CC7A :: Blue Skies

We are wrapping to a close on our second year of our CC7A group hop, the Creative Continuum of Seven Artists created and hosted by Alicia of All The Pretty Things blog. Each one of us have co-hosted a month by sending around a photo to the team to inspire our creative thinking. 

This final month is hosted by Christine. She sent around such a cool inspiration as we head into winter. A view of an open blue sky that can consume the landscape once the trees are bare. It makes me think of seeing the migrating birds heading South for the winter. It is a dramatic sight in an empty sky.

That is why my piece for this month is of a bird in flight. That is exactly where my mind went when I saw Christine's photo. I think we all struggle with finding that bit of breezy blue sky inspiration once the days turn short, and often the skies are grey and heavy with snow. But on those rare days when the sky just opens up with a burst of blue on a cold day it makes you want to breathe in deeply and enjoy the short bit of warmth on your face. Thanks for this photo Christine. It is that warm blanket on a cold winter's day.

I also decided to add a pair of earrings. They match the necklace, but only with the agate rondelle accent beads I have included in both. The skeleton of the leaves reminds me of what is left behind after they fall. That delicate, decaying lace stretching between the skeleton of the leaf that was. Ok, one last turn about the rest of the blogs for our group hop: Christine, Therese, Sally, Alicia and Monique. Be sure to check them all out!

CC7A :: Indian Summer

It is my month to host our CC7A hop (Creative Continuum of Seven Artists) created by Alicia over at All the Pretty Things. 

As host, we have all had our turn at picking out a photo for inspiration and creating our own color palette. So for my inspiration I decided to use a photo I took from our place in the Adirondacks. It is one of my favorite spots; standing out on the end of our dock and looking down the lake. 

The photo is from last year in September. Which is when we go up to close the camp for the winter. Our camp is what is called a summer camp because it is not insulated. Which means that when the temperatures start to dip into the 30s at night it just gets to be too cold to be up there. And so by September we board it up for the winter and wait until spring to reopen.

As sad as it makes me to close it up, I do love the trip up this time of year. You can start to feel Fall rolling in with that crisp feel in the air. Fall has some of my favorite colors in the vibrant hues of moody skies and changing leaves. I love all the rich, deep oranges and woody browns. I know it is short lived, but Mother Nature really does put on a show! 

This year I did not make it up to our camp, but instead had a wonderful visit from my sister. September is her birthday month, and she decided to spend it with me! Well at least for one week leading up to the special day. I asked her before she arrived what baubles she wanted me to make for her this year, and she said something in an orange tone - check! And that was absolutely perfect for my September CC7A challenge! 

Her birthday jewelry this year was a combination of special beads pulled into a necklace. I used small round carnelian beads from India my mother-in-law gave me, another carnelian tube bead my friend Christine gifted me and then added one other special touch I had from our mom. I still have a few odds and ends left from our mom's jewelry box that I sparingly use. For this piece I used a small oval focal in a mother of pearl. It gives a nice little swing to the bottom of the focal to this necklace.

I wanted to create something a little different for my sister. This is a lariat style with one long piece of silver chain. I put a large hoop on one end and a tubular focal on the other that slides through the hoop. You can see she wears it up at the throat and lets the focal hang down; just as I designed it. And I think it looks wonderful on her! I also made a sweet little pair of matching earrings in Carnelian faceted, onion cut beads. You can see her wearing both of these pieces plus the cuff I showed you in my last post. I asked her to take a quick picture over on Facebook of her new pieces and she posted this picture back at work where she is all decked out in her new trinkets!

Thanks for letting me host this month Alicia, and for picking my favorite month for me! And now on to the rest of my teamies: Alicia, Therese, Christine, Sally and Monique.

CC7A :: Colorful Chaos

Our CC7A team is back to creating after a summer hiatus. This month Monique is hosting and she picked a beautiful photograph of St. John's in Newfoundland that she titled Colorful Chaos.  

I didn't realize that the picture was North, in Canada. With all those colors I thought it was somewhere South, perhaps in South America. But I bet all those colors are beautiful peeking out of the snow in the dead of winter!

St. John's is said to be the oldest settlement in North America dating back to 1494 when John Cabot (a Venetian explorer) and his son Sebastian sailed into the harbor. And for the next 300 years this migratory fishing town turned into a strategic port that the French, Dutch and English continually battled for control. It ended with the French and Indian Wars in 1762 where the English successfully defeated the French in the battle of Signal hill and the French turned the city back over to the English.

I checked into why a Northern city might be painted so colorfully? It is an area called Jelly Bean Row. Tourist will ask to find the street or row where these house are, but it is a generic nickname that refers to all the row houses in the downtown area. Some say that they were originally painted so the fisherman could find their way home through the fog, which is a nice thought but not accurate. You can't see much through a dense fog no matter the color of the house.

They are actually the result of a revitalization began in the 1970s to the downtown in an effort to preserve the heritage of the houses that we're falling into disrepair and heading for demolition. One guy can be credited with the colors: David Webber, the Heritage Foundation Executive Director. He painted a sample block in bright colors. From there it spread like wildfire with people painting over the drab, dark colors of their houses and adding all kinds of fancy trims as well. At this point the majority of the downtown is decked out in these bright colors.

I got a little distracted in figuring out some history behind this picture, that I need to get to my project for this post! I went with the center colors in the pallet: orange - red hues. I love this piece of deep, cherry sea glass. I did another pattern with this red sea glass a while back that had an Egyptian feel to it. The red does sort of look like a burning sun hanging over a desert. I took some thick copper (14 gauge) and happily twisted and hammered away. Then shaped it around the glass so I could wire it in place. But first I dipped it in patina and tumbled it. I love how the tumbler takes the shiny edge off and buffs out the scratches from all my hammering. Last part of the design is a soft leather strap in the back that holds the necklace from shifting around too much.

And now on to all the rest of the CC7A artists: Monique (this month's host), Alicia, Christine, Therese and Sally

CC7A :: Soft Summer Hues

This month's CC7A challenge is hosted by Sally Russick and is inspired by these beautiful soft summer hues.

I confess that I had originally designed my cabochon #3 as my piece for this month, but I ended up posted it early. Truth be told, I posted it and then remembered several days later that I meant to reveal it for this hop. It was too late to switch it around! That is exactly how distracted I've been lately. 

Ah well, I did have a plan B. I had also made a sweet pair of earrings in the color pallet using a beautiful pair of headpins by Genea that I could not resist buying. I love the celery green color mixed with earthy colors. It just feels like summer to me. I really love her headpins, and all those silvery additions to the beads were perfect for me to add just a touch silver fringe to bring it out.

Be sure to check out everyone else's creations this month: Alicia, Christine, Therese, Sally, and Monique.

CC7A :: Tutti Fruiti

Today's CC7A hop is hosted by Therese Frank. Her challenge to all of us was to use the colors from this mutli-colored, tutti-frutti bloom. I think I might have mentioned this in my last post that I'm Mardi Gras challenged. Using lots of colors is a struggle for me. My mind likes uniformed patterns, so when someone throws in a bunch of colors it goes a bit haywire. 

Throwing caution to the wind I decided to use a pile of beads in a multitude of color. I dumped out what remained of my bicone crystals and used them all. Yes, every last one of them in a random order. 

I knew that I didn't have enough for a full bracelet, but I had something in mind. Originally I was going to finish off each end with a simple peyote band, but it created too much elegance. Strange I know, but it really wasn't what I was going for. I  really wanted something that was everyday wearable with a bit of fun bling. My friend Therese loves a bit of boho, biker bling ... and so I let it inspire this design.

I ripped out what I had, and instead took a strip from an old pair of jeans. I cut out a window box to nestle a sort of stained glass look inside. I stitched the outer edges of the beadwork right into the cut out window box. That first picture is capturing the light coming through the center. 

This cuff slips on like an old pair of jeans. It snaps in the back and feels so comfortable. I asked the Bead Girl to help out by wearing this around for a week or two to fray out the sides. She did a fantastic job with her part, although not exactly what I was expecting. I did see her wearing it for a few days, but when I asked for her to go grab it so I could snap a few pictures she could not find it anywhere. To the point of shouting through the tears, "I put it right here! I don't know what happened?" Fast forward an hour later and her room sifted .... I discovered it in the bottom of her bed. Sigh. 

Please make sure to check out all the other artists this month: Therese (this month's host), Alicia, Christine, Monique, Sally and Emma.

CC7A :: Easter at Downton Abbey

The theme this year is not based on swapping beads, but instead based on sharing colors. For each month one of us has suggested a color pallet to inspire the group. Our first color challenge for this year's CC7A (the Creative Continuum of 7 Artists) is brought to you by our host Alicia of All The Pretty Things. 

Alicia decided to kick it off with some bright Easter colors. I think I might be a bit 'Mardi Gras' challenged. I just don't seem to be able to work with color pallets beyond 2, maybe 3 colors. So I zeroed in on 2 'fruity' colors from the pallet Alicia sent and went with watermelon and papaya. I just happened to have one more rose quartz doughnut left from the set I bought from last month's CC7A post (my watermelon color). And then I picked a warm, brassy-orange filigree to compliment my piece (my papaya color). The design has a lean toward the era of Downton Abby. If any remember my piece from last year inspired by Alicia, then you'll remember that I also picked this period (and Downton) to reflect my design for Alicia's month. Which I personally think is perfect since both she, and I are huge fans of the show.

I wanted to create something that any of the Downton ladies might wear to Easter dinner. They all wear dresses with long, elegant styles, and they often dress for dinner with some gorgeous necklace that 'lady's maids' have to fasten into place. I can't even imagine needing to 'dress' for dinner when I find it bothersome to deal with dressing for work let alone dinner. I'd rather slip into my jammies when I get home; not into an evening gown! 

Now I can't wait to click over to my fellow CC7A team to see what everyone else created with their Easter egg inspiration: Alicia (our host), Christine, Monique, Therese, Sally and Emma.

CC7A: Circle of Love

Last year a group of us were brought together by Alicia Marinache of All The Pretty Things. We named our group CC7A (Creative Continuum of 7 Artists). 

Once the year ended, we started to talk about a year two to the group, and this year Alicia is changing it up a bit. We are kicking off with these lovely stone doughnuts she shared with us all, and then for the rest of the year we are using color pallets as inspiration for our creations. Our kick off post to get us all back together Alicia called 'The Circle of Love' represented with this collection of doughnuts.

There is, of course, yet one more story of that wacky Canadian Post. Alicia sent out Christmas cards and within them she included one of the doughnuts pictured. However, the Canadian Post seemed to have removed doughnuts for any of the cards heading over the boarder. I have to say that I was curious why Alicia had sent me a Christmas card with a bit of wrapping paper included? Nothing else, just wrapping. But when she followed up in email we quickly discovered that all of us South of the boarder had our stones confiscated. 

I'm actually not sure which one of the doughnuts was sent to me, but I picked up this lovely cherry quartz one to create my piece. While this looks like a simple pattern, I actually broke (ok snapped in half) the bail and had to start again. The wire loop just did not want to cooperate. But once I got it to behave I added just a bit of leather for the necklace as I did not want to overwhelm the 'rustic gate' feel to that bail.

I'm looking forward to another year with my CC7A group, and can't wait to see what everyone else created. Please stop by the rest of the team's blogs: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese.

CC7A :: Celebrations

We began our journey in Canada with Monique and her challenge of the National Gallery of Canada. And now we end our series of the Creative Continuum of 7 Artists in Canada with the polymer extraordinaire Emma of A Polymer Penchant. 

This month Emma sent out a stash of beads including a beautiful pendant of polymer that she made which looks a bit like fireworks. She's sending us off in style.

Her challenge for July is just the perfect final celebration for our group of seven. I decided to string it with some simple silk thread and knot the stash of matching beads Emma sent.  I created a faint braiding with the thread which I think gives it a bit of a romantic look.

To finish up my set, I used some unusual beads that Emma sent that are hoops with balls along the outer edge. I stacked them to look a bit like a burst of fireworks. At least that is what I saw as I stacked and twisted the ensemble together.

I'm going to miss our monthly get togethers with this group. We've had a lot of fun trying out all sorts of beads and styles. Thank you all for a great ride!

Check out the rest of the crew's final projects: Alicia (our host), Emma (this month's featured artist), Therese, Christine, Monique and Sally

CC7A :: Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue

This month it was my turn to host the challenge items for Alicia's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists. 

I sent out a mixture of blues and silvers along the theme of the old wedding adage from Victorian times: something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I picked the theme since June is the month for weddings; although absolutely nothing about my own wedding was traditional. 

I'm also not known for following the rules, not even when I'm the one that makes them. The pieces I made for this month are not a wedding set. I also managed to send out the same mixture to all the other artists, but for some reason didn't leave enough for myself. So I'm expecting mine to look a bit different from what everyone else makes! Which will be part of the fun for me as I can't wait to see what everyone made.

I did have extra apatite, so I used that and I had one piece of the toggle (the leaf) but manage to lose the other part of it. I mean seriously ... a comedy of errors for me this month! And of course I only realized it after I had sent everyone else's out. Oh well, it will still be blue with silver!

I've been in the simple stringing mood lately, so I went with it for my piece. I wanted a striking blue bracelet with a focal closure. I pulled out an old button that fit through the leaf, which worked perfectly! I used some borrowed silk thread (from my friend Christine) to add the button and a little more apatite for fringe. I grabbed some cute bird and feather charms to make a matching pair of earrings.

So there you have it ... my something old (silver button), something new (bird and feather charms), something borrowed (silk thread from Christine) and something blue (apatite). 

So now on to the fun part of hopping around to see what everyone else made! Check out the other blogs: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese. 

June's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists

This month it is my turn to host the theme for Alicia's Creative Continuum of 7 Artist Challenge. We post each month on the 26th, so it a little over a week away. But I wanted to give a shout out since we have a whole lot of blog hops coming up through the end of the month, so don't forget to check in!

I picked a theme that I thought we could have some fun with that is an old adage for brides. And then I sent out the mixture to match: something old (reclaimed sari silk), something new (imperial jasper), something borrowed (several remaining leaf toggles from a ZnetShows hop) and something blue (apatite rounds). 

Meaning: It is said that something old represents continuity, something new offers optimism for the future, something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness, something blue stands for purity, love and fidelity and a sixpence in your show is a wish for good fortune and prosperity

June tend to be a month for weddings, so I thought I'd challenge us with the theme, but I'm hoping I see some great non-traditional pieces with the loot!

For some reason I was so excited to get this out to all the other artists that I didn't remember to take a picture of the beads before dropping them into the mail. But Monique, Sally and Therese all sent me pictures ... and so I'm going to use them all. Thanks Ladies! Can't wait to see what all of you made! Be sure to check back in to see everyone's reveals: Alicia, (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese. 

CC7A :: Seasons

I was trying to figure out just exactly how my theme for this month was going to come together for Alicia's challenge of 'seasons.'  Then it hit me. The beautiful rose quartz that Alicia gifted me would be absolutely perfect for that Downton Abbey look, which I also know that Alicia has a fondness for all things Lady Mary. Truth be told, I just might have a slight fondness for Mathew.

I decided to create a piece that I thought would fit into Lady Mary's wardrobe. What fun would it be to see her wear this! I love the designs of this era, and think it is fantastic to see how the show is influencing styles today... it is the return of elegance in my opinion.

The rose quartz cabochon is framed with black agate. The rest of the necklace uses rose quartz rounds, black agate, midnight sandstone and large onyx rondelles. It is a simple pattern, but I was looking for a statement piece that Mary might wear. Sometimes I love the drama of matching light and dark stones, and the pink in this feels so romantic to me. 

I had to also include a mood board to show you the many sides to Lady Mary through the seasons of Downton Abbey. This one is for you Alicia - enjoy! Now to see what the rest of the seven artist's created please visit: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese. 

CC7A :: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

This month's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists challenge is designing with one of Therese Frank's beautiful glass cabochons and a rather generous extra stash of crystals and stones. Thanks Therese! 

I just love Therese's focals, and this one is particularly beautiful with blue foil just under the glass surface which gives such a glow to it. I wanted to use colors in the beading that would bring out the blues and let the focal still stay center stage. I used muted blues and black, and a pattern that Christine recently shared with me (she featured it on her blog a few weeks back). I love this pattern! It uses three stitches; ladder, brick and then a whip to line the edges. I doubled the pattern and it turned out just fantastic in this choker. The back uses black velvet and a double loop belt closure so you can adjust it to fit just right. When Therese described her outfit for her wedding, I pictured this piece as something that might match up - she'll have to let me know how close I came (LOL).

I also created 2 other pieces using the crystals. First I made a bracelet using Kelly Wiese' Beaded Allure book. I've used this pattern before and really enjoy the rhythm of the stitch. But I have to say this time around it took me several tries (aka ripping out the entire pattern more than once), much swearing and a broken needle before I found that rhythm. The gold beads are just large enough to swallow up the seed beads throwing off the count in the pattern all over the place (insert another swear word). So I ended up improvising using a combination of stringing a loop of seed beads and coming back through the gold bead to pick up the thread on the last loop like you would for brick. A bit wacky - but it worked! It was a bit of a photo challenge to show just how much this one sparkles ... oh that Therese loves her bit of bling! This one is for you my friend.

Finally, I'm very proud of these earrings. Not because I made them, but because they are my daughter's first creation and design. She came to me after I heard an excessive amount of tapping in my studio and handed me the earwires and asked "is this right?" I did not show her how, she just figured it out on her own. I think she has it in her blood. She and I talked through the design and then she directed me on making the crystal and owl drops. I think they are just fantastic, and I can't wait to see what she designs next.

Now to see what the rest of the artists did with their stash from Therese: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese.

CC7A :: Contrasting Color Palettes

This month's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists challenge is designing with a bead soup sent out by Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime. Her challenge was to pull contrasting colors together, and for me it is always a challenge. 

You can see my first piece is not all that contrasting in its browns, tans, creams and Native flair. But I liked how the focal came together and blended with the zig zag chain that I didn't have the heart to pull it apart. I did make my own copper toggle with a bit of fringe that you can pull forward for a little extra. So there you go, my 'non-contrasting' piece.

I pushed myself on the second project, and I did a bit better. I pulled in deep cherry color crystals that I paired with celery green duo beads. Absolutely not something I would have ever put together on my own, but that is what the challenge is about! I decided on a focal flower center to a bracelet and went through my stash to create the band. Clearly this green is one of my favorite colors as I had plenty to play with to finish up the piece. It was a fun pattern to play with that I let come together organically, which is not perfect but then what flower doesn't have a bit of imperfection to it?

Now to see what the rest of the artists did with their beads from Sally: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese.

CC7A :: Round & Round

We are posting on our second installment of Alicia's The Creative Continuum of Seven Artists (CC7A), and this time we are working with an item sent out from Christine. 

She sent me a beaded cage around a rock that she picked up at the headwaters of the Rio Grande in Mineral County, Colorado. I love the various rocks Christine shares. The textures of her rocks always seem to fill my head with patterns and ideas. She has such an eye for their shapes, sizes and surfaces... and this one has a sort of moonscape to it, or the look of a well worn surface. As I rolled the focal around in my hand I got an old world feel, like something that has been around for the ages. Such rocky awesomeness... I can see why she collects them!

I'm not sure why, but I knew the second I saw it what I was going to do with this focal. Once I got started with this piece, it came together quickly. The hatching pattern in the chenille, the opaque white of the beads with bits of gold, and the brassiness to the metals just made me think of Elizabethan style. Who knows why my mind wanders as it does .... but it was easy to find a picture to show you what was flying around in my head. Note the puffy sleeves, the hatching on the arms and the coloring of the outfit. Perhaps not the perfect match, but close enough! And to stick with Christine's theme of 'round and round' the choker is designed to give the focal a twist or two so the stringing will gently create a twisted pattern. Hazzah!

Now to see what the rest of the seven artist's created please visit: 
Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese.