Spring Flowers are Blooming at Blue Morning Expressions

Volume 9 Issue 5, May 2012

What's New in May?

While I sit here writing this, we are seeing a late April snowstorm of sorts. The snow is definitely falling, but the green grass is showing through and all this new snow will quickly melt, leaving all the colors bright and cheerful.

I saw a beautiful pot of blooming daffodils the other day and thought, what bright pretty yellow flowers. The lilacs are starting to bud and the mountain flowers have not quite peeked their heads up yet, but when they do, I will be up in the meadows taking photos.

As I wait for the mountain meadows to bloom, here are my flowers that are blooming around my work bench. New flower canes are showing up in my beads and new jewelry.

ChaCha Bracelets— New and fun bracelets. I have been wanting to learn how to make these bracelets and they were the perfect place for my 10mm polymer clay beads. I have one bracelet done and lots more on the project board. I need to make lots of new beads.

As always, thank you for all your support and emails.

www.bluemorningexpressions.com

Until next month,

Julie & Blu

 

New Products:

New Beads—Here is a new series of beads that I am starting and have a few created. I decided to create separate listings for the same beads that I use to create some of my novelty jewelry that is extremely popular. These are the beads that I have been using for years and have decided to give everyone else the chance to use them to create their own jewelry.

 

Baseball Time again!!

Here are the baseball earrings that you need to go out to the ballpark!

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The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain

But, if you are to believe oceanographer, Dr. Jeffrey Nytuen, the rain that falls from the heavens is the fundamental component that makes up our climate. It is said to affect the heat, momentum, water and gas exchange between the oceans and the atmosphere.

Dr. Nytuen listens to the rain as it falls on the ocean by using microphones that can pick up two different sounds. The slapping of the rain on the surface and then a pinging sound as the bubble created from the raindrop as the air is trapped under the surface pops.

The scientific community is very interested in rain, including distribution and intensity as rain releases energy into the air. This energy drives our climates and when how rain falls is understood, metrological predictions are easier to make.

The rain falls mainly on the plain, but the rain that falls in the ocean is the most sought out information from climatologists because ocean rainfall can create the most significant changes in the global climate.

Now that I have bored you to tears – which is another form of rain – I want you to see these gorgeous oceanic creations from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Artfire.  April showers bring more than May flowers.

Blue Ocean Pendant Sand and Surf Necklace

Desert Wind Designs
From the designer:
Blue pendant is handcrafted from polymer clay; no mold used. Necklace features blue and beige polymer clay beads that are evocative of sand and surf. Strung on natural colored waxed cotton beading cord and accented with seed beads.

Cocktail Ring UNDER THE WATER Polymer Clay and Resin

Grays Crafts
From the designer:
"Under the Water" Cocktail Ring from the "Precious Little Things" Collection
The ultimate gift. Get it for someone very special. Or for yourself.
Unique original HANDMADE design. Gold, silver, and blue combine to make this statement highly fashionable cocktail ring.
Make a splash with this awesome aquatic design!

Ethereal Art Pendant Necklace Teal Blue Polymer Clay and Glass Beads

Ecclectic Ladyland
From the designer:
This teal blue polymer clay art pendant has a shimmery piece of shell embedded in it, surrounded by an ethereal design. What do you see in it? Bubbles, tendrils, sea spray? I made this one-of-a-kind necklace using gradient shades of pearl clay in custom colors that I dyed myself. Warm and cool blues and greens with silver compliment the shiny piece of mother of pearl. Everyone sees something different when they look at this piece, as it should be, but all agree that it's beautiful.

Lifes a Beach

Mortimer Inc.
From the designer:
Life's a Beach pin. There's nothing like lounging on a chaise on the beach, under a palm tree, and contemplating the wonder of the ocean. And there's no better place to do that than in Jamaica. So here I am with my big pink hat and Jamaican flag towel. The pin is made with polymer clay. The beach section is transparent clay mixed with sand taken from Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica.
Enjoy!
Julie and Blu

The Death of a Necklace

This post is more about buying the right materials rather than the demise of one of my necklaces that I so painstakingly beaded.

It all started with a handful of newly minted polymer clay beads in caramels and winter blues and whites. Each bead was given an eyepin that I cut and created by hand using a headpin. This in itself is a time consuming task, especially when there are so many beads and I am trying to execute a move that I am not that familiar with. By the time I cut and created eyepins for all the polymer clay beads, Czech druk beads and the Swarovski bicone crystals, I was rather proficient in eyepin creation. If nothing else, I learned a new skill.
Here is where it went wrong.

I did not give that much thought to the chain that I wanted to use in my necklace and I wanted to create a bib style beaded necklace using all these beads. The chain was large enough to accommodate all the beads I wanted to put on it, it just was not strong enough.





I really liked the necklace and was pleased with the fact that I did get it all wrapped up and managed to learn how to create an eyepin that I could attach to a chain. The problems started as I was attaching all the beads. In order to get the look I wanted, I needed to fill up the links with all the different beads.I also needed to bead around the links to get a fullness for the necklace.

The links were too weak and began to break apart under the stress of the weight of the beads. These are not heavy beads, but they were too heavy and I was stressing the links too much by trying to add more beads to each one. Even by adding them one by one and carefully, it was too much. I tried to reinforce the links that had the beads on them by wiring them with additional wires throughout the beaded area. It must have worked, because as the links began to seriously fail, the wires held the piece in place.

This was never going to be a piece that I was going to put in my store. It was going to need to be completely redone before I could add it to my studio.

So, it sat on my bead board for the last three months.

The first thing I did was look for SOLDERED curb chain and Holly of Royal Metals got me set up with a 100 foot spool of soldered silver chain.

The new chain is perfect for some bracelets, but I did not get large enough links for my necklace. I could either see if Holly could get me another piece of chain for the necklace and I start over, or I could stare at it awhile.

I stared at it for awhile.

Everyday, it sat here and looked at me while I worked on so many other things and completely rebuilt a website. It just sat here staring back at me.

I have a list of things I would like to try and on that list was chacha bracelets. I think they are cool and I love the idea of packing them full of my beads and anything else I can think of to make them move. I am part of an Artfire Guild that makes bulk purchases at a supply store and since the prices were right and I had the need to spend money but did not really need anything, I bought three chacha bracelets.

Guess where the beads all went.

While one project failed, another one was born and this new project was the right project for all those wonderful and fun beads that I had worked hard to add eyepins.


I really like this bracelet and I am even more pleased that I was able to put the beads in the right piece of jewelry and they are no longer staring at me every day. Unless, I am wearing them, because this is a fun, lightweight and comfortable bracelet to wear.

Moral of the story is, buy the right materials to start with and you will not need to spend all your time trying to fix a bad design. Happy beads make a happy beader.

I learned to make eyepins, I got to do two designs that I really wanted to try and I was able to purchase chain for future bracelets. Never mind, that I got my share of opening and closing eyepin experience. :)

Julie and Blu

Blu Print – Blue Morning Expressions Newsletter April, 2012

Volume 9 Issue 4, April, 2012

What's New in April?

The flowers are beginning to struggle their way to the surface as the snows are melting across many of the northern states, while the southern states begin to see bright colored blooms explode in gardens.

The flowers are in bloom at Blue Morning Expressions as well. We are looking at using a lot of new and different canes in our beads and revisiting a lot of the older canes that we have had in storage. This revisit is giving new life to our beads.

We have been working on bangle bracelets and shank buttons with these new flowers and hummingbirds. Butterflies are flitting across beads and buttons.

Bangle Bracelets— I have a dozen of these really cool brass bangle bracelets that are just waiting for me to add lots of clay flowers and hummingbirds to them. I managed to get a couple done, but I have SO many more ideas, flower canes and other goodies that I am overwhelmed with the project. It is a good kind of overwhelmed.

As always, thank you for all your support and emails.

www.bluemorningexpressions.com

Until next month,

Julie & Blu

New Products:

New Beads—Here is a new series of beads that I am starting and have a few created. I decided to create separate listings for the same beads that I use to create some of my novelty jewelry that is extremely popular. These are the beads that I have been using for years and have decided to give everyone else the chance to use them to create their own jewelry.

I Believe in Pink

“I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and... I believe in miracles”, - Audrey Hepburn.

Like Ms. Hepburn, I, too, believe in pink. It is not as bold as red, not as royal as purple, but a subtle color that indicates something is feminine, yet strong.
Pink ballet slippers and tutus, pink heart shaped candy at Valentine’s Day, pink lemonade and ice cubes, the pink ribbon of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and of course, Victoria’s little secret. Pink says a lot about our how we are feeling on the day we wear pink or create something in pink.
When I create in pink, I am feeling like a girly girl, which is the farthest thing from who I am in my jeans and sweatshirt. But, inside I am feeling “pretty, oh, so, pretty”, as the song goes. And silly as it seems, pink is a soothing color.
The following clay artists are expressing their pink sides with these creations and each artist has interpreted pink in a visually different and exciting way.
I love the drama of this visually interesting and entertaining flower pendant titled “Fairy Flower” by KaelMijoy. She captures us with the movement of the spirals and as we are drawn in, the checks and squares stop us in our tracks. Once our vision has cleared, we continue on into the satisfying conclusion that is a spiral center and our eyes end at the finishing dot.

After the pleasant and sweet pinks of the Fairy Flower, we are taken to the dramatic side of pink in this magnificent dragonfly pendant by Kathryn Designs. The addition of gold and copper lend this pendant a deep red-pink color, which adds royalty and drama to this piece. The entire necklace is stunning and regal.


Again, metal leaf was a key part of a design when SecondSisteratMoArkJewelry combined her metal leaf with inks that resulted in a coral pink Monet inspired pendant. This color is appealing and for the adult woman. It reminds me of some of the hats that Jackie Kennedy used to wear. She was able to pull off a coral color with her dark good looks.

A very classic look for Jackie.This photo looks like the color palette used for that Monet pendant.

EcclecticLadyland is my final choice for my pink expressions today. This particular polymer clay piece reaches up into our cosmos for inspiration and brings back some of the colors that you may see in a nebula. My favorite images are those the Hubble telescope has brought us and I love to look at the big sky and try and see the end.
Stars and Asteroids must have been inspired by the star cluster Pismis 24 that Hubble captured.

Like a cosmic chandelier, the dazzling lights of the star cluster Pismis 24 hang over the dusty clouds of NGC 6357, a nebula about 8,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius.
I believe in pink.
Julie and Blu

Buds, Blossoms and Baby Birds

Think spring my little clayers!
Spring is peeking its head up around the country and if you have been cloaked in a cold and white winter, those little signs that spring is coming are a welcome change. Just as buds begin to open up, tiny petals begin their push up from the frozen ground.
The clay artists of the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Artfire know how to make spring sing.
Rejoice in the signs of spring like this dancing fairy from Creative Critters. Fairies are the first to know when spring is on the way, so we have to assume that she knows something that we cannot see yet. She knows where all the new shoots are hiding. 



Like dancing fairies, birds know when spring is right around the corner and they get busy building nests and collecting items to tuck away for their brides to be. The constant singing in the spring from the mockingbird goes on day and night during a full moon. While noisy, it does signal a very happy bird.
Bluebird males show the females the prospective nesting sites even though the ultimate decision belongs to her. Sound familiar?
These two little bluebirds are whimsical and appear to be speaking to each other about a nesting decision. Rather reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, these perched birds are certainly a sign of spring in the mountains. Amy Crawley has captured the bluebird in a most amusing way.

During the winter, I get to keep the hummers on my back porch as they ravage my honeysuckle vine, while my folks mope about in Illinois as a frozen hummingbird feeder blows back and forth abandoned.
As spring rolls around and my drunken robins start to get their acts together and head back north, I notice less and less of my hummers outside. I have to assume that they are headed up the coast to visit all of their northern families.
While I see a lot of different varieties of hummers, none are as wonderfully unique and delightful as the hummingbirds that flow from the imagination of Lynn at Desert Rubble. A little bird and a little steampunk, this industrial industrious little bird is quite the looker. If you see him around, it is springtime.

Yes, springtime comes in many different colors and signs, but most of all, it comes with new life and the re-energizing of sleepy souls.
Happy Spring!
Julie and Blu

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Lampwork Fanatic!

 

I am crazy about lampwork beads.

I have this collection of beads that I keep in a tightly sealed container and open only when I want to add another bead to it. Some day I will do one of two things. I will either take photos of all my little beads, or I will actually create something from them. I do love to touch those beads!

I have a handful of favorite bead designers who are so adept with the flame that I cannot help myself and need to hand over all my money to them. There are a couple that I cannot afford, so I just look at their wares and calculate monthly payments.

One of these days, I will spend the money for one of these coveted beads. Until then, I have to enjoy them visually only and really, they are much better shared than tucked in a tupperware box in the closet.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

There is an artist on Artfire who loves the lampwork beads as much as I do, but she is not afraid to put them into a design and share them with the world. I found a couple of her pieces that I just love and wanted to share with you.

First is this lovely bracelet from Lottie’s Trinkets on Artfire.

Her inspiration for this design was the lampwork beads that reminded her of a lily pond. They are pretty in their almost neutral colors with a hint of pink. The beads are commercially produced, but the design is a one of a kind. Lottie paired these beads with Czech glass and Swarovski crystal bicones. It is an elegant bracelet and worthy of a night out on the town.

 

Another of my favorites from Lottie’s studio includes this wild and exotic looking bracelet of stick pearls and lampwork beads.

I love the design and colors and the outrageous movement of this piece makes it eye catching. I bet it is a riot to wear and get noticed. Again, I love the lampwork beads and she has done a wonderful job of pairing the beads with shape and movement.

These yummy luster coated lentil beads are subtly iridescent and easy on the eyes. The pastel spring colors will make this a great Easter bracelet. I love the pairing of the purple glass beads with the yellow of the lampwork beads.

Lottie has done a wonderful job of utilizing the artistic abilities of lampwork artists. While some of the beads she uses are more commercially produced, she has an eye for color and design and it shows in her jewelry.

Who wouldn’t want to own these fun earrings?

Julie and Blu and our lampwork stash.

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