Silver Parrot

Awesome Etsy Giveaway

2012-01-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Clay artist Lisa Boucher is having an awesome giveaway for January on her Etsy site.

Not familiar with Lisa's work? I used one of her gorgeous ceramic sunflower pendants for my last Bead Soup Blog Hop piece (currently up for sale on my Etsy site). Either click the link or check out the picture over there on the right-hand side bar.

Anyway, entering is easy - just like her Facebook page and pass on the referral.

Go for it!

KJ

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

2012-01-14T14:12:00.001-08:00

9 years ago today, God chose to give me an incredible gift.

After all that time of my careful nurturing, parenting and love, that gift has evolved...

...into this!

And yes, there's a story behind this photo which I'll relate in a future post, but in the meantime, just wanted to say "Happy 9th Birthday, kiddo! You are fantastic and I'm so blessed to have you in my life!"

Love,

Mommy

How Not to Spend a Friday Night

2012-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Don't borrow your mother's car because yours is in the shop undergoing expensive repairs.

Don't use said car to take your son out for a nice Friday evening dinner and dessert.

Don't think you're "safer" because you parked (perfectly straight) in an end parking spot.

Don't linger over frozen yogurt after dinner thinking what a nice relaxing evening you are having (for a change).

Don't expect your car to be in the same condition it was in when you left it.

Don't think that this is just a case of a Mercedes parking "too close" to your mom's car.

Don't think that the people who own the Mercedes (who actually HAVE insurance and can be located) had anything to do with this.

Don't think that any of the 20 people who witnessed the asshole who drove into the Mercedes so hard that he pushed it an ENTIRE CAR LENGTH FORWARD into your mom's car bothered to TAKE DOWN A LICENSE PLATE #.

Don't think that the shopping center has cameras.

Don't think that your mom is not going to blame you for this even though you weren't anywhere near the car when it happened.

Don't think the police are going to catch the asshole responsible or that the insurance company is going to make the repair process easy in any way whatsoever.

And that is how not to spend your Friday night.

KJ

Better Late Than Never

2011-12-21T12:32:00.001-08:00

I partially wrote two separate bead porn posts that were supposed to be auto-posted during the holidays, but things were so crazy, I never got either one of them finished or scheduled.

So, you get New Year's bead porn instead of Holiday bead porn.

Etched brass bead caps from Metal Me This.

And some copper ones, too.

Patinated spacer beads from Miss Fickle Media.

And some pretty patinated flower beads, too. Just perfect for thinking ahead to Spring!

Peach links to match.

And this great, yummy blue color called Benthic Blue. I love how it has touches of lavender in it.

Of course, chain to match.

I'm always on the hunt for unusual toggles...MissFM to the rescue with this great, leafy-green version.

And finally, this beautiful seahorse pendant...doesn't it look like it's been lost at the bottom of the sea in a treasure chest for years? I love that!

Did I mention there's a lot of metal in this porn? These beautiful copper teardrops are from Kristi Bowman.

Kristi also created this stunning ammonite pendant.

These patinated butterfly wings are from SL Artisan Accents.

And then there was that sale at Gardanne...where I lost my mind (and my bank balance...starting with these blue enameled starfish charms.

And the matching scallop shells, of course.

Couldn't pass up the sand dollar...

And then I did it all over again in another color - starfish charms in seafoam.

Matching scallops...

...and sand dollar.

If you've been reading the last couple of months, then you'll recognize these flower charms from some earrings I made back in November. They are from Menagerie Studio.

These flowers are from the same vendor and they've already made it into earrings as well.

This two-hole purple heart pendant is also from Menagerie, but I'm still hoarding it. Might need to bust it out for Valentine's Day, though.

This midnight willow pendant is from Humble Beads.

As is this summer butterfly.

I have so much more to write about, including everything that happened over the holiday break (presents, food, family, vacation, car emergencies, etc.). Just need the time to sit down and get my thoughts organized (good luck, right?) In the meantime, though, I can post this bead porn to at least keep the blog up to date (more posting is one of my goals for 2012...I miss being able to write more often!)

Hope 2012 is off to a great start for everyone.

See you soon!

KJ

Earring-palooza

2011-12-15T08:55:00.001-08:00

What happens when you don't have time to carefully pre-pack your vacation jewelry projects? You end up just grabbing for your art bead "pairs" as you're running out the door and making a LOT of earrings.

I can't get enough of these gorgeous porcelain beads from Lumina Inspirations. I first ran acrosse their beads years and years ago at the L.A. Gift Show and now there's a local vendor who carries their line at the OC Bead & Gem show that rolls through town every 2-3 months.

The metallic accents and bright, mirror finish on the beads really add to their appeal. I decided to be a little unusual with this pair and pick up the color of the small swipe of orange at the bottom of each bead so I grabbed some recently-purchased bright orange jade rondelles and added some vermeil spacers to pick up the gold. I can see these looking great with a navy blue suit or dress.

About a year ago, I was going through a "brigh colors" period so I was grabbing everything I could get my hands on that fit that category. This cute dotted pair of beads from Jangles totally fit the bill. To her credit, she sent along some great accent beads including those red wood rounds and a pair of even tinier bright green glass beads. However, I was in such a hurry to grab these out of the package that I managed to lose one of the green glass beads in my carpet...where it remains lost to this day.

I quickly improvised by grabbing this pair of aqua and white vintage glass beads from Brea Beadworks and some dyed green howlite spacers. A couple of touches of sterling silver finished off the design.

I have to admit it - I'm not overly fond of polymer clay. Usually (there are exceptions like the great stuff at Floridity). But every once in a while, I find some pieces I really like. These cute lavender square beads definitely fit in that category. And, of course, it didn't hurt that they have pansies on them as I am obsessed with all things pansy (shout out to my fellow Tri-Delta, Erin!)

These were some of my earliest Etsy purchases from a shop called The Color of Dreams. Awesome name, right? And how to take polymer clay to a more elegant level? Add sterling silver and Swarovski, of course. Swaros make EVERYTHING better ;-)

More beads from Lumina Inspirations - but a totally different feel than the abstract designs in the first pair. I was drawn to the contrast between the dark greens and gray/blues of the background and the white and bright yellow of the flowers on these.

I added dark blue-gray faceted Czech glass in an etched finish and some vermeil to make these look really lush.

And now to my favorite pair. These are recyled glass rings from Loot - one of my favorite vendors at the Pasadena Bead & Gem show.

I added amethyst AB Chinese crystals and vermeil filigree beads along with some links of gold chain. I don't think the photos really captured the colors very well - the lighter color of the crystals is actually swirling through the glass rings along with some sparkling goldstone effects. You'll just have to take my word for it that the colors work better in real life (stupid camera). These are so glam and sparkly I almost can't even stand it. I'm going to have a hard time not keeping them for myself but they are destined for the Etsy shop (along with everything else here) as soon as I have the time (and willpower) to let them go.

Hope you enjoyed my "Earring-palooza!" Hopefully, I'll get more time to create larger pieces over the holidays - I've been sadly lacking in the bracelet department lately and need to focus on that!

KJ

THIS?

2011-12-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

...is priceless.

Wow, are there some kids in need of de-spoiling...and FAST.

Warning: the last line uses a couple of off-color terms (more PG than R) so either play it at home or turn your volume down.

KJ

P.S. Let me know what your favorite part was in the comments.

Best Laid Plans...

2011-12-08T13:06:00.001-08:00

Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a vacation LOL!

First off, we couldn't get our extra timeshare week (seriously, stop giving us weeks...we can't even use them all) booked anywhere except a resort that's 15 minutes from our house. But, you know, it was a free week, so why not at least get outta the house, have somebody else do the laundry and enjoy beautiful Newport Beach while we're at it? Sounds like a good idea, right?

And it was...right up until the night before when I got that ominous phone call from the kid's daycare (those calls are NEVER good news) telling me "Ryan has a temperature of 101." I swear, those germs just KNOW when we are supposed to leave on vacay and that's when they strike! This is the FOURTH vacation in a row where he's either gotten sick the day before we leave, the day we leave, or the day after we arrive.

By the time I got to the school and picked him up and got him home, his temp was up to 102.

Sigh.

So, I had a pow-wow with everyone else who was going and, since they were all in various phases of "getting over being sick" and "just finished being sick" (I told everyone in no uncertain terms that from now on, *I* am vacationing alone...all you sick people can stay HOME with your GERMS!) they all agreed we should go anyway. Mr. Sicky McSickerson will NOT stand in the way of this group's vacation (especially since we were so close to home and he can sit in the room and watch cartoons just as easily as he can sit on the couch at home and do the same thing).

Got to the resort and immediately set up a quarantine area for the kid and his germs.

And then we went on with our activities (with one person staying behind to keep the kid company, keep his medicine topped off, and keep an eye on him - we rotated this duty). Saturday evening was the official tree-lighting ceremony at nearby Crystal Cove beach. They had carrollers, hot chocolate and cookies...and Santa arrived via lifeguard rescue vehicle (I guess the reindeer don't do sand).

Here's a picture of the tree...a little underwhelming in size, I thought, since it's an outdoor tree, but it was decorated nicely. The striped awning is the outside of the famous Beachcomber restaurant.

As we waited for it to get dark enough to light the tree, I took a photo of the sun setting over Catalina Island. If you look REALLY closely, you can see the tiny triangle of a sailboat. By the way, for those keeping up on current events, the waters off Catalina are where Natalie Wood drowned (with or without help...depending on who you believe).

See...vacationing 15 minutes from home does have SOME perks. Too bad the weekend BEFORE we came it was 80 degrees and it was more like 65 when I took this picture LOL!

But it made for a great lunchtime view. This is from the pool deck restaurant looking out the other way over the ocean. If you squint, you can see Santa Catalina in the distance again. I wish I'd taken a picture the day before because we'd had Santa Ana winds for several days that really cleared up the air and Catalina looked so close you could practically walk there AND you could also see the island further out (which is almost never visible and which is called San Clemente island. )

For those with an interest in geography and history, both of these islands are part of the same chain, known as The Channel Islands, as San Nicolas island - the setting for the book "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

Since I didn't have my camera on the day when the view was the best, I used my zoom to re-create the effect...but it actually looked even closer than this.

So, that's the tale of our vacation...that sort of wasn't a vacation...but still had a few good moments. The suites were nice, the pool and view were great and there were lots of things for the (healthy) kids to do. Oh, and I got jewelry made..which I will post as soon as I have time to get the photos processed.

Oh, and SickyPants is doing better now, too thanks to an antibiotic. He was, however, NOT HAPPY about the amount of homework he's had to make up. We worked on it last week while he was home and hours over the weekend...and we're STILL not done. Honestly, I was at the point last night where I was thinking "how bad would it be if I just finished it so we can be done?"

And yeah, I know, WORST MOM EVER, but seriously, the amount of drill on stuff that he ALREADY KNOWS is just ridiculous. It's like work for work's sake. The worst part is that I KNOW the teacher didn't even send home everything...this was like just the most important stuff.

I sure hope he doesn't accumulate much new work today because we still have stuff to finish.

KJ

Kyanite Snowflake Necklace

2011-12-08T12:56:00.001-08:00

In my last jewelry-related post, I mentioned there was one more snowflake necklace. I finally got the photos processed and ready to post so here they are:

This time, I added gorgeous gray/blue kyanite stones and white freshwater pearls as accents to one of Summer's Studios lovely bronze snowflake pendants.

Here's a closeup of the pendant.

And a closeup of the kyanite rondelles I used (please ignore the fact that Blogger is insisting on turning this photo upside down...I have no idea why it randomly does this with certain pictures and not others, but I have learned that it is futile to fight it).

In real life, the stones have a touch more blue to them than in the photos. I think my gray velvet neckstand is helping to emphasize the gray in the stones more. I also re-used my trick of pairing darker brass chain and wire with brighter vermeil spacers and gold-filled beads.

This necklace is slightly heavier in looks than the last one, but the pendant is also slightly larger so I thought it could handle the bigger accent beads. I've got to figure out more designs for using this kyanite...it's SOOO pretty. I love all the brown, gold, gray and blue tones it brings together.

That's it for now. I'm off to help with yet more 3rd grade homework...kid has been home sick for a week (more on that adventure in a future post) and his teacher sent home a grunch (yes, I make up my own words) of missed classwork and homework to catch up on.

Joy.

KJ

Another Light Goes Out

2011-11-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

Just read that one of my all-time favorite authors, Anne McCaffrey, passed away over the weekend. That makes the last of my "Big 3" (Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and Anne McCaffrey) all gone to a wider place than this.

I can still remember exactly when and where I first picked up one of her books - the 7th grade library at Serrano Middle School. Lunchtime. We were only allowed to go two places during lunch: outside at the tables to eat or to the library. The outside tables were...not safe for me. I spent almost all of my junior high lunch breaks hiding...er...putting in extra reading time...in the library.

And there I picked up this weird-looking book with the gold dragon on the cover and entered the wonderful world of Pern for the first time. And really, once you've ridden dragon-back, you're hooked for life.

Farewell.

KJ

Vacation Creations

2011-11-27T17:03:00.001-08:00

I finally figured out what I needed in order to kick my muse into gear: VAY-CAY-SHUN! Seriously, it took one day of movies, a day of shopping, a day of eating (PIE!), and a day of lying around watching all my DVR'd shows and doing basically nothing for me to finally feel energized enough to get out the beads.

That is one serious de-stress plan!

But I guess I had a lot of pent-up creativity because once I started going...I just couldn't stop.

Here are the results:

I'm in love with these sort of blue-green lagoon-looking Czech glass rondelles. I had a whole strand and I used a few of them throughout the following earrings. This pair was sort of an end-of-the-day afterthought as I was trying to use up some of the leftovers on my work table (better to use 'em than to have to put 'em away LOL) I was trying to go for a sort of "messy" wire-wrap thing on the stick pearls...not sure I pulled it off (or maybe that's just my inner perfectionist griping). I named them "Pearl Lagoon."

And, as long as I was cleaning off the work surface, I thought I'd use up the last two of these purple Czech rondelles (you'll see the rest in a design later in this post) along with some pink chalcedony and some abalone shell beads. I needed to make a couple of pairs of earrings for a charity auction here at the office tomorrow and I thought these "Abalone Dangles" would be perfect for that.

These "Dragonfly Dangles" are another pair for the auction. Some of the last of my brass dragonflies along with a couple of faceted rhodonite rondelles. Simple and classic.

Here's another view of them.

I had these swirly flower disk beads in a dark chocolate brown color and used them in a bracelet and earring set last summer that came out really well so when I saw them in this ivory color, I grabbed them. Initially, I had them as the tops for a different earring design (the re-worked version is coming up), but that design ended up being a little over the top (I can get that way with earrings because I like 'em long or large and statement-making). So, off came the pink polymer clay flower art beads and I popped on these simpler faceted pink ceramic cubes. Less exciting, but more wearable. The flowers on the white beads sort of remind me of dahlias so I called these "Pink Dahlias."

Here's another view.

These flowers were originally going to be the bottom halves of the earrings I just showed. See what I mean about too much? Actually, these flowers were "too much" with a lot of things I tried with them. I ended up with a gigantic pile of "nope, that won't work" beads next to me trying to figure out what to put with them. I finally settled on these ivory shell rounds and some turquoise patinated bead caps from Patina Queen. They are still a little on the wild side and yet have that English vintage feeling, too, so I called them "Tea Party."

Here's a closeup of of the wonderful flower focal beads by Menagerie Studio.

Here's another view.

Similar focals from the same artist, but they are a little more subdued. The color is a bit off in the picture as they are more of a peach hue and not as vibrant. I used the brass dragonflies again and more of those "lagoon" Czech glass beads. Since this pair still reminded me of an English Tea, but in a more subtle way, I called them "Tea Roses."

Here's a close up of the flower focal.

And another view of the earrings.

This may be one of my favorites from this round of creation. I used brightly colored polymer clay squares in pink and green from Floridity, then added some mother of pearl shell flowers and wire-wrapped on some sparkling green lampwork. I have been trying for almost a year to set up a Hawaiian vacation for my extended family so I guess I had that tropical vibe going in my brain and this is how it decided to come out. The white shell flowers reminded me of plumeria flowers that are traditional for Hawaiian leis so I called this pair "Plumeria Leis."

Here's another view of them.

I loved all the earrings I'd made so far, but I noticed that there was a decided lack of glam and sparkle (and, okay, so my December "In Style" magazine had just arrived and I was drooling over the jewelry ads and seeing all the sparkley stones I'll never be able to afford). Had to grab these great 14k gold fill twisted hoop components (I've been seriously hoarding all my gold fill and, to a lesser extent, my sterling silver since the prices have gone so totally bananas...I know I'll never be able to afford some of these materials again!) And to them I added some tiny faceted lampwork nuggets in shades of amethyst and peach and small amethyst Swarovsky crystals as dangles.

The colors reminded me of sunset so these earrings have been christened "Sunset Sparkle."

Okay, I will 'fess up. I totally and completely ripped this design off from Shannon Levart of Miss Fickle Media. I couldn't help it - I fell in love with it on her site and had to make my own pair using her hammered copper flowers and patinated hummingbird charms. I did add my own creative touch by popping a sparkling Czech glass rondelle at the top. Originally, these were going to be for the charity auction (not for sale - I don't sell other people's designs), but frankly, they just came out too darned cute so I am keeping them for myself and hoping Shannon will not hate me too much for the copying. I decided that hummingirds could only be these color in a fantasy world so these earrings are called "Hummingbird Fantasy."

Here's another view.

And finally, here's the bracelet I wrote about in the last post - the one that was "on hold" while I figured out a solution to what I didn't like about it (plus, I didn't have a clasp that I thought would work with it). Shannon came to my rescue on the clasp issue as she included a wonderful freebie one in the package with the flowers and birds from the above earrings. It matched PERFECTLY in both color and sized. The rest of the bracelet is built around a polymer clay focal from Floridity, some gorgeous pink and brown "wheel" Czech glass disks, bleached wood slices and, of all things, brown shell dangles that used to be the "buttons" on ladies' shoes around the turn of the century. Years ago I bought a bag of these at the L.A. Gift show and have been hoarding them ever since. I thought it was time they made themselves useful. I call this design "Rosewood Bird."

Here's a closeup of the bird focal from Floridity.

I've been watching (and, yeah, okay, drooling) as LeAnn from Summer's Studio, Etc., started playing with bronze clay, but I was waiting for just the right design to strike my fancy. I finally found it with some pretty snowflake charms like this one and I turned the first one into this necklace by wire-wrapping some purple Czech glass rondelles (the same ones from the Abalonge earrings) onto patinated brass chain. The bronze is a bit tricky because it's darker than my normal gold findings, but not as dark as the brass. I got around this by using the darker brass chain and wire and then adding some brighter seed beads that are not quite gold, but still play up the highlights in the bronze. The purple beads reminded me of wintry shadows on snow so I named this "Twilight Snowfall."

Here's a closeup of the bronze snowflake pendant. I bought a second pendant from her with a slightly different snowflake and I made a necklace out of that one as well, but ran out of time to get it photographed. Hopefully, it will make its debut later this week.

Here's a closeup of the clasp...with my signature dangle.

And one last view. I'm loving this simple, but elegant design.

Whew! That was a lot of creating...and yet I'm sorry I ran out of time because I had more ideas and I know it will probably be a month before I get any more time to play. I'll have to hold out until then!

Hope everyon had a great Thanksgiving!

KJ

Rainy Friday Bead Porn

2011-11-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, it's neither rainy nor a Friday, but it was BOTH...two weeks ago when I originally started this post LOL!

As seems to be the mode for me right now, LIFE happened. Most notably the kid having emergency dental surgery (you know it's bad when you're in for a routine ortho visit and the nurse comes out and says "The Doctor would like to see Ryan's mom, please.").

Oh, and to make it just a perfect cherry-on-top sundae kind of event, I'd hit the annual $ limit on dental work for 2011 already (see previous rounds of dental surgery and fillings...I swear this kid has meth mouth without the meth) so yeah, this lovely bill came straight outta my pocket in its entirety.

Which is also why most of this bead porn? Purchased at least 6 months ago back when I had a bead budget.

I've looked at My Elements on Etsy a number of times, but held off taking the plunge until now. They have some really cool stuff, but it took me a while to decide how to meld it with my style. These frosted, colored rings were a perfect start.

Never one to buy just one color when I can get ALL the colors (I blame my friend Laura for teaching me to do this back when we both used to go to rubber stamp conventions together)...I got the same rings in bright pink, too.

They also had these unusual grass green tubes which I thought would make a unique design element if I can just figure out what I want to do with them.

I initially went to Aloha Bead to look at the amazing lampwork, but the shop has great Czech glass pieces, too, like these darling purpley-blue tiny flowers.

And these two-tone leaves.

And this great set of faceted Czech rondelles in shades of amethyst, citrine and peridot.

I was in a Czech glass mood so next I stopped off at Bead and Ribbon and found these watery long oval beads.

Same shape, but lavender and moss green colors. I was trying to get a head start on Spring designs.

I've been using a lot of this shape of bead in my designs - it's quickly become a favorite. This "seafoam topaz" colorway really caught my eye.

These beads always remind me of ammonite fossils and, like the wheel shape above, are starting to show up in the most unusual color combinations.

I started working a bracelet design with this pink and cream set over the weekend. I hit a bit of a snag around dinner time which I usually take as a sign that my brain is too tired to continue right at that moment. It's frustrating because I know it will probably be a whole week or more before I can get back to it. However, I've learned the hard way that continuing to push past that barrier usually leads to design or construction errors (which I then have to take apart and re-do). Plus, I sometimes get a new insight if I let a design sit for a while and look at it over a few days...I figure out that the proportion is wrong or there's not enough color contrast, etc.

So, here's hoping that flash of inspiration hits in time for the weekend (AND that I get the free time I'm hoping for).

Kristi Bowman's wonderful copper pieces are a new addiction. I love the shapes, the patina colors, everything!

Seriously, how cool are the snakeskin design? And, of course, these just beg to be made into long, dangly earrings...my FAVE!

I know these are supposed to be a floral design, but I see tiny bursts of fireworks in them.

Yeah, I now have at least a year's supply of Kristi's stuff (which turned out to be good planning on my part since bead $ is so scarce right now). I TOTALLY did that on purpose. You believe me, right?

I love the enamel work from Gardanne. This pair reminded me so much of the silver and turquoise concho belts that are such a part of the regional garb in Santa Fe where my family is from. I had a very small belt as a child (was my mother's when she was young) made of connected silver conchos each inlaid with a small turquoise stone. Nowadays, instead of the linked metal, the conchos slide onto a leather belt and fasten. Many of them are true works of art and are worth thousands of dollars.

Not only do I love butterflies, but that electric shade of blue is my favorite color.

And I love this teal with the white specks - reminds me of snow on evergreen trees.

Speaking of butterflies, I got this darling aqua and black dotted pair from Menagerie Studio.

And this pretty white and red flower...the beginning of a holiday design, maybe?

Polymer clay is so versatile...look how what Floridity is doing with it SOOOOO completely different from the Menagerie pieces!

This set I already used for the bracelet I created during my summer vacation. The soft blues, grays and ivories were just perfect for capturing those foggy beach days we had.

I've been collecting Barb's shells for a while now so when I saw this grab bag, I had to go for it to add to my collection. Plus...STARFISH! Score!

And continuing with my obsession with all things ocean-y...another starfish! This one in ceramic from Spirited Earth.

And this tiny ivory dolphin from the same store was just too cute to resist.

Lastly, a really unusual color palette of lampwork spacers from Blue Seraphim. She called it "Midnight Orchid" which I thought was a really cool name.

So, that's it for my "rainy Friday" bead porn. Whether it's actually raining at your house right now or whether, like me, you're just experiencing some stormy weather in your soul, I hope it brought you some cheer.

Next post will be...whenever I have time LOL!

KJ

P.S. For those who've been asking about Ryan...he has an appointment this week to get an EKG. His doctor wanted to make sure he had no heart issues prior to starting him on the ADD meds. So, progress on that front, but the doctor I was referred to in order to actually GET the prescription wanted to re-do all of Ryan's psych testing (and only charge me a paltry $450-not-covered-by-insurance to do it). Ummm....NO. I'm trying to work around that roadblock right now. In the meantime, I have Ryan's parent-teacher conference this Friday which I am NOT looking forward to as I suspect it's not going to be good.

As if all that wasn't enough, Ryan's dad hit me up yesterday for the umpteenth time about letting Ryan resume visits to his house (which is now two hours away and which he shares with the person who has had him arrested for domestic violence 3 times). Granted, it's been about two years since the last arrest, but I'm really struggling with the idea of trusting them again. I'd love to hear your opinions...am I being over-protective, crazy, ex-wife-ish, should I at least consider it or am I doing the right thing to hold the line?

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

5 Things Make a Post*

2011-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

1. Happy Halloween! I am dressed as a witch for our costume contest at work today and you should have seen the looks I got at the gas station this morning! If I can get someone else to take a picture, I'll post it here later.

*Edited to add photo:

Scary, right?

2. Is anyone else watching "Project Accessory"? Finally...a show for all of us wannabe professional jewelry designers!

3. Is it just me or is original Nyquil the worst tasting thing EVER? If it wasn't the only thing that lets me sleep when I have a cold, I'd never take it again because DAYAMMMM does it taste like sh*t.

4. I have had that "Moves Like Jagger" song stuck in my head for about a week now. It's a great song, but every time I hear it I have to wonder why anyone would hold up Mick Jagger's moves as "cool." To me he looks a lot like a chicken undergoing electro-shock therapy.

5. I'm feeling "resinable"! New artwork, new bezels in different shapes and colors. I did a lot of prep work over the weekend but am still waiting for some of the newer items I ordered to come in. Stay tuned!!

KJ

*short post idea shamelessly stolen from author Sharon Lee's blog.

Book Review: "Crossroads"

2011-10-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

First off, thank you so much to everyone for the supportive comments last week. I'm sorry for all the emotional spewage, but I guess I had just reached my limit and couldn't contain things any more. Plus, I figured somewhere out there in Blog-land, there had to be someone (or several someones) who had some experience with these issues and could offer some advice. and I was right! Extra special thainks to those of you who took time to message me privately and share your experiences and insights. I no longer feel so totally alone and that's a HUGE gift!

Okay, enough of that. On to the book review.

This review is for "Crossroads" by Jeanne C. Stein. It's #8 in the Anna Strong Chronicles. Anna is a bounty hunter in San Diego by trade and a vampire as a result of an unfortunate run-in with a particular perp she chases down in Book 1. I'm a fan of the series overall (obviously, since I'm up to Book #8) because of the strong female lead character and because of the way the traditional "vampire" elements of the story are handled. Stein did some careful picking and choosing about which elements she kept and why they work and I think that gives the series some unique attributes that set it apart from all the rest of the vamp lore out there.

Unfortuantely, Book #8 is, for me, the weakest in the whole series.

I'm not sure if that's because the original plot line kind of came to a head in the last book and this is meant to be a "pause" before the action picks up again or if I just find a slower-paced book less interesting personally.

Some other elements that led me to be disappointed in it include a long road trip (hard to have much action when you're stuck in a car for two days), secondary characters that aren't around long enough to justify their existence in the first place and...skinwalkers.

It may just be a pet peeve of mine, but the skinwalker device has just been SOOOO overused. Perhaps it's not bothersome if you don't read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi (or Tony Hillerman!) and you haven't run across it before, but I could name 10 series without even trying that have already used it. I'm just over it.

The one thing I did like about this book is Anna making a conscious choice about whether to remain a vampire and, if she does, what kind of vampire she will be and what type of future she will fight for. It's an important step in her evolution as a heroine and, in my opinion, makes her more powerful as she goes forward on her own terms. It's possible the author was so focused on getting through this element of the overall story arc, that the specific storyline of the individual novel suffered around it.

Oh, and I didn't like that a supporting character that I'm rather fond of essentially gets written out.

If you like vampire stories and strong female heroines, I definitely recommend the series starting with Book 1. I wouldn't start with this installment. If you like the series enough to get all the way to this book, you'll probably want to read it as a means of keeping current with the storyline and bridging to the next book. This is definitely not the entry point to this particular "universe."

Next week, I'll be review "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher. This book came out a while ago, but as this series ranks up near #1 on my all-time favorite list, I've been sort of hoarding it for a while. Being sick over the last couple of weeks was the perfect time to treat myself to it.

Stay tuned!

KJ

Blogus Interrupticus

2011-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Wow...the last two weeks since I posted just kinda flew by, right? And there was gonna be jewelry, too. Really, I swear there was.

But then, life happened.

And then sickness happened.

And I learned that life + sickness cancels out jewelry and writing and pretty much anything creative.

I'll just mention now that this may end up being a long-ish and possibly emotional post, so if you're not down with that...well, you were warned.

If you've been reading the blog a while, you know I've been dealing with teacher issues at my son's school since last year as well as facing ADD testing/diagnosis for him.

On the up side, after last year's total debacle, we seem to have a phenomenal teacher this year. She's creative, organized and engaged. She has been patient with me e-mailing her (probably a little too much) and, amazingly enough, she E-MAILS ME BACK!

The down side is that I had Ryan tested last Spring and the results came back showing positive correlation for the inattentive type of ADD. I'll be honest and say I've struggled with that knowledge ever since. It's not that I don't believe in the diagnosis, it's that I find it so difficult to accept that my sweet, wonderful, bright boy is going to have to struggle with this issue all the way through school and beyond.

And yeah, I'm also struggling with other people's reactions to hearing about it. If I have one more person tell me it's my fault for letting him watch too much TV, I may not be responsible for my actions.

Once I got over the news about it, the question became "okay, what do we do now?" I met with the principal at his school at the end of the year last year and got the school to agree that Ryan qualifies for what's called "504 status" which means he gets some special accommodations like getting to sit up front, getting extra time for homework, etc. I also laid down the law about how I expected a better teacher assignment for him this year.

Given that his grades and test scores are all okay (basically B's and scoring at or above grade level in almost everything), I wanted to see how he'd do with a better teacher this year in 3rd grade so that's where things left off at the end of last year.

Now we're almost two months into 3rd grade and I'm starting to see the damage that the crappy teacher from last year did. Ryan is struggling with staying on task in the classroom both from the amount of work and the amount of self-organization and self-direction that is required (neither of which did he have to keep up with last year). He continues to do well on his tests, but he is coming home with piles of incomplete classwork each night that we are having to do ON TOP OF the actual homework.

Now, I would like to say that I am super-mom and can manage a full day of work, pick up the kid, cook dinner, get him through all his classwork AND homework, get the kitchen cleaned up, get the toys picked up, get the shower done, and get through the bedtime routine all with a Donna Reid smile on my face.

And some nights, I can.

But most of the time, I arrive home from work already exhausted, wanting to only provide dinner that we picked up in a drive-thru. I am certainly not in the mood to repeat 3rd grade math and grammar exercises with patience and a smile. I used to be able to leave Ryan at the table working on his homework while I relaxed for a few minutes or got dinner started, but he's reached the level where his inattentiveness does not allow him to stay on task without me at his elbow prompting him to keep going. And I am starting to picture myself glued to his side to get ANYTHING done for the entire rest of his school career - obviously, that's just not practical nor is it good for his ongoing growth.

A new wrinkle is developing in that he is starting to get frustrated with the amount of work, how hard it is for him to push all the way through it and, frankly, how sick he is of me preaching at him about "getting it done." I don't blame him - I'm sick of me, too. But this frustration he has is starting to boil over in some attitude and defiance that he NEVER had before. He's ALWAYS been my super-cheerful, sweet kid. His most frequently uttered phrase (until recently) has been "Sure, Mom."

Obviously, what we've been doing up to this point is no longer working. I need help. So, I tried setting up appointments with the ADD specialists that his testing doctor referred us to. Guess what? NONE of them are in my health care network and my current plan has NO out of network option. So, I was just forced to switch to a plan that costs 3X as much for the whole next year so that I can get to some of these doctors.

Did I mention that Ryan's dad pays $0 child support and $0 towards his health care (or activities or anything else for that matter). Did I also mention that due to the economy there've been no (or drastically reduced) bonuses and no raises or promotions at my job for the last 3 years?

So, yeah, that was a painful decision, but obviously, I need to get him seen by the right people even if it means waving bye bye to the last of my savings.

In the meantime, I've been reading as many books and websites on ADD as I can get my hands on and I've learned a couple of things:

1. It's not my fault. It's genetic. And you only have to look at his dad to see where the gene came from. So, I could have let Ryan watch NO TV for the last 8 years and he'd still be this way.

2. The experts are all saying I have to at least try putting him on medication (probably Ritalin)

3. My logic center is persuaded that's the right next course of action, but my emotions (and certain family members) are torturing me over the idea of putting an 8-year-old on a brain-chemical-altering medication.

All that has led up to several weeks of not sleeping, eating crappy food, and multiple crying jags so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when I started to come down with a nasty cold in the middle of last week. I'm getting over it now, but still dealing with a nasty cough.

Fun, right?

You feel all uplifted and happy after reading this post, I'm sure. And I do normally try to keep it pretty upbeat around here, but y'know, sometimes the crap just hits the fan and I have to let it out or totally lose my mind (partial mind loss has already occurred, but I'm determined to hold onto the scraps that are left).

Happier times are ahead, I hope. I'm going to move forward with trying the medication with Ryan and hoping that helps both of us along with some counseling (mostly for me so I can learn to deal with the stress better).

That's it for today. I know I'm behind on book reviews and will try to get caught up. Look for one early next week.

KJ

Book Review: "Ghost Ship"

2011-10-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks, everyone, for the comments yesterday. It's amazing how bead porn brings out the blog traffic *snicker*.

And now on to this week's book review:

I first stumbled across the Liaden Universe books quite by accident. I was on some other author's website (Anne McCaffrey's, I think?) and there was mention of these books. And then later, I saw a blip about them somewhere else and it just kept going like that with these maddening little hints about how fantastic this series was and how all the SF/F writers were raving about it, but I couldn't find the books in the bookstore.

Thank goodness for Amazon.com because once I got the first book in my hands, I could see what all the buzz was about and I wanted more, more, MORE! I gobbled up every book in the series until I got to the very last page of "I Dare" and went "what do you mean there's no MORE?"

Like a junkie hunting for her next fix I went on the internet, found the authors' website and blogs and discovered what a total mess the failing publishing industry had made of my opportunity to get more of these books. If you want the whole story, you can sleuth around like I did on the website, but basically a publisher went out of business before the newer books could be contracted for and/or published.

Whereupon the authors took a rather remarkable risk and decided to write the next book, "Fledgling", live (without a net) on the internet where the fans could read it for free (although donations via Paypal were graciously accepted). This turned out to be such a success that the next book, "Saltation", was done the same way. Finally, enough interest was garnered that Baen Books picked the series back up again, published "Fledgling" and "Saltation" and now, at long last, "Ghost Ship."

All that was a really long-winded way of saying that while this is a great book, I don't recommend you start here. There are a few different potential entry points into the Liaden Universe:

1. "Local Custom" is my preferred entry point. I think it does the best job of setting up the family lines that are followed in the later books. This is also the best entry point for those who like a little more love story in their books

2. "Crystal Soldier" would be the entry point for those who like to REALLY start at the beginning of things i.e. the complete back story behind the origin of Clan Korval, the Tree, etc. However, in my personal opinion, this book and its sequel, "Crystal Dragon", are much richer and, frankly, make more sense, if you've already read all the later books. But that's just me...your mileage may vary.

3. Finally, I've heard that a lot of people start the series with "Agent of Change" which is the beginning of the plotline that ultimately takes the reader up through the book I just finished, "Ghost Ship." This would be the best entry point for those who want their books to tilt more towards the action/thriller end of things. There's still romance...it just happens on the run.

Now that you know a bit more about the series, its history, etc., on to "Ghost Ship" itself. It has all the normal hallmarks of a Liaden Universe book: romance, action, humor, spaceships, magic, etc. And, after sticking with her through three books (and the years it took to get them from internet to actual publication), it's great to see Theo kind of grow up and come into her own as a pilot and as a member of Clan Korval. Not that she doesn't have problems...I mean how would you like it if a sentient (and potentially deadly) spaceship was following you around the galaxy like a stray puppy?

Meanwhile, back on planet Surebleak, Clan Korval and its new delm (leaders) are trying to get themselves sorted out after the events at the end of "I Dare."

If the book has one flaw, it's that it has SO many plotlines to tie up from the old series and launch for the books going forward that it gets a little bit snippy and short-handed in places. In fact, I know I would have been much more confused by some of the goings-on had I not been keeping up with the short stories (out-takes) that fill in some of the missing bits. Still, I enjoyed it more than both of its predecessors and besides, another hallmark of these books is that the authors really make you WORK for it as a reader. I've often had to go back and re-read certain bits or entire books before I finally figured out "oh, THAT's how that worked."

Truthfully, I can't say anything bad about this book or the whole series. The worst book Lee & Miller have written is still LIGHT YEARS better than just about anything else. You can't go wrong with this series...wherever you start to pick up the storyline.

Next week's review will be "Crossroads" by Jeanne C. Stein.

Weekend Update and "Lite" Bead Porn

2011-10-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

There was supposed to be some jewelry posted here. Really, there was.

Then the weekend happened. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, is SUPPOSED to be when you get to do your hobbies and relax and stuff, right?

It's not supposed to involve a Saturday filled with swimming lessons, dropping the car off for an oil change, delivering lunch to Grandma's house, picking up stuff at the Cub Scout store that we HAD to have for this week's meeting, checking the bird store to see if they had Nutriberries back in stock yet (no...and the parrot is threatening to go on strike any minute now until he gets his favorite treat back!), picking the car up after the oil change and taking Grandma out to dinner.

Nor is Sunday supposed to involve a migraine headache which could only be assuaged with copious amounts of pills, darkness, and (eventually...after partially subsiding for a while) a marathon of Season 2 of the "Vampire Diaries."

Hence no jewelry.

And I thought it would be weird to do two book review posts in a row (especially since no one seems to like them anyway) so, when all else fails, you get porn :-) It's "lite", though, because, as you may or may not have heard, there's a recession on.

These lovely floral bead caps snipped from vintage tins are from Donna Millard. Mostly she makes gorgeous-but-out-of-my-price-range lampwork, however, she has started to sprinkle a few of these into her listings.

Perfect for fall chestnut chain from my favorite color chameleon: Miss Fickle Media. Unlike most of bead porn, this chain has actually already made it into a design which you can check out here.

And since I can never get enough "fickle", I grabbed this ember red clasp, too.

Then it was off to marathon-buy some lovely enamel pieces like these cute birds.

And their darker, more mysterious cousins.

And some hearts I thought would be great for Valentine's Day designs.

So I got more than one color. These are all from Gardanne.

I'm not normally a fan of the "house" shape or theme, but I do love me some madras plaid (yes, the 80's and "The Preppie Handbook" scarred me for life) so I had to pick up this darling polymer clay pendant from Menagerie Studio.

Barbara Bechtel over at Floridity is doing some amazing new designs with this distressed watercolor finish - I love the brighter colors and thought these would make darling earrings!

And, of course, my obsession with anything ocean-related goes on. Every time Heather at Humble Beads posts any of these urchin-themed pieces, I go nuts.

Spirited Earth has quickly become one of my favorite sources for ceramic focals. Sometimes ceramics can be really huge and a little overwhelming to work with so I like it when there are some more "petite" offerings available like this cute little flower.

This green and brown forest moth pendant is also from Spirited Earth. It's an unusual color combination for me, but I am trying to push myself past my "tried and true" colors this year both in my purchases and in my designs.

I just had a necklace published in "Creative Jewelry" featuring one of these copper raku seashells from Star Spirit Studio. The one in the magazine has more blue/gold/pink tones in it while these are more true copper, but they are all great pieces and I love working with the raku and all the different colors you can find in it.

I think the true test of a lampwork bead is when it looks so yummy you have to remind yourself that it is NOT candy and that no, you are not allowed to eat it. These pretty, enamel-dappled disks from Flame Crazy definitely pass that test.

And then I saw these on the same site and was reminded of Monet's paintings, my personal fave, so they had to come home with me, too.

Okay, so these would never remind you of candy, but isn't the finish on them so unusual and FANTASTIC? They really look more like rocks from the desert than lampwork. I found them at Outwest.

I'm still hoping to get a book review and (maybe?) some jewelry up later this week...even though the craziness continues with Cub Scouts tonight (all the Bear Scouts are now considered old enough to be presented with their official pocket knives and start learning to whittle with them this evening...which I'm not sure I'm totally 100% okay with because I'm afraid the walls of the house might start sporting carved designs a la petroglyphs pretty soon), then Back to School night on Thursday, then orthodontist and swimming again on Saturday. AAAGGHHHH!

And yeah, I know, everyone with kids is this busier (or, gak!, even busier), but it's the having to do every single solitary bit of it all by myself with never a break or anyone to split the duty with after working a full day at the office AND getting the kid through his homework (plus the leftover classwork that didn't get done because of his ADD) that is wearing me out. I'm sure the migraine is partially from stress and not enough down time.

It's becoming clear to me that I have got to figure out a way to inject some balance into my life, but how to do that with a full-time job (which I'm stuck with due to being the sole breadwinner and provider of insurance) is beyond me. If anyone has a great inside stock top or surefire lotto numbers they want to pass on, I'll be standing by with my trusty pencil to take notes.

KJ

Book Review: "Phoenix Rising"

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

There will be a brief jewelry hiatus (but for those still doin' the Bead Soup Thang, here's the link) in order to bring you this week's book review (warning - there ARE some spoilers!):

"Phoenix Rising" by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris. The first in an upcoming series, "Phoenix" details the start of the adventures of Agents Books & Braun from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. It's sort of like the X-Files meets Steampunk.

Things I liked:

The cover art is brilliant. In fact, that's what drew me to the book even though I usually have a strict "don't get suckered by the artwork" policy on trying new authors. Still, you have to admit, pretty awesome looking.

The concept is great. I like the Steampunk genre anyway and it makes sense that of course there would be a "Ministry" keeping tabs on the more unusual goings-on in and around London and the rest of the world.

The book opens with a bang. Literally. Seems Agent Braun likes her some dy-no-mite. Great action in the opening pages really helps grab the reader, thought, and I'm always in favor of it. I really don't want to read 3 chapters of "set-up" thanks ever so.

Things that were so-so:

I could've done without the pun names of Books and Braun. And the fact that he's the mild-mannered archivist and she's the hell-on-wheels field agent...felt like I'd seen or read that before.

And while I get that it's an alternate universe, I thought Agent Braun's behavior and dress for a woman in that period...well, she would've been mobbed or lynched...or mobbed and then lynched. Sorry, I just couldn't stretch myself that far.

After the grab-bang opening, I still got stuck with chapters of set up (some of which will not come to fruition until future books which I find annoying).

Things I didn't like:

Since many of the elements of the mystery (the murders, the insanity of Agent Braun's former partner, etc.) happen before the events of this book, there's a sense of distance from them which doesn't allow the reader to have as much of a personal connection with the Agents and their search for the truth as one would have liked. Yes, yes, bad people doing bad things should be stopped. Agreed. But I want to CARE about why this is personal to these two agents.

The orgy scene was gratuitous. We already know these people are crazy bad. An orgy is the least of what they've done so I don't see why it was needed. AND, I didn't buy that one Agent was able to skip out on the orgy entirely and the other was able to just sort of dance around the periphery and then leave early when they are both supposed to be undercover as bad guys themselves. A passionate scene between Books and Braun would have been MUCH more interesting.

The corset thing is just stupid. There is not a woman in the world, much less one with a sizeable chest, who can do physically demanding activities in a corset (bullet-proof or not) without there being significant boob flashage. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the second (or maybe third?) law of thermodynamics: strapless tops + running and jumping and carriage chases = everybody look at my BOOBS!

Which brings me back to the whole mobbed-then-lynched thing.

So, I know it sounds like I hated the book, but I didn't. I actually liked quite a bit about it, but felt that it had some rough edges that needed polishing. Given that it's a new series with relatively new authors, I will probably check out the next book to see if things improve.

In the meantime, if you think you might be interested in Steampunk as a genre, I can HIGHLY recommend Gail Carriger's "Parasol Protectorate" novels. The first in the series is "Soulless."

Next week, I'll be reviewing "Ghost Ship" by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Stay tuned.

KJ

Kelp Forest Necklace

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I thought maybe an entire week of Bead Soup is enough for now, but if you're still hopping, here's the link to my post (or you can just scroll down - it's the next post).

For those who already stopped by (and especially if you left a comment and/or became a follower): THANK YOU! I really, really appreciate the feedback and I read each and every single comment. I tried to respond to as many as I could via e-mail, but not all of them come through that way so I'm sure I missed some people.

Since I ended my soup-creating phase with projects based around a lavender color scheme, I had all kinds of beads still sitting on my work surface that were close, but not quite right, for the soup projects so I decided to make something with them.

This is my "Kelp Forest" necklace as it encompasses all the green and brown tones of California giant kelp (especially as viewed underwater).

I started with this amazing ceramic lavender starfish focal from Yolanda's Clay...which, if you look closely, actually has some green tones reflected in the glaze...especially near the top.

I added some gorgeous Czech glass faceted rondelles that are lavender and blue with streaks of green and brown. Next are these really cool brown shell dangles that are actually shoe buttons from ladies shoes from the late 1800's. I got a whole bag of them years ago (like 2004-ish?) at the L.A. Gift show and I've been holding on to them ever since waiting for the right project to use them in. Then there are some green stick pearls and ebony wood slices.

More wood slices and these brown ceramic donut rings that I found at Michael's. I added a lavender Swarovski pearl to the center to keep the color scheme going.

The clasp is sterling silver wire hammered into an "S" hook and ring.

Put it all together and you have a little starfish hiding in a giant kelp forest.

'Bye li'l starfish!

In other news, congratulations to my favorite martial artist...Ryan...for achieving his red belt in Tae Kwon Do on Friday night. At 8 years old, he's only 2 ranks away from black belt! My kiddo practiced his heart out for weeks to get ready and did a great job - even broke a board doing an Il Bo Chunjin Back Kick (spelling on that is probably not right as I don't speak Korean LOL) Way to go, Ryan!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Why does Monday have to come so FAST?!

KJ

Soup's On!

2011-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

First off, I lift my glass to all of you intrepid blog hoppers out there! There are a lot of blogs to visit and if you took the time to come by mine - welcome! I'm sincerely honored that you're here and I hope you'll enjoy the soup I made and maybe even leave a comment or come back by in the future!

Just as a refresher, here are the soup ingredients provided by my partner, Judy Riley of Three Red Beads:

The focal is one of Judy's hand-made paper beads. This presented an immediate challenge as I have never worked with a paper bead before and I wasn't sure what style would best set it off or how much handling it would stand up to.

The other ingredients are Czech glass flowers and drops, freshwater pearls, faceted white jade and a Bali silver toggle clasp. Even though this color combination is not one that I would have ever put together myself, I absolutely loved it! Didn't exactly know what I was going to DO with it, but I loved it.

My process normally begins with the focal bead. I usually try to pull colors from it to select my accent beads and/or inform the idea of the design. In this case, the accent beads are already there for me, but the color scheme really screamed copper instead of silver to my brain. So, my first decision was that the clasp would form part of a separate design.

Next thing I noticed was that the paper used on the focal bead seems to have flowers imprinted on it. Put that together with the glass flowers and the fact that the green drops look like tiny leaves...I think I'm looking at a floral garland type of design. I also decided that the focal was a little small to anchor a necklace so...a bracelet it is!

I used 20 gauge copper wire and made large wrapped loops. Before closing each loop, I strung a few of the green drops directly on the wire and then also strung on some dangles I'd made out of the flowers and then closed the loops.

Here's a closeup of the focal bead. I added some Greek ceramic spacers in copper and some copper daisy spacers from my stash.

I quickly discovered that the lavender freshwater pearls did not have holes large enough to accommodate the wire I was using, but I really wanted to keep the lavender color in so I added lavender Czech glass flowers from my stash.

One of the best things in this soup mix are these faceted white jade beads. I never would have thought to use them, but they absolutely glow next to these other colors.

This copper toggle came from my stash.

And here's another overall veiw of the bracelet.

I had enough beads left to make some matching earrings.

Since I still had the silver toggle clasp, most of the green drops and all of the freshwater pearls left, I knew I needed to make more soup. I really wanted it to concentrate on those pearls and when I received my latest order from Lisa Boucher's Etsy shop and this lavender and yellow sunflower pendant was in it...

...well, they were meant to go together.

Except this design called for brass so the silver toggle still had to sit out.

I started with the pendant and some large-link brass chain and I kept picturing a chain-link fence in an overgrown field of flowers and berries with the plants twining through and around the fence links.

Other than the lavender pearls, everything else in this design came from my stash.

Here's a closeup of the amazing focal and you can see how I started weaving the pearls through the chain links using the illusion cord.

I decided to use up the lavender flowers that I still had on my table from the bracelet and then I added in dyed yellow wood round beads, vintage glass leaves, some lapis lazuli rondelles and olive green Swarovski crystals. Yes, up close with the camera eye view, you can see the illusion cord, but I've used this technique before and when the design is worn, that cord just disappears like...well, like an illusion ;-)

I was so excited with the way this design came out that I knew it needed a very special closure. A simple brass hook wasn't going to cut it and none of my brass toggles were the right size or style (note to self: you need better brass toggles!) and then I happened to look over and see some ribbon spilling out of the top of my "to be put away pile" and voila!

Y'know, people always ask me when I buy a certain bead or supply "what are you going to do with that?" And I never have the answer because I don't really have a specific design in mind for the most part. I put it into my stash where it waits for the right moment to come out and make magic. I mean, really, who would have ever thought that I would use olive green ribbon trimmed in lavender edging, right? But look, the right design came along and I think it works wonderfully. My little matchy-matchy heart is singing for joy LOL!

Matching earrings, of course! Olive green glass pearls, lapis rondelles, vintage glass leaves and some more of the lavender Czech flowers. I used brass leverback earring wires for the tops.

At this point, I still had some leftover lavender pearls AND that clasp. Obviously, whatever the design is, it's going to have to be purple and silver to start with...hmmm...didn't I just buy some pretty purple ceramic beads at the Costa Mesa Gem Faire a few weeks ago...???

Why, yes, I believe I did. Good for me!

Then I searched through my stash for some lampwork to mix with them and despite having a MASSIVE collection of it, I couldn't find a set that worked with what I wanted to do (obviously, I need more lampwork...which is really hard to believe) but I did come across some large grey ceramic beads that went perfectly and then I mixed in a few crystals and it was starting to come together, but I felt like it was still missing that magic something...

So, I let it simmer on my bead design board for a few days and then I went through my carefully hoarded (because the prices have gone C-R-A-Z-Y) sterling silver stash and found the perfect pendant.

This design takes me back to my designing roots when I was all about the Bali silver mixed with crystals and, usually, lampwork.

However, I think this gorgeous shell pendant and the shimmering ceramic beads give it a different feeling. Plus, I love how the ceramic can look so earthy in my earlier sunflower piece and so upscale and glamorous in this necklace. What a versatile material to work with!

And yes, those marbled purple/lavender/grey beads ARE ceramic. Oh, and I did find a way to finish up using the rest of those lavender pearls from the original soup mix!

Here's a better closeup view of the side of the necklace. That lovely purple crystal color is "Cyclamen."

And finally...I did get that clasp worked in! The only thing I'm really missing is that I was out of sterling silver crimp covers so I'll have to add those later, but I didn't want to be late with my soup just because I'm waiting for that order to come in ;-)

Here's a final look at the whole piece. Yes, it's simple and straightforward in design, but I like to think this approach allows the beauty of each individual bead and component to really stand out.

That's it - hope you enjoyed my three different flavors of soup. As you can see, my style is a bit all over the place but that's because I let the beads take charge and tell me how they want to be used.

Thanks for stopping by and if you're continuing on in the hop, here's the list:

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York

2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson

3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino

4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner

5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier

6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins

7.Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor

8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen

9.Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller

10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare

11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman

12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps

13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka

14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson

15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy

16. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price

17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland

18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John

19. Anna Sabina and Erin Siegel

20. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel

21. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou

22. B.R. Kuhlman and Deanna Chase

23. Barbara Bechtel and Bryna Lumb

24. Barbara Blaszczyk and Davinia Design

25. Barbara Judy and Holly Westfall

26. Barbara Lewis and Cathie Carroll

27. Barrie Edwards and Lyn Foley

28. Becky Fairclough and Jana Tarhala

29. Bella Borgouise and Gillian Lehman

30. Beth and Evie McCord and Erin Prais-Hintz

31. Beth Bricker and Heather Pyle

32. Beth Emery and Cassie Donlen

33. Bobbie Rafferty and Cindy Cima Edwards

34. Candice McGinnis and Sally Anderson

35. Carol Bradley and Cece Cormier

36. Cathy Khoury and Molly Alexander

37. Carol Tannahill and Hilary Frye

38. Carrie Tahquechi and Cris Peacock

39. Cat Pruitt and Cindy Gimbrone

40. Charlene Gary and Doris Stumpf

41. Charlotte Pevny and Kate Gardenghi

42. Cherrie Fick and Cathie Carroll

43. Claire Maunsell and Cherrie Fick

44. Cheryl Roe> and Jenny Vidberg

45. Chris White and Norma Turvey

46. Christa Murphy and Kathy Alderfer

47. Christie Murrow and Dana James

48. Christina Miles and Collette Collins

49. Christine Brandel and Elizabeth Woodford

50. Christine Damm and Cynthia Deis

51. Christine Hendrickson and Debbie Goering

52. Christine Stonefield and Dee Wingrove-Smith

53. Cilla Watkins and Johanna Rhodes

54. Cindy Wimmer and Riki Schumacher

55. CJ Baushka and Cory Celaya

56. Courtney Breul and Joanna Matuszczyk

57. Cristi Clothier and Kathleen Robinson Young

58. Cryss Thain and Serena Trent

59. Cynthia Tucker and Kitty Durmaj

60. Dana Johnson Jones and Eva Sherman

61. Davinia Algeri and Janet McDonald

62. Deci Worland and Lara Lutrick

63. Diana Ptaszynski andKristy Abner

64. Diane Cook and Kerry Bogert

65. Diane Hawkey and Jen Judd Velasquez

66. Dorcas Midkiff and Jill Harris

67. Doris Radlicki and Heather Goldsmith

68. Dot Lewallen and Gaea Cannaday

69. Elisabeth Auld and Jennifer Justman

70. Erin Fickert-Rowland and Geanina Grigore

71. Erin Grant and Julie Jones

72. Eszter Czibulyas and Helena Fritz

73. Fiona Christie and Michelle Heim

74. Gail Zwang and Genea Crivello-Knable

75. Geneva Collins and Jana Haag

76. Gretchen Nation and Heidi Post

77. Heather DeSimone and Karin Slaton

78. Heather Marley and Terry Carter

79. Ingrid McCue and Jennifer Pride

80. Jackie Ryan and Nicole Keller

81. Janna Harttgen and Joanne Tinley

82. Jean Yates and Lori Anderson

83. Jelveh Jaferian and Jenny Davies-Reazor

84. Jenni Connolly and Jennifer Heynen

85. Jennifer Cameron and Kristi Bowman

86. Jennifer Geldard and Lisa Liddy

87. Jennifer VanBenschoten and Kim Hora

88. Jess Italia Lincoln and Lori Greenberg

89. Jill MacKay and Lori Bergmann

90. JJ Jacobs and Karen Tremblay

91. Joyce Becker and Kathy Welsh

92. Judy Glende and Karen Sinkowski

93. Judy Riley and Kelly Morgan

94. JuLee Wolfe and Julie Bean

95. Julianna Cannon and Julianna Kis

96. Julie Nordine and Lesley Watt

97. K. Hutchinson and Shea Zukowski

98. Karen Firnberg and Karyn Bonfiglio

99. Karen Williams and Kimberly Roberts

100. Karen Zanco and Polly Barker

101. Kari Carrigan and Laura Twiford

102. Karin von Hoeren and Laura Blanck

103. Kate Richbourg and Lorelei Eurto

104. Kathleen Lange Klik and Maria Clark

105. Kathy Engstrom and Keri Lee Sereika

106. Kay Thomerson and Loretta Carstensen

107. Kelley Fogle and Laurel Bielec

108. Kelly Ramstack and Sally Anderson

109. Kim Stevens and Tiffany Long

110. Kristi Harrison and Mandy Williamson

111. Kristi Kyle and Lana Kinney

112. Kristina Johansson and Sue Hodgkinson

113. Kym Hunter and Laura Sanger

114. Laura Zeiner and Susan Kennedy

115. Laurel Steven and Mary McGraw

116. Laurie Hanna and Lisa Boucher

117. Lesley Weir and Liz DeLuca

118. Linda Djokic and Tracey Weiser

119. Linda Inhelder and Pam Brisse

120. Linda Landig and Lori Dorrington

121. Linda Murphy and Lisa Hamilton

122. Line Labrecque and Marianne Baxter

123. Lisa Lodge and Monica Johnson

124. Lois Moon and Melissa Muir

125. Lola Surwillo and Therese Frank

126. Lori Bowring Michaud and Marci Brooks

127. Lupe Meter and Norma Agron

128. Maggie Towne and Marge Beebe

129. Malin de Koning and Susie Hibdon

130. Mallory Hoffman and Shirley Moore

131. Marcie Abney and Patty Miller

132. Marcy Lamberson and Melissa Clarke

133. Margot Potter and Suzann Sladcik Wilson

134. Maria Grimes and Wendy Blum

135. Maria Horvath and Melinda Orr

136. Maria Rosa Sharrow and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp

137. Marian Hertzog and Melissa Mesara

138. Marianna Boylan and Sandi Lee James

139. Marina Dobrynina and Michaela Pabeschitz

140. Marsha Neal and Miri Agassi

141. Mary Ellen Parker and Melissa Meman

142. Mary Elliott and Tamara Soper

143. Mary Hicks and Laurel Steven

144. Melissa Pynn and Michelle Buettner

145. Michelle Hardy and Niki Meiners

146. Michelle Mach and Moira McEvoy

147. Missy Rappaport and Mags Sarri

148. Molly Alexander and Poranna

149. Mylene Hillam and Nicole Rennell

150. Nadezhda Parfyonova and Stacey Curry

151. Nan Emmett and Nancy Peterson

152. Nancy Boylan and Natalie McKenna

153. Natalie Monkivitch and Niky Sayers

154. Natasha Lutes and Pam Ferrari

155. Noemi Baena and Penny Ilagan

156. Pamela Petry and Rebecca Sirevaag

157. Pat Haight and Shannon Hicks

158. Patty Gasparino and Vonna Maslanka

159. Penny Neville and Sandi Volpe

160. Pepita Bos and Wendy Chamberlain

161. Raida Disbrow and Rebecca Watkins

162. Rebecca Anderson and Sabrina Staub

163. Regina Santerre and Rose Binoya

164. Rhea Freitag and Tari Kahrs

165. Rochelle Brisson and Teri Baskett

166. Sally Russick and Tracy Bell

167. Sandra McGriff and Shay Williams

168. Sandra Wolberg and Sara Hardin

169. Sarah Elder and Salla Small

170. Saskia Kaffenberger and Sharon Gardner

171. Sharon Palac and Shannon Chomanczuk

172. Shay Stone and Suzette Bentley

173. Shiraz Biggie and Tammy Powley

174. Staci Smith and Tracy Stillman

175. Stacie Stamper and Tracy Martin

176. Stefanie Teufel and Vicky Taylor

177. Stephanie Dixon and Stephanie LaRosa

178. Stephanie Haussler and Valerie Norton

179. Suzanne Tate and Terri Wlaschin

180. Sweet Freedom Designs and Tammy Jones

181. Tania Spivey and Tari Sasser

182. Tara Plote and Terry Matuszyk

183. Terri Gauthier and Deana Hager

184. Theresa Fosdick and Tracey Nanstad

Somebody Please Tell Them Who I Iz

2011-09-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Wow...never would have thought I'd be quoting Nicki Minaj lyrics in a blog post title. I am soooo au courant. Of course I also never thought I'd be saying "I iz" at any point in my lifetime, but I'm just quoting Nicki so the bad grammar is really her fault.

With the Bead Soup Blog Hop coming up TOMORROW (woo hoo!), I thought I'd pull together a few highlights from my blog over the years in case anyone who visits wants to learn a little bit more about what goes on here. Y'know...in case they decide they might want to come back again sometime.

Sooo...here are a few oldies but goodies:

I like books (maybe even almost more than beads...shhh...don't tell anyone) and I used to write weekly book reviews here on the blog like this one. Then I stopped doing them for a while, but have recently gotten back into it so here's a link to the latest one.

My hatred of the grocery store is legendary. My mom is now doing some of my shopping along with hers each week so I don't have to go as often. It's really safer for everyone this way.

Of course, I love to make jewelry (duh) and since my style tends to be all over the place, I thought I'd share this post that shows the two extreme ends of the spectrum I live on. Both pieces eventually sold and the first one was published in a magazine prior to its sale.

I'm on a (seemingly) neverending quest to organize my beads. This process started out brilliantly, but has since been compromised by an upstairs flood (and the resulting year-long chaos of putting everything back together) as well as what I can only call rampant bead buying/hoarding. One day I will appear on one of those TV shows and when the door of the house opens, instead of junk and cats pouring out, parrots will fly out and beads will spill all over the ground.

The result of all this bead buying is that I do a lot of bead porn posts. Not as many this year as in the past because it really was getting out of hand, but I still do the occasional one so I don't fall out of practice. Plus, it's my way of giving back to all the great artists whose beads and components inspire me - they totally deserve the free publicity.

But don't think I can't admit that I'm a beadaholic. Because I totally can. I'm even in a 12 step program.

Once nice thing about revisiting old posts is that I remembered how much fun this blog challenge was and I've been inspired to host another one. I figure everyone will need time to recover from the Bead Soup process so I'll wait a bit longer, but watch for an announcement in the near future! I've got a cool idea for the inspiration AND I've been saving up a whole bag of beady goodies for a YEAR as the prize. And if you've seen my porn posts or remember back to the 9 lb. box of beads I gave away a few years ago...you KNOW this prize is gonna be AMAZING.

And last, but not least, over there on the right you'll find the links to both of my Etsy stores: Silver Parrot has all my handmade jewelry for sale and Be Resinable contains my handmade resin beads and pendants.

So, welcome to the blog! Stroll around, grab a snack, make yourself comfortable and come back any time!!

Bead Soup post goes up at 1 AM!!

KJ

It's ALMOST Soup Time!

2011-09-15T12:22:00.001-07:00

And here's a teaser photo of what I'll be revealing in the Bead Soup Blog Hop:

Meet me back here at 1:00 AM on 09/17/11 for some delicious soup. I'll be serving three different varieties along with some "extras."

Can't wait!

KJ

Book Review: "Three Days to Dead"

2011-09-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

After the book from my last review turned out to be such a disappointment, I was really nervous about this next one. Not only is this a new author for me (and I have a track record of not doing well with branching out into new authors), but the subject matter had some similarities as far as the whole “revived from the dead” idea was concerned. In fact, I probably would have passed this book up were it not for the comment blurb on the cover from Patricia Briggs who is one of my all-time favorite authors.

The good news is that while the “semi-zombie” idea didn’t work for me before (just too gross and depressing), it definitely worked better here. I think the difference had to do with how the re-animation was handled. In “Working Stiff”, the main character really is dead and her body will immediately decay if she doesn’t get her daily shot of nanites. In “Three Days to Dead”, Evangeline Stone dies but her spirit is transferred to a different body which, yes, is also dead, but is completely healed through magic. There’s no ongoing decay process and no need for daily booster shots.

Of course, there is still a catch – the new body will go back to being 100% dead in three days. So Evangeline has only that long to figure out not only how she ended up dead in the first place, but also who called her back, what they want and why she ended up in the body of Chalice Frost, a recent suicide victim, instead of being called back into her own body.

There area a number of good things about this book. There's almost non-stop action from the first few pages on so I was immediately sucked in. In addition, while the typical cast of vampires, werewolves, and fae are there, they are all given new and unusual twists which helps keep this book from feeling too formulaic. Also enjoyable was the seemingly doomed romance.

Having said that…there are a few rookie mistakes in the novel: the name Chalice Frost is a prime example. I mean, Chalice Frost? Really? I much preferred the character’s original name of Evangeline Stone. Also, I didn’t buy that the new body would be much use in a fight – it was healthy, but didn’t have the training or muscle memory that the old one did. Not to mention that the character had to adjust to a whole new center of gravity, etc. But the biggest issue I had was that there were a couple of plot manipulations that were a little too heavy-handed and obvious.

Overall, however, it was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series. One plus with this is that the subsequent books are already out so if you like this one, there’s no annoying wait time for the next.

That’s it for this week. Check out my next book review candidate over on the right side bar: “Phoenix Rising.” If you like Steampunk (it’s not just for jewelry!), then this one’s for you!

See you on the 17th for Bead Soup!

KJ

P.S. Just in case anyone was wondering...I look EXACTLY like that chick on the cover of the book. EXACTLY. Because fighting otherworldly bad guys SHOULD be done in a cropped tank and skin tight jeans. Makes TOTAL sense.

Random Lizard Drive-By

2011-09-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Although the excessive heat combined with multiple sprinkler control valve leaks (and subsequent flooding of flower beds) over the summer have wiped out a number of the plants in my back yard, it's good to know that the critters are still thriving:

Found this guy (or girl?) on the wall when we got home from church yesterday morning. Have also sighted numerous newly hatched baby lizards (about the size of my littlest finger) in the last few days, but they are so scared and so quick, I couldn't get pictures. This older lizard let me walk right up and snap a few close ups.

Good think I wasn't a hungry cat or hawk!

KJ

Random Bead Porn

2011-09-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is over. School's back in session (except for our district being closed today due to the massive power outage even though our particular school never lost power AND the power is back on everywhere...which makes no sense to me) and I haven't done a bead porn post in a while so why not trot one out on a random Wednesday?

Except I just realized it's Friday. Obviously, the brain is still on summer vacation. I blame the power outage (because that's what everyone else is blaming everything on today).

Berry-vanilla faceted Czech glass.

Fiery orange Czech glass - how perfect for this time of year!

This color is called "black currant" - yumm! I want to spread some on toast!

And these I just thought were so unusual and had a lot of potential with all the colors. All of this lovely Czech glass is from Bead and Ribbon.

Ocean jasper "buffalo tooth" shape stones from Excellent Gem.

Carved white coral rounds are from Mint DeStash

As is this strand of mixed kyanite and picture jasper - what a great idea to mix these two stones! I would never have put them together on my own.

Long kyanite ovals also from Mint.

And these really nice, high quality labradorite coins came from Mint as well.

A selection of patinated scallop shell charms. Perfect for earrings.

Naahhh...I'm not a sucker for ocean-themed beads AT ALL. Everything in both of these photos is from Miss Fickle Media.

This great mixed media butterfly is from Floridity.

Sweet pink/moss green enameled bead caps.

Turquoise/brown enameled bead caps.

Teal/white snowflake enameled butterflies.

Magenta enameled butterflies.

Sky blue enameled butterflies.

All of these pretty enameled pieces are from Gardanne.

Ceramic koi fish pendant.

Deep teal and salmon pink ceramic flower pendant.

Deep green with splashes of electric blue and bright pink floral ceramic pendant.

All of these pieces are from The Classic Bead.

Gorgeously electric lampwork with sparkling silver accents from Julsbeads.

Julsbeads sets are like potato chips...you can never have just one.

In other news...I'm working on the next book review so stay tuned for that. I've also been busy stirring and simmering my Bead Soup and I'm really happy with the way it's coming out so I can't wait to get the finishing touches put on, the photos taken and the blog post written for the big reveal on September 17th. Be sure to bookmark this blog now if you want to check it on the 17th. Yes, there's a hop list, but I am WAAYYYY down towards the end and I'm assuming people will get blog fatigue before getting anywhere near that far (although, if you do actually make it to all 300+ blogs...you should definitely win some kind of award LOL!)

See ya back next week!

KJ

Friday Book Review: "Working Stiff"

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a tough review to write. Because I love Rachel Caine’s books. I’ve read the entire “Weather Warden” series and love it. The spin-off “Outcast” series has been great so far, as well. And, my personal favorite (even though it’s for teens) is the “Morganville Vampires” series. Awesome books.

This new book/series…not so much. In fact, I hated this book. There, I said it. And now I feel really guilty. But, you know, it’s all personal taste and this is just MY opinion so take it for what it is.

Like I said, I really wanted to like this boo and I started out all prepared to give it the full willing suspension of disbelief, etc., but from the first few pages, I just did NOT connect with the main character. In fact, I can’t even remember her name as I’m typing this and I just finished the book yesterday.
(Pause – while I go look it up)

Oh yeah, it’s Bryn Davis. And she and I just never managed to get a groove going. I don’t know if it’s because she’s introduced to us on her first day at a new job…in a funeral parlor…or if it’s that I couldn’t put her past as a soldier in Iraq together with her current behavior or what, but I just didn’t like her. And then she goes and complicates that feeling by doing some really stupid stuff.

Look, you DON’T go back down into the creepy, cold embalming room all by yourself at night. You just don’t. AND when the equally creepy, cold funeral director beckons you back inside after you’ve already made it to the parking lot (and I don’t care that he’s your boss) you DON’T GO. You run for the bus stop like all the hounds of hell are at your back.

And then maybe you wouldn’t end up as a revived zombie.

I will give the Ms. Caine credit for attempting to tackle the urban fantasy genre from the zombie point of view. I mean we’ve already had werewolves and vampires ad nauseum so I suppose we had to go the zombie route at some point.

All that stands between Bryn and her slow (but still mentally aware) decline into decomposition and then eventual death is a daily shot of a “drug” which really isn’t a drug. It’s a solution filled with nanites (microscopic machines) that repair everything that’s wrong with the body at and after death.

First off, I felt that the time frame on the shots being daily put some constraints on the story as the action has to revolve around Bryn getting her shot and you know, of course, there’s eventually going to be a section where she doesn’t get it on time.

The book also avoids any discussion of how emotion, intelligence and the soul are brought back into the body after the initial death. Can the nanites repair that, too? Is the author saying that those things are merely a function of the physical body and can easily exist as long as the physical damage is repaired? That may be a valid argument for some, but for anyone (like me) of a religious persuasion, it’s hard to get behind that concept.

Secondly, trying to introduce ANY kind of a romance with a chick who’s basically one shot away from rotting in her own skin is…gross. And there’s a word for that: necrophilia. And…just…EWWW! And yeah, I know, how is that different from a vampire romance? I dunno…it just IS! Although, to be fair, I always did wonder how any character in love with a vampire doesn’t at least ask themselves the whole “am I really getting it on with a dead person” question. Still, for some reason…less gross than a zombie.

And then, if Bryn’s initial situation isn’t bad enough, it just keeps getting worse as it’s made clear that she can be controlled through her nanites by anyone who has the correct command code – which is essentially a rape of her free will and mind. Then her sister shows up and, instead of doing the smart thing and getting her out of danger, Bryn again chooses the stupid option and keeps her around.

Guess what? MORE BAD STUFF happens. I found that predictable.

I think it’s the sheer negativity and hopelessness of the character’s situation and the lack of endearing qualities in any of the supporting characters that is really where this book doesn’t work for me.

If I can find one positive thing to say about it, it’s that Ms. Caine definitely captures the horror involved in the zombie state. In fact, she does it so well that it added to the turn-off that I felt – because I read fantasy novels ultimately as an escape and there’s no escape in this book. Even the ending is unsatisfying as major issues are left unresolved in an obvious set up for the next installment.
I just can’t recommend this book unless you are a true devotee of the zombie lifestyle. Go pick up a “Weather Warden” or “Morganville Vampires” book instead.

Have a great holiday weekend - see you next week!

KJ

New Hampshire Bead Porn

2011-08-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Given that the Bead Soup Blog Hop has over 300 participants this time, I knew there was no way I'd make it through all those blogs unless I started REALLY early...like a couple of weeks ago. I've had a goal of going through 10 a week and then marking my favorites for a re-visit on the actual blog hop day. That way, everyone gets at LEAST one visit and some people will get two from me (lucky them LOL).

Not only have I discovered some great blogs, but I've found some really fantastic new bead artists which has been bad for my wallet, but great for my bead stash! I've really gotten addicted to one in particular so I thought I'd devote an entire post to her beautiful work rather than mixing her in with the rest of my bead porn.

I'm talking about Lisa Boucher of Clayworks NH.

Really, she had me from the get go with a whole gorgeous palette of deep teals, purples and greens.

And I love the speckled clay she uses as her base material.

And then I got roped in further when I realized she uses a lot of ocean imagery...which is always my weakness!

Such fantastic detail on these shells and I love the way they pop against the background colors.

You can see I had a hard time controlling myself LOL!

But, just in case you're not an ocean girl like me, don't worry...

She's started to list some wonderful late summer and early fall designs.

LOVE the cobalt with the orange and sunflower yellow!

And this golden sunflower design on the cobalt background just had to be mine! But don't worry, there's plenty more great stuff in her shop even though she just rode through Hurricane Irene!

So, go check out Lisa's wonderful shop and find yourself something gorgeous to take home with you.

I'll be back on Friday with my latest book review: "Working Stiff" by Rachel Caine.

KJ

Got Gophers?

2011-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Because apparently, after living here for 13 years and never seeing hide nor hair of any such varmint...

...I do.

Have gophers, that is. Or, at least one gopher (although, does anyone really ever have just ONE?) And even though my patch of grass is the size of a postage stamp, this gopher (or traveling troupe thereof) decided to turn my backyard into the 2011 Official Gopher Transportation System.

Or as I like to call it: "Gopher Alley." My yard wasn't good enough for him (or them) to stick around...no...they just dug across it in a diagonal line on their way through. This happened in less than 24 hours because I was back there just the night before and the grass was pristine.

Doesn't it make you think of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons where he would be tunneling and this fast moving hump of dirt would just travel across the screen? I think this gopher took lessons from old Bugs.

KJ

P.S. All you people who said you wanted book reviews...see Friday's post...and leave a comment wouldja? Otherwise I feel like I'm just typing to myself and that's, y'know, kinda sad (and a little bit creepy.)

Friday Book Review

2011-08-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

I used to do the book reviews on Fridays, so this seemed as good a day as any to bring them back to life. I suppose it’s a bit odd to be starting with the sixth book in a series, but since most of the books I read are a part of a series and I had to start somewhere and this is what I was reading…this is what you get.

That being said, it may not be possible to do this without giving away a few spoilers from earlier in the series so just be warned. Ahhh…who am I kidding…my reviews tend to have spoilers in them anyway so I guess this is an overall, going forward, general kind of warning.

And now, the review:

“Downpour” is the sixth book in Kat Richardson’s “Greywalker” series. From the start, I have had a love/slight dislike relationship with this series. On the one hand, I think the Greywalker concept is a fresh, inventive take on urban fantasy. I mean, really, aren’t we all getting just a LEETLE burned out on vampires and werewolves? Not that this series doesn’t have vampires, because it does, but at least they are an unusual variety.

On the other hand, these books can seem a bit slow at times and the magic isn’t as flashy or easily accessible as it is in other urban fantasy novels…although I sometimes wonder if that’s really a fault or if it’s just that I’m so used to reading the other style that my imagination has gotten a bit lazy. In which case I guess Richardson really deserves kudos for being creative and making the reader “work” a little more for the pay off.

So, what’s a Greywalker, you ask? In this case, Harper Blaine is a private investigator who has rather too close a brush with death and returns with some unusual abilities. She can see the “Grey” – the magical energy system that forms in and around the “real” world. Eventually, she can do more than just see it, she becomes able to interact with it.

My one criticism of the Harper character is that she seems to just blindly experiment a lot with the Grey and the creatures that are part of it without much thought in the moment for future consequences. Now, maybe that’s just because I’m the naturally cautious type AND I’ve read enough fantasy stories to know that randomly mucking about with magic when you don’t know what you’re doing is generally thought to be a BAD idea. It usually seems to turn out okay for Harper, though, and sometimes I find that unrealistic. Then again, maybe her “luck” with the Grey isn’t really luck at all, but a part of her abilities? That’s a question I haven’t been able to answer. But if these books were a scary movie, Harper would definitely be the one volunteering to go down into the dark, spooky basement alone.

So, that’s enough about the series in general. “Downpour” being the sixth book, a lot has already happened since Harper’s original “death” and the start of her abilities. The original story arc really comes to a close in the previous book so this installment is the first chapter of the next part of her life. She’s recovering from the action at the end of that arc and has gotten back to her regular business of being a PI…only now her business includes helping to keep the Grey balanced and in check as well as her real-world PI business.

That is how she finds herself investigating a ghostly car crash victim that she comes across while she’s doing a routine background check on a potential trial witness. And it’s not just the ghost – something is WAY out of whack with the entire Grey system at Sunset Lakes.

The positives in this book are the descriptions of both the “real” and Grey landscapes in Seattle and around the lake as well. Richardson excels in making the magic come to life and really getting spooky with the weather and background. There’s a particular scene on the streets of Seattle in the rain that is fantastic. This book also gives more insight into Harper’s relationships with her sort-of mysterious boyfriend, Quinton, and her pet ferret, Chaos. Did I mention she has a pet ferret? I find it a nice change from the almost-required cat that usually shows up in fantasy and urban fantasy novels.

The negatives are that I found Harper’s willingness and ability to trudge around the wilderness completely unprepared for hours (and the local ranger’s willingness to let her do it) somewhat unbelievable. I felt there was some obvious avoidance of the prime suspect(s) until the exact perfect point in the storyline…which then made me figure out who the prime suspect(s) were too soon. And ultimately, I thought there was a point where it got a little long before the resolution.

Overall, though, an enjoyable read and one of the better books in the entire series. And, obviously, despite some of the criticisms I’ve had, I’ve stuck with the series through six books so I do recommend it…especially if you’re looking for urban fantasy that is a little “different.”

So, that's it for my first review. I'm now reading "Working Stiff" by Rachel Caine. This is the first book in a brand new series for her so I'm eager to check it out as I've been a huge fan of both her "Weather Warden" and "Morganville Vampires" series.

Have a good weekend and to my East Coast friends - stay safe during Irene!

KJ

Blogger...You Are On My List!

2011-08-24T11:04:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else having problems with the comments on blogger.com blogs (like mine?) I'm trying to work my way through the ginormous Bead Soup list of blogs to check out everyone's soup ingredients and maybe find some new blogs to follow and some new Etsy shops to check out (yeah, that little maneuver has already cost me some major $$) and I can't seem to leave comments on some of the blogs.

These are the comment boxes where it asks you what "ID" you are using to comment (Google, Wordpress, OpenID, etc.) When I put in my Google ID and password, it then tells me that I "don't have access to this webpage" and will not let me comment. I've had to resort to selecting either the "Anonymous" option (which blows...because then how can the blog author reply back if they want to) or the Name/URL option (which is slightly better, but still not optimal).

So, to Blogger.com I say...WTF?

Have you experienced this on other blogs or, worse, here on mine? Is this some new security feature? And most importantly...how does one make this annoying problem go AWAY?!

I can't seem to find any info on it in the help forums.

KJ

Bead Soup Ingredients on Simmer

2011-08-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

My bead soup ingredients arrived last week, but the weekend was so busy that I'm just now getting to post the pictures.

First off...check out the box:

Oh my gosh - it was ginormous!

And I couldn't wait to reveal the treasures hidden within!

Look...my soup ingredients!

The accent beads are some beautiful lavender pearls, seafoam green Czech glass teardrops, copper and amber Czech glass flowers and some faceted white stone (jade, I think) rounds.

The clasp is a beautifully detailed sterling silver toggle.

And the focal is one of Judy's handmade paper beads. I couldn't get the color quite right in the photo - in real life it's more cream/copper and not really yellow like it looks here.

Here's a last look at everything together. Quite an intriguing mix and DEFINITELY out of my comfort zone. I spent a good part of Sunday playing with it and am pretty happy with what I've created thus far. More to do, though, so stay tuned.

And don't forget the blog hop is on September 17th!

KJ

Weekend Review + More on Books

2011-08-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

I survived the incredibly over-booked, crazy-ass weekend! And yeah, okay, so I had to sleep most of yesterday to make up for the preceeding three days, but it was worth it!

Started out Thursday night with an amazing dinner at Scott's Seafood. Lobster bisque...I have died and gone to heaven! Then it was on to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform.

Now, I wasn't sure what to expect...not really being a fan of banjo or bluegrass music (I mostly bought the tickets because I figured he'd be funny and it would be something new to try) and OMG...one of the BEST shows I have ever seen in my life. Seriously, if this tour comes through your town, you have to go. Martin was hilarious as expected, but it was the sheer level of musicianship displayed by not only him, but every member of the band that just blew me away. The fiddle player alone could have had his own show. This tour is to promote the second album he's done with this group - the first one won a Grammy already. This new album is called "Rare Bird Alert" as a tie-in to a movie he's got coming out this October about competitive bird watching. I highly recommend the songs "Yellowback Fly" and "Atheists Don't Have No Songs." Plus, he's re-done his famous #1 hit, "King Tut", on the banjo so that was fun, too.

So, that was Thursday night. Then it was up at a ridiculous hour the next morning to get the kid to the drop-off point for his YMCA trip to California Adventure. After which I went rocket shopping and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the hair salon.

I am now lighter by about 4-5" of hair and I said buh-bye to the blonde. The new color is sort of a caramel brown with some red and copper highlights. I'm still getting used to it, but other people seem to think it looks good (although who would really say "hey, your new hair cut/color sucks!" to your face, right?)

Saturday morning was up early again to meet the rest of the Cub Scout group to head off to Azusa (over an hour away which is disturbingly far outside the Orange Curtain for my tastes) to launch rockets. Despite managing to get yelled at (publicly over the loudspeaker) TWICE, I managed to get Ryan two successful rocket launches. And if our rocket wasn't the biggest or the fanciest, well, it went up in the sky, deployed its parachute and landed safely (avoiding trees) both times so I'm going to call that a success. As usual, I was the only mom there with all the dads so my social anxiety was in full flame, but also as usual, I stuffed it into a box until I could get home and freak out about it later.

I spent Sunday recovering and playing with my Bead Soup. A bracelet and earrings have been completed, but I still have materials left over so I've got to try to come up with at least one more design.

That's it for the weekend.

I've received a number of e-mails regarding the book reviews so I'm excited that there are some fellow readers out there. I was answering them one by one and then it occurred to me, I could just post the answers here.

Duh (you can take the blonde out of the hair, but not, apparently, out of the brain).

So, for those who asked for recommendations about fantasy and sci-fi books/authors, here's a quick and dirty list (although there's WAY more, of course):

For pure fantasy, my favorites are Andre Norton's "Witch World" series and Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" series. My ultimate favorite is Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover" series, but it crosses the line a bit into sci-fi in some of the books. If you like King Arthur...then "Mists of Avalon" (also by Bradley) is AMAZING!

(note: if you really get into MZB, you can check out her website. Although she's passed away, while she was alive, she edited anthologies of short fantasy stories and discovered/launched the careers of many of the top authors in the field today)

For urban fantasy (set in "our" world and time, but with supernatural elements), the "Harry Dresden, Wizard" series by Jim Butcher is my very favorite, but Kelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs (she also writes EXCELLENT straight fantasy) and Rachel Caine (I like both the "Weather Warden" series AND the "Morganville Vampires" series even though it is technically supposed to be for teenagers) are all terrific.

For space opera I like Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan" series (if you start this series, make sure you start with "Cordelia's Honor" as it contains the first two books and sets the stage for Miles Vorkosigan's family background and birth...plus they are kick-ass books in and of themselves) and Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's "Liaden Universe" series.

I don't really go much into hard sci fi (despite the fact that I managed to get the rocket to launch successfully), but I can probably scrounge up some recommendations in that area if you are a super-techno person (although I tend to find that that area is more apt to appeal to the guys).

So, happy reading, and be sure to let me know if you try any of these and what you think of them. Who knows, if I get enough interest, maybe we'll have a monthly book club where we all read the same book (well, in my case, RE-read) and then we discuss.

Just a thought...

KJ

Cooler Nights Ahead

2011-08-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

I just had to do a quick post about this treasury on Etsy. And it's not just because one of my "Northern Lights" pendants is featured in it. I thought it was a really great, creative theme and the colors? OMG...to die for.

KJ

P.S. Bead Soup ingredients arrived...pics have been taken. Post is coming soon and then it's time to start getting creative...

Getting Bookish

2011-08-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, time to take a brief break from the Bead Soup madness. My ingredients arrived in the mail yesterday, but the next few days are crazy so I won't have time to photograph and post about them until probably Sunday or later.

What am I doing, you ask? Well, I assume you asked otherwise this is going to be a really lame post. Tonight, I'm going to see Steve Martin in concert.

Tomorrow, I have the day off from work, but instead of it being the leisurely day of doing nothing that I originally had planned, I'm finding myself engaged to go rocket shopping in the morning (Ryan has a Cub Scout rocket launch event this weekend that was supposed to be handled by...let's just say...NOT ME, but plans changed so I have to get knowledgeable about rockets RIGHT NOW). Have to finish that by 1:30 PM so I can go spend the rest of the day at the hair salon.

Because my hair is a disaster of epic proportions. If there was a Japanese tsunami of hair...it'd be on my head right now. It's down below my shoulder blades in back, the gray is ever-creeping and the lower sections are all damaged and frizzy from over-blow-drying and excess curling iron use.

Sounds pretty, right?

Anyway, I am in the mood for a major change. I'm talking hacking everything off, or maybe going red, or hell, maybe I need white-blonde with pink dipped ends. I don't know, but I have definitely reached the "I CAN'T STAND IT ANY MORE" stage of hair.

Then Saturday is the rocket event - have to meet up with the carpool at 7:45 (ugh!) and drive over an hour to get to the launch site.

So yeah, I have a jam-packed 72 hours coming up.

But what I really wanted to talk about (now that all that is out of the way) is a recent change I made to the blog. Besides just futzing about in general with the right sidebar (you may have noticed some things moved around and some new sections have been added), I've been thinking for a while about bringing back an original feature that I had: Book Reviews.

Yep, way back in the distant mists of, oh, let's say 2005, after I'd been blogging for about a year, I started doing weekly book reviews. Kept up with them for quite a while and then I kinda got burned out and started doing the Friday bead porn posts instead. Well, I decided it's time to bring back the books so I added a photo link on the right sidebar to show what I'm currently reading and I'll have a review on Friday.

Now, I'll warn you...my book reviews are not what you'd call your "standard" review. I figure you can get all that elsewhere. And besides, you know if you read the blog that I...sort of have an oddball sense of humor and that tends to leak into everything I write. Including my reviews. Especially when I didn't like the book. So just be warned. Oh, and also? I pretty much only read sci fi and fantasy so if you don't like those genres...um...sorry?

The first review might not be tomorrow as I don't think I'm going to have time to finish "Downpour" by then given all that I have going on, but you never know...I might be able to get to it while I'm under the dryer at the salon tomorrow.

If I don't post before Monday...have a great weekend!

KJ

Bead Soup Teaser Post #4

2011-08-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

If the focal bead in my Bead Soup package traveled to the 60's and decided to get REALLY MELLOW, it might look something like this:

Hey, man, that's like far OUT!

Not to be outdone, the clasp decided to join in.

Then it rained so if the Bead Soup ingredients were underwater, this is what they'd look like.

And here are a few of the accent beads "crystallized" by Picnik (one guess as to what my new addiction is LOL!)

Now for today's teaser question:

Which of the following materials are included in the package:

A. Shell

B. Jade

C. Czech glass

D. Vintage lucite

E. All of the above

Bead Soup Teaser Post #3

2011-08-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the closest, clearest look yet at the whole package:

Hmmm...what could it be?

Bead Soup - Teaser Post #2

2011-08-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

As the package of soup ingredients meanders its way through the postal system, I thought I'd post a few more teaser shots.

Letting the pictures get slightly clearer each time and adding a few clues as to the actual ingredients.

Like this:

One of the following types of beads is NOT included in this soup mix:

A. Ceramic
B. Lampwork
C. Metal
D. Stone
E. Glass

Okay...guess away!

KJ

Bead Soup - Teaser Post #1

2011-08-15T18:22:00.001-07:00

This could be the color scheme for the bead soup mix that I sent to my partner, or...

...it could be my new bathroom rug.

Nope, I'm pretty sure it's the bead soup. See, that's the focal, and then there's that strand of...and those green blotches are...

Well, you'll find out eventually...

KJ

The Bead Soup Blog Party is ON!

2011-08-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

And I just got my partner: Judy Riley of Three Red Beads. We haven't conversed yet, but I see some pretty jewelry and a whole post about gorgeous paper beads that she made herself over on her blog so check it out.

I'll be off putting together goodies to send to her...and if you read my blog at all, you know I have the stash to live up to this challenge ;-)

I'm excited about getting to play this round. I can definitely use the creative boost and it's always fun to check out new blogs and make new friends.

Stay tuned for future developments!

KJ

Toot! Toot!

2011-08-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, my resin beads have made it into Etsy treasuries pretty frequently, but my jewelry almost never gets noticed...except for this time.

So, yeah, I have to brag a little on this one ;-) That's my "Indigo Butterfly" bracelet in the top row.

KJ

Pasadena Redux

2011-08-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'd stopped going to the Pasadena Bead Show over the last year or so because I hadn't seen anything new there for a while. I did still have a couple of favorite vendors that attended, but it's an awfully long drive from the OC to buy more stuff I already have.

However, a certain beading buddy was planning to go and I really wanted to catch up with her so I decided to make the trek.

And boy, am I glad I did! Not only was it great to see Julie and not only did my old favorite vendors have great new stuff, but I found some terriffic new vendors this time as well!

I also did my part for the economic recovery (debt ceiling, schmebt ceiling).

And yes, I really did just type the word schmebt.

These pretty mermaid beads are from Jewels by Jules. They appear to be paper decoupaged onto rectangular beads (not sure what the material is...it's very lightweight) and then sealed with some kind of lacquer or possibly even resin. The seams are nearly invisible and the beads have a great shine to them. And I was a sucker for the mermaid image.

Another favorite vendor, Primitive Earth Beads, sold me some colorfully printed aluminum chains at a previous show and this time I discovered that they now have clasps to match! Next time, I'm hoping for headpins and jumprings and I'll be all set!

They had some new colors of chain, too. I guess I was in a "blue sky" kind of mood.

You & Me (now known as Merico Corp) is a staple at all the Southern California shows. I used to get all my Bali silver from them, but since the price of silver has skyrocketed, they've gone into a whole new line of base metal chain. Here are a couple of different styles of copper chain I got from them - one is pretty basic and all-purpose and the other has those distinctive patterned disks and oblong links.

They also had some great silver-plated chain...I especially love the bubble links on the left.

These are some silver plated rose filigree beads and Bali-style large bead caps.

These beads have a textured finish that sparkles, but unfortunately, the effect doesn't show up in the photos. I call them "stardust" beads. The strand on the left is in a gunmetal finish and the one on the right is brass. They come in copper, also.

This large stone teardrop came from Royal Quality Gem.

I could NOT get my camera (or Photoshop) to accurately portray the color on the bottom strand of beads in this picture. It's actually a much darker blue-purple than it appears to be here...which is why I bought it. I love colored jade rondelles as filler beads and I already have MOST of the available colors, but I didn't have this one. The orange strand was just for fun.

Then it was on to the new vendors. Eriko Page of Heart & Hand in Tehachapi, CA, is a polymer clay vendor who I hadn't previously seen at the show. And would you believe...this bead was the FREEBIE she gave me?

She had these wonderful grab bags of poly clay flowers and leaves - this is only about half of the bag!

This gorgeous bead is sanded and polished perfectly and sealed with a lovely finish.

But this one is my favorite. Reminds me of the hibiscus bush in the front yard of the house I lived in on Oahu when I was a child.

I don't have a website for Eriko, but I do have her business card with an e-mail address and phone number so if you're interested in her work, shoot me an e-mail and I'll share the info.

Grace Beads is normally known for her lampwork beads (and they are fantastic), but she had a small collection of ceramic beads (that I think come from a different vendor) at her booth, too. I liked these two - a hawk and an owl.

Then I saw the colors on these water lily beads...LOVE that deep teal background!

These butterflies with the gold edging reminded me of antique china.

And then there were these delicately detailed hummingbird beads...LOVE!

Loot is another favorite vendor. And, after picking up yet more of her gorgeous glass on Saturday, I decided I finally needed to stop hoarding it all make those earrings that I posted about on Monday. This is the new stuff I bought from her.

Unicorne Beads has long been a favorite of mine for their gorgeous glass and large selection of ocean-related beads (shells, dolphins, turtles, starfish, etc.) Now they have owls! Some small, some larger, different colors and all with a bit of a metallic sheen to them. I picked out this zebra-striped guy to send to a special friend who has an owl obsession (but I'm not telling who...who...whooooooo).

I thought I'd already seen everything Paula Radke could do with dichroic glass, but I love these new nugget shapes. On top of that, she had dichroic glass seed beads which, I will admit, were super-spendy at $35 for a teeny little tube. However, if you are a seed bead junkie and looking for something REALLY special to work with, these babies are definitely the ticket. I saw a bracelet she had made up with peyote-stitched tubes using these seed beads and it was stunning.

She's also developed the next great clay innovation: Art Glass Clay. I'll talk more about that in a future post because I got a flyer, instructions and a whole demo. It's pretty darned cool!

Aren't these florals stunning? They are from Kyoto Studio. I've seen her work on Etsy before, but this was the first time I'd seen her at a show. Online bead buying is great, but really, it still can't compare to being able to touch and see things first hand. These sunny, yellow flowers had me at hello!

I saved my very favorite purchase of the entire show for last. I will admit, this is not a great picture. I was trying to get close enough to show the incredible sea green and gold effects in the center of this borosilicate tube bead from Beau Barrett of Evolving Creations. Have you ever been at a bead show and had a bead literally shout your name from across the aisle? That's what this bead did to me. The way the light plays off this and Beau's other creations is just magical in real life...trust me when I tell you that even the pictures on his Etsy site do not do justice to these amazing creations. I saw a piece similar to this one at the show and it just glowed! Prices are a little up there, I know, but if you're looking for something special as a design focal point or to add to your collection, this is the place to get it.

Hope you enjoyed the trip to Pasadena with me!

KJ

New and Re-do

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

After posting this bracelet last week, I realized that the clasp was bugging me even more than it had originally...so it had to go.

I changed it out for a pretty sterling silver toggle set with a gray freshwater pearl. Unfortunately, that meant the overall length was off so something else had to go as well. As much as I loved the mother-of-pearl donut (and don't even get me started on how difficult wrangling the wire onto that particular component was) in the design, it just never seemed to quite "work."

I think sometimes I get so enamored of using a certain bead or component in a design that I try to force it in even when it's obvious that it's not working. Either I don't want to waste the wire or other materials that taking it apart will require or I don't want to admit to myself that my "really super cool" original idea...just ain't that cool after all.

Any way, the MOP donut had to go.

I feel like it's a little less unique now, but it's more balanced.

And the toggle is much prettier than the lobster claw.

So, that was my "re-do" for the weekend.

And now here's the "new":

I attended the Pasadena Bead & Design show on Saturday (more on that in a future post) and one of my favorite vendors from the past few visits there was in attendance: Loot! Her recycled glass pieces have been making their way into my hoard for a while now and after buy yet more of them on Saturday I decided I really HAD to break some of them out and get something made.

So, these are my "Blue Moon Bling" earrings. Tiny white pearls, a couple of different shades of Swarovski crystals, and lots of dripping chain - these came out just the way I pictured them in my head. I love it when that happens!

In other news, I've started listing the new resin at Be Resinable and I've even got some of the new jewelry going up in my Silver Parrot shop so be sure to stop by and check things out.

KJ

Bead Porn Revival

2011-07-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

You can all thank Barbara Lewis for reminding me that it had been a while since I'd done a really good bead porn post. I definitely intended to cut back this year, but four months between posts is probably a little more "cutting" than I really should have done.

So, without further ado, here's your porn:

Sumptuous chocolate brown deerskin lace from Jocalatte.

Slightly thinner cinnabar-colored deerskin lace from Jocalatte. I used this on a project that will be printed in the upcoming issue of "Creative Jewelry."

Antique copper bias-cut silk dupioni ribbon from T and Z Supplies.

Same ribbon in peacock.

Hand-dyed silk strings from T and Z Supplies.

Slightly thicker hand-dyed silk cord also from T and Z.

This also came from T and Z - such a great color combination!

Tiny, glistening Czech glass in shades of aqua and lavender from Bead and Ribbon.

These turquoise and green picasso glass disks also came from Bead and Ribbon. You might recognize them from the earrings and necklace I blogged about in a recent entry.

More from Bead and Ribbon. I honestly have to say that one of the things that's surprised me the most in beads is how far Czech glass has come since I first started beading 15 years ago. The variety of sizes, shapes, colors and - most importantly - finishes is just truly amazing.

This fun and fresh dyed "candy" jade is from Excellent Gem.

I've been really into this dagger or "buffalo tooth" shape in stones for the last year or so. These are blue tiger-eye and have just a fantastic color and sheen to them. They are also from Excellent Gem.

These howlite teardrops have been dyed an unusual combination of turquoise, lavender and purple. I really enjoy finding stones or beads that I haven't seen anywhere else either due to a new color treatment, new material or whatever. These came from Excellent Gem and certainly fit the bill.

And now I get to discuss one of my favorite vendors of all time - Shannon from Miss Fickle Media. Seems like she's always pushing the boundaries and bringing something new to her shop. Just when I get used to all the wonderful colored metals she's come up with, here are these cute flowers out of silver and copper.

Which doesn't mean I don't still love my colored metals from her as well. This finish is called Easter Sunday.

And of course I need the chain to match. I may have cut back on the bead porn, but I am still all about the matchy-matchy.

I've amassed quite the collection of Lynn Davis's lovely pewter components. Can't seem to bring myself to part with any of them, though. This is a wonderfully romantic piece I bought with Valentine's Day designs in mind. Ummm...maybe next year?

This lovely hand-made clasp is from Amanda Davie.

Some cute polymer clay charms from Humblebeads. I like the bright purpley-pink color on these.

But then she had the same ones in this turquoise color and well, you know how I feel about turquoise!

Multi-colored Greek ceramic cheerios from T and Z Supplies.

And their more grown-up, donut-shaped cousins.

These darling pink and white birds are from Sandhra Lee.

As is this matching charm.

And this larger pendant. Again, I was thinking Valentine's Day. I don't remember what happened around that time, but obviously I got majorly sidetracked and never got anything done with these. I know I keep repeating myself on that and it's just so frustrating to not have the time to create that I really wish I had. I guess it's a good thing that V-day comes around again every year so I can just hold onto these for 6 more months or so.

I've gotten a couple of these ribbon and watercolor ceramic pieces from Yolanda's Clay and I really think they are unusual. I love the background colors and the contrast with the white "ribbon" sections.

Then I moved on to stocking up for Easter...and didn't have any more luck getting designs made for that time frame than I had with Valentine's Day. The beads are still pretty, though. I love pixie dust finish on lampwork.

Okay, this copper finish isn't really Easter-related, but it was on sale at the same time as the other sets and I thought it would look great in an as yet-to-be-made design.

This set is channeling a 9-year-old girl's birthday party complete with fluffy pink and white unicorns, white frosted cupcakes and a pink ballerina tutu.

I wish I was 9 again!

Did I mention there was a sale on these?

'Cuz there was. They are all from Fire and Fibers.

These...were not on sale. But I bought them anyway because of the gorgeousness. They are from Beeboo.

Great color combination in these Fairy Flower lampwork disks from Mermaid Glass. Looking at these makes me want a margarita and some chips and fresh guacamole.

Okay, that's it for this batch of porn. Hope it was a nice mid-summer surprise. I'll have to do another batch in the fall (or sooner...you never know...I am mysterious that way).

Have a great weekend!

KJ

California Coast Bracelet

2011-07-28T07:59:00.001-07:00

In case I needed any further evidence of how much my environment influences my jewelry designs, here's a picture of what the beach looked like every day in Carpinteria:

And here are some photos of the one and only piece of jewelry I had time to create while I was there:

Yeah...no connection whatsoever LOL!

I do think I'm going to change out the clasp - that just happened to be all I had with me in my "travel kit" of bead projects. The cute little charm is from Mamacita on Etsy.

I used 20 gauge sterling silver wire to wrap everything together.

The disk beads and the large faceted aqua bead are polymer clay from Floridity.

Accent beads are freshwater pearls, drilled sea glass, drilled beach stone, Thai silver scallop shell and a mother-of-pearl donut.

It sure felt good to get a chance to actually make something - I really am trying to get my groove back.

Check back tomorrow for bead porn!

KJ

The Return of Resin

2011-07-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

It seems like it's been forever since I had a chance to get out all my artwork and bezels and all the inclusions (charms, glitter, crystals, etc.) and play with resin. Finally, over the July 4th holiday weekend, I had enough free time in a large enough block that I got to have some fun. I knew it might be a long time before I get another chance like this so I tried to do a wide variety of designs.

Here are the results:

This silver plated square bezel features a reproduction of a vintage floral image. I think the flowers are sweet peas, but I'm not sure. At least the color scheme was appropriate for 4th of July!

These are tiger ebony wood disks that I covered with some pretty scrapbook paper and a copper rose charm.

This bayong wood bead has a reproduction of a vintage cosmetic add. I added a dark pewter pansy charm.

More bayong wood with a reproduction of vintage French travel poster art.

More travel poster art - this one is an advertisement for the Hotel Guy in Severgne.

I love fleur-de-lis images and I found some great artwork on Etsy that featured them.

These antique copper bezels from Rings 'N Things make a perfect pairing with the artwork.

I love the diamond checkerboard pattern in the background on this one.

One more from the same series - that vibrant purple fleur-de-lis just seems to float right off the background on this design.

I switched over to a completely different type of artwork. These prints are various views of the Northern Lights.

And when I think Northern Lights, I think glitter, too, for some reason.

This is my favorite one from this series. It's probably a little bit early to start planning winter designs, but when the time comes...this will just be perfect.

The gold-plated bezels on this group all came from Rings 'N Things as well.

Then I moved on to butterflies. The colors in this set of artwork are just gorgeous! This particulare one is a link (loops on both ends) rather than just a pendant.

Another butterfly link.

This rainbow butterfly looked so good with the copper that I switched bezels.

This is probably my favorite...I never can resist anything in shades of turquoise or aqua.

I've used reproductions of vintage flower seed packets in the past so why not some vintage fruit labels?

Or some Jamaica Ginger Ale? Great colors in this one.

This particular piece of artwork offers so many design options - you can go with the parrots (my favorite, of course) or the boat or the tropical island scene. It's perfect for a summer vacation necklace.

Hula apples, anyone?

I'm not sure why this particular image was included with the vintage fruit labels, but I think the colors are great and I'm crazy about the Veronica Lake-style girl with the big rose in her hair (I so totally want that hair, btw.)

Okay, I'll be honest, I have mixed feelings about this image. I love the seashell and I like that it is in color against the b&w image of the little girl, but...isn't the expression on the little girl's face kinda creepy? Or is it just me? I added some glitter to make myself feel better about it because what could possibly be less creepy than glitter?

This image is much better. Awesome starfish with some old letters and documents in the background. I can just see all this stuff being on the captain's desk on some old ship. Even though it was good as is, I added glitter anyway. Because I felt like it.

I kept expecting to see a bottle of Coppertone in the background of this artwork. Doesn't it remind you of the old Coppertone ad with the little girl and the dog? I think it's the color scheme or something. Anyway, it being summertime and me being a surfer girl at heart...this one is just perfect!

In the past, all my mermaid designs have sold really well so I figured it would be a good idea to throw some in when I did this resin pour. However, I always kinda wonder about the vintage artwork with naked or semi-naked girls in it...will someone actually wear a necklace made with naked chicks as the focal piece? Or maybe it's a good conversation starter? Like I said...I just always wonder, but if naked chicks in a pendant is your thing...then I've got just the piece for you!

These girls are less naked so I decided they needed some glitter in order to stay competitive.

This mermaid is naked, and has glitter AND she's on the moon. I mean, really, how can you top that?

I guess you could be the blonde Kim Kardashian of mermaids? With glitter.

That's it for this time. If you saw anything you liked, I'll be listing these on Etsy in the Be Resinable shop as time allows (hopefully sometime around this weekend).

And if you read this far, you deserve a bonus so I'll let you in on a little secret. I got a comment this week requesting some Bead Porn and I looked and realized that I haven't posted any since March so it really is about time for at least one porn post. I mean I know we've all been in porn addiction rehab, but really...will one little taste hurt us? I think not.

So watch this space...

KJ

Tales from Carpinteria

2011-07-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

I never know if posting vacation pictures is the modern-day equivalent of making all the neighbors come over to watch your home movies, but I persist in doing it anyway. I feel like California has such a wealth of great places to visit and vacation and I enjoy sharing the information in case anyone is looking for a great getaway or just likes to learn about what's going on in other parts of the country (or world - depending on where you're from).

So, here are a whole bunch of pictures of our trip to Carpinteria (with a few forays into nearby Santa Barbara). Oh, and just a warning...this is a LOOOOONGGG post so you might want to get you a beer or a margarita and some nachos or something.

I'm just sayin'...

Carpinteria State Beach was a half-block walk from the house we rented. It was gloriously sunny the first day we were there, but that was the day I got so excited to get out onto the sand that I left my camera back at the house. So no pictures of the sun, the dolphins that came by that day (my brother was actually in the water at the time and got within about 20 feet of three of them!), or the absolutely ginormous live clam that I accidentally dug up while helping the kids look for sand crabs. This picture is the next day when the marine layer arrived and stayed for almost the entire week. That's my mom and Ryan down at the water in spite of the cold.

Did I mention the clams? I've always known we had them on our beachs, but have never been able to dig them up so easily. We were really looking for sand crabs which are right in the surface layer of the sand, but kept coming up with clams any way. This is a tiny one.

But most of them were this size or larger. Like I said, I didn't have my camera to record the really huge one (almost couldn't fit it in my hand it was so big), but this one was pretty decent-sized. I took it up to where our chairs were to take this picture and as I was running back down to the surf to put it back in the sand, the strangest thing happened. It felt like a giant tongue suddenly and randomly licked my hand. NOT something I was expecting (there may have been some screaming involved because while I don't get grossed out by much, unexpected cold, slimy sensations in my hand definitely qualify as high on the gross-o-meter). The clam, which had remained tightly closed during the entire photo process, had suddenly decided to stick its big, slimy, muscular "foot" out to see if it was safely back into the sand yet.

Um...that'd be a no. That's my HAND...not sand.

Ugh. Definitely a sensation I have no desire to repeat. But I got him safely back down to the damp sand and everyone got a kick out of seeing his foot come out and watching him dig down into the sand and disappear.

There were tidepools, too. Unfortunately, they were a LONG hike from our beach and the tide was coming in by the time we got there so we didn't get to see much. Notice the weather is still not cooperating.

So, we had to find other things to keep the three boys (four if you count my brother) occupied. Fortunately, the city had just built and opened this great new playground...also only a half block walking distance from our house.

There were a lot of "King of the World" competitions on these hut-type structures.

The winner got to pose for the camera.

A lot.

Ryan and his 5-year-old cousin, Casey.

On a couple of the days we were there, the sun managed to make a brief appearance around dinner time. This shot is taken at a beach slightly north of where we were staying. There's an actual restaurant on the sand and this is the view from our table at dinner. It works out great because the kids can sit in the sand and play with toys and build sand castles while the adults finish their food. Built-in entertainment! Plus the view at sunset was just gorgeous.

I was on a mission to see the Harbor Seal rookery that was supposed to be in the area. After days of people telling us "oh, they're gone for the year" or "oh, it's too far to walk from this beach", we finally found a cliff trail that was supposed to lead to a viewing spot for the rookery.

And the wildflowers were out along the trail, too.

This flower probably has a real name, but around here, we call it the "Fried Egg" plant.

There were whole clumps of these sweet lavender and white flowers growing along the trail.

I found a whole bunch of these bright orange flowers growing around some fallen eucalyptus trees.

And then we found the seal rookery:

These are all harbor seals. I'd always thought that they were mostly a light to medium gray with dark gray to black spots, so I was amazed to see the wide variety in coloration from brown and gray all the way to white.

From December-May, this beach is covered with hundreds of them because it's pupping season. However, if you visit the area outside of those months, like we did, don't let anyone tell you that the seals are "gone."

There were quite a few out in the water and about 20-30 snoozing on the beach. I like that guy in center front just flat out on his back and dead to the world.

I nicknamed him "Snoozy." Dude, THAT is how you vacay.

Still looking for alternate activities due to the weather, we headed to Stearns Wharf in nearby Santa Barbara.

It's so big that you actually drive your car out onto it to park. I'm taking this photo from the upper, outside deck of a restaurant.

But the main feature of the wharf is the Ty Warner Sea Center. If the name Ty Warner sounds familiar, it's because he's the culprit behind Beanie Babies. He donated a lot of money to have this small aquarium refurbished and expanded and it's really quite the little gem now. I think it cost like $5 to get in (bargain!) and had some really great exhibits, very knowledgeable docents and some really interesting hands-on activities for the kids. There were a variety of touch pools where you could handle all kinds of animals and there's even an open deck where the kids can lower equipment into the water below the wharf and take visibility readings and scrape up material from the sand to be looked at under a microscope.

As a bonus, when we exited out onto the main pier, we could see lots of starfish on the pilings and there was even a young seal swimming around the base of the pier. He dove under before I could grab a photo, darnit!

On our last night, we strolled the main street of downtown Santa Barbara and look what I managed to find! The manager was just shutting the door as I walked up, but was nice enough to let me in to take a look around while the rest of the family went on to dinner at the Tupelo Junction Cafe. Good thing I practice super-speedy bead shopping because I got down to the restaurant just in time to order some cheddar cheese hush puppies for an appetizer.

After dinner, we headed to the Santa Barbara Mission and the park in front of it for a great sunset view of the Pacific Ocean.

Here's the Mission itself (or as much of it as I could fit into one photograph).

So then I took a couple of more close-up, split shots. This is the main chapel with the bell towers on either side.

This is the dormitory building.

This cross was added in 1913...on the 200th birthday of the Mission's founder.

This is a Moorish fountain outside the Mission in the courtyard.

I loved the lily pads and the pretty pink flower, but I swear there's a carnival game where you try to get your penny to land on a lily pad...so where's my giant stuffed pink unicorn?

This is one of the more unique features of the Mission. It's called a "lavanderia" and only two of all the California Missions have it. The local Chumash Indians prized cleanliness as a societal virtue (one can only imagine what they thought of the stinky Europeans who thought bathing brought on disease) so they built this station for washing clothes. There's a carved stone spout at either end, one in the shape of a lion and one in the shape of a bear, and the trough was filled with water. Clothes were scrubbed on the rough outer surface and then rinsed in the trough to get them clean.

Another thing the Chumash Indians did even before the Spanish arrived was to cultivate local varieties of grapevines. Some of these grape varieties became the ancestors of the current wine industry in Santa Barbara.

If you passed the fourth grade in the state of California, you already know who this guy is. But just in case you're from out of town, I'll give you a hint.

His name is Junipero Serra (and for everyone who just pronounced it jewnipero...um...no...it's hoonipero because in So Cal we habla Espanol...sort of). You can follow the link and read all about him on Wikipedia, but basically, he started in San Diego and traveled up most of the California coast establishing the Mission system all along what is known as the El Camino Real (the King's Highway) back when California was part of Mexico and belonged to Spain.

Just across a small road from the Mission is a gorgeous park with a great view of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. It's got an amazing rose garden with all different varities of roses. My mom dragged me through the whole thing and made me take pictures of her favorites. I won't bore you with all of them (okay, who said "Thank God?") but here are a few of the ones we identified as having been in both my grandmother's gardens:

This one is called "Double Delight." I have to admit that it is a personal favorite of mine because you get to enjoy a whole progression of colors as it goes from bud to fully open.

Both of my grandmothers had this rose and my parents have it, too. It's called "Peace" and it starts out as a yellow bud, but as it opens, the petals turn with with a delicate blush of pink on the outer edges.

Same type of rose, this blossom just has slightly more intense coloring and I took the shot a little earlier so there was more light available.

This is a darker version that shades from light pink to dark pink that's called "Chicago Peace."

And while Mom was dragging me...er...showing me through the rose garden, the kids were having a great time getting their bubbles on.

And on.

And on.

It's "Bubblicious."

And here's the whole park with the rose garden, some historic houses across the street, and beyond the telephone pole, the Pacific Ocean as the sun slowly sets on our last night.

The next day, we braved "Carmageddon" to get home (yeah, yeah, you weren't supposed to drive on the 101, but we planned this vacation before word got around to the OC about the closure.) Fortunately for us, everyone ELSE stayed home so we breezed through. I have NEVER gotten through downtown L.A. that fast or with that little traffic. I think we ought to declare "Carmageddon" at least once a month and not let anyone drive.

Well, if you lasted this long, I salute you. Thanks for sharing in my little post-trip reflection. Later this week it's back to beady stuff. I got the pictures of my July 4th resin pour all done so there will be lots of new resin-y goodness here and then later up for sale on Etsy.

KJ

Vacation Blogging

2011-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello from vacation-land! Everyone else is still asleep, but I woke up early and the house is silent (which is not likely to last for long with three boys around) so I thought I'd fit in a quick blog post while I can. Vacation has been great so far! The weather has not cooperated as much as one might wish (lots of overcast days), but it hasn't really interfered much.

Local attractions and wildlife viewing have all been spectacular, though. Sand crabs galore so the boys have been practically hysterical with delight and have been competing to see who can find the biggest one. Pismo clams, brown pelicans, harbor seals and dolphins have all been sighted, but more details to come on that in a later post when I can upload the pictures to go with the story.

In the meantime, here's the rest of the jewelry I made over the July 4th weekend:

I actually made the necklace first, but it always seems weird to me to show it first and then dwindle down to earrings. Seems like I should save the big bang for the end. Anyway, these probably seem a bit weird by themselves, but they will make more sense when you see the necklace. The top disk beads are Czech glass and the large red rondelles are polymer clay. The small dangles at the bottom are also Czech glass.

Then I tried to get all artsy-fartsy with the photo backgrounds:

This background idea probably needs more thought...

This pair of earrings uses the same polymer clay beads, but this time, the accent beads are turquoise rondelles and honey jade

And another attempt at a more interesting background...I think I like it better in this view.

Of all the earrings I made for this set, this is my favorite pair. I put the Czech glass rondelles at the top, then wired on some deep red patinated metal rounds from Miss Fickle Media. The finishing touches are patinated yellow metal dangles also from Miss FM. The photo doesn't capture it, but in the sunlight, they have a subtle sparkle.

And now, on to the necklace

More of the same polymer clay beads mixed with bunches of turquoise "buffalo tooth" dangles. I also used some orangey-gold enameled beads from Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire.

The chestnut patinated chain and the two large ring links are from Miss Fickle Media.

Here's a final view of the entire necklace.

I can't decide on a name for this set. The two possibilities are either Sonoran Sunset or Red River Canyon. What do you think?

That's all from Carpinteria for now. More next week after I get the pictures downloaded.

KJ

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

2011-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

With some of my family out of town, it was difficult to come up with a plan to celebrate my birthday. After much thought (okay, I flipped a coin), I decided to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific with Ryan and my mom.

We had a great time so I thought I'd share some of the pictures and give a little guided tour along the way (there was supposed to be some video, too, but I can never figure out how to turn the sound off when I'm recording and I'm sure you don't want to listen to me telling my mom to get out of the frame and my son to "quit touching that" repeatedly so we'll just stick with the photos for now).

Normally, I time my visit to the aquarium so that we're done by lunch time and can hit my favorite spot for lunch right afterwards, but we had to make some scheduling accommodations for mom so we got a late start. It was lunchtime when we arrived so before heading into the aquarium, we got a bit to eat here:

Good ol' Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. If you've never been to one, the whole restaurant is based on the movie "Forrest Gump." The dishes are all based on the scenes where Forrest's army buddy, Bubba, does nothing but talk about shrimp for days on end. They play music from the 60's, the movie runs on screens throughout the restaurant, the waiters ask you trivia about the movie and so on. It's a lot of fun plus they have a dessert called "worms 'n dirt" that Ryan just LOVES. Also, it's basically on-site at the aquarium so you don't have to move the car or walk far to get to it.

AFter stuffing ourselves full of all the shrimp we could hold, it was time to head to the aquarium. This is a dolphin statue that's right outside the front entrance.

If you're looking for something to do in So Cal, I have to say, you really get a lot of bang for your buck at this place. It's overall one of the least expensive attractions and they really have a lot to look at as well as some great hands-on experiences for the kids.

When you first walk inside, you're greeted by this life-size blue whale (and her calf - located on the other side) suspended from the ceiling. It's hard to get the perspective from my terrible photog skills, but trust me, it's IMMENSE!

This is a newer exhibit since the last time I was there - all about the melting polar ice caps and the dramatic effect that process is having on all the species that live there. As part of the exhibit, they have an arctic fox on loan from another facility.

This exhibit had some great photos and videos to look at so I grabbed a couple of still shots of the best ones. I love penguins!

Then it was time to head on to the underwater exhibits.

I have no memory of what kind of fish this is - I just loved its color scheme. It's funny how, as jewelry artists, we all stress about color schemes when Mother Nature has no problem putting the wildest combinations together and just going for it.

Nice picture of a rock, right? Nope, that's actually a CRAB! I thought it was such a fantastic disguise that I had to take a picture of it.

Ryan's favorite - jellyfish! If I remember correctly, I think these are called Sea Nettles.

This is a certain species of nudibranch. They move around by flipping that ball-shaped structure open and closed.

It's not that I'm particularly enamored of nudibranchs, but this was one of the best pictures I took all day so I had to post it LOL!

Sorry this is so blurry - it was a hard shot to get because the exhibit was in pitch black darkness AND this guy was hiding in a cave. This is a giant Pacific octopus. The bright spot in the middle is his eye.

This is one of the coolest things - live shark egg cases! They cut a window into the case and seal it with clear packing tape so you can actually watch the baby sharks developing inside the egg cases. These are both baby swell sharks. The white ball-shaped things are the yolk sacs. There were recently hatched baby horn sharks in this exhibit as well. The horn shark's egg case looks like a corkscrew so it would be hard to do this technique with it.

Another one of my favorite exhibits - sea horses!!

Didn't this one pose so nicely for me? You'll see in a post later this week how I worked this inspiration into a finished piece of jewelry!

And, of course, it wouldn't be a day at the Aquarium without watching the sea lions and seals get fed. They don't have a "show" like at Sea World, but they have taught them all to do a few behaviors that the animals are more than willing to demonstrate in return for some fish. This is Parker on his raft.

"Hey, come back here with my fish!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Give up the sushi already!"

The best thing about this exhibit is that in addition to this upper viewing area, it also has an underwater viewing area where you can watch the animals swimming in around rocks and caves and really see how graceful and FAST they are in the water.

We had such a great time and spent so long inside that by the time we came out, it was dinnertime already (before facing an hour commute home on the freeway). We strolled over to nearby restaurant row and had dinner at Gladstone's.

It being Father's Day weekend, however, there was a bit of a crowd so I took pictures while we waited.

This is a view of Rainbow Harbor taken from the waiting area outside the restaurant. I just thought those buildings were cute.

And off to the right from our dinner table was the old Long Beach lighthouse.

And in between Rainbow Harbor on the left and the lighthouse on the right, looking straight ahead all the way across the harbor is the Queen Mary. If you look closely, you can see the top of a white dome between the 2nd and 3rd smokestacks on the QM - that's where they house the Spruce Goose.

Then, of course, there were my charming birthday dinner companions (and Sharky - the stuffed shark Ryan weasled his grandmother into getting for him at the gift shop...hey, whose birthday is this, anyway?)

Oh, and if you ever have your birthday at Gladstone's? Don't actually TELL them it's your birthday...otherwise, they bring you a basketball size plate of blue cotton candy (and no, I'm not exaggerating!) It was SOOO embarrassing!

Plus, then I got the joy of telling Ryan that no, he could NOT eat the whole thing because if he barfs in Grandma's Lexus, she is soooo going to 1. Make me clean it up and 2. Throw us out on the side of the road and 3. NEVER EVER EVER let me forget it. Fortunately, he listened to me (after only a minimal amount of whining) so we avoided that whole scenario.

And that's how I spent my birthday.

Seahorse Dreams

2011-07-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I promised myself lots of creativity over the July 4th holiday weekend and I kept my promise! Two necklaces, three pairs of earrings and a big resin pour!

Go, me!

Thought I'd share one of the necklaces before I head off on vacation. It's an appropriately ocean-inspired design considering my recent post about the aquarium AND the fact that I'm spending next week sharing a beach house with my brother and his family in Carpinteria (near Santa Barbara for those who aren't familiar with the California coast). Between us we'll have three boys ages 8, 5, and 2. I think it's going to be a very BUSY vacation...and there will be a lot of sand...

So, here's "Seahorse Dreams."

I started with this lovely ceramic seahore pendant in soft, dreamy colors from Spirited Earth.

Then I built up one side with some brass chain, crystal, Czech flower, bone and vintage glass dangles and a strand of ivory seed beads woven throughout.

The other side has a strung section at the back of Czech glass and carved bone along with some faceted Czech firepolish rondelles. The front section of this side has wire-wrapped Czech glass flower dangles.

The clasp is a brass hook and I added a Czech glass dangle on a headpin.

I'm playing around some more with the layouts of my photos so thought I'd try something a little different than just laying the necklace flat.

So that's it. But, wait til you see the next set of stuff I made...could NOT be more different from this if I'd planned it that way. Which I totally didn't. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll get my work unified into a more signature style somehow, but then my Gemini nature always gets in the way.

I'll try to get the next stuff set to post while I'm gone, but if I run out of time (highly likely considering everything I still have to get done before we take off tomorrow), you'll just have to hope I can either blog from the iPad while I'm gone or else wait until I get back LOL!

KJ

Overdue Thank Yous

2011-07-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes, comments, etc. lately. I haven't had as much time to blog or to respond to comments as I usually do and I didn't want anyone to feel unappreciated!

I do (eventually) read every single comment that comes in and I try to respond to as many of them as I can, but it's been more difficult than usual in the last couple of weeks.

So, thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

On another note, I know the jewelry has been super-scarce around here lately and I'm hoping to remedy that this weekend. The muse finally decided to return from whatever round-the-world booze cruise she's been on for the past six months and I made a whole necklace and earring set last weekend (sadly, no pics as they were a b-day present from my mom and went out the door only minutes after I finished them), but I got another necklace started which I'm hoping to have time to finish since it's a 3-day weekend (yay). There are a couple of other pieces I did recently that I just haven't had time (are you sensing a theme here?) to photograph and post about, but again, maybe this weekend.

AND...if there are any resin junkies out there, I've got a whole batch of pendants ready to do a pour this weekend as well. I'm definitely trying to get my creativity on over the holiday (God willing and the creek don't rise) so there should be some photos of that stuff next week, too.

Happy 4th of July holiday weekend to everyone!

KJ

Squawk!

2011-06-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Normally, I'm not a big fan of errands. Running here and there, dealing with parking, dealing with stores and salespeople who never have what I want, can't answer my questions and are just generally unhelpful is not my idea of fun.

However, there's always one exception to every rule. Picking up the parrot food and treats for Zuni entails going to a special store (no run of the mill pet food crap for Mr. Feather Britches, oh no.): Omar's Exotic Birds.

Besides having every kind of parrot food, treat, toy, cage and other paraphernalia under the sun, Omar's has birds. Lots and lots of birds. And they are not in cages, but are out on play stands where you are encouraged to pet them and pick them up.

And right now, it's baby season...so the store is chock full of brand new baby birds and they are SO CUTE.

So, I thought I'd take you on a quick tour:

This is a Apricot Caique (pronounced KAI-eek). They come in this variety with the yellow/orange head and then there's another variety that has a black head. They are fun, bouncy (they like to hop like bunny rabbits) bundles of energy. This one was on the floor when I first got there and crawled up my pant leg begging to be picked up so I held it for a while and scratched its head (birds love that) and it kindly offered to pose for a picture.

Aren't these guys pretty? They are one of my favorites as far as coloring. You can see some baby Congo African Greys on the platform next door.

Here's a better view. They are called Queen of Bavaria conures. You can see that these are quite young and still growing into their feathers because the second one back with the seed in his beak has kind of a "nappy-headed" look to his head feathers.

And here are the African Greys close up. They are not as colorful as many of the other species, but they are widely acknowledged to be the smartest. Intelligence estimates put them in the range of 2-5 year old human children. Don't believe me? Google "Alex" and "African Grey Parrot" and learn about Dr. Irene Pepperberg's amazing experiments in language with these birds.

They were so cute! They all wanted head scratches and were FASCINATED by my camera...but since parrots do their exporing with their beaks, I really frustrated them by not letting them chew on my camera LOL!

Now we move up to the bigger guys. This is a Yellow-Crowned Amazon parrot. Amazons come in lots of different varieties including yellow-head, yellow-nape, double yellow-head, etc.

One of them was on the floor when I first came in and boy did he make a beeline for the sparkly beads on the sandals I was wearing. I scooped him onto his perch before he could try out my toes as appetizers. I would rate these guys as second in intelligence and talking ability after the Greys, but they tend to have much more raucous (and loud) personalities. Some friends of my parents own one who sits at his own place (complete with plate and utensils) at the dinner table every night and shares dinner with them.

And then there are the macaws. I always think of this species as the "UCLA Bruin" parrot, but they are actually Blue & Gold macaws.

These are Scarlet Macaws.

I had to take another picture of them because their colors are just so gorgeous.

And then there's the REALLY big guy - this Hyacinth Macaw. And yeah, that beak? It's even bigger in real life. They use it to crack open things like Brazil nuts. Right after I took this picture, this guy stretched WAYYY out and tried to take my camera. I guess he didn't think I got his best side. If you're thinking this looks like the bird for you...I should maybe tell you that they START at $15,000...y'know, if you happen to have some loose change lying around.

(Oh, and if you look really closely, you can see Ryan in a light blue shirt standing by the counter and turning his head because he didn't want to be photographed...he was busy playing his DS because Grandma bought him a new game for it)

All the birds are captive-bred (not wild caught and not from wild caught parents, etc.) and are hand-raised so they are generally sweet and very well socialized from all the traffic and handling in the store.

So, if you're ever in So Cal and want a quick, fun, free experience with these amazing birds for yourself or your kids, I recommend a trip to Omar's. He's got the location that I go to in Lake Forest and another one in Brea.

And if you're thinking about a bird for yourself or your kids (I didn't photograph them, but he has small birds like cockatiels, lovebirds and finches), then I definitely recommend a specialty place like this or going direct to a good breeder. The birds are much healthier, well fed and socialized than those at regular pet stores.

A Birthday Dinner View

2011-06-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

I spent my birthday at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Lots of pics and hopefully (if I worked the camera thingamajig right) some videos to be posted this week as soon as I get everything downloaded off the camera and edited.

However, in the meantime, check out the view from my dinner table Saturday night:

This is from the patio at Gladstone's restaurant. Sunset...looking over Rainbow Harbor. And yes, that IS the Queen Mary in the distance across the harbor.

It could not have been a more beautiful, perfect evening. This was the only day the entire week that wasn't fogged in with June gloom.

After Rings 'N Things

2011-06-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so, Julie and I decided at lunch after the R&T show that we hadn't quite gotten our fill of beady goodness so we tried to figure out where the closest bead store was and could we make it there and still each get home in time for our other commitments (i.e. the time I was scheduled to pick up the kid).

After pondering on it, we realized that Brea Beadworks was not too far off and, oh! Lucky us. They just happened to be having a Kazuri bead trunk show that day, too.

And don't judge...I didn't get to go to Bead & Button and this shopping spree (plus my iPad) was kind of my early b-day present to myself since my birthday is tomorrow ;-)

I really love using closed rings as components in my designs. They give such an airy, open look and the rope design on these copper rings will add great texture, too.

I picked all through a bowl of these beautiful kyanite teardrops trying to find a pair that matched well in size and coloring. Still not as exact as I would like, but pretty close. I think they are going to make really stunning earrings.

And then it was time for the room with all the Kazuri beads:

I guess I was still thinking about earth tones after the R&D show because this grouping of beads caught my eye right away.

The high shine on the beads makes getting a good photo kind of tough, but I had to try to show these colors close-up.

And, of course, you know I had to get a set that was more "ocean-y" looking.

Still having a hard time getting a good close-up because the beads are so reflective.

One of the things I love about Brea Beadworks is their wide selection of art beads - way more than I see at other bead stores. This is a cute spiral earring pair from Marsha Neal. They blended into my normal wood background a little too much so I grabbed a brick that was sitting nearby and used it as a background instead.

More Marsha Neal - I just love the cute, small charms. Perfect for earrings!

A lovely enameled copper clasp from C-Koop. Again with the shine issue, though!

One of my favorite purchases from Brea a few years ago was a group of gorgeous dichroic glass leaf pendants made by Carol Fonda. So I couldn't resist the chance to pick up a couple more while I was there.

Here's what I made with one of the original leaves I bought there. No one else likes this necklace, but I it's a personal favorite of mine.

And this was my big splurge for the day - a Margaret Zinser lampwork (yes, it's lampwork) butterfly wing pendant. Iridescent purple with teal stripes and dots...how could I resist?

Now, what I would REALLY like for my birthday? The time to play with all this stuff.

Sartre Was Wrong

2011-06-16T08:51:00.001-07:00

L'enfer n'est pas les autres. L'enfer est les autres au DMV.

Translation: Hell is not other people. Hell is other people at the DMV.

I swear if one more person coughs on me, I'm going straight to the ER.

KJ

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Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2011-06-15T15:13:00.001-07:00

Now, it's a well known fact that I loathe baseball. It's sooooo slooooowwwwww.

Like watching paint dry.

Only more boring.

However, when a work aquaintance very nicely gives you 4 FREE tickets right on third base for the Angels vs. Kansas City...you take them.

And when nobody else will go with you (because see? baseball is BORING), you take your 70-year-old mother and your kid.

See? Awesome seats (although the transfer from the cell phone camera to blogger has distorted the perspective - we were close enough I could've reached out and touched the back of that KC player's jersey).

Unfortunately, to make things even worse, the Angels were playing about the worst game I've ever seen them play. They had to change pitchers by the 3rd inning and by the time we left at the top of the 9th, they were losing 8-0.

So, how do you make up for a really, really lackluster game?

Cotton candy, of course!

Rings 'N Things Show

2011-06-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Rings 'N Things trunk show with my friend Julie from work. Much fun was had and many beads were bought. I also finally got to meet Dave Robertson from R&T in person.

Dave was the one who was kind enough many, many moons ago to invite me to be an R&T blog partner. I was so flattered (OMG...someone is actually reading this crap I'm writing about!!) and had a great time being part of the program. I promised Dave at checkout that I'd blog about the show...ummm...probably a little more timely than this, but I have been busy with floods and broken teeth (more on that in a future post), etc., since then.

So here is my belated trunk show report:

Got this gorgeous strand of bronze keshi pearls. There were some AMAZING quality white ones that I wanted, but even with the generous trunk show and wholesale discount, they would have blown my entire budget so I had to go for this less expensive strand. The color is just stunning, though, and I'm excited to play with them (if I could just get some beading time!)

Okay, at first glance, these don't look like much. But wait...

Just warm them in your hand and check out the amazing color shift! Years ago I bought some color-shifting "mood" beads at the L.A. Gift show, but they didn't have patterns on them like these do.

Okay, who asked if I'm still hoarding them? Oh wait, yeah, I am.

You guys know me too well.

And then I saw the teardrop shape...

Look at that gorgeous purple...

And then they start to cool off and fade...

And you get some green and orange...

And more yellowy green...

My only question is, when designing with these...do you design for what color they are "at rest" or do you design for what colors they turn when warmed by the skin? I smell a design challenge coming on...

These are some nice jumbo-sized rondelles of snowflake obsidian (top) and sodalite (bottom). I just thought the size and very nice uniformity in cut would make them great as secondary beads to go with fancier art beads or even by themselves with some touches of Bali or Thai silver.

I have to admit - this was purley a color purchase. I can't seem to stay away from anything in the turquoise/teal color scheme. The label on these beads says they are "multi-stone." I don't know what that means and I don't really care because they are just pretty. They actually have an almost glittery effect running through them that you can't see in the photo.

Although I'm not usually drawn to earth-tone beads, the incredible high polished shine on this strand of wood opalite was too pretty to pass up. I wish it showed in the photo because that's really what made this a special buy.

This is another "out of my comfort zone" purchase. I don't think I've ever worked with stones this color before, but this brecciated mookaite (say that three times fast...I dare you!) really blew me away. Those darker bands running through the stone are actually nearly transparent. They look like maple syrup or dark honey criss-crossing the stones. YUMM!

And last, but not least, my favorite purchase of the day was this strand of unusual jasper. I can see each bead being an individual focal because they are all so unique.

This is one of my favorites - like winter branches against a pink sky.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Overheard Last Night

2011-06-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

As Ryan and I were lying on my bed last night, he in his neon yellow Spongebob pajamas and I in my sweats, watching the" Great Fairy Rescue" (his pick and yes, my son likes fairy stories, so what?) on Disney channel, we had the following conversation:

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I'm wearing double underwear. "

"Really? Any particular reason why?"

"I don't know. Just go with it, okay?"

"Okay."

I thought more explanation would eventually be forthcoming, but as of this morning, I am still in the dark.

And, since bedtime came before the movie was over, I don't even know if Tinkerbell got rescued or not.

KJ

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This Is What Happens...

2011-05-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

...when your son lets a container of about 500 ladybugs go in your backyard.

And then it's kind of cold that night...so the ladybugs bunch up for heat.

Which puts them into a nice, convenient "to go" package for the birds when they wake up in the morning.

And then you come out and take a picture of the ones that are left.

iPad Odyssey - The Final Showdown

2011-05-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

When last we left our intrepid, techno-challenged heroine (aka me)...

I just completed my second run to Best Buy in the same day, I now have 3G service and I have to fly like the wind to get home before my mom arrives to drop Ryan off.

I make it home and race upstairs to get the iPad docked back up to the computer, re-synced with iTunes and ready to enter my cellular data plan info again. I get the online form filled out and am just about to press "send" when the 3G icon disappears from the status bar and I get the "no SIM card" message again.

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Except...now I know what to do, right? Because one of the TG's (I can't keep straight which one at this point) showed me that neat trick with the paper clip and while I don't have compressed air, I'm certainly capable of blowing on the SIM card myself. It did take me a few minutes to find the right gauge of paper clip (have to use one of the small ones) but I get it unbent and into the hole and am just exerting a tiny bit of pressure to pop the card out when my son bursts into the room behind me, yells "hey, mom, whatcha doin'?" and scares the crap outta me. Which means I put too much pressure on the card and it goes flying and disappears.

Did I mention it's TEENY TINY?

Cuz it is.

I also realize that I was concentrating on fixing the iPad so hard that I didn't hear my mom and son come in the house. Hence the shock when he snuck up behind me.

Now I have to go be polite to my mom while simultaneously trying to speed her departure because all I can think about is that SIM card that is now lost somewhere in my rat's nest of an office.

"Hi, mom. Thanks for taking care of Ryan. What? You have to leave already? Oh darn. Okay, well, bye then. Don't let the door hit you, etc."

Yeah, I am a stellar daughter.

Then it's back upstairs to spend a torturous amount of time on my hands and knees looking for the effing SIM card all the while muttering "oh, please let me find it...please...please."

Fortunately, God finds me vastly amusing or completely pathetic, but either way he decided to help me find the darn thing. I get it re-installed, boot the iPad up, fill out the cellular data page again and...

Now, does ANYBODY think it actually worked this time? Because if you do, you are crazy.

I went several more rounds with this thing and the 3G service would cut out every time I got ready to send the sign up data. And yet, I had this terrible feeling that if I took it back to Best Buy, they would find some ridiculously obvious thing that I was doing wrong and I'd look like a complete idiot.

That feeling was at war with my determination that this thing WOULD NOT defeat me. I WILL own an iPad and it WILL function as designed and I don't care how many TG's I have to verbally abuse to get it done.

It's at about this time that I glance at my watch and realize that hey, Best Buy doesn't close for another 20 minutes. But I'll have to bring the kid with me so I holler for him to get his shoes back on so we can go (I am assuming he's still dressed because I haven't had time to tell him to put his PJ's on and he NEVER does anything unless I tell him to first) and he comes running in.

In his pajamas.

His Spongebob Squarepants pajamas.

That are bright neon yellow.

Now, it's 8:40 at night on a school night. Your son is wearing bright yellow pajamas and you have a non-functioning iPad. Does the Mom Manual cover this situation? Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Or if it does, it probably says to do the exact opposite of what I did.

Which was to throw a jacket on over the kid's obnoxious pajamas as camouflage and then toss him and the iPad into the car and make a break for it.

Although, to be fair, I did hesitate for at least 15 seconds over whether or not this was a good idea. And my common sense lost that argument big time.

So, off we went to BB for the THIRD time in one day.

Upon arrival, I informed the TG on duty that this iPad was defective and I wanted a replacement. Now you know I was totally prepared to hear that they had no more of this model in stock, but...miracle of miracles, they still had one.

I also demanded that this time, THEY set it up and verify the 3G before I left the store. I may have also muttered something about taking up a position on the local clock tower and mowing them all down if it didn't work, but that part of the conversation is kinda fuzzy. TG could have just been scared into compliance by the sight of Ryan's pajamas.

Okay, new iPad is officially tested and working except...now it needs the invisi-shield applied to it.

I may have developed an uncontrollable twitch at this point...especially when they tried to charge me for a new shield AND the application service fee.

Yeah, um, TG? SOOOOOO not happening. After two previous misapplications AND the broken iPad AND my THREE trips to your lame ass store...lemmee 'splain to you that I AM NOT PAYING FOR SHIT!

TG wisely saw my point. But after his knees stopped knocking together (and he may have pee'd himself a little bit, but I didn't want to totally humiliate him by pointing that out) he mentioned that the only person left in the store who knows how to put the shield on is in the cell phone department and she's only ever put shields on phones and never on an iPad.

I figure she can't do any worse than the idiot from lunch time so I give them the go-ahead and the kid and I wandered around the store amusing ourselves for the next 30 minutes.

Which is how Ryan and I ended up playing X-Box Kinect in a closed Best Buy store at 9:30 on a school night while he was wearing neon yellow pajamas, a jacket and flip flops.

I am the best Mommy EVER!

But I have a working iPad.

KJ

P.S. The girl in the cell phone department did a FABULOUS job putting the shield on. It is PERFECT. Why on earth they have some ham-handed guy in the tech department doing it crappily when this girl does it so well, I don't know, but I made sure the manager knew about it...and about everything else.

American Idol

2011-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's not over yet, but James just proved why he should've been in the finals! Judas Priest...genius! That was hot, dude!

Casey and Jack black singing Queen wasn't bad either.

However, the girls are absolutely MURDERING Beyonce!

Now I just wanna know if Scotty won or not!

KJ