Friday, October 30, 2009

A couple of little things

Oh, I know. I have been missing.  Just when I started things up and I go and leave a 2ish week gap in my blogging.  I am truely sorry. 

The good news is that I had a successful holiday bazaar showing and I completed some really nice pieces.  I am adding pictures for you to enjoy.  I'll be sure to write a little about them. 

This is a close up of a new design.  I haven't come up with a good name for it yet so if you have suggestions I  would love to hear them.   I'm thinking maybe a contest is in order for the winner. 

So a little about the above necklace.  The pendant is made up of two "caged" enameled domes that have been prong set using silver.  The cages holding the enameled pieces are pierced copper.  The pendant hangs on a viking knit chain.  It is really gorgeous I think. 

Here is the a picture of the whole thing. 

This piece is a bracelet I am calling August Blaze.  It reminds me of fire, heat and the like.  The three large pieces are enameled using threee different colors.  The have all been fired a minimum of 8 times each to give them just the right look.  The enameled pieces have been linked together using fire engine red glass donuts and genuine garnet beads.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I would love to hear from you!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Seaview Manor Holiday Bazaar

You know when things get busy and you forget to do stuff, even when there is a list in front of you?  Well, I'm there. 

It's all very exciting however, one or two things may have fallen by the wayside for an instant.  Things like updating my Etsy site or worse yet, updating my creative blog.  Sorry (she says with a down cast face). 

I am getting ready for a bazaar in Seaside, Oregon and have been buried up to my eyeballs in metal and enamel.  If your interested, the bazaar will be in 12th Avenue in Seaside on October 23 and 24.  To tell you the truth, it's not a bazaar as much as an artisan and crafters fair.  The vendors are there by invitation only and the quality of craftsmanship is high. 

If you would like to go, here are the directions.  It is going to be an amazing time! 

135 12th Avenue, Seaside, OR

I hope to see you there.  I will have some beautiful jewelry for sale. 

Bye for now!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Golden Retriever Fever...An Introduction

This is my girl...Abbie
Abbie Eyes
She goes everywhere with me, weather permitting of course.  Lately, I have been pondering how a person can get so attatched to a dog.  I never thought I'd love a dog so much, especially a golden retriever...that sheds...and slops her water all over the house...and likes to roll in really stinky stuff!  I do though.  I adore my Abbie.   

What does this have to do with a blog focusing on creativity?  Well, she's my studio buddy.  I have a little corner of our garage that I use for my studio.  It can get kind of lonely out there but Abbie loves to be with me no matter where I am so she hangs out with me in my studio. 

During the summer, I open the garage door and she will lounge in the driveway sunbathing.  In the winter she finds a spot near the heater and parks it.  The companionship that she provides is something that helps my mind focus sometimes.  When I'm stuck on a design, you will often find me sitting there staring at my metal and petting Abbie all while processing how to proceed.  She provides that extra calm and peace that I sometimes need in order to bring my scattered thoughts together and have them jell. 

Commic relief is also something she provides.  She is hilarious when she has her heart set on something, especially dinner.  She has this way of poking you with her nose until you give her the attention she is looking for.  Once she has made eye contact, she sits down and cocks her head inquisitively as if to say, "I love you, would you feed me please?"  The dog in the movie Up, reminds me of Abbie so much.

Abbie is not vocal at all.  I know, unusual!  We joke in our house that the only time we have heard her bark is when she is chasing a squirrel in her sleep.   Some people sleepwalk or talk in their sleep but our dog Abbie, she sleep barks, sleep growls and sleep chases. 

I have been noodling on a golden retriever inspired design.  I'm not entirely sure what it will turn out to be but I have found particular inspiration in our sweet golden child with big brown eyes and floppy ears made of silky fur.

Do you have any studio buddies?  How about a favorite pet?  Do they provide you with inspiration?  I'd love to hear about them.

Hope your day is terrific and filled with joy and peace.
Rikki

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

8 Years

Daisy Box 3

In 2001 I was diagnosed with cancer and while it was an incredibly tough time in my life, I was given many gifts to get me through. I was blessed with a Spiritual awakening that rocked my world and the truest and best family and friends a girl could have.  My family and friends helped my husband and I with our then 6 month old and 2 year old.  They also cooked for us, cleaned for us and encouraged us.  Our faith, well, at times I felt like I was literally crawling into Jesus' lap, especially when the fear and nightmares would hit.


As I walked through my cancer journey, I began to think of the healing process I was going through like a long walk down a wooded path. At times it was treacherous but when I was willing to slow down and look at all the little “flowers” that God put along the path, I learned so much about the character of God and his love for me and grew many other ways too. One of the things that helped and encouraged me the most was going through my Bible and highlighting verses that meant a lot to me.  On days that I was having a difficult time, I would read and re-read them.  Sometimes it felt like reading God's promises was the only thing that would get me through.

Because of the joy and encouragement given to me through these verses, I decided to make a beautiful treasure box to put them in. I had several friends who saw my box sitting on my counter and asked about it. When I told them what it was, they asked for one of their own and began ordering them for friends who were going through difficulty too.

One of the first boxes I gave was to a young woman, sister-in-law to a dear friend of mine.  She had 2 tiny children and just found out she had bone cancer.  I related so much to what she must be feeling that I felt compelled to make sure she had one of my these "treasure boxes"  filled with verses of encouragement and love.  She was so thrilled to get it and later I was told that it sat next to her computer and she would flip a new verse each day.

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day.  I know that I am feeling particularly blessed myself today!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Personal Style

Cascade mtns&lava
(The Casade Mountains and Lava Lands Visitor Center in Bend, Oregon)

I read an article on Etsy yesterday that talked about finding your groove artistically. One of the statements that was made was that it’s important to do what you like. Find your niche by experimenting with the things that you like.


That has given me a lot of pause. The big question is what do I like? What is my style? Well, to start with, I am a pretty casual person. Blue jeans and a giant white, button down shirt or loose fitting sweatshirt are what I’m most comfortable in however, I am definitely girly and love bold colors, high heels and pretty makeup but, I don’t like to be uncomfortable…ever. All that to say, I think that would be a great way describe my style-- comfortable and feminine.

I really appreciate the article’s Etsy puts out. They are very helpful and thought provoking. It’s always so nice to get a new perspective or thought to help you define something that has been a bit indefinable in the past. I will still experiment with everything I can come up with. Enamel is so fun for me right now as is copper, especially this fall. The colors in nature are magnificent and bring out the nature lover in me.

My goal today – get out with my camera and capture some of these terrific colors and sites. I have so much inspiration to work with!

How about you? What’s your personal style?

P.S.  To find some of great articles you can go to Etsy and find the community section.  There is some great reading.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Green & Yellow

flowers in the sunflower
What inspires your creativity?

This Autumn, I am finding terrific inspiration from the flowers within the flower.  Okay, so they are called sunflowers.  Have you ever really looked at a sunflower?  The center where the seeds are look like thousands of tiny flowers, the big yellow petals, well, they look like a skirt or maybe saffron dyed silk.  How about the leaves of a giant sunflower?  They seem to support more bug life than anyother plant around.  

I have a neigbor who has sunflowers growing everywhere.  The really cool thing is, she has planted a number of varieties which have leant themselves to much observation on my part.  My favorites are the giant sunflowers.  They are so big and happy looking.  She has also planted some smaller bushier looking plants and even some with burgundy in them. 

The green and yellow of the sunflowers are peaking my interest.  Which leads into the next thought.  Did you know that in Oregon, we have a civil war going.  The U of O Ducks vs. the OSU Beavers.  Coincidentally the Ducks colors are yellow and green.  I have a number of football fan friends who are fanatic about the Ducks.  Since I get to watch their faces get all animated when they talk about the Ducks, maybe I can come up with something as fun/funny as they are.  I have been picturing some yellow and green enameled jewelry. 

I plan to get to the beavers too, since there are equally as many fanatical beaver fans as duck fans, most of them happen to be related to me.  What do you think?  Maybe some black and orange enamel?  It is so fun for me to watch my football fanatic friends, it makes me wish I knew what the heck the rules of the game are so I can jump up and down and get all excited too. 

For now I will leave you with a picture of my newly designed sunflower pendant.  It's about the size of a dime and is, as you have already guessed, inspired by the giant sunflowers down the road.  I made it out of sterling silver and copper.  It can also be seen on my etsy site.  http://www.myred2lips.etsy.com/



May your days be full of jumping up and down with excitement!
Rikki

Tuesday, September 22, 2009




It was beautiful today. 90 degrees, blue sky and gentle breeze. How can you have a better day on the second day of fall?

Today was spent enjoying some studio time. I have a number of little sunflower pendants and earrings I'm working on at the moment. They are shaping up nicely and I'm excited to see how well they sell in the bazaar in October.

The 2 photos I loaded are of my August Blaze enameled bracelet and my Sparks Lake enameled bracelet.  Both are currently for sale at http://www.myred2lips.etsy.com/

Hope your day is beautiful!
Rikki

Monday, September 21, 2009

In The Beginning




Well, here I go.

A blog.  About creative stuff...  Did I ever think I'd do this?  No, not so much.  However, a number of people have been telling me that it would be interesting to see what I do and the processes I go through to create.  So, I've decided this may be the best platform for me to use.

With that,  here are a couple of pictures of new items in my jewelry line.

These are from my Cascade Collection.  They are the High Lakes Earrings and Bracelet




The colors remind me of the Century Drive Loop that features a number of lakes dotted throughout.  As you can imagine the High Lakes are beautiful.  The blues and greens are varied a million ways and throw in there the tall trees and lava fields.  All the inspiration for this fun bracelet and earring set. 

If you would like to look at more of my jewelry and creations you can see them at http://www.myred2lips.etsy.com/