Giveaway Winners of the October Component of the Month Design Challenge

I accidentally pulled 3 names for the giveaway, and since I have a few extras that I will be listing for sale later this afternoon, I decided to send out 3 sugar skulls to 3 guest designers. And the winners are: Karin Grosset Grange, Staci Louise Smith, and Solange Collin. Congratulations!

I still need to take photos of the sugar skulls available before I can list them, but they will be up later today. Anyone who purchases a sugar skull can also participate in the component of the month blog hop on October 30th. 

October Component of the Month - Sugar Skulls

It's my turn to host the AJE component of the month challenge for October. October might be my favorite month of the year because I just love the colors of autumn, Halloween is my favorite holiday, the brisk fresh air, starting up the fireplace again, roasting marshmallows in the fire pit outside, sweaters, doing the final yard clean-up and getting a break from weeding for several months....HA!

So when I was considering what I would offer as the COM, I considered several options. I have a new black kitten in my family to match the black cat we already have. So beads with 2 black cats...very Halloween-ish. I considered an autumn tree so I could kill two birds with one stone and use it for the tree challenge a couple days ago. However, ultimately, I decided I wanted to try my hand at making sugar skulls. There are some beadmakers who create masterpieces of extremely elaborate sugar skulls and they are AMAZING! I am not good at detail because my patience level is pretty low. So I went for a more "primitive" folk art style sugar skulls.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED 

I will be selecting two readers to participate in the design challenge (READ DETAILS BELOW!!!) along with several members of the Art Jewelry Elements team. If you'd like the chance to play along with us here's what you need to know...

• I will give away two sugar skull beads of my choice to two winners selected randomly from those who leave a comment on this post. Please note: your comment must include your email and blog addresses so we can contact you should you win. Comments lacking this info will not be considered.

• Please only leave a comment if you can can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.

• The names of the two winners will be announced on Tuesday October 4th.

• the giveaway is open to participants from all countries but please be aware, components will be mailed from the US and international postage can take up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Sunday October 30th.

Good luck! And happy beading. 

Shank Button Earrings - a Quick How To

If there's one thing that frustrates me about designing jewellery it's having an idea in my head and struggling to make it work with elements that aren't specifically designed for the purpose but, I am pretty determined and it's not often I give up on something.

I bought a lot of gorgeous Green Girl Studio pieces when I visited Bead Fest in the summer including these two sugar skulls which I thought would make cute earrings. They are in fact shank buttons and because they are top heavy and concave at the back I was having troubling fixing them in a way that stopped them tipping forward. I tried jump rings, wire wrapping and looked at attaching them to a back plate but the effect wasn't really what I wanted.

But then after playing around for a while and as often happens I came up with a simple solution involving a length of 18swg annealed steel wire - tough to work with but perfect for what I had in mind. With some bending and determination I managed to get the wire through the shank twice to create a loop and using two pairs of pliers pulled the wire around a pair of bail making pliers to create a neater smaller loop. I then pulled the two ends of the wire down round the shank, twisted it a couple of times and then trimmed the wire.

I used round nose pliers to to turn simple loops in towards the shank. I then made some droppers by threading flower and pewter beads onto some hard wire head pins and turning a simple loop at the top. The open loops were attached to the loops at the back of the button and closed. The wire structure is pressed snugly against the button back and stops any unwanted movement or tipping (the droppers create movement on the earring but if you prefer them rigid you could just extend the steel wire, add beads to that and finish with turned loops)

Add a couple of ear wires and voila - a cute pair of earrings.

So frustrating as it was at the start ultimately I ended up with a technique that may open up lots of possibilities for other components...what's not to love.

UK readers may like to know that Green Girl studios are now available in the UK from The Artisan Bead Company a new online shop set up by our very own Caroline.

Lesley
The Gossiping Goddess

Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry Blog Hop Reveal

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  To celebrate this year, I hosted a Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry blog hop.  The rules were simple; create Halloween or Day of the Dead themed jewelry and make sure each incorporates an art bead/component.  Over 40 people joined in the fun!

If you would like to learn more about the Day of the Dead, then check out Linda's post here.  Last year, Linda and her husband were in Oaxaca, Mexico during the celebration.

To see all the blog hop creations, come join me over at Suburban Girl Studio for the full list of participating blogs.

Have a spooky day!

Diana P.
Suburban Girl Studio LLC

Day Of The Dead In Oaxaca, Mexico

Last year, my husband and I were in Oaxaca, Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebrations.  It was a most interesting cultural experience and it challenged us to re-examine our own attitudes toward death and dying.

Here I am, beading, in my temporary "studio" in Oaxaca.

We were impressed that the Day of the Dead was not a mournful occasion at all.  Death was seen as a natural part of the circle of life and included the assurance that loved ones lived on as spiritual beings.  The Day of the Dead offered an occasion to feel reunited with the deceased and to celebrate the good times and memories that you had shared.

In our culture the picture above would be considered macabre. But the candle is just there to light the way for the returning souls to find their way home.  Long pathways are lined with marigolds which also help guide the returning spirits to their proper destination.

Preparation for the Day of the Dead began at least a week ahead.  The markets started filling up with sugar skulls and "pan de muerte", which are loaves of bread with a cross of bones made of bread, decorating the top.  We also saw large loaves of bread with candy faces placed in them.  We inquired about these and were told that the faces represented the returning dead ones and the bread was to give them sustenance on their long journey.

 
Elaborate altars for the dead started appearing in alcoves around the city and many people built private altars in their homes. One of the larger churches in town filled their huge courtyard with sand "paintings" depicting skeletons dancing, talking and carrying on life as usual. The large sand paintings were rimmed with bright orange marigolds and lit with hundreds of candles on the night of November the 2nd.  Bands were playing and there were singers and dancers.  Vendors hawking snacks and drinks were working the crowd.  Lovers found dark corners where the could make out.  Little kids got balloons and were allowed to stay up late.  It was definitely a gala event.

The Day of the Dead is actually 2 days.  November 1st is to remember children who have departed from this earth and November 2nd is for adults.  People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of their loved ones.  They bring lawn chairs and instruments so they can sing together through the evening. Graves are cleaned up and decorated with flowers.  Children's graves are festooned with toys and balloons. People bring offerings of the things the deceased enjoyed in life.  Often adults' graves will have offerings of tequila or cigarettes and items from the deceased one's work or favorite hobby such as knitting needles or a gardener's trowel. Yah, I know, my grave would have to be covered with beads, so I could be happy in the next life!!!

Hundreds of beaded necklaces for sale in the market surrounding the downtown 

plaza or "zocolo".  I'd want to bring these along on my journey to the afterlife.  

I might take along a bottle or 2 of tequila, too!

We spent a magical evening in the city's largest cemetery. Many of the graves were elaborately decorated.  Sand paintings, hand built altars and marigolds rimmed the edges of the outer walkways.   Women passed out cups of thick, spiced hot chocolate and all the pathways through the cemetery were illuminated by candles.  There was a very large mausoleum on the grounds and every niche was lighted with a candle - literally thousands of candles.  It was an amazing sight to behold.  This picture is just a tiny portion of the mausoleum.

I think the most important thing we took away from this experience is that rather than death being a fearful, hush-hush topic, it is openly embraced.  Americans don't do death very well.  We use euphemisms (he passed on) and we stumble with difficulty, trying to find words of comfort for those who are dying and for those who mourn.  In contrast, the Day of the Dead is forthright and pragmatic (leaving cigarettes for the deceased) as well as spiritual, (belief in an afterlife).  The celebration demonstrates the love and respect that people feel for their departed elders and although it is about death, it is a celebration that is infused with joy and life.

AJE member, Diana Ptaszynski, is hosting a Day of the Dead/Halloween blog hop.  Sign-ups are open from now until September 26th.  To read about the details, visit Diana's blog. I received an awesome, handmade brass sugar skull pendant from Staci Smith, when I was at Bead Fest.  I will be designing a necklace with it for the blog hop.

Need some inspiration?  This should get you started!

Unique paper sugar skull beads by Gillian McMurray.

Ceramic Day of the Dead skull by Erratics.

Jenny DaviesReazor has a large selection of Day of the Dead focals.  Here is one of my favorites.

Bright green lampwork glass skull by Bastille Bleu.  This shop also has a wide selection of Halloween themed beads.

This ceramic sugar skull, by Firefly Design Studio, comes with matching accent beads.

So now that you have a sample of a few of the resources out there, I encourage you to visit Diana's blog and sign up for the Day of the Dead/Halloween blog hop.  It will be a real celebration!

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry - ArtFire 

Linda Landig Jewelry - Etsy