Spring 2011 Inspiration

2011
pantone colour forecast

Some of my favourite shades from this seasons colour forecast are Honeysuckle, Beeswax, Russet, Blue Curacao and Silver Cloud. Below are some of the photos that I am using for inspiration with the jewellery I am making for spring and summer this year.

Starting Off The Week With Creative Inspiration

Photo by: elr104

Photo by: Miss Quite Contrary

Photo by: Urban Design

Pussy Willows

I love pussy willows, I have always loved them! They remind me of my childhood. My grandma used to have a pussy willow tree in her yard it was such a beautiful tree. Though I am not sure what happened to it because it is gone now. I also used to go canoeing along the Saskatchewan river where the rivers edge was covered in pussy willows and cats tales. (Love those too!)

I have been trying to figure out a way to make a pussy willow necklace and now that I am cutting shapes out of metal with my new favourite tool, the saw I think I can do it! I am super excited to try it. I have been sketching the perfect pattern and I am finally ready to put the saw to metal! So hopefully I can post some pictures later today or tomorrow.

For now enjoy some of my pussy willow find from around the web.

Photo by: PhotoTeresa

Card by: Pasaiipaperie

Photo by: Angerok

Inspiration

There is nothing like a great photo or piece of art to spark the ol' imagination.

Photo by: SlightClutter on Etsy.

Inspiration Through a Macro Lense

There is nothing like a huge new lot of gemstones! I love to be inspired by their uniqueness, their colour and their beauty. The proccess of figuring out how to use them in a design is therapeutic. Finding the perfect way to hang them from a chain or earring is an art form and finding balance between delicateness and strength is like putting together an ever changing puzzle.

Most of the time I will have several projects in the works at one time. When I get stumped with one I can move onto the next and come back later when I have had time to gather my thoughts. Sometimes what started out as one thing ends up being something totally different, I like to just let the creative process flow.
The photos you have seen in this post are of my work table from a bit of a different perspective. These are the things that inspire me and make how I work unique.

Spring Inspired Jewellery

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. I went for a walk with my camera and found so many beautiful plants growing everywhere I looked. Among these plants were these vibrant red flowers. I ended up taking this picture of them.
Many of the pictures I took inspired me to create some springy jewellery, but the red flowers and blue sky spoke to me the most!!
I decided to make a multi gemstone cluster necklace that features genuine red ruby and a blue chalcedony gemstone all wire wrapped in sterling silver. The ruby is abosolutely gorgeous just like the red flowers and the blue hold the same moody contrast that the sky has in the photo.

Childhood Arts and Crafts

When I was growing up I was always surrounded by arts and crafts. My mom is an artist so she was always painting. We used to do some kind of crafty project together everyday. There is one painting in particular that she kept over the years and is now hanging in my son's room. I think I was about three years old when we made it.
Here is a photo of it:

Now I plan on doing the same with my two year old son. I strongly believe that my childhood art making has evolved into my love of handmade and my creativity in making jewellery. With that in mind, I've started a book for him to draw in so that I can see the development of his drawings over the years. I see it as the first in a series of many little sketchbooks. I think that they will be something small and easy to keep and I also think it will be fun for him to look at when he's older. Right now he can make lines, circles and dots. I can't wait to see how he draws stick figures and all those fun things!

What are some crafts from your childhood that you remember?

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Find Inspiration

A great place to find inspiration and learn new things is at the library! Everyone has one and every one has hopefully been there at some point in time. So next time you are there check out the art and craft section! Below is some scanned pages of a book that I found called "Adorn New Jewelry" by Amanda Mansell
I liked this book because it is filled with things like this CRAZY big earring! Things like this inspire me to think outside the box and be unique! I love it!


I think these long earrings are really cool.. I wonder if people would wear them?
The necklace on the left is so fun! I like the detail with the beads on the chain. I will definitely have to work something like that into a design of mine! :)