A Great Giveaway

I was excited to see this post on Lori Anderson's blog today. She is giving away a fantastic prize for jewelry designers - a set of impress art letter stamps and a new, specialty hammer made just for stamping letters.  I entered and you can as well by clicking this link and following the directions on her blog post. 
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2012/04/win-set-of-impress-art-letter-stamps.html




Just a quick update while I'm on my blog - I have been busy with sending out some goody bags for a bead swap as well as trying to get my house cleaned over the last few weeks.  I have a new post coming up about my most recent bead swap, as well as a giveaway of my own, my first ever, actually! I also am happy to say that in the first week of my diet I lost 9 lbs and am well on my way to reaching my big goal! Gotta love that dance central. : ) Stay tuned next week for all the fun stuff mentioned above. Until then, I have to keep getting my house under control before summer arrives, and I'm also gearing up for a paranormal investigation with my ghost hunting team at the historic Hales Bar Dam on Friday night. (Friday the 13th to be exact!) Should be an exciting and eventful weekend!

Making Changes

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I tend to wear the same thing every day. I have a wardrobe that consists of black yoga pants and various solid t-shirts, mostly v-neck t shirts. Its really pretty sad and pathetic, honestly. I used to dress up on occasion and at the very least mixed it up with jeans and fun shoes, but something has happened to me...I turned 30 last May. I think the change probably came about around 29 honestly, but it was probably only because I knew what was coming around the corner. I have also been churning out jewelry like crazy, which means a lot of sitting in my house. Not a lot of calorie burning. That is why I've gained about 40 pounds in the last 1.5 years or so. I also quit smoking about 1.5 years ago...go figure. Anyway, I am officially the heaviest I've ever been sans being 9 months preggo, so I've reached the point where I absolutely cannot allow this to continue. So the last 3 days in a row, I have tried to maintain a reasonable diet, nothing strict or really that different, I just didn't gorge out on sweets...I did still have dessert. But I also worked out with the Dance Central 2 game on the kinect for over an hour each day, and I was delighted to see this morning that I had lost 5 pounds! That gave me a boost of motivation, since summer arrived in February, I definitely need to get a move on in being in control of my weight and my body and my eating habits. No more allowing jewelry to overtake every aspect of my life. I still have to make time for me.  I will keep you posted on my progress, but consider this my official pledge to make it happen! 

The Huge Difference of Small Details

I think I have made it pretty well known that I've been on a bracelet kick lately. I have also been experimenting with using silver, a territory I wasn't that comfortable with since my creative roots lie with brass products, but that didn't stop me from trying it out. My first attempt was with lapis lazuli beads and crystal dangles using silver findings and wire. After my last purple butterfly bracelet that I posted on a recent blog, I wanted to do a similar bracelet only with beads alone and no focal butterfly, just to make the design more generalized to appeal to more people who were looking for basic or classic jewelry and not necessarily hand painted butterflies. I loved the design so much that I did the EXACT same bracelet, only I used silver wire, jump rings, and bead caps. Here are photos of both bracelets to show the difference that the findings make in the design. Which do you prefer or are drawn to? I am almost always drawn to the brass as it feels less complicated, more laid back, more down to earth, if you will. But here lately, I feel the silver pulling me ever so closer in...will there be a change in my designing future? Perhaps...it would be easier to go there if the cost of silver went down! Until then, the artistic wire will have to do.
Here is the brass version:

And here is the silver version:

My last post was about the blog hop, and I made 2 pairs of earrings that also used some of the beads she sent. One pair included only beads she sent as well as chain, and the others just had one little glass bead left over from my bead soup. Here they are!

My First Bead Soup Revealed!

I first learned of this event called the bead soup blog hop day last fall, and I had a wonderful time looking at many different artists creations, yet was eager to participate in such an event myself. I was a bit too late to join in the main 200 person group that started its pairings this January, but I was very fortunate to find a partner on my own and we quickly mailed each other our mystery bead soups. A bead soup, if you have never heard of the term, is an assortment of beads with a focal and clasp, typically in a color palette or theme.  My partner is the wonderful Denise Peterson, and you can visit her blog by clicking the link. She has also posted her soup from me and her finished creation. I was so lucky that my partner sent me such beautiful items and beads to work with. She sent me so much to choose from! I ended up using these beautiful glass blue metallic beads that she sent me a strand of, and I combined them with the antiqued silver chain she sent as well as her butterfly focal. I added my own Petrol colored Swarovski crystal pearls to complete the look and finish it off with a real sense of romance. I am completely in love with the necklace. It is extremely long and the glass metallic beaded fringe catches the light and has lovely movement. I made a simple bracelet and pair of earrings to match it I loved it so much, and I almost never do that! There were some other beads she sent, and I did make some more earrings with them, but due to the stormy weather I haven't been able to photograph them yet. I will show them off on my next blog though.  Here is my finished set!

View all of the blog hop participants' creations!! Visit the main page to see all of the entries!

 BLOG HOP!

The Makings of the Moment

Lately I've been making a lot of free jewelry for donations to charities. I have made earrings for a local fundraiser for a girl who has cerebral palsy and is need of surgery. I have given 2 necklaces, including a replica of my first published design and a pair of earrings, to my local Arts council for their annual gala fundraiser silent auction, and I have made a lovely bracelet for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Campaign. I enjoy helping others, and although I have little to offer financially, at least I can make a few things and donate my time, which amounts to a lot more than the money I have invested in the pieces. I just hope they appreciate the work and love that I put into every piece of jewelry I create. People tend to undervalue anything handmade. My father, a custom wood worker, knows this all too well!  Here is my 7000 bracelets for hope design.

  I've also been toying with some new designs incorporating layers and multi-strands. This is a new venture for me as I've really never worked with cloth textiles before in jewelry, nor have I really done many multi strand pieces, other than my first Vintaj design challenge win with the starry night necklace. I think that's actually one of the reasons I haven't gone there, because it was such a pain to get all the strands at the perfect length.  
Meanwhile in the midst of all these charity designs, I also have made a necklace for the bead soup swap that I am just sooo proud of. Its actually not a complex necklace, very simple design, but its still just so perfectly fabulous that I can't stop wearing it! The reveal day is March 3rd, so stay tuned for photos of the finished piece!! I still have quite a few beads left though that I haven't used, nor have I figured out what to do with the silk, so I'm a bit at a loss for the rest...here's hoping I can figure it out by the 3rd!  Until then, here is my bead soup that I received from my partner, Denise Peterson.

Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to spend my days beading and designing, I do have a day job as a Realtor, and it has come to that oh so fun 2 year mark when I have to renew my license. Since I've been so distracted my turning my hobby into a business the last few years, I haven't completed the first hour of continuing education, so the next week I have to complete over 16 hours of CE classes in order to meet the requirements for renewing my license, and I'm totally dreading it!!  I always say I am not going to procrastinate my CE and get it done in advance, and it NEVER happens!!  Oh well, I work better under pressure anyway! ; )   

Something Pretty On My Wrist

                       I wanted to do a quick blog on my latest design and what I was thinking during the design of it. I often dream of writing blogs that break down the design concept in an interesting way, but the truth is, it's really more of an organic, unplanned process most of the time for me.  This bracelet was a bit different though, because I did have a bit of a broad concept and picture in my mind when I set out to make it. It's a shame my arms are so hairy, because I'd love to be able to get photos of it as well as others on my wrist, because they just look so amazing. Unfortunately all I see is my arm hair when I try to get a picture, so I won't be sharing any of those photos with you today.  I'll try to search for a hairless model in the future, but in the meantime, the normal laid out photo will have to do.

                       This bracelet is a fun one that is basically inspired by my young teen years, back when I was obsessed with Drew Barrymore and similar movie stars of her up and coming time. She did that one movie where she played a rebellious and spirited yet troubled girl who was obsessed with butterflies...in a way, her character was kind of my muse when designing this bracelet. It is all about purples and has a vibrant purple altered arte metal butterfly as a unique focal point, although its got enough curvature you could wear it on the side or even back/bottom of wrist if you prefer another side showing more or need comfort. For example, I'm typing so I've swished the bracelet around so the butterfly is on the bottom side, because it is more comfortable to have my wrist rest on it than the larger beads. Making the focal is actually fairly simple. First paint the arte metal white to provide a base. If you use the ink just over the metal, it doesn't really show up very bright. After paint dries, use the ranger ink tools to apply your choice of ink colors to the piece. Try to dab as little as possible, because it will wipe the paint away, even after it dries if you are rubbing on it too much. Let ink dry and add a few more layers, mix up the colors if you like. After it all dries spray with acrylic sealant, then curve the tabs to make connectors or remove them and punch holes. The beads are g-g-gorgeous with lots of sparkle. My grandmother had made this incredibly huge cocktail ring that I dismantled and used some of the very gorgeous, retro, ab crystals in the dangles, as well as assorted crystal and glass beads in multiple shades of purple. I used 24mm wire to make fun little wire wrapped links to hang the sparkly beads from because these always remind me of either a spiraling flight or swim, so I often incorporate wire links and drops into nautical and or nature/bug/butterfly/dragonfly themed jewelry. Since I had this spiral idea in mind, I used a spiral clasp to complete the design. I'm pretty happy with this one, so much so that I may have to do a few more in different colors. I pretty much stick to green, blue, and purple in most of my designs, so I just might get crazy and go with a different color...at least one of these days!

Injured Foot, Injured Spirit, Still Nice Jewelry

             My last post feels like a century ago, and I apologize for my inability to post timely blogs. My only excuse is that I fell on Christmas Eve and fractured my foot and ankle in 2 different places, as well as severely spraining it. It was a major injury that has me, 35 days later, still in pain with less than 50% mobility, stuck at home with a boot on my right foot, leaving me unable to drive. This means I have been having extreme bead store withdraw symptoms, this being the reason I finally satiated my urges with a $80 beadaholique purchase (hey I got 20% off!) and a $30 handmade lampwork glass bead purchase (hey.... they are handmade and I had the money in paypal from an etsy sale of my jewelry!)  I was accustomed to making the 30 minute drive into Cleveland at least once a week to hit up either Michaels craft store or Hobby Lobby, whichever was having the better sale for the supplies I was craving that week, but alas, I have been stricken to the woes of internet shopping, where I am constantly buying things I do not need and end up needing more things to finish projects. Oh and I also am anxiously awaiting my tax documents to be able to file my taxes and get my return, because there's at least a $500 order for vintaj that must be placed. Yikes! This means I really need to sell some jewelry stat, which means I need to get some shows booked asap! I also have to get something made to donate to two different charities, one for auction and the other for The Global Genes Project, 7000 bracelets for hope campaign. That's a lot of stuff I need to get on top of... the problem is, I'm kind of a gimp right now. Oh and also I've been kind of depressed and not feeling very creative. Part of this is due to the fact that I feel like I've hit this sort of plateau in my goals, and I am not sure I can get to the place I want to, ever. That's a depressing thought. To work so hard, make so little, and pour every ounce of your heart into something that doesn't pan out...its scary. Then on top of that I've been stuck here, in the house, half mobile and feeling pretty worthless, so its all compounding to just a heap of yuck and more yuck. I somehow managed to design a few things lately I like and am proud of, but I need to do a lot more than I feel like I have the energy for, and I'm not sure how I'm going to find it. I still have my "day job," which is also a working from home job, and I am reaching a point where I really wish I could just choose one or the other. The past year I've thought that the path I'd ultimately choose would be jewelry, but its so uncertain in terms of profit, because you just never know. My etsy sales have averaged to 2 a month. That isn't a lot, considering how often I relist. I basically don't profit much of anything on there at this point. I honestly don't know what the issue is. Is it my tags? My designs? My prices? My photos? Then as far as local shows go, most have been successful, but then again, a few were not so much, so I'm not sure of which ones I should devote my time and energy to. Ultimately I have a lot to figure out, because if I don't start getting sales soon, then all of the praise, the attention, the magazines...it just doesn't amount to much. Its incredible, but its not enough to keep a business running. If the business can't run, then why keep pouring my money, my heart, and my energy into it? We have even been talking about turning the screen porch into a studio for me, but why on earth would we do that if I can't sell more jewelry than my expense to make it? I honestly have a lot of decisions to make. It breaks my heart to even consider not designing jewelry, but I don't want to be naive and hurt my family financially in order to make something happen that just may not be possible for me. If I do continue trying to make a go of the business, I am definitely going to have to get ahold of my beading addiction, and be more selective in my supply purchases. In the meantime, I will keep you posted on my ankle. I should find out a week from Monday if I need surgery on it, and hopefully that is a NO and I will be in normal shoes within another few weeks.
To send you off here are a few photos, taken with my new background, the tile we used for our kitchen floors!

                                 A vintaj bracelet I made. I've made 3 of these in the last few weeks.

                The necklace I made myself for Christmas, inspired by a necklace by Jess Italia Lincon.

                               The necklace I designed for the vintaj design challenge, which is mixed metals. I had to use all 3 of their metals. I hand painted the patina look on the pendant, which is arte metal (black) originally.

                      The necklace I made with the beautiful glass cab made by a local artist.

A not so great photo of my computer screen of my first magazine publication in Feb 2012 Bead Trends. I haven't received the hard copies in the mail yet, but I'm super excited!! I'll get my necklace back too, yay!