From This Day Forward...

Wedding Bells will ring for Alden Sewell (Systems Developer/Engineer, coworker at OARDC/OSU, Wooster, OH) and Cassi Kerr (also of OARDC) on May 26 (barely over a week away!).  I have been asked by Cassi to design the wedding party's jewelry!  What an honor, I have to say.  Her style is somewhat rustic but elegant.  She has a white dress would like Canadian Jade, with come crystal and silver rather than gold-colored metal in the jewelry.  She also has a lovely long neck and long curly hair she will probably wear swept up, so longish dangly elegant crystal earrings will look so good... the necklace will feature a pattern of beads that will replicate the earrings somewhat; for the daughters I am doing charms and little stone in colors to match the yellow and aqua floral dresses; for the bridesmaids who are wearing jade-colored dyed eyelet sundresses I am doing earthy rustic beads in natural colors with the Canadian jade, some white crystals and multiple metals, with a rainforest agate focal pendant suspended from a hammered copper ring with a few beaded charms.  The one will be longish to fit in the halter neckline, the other more choker-like to complement the strapless neckline.  Similar colors and stones will be used for each and for the matching earrings.

For photos of the jewelry click on the Facebook link.

Thank you for taking the time to visit!

Heading North!

to the Cleveland area for a show or two this Spring and Summer:

ARTS FESTIVALS AT SHAKER SQUARE
13219 Shaker Square, Cleveland OH 44120
FREE ADMISSION
NOON - 5:00 PM
JUNE 10th* - JULY 11th - AUGUST 12th (*I will be setup on June 10 only at this point)
Local Artists and Craftsmen will be displaying and selling their works on the sidewalks of Shaker Square

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2012 WEST SIDE SUMMER AVANT-GARDE ART & CRAFT SHOW
Wagner's County Inn- 30855 Center Ridge Rd., Westlake, OH 44145
Sunday- July  29, 2012
11:00am-6:00pm
Over 170 artists and crafters will be selling their original handmade items in five of the grand ballrooms! The show will also feature a la carte lunch items from Wagner's Country Inn, as well as a wine and beer bar service during the show hours! Admission is $3 to the public, children under 12 are free. A portion of proceeds will benefit Cleveland non-profit the Cleveland Animal Protective League

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Gourd Jewelry?

Well, why not?  You can make anything you want out of just about any material with just a little bit of imagination and a whole lot of determination - right?  Anyway my friend Millie who actually GROWS gourds mentioned that she was going to use gourd shards to make jewelry - pins, pendants, earrings?  hair clips perhaps.  Anyway guess gourd shards are pieces of gourd, then probably cut to desired shape or used as is, then sanded, painted, polished, embellished, etc.  So I decided to make some shards from a gourd that was dented in and wouldn't be used for any bird houses.  I cut the top off, then cut down into the base and just cut some random shapes with scissors, used sandpaper to smooth and define the shapes, used a small screwdriver to gently twist a hole where needed.  Then I sued a small round file to "clean" the fibrous material off the back of the shard.  These shards are fairly fragile but I think once I get them painted and sprayed with acrylic sealer they will hold up well enough for several wearings!  I took the very top of the gourd where the stem is, cut that off with about half inch around the stem, then used the file to clean out the fibrous material and leave a little tuft in the middle, contoured the edges, left the stem about 2 1/2 inches long and it looks like a little poppy flower - I plan to paint it bright orange and make a pin; I also cut out and sanded pieces for leaves.  A new medium, new ideas, new possibilities!  That is the definition of INSPIRATION!!  I'll post  pictures of some of the finished product.