July's Art Bead Scene Challenge Results in Bracelet with Women Figures

 "Fireworks at Ryogoku (Ryogoku Hanabi)"

No. 98 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 8th month of 1858. 

By Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando)

July's Art Bead Scene Challenge is this festive image of this print by Utagawa Hiroshige that shows pleasure boats on the Sumida River, with Ryogoku Bridge in the center. Fireworks add to the excitement in the print. The color inspiration is monochromatic from black to blue with touches of brick red and muted rose. I choose to work with the denim shade of blue.

Tribal Bracelet with Women Figures by BayMoonDesign

I really struggled with what I was going to make.  It wasn't until I spotted the bracelet focal by Inviciti that I decided what to make for this challenge.  I love the women figures and the color of the pewter focal.  The bracelet focal has been oxidized a deep red.  It reminds me of the red in this print. I made it into a multi strand tribal bracelet. The bracelet is held together with denim colored Irish waxed linen thread. I used red and cream colored Czech beads, cream wood beads, and black cultured sea glass. The materials used give it an ethnic and rustic look.  I think this bracelet would look great with a pair of jeans.  It is available for purchase HERE.

I feel like I captured the colors in the print.  What do you think?

Tybee Island

Tybee Island is located 20 minutes from Historic Savannah, Georgia. It is a small barrier island with a three-mile-long Atlantic Ocean beach that's backed by sand dunes.

Tybee Island, Georgia

Five Miles of Public Beach

This barrier island boasts five miles of public beaches perfect for sunbathing, surfing, and playing in the sand and surf.  There are salt marshes, and other natural resources and wildlife to explore, including sea turtles, endangered birds, and nature trails for hiking.

If you enjoy outdoor adventures on the water, this is a perfect spot.  

I only had an hour or so to explore while visiting nearby Savannah, Georgia so I walked alone the shore taking photos and looking for shells and enjoying watching others on the water.  When I got back, I was inspired by the beautiful water and beach to make some nature inspired starfish earrings.

Starfish Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These starfish earrings are made from natural brass sheets that have been embossed with a starfish pattern. The earrings are hand painted also with aqua, and blue patinas to created this beach jewelry. I used amazon chips to mimic the ocean water. The metal has a protective coating to keep the color vivid for years to come! I have hung them on brass ear wires.  These earrings are available for purchase HERE.

We're All Ears July:: Flight of Fancy

[Photo credit :: ellehem :: Unsplash]

These pictures are some of the photos from Unsplash that are offered as our inspiration for July's We're All Ears.  The theme is flight of fancy.  I find ballooning an exciting means to enjoy vast vistas.

[Photo credit :: Daniela Cuevas :: Unsplash]

There are many other aspects of ballooning that people enjoy. Ballooning offers exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing) and the lack of a feeling of movement. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed.

[Photo credit :: Manik Rathee :: Unsplash]

Brothers Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier were inventors of the first hot air balloon. They used the smoke from a fire to blow hot air into a silk bag. The silk bag was attached to a basket. The hot air then rose and allowed the balloon to be lighter-than-air.

What inspires me about these flights of fancy? I love the shape and colors of the balloons. I created this pair of earrings to pay tribute to the shape of the hot air balloon and basket.

Hot Air Balloon Earrings by BayMoonDesign

My other pair of earrings is a salute to the earlier attempts to fly--way before hot air balloons. For many centuries prior to ballooning, humans tried to fly just like the birds and studied the flight of birds. Wings made of feathers or light weight wood have been attached to arms to test their ability to fly. The results were often disastrous as the muscles of the human arms are not like a birds and cannot move with the strength of a bird. Leonardo da Vinci made the first real study to flight in the 1480's. He had over 100 drawings that illustrated his theory on flight and mechanical flight. The drawings showed the wings and tails of birds as well as ideas for man carrying machines, and devices for testing the wings.

Long Yellow Wing Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These wing earrings are a salute to mother nature's great invention--wings. These yellow earrings have natural bronze wing charms that are beautifully detailed. I added cultured yellow sea glass to them. These are long earrings-- 2 inches long from the top of the ear wires. The wing earrings are available for purchase HERE.

I confess a fear of heights, but I do think I would love to travel in a hot air balloon over a grand vista like the Grand Canyon or Sedona.  Does ballooning inspire you enough to give it a try?  

My Polymer Clay Geometric Beads

Tube bead by BayMoonDesign

I am taking an online class "Polymer Clay Cane Design Boot Camp" by artist Heather Powers.  I just finished the first class where we made a flower cane.  When I saw the cane, I considered not even trying to make it.  I was convinced that I couldn't do it. The flower cane was made up of geometric patterns--triangles and circles and it looked very difficult.  I am glad that I gave it a try. I ended up with a tube bead and half dozen round beads.

Round Beads by BayMoonDesign

After we made the flower cane, we used a technique called "millefiori", which means "a thousand flowers". The technique involves taking a single slice of the cane and decorating a bead with the veneer of slices. This looked very scary too, but I was able to accomplish this too.  My beads are certainly not perfect, but I was amazed I even ended up with beads that looked like they were suppose to look. 

One thing I need to work on is reducing the size of my cane.  My beads turned out a little large than I would have liked.  Hopefully the next batch will yield more beads that are smaller.  I would also like to make a lentil which looked too imposing to even try.

I am pretty happy with my results.  What do you think of them?

Enjoying Summer 2016 Znetshows Publication Creative Spark

Photo credit ::Freeikon.com::Unsplash

In addition to celebrating the 4th of July with my family, I am celebrating having some of my jewelry included in a www.ZnetShows.com summer 2016 online publication. It is always exciting for me to see my jewelry in a publication. The company www.ZnetShows.com sells wholesale beads and metal components. Some of their beads include cultured sea glass, chinese crystal beads, glass pearls. I highly recommend jewelry designers take a look at www.ZnetShows.com.   This company offers great customer service and products.  They just updated their website .  It is very user friendly and include ideas on how to use the beads in your designs.

Red, White Blue Bracelet by BayMoonDesign

Being a designer for www.ZnetShows.com, I knew the publication would be out this summer so I selected a patriotic theme for my jewelry so that it could be worn especially on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Olympic Games celebrations.  In the above bracelet you can see that I went with a red, white, and blue color theme.  I combined red, white, blue cultured sea glass with trending black gunmetal chain and links. The boho bracelet has red and blue cultured sea glass beads that dangle from the black chain links giving this the motion of a charm bracelet.

Photo credit ::Kevin Morris:Unsplash

You will see some beads that look like they have the  US flag on them. These are vintage beads that I took off a bracelet that I had for years.  The beads on the original bracelet were held together by elastic and was stretched out.  It was just crying out for a make over.  

www.ZnetShows.com cultured sea glass beads

These are the different styles of cultured sea glass that I used in all of my pieces.  They are the following:

PMX7-B01  Cultured Sea Glass ring Pendants freeform large hole 01-Crystal
PMX3-B33 Cultured Sea Glass double-hole flat freeform mix Pendants two hole 33-Royal Blue
PMX8-B05 Cultured Sea Glass Beads 05-Cherry Red Medium Pebble Mix with 3mm Large hole  

PMX8-B33 Cultured Sea Glass Beads 33-Royal Blue Medium Pebble Mix with 3mm Large hole 
I only ued 4 types of beads to make all of these designs.

annealed links and chain

annealed wire

I also used some gunmetal ear wires, annealed wire, links, and chain.   

Red and blue earrings by BayMoonDesign

I designed this jewelry so that all the pieces can be mixed and matched to create different looks.  The casual royal blue earrings have gunmetal kidney wires that give the earrings a boho look. I used a different style of ear wires with the red for a different look.

Patriotic Bracelet by BayMoonDesign

This bracelet didn't make it past Memorial Day!  I sold it right off my arm at a Memorial Day Craft Fair.  I really love these 2 hole beads.  They make designing easy!

Long royal blue necklace by BayMoonDesign

I used these 2 hole beads in this necklace. I am enjoying wearing this long royal blue necklace that has cultured sea glass paired with black gunmetal chain. This casual necklace is perfect with summer shorts, jeans or a sundress. I try to wear all of the jewelry that I sell at least once to give it a test for durability and comfort. This is passing the test and it is still available for purchase HERE!

Now, here is a holiday treat for you.  Grab a cool drink and enjoy looking through the online publication Creative Spark. In addition to my jewelry, it has lots of design ideas with lists of  components needed, a great summer recipe, some summer quotes, and bead storage ideas.  You can even view the magazine on the go on your portable devices.  It is well worth your time!

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July and enjoy this magazine.

Photo Credit:Gabby Orcutt:Unsplash