Creativity In A Nutshell

So guess what readers?! I got some new beautiful beads from Artbeads.com! They are so fantastic and I am so excited to make necklaces with them - which I will share with you all!

Look at all of the wonderful Czech glass beads they have! And I love the olivine swarovski beads... and, well, you already know about my weakness for brass...

**Today is the first day of the Valentines Day Sale at Callie's Creations!**
Be My Valentine Earrings Just $10.50
With Love Scrabble Tile Necklace Just $19.00
Hearts of Porcelain Set Just $16.00
Key To My Heart Set Just $20.00
Je t'aime Scrabble Tile Pendant Just $6.00

It seems like I have been waiting for ages to receive my package of goodies from Artbeads.com ! Well, today I got it, and let me tell you, these beauties are just fantastic!

What's The Plan, Stan?
I sadly forgot my wire snips at home :( so I could not get started on all the beautiful projects I had planned tonight. Instead, I will tease you with photographs of some of these darling beads n things, with links where you can find 'em.
** Sweetheart Sale: You can save 15% on orders of $60 or more RIGHT NOW at Artbeads.com - it's a pretty good deal, especially with free shipping. They have lots of great Valentines Day Beads and Findings to peruse through.





NECKLACE GIVE AWAY:
I also wanted to let you know about this great Valentines Day necklace giveaway over at Every Heart Crafts

C'est Fin!

More Stuff on the Information Highway:

This week I'm jumping back into blogging, jewelry making and etsy-ing! It's been a crazy  busy month and I'm glad to have a month off from classes to get caught up with all the *real* fun stuff: jewelry!
And in honor of my return, this week is devoted to Bottle Caps!


What's The Plan, Stan?
For the day before the first of the week, I'm going to brainstorm some great ideas of upcycling with bottle caps. Check out these links for some sweet examples :)
Ingredients:

• Bottle Caps! There are so many options when it comes to your bottle caps
• You can buy some crafting bottle caps from a craft shop or a jewlery supply shop
• Do the good thing: Collect all of your (and your friend's) bottle caps. Save the interesting ones for some funky pieces
• Cruze around looking for some vintage bottle caps. You might find some cool ones at antique, consignment or second-hand shops. Or just search bottle caps on Ebay. I found some nifty milk bottle caps - you never know what you're going to find.
• Check out this sweet shop, Bottle Cap Co

• Step one: Start collecting your bottle caps. This can take a while, so multi task! Brainstorm your ideas. Sketch em out, then try em!

• Check out this sweet wall installation made with bottle caps, paint and acrylic

• You can drill upcycled bottle caps and use them as-is for earrings, pins, keychains, magnets
• You can sorta paper mache on them
• You can collage inside them, using resin to protect your work
• You can paint in them!
• You can stamp over them!
• You can draw on them with a permanent marker!
• You can drill all kinds of interesting holes in them!
  

Lately I have been preoccupied with... you guess it Birds! This fascination started when I noticed the increase of swallow charms, particularly in brass and copper jewelry. They're everywhere! At first I was a jewelry snob, "If everyone is doing it, it simply isn't for me" But then... I have to be honest, I fell in love with the simple, understated beauty of these birds.
I wonder what it is about the symbol of a bird that we all love and cling to so much. Maybe it's the idea of being free. Maybe it's desiring the ability to fly (away from, or to, something or someone.) Maybe this stage in my life just needs some birds. I don't know.
Whatever it 'means' I do intend to play around with some metal birdie charms, however there are other ways to add some birds to your jewelry art.



What's The Plan, Stan?

• I'm going to list a few non-traditional bird jewelry project suggestions. As I get to try them out myself, I will tell you about them in follow up blogs. Please, let me know what you think, or give suggestions for some cool bird jewelry.
  

Some Birdie Ideas:

• Feather jewelry is all the rage. You don't get any more bird-like than with beautiful feathers. Peacock feathers are especially beautiful, but they are also all over the place. Stop in your local crafting store (like Michaels) and see what they have for feathers. You may be surprised by the huge variety of feathers available. Are you worried that your new-found treasures were delivered via less than Kosher means? There are some farms, which will sell/give away bird feathers, which have been found, not... em... plucked. Peacocks will actually molt their long plumage (in the fall I believe). Do some research - and remember, if you sell your feather creations, it's great to mention if your feathers were found vrs... em... plucked.
• Paint it, baby! We all have artists inside us. Ok, well mine likes to jump up and down a lot and loudly proclaim it's existence, but the point is, you can create your own little painted charm, and cover it with Diamond Glaze, Glossy Accents, ICE resin or some other products. A couple weeks ago I made these cute bird charms with tiny water color paintings and scrabble tiles. I'm still learning how to use Diamond Glaze, but I think it's a great area to explore in creating jewelry.
• Go for the gold! Or copper. Or silver. Whatever! If you are going to use bird charms, like the majority of jewelry and bead artists out there, try to make your unique. I know it is tempting to see a necklace using that traditional flying swallow (see above picture) because it's beautiful, has classic lines etc... but then what are you? Just one in a million. Use different metals! Use different kinds of birds! Use dancing birds! Be unique! Or don't. The choice, my reader, is yours.
  

C'est Fin!

Bead Artist Showcase
Your work could be right here! Submit your own bird jewelry ideas to Creativity In A Nutshell via email to cagarp@plymouth.edu. Feel free to include pictures, anything new you tried and suggestions you have for improvement.

Even jewelry and bead artists with some experience behind their belts can have a hard time figuring out just what kind of metal it is they're dealing with. Jewelry buyers generally don't know either, and this can lead to a lot of confusion. 


What's The Plan, Stan?

• I'm going to break down the basic details of the various metals you may come across in your jewelry travels.

Beading Metals:

• Stirling Silver is softer and more malleable than most metals. It is prone to oxidization, when the metal begins to turn somewhat black.
• Gold
• When you work with gold, you will work with different gold carats. The carat measures the proportion of gold to other metal alloys, which make up the actual metal. The higher the carat, the higher the gold content, the higher the cost.
• There are a few different colors of gold:
• Yellow: pure gold with copper and zinc
• Rose: pure gold with copper
• White: pure gold with white metals such as silver and palladium
• Rhodium 
• A white metal, very similar to Platinum and is often used to enhance the color of white gold
• Platinum
• A very pure white metal when used in jewelry. It is dense and heavy and wicked expensive.
• Titanium
• A silver-grey-white-ish metal and has a wide array of colors. It is very strong, and very lightweight, however, it cannot be soldered.
• Surgical Steel
• Refers to a stainless steel, of the same grade that is used for surgical implanted or tools. It's an alloy of iron and carbon with chromium, molybdenum and a wee bit of nickel. It's actually pretty similar to Titanium, but not nearly as expensive.
• Copper
• A reddish-goldish metal, very maleable and inexpensive. It's recently very popular in jewelry, but you have to worry about oxidization.
• Brass
• An allow of copper and zinc, so it's generally darker and not as brilliant as copper. The more zinc, the darker the brass. The more copper, the redder the brass. It tends to be pretty hypoallergenic.
• Base Metal
• May be gold or silver colored, and thus all the more confusing
• Plated Metals
• Plated metals has a base of a non-precious metal, such as pewter or brass, which is covered in a thin layer of a precious metal, such as silver or gold. 
• The good thing is, plated metals are cheaper. However, you risk wearing through the layer of plated metal. 
• Vermeil
• This is a type of plating process, however, rather than using a non-precious base, it uses a sterling silver base
• Gold Filled
• AKA : Gold Overlay or Rolled Gold Plated
• Has several mechanically bonded layers, in which a non-precious base is covered with the outside layer of at least 10 Karat gold.