Beaded Journal Project
Posted by Administrator on May 31, 2007
Robin Atkins, a well known beader and author of beading books, started a bead journal project. There are over 200 people signed up to participate in this project, which involves creating one beaded journal page per month.
I can’t wait to see the results! From the main project blog, you can click over to the various members’ blogs for lots of bead eye-candy.
My show schedule
Posted by Administrator on May 23, 2007
I have a few shows coming up - one in the south bay, one in SF, and one up in wine country.
June 3rd - Southbay Soiree with Pleasanton Craft Mafia - 11:00-3:00 at A Work of Heart Art Studio, 1060 Willow Street in San Jose, CA.
July 7th - Guerilla Fashionista at Foreign Cinema on Mission in San Francisco, CA
September 16th - Ravenswood Marketplace at the Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma, CA
I’ll post more details about the last two a little bit closer, but for now, save the date of the event closest to you if you’d like to come see my jewelry in person and shop for all kinds of art and craft by local artists and designers.
Also, you can see some of my jewelry at House of Lyndon in Gallup, New Mexico if you happen to be in that area.
Crocheted Bobble Cuff
Posted by Administrator on May 21, 2007
This is my favorite crocheted jewelry design so far. I wanted to learn some new crochet stitch patterns, and found a bobble stitch pattern in my Reader’s Digest needlework book (it’s a huge hardcover book that was given to me by a friend’s mom, and has instructions for all kinds of needlework including knitting and crocheting).
To make a bobble stitch, you yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull hook through stitch, yarn over, pull hook through two loops. You keep doing this into the same stitch until you have six loops on your hook, then yarn over and pull the hook through all six loops. The bobble will look kind of flat at this point, but so you single crochet into the next stitch, which gathers it up and makes it look more bobble-like.
For this bracelet, there are two single crochet stitches in between each bobble. I used a multiple of three stitches and alternated where the bobble was in each row. In between a row of bobbles, I did a row of single crochet. That’s basically the stitch pattern as printed in the book! I ended up with a flat bobble at the end of the middle row of bobbles, so that’s where I sewed on the button. To make a closure for the button, I did a row of single crochet along one end, but chained a couple stitches and skipped a couple before continuing the single crochet, forming a small loop.
I used sport weight yarn and the hook size recommened on the label, and did nine repeats of the bobble to get a decent length for my wrist. You would probably want to experiment with gauge to make sure your bracelet is the right length for you. I think I’ll make it a bit tighter - maybe one less repeat - if I make this again, because it stretched a little when I wore it for a while. It still fits okay, but I’d prefer a tighter fit. I have some beautiful silvery gray yarn (”Love” from southwest trading co’s vickie howell line of yarns - the black version here was made with “Craft” from the same line) that I think I’ll use to make another cuff and a matching necklace. The black was really tough to photograph, so I’m hoping to get a better picture once I’ve made this in another color.
Maven Fair Wrap-up
Posted by Administrator on May 17, 2007
Maven Fair last weekend was a blast. So much talent in one place! And a well-organized show, with great gift bags for customers, and freebies from sponsors BUST and CRAFT: magazines.
But you don’t have to take my word that it was an awesome show. Check out my friend Andrea’s very sweet post about my work from the show.
Also see what Andrea had to say about Raquelle of Pretty.Fun and Delia of Catholic Guilt (LOVE that name, by the way).
Andrea is a friend and fellow jewelry maker I met through the Pleasanton Craft Mafia. She sells her beautiful jewelry on her website, Dreams and Jewelry and at craft shows. I’m glad she wrote about Raquelle and Delia, because they were in the upstairs room and since I was downstairs I didn’t get a chance to check out their work in person.
Another Craft Mafia member, Jeannine, had a table across the room from me. Jeannine makes really fun, funky, colorful beaded jewelry and uses vintage and recycled elements along with her own handcrafted metal pendants. You can see more of her work at Designs by a Hummingbird. *edited to add: Jeannine also has a post up about Maven, on her myspace blog with some great pictures!*
The booth next to me was Absentman Designs, sewn clothing and accessories made by Hanya. I liked one of her bags so much that I traded her for some of my earrings at the end of the show.
Those are just a few of many talented designers from Maven. Profiles of a lot of them are up on the Maven Fair blog.
The next Maven show will be around the holidays. In the meantime, the Pleasanton Craft Mafia is coming to San Jose for a show on Sunday, June 3rd. Check the PCM website for details!
Care for your jewelry
Posted by Administrator on May 13, 2007
It’s been a while since I last wrote about caring for jewelry - and since I use a lot of silver and pearls in my work, it seems appropriate to mention how to care for these materials.
The key to preventing tarnish on silver is keeping it clean, and storing it sealed off from air, humidity, and chemicals. Anti-tarnish cloth lining in jewelry boxes also helps.
The key to caring for pearls is to avoid contact with chemicals and anything acidic. Pearls are beautiful, but delicate, and can be damaged by seemingly innocent things like hairspray, so keep pearls clean, but avoid using chemical cleaners on them.
My favorite way to store silver jewelry is in plastic zip-lock baggies. Since I have a lot of jewelry - most of it stock that I take to art and craft shows or deliver to the stores and galleries that sell my work - I need a solution that keeps my jewelry from tarnishing but also doesn’t take up much space. Plastic bags are the perfect solution. Tupperware-style containers also work well. Pearl jewelry should be cushioned, so I recommend anti-tarnish cloth pouches for silver and pearl jewelry, especially if it is stored in a box with other jewelry items that could scratch the surface of the pearls.
Another thing that helps, and don’t ask me why, is to put a small piece of aluminum foil inside the container you use to store your silver.
It might work for the same reasons this simple recipe helps to remove light tarnish from silver jewelry (and is one of the *only* safe cleaning methods for pearl jewelry):
In a bowl, place a piece of aluminum foil. Put your jewelry on top of the foil so that the silver is touching the foil. Sprinkle baking soda on top, and add hot water. Swish the water around for a few minutes, then remove the jewelry and dry with a soft cloth.
Another useful cleaning tip: wipe silver with a polishing cloth after wearing it, and if your jewelry comes in contact with sweat, perfume, hair products, or other cosmetics, it doesn’t hurt to rinse it in lukewarm water and dry with a soft cloth. Then don’t forget to store it away from air and moisture to keep it looking shiny and new!
Some don’ts:
*don’t put on your jewelry until you are finished styling your hair, doing your make-up, etc. Chemicals in beauty products can accelerate tarnishing, and damage pearls and some gemstones
*don’t get salad dressing on your pearls. Seriously - vinegar, which is a common ingredient in salad dressing, will damage pearls. If you do spill on your pearls, rinse them in warm water and dry with a soft cloth.
*don’t keep jewelry in the bathroom - it’s the most humid part of your house, and an area that usually has the most chemicals (in the form of cosmetic products and household cleaning products, which can damage jewelry).
*remove silver and pearls before cleaning your house - again, the chemicals can damage pearls and accelerate tarnish on silver.
*don’t use a silver dip on jewelry that contains pearls, shell, stones, and other non-metal materials. Silver dips are really intended only for silver - try the baking soda and hot water rinse for jewelry that combines silver and other materials - it’s much safer, if not quite as instant.
I’m gradually transitioning from using standard sterling silver to Argentium sterling silver and fine silver, both of which are less prone (though not immune) to tarnish. I hope that by using these alloys, my jewelry will be easier to care for, so although Argentium and fine silver are slightly more expensive than sterling silver, I think it’s worth it for jewelry that resists tarnish and therefore looks new much longer.
Maven Fair is Tomorrow!
Posted by Administrator on May 11, 2007
That’s right, in less than 24 hours I will be at the Maven Fair selling my jewelry and hanging out with lots of wonderful, talented artists and designers.
I’m really looking forward to it - and realizing I still have a lot of work to do. I’ll be spending my Friday night finishing up as many of my unfinished pieces as I can, and getting all my diplay materials organized.
In the meantime, a shipment of my jewelry is supposed to arrive at the House of Lyndon in Gallup, New Mexico today for their local Art Walk tomorrow evening. If you are in or near Gallup, please stop by House of Lyndon and see my jewelry - and all the other wonderful art and fine craft on display there.
Carnival of the Creators - May 12, 2007
Posted by Administrator on May 10, 2007
I got a *ton* of entries for this carnival (which was for May 10th, not 12th as I mistakenly wrote). If I missed your entry, I sincerely apologize - don’t hesitate to submit to the next edition. A few people submitted more than one article, and in those cases, I picked one to include. Since there are so many entries, I’ve divided them into a few categories.
Articles by and about Creative People and their Creations
Bobbi A. Chukran presents Transformations…The Art of Recycling exhibit online posted at Recycled Stuff.
Don West presents Tenacious Trees posted at Idle Minutes.
Cyndi presents Creating a digital mixed media collage posted at Layers Upon Layers, saying, “There are so many different ways to combine digital and physical art. Here’s one of my new favorites!”
Amy E. Fraser presents Dormant Canvas posted at EXALTED BEAUTY
Elvis D presents You Should Be An Actor posted at OneSmallWindow.
Kathryn presents The San Francisco Writing Life | San Fran Voice posted at San Fran Voice, saying, “A blog post about what it means to be a writer in San Francisco.”
Lexi Sundell presents Creative Burnout From Unreasonable Customer Demands | Energies of Creation posted at Energies of Creation, saying, “Burnout results from having to create ill-conceived projects. The “Omigod Ring” reached ridiculous extremes in this category.”
Derek presents Our Earth as Art posted at Acres Wild.
Articles written *for* creative people on everything from inspiration to calls for art to staying healthy
Ruth Mitchell presents Buy Outside the Box: Where Does Inspiration Come From? posted at Buy Outside the Box, Tips on finding inspiration.
Mr. Besilly presents The Power of Creative Vision posted at Mr. Besilly - One Man’s highway, saying, “The world desperately needs creative vision determined to give happiness by creating beauty. Now more than ever, in a time when we trade counterfeit happiness as if it were gold. Selling shallow and fleeting beauty to the highest bidder.”
Debra Moorhead presents The Motivational Trick that Works – EVERY Time posted at Debra Moorhead.com.
David presents How Fashion Houses and Designers Can Use Websites posted at The Alexander Report, saying, “Creative ways fashion houses and designers use websites to increase sales.”
Anmol Mehta presents 3 Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas and Kriyas - Part 1 posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga, saying, “This breathing exercise enhances and develops the right hemisphere of the brain thus promoting creativity, awareness and meditative powers.”
shedwa presents LA Shorts Fest Wants Your Work posted at shedwa.
Alan presents After The Secret posted at Made to Be Great.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of the creators using our carnival submission form.
The next edition will be hosted at Lori Greenberg’s Blog. Last month’s host was Cyndi at Bead Arts.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Los Angeles Art/Craft Attractions
Posted by Administrator on May 7, 2007
I just returned from a last minute trip to Los Angeles, and managed to squeeze in some art sightseeing while I was there.
I really enjoyed the galleries at the Bergamot Station Arts Center in Santa Monica. Lots of paintings, some sculpture/installations, and one gallery of “functional art” or what many people think of as “fine craft”.
I also enjoyed the Silver Lake / Echo Park area. I saw some fun art/craft shops that were almost half gallery half store. I liked ReForm School, Giant Robot, and Junc, and there were also quite a few nice vintage clothing stores. Worth looking around if you are into crafts, DIY culture, and coffee shops.
