Pipe Dreams - Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop

    Welcome to the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop.
    A huge thank you and a round of applause are in order for our very gracious hostess, the amazing Lori Anderson. Life has been kicking her ass lately, but "The show must go on!".  Just out of the hospital, and she didn't miss a beat.  I do hope that she is feeling better.

    I, on the other hand, am being a wimp about a tooth ache. (Begging apologies for my tardiness).
    So this is gonna be short and sweet.

    Grab your compass and come along with me on a journey of the soul.........

Everybody's on a journey.                                                 Where is yours taking you? 

"Reflections of a Wandering Yogi"

"I've been wandering through this land,

Just doin' the best I can.

Tryin' to find what I was meant to do..."

      Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound                        

          - Nanci Griffith

                                                                                       I recently read a post on the Love My Art Jewelry blog by MaryAnn Carroll about how she was cutting copper pipe into hoops for enameling. (This isn't the exact post. I couldn't find the more recent one, but it has the same basic information.) 

   

This is what I started with:
     I bought a foot long section of 1 inch copper pipe, and a few couplings in different sizes at a local hardware store.
     I borrowed the pipe cutting tool from my brother. They are inexpensive though. I believe about $10.
    As you can see, there are some rough edges here. In the Love My Art Jewelry blog post, MaryAnn Carroll says she sands them all before enameling.
    I took a different approach. I chose to hammer out the rough edges instead, and give them a little extra texture at the same time.


"Have you been wearing holes in your boots out there? Have you been kicking bones in the desert sand?...." 
 To Be Still 
         - Alela Diane

"Reflections of a Wandering Yogi" - meditation wheel necklace

   I used my ring mandrel as a base to hammer on. I continuously flipped them from one side to the other to keep them from tapering.
   At first I was just curious to see how far I could stretch out the copper. I started with a 1 inch coupling slice, so it is just slightly larger than an inch and started to hammer.
    As it stretched to 2 inches, then I was curious if I could turn them into bangle bracelets? So, I kept hammering......
    Just about the point it was large enough to slip my hand through, I cracked it from over working.
        BUMMER!

    Not a total loss though. I spiraled it. Gave it a little heat patina, and turned it into the bail for the handmade tassel.
    Look at the color and texture on that piece of metal..... Isn't it just awesome!

Living with Spirit

"I'm standing in the middle of the desert waiting for my ship to come in..."    
  Leaving LasVegas -Sheryl Crow 




    The ivory elephant pendant is my "hoard".
    I bought this ivory necklace out of a very dusty and undisturbed display case, in an antique store in the middle of nowhere back in 1989.
    Right after high school, when I got my first car, my older brother was living in a little town (if you can call it that) just north of Barstow, California, called Yermo.  Not much of anything out there but a rail yard and a pizza parlor. My brother works for Union Pacific, and that's where they send the new guys with no seniority.
    Wasn't much to do out there, but I loved the freedom of the road trip, and getting away from the parents for a few days.

"No one in sight for fifty miles,

sleeping fields sigh as I glide across their spines.

If I could just reach the crest of that hill,

this whole day will tumble and out the night will spill.

The sky is still as a spinning top,

shooting stars drop like burning words from above.

If I could just connect all these dots,

the truth would tumble like a Cynic vexed by love.

And yet the people keep saying

I'm miles from my home...."

             Miles From Our Home 

                           - Cowboy Junkies

This is where my love of thrift stores first began. My first major find was a large vintage Faux alligator skin Samsonite suitcase in excellent condition, for only $2. 

             SCORE!    

    That was also the beginning of my now quite extensive vintage luggage collection. 

    One of my other awesome finds from my weekend road trips to Yermo was antique eye glass frames with delicate little golden blossoms soldered on the upper rim. I paid $3 for them and had lenses cut to fit. I wore them for years.   I believe I paid $3. for the ivory necklace as well.

 The main pendant has a single elephant carved in the center of a scalloped archway and is perforated all the way around. The individual smaller beads are two elephants mirrored like a reflection on water. Spaced with ivory seed beads. It was strung on some sort of fiber twine that wore out many many years ago, and the parts have all been sitting in a drawer for almost 25 years now.  Time for them to make a come back.    

"Guess I've got that old travelin' bone, cause this feelin' wont leave me alone...

Put a candle in the window, cause I feel I've got to move.

Though I'm going, going, Ill be coming home soon,
Long as I can see the light..."
           Long As I Can See the Light -
               Creedence  Clearwater Revival


     I made the tassels with all sorts of recycled ribbons, shredded sari silks, hand spun yarns  and miscellaneous sparkly scraps. I love using fiber in my work. Here's another great Love My Art Jewelry post titled Loose Ends with a little fibery poetry that really spoke to me.
     The carved ivory elephant pendant has been accented with gemstone dangles of Amazonite, Honey Opal teardrops, Moss Aquamarine cubes, a faceted Citrine ball, and comes to a point with a stabilized Turquoise star burst.
    I fastened the large elephant pendant to the front of the tassel and capped it with my hammered copper coil bail.
    A "meditation wheel" spins freely above the archway. The ceramic wheel disc bead was made by Mary Harding. It's held by a Citrine ball bead and a balled copper head pin.
    The bail is topped off with soft fibery wisps, and a hand painted wooden bead from India, and more Citrine.

    I strung all the beads on big handmade loopy chain links. I textured the links with my pliers, so over tie that texture will become visible in the patina as it ages.
    The first large bead is actually the very first bead I ever torch enameled. Still not quite in control of my molten glass, it came out a little lopsided. Some of the lacey cage holes have been filled by the enamel and it's even charred and burned on the edges in some places.
    Not a perfect bead by any means, but it sure does have some character.
    I accented it with African Bronze Gilder's Paste and hung it off-center. It works perfectly with  the rustic feel of the necklace.

Yogi becomes one with the cosmos

    Next up a ball bead that is wrapped in soutache trim in a minty green and yellow striped pattern.
     Then a  handmade felted wool pom pom.
     A ribbed copper bead treated with a salt water patina.
    Then a "Reflection Pool" hoop with mirrored ivory elephants center and capped by ceramic beads.
    A Citrine ball and handmade copper fishhook closure.
    On the other side we have:   African Sliver Leaf from Znetshows,   a craftsman style verdigris patina copper bead,   a Citrine ball,   a verdigris copper buoy bead,   a green Fire Agate from Znetshows,   a verdigris patina ribbed copper bead,   a Dragon's vein Agate egg in a golden Ochre shade,   a crocheted wool bullion stitch medallion centered with Citrine and backed with newsprint,   another ribbed copper bead,   green Dragon's vein Agate,   Citrine,   a yellow Turquoise cube from Znetshows.
    Topped by an Asian coin tied with a wispy soft fibery section across the back of the neck that ends with a loop for the fishhook closure. 

"Reflections of  Wandering Yogi" - reflection pool hoop earrings

"What I am is what I am 
Are you what you are or what?"
  What I Am
     - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

  Next I started hammering out a couple of the smaller slices to about 1 1/2 inches. Just enough to smooth out the rough edges and add texture.
    I used the textured section of the handle on my ring mandrel to imprint the grid pattern on my hoops.
    I filled them each with one of the ivory mirror reflection elephant beads. I used faceted aqua Jade rondelles as spacers and capped them with textured free-form ceramic beads handmade by Mary Harding.

    I have to credit either Mary Harding's beads or a pair of earrings by Pip-n-Molly that I saw about the same time, as the inspiration on the color palette. I'm not sure exactly which. Maybe a little of both. 

    I hung the the "reflection pool" hoops on handmade copper ear wires and finished them with dangles of Honey Opal teardrops,  Amazonite,  and Moss aquamarine cubes on balled copper headpins.

"I gotta go somewhere,                                                                       

I gotta go                         

Waistin' time for standing standing here,                                               

I gotta go!"

    I gotta Go 

        - Robert Earl Keen

"Get your bearings, know your time.

Don't you worry, weather's fine..."

   Get Thy Bearings 

                 - Donovan 

There is a story I read about a wandering yogi that actually inspired the title, but I can't seem to find the link now.

"Reflections of a Wandering Yogi" reflection pool bangle and hoop earrings

"Comes a time,
when you're driftin'
Comes a time,
when you settle down....

You and I we were captured,
We took our souls
and we flew away..."
    Comes a Time 
        - Neil Young 

  Last, but certainly not least, I again attempted to stretch out a copper pipe into a bracelet.
   This time successfully! 

   

    First I heat treated it for a rich patina.

    Then I did a little wire wrapping, encrusting it in gemstones.

    Crowning it with a mirrored ivory elephant bead. 

    Aquamairne chips, Ivory seed beads, Amazonite nuggets, Honey Opal teardrops, Moss Aquamarine cubes, African Silver Leaf, a faceted aqua Jade rondelle, and Citrine in many shapes and sizes adorn the bangle. 

    The copper is hammered thin and somewhat soft, but the wire wrapping stabilizes it, leaving it sort of a "flexi". 

    It does have a slight taper from my ring mandrel. Only noticeable from a certain angle. This does however allow for a comfortable fit as it slides up the arm. 

    It is quite a large bangle and fits me mid forearm. 

"Reflections of a Wandering Yogi" - reflection pool bangle 

"If you get lost, you can always be found"
  Home - Phillip Phillips 

    I haven't gotten around to enameling any of these hoops yet, but I sure am having with experimenting with them. I'll keep you posted when I move on to the next step.

    Again my apologies. Seems I don't quite understand the phrase "short , but sweet"...........
                                 
        Wishing you all an enlightened day!          
                                  Happy Hoard Hopping!      

1.  Lori Anderson, Pretty Things
2. Nancy Dale, NEDBeads
3. Roxanne Mendoza, Roxi Designs
4.  Melissa Trudinger, beadrecipes
5.  Rana Lea, Rana Lea Designs
6.  Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs
7.  Rita Avila, Jewel School Friends
8.  Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board
9.  Sharon Palac, Sharon's Jewelry Garden
10.  Erin Guest, Renlish
11.  Joan Williams, lilruby jewelry
12. Diane Hawkey, Diane Hawkey
13.  Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation
14.  Sue Kennedy, SueBeads
15.  Lisa Cone, Inspired Adornments
16.  Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design
17.  Nichole Byers, Nichole Byers
18.  Lori Jean Poppe, Adventures in Creativity
19.  Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings
20.  Lori Schneider, Bead Addict
21.  Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me
22. Cece Cormier, The Beading Yogini
23.  Niki Sayers, Silver Nik Nats
24.  Elsie Deliz-Fonseca, Eliz-Eliz and All That Craft
25.  Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul
26.  Heather Powers, Humblebeads
27.  Sarah Goode, Pookledo  

Conscious Awakening

28.  Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion
29.  JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions
30.  Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri
31.  Robyn, Museiddity
32.  Catherine King, Catherine's Musings
33.  Jacquie, Bead Gypsy
34.  Janet McDonald, Singing Woods
35. Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreations
36.  Tanty Sri Hartanti, TJewellicious by Tanti
37.  Hannah Rosner, Good River Valley
38.  Rochelle Brisson, A Creative Chelle
39.  Nelly May, Smelly Nelly
40.  Skylar Bre'z, Brising Beads
41.  Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool
42.  Christie Murrow, Charis Designs
43.  Leanne Loftus, First Impression Design
44.  Valerie Norton, Hot Art
45.  Judy Riggs, Rigglettes
46.  Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons
47.  Terry Carter,  Tapping Flamingo
48.  Sue, Mid-Life Great Expectations
49.  Nan Smith, Wired Nan
50.  Miranda Ackerley, MirandAck Arts
51.  Marie Covert, Creating Interest
52.  D'Arsie Manzella, This Here Now, Mamacita
53.  Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs
54.  Lori Bergmann, Lori Bergmann Design
55.  Johanna Nunez, The Lovely One Design
56.  Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
57.  Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs
58.  Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things
59.  Debbie Rasmussen, A Little of This, A Little of That
60.  Nat, Grubbi Ceramics
61.  Marjorie Savill Linthwaite, Bennu Bird Rising
62.  Cheryl McCloud, One Thing Leads to Another
63.  Heather Otto, The Crafthopper
64.  Candida Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks     

65.  Tracie Dean, Dean Designs
66.  JuLee Wolfe, The Polymer Penguin
67.  Ginger Bishop, Lil Mummy Likes
68.  Karen Mitchell, Over the Moon Design 

69.  Jeannie Dukic, Jeannie's Blog
70.  Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes
71.  Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit
72.  Shalini Austin, Jewellery by Shalini
73.  Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle
74.  Ile Ruzza, Ilenia's Unique Beaded Jewelry
75.  Jackie Marchant, Fiddledeedee Jewelry
76.  Annita Wilson, AW Jewelry 
77.  Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame
78.  Hannah Trost, PZ Designs
79.  Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry
80.  Miri Agassi, Beadwork
81.  Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
82.  Dyanne Cantrell, Dee-Liteful Jewelry Creations
83.  Susan Bowie, Susan Nelson Bowie
84.  Megan Milliken, MaeMaeMills
85.  Menka Gupta, Menka's Jewelry
86.  Ambra Gostoli, Chic and Frog
87.  Lori Lochner, Bloghner
88.  Gerda Jurimae, Gerda's Crafts Blog
89.  Susan, Mistheword
90.  MaryLou Holvenstot, MaryLou's time2cre8
91.  Mary Shannon Hicks, falling into the sky
92.  Karin King, The Sparklie Things Blog
93.  Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman
94.  Jenny Davie-Reazor, Jenny Davies-Reazor
95.  Donetta Farrington, Simply Gorgeous
96.  Mallory Hoffman, Rosebud 101 - For the Love of Beads
97.  Danielle Kelley, Imbue the Muse
98.  Kym Hunter, Kym Hunter Designs
99.  Dolores Rami, CraftyD's Creations
100.  Marcia Dunne, 13 Alternatives
101.  Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs
102.  Emma Todd, A Polymer Penchant
103.  Wendy Holder, Jewelry by WendyLea
104.  Michelle Escano, The Cabby Crafter
105.  Louise Glazier, Lily and Jasmine Treasures
106.  Dana Hickey, Wind Dancer Studios
107.  Lennis Carter, windbent
108.  Anne Betenson, Crystal River Beads
109.  Audrey Belanger,  Dreams of an Absolution
110.  Lisa Stukel, Carefree Jewelry by Lisa
111.  Janine Lucas, Travel Stories
112.  Claire Lockwood, Something to Do With Your Hands
113.  Kathy Engstrom, Catherine's Dreams
114.  Paula Hisel, Simply Beadiful
115.  Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
116.  Mischelle Fanucchi, Micheladas Musings
117.  Kim, Cianci Blue
118.  Linda Sadler, Ida Louise Jewelry
119.  Karen, Spokalulu
120.  Jennifer LaVite, Dry Gulch Bead and Jewelry
121.  Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations
122.  Karen Martinez, Fairies Market
123.  Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD
124.  Amy Bright, LABweorc
125.  Jasvanti Patel, Jewels by Jasvanti
126.  Tammie Everly, TTE Designs
127.  Karin Slaton, Backstory Beads
128.  Natalie Moten, Running Out of Thread
129.  Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry & Reflections
130.  Jenny Kyrlach, Wonder and Whimsy
131.  LiliKrist, Handmade by LilK
132.  Jessica Klaaren, The Truth Space
133.  Cynthia Abner, Created Treasures
134.  Beth Emery, Stories by Indigo Heart
135.  Heather Davis, Blissful Garden Beads
136.  Jeanne, Gems by Jeanne Marie
137.  Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe
138.  Laren Dee Barton, Laren Dee Designs
139.  Steph, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder
140.  Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations
141.  B. R. Kuhlman, Mixed Mayhem
142.  Patty Miller, Cabari Beads
143.  Elizabeth Bunn, Elizabeth Beads
144.  Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things
145.  Lizzie Clarke, The Need to Bead
146.  Christina Miles, Wings 'n' Scales
147.  Patricia, The Color of Dreams
148.  Marde Lowe, Fancimar
149.  Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations
150.  Sarah Small, By Salla
151.  Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs
152.  Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry
153.  Pam Traub, Klassy Joolz
154.  Lisa Harrison, Daisy Meadow Studio
155.  Anzia Parks, Anzi-Panzi's Work Shoppe
156.  Ingrid, Lilisgems Handcrafted Jewelry Inspirations
157.  Andra Weber, Andra's Joyful Journey
158.  Kelly Hosford Patterson, The Traveling Side Show
159.  Adlinah Kamsir, Dreamstruck Designs
160.  Marci, That Nothing Be Wasted
161.  Kris Lanae Binsfield,  Cherish Designs
162.  Stephanie Perry, Mustard Bead
163.  Birgit Klughardt, Gites Beads
164.  Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog
165.  Rebecca Sirevaag, Becca's Place
166.  Sandy Markley, Gypsy Spirit Designs
167.  Elena Adams, Lena's Beady Blog