Winter Happenings

Well, all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas has passed, and I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season. 

You might recall, back in September of 2010 I did a post on my future studio.  I've been patiently waiting and prompting Barry about getting it finished so I can use it. Well, one of the best Christmas presents this year has been seeing the progress being made from this:

 to this:

It's not quite finished yet, but it's all sided, has electricity, and heat, and by spring I'll be able to use it! Hopefully!

I was so engrossed in making ornaments this year, I'll be all stocked for next year's craft show.  I finally finished glazing the last batch of stoneware and porcelain ornaments and just removed them from the kiln.  These are decorated with actual snowflakes.

That should be enough of that until next year.  The snow however will be around for a while longer.  

Mixing it up with some low fire earthenware pieces, I recently glazed some bisque snowflakes & hearts, and here's some of the finished pendants and components I've been listing in my Etsy shop. As you can see, whether I'm using low fire or high fire clay, teal, turquoise, purples, green and blue seem to be where I gravitate with glaze.

Since Valentines day is on the way, I'll have to stir up some reds and pinks!  Until then, best wishes to you for a Very Happy New Year!

Black Friday Cyber Monday Giveaway Winners

Phew, That was so much fun!  What a way to get in the groove for the holiday season! Thanks so much everyone who participated in the Black Friday through Cyber Monday Event.

And the Giveaway Winners are.....

Purple Stoneware, Amethyst, Purple Jasper and Gold Leaf Earrings - Rose-Marie Welch

 $25.00 Gift Certificate for my Clayworksnh Etsy shop - Brenda Fegley

Thanks so much for shopping!

More deals to come in the weeks ahead which I'll be posting here as well as on my Clayworks by Lisa Boucher Facebook page.

Love My Art Jewelry Cyber Monday Sale and Giveaway

It's Cyber Monday, and that means, it's time for the Love My Art Jewelry and friends Cyber Monday Sale!

  

To celebrate this excellent event, save 25% off any item in my Clayworksnh Shop until midnight tonight!  Simply use coupon code ARTBEADS25 at checkout. 

 Save on Pendants, Beads, Components, Ornaments and much more!

I'll also be giving away a $25.00 Gift Certificate towards anything in my Clayworksnh Etsy shop.

 Everyone that makes a purchase in my Clayworksnh Etsy shop today will be entered in a drawing and the winner will be picked at random on Tuesday, the 27th.

This is a treasury I created featuring several of the artists that have Etsy shops:

'Love My Art Jewelry Cyber Monday Sale!' by Clayworksnh

Handcrafted Festive Holiday Beads, Jewelry and Supplies from a few of the participants in the Love My Art Jewelry Cyber Monday Sale Event! Be sure to check out their shops for specials through Monday! Find out more on the Love My Art Jewelry Blog.

Handmade Ceramic Toggle Clas... maryhardingjew... $10.00	Art Bead Jewelry SALE, Cranb... enlalumiere $58.00	Blue Pinwheel Ceramic Dangle... JeraLunaDesign... $25.00	Lampwork Beads - SueBeads - ... suebeads $40.00
One Two Cha Cha Cha - Pearls... jeanawells $34.50	Hexagon Snowflake Pendant an... MartiC51 $14.95	Gear Earrings Dark Brick Red... LindaLandigJew... $32.00	Night Skies - Lampwork and S... PattiVanderblo... $22.00
Remember When... handmade ce... artisanbeadspl... $30.00	Tin Can Earrings remaker $14.95	Snowflake disc beads - AJE C... THEAtoo $10.00	SALE Ceramic Jewelry Compone... MarshaNealStud... $8.00
Ceramic Bead De-stash marlasmud $20.00	Handmade Red Lampwork Leaves... KristiBowmanDe... $49.00	Dangle Earrings, Drop Earrin... LjBjewelry $38.00	Cobalt Blue Porcelain Snowfl... Clayworksnh $9.95

Treasury tool supported by the dog house 

Here's the complete list of participants in this incredible one day event: 

There's also a spectacular Giveaway happening today on the Love My Art Jewelry Blog, so be sure to check it out. 
 

Don't forget, the Beads of Clay Cyber Monday event is in full swing and there's lots sales and daily Giveaways happening there as well!  Please see my previous post for the list of all of the Beads of Clay members having Cyber Monday Sales.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales!

To kick off the holidays, Friday, November 23rd through Monday, November 26th several Beads of Clay members are running specials in their shops. To save 25% off any item in my Clayworksnh Shop Friday through Monday, use coupon code BOCCYBER at checkout. Save on Pendants, Beads, Components, Shawl Pins, Finished Jewelry, Ornaments and more!

The Giveaway

I'm running a earring giveaway for this event. Anyone making a purchase during Black Friday through Cyber Monday in my Clayworksnh shop will be entered to win this prize. The winner will be picked at random on Tuesday, November 27th.

These handcrafted earrings feature my Clayworksnh stoneware beads glazed in cobalt blue and deep purple.  I added some jasper, amethyst and antique gold leaf charms and used gold plated & copper findings to complete this fun to wear pair.

 ~ Please also visit Beads of Clay Blog for lots of daily Giveaways!  Happy Shopping and Saving!

Artisan Whimsy Berries and Leaves Challenge

There's no denying it.  The holidays are on the way!  To get things cooking and into the spirit, Artisan Whimsy is having a Berries and Leaves challenge.  The perfect time to reveal my Scarlet's Ladder choker necklace!

This elegant lacy look necklace features three gorgeous detailed reversible Yuletide Melody Ophan holiday lampwork beads by Michelle Veizaga of Sun DoorBeads. A Holly Bead, a Kissing Ball Bead, and a Ribbon Bow Bead. I fell in love with these the minute I saw them and have been dying to play with them. 

I framed the lampwork beads with wrapped loops of my Clayworksnh earthenware clay roundelles in red, forest green and light green combined with red and metallic bicones. Oval copper chain and jump rings join the ladder rungs together. 

Red ribbon woven through the chain loops completes the holiday look and feel of the necklace, and the piece is finished with an antique copper plated pewter leaf toggle clasp by TierraCast.

Stop on over to Artisan Whimsy to see the other entries in the Berries and Leaves Challenge!

My Bead Table Blog Hop Reveal Time

Welcome to the My Bead Table Blog Hop!

The last blog hop hosted by Lisa Lodge was so much fun, I decided to join in again for this My Bead Table Blog Hop!  Lisa sent each participant a randomly selected bag of beads and elements, and the challenge was to blend these with beads currently on our bead table. Since I had recently been working on some pieces to submit to a publication, all of my tools and a wide variety of beads were already covering my workspace. Perfect timing!

These are the beads that Lisa sent me for the challenge:

Decorative wooden beads, lucite flowers and leaves, some gorgeous turquoise teardrops, sparkling yellow raspberries, and so many little treasures. 

And here's what I made~

I'm partial to blue, so this was the first piece I made using this fabulous turquoise teardrop as a focal with some of the other turquoise blue beads Lisa included the mix. I used some of my silver chain, wire and a toggle I had as well as a few of my own seed beads and turquoise nuggets to finish the piece.

The second is a bracelet featuring some delicate and fun lucite flowers, and a variety of lovely glass beads in varied shades of yellow and blue. The focal is a handmade lampwork bead by Michelle Veizaga of Sun Door Beads which magically went perfect with this mixture.  It was just meant to be.  Again, I used some silver chain and silver findings I had on hand with a few of my own seed beads etc. to fill in complete this piece.

The bead mix Lisa sent also had several of these round bright orange beads that look good enough to eat.  I thought they went well with the decorative wooden beads that were also included, so I wired them up with copper and put them together using some beading cord and copper chain, and made a pair of earrings to match.

I hope you'll check out all of the creations made by the other My Bead Table Blog Hop participants:

My Bead Table Blog Hop

Your Host: Lisa Lodge
 

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes...

Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse

(You are Here) Lisa Boucher, Lisa’s Clay Happenings

Michelle Buettner, Mishel Designs

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Mary Anne Klinglesmith Flesch, Hand Crafted Serenity

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Mary Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Tina Holden, Polymer Clay Bytes!

Shelly Joyce, Au jour le jour

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Susan Lloyd, Designs by Susan

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Kashmira Patel, Sadafule .. always in bloom!

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Kristen Stevens, My Bead Journey

Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

Sandra Wollberg, City of Brass Stories

Thank you Lisa for hosting another great hop, and for such a varied and beautiful mix to work with!

October Happenings at Clayworks

Happy Anniversary to Kelsey and Sam who just celebrated their 2nd anniversary on October 2nd!

  We have such great memories of the event. It took place in the mountains of Plymouth NH, and the rain took a break that day just for us.

  It couldn't have been more perfect.

Since they had a fall wedding, Kelsey thought it would be fun to make some acorn earrings as gifts for her bride's maids that would match the color of their gowns.  One day when Kelsey was over for a visit, we took a drive into town and checked out the local bead store.  We were pleasantly surprised to find they had the exact perfect chartreuse glass beads that were just the right size for a nice acorn.  Then we took a walk in the woods behind our house, and found a treasure trove of acorns that we could use for the acorn tops.  Voila - Sweet little acorn earrings all set to go, on little cards that Kelsey made on the computer. The wedding party loved them and they're fun to wear anytime!  Crafting these together with Kelsey was the most special part to me and something I'll always remember.

Since I had an abundance of acorns leftover from the project, one day I had the bright idea of trying to use some of them for a jewelry piece.  I threaded a headpin through some gold vintage filigree bead caps and glued them to the acorn tops, then made a loop with the wire for stringing.  To make them more durable, I brushed on a few coats of Mod Podge sealer and they were ready to go!  Combining the acorns with some turquoise discs, some of my Clayworksnh stoneware beads, and little baby acorns made from beads and Hawaiian puka shells, I wired them up on some antique copper chain, and was really pleased with this fun little fall bracelet!

I submitted it to Bead Trends and am excited to say they published it in their October 2012 issue!

It's found in the Mixed Media section.  Thanks again to Bead Trends for choosing one of my pieces for your beautiful publication!

Other October Happenings:  I'm excited to be a part of the newly launched Artisan Whimsy site which features everything you can imagine about beading and bead artists and members of the Creative Bead Chat Facebook page. 

 A site for bead makers and jewelry designers of all mediums to share their work, useful tips of the trades, giveaways, and much, much more.