Tabs

Some experiments with paint…

They started like this…



And are becoming this…





Yes… today has been a happy and successful day at Tree Wings Studio!


Posted by Rebekah on Wednesday, June 05, 2013 5 comments
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Summer is fast approaching!

Spring is always such a fleeting season here in Virginia… winter seems to drag on forever, and then suddenly the mornings are no longer frost-covered and the new leaves and flowers start to open… and then if you blink you miss spring all together! The trees have been fully leafed out for a few weeks and the grass is almost ready for the first hay cutting. And now the weather is quickly turning as hot as summer!

It's about this time every year one of my favorite things (if I can have a favorite thing about the ending of spring!) happens—the first brood of baby wrens leave their nest! And if I'm lucky enough, I get to see them as they go. This time I was extra lucky and got some photos to share with you!

For this year's nesting site, the parent wrens chose an open bag of potting soil—bags of some kind seem to always be their top choice.
Here's one of the little cuties preparing to make the jump. At this point they still can't fly, but their wings do help them to make pretty big hops. Once they started moving it was very hard to keep the camera on them.

One last nap before leaving home!

It's always fascinating to see how attentive the parents are—watching and calling to each fledgling, coaxing them along. There were 6 fledglings in this brood and both parents worked to make sure they all moved out of the nest safely.


This one was the last to leave. I love the little tufts of down still on their heads. So cute!

In just a short while these wrens will be flying and singing in the treetops!


Posted by Rebekah on Monday, June 03, 2013 5 comments
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AJE May Component of the Month Reveal ~ Springtime Breezes

Every month at the Art Jewelry Elements blog one of our members hosts an art jewelry component giveaway to challenge the members and a few lucky guests. This month was Sue Kennedy's turn and she created some super fun lampwork ruffle discs. This is my first time playing along in the challenge… I can't let you guys have all the fun without me!!


Here's the bead Sue sent me…
Gorgeous isn't it? Juicy orange with soft blue-green. My favorite color… with my not so favorite color… I love a challenge in bead form!

And here's what I made…
A bracelet, of course! I call it Springtime Breezes. The orange makes me think of the sunlight getting stronger and warmer in the spring, and also of all the springtime blooms, and the soft blue reminds me of the clear air and blue skies.

I started off by forming the ruffle disc "flower" and then I threaded it onto a base wire with four matching Czech crystals. Then I used 22 gauge wire for the free-form wrapping, working from both ends simultaneously to keep the beads evenly spaced.



Next I made the back, using micro fiber suede and seed beads. I folded the strands over the loop on the focal and wire-wrapped the ends to secure them.

Then I threaded the clasp onto two strands of the micro fiber suede and wire-wrapped them together again, leaving a short tassel. I added the wire wrapping to the ends to give them a little more weight so they'd hang nicely.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed following along in my creative process.


Be sure to check out what everyone else created!



Posted by Rebekah on Friday, May 31, 2013 18 comments
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