Mar4
Category Archives: My Jewelry Design
Mar4
Spring is coming!
Sep12
Fired up!
About 6 months ago I moved into a great new studio space and finally acquired a torch and some enameling supplies – then the fun began!
I got a very limited taste of enameling a few years ago when I worked at a bead store, and have been itching to try it again ever since. Now I can’t get enough!
Follow lilruby jewelry on Instagram if you’d like to see more – I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon!
Aug30
Painted wings
One of my favorite things about late summer is all the butterflies, so I’ve been inspired to paint a few of my own for some jewelry that’ll be perfect now right through fall!
I have several shows coming up over the next three months, and I’m hoping my customers will enjoy these. If you’d like a pair for yourself, just let me know!
Mar25
BHBSBP reveal!
So happy to be participating in another of Lori Anderson’s fabulous blog hops! This one is the Bead Hoarder’s edition, and the beautiful idea behind it is to send your partner a bead (or beads) that you’ve been hoarding – something that really is special to you, as a true act of kindness. I love that!
My partner is the very talented Pam DeBoer of Pamela’s Studio. Be sure to check out her vibrant, artistic designs on her Facebook page!
Here’s what I sent to Pam –
I bought that awesome ceramic focal bead in a great bead shop we happened upon as my husband and I were passing through Savannah, Georgia on a special vacation 6 years ago. I loved this bead because it was unlike any others I’ve ever had – it reminds me of a Calder sculpture or maybe a Picasso painting. I chose a strand of tiny faceted agates and some Czech glass to go with it.
As I was getting ready to send it off I decided to paint the box to match, just for fun!
I really hope Pam enjoyed creating with it!
Now for what she sent to me-a beautifully detailed poly clay pendant-
And some great Tibetan clay beads, lampwork rondelles and my favorites – a pair of sweet handmade ceramic birds!
I ended up making 3 pieces, and they are all very different from each other. First, I used the Tibetan beads along with some pierced sterling beads and lampwork discs from my stash for this funky pair of earrings-
Next I made a long knotted necklace for the pendant using S-lon cord and sparkly little faceted Czech glass beads-
Finally, those little handmade birds – I perched them on a rusty tin birdhouse pendant along with Czech glass flowers and beads. Perfect for Spring!
I had a great time working with these wonderful beads – thanks for hopping along with me!
Click below to visit Lori’s blog and the links to all the other blog hoppers!
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2017/03/welcome-to-bead-soup-blog-party-bead.html
Apr25
Lost and Found…
Found objects, that is.
I participated in a Re-purposed Market craft show at a local antique mall over the weekend, which was fun but attendance was pretty sparse. It was held at a very nice indoor venue and featured demonstrations by FYI guy Jeremy Rabe (who is very charming and gracious!) but the weather was a glorious 80 degrees all weekend, so I guess the lake got more visitors than we did. You just never know! Anyway, the good thing is that preparing for this show rekindled my love for making found object jewelry and sparked my creativity in a way that hasn’t happened in a while.
One of the first things I found to play with was the head of a tiny old hammer-
With the addition of wire, beads, a piece of an old folding ruler and some nuts borrowed from my husband’s tool box it’s now a pendant! I call this one “Handyman Special” 🙂
When I saw this fabulous Victorian drawer pull I couldn’t resist – I just love the sweet little bird on the front.
I carefully bent it and added a verdigris patina, brass chain and some gorgeous Czech glass beads for a one of a kind bracelet-
Next up, some sweet little vintage perfume bottles I found at a flea market-
I had SO much fun making these!
Here’s an everyday garden item-
With a new look!
So maybe this show wasn’t a big moneymaker for me, but that’s OK – the creative juices are flowing, and that’s a good thing!
Feb8
Bird brain
Or birds on the brain, anyway -so many of the things I’ve made lately feature our feathered friends. One of the main sources of inspiration has come from my own yard – last year we had bluebirds nesting in one of our birdhouses, and I’m so happy to see they’ve come back!
Bluebirds are especially fun to paint, too!
I’ve also enjoyed using these brass beauties from B’Sue Boutiques-
Of course I had to paint and/or add some rusty patina to all of ’em!
This vintage beauty was a recent Etsy find, and I couldn’t wait to pair it with some of the other goodies in my stash, like the old rhinestone ring and mother of pearl heart and discs-
There are still plenty more birds – and other winged creatures – waiting on my workbench, so we’ll what flies out next! 🙂
Aug9
Mannequin Mania
I have a new obsession. It involves taking paper mache mannequins like this one
and making them look like these, using a combination of craft paint and metal reactive patina paints.
The process is kind of messy, somewhat unpredictable and so much fun! Best of all, the result is that rusty, grungy chippy paint look that I love, and works perfectly with my jewelry style.
Since it doesn’t look like I’m gonna be able to stop making these (it’s too much fun!) I’ve started offering some for sale. If you’re local, you can see them, and some lilruby jewelry too – at Harrison House Market in Ozark!
May15
Art of awareness blog hop
Today is the reveal for the Art of Awareness blog hop, which was created by Lori Anderson of Bead Soup Blog Party fame. I love to participate in Lori’s blog hops and was intrigued by this one, in which we were instructed to think of a word or phrase that has special meaning and have a unique “word bean” created with it by Heather Millican of Swoondimples. (how cool is that?)
The phrase I chose was “faith is”, because to me faith is what it all comes down to. This has become especially clear to me during the past five years, which have been tumultuous to say the least! But although it’s been tough with challenges and losses of just about every kind, we’ve come through it all with the realization that what seems insurmountable can be handled with faith not only in God but in ourselves, too.
So for me, faith is the key.
This started out as a necklace, but since I often pray and reflect on my blessings while I’m driving to work I decided to hang it from my rear view mirror to remind me to keep the faith – and also to forget about the rear view (the past)!
Thanks so much for visiting – here’s the list of all the participants!
Feb22
Joyful Muse Component Challenge
A couple of months ago I accepted an invitation to “test drive” some of the delightful components made by Miriam from Joyful Muse. She asked that designers who accepted the challenge would use at least one of them in a jewelry design, and then share the results! Here are the components I used-
A pair of ribbed connectors painted a rich brick red.
And a very cool reversible spinner pendant!
Since I normally use darker colors and brick red happens to be one of my favorites, I tackled the ribbed connectors first. I layered them over some metal washers that I picked up at an antique show and wired on faceted turquoise blue Czech glass beads for a cool pair of earrings that have a retro yet steampunk look to them – I like ’em!
Now for the pendant – I will admit right off the bat that although the spinner pendant is an ingenious design and beautifully made, I don’t normally feel comfortable working with pastel colors so I struggled a bit with this! But after stewing about it a while I started digging through my bead stash and was able to put this necklace together using some Czech glass and crackle painted metal beads – I think it’ll be perfect for Spring!
I enjoyed using these well made components and want to thank Miriam for the opportunity to work with them! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop to see more – http://www.JoyfulMuse.etsy.com
lilruby jewelry 