Jewelry Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Susan's Charming Trinkets & Art Circus

Artsy Fartsy Almost Fail

On the ever present train ride that is the artistic journey one tries to do things that are different…intriquing…maybe with a twist…?

Forgetting that the universe includes something called the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) principle i seem to forge ahead most days achieving close intimacy with the complicated. Seems i needed to come up with a class proposal. A new idea, a fun idea. To say i labored over this would be a gross understatement. I pulled out all the supplies, drew a bunch of templates, created a couple dozen pieces of God knows what, resin’d, shrunk, journaled, sculpted, painted, trimmed, and cut. For about three weeks. Everyday. The pictures are the result of my efforts.

Lets see if i can explain what these would be in a class situation. First, what i hope would be, a group would learn how to do some doodling to come up with a template which would then be cut out of shrink plastic. One side we color the other we journal on…random words. While these are in the oven we pull out the pictures or, my original idea, was to have the group take selfies (the black and white photos are me, i was about six), which we would cut to fit the shrink frames. Then we glue, then we resin…then we play with polymer clay for bases, bake again, paint them in funky patterns, insert bunny eared and crowned semi sculptures of shrink with selfies…and admire. Maybe not quite that fast but….

So…once finished i submitted the class proposal and thought, “ah, good work done!” About two days later i got a “thanks but no thanks” note. (Not really that abrupt but they let me know it wasn’t an idea their clients would enjoy) At first i was upset…all that work and an end product i thought was quite fun. Ahhhh….back to the drawing board.

And another 24 hours, i re-arranged the class practicing the K.I.S.S. principle and the second one they liked. All was not lost.

The moral of the story…stop overthinking, obsessing, hyper-focusing about your artwork. Let it flow…go with it…allow it to run freely from you. Stop doubting your ability and over doing your work. Everything you do is worthy and wonderful.

And always apply the K.I.S.S. Principle…

(Anybody want to take a crazy class? I have some ideas…)

Posted on August 22, 2014August 24, 2014 by susanmwb

My Favorite Show…(better late than never)

Bead Soup Hoppers…..you can find my bead soup here: https://www.susansartcircus.com/bead-soup-all-at-once/

Over Mother’s Day I had my booth full of things at the Bernardo Winery in San Diego, California. It was the 37th year that this show has been going on and about 10 years that I have participated.

The winery is a beautiful spot. Filled with antiques from the century they’ve been raising grapes on the property. Hundreds of olive trees line the walkways and buildings. Lush landscaping and flowers all around. Many small specialty shops and, of course, the wine tasting room plus they have a restaurant in the middle of everything! Needless to say it’s my favorite place and I get to be there (as long as Veronica juries me in) twice each year…Mother’s Day weekend and again the weekend a couple weeks before Halloween.

This time my whole family came on Mother’s Day. My son…

…he fell in love with my friend April’s Yorkie, Suzy. Isn’t she cute?

My daughter came all day to help out.

And my husband, well, let’s just say he found some new friends.

Whenever you get the chance go visit the Bernardo Winery…you won’t regret it!

Posted on May 28, 2014August 10, 2014 by susanmwb — 2 Comments

Bead Soup! All at once!

I have been a bad blogger….but I now have the perfect reason to come back strong! Its the Bead Soup reveal! Aren't you excited? I know I am! Here goes…

First, since I've been a crazy person I never allowed myself the chance to show off what i received as “soup” from my partner Susan Kelly. You can find her at midlifegreaterexpectations.blogspot.com

Fabulous carnelian, Swarovski crystals and pearls, semi precious in gorgeous fall like colors and some of my favorites. Funny, she and I sent each other focal clasps from the same artisan maker, just different colors…ha! Great minds…

Gorgeous!!

None of this soup is anything that I use or buy for my line on a regular basis. Susan hit a challenge for me right out of the gates. I laid all of this soup out on my desk from the moment it arrived. First it was visible inside bags then I laid it out on mats. I moved it around, fondled the beads, stared at it and this past week it came to me.

I hear angels singing! I love it! With the soup i used chocolate patina'd brass findings and a few charms from my stash to keep with the leaf theme. Measuring about 24″ long the necklace closes in the front showcasing the hand made glass leaf…oooh, can't wait to wear it.

And it doesn't stop here…i also made a bracelet…

Hello! Thre strands of yummy! And here's the clasp. Enamel in yellow…again, not in my normal color range but I love it! This is probably my favorite of the three pieces I made…did I say three? Um, yes…

Earrings! Long kidney wires and I saved a couple of the yellow Swarovski cubes for this. Love these too.

So what do you think? Do you love fall colors and the thoughts of falling leaves? (I realize we just came out of a crazy winter but i still love the palette that fall brings to mind)

Well this was so much fun! Thanks so much Susan! You were very generous and I still have some beads left to play with. This was my first time with Bead Soup and you made it special! Thanks so much.

Now for the rest…there are almost 500 participants in this Bead Soup Blog Party. Grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and take a tour of some of the best jewelry girls in the planet. Click the link below for the entire list of participants…

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com//2014/04/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

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Posted on May 10, 2014May 10, 2014 by susanmwb — 56 Comments

Hop Along With The Ice Resin Team & Their Connie Crystals!!

Hello everyone! I’m baaaack!

Well, if you’ve been following the Ice® Resin Creative Team then you know we’ve all been to the Emmy’s and back again. What you didn’t know was some of the back story. Each of us was sent a huge box of goodies directly from Ice headquarters and we also received a box stuffed with crystals from Connie Crystals. There were so many that we decided to design a few more things after the dust settled.

Alice is a favorite of mine as are all of these bezels. Pair that with these enormous cut, round Connie Crystals and I think I have a simple yet stunning bracelet. I didn’t want to overpower the images but accent them. A few smaller crystals swing with the little pewter pig at the clasp. What do you think?

And because I can’t ever do just one or anything easy AND I had more of these crystals…here is the second piece. (also an Ice® Resin piece)

As you can see from the pictures there is an obvious range of color reflection coming from the crystals. It’s an aurora borealis coating that reflects an iridescent array of color . Aren’t they gorgeous? And all the hanging pieces? Yes, they are cast Ice® Resin…but that’s another story.

Now here’s your chance to see what all the other gals have in store…

Today you can hop on over to…

Thespa K. Jones McLaughlin

Jen Crossley

Tomorrow the following designers will also have goodies to share!

Lexi Grenzer

Sandy Martin

Pamela Huntington

Have fun! See you again soon!

Posted on October 3, 2013October 17, 2013 by susanmwb — 10 Comments

The Big Reveal…or The Emmy’s Here We Come!!

Okay…so here we go! Is everybody ready? Somebody give me a drum roll!

First up…and I was going to say this is one of my favorites but I’d be lying. I loved them all once I was done and would’ve kept them…but… So here’s the first of five…
I have several obsessions and time, and how crazy fast it goes, is but one.
Here it is a bit closer. Love, love the Iced Enamels and how they colors seem to blossom under the Ice resin.

Ready for #2?
I love this too! Mellow Steampunk. And let’s talk about that Fire Opal Enamel, can we?
See that piece on the left? That’s the Fire Opal refracting light through the resin…gorgeous!!

Soooo….number three…..
Now I’m showing off another obsession I have with insects of all kinds. Butterflies are probably at the top of the list but I love ladybugs, cicadas, even spiders! (as long as they are dead and under a layer of resin!)
Again…don’t you just get giddy when you see how that Fire opal shows…and then add glitter!? Need I say more?

Onward and upward….#4
Did I mention I have a thing for bugs? Oh yeah….and moths…all kinds of big furry, colored moths! Somehow the picture of this isn’t half as brilliant as it looks in person. It’s hot pink, shades of gold, Fire Opal (of course), and some touches of purple and black. Yum…

Last, but certainly, not least… #5
This may have been the one I could’ve snuck on my wrist while I was packing the box…hoping no one would notice when they opened it at the other end. (Jen!) Um, yeah, so..there’s that Fire Opal (again) BUT this time I mixed it with some Chartreuse enamel! (that makes it different, right?)
Oh my goodness! I will miss them all…

How exciting that they will all have new homes with someone from the Emmy ceremonies!? I am eternally grateful to the entire Ice Resin family for this opportunity and honored to be a part of such a fabulous group of artists!

Want to see the others?

Jen Cushman:

http://jencushman.wordpress.com/

Kristen Robinson:

http://kristenrobinson.typepad.com/

Susan Lenart Kazmer:

http://susan-lenart-kazmer.blogspot.com/

Jo DeSerio Jones:

JoMaMa’s Blog

Jomama’s Website

Lexi Grenzer:

The Shabby Calavera