Today is My Day!

Today is my day to be featured in the Virtual Craft Show!  Click here to go to the craft show and see what I'm giving away.  The instructions for how to win any of the 70 giveaways are listed there.  Have fun.......and I hope you win something!

Dichroic earrings I made for the Virtual Craft Show giveaway

Virtual Craft Show is here!

7 Days, 70 Artists, GIVING AWAY 70 things.

Can you believe it????

Visit by clicking HERE!

Here's how you win:

For each of the 7 days of the show, you get a point for each of the following (you don't have to do all four)....

Commenting on Lori Anderson's BLOG

 

Facebooking the page

 

Twittering the page

 

Blogging the page

My turn will be the last three days of the show,

December 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

I'm excited!

I hope you will visit Lori's blog to see what I've donated.

 Important Note: 

The way you win is by doing all of this on Lori's BLOG, not mine or the other artists. Lori is coordinating the giveaways and will give us the name of who won the prize we donated!
I hope you take advantage of this Virtual Craft Show and of all the discounts being offered by the various artists.

Don't Miss the First Annual Virtual Craft Show!!

The First Annual Virtual Craft Show hosted by Lori Anderson of

Pretty Things

Nov. 26th – Dec. 3rd, 2011

7 Days, 70 Artists, GIVING AWAY

70 special prizes

Lori is hosting an amazing crafting event! For 7 days of the Virtual Craft Show, Lori's blog will be dedicated to the show. Each day will feature a variety of crafts by some amazing artists and you will also be able take at advantage of any discounts the participants may be offering. There will be numerous ways to enter to win some fun giveaways.

It will be fun!  Lots of great giveaways! Don't miss out!

Artful Adornments Open House!



Welcome to my Open House!

Source

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 2011

1:00 - 3:00 PM

COME AND GO! REFRESHMENTS! UNIQUE JEWELRY!

I have recovered from the fall craft show circut and have been busy at work making new creations to show at my fall open house.  I hope you can stop by and do a little shopping.  It's a great opportunity to buy Christmas gifts!  I will have goodies to snack on while you peruse the bobbles.  If you bring a friend with you, you and your guest will receive 15% off your purchases!  The open house will be a casual affair......come and go......from 1:00-3:00pm on Saturday, November 5th.  If you need directions to my house, email me at hotfusedglass@gmail.com  Hope to see you!!

It's been a busy few weeks......

I have had a busy month.  I have had three consecutive weekend shows this month.  The first one was a three day show.  The Brush Creek Bazaar was successful.  I had several friends and customers stop by to see me.  It's always so nice to see a familiar face in the midst of new ones!  The weather was gorgeous.  I couldn't have asked for nicer temps.  The area where the Bazaar is held is so pretty in the fall.  My booth was located near the pond where ducks and swans were lazily paddling around. 

The new earring display.  It has been a good addition.

A bowl of rings!



A beautiful fall day!



The first morning of the show, I showed up to my tent to find a visitor waiting for me!
This little guy was on the top of my tent looking down at me.  He was probably wondering where this tent came from and what it was doing in his home territory!  Because I love bugs, I had to get a stick and get him down for a closer look.  Turns out he is an Assasin Bug.  He was VERY cool looking.  I loved his spikes and orange "protrusions".  After getting a closer look and some pictures, I put him back on the top of the tent.  It took several hours before he wandered off......

Brush Creek Bazaar and More!

Come visit my booth this weekend at the Brush Creek Bazaar!

This year I will be in my own little tent, near the big barn.  I have lots of new jewelry designs.  It looks like it will be a beautiful fall weekend to get out with family or friends!

The dates of the Brush Creek Bazaar are as follows:

• Friday, September 23, 2011 - 9:00am-6:00 pm

• Saturday, September 24, 2011 - 9:00am-6:00 pm

• Sunday, September 25, 2011 ~ Noon ~ 5:00 pm

Physical Location of the Bazaar: 10900 S. Louisville Ave., Tulsa OK. It is an "arts paradise" showcasing more than 80 crafts people as well as visual and performing artists. The three day event also features musical entertainment, a farmers market, and an array of children's activities and great food!  Funds raised from this event supports the Brush Creek Youth Ranch Teen Challenge of OK. 

I know that you'll want more information about this great event, so click here http://www.brushcreekbazaar.org/

If you can't catch me at Brush Creek this weekend, I will be at the Harvest Moon Arts & Crafts Festival next weekend (October 1st)

And then on Saturday, October 8th I will be at the Art on Main in Jenks.  I hope you can visit me at one of these events!

Here is my finished soup........Bead Soup, that is!!

The big reveal day is finally here.  This is my third time participating in Lori Anderson's amazing Bead Soup Blog Party hop.  This is the first time that I have felt prepared and not rushed.  Which is NOT how I usually opperate! The ingredients sent to me by my wonderful partner Stephanie Haussler were beautiful (check it out here ).  One of the purposes of this bead swap is to push us beyond our comfort zones and possibly use beads/elements that we aren't used to working with.  Stephanie sent me beads that I would definitely choose for myself, so that wasn't what pushed me to think outside the box.  What was the challenge for me was to use the beautiful and fun Beaky Bird focal that her husband made.  First, I thought that I would do a simple beading design with the bird as the focal, so that it would really stand out.  Second, I thought about doing alot of wire wrapping with all of the gorgeous crystals and pearls that Stephanie sent. Third, I wanted to use the crystals, pearls, and stones to create a really long, funky single strand necklace with the Beaky Bird as the focal at one end and a smaller focal at the other end.   So, that's what I did...........


Bohemian Beady BeakyBird Necklace



I added a walnut wooden link with crystal
and stone dangles for the second focal.



The necklace can be worn as a long single strand,
or it can be wrapped twice around the neck.

Here is a closeup of the beaded spiral "clasp" that
I made using memory wire.  The necklace is long enough to
wrap twice around my neck and using the beaded spiral,
 it stays securely around my neck! 
 Isn't that banded agate gorgeous?!

Isn't BeakyBird pretty?!

Stephanie was so generous and sent me enough beads/elements to make

 more than one piece of jewelry.  I made a bracelet and earrings. 

 I still have some lampwork beads that her husband, Chris, made that I'm

saving for another special project.

Stephanie gave me some really cool components (watch hands, keys, watch face) that I haven't worked with before but have always wanted to.  She also sent a beautiful toggle that I didn't use in my necklace because I was afraid it would get lost in the busyness of the colors and textures of the necklace. I used some chain Stephanie sent and added the components and toggle along with a lampwork bead and enameled bead that I made, some wire wrapped coral and two semi-precious stones.  I didn't add a lot of beads to this bracelet because I wanted the individual components to stand out.

 

When I first saw these two brass branches, I thought "Oh no, what in the world will I do with these?!"  After mulling that over for several days, I said, "Hey, there are two of them, why not make earrings?"  So, here they are...........



I used copper wire to wire wrap crystals and
copper beads around the branches.



I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I created with my Bead Soup ingredients.  There are over 360 other artists who have been busy and would love for you to stop by their blogs.  You can find the complete list of participants here at Lori Anderson's blog.  Happy blog hopping!!

Bead Soup Blog Party is almost here!

Tomorrow is the BIG reveal day for the BSBP.  When I say BIG, I mean huge!  There are 362 participants this year........ in five continents and twenty-one countries, and in the United States, we're in Hawaii, Alaska, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as well as all over the continental US!  You can click HERE to see a map of all of the artist's locations. I have had so much fun working with my bead soup ingredients.  I can't wait to show you what I made.....but you will have to wait until tomorrow!  Saturday, September 17th is the reveal day.  Please come back tomorrow to see what I created.  I know you'll want to visit the other artist's blogs and you can find the list here.

My last metalsmithing piece

This is the last piece I made in my metalsmithing class.  I am anxious to take the next class but that won't be until January.  I bought some metalsmithing supplies however, so I hope to be making some pieces to show you. It will be a little more difficult without my instructor nearby to help me when I get stuck........hopefully it won't go too badly!  Check back! 

My Bead Soup Ingredients Have Arrived!

I was so excited today when I reached into the mailbox and saw a package from my swap partner, Stephanie Haussler.  Take a look at my goodies!

Colorful packaging!  Can't wait to see what's inside!!

Stephanie's card was so cute!  She wrote out the "ingredients" for the Bead Soup.

Here it is in all it's beauty!  Aren't the colors gorgeous?! 
I love all of it....especially the fun focal lampwork bead
created by Stephanie's husband, Chris.  It's a funky bird! 
I already have ideas brewing in my head for possible designs!

The funky lampwork focal and beautiful coordinating beads.
I love it!!  Thank you Stephanie (and Chris)!!

Now, I need to sit back and let the ingredients "simmer".  I hope that I can create something that will do justice to these beautiful beads.  Don't forget......the big reveal will be September 17th!!