Ignis Designs

She Wore Blue Velvet

2011-10-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

Color Spotlight - Blue

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

Shades Of Blue

Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.

Home From Above

As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect.

Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.

Blue Sky

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

Fun Drop Earrings

Red is the Color that My Baby Wore

2011-09-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

Red is the color of fire and blood, red holds associations with danger, power and strength as well as love and passion. Red is seen everywhere as a symbol of love, as is proof by Valentines day decor.

Burning Heart Pendant

Red is a very emotionally intense color, physically, red excites the viewer. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage.

Red Arrowhead Pendant

Variations on red and what they mean:

Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

It's not easy being green, but it sure is beautiful!

2011-07-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

In honor of our daughter Aisling, who was born in May, I have uploaded 3 new pieces to the etsy shop.
Emerald is May's birthstone, and May is well into spring, everything around has turned it's fullest green.

Did you know that in Celtic culture, green clothing was avoided as it was considered the color of the fairies?

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green is associated with
money and progress. Green Means Go!

I also recently read that it is the most restful color for the human eye and it can improve vision.

Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.

Jan 24, 2011

2011-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have become really fascinated with the new person in my belly.

She's moving enough to be felt on a regular basis and has started to actually make my stomach move on it's own.

It is a strange sensation to feel her then see her actually affect her surroundings. There is almost a little disconnect in the feeling and seeing the outside move.

She still goes quiet as soon as she hears her dad's voice, so I haven't been able to show Mathew yet.
He's convinced she doesn't like him, which we all know isn't true. I think she stops to listen to his voice.

January 23, 2011

2011-01-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

After an emotional day yesterday, today was about comfort food.

We went to lunch with Adam & Shabnam at Olive Garden, then went to go see Green Lantern (3d)

A big bowl of pasta in cream always seems to make me feel better... Just can't do that too often or I'll start to look like a big bowl of pasta :)

The movie was cute, not sure it was worth seeing in 3d. There were some cartoon graphics in the credits that looked AMAZING in 3d but the movie as a whole didn't need it.

I suck at blogging Jan 22, 2011

2011-01-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

So I have come to the conclusion that I totally suck at blogging.

Today we drove up to Vista to look at an apartment closer to my office. We need to move so that when I go back to work after the baby is born I am not commuting 2 hours out of my day. I don't mind commuting but when I think about having a baby, spending 2 hours away from her just sitting in a car every day just seems like a waste.

Our place in Hillcrest is great. I hate to leave but it isn't big enough to have more than one person over at a time and it seems our group of friends has migrated from going out to meet up to staying in and meeting up. Not surprising, but way less convenient. We have to wait until there is an invite since we can't really have anyone over at our place.

So onward to living far away again. I am not too worried that we will see people any less, in fact we may end up seeing people more this way.

Well the apartment is exactly what we want - and end unit with a private balcony, 15 min from work, with a washer/dryer. The catch, yes there is always a catch, it is available NOW, and we can't move until 2/15. They refuse to hold it that long. sigh... whatever will be, will be.

After the apartment we went to the lovely Stella's 2nd birthday. It sucks, because we really love seeing Stella and her parents but she is the same age as Ethan was when he passed away, so it is always emotionally draining for Mathew to see her. He slept for 3 hours when we got home tonight. I think it being a birthday party with several 2 year olds made it worse. Next time we'll try to hang out with just the 1 child around, it should be easier. It is pretty awesome for me to see her getting so big. heck I remember holding her at a tiny 5 weeks old. :)

January 7, 2011

2011-01-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

So the pregnancy is impeding my ability to sleep.
No position is comfortable and I require a wedge and a body pillow to get anywhere close to comfy. With me, wedge, body pillow, hubby and dog the bed is crowded.
So every time I roll over I need to bring the body pillow with me and I of course whack either the husband or the dog with it.
Apparently if I can't sleep, no one can.

I am tired today, in case you hadn't guessed. The joy I realize is that it is only going to get worse over the next 4.5 months.

Although, I haven't even met her and I already know it is all worth it.
sigh, hormones make me sappy.

On the up side, hubby can take melatonin and sleep through my tossing an turning, I am happy for him, honest. If he turns up strangled it wasn't me. :)

January 6, 2011

2011-01-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

Today was a long day.

It started out nice, Mathew woke me up and presented me with breakfast. The drive into work also started out fine. However, there managed to be 2 accidents on the freeway within a few miles of each other dragging out the drive horribly.

Work was fine although we have a project due tomorrow that is one of those that was on time, then dragged out, and is now a week behind... you know those... I haven't even gotten all the pieces to the project when the project manager asks me if I could get it done today instead of tomorrow.. Why are they asking this? No, not because of the deadline, but because they don't feel like coming in tomorrow. SERIOUSLY! I mean really, you can actually say those words with a straight face and still respect yourself in the morning? Wow I really don't have what it takes to be a manager then.

I am quite proud of myself, I took all those crazy pregnancy hormones and kept them inside and only responded with a "no, honestly I don't think I can rush the project to get it to you today instead of tomorrow, I'll try but I can't promise anything."

Honestly, I deserve a cookie for not strangling the person in question. It would have been within my professional rights to loose it, I am quite certain.

There was no way the project was getting done, the other person working on it hadn't finished their part when I left this evening. I don't feel bad at all.

Enough about work.

I got a desperate call from a dear friend this afternoon. Her 1 year old has been miserably ill with a stomach bug all week. Her husband managed to catch it as well, and while being ill, he put his back out. So all dear friend wants to do is go grocery shopping but she can't leave a (mostly better but still needy) baby with her invalid husband. So I stopped by after work to let her go grocery shopping and keep her husband from putting his back out even more. Everyone in the house is better, so there was no danger of me catching anything. The 1 year old of course was a total angel for me, because I am not mom, so none of the same needy behavior. It was a pleasure to go visit, we watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast, sang along then played with blocks.

January 5, 2011

2011-01-05T22:02:00.001-08:00

Ahh, all caught up!
I am starting to get really sick of this cold rainy weather.
Enough said.

I guess there always has to be bright side, and the one to our crappy weather streak is that it has gone on long enough that people are now accustomed to driving on damp roads. The drive into work this morning wasn't nearly as bad as it has been the last few weeks. Mathew was up before me and made a nice breakfast so I was well fed, awake and had a decent drive.

Work had been slow, but now all the stuff that was behind schedule has finally been approved, on top of that a last minute needed to get this done 2 weeks ago project has popped up.. Oh joy. It's going to be a fun week.

January 4, 2011

2011-01-05T21:46:00.001-08:00

Today was a big day.

At our 20 week anatomy scan, the sonographer found a cyst in our baby girl's brain.
A very scary thing to hear. It is a Choroid Plexus Cyst, which is common and not harmful in any way.
Unless, and of course there is an unless...
If the cyst presents with any other signs of genetic deformities (or soft markers as they are called in the medical articles) then the possibility of something called Trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is similar to Downs Syndrome in the fact that is it an extra chromosome (#18 in fact) however it is particularly scary because this extra chromosome when present is not compatible with life.
Word to the wise, when your doctor tells you not to worry... Try your damnedest to listen. When you do run home and google whatever it is they found make sure to find a reputable medical reference and read all the way through.
The article I read started with an explanation of a CPC and it's loose association with Trisomy 18... Then in the very last paragraph it says... By itself a CPC is harmless.
Sheesh!
Anyways-- So we went in to the UCSD Fetal Care and Genetics department for the fancy scan to make absolutely certain there were no other soft markers. None found by the way. We are all very happy. Well except for my poor stomach. The Reuther genetics in our little girl are strong. She had found herself a comfortable position in utero and was not willing to move for anything. No amount of pushing and bouncing or repositioning was going to move her. So I feel slightly beat up after all that, but good to know she is comfortable.
So with a sigh of relief we went home and I promptly decided that I must have Thai food.
A nice Thai food dinner then we ended up falling asleep early.

January 3, 2011

2011-01-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

Oh back to work today. How sad. Actually, I enjoy work, but the holidays were nice.
The weather today was NOT nice. The rain had, I thought stopped by the time I was driving in to work, but when you drive 30 miles you can never be sure. Th record time so far has been 1 hour 45 minutes driving in due to weather and related accidents on the freeway. Today wasn't that bad.

I ended up working late not by choice, I just looked up from my work and realized it was past 7pm. Dear husband called to check on me at 7:45pm which is when I actually got up from my desk and left.

Of course working that late and being pregnant meant I couldn't wait the 35 minute drive home to eat, so it was a Carls Jr night for both of us.

It bothers me that I have to pay almost double a burger/fries combo to get a burger and salad, but I know I felt better eating the salad.

Getting home that late screws with everything. No time for any housework, just one show on netflix while cuddling on the couch before bed. (hence why this is posted 2 days late)

January 2, 2011

2011-01-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of mine is in possession of diaries belonging to her Great Grandmother. Aside from being insanely cool to see what daily life was like in 1910, it was an inspiration to her and then to a few others (myself included) to keep an account of daily life. We'll start with 30 days, see how far it goes.

Here is her transcription.

Just the basics, no need to put in huge insights on the world, just a humble account of my life and what is going on around me.

Here Goes:
January 2nd, 2011
I slept in today, it was very nice, but I think that having 2 long weekends in a row has done a number on my circadian rhythms. When I got up, hubs had been awake for a few hours but kindly (upon my request) made me breakfast. It was sunny out and I kept thinking, we should go for a walk this afternoon. Hubby and I played a little Star Trek Online. I know, nerdy to the max, but hey, I like it. :)

While we were playing, the little one started moving. She always moves mid-day, and of course as soon as Mathew tries to feel she stops. Though still an odd sensation, I do love to feel her move, it is a little reminder of "here I am mom". We took a break and I went through the box of so far accumulated baby stuff, we're getting a nice stash going of cloth diapers, hopefully we'll be all set by May when she arrives, lets hear it for saving money and the environment all in one.

When I finally decided it was time to go walk, of course it started raining. The dog was quite unhappy with the situation so the walk was only around the block. I can't believe the rain the last few weeks, it is very un-San Diego. Serves me right for waiting. Maybe that will be my resolution for 2011, when I feel like doing something I will do it, not wait until later. Of course, come May, we will have a baby who will likely have a say in our schedule, but we will see when she gets here.

We ended up taking a nap in the early evening, which left me up late reading once it was time to really go to bed... I have been reading pretty voraciously, I think I have made better use of Mathew's kindle than he has. I am in the middle of Laurel K Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Executioner series, so no, I am to reading aloud to baby... Once I finish this series I am moving back to the George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire series, that one may be worthy of reading aloud.

Ignis Designs is expanding!

2010-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

No our shop isn't getting bigger - well actually that too, we will be posting more and more items the next few weeks to clear out some space.

To make room for baby!

We're due early May but we are getting a start on some baby planning and I just can't stop looking at all the fabulous options there are out there in the handmade world.

Check these bad boys out:

Diaper Wipes!!!
and these:
Jolly Roger Cloth Diaper on Art Fire
and these:
Bling Bling Diaper Wipes Case on Art Fire

I wish I knew what we were having!!!

ig 249_3

2009-05-21T00:06:00.001-07:00

ig 249_3, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

A new obsession is born! Working with glass has always been a passion. Check out my new work!

January's birthstone: Garnet

2009-01-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Garnet is a lovely choice for any month, but those born in January get to call it their own...

Garnet is a powerfully energizing and regenerating stone. It revitalizes, purifies, and balances energy, bringing serenity or passion as appropriate.

That said, Here's my most recent necklace:

Garnet and Opalite (Opalite is a man made stone) 2 strand necklace.

Traveling!

2009-01-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have written anything here... I've been traveling this year. Lets start from the beginning of the year, I came back from Peru on January 1st 2008.

I brought back some wonderful beads from Peru. Primarily Serpentine, some Cryscolla (Peruvian Turquoise) as well as stones I just picked up off the ground.

Here is a picture of the beads I bought at the base of Machu Picchu:

I'll be turning them into necklaces soon.

Peace!
Bridgette

My Pretties

2008-04-25T11:58:00.001-07:00

I am selling this weekend at a craft fair put on by a local bead warehouse. I figure most of my customers will be jewelry makers as well, so I made a few standalone pendants for those that want to make thier own jewelry...

playing with color

2008-04-25T11:16:00.001-07:00

playing with color , originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

A Busy Busy life!

2007-11-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

So I just realized my last post was a month ago.

And what a month it has been.

The fires really shook everyone up, and the winds are back. Malibu burned again over Thanksgiving weekend. I can't believe that there is anything left to burn. Once the fires here in my county subsided, it took a few days for the smell of smoke to go away and even longer for the ash to stop falling. Actually, on foggy days, it still smells like wet campfire.

I was blissfully unemployed for a while, and that ended rather abruptly.
I started doing a little freelance work for a local photography studio; Photo Aqua in Encinitas. I decided that it would be fun to go back into retail for the Christmas season* and I got called in to an onsite freelance position.

Needless to say, my jewelry production has been low. I have managed to purchase some yummy new beads and make a stunning Connemara Marble, Amethyst and Copper bracelet.

My mother and sister have now begun selling my jewelry at in home parties. So I need to get back into making more. And yes I am paying them. :)

Ohh, I have plans in the works for the next collaboration project with Ruth another member of EJA

Thats my update, I will have pictures soon!

*if you ever hear me say that it would be fun to work retail for the holidays, hit me!!! the hours are killing me!

San DIego is on fire

2007-10-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the sun at 3:30 this afternoon.

Ok, I know, it is a lot about the fire, but, have you seen the news?

I have, I live here, I have been in all of the areas affected, and I still cannot comprehend the extensiveness of it.

I sit here in the safe cocoon of my home and try desperately to fathom what 500,000 people displaced means. I think I count as one of that number, as we were given a voluntary evacuation notice yesterday, that wasn't lifted until earlier tonight.

I stare out at the post apocalyptic skies and the ash covered ground and realize those ashes may have once been something important to another human being. How does one deal with that realization?

As I try to not fear for my home and my safe place, I know that a huge number of people, people I may know, may have passed on the street, shared dinner at a restaurant with, are without their own safe place tonight. They may not know until days from now if they even still have a home.

The winds, fueled by the desert winds called the Santa Anas, are hot and dry and fast. I have said before it is literally like walking out into a huge blow dryer. They seem to have slowed down today, regardless, you are looking at miles and miles of brush and palm trees that haven't seen moisture in weeks.

Because of this, there are firefighters that haven't stopped working for over 40 hours. 40 hours!?! I am not talking 40 hours of hanging out at home either, this is hot, dangerous and physically challenging. I want to go volunteer to give them hugs or back rubs or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Those of you who know me, know I have some sort of reverse fetish about touching people I don't know, I HATE IT. I am in awe of their ability to think beyond themselves and go into heat and smoke and danger for a complete stranger.

But do you realize these men and women are going into burning homes and taking pictures and mementos out and putting them on the lawn in an attempt to save something for the family whose home was destroyed?

There are hundreds of families that will go home to nothing but a pile of rubble, and find a stack of family pictures that they didn't have time to grab on the way out, on their lawn.

What about this; out of over 100,000 acres burned, less than 1000 structures have been destroyed. That includes barns, garages and commercial buildings. This amazes me, someone is doing something right.

I go outside for only a few minutes at a time, the air is hard to breathe and the sky is unsettling. That once comforting campfire smell has taken on a new memory for me, and it can no longer be comforting, as I know it is not just wood, but homes and lives that I smell burning.

When it is not you that is affected it is really hard to quantify the news reports. I am scared, but how would I feel if I was one of those people that had to leave at 4am in the pitch black with no electricity and embers landing on their cars on the way out of the neighborhood.

reflecting on Heritage

2007-10-15T13:24:00.001-07:00

reflecting on Heritage, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Aged Celtic knots etched into copper then enameled in blue and green.

entry for the October EJA giveaway contest.

Every few months, the Eclectic Jewelry Artisans hold a jewelry design competition with a theme. Our theme this time is "Reflection" and this is my entry.

To vote for my earrings, please visit:
www.EclecticJewelryArtisans.com

Click on Mailing List and enter your choice for the best "Reflection" in the note. (IgnisDesigns)

***When you vote, you will be entered into our free giveaway drawing!!!***

Leaves! leaves! Leaves!

2007-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I have been fascinated by these leaves for some time now, I finally got some at the last gem show. Then my mother picked up Alaskan Cottonwood and Aspen while she was in Alaska this summer. I love how each one is different, just look!

The first ones I made for my sister's wedding, it was a Faerie theme, so each bridesmaid had a leaf necklace. Then came the 24k gold Aspen leaf with aventurine and carnelian. Next was a Sterling Silver evergreen leaf with Thai silver and several different semi precious stones, then was the Copper evergreen leaf with some handmade lampwork beads I made in ivory, turquoise and silver, mixed with goldstone and turquiose, lastly a gunmetal oak leaf with picaso marbel and rose quartz. I simply love them.

Unfortunately there are people out there selling "dipped" leaves that are not actually dipped leaves but made using the lost wax technique. While I still believe they are beautiful, some leaves I bough on ebay recently are NOT real dipped leaves. I wish people were more honest. There is no way to really tell when you are looking at the skeleton leaves, but the solid leaves have a void in them from where the real leaf was and you can usually feel it when pressing on both sides of the leaf. If it is completely solid all the way through, you do not have a real dipped leaf, you just have a very pretty cast leaf.

The Great Revealing! The "Del Mar" Series

2007-10-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll Please!!!!

So when three different artists are given the same materials to work with, how similar do you think they'll be? If you guessed not at all, you are right.

In my collaboration with Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva, which I do feel she has earned as a title by creating her gorgeous spiral beads... and Laura Bracken of Bracken Designs, no title but that doesn't mean she isn't a designer/ multi-tasker extraordinaire.

Here are my final pieces, I have titled them Del Mar, Of the Sea. I made a necklace a pair of earrings and a chunky bracelet.

Cindy's piece is stunningly simple, Laura's is very intricate. Follow the links to their blogs above to see.

In my previous post you will see the gorgeous lampwork beads that Cindy sent included were some of her spirals that can be found on her website
I included 3 different enamels 2 circles and one rectangle I have similar pieces available in my etsy shop

The Great Revealing! Part II

2007-10-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some extra images of me modeling the lovely pieces:

Collaboration! What happens when artists get together?

2007-10-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am finishing up a collaboration project with two other artists, Cindy Gimbrone andLaura Bracken,we will all three be working with beads from Cindy and Enamels byME! The final pieces will be posted tomorrow.

In the mean time, here is a sneak peek at the beads we all started with.

Let me tell you about my very first artist collaboration project.

I had a rough start with collaborating as an artist. I remember being in probably 1st grade, maybe kindergarten, and having my very first art collaboration. Being from the Sesame Street generation, my FAVORITE word was co-operation. So when my teacher told us we'd be co operating during our art project I was very excited.

Then it began...

We were to draw snowmen. We sat at a circle of tables and each had our own colors and paper. She had us draw the head of the snowman...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!!!! I had plans for that snowman, I got the special color of blue to draw his coat. I was not happy, but I still wanted to do this co operating thing.. so I stayed quiet.

Then we drew the body on the snowman head we got from the kid before us. The kid before me wasn't so good at circles, so I had to be a little creative to make the body look right...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

NOT AGAIN!!! I had just spent a bunch of time on that one... This time, I was not able to keep quiet. As most people who know first graders I went from quiet to hissy fit.. no in between.

I was NOT going to share my work with other kids and I definitely did not want other kids touching my work. I felt betrayed by my teacher, betrayed by the kids next to me and betrayed by Sesame Street. This co operating thing was NOT fun.

After learning the hard lessons from Mrs Seeweepegaham, lets see how well I do this time. :)

Treasury love

2007-09-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

Treasury love, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Featured Artist!

2007-09-12T12:16:00.001-07:00

Featured Artist!, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

This month I am the featured artist for Eclectic Jewelry Artisans (EJA)
www.eclecticjewelryartisans.com/
Store Name: Ignis Designs

E-mail: Bridgette@IgnisDesigns.com

Describe your style:
Very eclectic. I love color and I love learning new techniques, I combine them and come up with my jewelry. I also make jewelry boxes and cards. I learn by doing, so I will take a class to learn the basics then take those basics and experiment until I get what I want.

What is the first piece of jewelry you made that you felt ecstatic about?
The first piece I have ever felt ecstatic about was a fine silver cloisonné pendant. It is a night scene with a tree in the moonlight. The pendant was dark blue, brown and green with a yellow moon. I finished it off with glass beads from all over the planet in blues and greens. The colors were just beautiful. I gave it to my mom for mother’s day.

Where do you draw your inspiration?
From nature, although it isn’t instantly obvious when you see my work. I’ll look around and see color combinations and recreate them in my jewelry. Think about it this way, if you were to draw a leaf up close, you wouldn’t just use brown or green.. There is orange, purple, black, blue and yellow along with the green and brown.

How long have you been creating jewelry?
For at least 15 years. I have been enameling for 2 years and doing lampwork for just over 6 months. It is my stress relief, because these two take total concentration on the task at hand, it is my few hours where I cannot possibly be thinking of anything else, be it the laundry, work or anything else.

What is your favorite piece and why?
My favorite piece is almost always my newest piece. It is a Necklace made with colorful tourmaline chips and 4 of my lampwork beads. The lampwork beads are bright pink with fine silver accents and dark purple with fine silver and copper accents. The necklace is finished off with a sterling silver ginkgo leaf pendant and an over-sized sterling clasp. The ginkgo leaf looks like a whale tale which I love.

Creative Glass Guild of Etsy~ Trivia Contest: August 26th

2007-08-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) would like to announce our Sunday Street Team Trivia Challenge! On August 26th at 4pm PST (7pm EST, 10pm UK), CGGE members will host our FIRST Sunday Street Team Trivia Contest.

This is a fun trivia contest featuring questions written by CGGE members about the CGGE team and members, it’s kind of a meet and greet, AND you will have the chance to win some AWESOME prizes!

We will be giving out a total of 3 glass prize packages!

The first place winner will receive a fused glass slider pendant donated by lisahammer,a stained glass butterfly donated by creationsinglass
AND a fused glass bubble sushi dish donated by glassprimitif

WHOA! If that is not enough,
the second place winner will receive a stunning pendant donated by Smokeylady54 http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6137282

AND the third place winner will receive another stunning pendant donated by Aardvart http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6130707 .Here are the details for this contest:
1. August 26th, 4pm PST (7pm EST, 10pm UK) , in the Etsy Promotions & Critiques forums
2. To play, you must be an Etsy member, signup here: http://www.etsy.com
3. CGGE members are not allowed to participate, but we welcome you to join in and chat in the thread while the contestants are searching for the answers!
Trivia Game Instructions: It’s easy! We will be posing a series of questions to the thread every few minutes. The first person to respond with a correct answer to the thread will receive 4 points, the second person will receive 3 points, the third person will receive 2 points and any other people responding with a correct answer will receive 1 point. At the end of the game, I will tally up the points and announce the top three winners. PLEASE REMEMBER TO POST YOUR ANSWERS IN THE THREAD TO GET YOUR POINTS COUNTED.

Goddess Beads

2007-08-08T21:33:00.001-07:00

IMG_2915, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

My first few sculptural beads. They will be available at my upcoming show this Sunday the 12th at Carlsbad Art in the Village.

lampwork and thai silver

2007-08-06T13:24:00.001-07:00

lampwork and thai silver, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Lampwork and silver

2007-08-06T13:23:00.001-07:00

Lampwork and silver, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Lampwork and silver

2007-08-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

Lampwork and silver, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Ignis' Wire Competiton entry

2007-07-16T18:21:00.001-07:00

IgnisWire, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

The Wire Competition by EJA – Your Chance to Vote and Win!

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite wire project by the artisans of EJA and your chance to win a free gift bag that will include hand made jewelry and other goodies!!

Just visit eeja.org/wire_com/wired.html and fill out the form. On July 25th, we will draw a lucky e-mail address from those that have voted. One vote per person. Voting on an item will sign you up for our newsletter that will inform you of future sales and other prize drawings.

Thank you,
Team EJA

EEJA.org

IMG_2556

2007-07-12T19:13:00.001-07:00

IMG_2556, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

The color of MONEY by AncaNY

2007-07-02T11:45:00.001-07:00

The color of MONEY by AncaNY, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Cool treasury of EJA members.

Etsy front page

2007-06-28T12:59:00.001-07:00

Etsy front page, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

So I have made it a few times to the front page of Etsy.com. It is always exciting to log onto a public website and see your art first thing. Here I am, bottom left corner with my fellow members of EJA. ww.eeja.org

Wedding Jewelry

2007-06-20T10:26:00.002-07:00

Now this isn't a traditional wedding, but man was it fun creating all the jewelry for this one. The bride was pretty specific about her wants but was open to seeing several options.

In the end I created 7 necklaces, 5 pairs of earrings, 7 tiaras, 2 men's circlets, an arm band, and 6 floral headpieces.

The bridal party was a series of colors:

Orange/green,

Green/blue,

Blue/purple,

Purple/pink

It was a bright beautiful wedding.

Everyone looked great!

IgnisWire

2007-05-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

IgnisWire, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Having fun with swirls, copper wire and opaque glass.

summersolstice72

2007-05-21T16:01:00.001-07:00

summersolstice72, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

FREE JEWELRY!

2007-05-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Free Handmade Jewelry Give-Away!!

Eclectic Jewelry Artisans will be holding a drawing on the Summer Solstice (June 21, 07).

You read right, free handmade jewelry will be given away to three lucky winners on June 21, 07 – the Summer Solstice. No purchase is necessary. All you need to do is sign up for our mailing list to be entered into the drawing. Visit http://EEJA.org and click on “Mailing List”.

Kilkenny Butterfly

2007-05-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

kilkennybutterfly, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

I am being very picky how I use my Kilkenny marble beads from Ireland. I cannot replace it until I go to Ireland again, and that may be a while. But when I got this Thai silver butterfly I knew it would be one of the items. Using amethyst beads & chips, thai silver pendant, bead caps and clasp. I created this gorgeous Kilkenny marble necklace.

Kilkenny Marble is from Kilkenny Ireland, the city of Kilkenny is known as the marble city because many buildings in town are made from this stunning black marble quarried nearby.
The stone is a black limestone with stark white fossils veining through it.

1, 2, 3 BOGO!

2007-04-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

bogosmall, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

yes that is right! a Buy one get one half off jewelry sale from the members of EJA.

Just in time for Mother's day. Buy one gift for mom and get mother-in-law's gift Half off`!

or get yourself something half off!

purple5

2007-04-26T18:24:00.001-07:00

purple5, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

I found a bag of buttons in my mom's sewing bins. This silver one one stood out. I knew it had to be used in jewelry, and I made the perfect 2 strand necklace with the button as the clasp.

I have no idea how old, but the rest of the buttons seemed to be from the 1980's.

theworld

2007-04-24T13:58:00.001-07:00

theworld, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Original enameled copper earth pendant with wood 7 Shell beads from the Philippines.

Art Enamels

2007-04-20T17:26:00.001-07:00

sea, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

I have several "Art" jewelry pieces that I am not currently listing for sale. I thought it would be nice to share them anyways. Art pieces are the most fun to create.

This piece is titled "Sea" Two rough cut panels of copper layered with several different colors of murano enamel, within each layer there are a few "chunk" pieces, giving an incredible depth to the piece. I really enjoyed making this piece, I even made a ready to wear pendant to match, it is listed here.

IgnisDesigns.etsy.com

dafodil

2007-04-12T13:58:00.001-07:00

dafodil, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

This is the last of my Enameled Silver Daffodils. I made three total, each a little different. The first sold to a summer bride last year, the second was simple, just on a sterling silver chain. This is the last and the most decorated of the three.

I love it. :)

Green banana deception!

2007-03-22T17:12:00.001-07:00

So, I still shop there, but I do have to note the nefarious behavior of the VON's grocery store in my neighborhood.

They have sneakily installed a GREEN light above their banana display.

I had been wondering why my carefully picked bananas seemed to get over-ripe in just one night. We hang them on a banana hanger, we don't have an overly warm house. It didn't make any sense.
Then finally we noticed that they seemed to get darker yellow as we got to the check stand.

That is when my boyfriend saw it! the single green light above the banana display. Tricking you into believing that they are just turning yellow, the perfect time to get bananas!

I feel used and dirty. and I don't even have my barely ripe bananas to comfort me. Thanks a lot Safeway corporation!

Self promotion

2007-03-05T15:01:00.001-08:00

ignis-postcards, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

So, I am working harder to get myself out there. More people need to be wearing my jewelry.

That's me, striving to make the world a more beautiful place! :-)

I am trying to come up with better ways, to promote my self. Good photography is important so I can accurately show the work. Nothing is better than being able to touch and try on jewelry, but that isn't always an option.

This postcard has a sampling of my work, I feel it accurately represents my work. Each piece is unique, so it makes it difficult as I have usually already sold something that has made it out for advertising.

Well enjoy,

Bridgette
Ignis Designs

2007-03-05T14:47:00.001-08:00

Shameless Self promotion

2007-03-05T14:38:00.001-08:00

So I made myself new postcards. They are pretty nice I think.

LIfe Path, amazingly correct...

2007-03-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

Your Life Path Number is 11

Your purpose in life is to inspire others

Your amazing energy draws people to you, and you give them great insight in return.
You hold a great amount of power over others, without even trying.
You have the makings of an inventor, artist, religious leader, or prophet.

In love, you are sensitive and passionate. You connect with your partner on a very deep level.

You have great abilities, but you are often way too critical of yourself.
You don't fit in - and instead of celebrating your differences, you dwell on them.
You have high expectations of yourself. But sometimes you set them too high and don't achieve anything.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

What am I working on now?

2007-02-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

So I have all these unfinished pieces... I have always worked on so many items that I cannot finish them all, I go back to my mother's house and find projects from when i was 12 in the garage.

Now, these aren't the product of artist block.

Some just don't need to finished- like the unicorn rug-hook project I found last time I was up there. Some just aren't ready to be finished, like a garnet necklace I am working on, I am sure is waiting for me to finish an enameled pendant for. Some are paused while I learn a new skill that I can add to the piece.

here are a few unfinished pieces:

fun sites to visit

2007-02-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

so I am learning the ropes at Style Feeder.
Want to see what I like?
I can't resist a little flash animation
:-)

my wists | clone this

2007-02-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

So I have been writing this article to post to my website for a long time. I love to learn about how people create their art, I always read about it on other people's web sites. Only problem is, I want to DESIGN the page, so that will take time.

Lets start with the very basic.

What is Vitreous Enameling?
Vitreous Enameling is the process of fusing glass to metal at high temperatures.

Glass ground down to a fine sand consistency then either sifted or mixed with distilled water and painted onto the surface of the metal. It is then placed in a kiln on high until the glass melts and fuses to the metal.

Creating a durable glass finish rich with color.

The resulting piece has beautiful color and strength. The surface is smooth and hard and retains its color through chemicals, cleaner and sunlight

Applying enamel:
The basic method for getting your enamel onto your metal is
by sifting. The enamel comes in fine particles, like very fine sand. Making it easy to sift through a screen onto your piece. The screen is necessary to avoid lumps, which sometimes are present. After applying a coat of binder, you can sift gently over the whole piece making sure you have an even coat. You can sift two separate colors to blend where they meet.

A better method for blending is Wet-Packing. Wet packing is where you take your enamel and mix it with distilled water and paint your enamel on the surface of your metal. This method gives you more definition between colors and better control on blending. This method is used for filling Champlevé and Cloisonné designs.

Liquid Enamels another method is using wet enamel. Ultra fine enamel is held together in a binding agent and you are able to dip your piece into the solution. This option is good for oddly shaped pieces

and is used to crate Sgrafitto designs.

So those are the basics, now we can get creative:

Stenciling, where a stencil is placed over the work and the powdered enamel is sifted over the top. The stencil is removed before firing, the enamel staying in a pattern, slightly raised.

Silk screening, same idea as a stencil, but with a silk screen, giving you more design options.

So once it's fired with its first layer of enamel, what now? Well you can stencil or silkscreen like I mentioned before.

There are also a few other fun things that can be done.

Chunks, threads, foil, and decals...

So one of my favorites is the "jewel effects" lumps. basically chunks of glass. It melts at a different rate than your sifted or painted enamel, so you end up with a raised lump in whatever color you choose. Lumps can be found in any color both transparent and opaque.
Here are some examples:

There are also threads of glass available with the same idea. Threads com in opaque colors only, giving you a line in your piece.

Another technique that would fit in here as something to do over fired enamel would be Cloisonne. I feel though, that Cloisonne deserves its own blog since it is a difficult and time consuming technique.

I will talk on that next time. Until then, check out my shop, I have some St Patrick's Day designss!!

http://www.ignisdesigns.etsy.com