Parallel Crossings

Parallell Crossings Mascot

2008-09-21T23:41:00.005-04:00

Well, I turned Kerry's beads into a challenged mascot! He isn't perfect and he wouldn't go together smoothly but by golly, I got him done!

Remember, Kerry sent me various beads representing different body parts and challenged me to create a Parallel Crossings mascot. I was told to add a few beads of my own to help complete the joint design.

I could not take a good picture for the life of me. I'll post this one and then try again tomorrow to get a better pic. His poor blue face is all washed out.

The hurdle I had to overcome was how to assemble the fella with all these loose bead body parts. I took two long strips of silver wire and strung those threw the green body. I bent the wire down and then attached the legs onto the silver wire. That was the easy part.

I made the head and strung it on an additional long wire to accomodate it and the tail. Another easy part.

My battle was with the epoxy!

I swapped some of Kerry's body parts around. The nose became the tail. The bottoms of the feet I could not get glued on and those became spots on his body. Kerry's ears became front paws!

My big problem was that my 5 min epoxy was all dried up and I ended up using my slow drying epoxy. Those darn spots kept sliding all over the place. I couldn't get them to stay put. So they aren't in the perfect location but they are permanent now!

He isn't perfect but he is kind of cute in his own sort of way. It was a fun idea and made me do something that I would never have done on my own. That is a good thing!

I did come upon some ideas to file in the back of my mind for future "what if's" times. I liked the spots idea and glueing them on. Those could be useful in other creations that aren't mascot related!

One Wild Side To Another

2008-09-15T11:05:00.003-04:00

My last post introduced Cassie's wild side and over the top zoo inspired beads. Now, let me introduce you to my wild side... this is the "Out Of Africa" necklace. I can't tell you how excited I am that we didn't go with traditional "animal" lampwork beads. You know the ones... they have a white core with black dots and are encased in transparent topaz.

I really just let loose with this design. I wanted all the BIG beads together in one piece. I think I have a fairly large personality... but I don't think even I can pull off wearing this, lol. I don't attend enough "Save The Elephant" gala extravaganzas. LOL. This is really 4 necklaces in one. You have the wire wrapped neckwire style... the intertwined big discs section... the fringed hollows... and they a little bit of my "Playground" style satin cording section. I don't know if they all work together, but I LOVE how they turned out.

I still have a couple beads left. Enough for a slightly "tamer" (pun intended) piece. I'll let you know how it turned out. In the meantime... come back to check out what Cassie did for the Parallel Crossings mascot... and what we'll both be doing for our "Art Inspired Art" challenge.

Cassie's Wild Side

2008-08-29T13:06:00.006-04:00

After much ado, I can finally show you the beads that Cassie sent me for the latest Parallel Crossings challenge. I think you'll find these beads are worth the wait! Just as a refresher... the theme is "The Zoo". And let's just say, Cassie went wild with what she sent me.

It is hard to tell in the photos just how large these hollow focals are. They are HUGE. Almost gold ball sized. Most of the beads are extra large and over the top. The colors are rich browns, bright oranges, pops of lime, and soft lavender. A bunch of them have a lush metallic luster to them too. Added to my challenge is an assortment of hot chocolate colored seed beads.

In my mind, I have several projects here. I don't want to give it away yet, but I am thinking a necklace and bracelet to start. I will say that since this zoo theme has gone a little wild and crazy, the design is going to match that. And I think will have to see if I can make some of these gigantic hollows too. I don't think 2 will be enough for what's in my head.

Hopefully... we can get this creative challenge blog back to it's regularly scheduled programing now.

I'm working on it!

2008-07-24T15:05:00.004-04:00

Just popping in to let you know there has been a little snag in my plans to get my July and August projects in on time. If you follow my other blog, http://www.kabsconcepts.blogspot.com/, you'll know that I just moved over the weekend. Which means a new studio, YOO HOO!! BUT it at least 3-4 weeks off. So, if you look to the left, there has been a slight shuffle of the monthly themes.

I have my beads from Cassie. They were a BIG surprise :) and I can't wait to share them with you. I will be sure to set my photo area up asap.

In the meantime, I'll be working on projects with the beads I still have from the June project and I will be bouncing around ideas with these new beads. Stay tuned... it'll be fun once we find our groove and kick this into high gear!!

~Kerry

I Have A Project!

2008-07-12T00:05:00.011-04:00

Kerry and I exchanged our beads for the month of June which is a zoo theme. She has been really busy with moving to a new house and getting ready for a show. Things are crazy so she decided to come up with a simple idea (in her words:-) but I love it and think it is very clever!

My mission is to design a Parallel Crossings Mascot! She made some beads, wrapped them up in cute little packages and labeled what each body part the beads are supposed to be. Then I get to design the head and a tail. Hmmmm.... wonder what I will create! We will just have to wait and find out! Did I mention that she also did a cute penciled drawing on my card to help give me a better visualization. That was a big help too!

So... I need to ponder over the following week to see where the creation will lead. I'm thinking silly cute but since I never sketch out designs and do it in my head... I won't know until I sit down at the torch.

Here is the photo of the beads all wrapped up! Can you imagine how much fun I had opening up each package!?

Here is the front of the card with Kerry's pencil sketch. It kind of reminds me of the elephant in Horton Hears a Who... Hmmmm.... maybe I will follow along that path. I loved that movie!

Here is the reveal of each body part. So what do you think? You will just have to come back and see won't cha!

-Cassie

I'm not late!

2008-07-02T08:05:00.006-04:00

June really turned into a crazy crazy month at my house. So, even though it is no excuse, I have only gotten to scratch the surface of the June Challenge. I still have a wonderful pile of beads that need using. I just need to find which box I packed the materials in that I need to make my ideas.

BUT, I did get one project done!!

I have tried several times to make a spring/tension style bracelet. One where there was a focal on top with the clasp hidden right next to it. But, I never had the right beads for the project. UNTIL NOW!! Cassie's floral focals are prefect for this!! You get a big blooming bold design that gets attention and at the same time is feminine and light. I love it.

You know what else I love? OH MY STARS!! I LOVE WHAT CASSIE DID WITH MY BEADS!! I have wanted to create a ring like that for years! I tell you, years. But lack of a proper metal smithing class has kept it just out of my reach. Cassie, you read my mind! (again)

And speaking of mind reading... just wait till you see the new bracelet Cassie has been hinting at on her personal blog. Yeah... it had us both cracking up... "Parallel Crossings" couldn't have said it better.

Cassie's finished June project

2008-06-28T01:35:00.006-04:00

Well, I did it. I have quite a fine selection of jewels! I rarely design entire sets of matching jewelry. Not sure why because when I see the group all together, it flows so nicely. There are a lot of pics as Kerry was generous with her beads. These aren't colors that I normally work with so it was really fun to try something different. Kerry did a great job capturing the feel of the book. I wasn't sure what I wanted to create when I first received the beads. It was fun because the designs popped into my head over the days. I've never been one to sketch out designs. Probably because my drawing skills are horrid! But while on vacation, the necklace design with the black leather cord, came into being.

My favorite is this ring. She made a cab bead that was just begging to be turned into a ring that fits my finger perfectly! I love it! It's big and cool. Around 3/4" wide.

I must admit that I've already made a few other rings in other colors. They are just too cool. Especially the pink one!

So the bracelet design is kind of fun and different. The dagger groupings idea came from a kit that I bought from Gail Grossman Moore at Bead and Button. I've always LOVED dagger beads and this is a fun new way to use them. Then, the 3 blue lampwork beads all have silver strips with my three boys names on them. How perfect that Kerry sent me three identical beads! This silver strip is not my original idea. My girlfriend had seen this done and explained to to me over a year ago. She brought the idea up again a few months ago and I played around with it and loved it! Then while at the Bead and Button show, Joan and I were talking to Kriss Silva at the http://www.beaducation/ booth. She had a necklace on that had a strip of silver wrapped around a bead. We commented on it and she had said she taught a class on how to do this a few years ago. It just seemed like strange timing that this all came about at the same time. It is really quite simple to do as I figured it out with just a description. I paid a fine price for two sets of custom font stamps and I always get excited when I can find new uses for them.

My second favorite is this necklace.
I love the big funny shape lampwork beads Kerry made. And those ceramic discs she included in my package were perfect. The colors totally flowed with
the book theme.

Finally, I still had that yummy big hole bead that I wanted to play with. So I decided to have it match the flow of the bracelet. It doesn't show all the chain but I made it into a necklace.

I love necklaces and seem to wear them more than bracelets.

To top it off, I still had about 3 beads that I did not use. They aren't forgotten. Sometimes they just need to sit there and let my mind think about how to use them.

-Cassie

I've got Kerry's Beads!!

2008-06-09T22:14:00.001-04:00

Yippee!! I've got Kerry's beads in my hands. I came home from the Bead and Button show on Sunday night, gave the family hugs and kisses and 2 min. later was digging into the box!

I'm so excited!! The beads are so fun! Kerry's book is called Goodnight Opus. The graphics are darling and I can see why Kerry loves it. It's an off shoot of a grandmother always reading the Goodnight Moon book to her grandson Opus.

Opus starts going off the text and inserting "good nights" to things that are not listed in the book. His grandmother scolds him but then she falls asleep while reading the book. He tells the monster under the bed good night and they become friends, hide grandma in the cellar, and then go off on an adventure to follow his dreams. It's a great feel good book.

Here are the beads that Kerry sent me. Aren't they darling?! I love the colors and all the fun shapes. I'm going to have sooooooo much fun playing with them. I have a few ideas but I need to fondle them for awhile to see which direction to go. I never work with these grey/brown colors and I must admit that I love the color combination. Certainly a combo that I will no longer shy away from.

I love each and every bead. Did you notice even the "love" bead and the big hole flower? Luv them. Gotta eat them up! But I'm really digging these oddly shaped beads. Especially the knobby one! They are so different and TOTALLY go with the flow of the story!

These beads will be a blast. Can't wait to create!

-Cassie

Ten Little Lady Bugs!!

2008-06-05T08:05:00.009-04:00

AAAAAHHHHH!!! It's HERE!!! My big beautiful box of challenge beads!!!

The box arrived yesterday, while I was sitting at the torch with my house guest from England. Lauren (my 5yr old) was the one waiting at the end of the drive way when the mail truck started down our street. Had there not been a hot blob of glass in front of me, I would have ripped into that box the moment I saw it! Lauren came up to us and said "Momma, you got a lot of stuff today!" What an understatement! Amidst a flurry of hot pink tissue paper, I found what have to be some of the most breath taking beads I have ever seen.

Cassie, these are gorgeous. I can see why you were tempted to keep them!!

Cassie's favorite children's book, as seen above, is Ten Little Ladybugs, by Melanie Gerth. It is one I haven't seen or read before. It is so sweet and the illustrations by Laura Huliska-Beith are wonderful. It has only been here a day and Lauren already has the story memorized!!

My favorite bead of the bunch by far is the large floral focal with the cross hatching on the top. It is just stunning. I love it. All beads are great, but this one just takes the cake.

Okay... now what to do with them...

I have a few ideas. Along with the books and the beads, Cassie sent a box of pastels and some envelopes. I think floral beads as lovely as these can't be hidden in a necklace only to be worn once in a while. These beads need to be in something on display all the time... so we'll see what I can come up with!!

I'll be posting more photos of the goodies I received in out Parallel Crossings Flickr group! Be sure to check them out!!

It's getting close!

2008-05-29T09:21:00.003-04:00

It's getting close to our first exchange. I had to laugh about Kerry saying she would need to put her book by the torch to work. I did the same exact thing.

I need to put a few small finishing touches on my beads. I think our plan is to mail these out on Friday. My tough call now is how many beads to mail Kerry. I'm trying to find a happy balance between what won't overwhelm her and then not having enough to play with. I'm thinking it might be good to include a few extra and then Kerry has them if needed but she doesn't have to use them all.

This is going to be exciting. The fun is about to begin. I figure it will take us an exchange to two to get the whole routine figured out.

-Cassie

First Challenge Approaches

2008-05-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

Okay, June 1st is coming faster then I thought it would. By the sounds of it, Cassie is already making beads and playing with colors for this Children's Book Challenge. I gotta get on the ball!!

I started playing at the torch yesterday for the challenge. I went from memory, for who doesn't know their favorite children's book by heart, grabbing some colors that mixed surprising well. (Dare I tell what those colors are? Hmmmm... no, I think Cassie needs to see them first!) When I got the beads out of the kiln this morning, and grabbed my favorite book I realised, my memory ain't what it used to be. LOL! I need to actually take the book and prop it up next to me while I work.

I am thinking one of the reasons that I love this book so much is that visually, the colors are very 'me'. So, how can I make working with colors that I use a lot become a challenge? The book is going to help me there too. The characters in the drawings have very wild, and just plain odd shapes to them. I am thinkin' I need follow the illustrator's lead and break out of the expected bead mold (aka press,lol).

By next week, our first boxes of bead goodies (and favorite books) will be in the mail. I can't wait to see what Cassie has been working on and I can't wait for her to read my favorite book.

Introductions - Cassie

2008-05-13T19:32:00.000-04:00

As usual Kerry read my mind and wrote a wonderful introduction describing our new adventure.

We both really enjoyed our bead exchange a few months back, and it sparked some great creative juices on my part. We agreed that we would have to do it again soon. So when Kerry mentioned her idea of doing a monthly goodie box exchange with our beads based on a certain theme, I jumped at the idea.

I've been lampworking for almost 7 years now. Wow! Where does the time go? That just blows my mind. The funny thing is that I'm still as obsessed with making beads as I was when I first started.

The Parallel Crossings title really does sum up Kerry and I. It is the strangest thing but I often feel like she is inside my mind. I'm sure she gets tired of hearing it but I often tell her we are on the same wave lengths. Even though our styles are different, the means to getting there are often the same.

Make sure you read Kerry's previous post to get the full scoop on our new adventure.

She and I both joked laughing saying what if we chose the same book for our June theme of children's books? From her hint, I don't think we have though. I'm very excited about my book choice. It is a book that I've always thought about in bead terms with all the bright colors. The story isn't anything exciting but when you see photos of the graphics, you will understand. It is totally me! I even already have some of my beads made. I told Kerry that I was coveting them though and I would have to make some duplicates or she would never see them!

I'm also going to be challenged on this whole new Blog thing. I've never used a blog hoster before. I know...I'm still in the dark ages. My "blog" on my website is just my news page that I try to update every few days. So this will be the perfect avenue for me to learn how to manage a blog. I know it sounds really simple but it has already thrown me for a few loops!

So anyway, I hope you will enjoy our adventure with us and that it will lead to some inspiration/creativity on your part too!

Introductions ~ Kerry

2008-05-05T16:07:00.000-04:00

EEEEEEKKKKKKK!!! I am so excited about this project!!!

I started thinking about this project/challenge idea a few weeks ago. I have spent the winter inspired by the blog Eight by Eight. Two friends challenging each other to stay inspired with monthly goodie boxes based on themes. I thought, "Why not do that with glass beads?"

I found the perfect partner for this project in Cassie of www. glassbeadle.com. I first found Cassie's work in 2005. Until then, my exposure to lampwork beads was only the mass produced garbage available though catalogs. Discovering that you create those beads in a home studio with boundless possibilities for their potential color/style/design/shape opened a whole new world for me.

I have been making beads for three years now. And I find from time to time I fall into yucky funks. Times when inspiration is no where to be found and the will to make something new hides for weeks at a time. No artist likes to be in a funk... but unfortunately, every artist has them. So, that is where Parallel Crossings comes in.

Why "Parallel Crossings"? Getting to know Cassie on and off over the past few years, we find we seem to run along the same lines. Both are stay-at-home Moms of three... with kids very close in age (mine are 10, 8 and 5). Both tend to have the same sense of color. Both find that when one does something, the other has done it too. For example... a few weeks ago, I popped into Cassie's blog and found a fun new all hollow bead necklace! Just a few days before, unbeknown to Cassie, I had mailed an all hollow necklace design into a magazine for publication. We did the same thing a few months back with a brown & turquoise color combo and a set of nugget shaped beads.

Though our thoughts run along the same lines, our designs and styles are very uniquely our own. And here on this new blog, our ideas are going to be crossing! So... parallel thoughts are going to cross to create new ideas... Parallel Crossings... get it?

Each month, Cassie and I will be making each other mini sets of beads based on the theme of the month (themes are listed in the side bar to the left). We'll mail the beads to each to each other and that is where the challenge/inspiration comes in. But, the fun part is, we might not stop there. We aren't limiting our challenges to beads and jewelry!! We might be adding things like fabric scraps or found trinkets or ribbons... oh anything! So one month we might be inspired to make a cool new bracelet design... and the next month it might be a pillow case with glass buttons! Who knows!?!

What ever we make, I hope this will be fun/inspiring/relaxed/exciting/idea provoking/creativeness. I already have ideas for June's Theme ~ Children's Books. And here is a hint... in my favorite book the main character "departs from the text"...

Testing

2008-05-01T16:36:00.000-04:00

Every new blog needs a test post!