When the team at Art Jewelry Elements announced “art headpins” as the challenge theme for August I was fairly certain I would join in. But I did wait a few weeks before signing up, because I wanted to be sure I would actually have some headpins to show on reveal day. The challenge is to create art headpins in any medium, or use art headpins in jewelry designs. Continue reading
We’re All Ears Earring Challenge: Campfires
Campfire. Photo credit : Luke Porter | Unsplash
The theme for this month’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was campfires. I haven’t been camping in a very long time. My family took quite a few camping trips when I was growing up. My favorites trips were the ones near alpine lakes and meadows. I love the smell of pine forest covered in morning dew. Of course, I also love the smell of smoldering mesquite wood, which is what we used to build our fires when camping in riverine canyons. Continue reading
We’re All Ears Earring Challenge: Hot Air Balloons
Earrings inspired by hot air balloons.
The inspiration for this month’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was hot air balloons. Our hostess shared photos of brightly colored contraptions against beautiful blue skies. Was my earring design inspired by all that color? Continue reading
Art Jewelry Elements Summertime Design Challenge
The song of cicadas is a fond summertime memory.
The Art Jewelry Elements team chose ‘Summertime’ as the theme for their June design challenge. I signed up to participate, even as I was thinking “How I am going to get inspired by my least favorite season?” Initially I planned to design jewelry that represented what first comes to my mind when I think of summer. But how would I translate “sweltering” into jewelry? Continue reading
We’re All Ears Design Challenge: Strawberries
Strawberry-inspired earrings.
This month on the We’re All Ears earring design challenge, the inspiration is all about strawberries. Summer is the season for berries and melons. Unlike me, they seem to thrive in the heat. They’re also the perfect thing to eat when it’s too hot to even think about cooking. Continue reading
Does Crafting Count as Exercising?
Last month I joined the FitBit Nation when I received a lovely turquoise blue FitBit Charge for my birthday. I was not in the market for a FitBit for many reasons, not the least of which is I tend to run the opposite direction from any fad or trend. If “everyone” is rushing to get one, it’s the last thing I want. I think that makes me what the technology industry calls a “late adopter.” Continue reading
We’re All Ears Design Challenge: Ferns
Some ferny components
The inspiration for April’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was images of fiddlehead ferns. There are many design elements to choose from in the images, from the spiral shapes of the coiled fiddleheads to the feathery unfurled green leaves.
I’ve had fiddlehead ferns in salads and stir fry when I lived in Alaska. They’re quite tasty. I’ve looked for them in the produce section of my local Whole Foods here in the Mid Atlantic and have not seen them. Maybe I need to visit an actual farmer’s market for something so exotic? Continue reading
Art Jewelry Elements Design Challenge: Eye Love Beads
I’m so glad the Art Jewelry Elements design team is continuing the open challenges this year. I had a great time with the themes last years challenges. And the theme they chose to kick off 2016 is another fun one: Eye Love Beads. As in, jewelry with eyes.
No, not actual eyes. That would be a little too Silence of the Lambs. Rather, the challenge is to design a piece of jewelry, an art bead, or a component with eye symbolism. I had been hoarding an “evil eye” component and this was a perfect opportunity to set it free from my stash. Continue reading
We’re All Ears Design Challenge: Arabesque
Arabesque-inspired dangle earrings.
The inspiration for the We’re All Ears earring design challenge this month was arabesque architecture. Our hostess shared photos of the elaborate ceiling designs and precise geometric structures in a variety of mosques.
The colors and repeating shapes within shapes were mesmerizing. At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to interpret that for earrings. Should I focus on the geometric shapes? The colors? The patterns? Continue reading
Etsy Shop Redesign
Apparently, changes are coming to the way shops look on Etsy. When I logged in this afternoon I saw this bright orange invitation to preview how my shop will look come April 5. I haven’t kept up with the Etsy forums so this was the first I knew of these changes. I have a few weeks to make updates before the changes go live.
This bright orange box showed up at the top of my shop home page. The way my Etsy shop looks is about to change. Again.