Color Blind!

Okay, so over at Lark Crafts they're asking about colors and I wanted to share my colorful stash of fabric colors with you and see what you think?

What's the dominant color here?  Blues?  Or is it really more pinks/fusia/purples in this mix?  It's hard to tell when they're all mixed together.


But boy do they look yummy and they're so fun to use and play with! 

And yesterday, another batch from Darn Good Yarn came in the mail - Woo Hoo - now there's even more colors in there!

Don't forget to tell me what color you think is the prominent one here and also tell me what's in your "Color Stash", too!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Color Me Happy! (with soft, yummy ribbons and yarns!!)

Cheers,

~Shel~

Inside the Studio

Okay - so I've been letting things go lately and haven't kept up my nice, neat, clean and very organized studio the way I used to.

I saw Lorelei's blog post last wednesday of her work bench along with Erin Siegel's pics she posted of her new studio space and how that's coming along and they both prompted me to "take inventory", if you will.

I completely understand what Lorelei wrote about feeling "discombobulated" when things get a bit out of control and spread out all over the place.  And, I'd love my studio space to resemble that of Erin's - it's gorgeous and so clean and neat - I love it!  (It's along the lines of what I aspire to have in the near future!)

With just  two bedrooms and a den (Mike's Man Cave!) I am 'sharing' some space now, so to speak, and nothing can "live" out in the open.  Everything (and I mean everything), has to be put away each time I'm done working for the day, or even 'pausing' for awhile as I do my daily duties of helping my husband run our family company.  (Otherwise I cannot reach my computer in order to work!)

Lately, I am feeling the need to 'spread out' and take over a room - a room that I don't have (yet!).  But, I wanted to share the views from "Inside My Studio" with you because I feel that if I "put it out there" then I'll be motivated to straighten it up again and organize things back to a more manageable level.

PLUS, although my space is limited and everything has to 'hide' right now, I'm super blessed to have an amazing view from my 'studio' window! (Which is super inspirational, by the way!)

I can hear the fountain running in our backyard, hear the birds singing, see the beautiful roses in our rose garden blooming, smell the lovely blooms of the grapefruit trees and see the lake, the palm trees, the green grasss - oh,...it's so wonderful! It definitely makes the 'space' issue completely fine! (for now!)

So, here's a glimpse around,....and heres wishing that everyone's "Dream Studio" comes true! 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Counting My Blessings!

Cheers,

~Shelly~

Ribbons of Hope

I'm not sure if I can actually call my handcrafted ribbons I designed "Ribbons of Hope" as that name seems to be take (by several individuals and companies!) but I'm calling them Ribbons of Hope because they started out as commemoration ribbons; ribbons to commemorate awareness for things such as motorcyclists on our freeways, and various cancers, too and they actually do represent hope. 

Many of my friends and clients asked if I could please duplicate my design for them, only using colors that coordinated with the types of causes, cancers, diseases, and awareness that meant something to them and were close to their hearts - so I have begun the process.  And what a rewarding proccess it is!

So, listed here in this post are the beginnings of some of the designs. These first pics are of the original design with blackened sterling silver ribbons that have been hand forged, textured and wire wrapped and adorned with saltwater and/or freshwater cultured pearls (of course they have pearls - you guys know me well enough to know that!!).

One of the ribbons in these pictures is going to be given to a young woman who's father and I attended school together. This young woman has been diagnosed with brain cancer.  Her necklace will have a gray ribbon attached to it for brain cancer awareness and I'm donating more jewelry items that will go into a silent auction at a benefit that will be held this summer for her. With out mentioning their names or anything (to protect everyone's privacy), I'd like to ask you to send your warmest wishes and prayers to this young lady and her entire family - there is definitely strength in numbers when it comes to 'postive vibes' that go out into the Universe! Thank you - I really appreciate it and I'm sure she and her family will as well.

The other ribbons in this collection that I'm creating will have various colored gemstones and ribbons associated with the different types of awareness causes such as pink for breast cancer, gray for brain cancer, yellow for our troops and their families, teal for Hodgkins Lymphoma, light blue for child abuse, red for your "heart health" and many more.  There are also plans for various types of metals to be used such as gold, copper, brass, etc. making these handcrafted metal ribbons adaptable to any cause which needs awareness and education. I'm also going to be donating a percentage of the proceeds of these ribbons to various causes as well - I just have to work out all those details first, before folks can start placing orders!

I welcome your thoughts and comments on these - so feel free to post something to this blog or shoot me an email or leave me a message on facebook.

He's my MiShel Designs Facebook Page so you can leave a message there if you'd like.

Until Next Time,
Peace, Lots of Love and Awareness!
Cheers,
~Shel~







P.S. - Someone asked and I looked it up - GRAY is how it's spelled in the America's and GREY is how they spell it in Europe and just about everywhere else in the world,...so they are both acceptable and both correct. I prefer grey for some reason,...don't ask my why! However, I made sure I corrected my use here in this post to the 'American' version but I still have it listed as GREY on my FB page!  :)

2 Feet of Wire!

The theme for Week 12 of Year of Jewelry Projects 2011 was "2 Feet of Wire" and what a challenge it was, too.  I never really thought about it until I forced myself to stay within the '2 feet' limit and I found that the things I usually create take much less or much more wire.  I did pretty good and only cut minimal pieces off when I was ready to secure my wire wrappings - so I possibly have a smidge under 2 Feet.

So, here's the measurements:

Swirl Earring Wires - 4 inches of 20g. sterling silver round dead soft wire = 8 inches - Forged, hammered/textured.

Wire Wrappings - 2 pieces of 2 inches each of 26gauge s/s round dead soft wire to secure the loops = 4 inches

Wire Wrapped Pearls - 2 pieces of 6 inches each 26gauge s/s round dead soft wire to wire wrap these gorgeous greenish/grey freshwater cultured pearls = 12 inches

So, there you have it - 2 Feet of Wire!  And pearls, of course!

Known as the 'stone of sincerity,' pearls symbolize purity and represent faith, charity and innocence.  As the most widely used gemstone in weddings, pearls are believed to bestow the power of love, (and money, too).

They are thought to bring luck and to offer protection for the wearer, especially to children. Royalty often valued pearls above all other gemtsones and you know this "Pearl Girl" loves her pearls!! 

With Easter, Mother's day, Prom and Graduation, not to mention all the Spring and Summer Weddings that are popping up amongst your friends and family, you can bet you'll be seeing these gorgeous and versatile gemstones every where!

To find out more about these fantastic gemstones, jump on over to our website and check out our pearls page!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and 2 Feet of Wire (Adorned with Pearls!)

Cheers,

~Shel~

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

St. Patrick's day finds us once again over in California and will be having a traditional cornbeef and cabbage dinner at my Niece's house with her and her family. It's always a fun time, only usually my sis is there - snapping away with her camera - catching us all in our green clothes, jewelry and funny glasses - but this isn't the case this year.  I guess we'll have to take our own pics!!

Okay, so last week, after fighting with my tumbler and pulling items from it in every imaginable color - except the bright, shiny silver I was trying for - I decided to bench the silly thing and just go with this beautiful, shiny copper just the way it was! Although it would have been really cool looking had it been oxidized with LOS and them polished up - but, it is what it is!

Week 10 of YOJP 2011 had a theme of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling".  I was inspired to try a design I saw in the Fall issue of Belle ( page 48 - Intention Earrings) but I varied the design slightly as I did not hand stamp any 'intention words' into the hammered copper sheet that I wire wrapped with recycled sari silk ribbon.  I did wire wrap some small new jade roundelles and attach them on the ends so they could dangle freely, adding to the movement of they "Eye Catching" earrings!  I completed the look with my own handcrafted, artisan earring wires in my 'Signature Style' and now that everything is finished, I'm quite pleased with the end result.

You should skip on over to the YOJP 2011 Website and check out all the fabulous designs that folks are making - they're amazing!! 

I hope your St. Patrick's Day is filled with all the green things you can handle (and handle responsibly!!) and that you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Winter Enchantment – Windswept Dreams Necklace

Our assignment this time around for the Artbeads.com blogging challenge, was the theme “Winter Enchantment” and I found some nice items to try – and boy are they cool!

This project, by the way, is also doubling as my YOJP 2011 Week 9 Entry this week – with the theme being “Windswept”.

I had a ball with this cause I was really jazzed to try out some of the Swarovski Crystal beaded yarns. Here’s what I got:

• Swarovski Crystal 3mm Crystal Beads White Cashmere Yarn

• Swarovski Crystal 3mm Jet Beads Black Cotton Yarn

• Swarovski Light Grey Mohair Yarn with 3mm light grey pearls (ya knew there be pearls in there somewhere, didn’t cha!!?)

• Swarovski Crystal Hematite Mohair Yarn with 3mm hematite beads.

These were really fun to work with. All were soft, and the mohair and cashmere ones are really ‘fuzzy’ and remind me of nice, warm winter sweaters! They would be great to make little “Barbie” necklaces with. Yes, I even make jewelry for Barbie once in a while….I’m such a dork!

I really am a dork, because I forgot to snap my ‘before’ pics when I take all my goodies out of the bag and you get to see everything lined up before I start creating – sorry about that.


For my necklace focal bead I chose a 28mm Jet Swarovski Crystal Twist Pendant – boy does this have some heft to it! LOVE IT! And, the toggle I chose - since I was doubling this for my windswept theme for Week 9 of YOJP 2011 – was this spiral (swirly wind!) Tierracast Spiral Toggle Clasp.

I like the Tierracast toggle design and since it’s light weight (it’s silver plated not true sterling) it feels nice on the back of your next and doesn’t press down on your neck bones in the back. I know that sounds weird,…but trust me,…it’s important!

I gathered up these lovely little, fabulously fuzzy yarns with their tiny little beads and wire wrapped the ends, sliding them into some plain sterling silver cones that I purchased from my friends over at BeadWorld here in Glendale. I also got the nice sterling silver bail that’s holding the Swarovski Crystal pendant on at BeadWorld as well!

I added the pendant and the toggle clasp to the layers of Swarovski yarns and ‘Ta-da’ – it’s a “Winter Enchantment, Windswept Dream!” (it’s more of a little winter enchantment, fluffy, fuzzy looking type of dream necklace than any windswept necklace, but whatcha gonna do!?!) But, it still looks rather ‘Winter-ish’, don’t you think?

I’m really thankful to the folks over at Artbeads.com. I’ve been ordering from them for over 5 or 6 years now and their items are really great, shipping is fast, and their prices are some of the best around. You definitely can’t beat that these days – that’s for sure!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love, Winter Enchantment and Windswept Dreams of Spring Coming Soon!!
Cheers,

~Shel~

FTC compliance disclosure: the Artbeads.com items mentioned in this post were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.

Week 8 - YOJP 2011 - The Goddess Freya

Week 8 for YOJP 2011 was the theme “Gods and Goddesses – Freya” and since I can’t really hammer stuff comfortably just yet, I wire wrapped little ‘Freya’ here instead. (I did pick up the hammer and smack her around just slightly – but don’t tell anyone!)

Actually, Freya’s not so little. She measures just a smidge over 2 ½ inches and has two, super gorgeous freshwater cultured pearls and a tiny turquoise nugget bead – all showing themselves off to the world. Created with sterling silver 18g and 24g dead soft round wires, I have chosen this time to give you a small glimpse of my process here – so no laughing at my drawings! (My sis is the artist,…not me!)

Here’s the picture of one of the drawings. See how it looks NOTHING like what “Freya” actually turned out to be? Yep,…that happens pretty much all the time in exactly this same fashion! Then, I took some shots of her ‘naked’ – before she was given a dark patina with liver of sulfur. I kinda like her naked and shiny but she looks more dramatic after she’s been LOS’d. Not sure yet how I’m going to hang this pendant, or from what? Any suggestions?

Two things I learned while creating “Freya”. One: My wire wrapping skills have started to really go down hill and I definitely need to brush up a bit with some online tutorials over at JewelryLessons.com or Beaducation.com, to name a couple. Two: I might draw a pic or something, but I don’t write down all my steps, processes, etc. every time (like some artists I know) and I do things differently each time, even when it’s the same type of design, so creating a tutorial or class on this would be a slight challenge, but something I must get back in the practice of doing again!

I hope you’ve enjoyed Freya – the Goddess of Love and Fertility. She is a beautiful site (to me anyway!) and has her own special personality – just as the ‘real’ Freya does, too!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and all Goddesses RULE!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Week 7 - YOJP 2011 - Something To Talk About

I'm over half a week late with my Week 7 Post for "Year of Jewelry -2011".  Excuses, excuses,...yes there is one.

I have somehow injured my elbow to the point where it hurts like hell to grasp anything,...making it just a smidge difficult to work with my pliers, hammer metal (boy do I miss smacking that stuff around!!) or to even hold anything, so.....needless to say it's been a long 4 or so days.  But, today I picked up my 2lb brass mallet and smacked it against some silver to create this set for Week 7 of YOJP 2011 with the theme of "Something To Talk About"  - and it felt good (after I put down the mallet anyway!).

Here's the story behind this set:

My story is really my niece’s story and it’s definitely something to talk about.

At the age of 24 and with her 1st child barely 5 months old (if that), she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Several weeks into her chemo treatments she and her hubby learned she was pregnant with their 2nd child. The doctors forgot to give her a pregnancy test prior to starting her treatments and they told her that the likelihood of the fetus even having a heartbeat was very slim due to the chemo.

Thankfully there was a heartbeat, but the threat of something going wrong during the pregnancy or with the baby during birth loomed. And, to boot, her husband had to deploy to Afghanistan for 7 months and would miss the rest of her treatments, her radiation and the birth of their baby.

So, shaving her head, holding it up high and possessing the “I can overcome anything” attitude she conquered cancer, had a healthy and beautiful baby girl, saw her hubby come home safely from over-seas and is now enjoying life to the fullest with him and their two wonderful babies!

She’s a member of Toastmasters and has been asked to “Speak up, Speak out and Share" her story with others – which she is doing with grace, gratitude and NO REGRETS!

I made the set pictured here, for her.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and "Sharing Triumphs"

Cheers,

~Shel~

Something to drool over,...

Since my elbow is a bit under the weather (long, boring story, trust me - and now comes the part where you can all crack some jokes!) I've been reduced to laying down my jewelry pliers for a few days and picking up my camera and finally snapping some pics of the gorgeous little treasures I snatched up while freezing my buns off down in Tucson during the gem show.

Mind you, this is only a sneak peak, but I wanted to post a couple of shots to help you start drooling this week - incase you had a boring Monday or something!

Anyhoo,...I'll leave you with these,.....no explanations needed, right?!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and healing vibes! (and drooling mouths!)

Cheers,

~Shel~

That's AMORE! Week 6 of YOJP 2011

 "Infatuation" was created for Week 6 of YOJP 20111 using the theme "Amore".  I thought of love, Valentine's Day, hearts, the color red, and all sorts of corny stuff,...but nothing was really tripping my trigger, so to speak.

So, I fixed a nice, refreshing 'girlie' cocktail and sat down to 'ponder' my sketches and notes,...and then it hit me! My pretty little drink was "Amore"!  I mean, after all, it did embody soft, feminine style in both color and taste, and it was VERY "GIRLIE" and reminded me of TOTAL LUXURY, and I said "That's Amore!" 

I fused some 20g round .999 fine silver and then forged a heart shape. I hammered and textured it and added MY favorite symbol of love - PEARLS - these specific ones I purchased during the Tucson Gem show from Majestic Pearl and The American Pearl Co. and attachd the heart with pearl dangles to some fabulous light peach fairy ribbon that I purchased from the great folks over at Fusion Beads.

I designed a pair of earrings, complete with my own "Sexy Norm" style 925 sterling silver earring wires to compliment this very delicate and feminine piece of jewelry (wish I could tell you where these cute hearts came from, but the receipt and business card I had asked the man to put inside my bag was no where to be found - but it was at the Windmill Inn during the Gems Show, of course!) and then I sat back and enjoyed my beautiful cocktail and listened to Dean Martin sing,..."That's Amore!"   LOL!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and well,....Amore!

Cheers,

~Shel~