Handmade Love ~ Amy Rose Moore Illustrations

I'm here today with a return to the Handmade Love series. And to say, don't buy your art from commercial shops, big box stores, or soulless chains, buy it from artists!

I have been a big fan of Amy Rose Moore's work since I was first neighbors with her at a Treasure Island Flea market two years ago. Her whimsy mixed with the natural world made me smile. Her work, through the inclusion of unexpected details, takes nature drawings and paintings and makes them into something that sparks thoughts in the viewer that go beyond the everyday.

pictured above, her Great Blue Heron watercolor hanging in my front entryway

pictured above, her Great Blue Heron watercolor hanging in my front entryway

While I gravitate to her more serious work, she also has a penchant for the funny and fun. A perfect example: penguins on ice cream?! Love it!

Another favorite of mine, pictured below: Blue Jay, Tree Frog and Dandelion. 

Growing up surrounded by nature (in Lassen County) was the childhood fodder for her love of the natural world. Quoted from her artist statement on her website: "The portraits and personalities that take shape under my pen and paintbrush evoke (in me, at least) a sense of nostalgia, not just of my youth, but of a commonality-- of universally shared emotional spaces and fondly remembered narratives." 

You can find her work in her Etsy shop, or meet her in person at one of her many events, listed on her webpage. Her work is sure to bring some of the beauty and story of the natural world into your home!
 

A Return to Handmade Love

This week I just got a bee in my bonnet and had to post about all of the great handmade jewelry that I've been drooling over on Etsy. Then, I decided to look back over my old Handmade Love posts and saw that it was nearly exactly a year ago that I posted ones of these round-ups. About time! I decided to simply focus on jewelry in general this time, because, well, I'm obsessed (naturally).

 Bones and Things ~ Real Lavender Bloom Necklace

Ahh, flowers captured in a necklace. Pretty much perfection when you're as obsessed with flowers as I am. I LOVE this lady's work and actually have two of her art prints. I had a difficult time choosing just one piece to feature, but lavender is a favorite of mine, so I went with this one. What I love about her floral and plant pieces is the organic, natural shape to the resin that she traps them in. 

 Vintajia Adornments ~ Trinity earrings 

I love how the overly oxidized metal plays against the brightness of the yellow enamel on these. They're very rustic-boho-chic. This lovely maker is out of Australia. 

LJB Jewelry ~ Mixed Metal Bangle

In my humble opinion this bangle is pretty much mixed-metal perfection. This artist is based on the east coast and participates in many arts and crafts fairs out there. I wish I lived closer, cause it would be lovely to see her creations in person!

Willow Studio Jewelry ~ Spirit Shield Earrings

The enamel on these! The rusty, old look to them! Grittiness perfected! I love jewelry that has an old, rustic feel to it, and these perfectly fit the bill. They're more colorful than I usually go in for, but I think the artist has done a good job of balancing out all of the color with plenty of "grit."

Fail Jewelry ~ Mica Earrings

And, last but not least, more mixed metal, this time in earrings. This lovely lady usually does the San Francisco Renegade too, so you local folk are in luck. What I've gotta say (and this is gonna sound a little jewelry-maker-geeky) is: way to rock the cold connections! (meaning no torch work). I'm seriously impressed by the ingenuity of the design, and how effortlessly it blends into such an elegant, wearable pair of earrings. 

I hope everyone enjoyed looking at some non-Tangleweeds jewelry for a minute! I'll be back with these posts, most likely on a monthly basis, as more lovely, handmade goodness pops up in my life. Also, if you or someone you know makes really awesome goods, and you'd like to be part of my Handmade Love series, send me a message at tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com and we'll talk!

Handmade Love - Shades of Spring

Pretty spring colors are on my mind this week. When I stumbled upon the quilted wall hanging below, I knew that this week's theme for Handmade Love was going to be color based: fun, spring colors like pink, purple, pastels. 

Pastel Quilted Wall Hanging by Twiggy and Opal

I'd love to hang this quilt right above my bed's headboard. Would look perfect in my room!

Pastel Raindrop Garland by PeleMele

This garland would look pretty in the window of my new studio space. (Which is eagerly awaiting arrangement, decor and some new/old furniture!)

Mint Peach Geometric Necklace by Alina and T

When I first saw this necklace I thought it was made from wood, then I read the description and saw that they're actually handmade polymer beads. Rad! (I'm curious about exploring polymer myself.)

How's that for a good dose of spring = ) ? 

Assemblage of Loveliness

Something many people who are familiar with my work do not know is that I started out my jewelry making days creating elaboarte, beaded, assemblage type pieces. Lots of big, chunky necklaces. My work has evolved over the years and taken on a more minimal slant. But lately, as is want to happen with anyone in a creative field, I am craving some experimentaion. I've picked up a bunch of new materials to play with and I've dug through my old supplies for forgotten jewelry-making materials. I'm not sure exactly what is going to come of it, but as I've been sharing here on the blog, there will be new one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces in the near future. In the meantime, I wanted to share gorgeous, assemblage-style jewelry from other talented Etsy sellers. . . 

Snakeskin Jasper Assemblage Necklace
I love the colors of this piece, the earthy tones mixed with the sea-blue-green color. Also, the gold-leaf on that rough stone is a nice balance in contrasts. 

Rustic Rainbow Alegria Earrings
I love the way the beads are wire-wrapped around the main rectangle part. As a jewelry artist I'm always looking at the way another jewelry artist is connecting two (or more items together). That's what jewelry art is all about: connections.

Lost City Necklace
This piece really struck me as "wow!" The stitched fabric folds are just not something I've seen anyone else doing. Very innovative and fresh.

Rustic Tribal Metal Earrings 
I think my favorite part about these earrings is their subtle assymetry. I bet the way these dance when they're worn is really beautiful!

Textured Metal and Verdigris Earrings
Any jewelry artist that uses patina in such a lovely-yet-rough way has my love. I really think this pair is so perfectly balanced: the extra wire wrapping, the tiny beads at the top, the ceramic drops. Perfection!

I hope you all enjoyed this week's round-up of Handmade Love!

Handmade Love - New Feature

My newest weekly feature: Handmade Love. I debuted this on Easter as a way of showcasing artists whose work I just can't stop looking at! I'm going to try to base each post around a loose "theme" but I'll see how that goes =). This week, I'm featuring handmade components (for jewelry making) as I'm currently obsessed with branching out with my own work and incorporating other artists' handmade loveliness into my jewelry creations. When my supply budget is a little more flush, these are some of the wonderful pieces I may just have to have. . . 

Koroit Boulder Opal Cabochon

You can see my tastes are running towards the slightly worn and rustic, per the usual. You can click on any of the photo's titles and you'll be taken directly to the maker's Etsy shop. Maybe it'll inspire you to create something new this week too!

Easter Colors on Etsy

I'm hoping, this year, to get back to featuring some of my favorite handmade goodies on Etsy. Round one: pastel-hued pieces for Easter.

il_570xN.583762136_9juz.jpg

Fragile strength talisman Necklace - unfurling

Well, there ya go! Not exactly a typical Easter-themed post but a peek into some of the things I've been digging on Etsy. This one was brief (as I had about 5 minutes to put this together) - I'm hoping to do some "meatier" features as I continue to flesh this here blog out this year! There are so many wonderful "hand-makers" out there on the interwebs, it's just nice to share the love in the small ways I can. I hope to share some of the "quieter" Etsy shops here. . . the ones that maybe fly under many people's radars but are full of amazing work. Etsy is a crowded place and sometimes only the most popular shops seem to get attention. Anywho, there I go off on a tangent, but a tangent about my motivation behind this blog feature. If you like, leave a little post in the comments about the type of work you'd like to see featured here and I'll keep that in mind as I work on these posts. 

(Now it's time to go help my Nephew search for some eggs!)