Wednesday Wire: Happy HalloweenMas!

Ok Gang, last week I showed you one of my Skully Bowz beads and asked you what you think I'd make. Those who guessed a ring were right!

I'm in the middle of creating free projects for my fall newsletters - HalloweenMas! If you sign up for the Newsletter, you'll receive weekly free projects that combine Halloween, Day of the Dead and Christmas themes so you can make your gifts in advance and have a truly Handmade Holiday!

The sign up is along the right side of the blog. Happy HalloweenMas!

Thankz and Heartz N Skullz

Thank you to all my wonderful readers who left me well wishes on my blog yesterday. I really appreciate the good thoughts. I've started the vitamin regimen and with each capsule, I say, "Cheers, here to fewer migraines!" So this morning, you can lift your vitamin capsules and make a toast with me - here's to better health for us all! (Hmmmm that's slightly reminiscent of Tiny Tim's,"God bless us, everyone!" - but if the shoe fits....;-)

I had several hours to myself yesterday so you know where I went - into the glass studio to melt some glass!

If you had a chance to visit me over on last week's ABS Studio Saturday, I'm working on refining my artistic "voice." I asked the ABS readers to weigh in on where they thought I should go next with my beads. Overwhelmingly, comments told me to do what I love.

Yesterday, after having seen Alice in Wonderland, the Tim Burton Exhibit and buying a new Land's End t-shirt for the gym, I had stripes swirling around in my head. They made their way onto yesterday's beads - here's a quick snap of them.....

Mixed media influences come into play as I wanted them to look worn, so I've added a black patina to them which I'll cure today.

Do you like the stripes?

Expanding the Bead Family: Skully Bowz

I'm adding to the Heartz n Skullz series with Skully Bowz. Skully Bowz are like the Skele'Bowz but are made a bit differently - so a slightly different name. Instead of a black eye, I've highlighted the sculptural quality of the Skully with brown. She wears a sweet deep red bow.






Do you like the new addition to the Heartz n Skullz family? Do you create series within your work?

Calaveraz and Cool Jewelry Designer Barbe Saint John

Last fall, I introduced Calaveraz,and
Skele'Bowz an addition to the Heartz n Skullz series.



I love the Skele'Bowz and Calaveraz. Not everyone loves Glam Punk and Punkesque style like I do. BUT I thought if seen in a the right design, my customers would love them like I do. They just needed to see them used in jewelry. Jewelry you could wear all year round and not just during Halloween.

Since they're not your everyday bead, I knew these beads needed a jewelry designer whose work is edgey and eclectic. I love edgey and I knew just the girl for them.

Barbe Saint John.

So, I sent her an email and told her I love her work and thought she was just the gal who could work magic with the Calaveraz. I was thrilled when she said she'd love to!

Barbe finished the pieces and sent me a picture before they arrived. I squealed with delight - literally! The Calaveraz are highlighted so perfectly in her designs, I can't help but gush over them! And the Skele'Bowz just sing!

So today, I unveil the amazing work of Barbe Saint John - a multi-talented, mixed media artist who has created these wonderful works of wearable art using my Calaveraz and Heartz n Skullz beads!


(Above photo courtesy of Barbe Saint John.)

I urge you to go check out Barbe's work. Her rings are Steampunk cool - another edge she interprets in her unique Barbe way! Her blog is full of awesome info! Barbe's Blog

Reviewing Bead Designs

Twice a year I take a second look at beads I've designed and just haven't promoted. Here are a couple I designed awhile ago - you can see the 2006 copyright on them - I made them during the winter of 2006 and took them to bead show in NYC that year.

I'm liking them, I think like the Glyph beads, they should be revived. Grouped with the Glyph beads, I can see a whole series like the Heartz n Skullz.


Opinions? Do you like these beads? What would you call them?

Skullz n Klownz???

(Photo Credit)

Ok, so I was at the torch working on a skull bead. I thought skullz with wingz would be cool so I thought I'd try.

I shaped a skull head and added eye sockets, nose and a smile like on the Skully Kidz then added red "wings."



Huh?

My winged skully looks more like Bozo the Clown than a bad a$$ skull with wings!


The other two attempts still didn't come out the way I envisioned.

Arghhhh...it's back to the torch!

Pinz in my Heart

Pinz in my Heart were created almost two years ago in response to a particularly bad day with The Teen. I've added fine silver foil to these just because. I like the dark red striations I got from this rod of glass. A designer friend of mine calls Pinz in my Heart "bad a$$!"

Stay the course....

Staying the course - here's the sister of last week's Calaveraz - she's part of the Heartz n Skullz series. Calavarez is pretty appropriate lately since life is so busy I'm feeling dead.

Brewing up Glass and Sugar Calaveras

I've been brewing up new a new addition to the Heartz n Skullz series - Calaveraz. Inspired by the sugar skulls or Calaveras of Day of the Dead, my glass Calaveraz are made of pale ivory glass with a millefiore on her forehead and flames in red and yellow creating a halo around her head.


But glass sugar skulls aren't edible so today's OT project shares a
recipe for Sugar Skulls. Have fun making them!(Photo credit: Make.)

Check out what the other OT Grlzzz have brewed up over on the Ornament Thursday Blog!

Surprise! New Bead and Winners

Angela wins a the free bead for her suggested name,"Punk'Inz." I'll use her name for the Pumpkin inspired beads.



BUT I'd like to also send a surprise bead to Amanda because I'll be using a slight variation on her name for the Skullz: Skele'Bowz

So, gals, send me you postal address and I'll send out your free beads!

I wanted to do a black skull similar to those I saw for Day of the Dead. Remember yesterday's prototypes? How I mentioned I wanted to place flowers in the eyes? The black skulls cry out for flowers in the eyes. Still working on it. So here is the first generation of black skulls. Skele'Bowz fits both the black and white skulls - Cool!


Stay tuned - I think I've figured out the flowers! YAY!

Heartz n Skullz Namez? Giveaway

Today is the last day to submit a name for the new addition to the Heartz n Skullz series. I'll stop taking names at 6:00 pm EST this afternoon (10 hrs from now). The list of suggestions so far:

Skullz n Crossbowz (Victoria)
Skull Caps (Lynn)
Jackyl Antern (Lorelei)
Skull ooze (Faith)
Dem Bowz (Melissa)
Punk'Inz (Angela)
Dem Bownz (Deb)
Funny Bonz (Faith)
Skele'Bonz (Amanda)

You've still got time today - leave a comment with a suggestion and you'll be entered to win a free skull bead!

In the meantime, I thought I'd take you through the prototype beads trying to come up with a good design.


I wanted to do flowers in the eyes like Day of the Dead skulls and I haven't completely given up on the idea but I've got to make the bead bigger to do it. For two reasons, the 20-25mm (3/4 to 1 inch) size doesn't give me much room to decorate. The other reason is I forgot I have a bigger torch and I'm working too close to the big hot flame - I'm burning my left thumb!!

Duh!

I forgot I'm not on my smaller torch - my work habits are smaller and closer to the flame, I haven't adjusted for the larger, hotter flame.


I perfected the bows with these but I'm still not adjusted to the hotter flame - I heated one or two of the red petals too much so they get lost in the black.

What made me think that cubic zirconia for eyes was a good idea?

Creepy.

Don't forget to post your suggestions. I'll announce a winner tomorrow morning.

Haz Got Namez 4 New Heartz n Skullz?

Ya still got until early next week to submit a name for the new Heartz n Skullz beads. So far the suggestions have been:

Skullz n Crossbowz
Jackyl Antern
Skull ooze
Dem Bowz
Punk'Inz

I'm giving away a FREE Skullz bead to the person whose name I choose for the series - ncluding anyone outside of the U.S.!

More suggestions, people - Free Bead

Ok, so I go a little crazy when I work out a style of bead - I make them in all sorts of colors. I'm still crazy for the cubic zirconia embedded in the beads - in the middle of the bow.

Victoria offered up an excellent name yesterday: Skull and Crossbows. Which I'd tweek just a bit to fit the series to Skullz and Crossbowz.

I need more suggestions, people!






Ok, maybe I'm sounding a bit school marmish but don't be shy about suggesting a name! Do I need to bribe people? I think yes.

So now I go into shameless plug - imagine the next all capitals word to be glittering, flashing lights

FREE BEAD FREE BEAD FREE BEAD FREE BEAD

Yep that's what I said. Suggest a name, any name for the beads I posted yesterday and today - and the name I choose will win a free skull bead.

You've got until August 18th. Suggest a name for Heartz n Skullz and if I choose your name, you'll win the bead.

I won't be chasing anyone down to give you the bead, though. I'll post the winner's name and you'll have to email me your postal address.

Oh, and I don't care if you don't live in the US, I'll still mail you the bead if you win. FREE.

Heartz n Skullz: What to call this one

I've figured out how to make bows in glass. So now every bead I make I try to put a bow on it. Heartz n Skullz are perfect for the bows but I don't know what to name them. I have Skully Kidz and Pinz in my Heart now these but what to call them?

Deadz Headz?

Punkz?

Punk Skullz?

I've put that name on the picture but not sure I like it.




Got any ideaz?

Red Hot Ornament Thursday

Trendy, popular - red hot! Wrapped bracelets are hot on the craft scene and I'm hot off of Color Week so using tutorials from the internet, I've combined the two into this Punk Skully Kid Bangle Bracelet. Instead of using an actual Skully Kid, I created a flat version in Shrink plastic and attached it to the bangle using black safety pins for true Punk style. It's just perfect for The Teens who hang out at my house.



So as Emily the Strange would say, "Get lost!" and go see what the other Ornament Thursday Grllzzz are up to!


Art Bead Scene
ABS Editor Cindy Gimbrone Goes Red Hot Crazy!

Beading Help Web is RED HOT!
Lynn Kvigne takes up the torch and shows you how to make a toe ring using fine silver.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Trendy, Popular and Red Hot!

It's Red Hot July in Arizona!
Lisa finally finishes a project from over a year ago. Check out this "hot" take on a changeable necklace.

Katie's Bead Blog
Check out Katie's Red Hot faux coral necklace! It's a punch of color with a summery feel.

Linda Ausburg at BeadStyle Magazine
Linda shares a red-hot card she created.

Michelle is RED HOT!
Well, really, Margot is...

Savvy Crafter
Hotsie Totsie Plexi-glass Flower pendant over on Candie's blog!

Strands of Beads
The heat is rising, and Melissa is making a Red Hot Firecracker necklace!

Swell Designer a.k.a. Alexa Westerfield
The Swelldesigner gets red hot with a Hunka Hunka Burner Necklace!

Too Red Hot
Our own Michelle Zimmerman has been hard at work this month sculpting a devil of a project for your enjoyment.

Blogiversary: Alternative Week Inspiration

In March, I did an Alternative Styles week. It was fun with lots of inspiration!



Mix up the styles I've talked about today and you'll get a Punk-Goth counterculture attitutude in red, white and black. The Ramones with a dash of red - but it's a style all to itself. Not quite Victorian or Modern Goth, not quite punk but a bit of both. A category all it's own. Emily the Strange was created in the skater culture by Rob Reger - who is Emily? From her website:

Emily is anti-cool, a subculture of one, and a follower of no one but herself. She’s the anti-hero for the Do it Yourself movement. Her favorite phrase is “Get Lost!” - both an invitation to travel to unknown places and an instruction to “Take a hike!”


(Photo Credit: Emily the Strange by Buzz Parker published by Dark Horse

I like a girl with attitude.

Emily the Strange uses a single color combination red, white and black. A punk with attitude and a splash of color.

The red white and black theme is used most effectively by The White Stripes a two person band who hail from Detroit Michigan. I'm always amazed what they can come up with using such a limited palate of colors.

The Punk - Alternative red, white and black palate is reflected in the Heartz n Skullz series. When creating the series, the Pinz in my Heart beads led to the Goth Kidz beads and Goth Kidz were the jumping off point for the Skully Kidz - in the same way as my posts have gone this week - punk to goth to punk-goth red, white and black.


(Photo Credit: MTV website)




The White Stripes not only have surprising clothes in red, white an black but use it to stunning visual effect in their videos. Here's a perfect example in their video Seven Nation Army. Turn it up! Meg is awesome on the drums!

Skully Kidz Reciting Poetry in the ABS Neighborhood!

The Heartz n Skullz Gang otherwise known as Skully Kidz have walked to the Art Bead Scene Neighborhood park today.




The ABS Neighbors don't like them even though the Skully Kidz do no harm and simply lay in the grass reciting their poetry to Skully Kid's Little Brother, the Desperate ABS Neighbors make a snap judgement and think their clothes mean the Kidz are going to cause mischief in the neighborhood.



Let's speak up for the Heartz n Skullz Gang! Tell the ABS Neighbors they're good kidz - leave a comment and tell me how you'd defend them :-)

Red, White and Black the Modern Punk Palate

Mix up the styles I've talked about today and you'll get a Punk-Goth counterculture attitutude in red, white and black. The Ramones with a dash of red - but it's a style all to itself. Not quite Victorian or Modern Goth, not quite punk but a bit of both. A category all it's own. Emily the Strange was created in the skater culture by Rob Reger - who is Emily? From her website:

Emily is anti-cool, a subculture of one, and a follower of no one but herself. She’s the anti-hero for the Do it Yourself movement. Her favorite phrase is “Get Lost!” - both an invitation to travel to unknown places and an instruction to “Take a hike!”


(Photo Credit: Emily the Strange by Buzz Parker published by Dark Horse

I like a girl with attitude.

Emily the Strange uses a single color combination red, white and black. A punk with attitude and a splash of color.

The red white and black theme is used most effectively by The White Stripes a two person band who hail from Detroit Michigan. I'm always amazed what they can come up with using such a limited palate of colors.

The Punk - Alternative red, white and black palate is reflected in the Heartz n Skullz series. When creating the series, the Pinz in my Heart beads led to the Goth Kidz beads and Goth Kidz were the jumping off point for the Skully Kidz - in the same way as my posts have gone this week - punk to goth to punk-goth red, white and black.


(Photo Credit: MTV website)




The White Stripes not only have surprising clothes in red, white an black but use it to stunning visual effect in their videos. Here's a perfect example in their video Seven Nation Army. Turn it up! Meg is awesome on the drums!

Alternative Design Inspiration: Punk

Photo by Dijiddle

Alternative style - punk style is what today is about. Sunday I blogged about the tail end of the baby boom generation as a separate group - The Jones Generation. I think the Jones Generation had a particular attitude that fed into the emerging punk style of the late 1970's ala the Ramones and The Clash. It was pre-spiked hair and dog collars although Vivienne Westwood was making that popular in the UK. Punk was designed to shock. The style and music was stripped down - with a heavy dose of DIY. Chains, slogan t-shirts and customized blazers.

A straight A student in high school, I had an artsy side that came out in what I wore. I loved the rebellious nature of punk. I wasn't willing to drop out of school but I was willing to shock by wearing the style and listen to the music! I latched onto the customized blazer - I borrowed old pinstriped blazers from the back of my father's closet and customized it with vintage rhinestone pins, shoe clips and whatever else I could find. I could change it the look by changing the pins and buttons on it. Cool!

So the current trend in DIY and punk style is just as fun now as it was then. Punk style now is full of skulls, dyed hair, black with a punch of color, chains, hearts and plaid. Some call it punk, pop punk, hardcore punk, and there is even something called "Steampunk". There's lots of overlap with Goth style but I'm going to hold off on Goth until tomorrow. When I think of Millenium Punk, I think of this Blythe Doll from Etsy.



All of this is where the Heartz n Skullz and Industry series of beads come from. Slightly different in feel, they are inspired by the same punk aesthetic.






So, when designing with Punk inspired beads, you might want to turn up your old record player and listen to the Ramones. Here are the Ramones in Rock and Roll High School - Enjoy!

Spring Cleaning, The Honorary Title, cell charms and zipper pulls

I'm spring cleaning out the studio and my traveling show boxes. Cleaning isn't my favorite thing so I need something to get me going - like a good tune. That means I'm playing alot of music - doesn't always help but I'm discovering alot of bands that I didn't know about before. Yeah, I'm not 16, 18, 20 or even 30 - I spent the '90's listening to Kids Bop so I missed alot of good music. I'm catching up now, though! This is one of my "discoveries" and one of my favorite bands right now - The Honorary Title - Bridge and Tunnel - (their new release Stay Away is fabulous too!)




While I'm listening to this awesome band, I'm using the bead inventory to make affordable and wearable pieces - zipper pulls with the OOAK beads and necklaces with the Heartz n Skullz and put them in the Etsy shop.