Monday, April 29, 2019

Art Elements --- Repurposing and Recycling


tin cans repurposed into wall hanging with plants Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
Repurposed tin cans as wall planter, photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
The April's Art Elements theme is Repurposing. Member Lesley Watt issued the following challenge:

"Upcycle, recycle, pre-loved, repurposed... call it what you will, this month you can make anything you like provided that the finished product includes some element that was originally intended for a different purpose or is used in a completely different way from it's previous incarnation. It can be decorative art or it can be functional and practical - or both, the only limits are your imagination. I know some of you have already dabbled with this and I hope it fires up some exciting ideas."

The tin cans in the photo above are an example of trash turned into an attractive wall planter with almost zero cost. It is bright and cheery as well as functional.  


My bird feeder in Lewes, Delaware USA

I decided to take an old but loved bird feeder and repurpose it into an object of beauty.  I don't use it as a bird feeder now that I spend the winters in Florida because that would be unfair to the birds.  This left me looking at an old plastic tube in the center.  I thought I would use some of my large collection of sea glass to fill the center.  Surely, that would look more attractive.  Don't worry I have plenty more sea glass left.

Sea glass stored in garage in plastic bag


Bird feeder with sea glass

I think you will agree that the feeder is more attractive with the sea glass.


Inspiration for my repurposing project

My next project involves my selecting one of my old pins that I purchased when  wearing pins on a dress was the height of fashion--especially if you worked around children. I also took apart an old handmade card with a nautical theme that I made awhile back. Add an Altoids tin and these items can be repurposed into a shadow box. I have written several blogs about repurposing tins. Previously, I blogged about making an owl ornament, several faerie ornaments, and a Christmas ornament.
Bear's inner tube reads "When in doubt... float.



Ink added to wood frames 
I added some paper twine, ink, sea shells, painted wooden frames and some hot glue.



Summer Shadow box by BayMoonDesign

I took the pin off the back of the bear and hot glued it to the tin after I created the beach scene complete with waves and sea shells. The background paper is from the card that I had made awhile ago. It made the perfect background for my floating bear. Now my bear will live outside a jewelry box and can be admired on a shelf in my studio along with my other altered tins.

Grab a beverage and enjoy seeing what everyone else was inspired to upcycle, recycle, pre-loved, repurposed. Thank you to Lesley Watt for a perfect challenge during a month where we celebrate Earth Day.



Friday, April 19, 2019

We're All Ears :: April Inspiration :: Wanderlust


Photo by Andreas Dress on Unsplash


wan·der·lust/ˈwändərˌləst/noun 
a strong desire to travel.



WANDERLUST is the TRAVEL-themed challenge for April's We're All Ears. We are to be inspired by actual places we have been, the methods of getting there, or even the places we want to travel to!


Photo by Kate Torline on Unsplash

With that in mind,  I was reminded of a past road trip from the Lewes, Delaware to the Southwest of the United States.  As someone from the flatlands of coastal Delaware, I was really impressed by the mountain vistas of the Southwest and I have longed to return to their beauty.  Mountains of this size and color are different than beiges and blues of the East coast.   One stop on this trip was Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Being from the East coast, I enjoyed seeing a very different culture set in these mountains. 

 Plaza of Santa Fe is the Heart of Santa Fe, photo by K. Lindemer
 Plaza of Santa Fe is the Heart of Santa Fe, photo by K. Lindemer

Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital, sits in the Sangre de Cristo foothills. Santa Fe is renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture. Founded as a Spanish colony in 1610, it has at its heart the traditional Plaza named Plaza of Santa Fe. While there I toured the Palace of the Governors which is an adobe structure located on the Plaza of Santa Fe which served as the seat of government for the state of New Mexico for centuries. There you can absorb the history, religion, and culture.
Bead store in downtown Sante Fe, photo by K.Lindemer
Bead store in downtown Sante Fe, photo by K.Lindemer

Santa Fe is also a creative arts hotbed. While there I visited The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum which is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O'Keeffe, her life, American modernism. While there I also found time to do some bead shopping.  

Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, photo by K. Lindemer
Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, photo by K. Lindemer
To absorb the culture of this area, the chapels are a must see. I visited The Loretto Chapel in Santa. It is a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and a wedding chapel. It is known for its unusual and amazing helix-shaped spiral staircase. The Sisters of Loretto credited St. Joseph with its construction.

Ghost Ranch redrock cliffs.jpg

                              Georgia O' Keeffe's Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico Photo By Artotem

I enjoyed this trip and I want to return to the area again and this time I want to plan the trip around a visit to the town of Abiquiú, New Mexico which is about 53 miles (85 km) north of Santa Fe. There I want to tour the home of Georgia O'Keeffe which was her vision. Throughout the property one can see and feel the time and love O’Keeffe dedicated to this special property in a very special town, Abiquiu.


Southwestern Turquoise and Red Dangles by BayMoonDesign

These are southwestern turquoise and red dangles that are inspired by my desire to return to a place where the reds in the mountains are set against the blues in long vistas of sky. I love turquoise and red together. These earrings remind me of the colors in the beautiful southwest of the United States.
Southwestern Turquoise and Red Dangles by BayMoonDesign

I love the rustic southwest look of these turquoise earrings. This art jewelry is made with handmade crackle beads by artisan Scorched Earth. I used sterling silver ear wires to compliment the gray in the beads. Red Czech beads surrounded by gray are sitting atop a gunmetal spacer.  These earrings are for sale in my BayMoonDesign shop.


Photo of person jumping mountains by Walker Fenton on Unsplash
Photo by Walker Fenton on Unsplash

I plan to explore the world this week by reading the blogs of the other participants in this blog hop! Join us and leave comments in your travels through them.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Bead Peeps Reveal





Participating in Bead Peeps 5th Annual Swap'n Hop and my pairing with Jennifer Strehler has been fun. She and I have a lot in common. We both have shops on Etsy. My shop is BayMoonDesign and her shop is called Purple Oyster. She loves purple just as much as I do. She associates the color with strength.  I just love purple for its color;  it just calls to me.  Jennifer and I both create jewelry.  When I look at her jewelry, it is clear to me that she selects high quality gems and metals and is very meticulous in her metal working.


Purple Oyster gifted BayMoonDesign





agate focal, lamp work, beads

I received these beautiful beads back from Jennifer in March. Jennifer was very generous in sending me so many beautiful beads.  Immediately, I fell in love with the large art glass flower beads.  I don't know how she parted with them!  They were made by glass artist Russian Любовь Агапкина.  

I put the purple beads aside for a special necklace for my daughter who also loves purple.  I have had a focal for awhile that will work beautifully with the beads that Jennifer gifted me.  
Photo by Jessica Castro on Unsplash

I then set out with the intention of using the gorgeous large glass flowers and the gifted leather in a design. The leather fit through the glass flowers so I saw that as a sign to use it in the necklace.  I also used a few of her ceramic beads, the large agate focal.  I love copper so I used that metal to add some color and brightness.  The necklace went together pretty quickly, but I spent a lot of time on the design.  I ended up starting the design at the back of the necklace. I cut the leather in half and ran the leather with the ceramic beads, copper spacers, and glass flowers through and attached it inside to a copper wire loop that I created.  The knotted leather is trimmed and tucked back inside the flower.  I also knotted the leather where I wanted to hold the beads and spacers in place.  The knots also add color to the necklace.  The hardest part of the design was determining how to connect the leather to the metal.


Floral Necklace by BayMoonDesign
 I want to create a statement necklace to feature for an upcoming Delaware by Hand Memorial Day Show that I am participating in on May 25, 2019 at the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, Delaware.  I like to feature floral and nautical pieces there at this art show.   If you are in town, stop by and see my creations.



I sent Jennifer this box packed with goodies for her to use.  I can't wait to see what she created.



A special thanks to our hostess:Linda Anderson at http://www.instagram.com/cherryontopdesign

Photo by Laura Johnston on Unsplash

Grab a beverage and enjoy seeing what others did with their gifted beads. 

Non Seed Beaders

Hope Smitherman http://CraftyHope.com

Seed Beaders

Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash

Thanks for visiting my blog. Comments are always welcome!