Jewelry Making Outside The Box

B'sue's Leaves and Berries Necklace and Earrings

Artisan Whimsy's   November challenge is Leaves and Berries......well!  That's right up MY alley.

We have LOTS of leaf and flower stampings at B'sue Boutiques

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/brass_leaves.shtml

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/brass_flower_petals_layer.shtml

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/brass_roses.shtml

Here are some more shots:

With flash it looks more green, without, more blue.  It's actually more blue and here's how I did it:

I used Swellegant Tiffany Blue traditional patina over raw brass.   After I rinsed and dried it, I set it on a large necklace crescent blank:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/necklace_blanks.shtml

This is an assemblage piece, so the leaves were pieced and layered with E6000 glue.  The back was washed with color (Vintaj weathered copper set---patina) and sealed with Allergy Shield.  I also used some little brass ox leaves from the website which I tinted with the Vintaj inks.

I also went over the larger leaves with a bit of first, white Gilder's Paste and then, a bit of patina Gilder's Paste.   At the end, I accented with the Heirloom Metallic set of Vintaj/Ranger inks (found here )

The 'berries' are caged pearls with brass wire.   I sealed everything with Swellegant Clear Cote  before I glued in the 'berries'.

The beads are acrylic and lampwork, just some pretties I'd purchased who knows where, once upon a time....and finally just the right project came along.

This piece is signed B'sue 2012 and has matching post earrings.

This was FUN!!  I'm getting some ideas about possibly doing a two part video on this one, let me see if I can pull it together soon.

 

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How to Make your own Accessories

Bonkers Over B'sue

Creative Space is a Process

I remember well my first workspace----over twenty years ago.

It was a placemat on my kitchen table.

Many of us began that way; some of us are still doing JUST FINE that way.   There is no reason why anyone should lament not having a fabulous workspace, so long as you have a dedicated spot to make your art and feel happy there.

We all dream of having something better...and usually, as time goes on, we sell a bit of what we make or trade things up in our possession, we put a bit aside to improve our creative place as well as add tools and equipment.  

When I moved off that placemat in the kitchen, I went into the basement.  When we bought this place, there were already workspaces in place; the man who built our house loved to tinker and build.  My husband at one time used those benches and counter tops to fix televisions and appliances many years ago.   He quit doing that and I appropriated them....all.

I made my first videos at You Tube in an incarnation of THAT space and it was rough indeed.   I didn't hesitate to go ahead and make the videos, though, even though the space didn't look nice.   Why?

Because I already knew that MANY people were doing well with even less space than I had, in even messier rooms.  It's not about appearances in the long run; it's about sharing, projects, the stuff we make.  So I forged ahead.

In time, we got his old tools out of my space, moved the L-shaped benches over with the electrical tap lines, put up some pegboard to separate it from the rest of the messy old basement, and I carved out a cute space for myself.   If you've seen our videos, you've seen that newer basement space, too.   Here are some highlights:

 

 

 

Nothing fancy or expensive down here; I had the big table and the L-shaped tables from long before and they show the use of years.   I hung lights, bought plastic shelving and drawers, pegboard, organizers (the ones from the table are awesome, got 'em at JoAnn's---they are actually one of the most expensive things down here.  They retail for 80.00 area which frankly, my dear, I think  is beyond RIDICULOUS, but they are amazing.  I would get them when I had coupons) and the metal workbench from Home Depot which was 99.95.   I just saw where Harbor Frieght has them for just under 70.  They are marvelous and a great investment--might serve you as a very compact singular all-in-one workspace as there is pegboard on the back, a big utility drawer, a shelf rack on top and lots of storage space underneath. 

There is under 1,000.00 in this whole place, including the heavy plastic floor mats on the basement floors, which are essential for people like me who have bad backs. You can get into some money with those mats, so I bought them a bit at a time.  For me, I've just GOT to have them on that hard basement floor.

THEN:   we moved to our little shop downtown.   Because I would like to teach small classes, it became necessary to build ANOTHER workshop.   Again, we pulled it all together for under 1,000.00---and that includes the two old Hoosier cabinets I bought, one on each end of the long bench.   I stole a long mat from our old shipping area back at the house, where we used to have our little warehouse; and I also stole a few of the plastic shelving bins from the Messy Workshop in the basement.  The rest I had to buy....because I STILL have the old Messy Workshop.

Many working artists who teach have two workshops----one that looks half decent, where they invite students to come and visit---and one where they can make a big mess and leave it.   They tend to keep the more heavy-duty work equipment in the messy, or dirty workshop, and bring the less heavy tools to their student workshop.  

In my workshop at our brick and mortar store, I make plenty of messes, still:

But I try not to let it get worse than this, since people are coming into the store now!  LOL

I would like to get a Foredom w handpiece to have down here, and I may bring one of my small torches down here eventually; for the most part, though I am a mixed media artist who works with paint, inks, patinas and does wire and beading---so this space is perfect for that.

I invite you to come and visit me in my sunny workspace at B'sue Boutiques!  You will find us at 42 1/2 Garfield Avenue, East Palestine, Ohio, 44413.  The shop phone is 1-800-868-4393 and if you are traveling from out of town, it would be good to call as I could be out on errands or not available...and I wouldn't want to miss you!

Where ever you are working, maybe it always be a place of peace, reflection, inspiration and dedicated work.   You don't need expensive tools or a fancy place to get started, and fact of the matter is, you may NEVER need those things.  

All you really need is a creative heart.

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This Week's Buzz is Out

From now on, once the weekly newsletter comes out, I will be posting a link here, too.  This is for those who follow my blog, as well as my Facebook pals.   For some reason, Facebook has been sending these annoying warning messages when I put the link for the Constant Contact newsletter directly there.

If it comes via Networked Blogs (FB app) or even a direct link from Typepad, that annoying message will not pop up.

Best way not to freak anyone out!  The link is FINE but it has startled some away...not good.

 

Here ya go....the LATEST BUZZ:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=6hox7gdab&v=001kSkfsfL4g8ghCGPe0XPC6jKS4fX4mIK_Vo1lrKx3LUGi9vkAxCdx_iQE7ymK-jTs7rtXhK41NS4McAihrbzsbt1-H3mtY-sFTozfHDCeK1FKZDBLXrIG9adXn3XYNqELwHe2Pb9-fBw%3D

Discussed is taking a break from jewelry making, a COUPON CODE for Cyber Monday and beyond!  and how to get yourself some FREE Old Rose Ox charms!

 

The Story of A Little Shop

It began this day, the very end of May, this year.   We needed to find a home for my internet business, we'd just outgrown having it in my house.   This darling little shop, tucked behind the Sparkle grocery store, had become available.

The little shop had been there for some time.   I often gazed longingly at it and thought, my oh my......how NICE for the lady who owned it.   She'd attended to every detail, it was just perfect for her enterprise as a florist.  I  would think, hmmm, someday I would love to have a little place like that.

The lady who had built the little store to her every specification eventually lost heart in running it for a variety of reasons, so she sold it to another very nice lady....who also was a florist.

The second lady who owned it called it The Sunflower Seed.   She had joy every day, she loved her business here in East Palestine, Ohio.    She did a great job and her prices were reasonable, and she was very, very generous with her customers.

Then tragedy struck.   Her teenage son was stricken with leukemia.   The treatments were exhausting, and they were at the hospital all week, every other week.   She put up a closed sign, got rid of the fresh flowers and walked away.    As soon as she was able, she put the shop up for rent.

That's when I found it.   This dear woman needed someone who would look after her building so she could get her son well, and I needed a home for my business so we could get our heads clear and try to grow it enough to cover our needs.   It was a real match.   She gave me a five year lease; we moved here at the end of July.

Moving Day   this is our moving day video, if you have not seen it.

The move went very well:

 

We were able to get all the bins and stacks down here on a Saturday, and by Sunday night, we knew where everything was and were up and running again.   By Monday night, the place was fully networked and fully functional in every sense it had been, in its previous location---my home.  Here's Shelley working at her desk the day before the move:

Once we got the web business back up and able to process orders----actually we didn't skip a beat since on Saturdays we don't pack or process orders, anyway---things were cool.   Now the process of trying to make a combination gift shop/teaching area/workshop out front, began.

I had purchased some old furniture from the previous owner which included a pair of old doors that had been hinged together and whitewashed.   As I explored possibilities of how I might make a wall to separate the shop from the web business, it occurred to me that a 'wall of doors' might do the trick.

I made a visit to Linda Oliastro's Company Store and asked her if she had any...sure enough she did, and brought them straight down to me.

This is the result:

This is how they looked after I painted, stencilled, decoupaged and distressed them, and hinged them together in pairs so that I could easily re-configure or move them about.

We needed to build a workbench and a large worktable:

Here's my dad planing down the doors on the worktable I had just whitewashed.   You can see the workbench behind him, and pegboard is up.

Eventually I added color here and there to the table, a bit of stencilling, a bit of tissue decoupage, a bit of stamping.    Here is my signature on the end of the table:

Just above the signature, you can see a scrap of paper decoupaged under the polyurethane.   Those are my dad's rough plans for the worktable and bench.   I found them all crumpled up and they touched my heart.  I tore them in half, put half there and the other half on the opposite corner of the worktable.   This way my dad is always with me.  ;-)

Eventually I purchased some more fixtures for the shop:

But as I looked at them day to day, I realized that I was simply decorating a room, not merchandizing a shop.

Hmmm

How to merchandise a shop?  I didn't know.   But I realized I needed more open space and room to get around things.    So I started pushing stuff around until it just seemed 'better'.

It wasn't long before I made myself at home on my new worktable and bench, and began making a mess!

I had purchased the Hoosier cabinets from the landlady, mostly because I have a love of them and also, because she sold them to me so reasonably, I figured I could sell them at a profit.   I realized early on that they would be more of an asset in my workshop than sold to someone else.   On the dark Hoosier on the end, I have a work surface and under it, a small rolling cushioned stool.   Lots of storage in that for display materials and vintage stuff I've squirreled away.    In the other---the really messed up light painted one---I have great tool storage, and the drawers work well for our gift boxes, bags and wraps for customers.

Also a place for my mascots to watch over things:

At this point, I had about two months to get EVERYTHING made for the shop.  I began with only a handful of items.   Now I had to fill this place!

Here is some of the jewelry:

 

And displays being filled:

Of course....we can't forget that incredible neon sign that arrived as a gift from over 35 Facebook pals:

and my front display window...for now...

Actually there have been a number of changes to this window.....we have a different table and the corkboard is gone.   I'm sure there will be many more as I peruse Pinterest constantly for great new ideas!

It was getting close to opening day.....so just a couple of weeks ago I made these things:

I found that my old printers tray made the BEST display rack!

Friday, November 23rd, we decided to open our doors.   Rob helped me to make a video tour for you:

Video Tour of B'sue Boutiques Brick and Mortar Shop, Opening Day

It only took me 24 years to get here.   And after all these years, I am still banging my head trying to figure out what sort of merchandise people want, and how I can bring it to them at the prices they are able to pay.   Fortunately, I've done well enough that we manage to keep hide and hair together.

I DO know one thing for sure, though, about what people want---besides merchandise:

They want:

friendship

concern

willingness to help

a hearing ear

understanding

information and education

fairness

.....and those B'sue goody bags!

I've done that on the internet, and continue to learn how to do it better.   Now I get to do it in person.

Please come and spend some time with me, I would love to meet you:

B'sue Boutiques

42 1/2 Garfield Avenue

East Palestine, Ohio   44413   behind the Sparkle grocery store

I will have the coffee pot on, and a bowl full of chocolate to share.

If you cannot come, you can always find us here on the internet:

B'sue Boutiques   where we carry just under 7,000 items to help you make beautiful jewelry and lots of perks to make you smile.

Join us at B'sue Boutiques Creative Group at Facebook for fun,sharing and great conversation to help take you on new jewelry making journeys!   Consider this your personal invitation!

Should You Take Jewelry Making Classes?

That's easy to answer:   But of course you should!

A class like this one (taken with Susan Lenart Kazmer of ICE Resin) can open new windows, doors, worlds for you!   I will never forget this class.

I went along for over 20 years, teaching myself catch-as-catch-can, before I decided to get some instruction.   I'd purchased a copy of METALCRAFT DISCOVERY WORKSHOP by Linda and Opie O'Brien, long time favorites on the teaching circuit.  In the back pages I noted that they only lived about an hour and a half from me, and that they taught privately in their home.

That was the start of yearly summer trips to their home on Lake Erie, to learn, to talk, to explore.

(Linda and Opie have retired from the teaching circuit now and are living their artistic dreams in the Berkshires.  Glad I caught them before they went!)

If you have the opportunity to get to know a teacher on a personal level and be taught privately, it's a marvelous experience.   Linda and Opie's home was a magical revelation in itself---full of amazing artwork and collections.   The very pieces I remembered seeing in books and magazines, hung on the walls!

The camaraderie of an art retreat, however, where many teachers in various genres have gathered, is like an educational candy shop full of treats.   The classes are intensified but you have the benefit of being with others who are learning, as well.   The ideas bounce off the walls like projectiles!   You will come home with your head spinning.

The experiences you have will last you a lifetime.

At the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group  we were recently talking about taking classes and the idea of even enrolling in a college where metalsmithing (and everything that goes with it!) is taught in a systematic manner.

If you have the luxury of being able to do that, it would certainly give you an amazing foundation.   I think possibly one of the best things you would learn is how to use tools properly and safely.   You would learn ways to use the tools so that you would spare yourself from injury.  You would also learn amazing technique.

There is one caution---and mind you, this is my opinion:

Sometimes when you are taught in this fashion, technique becomes EVERYTHING.   When you train and train hard, according to technique, sometimes ideas have to be shelved for awhile.  I've found that some folks who train this hard get so hung up on technique, that their work loses its soul.

I love the work of a self-taught artist, someone perhaps who has a little background or a vision and doesn't even know that what they want to do is difficult.   They have an idea and want to fulfill it, so they scheme and experiment until it happens.   Sometimes it falls in line quite naturally.   Usually they try many things and find a niche.

At some point in the journey, however, you'll want some coaching.  I did, and it benefited me very much.  

It *is* expensive to take classes and to travel and stay in hotels while you take them, even if you have a room mate.   Is there a viable alternative?

Yes!   Nowadays, many teachers offer courses of study ON LINE, just like colleges do!   Perhaps you have a book that you really enjoy, as I did Linda and Opie's.   Look them up online and see if they have anything scheduled.   Chances are great, since this is quite a trend anymore, that they do---or will.

You might also want to check out the Artisan Whimsy Ning Group   Right now, there is a Metal Prong Challenge that you can participate in, and there is no charge as it is a group challenge.   Actually the reveal is tomorrow, but that's okay---go on over and have a look. There is a tutorial on the website.    Also, there are numerous blog posts and tutorials that you can take advantage of, and many You Tube videos that you can start and stop and start again....and those are free, too.

Many artists these days get tons of inspiration and new ideas from You Tube videos.

Here are mine:

B'sue Boutiques Channel at You Tube

Plot an educational course for yourself.  Challenge yourself every day.  Join some groups where you will be nurtured and encouraged to try new ideas.  I truly hope you will join Artisan Whimsy and take advantage of all the free education and networking.

Soon there will be live classes in real time there, to take.

You are also warmly welcome to join us at B'sue Boutiques Creative Group so that you can network and learn from other artists, new as well as seasoned.

As you can see, there are numerous options.  Pick what fits your lifestyle best----and get busy!

Mayhem Monday for THIS Week....Showing Up Late YET AGAIN!

Yesterday was filled with Doctor's appointments....and getting grey roots covered.

SO, the Mayhem Monday recap is recounted, today, Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Let's start out with Brassy Steamington's Clockwork Heart:

This piece has become a fave among the Steampunk convention crowd, and is now the mascot jewelry piece for A League of S.T.E.A.M.   If you google this group, you can see that they are an innovative group of film makers with a lot of chops.  Brassy is over the moon that they chose her jewelry to represent them.

I am, too!

Terry Matusyk shared her new elephant necklace:

The elephant was among some of the freebs in her B'sue Boutiques goody bags.

Sadly, no one that I know of, among the group, had a real elephant to share with us.   Sigh! 

Deb Davis of Natural Treasures by Deb, shared these clever bobby pins:

Great photo, too, I love these collage photos!

Coral Law shared her steampunk airplane:

Maggie Akerson shared some cameos....this is her latest:

I love that black and pink cameo!   Find it at the website, here: 

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/cameos.shtml

Brassy shared this cool barrette:

I used to carry these barrette findings, but they got a bit spendy.   They do present a whole lot of great design possibilities.  Lauren and I are exploring hair jewelry ideas for the new shop....maybe I should get a few again!

Hey on the shop:

She's part-way to becoming an art doll.  Hope to finish her this week!  It will be a challenge as it's an upright piece and I use glue....but I'll get there!

Francesca Watson of Francesca Watson designs uploaded this photo of herself at work:

As you see, she's very serious about what she does.   She's also a fine photographer.  This candid photo of her Nick really tells a story:

That's truly an awesome photo.   He doesn't look like Ernest Hemingway....but I get a Hemingway feeling when I look at this piece of artwork and contemplate it.  A great photo is a wonderful art form.

Candy Wham made this juicy beaded necklace:

She made a bunch of other earrings, too....come over to the FLICKR group to see them!

Mocki sent this photo just before the power went out and couldn't send any new photos for this Monday:

So I am sharing them FOR her.  All is well now.  If you read the newsletter, you know she even made jewelry by candlelight after the storm!

Beanzie shared this unique vintage bracelet:

These are Czech, and the piece is probably fifties, but might be as early as 30's.  That's my guess....but I don't know everything!   What's your opinion?

There are still lots more to see, but the front of the shop is calling me....I didn't get back here last night til 7:30, and I brought a couple of small pieces of furniture with me, one for a floral display and the other for our front window.   I put the big Eiffel tower in the window, but I dunno.  I keep wrestling with that window:

I don't know what I'm doing, but I'll learn as I go along!

More pix as soon as I can get some work done!  Now to go down and sort all these silk flowers I bought last night!

Finally....It's Over

I'm not big on cliches, but....can we talk?

Over the last weeks, there have been quite a number of political pleas and causes on posted on my personal Facebook page.....sigh.

For sure, people are quite passionate about things that touch their hearts.  I GET THAT.  I'm passionate about what's important to me, too.

I don't feel singled out when these posts appear;  I know they are sent  to a list of Facebook contacts,  and all contacts get the message  their page.  Or I guess that's it!  Whatever!   I haven't taken offense....I just quietly take them down. 

No comment  ;-)

BUT....since this is MY turf, here on this blog.....you might like to know that I am totally and completely, politically neutral.  While some have political passion, I do not.      My apolitical passion is not one that stems from complacence; it's based on knowledge and commited, personal decision.

It's not a matter that I would post on your personal Facebook page, though.  Just sayin'.  ;-)

Here is the passion that I DO share freely among those who follow what I write, my You Tube videos, The B'sue Boutiques Creative Group at Flickr and Facebook, my newsletters,  my website,  and those who write to me for advice:

YOUR creativity and MINE.  

I'm all about OUR collective talent.    This collective talent spans age groups, culture, language, color, country.

WE LEAVE THE WORLD OUTSIDE.   Here is your place not to worry about poverty, injustice, inequality, global warming, taxes, political candidates.  You come here to rejoice in pretty, sparkly things, increase your knowledge of their amazing history, and share with others of like mind.   I offer you respite, a  happy place where there are no dumb ideas, no wrong techniques, only ideas upon ideas.   Newbie and advanced artist exist on equal ground on my written pages.    Networking is allowed and encouraged.  I want you to grow like beautiful flowers in a garden; I will water and nurture you the best I can....and when I can't, one of our creative friends will step in with a suggestion or a newer, better idea.

In return, you will share your enthusiasm and new ideas with me, when you are able.  If you do not want to reveal every last technique you have used on a new design, I'm just thrilled if you'll share a photo so I can see what you're up to and how you've grown.  It's as if your photos are like school pictures, leaping from year to year, endeavor to endeavor. 

I want to know about all your successes and joys as your artistic journeys lengthen, and your business grows.

If you become our customer at B'sue Boutiques  you have my heartfelt thanks for your support of our family enterprise.

But most of all, I open the door wide to my little creative haven where nothing matters but the work of your hands.

Yeah, I'm glad all the policitizing of this season is over.   I'm weary.   It will return, and when it does, if that's your thing, well okay.  That's your decision and you have the right to choose.  I understand.

But, I'll be here with the windows shut so the mud-slinging can stay outside, quietly removing any cause statements that appear on my pages. 

Back to making jewelry!  Your designs ROCK ON!