Team Treasury of the Week!!!

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

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

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!

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!

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)

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

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.