Back to Quilting

Today I have been back at the sewing machine. Finishing up a quilt I am making for the Bahamas National Trust. It will be raffled at Art for the Parks, which is a local art show that I participate in.

I realized today that this show is 2 weeks from Friday......eeeekkkk......TWO WEEKS!!!
I only have a few more blocks left to make for this quilt, and I really love the palette....lime, yellow, hot pink, a little orange and dash of red.

And this pattern sews up very quickly.

I have so much to do, but I love the creative adrenaline rush I get leading up to a show. It is something I wish I could bottle and use when I have no motivation to work.  
I am looking forward to sharing with you all my new creations.
After this show I will also be back to teaching quilting again!!  If you are local and would like to take up quilting, or be a part of a quilting class, please let me know ASAP.
Well, back to stitching for me right now.......unlike my precious cat, Mr Wiggles, who gets to snooze in the sunshine.....

Woodland Necklace

Hello!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Remember my post, *Coming Soon*?

I was awaiting the arrival of a copper leaf clasp from Daisy Chain Designs in England. That tiny envelope took almost 2 months to get to me!

Now that the holidays are over and my house is empty again, I had a chance to make a piece using this beautiful clasp.

There were five jewelry designers that participated in the challenge, so be sure to check out their blog posts if you didn't already, right here.

While I was waiting the arrival of this package my lampworked owl was born, and I thought he would be perfect with this clasp.

This is the first time I have done a necklace completely out of copper wire and chain, and I really like it.

I have had this chain for quite some time and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  It works perfect with this necklace.  Heavy enough to add to the design, but not so heavy that it takes away from the oak leaf clasp or the beads.
Mr Owl has a birdie friend accompanying him also.

Hope you like my Woodland Necklace!
I think I am keeping this one for myself :)

Recycled Glass Jewelry

Happy Friday everyone!

Over the last few weeks I have been working on and off with making glass beads out of used bottles, that would have otherwise been trash.

The beads aren't perfect because I am not working with a rod, the glass isnt perfect, but I think the imperfections add to the uniqueness of the pieces.

Sometimes pieces break or crack, but I am pretty happy with the finished jewelry pieces that have been created as a result of this glass that could have been garbage.

I still have more photos to upload and edit, but wanted to show a couple of the most popular pieces.
Have great weekend!

Thank You & Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

Like most people I am trying to figure out where 2011 went!! It was a whirlwind. A fun and exciting one though! Thank you to everyone who reads my blog, buys my creations, supports me at my shows, and encourages me along the way.

You have been with me through my new vegan journey and at my first vegan Christmas dinner last year!  This year was the second!

You cheered me on to finish UFO's, and there are some that still aren't done and some new ones for 2012!

I shared recipes with you from my vegan journey and I hope they were helpful to you. You encouraged me when I came up with new ideas and had art shows to attend.

You read my posts in February as I did a Creative Everyday Challenge. That was a great challenge and one I need to do again!

You have listened to my dog stories and looked at my agility trial pictures.

Watched me struggle and enjoy swaps. The last part of 2011 I didn't do any swaps but will be getting involved again in 2012....i missed some of those gals (and guys!)

In May I thought my life was slowing down, but that wasn't so, things got really busy around the house, and I really slacked off from my blogging. But during that time my husband and I have been working on a classroom for me to start teaching quilting again, we built a guest cottage and a storage shed and dealt with Hurricane Irene.

You also cheered me on with my Paint Party Fridays, which I also miss and want to start doing again. Bead Table Wednesdays were fun and kept me motivated.

You listened to my stories about my online classes and encouraged me with my new lampworking skills.

So thank you, thank you, thank you!  Thank you for your ear (or your eyes since you are reading!), and I hope you will continue to follow my creative journey into 2012.

In 2012 I want to keep creating and get all these new ideas out of my head!

Of course finish some more UFO's; do more pottery {i have a potter's wheel again ~ woohoo!}, continue to improve my lampworking skills, make more jewelry components from ceramic clay and do lots more work with Precious Metal Clay. I just love that stuff and when I work with it I always ask myself why I don't work with it more!

Here are a few new pieces that I finished today.....

The textured circles on these earrings were made from Precious Metal Clay, and have my glass headpins hanging from them.


Potcake Necklace.......

Potcakes are our local mixed breed and there are many strays.  When I make these pendants I give $20 to help the animals of Abaco.


Have a happy, healthy, exciting and creative 2012!

The Journey of an Owl

Today has flown by! Probably because I have been on the torch most of the day.  It has been the perfect day for it.....it is 71 here with a brisk breeze, so having the toasty kiln on & sitting by a torch feels good for a change!
(Yes in the Bahamas we consider 71 cool!)

I told you in my last post that I had the pleasure of having Cassie, from Glass Beadle, here to help me with my bead making.

When she came I had a list of beads I wanted to learn how to make. An owl was on that list, but the three days went by so quickly that we never got to it.

I wasn't worried, since she had taught me some great skills with sculpting so I figured I could figure it out on my own.

That little owl took several tries.....four to be exact....

Just for fun I thought I would share the photos with you.
The very first one broke - after the annealing, while I was cleaning him!! I was devastated!

It took me a few weeks to try again.....so here are Mr Two & Mr Three....
They were better, but still needed some work to get rid of the wonkiness!

And then success today!!! WOOHOO!!
I am pretty proud of this little guy!

Sorry for the terrible photo, but I couldn't wait to share him with you!
Tomorrow he will become a pendant.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Busy, Busy Christmas

I am not sure where the first two weeks of December went, in fact, I am trying to figure out where 2011 went! I sure have stayed busy!

Wanted to do a quick post to show you some new things I have been working on.

I also, finally, created a Facebook for Bahama Dawn. If you scroll down this page you will see the button on the right. Click on it & *like* it please. Right after Christmas I am going to be running a discount special specifically through that page.

Back in November the awesome Cassie Donlen, from Glass Beadle came to Abaco and spent three days helping me with my glass bead making. I can't thank her enough! She was awesome and I learned TONS of great tips and tricks. It was my first real class in lampworking! Before that I had fumbled along, taught myself, and made a lot of mistakes.

Thanks again Cassie!!!

So here are some of my new creations......
These are just a few of the beads Cassie and I made together.  Some are hers and some are mine in this photo.

I learned how to make these hearts which have been very popular and I LOVE making them!

I am also having a blast stamping on metal, especially creating little scenes.  Will have lots more pieces with these stamped pieces as I get a chance to put together and finish pieces.

Also having fun making these puppy pendants!! Need to work on a kitty pendant also!  I am selling these for $20, and all the money goes to help the animals of Abaco.

Tree of Life Pendants are another new creation which have been popular also.

My final little show and tell are these sea glassy beads.  I make the bead, then etch it and it looks like sea glass!

Thanks for stopping by to see my new goodies!!
Have a great week!

Coming Soon........

Hello!!

First of all, today I am supposed to be a part of a group of bloggers taking part in a challenge with beautiful oak leaf copper jewelry components from Jo at Daisy Chain Designs.

Unfortunately, I am stilling waiting to receive my package, with the oak leaf, that seems to be delayed in the mail.
These are the beautiful copper pieces I am waiting on.....

In the meantime, please check out the Daisy Chain blog & website, as well as all the bloggers participating in the challenge:

Jo Tinley of Daisy Chain Designs

Melissa Meman of Art, Life, Love

Niki Sayers of SilverNikNaks

Amber Boorman of Larksong Studio

Rebecca Anderson of Songbeads

As soon as my oak leaf arrives I will post my design. I have had a design idea in my head since I saw the oak leaves on Jo's blog, so I cant wait to get started!