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Summer is my favorite season, and it always takes its sweet time getting to my neck of the woods (and it never sticks around as long as I would like), so I’m always thrilled when it finally arrives. I was no less excited to work with the items I chose for the Summertime Blogging Fun promotion for Artbeads.com, featuring charms, pendants, and glass beads. Landlocked ocean lover that I am, I love paua shell and dolphins, so I combined two loves  in the Paua dolphin pendant I chose. The pendant comes plain with the paua shell on the front and black acrylic coated resin on the back, like this:

This dolphin pendant is pretty on it’s own, so I could have happily put a jump ring in the hole and threaded the pendant on a chain or ribbon, but of course I saw the pendant as part of a larger picture. So I finally came up with the idea to create a polymer clay and domed resin pendant piece with wire curls that simulate stylized ocean waves so that the paua shell dolphin would look like it was leaping out of the ocean. Combined with some seed beads, seafoam green ribbon,  shell beads, crystals, and blue pearls, the final design came out like this:

And would summer be complete without butterflies? Of course not. Lately I’ve been admiring the necklaces I’ve seen that feature decorative clasps somewhere in the front of the design, so when I saw this Sterling silver 3-strand butterfly hook and eye clasp, the design idea came pretty quickly. I’m primarily a wire wrapper, but in this case I thought a lot of wire work would just detract from the beauty of the butterfly clasp, so I kept the design simple and elegant, using some cyclamen colored Swarovski bicones and Czech glass maple leaf beads that I chose from Artbeads.com to go with the butterfly clasp.

When I ordered this clasp, I couldn’t really tell how it worked from the pictures on Artbeads.com, but when it arrived I figured out how simple it was. The clasp is well hidden. The middle ball of the butterfly’s body hides the eye, while one wing hides the hook, and when the clasp is closed you can barely see the seam. The butterfly has a slightly oxidized appearance, but parts are still shiny and reflective, as you can see in the pictures; the colors are a reflection of the aqua and purple fabric I used on the surface where I was photographing this piece. Though I chose to use the clasp in front, I could easily imagine how beautiful a necklace would look with this clasp in back, either with short hair or an up-do. Perfect for a summer wedding.

And anyone who knows me knows how much I love hummingbirds, so from the extensive selection of charms, I chose this sterling silver hummingbird charm to work with:

In my opinion, this is one of the prettiest sterling silver hummingbird charms I’ve ever seen. I’ve used other sterling hummingbird charms, but none had quite the detail and graceful appearance of this one. This one is very dimensional–so dimensional you do need to be careful how you use the charm in your jewelry, because the little guy’s beak sticks out and could be a bit uncomfortable. This would make a nice bracelet charm, and the attached hidden loop on the back is perfect for threading the charm on a chain or ribbon, but because of my penchant for complicated jewelry, this is what I ended up doing with it:

Though I sometimes receive free items because of Artbeads.com’s blogging program, I also order other items from them on a regular basis because of the quality of the items I’ve received. I’m thinking these items have been some of my favorites so far. Plus, you can’t bead free shipping in the United States.

Disclosure Notice: The sterling silver butterfly clasp, the paua shell dolphin pendant, the Czech glass leaf beads, and the sterling silver hummingbird charm used in these pieces were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for my participation in the Artbeads.com blogging program. I have not received any payment from Artbeads.com, and this post represents only my personal opinion.

I’d really rather just make my jewelry and art and let the display and selling take care of itself! Of course I can’t do that, so I always seem to think about display and booth ideas just as I’m gearing up to be too busy to really do my ideas justice, and this year will probably be no exception. After three years, I’m ready to mix up my booth design. Here’s a photo of my booth from the 2009 Las Cruces Renaissance Artsfair:

Not bad. (That’s my husband in the booth). I like my sign, but I’m tired of looking at plain white tent walls, and I think my overall display is too dark. The standing earring displays need a lighter look so that potential customers can see more of the earrings from a distance and less of the display itself. And I’m thinking about giving my display pedestals (which also double as storage) an upgrade from the faux verdigris finish they have now to a faux slate or marble look, so I’ve been looking through my books on faux painting techniques.

My first show of the season, Mayfair, is Memorial Day weekend in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and my booth will be inside the pavilion, so I’m trying to come up with wall ideas so that my booth will be clearly differentiated from those next to me. I found a great photo pool on Flickr, full of photos of displays at Arts and Crafts Fairs. Since Flickr doesn’t seem to want me to copy photos to re-post here, I’ll just provide links:

Paper Pastries has a fun and colorful booth, but the stars of this booth are the custom shelving units. Nice! I would want to shop in this booth; the shop’s name and color scheme are perfectly in sync. Photos of this booth really get me thinking about unique wall or shelving display ideas.

Blue Roof Designs is equally inviting in my opinion, but nothing like Paper Pastries. The colors are subtle and earthy, allowing the handmade books to be the focal point. But what I like best about this booth is the use of floor space. Unlike my booth, I don’t think customers would feel claustrophobic shopping here. I’m definitely going to have to brainstorm wall display ideas that will allow me to free up some floor space in my booth. Creating floor space in a 10′ X 10′ space is a challenge!

I think it’s interesting that out of all the photos I looked at, I didn’t find a jewelry display I liked very well. Hmmmm. I do know that there are usually so many jewelry artists at shows that people tend to overlook and dismiss jewelry booths, so I want to make sure my booth is as inviting as possible. I also know I don’t have a lot of money or time, so I’m going to have to find a way to refurbish things I have on hand. I have lots of unbleached linen scraps, so I’m thinking about re-covering some of my jewelry displays using linen. It’s a nice neutral gray color that will lighten the look of my booth display. But whatever I come up with will also have to complement my sign and my new business cards, which are predominantly periwinkle blue and feature one of my favorite jewelry pieces, Dragonfly Moon.

I’ll be sure to post pictures of my updated booth display after Mayfair.

Since I’ll be participating in the arts and crafts fair in Schoolhouse Park during Ruidoso’s AspenFest, October 3 and 4, October classes will start a little later in the month. Here’s the schedule:

Sunday, October 11, 1:30-3 pm: “Three Ring Circus” 4-5:30–“Art Nouveau Bracelet”

Friday, October 16, 5-6:30 pm: “Embellished Focal Bead Pendants”

Sunday, October 25, 1:30-3 pm: “Bonsai Tree/Tree of Life”

New class

Friday, October 30, 5-6:30 pm: “Lucky Charms: Celtic Knot Earrings and Pendants.” Celebrate the Celtic roots of Halloween this year by learning the tricks and treats of creating your own lucky charms—Celtic knot earrings and pendants using wire and beads. In this class you will learn how to create a variation of the decorative “Carrick bend” knot. This strong knot was used by sailors, but it can also be found as a design motif at Ormonde Castle in Ireland. First you will practice making your knot with dyed hemp cord, then you will translate what you learn to copper wire and beads in order to make a pair of earrings or a pendant. Cord, wire and beads will be provided.

Location: Beads to Beauty
2500 Sudderth #3 (4 Seasons Mall)
Ruidoso, NM 88345
Contact Heather Kingsmore
575-257-9903 or h.kingsmore@gmail.com

I just got word today that my polymer clay bead, which I’m calling “Cosmic Canyon,” was chosen as the second place winner in the Ancient Modern Polymer Clay Design Challenge sponsored by Beading Daily, a challenge used to promote Ancient Modern, a book by author/designer Ronna Sarvas Weltman. She and Jewelry Artist editor-in-chief Merle White chose the two winning pieces. “The two winners will be featured on Beading Daily (circulation: 90,000) in late June and each will receive a handcrafted set of polymer clay beads made by Ronna Sarvas Weltman herself.”

Here’s “Cosmic Canyon,” the bead I entered:

And here’s more info about the contest itself. Woohoo! I’m thrilled.

And now I’m preparing for another contest called “Use the Muse II. “ Just received my kit of goodies, plus a mystery item, the muse, which I can’t reveal. I think I have a really good idea. Time to break out the sketchbook! More teasers to come in future blog posts.