Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day at our local flea market. I
got some antique keys and vintage brass stampings for my jewelry
designs. I also picked up a cute vintage Sarah Conventry necklace for
only a buck! I forgot to put on sunscreen though, so a beautiful day turned into a very ugly sunburn!
I'm not sure about other artists, but sometimes I'll make something that I'm just not happy with. Perhaps it's my perfectionist mentality. One of the necklaces I had created for the Bead Soup Blog Party falls into that category. There are some things I do like about the piece, such as the color combination and some of the specific beads. However, it lays funny when worn and seems a bit unbalanced to me, so I decided to redesign it and make a new necklace! Here are the before and after photos.
Before
After
So what do you think? Is a big improvement, or did you like the original better?
A vintaj brass butterfly blank with the hand stamped word 'Fly' and czech glass beads create this pendant which is hung from a strand of vintage glass beads and vintaj brass chain.
Black glass and Red Malaysian Jade create bold contrast against the bright silver chain and spike beads in this bracelet.
This blue and green hued necklace and earring set features Czech glass, Swarovski crystals and glass pearl beads strung to hold a large faceted glass pendant.
I can hardly believe this is my 100th blog post. In just over a year and a half of blogging, I have gained so much. Now I want to give something back to you, my readers. So I'm also having my first ever giveaway!
CLOSED What you'll win:
Lampwork acorn bead by Patricia Dugmore of pjBeads
The Art on Groton Bank show was a success!! I could not have wished for a better day weather wise and I just love the location of this show! We enjoyed the cool breeze coming from the sound, while under the shadow of New England's oldest standing obelisk at Fort Griswold.
On Sunday, I went to a local flea market to stock up on some more vintage keys. They make such awesome pendants!
I was really enjoying a perfect summer weekend, so I decided the best
way to end it would be some delicious fried seafood for dinner and watching the sunset at the marina.
A while back in the FB groups, a vintage bead swap was organized by Leah of Beady Eyed Bunny. I was partnered up with Kimberly, who sent me a beautiful assortment of vintage beads and components!
This is the Japanese porcelain pendant I sent to Kimberly. It's too pretty not to share with everyone :)
Although there is no reveal for this bead swap, I hope she shares what she makes with it!
I recently mentioned to a friend of mine how I have been battling a bit of a creative block. He suggested a color palette for me to work with, to help break out of this slump. Below is a cellphone picture he sent me with two possible choices. I chose the bottom one and got to work pulling beads out in those matching colors.
Before I knew it, I picked the beads and had my design laid out, ready to be made. I was so thrilled to have a finished piece! The first in a few weeks. It really pays to have great, artistic friends to help you out :)
This bracelet is created using gold and blue vintage lucite beads, purple and silver glass beads, brass washers and an upcycled key charm.
Have you ever had a friend help get you out of a creative slump? How do you help yourself to find inspiration when there is no one around?
Some new things on my bead table! A turquoise
pendant that was a gift from Sandy of Creative Chaos (Thank you!) and a
few other things I picked up from a small local shop called Thistle Beads.
