Early July

I have a Round Rabbit problem. I cannot stop buying Nancy's pieces! I've got two batches on their way to me currently, at least 10 pieces as yet unused, and at least as many more already turned into necklaces and even one bracelet. I just love what she does, and every time she has a shop update, I cannot stop myself from buying something. I've been hoarding this one for months, but I finally decided to give it a try last night. I paired it with Peruvian opal and pyrite.

And also, I need to invest in some fancier clasps.

This is a funny story. Some of you might recognize this style - I've done it a few times previously, for instance this one. When I showed up at the salon with that one, Jeanne ran off to retrieve something she'd found buried in the dirt in her yard when she was doing some gardening. It was the Eisenhower charm below - she wanted me to turn it into this style of necklace, with orangey-red sari fabric. So here it is Jeanne, if you see this before I get over there with it! I hope the natural patina is okay - I put some Renaissance Wax on it, so hopefully that will keep it looking good.

I dare not experiment with sterling, but I couldn't pass up this aluminum wire at the craft store recently. I'm definitely going to have to keep playing with it. These red rectangles aren't my personal style, but I think they're pretty cool looking. Just by using something that wasn't to my own taste, I could assure I wouldn't keep them for myself like I've done with the last 3 pairs of copper wire earrings I've made, ha.

So I bought a little grouping of items from Kylie Parry the other day. The other pieces are pendants, but I've really been slacking in the earring department so I figured I'd make some sweet little earrings with these first.

And Malin, I totally admit that I borrowed this earring idea from you. I believe I told you in advance that I was going to. I've long drooled over these faceted polymer clay nuggets from Second Surf. I finally broke down and got some recently having no idea what to do with them other than stare at them and love them. I have two more, but I think I'll hang onto those for a while longer...

Here's a shot of Crazers who just loves to interrupt my photo sessions.

New Old Stuff and Name that Thing!

I haven't blogged in ages - I'm sorry for being such a slacker! But you know, sometimes life just happens... Anyway, you might have noticed I've played around a bit with the design of my blog. My favorite colors - teal and purple.

So my friend Heather (famous for giving me tons of vintage jewelry to play with) is in town and she brought me a big bag of stuff. Yay! I haven't picked it all apart yet - just a cursory examination. But I did find one thing right away that I LOVED and had to use immediately. It's an old Australian coin that's been punched and sliced and entirely smoothed out on the backside. I just thought it was so interesting. People with lots of foreign coins (I'm looking at you Keirsten) might find some inspiration in this.

Also, does anyone recognize this stone? It's one of two things I got at the bead show last time that I didn't ask the name.

I finished this one last night too. But the focal came from someone on etsy who found a bunch of new old stock award medals that were unengraved. She patinas them beautifully. I've been hoarding this one for a year, and recently ordered a few more. So I finally gave myself permission to use it. I combined it with a Czech glass flower with a pearl and a vintage rhinestone, and it's on pale yellow knotted sari silk.

I made these earrings this past week. Mixed metals and to gorgeous blue lapis beads I got at that last gem show.

The ovals twist around a lot - I could not get them perfectly forward facing for the photo, but we all know movement in earrings is great!

Now, for a bit of the other stuff from Heather's package. There are some interesting things I have no idea about. For instance:

Anyone know what this is? Never been to Brooklyn.

I know there are a few Wisconsinites out there who read my blog (Erin for one). Does this mean anything to you?

I love this beautiful Cloisonne lentil pendant. It was her grandmother's. I definitely intend to make something very special out of it.

This Asian symbol (anyone?) in real -vintage- ivory. Speaking of ivory, did you all read this amazing elephant story that's been going around the interwebs lately? Get your hankies ready before you read it! And on the subject of animal tearjerkers - make sure to read about the world's loneliest whale.

Now, more gratuitous pictures of the stuff from Heather's package:

There's a rhinestone buckle in that little bag on the left. And lots of good glass pearls, etc.

This bear peeking out from behind a tree - burned into wood - totally cracks me up! And how about those awesome etched brass teardrops! A matching set! I can't wait to make earrings with those. That drilled thing above the gold heart is a double sided quarter. Don't know what I'll do with that tank charm...

These little black buttons are wooden with metal shanks. I have a feeling I'll come up with something for them. The green beads are wooden as well. Plus, there are natural wooden rounds in the bag beneath.

Here's the Australia necklace again. I wore it out to lunch today and it just feels so good on! You know how some jewelry just feels like it's supposed to be there? I hate to sell it, but I just can't keep everything I like! Maybe it won't sell after a few months and then I can keep it.

Back to Normal

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win the next stop on the Art Bead Love Tour!!! Drawing this Saturday May 5th!


Now that the insanity of the last two weeks of work has passed (late nights, going in on a Sunday) I finally have time to share some new stuff! One thing I made last Saturday, but it needed an adjustment, which I did last night. And the other one I did last night. Both feature items I claimed from the Art Bead Love box! I'm about ready to turn over that pesky flower focal from the last two blogs and claim one more thing. I just might do it. 

Surprise Fairy Necklace

Ever sit down fully intending to make one thing and then come away with something completely different? That's what happened last night. I've got a Round Rabbit flower focal I've been trying to use, but nothing ever seemed right. I figured surely I would be able to find the solution in last weekend's gem show haul, and I thought I did. I had the strung part of the necklace done, but it just seemed to overwhelm the focal.

So I soldiered on and added the sari, not sure what I would really do, because the way I designed the front - it needed a focal. I left a space for it between the beads. Once I was done with the sari bit, I poked through my growing, but still not massive, focal collection. Jessi's ceramic fairy pendant jumped right out at me and it was perfect!

I was slightly disappointed, in that it wasn't the necklace I set out to create, but by the time I woke up and looked at it again this morning I was quite happy with it.

My friend Jessi's fairy pendant, sari silk, Swarovski crystals, pyrite, apatite, waxed Irish linen cording, and upcycled pyrite rings (they were finger rings from Nine West!)

Lorelei's e-book & more

For those of you who don't already know, Lorelei just released an ebook called Asymmetry Made Easy, which I just had to buy. It was way too late last night, and I didn't have the time this morning - but I can't wait to read it! A quick peek revealed that it's going to be very fun & helpful. I really struggle with asymmetry and while I get the concept, I have a hard time doing it. I can't wait to see what the master has to say about it! Get your own copy here: http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com/2012/04/ebook-is-ready.html

Meanwhile, I made this necklace over the weekend with one of my long-hoarded Golem pendants. I figured since I just got a few new ones, it was time to let one of the older ones go. This is the first time (but surely not the last) that I've put waxed linen cording together with sari, and I like it.

Recent Happenings

The Bead Soup Blog Party was a lot of fun - I still have a few more blogs to visit - but I've seen a lot of really beautiful creations so far and made some new friends along the way. Lori sure knows how to host a good party!

This past weekend, I was asked at the last minute to fill in for a vendor who'd cancelled at the Mandeville Trailhead Market. I was excited to put all my new props to use, and while I wished I'd had more last minute cram time to make a few extra things, I went with what I had, plus 2 new necklaces I did rush to make two nights prior.

Here's my table!

I took this before everything was out, but this is the general idea. However, I only managed to sell three pairs of earrings. Of course, that's better than nothing at all, and it did cover the cost of my booth (which was a ridiculously cheap $15 anyway). Plus it was a gorgeous day and lots of fun. My friend Ashley helped me out, and we sampled lots of cookies from the old Italian guy next to us. Ultimately, I decided that since this is a weekly market, and it's the same vendors every week, people don't really attend expecting to buy a lot on a random day, not close to a holiday. They might be there to get fresh eggs from the lady that sells them every weekend, or the plants sold by the guy at the front, etc. I did get a lot of oohs and ahhs and plenty of people took  my cards, so hopefully that will result in some etsy business or something.

Here are the two necklaces that I made at the last minute.

Check out this cool Lynn Davis pendant!

Yesterday, I was so ready to make something new and springy and use some of my new Irish Waxed Linen Thread. I'd been eyeing this mermaid focal I've had for months when it suddenly dawned on me that I had the perfect coordinating lavender beads from a recent Heather Box! Before long, it all came together like magic. I love when that happens. Here she is, and she's available in my etsy shop right now! I'll list the other two a bit later. Speaking of my etsy shop - I'm having a 15% off sale through the rest of March in honor of Daylight Savings Time! The code is FORWARD15.

Lorelei's Jade Scott Pinwheel Challenge!

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!

Happy 2012

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?

Artists Helping Artists Silent Auction

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

500 Coats of Paint Later...

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!

On a Vintage Rhinestone Rondelle Kick, It Would Seem

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?

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.