Beautiful Artists and Their Works of Art - Part 1

This post has been on my list of "to do's" far too long.  I confess I have been procrastinating and I'm not sure why - especially confusing because the subject matter is so dear to me.

It is so rewarding for me when someone uses something I've created to create something even more creative and beautiful.  This series of posts will feature those artists who have purchased one (or more) of my dichroic glass cabochons and turned them into works of art.  My deepest gratitude to each of you.

The first artist I want to thank is Anita Martinez whose Etsy shop name is Turiana07.  She purchased one of my dichroic glass cabochons and turned it into this masterpiece she called "Celestial Wings."

It all started with one of my dichroic glass cabs I called "Scuba Diving Twin B."

There are many other beautiful works of art in her Etsy shop like this necklace she calls "Aztec Princess."

Be sure to stop by and let her know how beautiful her work is.  Thank you Anita!

Artbeads has Cool Beads

For my Artbeads Summer Project, I chose this fun ceramic bead to incorporate into my beadwork.  Artbeads has lots of stoneware pendants from which to choose.  Even the back of the pendant bead is cool.

To go with this "Cool Bubbles" ceramic bead, I chose several matching colors of size 11 Delica beads in a wonderful Matte AB finish like these Miyuki Transparent Matte AB turquoise Delicas (DB0862) or these Miyuki Transparent AB Matte Tropical Teal Delicas (DB1283).  Artbeads has a wonderful selection of seed beads from which to choose.

I decided to create a spiral herringbone rope using needle and thread and adding two beads at a time.  The colors of the seed beads matched perfectly with the colors of the pendant.  I'm very happy with the finished necklace and have placed it for sale in my Etsy shop.  I call it Cool Spots because we all need a cool spot to relax now that the summer heat has arrived.

I hope you'll check out Artbeads.com.  I'm sure you'll find some more "cool" things there.  I am delighted to be a part of Artbeads blogging group.  I do not receive any compensation from them for blogging about their products.

And the Winner Is ... (Plus the Contest Answers)

The winner of my guessing contest is Deborah L. Gray-Wurz, owner of Sneekbead on Etsy.  You can also read more about her on her blog "Bead Indulgences."  Just for posting her answers here on my blog, she wins any dichroic glass item of her choice from my Etsy shop.

The answers to the contest are:

     1.  Millifiore Glass  (although I do admit it looks a lot like Christmas candy!)

      2.  1/8" Diamond Copper Mesh

      3.  Fine Silver Wire

These items are all available from Delphi Glass and are part of their "Ring of Fire Contest."    The contest is open to all artists - not just glass artists.  They also have Pressed Flowers, Mirrored Tiles, Krafty Blok, DG3 Art Gel Glaze, and Recycled Glass Tiles.  All you need to do is purchase one item, create something and enter it in the contest.

The prizes are fantastic.  Grand Prize Sponsor: Jen-Ken Kilns Delphi Ez-Pro Deluxe 15-6 Kiln – Fuse glass and ceramics in one kiln
Plus:

• Choice of instructional video from Glass Craftsman
• Choice of Best-Of Glass Patterns Quarterly instructional CD
• Choice of book from Wardell Publications

All Delphi award winners will receive:

$50 Delphi Dollars

Multi-media craft pack, including KraftyBlok from Diamond Tech Crafts

Choice of instructional video from Glass Craftsman

Choice of Best-Of Glass Patterns Quarterly instructional CD

Choice of book from Wardell Publications

Delphi’s Favorite award winner will be featured on one of Delphi’s catalog covers.

Artfire will award the following:

Free Lifetime ArtFire Pro Account $100 Shopping Spree on ArtFire Free ArtFire Pro Account 1-Year Membership with Graphics Package from ArtFire’s designer

I originally purchased the Dichroic Scrap package and created this as my entry.  I call it "Say It With a Flower."  You can vote for your favorite entry here.  Just click on "View Entries" and choose your favorite.

I hope you will be encouraged to enter the Ring of Fire Contest sponsored by Delphi Glass and Artfire and their Sponsors.  Have fun!

How Joy Gets Spread Throughout the World

Today I received a surprise gift from a Facebook friend.  I have not met this friend in person yet, but I'm excited that in just a few short weeks I will.  She is a reminder to me that we can all make the world a better place by being thoughtful of others.  Here's the beautiful pendant created by ViSart on Etsy that my friend purchased and mailed to me.

My friend bought the pendant for me simply because I had posted a link to it on Facebook and had said that I loved it.  I originally saw the pendant on Polymer Clay Daily.

A short while after she purchased it from ViSart, I introduced my new line of DichroCentrics - a layered glass cabochon with a hole in the middle (dare I call it a bead?).  I'm sure you can tell that the pendant by ViSart was the inspiration for my new line.  I called this necklace "Lizard Tango" and entered it in the BeadStar contest.

I call this one Rhubarb Pie:

And this one I named Tangerine Dacquiri:

You can see more of my DichroCentrics and other dichroic glass cabochons, buttons and pendants in my Etsy shop.

So the world was made happier today by the thoughtfulness of a friend.  I hope we will all pass on this spirit of joy to brighten the world even more.