Mother's Jewels

When I worked at our local bead shop the current trend was mother's bracelets with their children's names spelled out with those alphabet beads and Swarovski crystals. After about the 500th bracelet I decided that particular look was never going to be for me. Sometimes the perfect piece if mother's jewelry expresses the simple prayer that is always present in her heart as seen in Lorelei's bracelet here. When Melanie over at Earthenwood Studio posted about her rabbit set here, I was instantly excited! This is a perfect set of beads for me for a mommy creation. This being the year of the rabbit and having twins....you see?

Another great example of something for mommy would be a glass and clay pendant from Kristie over at Artisan Clay. We wanted to give our mom something special for mother's day and I asked Kristie if she could make a pendant with glass colors signifying not only the twins, but also her other children. Never ever hesitate to ask an artist if they can do a custom piece for you, because they usually can and are quite happy to do so. I know Kristie bent over backwards for me, looking for the right colors and whipping up a few pieces to make sure she had something for me.

Do you have a favorite piece of mother's jewelry that you wear all the time or that you have made for someone special?

Important Reminder......

Has everyone had or scheduled all your necessary yearly appointments? Also, every now and then you should have a great facial, pedicure or massage. It feels like unnecessary indulgence, but I think it's more important than that. And it goes without saying that the bag of Dove dark should be right next to your vitamins-which you are taking RIGHT?!?!?

Very Vintage Blog Hop

The lovely Michelle Mach has hosted a Very Vintage Challenge and Blog Hop. She sent a yummy assortment of vintage beads and we all came up with designs using the components. For some reason I only have a macro shot with what she sent-sorry, but below you can see not only her treasures, but some of my own vintage hoardings in some of the same luscious Autumn tones. Be sure to click on her name up there to take you to the blogs of the other participants!

I wanted to use as much vintage as possible. Although the marvelous chain is quite now from Miss Fickle Media.

Michelle's connectors suspending some repurposed vintage Sarah Coventry beads.

I have had a stash of these "turtle" beads hanging around forever it seems! This is why we keep EVERYTHING! I drilled holes in the branch and hung all the linked up Lucite leaves she sent. I took my texture hammer to the brass leaf stamping. That actually started with my attempts at stamping a little owl, but he got turned around for some reason and didn't fully stamp out, so I had to go to plan B and camouflage

Using much of my own stash as well as my prized chain!! Michelle sent a really pretty teardrop ring that originally I tried to make a toggle. I made the toggle bar by putting the smaller bits she sent on copper wire, spiraled the ends and pounded them out. After some fiddling, I decided I liked the teardrop as a drop much better. I beaded the necklace quite randomly. And after photographing, found the little green seed to be a little problematic. Oh well, I can switch it out later.

Diggin the acorn cap on the lava stone, but didn't give him a permanent home yet.

And this sweet little dude is my favorite. I have plans for him I sure do, but I didn't get to him. I tossed around a few ideas and was afraid to "mess" him up. But I think I will paint a little something on him and coat him with resin. What do you think? And there you have it. Don't forget to hop around a check everyone else out. Sorry this post was a little late, this morning. We had a little power issue. Scared me it did-thought all this was lost, but thankfully Blogger saw fit to save it! Have a great day.

Mommy Might Be a Little Cranky

Sigh. These would be fabulous beads came with areas of issue for me. I'm sick of chasing after vendors. She did have a disclaimer for her Indonesian beads. These are resin. I guess I expected better OR more distressing. When there is just a single spot in an otherwise smooth area, it looks poorly made-NOT as having handmade character or however it was worded. AAANNNYHOOWW, I don't have any more energy to devote to bitching out a seller, so any thoughts on how to distress these more? Can I take a hammer to resin? Maybe stain them? Update on the beads that never came- I "opened a case" for non-delivery. (Etsy's term) and long story short, she had been sick, I now have my beads, and I have closed the case. Thanks for all your input. Babies are banging on something, I think I'll go join them!

Opinions Please

So I want to work with my white wire here. "Problem" is that all I have to do is look at it much less touch it with my pliers for the white to chip off. On some level it works for me, on another it doesn't. Do you think it lends a vintage look or just plain old shoddy?

Macro Sunday Backyard Treasures

Blue Soup

SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP!!!! It's here and just to refresh, here is the lovely stash that Rhea sent me. I was definitely challenged by the mix, and after rearranging and rearranging, I ended up using some of my own stash with this fabulous pendant and clasp, saving the sodalite and glass for a bracelet and earrings and another post. The pendant instantly reminded me of summers we used to spend on lake Michigan. We would spend a week, sometimes two, at Silver Lake, renting a cottage right on Silver Lake at the foot of the dunes. We would climb the dunes getting "lost" between the sandy mountains until we climbed over the peak that revealed Lake Michigan. Which looks like the ocean. A little tamer maybe, but still the same beautiful blue that stretches out until it meets the sky. Sunsets are beyond amazing. So this is what I see when I look at this pendant and I couldn't get past that. I played and played and played and I finally came up with a design that worked for me. I apologize for the light. As with everything these days I am right up to the last minute and this was all the daylight that I could muster.

The pendant is blue agate. I mixed my metals and used a bit of Swarovski crystal, labadorite, recycled glass and fabulous clay beads from Indian Creek Studios. Thanks so much for stopping by. Click on the link above to take you to Lori's blog with the whole list of this party's participants. And make sure to stop over at the lovely Rhea's blog to see what she cooked up! Enjoy!!!

I am participating in Michelle's Very Vintage Fall Challenge and these are the cool little bits she sent for me to work with. My wheels are spinning, rusty as they feel these days. Love the vintage lucite and especially the little have ball charm front and center! I have bunches of vintage beads I think would be fun to use. We'll see. On a completely different note, I need some advice. I purchased some beads back on August 22. They have yet to arrive. I have convo'd the seller. Never heard back. Thought maybe the holiday, sickness, made to order??? So I convo'd again the other day. Nothing. I know she's not in the hospital, because there have been updated listings in her shop. What do I do? For the record I am a very nice person to deal with. I just want to know the status or if they have shipped, if my ding bat mail lady dropped them somewhere on the grassy spot between the sidewalk and the street again. I am more upset that I am not being acknowledged. She has hundreds of 100% positive feedback. No neutral. No negative. I do not understand.

I Heart Macro

This weeks snapshot-and i did use the tripod. The beginnings of a beaded bead. I love the colors of these seed beads. I'm playing around with different beads for my Bead Soup piece(s). The pendant Rhea sent me has many wonderful shades of blues. And I have miles and miles of endless sea on the brain when I look at it. Getting so close to the deadline-the hop starts next Sat. Still we are talking about me and that means I am five and a half days ahead of schedule.

i heart macro

I have been meaning to pull out my macro lens for a few weeks now and when I read the i heart macro post over at Studio Waterstone I knew it was time to pull out my lens. I should have used a tripod I know. The least little shake makes things a little more blurry. I loved the colors when I saw this little leaf floating in the bird bath. Fallen and curled, rusted and floating quietly with a few tiny yellow bugs.

Need Some Beads?

Are these beads not spectacular?!?!?! Visit Laurel Moon's blog for a chance to win these babies! They are all creations of Melanie Brooks from Earthenwood Studio. Have you ever held an Earthenwood bead? They are magic. I truely hope I win of course, but best of luck to you. Go now and leave a comment!

Amber Tapestry

Finally I have completed something for Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge. As each month begins, I get all excited about the new challenge. When I have half a second I start shopping for beads, dig through my stash, etc. Usually I am frustrated because the month comes to a close and I haven't done anything. I really really hate that feeling. This month I managed to make it before the deadline, and actually make it a few days before the deadline! Yay me!! Isn't the glass fabulous?!?!! The glass headpins are from Gardanne. The wonderful little jump rings are from Hanson Stone and the copper earwires are from Miss Fickle Media. I call them Amber Tapestry.

Bead Update

Remember a couple weeks ago (might have been months-I don't know) when I showed you my gorgeous slag beads from Lake Michigan? Well I finally put it all together and this is what I came up with......

I love the blues-like a whole LOT, and I wish I was a keepin this one. BTW the stones are from Stone Me on Etsy. And here is my second batch of glazed beads. I am pretty happy with the results. I want a block of hours where I can play with the clay. When I get little snippets of time, I just roll morphy rounds-which I love-but it all can't be just that. I also want to play with my glazes more too.

I have a really neat gold, but it comes out quite black. The black is cool. I like it. But it is not the gold I envision when I am brushing it on.

These are my favorites. I love the matte finish. I love the turquoise. I love the "roughness" and how they look like I was digging in the backyard and came across little treasures buried decades ago.

How are you all doing with your Bead Soups? I haven't assembled yet, I have them laid out, partnered with other beads, moved around and thinking about where I want to go with them. If you don't know what Bead Soup is, click the icon at the top right of the page and seriously consider playing in the next round. Have a great day!

It might have been good George........

I just got THE BEST e-mail from my sister-in-law. It's a little joke and it goes something like this: A woman was sitting in a bar enjoying a cocktail after work with some co-workers when an extraordinarily handsome, extremely sexy middle aged man wandered in. She tried to look away but couldn't stop starring. Seasoned as he was he noticed her gaze and walked over to her. He whispered in her ear " I will do anything you want me to, no matter how kinky, for twenty dollars. But there is one condition." Intrigued she asked what the condition was. "You must tell me in three words." The woman thought for a moment, reached into her purse and pressed a twenty and her address into his hand. She looked at him thankfully and said "Clean my house."

OK needless to say I found this extremely funny! All I can imagine is George Clooney wandering around my living room with the vacuum cleaner while I sip the most fabulous pomegranate margarita ever made. Johnny Depp would be OK too, as long as he was dressed in his pirate outfit.

The thing about me is that I OVER THINK sometimes, and this wondrous fantasy soon came crashing as I the pessimist took the fantasy to the point where George was constantly asking where this should go and where could he find that. So annoying. I'll just do it myself.

I know the baby pic really has nothing to do with the post, but I only have baby pics at the moment. They are laughing though!

Teaser Teaser Teaser

A little teaser pic for you of the soup ingredients for my Bead Soup partner, Rhea!

Soup Beads-YUMMMMMMM

Feast your eyes on this lovely bunch of beads that I received from my partner Rhea Freitag. And I have been so into the blues lately too. But she didn't just pick out these blue beauties randomly. She told me my sweet sweet babies were her inspiration! Not simply just blue for boys, the sunburst clasp represents the energy and excitement that Mr. Pearl and Pebble and I felt when we found out we were to finally be a mommy and daddy. The beautiful agate pendant, a stone of protection, especially from energy drain. And the faceted sodalite beads for inner peace. I am so touched that Rhea put so much thought into making these ingredients so personal! Jewelry isn't Rhea's only passion. She is quite a talented mixed media artist too. Head on over to her blog and shop and see what I mean. (I linked the shop to my favorite piece) This is her first Bead Soup and it is a whammy! There are hundreds participating. I can't believe how much energy our fearless leader Lori has stored up. She deserves an agate tiera!

The Results Are In..........

Well the Fire Fly finished firing (sounds Seussy doesn't it?) around 10pm last night so I didn't get to see the results until this morning. I was really prepared for anything. I grabbed the camera and went downstairs, snapping as I opened it up.........

A little breath holding..........

So used to having to do things over twenty times............

Oh just open the thing........

Could it be?!?!?!

IT COULD !! IT COULD!!!!!!

As you can see I did remove about four beads before firing. Sometimes I get sooooo anxious and set myself up for failure because of my impatience.

Oh glorious beads, I love thee.........

And so dear fellow bloggers, you all are the first to share my first beady success with me! Have a great day!!!

Blessed Little Orbs

Oh I am still figuring out what furniture is needed. Working with what I have though, and soooo anxious to have a load of finished beads, this is the configuration I came up with to get the most beads cooked. Shouting out to the clay people-will this work? The back left three are not touching, it is just my shooting angle. I have kiln wash on the floor. The wire is 14g hefty something or other that I just got last week from the ceramic supply. I will run it in the morning unless someone yells STOP!!!! That is a nice pallet isn't it? Very interesting (and exciting) to me that what I see is not what I will get.