Little Wild Horse Beads

They're here at last! My first little wild horse beads are finally finished and ready for new homes!

"Horses lend us the wings we lack" ~ Unknown

For me, horses are such magical creatures—the beauty they possess, the sweet friendship and special companionship they give, the sound of their hoof beats, the rush of wind and the rhythmic motion as we move together… they have captured my heart forever!

My original inspiration: Little Wooden Strider. This little guy is so special to me and is a perfect picture of my horse Strider—so calm and patient as he waits for his rider, with only a tiny hint of boredom in the flicking of his tail. He's my favorite vintage horse find so far—from the 1950s, I believe and most likely made in India. I love the rustic details and the mix of metals and dark wood.

So, these little horse beads are my small way of sharing my love of the majestic horse! Handcrafted in polymer clay in the worn and rustic style that I love, and inspired by the wild mustangs of my dreams… with a little touch of ornate detailing inspired by the carved wooden horses of India… and a little sprinkling of sweet character inspired by my two best friends and very own noble steeds: Lady and Strider!

I've made them in "Mustang Brown with Gold" inspired by my first and one-in-a-million horse who taught me to ride: Strider…

In "Dark Sienna with Copper". Because a herd of wild horses isn't complete without a black horse—it's actually a very dark sienna brown with black overlay…

In "Storm White with Gold" Inspired by my Lady… when she's not covered in mud! She's a beautiful bright white, complete with black "eyeliner" and black dapples all over her skin. In the winter she looks like a fluffy snowball and in the summer she glistens in the sunshine. But again, that's only when she's not covered in mud!

And "Ivory Sand with Gold" This color is of course inspired by Lady in her favorite attire—red Virginia mud!

I've only made three of each color for this first bead batch (some are already spoken for!) and it will be a few more weeks before I start the next one, so grab your little horse while you can! Find them in my shop here.

A post about my new horse beads wouldn't be complete without a "hello" from my two noble steeds…

Handsome Strider

Lovely Lady

They've of course since shed out their thick winter coats and are most definitely NOT wearing blankets, but I love these photos of them. :-) It's time to get some summer photos… and go out riding!

Go here to get your own little wild horse bead!

Happy Monday!

Leather Feathers and Time Flying By!

Another few weeks have flown by leaving my blog in silence… but in my studio it was a flurry of leather feathers! Some days it's a choice of the internet and catching up with all that's happening there or the busyness of my studio. Of course, my studio nearly always wins on those days!

Here's a peek behind the scenes at what's kept me so quiet lately…

Lots of leather feathers! The task seems unending at times when starting with a large blank hide, but slowly, one detail at a time… plus many late nights and early mornings… and many cups of coffee… and suddenly there's a heap of finished feathers!

A few weeks ago on Art Jewelry Elements blog, I posted a a little bit more about my process for managing these large orders—you can see that here.

My sister Bethanne joined me again, making more of her own leather lovelies. It's always such fun when we get to work together—I love that my sister and best friend is also very often my studio partner!

Here's everything all finished up an ready to go! Only a few hours after finishing and they were packed up and sent off to their new home… at Lima Beads! Just few extra feathers and a messy studio remained to show what a busy time it had been!

And now… the disaster has been tidied and I'm moving on to other things! On Monday my little wild horse beads will finally join my shop. Come back here and stop by my shop to see them then!

After the horses it's back to much of the same old, same old—my tiny raven beads have been sold out forever and are on my to-do list for next week. Sleepy foxes and a few other critters need to be restocked. I've got a few special projects in progress too. And somehow between all that, I have leather butterfly wings and other brand new leather components happening!

The busyness continues of course, but this time at a less crazy pace… more breaks to spend time with family, and hopefully some time to enjoy the beautiful summer greenery.

Happy Saturday everyone! Thanks for stopping by to visit me!

AJE April 2015 CoM Challenge Reveal ~ Forest Song

It's time for another reveal!! I had the wonderful pleasure of hosting this month's challenge with my little heart beads! Hearts really aren't a typical bead design for me and are really quite a challenge when it comes to incorporating them into my jewelry making, but I loved creating these little beads and was so excited when my AJE teammates suggested we use them for our April challenge!


For my design, I chose to go very simplistic—partially because I was very short on time, but mostly because I decided to make another polymer focal just for this design and many times after all the effort put into creating a brand new component, I feel like there's really nothing else to add.

Come take a look…

I've titled my new necklace "Forest Song". When creating it, my first thought was "what exactly does this little wood heart represent to me?" You know me… I love trees, long walks in the woods… and this little heart is most definitely a tree-heart… but what is it that makes the woods so special for me?

Almost right away I thought of the little Wood Thrush!

source

All spring and summer long I enjoy his beautifully melodious tune, as he sings away hidden away in the leafy treetops deep in the woods surrounding my home. Today in fact, while I was photographing my necklace, I heard him singing for the first time this year! Yes, this little bird is one of the things I love most about the woods here!

So… my necklace is a tribute to my favorite bird. I crafted the arching forest scene focal in polymer clay, carefully shaping it so it would fit right over the top of the heart.

I started by drawing a simple sketch and then I carved a stamp in a cured piece of polymer… I mixed up a white ivory polymer and cast the focal. A little more shaping so it fit perfectly and then it was cured. I added layers of acrylic paint to highlight the details and finally, I sanded and polished. I love the way it turned out… and since I made a stamp, you can be sure I'll make more for my shop later! :-)

After all that, it really seemed right to keep the rest of the necklace simple—I wanted to showcase the focals. I tied them together with hemp, knotting it at the back of the heart (hemp has been my go-to fiber for jewelry these days!), and topped it off with a soft green ceramic bead from Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio.

More hemp to finish… knotted with little round copper coin spacers, one polymer bead that I made with the leftovers, and a lone leaf bead, also from Karen—like a new spring leaf fluttering in the wind.

Yes, it's a keeper—I've grown too attached to my little Wood Thrush! I plan to wear it layered with several strands of knotted copper beads… but of course, for a last-minute project you sometimes don't have all the beads you want on hand! That will be a project for later…

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading a bit more about my process. A big thank you to each of you for stopping by today and to all of you who joined me in this challenge—thank you!!


Now it's time to hop to all the other blogs and see what lovely new creations everyone dreamed up! Come join us by clicking the links below…

Guests

Karin Grosset Grange

Carol Briody

Rebecca Anderson

Ann Schroeder

AJE Team

Rebekah Payne

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Caroline Dewison

Susan Kennedy

Diana Ptaszynski

Kristen Stevens

Niky Sayers

Lindsay Starr