Owls On My Worktable

Hello Beady Peeps!

Recently I had the opportunity to do a handmade trade with Foxpaw Beads.  I chose some items for myself that I had been drooling over, and in return, she sent me some of her favorite charms to create earrings with.  Here are one of three pair.   :)

Two little carved ceramic owls of different sizes with horizontal holes.

I adore the body pattern on the owls, one had stripes and the other, dots.   I really wanted to play on that feature so I did some digging and found some nice pieces in that rich reddish brown and subtle grey.

I used an orphan African ceramic Kazuri bead with stripes and dots.  Next, I found some wonderful spacers by Heather Powers of Humblebeads with a feather like pattern and a deep pink base.

I needed to build some height onto the shorter of the two, so I added a large pinkish/grey, rustic vintage pearl.  I think it added light and softness to the design, as well as length.

Work in progress shot.  A little decorative support to keep them steady.  I continued the wire wrapping partially around the frame and clipped off a couple of wires.

♡

I've fallen for these guys and I'll be sending a piece of my heart back with them.

♡

This is the next pair I'll be working on.... I'm still deciding my direction - we shall see!   I will show you the final design next time!  

As always, thank you for stopping by and having a peek!  

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

We're All Ears :: March Reveal :: Owls

Alas, you get no credit for the best laid plans.

I had grand visions of finding glass beads that looked just like those haunting eyes and pairing those with a multitude of feathers. While I found some glass beads in my stash, but none of them seemed quite right.

So then I set about to create some components of my own. I had this idea to make an owl head tablet bead. I succeeded in making eight of them. But then I couldn't quite decide how to finish them and everything I did seemed to make it look worse.

Then I decided to switch gears away from the obvious owl face and focus on the feathers. I came up  with a new feather design, one that required sculpting each so they would be unique.

Still, none of this was quite right, or at least not how I envisioned it in my head.

But it is my party, and I figure that I should share with you what I made, even if it feels a bit more like cocktail weenies than prime rib. Plus there is always a lesson to be learned in the process....like using different colors of clay, or coloring it before baking, or simply don't wait until the very last minute to gather your materials (!).

"Perfection is the enemy of done." So here is what I made. Now I know that I have the spark of some ideas that I can revisit and refine another time.

Whoooo else made something to share? Add your link to the blog hop below and have fun flying around to see what everyone else created!

We're All Ears :: March Inspiration :: Owls

I just found out that this weekend, March 3-5, 2017 is the International Festival of Owls in Houston, MN. And I just Googled the map and it is only 2 1/2 hours from my house! I wish that I had seen this sooner, as that is something I would love to attend.

They have a gift shop, a photography contest and an owl pellet dissection (I am not sure I want to know what that entails!). There is even a collaborative artwork that will be created by everyone that attends, adding their own unique touch to a colorful owl painting. There is owl nest box building, owl storytime and a kids hooting contest. Doesn't that sound like a hoot? ;-)

The best part is the live owl programs featuring barn, short-eared, snowy, Great Horned, Barred owls, and Eastern screech owls.

They represent wisdom and truth with piercing eyes that are all-seeing, even in the darkest of nights. Silent, secret and majestic. As a personal totem they symbolize the capacity to see beyond deceit, a heightened intuition and are harbingers of life transitions and change.

Photo credits :: Unsplash :: clockwise from top R
Quentin Dr :: Andy Chilton :: Massimo Mancini :: Paul Morley :: Ray Hennessey :: Andy Chilton :: Cliff Johnson

They are even showing the USA premiere of a movie called The Secret Life of Owls! (Click to watch the trailer!)

I love the beauty of these fearsome creatures and have made them a part of my jewelry work for many years, but I have never really made them part of earrings, typically only pendants, so this will be a challenge for me! What about the owls inspires you? I can't wait to see what you do with this month's challenge. Make your earrings inspired by OWLS and share them here on Friday, March 17th!

Copper Owl Earrings

I've had these owls in mind for a while and finally sat down to create them this week. I treated myself to some fancy metal stamps last weekend at my local bead store, a flower stamp and leaves. I thought they were perfect for the owl's eyes and feathers. I paired the copper owls with beads that I created from polymer clay in shade of purple and olive green. They hit all my favorite woodland notes.

I love owls in all shapes and sizes! I'd pair up these earrings with this ceramic owl pendant. Wearing owls always makes me feel just a wee bit wiser. 

Copper Owl Earrings

Have a great weekend!

Owl Be There

Just Call My Name, Owl Be There (cue Jackson 5 + an owl).

 Sorry for the pun...well not very sorry.  I actually love puns. 

These cool owl charms were made by Kristi Bowman Design.  This spring Kristi shared a link to an owl cam with me.  I watched live video feeds from inside an owl nesting box.  Owls look so weird and awkward when they are young!  But they grew up quickly and soon were off on their own.

I paired the copper owls with hand-dyed fiber and copper beads by Jimenas Treasures and some copper plated leaf chain.  I kind of really love these!  Hope you do too.  They'll be in my shop this afternoon.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

Hoot

I wanted to showcase these adorably sweet Owl charms from Humblebeads, and decided to pair them with some hand-forged copper wire links and handmade earwires.  The teal waxed linen cording ties give a nice little splash of color on the metalwork.

Owls are huge right now, everywhere! Even at the mall and in clothing stores! I'm sure the influx of them in the crafting and hobby world had something to do with that! It's one of America's favorite birds! Any owl or bird lover would be thrilled to own these! They are listed here, at Lorelei's Etsy store!