On A Thousand Hills . . .

She comes from Colton Hollow, somewhere in New England. She's a mom of 2 teenagers, and wife of a trucker. She loves God! She is hoping to hike the Appalachian Trail in a few years. She is also hoping to be able to supplement my husband's income by selling beadwork and other creative art pieces. And supports buying Handmade in the USA! Her name is Cheryl, and she is the owner of Etsy shop, On A Thousand Hills.

Sleeping Gypsy Bead Tapestry Wall Hanging (above)

This beauty contains over 30,000 beads. That equals an incredible commitment to a project. Cheryl says that she had been inspired by Sleeping Gypsy, painted by Henri Rousseau in 1897 for two reasons: "The first was that I go by the screen-name Gypsy Heart, because I have always been attracted to the nomadic ways of the gypsies. The second was that I just found this picture to be representative of Jesus watching over us in the night as we sleep."

Shimmering Heart bead embroidered cuff bracelet (below)
Cheryl uses this description. "This cuff bracelet really shimmers in the light, due to the finishing process they used on the Delica seed beads I used to stitch the majority of this bracelet. I stitched the bottom portion in a mellow "wave" pattern and the top in straight up and down columns. The shimmery effect of the beads really show the pattern nicely. You will definitely get noticed in this one!"


"This necklace starts off with a porcelain cabochon, featuring a beautiful blue and yellow butterfly. I stitched a bezel around it in peyote stitch, using complementary colors. The cabochon is also backed with ultra-suede in a black and white check/plaid. The neckstrap is done in a tubular Ndbele herringbone stitch, with small spaces done in tubular brickstitch as well. A base-metal toggle is used for a clasp. The pieces were then strung on Accuflex wire for durability. "

Cheryl says she will be entering this piece in the Etsy Beadweavers Challenge "Spring Break". They will be giving anyone who visits their blog site the chance to vote. Their address is http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Find Cheryl and On A Thousand Hills at these locations:

http://onathousandhills.etsy.com/
http://onathousandhills.blogspot.com/
http://onathousandhills-etsyfeaturedartists.blogspot.com/

Cats Paw Artifacts

Judy Richards the owner of Cats Paw Artifacts, aka Catldy99 , says her shop is named after what else? Her cats. Does she have 99 cats? (To be disclosed later.)

Judy, a magna cum laude graduate who obtained her BA in Technical Theatre from the University of Minnesota, has also taken coursework in Graphic Design as well as in lampworking. She has bead weaving for about 10 years and making beads for about 5, and is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Exceptional Funny Valentine Vessel Necklace (above)




Beautiful lampwork bracelet (at left)

Judy says she is also is also a member of the Portland Bead Society and the ORBS (Oregon Regional Beadmakers Society).

Judy makes lampwork beads and designs jewelry - unique and hopefully artful jewelry. She is always striving for new ideas, new shapes in glass.

She says that she is inspired by nature (flowers, birds) depicted in glass. She loves abstract lampwork most of all with layers of glass and complexity, and that she is always striving to that goal.

"She has done the work of reasonably exact glass beads - but yearns to break out of that toward something more complex and deep in an artistic sense. She also has a sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously - she is the owner of 2 cats, hence the cat beads. Judy likes to laugh and make others smile with her work."


Lovely necklace with lampwork pendant

Cats Paw Artifacts can be found at:

http://catldy99.etsy.com/


http://www.catldy99.wordpress.com/