Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Lorelei's Jade Scott Pinwheel Challenge!

2012-02-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the wonderful Lorelei announced a new challenge on her blog. Only six lucky people would be selected at random to receive one of Jade Scott's new enameled pinwheels. I was totally floored when I got a message from Lorelei that I was one of the winners!

I knew right away that I was going to pair it with one of Elukka's houses, which I had only recently purchased. And while I don't usually work with orange much, I am really excited about the way my necklace came together!

As always, click to enlarge!

Make sure to check out all the other participants' blogs, as well as Lorelei's to see what they've created!

Kate Richbourg - http://katerichbourg.blogspot.com/
Charlie Jacka- clay-space.com
Lisa Cone- http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/
Shawna Tobias- http://shawnalees.blogspot.com/
Ann Rishell- http://mycriticaleye.squarespace.com/
Lorelei Eurto- Lorelei1141.blogspot.com

Just for fun, Rebecca Anderson of Songbeads decided to order a pinwheel from Jade and play along on her own. Make sure to see what she made!

Thanks for stopping by!

What a Weekend!

2012-02-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

I finally joined the Cult of iPhone! I wanted to be an Android person, and maybe I would have stayed one if my Hero hadn't been so slow and incapable. My contract was up on the 1st, so I went out shortly thereafter and got myself a 4S. It's wonderful!

As if that wasn't exciting enough, we bought a Tempur-pedic Cloud Luxe California King bed! I can't wait until it arrives on Friday, but it's just as well, because it turns out stores around here tend not to stock California King size bedding. I ordered a comforter set online last night, but I still have to get some sheets. I thought sure I could find some at TJ Maxx or Marshall's today, but I was wrong about that! I know I can get some good deals online, but I'd prefer to get some in person so I can feel them and see if I like the fabric. The bed at the store was on some sort of base that could elevate the feet or the head or both, and massage as well. I was so ready to go for the whole shebang, but it turned out, it was a ridiculous amount of money that we didn't need to be spending right now. But there's nothing saying we can't add it on later if we so choose...

Anyway, here's what I did find at Marshall's! I call them The Twins. They're 16" I think, and will be a great addition to my prop family!

Because I was such a busy bee today, and to prepare for the new bed/bedding, I finally managed to get frames for some adorable Cori Dantini prints I'd bought last year. They look kind of sad hanging up on the big wall, and the frames and mats just blend right in with the wall, but that's just how it's going to be. For now anyway. We're not going to live here forever. And it's not like the curtains match anything!

I also made a necklace with my first Round Rabbit piece! I'll be listing it on Etsy shortly.

Bead Soup Arrived!

2012-01-31T13:20:00.002-06:00

I don't think I mentioned that I was one of the lucky ones. Only 200 of nearly 400 people were selected to participate in this round of the Soup. It's completely understandable, as Lori Anderson can not be expected to perform feats of magic on a regular basis! That she can wrangle 200 people is mind boggling enough.

My partner is Debbie of Prairie Emporium. I received my soup yesterday, and was excited to see how much I loved what she sent! It's always a little nerve wracking when you're about to open it and you're crossing your fingers that you didn't get that color or type of bead you can't stand. Well Debbie did good! Have a look at all she sent:

Feathers! I know feathers are pretty trendy right now, but I've always loved them and I haven't used them in jewelry (yet). I love the dotted ones best! I definitely plan to to something special with them!

Czech glass!!! An adorable lamp work owl! And a beautiful ceramic donut that she made. Plus, a pretty silver & brass toggle and some copper chain. Looks like I have a good selection to work with. I can't wait to start playing with it. I don't know if she's received my package yet, but I hope she likes it.

Make sure to come back on March 3rd for the reveal and hop!

Raku Key Necklace

2012-01-17T11:37:00.001-06:00

So here's the necklace I referred to last blog. It's nice, and I'm going to leave it as is for now. It's not *The Best Thing I've Ever Made!!!* -- which is something I aspire to feel after everything I make! Of course none of us actually do, but I had higher hopes for this for some reason. Nonetheless, it's not too bad.

The pendant was made by my friend Jessi, the crystals are from my mom's chandelier (destroyed by Katrina, salvaged by me and my nieces), and the other bits are labradorite chips, freshwater pearl chips, and hematite nuggets (that look deceivingly like pearls).

Not My Usual Thing

2012-01-15T10:59:00.000-06:00

I do love working with wire, but I've never particularly been interested in doing these wire wrapped earrings. I've seen similar, and admired them. They can be quite beautiful when they're done with the right beads, though it never really appealed to me to want to make them. Then last week, a tutorial popped up on my Facebook feed and I looked at it. I knew I had a pair of earrings to make as a gift within the next few days, and I had a feeling the recipient would like that style. I had some new beads in her favorite color (yellow), and I gave it a try. I had no idea how much FUN it is to make these earrings! It's pretty easy too. So I just had to whip up a few more pairs.

The only problem with colored wire is that it scrapes so easily. Even though I'm using rubber-coated pliers, part of the pliers has popped through the rubber at this point and it scratched the purple off in a little spot :(

The other thing I've been working on this week has been slow going. It's a necklace with a very pretty raku key pendant, but I'm just not sure I'm happy with the bead combo. I laid out several variations before I got started, and I'm more than halfway through, but still not sure I like it. I might as well just finish it and see what it looks like in the end, and if I hate it, I can start over. It's just time and wire, right?

Happy 2012

2012-01-02T15:40:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I've been a very bad blogger, but I know I'm not the only one. I've also been a very bad jewelry maker. I've been off work since Dec 22, but barely made anything! A few things for presents, a quick pair of earrings by request - but I spent more time with the Wii and my current obsession The Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword. I've watched quite a few movies OnDemand and hung out with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. But I just couldn't get it together to sit down in my jewelry corner and play!

Finally on New Year's Eve, I buckled down and made a few things, and then worked on a bit more yesterday. It is my New Year's Resolution to a) occasionally get a table at this weekly market near my parents' house and b) submit something to a magazine. I'm sure once I get back in my routine, the jewelry will get back in action too. I did get some grey and white sari fabric for Christmas, and then ordered some more the other day. Plus I got a few things for display purposes and I made some more of my business cards - so at least I'm starting to get on track.

Here are the few things I've made recently.

This bracelet started off with the intention of being a gift, but sometimes, you've just got to keep something nice for yourself. Some people might mind that there are rhinestones missing from the vintage buckle half that serves as the focal here. I don't. That, the clasp and the vintage glass pearls are from Heather boxes. The rhinestone rondelles are new.

This one features some of my new grey sari fabric and upcycled shell & brass drops (from Heather boxes! - the clasp too), and one of the amethysts I bought at the last bead show.

This fox pendant comes from my friend Jessi whose etsy shop seems to be missing. Maybe that's because I bought 7 or 8 of her pendants last week when she was in town and she has nothing left for her shop? It's such a cute lil fox, I wanted him to be the star of the show and just strung him on a piece of knotted sari.

More elements from Heather boxes! She's such a wonderful source :) Also, little bits from a recent trade with Malin!

More beads from Malin, and pieces of my new grey sari.

Even more Malin beads, and some other goodies from my stash. These look like Judy Jetson earrings to me.

So there you have it. I've started experimenting with some Gilder's Paste, and now that it's dried overnight - I need to go see what I have to do next...

Does everyone else have jewelry-related New Year's Resolutions?

A New Heather Box!!!

2011-12-19T22:52:00.000-06:00

My long time readers will know just what that title means, and how very exciting it is. But for the uninitiated, let me break it down for you. My friend Heather gets vintage jewelry lots from ebay and from garage sales, thrift stores, etc., because she wants a few pieces in the lot. And there are always plenty of things she doesn't want, or that are broken, or not quite her style so she saves them up in a medium sized Priority Mail Box until it's full and then mails it off to me for salvage!

I'm so glad she didn't tell me this one was coming. It made it all the more exciting when I got home and there it was waiting for me. I've sorted through it all, and picked apart most of what I'm saving but there's still some work to be done. It takes a couple of weeks before I'm ever through.

Oooh just look at how much fun this is gonna be!!!

I see some good stuff in here...

Plenty of glass pearls. And vintage rhinestone rondelles!

Old 50s plastic pearls, some sparkly stuff, lavender and white glass!

I adore the hand painted heart shaped piece of shell. It's one of my favorite things from the box. It's sitting next to the Deco rhinestone leaf buckle, which shall one day meet some sari ribbon and become something beautiful. Any ideas?

Strange plastic mummies - perhaps next Halloween I'll make an orange and black king cake and tuck the mummies inside? (If you're not from New Orleans or around here, you have no idea what I'm talking about.) Another fab rhinestone buckle. A great enameled butterfly bracelet, a cool stacked gold bell pendant and some other fun stuff...

There was so much more than this, including a dark gunmetal shoe-clip that is going to make a gorgeous bracelet some day.

I love Heather boxes!!!

Artists Helping Artists Silent Auction

2011-12-08T07:42:00.001-06:00

Several artists in the blog community have decided to band together to help a fellow artist in need.

I am offering the necklace I recently completed for Erin Prais-Hintz' Color Challenge, as well as a pair of earrings that don't match - but they coordinate pretty well. I do love working with sari fabric, it provides such a fun texture.

I'll start the bid on these pieces at $20 and I will be more than happy to ship anywhere in the universe!

Would you like to be the winning bidder?

Please leave a comment along with your bid. If you are the winning bidder, you will receive an invoice after the close of the auction, which ends Sunday the 11th at midnight est. There must be a way to contact you. If you have email preferences turned off in your profile, please leave your email.

Many people are auctioning items to help out! Please visit these the other artists below and place your bid!

List of participants:

Heidi Post http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com/
Marie Cramp & Lori Anderson http://skyejewels.blogspot.com/
Barbara Bechtel & Staci Smith http://secondsurf.com/
Erin Fickert-Rowland http://elysianstudiosart.com/
Keirsten Giles http://www.cerebraldilettante.blogspot.com/
Andrew Thornton http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
Karen Totten http://starryroadstudio.blogspot.com/
Kristi Bowman-Gruel http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/
Nan Emmett http://spiritrattles.blogspot.com/
Maire Dodd http://mairedodd.blogspot.com/
Amanda Cargill Austin http://www.seashoreglassgirl.com/
Janice Everett http://jlynnjewels.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com/
Shannon Iko Chomanczuk http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/
Kerry Bogert http://kabsconcepts.blogspot.com
Patricia Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com/
Erin Seigel http://erinsiegeljewelry.blogspot.com/
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/

Other Fundraisers:
MaryAnne Carroll at LMAJ http://lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2011/12/5-huge-giveaway.html

Holiday Shop Hop!

2011-12-03T05:16:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the Holiday Shop Hop! Michelle from MiShel Designs has organized this big online shop hop! Thanks Michelle! Please click on her link to see the full list of participants.

Starting today and lasting until December 20th, I'm offering 15% off in my etsy shop! The coupon code is HOLIDAY15. Please stop by and see what I have to offer, and then check on all the other participants' pages! I'll be adding even more items over the next few days.

Happy Holidays and thanks for stopping by!

Challenge of Color Blog Hop!

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to the 2nd Challenge of Color Blog Hop hosted by the lovely & hard-working Erin Prais-Hintz of Treasures Found!

She chose each one of us our very own color palette from Design Seeds based on the main color of our choice. I chose teal (not a big stretch), but as you can see - my palette included pinks (which is a much bigger stretch). Here it is:

The first thing I thought when I saw it was: I already made this necklace! But of course I couldn't use something I had already done. But here it is, just so you can see.

Okay, so the blue's a little blue, and there's no olive or dark dark red, but it was pretty darn close.

I had a wealth of teal sari ribbon lying around though, so I set about knotting it over and over, which has been a new thing I've been doing lately. But then, I was stuck! I didn't have any focals that matched. The only large beads I had in those colors were boring and wouldn't make good focals. I pulled out more of the same cherry quartz you see above. Pearls. Serpentine. Mookaite. Czech glass. I tried a million things -- failed attempts at making a grapes-like cluster of different sizes of cherry quartz. Individual dangles on the sari ribbon. Chain and sari ribbon with dangles on the chain. It was all just horrible. I'm not a dangles kinda girl. Other people do beautiful work like that. Not me.

I opened the pink & purple box one more time, hoping I'd see something new (much like looking in an empty refrigerator 10 times hoping there'll be a forgotten pie somewhere). And there it was! That pink fossil bead! It's just a cheap thing from Michael's, but I'd gotten it and never used it for a reason. It was just the right shades of pink. Suddenly I remembered some olive serpentine chips I'd forgotten, and whipped up this little dangley focal. So it's not my favorite thing I've ever done, but I was finally satisfied with the result. Plus it is the first piece to feature one of my new highly prized faceted pearls in dark dark red.

Make sure to check out all the other participants' blogs! And thanks for stopping by.

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones

My Par-tay!

2011-11-19T21:37:00.001-06:00

So a lot of people didn't show up. Aside from my sister, mom, niece, my friend who came with, and the Scentsy woman (who was also hawking her wares), there were 5 guests. So considering all that, I did pretty well. I was surprised I sold anything at all. Plus, I now have some Christmas present ideas in mind for my sister, niece, and friend :) The most valuable thing I think I gained is the knowledge that my display kicks major derriere, and that I can manage to set up on one 6-ft table. I really loved hanging things off the chandelier, and I know that won't happen again. But it worked today! I'm very happy with my necklace display, and now I am way more confident about doing craft shows in the future. Also, I totally bought a Scentsy thinger, and some wax blocks. Hope I like the fragrances when they burn! Here are the photos from today. As always, click to enlarge...

This is me (right) with my friend Ashley who was a massive help today. Thanks Ash!

500 Coats of Paint Later...

2011-11-13T11:40:00.001-06:00

The knobs for my display arrived Thursday, and after many failed attempts at geometry, I just gave up and eyeballed their placement. I decided it would probably be a smart move to prime the thing first. The cheapo 2/$1 craft paint I got at Michael's (mainly because it was called Robin's Egg Blue) was never going to cover all that stained brown wood. I got some primer at Lowe's, and gave it 3-4 coats before most of the brown was covered. Then it got at least the same number of coats of the blue. It was flat and hideous but yee haw, I remembered I had almost a full thing of Mod Podge somewhere in my art supply closet. A few coats of that, and at last! I'm pleased enough. I still have to clean up the edges where the primer/blue/Mod Podge accidentally landed. Here's a photo of the nearly end result.

I also priced all the jewelry that wasn't priced yet, and put 20 or more pairs of earrings on their cards and labeled & bagged them. And in the meantime, I tried to make more necklaces. Only one bracelet (after my vow last blog to make more, but I discovered I had more than I realized).

The white beads are vintage, everything else is new - I've only got one more of these flowers left. I bought 4 a few years ago. I'm glad I didn't use them all up at once. I originally made this necklace with a different pendant, but decided it was a bad match. The necklace has been hanging around for a month until I finally made the connection that this flower would work. A friend of mine pointed out that the other black beads on the necklace sort of looked like they may be closed buds of more flowers. Never would have seen that, but I like it!

Another beautiful Lynn Davis connector, various pearls, rhinestone, glass beads, wire & sari ribbon. I started it, got frustrated, slept on it. Kept going, got frustrated again, slept on it once more and finally finished it on the third try. Guess the 3rd time really is a charm!

Another gorgeous raku pendant by Jessi of Ecclectic Trinkets, some knotted sari, sparkly crystals which perfectly complement the pendant, and annealed steel wire. That wire is SO hard to bend, and my right thumb/hand joint is crying today.

I usually try not to make things like this: pearls all around and a silver pendant. It's so common around here, though the pendant is usually some New Orleans themed item, but I had the (Hill Tribe) pendant and I had the pearls, and I can guarantee that it will go over well with my sister and her friends next week. They may be weirded out by all my sari and copper, but they'll at least like this.

I've had these black rhinestone balls for awhile, but haven't been able to figure out what to do with them until last night. They're pretty heavy, so I have 3 strands of stretch cord through them. And it is for someone with a very thin wrist. I made this one a few times over before I found the right combo to make it wearable for someone!

Some New Earrings

2011-11-10T13:15:00.000-06:00

Seems like all my posts lately are about new earrings. Oh well, that's what I'm making these days. Tonight, I vow I will do a couple of bracelets! I am trying to prepare for the Jewelry Party at my sister's, as well as an online Christmas Shop Hop (more on that soon).

And the pictures are courtesy of a paper towel and my cell phone. Sorry for the quality!

Yay! My new fancy amethyst brios plus some amazonite, LoSed copper wire and coppery settings I got at the show last week.

New rose quartz, little fw pearls, and some antique silver settings I recently got. And ever since, I've been seeing them around. Haha, oh well.

The new turquoise and long wooden rectangles. I keep repeating this general design, but I love these wooden rectangles for earrings. I wear mine all the time.

More turquoise and wood plus quartz & brushed silver potato chips. Plus my First Ever Made From My Hoarded Stash of Sterling Wire earwires. Go me! Usually, I'll just bend an eye pin, but I LOVE these earrings and I thought they deserved better.

Party Time!

2011-11-07T12:50:00.002-06:00

As I requested a few blogs back, I'm going to have a jewelry party! One of my sisters, who has lots of female friends (due to being a teacher, a mom, and someone who lives in a neighborhood where neighbors actually know each other) has graciously agreed to host, so long as I don't mind her making it a twofer party where she'll also be promoting some sort of home fragrance line. That might turn out to be a great combo! In any case, it's in two weeks and I've got to get busy. I intend to make as much jewelry as I can, but I also have to get my display together.

After fretting about it for months, but putting it off due to no real need, I finally have it! Clever BF pointed out to me that I already had what I was trying to describe to him. It just needs some revamping. When I was 14 or 15, my dad thoughtfully built me a drawing table, so I wouldn't have to draw on a pad on my lap sitting in my bed. He designed it so that the top would open up like a box, and I could keep my art supplies inside. Later in life, it became detached from its legs, and served as the surface on which I dyed satin shoes for weddings (which was my job for a year or so in college -- you can see dye stains in the picture on the edges). Ultimately, it became the giant heavy wood box I stored my art in and kept under my bed. Now 25 years later, it's going to have a new job!!! And again, it has to do with my creative efforts. It's been a good box.

Each interior panel measures 22.5 in (57 cm) x 41 in (104 cm), and because it is heavy and sturdy and hinged it stands up without any help!

So I immediately searched ebay for some knobs and found these!

They're 1.5 in (3.81 cm), and there were 40 of them for under $12 (and that includes shipping!) I'm planning to glue them on with some E6000, which, if you're unfamiliar, is glue strong enough to adhere a cow to an elephant. I'll have them in 3 rows, staggered 7-6-7, so necklace length won't be an issue.

Then, I'm going to get this super cheap paint sample from Lowe's (maybe I'll get 2 just in case).

And paint the whole thing turquoise!!!!! If I think it needs it, I might take some gesso and do a light wash over it. But I'll see when I get there.

I don't have many bracelets, so I think I'll display them on a raised bowl I have, that's pretty shallow and totally decorative. It's made of a dark jaspery looking stone. Maybe I should put some of my river rocks in it. I have a bunch.

As for earrings, I'm going to leave them on their cards (which already have their ingredients and prices on the back), and just get a couple of cheap trays - maybe I should also paint them with the leftover turquoise paint? And organize the earrings in the trays. Sound good? My sister has a huge formal dining room table with a pretty white on white floral table cloth -- oh and of course I'll have my trusty dress form to model a necklace or two, and provide some more height on the opposite side of the table to balance the tall box.

So all in all, I think I'm going to have a pretty cool display for very little cost! I can't wait!

Earrings Earrings Earrings!

2011-11-06T10:23:00.001-06:00

I used some of my new things to make some earrings last night! It took me hours to sort and reorganize my containers to make room for the new stuff, so by the time I made two pairs I was ready to crash. The other two are from Friday night.

Golem Studio heart beads. Lampwork clear beads from yukidesigns.

Mostly treasures from Heather's Boxes. Only the aqua Czech glass is new, and from Beadaholique.

Kristi Bowman's gorgeous ammonite copper charms, pearls from yesterday's spree, & carnelian.

More pearl sticks from yesterday's spree, some purple AB crystals, and purple Czech glass drops from Lima Beads. It's hard to photograph, but the pearl sticks are the darkest inky teal color.

Broke the Bank at the Gem Show

2011-11-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

I went there with ONE specific thing in mind: fancy, sparkly, faceted, briolettes. No pearls. No stones that I had to get just cos they were so pretty. No dollar strands of bling. But then I was lucky enough to win a $20 discount from one of my favorite vendors, just for responding "I'm Attending!" to the Facebook Event. Only 4 people bothered to respond, but still, I got that discount! So that was pretty exciting. And that vendor is my favorite seller of pearls, so.

So here's what I intended to buy: L-R, Labradorite, Moonstone (thinking of you Malin!), Chalcedony, Amethyst, Rose Quartz. All faceted and sparkly and beautiful. Yay!!!

The obligatory, but undeniably awesome pearls. Plus some turquoise from another vendor that snuck into this photo.

Dollar Bling. Sometimes, you just need the dollar bling.

People want their sugar skulls. I depleted my stash last week, so I had to restock. Plus carved jade in red (I have larger green like this), and faceted pearls! I was so excited to find them!

Six feet of copper rolo chain, which will someday meet Liver of Sulfur. Carved butterflies and some lovely rutilated quartz.

There were also a couple of findings & jewelry settings that weren't worth the photos. But overall, I think I scored!

On a Vintage Rhinestone Rondelle Kick, It Would Seem

2011-10-30T18:05:00.000-05:00

I'm loving the cooler weather we've had here lately -- for those of you who are dealing with snow and freezing temps, it's just been in the 60s here, which makes me very happy. But with the change in the weather came strong gusty winds which means all the crap gets blown around and I've spent the last two days sneezing my head off. I didn't make much this weekend -- just a few Day of the Dead skulls which are always requested this time of year, and a pair of really cute earrings I've yet to photograph. The pieces below I made during the week.

Verdigrised medallion from dimestoreemporium, rutilated quartz, freshwater pearl, vintage rhinestone rondelle, little turquoise bead, knotted sari silk.

Carved jade, vintage rhinestone rondelles, vintage glass pearls.

In other exciting news, I got a special order from someone at the hair salon for one of my molded birds-on-a-wire pendants. Two friends saw the one that was there, but only one could buy it. So now the other one wants one too. Yay!

Anyone Want to Have a Party?

2011-10-27T10:05:00.001-05:00

I'm on a spree, and I'm not going to stop until my wrists break! The carpal tunnel has been killing me for days. It's easy to let my lack of sales get me down, but then only so many people go to my hair salon. Etsy is a gigantic sea with kajillions of other fabulous items, though I have plenty of folks favoriting my jewelry. I really don't have everything I need (tables, tent, displays, big vehicle to haul it all around in) to participate in art/craft shows, so I've only done that twice (with shared tables). So I've been thinking it would be a good idea to have some sort of open house type thing, but it has to be someone else's house (living on the 3rd floor of a gated condo complex makes things complicated) and someone else's friends (mine are all pretty much tapped out). So I'm busy busy busy creating for the eventual explosion, once all the planets are properly aligned, etc. Anyone local interested in hosting an event for me? I'll bring food & drinks, and clean up, etc. Plus, I'll give you some jewelry for your troubles!

Anyway, here's some new stuff I've done this week.

Old & New: Czech glass, Czech crystal, turquoise, copper chain, spacers and bird.

Julsbeads lampwork pendant, copper chain & wire, hemp cord, and sari silk.

Copper wire, coral, and magnasite.

Team Treasury of the Week!!!

2011-10-24T18:35:00.000-05:00

A treasury I created today was awarded Team Treasury of the Week by Etsy Teams. Hooray!

You can see it here!

And because the theme of my treasury is Missoni, and because it was inspired by my new Missoni for Target dress that I just got this weekend, and because who wants to look at a blog with no photos:

p.s. don't worry, when I wear it for real, I'll have on better shoes or even boots.

Mostly Earrings

2011-10-23T11:28:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger! I haven't posted since the 7th! I've been pretty busy and distracted lately, but I have had a little time to make a few things. Mostly earrings.

Some vintage bits and some new parts in the first 4 pairs. All the settings came from dimestoreemporium, along with some other goodies I haven't used yet.

Sterling chain, vintage glass pearls, and re-used AB Czech glass amethyst beads.

Vintage crystals and gold tone spacers - these crystals have some sort of silvery coating that makes them extra sparkly.

Vintage crystals & gold spacers from the same old necklace that supplied the beads for the earrings above. Same super silvery sparkle - hard to photograph.

These faces were a bonus gift, since I ordered so much from dimestoreemporium! The green beads come from a vintage deco necklace. The aquamarine and rhinestone rondelles are new.

These were my first experiment in this style of hammered wire frames - the top loops could be more even, and I'll just keep these for myself, but I love the size and movement. So much fun!

Julsbeads lampwork beads and turquoise leather. These were the result of a failed attempt at using the leather with a pendant, but the leather was cut, and it was just the right amount and those Julsbeads were just screaming at me and these magically happened. I love when things come to be this way!

This was an old necklace that needed reworking. I made the pendant out of paper clay from a silicone mold I made of an antique pill case. I've used other pendants from the same mold before, including sending one to my first Bead Soup partner. I had originally attached it to the same sari ribbon you see here, but with a thin piece of gunmetal chain. I wore it a few times, but it was too spare and needed something more. After sitting idle for a year, I finally reworked it, and I'm happier with it now. Yay!

And for the first time in ages, I'm going list all this stuff (except the copper wire earrings) on etsy in just a bit. I keep taking my new stuff to the salon, but etsy needs some love too.

Bats in My Belfry

2011-10-07T12:40:00.004-05:00

Being the time of the season and all that, I decided to finally make my bat necklace! But instead of going Halloweeny with the color scheme, I just made it Autumny. African Opal, Carnelian, Czech crystal and copper wire -- plus the translucent resin bat. Another one I want to steal from myself, but it'll be going to the salon tomorrow; I had to give it a test run today though, right?

Long Overdue!

2011-10-01T23:11:00.000-05:00

It's October, and for the first time in forever, the weather here in New Orleans is PERFECT! A cool, breezy 72, and I couldn't be happier about it! Of course it will warm up again next week, but for now I'm loving it.

So I still haven't finished the Bead Soup hopping -- I've been very busy with being sick, work, and catching up on Breaking Bad. Does anyone else watch it? I've watched all 4 seasons (minus the two that have yet to air for this season) over the last 2 or 3 weeks. It's so addictive! For a while, I was punishing myself about the Bead Soup hop - I wouldn't let myself make anything until I was done. But there was only so long that was going to work. I'm going to keep hopping 'til I'm done. It'll just take awhile.

In any case, I finally managed to photograph all the stuff I've made lately. It's really not that much, but at least I've gotten some stuff done. I'll try to drop it off at the salon this week and see what's sold over the last 3 or 4 weeks since my last delivery.

For any of you Spotify users, I want to recommend super talented New Orleans artist, Trombone Shorty's album: Trombone Shorty – For True. It's really great, and I'm listening to it right now.

I can't decide if this one looks too Christmasy and if the two greens clash too much, but I like it anyway. (As usual, click to enlarge any pics.)

This was inspired by my new love of stick pearls after my own Bead Soup piece. I didn't realize these were drilled at the top though - I was hoping they were center drilled like the ones I used in my Soup necklace. I added some faceted rubies I bought at the last gem & jewelry show and some gunmetal rhinestone rondelles I recently bought. I'm going to have to get more soon, 'cos I LOVE them!

New lampwork from Julsbeads plus some rutilated quartz I had, and some copper rhinestone rondelles.

Trinity brass settings, which I LOVE! And some faceted black crystal. I'm not going to steal these from myself, but I'm so tempted.

Wacky little pirate ship charms from Heather's Big Box o' Vintage Goodies. They're such cute earrings though, right?

Stick pearls, labradorite, and those silver beads are soup leftovers!

More of the new Julsbeads lampwork beads with copper drops I liver of sulfured.

Wood, jade, and agate. They're very eco-modern, as I was describing them last night.

My first ever use of cabochons! More goodies from Heather's box, glued onto some filigree rounds. So retro vintage cute.

Celebrity Party Guest!

2011-09-20T22:35:00.001-05:00

To see my Bead Soup, click here!

I have a lot of catching up to do, as the Bead Soup Reveal Day was the same day as my rescheduled birthday party (for those of you who aren't regular readers, it had to be postponed due to a tropical storm on Labor Day Weekend). I looked as much as I could during the day, and then as much as I was able to on Sunday (I was feeling a little rough). And I'm trying to get through 10 or 20 a night until I'm done.

But the most exciting thing happened at my party! My friend Bridget, who is in my etsy circle and who I have not seen in months, walked into the bar wearing a lovely party dress. I got up to hug her and better examine her dress when a very familiar sight caught my eye. Could it be? Was I really seeing what I was seeing? Was it Lorelei's "Soaring in Africa" necklace? In my presence? After it had been staring up at me for months from the cover of this summer's Stringing Magazine? You know, this one?

Sure enough, it was. Bridget had noticed it when I ♥'ed it on etsy and she just had to have it.

What a wonderful birthday surprise that was!!! I couldn't stop telling everyone all night, but I think I was the only one to truly get it. Though Bridget was happy to discover her necklace had been on a magazine :)

On another note, I don't participate in the I ♥ Macro thing everyone else does, but I wanted to share this photo I took the other day. This hole in the sidewalk is no bigger in diameter than a Sharpie, yet a little plant saw fit to grow there. How cute!

Soup du Jour (9-17-11)

2011-09-17T10:32:00.001-05:00

Time for the Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal! If you've made it here, congratulations and thank you. Due to my not checking every link like Lori always says, the link to my blog on the list most people are posting takes you to my partner's blog. It's my own fault for not double checking. Oops!

To see what my partner Gretchen Nation sent me, click here. And make sure to check out what she made; I think she did a beautiful job.

I think I had the same problem as a lot of people -- I completely made and scrapped two previous versions of this necklace. I wanted to include at least a little of almost all of what she sent in one necklace, but it just looked too busy or tacky or incongruous. So ultimately, I made a typical me style necklace, just with different beads. I really don't know why I stopped there. I have so much more good stuff to play with. I just had it in my head that I was done, and now seeing everyone else's multiple pieces I feel a bit underachievy :(

The first thing I did was get the focal together. That never changed. I was so crazy about the two pearl stick pieces the way I had them stacked with the blue beads - it reminded me of a Japanese character. And in case you hadn't yet figured out that I have a bit of a Japan obsession, I do.

In fact, I expect this pattern to become a recurring theme in future jewelry. I love it. It's so simple, but it really appeals to me. Now I just have to get a ton of those pearl stick things.

After I came up with that, I knew it would be perfect above the long shell focal.

I wire wrapped it all together with my favorite antique silver colored 24g wire. Nice and messy wraps to go with the messy natural look of the pearls and the focal.

I tried making a big fussy thing with tons of dangly bits -- it was way too crowded and looked forced. I tend to prefer more simple minimal designs. The focal needed to be the star of the show here, so I thought maybe I'd just hang it on the coordinating cream colored piece of silk she sent. That was boring. I wound up just picking a few of the beads she sent and went about wire wrapping them in a simple pattern and then added the clasp. The only thing of my own that I used is the wire and some jumprings. I'm quite pleased with the result even if it's not TOTALLY different. It's just a Heidi necklace, but with different beads than I would normally use. Until now, that is! I will be repeating that Japanese character thing.

See the link at very the top of my page to go to the complete list of BSBP participants!

I will be donating this necklace to the Fur Ball - a big fundraising event in October to raise money for local animal rescue groups. They're having an auction, and I wanted to help out. I got my dog from an animal rescue group, and I know they need all the help they can get.

Happy Hopping!

Tea with Her Majesty

2011-09-13T13:18:00.001-05:00

Well my first attempt at having a birthday weekend got Tropical Stormed out, but this past weekend I was able to make up for some of it. Sunday, I had my family party. My mom made my favorite --Veal Piccata and a delicious carrot cake. My 5 year old nephew helped me blow out the candles and there are photos, but they are as of yet not in my possession.

I do have plenty of photos from the English Tea Room, where some friends and I enjoyed High Tea. They brought out the Queen for a photo op. (And before anyone corrects me that pinkies out are uncouth, we were just being goofy and I am fully aware!) We had a really fun time and I left with 3 bags of tea -- Paris Black, Maple Cream, and Baroness Grey. Mmm...

The Queen and I.

Teas and knees.

Charlotte the Infrequent Beader and Ashley.

I don't think the Doctor is in here.

Also, on the day after my birthday, I received a very unexpected and wonderfully generous present in the mail! Rebecca Anderson sent me the lovely Moogin Poppy necklace of hers I'd been eyeing for months! I nearly fainted with joy when I opened the package. Thank you again Rebecca! I love it :)

I also went shopping and bought some fabulous shoes and I got my new drivers license (with a fairly decent picture, which is always a plus). And my mom introduced me to a young coworker who had seen my etsy and really liked my jewelry. She bought a few things, including some of the most favorited pieces I had on etsy: this necklace and this bracelet.

I will leave you with a necklace I made with one of the Golem Studio pendants I treated myself to for my birthday, and another necklace made with some beautiful deco bits from Heather's Big Box o' Vintage Treasures.

For all the Owl Lovers out there.

2011-09-04T22:23:00.001-05:00

Watch this video. It's hilarious!!!

Rotate your owl!

This is the most bizarre, yet enjoyable thing I've seen in a long time!!!

Lee Crashed My Party!

2011-09-03T15:42:00.001-05:00

My birthday is next week. The one we all dread. The Big 4-0. So I knew I had to do something really special. After much deliberation and opinion gathering, I decided the easiest and most likely to be successful plan was to have an early evening until late night gathering at a centrally located bar -- tomorrow. There's this couple I'm friends with -- one works there, and the other insisted on cooking jambalaya for 50. Another friend was going to make my cake, Steve and I were going to pick up some finger sandwiches, and I was going to make my world famous guacamole and my new specialty, sun dried tomato & basil hummus. I was so very excited, I could hardly wait. And then that stupid Tropical Storm Lee developed and decided to rain on my parade. I awoke around 3 am to discover the power was off, and then an hour or so later, the first of three robo-calls announcing a tornado warning again woke me.

So after much deliberation and opinion gathering, I decided to cancel my party. I hope to reschedule it soon, but September is a very busy month, and it'd be a little anti-climactic to celebrate my birthday a month late. Things have kind of slowed down for now, but the storm isn't moving. It's just sitting there dropping rain all over the Gulf Coast. They promise much more over the next two days. Fortunately, I didn't get the finger sandwiches. But I did have 10 avocados ripening on the window sill. We polished off one batch of guacamole last night. Four more batches to go...

The silver lining, I guess, is that I got to finish up a few pieces of jewelry and even managed to photograph them in a brief sunny reprieve we had a couple of hours ago. Tonight, I'll be making a huge pot of Donald Link's Chicken & Rice with Mushrooms Soup. My mom gave everyone his cookbook a couple of Christmases ago, and I've made this soup quite a few times. It's easy and delicious, and will be the perfect antidote to all this howling wind and rain. I wonder if it pairs well with guacamole...

I Feel Like a Star!

2011-09-01T09:58:00.002-05:00

The delightful & talented Rebecca Anderson interviewed me for her blog! Thank you so much Rebecca! Go check it out, and if you're not already following her, please do so. She makes the most lovely jewelry.

And since nobody likes a blog without pictures, I'll show you just one of the beads I bought from Golem Studio's Big Summer Sale yesterday. I splurged, since it was such a great sale and I totally love Golem pendants and it's my birthday next week and I had to get myself something special, right?

Funny, none of the beads I got were the things I had initially been drooling over, but I am quite thrilled with what I chose. This one in particular reminds me of a dress my mom made for herself in the 70s that I always liked. She recently gave it to one of my nieces. I want to be selfish and keep this one for me. Sometimes, you just have to do that! I mean, it was my birthday present to myself.

Art Food Lodging: BEAD SOUP FOR ME ~

2011-08-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

Check out my Bead Soup Partner's blog! She posted her pics of what I sent her :)

Art Food Lodging: BEAD SOUP FOR ME ~: Lori Anderson of Pretty Beads is once again having her wonderful Bead Soup Party . I joined this amazing group of beaders and my sou...

A Mother of Pearl Buckle as Focal

2011-08-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

I think this buckle might have come in Heather's first Box o' Vintage Goodies. The chain, which I believe is sterling, and is definitely old, came from her second box. The rhinestone button dangle was my grandmother's. Of course a piece of sari fabric ribbon had to be included, and a pewter hook clasp finishes it off. I like it, but I think it's a bit too unusual for the salon. It's going to have to go on etsy.

Oh, and the painting in the background was something I painted in college. I gave it to a dear friend for her birthday and I've missed it ever since. Last year, she decided it was time to downsize her life and keep only what she needed to live. It was a total surprise when I received it in the mail. I'm so glad to have her back! Though I have to say I totally envy my friend's minimalism!

More Soup and a Unicorn if You Can Handle It!

2011-08-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

Since my partner, Gretchen Nation, received her soup - I'll show you what I sent her. She said she intends to blog about it by tomorrow, I think? Since her style is definitely vintage and on the delicate side, I decided to send her a rustic / organic / nature themed soup.

I can't wait to see what she'll do with it! The leaf is by my friend Jessi who's made some other beautiful pendants I've used.

Now, here's some stuff I made over the weekend -- some of which derived from Heather's Big Box o' Vintage Goodness.

I bought that Sterling Unicorn head from Beadaholique some time ago, and I was just waiting for the right piece to come together. That drilled river rock has a purple tint to it that's hard to discern from the photo. I'll have to reshoot it if I put it on etsy.

The gold plated Aspen leaf, as well as the Mexican coins & some of the various beads and chain used throughout are from Heather's box. Now, I want to finish another piece I started the other night, and then I can start playing with my soup!

My Soup Arrived!

2011-08-14T18:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, my soup arrived - but it was storming and I wasn't able to get good light for photos until today. Meet my partner Gretchen Nation and have a look at her etsy shop. She makes wonderful jewelry with vintage parts, especially broken antique German dolls:

So I was very excited to see what she'd send me. The soup was plentiful enough in itself, but then she sent some extra goodies too! I didn't photograph that, but there was a soap, some various ribbon, some cute vintage plastic circles, and a few little broken dolls! I love it -- I can't wait to play with them.

But now onto the soup. Click to enlarge.

I can't wait to play with it and see what I come up with. So many ingredients to choose from!

Golem Birthday Set & Fun Old Stuff

2011-08-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

I didn't really get much made this week -- my massage therapist banned me from jewelry making for a week, but when I told her I just had to make one thing for a birthday present, she relented on that. Thursday was my hair stylist's birthday, and since she's been so good to sell my jewelry at her shop, I wanted to make her something really special. She loves cats and bright colors, so I was pretty sure she'd be happy with the necklace and earrings I made her, but I was just a little bit nervous that she might not be as wild about it as I'd hoped. Well, turns out she absolutely LOVED it, and couldn't stop saying great things about it. Stupid me, I should have whipped out my phone and snapped a picture of her wearing it! But at least I had the foresight to take pics beforehand. Here it is:

I used MissFickleMedia saffron rings, as well as the adorable Golem Design Studio cat pendant and flower beads! Also included: sari ribbon, faceted Amazonite, Czech glass, shell beads, carnelian, copper, and dyed jade and aqua metal discs.

I love that I had just the PERFECT piece of Sari Ribbon for the piece! So serendipitous.

So onto the fun old stuff. My friend Heather sent me another Big Box o' Vintage Jewelry Parts. And WOW! This might be the best box yet. There were more than a few incredible items included. I photographed most of the best, but there's plenty more waiting to be harvested for beads or rhinestone rondelles, etc.

As usual, click to enlarge any photos.

So many wonderful things here!

What would you do with those MOP buckles? The narrow one has sharp prongs. I'm not really interested in making belts. But I'm scared that if I try to remove them, I'll break the buckles. Any ideas?

Love this little charm! The Figurettes? Who were they?

Not sure what this was or what to do with it - it's puffy, and there's a bar in the back, plus some sort of hanger looking thing. It's cool looking though.

Also love this green face.

These might be my favorites!

I wish there wasn't any missing enamel. It's so pretty, but I don't know what to do with it.

What would you do with these things? I'd love to hear your ideas!

New Beads & Last Chance for Etsy Sale!

2011-07-29T10:57:00.000-05:00

Darn you Lima Beads! :shaking fists at sky:

They got in some new designer Czech glass, and honestly, who amongst us can resist it? At least Lima's kind enough to let us order half strands :D And I truly did need one of the ones I got to go with a new Golem Studios pendant I bought last week from Artbeads.com's Christmas in July sale. :shakes fists again:

So here's what I got.

That little purple thing in the bottom right corner was just to fill up space in the collage :)

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that July's ending and with that so is my 15% off etsy sale! (the code is FINALLY), so you have through Sunday if there's anything you've had your eye on. And as always, free shipping to the US!

And a little P.S. my friend Heather is shipping my next big box o' vintage jewelry today! I can't even wait to tear it open and see what she found!

Wish List Monday 7-25

2011-07-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

Click the images to go to their etsy pages. Apparently I'm wishing for a lot today! And click the starfish at the bottom to visit Copper Diem's wish list for today.

Oh how I want cartbeforethehorse's "Zoee Bug" doll ♥

tinatarnoff's paper cuts are so cute!

I'm not a cab user, but this one from Beadwyfe might make me start!

BeadsStory's bracelet is so simple, but I love it!

Marysgranddaughter makes the cutest embroidered art.

"Ursul" by Almaspottery kinda creeps me out, but I'm so drawn to it!

Is it weird that I want to eat these Chalcedony briolettes by neatothings?

Sister Hair Day & More

2011-07-23T23:34:00.000-05:00

Every couple of months, one of my sisters and I make our hair appointments together and make a big day of it with lunch and shopping or whatever other hanging out. I've mentioned it on here before. Well today was one of those days. I was in such desperate need for a cut, she took about 5 or 6 inches off! It comes just to the top of my shoulders. I didn't take pics, 'cos it was rainy and humid all day, so as soon as I left the salon, I was stuck with way more puff than is desirable. Maybe tomorrow.

So while at the salon for the first time since the end of May or so, I replenished my jewelry stock. I'd taken it all away back then, and I gave her all new stuff today with my new packaging. I think it looks a lot better. 7 necklaces and 21 pairs of earrings. I haven't made any new bracelets because no one ever buys them! Plus I have the majority of them listed on etsy. I thought for sure I took a picture of this beautiful agate, quartz and copper necklace I'd made. But apparently I hadn't. I'm so upset, 'cos I like to have pictures of everything I make -- at least the really nice things. Well, maybe if it doesn't sell in a couple of months, I'll take it back and put it on etsy.

Anyway, here's something I did remember to take pictures of. I'm really in love with it -- it features a Lynn Davis pewter Fauxtique connector, freshwater pearls, a vintage rhinestone ball, a piece of aquamarine, and antiqued silver craftwire plus a pewter clasp. Part of me hopes no one buys it so I can steal it from myself. I know I'm not the only one who does that, right?

(Click to enlarge!)

Another exciting piece of news is that my friend Charlotte started a blog today! She wants to participate in the upcoming Bead Soup Blog Party, and she's been meaning to do a blog anyway. She hasn't posted any photos of her jewelry yet, but believe me - it's fantastic. I'll let you know when she's got something to look at, but click on over and read what she had to say in her first blog anyway. She cracks me up.

AND! As if that's not good enough news, my friend Heather informed me she's got another Big Box of Jewelry/Stuff almost ready to send! Remember that last big box she sent in March? I can't even wait to dig through it and see what kind of goodies are in there. She's teasing me with, "deco era Czech glass, art glass, & half a Victorian enamel buckle" !!?!?!?!!

Also, just a reminder -- my etsy coupon code (FINALLY) is still good for 15% off through the end of July, and there's no shipping! So if you've had your eye on anything, now would be a good time...

Wish List Monday

2011-07-18T12:55:00.001-05:00

Amy from Copper Diem started something new last week: Wish List Monday. She had some lovely picks today. I'm going to play along this week, and you should too. Click the blue starfish at the bottom to visit Amy's page.

I want pretty much everything in Elukka's shop!

I ♥ Cori's art! I already have two, but I want them all!

I adore Vaivanat's felt work. Maybe I'll treat myself to this for my birthday?

An Italian Greyhound. Hatz4brats uses hers for models, and makes the silliest, sweetest pet accessories.

Give Away Winners!

2011-07-17T18:36:00.000-05:00

I went to random.org, and the winners are:

First Place: Amy of Copper Diem!
Second Place: Christine of Sweet Girl Design!

Congratulations ladies! Here's the link back to the blog. Amy gets first choice, and Christine gets the ones left over. Please send me your addresses and I'll get the earrings out in the mail to you this week.

Thanks for playing along everyone! And don't forget my etsy coupon code (FINALLY) is good for 15% off through the end of July.

Have a good week :)

I Can't Be Stopped!

2011-07-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

First, a reminder that the drawing for my give away is tomorrow! So if you haven't commented or blogged / tweeted / Facebooked about it - time's almost up! However, my etsy coupon code (find it by viewing the give away blog, linked above) is still good for the rest of July. I've added quite a few items this week too.

Now, on to some of my new stuff. I've been wishing for some of those drilled river rocks for quite some time now, and I finally got some a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait to keep experimenting with them. Here's my first piece.

River rock, fine silver leaf, cultured pearls, labradorite, wood, apatite & antique silver wire & findings. (Click to enlarge)

And here are a couple of pairs of new earrings made mostly with the things I got at the gem & bead show last week.

Brushed silver plated cones, dyed jade beads.

Carved bone flowers, agate, Czech glass, copper wire and dangles I antiqued.

New Arrivals + Give Away Reminder

2011-07-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

I ordered these last week, and they arrived yesterday. They're all much bigger in person than I was imagining even though the seller gave the dimensions and I got out my ruler. I have a really hard time with that. They are all between 6 - 6.5 cm. Still, I'm excited about using them, and I've got some ideas percolating. It might be ages before I get to them though.

What would you do with these? I got two of the bats, so I can be twice as creative with them! I would love to hear your ideas :)

Also, just a reminder about my give away and etsy coupon code! Click here in case you missed the blog over the weekend.

New Stuff with My New Stuff

2011-07-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

After I procrastinated for a really long time by sorting all my new beads and deciding it was time for some copper to be Liver-of-Sulfured, and of course I had to tidy up my work area -- I finally stopped being a coward and sat down and started on a simple necklace. It's hard when faced with so many possibilities to settle on just one.

Chalcedony, quartz, vintage gold-plated chain & clasp, brass wire

Pleased with the result, I was ready to tackle something more complicated. A few weeks ago, I got some new pendants from Jessi of EcclecticTrinkets, and I'd been dying to use one. This and this also came from her. Realizing how great her Raku Buddha would look with my new carved jade beads, I set to work and created this.

Carved jade, carved bone, lava, Czech glass, carnelian, antique brass, Raku Buddha pendant

I'm not listing these on etsy just yet (unless anyone has to have one of them, let me know and I'll make a special listing for you). I need to have some new things to take to the hair salon. I haven't had a single thing for sale there since the beginning of June!

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget about my earring give away and etsy coupon code from yesterday's blog.

Hope you all have a good week :)

Finally! A Give Away!

2011-07-09T11:36:00.001-05:00

Oh me, oh my. Yesterday I went to our quarterly bead and gem show. Having missed the past two, I went absolutely hog wild and spent twice my budget! Whoops! But there were SO. MANY. GORGEOUS. STONES. I even broke down and splurged on a few more expensive items. But, that will just inspire me to get busy, which is something I've really been trying to do lately. There's been so much going on, and this darn oppressive heat just saps the life out of me. The ideas have been coming to me though, so after I'm done with this, I will get started! I'll post pics of my new loot at the bottom after all the other important info.

Now for the give away part!!!

After having an etsy shop for ages, I finally managed to list a bunch of items! So in honor of the occasion, I'm doing this give away AND a coupon code for my shop! The code is: FINALLY and that gets you 15% off. US Shipping is always free (unless you want tracking/insurance), and International is only $3 (unless you want tracking/insurance). The code will be good through the end of July. Just type it in when you're placing your order and etsy will do the rest for you.

The winner will get to choose which pair of earrings she (or he) wants. But wait! The runner up will get the other pair! So we have TWO WINNERS! That's pretty exciting. Right? The winners will be announced next Sunday, July 17th.

Both pairs feature bead caps / dangles made by me from decorative tins.

And you all know the drill right?

1: Follow my blog (people who already follow - just comment, you'll be entered!)

2: Mention my give away / etsy shop on your Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Leave separate comments for each, and you'll be entered for each act of social media kindness :)

Thank you all in advance for playing along. I could really use a few etsy sales to take some of the sting out of my gem & bead show binge!!!!

Mushrooms, Birds, & Handmade Clasps

2011-06-27T17:01:00.001-05:00

I haven't been particularly inspired in the last couple of weeks. I don't know if it's the heat, or because I'm looking forward to the new things I'll be getting at the upcoming bead show next month. But I'm just not feeling it. I did, however, manage to come up with a few things last week. I am really enjoying making my own clasps at least.

Anyone know what the pendant is? It was unmarked when I got it a year and a half ago. Some sort of jasper I'm guessing. It's really pretty and goes well with the millefiori/foiled beads I used.

Remember when I made the bird pendants from a mold I created? I do like the way this one came out. I'd made myself a necklace with one at the time, but now that I've made this, I'm going to have to revisit the other one. It also includes some betel nut beads and Czech glass.

These mod little earrings are blackstone and Czech glass.

And these cute retro styled mushrooms are paired with faux coral.

Can't wait 'til the bead show. It's no Bead & Button or Tucson, but it's the best we get here in NOLA and I'm excited!

I Won! I Won!

2011-06-20T12:07:00.002-05:00

***EDIT*** Sadly, I got confirmation from the artist himself that nope, he had nothing to do with this. And then someone pointed out that it was probably done for display purposes at a record store at the time. That seems so obvious now, I don't know why I didn't see that right away. Oh well, it's still cool looking and looks great in my living room, so I can't complain too much. ***END EDIT***

Remember that piece of artwork I was hoping to win at the Art Auction I mentioned a couple of blogs ago? Well, I won. I really expected to get outbid by some ridiculous amount of money, but it didn't happen. I guess it was just the wrong demographic, because the right person would have done that. There was only a little competition, and I got it for a totally reasonable price!

I know you're all wondering what it is, aren't you? It is (allegedly) the original mock-up artwork for David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album. I have NO idea what on earth that was doing at an auction house in New Orleans for the last 20 years, but there it was. It was discovered a few months ago, and donated to the PBS Art Auction where I have been volunteering for the past several years. It's like it was meant for me!

So here it is:

And here I am next to it so you can see how huge it is.

I seriously cannot believe I own this. I've loved David Bowie as long as I can remember. When I was 16, I saw him on the Glass Spiders tour. I was smashed against the stage, and he came over to the edge and pointed his finger, waving it around searching for The One, and that was me! He grabbed my hand and held it and sang to me for a minute or so, then quickly whipped his hand back ignoring all the other people who were trying to get what I got. Some random guy standing next to me turned and shouted, "HE touched YOU!!!" voicing my exact feelings. And it was almost as exciting last night when the Auctioneer banged the gavel down and cried SOLD!

My TV Modeling Debut

2011-06-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

Remember how last time I was talking about donating a necklace to my local PBS station's Art Auction? And how I was intending to bid on a particular piece of art? Well, the first weekend of the Auction just passed (the art I'm bidding on isn't up until this coming Sunday, same goes for the necklace I donated), and I volunteered as usual. For the first time, however, they needed me to model a piece of jewelry (not mine!) for the camera. Here I am!

I didn't really make much this week -- I was too busy reworking my packaging. I had a stamp made with my name, etc., and made little business cards by stamping it onto colorful cardstock. Then, I got some fun patterned cardstock and redid all my earring cards. I stamped my stamp on the back and wrote the contents of each pair of earrings, and the price. They look way better than they did on my previous white cards with my old banner at the bottom. I couldn't think of much to do with my necklaces and bracelets, but I was pretty excited about the earrings. That's what tends to sell the most anyway. Here's a pic of some of them.

While I was at it, I decided to update my etsy shop! Finally! And while that was going on, someone decided to put this necklace:

in an Etsy Treasury!

It's my first time, so I'm pretty excited about it!

Finally, there's this necklace I made yesterday. I wasn't sure how I felt about the Cloisonne fish, since he reminds me of old ladies in the 80s (he came from the big box o' stuff my friend gave me a few months ago), but I've grown fonder of him. Besides, the 80s are totally back, and there will always be fish people. Also, for those who've been paying attention, you might recognize the clasp on this necklace. I recently won it from a giveaway on Lori Anderson's blog :)

Thanks for coming by! And look for a giveaway soon...

A Mermaid & Synchronicity

2011-06-04T17:09:00.000-05:00

I finally used my first Green Girl piece that I've been hoarding for a while now. I'd always known the mermaid would be hanging onto a piece of sari silk, but I'd envisioned much brighter aqua colors. However, I went with this lightly shimmery sea foam green piece, and that dictated the rest of the color scheme. Labradorite chips and mauve Czech crystals, plus some gunmetal chain and a vintage rhinestone button finish off the design. I'm quite pleased with it. The colors are understated, which is a nice contrast for everything that's going on with the necklace. It looks great on too!

Last night, I went on an earring making binge! I have an event next weekend, and I need to have lots of jewelry with me. Every year, I donate and volunteer for our local PBS's televised Art Auction. This year, I donated the necklace I made for the last Bead Soup Blog Party. I can't wait to see what happens! I get so nervous watching my creations on TV and hearing the bids come in (or not come in).

Well, the auction starts next weekend and the other volunteers always insist that I bring my jewelry. I went to my hair salon today to pick up everything there as well, so I should have a pretty good selection for people to peruse. I really hope things sell well because there's a particular piece of art being auctioned that I have EVERY intention of owning. And the more I sell, the higher I can bid on that piece. I will post all about it when I win it, because I will!!!

Anyway, here are some of the earrings I made last night.

Quartz w/ annealed steel wire. I admit I was inspired by Malin de Koning here. (Please forgive me Malin!!! Yours are so much better anyway ♥)

Jasper, carved bone, and Czech crystal.

Dyed jade, quartz, Czech glass, & copper.

Dyed jade, Imperial jasper, & gunmetal discs.

Amazonite, labradorite, Czech crystals, vintage rhinestone rondelles & antiqued brass cones.

I kinda freaked out an hour or so ago when I checked my email and saw one of those 2-Day Designer Closeout Sale Things (Rue La La, Haute Look, Beyond the Rack, etc.), and one of my favorite jewelry designers, Lori Leavitt was featured. I excitedly clicked the link, eager to see what was available. And what did I see but this!

It's just like the earrings I made last night! Great minds, and all that I guess...

Short & Sweet

2011-05-31T13:51:00.001-05:00

Because my computer's already crashed twice, and my lunch hour totally got pre-empted by work, I'm going to make this short & sweet. Here's my latest & greatest.

Red Czech glass beads, my own hand made red tin beadcaps, ice blue vintage semiprecious stone beads, gunmetal wire, chain & clasp.

Coconut shell beads & Czech glass.

Dyed turquoise beads & antiqued bronze owls and bead caps.

Antique bronze swirly drops & faceted garnet beads.

Recycled rhinestones and shell rounds.

Pink Lucite flowers w/ Swarovski crystals (request for a friend).

I've got something coming up soon -- I just need to figure out a clasp and one small detail, but it's my first necklace with a Green Girl Studios piece, and I'm pretty excited about it!

Enameled Beads Give-Away!!!

2011-05-24T11:43:00.000-05:00

Barbara Lewis is having the best give-away on her blog!

Look what you can win!!!

Her enameled beads are fabulous, and you can have a Look Inside her book on Amazon to see more about how she makes them, and how you can too. I would love to learn how to enamel beads, but until I have some sort of dedicated workspace, I'll just have to read about it and enjoy the beads without making them myself.

Anyway, go check out her page for the fabu give-away, and the info on her book!

Just in Time for the Hot Hot NOLA Spring Weather...

2011-05-22T19:58:00.000-05:00

a nice Autumny owl necklace!

What can I say, I'm a few months behind/ahead of the times. Oh well - we all still like owls don't we? My friend Jessi made the owl pendant. I got it from her last time she was in town at Christmas. Now that she's back in town for the summer, it reminded me I really needed to do something with it. I'm glad I waited though, because most of the beads I used in this necklace were fairly recent acquisitions.

I have been too busy this weekend to accomplish much in terms of jewelry. Though I did meet up with someone who just had to have the bunny earrings from last week's post. Unusual to have a local customer I don't know, so it was nice to meet her. Then Saturday, I went to my hair salon to drop off a few new items and guess what! Someone bought the yellow necklace! I was so so very happy to hear that it'd sold. I knew it would find a home, but I didn't know it would go so quickly!

And I got a Very Exciting™ package in the mail this weekend as well. I was a lucky winner of one of the beautiful toggle clasps Lori Anderson recently gave away on her blog.

I can't wait to use it! But I will wait until the right design presents itself. I hate when I use something hastily just to use it instead of waiting 'til the perfect piece comes along.

Bunnies, Flowers, and Resin

2011-05-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

I was SO very excited when Artbeads.com had a 50% off sale last week and saw that some of my favorite Golem Studio pendants were included! I ordered two, and I couldn't wait to put at least one of them to use.

Golem Studio pendant, missficklemedia saffron rings, Czech glass, bone, jasper, antique bronze, sari ribbon & handmade clasp.

The next necklace I made for myself to go with a new top I bought. I had a wedding to attend over the weekend, and it was the perfect excuse to make myself something new. I'm sure I'll keep it, as half my wardrobe is black & gray anyway.

Hematite nuggets, Lucite & rhinestone flower, rhinestone rondelles, vintage black beads, vintage rhinestone, gunmetal wire.

And finally, some fun earrings.

Bunnies! and cute aqua metal wavy disks.

Resin & coral and my handmade earwires.

Who Knew How Much I Could Love Yellow???

2011-05-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I found this fun vintage Lucite yellow & blue flower (I found two actually!) and I just had to have it. I spent several days this week agonizing about the perfect beads to go with it, and scoured my fave online (and in person) bead stores only to find the perfect solution in my very own stash! I wanted to jump for joy at 2 am last night when I finished making it. I don't have a single thing that would go with it. Neither that yellow or blue look good on me, but I know someone out there will be so happy to have it.

Before I made the yellow & blue necklace, I was compelled to use one of my precious carved butterflies. I was trying to avoid monochrome and I was really trying to avoid The Aqua & Brown thing, and what's springier and more stylish than honeysuckle pink cherry quartz? I really do agonize, I promise these things don't come together as easily as it would seem upon seeing the finished product. I'm sure everyone else does that too. But sometimes it feels like I spend hours putting together just the right combo for a very simple pair of earrings or something. Anyway, the simple, but agonized-over butterfly necklace:

Finally, here's a pair of amethyst earrings with some fine silver dangly leaf charms. I made those Thursday I think.

The reason I had to make those necklaces last night was because I had a hair appointment this morning, and I wanted to bring in some fresh new pieces to the salon. Jeanne loved everything I brought, and even my picky sister really liked a couple of the earrings. But sadly, not one thing sold since my last trip there, which was about 3 weeks ago. I can only assume it was because it's Jazz Fest season, and most of her clientele are Jazz Fest fans.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Jazz Fest, it's a 2 week long music festival here in New Orleans, that attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year. It can be quite expensive, by the time you buy your tickets and buy all the wonderful Creole, Cajun, and Carribbean food (not to mention alcohol). It's very easy to spend well over $100 a day. So hopefully after people's budgets recover from Jazz Fest, they'll get back to buying my jewelry!

P.S. Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there!

P.P.S. As if my poor dog hasn't been through enough lately, she got stung by a bee last night! She's okay now, but she was limping and licking her paw for hours. Poor baby!

No Time to be Chatty

2011-05-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

My productive streak has indeed continued. Hooray!

I made a Shannon Levart inspired bracelet.

And several pairs of earrings (including one for myself, not pictured).

And just because I'm always talking about my dog, I thought I'd include pictures of our cat. I had to buy her this fancy contraption to elevate her food so the dog couldn't reach it. It took a few days to adjust, but now she likes eating up there.

Hang on to Yourself

2011-04-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

I've been somewhat productive this week. Hooray for me! And considering there was yet another incident with my dog that's pretty amazing. She's back to normal sick now, instead of omgshe'sabouttodie sick, which was Monday and Tuesday. And just from sneaking a little dog food on Sunday!?

So here are some earrings and a bracelet I've made this week. I started another bracelet last night, but I still have more to do before it's done.

Recycled gun charm & black beads, new coral red beads.

Springy Jade Necklace

2011-04-23T15:10:00.000-05:00

I haven't been very inspired lately. I've had too much going on to be stressed out about, and the last thing I want to do when I feel that way is make jewelry. I did, at the very least, detangle and sort through one very messy skein of sari ribbon. I also managed to make one pair of earrings and a necklace.

It's been scary and expensive dealing with my dog's health, but it seems like we've figured out the problem (pancreatitis, which is apparently recurring and also potentially fatal), and are working toward keeping her well for the long run (very restricted diet, keeping her away from the cat's food, & antibiotics). At least she's acting like her normal self again. Thanks for the concern everyone :)

Hopefully, my inspiration will return in full force soon. Spring is never a good season for me anyway. People think I'm weird, but I find it as depressing as a lot of people find winter. I joke that I have reverse-Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it's true. I can't function in all the sun and the heat. Dark & cool is when I thrive. Anyway, here's the necklace & earrings. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope I'll be more participatory on my own and on everyone else's blogs soon!

Recycled jade pendant & small bead on clasp, rainbow new jade bead,
recycled sari silk ribbon, antique finished copper wire & clasp

Because some people like to see it on for actual scale.

Gunmetal findings, vintage aqua glass beads, recycled black glass beads, white rose-carved glass beads.

Dress Form Available at (My) Steinmart

2011-04-16T15:03:00.000-05:00

I know many of you have commented on my dress form -- I just wanted to let you know that I went to Steinmart today, and there is STILL ONE LEFT! It's $49.99, and the thing's probably 3 ft tall. It's sturdy, heavy, and well made. While I was there, I heard an announcement that they have some policy that if there's something you want, but they don't have it in your size - they'll call other stores and have it shipped directly to you. SO, it might be possible to call and say you know there's one at this location:

2840 Veterans Memorial Blvd.
Metairie, LA 70002
504-831-0655

See if they can ship it to you. $50 is a STEAL for one of these things!

Here's a pic to remind you what it looks like.

On the jewelry front, I've had a pretty hectic week, so I haven't made much. I did do a lovely necklace with that red butterfly I got a few months back.

But I didn't take a photo of it, and I sold it right away. I also made a pair of earrings last night -- trying to find the inspiration, but sleep took over once I was done with the one pair.

I had very different plans for today, but I awoke to the sound of my dog puking. Again. I haven't even updated y'all about the last time or two that she's been ill. It's been a long time, it seems. They're finally doing blood work - clearly treating the symptoms wasn't enough. Poor thing had to have the blood taken from her jugular! Her little legs just weren't providing good veins. She's getting old, and her vet said he could find enough wrong with her for six dogs. So we'll see what the blood work reveals. Hopefully nothing too grim.

Meanwhile, I better get busy making jewelry so I can sell enough to cover her ever growing vet bills.

A Very Bracelety Day

2011-04-09T12:25:00.001-05:00

I've been working on these the last couple of nights, and finished the last one this morning. I love bracelets, even though I don't wear them often. I hope these will find happy wrists :)

Vintage taupe bicones & rhinestone rondelles, vintage (or at least upcycled) glass pearls, recycled sari silk ribbon. I'd been hoarding this particular piece, and now I know why. All beads from my friend's treasure box.

Recycled sari ribbon, recycled nut beads, shell connectors, vintage buttons.

This is for a smaller wrist. Czech glass recently purchased from Lima Beads, ceramic rondelles, hand antiqued copper wire wrapping & clasp.

Creations from the Treasure Box

2011-04-05T14:21:00.001-05:00

Remember the treasure box my friend Heather sent me recently? Did I mention that was the second one she's sent? She said she's been trying to identify pieces parts from the first box she sent, but she won't have any problem here. MOST of what's included in the following pieces comes from her new box, and one teeny little thing came from the first box.

That little bowling pin was from the first box. It was precious, and I'd been dying to use it, but the right beads never presented themselves until the second box. The vintage red lucite beads and the little wooden spacers were just perfect. I added a little black "bowling ball," and even used a clasp that came from the second box.

The big gold tone feathers here came from the treasure box as well. I'd already had the turquoise drops from a recent Michael's spree.

Everything here came from the box. The big triangular piece was from a huge earring, I don't remember if the chain was all by itself, or if there was something on it which I removed. Finally, the stone (some sort of jasper, I believe), was from a key chain. There is a bit of yellowed glue attaching it to the bail. I tried to remove it, but realized it was stuck on there for all of eternity, so I might as well accept the glue. It's a funky casual jeans & a tank top kinda necklace.

Finally, the enameled bell. A good friend of mine in college had one of these bells in silver; it was the first like it I'd ever seen and I always thought it was was super cool. I don't know that I've ever seen an enameled one, so I was particularly excited to discover this one in the box. It was tough to capture in the photos, but it's not really black, it's a dark, tealy-blue ink color. Conveniently, I had this piece of sari ribbon that was just the right colors. I knotted it every inch or so, attached the bell and ta da! Instant necklace. I love it! It's another one I think I could easily steal from myself if I don't sell it quickly.

There was another bracelet that came from finds in the box, but one of my sisters saw it last weekend and insisted she just had to buy it. I tried to give it to her, but she wouldn't hear of it. So buy it she did, but it got away without being photographed. Oh well, I know where it is if I ever need to see it again.

So there you go, Heather. The spoils of your box(es)! I have much much more to do; these were just the things that jumped right out at me. I hope everyone else has enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed discovering and then using them.

EDIT EDIT EDIT!!!

I'm finally listing stuff on etsy! Yay!

Finally Finished!

2011-03-31T13:36:00.001-05:00

You know those projects that take you forever, right? The moment I saw the gorgeous copper connector on Lynn Davis's etsy, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I had this old crystal necklace I've had forever, and I knew this is how it needed to be used. I just needed to do some things first: procure the chandelier crystal from my mom; get some Liver of Sulfur; learn how to properly use Liver of Sulfur; get some copper wire (which until the Bead Soup Blog Party was something I'd never used); darken the wire with the LoS; make a clasp during acceptable daylight hammering hours; etc. And of course life, houseguests, a million other projects, and the ginormous treasure box from the previous post all took up a lot of my time.

I had started it, and worked on it periodically for a few weeks, but last night, I decided I was going to finish it no matter how late I had to stay awake. So finally, here it is!!!

Click for close-up.

I just want to mention how much my thumb's about to break off from all this wire wrapping!

Massive Treasure & Good Friends

2011-03-27T18:33:00.000-05:00

I have had friends in town for a few days, so I haven't had time to do much of anything jewelry related. But that's okay because we had a lot of fun - much unhealthy (but delicious) eating & drinking (remember, I live in New Orleans and as of tomorrow I'm back on salads and also I seem to be losing my voice), playing tourist at home, going out and staying up WAAAY too late. They left late this morning, and I was finally able to totally delve into the Big Box of Old Jewelry that another friend sent. It arrived on the same day as my visitors, and it was torture not to just dump it all out and start picking and sorting and disassembling. I looked through it a little bit over the course of the week, but for the last 5 or 6 hours, I've been seriously attacking it. Look:

I'm gonna have to buy several new sorty containers to deal with this! Good thing I added more shelves to my storage area a couple of weeks ago. My friend who sent me this buys vintage lots on ebay for one or two items, so she sends the rest to me. She's been saving up this medium sized priority mail box for months. And as a thank you, I sent her the bracelet from this post. She said it fit like it was made for her :)

I also have a little pile of goodies from Rebecca of Songbeads that was a little thank you she sent to commenters on a particular blog entry.

There's some really good stuff from her as well, so I have to get it all somewhat organized before I can continue with jewelry making as usual. Otherwise, I'll have this constant feeling of dread and panic about allowing a huge mess to pile up.

Aren't these colors generally associated with Miami Vice?

2011-03-20T23:53:00.000-05:00

I fell MADLY in love with this fabulous lampwork focal bead by the talented & hilarious Julianna Julsbeads Cannon the second I saw it. It took me a while, but I eventually bought it. And then I had to promptly hoard it for months. But really, it's because I had to wait until all the right ingredients came together with the perfect inspiration. I wasn't going to waste that beautiful focal on some lame-o design just because I was in a rush to use it.

Patience is indeed a virtue. Behold the splendiferousness of this focal. I think I did it justice :D

Emergency St. Patty's Day Necklace!

2011-03-17T12:07:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's day to everyone! As I was getting dressed this morning, I threw on a bright green t-shirt I have and then the only earrings I have that are bright green:

(Please excuse the dark photo. It's probably 3 years old and taken with my previous camera.)

But I really needed a green necklace too. I was already running late, but I grabbed a piece of mostly green (but with some red) sari fabric, a copper jump ring, and a hoarded missficklemedia red heart pendant and voilà! Instant necklace in under 3 minutes! I don't know if it will be permanent, but it looks really cute for today :)

Have a fun & safe holiday and don't drink too much green beer ;)

New Hair, New Glasses, and a Request from Malin!

2011-03-12T16:50:00.001-06:00

So I went to the salon today, primarily to get my hair done, but also to drop off some of my recent jewelry. I'd sold quite a few things since my last visit, and another customer bought something I'd just brought in! Remember these? I really do enjoy picking up a big stack of cash, but I much prefer seeing the people come in, look at my jewelry, fall in love with it and buy it while I'm there! It's such an AWESOME feeling to see people appreciating my hard work!!!

Got the hair done, and Jeanne insisted I try on the fancy headpiece she made for her Mardi Gras costume. Since I had my camera and another client in there just happened to be a professional photographer, he insisted he take the shot:

How much do I need one of these things? Right?

While the photographer was getting his hair washed, I snapped some photos at the request of the fabulous Ms. Malin de Koning. She wanted to see some of my more recent necklaces on my neck instead of just on my dress form. I intended to photograph the one that the woman bought while I was there, but I thought it would be in poor taste to do it in front of her. So I picked up another one.

I'm surprised this one hadn't sold yet. It's been there over a month!

While I was waiting for my color to set in, I got the word that my new glasses were ready! This day was turning out to be Very Exciting™ indeed. So my sister and I went to pick them up after our hair appointments. Here I am showing off both pairs:

The sensible pair.

The fun pair.

Guess what colors they are? Aqua & brown ;)

And now, a bracelet.

2011-03-11T13:45:00.000-06:00

I finally used my first missficklemedia piece! I don't have much in the way of art beads or art-components (is that what you'd call it?), so I'm hesitant to use them. But they aren't going to do any good packed away in my stash. It's a saffron toggle clasp - and I also included some of the beads I recently bought from Michael's new selection. I don't make bracelets often, mainly because I don't seem to sell many bracelets. I like them, but at the salon where I sell my jewelry, it's the necklaces and earrings people want. I really need to get an etsy or bigcartel shop started soon. Maybe I'll work on that this weekend...

Anyway, the bracelet.

And if anyone were to want coordinating earrings, it seems I've already made them!

Another thing I'm particularly excited about is this lovely piece I've ordered from the talented Lynn Davis.

I still haven't used the last piece I got from her, but I just had to get this anyway. I did at least start the necklace for the other piece. I just need to get a couple more findings for it. I'm not entirely certain what I see for this one, but it might involve pearls & chain and maybe a hint of sari ribbon. Actually, some missficklemedia chain might look good with this. Etsy, here I come!

Another Springy Necklace + Voodoo

2011-03-07T16:23:00.000-06:00

It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans. I don't go crazy about it like so many people do, but I do enjoy seeing the creative costumes and beautiful floats. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to my favorite parade this year, as it was rained out on its normal day & route. It was rescheduled for the next night, but circumstances were such that I wasn't able to attend. Instead, I helped a friend make her Voodoo-themed costume. Naturally, I insisted upon making the jewelry. I wish I'd taken some better photos, but she snapped a couple with her phone.

She brought the black coral sticks and the skulls; the purple ribbon on her necklace was leftover from the hat she made. Then I just did an elastic bracelet with the remaining skulls and some coral sticks. I was happy that there were some unused sticks she let me keep!

Saturday afternoon while it was storming outside, I made this necklace with one of my paper clay pendants some of my loyal readers may remember from this post. (By the way, some of those items are still available if anyone's interested.)

It made me realize that I am seriously lacking in red beads, and I could use more pink beads in lighter cotton candy shades like this. It's not that I'd want to use them constantly, but I need them to be there when I need them, you know? I think there's a bead show coming up next month, so I'll try to remember to stock up on those things instead of getting the same things I always get!

By the way, thanks for stopping by my blog. I don't think I thank my readers & commenters enough. It fascinates me when I check my stats and see how global my readership is. I really appreciate that you take the time to come by and read, or even just look at the pictures. And if you're a frequent reader, but have never commented, please don't be afraid to say hi :)

The Aqua & Brown Problem

2011-03-05T14:42:00.000-06:00

I know I'm not the only one who has it. It's just the best color scheme, and I can't help but repeat it again and again!

This is what I made last night with the coolest new aqua painted metal dangles from Michael's, some coconut shell beads, czech glass, and freshwater pearls.

Worth the pain in the neck

2011-03-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

First, I would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments during the Bead Soup Blog Party! I still have about 20 or so blogs left to check out, but I will get to them before the week is over. I was just itching to start a new project after looking at so much beautiful jewelry! I also want to thank and welcome my new followers - 18 new folks since the hop!

Who else endures horrible neck pain headaches after too much wire wrapping? I've tried sitting in various positions, or different pieces of furniture, with or without extra back support. I've tried magnifying glasses to see if that helped. I got an OTT lite. But I guess what it boils down to is that no matter what, I'm still looking down for long periods of time. I just can't hold it all up and work in front of my face! I love wire wrapping too, but in cases like this necklace, it's just literally a pain in the neck.

Remember those butterflies I got? I finally did something with one of them. After wrapping about 70 Labradorite chips, I found the perfect lampwork bead, and added the ivory colored butterfly. It can be worn long or wrapped twice, and it fastens in the front with a sterling hook. I'm very pleased with it. I only wish I knew the secrets of photographing Labradorite so that all its luminous glory shows.

Soup du Jour!

2011-02-26T00:37:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the 3rd Bead Soup Blog Party!

What is a Bead Soup Blog Party?

Each beader was paired up with another jewelry designer and tasked with sending the following:

~ A focal
~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)
~ Some coordinating spacers or beads

Using the focal and the clasp was mandatory, but we could use anything from our own stash to round out the rest, and choose to use the coordinating beads or not.

Here's what I made!

This was my first BSBP, and I was very nervous at the beginning. Lucky me -- I had the good fortune of being teamed up with the fabulous Beth Bricker of Vintage Sweets. She sent me a ton of stuff - mostly copper, which was something I'd been wanting to work with, but 'til this, hadn't done much. I was also eager to experiment with Liver of Sulfur and this was the perfect thing to use as my guinea pig! Here's what Beth sent me:

She also included some bright shiny copper wire in two gauges. Since the clasp was antiqued, it only seemed right that everything else should be too. So I darkened the wire, the focal, and the Viking braid with Liver of Sulfur and I couldn't have been more pleased with the result. I didn't use everything in the necklace - and the only things of my own that I added were some jump rings, the sari ribbon, and a few copper spacers. Make sure you click on the photos so you can see better detail.

With some of the leftovers, I made a super fun pair of earrings!

And there's still bunches more left over! Thanks Beth - it's been so much fun! Many thanks to the tireless, fabulous, wonderful Lori Anderson who masterminded this whole crazy event. You're the best!

Come see what the rest of us made!

1. Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

2. Kitty Durmaj, Perles and Life

3. Michelle Heim, Life In the Bead Lane

4. Lisa Petrillo, Lucid Moon Studio

5. Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations

6. Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

7. Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

8. Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

9. Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto ***YOU ARE HERE***

10. Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

11. Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas

12. Rachel Walsh, Balanced Crafts

13. Marian Hertzog, M's Place

14. Mary McGraw, MK's Musings

15. Sarabeth Burke, Chronicles of Sarita

16. Deci Worland, Gem Trails

17. Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

18. Laura Zeiner, Stick Lizard Designs

19. Kristin Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs

20. Cathryn Brooks-Williams, Chile Cats

21. Holly Westfall, Silver Rose Designs

22. Janna Harttgen, Palima-Lim

23. Libby Leuchtman, Libby Leu

24. Rebecca Anderson, Songbeads

25. Deb Hunter, Living On Air

26. Diana Ptaszynski, Suburban Girl Studio

27. Jennifer VanBenschoten, VanBeads

28. Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter

29. Cyndi Lavin, Beading Arts

30. Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul

31. Stefanie Teufel, Stefanie's Sammelsurium

32. Patricia Gasparino, My Life Under the Bus

33. Tari Khars, Pearl and Pebble

34. Kristi Bowman-Gruel, Kristi Bowman Design

35. Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle

36. Becky Fairclough, Chameleons Designs

37. Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead & Metal Works

38. Lynne Bowland, Islandgirl's Insights

39. Barbara Lewis, Painting With Fire

40. Lorelei Eurto, Inside the Studio

41. Stacy Hartis, Sissy & Jack's

42. Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions

43. Marcie Abney, La Bella Joya

44. Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations

45. Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles

46. Melissa Mesara, One Eared Pig

47. Amanda Davie, Articulations

48. Cherin Poovey, Lanyard Lady

49. Virginia Joste, ViviBijoux

50. Andrew Thornton, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
51. Lori Dorrington, Lori's Glassworks

52. Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

53. Kate Gardenghi, Tropical Blonde

54. Serena Trent, PinkIce Jewel's Blog

55. Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin de Koning

56. Shai Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

57. Francy Inman, 8 Second Studio

58. Amy Freeland, Copper Diem

59. Lisa Liddy, Joolz By Lisa

60. Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do

61. Mary Harding, Mary Harding Bead Blog

62. Stacey Curry, Star Hitched Wagon

63. Leslie Gidden, Mad Maggie Designs

64. Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

65. Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats

66. Linda Djokic, Lutka and Co.

67. Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass, and Recycled Trash

68. Laurel Steven, Rue's Daftique

69. Ingrid McCue, Wrapped In Silver

70. Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit

71. Diana Hawkey, Diana Hawkey

72. Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

73. Jeanette Ryan, Jeanette Blix

74. Jackie Ryan, Silver Lodge Gems

75. Jean Yates, Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to Be Done!

76. Debbie Goering, Prairie Emporium

77. Valerie Norton, Hot Art

78. Jana Trupovniece, Stories of the Secret Garden

79. Amy Severino, Amy Beads

80. Emma Thomas, Fred Beans Nook

81. Karen Zanco, Everyday Gypsy

82. Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria

83. Janet McDonald, Singing Woods

84. Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs

85. Kristina Johansson, Wild Roses and Blackberries

86. CJ Bauschka, CJ Bauschka

87. Angela Barribea, Re: Angela Rae

88. Marcy Lamberson, Studio Marcy

89. Tanya Floyd, Glass Migrations

90. Lisa Kavanaugh, Beading Bliss

91. Sue Hodgkinson, Hello Gorgeous

92. Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Bead

93. Nally Parfyonova, Nally's Creations

94. Karyn White, Releases By Rufydoof

95. Emanda Johnson, Artemisia Studio

96. Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box

97. Cindy Dolezal, Cindy Dolezal Designs

98. Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue

99. Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads

100. Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings

101. Nicole Valentine-Rimmer, N. Valentine Studio

102. Jacinta Meyers, Jamberrysong's Creations

103. Charlene Gary, Gray Girl Studios

104. Rubiee Hayes, Glitter and Keys Galore

105. Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations

106. Elizabeth Freeman, Turquoise Sky

107. Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric

108. Lynda Moseley, Diva Designs

109. Grace Danel, Grace Beading

110. Lois Moon, Que Onda Quitman

111. Agnes Shapiro, Beader Bubbe

112. Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo

113. Judy Glende, Judith B. Designs

114. Mary Ellen Parker, Bee Tree By Me

115. Barbara Bechtel, Second Surf

116. Charlene Sevier, The Bead Dreamer

117. Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

118. Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie

119. Ronda Adams, The Ravished Heart

120. Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe Designs

121. Anna Lear, The Laughing Raven

122. Susie Hibdon, Vintagesusie & Wings

123. Amanda Austin, Sea Shore Glass

124. Jennifer Velasquez, Jen Judd Rocks

125. Hazel Ward, All Those Things

126. Brenda Salzano, Salzanos

127. Dee Gordon, Runako Designs by Dee

128. Anna Denisova, Anita-M

129. Margaret Saari, Mags-Jewelry

130. Genea Crivello-Knable, Genea Beads

131. Penny Neville, Copper Penny

132. Angela Blasingame, Hopemore

133. Helena Fritz, Beadwork by H's Blog

134. Stephanie LaRose, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder

135. Stephanie Haussler, PixyBug Designs

136. Diane Cook, Rosa & Josies

137. Maryse Thillens, Glass Bead Art

138. Jennifer Pride, Jewelry by J.P.

139. Shannon Chomanczuk, For My Sweet Daughter

140. Lisa Godfrey, Bead Happy

141. Heather Pyle, Welcome to My Muse

142. Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings

143. Liz DeLuca, Creative Arty Facts

144. Sig Wynne-Evans, Beaded Bear's Nonsense

145. Loretta Carstensen, Loretta's Boutique

146. Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads

147. Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul

148. Shelly Graves, Stars Dance With Me

149. Jess Italia Lincoln, Vintaj Blog

150. JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

151. Carrie Tahquechi, Carrie T

152. Staci Smith, Staci Louise Originals

153. Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Quiet Area

154. Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

155. Magdalena Sikora, Poranna Gazeta

156. Nicole Keller, Nicki's Reef

157. Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye

158. Noemi Baena, Fire, Metal, and Color

159. Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman

160. Barbara Blaszczyk, Labotorium Flory

161. Collette Collins, Firefly Myst

162. Carola Greiser, Polymer Clay Shed

163. Joanna Kopijczuk, Bizuteria z Filcu

164. LeAnn Weih, Summers Studio

165. Cassandra Watsham, Design by Cassandra

166. Anna Motz, Stunning

167. Shea Zukowski, Gr8findings

168. Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads

169. Lisa Boucher, Lisa's Clay Happenings

170. Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope

171. Alison Crenshaw, Beads by Earth Tones

172. Dorcas Midkiff, Wondrous Strange Designs

173. Melissa Rediger, Sea of Glass

174. Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre

175. Julie Nordine, Julie Nordine | Credit River Art Glass

176. Menka Gupta, Menka's Blog

177. Patsy Evins, Patsy Evins Studio

178. Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie're

179. Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

180. Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

181. Lyn Foley, Lyn Foley Wearable Art

182. Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog

183. Natalie Schuetz, Natalie S Perlen

184. Kim Hutchinson, Running on Ink

185. Haley Frank, Wide Eyed Smilin

186. Grace Caputo, Suddenly Last Summer

187. Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp, Skye Jewels

188. Erin Siegel, Erin Siegel Jewelry

189. Janea McDonald, Organized Chaos

190. Kristi Evenson, Colie Bug & Co.

191. Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry

192. Hilary Frye, FryeStyle

193. Whitney Lassini, Whitney Lassini

194. Nancy Schindler, The Rabbit Muse

195. Pam Brisse, The Blue Between

196. Beth Bricker, Vintage Sweets

197. Ruthie Stickney, Rose Works Jewelry and Gifts

198. Rose Noble, Lady Noble Designs

199. Karen Williams, Baublicious

200. Claire Maunsell, The Next Bend

201. Christine Damm, Stories They Tell

202. Kerry Bogert, Kab's Creative Concepts

203. Wendy Blum, Sand & Sea Designs

204. Juli Cannon, Julsbeads

205. Jenny Robledo, La Dona Boutique

206. Krista French, French Elegant Jewelry

207. Pam Krinski, Ewa Beads

208. Melissa Meman, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love

209. Dana Jones, Dana's Jewelry

210. Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

The next party's sign ups begin August 1-3, 2011. Don't miss it!

I just needed fresh eyes

2011-02-25T13:07:00.000-06:00

The earrings I mentioned in last night's post? I reexamined them, only this time, I remembered beads that were not in the usual containers - just what I needed to finish both pairs. One day, I hope I have hundreds of those compartmentalized sorty containers, but I'm not quite there yet. So I've got random things stashed in drawers, hidden away and oft forgotten.

I know everyone's all excited about the Bead Soup Blog Party, but that's tomorrow. So instead you'll have to enjoy the new earrings. I know I should be doing things in bright springy colors, but I'm totally in denial. For those of you who have been dealing with snow all winter, I know spring can't get here fast enough. But in the humid swamplands of New Orleans, where I've been wearing a tank top for the last few nights, I dread it. It's just the harbinger of the miserable hot sticky nasty summers I hate so much.

So! The earrings ;)

Finally being somewhat productive again

2011-02-24T19:48:00.000-06:00

I made one pair and two unfinished pairs of earrings the other night. The one that's finished is an extra from my Blog Soup, so I can't post pictures of it yet... And like I said, the other two aren't finished. I'll revisit them this evening and see if I can't sort them out. In both cases, it was a matter of not having quite the right bead(s) to finish them. I hate when that happens.

Anyway, I did recently update this necklace by swapping out its previous boring ribbon with this much more awesome sari ribbon. It's simple, but I like it.

An advantage of living on the 3rd floor

2011-02-20T11:54:00.000-06:00

There's this stupid dove that lives in the tree right outside of our front door. Doves are pretty stupid in general, but this one really takes the cake. A couple of months ago, I watched him as he repeatedly tried to fly upward and away as Craz and I were coming back from a late night walk. But it took him about 10 tries to realize that upward = ceiling. He flew into it numerous times totally panicking until he figured out that he might want to try a different route. Well this morning, he was sitting there picking at the leafless branches for some reason, and he was eying us with suspicion as we walked along the balcony to the door. He didn't stop his frenzied picking though. So I grabbed my camera and went back out to shoot him. After a few shots, he flailed until he landed on a further branch - there is no grace in the way this dove flies - and continued tearing at the branches.

Meanwhile, in jewelry land, I finally made it to Michael's yesterday to investigate their advertised "over 1300 new styles!" of Bead Gallery beads - for 50% off. Wow! It was hard to keep myself in check. I managed to limit myself to 26 strands, and a few of those were even duplicates. I could have gone crazy if I'd let myself - but I was trying to behave. And I got out for just under $100, so that's not bad at all!

I was DYING to make something, but I decided that the first order of business was proper organization. My storage containers need to be sorted by color and not date of purchase. So that took a couple of hours. Then it was time for a nap. I've had a sinus infection since Thursday, and I am hardly taking it as easy as I should be. In fact once I'm done here, I need to go lie down and watch bad TV for the rest of the day. Forcing myself to work when I'm sick will not help me get better, nor will I create anything wonderful when I have to stop and sneeze every 3 minutes.

While I had my camera out though, I took some pictures of a bracelet I finished Friday night. I'd been working sporadically on it all week. The clasp is sterling and was darkened in Liver of Sulfur last weekend - that was my first experiment and what fun it was! The focal was one of my grandmother's shoe clips. I've been picking it up for ages and putting it down waiting for the right inspiration to strike. I'm mostly pleased with this result, but due to faulty "math" it's a lot smaller than I wanted. I can get it on, but I want it to be looser. My wrists aren't particularly big, but this would do much better on a petite waify sized person. I'm sure there are plenty of them out there lamenting that every bracelet they try on is too big. Hopefully, the right person will find it. And I have one more buckle and clasp for another try - but I think I'll do that one with wire instead of strung like this one. That way, if I need to add to it, it won't require a complete redo.

And for those of you who were wondering, my dog had her stitches removed yesterday and all is well! Thank all of you for your kind words for her this week!

The Paper Clay Birds are Finished

2011-02-13T00:25:00.000-06:00

I've been working on these all week, with all the time required for drying between steps. There are a couple more I haven't finished - but this is quite a good start. If anyone would like one, just let me know in the comments or email me. Since I don't have an etsy shop set up, I figured it would be easy enough to just do it like this. Each item is $7. Shipping is $2 (any additional items are free). I will send you a PayPal invoice. And I guess it's first come first serve. Rebecca gets first dibs, however, as she was the first person to say she wanted a bird or two!

If I am going about this in a totally horrible or tactless way, please let me know. I just wanted to get these out here and see if anyone was even interested. If things go well, I will definitely start listing things on etsy or somewhere similar. The only bird totally not for sale is the pink one, which was a custom order for a necklace for a very good customer & friend.

I hope everyone likes them! I'm having a blast making them. I'm sure Steve is getting sick of me showing him each new bird I paint like it's a newly discovered Picasso or something ;)

This is everything, below are various close-ups.

Click any image to see it Super Size!

In other news: My dog's looking and feeling a whole lot better, even though she still has a week to go before she has her stitches out. AND!!! I finished my Bead Soup Blog Party necklace tonight. I never get things done ahead of time either. Go me!

BTW, Buddha, & a Big Bruised Belly

2011-02-09T14:09:00.000-06:00

It's time for:

Today on my table, I have paper clay beads in various stages. Most are little birds, a butterfly, a couple of big owl faces, a couple of monster heads and one random nothing bead that I was using to test a glaze. Hey, and the butterfly was done from a mold I made of this black butterfly that everyone loved so much.

Also included for your viewing pleasure is a necklace I finished last night. I've been working on it in pieces for days, but I buckled down and finished it last night. I'm so A.D.D. about my projects these days! Plus, I've been spending a lot of quality time with my dog after her surgery this past Friday.

It's difficult to capture the magic shimmeriness of Labradorite in photos, but I think I've done it in the photo above! Click for super close-ups!

As for my dog, she didn't actually have to have a mastectomy after all. They were able to remove the tumors individually. Poor baby - she's got 7 stitches, and a bruise on her belly as big as my hand, but we're finally done with all her surgeries. Hooray! As long as I don't poke and prod too much, she's in good spirits. She started sitting up again yesterday, so that definitely means she's feeling better. Sitting up is her favorite thing to do (besides eating). Here she is looking all woe is me.

Woe is her :(

My latest acquisition

2011-02-07T12:03:00.000-06:00

I got a superfabulous OTT Lite™ yesterday and so far I am loving it! For those of you who don't know what an OTT Lite™ is, it's this:

Or at least that's the model I got HALF PRICE! Michael's is having a sale this week on all their OTT lighting. To read all about its awesomeness, and why I had to have it, click here.

And just so you can see how happy it makes me:

Steve was cracking up at his view of me and insisted I pose for the picture. It's pretty funny though, so I had to share it. Pardon my old raggedy hanging around the house on a Sunday shirt.

The OTT Lite™ came in extra handy when I was painting my latest batch of Paper Clay Birds last night - the light fixture over the kitchen table is fun & funky, but it's pretty dim. And my eyes, much like the Old Grey Mare, ain't what [they] used to be. OTT to the rescue!

uninspired waiting + new birds

2011-02-03T13:59:00.000-06:00

I've got several packages on their way to me right now, and I'm eager to get started on the projects I have planned with them, but it might be Monday before any of them arrive. I've made a few things in the last couple of days, but nothing I'm over the moon about. I tried to make a necklace the other night, but it wound up looking like the most boring, uninspired piece of crap you see by the thousands at every craft show you attend. After several attempts, I gave up and went to sleep.

I did come up with a pretty cute pair of earrings for myself to match a dress I've had for years, but rarely wear. And last night, I made another boring necklace, which I'm actually wearing today because it happened to match what I'd put on. I hate feeling so uninspired! Okay, I just got an opinion on it from a coworker, and she said it's cute. Maybe-ish, but it doesn't feel like me. And I want to LOVE everything I make! Funny though, it's the things you like the least that people go crazy over.

This whole jewelry blog community is wonderful and I'm really grateful I've found so many talented jewelry designers to get to know, and whose work I can enjoy, but I have to say - you all are setting the bar high! Of course that's a good thing. But it makes me way more critical of my work, and much less willing to accept half the stuff I put together. I didn't used to care much for focals, the clasps always went in the back, symmetry was a given. I'm so glad I'm over all that silliness!

Last night, I made some more paper clay birds like the one this necklace and this one. I also made a little monster face that's pretty cute. I still have to paint them, but I'll take pictures when I do. Would anyone be interested in buying just a bird? I don't have an online shop per se, but I do accept PayPal, and hey - why not cut out the middle man, right?

Meanwhile, my masseuse again inquired about the status of my recreating the famous butterfly necklace:

So that sent me on yet another search for a similar butterfly. I found one even better, as well as two more that I just had to have, and they're all pretty big around 4.5 - 6 cm wide. I can't even wait until they arrive! I also ordered a few more similar Cloisonné beads like the one pictured above, but with a bright turquoise base.

In other news, tomorrow my dog Crazers has to have a mastectomy. I'm sure she'll be fine, as this will be her third surgery in as many months, but it's also the most serious. Wish her luck everyone!

Bird Brain

2011-01-30T12:06:00.001-06:00

I was actually pretty productive this weekend. I feel like I haven't done much lately, but that's not necessarily true. I've just been working on paper clay or making bead caps and a few pairs of earrings. I started a Very Exciting™ necklace Friday night, but I don't have the focal yet. No use photographing it without the focal. But I'll get it next weekend. And I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep it when I'm done. I rarely claim my creations for myself, but sometimes I'm just not willing to part with something. Good thing I have a similar necklace planned that will be for sale. Same focal, plus a gorgeous cast pewter piece from Lynn Davis. And the focal for both pieces will be chandelier crystals that my mom saved after my parents' house was chopped up by falling pine trees during Katrina. Her chandelier was irreparably broken, but she saved what she could. I always loved it as a child, and I remember her on more than one occasion taking off every crystal to soak them and polish them up. It'll be nice to have one of them to wear for myself.

Then I made a really fun blue & brown necklace with one of my paper clay birds. I don't want to part with this one either, but I will. I'm just particularly excited about it right now. Here it is!

It's composed of dyed jade nuggets, big brown seeds of some sort, tiny jasper drums, some opalite moonstone, sari silk, antique bronze birdhouse, chain & findings, paper clay bird and clasp - both made by me :)

And here are some earrings I've made in the last couple of days.

Faceted Amazonite, pewter birdies, and hand made (by me) floral bead caps.

Dyed jade rondelles, and handmade (by me) beadcaps.

Imitation coral, jasper, and handmade (by me) tin dangles.

Bonus if anyone recognizes what tin all these beadcaps came from. They're all from the same one, and it's pretty popular. When I put the word out that I wanted people's unwanted decorative tins, I got 3 of these, lol.

My Bead Soup Blog Party Beads & Stuff!

2011-01-27T19:45:00.000-06:00

I got my package from my partner, Beth of Vintage Sweets this week. She sent me gobs of stuff! And it's all copper, which is the metal I've worked with least. Coincidentally though, I've been recently starting to tip-toe in that direction with some findings and dangly leaves. Now I've got more than I know what to do with, and I'm really excited about it.

Everything was packaged neatly, and enclosed in a lovely vintage tin.

There were some purple & green crystals and pearls in cute little tic-tac containers:

Some Czech glass leaves and a pair of abalone beads:

Some copper wire in two gauges, the focal and clasp (plus a bonus bird):

And some various links, beads, and Viking braid:

I can't wait to get started, but there's so much to choose from I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm excited to see what I come up with. Thanks Beth!