Putting It Together- Cold Connections

Club Creative Studio has been a busy place.  I have had a great time working with my mixed metal recently.  Discovering how and what I want to create by meshing layered metals in a cold connection (rivet technique) is a fun challenge. Of course, I wish to also incorporate my hand-made beads as well.

I have been working with 24-guage sheet metals. I have found that to be the most beloved thickness to design and make my jewelry with.  My studio is quite noisy when I decide to texture my metal pieces because I am hammering and pounding.  I have a new textured hammer that is double-sided and has interchangeable ends for making interesting designs.  And I also use my chasing hammer as a multi-purpose hammer for smoothing and doming, shaping and riveting. The ball-peen hammer is my main punching tool and I love the surface texture I can pound using this type hammer.

Recently to incorporate my hand-rolled clay beads, I create a pendant using mixed metals and a cold connection, then add Club Creative Studio one-of-a-kind beads to the art.  What a great combination.  To see more, be sure to check on the Facebook page and online. I will be adding sneak peek photographs and items available for in those particular venues.

http://www.facebook.com/clubcreativestudio

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

I will be taking photos of my metal working tools at some point and use them as a blog topic. Would that be of interest to you? Let me know what other tools of my trade you would like to learn more about.  Be creative every day!

 

 

 

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Lady In Red

Club Creative Studio. Samples in Red.

Are you seeing red lately?  The color red?  Are you finding the desire to dress or wear accessories that are red in color? Would you notice a lady in red when you see one? 

It seems that the color red is around us more during December and February.  You are probably seeing red hearts, roses, bows, candy wrappings, candy boxes, clothing and jewelry highlighting the color red now-a-days.

Club Creative Studio loves to create with the color red.

Does the color red invoke certain feelings for you? I recently asked Club Creative Studio Facebook friends this very question: What comes to mind when you see the color red?  Here are some of their responses in a word: power, passion. love, lipstick, hearts. blood, roses. I think that the color red is also fiery, hot and bright.  It awakens our imagination and stimulates our brain.  Have you heard of the “power tie”?  A power tie is a necktie that is red.  Red gives you strength and confidence.

Take a look at yourself the next time you are wearing the color red. Are you acting with extra spunk or attitude?  Are you happy and loving when you sport red? 

You don’t need to be covered from head to toe to get a taste of red in your life. If it is not your normal color to wear try an accessory or small pop of color from a necklace, bracelet or earrings.

I do not have items “color-coded” on the website but, you will find red integrated into hand-made art within the Club Creative Studio online storefront found at http://www.clubcreativestudio.com  I welcome you to browse and see if something catches your eye there.  Maybe it will be something created in the color red, maybe in an unexpected color combination. Happy Shopping!

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I Am All Ears!

I am “all ears” to listen to your comments from the Club Creative Studio post today!

How did I miss those ears?

Club Creative Studio has a continued focus on creativity.  Today’s post explains a few creative happenings from the past and present.

A week ago, while viewing Asian stone sculpture ruins at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I took a photo of this beautiful stone head. I guess it’s over-all beauty, and facial expression struck me at first in appeal. But, later as I got home, I noticed the obvious aspect of this statue;  the figure’s EARS.  The new revelation may have been in the forefront of my mind as I made many pairs of earrings that particular evening, and had ears on my mind.  Never-the-less, the ears certainly are a focal point of this stone sculpture, agree?

Looking at these ears in my photo gave me the prompt to write on my Facebook business page that I would have loved to sneak a pair of my hand-made earrings on this statue on display at the museum. What an improvement that would make! It also brought to mind the notion that I have not written about how I first got my own pierced ears. I would love to share this story with you.

From what I have been told, I got my ears pierced at the young age of three days! My mother pierced my ears in the same manner that many she knew of that time did in their families. She used ice cubes, a sterile sewing needle, a cut raw potato, red embroidery thread and cotton balls with rubbing alcohol. Without going into gory details, I among many others who went through this same process made it through without infection or turmoil after a few weeks of continual care and applications of rubbing alcohol with cotton balls.  A few weeks later, I was sporting my first pair of gold earring studs.  No, I do not remember any pain what so ever associated from that event. And yes, I still have my pierced ears.

If I had any baby photos in my possession, this is where I would certainly share those. Because I don’t have any on hand, please believe me when I say that I looked adorable with my bling on at such an early age! The craze to add second piercings in ears was high and popular around the time I hit middle school. I was in the eighth grade when I got my double piercing in each ear.  This time and at that age, I went to the mall and got the “piercing gun” shot into my ear lobe. This sounds so painful and crazy to write and say that out loud right now. I wore my second earrings in my ears at whimsy and even to this day, I wear two pair at once at random times when the mood strikes me.  I never got into more piercings or high piercings along my ear or in the cartilage however.

Step ahead with me into my future from that point in time. Having my own daughter in front of me gave me the thoughts that tradition was to rule and she would also have pierced ears at a young age. No, I did not allow my mother or anyone else to pierce her ears with the needle and thread technique at the age of three days but, she did get them pierced eventually. From the ideals of tradition, I wanted my daughter to have pierced ears. The ideas at that time were commonly voiced in opinion that a mother should not make the decision for her child concerning pierced ears. A popular belief and argument expressed was (is) that the child should decide that at a later date for themselves.  Also, I remember hearing “If God wanted you to put holes in your body, he would have placed them there). Many views, many beliefs, many separate decisions to consider when giving permission to alter your child’s appearance.

My husband and I discussed this and we came to a few conclusions. Yes, she could get her ears pierced but, if he was not around to actually see it happen, he would be fine with it.  Well, with permission granted, I thought about when this would happen.  As our children went through their series of childhood vaccinations, it did come to mind that the short crying spurs from those inoculations would also be about the same in duration from the piercing gun method on an ear.

My husband, being in the military, had a short deployment for three months and our daughter was five months old. That was when I took her to the mall with a friend and she got her ears pierced with the piercing gun. She did well and had no problems with them. When my husband returned home from Haiti, the deed was already done. Our daughter had bling on her ears. And we were all fine with it.

For many years when she was older we made our own earrings together. Making earrings for gifts were our shared creative outlets. And we were expressive in wearing earrings everyday.  Today, at nineteen, my daughter still has her ears pierced and enjoys keeping earrings in, and will make them on occasion as well using my supplies in the studio. Over the years we have discussed earrings and on the subject of getting more piercings in her ears she says that she is glad that I got her first pierce but, she is not interested in getting any other holes in her ears.  Time will tell one day if she has her own daughter and what path she will take on this subject. I guess I will wait for that time to come to continue this post.

To view the hand-made earring category collection online from Club Creative Studio, visit the page link below and click on the scroll down tab entitled: Earrings. I create with a variety of beads. All available online earring items are created for pierced ears however, I often make “clip” earrings from special requests. It takes is a small adjustment from me to transform an existing pair into non-pierced earrings or I can create with a custom request in mind. Enjoy!

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Dangle earrings are appreciated.

Beading Bracelets

Club Creative Studio hand-made wire bracelet.

Turquoise bracelet hand-twisted wire from Club Creative Studio.

Club Creative Studio speaks often about creativity. Here on the blog, you will find inspiration from art, project ideas, and other helpful information stemming from creativity. Today is no different in that I am sharing a short story from the spark of creativity that comes from the opportunity to collaborate and brain-storm.

I attended a networking event a few months ago and there, I met very interesting business people. Among all of them, I met a lady who had a common thread with me. We both shared the love and passion for beads. She was also designing jewelry so needless to say we had much to talk about. What began from a single common friendship fostered a bond through beading. As we connected via other social media methods, we learned more about each other. We planned an outing together to a local bead store that was going out of business. It was there that we spent several hours looking and speaking about beads as well as shopping for beads. It was really a fun time to spend time with someone with a shared enthusiasm for beads and supplies. We are now “beading buddies”.

My beading buddy bought a bracelet (say that three times fast). The wire bracelet was a store sample from one of their classes. When we looked at it we thought the same thing. We both had wondered how it was made, and if we could figure it out by closer examination, since there was not a way to get instruction from the store that was going out of business. We both had mentioned that we had wanted to try to create something similar but had not taken instruction on the technique. We thought that we could make them ourselves. We ended up splitting the cost of the bracelet and I took it home to dissect so we could recreate it later.

After meeting for a brain-storming session, we combined our creative time, and collaborated with our supplies to make our own versions of the same bracelet. Turns out the pattern was a good starting point for us to springboard into our own style and wire-wrapping techniques. Our skill levels were expanding together and we were inspiring to each other. That is what I am thankful for today, the opportunity to connect and support the creative drive of a fellow artist. Can you think of someone you have merged talents with or have benefitted from bouncing ideas off of? Do tell how it was a positive impact for you.

I am now getting comfortable with the technique and my materials. I will soon be able to offer these hand-made bracelets online for others to enjoy and purchase http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Feel free to “like” Club Creative Studio on Facebook. You can see a “Sneak Peek” from time to time of a fresh design on the Club Creative Studio Facebook page at http://www/facebook.com/clubcreativestudio

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Rock’n Art

Natural stones can ROCK YOUR WORLD!

Club Creative Studio’s Blog today is called: Between A Rock.  I have  used stones, rocks and gems in several art creations.  I have never felt like I was”caught between a rock and a hard place” when designing with them because there are so many options to incorporate wire to create mixed media art.

Special meaning associated with art.

One recent and particular custom piece comes to mind to speak about because it had special significance to the person requesting that I design an item that incorporated her “fool’s gold”. This nugget was special because her husband was a truck driver and he had the idea to “do something with this” someday.  He did not get around to it but, she kept it close to her heart since he passed away.  Fast forward to 41 years later, his bride decided for him to do “something” with it she gave it to me to create something special.

She wore the necklace I created on the day that what would have been their 41st wedding anniversary.

It is a sweet story that I will never forget.

I love knowing that special meaning can be associated with art.  I love knowing that something that I created with love had more love associated with it for someone else.

If we take time to look around our world, you might find yourself appreciating the little things in life like rocks and pebbles.  The next time you find one, take time to admire the marbling effects, the texture, the shape and even the weight of nature.  A mere stone is special if it is a single stone or grouped into a functional or natural setting. Here are photos of a few man-made stone walls found in the Western part of North Carolina.  I could not resist taking photos of my views. I wonder if you appreciate them as well.

Let no stone be left unturned! This is a wall located in downtown Sylvia, North Carolina.

I love wire wrapping polished stones.

Many natural stones or dyed rocks have interesting patterns, as highlighted in my cuff bracelet design here. Enjoy, admire, own it.Historically, stones have important status.  Paleo archeologists have discovered evidence dating back 250 million years suggesting that pre historic man used warm clay, earth and stone in medicines. The use of clays for healing was also recorded around 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia. Some scholars also believe that other prehistoric ancestors used ochres made from naturally tinted clay and iron oxides were used not only to paint caves, but also to heal wounds. Interestingly, iron is a main element in the basalt stones used in modern-day stone massage therapy.

Lodestone, a magnetic rock, was discovered in China around 8th century BC. It is believed that needles made from these magnetic stones around this time replaced bone acupuncture needles.   And in Japan, warm stones were worn around the waist to aid digestion.  Stones also play an important role in Native American beliefs. Some tribal elders believe stones to be ancient beings that have souls.  Stones were also used in northern Europe as the original electric blankets without the electricity. People would put warm stones in bed. Warm stones were also used during childbirth to help reduce pain and spasms.

And, if you found yourself in the generation of the PET ROCK, or know of the WORRY STONE, rocks take on additional meanings. I have been working for the past few days creating bracelets that have wire and various stones. I like the feeling that there is a deeper connection to nature when I am creating with stone.  I’ll be highlighting those creations soon as I find ways to perfect my wrapping techniques further.

Rocks, pebbles, stones…oh my! my photo is from an old street in downtown Philadelphia.

What type of people like stone jewelry?  I think anyone can “rock” this look because it is natural and can be a very neutral accessory.  People are drawn to the earth themes of wearing a stone accessory.  It is quite opposite from the shiny bling of a diamond or gemstone.  Adding a rock item to your collection of accessories provides a variety in range from semi-precious stones or a common rock you can find on a curbside or natural forest path.  No matter if a stone is man-made or dyed, it can bring a look of nature, calmness and simplicity. Smooth or rugged, a stone piece can be a statement piece of wearable art or a simple highlight of what nature has to offer us.  Stones can be used in their natural state, carved, polished, combined with other elements, caged in wire, attached to a pendant and even made  as a faux clay bead.  There is no limit to the display of a real stone in jewelry except for its weight.  Many artists attempt to mimic qualities of stone in other mediums.  A common look is from turquoise, and marble.  And why not? The natural stones can be expensive and hard to find, not to mention heavy to wear in their real states.

Image Copyright: Club Creative Studio

 Please visit and revisit the Natural Stone section in the Club

 Creative Studio online storefront. Inventory changes often!

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Find softness in a harsh rock setting like this one from a small north Carolina town called Sylva.

Are you attracted to rocks? Do you enjoy wearing jewelry that has rocks incorporated? Club Creative Studio has items that are unique and are inspired by nature.

Be sure to check out the website to view wire-wrapped stones. It is truly Art That Will Set You Apart!

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Blue Christmas- Inspired By Elvis

Club Creative Studio is sharing theme art in this Feature Friday post today that has been inspired by music on the radio.  It’s that time of year that the sounds of Christmas fill our airways.  Appreciating Christmas carols are part of our traditions, and one has inspired me to create a few statement pieces of hand-made jewelry art in the color blue.

Club Cretive Studio Art. Hand-made pendant.

The necklace above is made of various mixed metals, faux pearls, glass beads, shell buttons and dyed shell beads, a tea pot charm and a blue and black clay bead from polymer clay.

Lately the tune Blue Christmas sung my Elvis Presley has been heard quite often. So, I decided to create from the title of the song.  I don’t seem to createhand-made items in the color blue very often. I don’t know why. I have nothing against blue. I like blue. So, to concentrate on one specific color, and create item after item in the blue theme, was a welcome challenge and change of pace. How does the color blue make you feel? Does it make you feel down or lift your spirits with a calm feeling?

Image from blog: Daily Days of MKH

Using music as inspiration is easy because you can listen to words over and over and take to heart what is being conveyed to you. Any given day may render a new meaning while listening to the same words of a tune so use that as inspiration as well.

The song Blue Christmas inspired art in this theme color.

Theme jewelry-making can be a challenge to create because you may feel like you are limited in creativity however, it can also be a welcome task because you are placed in a position that you need to stick to in terms of a certain style, mood, or color.

Hand-made jewelry art with a focus on the color blue.

To view more creative creations please visit and revisit the website

http//www.clubcreativestudio.com

Custom requests welcome

veronica@clubcreativestudio.com

Suggestions For Your Socks

Club Creative Studio has a question for you: What is on your sock?  I am referring to your Christmas stocking that are traditionally hung by many from a fireplace mantel.  If you are one that does this year after year, I want to hear about how those socks are decorated. I also share ideas today as suggestions for your socks. What can you use and what have you used  to embellish them and make them your own decorative items for display?

Do you have stockings that are hand-made, heirloom pieces of fabric or store-bought?  Today in the Two Cent Tuesday post, I want to offer ideas that you can do inexpensively that will make those manufactured  dollar store-type Christmas stockings more personal and festive.

Christmas stocking ready to be decorated.

It may be as simple as having a glue gun and a bit of creativity.  You can use items that are “found items” around your home or purchase something specific to add to your stockings. To add personality and a personal identity to them, it is just a matter of being open to the creativity that you have within, and find a way to apply your ideas.

Let’s start with the most inexpensive ideas:

Hot glue items or use self adhesives to add buttons, rick-rack fabric, lace, ribbon, pom-pom, yarn, tassels, bows, cinnamon sticks, border trim, feathers, beads, charms, glitter, sequins, cotton balls or  faux fur.

Using unusual found items that convey personal interests may be interesting to attach with hot glue as well. Consider items such as crayons, pencils, photographs, theme scrapbook cut outs or stickers, silk flowers, cardboard initials,  bay leaves and whole cloves, small plastic toys, even coins.

To identify with name recognition, you can use fabric paint, fabric markers, small photos, initial charms, name tape, or decorative name tag.

Stepping it up a notch with these suggestions:

Moving on from glue to sewing techniques puts a different spin on the finished look.  Add higher quality textiles or fabrics. Adding a personal embroidery emblem, iron-on patch, rhinestone trim, actual photo frame and photo, quilted fabric sections,  personal theme ornament, or hand-made element in carved wood elevates the completed item.  The idea with stepping up the decorative element is the larger cost invested or better quality elements added, not necessarily the amount of decorative additions.

I have not included photos of improvements given to these stockings because, this is a project that my daughter and I will do together this year.  These are new stockings and they were bought because they are uniform in size, color and sweater-type texture for a more uniform theme this year.  Adding the personality will have a different feel this year, a more sophisticated theme.

So, let me know how you have personalized or made your holiday socks more special to display by adding decorative elements.  Did your creativity take hold in your project?

Beautiful Bullets

Welcome to the Feature Friday post from Club Creative Studio.

Club Creative Studio Jewelry Art.

This post highlights an interesting recent creation.  It may have started out as “trash” but, I am happy that I can refer to it as “treasure” now.  I spent time visiting an interesting person and in the mist of one of our conversations she quickly swept away the empty gun shells from a desk top to throw away. Her son, a police officer had the discarded shells from his training. Who knew that being tidy in front of me would make her change gears and not toss the trash.

I asked her if I could have the empty shells because I had an idea to drill a hole through it and somehow make an interesting pendant.  She agreed to share them with a smile and a bit of confusion. It was hard for her to imagine that I could really use them for something artful.  I had ideas in my mind, and I could not wait to show her the results.

Needless to say, I found a way to be creative with the empty shells.

Mixed with a combination of beads, metal wire, crystals, sequins and charms, these bullet shell casings are made to be one-of-a-kind, unique pendants hanging from a simple chain.

Club Creative Studio bullet pendants are one-of-a-kind creations.

These creations will be available online after a brief introduction at a four-day holiday craft fair the first week of November, 2012 in Rockledge, PA.

Club Creative Studio Bullet shell jewelry art.

Please bookmark us and visit us online for the latest creative creations. Our creativity is Art That Sets You Apart! http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Creative Thankfulness (5)

Club Creative Studio Art and bold suede cord strands.

Today, Club Creative Studio stops to be thankful for three words and the implications it brings to the fashion world. Choice, chance and change.

Choices

It is great news to know that hand-made art can be both unique and affordable. You are able to realize that when you wear something created from Club Creative Studio, you are the only one in the entire world that owns it.  When you wear something hand-made and one-of-a-kind, you express yourself as being an individual and special.  We are happy to offer a variety of choices online and take pride in knowing that nothing is ever made in duplicate.  The choice is yours to be different and supportive of the arts and art created by hand. Make a choice to express yourself creatively.

Chances

Chances are you will notice that suede is going to be popular in shoes and maybe elsewhere. I have created several simple necklaces that have colored suede cords as the strands so that is right on target for the Fall fashion season already.  The color cobalt blue is said to be popular as well as glitter and sparkle (yeah).  While you will still see and enjoy tone-on-tone items, statement pieces and men’s wear inspired looks will spill into women’s accessories.  How will you take a chance in your Fall fashion statements?  Dare to be different! Take a chance, show your creative side.

This Fall season: you’ll notice tassels, Oxford flat shoes, leopard and wing-tipped shoes, and colored toe caps, the chunky look and to me the most exciting: patterns and bold colors!

Bright colors are great for summer and fall if combined with other accessories that can compliment the boldness.

Changes

What changes will you be inspired to make?  Will you embrace the glitter and sequins trend?  Will you explore and appreciate the colors and patterns in new items?  As far as making beads that relate to the new trends, I am pleased and excited to see more contrasting colors and floral and geometric graphics around us. I look forward to coordinating Art That Sets You Apart with fashion-forward movements. Make a change from being ordinary to extraordinary, strut your creative stuff!

image:wowshoes580warcraftshoes

You might notice how things I look at can inspire bead-making for me. Do you see any similar qualities in the shoes above and the rectangle bamboo beads pictured here? Like changing your shoes, adding bright and bold colors to your wardrobe could be the jumpstart you need to meet and greet the new trend.  I remain thankful that our items lend well to standing out and offering unique and varied choices of art.

Color and texture combine for an interesting look for Fall.

Have fun as you attempt to use your creativity and make choices, take a chance, and allow the changes to be an extended expression of your style.  I’d love to help by suggesting that Club Creative Studio creations are as unique as you are.  Club Creative Studio Art found at http://www.clubcreativestudio.com offers you a wide choice of hand-made creations, gives you the chance to visit over and over again and purchase online at your convience, as well as shares in the excitement that our art can change your appearance in an affordable manner through its hand-crafted artistic designs.

Thank you for wearing and sharing Club Creative Studio Art

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Creative Thankfulness (4)

Club Creative Studio continues to take part in the Gratitude Project 2012, by posting publicly for 90 days something that I am thankful for. On the days that I blog, I am posting about how something with the creativity theme touches my life in thankfulness.  Today is the 4th post that coincides with this blog.

Special identification/informational tags for Club Creative Studio Art located at the Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

It is with gratitude that I have had an opportunity to display and sell art in a new venue.  Last week, I prepared Club Creative Studio hand-made art to be included with other talented artist’s work within the Abington Art Center’s Gallery Gift Shop shelves.  Laura Burnham, Executive Director of Abington Art Center accepted work and will arrange a space for it to be available to the public for purchase.

Laura preparing to display Club Creative Studio Art at the Abington Art Center.

One-of-a-kind, hand-made pendant from Club Creative Studio.

There are several reasons that warrant my excitement and thankfulness.  I am thrilled to be located in a new area where art and artists are appreciated by many.  I feel that this door has been opened to me so that others can readily see up close and personal what I do when I create Art That Sets You Apart. It is great to have many more local eyes fixed upon what I love to create.

Club Creative Studio hand-made pendant.

Being part of an atmosphere that is a constant support for artists is a blessing.  It is motivating and inspiring to reach higher on a creative level.

Abington Art Center 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA

I am pleased to offer one-of-a-kind, hand-made art in a variety of venues, especially at the Abington Art Center but, as always online at:

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

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