Is The Babysitter Here Yet?

Gemstone and Metal Blog Hop

•July 19, 2014 • 21 Comments

Before we get to today’s blog hop, I have a declaration…I WILL set up for better pictures next time…and every time. It never fails…they look so sharp, but then when I import them, they are a mess. With time running out on this hop, there wasn’t any time to re-do. I should have done it correctly the first place. Of all the spaces in my house, the one I dont have is a place to leave up a light box. Well…NO MORE. I am going to find the space. Rant over, I now bring you back to today’s scheduled post, ENJOY:

I LOVE Lisa from Pine Ridge Treasures Blog Hops!

July’s hop was really fun. I had been wanting to make this style necklace for a while, and when Lisa sent me these cool red aventurine beads and brass pieces, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

I had some large loop brass chain and it became the perfect backdrop…the dagger beads were a little more difficult to figure out. Here, I strung them with the brass nugget beads and some chain. The necklace is long and able to easily fit over the head. It would come with the second clasp that is a double sided loop to allow for it to be shortened by the wearer or removed and worn long.

Be sure to leave a comment on what you thought, and don’t forget to visit all of the wonderful other artists in this fun blog hop!

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out (you are here)

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Big Margaret

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware (May be delayed a few days)

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Cassi Renee Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things (May be delayed a few days)

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Judy Campbell, Macmillanmarie Jewellery Design

Nan Smith, Handmade Jewelry Nanmade

Marde Lowe, FanciMarDesigns

Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board

Leithleach Alainn Seodra, Alainn Jewelry

Lisa E. Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs
Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

Posted in Uncategorized

Ocean Blog Hop

•May 30, 2014 • 19 Comments

As I sit down to write this, I am awed over a few things tonight. The first is that I cannot believe that it is the end of May already, the second is that it seems to rain every time I try to sit on my deck in front of the fire, and the last is how great a wonderful night with my family actually is. I digress…the Blog Hop that I am participating in from Lisa at A Grateful Artist – Pine Ridge Treasures is Ocean themed. This isn’t my first Hop with Lisa, but I am still in awe of her creativity and organization to get all of the ideas for these Hops as well as the organization! Hats off. 🙂

To recap, I received a few pieces of sea glass, some beads and some cute silver colored findings from Lisa a little while ago. The theme of this Hop was Ocean. And these beautiful monotones of blue can really put you on the beach! I loved the fact that there were differing shades and tones of blue. From a translucent blue-green of the sea glass to a deep ocean water blue of some of the beads. I was set!

Until I sat down to create something. Then I don’t know what happened. I lost all of the spark. So I did what anyone would do in the face of no inspiration, a pressing deadline and no time to work…I procrastinated some more and started looking at Pintrest. I am a sucker for Pintrest…but searching for “Ocean” helped…a little. So I decided to go to my table and start playing with clay. Nothing can make you fee better than some time playing with clay. that is until you get a brick that is completely dry, then I just want to scream.

A little while later I had this set:

Not a bad start…next came this set:

Now we are getting somewhere…so over time they became

I really like the idea of an asymmetrical necklace with the clasp as a focal piece. In each of the pieces for this hop, that is what I was going for. So although in these 2 necklaces, I have used the sea glass and 1 set of the beads, there was still a ton more that Lisa had sent. I have toyed with a multi-strand seed bead necklace for years. They are so labor intensive that I typically lose interest long before they are finished. This time, I decided it would be a bracelet instead. Yup…that didn’t happen. Oh well.. One of these days I am going to make that. For now, I am in love with this mock multistrand necklace using the silver colored pieces in the kit:

3 pieces and I still had a ton of other beads. This is where time and ideas has left me

As from a previous post, I love the look of netted cord. Those beautiful large clear crystal beads were just screaming to be framed. The pictures do not do these crystals proud. They are stunning. I am thinking a series of 3 bracelets. Just have to finish the clasps and assemble all of the parts. They should be stunning!

Thank you for taking some time on your Saturday morning (or whenever you have visited :)) and I hope you enjoyed these pieces. Please check out all of the exceptional work from the other artists below!

Sincerely,

Katrina

Ocean Blog Hop May 31^st Reveal:

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out (You Are Here!)

Mary Ann Macri Jacobs, Trucksville Crafts

Jeanne Steck, Gems by Jeanne Marie

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech’s Ocean Blog

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

The beautiful cultured seaglass for this hop is from ZnetShows. Check out their awesome selection! ZnetShows Cultured Seaglass

Posted in Jewelry
Tags: a grateful artist, beads, bracelet, fish, glass, jewelry, lisa lodge, necklace, ocean, pine ridge treasures, sea

Ocean Hop Teaser and a Big Thank You!

•May 18, 2014 • 5 Comments

This post is WAY overdue. During the clay bead blog hop hosted by Lisa Lodge at A Grateful Artist-Pine Ridge Treasures, I was fortunate to win a prize (yea!). She sent me the most wonderful mix of beads.

A HUGE thank you to Lisa, not only for this wonderful set of beads, but for organizing the most fun blog hops. On deck: Ocean Blog Hop. This hop takes ocean inspired theme and blows it out of the water. Here is a preview of the beads that I will be working with…

Don’t they just remind you of the water? Come back on May 31st and see what the final results will be. Having fun creating all of the wonderful pieces now; see you soon!

Posted in Jewelry
Tags: beads, fish, glass, jewelry, lisa lodge, necklace, ocean, pine ridge, sea, thanks

Bead Soup…Reveal

•May 10, 2014 • 59 Comments

So the day is finally here. This has by far been one of my favorite art experiences. So to recap, Lori at Pretty Things once a year for the past 8 years has matched bead artists in an ultimate bead swap. This year, there were around 500 people from across the globe that participated. What a lot of work for Lori to arrange! Wow! This is my first year to participate, and if she has it next year, I cannot wait!

This year, I was paired with a wonderful artist and woman, Kay (KayzKreationz). Kay lives in Texas with her family and creates unique pieces with glass. I am in love with her bead pot charms. Aren’t these adorable?

Kay and I have a ton of things in common; not only do we both work with animals (she is a wildlife manager), we are both love to work with copper, silver and glass. As she is from Texas, she sent me a wonderful soup with a definitively Texas theme…I couldn’t let her down, so I made a set that I thought would be worthy of all the cowgirls in Texas…I hope she agrees…If you do too, you can purchase the pieces here (KatrinaTaylorJewelry at etsy).

To recap, here is the before:

Lava beads, jasper beads, hand crafted copper components and flame patina toggle clasp, suede cord and an orange bandana (not shown…check out Kay’s blog for a great pic though)

I knew immediately when I saw the components the base for this piece. Well, that is easy to say now…anyway, I knew it had to be a chunky copper necklace. from there…it took shape. The colors are very earth tone and I would say a split complementary (throwing the orange in). This is one thing where Kay and I differ, where I am in LOVE with blues, she HATES it…For her, I didn’t add any blue…well the blue green she sent doesn’t count! hehe

Well enough stalling; here is my first finished piece (click on the photos for a larger version):

Something was missing. I starred at that suede cord…although I picked up the color in the enameled beads that I made, I didn’t use the cord. As I used everything else, this wasn’t sitting well. Although I wasn’t required to use it; as per the rules I needed to use the focal and the clasp, I found a way to incorporate the bandana…but not a suede cord…that wasn’t making me happy. So I turned to my stash…and guess what…I had some jasper beads I recently purchased and the earrings took off…

(Is it me, or did you just notice that I didn’t create mirror image earrings…that will change before I post them. Ugg…)

Bead Soup Finished 4

But a girl wants options…so I turned to my other love, clay and my newest obsession, resin…the rest is history…

Thanks for coming by and I hope you like the finished jewelry pieces. I have to say a sincere and heartfelt thanks to Kay! and of course to Lori for having the patience to pull all of this together. As the list of participants is HUGE, here is a link to the master list:

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

I encourage to jump around and go to all of the other bloggers, and if nothing else, please visit my new beading buddy Kay!

http://www.kayzkreationz.blogspot.com/

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: bead soup, blog hop, clay, craft, earrings, hobby, humor, jasper beads, jewelry, KayzKreations, lava rock, necklace, polymer clay, Texas, torch enamel

Do Over Chalenge: Reveal

•April 19, 2014 • 15 Comments

Jeannie at Whee! The People has this totally cool blog hop challenge…”Do Over”. After signing up, she sends out a piece that she had created in the past and the challenge is to reinvent the piece. You can receive a necklace or bracelet. Being me…I signed up for 2! One is never enough…of anything!

1 necklace:

And 1 bracelet:

It hurt (literally…I stabbed my finger with the wire and it was sore for 3 days, ugg), but I tore them apart. I was left with the components.

Looking at these components, I was stumped for a bit. Sometimes it is hard to not see what it came from instead of where is it going. After deciding that I tend to love and gravitate toward silver, I decided to take that out of the picture and relook at the components. And then it came to me.

The necklace:

One of the biggest restraints I placed on myself for this challenge was to NOT buy anything to complete the makeovers. For me…that is HUGE! The pearls had such a delicate look to them along with the smokey labradorite reminded me of a delicate chunky (love the dichotomy of those statements) necklace with a satin/silk band. So I went to my piles and pulled everything that went together. Ok…maybe not everything! Redo 5

And so the necklace was created. I love the way it turned out.

Redo 4

So then I turned to the bracelet…green glass pearls in a color I don’t have a bunch of…and that seemingly go better with gold…which again I don’t have much of. Man I love a challenge. I resisted the urge to go Christmasy…That was tough…then I remembered a wood chip pendant I purchased not too long ago. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do. With a little bead embroidery, some polymer clay fun (although the resin is still not the funnest thing to do…I can not stand to wait for it to dry!). Pulled it all together and I am in love:

Redo 7 Redo 10

To say I am excited for the next challenge is an understatement! This was so much fun. Come join me next time, but for this round, please check out all of the other talented artists on their blogs found at Whee! The People! and all of the links below.

Interested in either of these pieces, find them at my Etsy Shop

Challenge participants:

Katrina Taylor (You’re Here)

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: blog hop, Do Over Challenge, Jeannie Dukic, jewelry, Wee! the people

Bead Soup Teaser…Part 2

•March 19, 2014 • 2 Comments

Yea…I received a wonderful package from Kay at KayzKreationz, my Bead Soup Blog Hop partner. She is from the great state of Texas. Here is the Texas themed soup that she sent:

Isn’t it awesome!I can’t wait to get started. I have a great idea for a chain to go with Kay’s wonderful clasp.

Here is the soup that I sent to her:

Natural stone focal bead, Czech glass beads and pearls, Swarovski butterfly, copper and brass components (clasp, beads and chain) and amethyst chips.

Can’t wait to see both final designs. Check back May 3rd for the final reveal!

Pretty Things - Bead Soup Blog Party

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies

Bead Soup Blog Hop Teaser

•March 8, 2014 • 1 Comment

Winter…Funk…

I have been in a winter funk. I have been to work and home and the couch. Much more than that and I would cringe. Spring is starting…it is finally warm enough outside to start to move. Great timing. Lori at Pretty Things Blog is amazing. For the last 7 years, she has been linking up beaders of all kinds to swap some beautiful beads, and forcing people to create, sometimes outside their comfort zone, allowing people to really push their creativity! I was fortunate enough to get in on the sign up this year. And I waited anxiously for my partner.

I was lucky enough to be paired with Kay at KayzKreationz. Not only does she spend her time caring for wild animals, she is also a great artist. She creates come awesome wind chimes and other creations with slumped glass bottles. Very cool…Check out her work!

So I couldn’t wait to sit with my stash of beads and put a soup together for her. The criteria is a focal, various coordinating beads, and a clasp (not a lobster) of beads that you would be pleased to give your best friend. Sounds pretty easy…well…it wasn’t. I started with one focal, then starting picking beads, and then went in a whole different direction which led to a change in the focal and ultimately the soup looks nothing like I started with. the coolest part it is helped to get me thinking about creating again! That makes me excited. So here is a little teaser, check back May 3rd for the big reveal!

Pretty Things - Bead Soup Blog Party

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: bead soup, beads, blog, humor, jewelry

I Love Clay Blog Hop Fun

•December 7, 2013 • 11 Comments

Lisa at A Grateful Artist – Pine Ridge Treasures hosted the “I Love Clay Blog Hop”. I was so excited to get in on the tail end of this fun hop. A few days after signing up, I received these wonderfully adorable clay beads from Lisa.

Then I spent the next weeks staring at them. Funny thing about not picking out a piece is that inspiration doesn’t always spring into the mix. Although I loved the focal, man I was stumped. So I dug out my seed beads, and then it hit me. I had these pink beads from a bracelet that I made for a friend a few years ago, and some blue beads I had for a holiday project. And I was hooked.

I know, another bead stitching project…well, it didn’t start out that way, but I didn’t have much time to play with metal settings and making chains, so another beading project it was. Wonderful part about beads, I can do it anywhere. That is why I find it so much fun. Like the crochet I used to do in college (and yes, in class…much to the chagrin of my classmates, although I did ask the professors first, and I was passing without problems. Funny thing about vet students is that they can be very picky about their learning environments.) I digress. I can take a beading project to my chair and watch tv with my husband and continue to work. Can’t do that with metal.

So here are the finished projects. I did break apart the beads into 2 projects, with different feels. This started off as a blog about the most fun pair of earrings I had made. It turned out to then be one of the most frustrating pair of earrings I have made and I have a 20g sized hole in my finger to prove it.

I really hope you enjoy these projects. If so, they are available at my etsy store: katrinataylorjewelry.etsy.com.

Check out the wonderful other participants in this really cool Blog Hop. Hope you have fun! I know I have.

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper’s Gems

Dolores Raml, Crafty D’s Creations

Therese Frank, Therese’s Treasures

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Mowse Doyle, Mowse Made This

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Kelli Nelson, Zenith Jade Creations

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Candida Castleberry, Sugar Spun Beadworks

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: a grateful artist, beads, blog hop, clay beads, crochet, jewelry, lisa lodge, seed beads

4th Annual Challenge of Color: Reveal

•December 2, 2013 • 23 Comments

Erin at “Treasures Found” on November 4th issued the 4th annual Challenge of Color. This year we could choose a preexisting color palate from Colorlovers.com or to create another one with circular name logic. Loving a challenge…I opted for the later. Here is my palate:

I named it “King of Thrones” based on the color’s names:

grey dragon’s kitche

Kitch kitchen

Kitchen wall

walled in

filling in the greys

This project came together in phases. I wanted to make something for my Aunt for her birthday, looking at the palate I created fit in with her birthstone, so the next logical step was to use this project for the challenge. I started with a necklace:

I had a beautiful citrine druzy. This was the focal point of the pendant. Even though it was a bead, I wanted to embroider around it. In trying to figure out how to bead in the hole, I broke it off…figures…so I improvised. After starring at it for an hour, all I could see was the rising sun. Inspiration is born for the piece (in progress…).

Add some fringe and place with the necklace:

Yikes! Something isn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I threw another project I was working on on my table. Then it all came together:

Leave me a comment, let me know what you think. Did I get it right, or should I have kept it with the citrine and turquoise necklace?

Love it? It and others are still available at my Etsy store. Happy shopping. Free shipping from now until 12/25/2013 with the code “BLOGHOP”.

Check out all of the other great entries at Treasures Found.

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: blog hop, brass, citrine, color, hobby, jewelry, kumihimo, miyuki, necklace, seed beads

The Art Bead Scene November Challenge

•November 29, 2013 • 2 Comments

On this Black Friday morning, I want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the men and women who spent Thanksgiving working to support and defend our country. We cannot thank you enough.

The November challenge for Art Bead Scene was this painting by Paul Cézanne, titled: Basket of Apples. You can read more about the painting here. Click the photo for the original post with the color blocking at Art Bead Scene.

It was an interesting painting for me to interpret. It didn’t really speak to me. The positioning of the fruit and the color pallet however, I love. Something about the off balance of the table and the fruit, the tilt to the wine bottle and how neatly the cookies are stacked in the corner gives the looker a sense of off balance. I am unnerved as I look at the painting. Like I want to reach out to catch the fruit. So how does that translate…well for me not literally. Here is the final piece…

I liked the idea of a slightly off kilter piece with the feeling of free fall. These were hollow polymer clay beads that I constructed using a mokume gane technique and a flower background stamp. The bicone bead was a mixture of the clay used in the layers of the other 2 beads. Here is a close-up.

Hope you enjoy! Come back on Monday for the Treasures Found 4th Annual Challenge of Color Blog Hop.

Hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for so many things and none so much as my family and friends. You all are a close 3rd! Have a wonderful weekend!

Check out the other awesome entries at Art Bead Scene.

Posted in Jewelry, Other Hobbies
Tags: Art Bead Scene November Challenge, art beads, Cezanne, craft, hobbies, mokume gane, necklace, polymer clay, Thanksgiving

Is The Babysitter Here Yet?

Gemstone and Metal Blog Hop

Ocean Blog Hop

Ocean Hop Teaser and a Big Thank You!

Bead Soup…Reveal

Do Over Chalenge: Reveal

Bead Soup Teaser…Part 2

Bead Soup Blog Hop Teaser

I Love Clay Blog Hop Fun

Lisa at A Grateful Artist – Pine Ridge Treasures hosted the “I Love Clay Blog Hop”. I was so excited to get in on the tail end of this fun hop. A few days after signing up, I received these wonderfully adorable clay beads from Lisa.

I really hope you enjoy these projects. If so, they are available at my etsy store: katrinataylorjewelry.etsy.com.

Check out the wonderful other participants in this really cool Blog Hop. Hope you have fun! I know I have.

4th Annual Challenge of Color: Reveal

The Art Bead Scene November Challenge

On this Black Friday morning, I want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the men and women who spent Thanksgiving working to support and defend our country. We cannot thank you enough.

The November challenge for Art Bead Scene was this painting by Paul Cézanne, titled: Basket of Apples. You can read more about the painting here. Click the photo for the original post with the color blocking at Art Bead Scene.

I liked the idea of a slightly off kilter piece with the feeling of free fall. These were hollow polymer clay beads that I constructed using a mokume gane technique and a flower background stamp. The bicone bead was a mixture of the clay used in the layers of the other 2 beads. Here is a close-up.

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Lisa at A Grateful Artist – Pine Ridge Treasures hosted the “I Love Clay Blog Hop”. I was so excited to get in on the tail end of this fun hop. A few days after signing up, I received these wonderfully adorable clay beads from Lisa.

I really hope you enjoy these projects. If so, they are available at my etsy store: katrinataylorjewelry.etsy.com.

Check out the wonderful other participants in this really cool Blog Hop. Hope you have fun! I know I have.

Share this:

Share this:

On this Black Friday morning, I want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the men and women who spent Thanksgiving working to support and defend our country. We cannot thank you enough.

The November challenge for Art Bead Scene was this painting by Paul Cézanne, titled: Basket of Apples. You can read more about the painting here. Click the photo for the original post with the color blocking at Art Bead Scene.

I liked the idea of a slightly off kilter piece with the feeling of free fall. These were hollow polymer clay beads that I constructed using a mokume gane technique and a flower background stamp. The bicone bead was a mixture of the clay used in the layers of the other 2 beads. Here is a close-up.

Share this:

Email Subscription

Archives

RSS

About this site

Art Supplies

Facebook Groups

Other Awesome Blogs

Restaurants and Recipes