dp4zQqaOauW4rMTFDHuQw-eTaO8onGOVdEHdHs2BoNxZkwj6oTFAzUsfn067w-P598eioivBOrPKwUWWsLtWqkCSmOakYF9L8vHbEq/s1000/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="788" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvLS3hTBSTDRqJRlmJtuaX-fej9IbJtmqlkhu72Dp4zQqaOauW4rMTFDHuQw-eTaO8onGOVdEHdHs2BoNxZkwj6oTFAzUsfn067w-P598eioivBOrPKwUWWsLtWqkCSmOakYF9L8vHbEq/w315-h400/5.jpg" width="315" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> A sugar skull... <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAPdaZMF57pExeVUPmd4TaoFa1elccK0GqImSXQbUr36inbZub-cz2O1-CrDt4Afj4HAtGQsbBhAyWOCTV-A7Vxy9GqJqjxRnaBCMjYoqpHjsBWIk3CictjjTUMbK99Ul5ALlvZY68vyq/s500/1jac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="500" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAPdaZMF57pExeVUPmd4TaoFa1elccK0GqImSXQbUr36inbZub-cz2O1-CrDt4Afj4HAtGQsbBhAyWOCTV-A7Vxy9GqJqjxRnaBCMjYoqpHjsBWIk3CictjjTUMbK99Ul5ALlvZY68vyq/w400-h353/1jac.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"> ...and, tiny skulls...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6GnqNtMmp_ptzUDvnPnwzSHMP4pWLQXoEJoP6Ti0wCL3H9swNQ-KQKBcADMyPdUJbHa9cXYueJ_TWyRSMI8AHRce9LMOpIugCyTxA2ytg3NxPa1wsxBxEvAGJDJwus4-bYlwerikyade/s1000/3e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6GnqNtMmp_ptzUDvnPnwzSHMP4pWLQXoEJoP6Ti0wCL3H9swNQ-KQKBcADMyPdUJbHa9cXYueJ_TWyRSMI8AHRce9LMOpIugCyTxA2ytg3NxPa1wsxBxEvAGJDJwus4-bYlwerikyade/w400-h400/3e.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>...along with primitive skulls!<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKKJMkf8lgnd9j2DlHUw7eJKfRqS6DMreG3VIxDgmLRhPoZ7gu2fAPtp-t_k97plGiAF3pQHV9uqhyphenhyphenXrz39KeI3L38mjaewDS1wDuLAJ-qdXSc_sw0Z5huVWC9KuaHiVvtzZHLJM3Odvy/s1000/4e+use+this+one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKKJMkf8lgnd9j2DlHUw7eJKfRqS6DMreG3VIxDgmLRhPoZ7gu2fAPtp-t_k97plGiAF3pQHV9uqhyphenhyphenXrz39KeI3L38mjaewDS1wDuLAJ-qdXSc_sw0Z5huVWC9KuaHiVvtzZHLJM3Odvy/w400-h400/4e+use+this+one.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>There is also simple black and orange... </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82Jqbc9B6gHaF3ZXMp6Nn6B8ZwfbjheB2gCUGaoMzXVNWErW4StegEiryUnNVOzAU1akFUSMvbg8BdG5TXEFzdm8xIXpPv7Gu1mN-a6A8JU3Mtxg36ecOPFviRvCxpOOF-E0GCX_D3KJQ/s2130/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2130" data-original-width="2128" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82Jqbc9B6gHaF3ZXMp6Nn6B8ZwfbjheB2gCUGaoMzXVNWErW4StegEiryUnNVOzAU1akFUSMvbg8BdG5TXEFzdm8xIXpPv7Gu1mN-a6A8JU3Mtxg36ecOPFviRvCxpOOF-E0GCX_D3KJQ/w400-h400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>...sort of friendly ghosts...<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66CVrf1G0ZMMX8RCE86I_pd_69cjc62WKQPG7mYDICCiJEisbBseoGZQJg39S7MyiXSh8Yxi1_6mhRpx_zyd1W_byyJXnsR3fH38S9-Xea5Ve6v1C8Hb-gH9u3fhqmYgPaL674DWEsMf_/s800/1JacGhosts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="800" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66CVrf1G0ZMMX8RCE86I_pd_69cjc62WKQPG7mYDICCiJEisbBseoGZQJg39S7MyiXSh8Yxi1_6mhRpx_zyd1W_byyJXnsR3fH38S9-Xea5Ve6v1C8Hb-gH9u3fhqmYgPaL674DWEsMf_/w400-h361/1JacGhosts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM9KmoVyBw4UBrODwS1OFO5ciwMfRcc9yGGgZJ0R-LcfCDR42Y47XRWqQiLoHmOKcbY2GK_8shyphenhyphenoyVBy9N1JfHHB94OsMO9exKnYe_ua1-vXHeJXP3fn3KwKx5wSE4m1MKgMFzbTgVzZS/s800/1JacGhosts2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM9KmoVyBw4UBrODwS1OFO5ciwMfRcc9yGGgZJ0R-LcfCDR42Y47XRWqQiLoHmOKcbY2GK_8shyphenhyphenoyVBy9N1JfHHB94OsMO9exKnYe_ua1-vXHeJXP3fn3KwKx5wSE4m1MKgMFzbTgVzZS/w400-h360/1JacGhosts2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>...and, last, but not least this cute little bat.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogm_AgmFtt-Sf7FeesbPfnT3NOH7SHuq6d0qRZoW_qk_VNNfRjNlQdGZtF00Q79ErEF9K8A89sVvW4pv7-15c8dnHR7kz6l75mR_knyOrkVr0zwfJ5oncmiAoRVBddUrZRzWqoDeATcx_/s581/Bat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="581" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogm_AgmFtt-Sf7FeesbPfnT3NOH7SHuq6d0qRZoW_qk_VNNfRjNlQdGZtF00Q79ErEF9K8A89sVvW4pv7-15c8dnHR7kz6l75mR_knyOrkVr0zwfJ5oncmiAoRVBddUrZRzWqoDeATcx_/w400-h286/Bat2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hmmmm...I guess I do like to make holiday jewelry. As long as it's Halloween jewelry!</p><p>To see what the other participants of the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about making holiday jewelry, please click on the links below:</p><p><a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=3375280&u=https%3A//catswire.blogspot.com/2020/10/holiday-jewelry-and-decorations.html">Cat's Wire</a><br /></p><p><br /></p>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-55888224923218973012020-08-30T14:15:00.001-07:002020-08-30T23:58:33.065-07:00Selling vs Creating - July/August 2020<p>The July/August <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> Blog Carnival is about whether or not we sacrifice our artistic integrity by selling our designs.</p><p>While I sold my work locally in a couple of small galleries, I resisted online selling for several years because of my concerns that I'd start churning out assembly line work in the hopes of sales or that I'd find myself making things that I hated because it was popular with buyers or that I'd end up following every trend that came along in order to make sales. It's a heady feeling to have perfect strangers buy one's work over the internet and it's hard to resist that excitement.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZudoZL3MTtKAXvwXwDlyu5bzUkeGAGAxPDfgbvafNNZQMi6-O-a_HDtGhQi942laXGvMC9blxvzxa9sD32CydC3Hm7GjkJ-qr80eip4hxBGg-Hb-3NcXAK2sMENNIDIEKqvIVUCHfe5z/s1500/1dis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZudoZL3MTtKAXvwXwDlyu5bzUkeGAGAxPDfgbvafNNZQMi6-O-a_HDtGhQi942laXGvMC9blxvzxa9sD32CydC3Hm7GjkJ-qr80eip4hxBGg-Hb-3NcXAK2sMENNIDIEKqvIVUCHfe5z/w512-h512/1dis.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><p>As it has turned out, I don't believe that I've changed how I do things because I'm selling my products. I still make things I like or that I enjoy making. I use colors that aren't trending and I create designs based on the inspiration I find all around me. I don't like to get stuck using one particular type of material or doing the same kind of technique over and over which means there is a little bit of everything in my shop from wire work to little original paintings to resin to macrame. Some would say my shop lacks cohesiveness, but what can I say, I like variety.</p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih61O4miTuryn3zbMv_9SC9tbA4KVefEt7xEl-yVw52sXmWA7soVis23WWrFPA33lN5hCUjarClgztzp2eRLtYsl-dUUf8R1VITHDL8StqgMfoa6OLC2sCPWo6u-TDz4xI4U-zsJvTo0sb/s2000/bluenet1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="2000" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih61O4miTuryn3zbMv_9SC9tbA4KVefEt7xEl-yVw52sXmWA7soVis23WWrFPA33lN5hCUjarClgztzp2eRLtYsl-dUUf8R1VITHDL8StqgMfoa6OLC2sCPWo6u-TDz4xI4U-zsJvTo0sb/w512-h510/bluenet1.jpg" width="512" /></a></p><p>I laugh about it now, but back when I started out, I was convinced my jewelry was going to be the next big thing and that my Etsy shop would be so wildly popular that I'd have difficulty keeping up. Because that didn't happen, I've never really had to confront the selling vs creating question. Sure, I can write about it and talk about it all day long, but if I'm brutally honest with myself, I don't know how I would juggle artistic integrity with high demand.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgH1pqkRUF31TZWQPJivixbka4xhHf87PV0hyphenhyphen7p_tDEeEV2M4xwPR70eox4E8MqT8aZXB-uIHZLmWIg-D8-xuIHeAPd6puWc5IN5aRepqRHsGGmA5Qeo1FWHXyLc3xVXTNg93YwTDHZgY/s2000/anklet2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1641" data-original-width="2000" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgH1pqkRUF31TZWQPJivixbka4xhHf87PV0hyphenhyphen7p_tDEeEV2M4xwPR70eox4E8MqT8aZXB-uIHZLmWIg-D8-xuIHeAPd6puWc5IN5aRepqRHsGGmA5Qeo1FWHXyLc3xVXTNg93YwTDHZgY/w512-h420/anklet2.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br />Would I stay true to my artistic self and produce relatively few designs over a period of time or would I opt for easy and quick to make designs that I could turn out in high numbers? That is the question so many wrestle with. I like to think that I would choose the first option and limit myself to selling what I could produce at my own pace while still creating unique and one of a kind pieces. But...then the temptation of selling and making money from my art rears it's head. What to do? What to do?<p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmOTE0s_N5BBa4Bv-UWRZoGVtX5nZbNS_4wM9BtRZgDCeFLNDPLrcWSNcYRQcFIhoSg0WpRWvCRszcsjpgp0B1YEqnbhZv_JEeNR1pipWf0QuLAzZM1Mucsj0-4KjwZ9vJEvKWtXJ6mq6/s800/3j.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="800" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmOTE0s_N5BBa4Bv-UWRZoGVtX5nZbNS_4wM9BtRZgDCeFLNDPLrcWSNcYRQcFIhoSg0WpRWvCRszcsjpgp0B1YEqnbhZv_JEeNR1pipWf0QuLAzZM1Mucsj0-4KjwZ9vJEvKWtXJ6mq6/w512-h438/3j.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I've come to the conclusion, that for me, an acceptable compromise is to spend part of my time making those easy and quick to make best selling designs while also allowing myself to spend an equal or greater amount of time making those things I love to make and that got me into making jewelry in the first place. Whether it's turning a fall leaf into a pendant, using some quirky found item in a design, wrapping a stone in some sort of free style wire wrap or learning a new technique, I could no more give up that part of my art than I could give up breathing. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPre9vfeGAXwYC2RvhkuKlJEYD-lo3r9adPEev-LqIcQwvnI9jx0crehmxHQh6znuVDhSxD33f9d4e_YJLUsxp2E7PyE6icZ2ZWXMNZPBOL5yTV1W5bld9CUy0hQSpycFJMyK988aOFRcy/s800/1JACHeartChallenge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="800" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPre9vfeGAXwYC2RvhkuKlJEYD-lo3r9adPEev-LqIcQwvnI9jx0crehmxHQh6znuVDhSxD33f9d4e_YJLUsxp2E7PyE6icZ2ZWXMNZPBOL5yTV1W5bld9CUy0hQSpycFJMyK988aOFRcy/w512-h430/1JACHeartChallenge.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><p></p><p>Even though I'm not a high selling jewelry artist, I feel I have the best of both worlds. I sell just enough to buy the supplies and tools I need and that allows me to continue to pursue the ideas in my head and to continue to grow as an artist. I also think it's important to recognize that there is no right or wrong answer to this question. Each of us must decide what works best for us, what makes us happy and what we feel is a workable solution,</p><p>To see what the other participants of this blog carnival have to say on the subject, please click on the links below:</p><p><a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=3375280&u=https%3A//mybijoulifeonline.com/%7Ebijoube2/selling-versus-creating-full-circle/">My Bijou Life</a> </p><p><a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=3375280&u=https%3A//catswire.blogspot.com/2020/08/selling-and-creating.html">Cat's Wire</a> </p><p> </p><p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQrbehPYaLAMtdLMWzoK98Pr37XparHZajW-YKZvH-CsDGBYmzdM5V_Kt5U9z5y43MRI4k2FyL4wbNOn1pGuEFXkoSPHsbDz4PhaVxe61SrDqQ0IN7egdSBsL2VouChoAaHkZ363EPeLF/s800/3j.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-4855207877065546972020-06-30T07:47:00.001-07:002020-06-30T07:47:30.786-07:00Photography - May/June 2020The May/June blog hop for the <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> is about photography. Specifically, how we photograph our jewelry.<br />
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My jewelry photos have definitely evolved over the years. They've gone from out of focus, reflecting the glare of a flash and poorly composed photos to fairly well composed, well lighted and in focus. There is room for improvement, but I'm mostly satisfied with the quality of my jewelry photos these days.<br />
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I use a Cannon Power Shot SX720 to take my photos. I'm very pleased with the Power Shot; it not only does a good job for close up work, but it takes terrific photos of landscapes, wildlife, people and even action shots. With it's powerful zoom I can even get photos full of lots of detail from far away. It's said that taking good pictures isn't so much the camera as it is the person using the camera and I believe this. I've seen stunning photos taken with a smart phone camera and lousy photos that have been taken with a high end, expensive camera. What I think is really important is to learn how your camera works (both it's strengths and weaknesses), study lighting in various scenarios, work on composition and practice, practice, practice.<br />
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My current set up is to take photos in a corner of my kitchen where a west facing window and a south facing window meet in a sort of 'L' shape. The light is filtered by the over hanging eaves, and thanks to the eaves, I never have to work in direct sun. Using this location, the window of opportunity to take the best photos is between 11:00a.m. and 2:00p.m., when the sun is high in the sky and isn't making deep shadows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyusdSwKWTEHRfVVpCw6ECG6uB3vioi6FSNIDK1tTQ4SFfo4GjLQBcRLmMeaDZxlZJuzFX75-00zhx08mG9rLgaQS0UKw7M7aVJoW4aazZWn_a036H5m5ICEUlrgKP9Us6JVdLmYDPY5Rh/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="962" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyusdSwKWTEHRfVVpCw6ECG6uB3vioi6FSNIDK1tTQ4SFfo4GjLQBcRLmMeaDZxlZJuzFX75-00zhx08mG9rLgaQS0UKw7M7aVJoW4aazZWn_a036H5m5ICEUlrgKP9Us6JVdLmYDPY5Rh/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I use three large pieces of foam board as background and to reflect the light. I put one piece of foam board on the counter and lean two of them against the window. The reason for two pieces of board against the window is because I find that the light coming in from outside shines through one piece of board, but two is enough to block it out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWD0Qc1RGT5b6HJASa8Mj63eeQFT7TWI15rn8kyriu2fEuW_VDsyOHjDQNjnJVj1z6pLxKFUwmRWA-lp18W9mdQwflaKShODvrORp7j8mDPxPpNP2VpkayhayUHV_TtxGU5Tet_cZy6RK/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1000" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWD0Qc1RGT5b6HJASa8Mj63eeQFT7TWI15rn8kyriu2fEuW_VDsyOHjDQNjnJVj1z6pLxKFUwmRWA-lp18W9mdQwflaKShODvrORp7j8mDPxPpNP2VpkayhayUHV_TtxGU5Tet_cZy6RK/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Laying on top of the bottom foam board is a piece of off white textured scrap booking paper. I gave up long ago on having bright white backgrounds which are difficult to achieve as they often have either a bluish, yellowish or grayish tint. Instead, I favor having a bit of texture to give visual interest to my photos without creating a distraction that takes attention away from the jewelry which is the main subject of the photos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0lzq7-TUO-bmeYvl0m19SDNgDloffiSDBeVQ3FW3QzXNKfmzHNYkSmhs6m_LvDuXfu6Z6p5453rFhsQTtKfzWGJXGjfR27QsvOanPzEaGeqNyKWl4svRsdiFOooBf6ZZUo-Ldi9V2vWp/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0lzq7-TUO-bmeYvl0m19SDNgDloffiSDBeVQ3FW3QzXNKfmzHNYkSmhs6m_LvDuXfu6Z6p5453rFhsQTtKfzWGJXGjfR27QsvOanPzEaGeqNyKWl4svRsdiFOooBf6ZZUo-Ldi9V2vWp/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next, I usually place a small prop on top of the textured paper. It could be a piece of coral as pictured here, a rock, a piece of wood or a white plate. There is a great deal of debate among jewelry photographers about the use of props. Some feel that they create busy backgrounds that distract from the item that is being showcased, while others feel that they enhance the photos and tell a story. I happen to love props, but I always keep in mind that they should be something simple and I avoid the temptation to go overboard with props. In this case, I'm using a piece of white coral as a backdrop for a pair of earrings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrBw77EsTEN0G8Q4ov4qhUF9jhFsIwgpwcrTaQJsfFcHOsxzSupGU7-yJLXvD8-ziXGiHlm88Wr9qOueu4BS4eyyjQhk6gEiTLroRgyXdBXvGVC4lPm7L3fE3zufN7RfOdqSP_5PLELVo/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrBw77EsTEN0G8Q4ov4qhUF9jhFsIwgpwcrTaQJsfFcHOsxzSupGU7-yJLXvD8-ziXGiHlm88Wr9qOueu4BS4eyyjQhk6gEiTLroRgyXdBXvGVC4lPm7L3fE3zufN7RfOdqSP_5PLELVo/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When taking photos of small items such as these earrings I use the macro mode on my camera and get in as close as possible to the subject. The camera lens is no more than an inch or two from the item being photographed and I take several shots from many different angles. The end result is a close-up shot that is clear and shows all of the detail in the earrings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XVEdQF-knsWvon8asntzkyaA7fvy_4Z6BbF3RBm05IAS2kPGPlWEIjtMf68OQsEtg8niywQRFYZNFDHn32YngzG3dqDfHpnpYgVO9LSV0EO3z3Vdj0xC5bINAeRO22YXNCwCxOE5po9e/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1200" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XVEdQF-knsWvon8asntzkyaA7fvy_4Z6BbF3RBm05IAS2kPGPlWEIjtMf68OQsEtg8niywQRFYZNFDHn32YngzG3dqDfHpnpYgVO9LSV0EO3z3Vdj0xC5bINAeRO22YXNCwCxOE5po9e/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QS8TBgeNL2Aa_Fj_7NoWNpmJEzD6141Dx2hsPPJLzoT8s0FUUMUzdcZCS3YMnQlWifa8X9j57XxRIexCQSEnwLuze9-r7fiUULcmGa2WqN6qJqkK-aF7OkT0ffCUhkKIwx1nRXtveG1q/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1000" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QS8TBgeNL2Aa_Fj_7NoWNpmJEzD6141Dx2hsPPJLzoT8s0FUUMUzdcZCS3YMnQlWifa8X9j57XxRIexCQSEnwLuze9-r7fiUULcmGa2WqN6qJqkK-aF7OkT0ffCUhkKIwx1nRXtveG1q/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When photographing earrings, I also want to show what they look like hanging in order to give people an idea what they would look like being worn. A white coffee mug makes a good prop for this purpose.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZ4rAJqz4w_SpvzRqc7UL_MSnTohp82y0VlrMT_eS05dTXqOQrjHsueBWSaHpDq3x_9VnE2cOaYbH7qzOOdsSz6wnn3VBMROAmSEf8uSmB3-DXrpzpfXnaPKgAfYXVgvhqkWiokpaFeM5/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZ4rAJqz4w_SpvzRqc7UL_MSnTohp82y0VlrMT_eS05dTXqOQrjHsueBWSaHpDq3x_9VnE2cOaYbH7qzOOdsSz6wnn3VBMROAmSEf8uSmB3-DXrpzpfXnaPKgAfYXVgvhqkWiokpaFeM5/s400/9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Again, I get in as close as possible with my camera:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0_Niume1j0Gzai0C8cnGkDYShp6QH38VRBfER8IaTY5Kk89uVWcCtFsJXpF47cpD1YqHss_UXsulIgm2xuHJZqwMZVdTrSsn7ObdaUim7yOM91RFVVGbP-L3KqA3xbuNYU-3YqSTk8CJ/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0_Niume1j0Gzai0C8cnGkDYShp6QH38VRBfER8IaTY5Kk89uVWcCtFsJXpF47cpD1YqHss_UXsulIgm2xuHJZqwMZVdTrSsn7ObdaUim7yOM91RFVVGbP-L3KqA3xbuNYU-3YqSTk8CJ/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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At this point, I will often crop my photo to remove distractions such as the line where my foam boards meet, to take out most of the mug and to focus attention on the jewelry:<br />
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A tripod is a valuable tool to use when taking photographs as it eliminates camera shake which is often responsible for out of focus photos. I use a gorillapod mini. It's small, easy to put into most any position and prices start around $25. They are also cute, colorful and fun!<br />
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When it comes to editing, there is also some debate about that. Some photographers feel that photos should be published as is and that editing is a form of cheating. Personally, as long as the item being photographed remains true to it's real life appearance, I think editing is a valuable tool. I use a free online editing program called <a href="https://www.befunky.com/">BeFunky</a> and I'm quite happy with the site. There is also a pay version that includes many more features than the free version. <br />
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My photo editing is mostly limited to cropping, resizing, brightening and adjusting colors. I also like to use the sharpening tool. When editing, I think it's important not to over edit; the idea is to simply enhance the photo just enough that it's the best photo it can be. If that can't be done with minimal editing, it's time to take more photos.<br />
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Overall, I very much enjoy taking photos, both of jewelry and of things I see while going about my days. When I look back at photos I took a few years ago, it's really quite rewarding to see how much progress I've made with improving my skills. I look forward to continuing to improve as I try new techniques and learn new skills.<br />
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To see what the other participants of this months blog carnival have to say about photography, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="https://catswire.blogspot.com/2020/06/light-tents-and-cat-hair-and-shadows.html">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-42369916264719005042020-06-20T13:31:00.002-07:002020-12-10T22:44:41.635-08:00Making Yogurt at Home <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Plastic. Yes, all those empty plastic yogurt containers and my
desire to reduce the amount of plastic consumption in my household is
what first led me to attempt making yogurt. Those containers seemed to
multiply by the day. I saved some to use when making jewelry, to hold
paint or glue or water to wash out paintbrushes. Some of them held stray beads.
Others were used for food storage. But, still they came. The area where I live does not have a recycling program and I had to do
something to stem the tide.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72m-5Ik3S0HPesK6m0yYrFarMI5sPQUEm1nvxzj-SSpVcW7adZFKInJ6egkoQJakoOqyNxLalSKx8TQiWlQHVrpGXby5CSMFE6cls4yZGYMayBRXJaTE33RgqcTU0-3vz9GtW_TLm7bTW/s1600/16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1000" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72m-5Ik3S0HPesK6m0yYrFarMI5sPQUEm1nvxzj-SSpVcW7adZFKInJ6egkoQJakoOqyNxLalSKx8TQiWlQHVrpGXby5CSMFE6cls4yZGYMayBRXJaTE33RgqcTU0-3vz9GtW_TLm7bTW/s400/16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I
checked out recipes on the internet and came across a few that called
for making yogurt in a crock pot. After trying a crock pot recipe, I started wondering why I couldn't just use a heated bowl. I tried it and that worked great without all the bother of getting the crockpot out. My first attempts at making yogurt were not exactly
what I had in mind; the yogurt was too thin and runny, but it tasted
good. So, I kept at it, learning from each batch I made, trying new
things and am now at the point that I am thrilled with the results. The
texture, thickness and flavor have surpassed any expectations I started
out with.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It is not hard to make. It is actually
surprisingly easy although it does require some time, but most of that
is for culturing the yogurt and does not require anything from the
person making the yogurt other than waiting. I find it to be a very
interesting and rewarding endeavor and I hope that if you decide to try
making yogurt, you think so too.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Besides reducing your
use of plastic, making your own yogurt gives you control over the
ingredients that go into your yogurt. It will also save you money.
Your yogurt will have a lovely tang, not that sour flavor so often found
in commercially produced yogurt that has to be covered with loads of
sweetener to be edible.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">You will need the following ingredients to make your yogurt:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">1/2 gal or 2 liters whole or reduced fat (2%) milk</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">6 ounces / 100 ml plain whole milk yogurt</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp2NfYVso5PLPS2C2fgs2Sd2QMYiJ9nXMXQ_e0i1bjdW6OTYGuxb4UMIOqpuQugz24fyu7CblaN0XW2X4l9OrqSQ2ZXw54MC78MHpzcFmojoMgGEq42mBAKeZypH2Fin8fw_TUo2_SFhC/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="708" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp2NfYVso5PLPS2C2fgs2Sd2QMYiJ9nXMXQ_e0i1bjdW6OTYGuxb4UMIOqpuQugz24fyu7CblaN0XW2X4l9OrqSQ2ZXw54MC78MHpzcFmojoMgGEq42mBAKeZypH2Fin8fw_TUo2_SFhC/s400/2.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>You will need the following items:</u></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A large heat safe glass or ceramic bowl or a slow cooker/crock pot with removable crock</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Cheesecloth</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Large colander/strainer</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Large bowl/container</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Cooking thermometer (preferably electronic/digital, but I have used a candy thermometer successfully)</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Large cooking pot</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Three large towels </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HYtuFkN5Eivwt6P_07e4eLcktLxt3dkNHnOMIkHuOdYE8MLkfsegeoF42VHQbMg7tbsGraxEqG2mF7IaCPr8eYEnCJWZxRR8nhyphenhyphenFRPps6RZdExWoPrdfGXoL_YJ3dpBVcs1UTqc3stPU/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HYtuFkN5Eivwt6P_07e4eLcktLxt3dkNHnOMIkHuOdYE8MLkfsegeoF42VHQbMg7tbsGraxEqG2mF7IaCPr8eYEnCJWZxRR8nhyphenhyphenFRPps6RZdExWoPrdfGXoL_YJ3dpBVcs1UTqc3stPU/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Pour milk into large pot and slowly heat to 200 degrees F / 93 C stirring occasionally.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoCrUd9KZSZm9bK3CjfVTRH_v9aldAiPrjP1cuGtuNsgPQ8tDZg_OG53Hlr4os3Pu3n6UxrBRrVn2DMHwuXRJp1zBS3RRPeFSROrD5C4kG9AhrzhvqH_oxVE3N9oQOdUQf9pGQJvHls2x/s1600/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoCrUd9KZSZm9bK3CjfVTRH_v9aldAiPrjP1cuGtuNsgPQ8tDZg_OG53Hlr4os3Pu3n6UxrBRrVn2DMHwuXRJp1zBS3RRPeFSROrD5C4kG9AhrzhvqH_oxVE3N9oQOdUQf9pGQJvHls2x/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">While milk is heating, bring water to a boil, pour into heat safe bowl and let stand. If using a crock pot, turn empty crock pot on to low in order to heat removable crock.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzZRnM2U7WtmfisHeHBABBNfjNBHsbZpHaG_oXxtdo6dAjM00tW5T8iYVdKB3Iy4CULWi1oWu2G-WQHQgNUPlmFD6GCfwiMt2DN0ko5_zUmOuVkh5RFcoFIaaWrq0YyPXik3E1SbG5XF7/s1600/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1000" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzZRnM2U7WtmfisHeHBABBNfjNBHsbZpHaG_oXxtdo6dAjM00tW5T8iYVdKB3Iy4CULWi1oWu2G-WQHQgNUPlmFD6GCfwiMt2DN0ko5_zUmOuVkh5RFcoFIaaWrq0YyPXik3E1SbG5XF7/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When milk reaches 200 degrees, remove from heat and let cool to 115 degrees F/ 46C. To speed up this process, you may put your pot into a sink or large bowl full of ice.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When milk reaches 115 degrees F / 46 C, pour hot water out of heat safe bowl, dry bowl and add cooled milk. If using a crock pot, remove the crock from the cooker before adding cooled milk. If water conservation is a concern, save the water for watering plants, filling pet bowls, making tea or coffee, etc.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In a separate small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup / 100 - 120 ml of cooled milk and 6 oz / 100 ml of plain yogurt. These measurements do not have to be exact; I'm trying to give both the US system of measurement and the metric measurements while keeping in mind the size of containers sold in the grocery stores. For example, in the US a small container of yogurt is six ounces, but a half cup is 4 ounces. There is no need to try to measure four ounces of yogurt to get a half cup - six ounces will work just fine. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Stir the yogurt/milk mixture into the bowl/crock containing the rest of the milk.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Cover bowl of yogurt mixture. I use a dinner plate. If using a crock pot, use the lid that comes with the crock.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Set covered bowl/crock on a folded towel and wrap the remaining two towels around the bowl/crock.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Place out of reach of curious pets and away from drafts. Leave for 12 - 14 hours. I like my yogurt really thick and have found that 13.5 hours works best for me. I make my yogurt mixture in the evening and let it sit overnight on my kitchen counter. After 12 hours have passed, remove towels and check yogurt. It should be thick and look similar to pudding. If it is too thin, cover and allow to stand longer. Check every 30 minutes until it is the right consistency.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When yogurt has reached the proper consistency, fold cheesecloth into three thicknesses and line colander. Place colander over large bowl and spoon/pour the yogurt into the colander.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Refrigerate, cover and allow excess liquid to drain into bowl for 4 - 8 hours. The amount of time is a matter of preference. When you decide the yogurt is the thickness you like, it is done.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Midway through the draining period, remove yogurt from fridge and gently stir in order to allow whey to continue to pass through colander.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The liquid byproduct that results from draining the yogurt is whey which is a good source of protein and micro nutrients. I love the taste of it and usually drink it after it has been chilled in the refrigerator. It can also be used in cooking - add to mashed potatoes, soups, smoothies or use in bread dough in place of water or milk. I recently used whey instead of milk in my bread dough and it made the best bread - a wonderful, chewy texture and a light sour tang that was reminiscent of sour dough bread. Will be doing that again for sure!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When yogurt reaches desired thickness, stir gently until creamy and put into a covered storage container. As I mentioned earlier, I like my yogurt thick enough that a spoon will stand up.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This recipe will yield approximately 45 ounces of yogurt and 16 ounces of whey.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I love the slight tang this yogurt has and find that eating it with fruit adds just the right amount of sweetness for my taste buds. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">However, I realize that many people do not care for the flavor of plain yogurt, not even delicious homemade yogurt. To get the flavor you want, simply add honey, sugar, maple syrup, jam or jelly, fresh fruit, canned or frozen fruit, dried fruit, granola or chocolate chips - the possibilities are endless!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Refrigerate and enjoy. Will keep for two weeks, although I think it would be fine for up to three weeks.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>Tips:</u></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Whole milk makes a richer, creamier yogurt, while reduced fat (2% milk) has less calories. For my taste preferences, I find the reduced fat milk to have a lovely creamy texture and I feel that it is a healthier choice. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Prior to making yogurt, remove milk from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature to shorten the time it takes to heat the milk to 200 degrees.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">My experience has been that if the milk is allowed to culture longer than 14 hours, it turns into a soft cheese. Similar to cream cheese, it can be spread on English muffins, bagels or crackers. The cheese can also be seasoned with garlic and herbs if desired.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Save 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt as a starter for your next batch of yogurt. If you keep it going, you will never have to buy yogurt again!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This yogurt has a nice tang, but is not sour like so many commercially produced yogurts.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Rinse out cheesecloth, hang to dry and it can be used again and again. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Besides having found a way to reduce my consumption of plastic containers, I have come to really enjoy making yogurt. To me, it's very interesting to see how the culturing works and to explore the sometimes unexpected results (such as making cheese!). If you decide to give it a try, I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I have. </span><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-50018905886175713412020-04-29T23:45:00.002-07:002020-04-29T23:52:48.056-07:00Product Review - March/April, 2020The topic of this month's <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> blog carnival is to review a product.<br />
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I chose to include two of my favorite items as I couldn't narrow it down to just one.<br />
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The first one is my third hand. This nifty little gadget was purchased from Harbor Freight, which is a one of my favorite places to find tools I didn't know I needed! If you have a Harbor Freight near you, I highly recommended stopping in some day. If you don't, they also have a web presence. Third hands are also available from jewelry supply stores and hardware stores.<br />
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The third hand consists of two arms with clips and a magnify glass. All three are adjustable into many different positions as well as being able to swivel. It's almost like having a little robot at my service.<br />
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This photo shows the third arm holding a wet paper bead level so that the sealer I'd just used wouldn't form a drip as it dried. By using the magnifying glass, I am also able see defects and problem areas that I can't be seen with the naked eye.<br />
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I've also used it to hold wire wrapping when I've needed both of my
hands to work on a difficult section (the magnifying glass comes in
handy here too) and to hold leaves by their stems while they dry from
being sealed.<br />
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Shown in this photo is a piece of leather cord being straightened with help from the third hand. I clamped one end on the third arm and inserted the other end into a vise. It was left overnight and was perfectly straight the next morning. I usually iron cord to straighten it, but this method is a lot less effort.<br />
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Glossy Accents is the other product I decided to review for this blog article. This is actually a scrap booking/paper crafts product that I bought on a whim, but it has turned out to be perfect for many of my needs. I think of it as instant resin in a bottle. With it's fine tipped applicator that gets into tight spots and it's quick drying time of 15 minutes, this stuff is terrific for touching up resin projects.<br />
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For example, this 3-D resin piece has a row of ivory colored flowers along the bottom of the pendant. While they had several coatings of resin, because of the highs and lows of the flowers, there were areas where the resin was very thin. I wanted people to be able to feel the ridges and recesses of the flowers, but I did not want the thin coating of the resin to wear through. Glossy Accents was the perfect product to fill in those ridges and recesses while still leaving the 3-D effect.<br />
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Because it holds it's shape and doesn't spread out, Glossy Accents can also be used to create "dew drops" or "rain drops" or even "tears". It also works as a glue or adhesive when needed. It drys hard, clear and glossy and at $6 - $8 per two ounces, it is also a bargain. It's been three years since I purchased my bottle and there is still 1/3 left. I didn't set out to test it, but it turns out it also has a long shelf life! I love this stuff!<br />
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To read what other participants in this month's blog carnival have to say about product reviews, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="https://catswire.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-favorite-product-jala-bead-loom.html">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-4281916132560913362020-02-28T10:22:00.001-08:002020-02-28T10:22:17.108-08:00My Favorites - Jan/Feb 2020After a long break, the <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> Blog Carnival is back. We thought that the first month of a new year would be a good time to get started. Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, we didn't get off to a great start. Some of us forgot about it entirely, while others were to busy with other things to finish their posts on time. Our solution - extend our deadline to the end of February. Clever girls, so clever!<br />
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This month's topic is about favorite jewelry we have designed and created. I had to give this some thought as I have a lot of favorites, but it's impossible for me to name just one. Then I realized that my favorites represent the stages of my jewelry making journey.<br />
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First it was stringing beads together; sounds simple, but I really enjoyed selecting colors that worked together, as well as deciding which sizes and shapes were good matches. I think mastering bead stringing before moving onto other techniques builds a good design foundation. It was also during this time that I started painting wood beads to use in my jewelry designs.<br />
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Painting beads inspired me to try to combine my love of painting and my passion for making jewelry by painting miniatures and turning them into pendants. Pairing the pendants with painted beads took my creativity to a new level. These are some of my favorites:<br />
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During this time, I became fascinated with the wire wrapping and wire weaving pieces that I was seeing on the internet. They were so beautiful and intricate; it wasn't long before I wanted to try. I quickly found out that working with wire didn't come naturally to me but I enjoyed it so much that I was determined to learn these skills. After much practice and frustration, I was finally able to produce work that I was proud of.<br />
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This spiderweb is a special favorite because it's one I came up with completely on my own. No looking at magazines, reading books or using tutorials. I felt really good about this design. <br />
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These next ones are the result of using tutorials to learn the techniques. I am forever grateful to the designers who so generously share their knowledge and skills by publishing tutorials on their blogs or on Youtube:<br />
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Eventually, I became interested in working with resin. The first thing I tried was coating my painted pendants with resin; I was and am extremely happy with the results. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIwZNl6-gigpOqt_FPvycud_56fFirNpHhFQSY7jNUiRMH63ks700W1UNd2-t04xZUZ8YbY0RAFLvFacreYUMBVEvd4qQ1drCYN9DtSt7pTcy6VUxJ2JcV_7Cg1JwWsGG4KyTaaIwIk2K/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="500" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIwZNl6-gigpOqt_FPvycud_56fFirNpHhFQSY7jNUiRMH63ks700W1UNd2-t04xZUZ8YbY0RAFLvFacreYUMBVEvd4qQ1drCYN9DtSt7pTcy6VUxJ2JcV_7Cg1JwWsGG4KyTaaIwIk2K/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWvB60CQQJZGczmllm1GguQDX3uqhEHFr9asDAvYsLmB0qFnBGFqIeKGKt44qZQh3aOkhVHPq8AH-i2C-nfQhLXCO6YWsU0VUlN24WrbUWUE-t6Zp8RbMn0tJc5HTE6lvyYKsTa8BBi3Z/s1600/j1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="500" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWvB60CQQJZGczmllm1GguQDX3uqhEHFr9asDAvYsLmB0qFnBGFqIeKGKt44qZQh3aOkhVHPq8AH-i2C-nfQhLXCO6YWsU0VUlN24WrbUWUE-t6Zp8RbMn0tJc5HTE6lvyYKsTa8BBi3Z/s400/j1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEevtel5FFQ8HJYAh1OhkOAfRC-FAvtMbS9d8vzA2J-sTI9rAvDLtvrSRqHGG10tMSs0J5AlqESs0aJQxUremiYg4Tpbz9TQ_r4ptALCeBwx9geSG77545Uw4rSfHIzyV1FgV0wsHDTe8/s1600/1j.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="500" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEevtel5FFQ8HJYAh1OhkOAfRC-FAvtMbS9d8vzA2J-sTI9rAvDLtvrSRqHGG10tMSs0J5AlqESs0aJQxUremiYg4Tpbz9TQ_r4ptALCeBwx9geSG77545Uw4rSfHIzyV1FgV0wsHDTe8/s400/1j.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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At the same time, I was trying to figure out a way to incorporate nature's gorgeous fall leaves and summer flowers into my work. Preserving them in resin seemed like a natural progression. It took much experimenting and many fails to achieve success. It pleases me no end that these beautiful leaves with their amazing patterns and colors are permanently preserved for people to enjoy.<br />
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This is where I am now - still experimenting with resin. Using leaves,
flowers, insects and other natural materials along with small charms, I
am creating small scenes and preserving them in resin. I've just barely
scratched the surface and have many ideas in my head. At the moment,
these are my favorites from this period - that might be because these are the only ones I have finished so far!<br />
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I guess I'd say that rather than having favorite pieces of jewelry, I have favorites from each learning phase I've been in. To me, they represent growth as an artist, mastering new skills, learning new techniques and that by looking back and visiting these favorites, enables me to see where my journey has taken me. It makes me wonder what future work will look like and which ones will be added to my favorites as the journey continues.<br />
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To see what other members of the <a href="https://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> have to say about their favorites, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=3375280&u=https%3A//www.ganisonatelier.com/blogs/news/my-favorite-pieces">Ganison Atelier</a><br />
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<a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=3375280&u=http%3A//mybijoulifeonline.com/%7Ebijoube2/wire-wrapped-octopus/">My Bijou Life</a><br />
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JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-71660989884732704352019-11-26T01:10:00.000-08:002019-11-27T15:32:11.696-08:00Art Elements Design Challenge, November 2019 - FossilsWhen I learned that the subject of the November <a href="https://www.artelements.net/">Art Elements</a> monthly challenge was fossils, I knew I wanted to participate. As far back as I can remember, I've had a love for the natural world, and to this day I enjoy collecting treasures found while walking in the woods around my home or while strolling along the beach.<br />
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While not all of the items in my small collection are fossils, they are all part of nature which is where I find most of the inspiration for my jewelry designs. I rarely get to share them with anyone, so I hope no one minds if I share them now:<br />
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A tiny bird's nest, the eggs donated by a friend's cockatiel: <br />
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A skin shed by a snake once it grew large enough that it could no longer occupy this one:<br />
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An abandoned wasp nest. I'm not crazy about this particular insect, but can still appreciate the beauty and remarkable detail of their engineering skills:<br />
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A fossilized vertebrae - based on the size, my guess is that it was from a bear:<br />
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A clam fossil found in a load of gravel that was delivered to our house:<br />
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Part of the shell was still attached:<br />
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Among many of the natural things I like to collect, there is a small collection of fossils that I always intended to make into jewelry. Like so many things, life got in the way and they languished in a drawer until this month's challenge motivated me to finally do something with them.<br />
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For the challenge, I decided to tackle the snail fossil first by netting it in fine copper wire that had been oxidized to an antique finish. Small copper beads were added to the last row for additional visual interest. The finished pendant was suspended from antiqued copper ball chain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2A9ypP2iD1Lu8krPlNfa-cIszKjSdKWj8-cDAyoPRnJV1lx5YU5XXtCanpx53bRjEUxKYsfTsqXHOvpUWAX_cPJs0alNz67SNtSOCvHDDfnYE_ijU7HKg4ouN4r1qmEWztq2tn0pX6u1/s1600/blog+fossils+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2A9ypP2iD1Lu8krPlNfa-cIszKjSdKWj8-cDAyoPRnJV1lx5YU5XXtCanpx53bRjEUxKYsfTsqXHOvpUWAX_cPJs0alNz67SNtSOCvHDDfnYE_ijU7HKg4ouN4r1qmEWztq2tn0pX6u1/s400/blog+fossils+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I wanted to do something based on Peruvian thread weaving for the next design as the fossil had the right shape for this type of style. I don't usually do much planning for my designs, but for this one I sketched out how I thought it would go. To my surprise, it came out pretty much like the sketch!<br />
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Black lava beads and red coral were used in making components that were added to the chain:</div>
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I ran out of time for the last fossil design, but this is the prototype I've been working on:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-_kStdFEDbgBf_AkGVtu308ozDOYNxWD5AUKbEnKBvlTPaTJjapu_dWATKrKuhgGNm1eIEJ4h6tM_-FxwkPzXmXzcSx6WAorZJF9weCmFS14q1_C2uzTSSqHfSacgVg9vxg7lQmwb9O/s1600/blog+fossils+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-_kStdFEDbgBf_AkGVtu308ozDOYNxWD5AUKbEnKBvlTPaTJjapu_dWATKrKuhgGNm1eIEJ4h6tM_-FxwkPzXmXzcSx6WAorZJF9weCmFS14q1_C2uzTSSqHfSacgVg9vxg7lQmwb9O/s400/blog+fossils+016.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The final piece will be done in sterling silver wire and the wires that go across the fossil will have enough curve to match the lines of the vertebrae.</div>
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I hope everyone who has taken the time to check out this blog post has enjoyed the journey. I certainly enjoyed finally having a chance to work with these beautiful fossils that have been hidden away in a drawer for so long.</div>
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To see what the other participants of the "fossils" challenge have to say on the subject, please click on the links below: </div>
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<a href="https://jencameron.net/">Jen</a> </div>
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<a href="https://www.lesleywatt.com/">Lesley</a> </div>
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<a href="http://susankennedy.net/">Sue</a> </div>
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<a href="https://saraccino.blogspot.com/">Claire</a> </div>
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<a href="https://jdaviesreazor.com/blog/">Jenny</a> </div>
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<a href="https://silverniknats.blogspot.com/">Niky</a> </div>
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<a href="https://catswire.blogspot.com/">Cat</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog/">Tammy</a> </div>
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<a href="https://susandolphindelaney.com/">Susan</a> </div>
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<a href="https://bijoubeadboutique.com/">Michelle</a> </div>
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<a href="https://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/2019/11/art-elements-theme-of-month-fossils.html">Sarajo</a> </div>
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<a href="http://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/">Evie & Beth</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com/">Divya</a> </div>
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-1045911588875270752019-10-30T23:08:00.001-07:002019-10-31T16:09:59.833-07:00Art Elements Design Challenge, October 2019 - Eyes"Eyes" are the design challenge from <a href="https://www.artelements.net/" target="_blank">Art Elements</a> this month.<br />
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It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. Before starting this blog post, I looked up sayings that have been written about the eyes and I'd like to share them before continuing on.<br />
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<div class="author" style="background-color: transparent; background-size: auto; cheight: 24px; cwidth: 659px; ez_min_text_wdth: 76; hcalc: 48; line-height: 24.6875px; margin-for-scale: 0px 0px 20px 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px 0px; nodepath: /html/body/div/div[3]/div/div[1]/div[2]/div[2]/div/div/p[3]; obj_px_area: 0; padding-for-scale: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; pagepos: 47; rcnt: 1; rend_px_area: 15816; req_margin_and_padding: 20; req_px_area: 4888.125; req_px_height: 24.6875; vertical_margin: 20; wcalc: 66px; wcalc_source: child; wocalc: 66px;">
<i><b>Where words are restrained, the eyes often talk a great deal. </b></i>Samuel Richardson</div>
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<i><b>The eye sees a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination awake. </b></i>Leonardo da Vinci</div>
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<i><b>My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected. </b></i>Anna M. Uhlich</div>
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<i><b>The eye is the jewel of the human body. </b></i>Henry David Thoreau </div>
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And, since one of the things I do is paint miniatures of animals, I also went on a search for sayings about animal eyes.</div>
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<i><b>An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language. </b></i>Martin Buber</div>
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<i><b>When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul. </b></i>APlaceToLoveDogs.com<br />
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<i><b>One cannot look deeply into the eyes of an animal and not see the same depth, complexity and feelings we humans lay exclusive claim to. </b></i>Nan Sea Love</div>
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Painting the eyes of the animals that are my subjects is one of my favorite parts of the process and I do it as soon as possible as that makes the painting come alive for me. Once the eyes are done, I feel like I "know" the animal and I try my best to convey what it is feeling or thinking through it's eyes.</div>
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Here are a few examples of some of my past works all of which are slightly larger than an American quarter - I hope that you can see the feelings and emotions they are experiencing:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlD82r8wKzLufLgIuyClry4dUhjLnwIrtz8VFtuM1MkAHXHZBgeSf7T9OsiVsxaE3uRk-4T5FWRD7eXop8UCHSkWZsv_9dspuBOkaR9A_TFfCjwCmxettYyiaHg3-lful68NeK5gr6Zwg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1000" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlD82r8wKzLufLgIuyClry4dUhjLnwIrtz8VFtuM1MkAHXHZBgeSf7T9OsiVsxaE3uRk-4T5FWRD7eXop8UCHSkWZsv_9dspuBOkaR9A_TFfCjwCmxettYyiaHg3-lful68NeK5gr6Zwg/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ry2-BXb5L3giWh3TDFL1hHN18Gn33rAqR4Su7_zD0p6r18sbLs6PJwFuPCOoIFizQPHgbB3GsyacSZtjzPug0_1z-BE-qyvX2lrjF0snLZb6N-pNeS2CzK0KcBYKQZ90vI1yvoTVhuIy/s1600/Fox+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1228" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ry2-BXb5L3giWh3TDFL1hHN18Gn33rAqR4Su7_zD0p6r18sbLs6PJwFuPCOoIFizQPHgbB3GsyacSZtjzPug0_1z-BE-qyvX2lrjF0snLZb6N-pNeS2CzK0KcBYKQZ90vI1yvoTVhuIy/s320/Fox+2.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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For this month's Eye Challenge, I decided to revisit a project I started quite some time ago, and then for reasons that have been long forgotten, set aside and never looked at again. Cat, of <a href="http://catswire.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a> also has a hand in this as she recently challenged me to finish this WIP (work in progress). Cat, I hope you are pleased with my progress. :-)</div>
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This project started out as fan art in tribute to the character of Wolf in the book "The Mammoth Hunters" by Jean M. Auel. Set in phehistoric times, "The Mammoth Hunters" is one of a series of books about a young cro-magnon woman named Ayla who adopts a young orphaned wolf pup whom she names Wolf. My little paintings depict how I imagined Wolf from a pup to adult wolfhood and some of the adventures he may have experienced along the way. As always, the eyes were among the most important parts of the paintings. </div>
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I painted each scene on wood coin beads slightly larger than an American quarter. There is one scene on each side for a total of eight little paintings that tell Wolf's story. They will eventually be made into a bracelet, but unfortunately despite working on these every spare moment I had this past month, I was unable to finish them due to other previous commitments. Yep, life got in the way.</div>
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It's always been my feeling that it's never a good idea to rush art, so I gave in to the fact that these wouldn't be done in time for the challenge, but they are finished enough to give readers a pretty good idea of where this project is eventually going to go. I will not be showing you the individual beads that don't focus on Wolf's eyes as that would not be on topic for the challenge.</div>
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Wolf as a pup who has been rescued by Ayla and is seeing the world outside of his den for the first time:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXu45QmUAjWhjvKoRdyuce0EzT6BLsEOP0NKiwZViYixOXxk3_oXPIjUWDOCf1U0Kf3vJRDPUfR30aQhl2oJJJciuCy1y5Y8wVlkHqPaWPYiFYOb7F7hVpp9sKYm67oMoJDS-bnp1PD5u/s1600/Wolf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXu45QmUAjWhjvKoRdyuce0EzT6BLsEOP0NKiwZViYixOXxk3_oXPIjUWDOCf1U0Kf3vJRDPUfR30aQhl2oJJJciuCy1y5Y8wVlkHqPaWPYiFYOb7F7hVpp9sKYm67oMoJDS-bnp1PD5u/s400/Wolf1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Adult Wolf:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWTjH15kspOdYwDStGT_QRwNamMcDAVeb4wEUrKiW98l0MFNrbXNn6Ep0ePUZ5rC2Bznupf4Gq6S8U_RrQmEDhz9n8w5W4sDahdy1Hvr2yUPUUDz5G6YKeviwrtH0Wq1ELlAqvqH5-2FF/s1600/Wolf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWTjH15kspOdYwDStGT_QRwNamMcDAVeb4wEUrKiW98l0MFNrbXNn6Ep0ePUZ5rC2Bznupf4Gq6S8U_RrQmEDhz9n8w5W4sDahdy1Hvr2yUPUUDz5G6YKeviwrtH0Wq1ELlAqvqH5-2FF/s400/Wolf2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wolf finds a mate:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSfXSFD0mZ8ra2_qoz-6sV1itzcBX1uv_Q3QTNnYV0ifsCPFwtvyD1H46C6rMkpVjl4YZesdRlhgQDfpYp0M8unFMOjrzf_B51SGT_OoQTL83AmYCPXZ_BpjA159VQEkImBJHaGqps_eZ/s1600/Wolf+-+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1000" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSfXSFD0mZ8ra2_qoz-6sV1itzcBX1uv_Q3QTNnYV0ifsCPFwtvyD1H46C6rMkpVjl4YZesdRlhgQDfpYp0M8unFMOjrzf_B51SGT_OoQTL83AmYCPXZ_BpjA159VQEkImBJHaGqps_eZ/s400/Wolf+-+9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Protective Wolf:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdm06pYy4luISH8NCHoZ-rrUkkpwcusvQdPjJdyTt1s_mcx1ulF_pkjOC0KA5PHKS6aAYSffVWv7UT4_aUF9BMvd0ZpXua6Z2jbce2hws-AV7CnX21IXNPMPS5vgMzcMwPhk9f01agHa1e/s1600/Wolf+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1217" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdm06pYy4luISH8NCHoZ-rrUkkpwcusvQdPjJdyTt1s_mcx1ulF_pkjOC0KA5PHKS6aAYSffVWv7UT4_aUF9BMvd0ZpXua6Z2jbce2hws-AV7CnX21IXNPMPS5vgMzcMwPhk9f01agHa1e/s400/Wolf+9.jpg" width="327" /></a></div>
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Wolf fights an intruder:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-eJ6KbdIx4piFZRqcWIf_JB5SL4uST4JY3SJBtVofx5pQKpy7t3Vayrn4jnqc70ewj6LMLXOzj2M5zlGwouDrr3TxsxjXvHMkgpHeSnzmz7PNPO4JKH_oE5De5IhUM1CGBs-DTF252S0/s1600/Wolf+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-eJ6KbdIx4piFZRqcWIf_JB5SL4uST4JY3SJBtVofx5pQKpy7t3Vayrn4jnqc70ewj6LMLXOzj2M5zlGwouDrr3TxsxjXvHMkgpHeSnzmz7PNPO4JKH_oE5De5IhUM1CGBs-DTF252S0/s400/Wolf+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And, this last one - a wolf howling at the moon is reflected in the eye of another wolf. Did Wolf or the intruder win the battle? Is Wolf the one howling or is he the one watching? That is up to the reader to decide as well as to decide how the story ends:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixwmBE9nHSXxvm8EZCSaycUJ31mF19NAEGk83wGvnM9E6ZLVs6P5shQfrioGuc6uCSOgg4_-d5UASgoNYsj6_WuScAHMuUpAWrhU73u_GM5gafZVQR71aEyNqoBvbkqEFP0ZfV6dwq50X/s1600/Wolf+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixwmBE9nHSXxvm8EZCSaycUJ31mF19NAEGk83wGvnM9E6ZLVs6P5shQfrioGuc6uCSOgg4_-d5UASgoNYsj6_WuScAHMuUpAWrhU73u_GM5gafZVQR71aEyNqoBvbkqEFP0ZfV6dwq50X/s400/Wolf+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Size reference: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3B1GpnwCIem-61sxBsc58oQZYhJPRYiJnokp33padqmn7i1x5JLoJGLjOH1WiJQtPGTJ2Du4zXRZa6iIYu5VfQKw3m3OHZxq863wlBguFnT-MleprY4vAjyDKtd5XSed-bdMYKqW8_S1G/s1600/Wolf+-+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3B1GpnwCIem-61sxBsc58oQZYhJPRYiJnokp33padqmn7i1x5JLoJGLjOH1WiJQtPGTJ2Du4zXRZa6iIYu5VfQKw3m3OHZxq863wlBguFnT-MleprY4vAjyDKtd5XSed-bdMYKqW8_S1G/s400/Wolf+-+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once all of the paintings are finished, the beads will be sprayed with a sealer to give them a glossy finish and to protect the paint. They will then be made into a bracelet with reversible sides and will look something like this when done; the quarter gives another size reference:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFVWIdZXWsofK2X5yfEmZDzw5NODMGX4YPWCgOiVozYzGdxEtV6k9rg8CUVBPwnhW-w9sOyULTRMEQQcnJq4XlcAT54oUk2xSTQKW1WXkDRCUwKmOyu_UKK8xcRkrXqV0KGKtvtwrkBxc/s1600/Wolf+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFVWIdZXWsofK2X5yfEmZDzw5NODMGX4YPWCgOiVozYzGdxEtV6k9rg8CUVBPwnhW-w9sOyULTRMEQQcnJq4XlcAT54oUk2xSTQKW1WXkDRCUwKmOyu_UKK8xcRkrXqV0KGKtvtwrkBxc/s400/Wolf+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75hmoEkKFHnrTXHM9JyqEkwdie0iJwrW4bHkSpDXoI7JcYr0wyU7XWyotsLbf9ItxXRaZk-cQSElPBAcZHHU-hF-olPkOnNZIITcFsIIR7vLGZ2AjIQ57edsl136EvmV0x6GRyB2f5wmQ/s1600/Wolf+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75hmoEkKFHnrTXHM9JyqEkwdie0iJwrW4bHkSpDXoI7JcYr0wyU7XWyotsLbf9ItxXRaZk-cQSElPBAcZHHU-hF-olPkOnNZIITcFsIIR7vLGZ2AjIQ57edsl136EvmV0x6GRyB2f5wmQ/s400/Wolf+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I hope you have enjoyed the story of Wolf and that you have been able to see into his soul as well as experience the depth and complexity of his thoughts and emotions through his eyes.</div>
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To see what the other participants in this month's "Eye" challenge created, please click on the links below:</div>
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<a href="http://susankennedy.net/" target="_blank">Susan </a> </div>
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<a href="http://blog.marshanealstudio.com/" target="_blank">Marsha</a> </div>
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<a href="https://saraccino.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Claire</a> </div>
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<a href="https://cmendola.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cathy</a> </div>
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<a href="https://jdaviesreazor.com/blog/" target="_blank">Jenny</a> </div>
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<a href="http://silverniknats.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Niky</a> </div>
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<a href="https://jencameron.net/?fbclid=IwAR39DKvKF4e1cl2AQCBaXIoz_PWwVSzYpipYHVBkg4k7rgu7CGFrkqjFl4I" target="_blank">Jennifer</a> </div>
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<a href="https://laney-mead.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Laney</a> </div>
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<a href="http://jewelryartbydawn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dawn (me)</a> </div>
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<a href="http://craftyhope.com/" target="_blank">Hope</a> </div>
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<a href="http://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth & Evie</a> </div>
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<a href="https://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kathy</a> </div>
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<a href="https://bijoubeadboutique.com/" target="_blank">Michelle</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog" target="_blank">Tammy</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.catswire.blogspot.de/" target="_blank">Cat</a> </div>
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<a href="https://chatelainecreations.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Elaine</a> </div>
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JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-50858916513082276502019-09-28T22:31:00.000-07:002019-10-06T23:33:02.110-07:00Art Elements Design Challenge and Blog Hop - FoliageHere I am publishing something on my poor neglected blog for the first time in nearly two years! I've been wanting to get it going again and I can thank my dear friend, Cat of <a href="http://catswire.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a> for suggesting that I participate in this month's <a href="https://www.artelements.net/foliage-september-theme-challenge/" target="_blank">Art Elements "Foliage" Design Challenge</a> and gently prodding me until I actually made a commitment to do so. Thanks, Cat!<br />
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I'm very excited that the Art Elements Design Challenge will be the catalyst for reviving my blog and I'm very excited to be part of a challenge and blog hop that includes so many creative and talented people. I'll warn you all ahead of time that this is a very photo heavy post; in my excitement, I just couldn't narrow it down anymore than I have. Please forgive me for going overboard, but the floodgates have been opened!<br />
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Leaves, leaves, leaves! This month's foliage theme is right up my alley as I have been on a creative journey for the last few years making leaf jewelry. I seem to be obsessed with leaves, and unlike many of my past obsessions, this one has really taken hold. A part of my mind is always thinking about leaves even when I am doing things that have nothing to do with leaves.<br />
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The fascination with leaves and jewelry making began when I made leaves out of copper sheet using form folding techniques. I was and am intrigued by form folding (which involves heating metal, forming it into a shape, reheating when it gets too hard to work, more shaping, etc.). Leaves were a fairly simple shape to make when learning this technique:<br />
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My next experiment with leaf jewelry involved carving tiny leaves into small pieces of cork, dipping them into acrylic paint and using them as stamps. The cork stamps were used to stamp leaves onto this piece of leaf shaped metal which was then coated with resin to protect the paint:<br />
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Next came wire leaves which were made with the help of a wonderful <a href="https://www.wirejewelry.com/pages/albina_manning_birch_leaf.html?ref=pattern60" target="_blank">Birch Leaf Tutorial</a> by Albina Manning at <a href="https://www.wirejewelry.com/index.html" target="_blank">WireJewelry.com</a><br />
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A couple of years ago, I decided to experiment with preserving real leaves in resin and fell in love. I read all I could about it, but there wasn't much out there. I was pretty much on my own. After a lot of trial and error, I feel like I am starting to get it.<br />
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Throughout the year, I gather leaves, but when fall arrives it is an especially exciting time for me as the leaves begin to change color. During the months of October and November, I pick up hundreds of leaves and press them between books to dry in preparation for the creative journey to come.<br />
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Once they are ready, I go to work. While learning how to preserve the leaves, many leaves and much resin has been wasted, but I eventually started to get it. I suppose the materials weren't truly wasted as they helped me get to where I am now. These are some of my early results:<br />
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I'm not working with these types of leaves as much lately because I've found the points to be fragile and easily damaged. This issue is something I'm going to try to resolve, but at this time leaves with rounded tips are much more sturdy for my work.<br />
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As I learned and became better at preserving leaves, the quality of my work improved and became more intricate. These leaves are from a Western Red Bud which is found on the west coast of the United States. <br />
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Pear leaves from the tree in my yard:<br />
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What you see in the necklace posted below are not leaves but seed pods from the Lunaria plant which is also known as the money plant or silver dollar plant due to the silvery color of the pods as well as their size and shape which resembles coins. The pod is really quite unremarkable, just a plain drab brown, but rub it between the thumbs and fingers and the brown husks peel away to reveal the shimmery pods inside. They make beautiful arrangements either alone or paired with flowers:<br />
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The Lunaria pods are quite delicate and fragile, but they are much easier to handle and wear once they've been preserved in resin:<br />
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Copper sheet was cut to the shape of this pear leaf and became a bezel into which the leaf was attached:<br />
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This past year, the leaf journey has evolved into cutting leaves to fit vintage bezels. I have really enjoyed the entire creative process of this technique and I have also been quite pleased with the end results.<br />
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Some leaves are too big to be made into jewelry, but too pretty to cut up or throw away. They are just perfect for making into magnets!<br />
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Now that I've given you all this background, you must be wondering if I will EVER get to the actual Foliage Challenge. Fear not, we have arrived at our destination. <br />
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This is the first of three pieces I made for this challenge. Consisting of an orange leaf and painted wood beads (I did not paint the beads), it is not an elaborate or complicated piece, but it's interesting to look at due to the brilliant colors and subtle patterns of the leaf and even the bezel itself:<br />
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Scrap booking paper sealed in resin was used to complete the back of this pendant:<br />
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While I plan to continue to work with leaves using all of the various
techniques shown above, for the past few months I've had this thought about making little
scenes or pictures using leaves as well as dried flowers and other
materials. When I became aware of the foliage challenge, I thought it would be the perfect time to get busy. <br />
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Both of these were completed just this weekend and just in time for the challenge. I'm feeling good about having made something that looked like the ideas I had in my head, but a little nervous about showing it to others. But, that's what art is all about - experimenting, learning, trying new things, challenging our skills and putting ourselves and our work out there.<br />
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The background is an autumn leaf. Small dried flowers and a butterfly make up the foreground. The butterfly was constructed out of a real butterfly wing I found on the ground and cut to size. The body is a seed and the antennae are a couple of tiny "hairs" that grow on a type of grass in the area where I live. <br />
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Scrap booking paper was used for the back of the pendant:</div>
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This one is more elaborate with a leaf background, smaller plants and flowers in the front and a small metal bird flying over to survey the scene. It is also a WIP and has not yet been made into a necklace. I simply strung it on black cord for this challenge, although it may very well end up on a simple cord to balance out all the other stuff that is going on here:<br />
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For the back, I used one of my own photos which is something I would like to do more often as I feel that it gives the pendant a more personal touch:<br />
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While I was typing this, it occurred to me that fall has arrived and it is time, once again, to gather fall leaves for future projects. I never tire of the leaves; maybe it's because each fall brings wonderful colors and unique patterns. It seems the leaves are similar to snowflakes, no two are ever the same.<br />
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Thank you so much for having me in this month's Art Element challenge; I promise that future posts will show more self control when it comes to posting photos!<br />
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To see what the other participants of the September Art Elements "Foliage" Challenge have to say about this theme, please click on the links below:<br />
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Arts Elements Team:<br />
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<a href="https://www.lesleywatt.com/" target="_blank">Lesley</a><br />
<a href="http://susankennedy.net/" target="_blank">Susan</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.marshanealstudio.com/" target="_blank">Marsha</a><br />
<a href="https://saraccino.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Claire</a><br />
<a href="https://cmendola.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cathy</a><br />
<a href="https://jdaviesreazor.com/blog/" target="_blank">Jenny</a><br />
<a href="http://silverniknats.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Niky</a><br />
<a href="https://blueberribeads.co.uk/" target="_blank">Caroline</a><br />
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Guests:<br />
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<a href="http://jewelryartbydawn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dawn (me)</a><br />
<a href="http://craftyhope.com/" target="_blank">Hope</a><br />
<a href="http://alisonadorns.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alison</a><br />
<a href="http://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth and Evie</a><br />
<a href="https://seekingserenityandharmony.com/" target="_blank">Laurie</a><br />
<a href="https://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/2019/09/foliage-september-art-elements-theme.html" target="_blank">Kathy</a><br />
<a href="https://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/2019/09/art-elements-theme-of-month-foliage.html" target="_blank">Sarajo</a><br />
<a href="https://bijoubeadboutique.com/" target="_blank">Michelle</a><br />
<a href="http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog" target="_blank">Tammy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com/" target="_blank">Divya</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flowerfloozydesigns.com/" target="_blank">Karen</a><br />
<a href="http://chicchixnchampagne.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alyson</a><br />
<a href="http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mary</a><br />
<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cat</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kilnfiredart.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jill</a><br />
<a href="https://anordinarymiracleday.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Sarah</a><br />
<a href="https://beadscharmsandwire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Anita</a><br />
<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-7178718525737970802017-12-12T15:20:00.000-08:002017-12-14T20:58:20.201-08:00December, 2017 Blog Carnival - When You Can't Make Jewelry After taking a break, the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> blog carnival is back to finish up the year. Our topic for the month of December is "When You Can't Make Jewelry"<br />
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It just so happens that I've been living this situation the last few months so I feel qualified to write about it. The first seven months of 2017 were going along great; I was in a creative groove learning new things, just full of ideas and making new jewelry designs on a daily basis . I couldn't wait to enter my studio each day.<br />
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Heck, I was so creative and my mind so busy that I even made refrigerator magnets out of real fall leaves!<br />
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Then along came August. While learning how to operate a dirt bike, I crashed and badly sprained my knee. It later turned out that the tip of my tibia was actually fractured. This affected jewelry making because the studio is downstairs and I wasn't able to navigate the stairs. After stewing about this turn of events for a week, I managed to hobble down the stairs one day, grab my tools and some wire and hobble back up the stairs where I parked myself in the recliner with ice on my knee and fiddled with wire. It wasn't really making jewelry, but it satisfied the need to create.<br />
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As my knee healed, I was able to go downstairs again, but by then it was time to leave on a long planned vacation to Sweden and Poland. Seeing so much history, meeting wonderfully friendly people, eating incredible food and having experiences we'll never forget made the trip a dream come true. There were moments I longed to be in the studio, but I didn't really have time to think about it because we were having so much fun while on vacation.<br />
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Once home, I couldn't wait get back to work making jewelry, but it wasn't to be. Shortly after returning home, my sister came to visit for two weeks. Between catching up and showing her the sights, there was no time for the studio. I put it out of my mind and enjoyed the time with my sister.<br />
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And, now we're about to leave for Thailand and Vietnam; it will be April when we return. This will be our third trip to SE Asia and I am really looking forward to going and seeing the friends we have made there as well as enjoying warm weather while it's snowing at home. And, let's not forget eating authentic Thai and Vietnamese food every day! There has been very little studio time because we're doing all the things that have to be done to prepare for a trip of this length including winterizing our home. This will be the longest I've even been away from my studio.<br />
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Whine, whine, whine, whine...!<br />
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At this point, my frustration about no time to make jewelry and my desire to be in my studio have given way to acceptance. It's not the time for jewelry and I am not going to fight it. Just as the bloggers from JAC needed a break from the monthly blog carnival, I am going to look at this as a break that will refuel my creative soul and re-charge my artistic battery. Sometimes we get so intensely involved in being creative that we forget to savor the process and the journey and focus instead the end result. There is also that trap artists get caught in of feeling they have to be productive and constantly coming up with new things. Taking time to step back can be just what is needed to look at it through fresh eyes.<br />
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I am going to go to Thailand and take a side trip to Vietnam and thoroughly enjoy our time there. Thai and Vietnamese food awaits! Warm weather! Exotic (to me) sights are waiting to be experienced. My camera will get a workout and I will be inspired by all that I see, hear, smell and taste. When we come back, the studio will be waiting to welcome me home. But, I still plan to take some wire and tools with me - just in case the creative bug strikes...<br />
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To see what the other members of the JAC blog carnival have to say on this topic, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2017/12/what-to-do-if.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-48218891728039109712017-06-01T08:05:00.001-07:002017-06-02T08:31:28.488-07:00May 2017 Blog Carnival - TutorialsWhere the heck did May go? Can't believe it's time again for the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> monthly blog carnival! This month we are talking about tutorials.<br />
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I'm one of those people who likes to figure out things on my own. Which means that I have come up with some cool designs, made some bonehead mistakes, learned from my successes and failures and used up miles of copper wire doing what I call "fiddling".<br />
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But, there are times when a tutorial is in order and I'm grateful to the people who have shared their skills in books, on blogs and on YouTube. They have saved me hours of time, material and frustration while also teaching me new skills. To those generous folks out there, I say a heartfelt Thank You!<br />
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Here are a few of my favorites:<br />
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If you're into leaves and want to make wire wrapped leaf jewelry, this tutorial is easy to follow and will result in realistic looking leaves. It's also really fun to see the leaves form! <br />
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<a href="https://www.wirejewelry.com/pages/albina_manning_birch_leaf.html?ref=pattern60" target="_blank">Wire Birch Leaves</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8xOcW0qJAlPldfFEPTjd4shUgGN8x_XPmbvNDFHBWVKLw79ZJvur6QqQ9FIBV9LYT7U6d5Cve8wrfJjaTTq6Ty297lQXxqqno7NQHAPj0PQnOu4eUDw0zgRRo4r2L_pZAzOqrtdxE6KS6/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8xOcW0qJAlPldfFEPTjd4shUgGN8x_XPmbvNDFHBWVKLw79ZJvur6QqQ9FIBV9LYT7U6d5Cve8wrfJjaTTq6Ty297lQXxqqno7NQHAPj0PQnOu4eUDw0zgRRo4r2L_pZAzOqrtdxE6KS6/s400/1.jpg" width="395" /></a></div>
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If you're like me and know nothing about macrame, but want to use cord in your designs, this is another super helpful and well written tutorial. It's very easy to follow and the results are beautiful. I used it to make a charm bracelet retirement gift for one of my best friends:<br />
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<a href="http://www.thanksimadeitblog.com/2012/03/diy-pom-pom-bracelet.html" target="_blank">Pom Pom Bracelet</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLu2rHMnyT2FzZO8DrItbxrZ_EJKZ6qSgmszq2fkMn7f7lIS2xc_OHqWimFbWfuyS6XcVBN-ogwB2NAXr4IXUAPGxcLETGMB0gLZhFl7PubAKDfi2MSdFLzki0kfOr4DDFDTVBj3zydoBh/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="500" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLu2rHMnyT2FzZO8DrItbxrZ_EJKZ6qSgmszq2fkMn7f7lIS2xc_OHqWimFbWfuyS6XcVBN-ogwB2NAXr4IXUAPGxcLETGMB0gLZhFl7PubAKDfi2MSdFLzki0kfOr4DDFDTVBj3zydoBh/s400/9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I had long wanted to learn how to make netted wire pendants and this tutorial from beadaholique that shows how to net around a bottle did the trick. Wire netting is another fun technique and once you "get it" will find yourself applying it to all kinds of designs.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltuK4t3rTZk" target="_blank">Wire Netted Bottle</a><br />
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I'll leave you with a little tutorial I wrote recently about how to make headpins on your kitchen stove (if you have gas or propane - electric doesn't get hot enough. At least, I don't think it does as I didn't try it!<br />
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<a href="http://jewelryartbydawn.blogspot.com/2017/04/making-balled-headpins-using-your-gas.html" target="_blank">Making Balled Headpins</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08vNo5PwTNVn6cW9mCGgpbIbfJ-RDyrOllyoaQ7h4r9rs04DIORFUKGhuFobqedqIBzO_eG7muKtgcurU9s3_wdSLp1dG-Ug-6P-e7apMJCZSN4hCVqdLRgCjanRvM9jEGUlly0hGudTZ/s1600/Finished+Head+Pins+and+Kleenix+Hand+Towels+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08vNo5PwTNVn6cW9mCGgpbIbfJ-RDyrOllyoaQ7h4r9rs04DIORFUKGhuFobqedqIBzO_eG7muKtgcurU9s3_wdSLp1dG-Ug-6P-e7apMJCZSN4hCVqdLRgCjanRvM9jEGUlly0hGudTZ/s400/Finished+Head+Pins+and+Kleenix+Hand+Towels+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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To see what the other Jewelry Artisan Community blog carnival participants have to say about tutorials, please click on the links below: <br />
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<a href="https://vmcdesigns.nl/tutorials-jac-blog-carnival/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a><br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2017/05/tut-tut.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-46652396683068951402017-04-26T14:33:00.003-07:002017-04-26T14:37:19.405-07:00April 2017 Blog Carnival - My Other ArtsIt's blog carnival time at the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> and the topic for April is other crafts and arts we pursue besides designing and creating jewelry. <br />
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I'm downright incompetent when it comes to things like sewing, knitting, crochet, pottery and sculpture and pretty much everything else I've tried. But, I seem to have a knack for cooking. My grandmother and mother were both wonderful cooks and I remember that when I was young, I liked to sit at the kitchen table and watch. Sometimes they even let me help!<br />
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As a young, just married adult, I avidly pursued my interest in preparing beautiful meals, but as the years went on and my career became more and more demanding, cooking fell by the wayside. It became more sustenance than any kind of creative endeavor. When I retired nearly three years ago, I found my interest in food rekindled and now find myself really enjoying creating with food once again:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSZxoL4XoOpT9CzmmZYUOmsxGy8oWm-e5vtORRc1xRMllCWryEApalkfdaUDDwd6ysF7wR_tPr85_EPlwV6idpXjOUmpmbRl_e_XoFTcdi0xNcm6KL_nGE7aKm2Wger4FV45dH5E311gW/s1600/Breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSZxoL4XoOpT9CzmmZYUOmsxGy8oWm-e5vtORRc1xRMllCWryEApalkfdaUDDwd6ysF7wR_tPr85_EPlwV6idpXjOUmpmbRl_e_XoFTcdi0xNcm6KL_nGE7aKm2Wger4FV45dH5E311gW/s400/Breakfast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, peppers, onions, spinach, sausage and cheese</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Salad on Lettuce Cups</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoadSSrRT1t-iCeCj8LRepch2rnPB7grACQ9JMMhPCXx7CWcD6ee7_lrIuHz33BkBw2Ns38PpzJvzzfdejb20ArHj6hJwF58_2REThAaj2GxLjwHOYY7dZ1aWHOqCs6yeQDVa19BMrzhkW/s1600/Fruit+Leather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoadSSrRT1t-iCeCj8LRepch2rnPB7grACQ9JMMhPCXx7CWcD6ee7_lrIuHz33BkBw2Ns38PpzJvzzfdejb20ArHj6hJwF58_2REThAaj2GxLjwHOYY7dZ1aWHOqCs6yeQDVa19BMrzhkW/s400/Fruit+Leather.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackberry Fruit Leather</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Jn0C3eGc3GNsC5EnWxmju_cG6ZxmCRgsihDXZR_skEGIfpPlacjVCCi5EzND5xe0MGyIthqkmKIsUbLtK2ZxRo8ez51IyR02jUwJ8flxAOED8m1kD8_pSeW5x736pJic5MHa3-jNqyY/s1600/Fruit+pops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Jn0C3eGc3GNsC5EnWxmju_cG6ZxmCRgsihDXZR_skEGIfpPlacjVCCi5EzND5xe0MGyIthqkmKIsUbLtK2ZxRo8ez51IyR02jUwJ8flxAOED8m1kD8_pSeW5x736pJic5MHa3-jNqyY/s320/Fruit+pops.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Fruit Pops - Clockwise from top - Peach, Blackberry/Yogurt, Blackberry, Yogurt and Strawberry, Blackberry and Cream Cheese, Watermelon, Mixed Fruit and Yogurt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXO98rc-ZUvLQO_NfHLsmTnBi-awPLFWnA6gQtn1FLpIYkCpOLItDLsA57be7YVqDr9KjRHvvebbx8xwycJsvyDUMidIWkdg5hTSw8IQyD9n2Tk3bSL7CnqId2awX3ZTba5PF1jfVtkqx/s1600/kabobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXO98rc-ZUvLQO_NfHLsmTnBi-awPLFWnA6gQtn1FLpIYkCpOLItDLsA57be7YVqDr9KjRHvvebbx8xwycJsvyDUMidIWkdg5hTSw8IQyD9n2Tk3bSL7CnqId2awX3ZTba5PF1jfVtkqx/s400/kabobs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grilled Red Onion, Kielbasa, Yellow Peppers and Green Apple Kabobs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU7V754zQ1HpC1CMVSCUd4Y_zyvpE4Zsy2rxrD4hEypfKv_IIGJyAaef1X2lh3QTG2KjOqLozEUNI2DkdLErLwiCNR5w-jDPezHFVVfTLPAj1Tf-SzswiUaptJ8k4g2Z35Fl2RJcQld6a/s1600/Rolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU7V754zQ1HpC1CMVSCUd4Y_zyvpE4Zsy2rxrD4hEypfKv_IIGJyAaef1X2lh3QTG2KjOqLozEUNI2DkdLErLwiCNR5w-jDPezHFVVfTLPAj1Tf-SzswiUaptJ8k4g2Z35Fl2RJcQld6a/s400/Rolls.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clover Rolls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbf0YM9AutZ22M2JiJzD3szgF8XntlcHykrLzZIH6rUQ7nYB4nP7rTJJz5QwulfgGg8XZD1OOcU_ghTC3FlNfLWxLwPgbK_cDUAQJkzPdKRFSAAA3hwZ0G2J0jqjs0f7nxlKtFkko1vGX/s1600/Stir+Fry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbf0YM9AutZ22M2JiJzD3szgF8XntlcHykrLzZIH6rUQ7nYB4nP7rTJJz5QwulfgGg8XZD1OOcU_ghTC3FlNfLWxLwPgbK_cDUAQJkzPdKRFSAAA3hwZ0G2J0jqjs0f7nxlKtFkko1vGX/s400/Stir+Fry.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was rather by accident that I discovered how much I enjoy taking photographs. About the same time I retired, I bought a Canon Powershot for photographing the jewelry that I make. It wasn't long before I started taking the camera with me pretty much every where I go in order to take photos of things I might want to paint later on. You just never know when a photo opportunity will present itself. I just love that little camera and the fact that it's red is a bonus!<br />
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I've learned and continue to learn that there is a lot more to photography than snapping a picture. A good photographer can get fantastic photos with a little point and shoot camera while an unskilled photographer will take mediocre photos with the best and most expensive camera equipment available. So much depends on the the photographer's eye for composition and lighting and what makes an interesting photograph as well as the editing that's done after the pictures have been taken. Just the act of cropping a photo can make the difference between a boring photo and a great shot. <br />
<br />
I feel that my skills have improved over time and have actually been thinking about listing some of my photos to test the waters. I have no idea if anyone would actually be interested in purchasing any of them, but there is only one way to find out.<br />
<br />
In no particular order, here are some of my efforts with the camera - be aware, this is very photo bloated:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJ89ZiCReOtzzdNoXpjkQJEPNqKJhDrUfwrlLe1-yekCe1H4o_PiyUHq_zISOPRwJ1gr98ruEZ8XcWOa4KsNnvM1fmUwQHKQYFn3gbzgDZhdwgXTBef9hS1XDNOLoSvyOwDbjVrkHihMZ/s1600/Bird+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJ89ZiCReOtzzdNoXpjkQJEPNqKJhDrUfwrlLe1-yekCe1H4o_PiyUHq_zISOPRwJ1gr98ruEZ8XcWOa4KsNnvM1fmUwQHKQYFn3gbzgDZhdwgXTBef9hS1XDNOLoSvyOwDbjVrkHihMZ/s400/Bird+House.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUZcJazV7aHTo02-fSJp4bmgtru9gwMxb2v9S9rCgDKdJxRIMFk-GqGaqRex14mFrf1mqN80QAg2V5eY6z3X5Tszci7sSWUR6Sy_ix4uXw3qpIZQ3zfUV9j8rQnhBi4mGiX_eLofST8md/s1600/Bird+on+Beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUZcJazV7aHTo02-fSJp4bmgtru9gwMxb2v9S9rCgDKdJxRIMFk-GqGaqRex14mFrf1mqN80QAg2V5eY6z3X5Tszci7sSWUR6Sy_ix4uXw3qpIZQ3zfUV9j8rQnhBi4mGiX_eLofST8md/s400/Bird+on+Beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YcJVz0bbouxLjalE7ZQpukFWoI7MT301PF30aRJJ9TgiWwqpa6Nn6Rfs_F4aLVbqOvh-byYDxKL-Vj59C7B9rCqh1PYpseLUG9QqSyQUi3t4uWWafNjH2X28U7LEKm5XNF6fsiVtLPvZ/s1600/Deer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YcJVz0bbouxLjalE7ZQpukFWoI7MT301PF30aRJJ9TgiWwqpa6Nn6Rfs_F4aLVbqOvh-byYDxKL-Vj59C7B9rCqh1PYpseLUG9QqSyQUi3t4uWWafNjH2X28U7LEKm5XNF6fsiVtLPvZ/s400/Deer1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I found it interesting that photographing the same subject from different angles created entirely different moods in the resulting photos:<br />
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I hope that you have enjoyed sharing my pursuits of food and photos with me. To see what other members of the Jewelry Artisans Community has to say on the subject, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="https://vmcdesigns.nl/my-other-hobby-papercraft/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a><br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2017/04/the-other-craft.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-58035705206531554132017-04-17T22:35:00.000-07:002017-04-18T07:04:23.200-07:00Making Balled Headpins Using Your Gas Kitchen StoveHave you ever wished that you could make your own ball headpins for your jewelry designs? Maybe what's holding you back is that you don't own a torch. Perhaps fear of using a torch or fear of fire is the culprit. Or, a torch isn't allowed in your building or covered under your insurance. Whatever the reason, this tutorial will to show you how to make hand made ball headpins or balled wire on the gas stove in your kitchen. Who would have thought that sitting right there is a big ol' torch just waiting to be put into service!?<br />
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While working in my studio one day, I needed some balled wire for a piece I was working on and was annoyed that I was going to have to set the project aside until I found a source of balled wire. As I entered the kitchen in search of a snack, my eyes settled on the gas stove in my kitchen and I wondered if the flame of the burners was hot enough to melt metal and form a ball on the ends.<br />
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Quickly grabbing some copper wire and an old pair of pliers I decided to give it a try. Not only did it work, it worked great! I was so excited and having so much fun watching the little ball form on the end of the wire that I ended up making 110 balled headpins!<br />
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So, let's get started!<br />
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Fill one small container with cold water and set it next to the stove. <br />
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You will need copper or sterling silver wire that is no larger than 20 gauge. I tried 18 gauge but wasn't able to get it hot enough to form a ball. <br />
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One old pair of pliers. Don't use your good pliers as the flame and heat will blacken the steel and may even cause the pliers to warp a bit.<br />
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Cut your wire to the desired length and straighten. I made three inch lengths as that's usually the length I want my headpins.<br />
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Using your pliers hold the end of the wire vertically:<br />
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Turn one of your stove burners on high heat and hold the end of the wire in the hottest part of the flame. What worked best for me was holding the wire about half an inch from where the flame comes out of the jet. If you look at the photo, you will see a fine blue line and that is what I aimed for:<br />
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If the wire is in the right place, the wire will first turn red:<br />
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Then it will turn white. In this photo a ball can be seen starting to form at the end of the wire:<br />
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Next you will see a green flame and this is what you want - it means you have found the sweet spot on your stove burner! The metal is melting and making a ball. From start to finish, this process should take no longer than 30 - 45 seconds.<br />
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When the ball has fully formed, remove the wire from the flame. It will be red hot and this is where the bowl of water comes in. Quench the wire in the water for a few seconds to cool it.<br />
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CAUTION: Your pliers will be hot. Do not touch the ends or leave them somewhere that small children or pets could come into contact with them. If you set them down put them on something fireproof such as metal or stone until they have cooled off. One of my cast iron skillets came in handy for this purpose.<br />
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Congratulations! You can now set your headpin aside and start on the next one.<br />
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Once you have made all of your headpins, you will want to harden them as the heat anneals or softens the wire. You can do this by work hardening, tapping gently with a rubber mallet or putting them into a tumbler. The tumbler will also clean of some of the dark scale that formed on the wire when it was heated.<br />
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If you have a tumbler, put just enough water in the tumbler to cover the stainless steel shot and the headpins and add a drop of Dawn dish soap:<br />
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Let tumble for at least 2 - 3 hours. When you remove them from the tumbler many of them will have been bent by the tumbling action. Simply straighten them out using your fingers or nylon jaw pliers. Once straightened, you will see that much of the black scale has been removed as well:<br />
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In order to remove the rest of the black scale, you will need to make a pickle. Carina, one of my jewelry making friends at the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> found an easy pickle recipe at <a href="http://www.natashalh.com/tutorial-thursday-recipe-to-make-your-own-natural-jewelers-pickle/" target="_blank">The Artisan Life</a> blog which does a great job of explaining pickling metal and it is what I used for this project. You can read our discussion and experiments for making headpins on the stove at this thread: <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/thread/4740/balled-headpins?page=3&scrollTo=52193" target="_blank">Making Balled Headpins</a><br />
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Here they are. 110 beautiful, shiny copper balled headpins!<br />
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These can now be used in jewelry designs and if you like oxidized copper they are ready to be dipped in liver of sulfur.<br />
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Some safety things to consider. The copper made very little if any fumes that I noticed but I was curious so looked it up. Copper is not considered to be a highly toxic metal, but it can cause respiratory problems and/or rashes if one is exposed to a lot of it. If you are concerned about fumes or have delicate pets such as birds, make sure your work area is ventilated either by opening a window, using fans or using the exhaust fan on your stove. Wearing eye protection is also recommended.<br />
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Don't forget to turn off the stove when you're finished!<br />
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Something to keep in mind is that how successful you will be is going to depend partly on your stove. My stove is propane while others are natural gas. Propane burns just a little bit hotter than natural gas which is something to take into consideration. Different stoves will be calibrated differently which can also make a difference in how hot the flame burns. My best advice would be to try it and experiment until you find what works for you.<br />
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Have fun, best of luck and please come back here to post comments about how it worked for you!<br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-20257750025272337702017-03-28T00:18:00.000-07:002017-03-29T01:07:01.634-07:00March 2017 Blog Carnival - Collaborating with Other ArtistsMarch is here and it's time for the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> monthly blog carnival. This month we are talking about collaborating with other artists.<br />
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Personally, I think this is a great thing to do. It's a way to expand our horizons as artists, incorporate new and different techniques and to include new styles in our jewelry designs that we probably wouldn't do on our own.<br />
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Much as I'm all for collaboration, I've only really had one opportunity to actually collaborate with another artist. My friend and fellow jewelry designer, Sue, is tremendously talented and creative and I've watched over the years as she's mastered kumihimo braiding, metal etching, form folding and working with tiny seed beads. Sue approached me a few years ago about working together on a design for a color challenge and I was thrilled to have the chance to work with Sue.<br />
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We chose our color palette, which were the blues and browns of the Blue Tiger Butterfly of Phuket, Thailand.<br />
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Sue focused on producing her beautiful kumihimo cords (which is a Japanese braiding technique) of intricately patterned cords that are made by braiding strands of different colors of silk together) and I worked on painting wood beads that would complement the braids.<br />
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Once the cords and beads were finished, Sue put them together to create this glorious necklace that combined the best of both of our work. It was when I first saw the necklace that I realized just how much two artists could accomplish together - designs they'd never be able to do on their own.<br />
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We went on to take second place in the challenge and sold our necklace for an outrageous price that stunned us both!<br />
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Having had such a positive experience, we decided to collaborate on a few other things:<br />
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While I haven't had a chance to collaborate since then, I'd certainly welcome the opportunity if it ever comes my way again.<br />
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To see what other members of the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about collaborating with others, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2017/03/artist-collaborations.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<a href="https://vmcdesigns.nl/collaborations-with-other-artists/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-92083602433889204952017-02-28T10:13:00.000-08:002017-02-28T10:13:37.658-08:00February 2017 Blog Carnival - Projects I'd Like to Try This YearIt's time for the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> February Blog Carnival and this month we are talking about projects we'd like to try this year.<br />
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I started out this blog post by writing about all the new things I want to learn and do during the year of 2017 and then was struck by a thought that would not leave my head. Over the last few days, the thought has grown bigger and stronger and I don't think I can ignore it.<br />
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Rather than go on and on about new things I'm going to do this year, I am going to take a step back and re-visit things I've already done. There are so many techniques that I've dabbled in and tried, but have never truly explored all of the possibilities.<br />
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So, this year I want to learn more about making beads from paper. I really love everything about making them from selecting the paper, cutting the strips and forming them into beads and watching them take shape before my very eyes. I think there is so much more to this than just the basics that I am familiar with.<br />
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I want to experiment more with using buttons in jewelry. My foray into buttons has mostly involved making rings, but I want to explore using them in clasps and as bails for pendants. I've used buttons as bails a few times and think the look is terrific, but there are definitely more possibilities than what I've done to date.<br />
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Another of my favorite activities is working with wire and I think I've become too comfortable with the techniques I know well. Time to challenge myself and the wire to new, interesting and unique designs. Wire sculpture comes to mind as something to try.<br />
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Resin is another area where I've barely scratched the surface. Look for more exploration in resin to come, especially with preserving and using organic materials such as leaves and seed pods in resin. I had so much fun dipping fall leaves in resin last year and I know there are techniques and designs that have yet to be coaxed from the resin.<br />
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Last, but not least, I would really like to play with form folding in much more depth than I've done in the past. Making these was a fun project, but there is much more to form folding than leaves and hearts.<br />
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I'm very good at trying new techniques and mastering the basics, but it seems as soon as I do that, it's off to the next thing. My attention span is short. 2017 is going to be the year to go back and explore all of the areas I've mentioned in more depth and really master them; not just superficially, but inside out, upside down, backwards and forwards. Now, I may not to get to all of the things I've mentioned, but I'm looking forward to the challenge!<br />
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To see what other members of the jewelry artisans community have to say about the projects they want to try in 2017, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2017/02/trying-something-new.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<a href="https://vmcdesigns.nl/project-i-like-to-try-this-year/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a>JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-24942167335405339202016-12-30T22:45:00.004-08:002016-12-30T22:57:03.728-08:00December Blog Carnival - The Year in ReviewIt's blog carnival time at the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a>. With the arrival of December and the end of 2016, we decided to re-visit our 2016 challenge items. Each month a group of us challenge ourselves to make a piece of jewelry based on a theme we have chosen. Sit back and enjoy this trip down memory lane!<br />
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<b>January - New</b><br />
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Our challenge was to design jewelry using something that was new to us. It could be a new technique or a new material or something else we weren't familiar with. I chose to make post earrings using copper wire:<br />
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<b>February - Romance</b><br />
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In honor of Valentine's Day we decided to make jewelry that was romantic. Using crystals and sterling silver chain, I made these dainty, dangling earrings:<br />
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<b>March - Lariats</b><br />
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For the month of March, lariat necklaces were our challenge. Having never made one before, it was definitely a challenge!<br />
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<b>April - Spring has Sprung</b><br />
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With spring in the air the obvious choice for our challenge theme was Spring:<br />
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<b>May - Button, Button, Who Has the Button?</b><br />
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Fairly self explanatory - we had to use buttons in a jewelry design:<br />
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<b>June/July - Zip It Up</b><br />
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We combined June and July because we were all busy with summer activities and made jewelry out of zippers. This was one of my favorite challenges and a lot of fun to see what everyone designed:<br />
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<b>August - Cool Clear Water</b><br />
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Because August is so bloody hot, we chose a theme that made all of us feel cooler. These earrings made of blue glass beads were my entry:<br />
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<b>September - Goodbye Summer</b><br />
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Many of us were glad to see summer and it's hot weather go. Our challenge was to find our inspiration in this photo of sunflowers:<br />
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This was my entry:<br />
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We had the best of intentions for October, but the month got away from us and we never got around to making our designs!<br />
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<b>November - Fire</b><br />
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With the arrival of November, we also saw the arrival of cooler weather and took our inspiration from the fires that were now burning in wood stoves and fireplaces:<br />
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<b>December - Christmas</b><br />
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Before we knew it, December was here and Christmas was looming. Our challenge was to make Christmas jewelry. These earrings feature coral beads which have been netted with aqua/teal colored wire:<br />
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I hope you have enjoyed this review of 2016. To read what other members of the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about their 2016 jewelry challenges, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="https://violetmoon.nl/2016-recap-of-this-year/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a><br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2016/12/challenges.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761980009639260692.post-59861108475339556412016-11-28T23:20:00.002-08:002016-11-29T10:03:35.806-08:00November 2016 Blog Carnival - You Know You Are a Jewelry Artist When...We used to play this game on our old jewelry site and some of the stories were hilarious. Things like seeing the word "swarovski" (as in famous crystal maker) when reading a story about former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Or, recording every trip to a bead store in photos so that you can post pictures of all of the beads you looked at for your jewelry making friends. Yes, it's blog carnival time at the <a href="http://jewelryartisans.proboards.com/" target="_blank">Jewelry Artisans Community</a> and being a jewelry artist is what we're talkin' about!<br />
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Back when our jewelry making group was playing this game, I told a true story about the time I was thinking about a new design I was working on while changing the sheets on the bed. I stripped the bed, got fresh linens out of the closet and proceeded to make the bed. Just as I was finishing and fluffing up the pillows, I noticed the stack of clean sheets sitting on the dresser. Yep, I was so involved in thinking about the jewelry design that I forgot to put the sheets on the bed which just goes to show how involved we jewelry makers get when working on a new project.<br />
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Now you will understand when I tell you how obsessively involved I have become in my latest project - preserving fall leaves in resin. I patiently waited for fall to arrive so that the leaves would begin to turn color. Once they did, I spent hours walking among the trees gathering up leaves with vivid colors and/or patterns. I collected bags of leaves - even I was beginning to think it was a little bit out of control! Once home, it was time to sort them out for drying:<br />
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After they were dry, several coats of resin were applied to preserve the leaves and those fabulous fall colors. Let me tell you that applying resin to leaves without using a mold is not for the faint of heart! I'd heard stories about out of control resin and this time experienced it for myself. Resin is sticky stuff and it thickens as time passes. I had resin stuck to my fingers, leaves stuck to the resin on my fingers, leaves stuck to the table and a couple of resin spills. My favorite was dropping a leaf in the cup of resin which ended up being a sticky, runny, drippy mess! But, I am stubborn and was determined to stick (no pun intended) it out.<br />
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This is one of my early attempts. While the resin wanted to stick to me and everything else it could find, it did not want to stick to the left side of the leaf which is why there is discoloration on that part of the leaf. But, I learned a lot about what worked, what didn't and what to do differently next time. While not good enough to sell, I'm proud of this leaf and it will become part of my personal collection:<br />
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With this now under my belt, it was off to collect more leaves and repeat the process. Armed with what I had learned so far, this time things went better despite a few setbacks:<br />
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Next was a pendant made from a brown leaf that I found mixed among all the bright yellow, orange and red leaves. It wasn't the most colorful or show stopping of all the leaves, but it had a beautiful rich pattern of browns and rust that draw me in. I'm very glad I stopped to pick it up that day:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAE0RXKrsA1hfIlcHc2ZBccisJ92415QJH5jNMb6UPHH4DXgKVpZP-R_y4fan6ImquF1XgILUPhZAnMZlpA6afWFXZQMrTa2J1JYbN_Rm3Q-opn7eZLgQ79JFBPj6BiHQgclsPg9I2Kg4Y/s1600/j1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAE0RXKrsA1hfIlcHc2ZBccisJ92415QJH5jNMb6UPHH4DXgKVpZP-R_y4fan6ImquF1XgILUPhZAnMZlpA6afWFXZQMrTa2J1JYbN_Rm3Q-opn7eZLgQ79JFBPj6BiHQgclsPg9I2Kg4Y/s400/j1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Leaves have been on my mind constantly. I fall asleep thinking about them and when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I want to do is head to the studio to experiment with leaves. I'll soon be finishing up the autumn leaf project and it will be time to move on to the next thing that grabs my attention. I actually already have some ideas whirling around in my head. Will I be as involved and as obsessed as I was with the leaves? You bet; because you know you are a jewelry artist when...<br />
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To see what other jewelry artists at the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about this month's topic, please click on the links below:<br />
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<a href="https://violetmoon.nl/you-know-you-are-a-beader/" target="_blank">Violetmoon's Corner</a><br />
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<a href="http://catswire.blogspot.de/2016/11/you-know-you-are-jewelry-artisan-when.html" target="_blank">Cat's Wire</a><br />
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<br />JewelryArtByDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030962423716899580noreply@blogger.com2