Origami Star of David

Josh and Anna showed us how to make these origami Jewish stars at our Shavuot study a couple weeks ago. They're not hard to make, and very pretty! Try them with origami paper with a different color on each side. Whatever color the little diamonds that are folded up into triangles are is the color they will be in the end, while the other color will be the background of that part of the star. Josh says he thinks they were originally a Christmas project, so whatever your faith, make them and enjoy!




Cut two equilateral triangles out of paper.




Take one of the triangles and fold it in half. Unfold it. Fold it in half another way. Unfold it. Note the center point made by all your fold lines.




Fold one side up to the center point created by all your folds. This sort of looks like a hat. Unfold it. Fold another side to the center point and unfold that. Fold the third side, unfold it and lay your triangle out flat. Now it kind of looks like an ashtray, or a hamantashen dough, no?




Notice there is a diamond shape in each corner. (I outlined the shapes in black to make it look clearer to you.)




Fold one diamond in half to make a triangle.




Fold the other two diamonds in half.




Turn the triangle over. Fold one side up to the crease.




Fold the other two sides up.




Pull one corner up and overlap it so that each side has one end under and one over.




You want the corners overlapping like this.




Fold one point to the center. If you did this correctly, you will see a diamond on the tip of that point.




Fold the other two points to the center. You now have a hexagon shape.





Turn the hexagon over. Look closely and you will see three sides have a crease parallel to their edges. (I outlined the shapes in black to make it look clearer to you.)




Fold any creased side to the center.




Fold the other two creased sides to the center.




Overlap the flaps.





Here's the first finished triangle.




Create another triangle just like the first.




Slide the two triangles together.




The star now looks like this.




Pull the corner up and over.




Your finished star! How pretty! I punch a small hole at the top and hang with some fun wire.

Creative Minds for Charity Challenge

Here's my final contribution to a very special and worthy project. It's called the Creative Minds for Charity Challenge, and it's a collaboration between three Etsy Street Teams.

Artists from etsyBEAD were paired up with the glass artists from Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE). Each glass artist sent a glass creation to a bead artist to make into a beaded jewelry piece. The final creations were sent to the Helping Others Street Team (HOST), and you can see them all at HOST's etsy shop, link at right.

This glass pendant layered with delicate shades of purple is from glass artist LaWatha. I hung it on a wiggly loop of sterling silver flattened and textured by my chasing hammer. I love the way the silver "facets" sparkle inside the glass. I then strung the pendant on a two-strand necklace of freshwater pearls and Czech glass crystals.

The necklace is 22 inches long; the earrings are two-inches from top of earwire to bottom of earring.

I named it "Fresh Blossoms."



Like the necklace set? It will be available in the HOST store, and all of the proceeds will be used to assist fellow Etsy members in need. Go to Fresh Blossoms at right to buy it!

Two Strands

Here's my final necklace. I love the hand-formed and textured silver wiggly inside the pendant and the curves and textures of the clasp. Left over from experiments for this project are quite a few roundish-squarish-ovalish rings I'm going to make into a project all on their own. I'm in love with 18 gauge sterling silver dead soft round wire and my chasing hammer!


This necklace turned into a long one at 22 inches. It will hang nearly 24 inches including the pendant.


The pendant is hand-formed glass by Lawatha ~ find the link to her shop at right. It is amazing and I think this closeup shows you what I mean!

Lavender Loveliness

This is my first go, a one-strand necklace.



Here we are with two strands. I think this is the right visual weight for pearls versus pendant, but I miss the dark purple rondelles in version one.



Here's three strands ~ I'm trying for luscious but I don't think I've done it. Just a bit much. I do like how the rings kind of mimic the round-ish shapes of the pearls and the silver squiggle within the interior of the pendant.



Here it is, closer. I think the rings deserve center stage on their own. They're a bit much here. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel differently?

I am hoping my etsyBEAD sisters will come here and weigh in!!!

Frustration!!!

Frustration!!! is these terrific pieces, and since they are commissions, I can't post them up to my Etsy shop. They are one of a kind. The Lucky Eye necklace, above, is for my son's Pre-Kindergarten teacher, who's an Israeli gal with a Middle Eastern background. She believes in the magic of evil eyes! It's not quite done ~ I want the focal part to measure 7" so it can be a bracelet if she wants, and the other part 14" so it can be part of this necklace or a choker by itself.

The piece below is an adaptation of Penny Acosta's lovely chaine maille design from the April 2007 Bead & Button magazine. This I wouldn't sell unless I checked with Penny first!

Purple Delight, Etc.

This blog records my process of creating art jewelry, with adventures, examples, and techniques! Not to mention creative inspiration! Click on the images to enlarge.

I'm working with Lawatha (see link at right), an extremely talented glass artist from the Etsy Glass Guild, to create a piece in celebration of Spring. This amazing purple glass pendant is accented by freshwater pearls and purple crystal rondelles.

It's in process ~ I think I'm adding two more strands of pearls.





Okay, I might call this "Elegance." My girlfriend Andrea picked out the laquered black squares with the painted leaves. I contributed the freshwater pearls in gold and the glass leaf shapes.

I'm asking my Beading Group if I should apply a laquer or polyurethane coating to the surface of each leaf to ensure the paint doesn't flake off. I'll let you know what they say.

Ashly Forever Bracelets

This blog records my process of creating art jewelry,with adventures, examples, and techniques! Not to mention creative inspiration! Click on the images to enlarge.

Here are my "Ashly Forever" PMC bracelet focal pieces, drying on a coffee cup so they will be rounded for wrists. I kept them simple so that my friend Candy can use her chasing hammer to add texture to the surfaces all over. She does this so beautifully. Then we'll use leather and some silver beads and a clasp for each to make a matching set of bracelets for Ashly's Dad, Michael, and his sweetheart, my friend Peggy Sue.

Read all about Ashly several posts below.

Make My Day!

Candace, my beading buddy and fellow townie, has put me on her Make My Day List. This is a list of links to those who have really inspired me lately. Oh, I know who I have to put!!! The following ladies are not just inspirational but I know them in real life because they live near me or from etsyBead activities. Ladies, I just drink in your creativity! I love what I am doing with beads, but I also love what you do, that I could never do, because you've taken a different direction into uncharted territories where I cannot follow!

How to send a You Make My Day award:
1. Write a post with links to five blogs that make me think and/or make my day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Display the 'You Make My Day Award' logo.
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

Candy - because of her totally unique leafy tendril earrings AND OMG!!! Look at these amazing Tribal Spirit earrings!!! Candy is the Queen of beautifully antiqued and forged sterling silver.

Augusta - look at this lovely handworked sterling filigree, I am in awe!

Deb - my mentor from etsyBead Street Team, who makes lovely concoctions from Hong Kong, halfway across the world! Deb has an unexpected and freshly lovely color sense I treasure and that inspires me!

Lucia - who I found through Etsy Local, and who lives just a couple minutes away from me in Allentown. She creates elegant, juicy, lovely pieces with vintage style and impeccable detail. I love her bright colors and the way she combines them.

Lawatha - with whom I'm collaborating as part of an etsyBead/Glass Artists campaign. I'm having a TERRIBLE time selecting one of Lawatha's glorious pendants to create a beaded necklace - they're all so beautiful!

Wrapping my Mind in Color Trends

This blog records my process of creating art jewelry,with adventures, examples, and techniques! Not to mention creative inspiration! Click on the images to enlarge.

So I'm trying to figure out what color schemes stand out this Spring. Of course this was decided long ago - 24 months ago most likely - by the Power Deciders at WWD, Style Magazine, Pantone, Vogue et al. So I poked around the internet a bit and snagged some palettes and photos from the fashion world to help me understand what's behind the interesting color combinations I'm seeing. Follows some of my visual notes ...