Beads by the foot

This necklace has turned out to be one of my favorites. So far, I have been able to wear it so many different ways. I crocheted fancy jet black beads on matching black cord. This piece is over 5 ft. long. It can be wrapped up to 3 or 4 times around your neck depending on the look you're trying to achieve. I even wrapped it about 8 times around my wrist for a very bold 'eye catching' bracelet.

Sparkle for the holidays

These little beauties have been selling like crazy. I guess it is 'bling time' once again. Sometimes less is more. I made simple but elegant dangling crystal earrings in a smoky topaz, clear white, sapphire blue, and even opaque lavender glass. All of the findings were hand made and then hammered. I used nu gold (red brass wire) and copper wire.

Victorian goddess

This goddess/cameo necklace has a vintage "feel" with a bit of a modern twist. She is wire wrapped with copper wire and has a lot of texture and depth. The piece is adorned with champagne glass pearls, brass cameo button, lavender , blue, opaque white swarovski crystals, purple and amber glass and a green chalcedony briolette (tear drop). To add texture, I weaved and swirled a gold sheer ribbon through out the pendant. It hangs from a festive, iridescent cord and fastens with handmade copper clasps. It measures 28 inches in length but can be worn as a choker, as well if doubled around the neck.

Black Amethyst

This necklace was hand made with two kinds of wire. The frame is made from a aluminum wire and than wrapped with black oxidized steel wire. It is wrapped with amethyst beads and dangling amethyst nuggets and hematite beads.  The pendant hangs from a black leather cord. The design was inspired by a talented jeweler. Her site is called, Riqzmie Creations handmade jewelry by Yati Salem.  If you visit her blog you will find many beautiful creations and tutorials. The tutorial that inspired my necklace design can be found  http://www.riqzmiecreation.com/?p=3334

I believe this beauty may have found a new home. My sister was a sweetheart and brought some of my work to share with he co/workers this week.  I thank all those ladies for taking the time to view my work and visit my site.

The Lost Bead

I don't know the origin or history behind this bead but, I really like it. A friend of ours was walking to our house one day and found it on the side of the road. It is a bit "roughed" up but, I could see potential in it. It almost looks like a tortoise shell the way it is cut. The color varies from a chocolate brown to caramel.  It is made from plastic and is very light. It is pretty large and fits in the palm of my hand. I wrapped it in a copper netted frame and adorned it with copper glass seed beads. It temporarily hangs from a black ribbon.

Stone incense burners

If you've ever held a natural  quartz crystal you can feel the energy from it. I love having them in my room and around my work desk.  Quartz crystals are used in expanding the mind to touch the spirit world. Crystals are used to enhance the beneficial life force. Crystal water (water that a quartz crystal has been placed) has been drunk for its healthy benefits for centuries.

It has been said Atlantis was destroyed by the incorrect use of quartz crystals. Edgar Cayce spoke about an energy stone in Atlantis. Mr. Cayce's description of the energy stone fits quartz crystal. Many stones are mentioned in the bible, as well.  Some people think crystals are new age. How can something that has been used since cave living man be new age?

What better way to enhance and send out natural energies than using one when burning your incense?  I've wrapped them directly onto the burner. I plan to use different stones with different properties. The holder on the left was made with quartz crystal, yellow and green jade and carnelian. This was custom made for a friend.

Incense burners

Coming soon. Custom made incense burners. These holders will be hand made and wired wrapped with stones and metals. "Energy medicine" tools,  have been used for centuries throughout all cultures, religions and empires. They can be custom adorned for anyone's personal needs.A good source for stone properties is Magpie Gemstones. http://www.magpiegemstones.com/properties.html They offer a wide variety of beautiful stones and jewelry products.

Many Blessings,

Cercle rouge de lumière

This bracelet was made to go with the red sun choker. The name means red circle of light in French. I figured since I named the necklace in french the bracelet should be, as well.  This bracelet is made with the same vintage chain and red faceted glass beads. I cut small sections of chain links and alternated them onto stretch cord. I was very happy with the end result.

Le soleil rouge

This piece is warm and bright and sparkles brilliantly in the light. The name means The Red Sun in French. I made this piece with some vintage gold toned chain I found at an estate sale. I made a cascading collar with  wire wrapped beads and chain. The beads are a beautiful faceted red glass that glow a golden yellow in the light. The two colors remind me of the sun as it disappears into the horizon. I used brass wire which matched the chain perfectly.

Custom Rosary

I had to think a little on this order since most of my jewelry is women's jewelry. . A friend came to me and wanted me to make a necklace for their friend's cross.  He wanted gold beads but I thought gold beads looked more feminine. My hunny and I talked it over and came up with a rosary style necklace. My friend didn't want real gold so, I used red brass (nu gold) wire which matched the cross very well. The beads are black matte finished with facets that make it shine a bit. It measures about 24 inches.

Cat in a Box

Do these earrings make me look fat?

Yes, ladies it’s true! Wearing the right jewelry can compliment your appearance. The movement and the sparkle of gems will draw attention to your face and will either enhance or minimize your features. Even the length of your hair and your coloring have a huge impact on what shape and style of earring is best for you.

It’s important to be familiar with your face shape. There are 8 different face shapes, Oval, round, oblong, heart, square, rectangle and triangle.  The first shapes mentioned are soft and curved. The last four have corners and angles

 Oval ~ Slightly longer than it is wide with soft curved edges.

Round ~ Has equal distance all around with the nose as the center point. It is as wide as it is long with rounded edges.

Oblong ~ Elongated oval face. It is easy to mistake oblong for an oval face.

Heart ~ Wider at the eyes, temple, and cheek with a narrow chin. Soft and curved edges.

Diamond ~ Widest at the cheeks, narrow at the forehead and chin. Sharper features.

Square ~ Straight across at the forehead and along the side of the face. Strong square jawline. The chin may stick out. Distance from the top of the face to the chin matches the width

Rectangle ~ Similar to a square face but is longer than it is wide.

Triangle ~ This face is similar to a heart shape but the lines and edges are sharper and are more angular. 

The shape of your face needs to be taken into consideration when selecting jewelry. The right jewelry will flatter you whereas the wrong jewelry can just end up standing out. It helps to blend the lines of your face with the lines of the jewelry. This will create counterbalance with the necklace and earrings to your face shape and neckline. The perfect earring can light up your face.

Here are some helpful hints when choosing the right pair of earrings.

ROUND: Long earrings can help make a round face look less round. Long drops and chandeliers,  are usually the most flattering earrings for this face shape. Larger angular earrings may also work well. Stud earrings, , tiny earrings and button or ball shaped earrings should be avoided for the most part as they tend to do nothing for a round face. Round hoops may not be the most flattering earrings for a round face shape either, but longer oval or angular open designs may work.
OBLONG: Studs and button earrings tend to suit this long face shape as they bring the eye up and don't appear to be dragging the face downward. Round hoops usually look good and chandeliers can often compliment this face shape as well since they are wider dangling earrings. Multi-layered styles can be the most flattering longer earrings for oblong face shapes.
HEART: Since this face shape is wider in the forehead and narrower in the chin, the most flattering earrings for this type are often wider on the bottom and narrower on top. Inverted triangles and regular teardrops tend to compliment the angles of a heart-shaped or triangular face. Round hoops don't usually flatter this face shape, but oval earrings may work nicely.
Diamond Your goal is to choose narrow shapes that add width to your jawline

Choose the following shapes: Short and wide earrings, small tear drops and pear shapes, triangle shapes, ovals and studs.

SQUARE: This face shape tends to have a strong jaw line and larger round hoops can be the most flattering earrings to compliment the look of a square jaw. Square earrings of any size or style generally aren't the best kind for a square face. Dangling earring styles do usually work with this face shape. 

Rectangle choose earrings that have more width than depth and soft curves rather than angles round buttons, tear drops, hoops and curved edged earrings ovals. If you have long hair, drops no longer than your chin and with some width too

Triangle Choose round shaped earrings, exclamation point-shaped and Crescent-shaped ones. Not to choose earrings with clear angles, like triangle, square, diamond ones.
Inverted Triangle  try some drop or round shaped earrings, not to choose diamond shaped, and heart shaped earrings which would make your jaw narrower.

  

Remember ladies, these are guidelines only, and very few faces are shaped exactly the same.  Have a "one on one" earring party in front of the mirror and Have fun !!

Requests I don't think so

We finally got the Etsy shop up for our screen printing business. You can see Dan's first T-shirt up in the shop. This Homie The Clown shirt has completely been digitally repainted. Great idea for DJs at parties and gigs. Check back for more great designs here at http://www.etsy.com/listing/58799700/requests-i-dont-think-so

Cordelia

Abstract and beautiful necklace made from dyed coral pieces.  I used a vintage rhinestone button for my center piece. It hangs chevron style on the neck.

Belladonna

I made this necklace with dyed red stone beads. I used oxidized black steel wire to link the stones together. S liinks were formed and hammered along with black leather in this piece. The beads are put together in a graduated pattern so that it forms a comfortable collar.

Jasper and agate choker

Alternating jasper and agate discs that fall very comfortably on the neckline.

More Agates

These green agate beads extra large and make perfect pendants. Copper wire combines with colors in the stone beads nicely. The first bead has been wrapped with weaved copper wire. I then oxidized it with a mixture of sea salt and Ammonia. The chemical reaction makes a nice blackish blue color.

The second agate is a beautiful apple green peppered with black speckles. I coiled and then used a netted wire wrap and accented it with brown seed beads.

Kingman turquoise cabochon

This is the cabochon I won from Cabbing rough's contest on Beading Arts Blog. It is a beautiful turquoise cab with rivers of golden color running through it. I did a simple wrap to follow the contour of the stone in copper wire.

Green earrings

These earrings were shaped and then hammered into triangle dangles. I coiled and weaved the frame with copper wire and then added faceted green beads .They swing from handmade earring wires adorned with little jade beads. I also did some weaving and wrapping.

Autumn

This bracelet has  the pretty colors of  my favorite season. I added lots of warm stones in different shapes and sizes. There is agate jaspers, green jades, orange and amber jades, green carnelian jades, orange carnelians, aqua blue shell beads and lots of copper. They are attached with handmade rose head pins.

Fragments of summer

Summer is leaving us a little more every day. I can feel it in the crisp night air. I have dishes of mismatched summer beads on my desk. I had a handful of pastel briolettes lingering around like the last days of summer. They remind me of the Fragments of Summer.  I had just enough to make a scrumptious bracelet. There are turquoise, apple dyed jade, hot pink and light pink chalcedony, green chalcedony, butterscotch chalcedony, Aqua blue chalcedony, rose quartz, green adventurine, howlite, and swarovski crystals. The clasp is a 14kt gold filled heart toggle. What I really love is how it feels on my wrist. Very comfortable and rich. 

My work featured on Beading Arts

I want to thank Cyndi from Beading Arts for featuring my profile and work on her blog.


Beading Arts ....  " Come on a journey through a bead and jewelry wonderland, where no item is considered too strange to use in making something ... especially if that item has a hole in it! All types of beads are welcomed and cherished here, and no techniques are off-limits. You'll be amazed and inspired by the bead work that is being done today!" 

http://www.beading-arts.com/2010/08/artist-profile-terry-pugh.html 

Blessings,
Terry

Starry Night

This tear drop agate was disfigured but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. It has such cool colors and patterns. I decided to cover the big chip underneath a wire wrap. I used  balled headpins that I torched. My hunny came up with the description or rather title for me. He said it reminded him of Vincent van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" It fits it nicely ;)
Blessings,
Terry

Amalie

I love these dyed jade nuggets. They remind me of yummy cherry cola. I wrapped them to a copper frame that I made. I dove into the project while I was caring for my sick dog, Amelie. As we spent the day together, alone in my room, I dove into this project to keep my mind busy. She passed away Friday. She will be missed very much. The necklace is named after her.

Hematite hoops

I found this lovely tutorial online from Riqzie's creations blog. She has beautiful jewelry and wonderful tutorials at http://www.riqzmiecreation.com/

I used her tutorial to make hoops from copper wire with hematite beads.

Happy Birthday Lily!

My granddaughter is 10 years old today. She is so beautiful and growing up so fast. She stands slightly above my chest and I'm 5"7' tall. I'm so close with my grand kids.We all treat each other like goddesses. Today we're surprising Lily with a trip to the beach. I've never been on a trip yet with her and my other granddaughters so, I'm excited about today. I can't wait to post pictures. :) Have a great week!!!

Beautiful jewelry

I wanted to take the time to share some beautiful jewelry from some very talented artisans and friends.

This beautiful necklace was made by a dear friend and very talented lady. Her work is very versatile and unique. She has a way of capturing the seasons and nature in her designs. Her name is Monica and you can view her blog here at  http://www.mncjewels.blogspot.com/

I took the liberty to share a few pics of her beautiful creations here.








































Check out these pretty flowers made from beads by Almost Precious. You can see her blog at http://abeadersblog.blogspot.com/

Nancy Wickman's blog at http://wickwirejewelry.blogspot.com/
She does beautiful wire wrapping and fabulous designs.

Happy news for me!

I've just been informed I am the winner of a cabochon contest from Beading Arts blog. Cabbing rough has generously contributed a beautiful Kingman turquoise cabochon. It is absolutely stunning!
http://www.beading-arts.com/

Cabbing rough is a family owned and run business. They put a lot of care and love into their work and it shows. Be sure to check out their store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/cabbingrough

 Thank you to Cyndi from Beading arts and Laura, Karl and family at Cabbing rough.

Midnight Rose

I experimented with some oxidized steel wire on this necklace. I did a free form wrap around a green agate bead and then added a small faceted hematite bead. When finished, I noticed it resembled a abstract rose. It hangs with black onyx nuggets and colorful agate tear drops.

Green Agate

This delicious apple green agate bead was part of a strand I got for my birthday. I decided to go with a simple weave with copper wire so that most of the stone bead remains exposed. I formed the weave to just follow the curve of the stone. I knotted it onto black leather cord and made the hook n eye clasp with copper wire, as well.

Your hair is for more then just your head.

Today I stumbled across an interesting article on Bead Snob's blog. It is titled Authentic human hair jewelry by Larissa De Souza.  http://beadsnob.blogspot.com/2010/05/authentic-human-hair-jewelry-by-larissa.html
"Larissa de Souza is a NYC jewelry designer who views hair as a great medium for sculptural design. She does custom jewelry work using your hair or a loved one's. " Click the link above and check out her interesting post.

Fat Cat

This cat is made from copper wire and loaded with colorful swarovski crystals. His eyes have been balled with my torch and dipped in water to make them pink.

Chuck

I love making owls out of copper wire. This owl's name is Chuck. He is named after a friendly homeless man we met. Chuck is made with coiling, weaving and netting techniques and measures about 3 1/2 inches x 2 inches. He hangs from a long copper chain and looks quite retro.

I made this large owl especially for  Copper Wire Jewelers- issue 3. Chuck can be found on the last page (25)
http://abeadedaffair.com/copper-wire-jewelers-magazine-issue-3/  The magazine is beautiful from cover to cover. It is full of talented artists and wonderful articles. A big thanks to Lois and Hot Glue Media.

Crocheted Jewelry

Ck out these wonderful crocheted designs at Handmade Jewelry Club's blog site. Truly, another example of wearable art!
  http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/2010/06/how-to-make-flower-crochet-jewelries.html