Tuesday, December 4, 2012

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

          I am sooo excited to see all the wonderful ornaments in this year's Art Bead Scene Ornament Blog. Again, the requirements were to create an ornament using either an art bead or a handmade bead.  I've tried to use each blog challenge to do something new. It's gets the creative juices going and makes me push past my insecurities. Coincidentally, I've been part of a ladies group going through Beth Moore's  So Long, Insecurity book study, so it seemed apropos to tackle something yet untried.
            Right angle weave has been a friend of mine these past few months ( the simpler versions, that is)  particularly a pattern I learned from a lovely Michigan snowbird this past March. When I realized that I could take the smaller earring pattern, and upsize it using 8mm or 10mm beads as opposed to the 4mm size, voila! Ornament idea!! And this is what was born...
Purple Papillion






               
                 What's not to love about purple? When these beads called my name at the local bead store, I answered! I chose the butterfly metal tag ( courtesy of Michael's)  to symbolize new things, and the word "dream" for inspiration. Stamping is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and this is my first baby step. The letters aren't nice and straight ( and yes, I used tape as a line guide) as I'd have liked, but again, baby steps. If you look closely you'll see a little heart in the corner of the wing, because it's hard to dream unless your heart is in it. Several pins on Pinterest suggested coloring in the letters with black Sharpie markers and then buffing off the excess. Black was too harsh, so a lovely purple Sharpie was substituted to keep with the theme. A new Stamping it out board was also created in my search for tips and tricks. I can't wait to do more of this.  Lisa Niven Kelly's book Stamped Metal Jewelry: Creative Techniques and Designs for Making Custom Jewelry might just be my Christmas gift to myself. One never knows.

                   After wire wrapping them all together, I remember a wire ornament hanger that a friend had given me. It was, however, very red, and thus unsuitable. After a couple of tries, and lots of discarded 20 g silver colored copper wire, the ornament hook became the finishing touch.

                    Don't stop here, though- there's many more ornaments to see! Here's the list of blog participants:
Art Bead Scene
Humblebeads
Treasures Found
Song Beads
Viki O'Dell
Sue Beads
Modern Nature Studio
Diane Hawkey
Suburban Girl Studio
Jen Judd Rocks
Ellie's Bijoux
Island Girl's Insights
Life By The Seat Of My Pants
Too Aquarius 
Shelley Graham Turner
Artfully Ornamental
Charis Designs Jewelry  ** You are here**
Harrison Hollow Designs
Silver Nik Nats
Bead Soup Mix
Toodles and Binks
Bead Recipes
Play Sculpt Live
BeeTree by M.E.
Billi RS Rothe
A Half-Baked Notion
Kimis Jewelry and Gifts


 When you're done with blog hop, stop by my Christmas Ornament Ideas  board for lots of easy and fun ornament ideas.  Thank you, Heather Powers for letting me be part of this- it was a lot of fun!!


May your Christmas season be filled with blessings, dashes of grace and splashes of joy!

22 comments:

  1. I love that you used the ornament hop to challenge yourself and try something new. The beaded ornament is so lovely and has such a great message behind it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Heather- this was so much fun. I appreciate being able to play!

      Delete
  2. What an awesome message during the season when we celebrate GRACE being born to us all. I am so blessed by who GRACE has given to us in you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lester- we creative types have to stick together :)

      Delete
  3. Love the colour and the inspiration, Christie. Adjusting a pattern you already love is awesome! Add the fact that you can display this year-round... you have a winning design. P.S. Thanks for adding my link! Now following your blog. P.P.S. Get that book: you deserve it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is gorgeous Christie! I LOVE the stamped butterfly and the sparkly cluster of beads is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so sweet, Vanessa. Can't wait to play with more of these

      Delete
  5. This is gorgeous Christie! I LOVE the stamped butterfly and the cluster of sparkly beads is beautiful. Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your ornament is so pretty you did great with the stamping too! Thanks for the two book titles and yet another pinterest board for me to peruse! I am off now to check them all out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This ornament will be a wonderful personal remembrance. I think I would hang it in my studio all year long to remember the challenges and the triumphs of your year! Thank you for joining us in this holiday fun! Enjoy the day. Erin

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful that you tried something new. I like your ornament.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful and elegant. I love the beaded beads and your handmade hooks. And I especially like the idea of the butterfly to symbolize new things.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great ornament! You could put it in your window, too, so you can enjoy it all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very cool...I love the name! I have a little Papillion, her name is Ellie.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely ornament! Love the butterfly!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful. Butterflys always call my name. They are my favorite. Truly lovely ornament. Im in the hop but not added on the list yet. Please stop by and comment. Happy Holidays and Hopping, Kim at http://kimisjewelryandgifts.blogspot.com/2012/12/abs-ornament-blog-hop.html#comment-form

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim, I updated my list with the new one Heather sent out, so you're part of my links :)

      Delete
  14. Sooo interesting. Thank you for sharing! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely ornament. I really like the beaded bead that you created and the sweet addition of the butterfly.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful ornament! Love the beaded bead!

    ReplyDelete