Glass Headpin Earrings!

Glass Headpins are so much fun, and can be awesome stash busters to make quick, easy and inexpensive earrings!  I have been making glass headpins on 20 gauge copper wire so you can use the length of the wire as ear wire, too, making them even more economical! I typically make the copper wire part on my headpins 4 inches long for lots of versatility. Today I thought I'd show you a few earring designs to spark your creativity!

These are the glass heapins I decided to work with.  First, I pulled out my czech glass bead bin, my copper bead bin and my brass bead bin.  But then, as you can well imagine, I had to pull my blue stone bead bin, my seed bead bins, etc. etc! So here's what I made with the glass headpins!

For this first set, I used two titanium hematite rounds that I had purchased at Bead Fest in Philadelphia and two czech glass rondelles - the glass rondelles really match well with the colors in the headpins.

For this second pair, I used two copper beads I had leftover from a previous project, as well as two faceted beads leftover from Andrew Thornton's Amethyst Aether challenge, and two size 11 matte turquoise seed beads.

Finally, for the third pair, I used size 8 matte mustard green seed beads, copper heishe beads leftover from a Bead Soup swap, and two gorgeous rounds I purchased from a bead show here in Pittsburgh,  I'm not really sure which are my favorite, but these might be!

You can always make the ear wire integral to the design, but since I'm allergic to copper in my ears, I will use either sterling silver or gold filled.

You can also make mis-matched earrings using some of the trio headpins I have available.

So, that's just one way to use glass headpins!  Thanks for checking out my designs!

Susan Kennedy
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Master the Mess: Following Up!

About a month ago, we at AJE decided that some of us could use a good cleaning/organizing session in our studios. Lesley wrote a post about it that you can find here. In the time since that post some of us have made progress, some of us have done little to no work (some didn't need any) and some of us have regressed (oops).

Here's a few updates from some of the team members:

Lesley: "Well there has definitely been an improvement - the clay bench is now clean...all though to be fair this will always be a mess when I'm in the middle of production."

Clay bench

"The clean up/process area has also has a thorough overhaul..."

Sink area

"My work table is so much clearer but sadly all those trays and pots are full of miscellaneous beads that need to be put back in their rightful homes - a job I loathe so maybe...sometime...never..."

Work table

Jenny: The main/central work table. Always in flux. Yesterday it was set up for polymer. Try to keep it under control."

Central work station

The Sketchbook/Journal table is surprisingly clean since the shelf above crashed down and I had to clean up the carnage."

Journal station

This may look organized. But i have at least 5 things in progress in tiny piles. And when the muffin tins are stacked two deep it makes me crazy. Toe that's cluttered!"

Lots of projects

Caroline: "Same as last time, but with more stuff. I did tidy up, but I couldn't find anything. I'm also getting ready for a show next week!"

Caroline's work area

A peek in Karen's studio:  Since I am preparing to move in a few days, I have not had time to even think about a studio clean-up. However, these three areas are not bad.

Glaze racks

Desk

Shipping area

Linda: "The top left picture shows what was supposed to be my clay table, but there was no space to work there. I wanted not only to reduce the clutter, but also to make my space visually appealing so I would enjoy spending time there. I put up shelves and a rail with storage cups. The sign was a gift from my husband that had never been hung. My smaller glaze bottles fit perfectly, 2 deep on the shelf. Just above the glaze, I hung an abstract silk painting that I had done years ago and a Lunar Hare tile by AJE team member Jenny Davies-Reazor."

Linda's studio

Me: "The floor is getting better and I'm actually able to sit in my chair now and work on a small corner of my desk. Still a LOT of work left to do."

Before and After

"Some of the organizers and artwork I've added since the clean-up began."

Organizers and artwork

So there we have it!  Progress after a month.  I wonder where we will all be in another month.  Have you been cleaning and organizing your work space?  

Happy Beading!

Color Sketching - a Continuation

Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about my new coloring hobby, and my thoughts on how to make coloring useful to my beadwork sketches?  If you don't, check out that post here!  I'll wait until you're done, I promise...  I have not had time to bead lately.  Work has been hectic, my commute often wastes 2 hours of my day, and we're preparing to move next month.  Sketching these designs has helped to keep my brain from becoming frustrated with the lack of beading.  I've made time at lunch to draw design ideas for some of my art beads...and then I went to work with color!

Orca cabochon by Jenny Davies-Reazor, raku ammonite bead by Caroline Dewison.

I started off by making my normal sketchy line drawing of the art bead, then surrounding it with the shapes that came to my brain.  Then comes the fun part - testing a color combination rather than committing to it!  The gray/green seas of the North Pacific for the orca, and a pagoda-like black frame for the raku bead...next step, pull out beads and see if it actually works!

Lampwork cabochon by Sue Kennedy, lampwork key by Jen Cameron.  

These sketches have more notes than the previous two.  On the whale (thinking of Fantasia 2000) I felt the need to remind myself to break into my stash of vintage sequins to make sparkles in the water and stars in the night sky.  On the key, because I intend to at least try to use graduated herringbone to make the fan shape, I have a suspicion that collection of bugles will be needed along the bottom edges to keep the piece structurally sound.

Lampwork by Sue Kennedy, ceramic triclops face by Oregon artist Dana Swisher (no online presence).

I'm not sure if I'm headed the right direction with this concept/shape/color scheme yet - this is when I realized the real benefits of sketching with color BEFORE starting to bead.  I will probably try to sketch this idea again, and try out a different color combination...and wrap my head around just HOW the structure at the top will be formed and hold the round lampwork in place.  

Spiral hare cabochon by Laura Mears, flower cabochons by Lesley Watt.

I think this particular sketch was the most helpful in winnowing down my ideas.  After I drew what was in my head, I was moving the components around on the table and the flower cabs ended up in this asymmetrical arrangement...that I love so much more when it's placed under the hare!  Because the finished piece will be asymmetrical, I feel the need for one more art bead component to place above the are for balance.  Perhaps something like this?

Sketching is not for everyone, I know.  But in this superbusylife period that I find myself currently in, this is satisfying my need to create and giving me peace of mind that I will not forget the ideas bounding around in my head with everything else right now!  I've also discovered that adding color to these sketches is extremely beneficial to my process.  When I start to choose beads for one of these projects I will be able to go straight to the boxes that I need, rather than wasting time going through every box for options.  Or, I will remember that I wasn't happy with the color combo in my head...and know I need to search my boxes for accents and alternatives...of course I could just draw another alternative in the meantime...um...I have an idea now...bye!

Lindsay

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Behind the Scenes in Leather Feather Land

Hello again dear bead loving friends! Welcome to Leather Feather Land… er… I mean my little corner of the world: Tree Wings Studio!

Today you find me buried under a heap of hundreds of leather feathers in progress! Yeah, I'm that crazy… I can't stop making them!

I can't remember if I've said it before now, but last year I finally stepped into the realm of wholesaling and these particular feathers are a result of that. Funny how just a couple years ago, I was pretty sure I'd never do wholesale and now here I am! I know wholesaling is not for everyone and there are some who wonder why I'm taking this path. It can be such a hard strain on an artisan to do so much of the same thing over and over and over and over… and over. Not to mention the potential cut in pay. For me, there was a lot of planning involved, numbers crunched again and again, long chats with friends and family, and of course, input from the lovely ladies of AJE. And now, I have to say I'm really happy I made the decision to go for it—it's hard work, yes, but it's all part of getting me closer to my dream job: making what I love full time.

One day I promise to share a bit more about how and why I decided wholesale was right for me, but for today, I'm giving myself a little break from thinking and am giving you a tour of my studio mess instead… I hope you enjoy it!

For these big orders, I pull out my biggest table to keep this mess separated from my regular mess so I'm not over crowded when I go to work on the regular stuff. It's actually half a Ping-Pong table… it would be the whole Ping-Pong table if it would fit!

I love making tools and whatnot to make my job easier! Each of my feather designs has a series of stencils I made to ensure patterns are consistent.

Each feather starts with a stenciled layout and then every single detail is "drawn" on carefully by hand with my wood burner.

I always have a few design inspirations nearby and while my hands are busily working away, my mind muses on new ideas. During coffee breaks, I'll sometimes do a little experimenting too. That's actually one thing I really love about large orders—the work becomes very methodical when you've got hundreds of the same thing to make and there's so much time to think!

I like to break things up a bit, to keep it from getting too dull—especially when I'm working extra long hours. I'll divide my work into smaller batches and rotate between them throughout the day so I'm only doing the same thing for a couple hours max. Nothing worse than a bored artist! It also helps prevent hand cramps.

And blisters—wow yeah! Even the most calloused, over worked, outdoor loving (oops, I forgot my gloves!), horse petting, bead making hands can get blisters if you don't take a break! And then there was the time I got poison ivy… okay, I'll stop with all the details!

It's many hours of work before I can begin painting the feathers, but it's always a happy moment when I start mixing and applying layers of color!

Painting remains my very favorite part of whatever I make! There's something so magical in the way that color brings life to a creation.

Still lots more feathers to go—and now, it's time for me to get back to work! I hope you had fun joining me in my studio today!

Wishing you all a wonderfully creative weekend!

Rebekah Payne
Tree Wings Studio

Blog: treewingsstudio.com

Shop: treewingsstudio.etsy.com