Calavera Necklace with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Ambassador Chrissy Colon

I am not one to do the same type of project idea multiple times.  This one was an exception.  I embraced a challenge courtesy of a very good friend of mine who wanted a custom necklace.  She wanted black with bright, bold colors.  Since I never work with black, my natural response was, "Challenge accepted!"

As most already know,  I do love working with beads.  I find something calming and almost therapeutic about gluing each bead into place and watching my sketched design come to life.  When the piece is completed, the sense of accomplishment and completion is enough to stoke my creative fires.

While the overall design is simple, the bead work is where the magic is with this piece.  The creativity begins to flow and new ideas spring forth.  The second layer of the necklace that has the cross was one such "AHA!" moment.  The addition of a few stone skulls on handmade eye-pins stitched together the elements seamlessly.

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts® Crosse Icons
Relics & Artifacts® Archangels
ICE Resin
Firemountain Gems seed beads
Carved stone skull beads
Necklace Chain
Head pins
jump rings
lobster claw clasp

Fractured Fairy Tale with Relics & Artifacts and ColoriQue

We continue our Fracture Fairy Tale with Cindy receiving the invitation for the Royal Monster's Rock Ball and in the excitement, a secret pocket located inside the envelope has gone unnoticed.  Ambassador Milagros Rivera takes us through Cindy's preparation for her bangin' weekend.

After reading the invitation, Cindy felt pure exhilaration. She started to think about what she could possibly wear to such a massive party. Her closet was impossibly empty of anything worth wearing. She knew none of her sisters would spare her a piece of clothing.

After much thought, she climbed into the attic. There, amongst all the boxes, she found her mom's gorgeous leather pants. But would they fit? That was the great dilemma. In another box she found the perfect match, a lacy bustier that would rock the evening. Not to mention, it really made the "girls" look great. She took all the treasures to her room and begin mending and tailoring.  She also decided to forego the stale cookies on her dresser and opted for some apples and peanut butter to munch on. 

While she worked on getting her sleek, svelte figure back, she realized that her outfit was missing something.  She needed THE PERFECT accessory but what? 

She had a moment of pure genius while ruffling through her box of odds and ends.  Crossed revolvers, vintage blood red roses, gorgeous filigree, and of course, a family heirloom.  The skull was perfect to tie her entire rocker chic ensemble together.

For the previous chapter, written by Larissa Heskett, please head over to the ColoriQue blog and stay tuned because tomorrow, Ambassador Sherry Matthews continues our story!

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts "Archangels"
ColoriQue Ink by Lisa Marie Jimenez:  Black Diamond, Ruby Slippers, Verdigris, Avocado, Pink Ice,
EnviroTex Jewelry Resin

"From the Tribe" with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Guest Ambassador DeeDee Catron

This month's "From the Tribe" RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Guest Ambassador is a woman of incomparable talent.  She's been in the industry for quite some time and has worked with a multitude of people to include Donna Downy.  It is our pleasure to introduce DeeDee Catron as February's Guest Ambassador.  Grab a coffee, a comfy seat, and let's let DeeDee show us what she's all about!

"I am a Mixed Media Artist | Instructor | Designer sorting through the ever expansive mixed media world in an effort to conquer ALL.THE.THINGS. I can never settle on one medium or one technique and I truly love to throw them all together. I live in Las Vegas and I teach classes both locally and abroad. I also offer occasional paid eCourses and tons of free mixed media demonstration via my YouTube channel."

DeeDee's work of art is absolutely mind blowing in its composition and construction.  We'll let her share the story.

Hello Relics & Artifacts Tribe! I'm super excited to be here today sharing a project I worked up specifically for Sandra and the amazing team. I've been a long time fan of the girls who work the Muse and Toil was a labor of love inspired by each and every one of them.

Toil started out as a political statement and evolved into a much more personal expression. It's about keeping the balance between respect and courage.

Between wants and needs,

Between light and dark,

Between life and death.

It's about the inner struggle and which wolf we'll feed today. 

Toil encompasses a lot of symbolism and there are a lot of struggles on the piece. The contrast in texture between the smooth resin and the harsh grungy masking tape is so appealing. The full figured Renaissance style face versus the feeble old skeleton makes my heart race. It's always fun for me to start a project, watch it morph, finish it and then talk about it.  When Mr. Catron saw the finished piece he blurted out, "It looks like a mausoleum!" and I was so happy about that! It wasn't something I INTENDED but what a cool final effect, right? 

What do YOU see when you look at Toil? What emotions are stirred, if any? I really look forward to conversing with you about the art. ♥

DeeDee's art invokes thought and is every bit as evocative as it is provocative.  She's so graciously put together a Snapguide tutorial for you on how to create a piece like this one.  Beautiful, powerful, thoughtful and so full of soul, we thank you for sharing your creativity with us.  For more about you can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Instagram (@deedeecatron), and YouTube.

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts® Egg Shrine
Relics & Artifacts® Archangels
Golden Fluid Matte Medium
Golden Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic
Golden Heavy Gel
Liquitex Glaze Medium
Liquitex Gesso (P) (White & Clear)
DecoArt Media Gray Fluid Acrylic
UmWowStudio Star Confetti Chipboard
UmWowStudio Angel Wings Chipboard
Stabilo Marks All
Amazing Crafting Products 2 Part Clear Cast Resin
Mona Lisa Gold Foil
May Arts Ribbon
Tim Holtz Rubons
Tim Holtz Alterations & Configurations Box
Sand paper, scissors, heat tool, clay tools, baby wipes, canvas strings, plastic skeleton, paint brush, measuring cups, stir stick, vintage italian text, paint cup, water, coffee, graphite pencil, vintage dictionary page, masking tape