New Elephant Pendants

We have been busy painting lots of pendants for our trunkshow in Rogers, AR.  These elephants have been painted, distressed and sealed by Catherine.  These will be in our Etsy store in the next week or so.

Dry Gulch Beads Trunkshow - Rogers, AR

We are excited to be hosting a bead and jewelry trunkshow coming up April 22-23.  We will bring our finished, ready-to-wear jewelry as well as tons of beads and findings.  Rebekah from the Bead Market will have a huge selection of vintage and semi-precious beads.  We are going to have a blast!  If you are in the area, stop by and say hello.

Bulb Headpins

These bulb headpins are just out of the kiln.  I am preparing for our bead show at the Bead Blast in Kansas City next month.  These bulbs make the cutest earrings.  You can find these headpins in our Etsy store.

Crochet Earrings

This is my newest creation.  I have combined my new hobby of crochet with jewelry making.  I love these light weight earrings.  I plan to make lots more in beautiful colors. 

Charlotte Square Crochet-A-Long

This is my newest crochet-a-long project.  It is the Charlotte square from Look What I Made.  This starts with flower center and then eventually grows into a square design.  I chose my favorite colors for this one. I am learning lots of new stitches with this project.

Montage of Creations

This is a montage of several of the things we make at Dry Gulch.  In addition to beads and jewelry, we also make tattered floral hats, boho handbags, and sparkly boot bling.  On occasion, we set up at vintage junk shows.  We bring chalk paint furniture, vintage jewelry components, vintage ornaments and our re-purposed jewelry. 

Pink Crochet Baby Blanket

This is my latest pink baby blanket.  This one is a simple shell design and I didn't even use a pattern.  I used 5 skeins of yarn and it is very soft.  This snuggly blanket is on its way to Okinawa for my granddaughter, Lilly.

New Floral Tags

These are my latest floral tags in bright, spring colors.  The pink tag was for my daughter, Gianna's 21st birthday.  She loves anything pink and lacy.  I started with distress ink and added lace and crystals to all of them.  The pink tag has yarn leftover from my latest baby blanket project.  I hope to make more this week.

Fingerless Gloves

These are my latest "hobo" or fingerless gloves.  I searched for a lacy, feminine pattern, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  I decided to create my own pattern using a simple shell stitch.  These gloves can be found at Posh Alley Boutique in Rogers, AR.

New Boho Necklaces

We have been busy creating new necklaces for Posh Alley in Rogers, AR.  Each of these pieces has unique components and handmade ingredients.  The feather necklace has a hand painted pendant with a hand stamped copper feather.  The chain is sprinkled with unusual beads.  The purple squiggle necklace features a pendant made by Catherine.  She recently taught this pendant class in OKC at our Bead Market Show.  This piece has wire wrapped crystal links.  The flower necklace has a carpet of aqua flowers under a bright and cheery yellow crystallized flower.  The semi-precious chain has dots of amber throughout.

Mandala Madness - Week 2

I have completed week 2 of the Mandala crochet-a-long at Crystals and Crochet.  I am learning new stitches every week so this is quite a challenge.  Stay tuned for week 3!

More New Necklaces

Here are even more boho style necklaces that can be found at Posh Alley in Rogers, AR.  These asymmetrical necklaces are challenging to make because I love things that match.  These colorful necklaces go well with the beautiful clothing at the boutique.

Lampwork Flower Bud Headpins

I have been busy at the torch working on more flower bud headpins.  These little bouquets are perfect for a charm bracelet.  I start with an opaque green rod of glass then add the flower color.  Each petal is covered with clear.  You can find these buds in our Etsy store.

Mandala Crochet-A-Long

This is my newest crochet project.  I recently discovered crochet-a-longs which seem to be pretty popular with lot of crocheters.  The idea is that everyone completes the same pattern that is released weekly (depending on the project).  For this mandala, the weekly pattern comes out on Thursdays and can be found at the Crystals and Crochet website.  I have already learned several new stitches from this project.  I chose Silky Wool yarn that I found at The Rabbit's Lair in Rogers, AR.  These aren't my normal colors, but they look pretty good together.  This is the week 1 project and I have already started on week 2.  This will be a circular blanket when it is finished.  This crochet-a-long lasts 18 weeks.

Flower Bud Lampwork Bracelet

This is my latest dangle bracelet.  I used my flower bud headpins that I torched just yesterday.  This color is very rich - the glass is called leaky pen.  I love the deep teal color.  I chose a fancy solid copper chain and added Swarovski crystal dangles.  The clasp is a flame patinaed copper toggle.  This bracelet is headed to our Bead Market Show in Oklahoma City, OK April 1-2.  I will bring lots of lampwork headpins.  If you leave nearby, be sure to stop by and say hello.

Butterfly Earrings

These beautiful butterfly earrings were made by Deborah of the Dry Gulch gals.  She layered patinaed filigrees and added a crystallized center made with Swarovski crystals.  These earrings are very dimensional and loaded with color.  These beauties are headed to Posh Alley in Rogers, AR.

Gear Tag

I needed a masculine birthday card, so I decided on a gear tag.  I added a vintage ticket strip that I punched with a border design along the bottom.  The largest gear is from a Tim Holtz die.  I colored it with metallic distress paint.  The ruler is a piece of wood that gives the piece a little stability.  The metal gears are heavy as well so I glued a second tag on the back to make it even more sturdy.  I hope Doug likes it!

Lampworking Frit

These magnificent little lids are filled with glass frit.  I use this frit when I make beads and headpins with the torch.  Frit is crushed up glass that can be used to decorate beads.  The glass has to be very hot (almost dripping), then you roll the bead in the frit, and melt it in.  I like to keep tons of colors all over the workspace so I have choices.  I really don't think it is possible to have too much frit.

Here is an example of pretty leaf headpins that my 14 year-old daughter, Victoria, made.  She has become quite the lampwork artist.  We have lots more available in our Etsy shop.

"Crusty" Beads and Charms

This is a snapshot of bowls of goodness at our latest Bead Market show in Tulsa, OK.  These bowls are filled with what we call "crusty" beads and charms.  Deborah makes them look vintage and old fashioned by applying a series of patinas including the Ver-Day Patina Kit.  These beads, findings and jewelry are part of our Ancient Alchemy line.  These make the coolest vintage-y jewelry.

 

2 Friends & Junk Show

 

In December, we participated in a vintage style show called 2 Friends & Junk.  The show was held in Tulsa, OK and we had a great time.  Our setup for a vintage show is very different that for the bead shows that we do regularly.  we bring lots of finished jewelry and vintage baubles.  The best part is that we get to use all kinds of vintage displays like this refurbished dresser and the wire lampshade form that is sitting on it.  Since this show was close to Christmas, we brought lots of Christmas decorations.  We enjoyed meeting new friends (like gals from the FB group Homesteading) and seeing old friends too.  

Crochet Baby Hat and Booties

I recently crocheted this cute little baby set.  The pattern was found at allfreecrochet.com.  I love the hat design.  The yarn was pretty small which made the set even cuter.  You are supposed to add pearls to the hat,but that seems like a choking hazard.  The booties are topped with a row of dragon stitches.  Love it!

New Necklaces

These are two of my latest necklace designs.  The feather necklace has a cluster of resin trumpet flowers with crystal centers.  The feather pendant was painted by Catherine of Dry Gulch.  You can find these pretty pendants in our Etsy shop.  The golden flower necklace has several layers of filigrees with a carved turquoise bead dangling from the bottom.  Both necklaces use chain found at our website, Dry Gulch Beads.  These necklaces can be found at Posh Alley Boutique in Rogers,AR.