Farewell Summer ! Sale to Celebrate AJE Earring Challenge Reveal and Labor Day Weekend

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Polka Dot Earrings Available in Bay Moon Design Etsy Store

These fun and colorful polka dot earrings are made with polka dot lampwork beads combined with blue swarovski crystal beads and long silver plated earwires. The are long earrings that hang about 2.25 inches.

The lampwork beads are one of a kind. They are by Work of Our Hands Namibia whose mission is to provide hope and dignity for the unemployed through the creation of cottage industries which produce handcrafted items.

Queen Anne's Lace is an import from Europe

The polka dot earrings are a result of a camping trip to Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland's Western Allegany County.  I was surrounded by lush greens everywhere.

Here at the beach in Lewes, we always have lots of visitors in the summer.  Traditionally, Labor Day marks the end of the summer season at the beach.  The locals always love to see the tourists leave.

Kalmar Nyckel in Lewes, Delaware

The Kalmar Nyckel is here in Lewes through Labor Day.  Locals and tourists love seeing this replica of one of America's pioneering colonial ships, a Mayflower of the Delaware Valley.

The original Kalmar Nyckel served as Governor Peter Minuit’s flagship for the 1638 expedition that founded the colony of New Sweden, establishing the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley, Fort Christina in present-day Wilmington, Delaware.  She would make a total of four roundtrip crossings of the Atlantic, more than any other documented ship of the American colonial era.  

The original ship was built by the Dutch in Amsterdam in about the year 1625.  She was purchased in 1629 to serve as an auxiliary warship for the Swedish navy, which she did until her decommissioning in 1651 — except for the years from 1637 to 1644 when she sailed the Atlantic for the New Sweden Company.  This ship had a long and remarkable career.   She was sold to a private merchant after being decommissioned from the navy.  No definitive records have been uncovered as of yet, but Kalmar Nyckel was probably resold to the Dutch navy as an escort vessel and sunk in the North Sea while fighting in a war against the English in 1652. 

Lots of Sailing will take place in Lewes over Labor Day Weekend

With Lewes being on the water, lots of folks will be sailing or boating all weekend. 

Seahorse Earrings available for purchase at Bay Moon Design Etsy Store

I made these seahorse earrings to celebrate the end of summer in Lewes.  These are my final pair of summer earrings that I will be making through the holiday season.  To celebrate Labor Day Weekend I am offering 15% of all sales over $15.   Just use coupon code AWE15 when you checkout at my etsy store through Sept. 3.

After Labor Day weekend I will be going out West so, please stop back to my blog to follow my adventures on this trip.

Lorelei's Blog: A weekend Giveaway!

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It Is Butterfly Time and Blu Mudd Challenge Round 3

Blue Ceramic Butterfly Bar Bracelet available at Bay Moon Design Etsy store

I am fortunate to me on the Blu Mudd Design team.  The members are participating in Round 3 of a design challenge.

Monarch Butterfly (photo from http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/butterflymoth.html)

I think it is only fitting that Moriah Betterly of Blu Mudd honors the butterfly in her gorgeous bracelet bar.  The participants of Blu Mudd Challenge Round 3 all got the same butterfly bracelet bar, but with different glazes.

My bracelet bar has a pale blue glaze with a hint of yellow.  This butterfly bracelet is made to have the handmade ceramic cuff  sits on top of the wrist. My bracelet has pale blue pearls, teal freshwater pearls, and mauve pink jasper. I used golden bronze wire and gold beads to add sparkle and bring out the yellow that is in the ceramic glaze. The blue glaze is the same color as the pale blue freshwater pearls.

Blue Butterfly 

The blue ceramic reminds me on a blue butterfly that I was lucky to spot it at Bahia Honda State Park, Florida this past winter. This is a very small  butterfly that is native to coastal areas of southern Florida. Once very common throughout its range, it has become critically endangered, and may be the rarest insect in the United States. 

Butterfly at Shenadoah National Park, Virgina

 There are many cultural myths and lore that surround the butterfly. Basically they honor the butterfly as a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of metamorphosis.

Thank you Moriah for your lovely creation featuring one of nature's beauties.  Please visit the entries and see the variety of designs.  You can vote for your favorite up until Sept. 17.

To celebrate Labor Day Weekend I am offering 15% of all sales over $15.   Just use coupon code AWE15 when you checkout at my etsy store through Sept. 3.

Love My Art Jewelry: Hoop Earrings Giveaway......

Love My Art Jewelry: Hoop Earrings Giveaway......

Welcome to the Color Challenge

Goodies I received for Color Challenge from Lisa Lodge

I am thrilled to have participated in Lisa Lodge's Color Challenge.  I couldn't have picked prettier beads if I had done it myself.  Lisa sent me lots of gorgeous beads in all shades of purple which is one of my favorite colors to design with.

Lavender Necklace  by Bay Moon Design available at my Etsy store

My first necklace features a lavender and white rectangular focal by the ceramic artist Blueberribeads. I designed a 3 strand necklace which includes faux pearls, swarovski crystals, and seed beads. The necklace has a variety of lavender colors, grays, whites. An antique pewter seahorse clasp completes the necklace.

Lotus Earrings in purple by Bay Moon Design

Two beads from the stash were perfect for the polymer clay lotus beads that I had.  These are perfect lotus flower earrings for someone who loves the lotus flower,  yoga,  or the color purple. The lavender lotus is suspended from a lovely purple bead and gold earwires. The gold earwires bring out the gold color that outlines the lotus.

Purple and Gold Necklace that features Sharyl's focal

I saved the beautiful focal from Sharyl's Jewelry for last.  I love using her components in my jewelry.
  This focal is 1 inches high x 3/4 inches across.  This brass focal has been cut, sanded, and embossed. The design reminds me of a bird in flight. Patina colors and glaze were blended to create this lilac shade. I suspended Sharyl's focal from purple artisan lampwork.  The purple lampwork is surrounded by 2 lovely pieces of citrine. There are lots of gold and purple beads along with deep purple crystal. A silk fairy ribbon and simple gold metal clasp are added to provide closure.

Would you believe I still have lots of beads left!  Some are going into earrings to match the necklaces.

Thank you Lisa for organizing this blog hop!

Please visit our hostess Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist and all of the participants:

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool

Charlene Bausinger Jacka, Clay Space

Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog

Renetha Williams Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design 

Toltec Jewels, Toltec Jewels for Jewel School Friends

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Julie Lockhart, Copar Aingeal

Dolores Rami, CraftyD's Creations

Elizabeth Bunn, Elizabeth Beads

Mowse Doyle, Mowse Made This

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry
Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Colors in Nature Are the Inspiration for this AJE Earring Challenge

Yellow Earrings available in Bay Moon Design Store on Etsy

These are long yellow earrings. I paired them with enameled copper disks by Catalina Glass to create floral earrings. You can see orange floral murrini on the yellow. I added some yellow swarovski crystals and gold metal to add some sparkle.

The round orange and yellow ceramics are by Work of Our Hands Namibia whose mission is to provide hope and dignity for the unemployed through the creation of cottage industries which produce handcrafted items.

(Photo by Jason Pratt, Wikimedia Commons)

The colors of the earrings remind me of sunflowers.  Sunflowers are known around the world as one of the most joyous and flamboyant flowers. These flowers are symbolic of adoration. Sunflowers turn their heads to the sun, which is the origin of their common name. I know the rabbits in my garden adore sunflowers.  Every year we try to grow them and the rabbits eat them.  This year we put fences around them and the rabbits pushed over all but two of the fences and ate the sunflowers to the ground.  Next year we will stake the fences and hopefully beat those rabbits at their game!

Fall 2012 Leaves in Shenandoah National Park

Believe it or not,  these cool August mornings brought back memories of a camping trip to Shenandoah National Park last fall.  This trip is the inspiration for my next pair of earrings.  My husband and I were there when the leaves were changing and I took lots of photos that I revisited this week.

 

View from Skyline Drive Fall 2012

 Shenandoah National Park has cascading waterfalls, spectacular vistas, quiet wooded hollows.  While there we hiked,  drove along Skyline Drive, cooked by the bonfire .  The park has 200,000 acres of protected lands.   We camped for a week and saw the leaves change on a daily basis.  When we left lots of leaves were on the ground.

Rust Earrings on sale at Bay Moon Design Store on Etsy

These rust earrings are made with handmade polymer clay by Bay Moon Design and look like some of those fall leaves. I paired the leaves with antique copper floral beads and earwires. The polymer clay leaves are a copper and rust color that remind me of the fall color of leaves.  I paired the leaves with antique copper floral beads and earwires.

 

I am wondering what the fall colors will be like this year.  How will all of the rain we have had this summer effect the fall colors?  What are your thoughts?

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Tres Personajes - August Art Bead Scene Challenge

Tres Personajes, (Three People) 1970 Rufino Tamayo 

This month's Art Bead Challenge is Tres Personajes painted by the Mexican Modernist Rufino Tamayo.  It is regarded as a masterpiece of the artist's mature period, the synthesis and culmination of a career and a celebration of his approach to universalism in art via color, abstraction and texture.  As soon as I saw it I knew that a beautiful glass bobbin by Lea Avroch of LA Jewelry Designs would be the perfect focal for a necklace that is inspired by this painting.  

 

 

Red bobbin necklace for sale in Bay Moon Design Etsy Shop

I had on hand some lush gray leather from Nina Designs so I was set.  I had the colors, abstract quality, and texture of the painting.  Coming up with the design was the hard part.  Before Lea Avroch had a flash sale on facebook in July, I had never even see or heard of a glass bobbin.  It is a sewing bobbin that Lea worked her magic on.  When I saw it, I knew that I had to have it.  I just love the idea of making something so pretty from a bobbin.  I am so glad that the August Art Bead Scene Challenge pushed me to use Lea's bobbin so quickly.  It is a unique necklace to add to my etsy store which I am stocking for the holiday season.  

AJE Earring Challenge and My Yoga Beginnings

Warrior II pose in Yoga (photo by Stockphoto.com)

I started doing yoga several years ago at the Sussex Family YMCA in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.   I had a membership there already so I decided it would be a good place to enroll in a yoga class.  I have had a number of different, and all excellent yoga instructors, but Iris has been my instructor the longest.  Iris is close to my age so it gives me hope that someday I will be able to do most everything she can.  Also, most of the folks in the class are close to my age-old.  It is a level 2 sometimes, level 3 class.  I can do many more posses now than when I started.  Progress is slow, but steady.  I have added some yoga jewelry section to my Etsy store because I love yoga and I know others who do.  It also gives me an opportunity to research more about some of the symbols in yoga like the lotus flower. 

Lavender Lotus Earrings available for purchase in Bay Moon Design Etsy Store

I love the lotus flower because it is one of the most delicate and beautiful flowers. Although lotus grows in muddy water, it grows beautiful and brings a smile on anyone's face who sees it. The lotus has long been associated with purity, rebirth and beauty. The purple lotus is the mystic lotus. 

 I created these lotus earrings for the AJE Earring Challenge.  I was drawn to the lotus components because I love yoga and purple.  These are perfect lotus flower earrings for someone with those loves! The lavender lotus is suspended from a lovely purple bead and gold earwires. The gold earwires bring out the gold color that outlines the lotus. This lotus is hand painted polymer clay by Jewelry by Jeannie. 
 

Green earrings available in my Bay Moon Design Etsy store 

 

These earrings are inspired by nature.  They combine polymer clay beads that look like little white and green birch branches. They remind me of a walk in the woods.   These little branch beads are by polymer clay artist Humblebeads. I love all of her intricate detailing on the beads. I combined tranparent green and white swirl table cut czech glass beads. This green is a dark shade and the rock like picasso finish on them is amazing and unique. Gold earwires and a gold bead at the bottom are used for a uniform look. The earrings are 2 inches from the top of the ear wire to the bottom bead.

These earrings are inspired by nature. They remind me of a walk in the woods.

-Namaste