December Art Elements - Handmade Christmas

Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash

I love the theme of the December Art Elements Challenge - Handmade Christmas. As always we can use any medium we choose. We can enter gifts that we make, ornaments and decorations, wreaths, Christmas cards… even cakes, cookies and gingerbread houses – just as long as we have made them.

Winter tree earring by BayMoonDesign

I made a number of earrings with Christmas in mind.  I designed them so that they can be worn for Christmas as well as all winter long.  The ceramic trees remind me of snow covered trees so I wanted to create a pair of earthy looking earrings. The ear wires are natural brass which adds to an earthy look. These snowy tree earrings make a one of a kind art jewelry gift for a nature lover.  The ceramics are made by artist Mary Harding. 

Photo by Brendan Steeves on Unsplash

I love cardinals. When I saw a cardinal image on faux tin beads by a favorite artisan of mine, I knew that that they would become a special pair of holiday earrings. The art jewelry illustrations are from original artwork of Heather Powers of Humblebeads. The image will not scratch off, is water-resistant, and adorable.

Cardinal earrings by BayMoonDesign

I paired sterling silver wires and olive green Swarovski crystals to add sparkle and bring out the green in the beads. If you love nature these earrings make a statement and can be worn all winter. As a gift these bird dangles are sure to put a smile on the face of a bird lover.

Snowmen Ornament by BayMoonDesign

In a previous blog I described how I made a dozen ornaments for the Biggs Museum of American Art .  The museum hosts a holiday market for children. They purchase handmade items by member artisans. 

I went through my stash of tins, card stock, tools, old Christmas cards, ribbons and trim, earrings, holiday pins, odds and ends. Two essentials for this project are a hot glue gun and Modge Podge which I had. The best part of this project was that I did not have to buy a single thing. I had everything I used already at home.  I admit I worked with children for 35 years so I have a rather large collection of holiday pins and jewelry that I hope will bring joy to others as I repurpose them. I wanted them to enjoy life outside of my jewelry box.  This ornament has a trio of ceramic snowmen that I hope is now being enjoyed on someones Christmas tree.

Christmas Card by BayMoonDesign

I made a number of Christmas and holiday cards as I do every year. One of my favorites is this Santa card. If you like this card, you may want to look at my collection of handmade cards that I sell in my Etsy shop.

Photo by Rinck Content Studio on Unsplash

Remember this is a bog hop. I special thanks to Jennifer Davies-Reazor for organizing this. Here's a list of all of the participants:

AE team: 

Lindsay

Jenny

Sue

Karen

Claire

Niky

Cathy

Guests: 

Sarajo

Kathy

Mary

Hope

Tammy

Evie and Beth

Divya

Merja

Sarah

Grab some hot chocolate and see what the others made for Christmas!  Don't forget we love comments.

We're All Ears :: 5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!

Photo of a pile of Legos by Rick Mason on Unsplash

In my mind this photo shows how I think my craft table looks. Not a pretty sight! In reality it is always a mess. I am trying to do better. Using a muffin tin or any kind of divided tray that holds parts has given me much needed structure.

I look forward to this challenge every year because I love to make earrings and I sell more of them than anything else. I had an especially good holiday season and I need to start thinking of spring designs as well as resupply my popular sellers. I am also trying to embrace my new motto:

NO SHOPPING WHATSOEVER. USE WHAT YOU HAVE.

My muffin tin with earrings parts

I have some gorgeous beads by Susan Kennedy of SueBeads that I wanted to used. I put them in my muffin tin first and worked with them first to insure they end up as two new pairs of spring earrings. I also put some parts to popular earrings. I placed these beads and parts together with ear wires, findings, etc in each division of the tin.

I have a long list of things to do so I made up my mind that I would devote one week to this. I was originally trying to create one pair a day and get all six made in one week. I only got four made but I did get the earrings with Susan's beads done and I am very happy with them. So rather than beat myself up about not making my goal, I celebrated by photographing and listing them on Etsy.

Modern Pink and Black Earrings by BayMoonDesign

I love the black dots and dashes on the lampwork beads by Susan Kennedy. I imagined them as becoming a pair of modern looking earrings. I used some tiny pink and black beads to create stripes for a fun and contemporary look in these pink and black earrings. I combined beautiful artisan lampwork with sterling silver.

Modern Orange Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These handmade modern orange and white floral earrings combine beautiful artisan lampwork with sterling silver. The orange dangles have a contemporary look to them. I used some tiny orange and white floral beads to create a fun look. This orange and white jewelry is a perfect gift or fashion accessory.

The orange and white lampwork beads are made by artist Sue Kennedy.

Navy Blue Earrings by BayMoonDesign

I have found these natural sodalite stones are popular with my customers.  I made these navy blue earrings for those who are looking for long dangles that have a very retro look to them. These blue earrings showcase the natural sodalite stones in sterling silver teardrops. I love how the sterling silver compliments the blue sodalite. 

Pink Agate Earring by BayMoonDesign

I bought a string of these pink agate stones that I use either upright to look like hearts or upside down to look like teardrops.  These are pale pink heart earrings for those who are looking for heart shaped dangles. These pink earrings feature natural agate stones and sterling silver. I love how the sterling silver compliments the pink. The pink and grays in these stones are gorgeous. These pink geometric earrings are modern looking.

Which pair is your favorite? I am looking forward to seeing how others did with this challenge.  This is a blog hop so make sure to head over to the Earrings Everyday We're All Ears and see what others created.  You might get inspired!

Thank you Erin Prais-Hintz for this inspiration.

November Art Elements Inspiration - Fossils

Dinosaur Skelton Photo by Jon Butterworth on Unsplash

The inspiration of November's Art Elements challenge is fossils. Fossils are what's left of plants or animals after being buried in mud for a very long time until it turns into rock. Hard parts of animals, like bones and teeth, are the most common things that turn into fossils. Some fossils are the remains of animals that lived long ago and are now extinct, like dinosaurs. Fossils are excavated from many environments, including ancient riverbeds and lakes, caves, volcanic ash falls, and tar pits.

Plastic Dinosaur Toy

My love of fossils began as a young child. Like many children, I was fascinated by dinosaurs. Whenever I was near a museum with dinosaurs, I always made time for a visit. My own children loved dinosaurs. My collections of plastic dinosaurs and books grew as my children's collections were added.  I look forward to passing this collection to my grandchildren.

Photo by Michel Porro on Unsplash

As an adult, I moved near the ocean and  I became interested in ammonites.  Ammonites are perhaps the most widely known fossil.  They usually possess the ribbed spiral-form shell as pictured above. These creatures lived in the seas between 240 - 65 million years ago, when they became extinct along with the dinosaurs. Ammonites belong to a group of predators known as cephalopods, which includes their living relatives the octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus.

Fossil Necklace by BayMoonDesign

This unique fossil necklace has a pendant inspired by an ancient ammonite fossils. I added the long fine chain to the ancient fossil. To complete my focal I added a neutral ceramic bead. The neutral colors in this boho necklace make it perfect for lots of outfits. It is also a light weight necklace that can be worn comfortably.

The one of a kind polymer clay fossil bead is by Brooke Bock. The ceramic is by Sandra Sapienza. It is a long 30 inches around with the focal hanging below 2.5 inches.

ammonite Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This is a blog hop so grab a beverage and enjoy seeing what everyone created for this challenge.  We all love to hear your comments so please tell us what you think of our pieces.

AE Team

Jen

Lesley

Sue

Claire

Jenny

Niky

Guests

Cat

Tammy

Susan

Dawn

Michelle

Sarajo

Evie & Beth

Divya

Kathy

Thanks to everyone who participated. 

We're All Ears--November Inspiration--Names

Random Name Generators exist to help people come up with all sorts of names...for characters in your next novel, Scientific-sounding bird names, Music Band Names, Dragon Names and much more.   The FantasyNameGenerators website is far more robust and offers far more types of names. The list below are names generated to serve as an inspiration this challenge. We can pick one or more to create a pair of earrings that embodies this spirit of the name.  What a fun inspiration!.

Inspiration Names from Random Name Generator

With the holiday season and a craft fair right around the corner, I focused on names with red and green to serve as my inspiration.  I am thinking that folks will be looking for those colors.  

Fields of Jade by BayMoonDesign

From the list I selected "Fields of Jade" as my inspiration for this pair of earrings that remind me of a field of ferns. These fern earrings are made from natural brass sheets embossed with a fern pattern and painted with green and yellow patinas. The metal has a protective coating to keep the color vivid for years to come. I hung them on brass ear wires and added green Czech beads at the top. Natural brass ear wires add to the earthy look.

emerald abyss earrings by BayMoonDesign

Once again, these emerald abyss earrings are made from natural brass sheets that I embossed with an undersea pattern and painted. They are hand painted with yellow, aqua and green patinas to created this scene that I imagine in an ocean abyss. The metal has a protective coating and I hung the earrings on brass ear wires.

Ruby Steel Earrings by BayMoonDesign

For my last pair of earrings, I used a pair of red and green lampwork beads made by Susan Kennedy. I paired them with red Czech glass bells and silver earwires. I used sterling silver wire to connect the beads. I imagined all of the silver to resemble steel in these "ruby steel earrings".  These are perfect for the holiday season.  All of these earrings are available to purchase in my online store.

How did I do with this challenge?  I certainly enjoyed it.  Thank you Erin Prais-Hintz for this inspiration.