Wordless Saturday

Because I'm currently working on a big wholesale order and have  no time to type. Also thought you might like some eye candy... and I've already blown the whole "Wordless" thing. Oops.

Jewels on Copper - a brilliant customer's suggestion

Black Tie - love those pearls!

Copper Luxe - Clearly I'm on a pearl kick

"Baby's Independence", my picture that was an honorable mention in a photography contest.

So here's my (sort of) wordless update. What are you up to?

A Very Special Challenge

This week's color challenge had a lot of meaning, as one of our members has begun chemotherapy for cancer, and this challenge was dedicated to her. Another of our group is also holding an auction to benefit her, so many of this week's projects were also auction projects. The colors chosen were in honor of our special member - blue, aqua, white, yellow, and a sandy tan. "Carrie's Beach."

I finished my earrings at 11:24 p.m.last night, just in time for the challenge. I used my new, brighter silver colored nontarnish wire, sterling ear wires, and a variety of blue stone chips. These will be in the auction, which is opening tomorrow and will be open for a week, I think. There are many beautiful pieces included, and it's for a wonderful cause, so please check it out!


blue and silver dangle earrings

 Many other artists put in a special effort this week and came up with some lovely designs. Here are my top three favorites:

beachy necklace Blue Shark Diva Designs

1. A wonderful, textured necklace from Blue Sharky I love the knotted cord, the huge variety of stones and accents, and the colors are also wonderful. To me it looks like something that could've come together over time, from items collected from beach walks. I guess it tells me a story.



cancer support/awareness necklace from Vintage Mom Creations

 2. This is from Vintage Mom Creations, designed for Carrie, the the cancer fighter and fellow artist. This has so much meaning, and feeling behind it. I hope she makes more of them incase I don't win this one in the auction, because I have some people in my life facing this same battle, and I think they would love this piece. 

seashell necklace by BeDazzled Jewelry

3. Yet another piece that tells a story. The seashells, the mother-of-pearl pendant, all say "Beach!" I'm envisioning this with one of those super popular maxi sundresses and sandals. Being the beach with you. ;)

beachy lampwork beads by Bastille Bleu

4. Here's something you can use to make your own one of a kind beachy piece. These are handmade lampwork beads by Bastille Bleu. As in, molten glass and a blowtorch!! How cool is that?? I especially like the focal piece - those flowers remind me of cakes that my mom decorates at Fenoglietto Cakes and Cruises, the Pittsburgh area's Cake Boss. Several pieces in this week's submissions used Bastille Bleu's wonderful beads in their designs.

I hope you have all enjoyed the eye candy! If you are a crafter in any medium and would like to join the fun, join the group here. :)

PS The tutorial is done!! As soon as it's been proof read I'll post it. Question: Which would you prefer, PDF, blog post, or both?

Week 26: Hot n Spicy!

Yesterday I posted pics of my project for last week's hot and spicy palette. My take was a bit more mild, but there were other projects submitted to the group that certainly had some heat. Here are a few of my favorites. Links have been provided when I have them. If I feature your work and don't have a link, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

1. This is a submission from a brand new member! I met her on Saturday, invited her to join the group, and she came up with this and posted it on Monday, before I'd even STARTED my project! Way to jump in! She doesn't have a store or fan page yet, but you can find here entertaining blog here. They're called barefoot sandals, something I've never heard of before, but they're cute!

Barefoor Sandals by Ginny

2. Next up is a flowery, vibrant necklace that has plenty of spice. Several of the individual lampwork beads have been handmade by various artists, (LOVE the big one with the little flowers) and the overall piece is just so fun! Like wearing candy, I think. Find the artist, StringBeadStudio, here.


Spicy Floral necklace by StringBeadStudio

 Finally, a "Party on the neck", the Caliente necklace by DatzKatz. This has so much detail going on... the beaded fringe, the multiple strands of the necklace itself... it would definitely spice up an outfit!

Datz Katz Caliente

So... feeling like some chili and salsa? Or maybe doing the salsa... Shake it up!

Everyone's a Winner

*Warning: lots of beautiful eye candy! (No, not that kind)*

I've been meaning to post about CCC's challenge last week, but I've had a difficult time picking my favorites because everything was so fantastic!(It didn't help that last week featured one of my favorite color combos - green and aqua, with a little black thrown in for spice. Anyway, after much deliberation and many clicks through the week's photo albulm, I've chosen my favorites. I'll try to credit everyone, but if I miss someone please let me know in the comments.

Sea Urchin Bracelet by Judy Celeste Maxwell

These stones seem to glow! I forgot what they're called (Sorry!) but I love them The dark accents in between just make them pop all the more, and the starfish clasp finishes it off on a very "Sea-worthy" note.

Sea Storm Necklace by Beadn4Fun

Buy this one! Unbelievable. Tiny seed beads in a spiral, a unique pendant, and it's even closed with a beaded clasp!



Sea Green Bracelet by Caldesign Naturals

 This one was partially knitted, how could I not include it? There's lots of fine silver and crystals on this one, and as you can see, the back section is what's called viking knit. (Something I want to learn how to do!) It's on the more subtle end of the chosen color spectrum.

Fish Hat by KnitKnacks

Here's my final choice, a fun little entry from KnitKnacks. What toddler wouldn't love a fish hat? And you certainly wouldn't lose your kiddo in a crowd with that topper on his head. I chose this because a. it made me laugh and b. I'm sure my little guy would love it!

You can read about my entry here, as well as see some more pretty pics. :)

PS Within hours of posting pics of my entry on Facebook I got my first ever custom request! It's similar to my CCC entry, but it's wider, the beads are in a diagonal stripe pattern, and I added some black diamond Swarovski crystals to the color mix. I also found a new clasp just for this bracelet. It's rectangular instead of my usual round ones, to tie in to the angles of the stripes. This is how it turned out: 

"Sea-ing" Green

Catching the morning light

A view from the top



Pretty clasp to finish it off



This was my submission for CCC's week 25 challenge - sea green. The bright spring green bits are actually genuine freshwater pearls. They fit the theme perfectly, I think. The other colors are black, aqua, and light green glass beads. (Sea glass? If only...) Everything was randomly gathered and strung on the wire, then knit, so no two will be exactly the same. Suddenly my wardrobe is in need of a LOT more green... hehe.

The funny thing is, I've has a little summer cardigan in actual yarn on my needles for weeks now, but I keep getting distracted by the wire. And beads. Oh and the pearls!! Loooove the pearls. As my adorable niece would say, "Vewwwwwy niiiiiiice!"

Tropical Orange and Blue

OK, so I just realized that for the past month my posts have been all about the color challenges. I have been knitting other things, but often selling them before having a chance to blog about them. Which is a good problem! Anyway, I'll try to blog more often in the future. :)

Last week's challenge colors were vibrant oranges and blues, very tropical. Unfortunately I once again had a lot of personal stuff going on and didn't have time to incorporate those colors into something knitted, so I made a simple stretchy bracelet. I love the blue beads in this... check out the tiny painted flower in the center of each one!



Also, I got an amazing camera for Mother's Day, and can't believe the difference between this pic, taken with my new baby, and my older product pics. So much clearer, even when cropped in close! Love it.

This is a new project, a custom order for my sister. It's a multicolor selection of beads, mainly cool blues and green, with a few other colors thrown in for contrast. It's quite fun and summery. I was playing with autofocus, and the camera focused through the front of the bracelet to the back. Here's a different shot:

Sorry for the ramble, but I'm so excited about this project and my spiffy camera. :D Now on to my favorite color challenge pieces for week 24. First we have another Studio V design. The little turqoise bird accent did it for me. So unique!

Next is an entry from Blue Sharky. The copper is so pretty, as are the bright beads she used. I like the overall style of this set.

The third jewelry piece I chose was a piece from Vintage Mom. I liked the deeper colors she chose for her piece.

The final piece I chose wasn't a jewelry item, it was a self portrait. As soon as I saw it I knew I would be featuring it. It's so pretty! The artist is Jen Ashman.

As always, there were many beautiful submissions from this extremely talented group of designers. Looking forward to seeing the results of this week's challenge, greens with accents of smoky gray and teal. Some of my very favorite colors!

PS If I showcased your work and I don't have a link to your site, please leave one in the comments. Thanks!

Peachy

I promised my buddies over at the Color Combo Challenge group that I'd post about my favorite entries for last week's color challenge of peach and green. There were many lovely entries, although mine wasn't one of them because I didn't get any further than buying the beads on Monday, and the project was due Monday night. And I had super cranky kids. I didn't even get a pic of the beads!

So... here's entry #1, moonstone and green garnet earrings. Why I like it: It's on the softer end of the green and orange spectrum, and the stones seem to glow. Although maybe that's just good photography... either way, they look great and very "Spring." Here's the link to the artist..

Next, we have this unbelievable beadwoven cuff by A Rose by Name. Why I like it:I like the graphic design and the sheer number of beads that she used. Again, it's also on the softer end of the green and orange spectrum.

My final choice was this dainty copper necklace by BigFatUselessCat Designs. Edit: I found her link, so I updated it. :) Why I like it: It's copper! Seriously, I've begun using copper in my own designs and I love the warm color. Also, the crystals she used are irridescent and the overall look is dainty and feminine.

I apologize for the lateness of this post; considering the challenge ended on Monday and we're in the middle of the next challenge, which is orange and blue. I actually have beads for this one!

Berries N Cream

FYI I've been working on this post since Monday!! Unfortunately cranky babies who are teething and not feeling well tend to be rather clingy. They also like computers and like to hit as many keys as they can reach... not good! So I haven't had much computer time lately.

I've recently joined a group on Facebook that does a color challenge each week. (Everyone makes something in a specific color combo in their medium of choice.) It's definitely gotten the creative juices flowing, and I love seeing what other artists come up with. I've been inspired to play with colors more than I had up until this point. This week's combination was a "Berries and Cream" theme. Pink, red, cream, and chocolate brown, how yummy!

This is what I came up with.

I strung copper wire with a random  arrangement (I never do random! It was so fun.) of glass pearls, pink beads, and deep brown swarovski crystals, then knit it into a bracelet. The ends are tapered and its closed with a copper toggle clasp with a miniature rose detail.  I sold it before I had a chance to take detail pictures, though, so this is the only one I have.

Here are a couple of my favorite entries for this particular color challenge. I have a thing for pearls, and the shimmery disks on the earrings are actually pearls!



BigFatUselessCat Designs

 My other favorite, also involving pearls, was this lovely from Sunshine Jewels. The closure is so modern and beautiful, don't you think?

Sunshine Jewels





Finally, if you need a place to keep all of your lovelies safe, check this out! Storage and display from Joyous World

Joyous World on Etsy

PS If you would like a berries n cream bracelet of your own, I would love to make another just for you! email me at boojayknits@gmail.com. :)