We’ve already had snow and a mini polar vortex, which is weird but enhanced the Frosty-making mood. Mother Nature is sending us a message about the volatility of our climate these days, although my snarky self blames Disney for promoting Frozen 2 too much. 😉 Last year I only had one drummer frosty left during […]
For the September Now That’s a Jig! Challenge, we were tasked with using Bob Ebendorf’s art work as inspiration. Brenda Schweder is a longtime fan of his work, but his name was new to me. So I surfed the web looking for his work, and became a bit overwhelmed. How in the world would I […]
Artists who work with encaustics are naturally bee lovers as well, and I have often toyed with the idea of a beehive. My friend Bridgette Guerzon Mills made a gorgeous hive for an outdoor art installation, which I find very inspiring. I started making bees last year and really enjoy the design I came up with. […]
Every Month Brenda Schweder of Now That’s a Jig! proposes a challenge to her JigUFacturers on Facebook. For August 2019 the challenge is: Media Inspiration #mediablitzntajchallenge “Pick a visual from a magazine, book or online source (i.e. Pinterest, Insta) and create a piece that captures that look, theme, or feeling!” I went to my favorite […]
At the beginning of June I traveled to Milwaukee for the Bead & Button Show. I didn’t really need any more beads, but I found a workshop I wanted to take and decided to make a long weekend of it. After my drive I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum, where I was overwhelmed with new […]
For the June Now That’s a Challenge!, Brenda Schweder’s JigUFacturer design team was tasked with creating a story with their jewelry. I had received some cute rubber critters from a friend, and as I was clearing the studio to make room for my brother, I came across them again. My brother and I traveled part […]
On March 8, 2019, Brenda Schweder Jewelry’s Facebook Live video included a guest appearance of her husband, Jim Schweder. The couple is putting their house on the market (for a move to warmer Tuscon), which prompted Jim to volunteer some of Brenda’s beautiful ephemera finds for our May Now That’s a Jig! Challenge (with her […]
This month the JigUFacturer Design team for Brenda Schweder’s Now That’s A Jig! was challenged to make holiday ornaments. As you know this is kind of my jam. I started making ornaments in 2013. Initially I was freewheeling all the designs with pliers, but when I saw that Brenda Schweder had developed Now That’s A […]
Amidst all the frosty making last month, I also have a variety of angel ideas percolating in my head. No matter how many times I tell myself I will start holiday production early, it always ends up being a mad rush in October. Summer is just too enjoyable outdoors and always packed with events. So […]
At Hip Circle we would call any major event like the Super Bowl and World Cup a Sportsing event, and I like the ring of it. I do follow the World Cup when the Dutch and German teams are playing, but am only marginally aware of what goes on in the sports world. Of course […]
