July Art Elements Challenge--Seed Pods

Photo by Sebastian Seck on Unsplash

The theme for the July Art Elements monthly challenge is "seed pods".   Seed pods are pouch-like forms on a plant which encloses the seeds.  I found a wonderful collection of photos of seed pods on Pinterest and a tutorial on making seed pods from polymer clay by Claire Fabian of Art Elements.

seed pod by Sue-Lin Tarnowski of Tsin Design

I was tempted to make some seed pods and I hope to do so soon.  In the meantime I won a seed pod in a design challenge sponsored by Brooke Bock.   The lovely creation was made by Sue-Lin Tarnowski of Tsin Design.  Prior to the win, I had admired her beads in other designers' jewelry.  I discovered her in Facebook Land where she sells her creations. This challenge provided me the urgency to design with her seed pod.

Seed Pod Necklace by BayMoonDesign

With this beautiful bead I made this handmade polymer clay blue and brown seed pod necklace on a long chunky chain.  I added a few vintage beads that I repurposed along with a polymer clay bead in very close to color of blue that the pod is.   I picked this bead up on my trip to Grand Marais, Minnesota.   The natural brass chain is 24 inches around with the pendant hanging below.  If you love art jewelry that is inspired by nature, this is a necklace for you.

By Mitzi.humphrey [CC BY-SA 4.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

There are lots of participants in this challenge for everyone to visit.  Comments are welcome!  A special thanks to Jennifer Cameron of Art Elements for creating this challenge.  

Guest Artists:

Tammy 

Raven 

Alysen

Anita

Cat 

Kimberly 

Rozantia 

Sarajo 

Divya

Caroline

Catherine

Kathy

Jill
Norma

Art Elements Team: 

Claire

Caroline

Lesley

Niky

Laney

Susan

Marsha

Jenny

Cathy

Jen

Thanks for visiting my blog.  I would love 

We're All Ears Cheers to July!

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

July's We're All Ears challenge is to find a picture of a favorite summer drink and build some earrings around it! The colors, the flavors, the shape of the glass, the way the ice melts, even the sweat stain on the coaster....your choice! 

Photo by Stephanie McCabe on Unsplash

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. This year's celebration was very special because I had both of my adult children at home so I wanted to find a festive red, white, and blue drink.

Patriotic Vodka Slushie

We celebrated with a refreshing and colorful slushie made with grenadine, blue curacao, and spiked lemonade.  I need to point out that the way you layer this drink isn’t a choice. To effectively create layers, you need to consider the thickness of each liquid. In this case, grenadine is thicker than Blue Curacao, and lemonade is thinner than both grenadine and Blue Curacao. This is why the drink is layered red, blue, and white, because it goes from thickest consistency to thinnest. If you layered it any other way then the layers might not hold and the different colors would be more likely to bleed through.

Step 1 – In a food processor, blend grenadine and ice until slushy, then pour a layer (about 1/3 the size of the glass) into the bottom of your glasses.

Step 2 – Blend blue curacao and ice until slushy, then gently add another 1/3 layer on top of the grenadine.

Step 3 – To finish off, blend the lemonade, vodka, and ice, then top off your drinks with a final layer.

Step 4 – Serve and enjoy!

Red Rose Earrings by BayMoonDesign

 The patriotic color scheme of red, white, and blue inspired these earrings.  I used red polymer clay roses by Brooke Bock and the royal blue lampwork by Sue Kennedy.  I added some recycled, vintage white glass beads. The earrings are finished with Vintaj brass earwires.  These earrings are available for purchase HERE.  They would make a great July birthday gift.  You may also want to snag them for yourself.  They are perfect for the summer holidays.

I can't wait to see what other drinks inspired some earrings.  What a fun challenge!

Art Elements June Theme Challenge – Sunflowers

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

I love sunflowers so I knew that I would be participating in the June Art Elements challenge by creating something inspired by the theme of sunflowers.  This also gave me the opportunity to revisit some photos of sunflowers that I took in the Fall 2017 when I visited my son who was living in Duluth, Minnesota at the time.  My husband and I decided to celebrate his birthday in Grand Marais, Minnesota which is several hours north of Duluth by car.  Grand Marais is a gorgeous little town and art enclave located on the shores of Lake Superior.  It isn't too far from Canada and has both lots of woods and coastline along Lake Superior.

sunflower photo by Kathy Lindemer, BayMoonDesign

Where we camped there was a community garden that had a number of sunflowers in different varieties.

sunflower photo by Kathy Lindemer, BayMoonDesign

Photo of marigold and butterfly by BayMoon Design

The sunflowers attracted lots of butterflies the weekend we were there. I couldn't resist capturing some photos of these pretty creatures enjoying the flowers. They just about posed for the photos.

Coastline of Lake Superior at Grand Marais by BayMoonDesign

I took lots of photos of the town because it was so quaint and beautiful.  It is a great place to camp in the summer and fall.  I am sure that the winters are long and difficult there.  

Photo of boat anchored at Grand Marais by BayMoonDesign

There were a number of excellent spots to eat in town as well as very cute shops.  Since many artists live here the shops sell their creations.  I even managed to find some beads made by local artists to buy.  

Photo of Grand Marais by BayMoonDesign

Grand Marais has lots of scenic views. I think you will agree that this is one gorgeous place to visit. 

Boho Yellow Earrings by BayMoon Design

The sunflowers there inspired me to make a pair of yellow and brown earrings. These boho yellow earrings are inspired by the colors of the some of the sunflowers. The yellow and browns are great colors for late summer into early fall fashions. The colors of these earrings add a nice pop of color to them. The triangles are enameled tin by Numinosity. I added seed beads to white Irish linen thread to add additional color. Brown Czech glass flowers were also added to bring out the browns. They are available for purchased HERE.

Photo by Charlotte Coneybeer on Unsplash

I can't wait to see what others are inspired to make.  Feel free to visit and leave kind comments.  

A special thanks to Sue Kennedy who selected the theme.

Guests

Alysen

Anita

Cat

Divya

Jill

Kathy  (HERE)

Linda

Linda

Mischelle

Norma

Raven

Sarajo

Tammy

AE Team

Caroline

Cathy

Claire

Jenny

Laney

Lesley

Sue  (hostess)

Art Bead Scene June Monthly Challenge-Les Ibis

Title: Les Ibis

By: Jean Metzinger
Date: 1907
Medium: Oil
Style: Fauvism

Every month the Art Bead Scene challenges their readers to create jewelry inspired by a featured artwork. You have until the end of the month to share your work and then they pick two winners to receive beads and jewelry-making supplies from their sponsors. The only rule is that you must use at least one art bead in your piece!

June's challenge is based on Les Ibis by Jean Metzinger. Jean Metzinger was at the center of Cubism both because of his participation and identification of the movement when it first emerged.  The style of the oil painting is Fauvism. This is the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early twentieth-century modern artists like Metzinger whose works emphasized artisitic qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.

Boho Blue Earrings by BayMoonDesign

I decided to focus on the strong colors of the blues that are in the oil painting.   These boho blue earrings have seed beads in the blues, aqua, and white on turquoise blue Irish Linen Thread. The rectangular pieces were enameled by artisan Kimberly Rodgers of Numinousity. They are enameled tin with specks of blues and yellows. The geometric earrings have an on-trend color combination and are easy to wear for those who like a pop of color. I love the fact that the tin is very lightweight. That fact enables the creation of long earrings without the weight that often occurs.  The blue color is perfect for a summer.

Mermaid Bracelet by BayMoonDesign

The blues in this painting are among some of my favorites so I was inspired to make a second piece of jewelry.  This boho mermaid bracelet has a  sea shell ceramic, a mermaid ceramic and a word bead that has the saying "as free as the ocean". The blues and yellows in the bracelet are used to give the bracelet a bohemian beach feel. Natural Irish linen thread was selected to give the bracelet a casual feel.   The 3 square beads are by Scottish artisan at Grubbi Ceramics. 

Mermaid bracelet by BayMoonDesign

I am anxious to see what others are inspired to create based on this oil painting. For me this painting offered color combinations and are perfect for my love of the blues found in the ocean.