I just needed fresh eyes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!