Oktoberfest 2014 : A Blog Hop

Without further ado... *drum roll* :

my Autumn Splendor in PHOTOS

(I'm a photographer, too- you can see my photography for sale in my ArtFire shop by clicking here).

Here is a full moon photo taken in September...

 

 A crescent moon & sunset!

Some Mums (Chrysanthemums)

More Mums.

The newest addition to the flower "family". (Yes, more Mums!)

I don't know what this flower is called, but it sure is pretty and was still blooming mid-September.

The tree to the right was getting just a touch of yellow.

 A hibiscus that was really happy in the garden this year. Also was blooming like mad in September!

Plume grass.

Hollyhock.

Another flower I don't know the name of...

This was the MOST GORGEOUS and INTENSE sunset EVER.

The leaves on the burning bush were just starting to change.

Fiery sunlight/sunset!

October Full Moon.

At last, something I actually made! (Though the photo is cool too). These are jack'o'lanterns I made from polymer clay. You can get them in my shop on Etsy.

A walk I took mid-October with my Mom and her doggie, Odie.

From that same walk. This is the La Crosse River at Veteran's Memorial Park in West Salem, WI.

No leaves!

Left: a skele-cat I picked up at Michaels Arts & Crafts (SCORE!) and a Hello Kitty Halloween card sent to me by a good friend. In case you *didn't* know, I ADORE Hello Kitty. =^.^=

The tree in front of the house. Yellow, Red and Orange leaves in a riot of color!

Late October pumpkin carving.

Gorgeous!

Look at all of those leaves! Gotta rake those up! O.O

All of this is what October means to me. It's also, *gasp*, my BIRTH MONTH. :) I just celebrated my birthday on the 21st! Fun times, batpeeps.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at all the photos of my Oktoberfest Goodness.

Here's a link to the PARTICIPANT LIST.

The Goodies for BSBP I SENT to my partner, Andrea Frank!

THIS is the soup I sent my partner, Andrea Frank, in pictures. :)

Without further ado...

One of the focals I made for Andrea...

The other focal I made for Andrea! :) This one is very, very orange!

The red and orange soup I created...

Faceted glass rondelles in red, red-orange and orange. Ooooolala!

Faceted orange carnelian CAT!!! And Andrea loves cats, just like me! :)

Reconstituted stone red roses...

Some copper birdies...

Some tiny garnets- Andrea loves these!

A pretty red rose in polymer clay and a rainbow bead- both made by me!

Sue Beads - by a lampwork artist.

By Tiffany Goth-Smith. :)

A selection of findings and traditional clasps that I sent...

Here's one of the clasps I MADE! :)

Another copper clasp I made...

And the last clasp I made. They are all a little rustic! :)

Polymer Clay Fun for Valentine's Day!

Here are some absolutely lovely polymer clay charms & pendants I made recently for, you guessed it, a Valentine's Day Swap! :)

Without further ado, pictures:

I made doubles of EVERYTHING--> I originally had one partner and then inherited another for a total of TWO partners! Hence the doubles. :) But still, each one is UNIQUE because they are formed using my fingers individually. Wootz!

I used red pearl and white pearl clays, with a small smattering of plum for the flowers. Of course, I had to accent with rose quartz and cute little crystals. I also used a metal stamp, (LOL!), to make the indents of the little hearts.

Those little hearts you see on the white pearl clay are hand formed, for the most part. I used a toothpick to make the indent between the two "humps."

I do use a few cutters, some in the round and a diamond one to cut out the triangles between the humps of the hearts. :) Cutting those out by just using a knife would be pretty time-consuming, IMHO.

My favorite tools:
toothpicks
sharp knives/razor blades
bamboo skewers
diamond polymer clay cutter
round polymer clay cutters (Thanks for these, Kerri!)

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Happiest of New Year Wishes! :)

I had a pretty awesome creative-filled year! Here are some of my (MANY!) favorites... (PS- lots and lots and lots of pictures!)

Waterfall pendant necklaces:

Made for a Bead Swap USA auction!

I made this one for fun!

Made for my friend, Kerri. :)

Summer Elements Blog Hop- my color was ORANGE!

Made for the Bead Soup Blog Hop Challenge - Andrea Frank sent me the sea glass beads. I added everything else! This was the first one I made, EVER. :)

 Kitties out of polymer clay:

Made for Rita /// Toltec Jewels!

Made in honor of my late kitty, Crab Apple.

Hello Kitties out of polymer clay! MY version!

 Unusual color combinations:

My first attempt at combining coral & olive... Also my first attempt at wire wrapping with five strands of wire!

Dark coral red & sky blue. Bead is by Marcia Seever of Shazazz Glass. :)

Lots of purple this past year:

Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop, hosted by a Grateful Artist

My blue & purple charms made for the Art Charm Exchange- our theme was "Love"

The only pendant I made by putting a rose accent on a focal- given to my friend, Kerri (yes, again!).

A Bead Swap USA Halloween bracelet swap

More purple & pink! An Artist Bead Necklace for the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop!

Another Bead Swap USA Halloween bracelet swap

A Custom Hello Kitty Order:

A set of stretchy Hello Kitty bracelets.

A stretchy Hello Kitty necklace! Made to slip right over a little girl's head! :)

Plus a little red:

Made for the Bead Swap USA auction... Valentine's day theme....

Made for the Bead Swap USA auction, also Valentine's Day themed....

My very first attempt at making polymer clay roses!

More hearts.... this one is for sale in my Etsy shop...

 Something special I made for my Grandma, (she loves frogs!):

Acrylic flowers, freshwater pearls, sterling silver & enamel frog.

More Halloween Goodness:

I turned a couple of these into earrings as a gift.

My first try at Jack 'o Lanterns....

A BUNCH of skullies I made for a custom order. TONS OF SKULLIES.

An extra gift to a swap partner. Silver tone bats, sterling silver earwires and howlite skulls.

Some wire wrapping:

A White Opal Tree of Life sold at one of my online Trunk Shows!

Also made during the Bead Soup Blog Party! I got these sea glass spears from Andrea Trank. :)

Cultured sea glass from ZNet Shows.

More cultured sea glass from ZNet Shows.

"Teal Goddess," a Bead Soup Cafe challenge/contest. Lampwork focal by Michelle Mahre.

UBER POLYMER CLAY YEAR:

Another contest entry for a Bead Soup Cafe challenge.

Pretty in Earth Tones. Made for Earth Day!

Made for a magazine.

Made for Andrea Trank, my swap partner in the Bead Soup Blog Hop.

Another pretty focal.

More pretties.

My first steampunk heart!

 And something I made for ME:

Pressed Czech glass two hole beads, a cherry quartz flower, cherry quartz beads, tila beads in soft ivory, and copper findings. :)

Here's a link to my two shops on the 'net:

http://zenithjade.etsy.com/

& 

http://zenithjade.artfire.com/

and other places I'm at:

http://about.me/ZenithJade

*mad love* Thank you for following my progress throughout the year!!!