I Spy Something Turquoise

Did you ever play "I spy" as a kid... or count the (pick any color) vehicle as you were driving down the road in the back of the station wagon on a really longggggg carride?  Or was that just something my parents did to pass the time with the 4 of us wild & crazy kids?

Either way... I've been juggling a whole lot over the last number of weeks.  Let's just hope I don't drop my balls! ;) 

I started working on a piece using a focal that I've had for a very long time.  When a specific focal talks to you, you're supposed to drop everything and create, right?  Well taxes be damned and 87,524 other things on my plate right now, I've only been able to create in bits and pieces.  BUT, what I can promise you is that it will be amazing.  AND I promise it will be done before May.  IN ADDITION, I promise not to drop any balls... that could get messy. Tee hee he!

Coming Soon to a piece of wearable art - is one calling your name?

And because I really love you, that gorgeous lampwork focal in the piece I'm working on as well as the 6 you see above, were all created by my sister by choice, Julianna Cannon of Studio Juls (aka JulsBeads).  Juls gave me the kick in the shin I needed to dip my toes in the water of seed bead artistry and for that I am eternally grateful!  Won't you go show Juls some love and follow her blog?  She makes the most amazing glass focals and her beaded art is just out of this world! 

Love & Hugs to you!
~Dawn

Another Piece of Art created with a JulsBead focal

What starts as glass, transforms to wearable art! Thanks Juls for your inspiration!

Pink is the Color Of Passion

Winter in Wisconsin means white and a whole lotta grey.  Lucky for me, I have the ability to color my own world!  Enter a bright, cheery, summery PINK!

Similar to Honeysuckle, Pantone's color of the year in 2011, this vibrant fuchsia pink is HOT with a capital H-O-T. Not only is it happy, but it exudes love and you all know that's one of my missions in this world - spread love and happiness!  This year's Pantone color of the year is Emerald which I'm also in love with.  And no, it's not just because I'm a red-headed Irish lass, honestly! ;)  So I've got plans for something spectacular featuring that in the near future too.

I created this custom beaded cuff featuring a mix of black and pink.  I used different finishes of seed beads to create depth and texture.  This cuff is created on an oval shaped brass blank so it's a one-size-fits most, and being oval, it fits so beautifully on the wrist!

Now for the really, really awesome part... I backed this cuff with... wait for it... metallic fuchsia lambskin.  Yes indeed, it's so hot I'm going to have to call the fire department.  Seriously, I'm totally in love with this cuff, so much so I had to make a necklace to compliment it.

And because I love you ♥ now YOU can get this song stuck in your head today too... Pink by Aerosmith. Because Steven Tyler wears some amazing beaded jewelry by my friend Sherry Serafini!



Looking for something special?  I love custom orders.  Contact me to talk about what you are looking for and let's turn your vision into a one-of-a-kind piece of couture art jewelry!  I guarantee you'll turn heads in a Designs by Dawn Marie original!

http://www.facebook.com/LemonsLemonadeLife

What's that book I'm reading? Get your copy on Amazon!
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Who Needs a Brazilian Butt Lift if You have one of THESE

There are very few things in life that can truly serve more than one purpose... alas let me demonstrate.

Kristen Stevens Adaptation of Tutorial Diamonds are Forever by Nancy Dale

You see, I have a very good friend Kristen that we often have beading discussions and bounce ideas off of each other.  Well my darling friend decided to surprise me with an artisan crafted gift.  Imagine my delighted squeal as I opened my mailbox and found a padded envelope shipped directly from New York.

Within the package was the most beautiful bracelet.  You see, dear Kristen knows I have very small wrists.  We've discussed why I don't use tutorials or even the examples in Beadwork magazine.  She put on her artist's hat and took a tutorial created by beader Nancy Dale and modified it.  That's the beauty of being a real artist.  It's not about using somebody's pattern, it's about learning something from doing the tutorial then making it your own.

For those interested in learning how this bracelet was made, you can purchase Nancy's Diamonds are Forever tutorial for yourself from her etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/92145558/bracelet-tutorial-diamonds-are-forever

Now... what else makes this bracelet so special?  Well... as I opened the package I was so giddy, I tried right away to put it on.  I couldn't get the frickin clasp open.  I was on the phone with Kristen at the time and she started laughing... imagine that, laughing at me, her dear friend.  (Just kidding Kristen!) 

Kristen had used the most incredibly strong magnetic clasp I have ever seen!  Seriously, if I had a necklace on with one of these, and had the other end attached to my butt, honest to goodness, I'd never need a Brazilian Butt Lift!  It would pick that tooshie up so it would be nice and perky all day long!

I was laughing so hard as we talked... my brain wandered to so many other uses for said magnetic clasp.  But I won't get into those right here... LOL  Needless to say, you'll have to get intouch with Kristen to find out what planet she got those on, because they are outta this world!! 

Kristen, I feel so very honored to have such a beautiful creation.  You know I love purple, but the detail you put into this bracelet was impeccable!  I love, love, love the crystals and the fit is perfect!  Everytime I wear it, it'll remind me what a wonderful friendship we share!

{Hugs!}
~Dawn

Nancy's Blog:  http://nedbeads.blogspot.com
Nancy's Etsy Store:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/NEDbeads
Kristen's Blog:  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

Beauty Without Mittens!

This morning I woke up to the most pure, gorgeous blue sky and sunshine.  Yes it was a bit chilly, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to capture the beauty around me from the dusting of snow we had Friday night.  Sunshine and frost make for beautiful photos AND great inspiration on a grey day (which I'm sure we'll have plenty of in the winter months to come.) 

So here's a few of my snapshots really capturing the beauty of our morning.

See the moon?

It's supposed to be warming up to 40 as the day goes on, so with this sunshine, these beautiful frosted trees will melt off by noon.

My plan for today is to start wrapping Christmas presents.  I have a few orders that will ship tomorrow (Priority so I'm sure they'll arrive at their destination this week) and then I'll be finished with a wonderfully busy holiday of custom orders. 

The Christmas gifts we have purchased have spent the last month socializing with each other on our dining room table.  The beauty of having 4-legged kids is that they can't see up on the table (nor do they care, because our presents don't smell).  So in all honesty, they are safer there where the dogs can't have a festival unwrapping everything when I'm not looking.

But in an effort to be more organized and have less procrastination, I've decided not to wait until Friday to wrap everything.  Have you ever run out of gift tags and had to run to Walmart on the 23rd of December?  I did last year and it wasn't pretty!  So I'm not going to be that woman this year.  I love giving... I love the wrapping of gifts you know are going to put a smile on the face of those receiving them.  I love knowing each gift comes from our hearts and that alone makes it special.  There will be a few HUGE surprises this year that I look forward to seeing. 

Are you Ollie Orangized or Patty Procrastinator this year?  I got two new rolls of wrapping this year (which makes the process so much more fun).  One of which contains pictures of puppies... coincidentally it was purchased because one of those puppies looks just like Bella - imagine that.  LOL

Have a wonderful Sunday and a very blessed Christmas week!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Really Pantone - Tangerine Tango - REALLY

Image from Pantone Facebook Page

If you know me, you know Dawn doesn't do orange (much).  The only thing I do orange is eat them (and preferably without seeds.)  So imagine my er, uhhh, delight when I read that THE color of the year is Tangerine Tango.  It's not a subtle, stand in the corner orange... NOPE!  It's a bold, shut the front door orange!

For me as a designer, if I'm playing in Pantone's sandbox, I guess it's going to be another color challenge.  A whole year full of color challenge.  But seriously, tangerine tango?  Honestly, I usually do my own thing anyhow.  I can't help it I'm married to turquoise and purple (swoon.)  But my creative muse also dances when I pull those colors out of my bead boxes.  So in all honesty, I pay attention to the predictions, but I don't base most of my creations on that alone.

I truly love my friends that love orange.  Our differences make us more fun.  And what they design with orange always amazes me.  Mainly because I just don't think like that.  I cannot wait to see what new Pantone inspired pieces are designed by my friends and what they pair Tangerine Tango with to really create a special look.  After all, orange is truly a happy color.  And we all need a little more "Happy" in our day!

So while I finish a few special orders from Santa Claus, I'm putting my plan together for 2012.  In that plan, is to challenge myself to incorporate Tangerine Tango once in a while.  Who's going to tango with me?

Hope your day is fabulous!  I'd love to hear what your plan is for 2012!  Hard to believe it's less than 3 weeks away... zoinks!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Here's my Orange inspirations and the pieces I've created using orange!