Peek at my MANY Weeks (April, May, and June)

Remember a few months ago when I gave you weekly peeks at my life and the online content I had discovered? Life got beyond busy, and there was at least one event that was tough for me to mention, so I let the weekly peeks go to the wayside until I could bear to begin again. I'm ready now to start sharing like I did before.  But, let me catch you up.
First up, just about every weekend has seen at least a little time spent in or around the pool these last few months. Thunderstorms and illness are about the only things that have kept us away.

In fact, in all that time, I think we've only made two trips to the beach, and we didn't get in the water either time. That's CRAZY, yo!

In addition to all the busy-ness these last several months, we lost our sweet Leeloo in April as she suffered a series of seizures and her little body just couldn't take it. This loss was the main thing that kept me from sharing these peeks. I just needed some time before I could mention it.

It wasn't all tears though, our oldest niece was a senior this year. She went to prom in April.

Then, we celebrated her birthday.

Her sister's birthday was only two days later and that was celebrated as well.

Of course, the big excitement was that she turned 16 and got her driver's license. April was a BUSY month for us all!

At the start of May, Pat and I took a short staycation for Pat's birthday. Mostly, we stayed home and enjoyed the pool. We did venture down to the river one day for lunch and Bushwackers, though.

I was supposed to get to go to a big concert in New Orleans that same week, but Pat and I must have overdone it as we ended up at home sick.

Later in the month, the oldest niece graduated from High School. We were all so excited!

Since she plans to attend the community college near my house (an hour from hers), she planned to move in with us. So, we prepped the guest room during May and into June, when she moved in. That's been an adjustment for all of us!

I had been waiting since before Christmas to see the Barenaked Ladies in concert. They were special guests of Hootie and The Blowfish at the beginning of June. It was AMAZING!

I finished out June with the annual Alabama Grand Assembly for the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. It's a girls' organization that I'm an advisor for, as well as a past state president (hence the crown). The convention is exhausting and rewarding at the same time. It always takes me weeks to prepare for and weeks to recover from. I'm finally there. Ha!

There have been loads of smiles around the pool for the past several months. I do hope to get better about making these weekly posts again and plan on catching up on July's events next week. 

For now, I'm relieved to have caught up this far and think that everything's calmed down a little. I hope the last several months have been good for you. I definitely pray that they've not been as crazy as mine.

Art Journaling in June

Most of my art journaling gets shared elsewhere, mostly on YouTube, Instagram, and the CraftyHope Jewelry Facebook Page. However, I do try to remember to pop in here with glimpses of those endeavors and to give you links to watch videos of my process. Here's some of the art journaling I shared in June.

Small Junk Journal Page 15 was the last page of that journal I shared before the Daisy Yellow Index Card a Day (ICAD) challenge began.
Small Junk Journal Page 15

I'm grouping each of my process videos for ICAD 2019 into groups of three. First is ICAD 2019 Cards 1-3. Here are the cards that I made in that video.



Of course, then came ICAD 2019 Cards 4-6. 



Though there are only a few more weeks of the ICAD 2019 Challenge, I'm sure I'll be uploading videos of these cards for a little while since it seems to take me so long to do so. I hope you'll hang in there with me. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the processes or materials I use to create these art journaled pieces. 

July Challenges and Inspirations

Ohmygoodnes! The last several weeks have been mayhem. I'm sure you were weren't wondering. But, we are deep into a new month, and I want to get back on track. So, to get back into the swing and routine of things, let me go ahead and share the upcoming Challenges and Inspirations for this month of which I'm aware.


  • First up, the Daisy Yellow ICAD (Index Card A Day) 2019 challenge is well underway and ends at the end of the month. If you're into mixed media art, you might be interested. Make sure to check out all the information on the Daisy Yellow website. 
  • The newest We're All Ears Challenge from Earrings Everyday is using Blueberries as the July Inspiration. The reveal is set for July 19th.
  • There's more mixed media inspiration at Our Mixed Media Moods. About each month, artists DeeDee and Jenn create a mood board to create from and share it with us too. Check out the Facebook group to see the board and what others create too. 
  • Each month, the team at Art Elements offers up their own challenge for a particular theme. July's theme is Flowers. This challenge is open to any art medium, but please make sure to comment on the post that you want to be included in the blog hop. You must sign up by July 26th, and the reveal date is July 30th. 
  • At Art Bead Scene, they like to challenge their readers to create jewelry that includes at least one art bead. The inspiration is always the work of a particular artist. This month, it's the art of Joseph Cornell. You may submit your piece(s) before July 28th. 
  • Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry is back from her vacation! Her husband Eric likes to offer her an inspiring photo each month that she shares with her readers. This challenge is called The Honey Do List. I love the puffin in the photo for this month. The reveal is set for July 29th.
I'm hoping to try my hand at at least one or a few of these challenges. I hope you take the plunge and take on some of them too. I seriously KNOW how busy the summer can be, so I wish you all the best!

Bead Box 5 - Reveal

WAAAAAAAY back in October, I shared what I had packed in a simple plastic organizer to help me get some jewelry made when I'm away from the house. I started that post with the words, "I wouldn't get as much jewelry made if it weren't for my handy-dandy Bead Box." I spoke too soon. That stocked box of designed jewelry has been lingering around since then, following me from place to place, taunting me. I even forgot what some of the designs were supposed to be. This week, I sat down and made myself complete the last couple of designs...finally. I'm going out of town soon and hope to have it re-stocked to take with me. For now, here's a reminder of what the fifth version of this stocked box looked like.

Let me go ahead and admit that the wrap bracelet in the far left compartment isn't done and won't be making an appearance in box 6. I just can't tote it around anymore. I'll never get it done. However, the rest of the designs were completed. One has already sold on Etsy and several others are already for sale either there or at Southern Antiques and Accents. If you need a refresher of the before pictures (I did), take a look at Bead Box 5 - Stocked. Now, let's take a look at the after!

These simple upcycled tin and bead earrings have already sold on Etsy. I should probably make some more similar since they're such a lovely little design.

This isn't the best picture of this necklace that combines acrylic paint poured tin (reversible), brass beads, and chain. However, it's a great shape and available at Southern Antiques and Accents (SAA).

I totally love the combination of hot pink tassel, distressed brassy tin, and more paint poured tin for the long pendant in this necklace. Golden beads  and chain were used to make the long chain. This Hot Pink Flow Necklace is available on Etsy. 

I can't get enough of the tin, and buttons have always been one of my favorite elements with which to work. The stacks of tin and buttons were already made when I added them to the box. It was just a matter of creating the bead connectors and attaching them to ear wires. You can find these Spring Sky Earrings on Etsy.

I was excited about this necklace when I designed it, and I'm not disappointed. The array of white shades in the beads along with the juxtaposition of the fabric and upcycled tin on the pendant just make me giddy. As with the pieces above, the Frayed White Shades Necklace is for sale on Etsy.

This box seemed to be full of long pendants that are just combinations of vintage found objects that make me smile. That's exactly the case with this necklace that simply combines a key, a chandelier crystal, and a vintage button. I added a beaded charm to the front of the key to match the handmade beaded chain that I created. You can find the Button Crystal Key Necklace in the Etsy shop. 

Salvaging old jewelry to make it new again is one of the things I love to do. In this case, I took an old brooch and removed the pin mechanism to make it a pendant. Chinese crystals and golden beads were wire-wrapped together to make the front part of the chain while basic gold-color chain finishes the necklace. This necklace will be available at Southern Antiques and Accents in the coming weeks. 

These elements should have been super easy to combine, but I struggled with them for some reason. I was finally able to coax the bronze PMC charms, vintage buttons, and my own wordy washers to come together cohesively in this pair of earrings that will likely end up on Etsy.

When I matched up the elements for this necklace, I was elated that I was able to get that minty, pistachio green color to match in all the pieces. However, when I started to bring them all together into a necklace, it was just too much. I broke it up with some gunmetal-colored seed beads to finish this pretty little Pistachio Journey Necklace that is already on Etsy.

I added antiqued brass beads to this design to break up the mother of pearl buttons and to echo the brass bell at the bottom of the pendant.  I like this necklace a lot and plan to list it on Etsy before too long. 

There was a bit of a snag with this necklace when the tassel fell apart on me. (I failed to make sure the knot holding it together was tight and glued - my own fault!) Once that was fixed, the rest of the chain came together beautifully with jade and copper beads. It will be heading to Etsy.

This is the main necklace whose design idea got lost between coming up with it and making it. Not all of the elements for the design were in the same compartment in the bead box. I kept finding a baggie of buttons in the box that I couldn't figure out why they were there. I should have looked at the original post for the answer. Dur! Instead of using the buttons, I found these salvaged glass beads in a coppery, rust color that I used to break up the other beads. It worked out just fine. I think this one will likely go to Etsy as well. 

There really wasn't much to this design. Of course, I have no idea what my original idea had been, but I really think I made this work out well with the elements I gave myself. I simply wired everything together then added a bit of chain. The clasp and jump ring aren't agreeing at the moment, so I will have to fix that before I take it to SAA.

Heavens knows what I had planned for this small collection of five buttons. I went with the flow and simply wired them together to create this simple necklace. I'm tempted to do a tutorial on how I created it. Would you be interested in that? Let me know. As for the necklace, it'll be hitting the shelves at SAA soon. 

Like some of the other designs, I decided that I needed a little something else to go with the originally selected elements. In the case of this necklace, I added the large round, faceted crystals to the smokey topaz crystals in the chain. The back is a simple antiqued brass chain. Watch for this one coming to Etsy!

Nothing had to be added to this design. It simply needed to get wire wrapped together. I love the faux watch look of it and the sparkle from the crystals and the distressed tin. It's destined for Etsy. 

I'm so glad to have that bead box finally emptied and ready to fill back up. I don't really know what took me so long to work my way through it. But, I have a feeling that it was my need to add additional elements to the designs while I wasn't within reach of those new elements. For my own sake, I hope to plan out the designs a little better to keep my productivity moving. I'll share with you when I get Bead Box 6 stocked up. If you're interested in my previous Bead Boxes and reveals, here are the links for you. 



Thanks for stopping by! 

Create a Bracelet with Leather

Changes have been afoot in Silverlox (our house) and life's been a bit more hectic than normal for the past several weeks. As such, my blogging has suffered. I hope to get some time to fill y'all in, but that's not going to happen right now. Instead, let me share a tutorial I created.

While I struggled to end some lengths of suede (faux?) on a bracelet, I decided to turn on the camera and share my technique.

Initially, I had hoped to put tube rivets in the leather, but that didn't work out well. Instead, I used the punched holes to my advantage to help hold the wire in place as I wrapped it.

The leather is simply slid through the holes on the end of a Tim Holtz tag that I altered with two shades of Vintaj Patinas.

Here's the video on how to Create a Bracelet with Leather to give you a better look at the process.
I'm always open to answering any questions you may have, so please don't hesitate to ask!

It's a super simple process, but I do hope that you enjoy the idea!

June Challenges and Inspirations

It's yet another month, and that means that there are new challenges and ways to be inspired. I like to work with these fun and fantastic prompts myself and think it's only fair that I share them with you. It's always more fun when others play along too. 

  • ICAD 2019 from Tammy of Daisy Yellow has just begun. This challenge is a mixed media art one that invites you to create something on an index card every day for 61 days. It runs through June and July. Tammy even offers up daily prompts and weekly thematic prompts if you need them.  You can visit the link above and make sure to follow Tammy's blog to catch the prompts each week. 
  • Speaking of mixed media art, the latest Mood Board for Our Mixed Media Moods from DeeDee Catron and MixedMedia Jenn has been revealed. Watch their videos to see how these originators worked with the board, and check out the Our Mixed Media Moods Facebook Group to see how others worked with it as well.
  • Art Journey #4 at Art Bead Scene is open until June 15th. The theme for this journey is the work of Odilon Redon. Remember that contributions for this challenge must include an art bead. 
  • The June inspiration at Earrings Everyday is Storms. As Erin pointed out, most of the country is experiencing the storms that are raging or at least the after-effects. Read what she has to say and make sure to participate. The reveal is June 21st.
  • Over at Art Elements, we've been given a theme I've never heard of: Selkies. Well, the actual theme prompt is Selkies and the Sea. Again, though, selkies are something new for me. How exciting to learn something new! Anyway, the reveal for this challenge is June 30th. Make sure to leave a comment letting them know you are participating so you can be added to the blog hop list. 
And, those are all of the inspirations and challenges I've found this month. If you know of any to add to the list, please don't hesitate to let me know. Now, what's inspiring you?

Art Journal Pages You May Have Missed

About once a week (more often if I can), I share a video of me working in an art journal. Rather than overload you with weekly blog posts about a single art journaling video, I prefer to share the pictures and YouTube links to several of them once a month. THIS is that post! Lately, I've worked strictly in my small junk journal, and that's the substrate for all the videos this month. However, ICAD season has begun, and I might just share videos of those too. For now, here are last month's art journaling videos. 
Small Junk Journal Page 11

Small Junk Journal Page 12

Small Junk Journal Page 13

Small Junk Journal Page 14

If you would like to see these videos in a more timely manner, when they come out, please make sure to subscribe to the CraftyHope YouTube Channel. Of course, I also share links to the videos on my CraftyHope Twitter and CraftyHope Facebook Page. So, if you're following me in either of those places, you're likely to catch the videos there too. 

And, if you have any questions about art journaling, please don't hesitate to ask! It's such a fun and freeing medium. I encourage other artists to play in a journal too.

Forest Floor Necklace (Art Elements Reveal)

The Art Elements theme this month, as issued by Susan Kennedy, is Forest. What a wide-open theme! It took me a little time to decide whether or not to participate. And, the moment I did, I was right in the thick of it. As Susan suggested, the theme could go in any direction - trees, moss, fairies, woodland creatures, and just about anything that can be found in the woods. 

I've been wanting to use up some of the treasures I've collected over the years and decided to turn to this small Altoids tin for the challenge. 
I started by sanding off the label, but since the word "smalls" was raised, it had to be hammered down before I finished sanding it.

I didn't remove all of the design from it as I knew I was considering painting over the top. 

From there, I had to figure out what to fill it with. I thought about a layered paper design of just trees. Fairy huts also came to mind. However, I just couldn't decide. Since I'm lucky enough to have my own small forest on our property to inspire me, I decided to take a walk.
I love the shady seclusion of the woods and all the natural treasures that can be found there. As such, I began gathering beautiful discoveries from the forest floor. 

I found bark, limbs, pine cones, acorn tops, dried flowers, skeleton leaves, and other lovely elements to incorporate. 

However, since everything green eventually turns brown, there wasn't much natural I could add to get that pop of color. I needed to add my own touch of green to give my piece some life. 
First, I punched two holes in the top of the tin. Then, several shades of green Vintaj Patinas were used to color the inside.

For the outside, I mixed brown and black Patina. A skeleton leaf was adhered to the top with the Vintaj sealer. 
A green border was added for a touch of color and a hint at what you could find inside. 

It took some tinkering to get the natural elements displayed inside the tin just right.
I wanted to include as many of the forest floor elements as I could. E6000 glue was used to secure the pieces. 

To complete the necklace, I used headpins to make loops on the outside of the tin. Brass chain was connected to the loops. 

A few stacks of wood beads were added along the chain to make sure there were natural elements there too. 

I love that this pendant really is reminiscent of the forest in that from the outside, it doesn't look like much. However, when you enter it, it's a whole other world of magic.

I really enjoyed this prompt as it not only allowed me to create something surprising, but it prompted me to go out to explore and find the unexpected. 

Big thanks goes out to Sue and the Art Elements team for the opportunity to participate. Please make sure to hop around to the other participants and see just how they interpreted the Forest too. I can't wait!

Guests: Alysen, Divya, Evie & Beth, Hope (you're here!), Louise, Michelle, Sarah, Tammy

AE Team: Caroline, Cathy, Claire, Laney, Lesley, Niky, Sue

NEW website (and blog to go with it)

 Hey y'all!! I've got some news. It's great, but also bittersweet. After almost NINETEEN years here on Blogger/Blogspot, I'v...