~*Just because, I, FELT, like it.*~

I started to wire crochet with beads, this season, which has inspired me to add in beads to my wool creations. Here are some samples of my work from yesterday.

 Form Fitted & Felted  

Art to wear & be cozy! 

Amber Dawn 2011 

Crocheted Wool With beads and crystals. 

The lime green beads are reflective 

which makes them useful to dog walkers,

bicyclists and pedestrians, at night.

~*Beading along while I am singing a song...*~

It's the holiday season! Inspiring me to create more art to wear!
I purchased a whole lot of goodies to bead with from my local art store last week.

These are some of the things I designed.
I've been playing some fun music with upbeat lyrics to sing along to while I work.
It makes the tiny repeating bead patterns more bearable! :o)

I was watching "Tetro" while designing the necklace and bracelet. It played out like an artistic telenovela! :) Great cinematography!

You can win one item from my Etsy Shop! I am part of The First Annual ~*Virtual Craft Show!*~

 ~*THIS IS AMAZING!*~

70 GIFTS made by 70 crafters, artists & designers from all over!

=*HOLIDAY SPIRIT GOODNESS!*=

A chance to win one of 70 free hand-crafted pieces

from 70 different crafters (including me!)

This is my Etsy shop link. http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmberDawn

I will be adding more items this month to choose from.

Be sure to visit the Virtual Craft Show by clicking on either of the images above or by clicking HERE<----

~*Miniature Winter Sweets!*~ CONTEST! PRIZE- a 50% coupon to my Etsy shop!

Pick one of the 6 photos above and guess the correct size of the item pictured. If you do- you will win a 50% coupon for my Etsy shop! One entry per person please. To enter- visit my FaceBook Page and enter there or leave your guess here. Whichever is easier for you to do. The link to my FB is on the right hand side of this page. This will end November 6th- so get your guess in before then!

These miniatures are 100% polymer clay except for the wire- coming out of the brownie with cream- cookie pie!

Good Luck!

I may not have been able to be at Art Is... this past week, but I was there in spirit!

So many of my wonderful and talented friends and online art connections were at Art Is... in Danbury, CT. this past week/end and I really wanted to be there too! But I was teaching classes, Saturday through Monday, so I would have missed the fun!

I was there in spirit though and I have been hearing a lot of great reports and I am seeing some really nice photos which tell stories of the many activities and cool art that was shared!

If you went- share your stories with me! I'd love to hear more about it!

Amber

Almost at 14,000 views!

http://www.youtube.com/user/FunFairCreations#p/u/0/4HAspDqrbZA

This video of mine on YouTube is almost at 14,000 views! That is a LOT of plays!!!

It is hard for me to imagine that many viewers- and I start to wonder what people say out loud or think inside of their heads- the looks on their faces- while they view my tiny polymer creations for the first time. Do they smile?
Do their eyes squint to see the details?
Do their jaws drop? (hehe)

If you haven't yet visited my YouTube channel, head on over there and check out my videos!
My user name is FunFairCreations
http://www.youtube.com/user/FunFairCreations
Thank you!
:o)
Amber

~*Made by hand- miniature- tiny- cute- adorable- sweet- FUN STUFF!*~

Miniatures are small.
So often, people try hard to comprehend the scale of many of my pieces. It's hard to do unless you see them in person.

Perhaps this is a more suitable perspective for the scale of my work? Rather than placing them on a coin or next to a ruler.
All of these pieces have been hardened.
More often than not I take photos prior to curing the polymer clay so that I can capture it right after I create it. Some of these pieces got squished or bent a bit before hardening. I don't care about that though.

The joy for me, is in the creating of the pieces.
I will say however, WOW, what fun stuff!- despite the flaws!
None of it is silicone- it is all polymer clay.

A bracelet I designed last month...

Metal, mica, polymer clay & cording.

~*Mini-Tiny-Cute Polymer Clay Cakes, Cupcakes, Sweets and Treats!*~ Video

I just posted a new video of some of my miniature polymer clay cakes, sweets, cupcakes etc.- from this summer- to YouTube-
Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDgVpHqXroM
The finger I use to hold up the work is my pinkie finger- the smallest one on my hand.

Feel free to comment!

~*Miniature Polymer Clay Book*~

This is a prototype of a miniature book, I made this summer, using my own
custom blended colors of polymer clay.
The piece does not look as beautiful in the photos as it does in person.
I wish you could see it in these photos. the way I see it with my eyes.
The colors are warmer and softer in person and the Swarovski stones *bling*
and the gold mica shines brightly!
The top photo is the front cover and the 2nd photo is the back cover.

~*Thank you for all of the lovely and supportive comments!*~

I wanted to thank you all for visiting during the beaded blog hop!
(Bead Soup Blog Party)
~*THANK YOU!*~
It was such a great project to be a part of.
:o)
Enjoy the rest of the week!
Amber

~Bead Soup Blog Party- The Big One!*~

I have posted some closeups and some brighter/clearer shots of the jewelry, shown below,  on my FB fan page. Take a look- 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amber-Dawn-Creations/132876490085347

~*Welcome!*~
I am so glad that you are here.
I've constructed quite a few pieces out of the ingredients that my partner for this event has sent me!
Since we are allowed to make more than one item, I made a bunch!
The inspiration was endless!
I really like the challenge of having to create beaded creations from a random set of beads, a clasp and a focal bead- within a deadline!

This is the biggest Bead Soup Blog Party event-ever!
Hosted by my good friend, the warm, the kind, the very cool and talented
~*Lori Anderson*~

This event is fun!
A challenge too!

I was paired up with a very creative designer and "Fashion Beading" book author, Kim Ballor!

Kim made some beads out of glass and also sent me some complimentary beads to play with as well.

Here are some of the items I made, using the beads that she sent me!

~*Mixed Media necklace!*~
This piece was "modeled" by a young lady and her friend, who was holding it over her ' tummy for the photo. I made a whole new gang of friends while making jewelry outdoors yesterday. When I say gang I mean- 10+ kids! It was nice having an enthusiastic audience.
I shared some of my machine cut faceted crystal teardrops and some other beads with the girls.

                                                   ~*Mixed Media Earrings*~

                                                   ~*Mixed Media Pendant*~

                                  ~*Art To Wear, Embellished Ballerina Pendant*~

~*Polymer Clay, Beads, Metals, Swarovski Rhinestones- Mixed Media*~

~*The clasp that Kim sent me is silver- 

I thought I could make another piece of jewelry with it.*~

~*SteamPunk Chic charm bracelet!*~

                                                 

~*Love Birds, Earrings*~

                                                  ~*Mixed Media Bracelet*~
This bracelet is SO much lovelier in person! The colors from the OTT lamp and the regular light in the house do not do this piece justice!

I will try to get some better photos this coming week and post them here!

Thank You Kim for inspiring me!
You are a great partner!
:o)

Thank you for taking the time to visit me here!
Please leave a comment to let me know that you stopped by!

Click on "Lori Anderson's" name above so that you can be transported to the main page of this event.
~*Thank you Lori!*~
This was a lovely experience!

Bead soup- COMING SOON!

I am still simmering my pot!
(Of bead soup.)
Come back with a bowl, fork, spoon and even a knife too.

OK- it's almost 1AM here in NYC-
I am hoping to post by 3AM or sooner!
If you are passing through, COME BACK!
You wont want to miss mine!
It's totally HAUTE & Gourmet!

Yum yum!
Amber

Jewelry artists- PLEASE have a look- It is always important to warn your students, friends and those who are new to jewelry making...

http://www.tucsonaz.gov/arthazards/jewel.html

I want to blog but I am so busy that I'll just be sharing some really random thoughts and facts about my week so far...

The following is a compilation of blogging prompts that have been accumulating.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~* RANDOM *~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I ~L*O*V*E~ sincere and honest people!

They have my utmost respect!

It takes a lot of courage and confidence to be straightforward! 

It's nice to watch other people being admired for being honest and credible!

They can change an atmosphere and lighten the hearts of others or correct a situation with words, inspiring action.

My kind of people!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I was admiring the work of a local florist/artist last night.

Nature is naturally beautiful, yes, but to be able to arrange it

and manipulate it to create a statement or sculpture always impresses me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

My husband installed a cool wooden art cabinet that he created.

He inspires me!

He's an amazing human being! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I love working, I love completing projects, I love being creative!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a question that I, and most artists, are faced with each time we create something wonderful, "Should I keep it or let it go?

That goes for our arsenal of supplies as well!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Art is subjective.
We love it, some question it, some even analyze it.
Some people who question art and the motives of artists often seek answers that sometimes don't even amount to much.
"Why did that artist put that there, what was the meaning of the placement?"
I'll be honest with you, some artists don't think about WHY they are putting something in a specific place, other than the fact that it suits them to do so because they find it visually pleasing.  >.<
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Art has a value.
Each piece, is a recording of time, history, emotion, inspiration, thoughts and ideas.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I've been=
Designing hardware for a purse line.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Some art, may not necessarily be the type of work that strikes a chord within my heart but I still find it amazing.

Last night I was admiring the work of a young H.S. student, who put together a really spooky Halloween scene within a "carved out" plastic pumpkin, which will be for sale at a store.

It was so well done. It was like a miniature movie set or stage scene which was intricately arranged. Someone will be buying it and feeling the warm fuzies inside. >.<

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Irene was a "mild" hurricane by the time it reached my city, but fierce enough that the trees in our town suffered a bit.

I'm very glad that the storm was not as vicious as was anticipated. So very thankful that we were spared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The birds outside my window keep losing their babies each time we have a heavy rain storm. 

Yet, they continue on and on, they keep trying, building or repairing nest after nest... 

They both pitch in. The birds work so hard. I listen to them "talking" to each other. Sometimes they sound like they are annoyed at each other. Sometimes it sounds as if they are complaining about us turning the light on in the middle of the night.

Most of the time they are really affectionate towards one another. I like them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sept 17th is the reveal date for the Bead Soup Blog Party! 

I'm not experienced with working with the color palette that I was sent so I'll be having fun rising to the challenge!!!

:o)

I hope that you have a great weekend!

Amber