Emerald – Pantone 2013 Color of the Year
23 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Beadwork, Color Trends, Jewelry
There are a number of ways to use Pantone colors and jewelry is the easiest and least expensive (unless you’re going to purchase real emeralds). Green is a healing color. Many identify it with money and prestige, but it also represents freshness as in the spring green of new-grown leaves.
Bead-Woven Bracelet with Malachite
Many stones can be found in green, but the most luscious is Malachite. Grandmother believed it brought protection and comfort. That those in leadership roles should wear it and those that believed in those leaders because of the power of the stone to foster loyalty. No matter what you believe, it is almost as elegant as the faceted Emeralds found in fine jewelry.
Malachite can be from pale, sage to bright summer green. Combinations of these colors help demonstrate its beauty and that of the person wearing it. Since it is of the mineral family with copper and turquoise, these stones mix well with it as well. Copper findings help keep the costs down and provide contrast to let the stone show off it’s own brilliance.
Malachite Tear Drop Necklace
I have several pieces in Malachite and many beadwoven pieces in Silver-lined Emerald Green glass seed beads.
Yellow – Always it’s own color trend
10 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment
in Color Trends, Flowers, Spirits Tags: Color, Native Plants
Yellow – the color of cheer, splendor and the warmth of the sun. Here on the high desert it’s the visual time clock for the seasons, and a reminder of the simple joys of being on Earth.
Wild Current – GSENM
The wild currant that is in full bloom outside my front window is a reminder that winter is coming to a close and spring has sprung. There are other yellow flowers around, but they were brought here and cultivated, while the native plants are signs of success. Their message? “Look at me, I’ve survived another harsh winter on the high plateau and I’m ready to grow and provide berries.” They stand as a messenger for hope for the year ahead.
The native yellow flower of summer is the hundreds of sunflowers blown in from who knows where. Their happy yellow faces stand out in the stark landscape, greeting visitors and residents alike as they line to highways of the Grand Staircase. A reminder it is almost harvest time and will disappear with the third cutting of alfalfa. The seed will mature to provide food for the thousands of birds that raise their young in the pinyon/pine forests and some will hide in the thatch to grow and bloom again.
Then in late September and October, the Rabbitbrush marks the end of the season. It’s lovely golden yellow reminds you to enjoy the fall foliage of the Aspen and Cottonwood and to prepare for another winter – a time to quietly reflect on the past year – and know the cycle will begin again when the wild current shows it splendor again.
Color Trends
30 Mar 2013 Leave a Comment
in Beadwork, Color Trends, Jewelry Tags: Beadwork, Color, Jewelry
Color is at the very core of our existence. Light reflects through our eyes and our brains interpret that light giving it meaning because of its color. Following the use of color throughout our lives can provide keys to our reactions, moods, and thoughts. Color trends are created for the benefit of the industries promoting them and we choose to follow them depending on how we react to them.
Creating jewelry centers around the use of color, whether through texture, style, or mood and wearing it is partly the response to the reason we acquired it. Have you ever taken the time to go back through your jewelry box? I’ve been on a cleanout mission for both our store and our home. Too much stuff requires the removal of items that no longer have personal or business value. I’ve given lots away, sold some and repurposed the majority of it. When I got to the various boxes and baskets that line the dresser I realized I didn’t need them all nor would I ever wear them again. When I asked myself the basic question, what was their value?, I realized they told their own story and color was a part of that.
I decided I’d create a shadow box of those items that have sentimental value and tell a story of my life. From the Sterling Silver Friendship ring my father gave me when I was 13, to the more expensive pieces given me by others in my life, each needed to be in the story and each needed its own color space. I’m now in the process of creating a “crazy quilt” of color squares where each piece will be featured depending on the color it provided to my life. I’ll pick a fabric color and texture that will reinforce that story and then use black thread to attach them together in proper order. It should be a fun project and hopefully one that hangs on the family wall for some time to come.
As for color trends – I plan to write more about that in the weeks to come, starting with the #Pantone #Color of the Year – Emerald.
Until then – - -
Working Women – It’s National Frozen Food Month
17 Mar 2013 Leave a Comment
in Enough, Working Women Tags: Slow Cook, Working Women
March is National Frozen Food Month – and other things!
I don’t know about you – but I’d be in “make dinner hell” without my freezer. It’s only a small 5.5 cu. Ft. chest style, but it makes my life so much easier dinner time each and every day. This gives me back time to spend creating my distinctive jewelry, write, read, and relax.
When you live 150 miles from the closest Walmart and our locally owned and operated is smaller than our own gift store you don’t bother running down to the store more than once a week. Tuesday is fresh produce day – lettuce, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, apples and bananas. It fills in when necessary.
I slow cook something at least every other Sunday. Last Sunday was a dozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Slow cooked in garlic-herb dressing and chicken broth, I then let them drain and cool before packaging them in individual zip bags and put in a larger bag marked with the meat type and date (mo/yr). When I want a dish to include chicken I can take it out in the morning before going to the gallery or pop one, or more, out when I get home and defrost them in the microwave. Warm them to add to casseroles or salads or leave them cold over salads. Chop and add them to your favorite red sauce over pasta, or put on your homemade pizzas. Lots of uses.
This week it’s Pork Loins. When they’ve cooked 8 hours on low I’ll let them drain and cool slightly, then chop into servicing sections. Some will get frozen in chunks, others I’ll shred with two forks and bag for pizza, tacos, pasta, salads, all the same types of foods as chicken. Today I’ve got two giant pork loin roasts that will both cook at the same time. One I’ll take out and let cool and chunk the other I’ll add BBQ sauce to and let cook another hour then split apart. The BBQ one will be shredded and stored in serving size bags, the plain chunks I’ll freeze to use in stirfry with frozen veggies and Chinese noodles.
There are lots of choices and lots of recipes that use these meats (I only do a small amount of beef every year because red meat is hard on you) but I do precook a 5# bag of hamburger about every quarter. I cook it up in my electric fry pan just until it’s lost it’s pink color and then drain and store in serving bags for tacos, chili, etc.
Dinner in less than an hour – top to bottom – thanks to my little freezer, tucked in a corner of the laundry room. It’s National Frozen Food Month.
Copper Jewelry
17 Feb 2013 1 Comment
in Beadwork, Copper Jewelry, Jewelry Tags: Beadwork, Gemstones, Jewelry
Copper “drippings” Make great focal pieces
Splash Copper is the result of heating copper to 1,994 degrees farenheit and splashing the liquid onto a 1” thick stainless steel sheet. The residue in the ladle is “knocked out” and leaves a bowl of various sizes and colors. Some of the copper is “dripped/poured” into various shapes and sizes. This piece of copper is dripped/poured and cooled.
The necklace is made of approximately 7,500 delica glass seed beads woven into a chain and four shorter bands keep it in place. A bead-woven toggle and clasp ring make for a nice matching closure. 18” long.
Utah and Arizona are a mineral melting pot and the heart of North America’s copper resources. The largest open-pit copper mine in the world, Bingham, is located just south of the Great Salt Lake. The Bingham mine was discovered in 1847 and in full production by 1907. It has produced more dollar value than the Klondike, Comstock and California Gold rushes combined.
A complete set of copper bowls are available at Gallery Escalante.
Copper Diamond Necklace by Jewelry Artist Jana Hassett
06 Dec 2012 Leave a Comment
Alice’s Bowl
27 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Beadwork, Jewelry Tags: Beadwork, Jewelry
Every beader needs an Alice Bowl. When we lived on the Southern Oregon Coast, we had Camera Club friends we greatly enjoyed. At one time Alice took a class on kick-wheel pottery. She made some really nice pots and some funky bowls. I coerced her outof one and can’t live without it.
Alice’s Bowl
My Alice Bowl resides on my beadtable next to my other tools. It’s where lost beads join with leftover charms and findings to form their own land of the misfit jewelry. It also reminds me of their love and friendship over the years. Priceless!!!
Cabochon Jewelry
10 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment
in Beadwork, Jewelry Tags: Beadwork, Gemstones, Jewelry
Creating jewelry with cabochons is not only challenging but can lead you to new places with your work. I started with standard cabs and have tried to progress to unusual shaped cabs whenever possible. This Diva Necklace took me to different beads than I usually use and different attachments.
Picture Jasper Necklace
I still like to make delica bead tubes and string them with tiger tail. The crimp bead attachment is stronger than relying on Nymo thread to hold. One of my most precious lessons from selling to the general public is how rough they are with their jewelry. And its extremely embarrassing when a piece of jewelry falls apart and they have to send it back to have it repaired.
I use extra heavyweight pellon for the stone backing layer. All the beads are stitched to this and then I use pigskin for the final backing fabric. It’s soft, comes in several colors and isn’t so thick you have to use a glovers needle.
Sometimes we all find a cab or other beads that we just have to have. For some reason the stone talks to us and ends up in the cab drawer. That was true with this Rose Quartz standard oval cab. I had the Rose Quartz chips and the soft colors and lovely patterns in the rocks spoke to me.
Rose Quartz Cabochon Necklace
I added size 11/0 seed beads and trimmed the cab with size 13/0 charlottes in matte crystal. Perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day dress-up. I have enough material left over to make matching earrings if needed. I’ve quit making earrings to match and selling as a set. If I do go ahead and make them I sell them separately. It’s odd (to me) how many ladies don’t wear matching earrings. Some have diamonds and fine jewelry earrings they wear with everything and don’t need them. You never know.
If you plan on attending the Rock and Gem shows in Tucson this winter, watch for the unusual and stretch yourself. Creating necklaces from gemstone cabochons is challenging as well as an opportunity to let your spirits take you to a finished product.
Until next time.
Not Just Yarns
10 Oct 2012 Leave a Comment
Miss Lily’s Gift.
I was sooooo happy to find Not Just Yarns via Ebay. I was looking for angora or angora blend that would work for a Granddaughters mini sweater and they had the perfect thing. Visit their website www.notjustyarns.com for beautiful yarns and lots of choices.
United -
22 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment
in Enough, Prose Tags: Democracy, Politics, White House
United –
That should be the campaign slogan for Romney/Ryan – these “United” States. It’s not about Washington, DC (which isn’t even a state). It’s about the 50 states that are united for the common good of it’s peoples.
United in
- Reducing poverty
- Quality education for our children
- Land use management
- Providing clean water and safe roads that unite us
The Federal Government should be about –
- Standards not control
- Oversight not overbearance
- Equality not envy
White House should provide –
- Guidance not guilt
- Temperance not travel
- Standards not socialism
We need policies for America and implementation for United states
We need the abiity to transport our benefits from state to state and Insurance plan to insurance plan
We need United States instead of divided states.
And we need leadership that understands how to manage and direct many departments. That can bring a single purpose back to the Federal Government – not to dictate but support the United States in the daily workings to provide for the common good.
Our name is United States of America - Our flag has 50 stars not one star – our small business community looks to their state for quidance and support not Washington DC.
Give us Unity, Give us Romney/Ryan.
