Northern Lights

They are a magical sight, the Northern Lights.

The Norther Lights was the given prompt for this month's design challenge over at Vintaj.  I just could not help but enter with this theme in mind and all kinds of Vintaj stuff on hand. There is a ton of eye candy to be had so stop over and vote for your favorite, there are some beauties.  And, I must say, if you are a fan of their products, these challenges are a blast.  Please consider joining in the fun.

VOTE HERE

My earrings are simple.  I started with some of the Vintaj patinas and two discs of their art metal.  I made sure to sand the color off the edges so that some of the lovely copper color comes through.  A celestial pattern was stamped with permanent ink and the stars were touched with glitter via a gel pen.  I added some of the Vintaj glaze to seal in my handiwork.

Of course I have to share my personal inspiration...

This photo of the Northern Lights was taken by my sister, Sarah Freitag, deep in Copper Country.  She recently started a blog Copper County Homestead where she along with her boyfriend Jason, document all kinds of fun farmy happenings.  You can read all about chickens, nature, canning, how to make random stuff and yummy farm fresh food.  Feel free to check it out, if you are so inclined!

Sending you some blog love Sarah!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Time to Fly Again!

Hello Dear Readers!

I know, I know I have been off the map!  Please feel free to read to the end of the post and I will let you in on a wonderful little secret that may help shed some light on my absence 

The reason for this post is to ask a favor, if you are so inclined.  You see back in February, I entered a Mixed Metals Design Challenge for Vintaj on a whim and I won.  Because of this, my piece Time To Fly, is entered into their End of the Year Design Contest along with all the other winners over the year.  Of course this event is determined by popular vote, so I would love your support!

VOTE FOR #2: Mixed Metals

Thank You all SO much!  I won!!!

And now for my little secret...I have totally fallen in love. This has left me artistically distracted at the moment.  Yes, it is wonderful and awe inspiring and so very special.  It has been a very long time and I am enjoying every minute of it.

The creativity can come back anytime though!

Thanks as always for your loyal readership.  I appreciate the time you took to vote for me and share in the joy of love!

Cheers,

Rhea

Radiant Raven: Vintaj

I came across another Vintaj challenge that piqued my interest, so I decided to make a little something for the "Radiant Raven" contest.  My intent was to take simple filigree pieces from the Vintaj line and use them to make something that resembled a raven.

Please consider voting for my piece HERE. Mine is #9, there are some really amazing pieces that will be tough to beat!

The wings were embossed with a spiral pattern and I used guilders paste to grunge them up a bit.  

The head of the raven is a piece of filigree that I simply folded in half.  Eyes were added with headpins, bead and Vintaj bead caps.  I love how it gives it a bit of a clockwork look. 

Some of the elements used in this piece were from Alpha Stamps.  They have a delightful selection on all kinds of jewelry stuff.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to vote for me!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Time to Fly: Vintaj

Secretly, deep down inside I dream of making my abundance as an artist, teacher and healer.  Since I have recently made some small art resolutions to move towards that dream, I am putting myself out there in the design world just a bit more.  I thought the recent offering of a "Mixed Metals" design challenge over at Vintaj would be a great opportunity to take one small and fun step in that direction. 

Update:  Thanks to your support, I finished in the lead!
Thanks to all of you, this piece will also be entered in the annual contest. 

The inspiration for this piece was the lovely pocket watch.  This vintage Elgin was found by a friend of mine while she and her family were letterboxing.  Now that I am more open about my artistry, people find and give me the most amazing things!  When I popped off the back of the watch, I fell in love with the movement.  My plans to take out the inside an make a small assemblage inside went out the window at that point. 

There is amazing workmanship inside of this little guy.  It really does make a nice steampunk focal.  I had been "saving" this for a "special" project and I am glad the inspiration struck to finally use this gem instead of just coveting it!



Another element I really like in this piece are the birds.  I added the texture seen using one of Tim Holtz's embossing folders.  Vintaj's metal accepts these prints amazingly well.  I also find their jump rings can be opened and closed several times and don't seem to lose their shape or get brittle as other base metal findings do.  Their products are pretty dreamy, I cannot wait to get my hands on the new patinas!  Some of my Vintaj findings were purchased at a new place in town called The Beading Bar. 

Thank you so much for stopping by as always dear readers.  Extra super duper thanks for voting, if you chose to help me out.  I really cannot express enough, how much it means to me. 

Cheers,

Rhea