Sunday Feb 7 2015


What did we see on this mornings coffee round up?   Glad you asked!

Well, did you see these glorious gems and beads at the Tuscon show?   I am in awe of the (what seems to be miles of..) beads and sparkly things.  Check them out here:  http://www.tgms.org/show-2015/  I follow these guys on Facebook and am wondering how I get there next year!

And look at what this artist does with old tires!      http://yonghoji.com/db/?ckattempt=1

Toby Malms mother and child sculpture...me want!  His stuff is simple and elegant and eloquent  http://www.jernmalm.com


Do you like the delicacy of silver filigree?  

See how its done here:  http://youtu.be/pLShQYztBHI

Not sure I will ever try it but it really is beautiful!

Our new postings are up on Facebook - we had fun with bangles this week.  Let us know what you like?

Bangles, Bangles, Bangles! 

Remember the leather we recovered from the
furniture store....isnt it beautiful!

Here is what we made with it this week

Looking forward to chatting with you!


Dawnings

Wednesday Jan 14th 2015

Good Morning, and what a frosty morning it is!   What was I thinking when I chose Canada as my new home I wonder, when the Bahamas or Turks & Caicos could have been my destination - sun, sand, sun, did I mention sun?

Whats it like where you are?   Hope you are warm and toasty.

Here is a sampling of our recent items, we are ramping up now for a home show (never thought I would do one of those but here goes!  Friendly faces and a glass of wine will make that adventure easy! I will post some pics!)   And we finalize a date this weekend for a craft show we are doing just in time for Valentines!

So, stay tuned Dawnings friends,  lots of lovely sparklies being created as I make sure I have enough things to fill up a table!

  Chat soon!
D

Sunday Coffee Roundup Jan 11 2015

This morning I had some lovely conversations with creators and artists on Twitter. This kind of surprised me because sometimes Twitter feels like I'm in a room of people all talking at once, so its nice to make a personal connection!

I didn't find much on my treasure hunts this week,   sometimes I luck out, sometimes I don't.     I usually have a few items in a box that I can use so I am not stuck!

We are bit random this morning, listening to Amos Lee and mellowing out.  

Where do I find my materials?  I get asked this all the time.

I try very very hard not to use new items, except for pierced earring wires and threads.

I am a constant presence at charity stores, vintage flea markets, yard sales, freecycle and kijiji.  I join every Facebook group I can find in order to trade, and discover items.    Friends and family are always dropping off little bits and pieces.      I pick up belts, keychains, necklaces, chains, bracelets, loose beads, findings and connectors everywhere I go.  

As you can imagine,  it takes a lot of time to dig through all that and find the right bead, finding, chain, stone and then clean it, polish it, take out chips, or dents.   Fix chains and findings,  partner things and take them apart when they don't...click.   The best part is when I can create my own with pieces and solder, wire or link them somehow.

My favourites since I started are the found leather pieces from a furniture store that I still have so much exploring to do on,    the copper heat sinks (I love the colour!) and the spoons.       Who knows what will show up next!

When a piece does 'click' Im always so pleased,  the goal is to reuse things that would be thrown away, discarded or otherwise ignored.    Anything to avoid the landfill.

You may also have noticed we don't package in boxes, or on earring cards etc.  Thats on purpose as I'm trying not to add to the garbage!  I also hunt for reusable boxes and we use chiffon reusable bags so we keep the whole 'green' thing in mind.
Other coffee morning randomness:

I also discovered some awesome how to's on YouTube;

Molten silver with pine needles....interested?  I was, whoever thought of this was a genius!  The results are beautiful.   http://youtu.be/e0FxQpBb_n0

Love the celtic?    This awesomely simple tutorial by Jocelyn D shows a gorgeous celtic wire bangle being created.   http://youtu.be/RoEelDwyXO0

And this one by CSL designs is so elegant!  http://youtu.be/zH8P0IyEmNY

Go on - give one a try!  You know you want to!


Where do YOU get inspiration?  Where do YOU find materials?

Hope you have a great week!  I posted a few new things - you can find them on Etsy.  Hope to connect with you soon!
Dawnings

Guest Artist:  CADIA

Hello Everyone,

This guest artist has some of the most beautiful creations I have seen, I am coveting SO many of these pieces!

Artist:  Cadia

Website: www.oficinadiecipercento.com

Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/OficinaDieciPerCento?ref=hl

Biography: Born in Benevento, but Florentine by adoption.  Cadia's obsession for the goldsmith's art has led her, since adolescence, to follow an educational path to become a goldsmith jeweller.

Cadia started her training in Florence, around the age of sixteen, with a course of wax sculpture then she continued with a two-years jewelry course at the Goldsmith centre "Il Tari" in Marcianise (Province of Caserta).  Afterwards she continued in  in Naples, with a Diploma in Applied Arts (Metals branch), then in Vicenza with the qualification of Goldsmith operator and finally in Florence for a Master's degree in Culture and Style of Fashion and a specialisation course in ancient Florentine goldsmith's techniques. 

Nadia has for six years been assistant of two goldsmiths in a Professional institute (Metals branch), dealing with everything concerning the jewelry environment: projects (freehand drawing with pencils and watercolours or with design softwares as Rhinoceros), and objects production (both unique pieces that serial ones).

She participates in several competitions both national and international, in trade shows abroad, and she's presently working on her new Gothic-inspired collections.

 Moon Bubbles rings: 

Bronze ring, galvanic rhodium plating and liver of sulfur oxidised crust.

Nabucco collar:

Bronze collar with bath in 18K rose gold, Honey colour crystal multifaceted Cabochon-cut, treated leather string.

Nabucco ring:Bronze ring with bath in 18K green gold (Etruscan gold), Citrine quartz multifaceted Cabochon-cut.

Semi earring: silver sterling earrings with synthetic gold leaf.

I think you will agree Cadia has a beautiful eye for these things!  Check out her site!

Chat soon!

Dawn

ps Oh, and our weekly postings go up tomorrow - stay tuned!

Jan 4, Sunday

We posted our new items this morning to the sounds of Abba (don't judge, you probably know all the words too!) and we are now going out to play in the snow!

Check them out... https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/DawningsCustomDesign


And after that - back to the task at hand!    

Work in progress, stay tuned! 

What are YOU up to today?

Thought I would share this mornings coffee search - every morning after dealing with dogs and kids I sit and look for inspiration. There are some AMAZINGLY creative folks out there. I am constantly in awe of what people come up with.

Where do you get YOUR inspiration?  Please share!

Check out this amazing creation- old pipe turned into strange beauty

So awesomely creative! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZvPYGX9Tbk&sns=tw … via @youtube



Cracked Marbles....into wearable art

Cut out and Keeps site - excellent tutorial on turning marbles into jewelry!  I gotta try it, going to raid kids toy box!   Marbles, Glue and findings.   All credit to Ivy M on the Cut out and Keep site!  (I couldn't get the link to work so here are the details.

1. 1   Bake marbles in the oven for 20 minutes at 400〫F.
   (I found changing the temperature has little affect.)
   I baked the marbles in foil on a cookie sheet.
2. 2
   Immediately after removing the marbles from the oven, put them in ice water (be careful, the marbles are extremely hot). This will cause the marbles to crack! Also be careful of some weak marbles that may break entirely.
3. 3
   Put the metal bead and bead cap on the earring hook (you may also use the small looped jewelry wire things.. I wasn't sure what they were called). Bend the hook to somewhat hold the bead cap on the bottom and cut the excess wire.

   1. 4
      Next you can either use jewelry glue to attach the marble to the little top you have just made, or use hot glue. I tried both, and the hot glue tends to fall off occasionally.
   2. 5
      Now just add a cute chain and you're finished!