Beaded Christmas Ornament

This one does double duty. It can be hung on the holiday shrub and it can be hung in a sunny window year-round to add some rainbows in your life. I went a bit overboard on this - the frame is 18 ga twisted square sterling silver wire. All the beads except for the cloisonne heart are Swarovski bicones.

And from a different angle:

Beaded Wreath Christmas Ornament

Just finished this. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. How is it made? Simple! I used a round base that had holes in it, but you could just as easily use heavy gauge wire for your base. The greenery is a mix of green seeds (greenery isn't all one color of green!) spun onto 24 ga brass wire. I spun just enough for each "branch" at a time, wired it down to the base, and then spun the next branch. The red beads are round garnet-colored czech glass, 6mm. I'd add one to the wire every few branches and then spin the green seeds on. Each branch is twisted for texture. I simply kept wiring around the form until I got it looking the way I wanted it. The loop is 4mm garnet Swarovski bicones.

This one is Swarovski crystals attached to a 20 ga copper base. I simply coiled copper wire around a dowel, pulled it off, and then carefully stretched it apart until the loops created by the coils showed individually. I looped one end with my pliers and hooked the opposite end of the stretched coils to it to make a circular base.

It's important to hammer this type of base to flatten it, but you don't want to hammer too hard because you may weaken it. Just give it a few whacks with a plastic or rawhide mallet.

PMC Dried Out? Try This

I tried this on a lump I've had for four years, because I'm getting back into PMC/Art Clay. I dug up my lump and it was rock hard. Okay - what is PMC made of? Fine silver, binders and water. Why does it dry up even if it's still in an unopened package? Water evaporates. Doesn't matter what it's in, really - it will evaporate.

All you need to do to get your clay workable again is follow these instructions. It works. I tried it - it's from Tim McCreight's PMC Guild website.

PMC is made of particles of precious metal, an organic binder, and water. The precious metal and the binder stay the same, but it's possible for the water to evaporate over time, even though the PMC has never been opened. If, when you open the box, the PMC is stiff and hard to form, it simply needs more water.

I've successfully re-hydrated PMC that had dried out rock-hard. It's easy to do: open the box and hold the lump of PMC under running water for a few seconds so its surface gets totally wet. Rewrap it in cellophane and set it aside overnight, periodically kneading the lump through the cellophane. The goal is to get the moisture into the PMC. This takes time because it is a very dense material. Unwrap and test the PMC: you should be able to flatten it into a disk without cracks appearing at the edges. If it's still too stiff, wet and rewrap it again and let it sit longer. Two treatments are usually enough, but you may continue until the PMC returns to its original, soft, workable consistency.

Also you can grind the clay up in a spice grinder or pepper grinder into a fine powder, then slowly add water drop by drop allowing time for the moisture to absorb.

This totally works (Tim McCreight is AWESOME) but you MUST be patient. Don't try to work your clay if it has cracks in it the first time you test it after adding water. Just add a few more drops of water, wrap it up again and let it sit overnight - knead it through the wrapping just as you did the first time and test again. You may need to do this a few times depending on how dry it is, but it DOES work. PMC and Art Clay are way too expensive to throw out just because they dried out. So be a smart artisan; rescue and reuse!

SQUAWK! Bird Houses Like You've Never Seen them!

This week's featured Artisan, Syd Baker,a former Hallmark Artist, is using his gifts to give our feathered friends lovely custom homes. Syd's shop, SQUAWK, is chock full of avian architectural delights.

These birdhouses are specifically built to attract the smaller birds. These whimsical custom homes will bring a smile to your face as well as to all the chickadees and goldfinches in your area. Keep a close watch and you WILL see a bird smile. Truly. Keep an eye on his shop, too, because he'll have Squawk miniatures for your holiday shrub later in the year!

To learn more about Syd and his wellspring of creativity, check out his website: Other 3D Lands. You will be amazed, amused and I bet you'll giggulate as much as my friend, Becky, does!

Bead Crochet- Literally!

When bead artists talk about bead crochet they're speaking of crocheting with some sort of string that's been strung with beads and on the yarn-over, feeding beads down. Me? I took it a step farther. I spun around two yards of Supplemax with a seed mix, and tied off the ends. Then I literally single-crocheted the bead string itself. No yarn-over, no feeding of beads. This one is an experiment. It's a row of chain stitch to 6.5 inches and a row of single crochet back. Next one will be two rows of single crochet and then I'm going to fold it in half, length-wise and stitch the side closed with supplemax. It's clear so it can't be seen, especially if you're feeding it through beads as you go. Go up and down the seam two or three times for strength.

On this one, I'll make the clasp loop out of stretchy so that the loop doesn't have to be huge. I kinda like this idea. I'm sure "true" bead crochet people would gasp in horror, but hey - what's art about if not creativity and innovation?

Beads, Flowers and Dragonflies!

I originally created this as a spiraled suncatcher and then I thought: "Hey - it's wire - it's got lots of uses!" So I wrapped it around a black metal wall sconce. While it's not long enough to go around the way I wanted it to, it gives me the inspiration to make some that ARE long enough. This is created from beads spun onto 24 ga wire - just a random selection of leftover beads, french beaded leaves, victorian beaded flowers, lucite flowers with Swarovski Crystal stamens and pistils and Swarovski Crystal dragonflies with beaded wings. It was easy, fun and it's truly beautiful. (If I do say so myself!) I just sold one like this at the gift shop where I sell some of my work - AND a photo of a piece similar to this one was featured in the Baltimore Sun this past Saturday! YAY!

Wire Crochet Bracelet

Tonight I was playing with a piece of 30 ga silver wire, just twisting it through my fingers and for some reason I decided I was going to do some wire crochet. I've never done it, but I figured what the heck - may as well try. I gave it a go with some brass wire first, and while not difficult to do, it's not as easy as you'd think. I found I do it best with the 30 ga dead soft, and this is what I made. It's not finished yet - I will be adding more beads and the ends have to be finished. I'm going to fashion a loop and crystal clasp for it, I think.

I'm wire-wrapping the ends, creating a scalloped edge:

You have to use a gentle hand when doing wire crochet, otherwise your stitches will be too tight and you have to be very careful to make them uniform.

The bottom row is teardrop freshwater pearls spaced with pink Swarovski bicone crystals. I scattered crystals throughout the bracelet and the last row is all clear Swarovski bicones.

I have a large round faceted AB crystal I'm going to use as a "button" and create a loop closure of 2mm swarovski clear round crystals.