Halloween, Earrings and Kittens (oh my)

Wow, I've been so busy that I haven't had a minute to blog and take photos.  Mainly I've been working on fill for galleries for the holidays which does start in mid October.  We took in 2 kittens that came to us on our walk through the park one night, which have been a handful.  Then our Halloween Party and the following month we hosted Thanksgiving. I'm still settling in to my job at White House Black Market, I think I'll get better at blogging once I have that and some household things under control.

(We went as Leela and Fry from the show Futurama for Halloween)

(The cats were not forced to dress up, only take photos)

Recently I did make something for myself though.  The set that matches the dress I wore in June is at a gallery and I was wearing the same dress the other night for Bryan's company holiday party.  I decided to put the dress with a bright blue/teal pair of heels and happened to have just purchased beads the same color in clear matte.

So in my usual form, I made myself a large pair of earrings for the event, which we had a great time at.

The next place I'll be showing my jewelry is at REACH's Not So Silent Night Event on December 9th, 2017.  This is always a great event, plus it benefit's an awesome creative part of our community!

(Kittens love to "help" hence things taking a bit longer these days, this is Lois in the background, 

she loves spilling beads and playing with jewelry.)

Purple Netting Bangle with Long Pearl Accent

I made a green netting bangle earlier this year which is headed to Minneapolis this month and I decided I was wearing it so much that I wanted to use the plum beads that I was toting around.  I was a bit stumped as to what to fill in the gap between the netting since its not completely even with the bangle size when I came across this long dyed freshwater pearl. I think the pearl has been floating around my bead stash since my college days.

Speaking of college days, I have been trying to clean out the disaster that I currently call a studio and have been running into all sorts of UFOs (UnFinished Objects).  I think I need to start filling a garbage can so I can think straight as I sift through, however, what if I get rid of something that would be of use in 10 years?! Always the struggle.

This plum netting bangle can be seen at the Lansing Art Gallery right now for this 2017 Holiday show.

Blue and Purple Leaf Lariat Set

In preperation for holiday I've been making sure to stay on top of creating new jewelry.  I'm pretty satisfied with this blue and purple set.  I haven't made a shorter leaf necklace in a long time, so I'm glad I finished this one on time.  These will be headed to the Lansing Art Gallery on Friday.

Beaded Blob Earrings in Blues

As you may or may not have followed, I really love making these 3-D forms.  I'm starting to make the beaded blob earrings again!  These will be headed to the Lansing Art Gallery soon with more blue and purple jewelry!

College Football Themed Bangles

College football is covering the Lansing area with green and white.  When in Rome.... MSU bangles can be found through me OR Sweet Custom Jewelry in Old Town.

HERE is the first block S bangle style that I made, along with a matching pendant.

I was commissioned to make an ILLINI bangle a few years ago, which you can see HERE.

I do have a block M bangle for my own alumni which I am unable to find a photo of at the moment, but I did make myself some blended bead ones for more subtlety which is HERE.

Yellow Grey and Black Offset Arrow Bangle and Earrings

I really liked the look of the offset arrow pattern with the blue, red and light pink set I finished, so I decided to take it a step further with this yellow, grey and black set.  The lines and spacing are much more randomized with this set and the earrings only match in length, not pattern.

You'll be able to check these out and all of the other arrow sets I've been working on at September's My Arts Night Out!  I will be set up at Piper & Gold at 5pm!

Greys and Gold with a Teal tint Tonal Arrow Bangle and Earrings

I originally was going to stick with greys and gold on this arrow bangle variation but the teal metallic beads jumped out at me when I was putting colors together.  the teal really makes the greys look more blue which surprised me. It looks like you'll be able to pick up this set at the next Arts Night Out in Old Town! 

Blue, Red, Light Pink and Grey Offset Arrow Bangle and Earrings

I have been playing with a lot of different bead color combinations while looking for the perfect day-job.  This particular blue is the darkest I have in my bead stash, it's not as navy as I was hoping for, but I do think it still compliments the other colors.  

I like that it looks somewhat patriotic, without being the real red white and blue colors.  

Maple Seed Bangle 1

I collected maple seeds a month or so ago and have been rolling a bangle design around in my head.  For the most part, I just needed to get some colors picked and make it.  I already have some ideas of a larger version of this piece with varying seed colors since they go from green and dry to brown.

I'm not sure how successful I think this bangle is, but it's growing on me.  I'm glad I finally got to draft it out!  Any thoughts?  Comments below appreciated. 

Tonal Arrow Bangle and Earrings Set in Pinks

I've been enjoying pouring through my bead stash and working on some easy to wear jewelry for holiday sales.  I have WSG Gallery in Ann Arbor confirmed for holiday and the Textile Center Holiday Market in Minneapolis, MN.

This was a fun neutral/pink set, I have some drastically different color combinations coming up soon!

Netting Bangle Revisit

After I finished my most recent leaf lariat necklace and earrings, I wanted to finish up the pack of green 15/0 seed beads that I had sitting in my tray.   I had been wanting to revisit my netting bangles (originally, I called it a wide open bangle) from 2011 as seen HERE.

This piece is half the middle width due to finishing up those green beads, but I have plans to make more of the original larger one to have in my stock.  

Green and Gold Lariat Necklace and Earrings Finished!

This weekend I finished up a green and gold lariat leaf necklace and pair of matching cluster earrings.  I'm excited to announce that my jewelry will be part of WSG Gallery's Holiday Show at 306 S. Main Street, Ann Arbor.

Yes, I am already starting to think about holiday shows and I'm making use of my extra time by getting a lot of beading done, so look out for a flurry of new work this week!

Green and Gold Tonal Arrow Bangle and Earrings

More tonal arrow jewelry this time it's a gold base with greens from my bead stash.  I didn't make a necklace this time since I'm not sure how they'll sell, thoughts?

Tonal Arrow Jewelry in Blue and Purple

Well, I haven't blogged in a month.  Oops.  I've been working a lot more at the office, getting more training in as the law firm I work for grows.  I'm also trying to organize all the stuff I have in my house as my parents are cleaning out their farm and passing stuff on to me.  (Yes, stuff, that I want, but I'm so not ready to be inundated with it).

So I guess in March I started making these tonal arrow beaded jewelry sets.  The the first set most of the pieces sold at the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild Fiber Feast show.  I really enjoy this look so I've been inspired to make them in more colors.

This grouping I used the colors I had pulled for the Anniversary Party Set.  I really liked how they came together.

I also had to make another pair of the yellow deco wing earrings (I love them, I'll drop everything to make a new pair when the current pair sells).  And decided to do a tiny tonal arrow earring from the colors I'd been using.

Anniversary Waves Bangle

This set came about because I bought a dress (this is how new jewelry patterns are often made).  I pulled colors that matched months ago, but I didn't feel drawn to try to mimic the pattern of the fabric. I bought the dress for the 10 year anniversary party of the law firm I work for, Speaker Law Firm. 

I have been working on sending out the invites and have been looking at the wave pattern on the invitation for months now.  I decided to pull that and drop it into graph paper for a bangle.

I have been trying to make new earring designs from my bangle patterns, but on this one, I couldn't decide.  The smaller pair of earrings didn't have enough statement to them, and I rather like the longer ones once they were finished.  I did have black glass pearls sitting in my bead tray that really helped the design of the shorter earrings.

I'm quite happy with how this pattern turned out, and I think I may expand on it in time. Below is the dress and invite that the inspiration came from. I have been working for Liisa Speaker for 9 years now and I', very proud of the work she does in appeals and am glad I have been there to help her along as her firm has grown.

Double Deco Wing Bangle and Earrings in Gold and Yellow

I have made a few variations of my Deco Wing Bangle, but I had a desire to mirror it and double up on this bangle.  So after my last show with the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild I finished a commission for a customer then started in on this set. 

Yellow isn't a color I use very often, but it seems to be seeping into my life more and more. I decided to mix two more muted yellows with gold and black for an older style look.

I love this set so much I'm not sure it'll be making its way to a gallery very soon, I really want to wear it a bit first. As always though, feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing either or both of these pieces.