Mixed Media Jewelry Project Fire and Water for Rings n Things

Fire and Water Mixed Media Necklace Copyright Margot Potter
Fire and Water Mixed Media Necklace Detail
Fire and Water Mixed Media Necklace Copyright Margot Potter

Rings n Things Stash and Crocheted and Beaded Core Strand

This is a design created from items I selected from the delightful folks at Rings n Things for their Blog Partner challenge. I've named it Fire and Water. I absolutely love this 26 gauge gun metal wire! I did a basic crochet chain stitch with just the wire. Provocraft has THE BEST crochet hook set with fabulous ergonomic handles I highly recommend, working with hard wire isn't easy!

When I finished the crocheted core chain off, I used a separate wire to thread crystals and pyrite beads into the chain. In true 'impatient crafter' fashion, I knew I could figure a way around crocheting beads into the core wire, which is futzy and frustrating. I've also done this technique with nylon coated cabled steel wire and I found it a little easier to get fluid stitches, but I love the organic feel of this piece.

I had to create wire wrapped bails for these magma CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski Elements coral pendants and I wanted to add more texture so I used some aged brass chain segments. The focal piece is a twist pendant again in this luscious magma color.

I've been playing with wire crochet for a while and I really love the way it looks. It's tough on the fingers, so be prepared, but it's really worth the effort.

I'll be back in the blog saddle on Monday. Until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

xoxo
Madge

I Love to Create: He Loves Me! Flip Flip Craft Project

He Loves Me Flip Flops Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Flip flops are the shoe of choice these days and it's pretty fun and easy to trick out your own pair. The fancier styles at the shoe stores can run upwards of 45.00!

Seriously, folks, it's a rubber shoe. Are you kidding me?!

So...being the crafty kinda gal that I am, I make my own. Here's a daisy themed idea you can take in all sorts of directions depending on the trim and flower you use. This is a great project for these last dog days of summer when the kids are all chanting an endless chorus of, "I'm bored."

(Note: Use the glue outside to ensure proper ventilation. Let the kids design and you take care of the glue.)

Avalon opted for a far less complicated project using googly eyes and mini bow ties! How cute are her shoes?!

Materials
Rubber Flip Flops
1/2" Daisy Trim
2 1 1/2" Fabric Flowers
2 8mm yellow cat's eye glass pillow beads
16 4mm Tulip Glam-It-Up Iron-On Crystals
Aleene's Platinum Bond Super Fabric Glue
Aleene's Platinum Bond Glass and Bead Slick Surfaces Glue
Beadalon Supplemax

Tools
Scissors
Butter knife

1. Glue the trim to your straps using Aleene's Super Fabric Glue. Use a butter knife to shove the trim into the space between the flip flip strap and the shoe bed. Run a thread of glue along the bottom of the trim and press firmly on strap. Allow to dry for 24 hours.


2. While glue is curing, take a multi petal fabric flower apart by removing the stem. Save one of the piston segments and the two largest petal segments.


3. Thread one end of the clear monofilament into the bottom hole in your flower, through the two sections, the piston and your bead and then back through.


4. Tie the flower on the thong portion of your sandal using a Surgeon's knot to secure. Cut off excess monofilament. Center bead so it is flat inside of the flower and be sure to tie the knot tightly enough that the flower remains stable.



5. Since the straps are rubber, I decided not to iron the crystals on. Instead I used Aleene's glue for slick surfaces and put a small dab in the center of every other daisy and firmly pressed each crystal down.

6. Allow glues to dry for 24 hours.

Here's Avalon's Fabulous Design:

Googly Woogly Flip Flops Copyright 2009 Avalon Potter

Saturday TastyLinks™!

Image Copyright Enoch Bolles

Well hell, Maybelle, has it really been a week? Really? I'm almost ready to leave for Orlando, just a few more things to do before I go on Monday morning. I'll have an I Love to Create post for you this Tuesday, but that's probably going to be all she wrote until the following Monday. I promise to give you a peek at my CHA Show trip.

I wanted to send a little Linky Love shower to my dear friend Fernando DaSilva for the glowing review he posted yesterday of Beyond the Bead. He's an amazing designer, and if you've not visited his blog and website you're really missing out. I truly appreciate his high fashion sensibility and effervescent personality. We're on the Beadalon Design Team with Katie Hacker and I think we make a great team. I'm a lucky gal for sure!

Here's this week sampling of TastyLinks from The Crafty Bloggers! Open wide and say, "Ah!"

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love 25 Signs that you love to create!

The Artful Crafter Do you know what a bead board is? No, not the kind you nail to the wall. LOL.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Check out a A Floral-tasticly good project from the new book- Kanzashi in Bloom

Naughty Secretary Club Jen takes some of her favorite free embroidery patterns on the net and transforms them into plush dolls.

Mixed Media Artist If you get inspired by seeing fabulous work by other artists, check out some of the fabulous profiles that Cyndi has posted!

Crafty Princess Diaries If you have always wanted to make your own crafting video but didn't think you had the techie know-how, then you'll love this new free software the Crafty Princess recently discovered.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to do recycled paper napkin casting, make a movable fighting girl element, an interview with Norma V. Toraya author of Paper Puppet Palooza, a video on how to die cut and needle felt a bookmark from a recycled wool sweater and how to create a window for pressed botanicals in your gathering journal.

Cathie Filian Whip up a custom belt buckle with a little paper, creativity and Dimensional Magic.

Aileen's Musings Aileen has an exciting announcement! She's just finished creating a book for Project Ties That Bind benefiting Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). 100% of all proceeds from the book are going to OCRF. Stop by and take a sneak peek at this beautiful 68 page book filled with beautiful vivid pictures and inspirational quotes and stories.

About.com Cross Stitch Can You Stitch and Ride? Connie barely can and she wants to hear what your situation is - be sure to read the comments and add your own.

About Family Crafts Is it too early to start thinking about Halloween crafting? How early do you start your Halloween planning?

The Impatient Crafter Madge shares a couple of sneak peeks of some mixed media jewelry she's created to wear to the CHA Show!

CHA Summer Show!

Howdy Pardners:

I can't believe I'm leaving for Orlando on Monday! I'll be heading to the CHA Show and staying for the CHA Super Show. This is the biggest trade show in the craft industry and it happens twice yearly. I'll be sporting all of my fabulous creations I shared this week, checking out the new crafty product lines, taping a segment for Fiskars TV, attending the Fiskars' 360th Birthday Bash at Epcot, having a Girl's Night Out with some of my favorite crafty women and (though this goes without saying really) practicing the fine art of shameless self promotion!

I've got a lot of fun things happening while I'm there and when I'm not walking the show floor making new contacts here's where you can find me:

CHA Summer Show
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Take my class!
Wednesday

7-9am Zig Zagged Necklace
Workshop W0803
Room W304C
Sponsored By: Beadalon

Beadalon® Silver-Plated wire creates the foundation for CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements crystals in sumptuous citrus colors to dart and dash around your neck in an innovative design. Join author Margot Potter as she uses Bead Master technology to show you how to make this simple project from the exciting new book: "Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed" from North Light books.

Class level: beginner
Items to bring: None

CHA Craft Super Show
Friday and Saturday

Friday and Saturday 11:30am 3:30pm

I'll be joining crafty superstars Crafty Chica, Patrick Murillo (The Mantastic Crafter) and Sarah Hodsdon in judging a fast paced crafty contest hosted by the delightful Marisa Pawelko! Do you have the crafty skills to be...America's Next Top Crafter? Big thanks to Marisa for asking me to judge, this is going to be fun!

Friday and Saturday 2-3pm

Take a break at the Crafty Café located in booth 1811. Kick your feet up, grab a beverage and depending on what time you visit, you may see a craft demo or two! Join a host of craft industry celebs as we read excerpts from our blogs! The glittery, the gluey and the craftastrophic! This...is a do not miss! A big thanks to Crafty Chica for inviting me to participate!

Somewhere in Time

Somewhere in Time Mixed Media Necklace

This is a project for a taping I'm doing at CHA. I am sworn to secrecy as to how I created it until the episode airs. It's called Somewhere in Time after the film of the same name. This is one of my favorite Victorian images in my collection because she has a wonderful cat that ate the canary grin. Every time I look at this I think someone must have just said something terrifically naughty to her right before the picture was shot.

You so rarely see smiles in these old photos, I believe it's because the camera shutter was open for so long it was hard to hold a smile. Her wicked little grin makes this image especially compelling. I've featured her in a Steampunk mixed media piece that will be in Jean Campbell's new book and I can not wait to show you when the book comes out.

I wanted this to look like an image under buried glass...lost in the ethers of time, frozen in this wonderful moment, buried under the years that have since passed. I think I achieved that objective.

I love ephemera because it's a lens. Old photographs are especially compelling because there are stories there, wonderful stories that have yet to be told. That is endlessly fascinating to me.

I must away to pack up my book and finish my CHA show prep. Until next time....craft on with your bad selves.

xoxo
Madge

CHA Show Jewelry Part Deux!

Moulin Rouge Set Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Hello Love Muffins!

I created one more parure and a bracelet to match my Moulin Rouge set. C'est tres mignon, mais oui? I've always been a big fan of the design work in the Sundance catalog by designers like Jess Maharry. This is my paean to that assymetrical, organic, rough hewn aesthetic reinterpreted in vintage and new plastic (and a lone lava rock heart.) I knotted the beads on Irish waxed linen again and used anodized steel wire to make a hook and eye clasp. (Design tip: anodized steel will wreck your wire cutters, so use Memory wire shears to cut it.) I've been showing folks how to make these since my first book, it's so easy to make your own findings! The 'memento mori' charm was created by the talented Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio. I added a distressed organza bow accent to the necklace. Now it's perfecto! But where did I put that jaunty red beret...

Mariposa Parure Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Then...there is the butterfly necklace. These vintage plastic butterfly components are absolutely amazing and as light as a feather. They're made to be set with rhinestones, but I used CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski Elements flat backs in crystal a/b with Beadalon BeadFix adhesive gel. I just filled each setting with a dab of the glue and hand set each crystal. (When working with AB finish, make sure you test your glue. Super glue will take the finish off of your crystals.)

I can not tell you where I found these components...but hopefully I'll be able to share them with you soon. We're working on e-commerce for my website. I've been slowly amassing fabulous vintage goodies and I'm really looking forward to sharing them with you!

You may be asking yourself...is Madge nakey in this picture?

I'll never tell.

Tee hee.

xoxo
Madge

Madge's CHA Show Jewelry!

Hootenanny Jewelry Set Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Moulin Rouge Jewelry Set Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Don't Eat the Daisies Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

(Click on images to view in close up!)

I'm leaving in a week for the CHA show in Orlando. Because I'm a designer, it's important that my accessories be flawless. Yesterday I worked on a few pieces to wear to the show. Because they're for me, I didn't have to tone them down. It's so much fun to work in a larger than life scale. I would love to design for the Haute Couture runways or for the theatre, because that's the way my brain works.

Heather DeSimone of The Beadin' Path recently sent me a stash of vintage plastic beads and components and I've been brewing up some design ideas ever since. I have been wearing vintage plastic beads for years. I love them because they are lightweight, so you can pile them on and never feel weighed down. Plus there's so much whimsy and color to be found in vintage plastic.

The first design uses vintage plastic beads, Beadalon polyester chain and resin beads from Plaid's fresh line. Those owls make me so happy I could cry. They're 3-d! They come in a wild array of colors too! I was imagining a vintage evening party with strung lanterns when I designed this. I'd like to get more colors and make another version of this necklace.

The second piece features a 2.5" Eiffel Tower pendant from Blue Moon Beads Noir line. I've been daffy for black and white striped beads recently and I've always had a soft spot for anything French themed. I hand knotted Irish waxed linen cord for the vintage plastic beaded segment and added coated black chain I scored in NYC on the back. Knotted linen gives both structure and fluidity to your designs, and it's so easy to knot you don't need an awl.

The third design takes a cue from design maven Jen Perkin's work, with layered vintage plastic flowers and Beadalon Quick Links chain. The earrings are ridiculously HUGE, but light as a feather. I'm mad for the color combination on this one. This is so Lovely Howell! Heather has a huge selection of these flowers and lucite filigrees and it's so fun to layer them up, you just thread with a head pin and loop the tip on the fine end of your round nose pliers.

I am going to make one last jewelry set and them whip up a new purse and then I'll be ready to rock and roll.

Rebekah Meier is giving away a signed copy of her book Fabric Art Collage on her blog. I reviewed it here last week. If you're into mixed media...you have got to get this book!

Until next time...craft on with your bad selves.

xoxo
Madge

Saturday TastyLinks™

“Ain’t it funny how time slips away?”

It could not possibly have been a week since I last posted these links! Have I somehow and without my knowing entered a wrinkle in time?! I feel as if summer is flying at the speed of light, which makes me a little blue because winter seems to last forever. I simply must move somewhere warm and balmy.

Yesterday I dropped my daughter off at her last day of Shakespeare camp and I took a little side trip to one of our local antique malls in search of ephemera. I emerged triumphant! I found two magazines from the early 1900s in pristine condition overflowing with great images, one adorable postcard, a bag of slightly disturbing 1950s circus themed cardboard stand up cut-outs and this absolutely amazing photograph. I ask you. Is this a girl or is this a boy? I can not for the life of me decide. Note the hands and feet...and the awkward body language...and the hair which may or may not be short. I love it! This is a delightfully quirky picture!

I’ve been collecting these old photos for years. My former roommate Melody and I used to tell our guests they were our ancestors and concoct stories about them. I’m particularly fond of pictures of women and young girls wearing hugantic bows. In fact, I think I may need to create a collection of these bows for myself.

Ah, I blather on too much again. Good grief. Here’s your weekly sampling of TastyLinks™! Open wide and say, “AH!”

About Family Crafts I need your help! Be the first to submit a photo of this completed craft and be featured on the Family Crafts site!’’

Aileen's Musings Your help is needed...Please take a moment to help make a difference We have a chance to get our ovarian cancer charity project on the cover of a northern CA magazine. Your vote is needed! The project benefits the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Deadline for voting is July 23rd so hurry and cast your vote!

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner Alexa shares the mental process behind creating a post on her swell craft blog.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside's got a how-to's on bleaching photos and juxtaposing images, a mixed-media journal out of a wide variety of recycled materials and a video with Scatha G. Allison where she shows the incredible designs from her book Jean Therapy. Be sure to answer the day's questions to be entered to win a free book!

Crafty Princess Diaries Have you thought about taking your craft hobby to a different level? Tammy has some thoughts to consider before crossing over the hobby/professional line.

CraftyPod SisterDiane is thrilled to unveil her new ebook, Weaving Un-Loomed: Simple Ways to Weave Cool Things.

Cross Stitch at About.com Have fun trying out these new free Candlewicking patterns Connie's sharing. If you use one, send in a photo to show it off!

Mixed Media Artist Using two very different book pages, you can create a found poem for an altered book...or just because!

Naughty Secretary Club Jen shares clever and crafty uses for suitcases that have nothing to do with holding clothing. Side tables, laptop cases and portable craft studios, oh my!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Drink Mermaids take the plunge into some silver paint and get transformed into some swimmingly fun necklaces inspired by the wonderfully innovative book A Charming Exchange.

The Artful Crafter Eileen shows you how to make a multi-strand fiber bracelet.

The Crochet Dude Drew reviews the new Simplicity Rotary Cutting Machine - offers up a free crocheted project using fabric strips - and he's giving away a Rotary Cutting Machine to one lucky commenter!

The Impatient Crafter Madge shows you how to make a quick and easy Altered Chinese Paper Lantern in her first post on Kid/Teen Crafts for I Love to Create!

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love Check out Vickie's free pattern for a knitted lace iPhone cozy!

Mixed Media Book Review: Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier

Book Review
Amazon
Fabric Art Collage: 40+ Mixed Media Techniques by Rebekah Meier

I am delighted to give my hearty and heartfelt recommendation to Fabric Art Collage by creative genius Rebekah Meier. This is, without doubt, one of the most sumptuous and idea packed creative tomes to cross my desk in ages. Ms. Meier has filled this book to the gills with bright ideas and brilliant inspiration.

A mixed media book with a fabric focus, this will certainly appeal to quilters and fabric artists...but it's got a ton of appeal for mixed media artists working in jewelry making, collage and paper arts as well. I can not stop looking at this book and every time I do, I find something new and fascinating. There are products and techniques in these pages I have never, ever seen before and the sample gallery projects are all stunning.

What impresses me the most about this title is the vast amount of knowledge that Ms. Meier possesses and the ease with which she shares it with the reader. She writes clearly and honestly and her passion for her art comes through on every page. ANY creative person looking for some fresh ideas should buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

There are over 40 techniques and a huge array of finished projects to show you ways to integrate the techniques into your art. I am intrigued by lutradur and solvron, two items I had not heard of before reading this book. Even when she uses familiar materials, she uses them in entirely unexpected ways. In fact, Ms. Meier uses such a wide variety of interesting materials it is mind blowing. I simply can't stop gazing at the Black, White and Red Quilt and the Canvas Quilt. I love that Ms. Meier doesn't spoon feed you monkey see, monkey do projects, but shows you ways to tap your own creativity and let it flow.

Kudos to Ms. Meier and C&T Publishing for making a book that will have a place of honor at my bedside for many months to come as I thumb the pages in search of new inspiration before drifting off to sleep.

Margot Potter
The Impatient Crafter(tm)
Author The Impatient Beader Series
Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed
Beyond the Bead

I Love to Create: Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns

I’m delighted to join the ranks of crafty bloggers for I Love to Create. Here’s my first installment in my bi-weekly Kid/Teen Craft blogs. All of these projects are “Mom Crafted, Kid Approved.”

We’ve been redecorating my daughter’s room and she wanted to get some Chinese style lanterns to hang from her ceiling. We found these for 3 for $5.00 at Five Below. They have a built in battery operated light! We wanted to give them a little pizzazz, so we punched out circles of patterned tissue paper and adhered them with Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue. Then we added some Tulip glitter and ric-rac trim accents. We love how these turned out and they were so easy and fun to make! Avalon did a more streamlined version that looks fabulous!

You can find the larger lanterns online and do a series of these in different sizes and shapes...I’m seriously thinking about putting some in my studio. Try using different sizes and shapes of punches and adding some Tulip flat back crystals to give them even more sparkle!

Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns
I Love to Create
Margot Potter

Paper Chinese style lantern
Patterned tissue paper
Ric-rac trim
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Tulip GlitterDimensional Fabric Paint in Crystal Sparkles
Scissors
Fiskars 1” and 1.5” paper punches
Card stock sheets
Bubble wrap

1. Stuff your lantern carefully with bubble wrap to give it structure.

2. I chose tissue paper for the polka dot accents because it’s thin enough to easily adhere to the surface of the textured lantern, thicker paper doesn’t work as well because it’s too stiff to be molded to the base.

3. Fold the tissue paper over heavy card stock and insert into punch. Smooth any wrinkles with your fingers. Punch shape. (Designer tip: The card stock gives you some structure so the tissue paper will cut more easily, without that base the tissue will tear.) Cut 5 large and 5 small circles.

4. Spread a thin layer of Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue on the back of your tissue paper circles using your finger tip. (I chose this glue because it’s not too runny, adheres quickly and it didn’t saturate the tissue paper, this is a better choice for this specific project than decoupage medium.)

5. Apply the tissue paper circle to the desired spot on your lantern, carefully working from top to bottom gently smoothing the tissue on to the lantern. Take your time and be patient!

6. Continue adhering circles working around your lantern. Allow them to dry.
7. Spread a layer of Tulip glitter on some ric-rac trim.


8. Adhere small segments of pre-cut trim to the front of the larger tissue paper circles. Allow to dry.


9. Use your finger to spread a thin layer of Tulip glitter on the surface of each of the small circles. Allow to dry.

Avalon and her Altered Chinese Paper Lantern!

Color Play

Our House Before Painting. Note the horrible beige trim that was EVERYWHERE!

Hallway in Lemon Curd

I’ve got some exciting news! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for my first blog post for Duncan’s I Love to Create! I’m so thrilled to join their prestigious group of bloggers. I’m going to be creating a kid/teen themed project every two weeks and will post every other Thursday. Avalon will be doing a variation to test run the idea so we can say: “Mom Crafted, Kid Approved!”

My husband has been painting our entryway this past week with a little help from my daughter and me. Some of you may recall that he already painted our entryway back in December, but we HATED the color. It was called ‘soft duckling’ and it was horrid. (My sincere apologies to ducklings.) We went back to the drawing board and after much consideration I selected Lemon Curd. My family wasn’t so sure about the color but we all agree now that it’s perfect. You can see the color below this post.

Color is one of my specialties as a designer. I love playing with color and I love surprising and unexpected combinations. The lower floor of our school house features saturated colors. Because it's a 128 year old home with simple architectural details, I've had to decorate keeping that simplicity in mind, so color on the walls has been my way of adding personality. I wanted the colors to be warm, inviting and spicy. It’s a work in progress, but it’s slowly coming together. I selected cool and soothing colors for the upstairs, periwinkle and sky blue. My daughter’s room is a pretty orchid pink she selected.

When we were renovating our retail store, I selected the paint colors carefully. Color is such an emotional thing, I wanted to be sure people felt invited, welcome and wanted to stay and look around. Walking into the store felt like being wrapped up in sunlight and warmth. We painted the outside a Chinese green with the same cinnamon red trim. It was such a great looking storefront, the camera crew from QVC kept shooting it for their promo footage. People would call us to say, "Hey we saw your store on QVC!"

Selecting paint colors is tricky because they never look the same to your eye on the wall as they did on the chip. I usually try to select a color one shade lighter than the one I love on the chip. This is particularly important with saturated colors like we’ve used downstairs. When designing a house, try to think about the flow of one color into another. The yellow, green and blue you see when you enter our house are synergistically balanced. It’s good chi. Rooms should flow into one another and not be disconnected.

Take some risks and be bold. Paint a big section of a wall and live with it for a few weeks. Pick a few colors and have them side by side. I think a home should be a work in progress and should organically unfold room by room. There’s no need to rush because let’s face it, once you’ve painted it you’re going to be living with it for a while! Don’t be afraid of color, it’s the least expensive way to totally change the mood of your décor.

Check in tomorrow for my first Duncan I Love to Create blog! It’s a quick and easy project for tweens and teens to do on those ‘I’m bored’ days. Until next time...craft on with your bad selves.
xoxo
Madge

Elves on Acid Kitchen Details

Grass Green Living Room

Robin's Egg Blue Bathroom

Cinnamon R'orange Zen TV Room

Upstairs Studio Periwinkle Blue Walls

Oroboros Exterior Before

Oroboros Exterior After

Charting the Course

Image Copyright Enoch Bolles

Today might be...just might be...a pivotal moment in my professional future.

More precisely, something that is happening today might be a pivotal moment in my professional future. Or not. I have no idea. It might not happen. I might not make the docket. I simply don't know. Truth be told, there's a lot riding on this moment, but I'm trying my best to keep it in perspective.

The fact is...every moment of our lives is pivotal. We have the power at every moment to shift things, beginning with our attitude and our perspective. Life isn't what happens to you, it's how you react to what happens and how much ownership you take for your reactions.

I think for the most part, we are in charge. Taking ownership of our lives means accepting responsibility for not just our reactions to things that happen to us, but how our choices create the opportunities for those things to happen. Think about that because it's important. Our lives are driven by a series of choices we make that create opportunities for things to happen to us. So what can you do, at this moment, to make it pivotal? How can you shift things? What small adjustments can you make to your current course that will result in your arriving at a pleasing destination?

My daughter said something so incredibly smart to my husband at dinner yesterday. She said, "If it's about the journey then why are you always in such a hurry?"

Brilliant.

When we rush through our lives without paying attention to the scenery, we miss out on so many potential pivotal moments. Life isn't a series of big events, it's a series of small moments and we are the connective thread. Those small moments may seem at the time and space in which they occur to be insignificant, but they are far more powerful than we imagine. Think about what happens when a ship's captain adjusts his wheel...think about what happens when a pilot changes course? Even the smallest adjustment has major impact.

Today there will be a series of pivotal moments in my professional and personal future. One of them is out of my control now. I have done all that I can over the past 45 years to prepare and now it is up to other people to decide if I am ready.

The remaining pivotal moments...are entirely in my hands.

I intend to examine, explore and experience them to their fullest potential.

How about you?

xoxo

Madge

Book Review: Jewelry and Beading Designs for Dummies

Book Review
Jewelry and Beading Designs for Dummies
Tammy Powley and Heather H. Dismore
For Dummies
August 2008

Ms. Powley and Ms. Dismore have created a thorough and thoroughly delightful tome on the basics of jewelry making that is a must have for any novice. They cover absolutely everything you need to know to get started and to ensure continued success. This book is designed for the beginner and the projects are totally appropriate for someone ready to dip their toes into the jewelry and beading pool, but there is plenty of information for the more advanced beaded jewelry maker as well.

The illustrations are clear and the directions meticulous and concise. My only wish is that there were more color pictures because the designs are so lovely, but there's a several page glossy color gallery of designs that helps immensely. It begins with the basics and progresses to intermediate and even advanced techniques. You get a taste of mixed media, bead weaving, poly clay, wire work and even learn how to make your own findings. They give good, solid information and show you how to do things properly which will ensure good results. That's the key component to a good how-to book.

As a professional designer and a jewelry book author, I have a discerning eye and a high level of expectation. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for every bead lover's library. Ms. Dismore and Ms. Powley are both competent and respected experts and together they've created an indispensable guide to the many facets of jewelry making and beading.

Margot Potter
Author and Freelance Designer
The Impatient Beader Series
Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed
Beyond the Bead

Saturday TastyLinks™!

Well galdangy, it’s that time again! I don’t understand how it could possibly be Saturday already when I could swear it was just Monday. I’ve managed to finish the projects for my new book along with the instructions and all of the written material that I can complete prior to the shoot. There will be some small tweaks after my editor reviews things and then I’ll pack it up and ship it out. I can’t believe I did it a month ahead of deadline! I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. No seriously, I am. I’ve learned to fight that tendency by forcing myself to work ahead. It’s quite easy for my attention to be diverted by shiny things or deep thoughts about the meaning of life and why gum loses its flavor so quickly.

I have to assemble kits for the Zig Zagged Necklace class I’m teaching at CHA and the segment I’m filming for Fiskars TV. I’ve been asked to teach this fall at two different places, so that means classes need to be designed and then there’s the cruise this fall for When Creativity Knocks. One of my manufacturers just backed out, so I have to redesign the classes on the fly. It’s always something, isn’t it?!

But before I blather on endlessly about my never ending straw pile...I shall leave you to your weekly linky love shower! Enjoy!

My friend the immensely talented Lilian Chen is hosting a week of jewelry making classes in Tuscany in 2010! What fun! Here’s the 411.

Here’s what the Crafty Bloggers have going on this week:

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love Vickie's 10 Craft Tips for Busy Parents!

The Impatient Crafter Madge shares the 411 on how she made a gorgeous crystal, rubber and exposed wire collar inspired by African jewelry.

The Crochet Dude See a sneak peek video of Drew's new pattern line that launches August 1st!

The Artful Crafter If you’re a polymer clay beginner or just want a quick professional looking project, use molds!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Dada Mosaic, or is it surreal? You be the judge.

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Creative Inspiration: Message in a Bottle

Sketch Copyright 2006 Margot Potter

I grabbed a sketchbook to take to a meeting I had the other day. I’m working on some exciting things I can’t discuss yet...but so far, so good. When I opened the book I found this drawing from about four years ago! I don’t usually sketch my ideas, I just dive in and make whatever’s rumbling around in my noggin’, but on occasion if I’ve got a back log of ideas I’ll quickly draw them out for later reference. This is a quick study I did in a class I taught. I led creativity and inspiration seminars at the Create Your Style with CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski Elements events at the Tucson Gem Show for two years. I think these are my favorite classes because it’s so exciting to see people get inspired. People leave with a head full of ideas to explore later and one of my students actually won the Create Your Style competition with a design from a drawing she made in my class! So at least one person was inspired!

One of the exercises in the class was to dream up and draw a design using colors, motifs and textures drawn from an image you’d selected intuitively from a big pile I provided. I honestly don’t remember what my image was...but I love this design! This was back when I was nagging the folks from Swarovski Austria to bring back the vintage color ‘mink’. I can’t take any credit, but I like to believe I had some influence in the color mocca! I could definitely use mocca instead of the mink combined with vintage rose and crystal silver or black diamond AB here. I think I’d add some gun metal and do an oxidized silver patina.

I hope to make this necklace one of these days...because it’s pretty fabulous on paper. There would be some architectural work getting the swags and filigrees to fall properly when worn, but I think it’s a solid idea.

You never know where inspiration might strike...sometimes it’s like a message in a bottle from the person you were in another space and time. Although I don’t sketch often enough, I’m thinking maybe I need to start.

xoxo
Madge