Beautiful Elements Reader Showcase

Hello! I wanted to feature a few designers who have jumped in and created projects inspired by techniques in Beautiful Elements. If you haven't heard, I am having a fun Book-Along to celebrate my new book. You can read all about it here. So let's see what folks have whipped up!

First up is Sarah Raines, Sarah created these pieces for the Art Bead Scene challenge last month. She created the wire wreath, copper leaf and berry headpins from the book and she did a fab job!

And she created earrings to match. Sarah blogged about her creations here.

Next up is are two projects from Kathy Lindemer, her blog is Bay Moon Design and she even blogged about her experience. Check it out here. Kathy jumped into the chapter that features acorn headpins and oak leaf copper components. 

Each chapter in the book starts out with basic techniques, this chapter I first cover how to make the acorn headpins and the basic oak leaf. I then take you through several projects featuring those elements. The leaf is used a pendant, bracelet cuff and toggle clasps.

Lorelei Eurto did a nice book review and created this bracelet inspired by the silk wrapped beads in the book. She did her beads with batik fabric - looks awesome and put them together in a bracelet of her own design. Read Lorelei's book review here.

The introduction in the book starts:

"This book represents the unlimited potential of raw materials. The most important raw material you possess is creativity. Limited only by what you can dream up with metal, wire, and clay, there are a million directions to travel in jewelry making. When exploring these basic materials, you'll never get bored or run out of ideas. One project gives birth to a new variation, one idea sparks another, and on it goes."

That was the essence of the projects I created for the book. I wanted to show how to create two or three elements and repeat them in various ways to create a collection of jewelry. I hoped to show you how to take a motif and translate it over and over in new ways and that the projects in the book are just a starting point. I know once you learn the basics and feel confident in the technique you'll add these elemements to your box of tricks and pull them out to create designs that are new and unique to you!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!

Ornament Blog Hop: Metal Sketch Snowflakes

I love making handmade ornaments. In fact, I have a tiny tree in my house filled with ones I've made over the years with special art beads. I also have handmade ornaments filling my tree and love giving them as gifts too. Art beads create instant heirloom status for a handcrafted ornament!

This year I made ornaments to celebrate the release of my new book, Beautiful Elements. The book features many projects using metal, hammers, tools and wire to create images or metal sketches as I've coined them in the book.

I added one of my snowflake coin beads to each ornament along with an icy looking stone. The hangers are waxed linen with copper seed beads. 

The evergreen one is featured on the Art Bead Scene. You can also enter to win a set of my snowflake coins over on there too!

Another ornament that has been getting created quite a bit in the studio is this snowy owl. Taken from a drawing in my sketchbook. I made one for my tree and have been sending them out to their new homes too!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Head on over the Art Bead Scene to see everyone's creations and enter to win those snowflake beads.