2019 Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Well, I have finally taken the leap and will be selling some of my jewelry at a local craft show.  Check out the flyer below.  I am so excited to finally getting out there and showing off all the many (many, many) beautiful pieces that I've made.  If you are in the area, come out and see me...

June Art Bead Scene Challenge

Another month has gone by!  This month's Art Bead Scene Studio Challenge is a bright painting by Jean Metzinger.
I love the colors!  This says summer to me.  And tropical vacations.  And enjoying the beauty of nature with lots of sun!
After perusing the art beads, I thought this art bead by Ashley Bonney really captured the mood of the painting.  Do you see all the attention to detail in the bead? - It's very remarkable!
I paired it with other bright colors to try and capture the feel of summer.

The back button is a handmade stoneware bead by Beadfreaky.  

Thank you Art Bead Scene Studio for the inspiration!

Art Bead Scene Studio May Challenge

Wow!  6 months have gone by since last post.  I guess I've used more Instagram for my jewelry posting lately.   If you want to check any of my stuff out, my Instagram site can be found at mccabe.denise.

I needed some new inspiration and found some with this month's Art Bead Scene Studio May challenge.  Of course, it's completely different from any art I would pick and out of my normal comfort zone for jewelry making - but that usually makes the best inspiration - the one that stretches my mind the most.  
The artwork is Botticelli's Primavera.  I'm glad the website added the link for the art people's interpretation of it.  Who would think that a piece of artwork about spring would be weighted with so much black in the background?  I had a hard time getting over that.  I usually think of Spring as colors piled on top of each other.
Another issue is that I don't have a lot of black beads except seed beads to work with.  How to add the weight of the artwork into a Spring-y jewelry design?
I pulled out a few orangey-red art beads that I thought looked similar to the cloth color that swathes Venus but the beads didn't work with much else.

Well, this is what I came up with....

The bracelets...
I took the soft blue from the sky and from Zephyr, the god of wind, and  used it for one bracelet by wrapping pale blue memory wire around a Vintaj bracelet blank and adding a lampwork focal bead with a dark navy blue swirl and some brass flowers to give it the Spring-y feel.  The lampwork focal bead was purchased at an Intergalactic Bead Show several years ago.

The second bracelet is braided wax linen with little peach seed beads as accents.  I think of them as the dots of flowers in the picture.  The clasp is by Melinda Orr.  There are 2 lampwork glass beads.  The small one, again, was purchased from the Intergalactic Bead Show.  The larger light amber one with polka dots is by Loupiac.

The necklace is a lariat with a antique brass color suede - very soft and easy to wear.  The brass pendant and washer loop were etched by me!   I made several etched pieces last year and have been planning to do something with them.....  The etched images have leaves that mimic the trees in the picture.  There are lampwork beads from 2 different artists separated by the tiniest sand opal Swavorski crystals.  The bottom satin metallic lampwork spacer is by Beadfairy.  The 3 stripey beads and the larger, clear and yellow/blue/black striated one were purchased at the Intergalactic Bead Show.
**I had purchased several beads from two lampwork glass artists who were exhibiting from the show - Thornburg Studio and from another woman, who for the life of me, I can't remember right now.  I came home and mixed the beads up, so not sure who made what anymore.

Christmas Beaded Ornaments

This year, I am participating in the Art Elements Blog Hop.  I had grand ambitions...and then December happened.  It comes around every year and all of a sudden its time to go to concerts and bake cookies and get gifts and then its Christmas! 
Here are my two ornaments....

I wanted to learn how to make a beaded star.  I've seen many on Pinterest with beautiful, complex designs and there is one with snowmen on it that I would love to make.  So, I made a prototype, just to learn the stitch and how it all fits together and that's as far as I got right now. This pattern is from Diane Fitzgerald's book, called Shaped Beadwork and Beyond.  My first beaded start still sits pretty on the tree, even if the design is slightly plain.  I actually found another link on Bead and Button and another way to make these stars and may try it as well.  Diane Fitzgerald's idea has you making five beaded components and then sewing them together.  Bead & Button's idea has you making 10 beaded components and then sewing them together - which may be helpful if creating intricate designs on the faces of the stars. 

My second ornament came from the idea given at Art Bead Scene blog.  Why not make an ornament with all my favorite hoarded art beads?  I really like these beads and had to have them but either found them too big for the more delicate or flat jewelry I like to make or too whimsical for the jewelry I make.  But I love them hanging on the tree!
The art beads included are: a spunky cowboy pendant by Jade Scott (who no longer sells these), beautiful handmade glass beads from Loupiac, and an enameled copper bead with the saying "Less is more" from Blue Antiquities.  Less is more is a phrase I keep trying to live by but find many challenges with.  This wreath isn't in traditional Christmas colors because I'm planning on hanging it by my kitchen window to enjoy all year after the tree is down. 
**The in between beads are pyrite and the wire was found on the ground after a nearby utility pole was getting changed out.  I collected a whole bunch of one foot wire segments - not sure what kind of metal it is, maybe steel?  It's silver colored and slightly hard.

Can't wait to see what everyone else made!  Merry Christmas!

Here are the links to the other participating designers:  

Guest Designers

Kathy Lindemer

Hope Smitheram

Denise McCabe

Paisley Lizard

Samantha Westcott

Sarajo Wentling

Divya N 

Linda Newnham

Melissa Trudinger

Art Elements Team

Susan Kennedy

 Caroline Dewison

Laney Mead

Cathy Mendola

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Lesley Watt

Lindsay Starr

Claire Fabian

Niky Sayers

Geometric Beaded Bead

Has anyone seen the beaded bead tutorial on Pinterest?  If you have, you may recognize the pattern on this bead. I pinned it over a year ago and was very intrigued both with the pattern and how it was done.  So my curiosity finally won out and I tried it.  The Pinterest one looks like it uses Czech seed beads.  I used delicas, so its a little more angular.

Here's a link to the pinterest inspiration:   https://www.pinterest.com/pin/277464027022928604/
 

SALE!

It's my birthday month!
So I am offering 20% off any items over $10 in my shop.
Use Coupon Code:  BIRTHDAY20 when checking out.

Also, look for some new listings this week in the shop.
I have quite the inventory right now and would like to share and sell some of it.

While I haven't been making quite as much jewelry these last two months, I have been "earning" some new bling...

Finishing two half marathons in the month of May. 

Bead Soup Blog Party - Bead Hoarder's Edition

First, Thank you Lori Anderson for hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party.  This is my third and I've enjoyed meeting other Beaders across the US through this platform. 

Second, Thank you Annita Wilson, my BSBP partner.  She sent me some awesome beads.  And it was fun working with them.  So, here were the beads that were sent to me....

 I started making jewelry with many of the components but only happily finished a few ....

The beautiful yellow green and black cut stone was made into a tassel pendant for this long necklace.  The chain is made up of white shell beads and gold Czech glass beads.  A fun, long bohemian necklace. 

Next, I split up the pair of purple, magenta and turquoise blue puffy rectangles and made a bracelet with many handmade components.  The faceted beads are polymer clay.  Check out how they are made here:  http://cabewoman.blogspot.com/2017/02/handmade-polymer-clay-beads.html. 

 

I love how this bracelet turned out.  The colors go together so well!

Lastly, these beaded bead earrings were made with the strand of AB purplish beads. 

Thank you again to Annita.  I loved working with the beads. 
Here's the beads I sent her:  

Check out her blog to see what she did with them:  http://awjewelryandbeadwork.blogspot.com/

And make sure to check out all the Bead Soup Blog Hop participants by checking them out here:  http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2017/03/welcome-to-bead-soup-blog-party-bead.html

Stay tuned.  I have a leather bracelet that was started with the green shell beads that will soon be finished!