Thursday, November 28, 2013

Auction to benefit the Phillipines Disaster Relief



Ceramic Fish Bone Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings Set
 

I love the bright green glaze with the pop of brown flowing through it!  That's why I chose it for my ceramic fish bone necklace, bracelet and earring set that I am donating to raise money to the people in the Phillipines that lost everything from the recent typhoon.  This is one of the many wonderful items that will be auctioned off.  What a great way to make a difference....  Here's more information on the jewelry I created:

*The necklace is 22" long, but has a lobster claw clasp that can be closed on any link in the chain.  So it can be worn as short as 16" and any length in between.  The chain is an open link antique copper with a handmade swirly wire accent, copper crystals, ceramic spacer beads, and starring my unique and fun ceramic fish bone pendant.  The glaze is called Pistachio and anything named after food is a good thing in my book!
*The bracelet is also adjustable so one size fits all with a lobster claw clasp and antique copper chain.  It features a handmade swirly wire accent, copper crystals and a ceramic bead.
*The dangle earrings have antique copper ear hooks, antique copper wire swirls, ceramic beads and crystals.  What a fun jewelry set for yourself or a gift!


 
A very big thank you to our blog hop host, Andrew Thornton, for coordinating this awesome FUNdraiser!!!!  The starting bid on my jewelry set is $1 with $5 bid increase increments.  The retail value is $75.  You can leave your bid in the comment section of my blog with your name and email address.  The winner will be announced here on my blog and on my Facebook page on Thursday, December 5, 2013.  Shipping is free worldwide (part of my donation) and a Paypal invoice will be sent to the winner.  The money will then be sent to the charity of choice, which is Care  http://www.care.org/emergencies/typhoon-haiyan.  Please hop around to all these blogs that are also raising much needed funds for disaster relief and Bid, Bid, Bid!
 
Here's a current list of participants:
 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Love Art Charm Swap and Benefit

I have really been enjoying swaps, blog hops and donating to benefits lately.  Sure....I love to create, and yes, it is good marketing for my business.  But the best reason to get involved, is it's FUN!!!!
 
This swap was all about LOVE.  When I think about love, a heart comes to mind, so I created a cute little ceramic heart.  I love the "Key to my Heart" sentiment, so that is what the finished charms theme would be.  A key symbolizes home, and home = family, and family = love.  Plus, I travel almost every weekend to art and bead shows, so I really appreciate the time I can spend at home.
 
Thank you to Jennifer Cameron for being our swap hostess.  There are over 40 participants that you can hop around with on their blogs.  The links are below.  At the very bottom of my post is an Ebay link where you can bid to win a charm from every artist!  How cool is that?  And the money raised will be donated to Beads of Courage.  They help ease the pain of being hospitalized through creativity time with beads.  I love that!
 
Here is what I received and one of my "Key to my Heart" charms was returned to me.
 
Now what could I create with these fun, loveable charms?  A charm bracelet!
Please check out the rest of my swap friends blogs, enjoy and bid!

 
 
 
Caroline Dewison:http://blueberribeads.co.uk
Charlene Bausinger Jacka: http://clay-space.com/blog/
 






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Monday, October 28, 2013

Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop



Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop
 
My friend Diana P. from Suburban Girl Studios loves Halloween, so she decided to host a blog hop celebrating artist created beads with a Dayof the Dead, Zombie, Halloween theme.  I wanted to join in, so I created my new blog, "Playing with Clay" so I could participate!  Plus, how could I not yet have a blog?  Lol  Too busy making beads, I guess!  Here's how my necklace design came about:
 
My ceramic sugar skull was perfect for a focal pendant.  I paired it with three 14mm black ceramic round beads, size 6 black seed beads, and used 6 jangle spacers from T-beads that has 8 wire wrapped components each.  That's 48 wire wrapped head pins containing crystals, seed beads and metal spacer beads for fullness and the Wow! factor.  It's a cool necklace that has gotten me many compliments when I've worn it.  It's been fun, and I'm sure I'll be participating in many more blog hops and design challenges.  Please be sure to check out other designs from my fellow blog hop participants.
 
 
 

 
Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com
 
 

Dianne Miller http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com
 
Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com
 
Toltec Jewels http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
 
 
Laura Medeiros http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com
 
Veralynne Malone http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com
 
 
 
Jenny Davies-Reazor http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog
 
 
 

 
 
 
Stephanie LaRosa http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com
 
 
 
 

Nicole Valentine Rimmer http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
 
Dawn M. Gallop http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com








 


 
 


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Ceramic Bead Making Class with Mary and Sharon





Ceramic Bead Making Class
 
 
Mary and Sharon came up to my home studio last week from Fort Myers to "play with clay!"  I showed them how to hand form, use rubber stamps, cookie cutters and press molds to create many types of ceramic beads.  I think they made at least 100 beads each, which is great!  Sharon said all her friends and family are receiving ceramic bead jewelry gifts this year for Christmas...Lol  After the beads were fired into bisque, they came back and experimented with underglazes and glazes, paint distressing techniques, as well as low and high fire paints.  Didn't their beads turn out great?!  If you want to learn how to make ceramic beads, I teach in my Port Charlotte, Florida studio, or I can teach at your location with at least 3 students and an available kiln.