Journey with Me

"I'm just riding this train as long as I can. As long as I'm having fun, I'll do it. When it stops being fun, I'll try something else." ~Gabrielle Union

Well, so far it has been all about fun! And I don't want to get off!

I couldn't wait to get my turn at the bracelet round robin exchange with Lorelie Eurto, Heather Powers, Christine Damm and Erin Siegel. And today, my contributions have been added. Tomorrow I will package them up and send them along to Christine for her part in the fun.

Would you like to see? (Spoiler alert! If any participants don't want to see, quit reading! But, if you are like me, you will not be able to stop yourself! teehee!)

I asked each of the ladies to give me one word...the one that gives them strength...or is a personal mantra....or sums up their personality. For my contribution, I decided I would designe a custom component that features their word so that they might wear it as a tangible remembrance of the strength and power within them.

First up, is Chrisine Damm's bracelet. I think that it is now to the size that she wants it to be, but there is still loads of room to jazz it up at the last two stops! I love the color palette on this...the rich reds with the pop of that chartreuse green. There is a certain fall quality here with the mix of copper and brass and even silver metals. It makes me want to curl up in a cozy warm blanket and put my feet up by a roaring fire. (And that focal bead...yowza! That is so much more amazing in person!)

Christine's word: TRANSFORMATION

Whew! That was a long one! I created a copper disk, texturized it with my Fretz raw silk hammer on one side and stamped TRANSFORMATION in a spiral on the other. I dunked it in a liver of sulfur bath and after cleaning some of that off, I added Adirondack alcohol inks in Currant and Meadow to both sides of the piece to echo the color palette.

I also added a few wrapped bronze coin pearls, a vintage (1948 Japanese Whitesnake Co.) goldstone and millefiori oval, and a vintage token from the Charleston transit company. Good for one fare on the Creativity train with a capitol "C" (or Christine). Wooo-wooo!

For a completely different destination, there is Erin Siegel's bracelet. This thing is so light and ethereal and the color palette is so soothing and cool...I am thinking of a forest glen with a babbling brook. This is way too dainty for me to wear, but I couldn't help touching all the beautiful stones that have already been added. It reminds me that we are each so different and our personalities are really coming through each bracelet. I feel that I am really getting to know each person even though we have never met (but we should remedy that someday!).

Erin's word: INTUITION

Erin actually had more than one word, she had a phrase: trust your intuition. But I thought I would distill that down to the basics...this little resin charm has watch gears at different layers and the word taken from a vintage English-French dictionary. The resin turns the paper almost translucent. What a good mantra! We can all benefit from those wise words.

I haven't had the chance (re: guts) to work with the waxed linen thread that Erin started us off with. Now seeing what has evolved so far I have a better understanding of what is possible. I might have to try it in some future designs. I like the mix with the dainty chain. I added a natural purple pearl dangle (I can think of no more delicate gem), a vintage curly shell and crystal dangle and a vintage transit token with "SE" for Stockton Electric (or Siegel, Erin!).



Around the country we travel to our next stop in Texas, home of Heather Powers. Her bracelet started with one of her own polymer clay beads in a ghost of a color. I am so glad that Lorelei broke out the faceted garnet. Truthfully, I was a little baffled with those two links but challenged myself to find a way to pull them together.

Heather's word: INSPIRE

I have been making some new pendants and charms lately. Each one has a bit of something to inspire, so I knew that is what I had to do for Heather, who has been such an inspiration to me. What a perfect word for her, don't you think? This charm I created is a Patera base using their special Gel du Soleil UV curing resin (and the coolest new toy, a UV lamp that I got at Bead & Button when I was there with Heather.) I stamped the word on the back (they are pretty soft metal, don't stamp too hard!) and added the Adirondack alcohol inks to the base and the word to make the word pop. I used the transfer from Patera of a bird and a mustard seed. (Do you know the Bible story of the mustard seed? It grows from the tiniest seed into the largest bush, where birds will come to nest. You have in you all you need to be successful. That is what I wish for Heather).

I have been practicing making bird's nests that I learned from a tutorial from the incomparable Deryn Mentock. I used galvanized steel wire and to make it my own I added some sparkly fibers like any good momma bird would do. And that egg? A granite bead I bought when I was with Heather (remember that bead find?).

And that little bead? A vintage Italian find circa 1953 from Jewelex with an aqua center, gold leaf and burgundy and black spots. Lovely.

Chugging along to Lorelei's stop. That bottle cap bead from Glass Garden Beads is so freakin' cool! I will have to get some of those little novelties. I wonder what a "Jurk" tastes like? I am thinking lemon-lime. Sounds like a good treat on a hot day and today is hot. Lorelei's was the shortest of the bunch so I extended it with some doubled up copper chain.

Lorelei's word: MOTIVATED

Yes. Yes, she is! What better word to describe my tireless and oh-so-creative new friend? I used a texturizing hammer to distress a copper ring and added the word to it. This ring took a dip in the liver of sulfur and then buffed to show the detail. I wired a charm with a little aqua melon bead to carry that color over to this side, and a connector link made out of green goldstone. I love this stone! It looks quite black, but the sun peeked out and I was able to capture the incredible pea green fire within the bead.

In keeping with the travel theme, I added a vintage transit token with an "L" for lovely Lorelei. I just got these faceted lemon-lime lab created citrine/quartz beads from Rings & Things and it looks quite smart in a travel hat of copper. And to continue the fruit salad flavors a pineapple quartz briolette was added, too.

The final stop on our grand tour is my own bracelet. Some of the participants are not adding to their own, but I couldn't resist. I had to add my own vintage transit token. This one has a shiny star in the middle. As in "catch a rising...."

My word? Well, they all picked such great ones and I wanted to be different. And mine is not just one word, but a phrase (I'm wordy like that). One that you will be familiar with...... if you know me at all...

I hope you do! (By the way...that goofy little blob on the left? That is my signature stamp skeleton key but I didn't do such a great job of hitting the hammer at that moment!)

These baubles are now on the track to Christine's studio. Can't wait to see what she does with them in her talented little hands.

Do you have a favorite in the process so far? Or a bead or component that you have seen that you absolutely love? Do tell!

Check It Out:: Make It Your Own

Enjoy the day!