Art Bead Scene Ornament Hop!

There is a sense of excitement in the air once the calendar flips to December. My head knows that it is really Advent, a period of waiting and watching. Preparing the way of the Lord. A time to be still and let all the madness pass me by.

But my heart always wants to give in to the decorating and the cookie baking and the festive merrymaking.

The cold {usually}sets in. {Today it was like 50 degrees. Crazy!). There will be flurries forecast {eventually}. When we have our first snow I will make a blizzard of paper snowflakes.

Twinkling lights adorn all the houses up and down our street. Our front porch, with its mini-forest of white light trees is by far the prettiest, of course. ;-)

I created a brand new mantel scape this year that is getting rave reviews from family, friends, neighbors and even a few random service providers. My 14 year old son Rocket even took a look at it, nodded his head approvingly and said, " 's cool." Now THAT is high praise!

I promise that I will share my new creative endeavors soon when the living room gets unearthed and I can get a few pretty pictures. You see, we are having a gift to ourselves put in on Wednesday - a whole wall of cabinetry including two 24" locker cubbies in the laundry room to make it more of a mudroom.

I. CAN. NOT. WAIT!

Once I have claimed my living room, from the pile of shoes, the tangle of backpacks and the leaning tower of school notices, I promise that I will show you.

But for today, we have the annual Art Bead Scene Ornament Hop. Back a few months ago, Miss Heather put a call out to designers on the Art Bead Scene to join us. There are 23 participants spreading their holiday cheer.

I look forward to making a new ornament each year. In fact, that is how I started making jewelry. One year instead of making my usual ornament for all the ladies of the family, I made them all custom mother's bracelets. I thought I was pretty clever using Swarovski crystals and spelling out the names of the children with silver letter beads. Cutting edge stuff, I tell you!

Well, jewelry making stuck. But I still manage to make a new ornament or two each year. And once I started my Simple Truths line it seemed logical that the pendants could be converted to an ornament with nothing more than a ribbon for a hanger. But I quite like to embellish things.So I took two of my popular limited edition Simple Truths Holiday designs and made them into ornaments with a few picks, some wire, a little cursing, a bit of tangled wire, some wire cutters, more wire, and some ribbon.

I started with one of my new Holiday Botanical Birds in the Poinsettia motif.

This is quite like the coloring of my favorite bird (and high school mascot!), the Cardinal.

I wired together some faux pine boughs and some glittery green and red berries, then just wrapped the wire through the branch at the bird's feet. Gently. So as not to bend and snap the bird feet which has happened (then you just have a footless bird ;-)

The result is a bird, sitting on a branch, nestled in your tree providing the perfect camouflage.

Next, I pulled out one of my new reindeer ornaments called 'Won't You Guide My Sleigh Tonight?'

Mine had only a ring at the top as I had a defective bezel with a cracked bail at the top. But nothing goes wasted in my studio! I just turned it around before I baked it!

 

I didn't get as fancy-schmantzy as I did with the bird. I just wanted his bright shiny nose to catch the light and glow. So all I added was a single shiny green leaf along with a faux pine bough and a cluster of red berries. I topped it off with a pretty red ribbon.

I am sure that I might keep these for my own tree, but it is more likely that I will gift them away to someone special to spread a little love and good cheer during this season of light.

Please join the rest of the hoppers to see what holiday cheer they have cooked up for you!

Art Bead Scene
Humblebeads
Treasures Found - You are here!
Song Beads
Viki O'Dell
Sue Beads
Modern Nature Studio
Diane Hawkey
Suburban Girl Studio
Jen Judd Rocks
Ellie's Bijoux
Island Girl's Insights
Life By The Seat Of My Pants
Too Aquarius 
Shelley Graham Turner
Artfully Ornamental
Charis Designs Jewelry
Harrison Hollow Designs
Silver Nik Nats
Bead Soup Mix
Toodles and Binks
Bead Recipes
Play Sculpt Live
BeeTree by M.E.
Billi RS Rothe
A Half-Baked Notion
Kimis Jewelry and Gifts

Cozy Up To Me...and a Winner!

Whew! The hoppers in the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color have put together a feast for my eyes! Aren't they all inspiring? Seriously, you people never disappoint me. Unfortunately, I am {fashionably} late to my own party. I have been hopping here and there, but with a full work schedule yesterday didn't get as far as I would like. I promise you that I will make it to your blog...then leave a comment... grab your permalink to the post... update my blog list... and pin your creation to the Challenge of Color Pinterest board. All this while trying to catch up to the 16 plus custom Simple Truths orders pending in my Etsy shop right now (just in case you were waiting on something from me). Just wanted to rise to the surface to tell you that I am still here and I am working on it!

Are you sick of voting for things after last month's elections? The Soft Flex Company hosts their annual Flex Your Creativity contest. I have been fortunate to be voted in the top 10 almost each year since they started doing this in 2009. I don't enter because I think I will win. I do this simply as an exercise in creativity.

{Cozy Up To Me - Both bracelets use the Vintage Bronze 24 gauge Soft Flex craft wire knitted with hand dyed silk cords from Marsha Neal Studios. End caps are from Vintaj and assorted art beads from Mary Ann Carroll, Julianna Cannon, Heather Powers, Jennifer Cameron, Diane Hawkey and Shannon LeVart.}

This year they ran the contest a little differently. They always have a theme, and for 2012 you had to submit something created using their wires and the knitting spool. This was something I had never done before. Luckily, I had the book Show Your Colors by Jamie Hoggsett and Sara Oehler to show me the way.

What is different is that the Soft Flex company selected the top ten finishers and now they are up for a popular vote. Popularity contests are not my sort of thing, so for me the true victory is learning something new, completing it and then being selected as a finalist. All top ten places received a spool of wire, but the winner of the popular vote will receive a nice gift certificate, but all the top ten will be featured throughout the coming year on their website as well as in magazine ads. I just received my two bracelets back from them along with a CD containing the shots from their professional photo shoot and they let me know that the voting is now live through December 11th! I would encourage you to check out the beautiful designs and vote for your favorite, but please know that it does not have to be mine. Vote for the one that you feel did the best in the spirit of the contest. I feel very blessed that I placed in the top ten. That is gift enough!

 I promised a winner of the new limited edition Botanical Bird ornament/pendant from the post about The Best Gift Ever. And the winner is.....

Cassi Renee!  

She had this to say about the best gift she ever received:

Best gift ever, I think I have two. First, the gift of being born to two loving parents who gifted me with an awesome childhood and still support, love, and forgive me. My second best gift ever is my daughter, even though this parenting thing does drive me nuts a lot of the time.

You all had such lovely gifts to share. I was really touched by all the non-material things you had to share. Congratulations Miss Cassi Renee! I will be in touch with you by email to get started creating your special Botanical Bird!

Tonight my husband and I have a {rare}date at the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra's Holiday At Home show featuring our favorite local-boy-turned-professional-singer-songwriter Danny Mitchell. He is good looking, witty, supremely talented and will be debuting his new holiday CD at this event. I feel blessed that we got the last two seats in row Q ;-)

{Danny Mitchell}

Take a listen to his songs: Can't Take You Anywhere or Someday, Someday or my favorite Shining Armor. And here is a sampler of his Christmas songs from his album last year. He has a great jazz vibe and is killer on the piano. He makes all the young girls (okay, the old ones, too ;-) swoon!


Lots of fun coming next week including an Art Bead Scene ornament blog hop on December 4th and a planned tour of my holiday decorations (perhaps in video?) along with my brand new mantel-scape that I am so very proud of creating. I also need your help generating ideas for the Hintz Family Superhero Christmas Theme. I will share more about that next week. ;-)

Color-full World! Welcome to the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color

Welcome to the wonderful world of color!

For the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color we filled up the 80 or so spots that I opened represented by four different continents and a patchwork quilt of countries! I seriously look forward to this hop in particular each year. I am always blown away by how everyone rises to the challenge and pushes their creative limits. I know that this year will be even bigger.bolder.better.brighter!

All glory goes to my good friend and color guru Miss Brandi Hussey. She got so inspired by the 120+ pictures pictures that I found from the Earth As Art exhibit of satellite images that she created each of these 40 palettes that we are using. These images are from the United States Geological Survey and NASA. You can read more about that here. If you haven't met Miss Brandi, be sure and stop by to say hello. I can't recall how I stumbled upon her site, but I am so glad I did! Her color palettes were the first things that hooked me, then her eye for creating timelessly elegant and juicy hued jewelry lured me in to buy some and finally her knowledge about color is outstanding and her soul is generous. Her recent Color Theory 101 series is bookmarked on my computer for frequent reference. You can find those posts here and here and here.

I have to tell you that my Muse went on hiatus right after the sign ups. I heard that happened to a few of you. I think they are in Cahoots. I hope Cahoots was warm and sunny and they had a nice relaxing visit. ;-)

On Wednesday night (yes, just the other day) I knocked my Muse and her companion Motivation over the head with a texturing hammer. I sat them right down and strapped them into a chair. I forced my Muse to bleed creativity for me and my Motivation to keep me engaged and focused. There were more than a few attempts at making a necklace materialize for the Pinacate Volcano Fields. Nothing was working. So I switched gears, gave her a spin on the office chair and came up with a bracelet instead. Nothing mind-blowing to be sure, but it was done. And after I got that one out of my system it allowed me to open myself to other possibilities. I share this to let you know that I suffer the same ills that everyone else does. But sometimes having a challenge like this wakes up my Muse and I know it kicks my Motivation into hyperdrive.

The colors on my monitor and from across the room looked vastly different than what got printed. I understand how frustrating that is! So I didn't tie myself to all six colors on each palette. Sometimes the colors in the palette weren't speaking to me, so I followed the ones that whispered the loudest. But I did force myself to use my stash. It has grown so large over the past year that I can't even put it all away, so I am not sure what I have. These beads are a sickness, I tell you! And I had a goal to put an art bead in each. Actually I started with the art beads and found it amazing that I had beads that suited all 40 palettes.

Now, before you get all crazy on the fact that I did more than one, let me remind you that I am the hostess. And this is my chance to have some special pieces to sell for the holidays and beyond. And it wouldn't look right if the hostess invited you to the party and all she had to serve was a bunch of scalloped potatoes and nothing else. So I did 10. You only saw two that I hand picked for you. But I stared at all 40 every day and it was incredibly hard to narrow it down to just these 10! I have these trays that I put the sparks of an idea into like a little mini Bead Soup to myself. I actually found beads and components and art beads in my stash that would work for all 40 palettes. And I pledge that I will make something for all of them....eventually.

And some of these will be showing up in my Etsy Shop sometime next week. Just in time for gifting ;-)

Speaking of sparks, I know that once you see all the palettes you will be inspired, so I will be loading up the permalinks to the blog posts below as I go through them for easy return visits. I will also post each of your designs to a special Pinterest board with links back to you, and I will eventually compile all 40 palettes on a special page on my blog (or my website. Haven't decided yet.). That way you can come back at any time you need a challenge or an inspiration.

On with the show! Since you have suffered through enough of my words already, I will just let the palettes and the pieces I have created speak for themselves. (I know. Shocker, right? ;-)

Meandering earrings
Marsha Neal Studios ceramic disks
Vintaj brass disks, head pins, ear wires and jump rings
vintage glass pearls and freshwater pearls

Great Sandy necklace
Humblebeads long tube bead and disk bead
Vintage brushed aluminum chain
waxed linen
crystal and resin beads

North America necklace (a Christmas gift for my long time best friend Lynna!)
Shell, freshwater pearl, Czech glass, lucite, shell mosaic beads, crystals, hematite with copper accents
This is a variation of my Toast of the Town necklace created exclusively for Michaels.com
To see the blog hop of variations and get a copy of the instructions, click here

Lake Amadeus necklace
polymer clay bead from Pam Wynn
green apatite, blue apatite, amethyst
leather, figure 8 connectors and rhinestone clasp

Richat necklace
raku flower button from Lisa Peters Art
sodalite briolettes, blue goldstone magnetic clasp plus some sort of cracked and dyed magnesite perhaps?

Colima necklace
cracked matte fire agate, the same sort of cracked and dyed stone as the last one (anyone know what that is?), Czech faceted glass, pewter daisy spacers, matte peanut beads, sterling silver toggle, ceramic focal lentil Chinook Jewelry, Humblebeads disk bead, amazonite briolette

  

Pinacate bracelet
lampwork focal from Julsbeads, pyrite ovals, lava stone rounds, citrine faceted ovals, blue goldstone, gold vermeil bicones, magnetic clasp

Magical River Delta necklace
'magic' word bead from Diane Hawkey, Humblebeads disks, one of my very own enamel beads (woot!), faux sea glass, brass stars and toggle clasp

Namib bracelet
brushed nickel rollo chain, charcoal gray waxed linen thread
agate, resin, green labradorite, a truly amazing lampwork glass bead from Melissa Rediger of Sea of Glass, amazonite, Swarovski crystal, not sure what this is but Miss Brandi could tell me because I bought it from her ;-)

Last but not least, I added this one that just came back to me from a publication that rejected it :-(
and it seemed like the perfect match for Campeche! Serendipity!
raku flower button from Lisa Peters Art, turquoise nuggets, bayang wood slats, snowflake obsidian, ceramic round from Marsha Neal Studios, teal waxed linen, magnetic clasp

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As happens every year, the detours in our life sometimes get in the way of our best intentions. That happens. Please don't think that I am worried about it! Some of the hoppers in the list below might not have a post...or might have one later. Consider showing them some love and support anyway! They will be with us in spirit.

Please enjoy this virtual house party with all my colorful friends!:

Erin Prais-Hintz
Brandi Hussey
  Rebecca Anderson

Kris Auderer  

Chrizette Bayman

Lori Bowring Michaud  

 Courtney Breul 

Lynsey Brooks
Stephanie Buss 

Iveth Caruso
Shannon Chomanczuk
Lisa Cone
Cece Cormier

Lori Dorrington
Dawn Doucette
Jeannie Dukic
Kim Dworak
Beth Emery
Janice Everett
Pam Farren
Donetta Farrington
Gloria Ferrer

Cherrie Fick
Therese Frank
Patty Gasparino
Tanya Goodwin
Ambra Gostoli
Jess Green
Denielle Hagerman
Mary Harding
Karla Hartzog
Kim Hora
Emanda Johnson
Jennifer Justman
Sue Kennedy

Ema Kilroy
Lee Koopman
Linda Landig
Kirsi Luostarinen
Cynthia Machata
Alicia Marinache
Beth McCord
Mary K McGraw
Karen Mitchell
Cheri Mitchell-Reed
Aimee Moisa
Karla Morgan
Penny Neville
Becky Pancake
Kashmira Patel
Alice Peterson
Kayla Potega
Debbie Price
Bobbie Rafferty
Caron Reid
Nicole Rennell
Cynthia Riggs
Andrea Ross
Sally Russick
Annie Scherz
Pam Sears
Renetha Stanziano
Sandra Stein
Kristen Stevens  
Tracy Stillman  
Sherri Stokey
Lola Survillo
Kay Thomerson
Jo Tinley
Emma Todd
Cory Tompkins
Pam Traub 
Melissa Trudinger
Michelle Tucker
Shelley Graham Turner
Monique Urquhart
Rachel Van-Walsh 
Patti Vanderbloemen
Lesley Watt
Lynn White 
Joan Williams

Would you like to win of my Illuminated Chevron reversible necklaces in your choice of two colors? Just leave a comment on this post as to which of the ten palettes I selected to design is your favorite palette. (Please note: I need a way to contact you if you win. If you do not have an email turned on in your profile for ease in reaching you, please leave that in your comment.)

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Inspired?

Want to join in the fun next time? 

The Challenges are held quarterly in February, May, August and November.

Check back here the first week in February for sign ups for the 2nd Annual Challenge of Music!

The Best Gift Ever

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”  

~ Dr Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Tesori Trovati Annual Holiday Sale is on!

I don't do a lot of sales in my Etsy shop but I like to give people the opportunity to get a good deal on their Holiday shopping. It is my gift to you! For being so supportive of me and for encouraging me to try new things. I am where I am because of you.

I am participating in the Artisan Whimsy Market 2012 Holiday Collection. There are 45 shops participating and each has a unique discount code. Plus there are giveaways from all the players, and that totals over $1300 in great gifts!

Here are the codes for my shop:

AWHOLIDAY = 15% off    OR   FREESHIP = free shipping

Both codes are good until Friday, December 30th in my Etsy Shop.

And be sure to hop on over to Artisan Whimsy and see all the other great offers. You might just get your gift shopping done in record time!

I promised that I would give away something to one lucky random commenter. So I will give away one of my new limited edition Botanical Birds that are now available for purchase in my Etsy shop. These birds are a good size for either a large focal pendant or a beautiful ornament to decorate your home for the holidays. The winner can choose from one of four designs and I will make it and wrap it up in time for all your gift giving needs. Value: $25

Your choices:

Top to bottom:

Holly

Mistletoe

Pine Bough (P.S. Your bird will have feet!)

Poinsettia

Winner will be notified by email on December 1st.

I love your comments and even more so I love to have a conversation with you. In order to win, you MUST have your email turned on in your profile, OR you need to put your email in your comment. I am sorry if that seems miserly to some, but I have to have a way to follow up with you! A good way to tell if you are entered is if I reply to your comment. Any comments without a way to contact you if you win are appreciated, but will not be entered.

Answer the following:

What is the best gift that you have ever received?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

 ~ Albert Schweitzer

I wouldn't be where I am today without people who believed in me. I am not unaware of this fact at other times of the year, and I do hope that people know that I appreciate them always. But this is the time of year when we turn inward and realize our blessings are abundant and then turn outward to be sure to let those in our world know this. If you are reading this, you are part of my world. You are the lighter of my inner flame. You have helped me to become the person, the artist that is within me. For this, I am most grateful.

I am celebrating this thankful time with family and friends. There will be a whole lot of turkey and mashed potatoes and candy apple salad (not sure you can call a dish that is filled with chopped up Snickers candy bars and whipped cream a 'salad,' but I won't be complaining!) and red velvet cupcakes and cheesecake and pumpkin pie consumed tomorrow. I am sure there will be some football on t.v. And hopefully the first showing of one of my favorite holiday movies, A Christmas Story. We will be working on making the house festive this weekend, including putting up our customary forest of lit trees on our front porch and painting and crafting a whole new mantlescape that I will hopefully share with you in a few days.

I know that people are starting their holiday shopping. Are you one of those shoppers who camps out or makes a plan of attack for Black Friday? Not me. I can't believe that there will be people spending time in line at stores to save a few bucks on some things, rather than spending it with those they love focusing on them. I just don't get it. I haven't even thought about making out a wish list, and I have no idea what I might be gifting to anyone. But that doesn't stop me from creating holiday themes. And I love a good online sale. So I am debuting these to you now rather than waiting until the frosty month of December rolls around. And read on for the sale.

Every year for as long as I can remember I have created an ornament. It started with my favorite project of 3rd grade made from slices of toilet paper rolls painted white and dusted with glitter, poked through with toothpicks and held together with a healthy dose of white glue. Last year I debuted my first Simple Truths ornaments. This year I am carrying on the tradition.

I like themes that stand the test of time, something I can leave up for more than just one month, and snow is the first thing I think of for winter. When I was a teacher I would wait for that first real snowfall. You could tell that it was coming because the kids would be really squirrelly the day before. They are good barometers. I would then drop the lesson plan for the day and break out the white paper and scissors and teach them all about the right way to cut a snowflake. Always with 6 sides. I would show overhead pictures of the first microscopic photographs of snow crystals. It still thrills me to see them! These Simple Truths are called "Frosted Flakes" because that is what they look like to me! They are tiny little charms that would look sweet on a simple necklace, or dangling from your ears or off a charm bracelet, but they could also be made into a sweet and dainty ornament. Since no two flakes are alike, each pair will be mismatched. That is how they are in nature, that is how they are here. The silver lacy bezels are 'Frosted Flakes - Steel' for their icy color; the brass lacy bezels are 'Frosted Flakes - Ginger' like the frosting on the roof of our traditional gingerbread house.

Frosted Flakes - Ginger

While I love the idea of snow, I really dislike being in it. I like it through the window, but not so much up close. Still, snow is very beautiful and I have quite a collection of snowfolk including handmade stockings with individual snowfolk on each of them. Each year I make a new snowfolk ornament. I don't repeat them, so that makes them collectible from year to year. This year I have created three different snowfolk. These are shown without a message, but I had originally intended to put a message on them of 'let it snow.' I can't believe I forgot. But I like them as they are. They have quite the personalities! They are available in shiny silver as shown, and in a few days I will have my new shipment of bezels in antique copper, antique brass and antique silver as well.
 

l to r
hooray for snow
it's snow, man
snow much fun

 The final ornament of 2012 is from one of my favorite childhood memories. I can recall when there were only two channels on my television and we would wait all year until the Christmas cartoon specials were on. And for those of you younger than me (considerably younger!), you might not realize that they were not run on channels ad nauseum until the Big Day. There was no such thing as the '25 Days of Christmas' cartoon countdown. You got to see them once and that was it. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (really, all of those same stop action animations) is one of the best and most iconic. I found a reindeer that is not really Rudolph looking, but I wanted to class it up. I call this 'Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?' and it is an ornate reindeer in brown and beige with a bright red Swarovski crystal nose.
 

Won't You Guide My Sleigh Tonight?

I am participating in the Artisan Whimsy Market 2012 Holiday Collection. A whole group of talented jewelry designers and art bead makers are in on the fun. For one week, there will be discounts in all their stores (45!), including mine, and plenty of giveaways, too. Over $1300 worth! Here are the participants:

If you are on Etsy you can find participating shops by typing in AWHOLIDAY to bring up listings that will link you to their shops. AWHOLIDAY is also an event wide discount, with each store offering something special from Friday, November 23-Friday, November 30th. This is our way of saying thank you for shopping handmade and for supporting the artisans and makers this holiday season.

Here are my codes good only in my Etsy Shop:

• AWHOLIDAY = 15% off your purchase (discounts do not apply to Sampler Clubs)
  OR
• FREESHIP = free shipping on all domestic and international orders

These offers will only be available from 11/22-11/30. Orders will start shipping on Monday, November 26th. And if it is a made to order item it will take a few days for me to complete. Please be patient!

I will be sharing a giveaway next week. And the Challenge of Color is coming up with the reveal date on November 30th. Would it freak you out to know that I haven't even started on mine yet? It is freaking me out a bit! But I will make it work! 

Nunn Design Innovation Team: Call for 2013

I can recall vividly the moment that I found the Nunn Design Innovation Team call last year. It was about this time of year, it was very late at night, and I was feeling like I needed some direction. Or at least some challenge. And there it was. 

We are seeking artists who love to push the envelope. Are you an innovator? A trendsetter? Do you work in varied mediums (paper, resin, polymer, epoxy, metals, fiber, and more)? If you’re a creative powerhouse who wants to work on the inside of innovation, an artisan of any medium —we want to know about you.

I remember answering those questions... yes.... yes.... yes. From there it was an easy step to click the application button and fill it out. 

{This ring design is my favorite and I am making loads of these for Christmas!}

I recall meeting Becky Nunn for the first time at the 2009 Bead & Button show. It might have been one of the first times that they were displaying there. I was smitten with the bezels in their Patera line and the way it was combined with these waterslide transfers and filled with a fast setting Gel du Soleil resin. I was hooked! As I am wont to do, I immediately bought all that I could get my hands on from them. From there it was easy to set up my wholesale account and start buying in bulk. 

What I love about the components from Nunn Designs are the quality of them. I was never one to use precious metals in my work, so it never bothered me when the price of sterling rose through the roof. I love to mix metals and I love to find innovative ways to use materials that are presented to me.

Imagine my surprise when Becky called me the next day after receiving my application. She was happy that I had applied, and I was stunned that not only did she know who I was, but she would actually call me herself! Since this was the first time that she was doing a design team, she was very interested in my prior experience working on teams from small artisan bead maker teams to larger more corporate entities. I was impressed that she would ask for my opinion. I remember leaving the conversation filled with a great deal of respect of Miss Becky and her company.

The designers that were chosen for the 2012 Nunn Design Innovation Team are quite an incredible group. Please be sure to go and check them out!

Sharon Borsavage

Stephanie Gard Buss

Karen McGovern

Rochelle Nation

I feel very honored to have had a place at the table with them. They have really pushed the creative limits and shown me some marvelous ideas for using the products. I love what they have done with mixed metals and especially mixed media. There is an elegance and a playfulness in all that has been created from the team this year.

{Aren't these shield shapes awesome? I am thinking up ways to incorporate these into my Simple Truths for the spring.}

I met Miss Stephanie and Miss Rochelle at the Bead & Button Show this year while having dinner with Miss Becky and her friend and fellow designer Miss Donna Musarra. It was such a treat and a real highlight of my time there. Actually, it was a hoot! There was a lot of laughter at that table. At that time we were introduced to the new fall line of shield shaped bezels, religious medallions and various chains including my new favorite the rhinestone cup chain. The next day I even bumped into Miss Stephanie again at my new favorite gemstone vendor's booth and it seems that we share a love of sparkly rough faceted stones!

{Glitter filled glass tube pendant with waterslide decals of mermaids on the outside covered in a thin layer of resin, like a water globe. I had to really experiment with this one and I am so happy with the way it turned out!}

Over the course of the year, I received several boxes of treasures from Nunn Design. Each new thing has sparked new ideas and Becky gave me the push to try new-to-me techniques. I played around with polymer clay stained with inks and layered with decals. I stamped the metal blanks and mixed my metals. I experienced the versatility of Crystal Clay and new ways with resin. In short, it was a great experience.

{Crystal Clay embedded in a channel tube bead, set with a piece of filigree and dusted with micro glitter. See the tutorial here.}

With each new release, we’ll send you a Goody Box of secret treasures ready for you to play and experiment with. Then you’ll send us a minimum of two finished pieces of jewelry made from these secret treasures. With your pieces, you’ll include detailed, written instructions on how each was created (including a list of any tools and supplies that were used). And you’ll promote Nunn Design through your preferred social media pathways.

When I first started my Simple Truths line of polymer clay pendants, I started with the Nunn Patera findings, and still use them for some of my designs. They are such a nice quality plating and I appreciate the very unique shapes. I specifically appreciate the double sided ones. They were the start of all my Simple Truths messages.

My favorites are the toggle clasps,


the tiny squares and circles,


and the large tube bead channels.

They were the foundation for my success at the start of my own line of pendants and they still form a strong supporting role in my Simple Truths line.
 
I love the quality and heft of the chain, particularly the textured oval link chain. Having open links in a chain is very important to me so I don't waste the chain with cuts. I also love the new rhinestone chain in various sizes and metals. Copper has always been a signature color for me, and I love that it comes in this finish.

I use a lot of the Nunn branch connectors in my work. I like the way they add a subtle texture. Little leafy toggles and connectors, as well as the array of cute bead caps is always a nice staple to have at my disposal since I tend to do a lot of things that are nature-inspired.

So.....what are you doing for 2013? Are you looking to challenge yourself, push your creative boundaries and try new things? What are you waiting for? 

Become a part of the inner circle.
Become an architect of innovation.
Become a source of inspiration.

The Nunn Design Innovation Team

Innovate. Create. Inspire.

If you are ready to play a part in the Nunn Design Innovation Team for 2013, click here for more details.

Today I am honored to be featured on the Nunn Design blog.
Such nice things that Miss Becky has to say about me, I am most certainly blushing! ;-)

Thank you to Miss Becky, the whole Nunn Design crew, and especially my fellow Nunn Design Innovation Team members for inspiring me in 2012. I am truly honored to collaborate and support all of you and I look forward to the innovation that the 2013 team will bring.