Wrap Bracelet at Bead and Button Show

I have been so busy working on these Braided Silk Bead Bracelets getting the kits ready, that I backed myself up against a wall for Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, WI next week!

I've been working part time at Sarafina Art House in Elkton, MD and one of the women that I work with (the amazing Kyla) was kind enough to film and edit a video tutorial for me that I could put up on You Tube.

It's my first time doing a video tutorial, and I was a bit nervous - but it was a LOT of fun.

Just like teaching a class says Kyla - good advice!

I have yet to update my website, but did get the kits into my Etsy shop (boy - this business end sure is a lot of work!)

I've even got a hashtag so when people make a bracelet, they can post a pic of it with #MNSBeadedBracelet and it will show up.
I am mostly curious to see what art beads each person chooses to use as a closure bead!

And next Tuesday I will be arriving in Milwaukee, WI for the Bead & Button show.

Tuesday night, June 2 from 9:30-11:30pm there is a Moonlight Madness at the Hyatt Hotel where a bunch of vendors, including myself, will be selling a small amount of work - like a preview of what is to come for the main show June 5-7 (the show preview night is June 4) held in the Milwaukee Convention Center.

See what is going on through social media: #BeadandButtonShow

I can be found as: Marsha Neal Studio in booth #608 at the main show, along with Nikki of Thornburg Bead Studio.

My sister has been over this week helping me bag up some small special show bead mixes to go with the variety of silks that I will have with me at the show.
I am going to feature these bracelet kits as a make and take for people to do at the show.

I am figuring that there is going to be a mecca of handmade beads for people to buy and match up - make a bracelet in a few minutes, then wear it to show it off!

If you are going out there, make sure to swing by and say Hi!

I'm off to get into the studio to glaze more beads - one can never have too many beads for a huge show like this!

Fiber Boot Camp - More silkiness from me!

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen for the Love My Art Jewelry Blog

I am still trudging along with this boot camp and spent lots of time on Pinterest and such, looking for inspiration.  I found tons of necklaces using silk, with a slider-style bail.  I have never made one of these bails before, so thought I thought I would try my hand at making one.  This technique involved setting a tube rivet.  While I have set commercially made rivets and/or tube rivets in the past, this time I tried cutting my own rivets from copper tubing and using tools I have on hand. 

I could not believe it worked!  I used a variety of dapping tools and the ball-peen end of my goldsmith hammer, as well as my embossing hammer to set the rivet.  I felt I was on a roll and if I did not repeat the process soon, I would forget how I did it, so I made a bunch.  The picture below is of the bails prior to adding a patina.

Still working with my stash of silk from Marsha (source), I selected a lovely lampwork focal from Susan Kennedy (source) and was so happy that the silk matched perfectly!

I am still playing around with PMC and recently made a batch of beads made from copper tubing to which I fired on some textured strips of silver clay.  Most of these beads had tiny little discs soldered to the top, but I left the tops off of a few of them for this very reason.

These copper tube beads are held in place by knotting this silk.

I knotted the silk to the simple copper clasp - which I soldered closed for strength.  Oh, the drape of the necklace is divine!  

I made a second, similar styled necklace, this time featuring a gorgeous lampwork flower bead by Donna Millard (source).

The two strands of silk blend so beautifully with the colors of Donna's lampwork.

This necklace is a bit longer than the first one (I STILL hate photographing necklaces).

In all honesty, I am not loving the two copper tube beads in this necklace and will probably be re-working this design.  The silk in this second necklace is a bit thinner than the silk in the first necklace - it's looking a bit chunky to me....but, you get the idea.

This fiber boot camp has been such a learning experience for me and taught me to "never say never". I NEVER thought I would be able to incorporate these silks amongst all of my heavy-metal jewelry...next thing you know, I will be working with seed beads...(NO...that I cannot do)!

This blog post was written by Patti Vanderbloemen for Love My Art Jewelry Blog.

If you are reading this on another site, it has been copied and used without permission of the author or blog owner.  Please do not copy and use this information without permission (many blogs are having issues with this kind of stealing).

Boot Camp: My Adventures Using Fiber

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen for Love My Art Jewelry Blog

I admit it - I do not use fiber in my jewelry ... with me... it's all about the metal. But, I also love to try new techniques.  So, I was ready, willing, and able to at least try!

I happened to have made several of these adjustable bracelets sitting on my bench. Completely naked of any adornment whatsoever, I was going to add a handmade charm of some sort. It was during my "lack of creative mojo" period where I could not decide what to do. It is during these "lulls of creativity" where I literally just sit at my bench and play with wire.

But, the latest issue of Rena Klinenberg's online newsletter arrived in my email box a few days after I made several of these bracelets. She had a free tutorial on how to make the bracelets, and spice up the look with fiber. As a matter of fact, she used old t-shirts - a most creative use of fiber! You can find her tutorial here. I will note that Rena's tutorial for the bracelet portion of the project uses 16 gauge wire - mine is a bit heavier at 14 gauge.

I received a package of free ribbon with a magazine subscription a few months ago. I almost immediately handed this ribbon over to my mother - a seamstress. 

But instead, I wrapped the adjustable copper bracelets with a couple of strands of ribbon, seed beads, and artistic wire (sorry Mom!)

These whip up quickly and add just the right amount of color to the wrist - so lightweight, too.

This photo of this last bracelet appears to amplify the size of those jasper chips- they really are not as large as they may appear! :)

The bracelets even look nice stacked.

I couldn't stop here. The next project features absolutely gorgeous silk ribbons from our own Marsha Neal - this palette of colors is so beautiful!! (You can find these silks here).

Recently, I have ventured into Precious Metal Clay. While waiting for my kiln to arrive (going on week 4 here....), I have been practicing by firing the clay with my torch. I happened to have a GORGEOUS purple lampwork bead by Susan Kennedy of SueBeads. I thought the purple silk would look beautiful with this bead. So I made a silver connector pendant from the PMC, and cut out a heart shape to mimic the heart-shaped bead.

(Oh how I absolutely HATE photographing necklaces..ugh..)

Anyway, luckily, Staci had just posted her tutorial on how to attach the silk to her necklaces, as I still had no idea how I was going to get that silk on that pendant!

I used 20 gauge sterling and just made additional wraps.  All the silver links have been soldered and textured.  Quite frankly, this was one of the hardest necklaces I have ever made. First, I felt the chain was too short, so I added more links. Then I thought the necklace was too long, so I cut out some of the silk. As it stands now, the necklace is about 18" in length with a 2" extender chain, which has a tiny heart I made from PMC to the end of the extender chain.  But, I am still on the fence with the length.

While on the subject of fiber, I want to share with you a few examples of other artist's work that I truly admire.  

First up is this lovely pair of earrings by Kristy Carrol Abner (Kristy's Kreations). The silk wrapped around the hoops (with lovely lampwork by her husband, I might add!) just screams boho to me. I love this pair of earrings - I wear blue jeans 364 days a year - and these would match my outfit every single day!

Source: KristysKreations.com

The bracelet below (also by Kristy) has just a touch of silk interspersed within the chain to mimic the pink color in the focal bead.  (Note how she fastened the silk to the chain - awesome idea)! My eye continues completely around the bracelet, due to the placement of the silk.

Source: Silk Rose Bracelet by KristysKreations.com

The pair of earrings below popped up in my Face Book feed just the other day. Linda Landig's jewelry is always the epitome of perfect colorways - love the way she weaved the hand dyed ribbon through the top of these earrings, which by the way, perfectly compliments the colors of the copper clay components by Kristi Bowman-Gruel.

Source: LindaLandig.com

This bangle, by Ann Shroeder of Bead Love, is the perfect blend of softness to me, in color and texture. During the Spring and Summer, I wear very little jewelry - it's just too hot! But I would wear this!

Source: BeadLove Blog

Now this last masterpiece is by Bobbie of Beadsong Jewelry.  It is a soutache masterpiece - I cannot even imagine creating something this beautiful - I just want to TOUCH it!! Can you even imagine the time and patience required?  I cannot!

Source:  Beadsong Jewelry

So, there you have it - my initial attempt to incorporate fiber into my designs. I do hope this trend continues!

Room for Discovery in Fibers and Weaving

Do you ever put so much pressure on yourself to work on a project, that it becomes a burden?

I tend to do that, and the project gets pushed to the side and forgotten.

Here is a quick pic of a stash of various silks and fibers I have been collecting over the years (I'm not about to throw that stuff out - it's good for "something" - that project in the back of my head).

 And these stringing materials - LOVE them and have lots!

Picking up some Tapestry needles at the sewing store - done that a couple of times...

So as a kid - I loved knotting, braiding, twisting, tying, weaving natural things...

I grew up in the 80's and my mom was big into cross-stitch (oh embroidery thread - how I adore you! Especially the Magenta and Peacock blue colors...)

So as a "grown up" I wanted to try some weaving.

While on a very restricted budget, and refusing to go out and spend any money unless I really knew this is something I want to do, I went to Pinterest to look up some weaving practices.

It's been a while, but I think I searched things like: loom weaving, handmade loom, weaving for kids, nature weaving, and such (you get sucked in and hours later - there are ideas everywhere).

So this cardboard loom - made with an old cereal box and masking tape worked for me and my allowance for self discovery.

First I Wrapped hemp around in the long direction 8 times (I think an even number is what you need to make it come out right) - the ends are just temporarily taped with masking tape on the back - nothing special.

I left a tail - just incase I need that for when I figure out what I will be doing with these (bracelets???)

Then over, under, over, under...

Back and forth.

Add on more - hide the ends in there.

Tie a knot on the last string at the end.

For me - this was completely experimental.

I wanted to see what happened with different fibers in the warp and weave positions.

And how are pattens made.

This just barely touches the iceberg - seriously...

And always - if you think you are going to work towards making something wearable, you should make sure to do a skin test to see if any of the materials will poke or scratch, and avoid using them if your weaving is to be wearable.

So now that I have fiddled with my small, cheap looms, I can see about getting something a bit more sturdy. And I get to see about finishing these - so check back for that post.

PS - I watched Jill Wiseman's DVD on Kumihimo with Beads - and the finishing the ends part has my brain thinking in terms of how to finish something like these. It also makes my bead making brain think - what kind of ceramic component can I make? But that is a whole other issue...

Fibers Galore!

I don't know about you, but I really love the softness and texture that fibers add to every day life.

When it comest to using fibers in adornments, there are so many possibilities.

I find some good books (pretty much anything I can get my hands on to get my mind going) and I let the inspiration fill my mind. Not only from a design perspective, but also from historical, and other uses point of view. 

How do the techniques used many years ago affect our every day lives? It is such an amazing topic, and one I really look forward to exploring here on LMAJ through the next BootCamp!

And one can never quite have enough fiber material and fun tools to play with right?!

Keep an eye back here to see more fiber related posts!