Something Sublime

Bezel Bootcamp: The Best Summer Camp, Ever

My dream of summer camp is about to become a reality. Bezel Bootcamp...my new online jewelry making class...begins, this Friday! 

I'm so excited but I have a ton of work to do before the classroom opens. I'm dashing about, straightening desks and clapping erasers together...clearing counter space and fixin' to answer and and all questions that come my way.

This new bezel class is taking the place of my retired Of Towers and Turrets class. It's something I've wanted to offer since the last time I offered the Towers class. Lots of you were asking for me to unwrap it and blow off the dust...but I think this is a much better alternative! Bootcamp has all the jewelry-making fun that the Towers class had...plus some. In fact, it's ALL jewelry making. Whoop!

Not only will I show you how to build and solder your own bezel focal pieces, from scratch, but we'll also work with purchased bezels, open back bezels, objects and butterfly wings. Fun stuff!

See that nifty little dot on the roof of this piece? We're going to do that, too. Inclusions? Yeah. Riveting? Of course. Other stuff? Yep!

Ok...so if you're looking for the scooby on Bezel Bootcamp, click here. Registration is up and running.

One more thing; thank you for the warm reception of this class...you guys are awesome!

deryn xxoo

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Art Unraveled-2013

Hoop La-Art Unraveled

I have a slight clarification about my Hoop-La class, at Art Unraveled, in August...

A lot of you have been asking for my BoHo Bliss class...and I fully intend to offer it again, online, at a later date. Hoop-La is an in-person class, and while it IS a "hoops" class, it's a totally different class than the BoHo class. Fear not!...there will be a lot of new material for you in the Hoop-La class!

So...if you've taken the BoHo class and you're hesitant about Hoop-La...don't be! There's lots of new stuff...new techniques and ways of putting things together, in Hoop-La.

I promise you...we're going to have tons of fun! 

I hope to see you there...

deryn xxoo

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Adorn Me In Review

Art Unraveled-2013

Hello, my friends! While I've been busy at work on Bezel Bootcamp, I've been thinking about how quickly August is coming on. As much as I love teaching online classes, I also crave being around other artsy souls, and seeing YOU...in person!

Bloom Bangles

If you've ever been to one of Linda Young's events, you'll know that she cultivates an atmosphere of relaxed creativity and kinship amongst her attendees. We've been lucky to have been offered this chance for creative communion and learning for just over 10 years at Art Unraveled. It's a fabulous venue. Linda knows what she's doing.

Thank you, Linda, for doing a superb job of organizing this well run art retreat! I'm blessed to have the opportunity to teach at AU, again, this year. 

This, I think, will be one of the last times I teach my Bloom Bangles class, in person. I can't even tell you how much fun it is to make these things! My students have loved this class.

Resin Paper Wire Forms

Along with Bloom will be an evening class called Resin Paper Wire Forms. This one is great to take if you're taking my Bloom class, the next day. I don't typically do evening classes but I had to leave one day free, in Phoenix, for Wife Whisperer. I feel certain he'll try to make me golf, or hike or some other manly activity but I have my heart set on treasure hunting. ;)

Hoop-La

Oh, hoops...how I love thee! My last class offering is a new class called Hoop-La. It's a spin off of my very popular BoHo Bliss class.

I tried to cram as many techniques as possible, into this class...stuff you can use, not just for earrings but, for all kinds of jewelry making adventures.

Love texture? Gotcha covered.

Wrapping...metalsmithing...finishing...got it.

Yeah.

If you've not been...and you're wondering what all the hub-bub is about, come, and join me in class!

deryn xxoo

Bezel Bootcamp

Bezel Bootcamp class samples

Hello, my friends! You've been asking for it. Some of you have been waiting a long, long time for it.

Remember my awesome online class, Towers and Turrets? Much as I love that class, I won't be offering it again. Instead, I'm excited, delighted and elated to offer my new online class, Bezel Bootcamp. This is the workshop that I'm offering in place of the Towers class. The big difference...this one is all jewelry making.

There's a long, long list of things we're going to do in this class so, if you'd like to see the complete class description, click here. My main areas of focus, for this workshop, are making beautiful bezel focals (above) and working with resin.

Love bezels.

Love working with resin.

These focals are just so addicting to make! One of the things I love the most about them is the fact that you can use your own images. I take a lot of photographs so this is a big deal, to me.

We'll be soldering...yes! I'll show you a super non-intimidating way to torch solder. You'll love it.

We'll be doing some metalsmithing, including various cold connections. Everyone wants to learn how to make cold connections, right?

Resin, resin, resin... I'll be showing you my tricks for working with resin. Trust me, there are lots of them!

We'll work with purchased bezels...

...and open back bezels. And we're even going to do some other fun stuff like learn about resin paper and patinas.

So, if you've been waiting for my Towers class...wait, no more. Jump into bootcamp with me!

I'll have some more photos for you soon. In the meantime, registration is open. Click right here.

See you there!

deryn xxoo

Decoration Day

I found this cartoon online...but what it doesn't include is the original reason Memorial Day to come into being. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day (love that name!) and was originally a day of remembrance to honor those who died in the Civil War.

There were 620,000 of them.

That's a lot. A whole lot. That's more than all of our other wars, combined.

Decoration Day was first observed in 1868 but wasn't an official American holiday until 1971. After World War I, Memorial Day changed from honoring only the Civil War fallen to honoring all of our fallen heros.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Moina Michael

It's easy to think that Memorial Day is a day when all of our dead are honored; that's what I always thought, as a kid! Really, it's the day we honor the heros who fell, protecting America's freedom.

Fly your flag proudly...and remember.

Art Retreat At The Prairie: Spring 2013

Diane Cook and Deryn (photo by Diane)

Well, here we are! We had a wonderful time at The Prairie...and we really did miss you. If you've never been, you should consider it. What a terrific, intimate retreat experience. Pretty, too. Let me show you...

First off, the place is just gorgeous. It's owned and has been decorated by the incomparable queen of shabby chic, Rachel Ashwell.

It's spring and the property is covered with rose bushes and other gorgeousness. When we arrived, there were faded little bouquets, everywhere. So shabby and so pretty!

Diane and I shared one of the sweet cottages...this is the back porch. There wasn't a lot of time for we teachers to lounge about but doesn't this nook just invite a layabout and a nice glass of wine, in the evening?

Inside, our cottage is decorated in bright fluffy comfortableness.

And then there are the classrooms...

I love teaching here!

The students love it, too. It's such a relaxing and lovely place to hang out, for a weekend. This is a small part of the classroom.

And here is Diane. Isn't she cute? Her area is always so neat and organized. Mine looks more like a whirling dervish blew through.

The student work that was created was amazing. These are from my "Go Big" class.

These are from my "Sacred Heart Book Pendant" class. I'll be teaching this one at Art is You, in Stamford Connecticut, this Oct.

Oh yeah...and the food. The food was fabulous. Here we all are, at Royers...me, stuffing my face with pie.

Yeah.

If you missed out, this time, we're doing it all again in the fall. Registration will begin soon. Click here for more info.

awesome shabby chic name tag created by Frankie Brost

Pie was had. Fun was had. You can have it too. I hope you join us! 

deryn xxoo

Tales Of A Treasure Hunter

I've been on a bit of a treasure hunting tear, lately, so I thought I'd do a little show-and-tell. First, I visited the gem show...

...And I took my friend, Ronnie, to my local bead shop...

...AND we visited another Houston bead shop called Big Stone. Big Stone is a dangerous place, especially if you like pearls.

See those baroques, in the front? They're huge. They were a little costly but you do what you gotta do. I have no idea how I'll use them but they were a must-have.

Then, I found a bunch, big bunch, of these amazing little, tiny pocket knives, on etsy...vintage, made in Japan, sweet color of bluish-green. I'll be bringing some of these with me to Art Unraveled, to share on vendor day.

I just finished teaching at The Prairie, which Ronnie came to attend. On our way up, we felt compelled to stop at a few antique stores.

We had to do it.

One of my favorite finds is that teeny weeny bottle. The tag says it was a smelling salts bottle. Swoon.

Here I am with my girls at The Prairie: Lorraine George, yourstruly, Diane Cook and Ronnie Grundset. Sweet photo.

These are more from our antiquing adventures. I love the anchor crosses. And the rhinestone cross. And the big cross.

And...oh!:

The big one is a reliquary. An amazing reliquary! A reliquary is a small shrine that's used to hold holy or sacred relics. These relics can consist of many different kinds of materials and usually come from a saint, pope or other religious figure...or are from a special place or article such as dirt from the Holy Land, water from the River Jordan, etc. I don't know the history of this particular reliquary but it contains metal filigree with what look to be gemstones, and each relic is labeled. So beautiful.

And, what's more, Sue...at The Prairie...brought an amazing pile of goodies to sell. Bless her heart, she let us dig through her bins. 

Just, bless her.

Look at that giant bird brooch. It's about the size of my palm.

Not to mention this giant bow brooch.

And these amazing, antique-y things.

And these things... The emerald cut bracelet was a fantastic find at about $12. I was thrilled. The trillion cut rhinestone pieces are a matching necklace and bracelet, in perfect condition.

The piece with the metal roses...so sweet! The rhinestone chain is a light yellow...you can just barely tell. The filigree hearts go all the way to the clasp. This piece is just so charming that I can't take it apart...or part with it. Just looking at it makes me feel like a princess. So, there you go.

Last, but absolutely positively not least...I got this lovely bit of goodies, in the mail. Thank you, Andrew Thornton, for making my day a little brighter. Opening this mysterious little package was such a treat.

In other news: I'm working on some really exciting things that I'm not quite ready to reveal but, I think you'll be pleased. One of them is a brand new online class I'm hoping to have ready for y'all in June or July. And so...back to work!

deryn xxoo

Look The Other Way, Mom

Ok...this has nothing, whatsoever, to do with jewelry making, but I came across an interesting article on parenting, here. The title, "Have American Parents Got It All Backward?" was intriguing. Don't get me wrong, I am SO not an America-basher, and I don't agree with everything the author wrote but, it's an interesting article. I think that, somehow, our culture has promoted a helicopter style of parenting that doesn't benefit our kids, one bit.

As the mom of boys, I watched as they constantly did things I considered risky, silly, unwise and downright dangerous. The key being I considered them dangerous. No one else in my household...Wife Whisperer, Number 1 or Number 2...gave it a second thought. 

Boys!

So...I had to look the other way. A lot. Wife Whisperer demanded it. The boys demanded it. I wasn't allowed to hover or fuss. Much. They shot potato guns, wrestled in the house, threw rocks at each other and participated in countless other activities that were not mom-approved. And guess what...it was ok. I'm pleased to say that both boys turned out to be independent, reliable, honest and hard working. No one cut off a finger or lost an eye. In fact I seem to be the only one who suffered any ill consequences from their antics...a few grey hairs and extra worry lines.

But that's part of being a mom...right?

Spring is blooming all around but I've been deeply buried in a big project, as well as preparing for a week of blissful creative communing. I'll be teaching at The Prairie, in just about a week...April 25th. We're set for a lovely retreat weekend, there. If you've never been, believe me, it's a gorgeous place to take classes. 

The Ranger Lounge

The Pearl Barn

The Pearl Barn

Classes are held in The Ranger Lounge and The Pearl Barn...both are absolutely charming...

...but the accomodations are sweet, as well. This is the little cottage I stayed in, last visit.

This is another view that includes the big house. The shabby chic loveliness is to die for!

You see what I mean...right? So, it's not too late to register for classes. I'll be teaching two brand new ones, as well as a class I've not offered in a long time. My friend, Diane Cook, will be teaching, as well. You can check out the offerings, here. It's going to be a fabulous weekend of jewelry making.

Come with us, ya'll!

deryn xxoo

Raffle Winners!

I have raffle winners! Before I name them, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, for participating in this. Thanks to you, I have a nice check to send off to Care Net. It means a lot to me...and it means a lot to the women who receive care from Care Net. Thank you!

Without further delay...the winner of my "Steampunk in Color" necklace is:

J Kussman

Winner of my "Musical Notes" earrings is:

Barb Solem

I have 5 winners of spots in my Build Zone class:

M. Butcher

Karin Slaton

Yvonne Ammerman

Trinka Seals

Christine Ruggiero

If you are already a student of this class and would like credit towards my next class (a brand new online resin class) please let me know!

There are 3 winners of my nest charm tutorial:

Lori Ackerman

Sharon Lyall

Jryen Designs

The 3 winners of my wrapped link tutorial are:

Sal McClelland

Micah Holden

Dawn Gold

And last, but not least, the winners of my new Double Loop Link tutorial. I had so much fun drawing names that I threw a few more of these tutorials in the pot:

Deborah Gemmell

RooRoo Designs

Lana Kinney

Norm and Nilene, Inc.

Sue Chesley

and

Deborah Foord

For you jewelry winners: I'll won't be able to send the jewelry prizes out for another week.

For you class winners: Please email me, asap, if you're already a member of The Build Zone or if you've already taken it. If not, I'll be sending out the class info, today.

For you tutorial winners: I know some of you may already have some of these tutorials; if that's the case, please email me asap.

Thank you, again, for participating. You guys are the best!

deryn <3<3<3