Silver Carnival Horse Update

I wanted to share how I sent out the carnival horse necklace. I found a box to protect and elevate the necklace. I also included a card with my inspiration picture of Lena at the carnival. The pearl rosary style chain is from her jewelry box.

Inside the card is the story behind the necklace. For more information on this necklace see this post.

Mother of Pearl Rose and Bird - Necklace

I started with the beautiful carved mother of pearl flowers. The sweet little bird was a perfect accompaniment.

Three faceted citrine stones flank carnelian beads with tiny brass spacers. Three baroque pearls with crystals between are the balance to a victorian brass bar pin with rhinestone. The bar has been depinned. A hand forged brass clasp hooks to a chain making the necklace adjustable from 19 inches to 24 inches. A sweet rhinestone flower drops from the brass chain. Pairs of bone bead, agates and glass beads round out the necklace.




Available at my Etsy shop RAEvN's Nest here.

Raven Picking Grapes - Necklace

If I were to pick a necklace to represent me, this would be it. A raven picking grapes. There is so much symbolism in this totem animal for me, grapes just put it over the top. I just finished this necklace today and before I change my mind I am going to list it in my Etsy shop RAEvN's Nest here.

The raven is an antique locking brooch and pendant combination. The silver plating over brass has a wonderful worn patina.

Hanging from the pendant is a vintage cluster of simulated pearls.

The sweet antique metal button is the perfect accompaniment. The embossed hand picking grapes drops from the clasp chain in back.


Richly colored green jasper stones in a rosary style chain with three additional baroque pearls. The necklace has a sterling silver clasp and is adjustable from 19 inches to 24 inches. The pendant and grape pearl cluster hangs an additional 5 inches below.


Just hatched from the Nest!

Ivory Rose and Rhinestones - Necklace

I've been busy sorting through jewelry, collecting ideas and finally creating.

Jewelry from the nest.

Picasso is one of the artists who I admire. He worked in many mediums and was always experimenting with different styles. Above is one of his fine art prints pictured in a book.

This antique ivory colored rose is the beautiful centerpiece for this necklace.

I couldn't decide which of the two pictures above that I like better, so I posted both.


There are two large chunks of carnelian stone flanking the rose with a third by the clasp. A chain of brass roses with rhinestone centers have a beautiful green patina on parts of the leaves. The asymmetrical design includes carved bone, crystal, brass and glass beads. A textured brass chain, with a pretty little marquise mother of pearl button, enables the necklace to be adjustable between 18 inches to 24 inches.

This necklace is available at my Etsy site RAEvNsNest here.

Necklace - The Elegant Moose

I saw a necklace with a silvertone elk head from an odd fellows badge and wanted one. I have searched the internet for months. That is the beauty of found object art, you can't just find the components anywhere. There was just something about it...

I decided to make my own. I drew an elk, then reduced my drawing, but something just wasn't right. I didn't want to copy the elk exactly, but I liked it exactly as it was. The antlers looked wimpy and for some reason I began thinking about moose. Perhaps because I was thinking about original art, art that is inspired but not copied.


Why would a moose be a totem animal for me? I had seen many animals on our vacation to Yellowstone this past year including elk, but not one single moose. Perhaps the moose had something to tell me.

I looked up moose totem on the internet and this is a summary of what I found:
The crown of courage; Full of contradiction; Excellent depth perception; Strength; Intuitive nature; Reward ourselves for a job well done; Moose
I etched all of these traits on the back of the moose head.

I cut the moose from heavy gauge brass. Next, I etched the image of a moose with the name of the designer in bold letters - RAEvN.

I refashioned a vintage glass bead necklace adding a mother of pearl flower. Hanging below the pendant is a piece of jewelry from my Great Aunt Lena's stash. The shell charms remind me of antler. I also added an acorn shaped button backed by a shell button. The clasp is a hook and eye that I fabricated from brass wire.

The necklace is available in my Etsy shop RAEvNs Nest here.

Necklace - La Rose France

I found this sweet brass label while on one of my internet travels to Europe. The label reads "La Rose France, Houbigant Paris". This was originally a brass label from an antique perfume bottle. Houbigant was a perfume manufacturer founded in Paris, France in 1775.

According to the item description, the plate was found in the ground and was made perhaps around 1910 - 1930.


I added a sterling silver rose with sparkly rhinestones including one tiny black one.


The pendant hangs from a delicate double strand vintage rosary type chain and antique glass bead chain with a brass jumpring marked CZECHOSLOV stamped in tiny letters.


This necklace is available at my Etsy shop RAEvN's Nest here.

Silver Carnival Horse Necklace

Today I finished this necklace. The actual construction didn't take long once I decided on the design. What took me a lot of time was going through my stash looking for inspiration.

The vintage silver horse is the starting inspiration for this necklace. I made this piece of jewelry, filled with loving memories. I also made it with the intention of listing it on Etsy. It is not always easy to for me to let go of my art.

The above picture is of my Great Aunt Lena. She never married nor had children. I am the keeper of her pictures, some belongings and memories. Lena is at the carnival with her boyfriend. This picture along with the horse gave me the idea to pursue a vintage carnival inspired theme. The pearl rosary style chain is from Lena's jewelry box. I love the combination of beads in white, silver, plum, steel and a bit of pink for a feminine touch. The asymmetrical design gives added interest to the composition of this necklace. The 5 small silver beads are from my Aunt Carol and Uncle Al. At one time they sold jewelry findings at flea markets.


The necklace measures 24" with the horse and poles hanging an additional 4" below.

Close-up detail.

Another photo styling idea.

To complete the necklace I added a vintage silver barrel clasp. The crescent shaped beads are silver plated brass. I am not sure of the metal content of the rest of the necklace.

Time to share my memories and list this necklace on Etsy. You can find the necklace listed here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/91119780/vintage-silver-carnival-horse-necklace
SOLD 1/21/12

Next I need to put away the creative mess...

Guest Blogger on PERSONAL GEOGRAPHIES

I am thrilled to be the guest blogger today on Jill K. Berry's Blog - Personal Geographies.

Jill has many fabulous pieces of art in my book Interactive Art Journal and I am a contributing artist to her book.
You can buy an autographed copy of Jill's book from her blog or it is available from Amazon here.

Check this out!

FREE Webinar: My Journey with Maps Hosted by Jill K. Berry

On Thursday, January 19th, 2012. Hurry and register...

http://www.createmixedmedia.com/uncategorized/free-webinar-my-journey-with-maps-hosted-by-jill-berry

Sketchbook Challenge - Prize Winner

I am fortunate to be a prize winner for the December Sketchbook Challenge. All you need to do is follow the Sketchbook Challenge Blog and post 1 photo of sketchbook art on their Flickr site for a chance to win. Prizewinners are picked randomly. They host a different challenge each month. Included in my prize packet from Luminarte is a set of twinkling H2O's in Pearlesque colors and a set of 4 Radiant Rain Color Concentrate. Plus a sample pack of ready cut Watercolor paper by Strathmore. Thank you Sketchbook Challenge! I am looking forward to trying out these new products in my journal. Click on the badge above for a link to the Sketchbook Challenge Blog.

Art Journal Page

The quote inspired the drawing of the man. Colored pencil over an acrylic wash. I liked the design of the postage stamp and thought it's color and pattern complimented my layout.

"And in that line was a whiskered old man, with a linen cap and a crooked nose, who waited...to share his part in the secret of Heaven; that each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one." Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven

December Sketchbook Challenge

The theme for the December Sketchbook Challenge is "Trashed, ruined and decay". Not a real strong tie to the theme for me other than the stamps I saved from being trashed.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize is my title for this art journal page. I worked the design by drawing the image of a trophy over the face of my daughter Brook. I painted around the trophy with gesso trying to maintain a balance between the trophy standing out without covering the image of my daughter entirely. To further support the theme, I inserted a blue ribbon into a slit that I cut in the page. The writing chronicles some of the recent wins showing dogs that my daughter has accomplished.

A Boston Terrier plus 1 Bulldog - Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was “Dog Christmas” which Mark & I celebrated at Mom’s house. Pictured are our 4 boston terriers plus all of the granddogs. Ruby & Simon, my Mom’s dogs, aren’t included in the picture (we had overstayed our welcome with them).

Waiting to open Christmas Presents…

…is it time yet?