Greetings friends! With my lovely four days off over the holidays, I'm taking a blog vacation this week.
Wishing you all happy, healthy holidays!
Love and light,
Deborah
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Gourd Withdrawals
I've been spending so much time working on mixed media projects and my embossed metal jewelry, that I haven't worked on a gourd for eons! I'm definitely getting gourd withdrawal, which is what happens to me when I neglect my gourds for too long.
I took advantage of an end-of-the-year sale from one of my favorite gourd grower, Welburn's Gourd Farm, in California and ordered a box of gourds. The huge carton is sitting in my utility room when I keep tripping over it--intentionally placed there to remind me that it's time to work on a gourd.
I'm feeling the need for some vivid colors during this dreary time of year with short days. Here are some vivid colors I've worked with in the past...
Anyone who knows me knows that any shade of purple and shades of peacock colors are my favorites, as evidenced by these two pieces. But who knows, I might get a wild hair and do a gourd in a completely unexpected color!!
Stay tuned,
Deborah
I took advantage of an end-of-the-year sale from one of my favorite gourd grower, Welburn's Gourd Farm, in California and ordered a box of gourds. The huge carton is sitting in my utility room when I keep tripping over it--intentionally placed there to remind me that it's time to work on a gourd.
I'm feeling the need for some vivid colors during this dreary time of year with short days. Here are some vivid colors I've worked with in the past...
Anyone who knows me knows that any shade of purple and shades of peacock colors are my favorites, as evidenced by these two pieces. But who knows, I might get a wild hair and do a gourd in a completely unexpected color!!
Stay tuned,
Deborah
Monday, December 17, 2012
Cold Hands, Warm Heart
I've been plagued by cold hands since I was a kid. Sometimes they don't thaw out for most of the day, and I've been known to wake myself up during the night by cold hands! So imagine my delight when fingerless gloves hit the scene as designer ware!! Woo hoo! Now I could keep my hands warm AND still use my fingers.
I saw my first alluring pair of fingerless gloves at the Bellingham Farmers Market one summer a few years back. I know, that's not the time you'd normally be thinking about gloves. However, being an addicted knitter, I was enjoying the yarn display in the Spincycle Yarn's booth. Their luscious, handspun yarn was hard to resist. On display was a pair of fingerless gloves with a lace pattern knitted in. So of course I had to buy yarn and a pattern to make these beautiful gloves...
I was so thrilled with the way these gloves turned out (and how they actually kept my hands toasty while allowing me to use my fingers!), that I immediately bought yarn and made another pair of lovely gloves...this pair made from sock-weight yarn and with a Victorian flair. I trimmed the cuffs with small beads...
These gloves proved particularly useful when I needed to work on the computer, since they're so lightweight. Well, I was in my local, decadent yarn shop, Wild Fibers and couldn't resist some incredibly soft, rainbow yarn. Here's how the gloves turned out...
Just a note to those of you who are knitters...if you've avoided making socks or gloves, like I did for most of my life, do yourself a favor and take a sock class and learn how to use a Magic Loop. This replaces the ungainly 4, double-pointed needles that people have traditionally used for knitting round garments with a very small diameter. A Magic Loop is a circular needle with an incredibly long cable that allows you to use the needle ends in very small place. I even used the Magic Loop to knit the thumbs in the rainbow gloves above! Amazing, huh??
Happy knitting!
Deborah
I saw my first alluring pair of fingerless gloves at the Bellingham Farmers Market one summer a few years back. I know, that's not the time you'd normally be thinking about gloves. However, being an addicted knitter, I was enjoying the yarn display in the Spincycle Yarn's booth. Their luscious, handspun yarn was hard to resist. On display was a pair of fingerless gloves with a lace pattern knitted in. So of course I had to buy yarn and a pattern to make these beautiful gloves...
I was so thrilled with the way these gloves turned out (and how they actually kept my hands toasty while allowing me to use my fingers!), that I immediately bought yarn and made another pair of lovely gloves...this pair made from sock-weight yarn and with a Victorian flair. I trimmed the cuffs with small beads...
These gloves proved particularly useful when I needed to work on the computer, since they're so lightweight. Well, I was in my local, decadent yarn shop, Wild Fibers and couldn't resist some incredibly soft, rainbow yarn. Here's how the gloves turned out...
Just a note to those of you who are knitters...if you've avoided making socks or gloves, like I did for most of my life, do yourself a favor and take a sock class and learn how to use a Magic Loop. This replaces the ungainly 4, double-pointed needles that people have traditionally used for knitting round garments with a very small diameter. A Magic Loop is a circular needle with an incredibly long cable that allows you to use the needle ends in very small place. I even used the Magic Loop to knit the thumbs in the rainbow gloves above! Amazing, huh??
Happy knitting!
Deborah
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Pearls, Luscious Pearls!
I’ve been thinking about pearls lately---probably because I
have a huge stash in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. I hear them calling my name, asking me to
make a decadent piece of jewelry.
One of my favorite things to make with pearls is my “Dancing
Pearls” bracelet…here are 3 versions…the first one using exquisite blue/purple,
iridescent coin pearls.
This one uses iridescent white coin pearls…
And this one uses rose pearls that are small and knobby, with wonderful color and texture…
These bracelets definitely feel decadent to wear, as there
are a lot of pearls hanging from the bracelet made of fused, fine silver
links. All the dangly pearls move and
make a soft sound when you’re wearing the bracelet…definitely luscious!
Indulge yourself,
Deborah
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Latest Altered Book
Once again, I’ve been working on the current altered book
from the round-robin trade in my art group.
The theme in this month’s book is “Movement”. Surprisingly, this presented a challenge for
me, because I had too many ideas and couldn’t seem to settle on one! I finally decided to start painting and at
least get the background done on the pages.
So one day I sat down and played with paint…
I just love the effect of the gessoed stamp on the painted
background, and it pulled the background colors together. I then edged the pages with art papers to
create a border.
Next, I did some writing, putting words to my thoughts. I wrote:
“I love to move my arms & legs.
Come play with me. We’ll do
cartwheels, somersaults and back flips!”
On the facing page, I affixed a Frida Kalo paper doll I
made. She has jointed arms and legs and
could certainly do cartwheels!
For a finishing touch and a bit of glitz, I added
multi-colored sequins on the border--the perfect touch, don’t you think??
Happy Dancing,
Deborah
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Ginkgos Meet Wire!
Well, it was inevitable that I'd have to try my hand at making ginkgos to use in jewelry. One of my favorite beading teachers, Diane Fitzgerald, designed a beaded lariat with cascading ginkgo leaves. Of course I had to take her class at a bead festival and learn how to make this lariat.
This was the most labor-intensive bead project I'd done to that point, using delica beads for the ginkgo leaves and size 15 (think grains of sand!) beads for the necklace--sewing one bead at a time!
As if 80 hours of work and eyestrain wasn't enough after making the first beaded lariat, I immediately made another one in peacock colors that thoroughly delighted me. I have to say that these two necklaces were well worth the effort, and I wear them frequently.
I decided that 2 beaded ginkgo lariats were more than enough and of course turned to wire. The challenge was on to see how I could make these beautiful leave out of metal. I used wire, beads and freshwater pearls for embellishments and was pretty excited at the result. Have a look...
I wonder where ginkgos will show up next in my life???
Deborah
This was the most labor-intensive bead project I'd done to that point, using delica beads for the ginkgo leaves and size 15 (think grains of sand!) beads for the necklace--sewing one bead at a time!
As if 80 hours of work and eyestrain wasn't enough after making the first beaded lariat, I immediately made another one in peacock colors that thoroughly delighted me. I have to say that these two necklaces were well worth the effort, and I wear them frequently.
I decided that 2 beaded ginkgo lariats were more than enough and of course turned to wire. The challenge was on to see how I could make these beautiful leave out of metal. I used wire, beads and freshwater pearls for embellishments and was pretty excited at the result. Have a look...
I wonder where ginkgos will show up next in my life???
Deborah
Monday, December 3, 2012
Wild About Ginkgos!
I've been enamored of ginkgo leaves for most of my adult life--long before they became a popular motif. What's not to love about the beautiful fan-shaped leaf and graceful stem? It's definitely a perfect image for use in just about any kind of artwork.
I love using handmade papers that look organic and have bits of natural materials visible. Of course I would use any wonderful papers I've found on top of a gourd! Some years back I found a beautiful ginkgo stamp and tried my hand at combining stamps with the handmade papers.
Here's what happened...
After painting the gourd, I stamped the paper and applied it to the surface. Of course I had to use wire and beads to finish off the rim.
Since I love quotes, I used tiny letter stamps to write a quote from Buddha around the bottom edge of the paper...."The greatest protection in all the world is Lovingkindness". Good words, yes?
Ciao!
Deborah
I love using handmade papers that look organic and have bits of natural materials visible. Of course I would use any wonderful papers I've found on top of a gourd! Some years back I found a beautiful ginkgo stamp and tried my hand at combining stamps with the handmade papers.
Here's what happened...
After painting the gourd, I stamped the paper and applied it to the surface. Of course I had to use wire and beads to finish off the rim.
Since I love quotes, I used tiny letter stamps to write a quote from Buddha around the bottom edge of the paper...."The greatest protection in all the world is Lovingkindness". Good words, yes?
Ciao!
Deborah
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