Friday, February 20, 2015

Build A Line Challenge from B'sue Boutiques, Micheale Collie of The Vintage Gem, Part Two

Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Colors...Oh My

I can't believe it's already been a month since the first Build A Line blog hop! I began the challenge with a vague idea of a line. Yes, I wanted to work with butterflies and dragonflies, two of my favorite creatures, but I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. 

The support of the other Build A Line Challenge (BALC) participants has been unparalleled. I posted the germ of an idea I had on our Facebook page and received support and encouragement. From that exchange, my line was born. 

Here you can see my initial ideas and the lovely stampings from bsueboutiques.com



I knew I wanted to create necklaces, earrings and bracelets using these and other components in a variety of colors. After quite a bit of experimentation, this was my first attempt using various coloring techniques.


This was just the beginning. I took each piece and added additional color and highlights to create more interesting pieces. I'm finding the colorization of the pieces to be the biggest challenge, so far. 

Ta-da! Here are the first pieces of my line:


Tammy Adams, another BALC participant, referred to this as "a flight of dragonflies." I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I'm calling this and other sets like it by that name! Thanks Tammy.

Here's a different take on dragonflies, using parts of vintage earrings for the flower. I wanted these to give the wearer a sense of the dragonfly in it's natural habitat.



I could watch butterflies for hours, admiring the natural beauty of these amazing creatures. Getting the colors right for these stampings and filigrees was a challenge and a learning experience.






The BALC has been such a wonderful learning experience for me and we still have a month to go! I'm still using vintage parts in what I create, but now there's cohesion amongst my pieces. I'm working on pieces every day, instead of waiting for inspiration to strike. I still create one of a kind pieces, and always will, but I hope the pieces in my line will become my bread and butter pieces-something Brenda Sue Lansdowne, our fearless leader calls them.

Be sure to check out the blogs of my colleagues in the BALC! I'm fortunate to be surrounded by amazing jewelry designers!


Marcia Tuzzolino
Jann Tague
Judy King
Linzi Alford
Cynthia Wainscott
Carole Carlson
Lynn Stinten
Marica Zammit
Catherine Shattuck
Micheale Collie-you are here
Mary Craig
Lee Koopman
Erin Whitacre
Monica Casady
Leila West
Cindy Peterson
Leila Belcher
Gloria Allen
Pamela Anger
Tammy Adams
Lynda O'Mara
Elizabeth Hildreth
Dana Hickey
Janet Calardo
Maria Clark
Lori Beekman
Jennifer Kroeger
Amy Jorgensen
Robin Reed
Ingrid Anderson
Louise O'Shields
Susan Killam
Mary Katherine Deis
Nike Bottalico
Susan Bowerman
Kristy Le
Jan Peters
Mitzie Crider
Gina Hockett
Linda Anderson
Alexandra Sefton
Melida Boman
Teresa Shurter
Melissa Latimer
Renee Hong
Nadine Edris
Lori Meyer
Jennifer Merrill Williams
Denise Lussier Poirier
Renee Allen
Autumn Adams
Elizabeth Owens
Kat BarronMiller
Sandra Ballard
Coral Law







44 comments:

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  2. Hi Micheale, I love the idea of the "natural habitat" and you've captured it well. Those cobalt blue butterflies are stunning! Love them all!

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  3. I so love this line. Those dragonflies are so pretty and that purple butterfly..... I can not wait to see what you do with it!

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  4. I adore your beautiful line and it is evolving in such a stunning way. They are all so colorful and whimsical. XOXO!

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  5. I love that dragonfly set. Gorgeous! And those butterflies, wow!

    I think that having a line will make us more productive in the long run, because when you know what your theme is about, inspiration will come quicker I think because you're more focused.

    Well done!

    Marica Zammit
    Bead Lovelies

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  6. Love your work in your jewelry line. I'm waiting to see what you do with the pink butterfly. And your jewelry now looks cohesive

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  7. Dragonflies and butterflies are my favorites as well. Love the colors and your designs are great!

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  8. Really nice use of color and natural brass. Lovely designs.

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  10. These are coming together nicely, Michaele. Bravo! You have a nice line coming together.

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  11. Your design line is lovely .. the colors you selected really stand out .. great work Michaele

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  12. And it's coming along beautifully! So many people buy and collect the winged creatures so I know you will do well. Your style and colors are gorgeous and I can't wait to see the finished line! Keep up the great work.

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  13. I really like the dragonfly on the gold with the vintage rhinestone jewelry, really sharp looking

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  14. So beautiful! Keep it up! ~Melissa

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  15. Stay the course, keep an open mind, keep thinking outside the box and offer things to people with less to spend as well as those can spend more will get you just what you want from your designing dream.

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  16. Beautiful work! Dragonflies and butterflies makes this such a fun line!

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  17. Great blog post and beautiful job on your jewelry line Michaele.

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  18. Nice blog post, Micheale. The dragonfly colors are great.

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  19. Loved your thought about working every day. I'll bet your productivity has improved because of that.

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  20. Love the line design of butterflies and dragonflies. They really look great and will make a great line.

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  21. Love the line design of butterflies and dragonflies. They really look great and will make a great line.

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  22. Your pieces are lovely. I appreciate the part about working every day instead of waiting for inspiration to hit. I, too, have found that I'm working on my designs much more consistently. Thanks! ~mary

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  23. Beautiful work, Michaele!

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  24. Beautiful Creatures Micheale, and beautifully rendered too! Isn't Tammy a wonder?!

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  25. Wow just beautiful!!! I can't wait to see your entire collection because I love Dragonflies and Butterflies! Your colors, beads and arrangement style are truly awesome and I am thrilled about how awesome the rest of your line will be. ~Louise

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  26. Beautiful designs and colors! I am in love with the butterfly piece~ way to go on your line, I see it as extremely successful! Great blog~
    ~nike xo

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  27. Simply stunning work. They are wearable and feminine and the colors are divine.

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  28. Beautiful, beautiful, bea-u-ti-ful! Looking forward for more.

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  29. Bright and cheerful pieces, way to go!

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  30. I love your line, Micheale ... the dragonfly and butterfly pieces are beautiful! You're on your way to a fantastic line ... can't wait to see more! ;)

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  31. I really love the dragonfly necklaces with the vintage pieces in them and all your colors are lovely on the butterflies and dragonflies. Also, I really like how you drape the bigger pieces for the necklaces--just beautifully done! Looking forward to seeing your full line! :):)

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  32. love butterflies and dragonflies- your line coming together and great colouring too! looking forward to seeing your whole line in next months hop, Linzi

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  33. Love Butterflies and Dragonflies!!! Your colorings and patinas are great! Your Flight of Dragonflies is Beautiful and I LOVE the Dragonflies with flowers!!! Great Job!!! Be Blessed!

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  34. I think you chose a winning theme and it is coming along so nicely! That cobalt blue and gold is a real knock out combination! Well done!!!

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  35. Fabulous work on your line, Michaele! ;)

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  36. By the way, that was me, Catherine S. :)

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  37. Great blog Michaele Adele. Your line is turning out beautifully. Can't wait for the final reveal next month.

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  38. Michaele--Your line is really coming along nicely! Your colors are great and the designs are fun and make me think of Spring and Summer. I especially like the two smaller pieces on the filigree!!!

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  39. It's really coming together! I love it!

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  40. Oh what a lovely line and the colors really complete the look of the nature concept, great job!

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  41. Your color is so pretty. The whole line is very impressive.

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