Catching Up

It's probably been a month or so since my last blog. I'm sorry about that. Things have been busy lately. After I hurt my back, I kind of lost all inspiration to make jewelry. I was pretty bummed about it, but figured it would come back soon enough. But you know what came instead? Hurricane Isaac! That was um, "fun."

80 hours without power in sweltering, windless, humid, heat index of over 100 weather - that's miserable. Sleep was very difficult - we tried sleeping by windows, in the car, apparently Steve tried sleeping on the ground outside by the pool (all the outdoor furniture had been packed away). I found the sofa nearest a window with my legs up over the back of the couch to be the best position. With a wet rag on my face. And something to fan myself with nearby. I was up by 5:30 every morning, which would never normally happen. It was just miserable. During the daylight hours, I did manage to make some jewelry because there was NOTHING ELSE TO DO. I read a little bit, talked to some neighbors. Carried my 35 lb dog up and down two flights of stairs because she's too old, fat, and short-legged to manage - and of course the elevator wasn't working. And of course I'm not supposed to lift more than 15 lbs. with my back. A lot of wine was consumed, which created some candle holders for the taper candles we had. I could go on and on. Just trust me, it was awful. And when we could finally get to a McDonalds, we were glad to wait an hour for service because it was a hot meal and a cold drink. I don't know how people used to live?!?!'

Then, it was my birthday last weekend, so I was a bit consumed with festivities/hangover. A recent order from Lima Beads arrived yesterday, and I made a cute pair of owl earrings with some long-hoarded Kristi Bowman copper leaves.

Enough reading - time for pictures now!

I finally went back to the darker bright red for my hair, and I'm glad I did. It's almost as red as my car, which you can see over my shoulder. Also, new sunglasses birthday present to myself.

The aforementioned owl earrings with Kristi's copper leaves.

Look what I found at TJ Maxx yesterday! I now have a family of five. That should be enough.

All of these were made during the so called "hurrication." Believe me, it was nothing like a vacation. At least two happened before the power went out though.

This came together after the power went out. It was one of those things that made itself. I just helped.

Okay, this was actually a week before the storm, I just hadn't gotten around to showing you yet. That gorgeous hammered copper ring was something I won from the super talented Susan of Cicada Silver/Libellula Jewelry

This cute little Golem cardinal pendant had been waiting patiently for months. The first night of "hunkering down" (a term so over-used it inspired a drinking game), I created this one. Still had power.

First thing I made when the sun came up the morning after the power went out. Another one that made itself. When I finish something like that - especially with components I've had for ages, I think "This piece of jewelry has been here all along just waiting to become whole. What took it so long?" I have picked up that charm and those beads so many times and wondered what I should do with them. I guess it took a hurricane to sort that out for me!

Anyway, I'm hoping that I'll get back to making something almost every day soon. I'm in PT for my shoulder (surprisingly, that was just a while I'm here, my shoulder's been bugging me for awhile thing I'd mentioned to my ortho when I went to see him about my back, and that's what I'm in therapy for!?) and with all the exercises I'm doing for it, it's been hurting more and more. So I still have to take it a little slow with jewelry. Do you all realize how difficult it is not to hunch or slouch while making something?!?!

Okay, that's enough for now. Thanks for visiting  :)

Bead Soup Arrived!

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!

For all the Owl Lovers out there.

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!

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...

Short & Sweet

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!

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

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.

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 :(

Paper Clay Birds & Beads

Because I can't stay focused on one new project without getting detoured by another new project, I have temporarily abandoned the bead caps for paper clay. I read about it a few weeks ago on another blog, and decided I'd finally found what I'd been looking for. Or at least a starting point for what I'd been looking for. I wish, oh how I wish I could do actual ceramics, but that's not feasible right now. Then there's polymer clay - which is loads of fun, and I used to work with it in college. But I didn't want to invest in 10 colors just to find out that I wasn't into it or my fingers aren't capable of what they once were. Paper clay works pretty much the same, in terms of sculptability, but the bonus is that it air dries, and can even be filed and carved after it's dry. Since it's white, all the painting is up to me - instead of working with a bunch of various colors of clay. I certainly have a ton of paint and brushes at my disposal. So I decided it was time to give it a shot. I really had fun with it, and it has potential to be even more fun once I work with it more. I'll definitely be more careful and detailed with practice. I also want to (new project alert!) make my own molds - not just from found objects, but from little carvings I want to create! I am really looking forward to my Christmas staycation!!!

So here are some of the results from my initial Paper Clay session!

I made the robin and the clasp.

I only made the owl. The gray beads are seeds.

I love brown and aqua together. I made the brown beads.

And the green ones.

Future jewelry parts.