Jill MacKay's BLOG

Designer Craft Connection - ImpressArt Metal Stamps Challenge

We LOVE ImpressArt Metal Stamps products! We also love Designer Craft Connection (DCC) web ring! When you combine these two with the help of the wonderful Theresa Cifali  you get a well organized fantastic blog hop! Special thanks to Julie McGuffee.  I am so happy to be a participant.

Those of us designers participating in the ImpressArt Metal Stamp blog hop were sent wonderful materials and tools with which to create projects. I don't know about you but free quality tools  and materials always gets my attention.

As if the blog hop and all the cool free projects were not enough, ImpressArt Metal Stamps is having a big give away in conjunction with the blog hop! To enter for a shot at the grand prize  CLICK HERE and follow directions

MY PROJECT:

HAMMERED HEART EARRINGS

Skill level: Easy

Time to make this project: 2 hours

MATERIALS:

ImpressArt Alphabet Stamp Set, Newsprint, lowercase (letter X and letter O)
ImpressArt Design Stamp, Heart Stamp
ImpressArt Metal Stamping Blanks, (large seashell shape)
ImpressArt Metal Stamping Hammer
ImpressArt Steel Stamping Block

Two large grey coin pearls, eighteen 12mm freshwater potatoe pearls. six smokey topaz center drilled 30mm brioletts, twelve faceted red chinese crystal rhondeles, ten round facted 4mm smokey topaz beads, fourteen ball end 30 gauge silver headpins, two sterling silver fish hook ear wires. One three inch piece of 22 gauge silver tone wire. Other tools: Round nosed pliers, wire cutters, and manuel hole punch.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) With flat edged end pointed up, place one of the seashell shapes on the block. Align the first "X" stamp on the shape, top center. Use the flat head of the hammer and stamp a vertical line of XO's and hearts down the center of the large seashell shape to lower center edge. These symbols stand for you know what: hugs kisses and love! Repeat on second shape.

2) Next place one of the stamped shapes onto the ImpressArt Metal Stamps stamping block. Use ball end of hammer and hammer the edges and the entire surface of seashell shape. Hammer over the kisses and hugs and hearts. This will not ruin your XO's and heart stampping. Repeat on second seashell shape.

3) Use the small end of the manual hole punch to make holes.

 Hole punch drill and hammered and stamped seashell shapes on block (above)

Hole making: one at both ends and one at the lower center edge of each of the four curves, for a total of six holes per seashell shape.

4) On a headpin string one Topaz round bead, on Topaz briolett and one freshwater potatoe pearl. Make six.

Use your round nosed pliers to attach by wire wrapping onto seashell shapes to the holes on the lower outside edges and center drop hole at bottom. Repeat on second earring.

5) On a head pin string one round topaz bead, two red crystals,and three fresh water potatoe pearls. Make four.

Attach to the two holes on left empty on the lower edge of the seashell shape by wire wrapping. Repeat on second earring.

Now you have your lower dangles in place.

6) On one of the 3" sections of wire, make a loop and wire wrap to the hole top center on the seashell shape. String on one red chinese crystal, make a second loop and attach to fish hook ear wire. trim. Repeat on second earring.

7) On a headpin string one red crystal, one large coin pearl and another red crystal. Make two.

Make a loop and attach at the loop of wire that attached the earwire to the seashell shape.

Image shows the placement of the coin pearl attached to the top loop of the wire which attaches the shape to the earwire.  This creates a top dangle dropping down, swinging free, creating more movement and light catching shimmer. Repeat this step on second earring.

 

Please notice how red and pink the seashell shapes look. They almost look like copper in this shot. This phenomenon is one of reflection not surface treatment. While I was taking photos of the finished earrings  I had on a red shirt! It is simply my red shirt reflecting in the white metal. If you'll go back to the beginning of this post and look at the first picture of the earrings, notice the earring on the left is turned slightly away.  So in this image the left earring is reflecting the green grass and the other my red shirt. The colors though misleading as far as typing the metal visually but certainly make for a nice image.

Thank you againImpressArt Metal Stamps! Please stop by all the designers to get a great idea of wonderful ways to use and create with these tools and materials!

xoxo

Jill

 

ABS MONTHLY CHALLENGE

Check it out: I am donating a $50.00 gift certificate to one of the winners of this month's  Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge! http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/

I cannot wait to see what everyone makes this month!!! So many talented people in the world! Thanks Heather Powers for the invitation and opportunity to be a sponsor! Love the color palette and challenge itself. My favorite bead blog on the web!

xoxo

Jill

Jewel School and JTV

I just booked my flight to Knoxville TN where I will be heading down to meet and work with the good people at Jewel School and   

I will be appearing on air September 4th with many a selection of my components and findings. This is very exciting and such a lovely opportunity. 

I will be selling 5 different kits! Clasp kits, pendant kits and more. 

The people I am fortunate to be dealing with are communicative, friendly, fun and have business savvy. All this to say it makes for a great experience and a wonderful gig. I owe this connection to my talented friend Margot Potter. She is a powerhouse of creativity and now a host on Jewel School. 

Margot introduced me to everyone while down in Tucson and the results of our work will soon be realized! Looking forward and love this opportunity and the others to come....

Off to the studio!

xox

Jill

Ancient Inspiration!

My dear friend and neighbor Peter has an amazing collection of specialty books. Today I called him and asked if I could come over and find one on ancient symbols. He sent me home with 4 amazing books and then used Google Books to show me the one we looked for and could not find!

Do you know about Google books? Go to www.google.com then click the little drop down menu next to "more" (top left) and click on books. Apparently they are on a giant book scanning mission of great proportions! Not sure what this will do for book sales but there's something good and bad about everything.

The book I am enjoying looking at and reading the most for ancient inspiration is

TREASURES of EARLY IRISH ART 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.

Front Cover

Back Cover

I love all the spirals and flourishes!

Here's a  hook & Eye clasp from the my latest Tonal Duet line.

Lots of flourishes here too!

I recommend going to the library and or google books and checking out the earliest of jewelry makers and their designs for tons of inspiration. Google Books has many, many out of print books that are very rare and difficult to find already scanned in. You can read them for free. It's actually a rather amazing undertaking by google.

More soon time to go swimming!

xoxo

Jill

Jill MacKay Content Store Launches on SCRAPBLOG.COM !

Who'd of every thought that you could make jewelry digital and use it online for scrap-booking?! Well the clever and wonderful people at www.scrapblog.com did!  I am so lucky to be one of the designers that get to have a store that provides digital content for the community there. Everyone at Scrapblog worked so hard to make this happen and for a long time. They spend a lot of behind the scene hours making Scrapblog easy to use! A major THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard on my behalf. They also spent a lot of time making my work look good and scanning in hundreds of pre-1920's postcards from my father's antique paper collection. So look in the pages further back in the store for those.

Take a peek!

The first few pages are some of my jewelry components made into stickers and some of my illustration shapes filled with text from antique (way past vintage) women's magazines. So there are contemporary shapes filled with contrasting history. I love the shapes! You can also take my shapes and fill them with any other background in my store or anyone else's for that matter.

Get a few pages, print a book, print a card or just send the digital page to a loved one or friend. It is VERY cool and beyond clever while easy to navigate! Love it! So happy!

Here's the official press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Colleen Reilly, VP Marketing

Scrapblog, Inc.

110 Sutter Street, Suite 700

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: 415.956.0358

Email: press@scrapblog.com

www.scrapblog.com

Jill MacKay™ Launches Digital Content in Partnership with Scrapblog.com

 

San Francisco, CA, August 6, 2010 --- Award-winning jewelry designer, author, and craft personality Jill MacKay is the latest to launch a digital content store on Scrapblog.com. The new storefront, Jill MacKay, offers multimedia scrapbookers and paper-crafters the ability to use MacKay’s timeless jewelry pieces for the first time in digital format. “It’s opened a whole new world for my jewelry components,” says MacKay. “When I see them as part of a beautifully prepared scrapbook, it’s very special to have them used in this manner. I feel very privileged to be a part of honoring family, friends, and memories in this new way.”

In addition to her jewelry elements, the Jill MacKay store will also feature hundreds of vintage images (pre-1920s) that MacKay received from her father. These exquisite and colorful postcards and product labels were part of his antique paper collection for more than 50 years. “My father is just amazed that these beautiful images could be captured and utilized in such a way by so many,” says MacKay.

Both paper and digital crafters can use Scrapblog’s easy-to-navigate, Web-based software to design digital layouts, complete scrapbooks, calendars, and greeting cards using Jill MacKay content. “Scrapblog makes digital scrapbooking so easy, it’s enticing,” says MacKay. “The creative tools are so simple and save so much time and mess that there are no more excuses for anyone not to be inspired to create something unique and beautiful.” Finished projects can then be shared online with family members, friends, and the Scrapblog.com community on Scrapblog.com, via email, or through social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. They can also be printed professionally or via high-resolution downloads on the user’s home printer.

“We are delighted to feature Jill MacKay’s unique jewelry and vintage designs on Scrapblog,” says Jill Braff, President and CEO of Scrapblog. “MacKay’s content is a wonderful addition to our catalog, and we’re confident that our users will love it as much as we do.”

Jill MacKay’s digital jewelry designs and vintage content was just recently launched on Scrapblog.  To view the Jill MacKay store, simply visit this link: http://www.scrapblog.com/builder/launch.aspx?path=/marketplace/store/47/

 

Thanks for letting me share!

xoxo

Jill

 

Art Defined!

There is a lot of movement and action taking place as remodeling has begun to bring my elder parents to live next door to me. In the process of clearing and moving things about the following definition was found in some old book in the garage. It was written by the woman whose house I am living in. She was a two time Guggenheim Fellow, a professional sculptor and lived in this house from the age of five (1914) until her death. She also built the huge sculpture studio on the property which we are now bringing back to life. Yes there is a lot going on here on the property. Much creativity underway.

So sit down as I believe this is the very BEST definition of what ART is that I have ever heard! Enjoy:

"All men are concerned with the communication of the issues of their inner being. From the endless movement of the spiritual and intellectual, they seek to choose and immobilize some fragment of innate discovered self-truth, to render it visible to others. Only thus do they feel  the bond of immortality with God and man which perpetuates the spirit and reiterates the great rhythm of  truth.

Art is this fragmentary vision of truth made articulate through the labor and guidance of hand and eye. Taking root outside ourselves, it grows and blooms in the new soil of another's understanding.

Thus is established this miraculous language which speaks to man from man, renewing his contact with God, clarifying his concepts, and giving voice to his own nostalgic soul."

Janet De Coux

WOW!
xoxo
Jill

PEARLS of Wisdom

Hi All,

I know it has been  a long time since I last posted, when I could not remember the password I use to log into my blogging site.

This is because I have been very busy working and my personal life is also keeping me hopping emotionally speaking. In order to do what I do (design a lot!) I have to keep myself emotionally clear. This takes time; though I have learned to process very quickly (had to) to be able to survive (at first) and then to succeed and continue to grow (second). But it does take time and there are only so many hours in the day. Sometimes something has to give...

Let me try to explain hopefully without sounding too corny ... As an artist (how it works for me) is the work simply moves through me. Often shows up complete, and intact.  I even work in my sleep regularly. Wake up and have to get up to draw  what I have just seen in my dreams. For me creating is like stepping into a river that is already flowing...I just to get to be a part of it when I step in it. But I have to be clear enough to let it move through me or I just get knocked down by the current and it rolls over me instead of through me. When it moves through me I get to add a bit to it, shape it with my hands and eyes somewhat... but all in all it shows up intact. So I spend  a fairly large amount of time  processing and clearing any emotional content that may keep me stuck and off center each and every day.

When life becomes emotionally challenging, which it often likes to be...this means taking the time to clear myself. For if I am upset about something I get blocked and then I am unable to work and nothing is moving through. Life not to mention survival come to a screeching halt! And believe you me I like to eat!

Often times the process I use to clear after reflecting on the situations and circumstances is to write it  out.

Many close friends over the years have encouraged me to share what I have written (read learned) so I think I will give it a try. Though here is the question...I am not sure if I should do it in post form on this blog...as this blog was intended as a marketing tool...or if I will just start a PAGE on this blog dedicated to these little bits of insight (pearls of wisdom) that I am able to glean. Posts get sent out to all those who have subscribed to my blog. Whereas if I file it under a PAGE on the blog it will not be sent out to all.  Pages are static and have to be intentionally clicked on. They are not on the home page but filed away and have to be sought out.

Would love to hear from any of you on which you think I should do. Post it or file on the side under a page, so that those who care to read it can... and those that do not want to do not have to receive it. If I blog it yes the email is easy to delete...though many who have signed up for this blog signed on for jewelry related topics. Not pearls of wisdom!

What say ye? Would love to hear your input please!

Thanks so much.

xoxo

Jill

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!

May your new year find you in good health.
May it find you exploring your creativity more, plunging into greater depths of knowing found there.
Your creativity is a sign post that speaks of your love of the moment and of being in it.
May your year be full of laughter, good company and loving ones ...Happy eyes across the fire.
Let your caring take flight and alight on many.
It will ease your aches and bring you joy...so lend a hand where a hand is needed.
May you have courage in your spirit and love in your life.
Stand tall, speak the truth and and live fully.
Trust your intuitions and let them guide you.
Thoughts become things, so think good thoughts.
Dream big, cling to hope and smile a lot
it confuses people!

:o)

xoxo
Jill

Watch this! Will Make You Happy!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Wow! GIANT 5 Pound PEARL Found !

WOW!

New York—A five-pound blister pearl found in the waters off the Philippines has been authenticated as one of the largest, most valuable pearls ever to be discovered and documented, according to EGL USA.

The brain-shaped specimen—a giant, non-nacreous natural blister pearl—was found in the giant clam Tridacna Gigas and measures over six inches in length.
A team of EGL USA expert gemologists, led by Nicholas Del Re, analyzed the pearl using a combination of advanced technologies including digital radiography, close magnification and data provided by a hand held X-ray fluorescence unit.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime look at one of nature's most unique treasures," EGL USA Director Mitch Jakubovic said in a media release issued on Monday. "A pearl this size is not only the largest ever seen at EGL USA, it is among the largest ever seen anywhere."

"This is clearly one of the most valuable pearls of its kind in the world today," Bidwell said in the release.

I mean...how big was the gooey big daddy of a clam this guy came out of???! WOW! I looked and found a picture of a Tridacna Gigas ...so it must have looked something like this ....Amazing.

xoxo
Jill