Two little pendants I made...they'll be finished off by hanging them on a silver chain. Kinda cute, I think!
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
Okay, so I can't do embellished Russian Net stitch...
Tres depressing, but I fiddled and futzed around for over a week on this piece and finally ended up cutting it up in sheer frustration. I think the directions were flawed (because of course it couldn't POSSIBLY have been ME, right? LOL!) Between this and my bead crochet failure, I was feeling a little less than confident about my current skill level.
Anywho...moved on to a different technique of making these cool little mandala pendants that I learned on a Japanese beading site and yes I AM very proud of myself for being able to follow a diagram only since the instructions were all in Japanese (see, I'm not TOTALLY lame!) Then, I had 3 of the little pendants all lined up on my beading board because I was going to do a pendant and earrings when I realized I might be able to link them all into a bracelet. Neato. I'll upload a pic when I get a chance. This version uses pale pink glass pearls and faceted Czech glass rondelles in a pretty gray-green shade. I'm pretty impresses even if I do say so myself.
In other news, one of my beading IDOLS, Sherry Serafini, e-mailed me out of the blue to compliment me on my version of her embroidered earrings! Wahooooo! I'm totally stoked! And she was so nice and even answered a couple of dumb questions for me. Here's a link to her website if you want to check out her AMAZING stuff:
http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com
On the home front, Ryan fell pretty badly Friday night and cut his poor little lip up. I just HATE it when he gets hurt and cries because he's such a good little guy most of the time that it just seems extra unfair that he should ever get hurt, but he IS a boy and I'm sure this is only the first of many injuries I'll have to get through over the years. At least it didn't involve the emergency room (shudder). He goes for his 18 month check up today and we're hoping maybe his doctor can give us some advice on the night wakings. He does seem to be doing a BIT better (only waking once and then going back to sleep instead of being up all night) but I could still do with a few more nights where he sleeps through. It's weird because he has NO problems at bedtime at ALL...he's almost spookily good about "going night-night."
That's all for now. I'll post a pic of the mandala bracelet.
KJ
Anywho...moved on to a different technique of making these cool little mandala pendants that I learned on a Japanese beading site and yes I AM very proud of myself for being able to follow a diagram only since the instructions were all in Japanese (see, I'm not TOTALLY lame!) Then, I had 3 of the little pendants all lined up on my beading board because I was going to do a pendant and earrings when I realized I might be able to link them all into a bracelet. Neato. I'll upload a pic when I get a chance. This version uses pale pink glass pearls and faceted Czech glass rondelles in a pretty gray-green shade. I'm pretty impresses even if I do say so myself.
In other news, one of my beading IDOLS, Sherry Serafini, e-mailed me out of the blue to compliment me on my version of her embroidered earrings! Wahooooo! I'm totally stoked! And she was so nice and even answered a couple of dumb questions for me. Here's a link to her website if you want to check out her AMAZING stuff:
http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com
On the home front, Ryan fell pretty badly Friday night and cut his poor little lip up. I just HATE it when he gets hurt and cries because he's such a good little guy most of the time that it just seems extra unfair that he should ever get hurt, but he IS a boy and I'm sure this is only the first of many injuries I'll have to get through over the years. At least it didn't involve the emergency room (shudder). He goes for his 18 month check up today and we're hoping maybe his doctor can give us some advice on the night wakings. He does seem to be doing a BIT better (only waking once and then going back to sleep instead of being up all night) but I could still do with a few more nights where he sleeps through. It's weird because he has NO problems at bedtime at ALL...he's almost spookily good about "going night-night."
That's all for now. I'll post a pic of the mandala bracelet.
KJ
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Power Pro Rocks!
Okay so in the beading world I am SEVERELY late to the whole Power Pro (it's a specific type of fishing line that has been adapted by beaders because it is thin, strong and will stand up to the sharp holes of crystals, stones, etc.) party, but I finally got some and finally used it today and it is AWESOME! I made a cute little pendant out of pink Czech glass and garnet stone rounds and rondelles and it came out so darling! I'm going to make a bunch and link them together in a bracelet. And of course, I'm going to need some more faceted rondelle beads to make these in LOTS of colors ;-) It's great that they don't take a lot of beads to make so I can use up some "leftovers." Watch for these coming soon on the website :-)
Now chant with me "Power Pro! Power Pro! Power Pro!" :-))
See ya!
KJ
Now chant with me "Power Pro! Power Pro! Power Pro!" :-))
See ya!
KJ
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Oops...
I'm trying to post every day, but, well, sometimes life just gets in the way. I'm not even sure what exactly it is I've been so busy doing, but whatever it was, it kept me away from blogging. Let's see...
I finished the emerald peyote tubes set - bracelet and earrings and got them added to the right page on the website although I haven't had a chance to do the upload yet. Also added a couple of pairs of simple earrings and another necklace that I found in "lost inventory." Hope to get that stuff uploaded tonight although it's my night for "baby duty" so we'll see what happens.
Ryan was up most of last night (from 12-4 pretty much continuously...sigh). He had been pretty good for a few nights there so I thought maybe we were going to turn the corner but we just don't seem to be making any progress. Keep trying to wear him out during the day hoping it well help him sleep better and bought him his first "scooter" over the weekend to try to help with that. It works as both a sit-down and stand-up model and he's doing really well with the sit-down version and doesn't fuss about wearing his helmet either! He can do the stand up part, but doesn't want to push with his foot...wants mommy and daddy to provide the "go" power for that mode LOL! Kinda counter-productive (not to mention that mommy and daddy are POOPED!)
What else...am finishing the edging on a pair of embroidered cab earrings in shades of turquoise and emerald green and am also working on a swap item for a beader's e-mail list I belong to. I'm trying a new technique (for me) called embellished Russian net stitch. It's very lacy and pretty, but so far feels a bit "floppy" to me for use as a bracelet, but I'm not done yet so hopefully it will stiffen up a bit as I continue to work the next row. I'm using shades of pink and amethyst on it and hope my swap buddy will like it.
I bought a new earring display/organizer at the bead show I went to last weekend and finished transferring all my earrings into it. They look so much nicer and more professional this way (plus they were totally overflowing the other container I had them in) AND this thing rolls up neatly and fastens shut so everything stays protected. Very cool. While I was doing that I realized that the bead stash was starting to get a bit messy due to all the recent projects (leftovers not getting put away at all or getting tossed in their drawers, but not actually put into their tubes/boxes so I took a stab at straightening that up. During that process realized I need yet another iris cart and some more of the fabulous organizing tubes/boxes from Betcey at Beyond Beadery.
Lastly, I think I've come up with an idea for an original technique and am hoping if it works out that I might submit it to one or more of the bead mags and/or create some kits for sale. I've been web surfing/shopping today seeing if I can purchase the components I'll need to try this out and if it comes out well enough, I'll move on to writing the instructions and screwing up my courage to submit an article. Will keep you posted.
C'est tout pour maintenant (that's all for now).
KJ
I finished the emerald peyote tubes set - bracelet and earrings and got them added to the right page on the website although I haven't had a chance to do the upload yet. Also added a couple of pairs of simple earrings and another necklace that I found in "lost inventory." Hope to get that stuff uploaded tonight although it's my night for "baby duty" so we'll see what happens.
Ryan was up most of last night (from 12-4 pretty much continuously...sigh). He had been pretty good for a few nights there so I thought maybe we were going to turn the corner but we just don't seem to be making any progress. Keep trying to wear him out during the day hoping it well help him sleep better and bought him his first "scooter" over the weekend to try to help with that. It works as both a sit-down and stand-up model and he's doing really well with the sit-down version and doesn't fuss about wearing his helmet either! He can do the stand up part, but doesn't want to push with his foot...wants mommy and daddy to provide the "go" power for that mode LOL! Kinda counter-productive (not to mention that mommy and daddy are POOPED!)
What else...am finishing the edging on a pair of embroidered cab earrings in shades of turquoise and emerald green and am also working on a swap item for a beader's e-mail list I belong to. I'm trying a new technique (for me) called embellished Russian net stitch. It's very lacy and pretty, but so far feels a bit "floppy" to me for use as a bracelet, but I'm not done yet so hopefully it will stiffen up a bit as I continue to work the next row. I'm using shades of pink and amethyst on it and hope my swap buddy will like it.
I bought a new earring display/organizer at the bead show I went to last weekend and finished transferring all my earrings into it. They look so much nicer and more professional this way (plus they were totally overflowing the other container I had them in) AND this thing rolls up neatly and fastens shut so everything stays protected. Very cool. While I was doing that I realized that the bead stash was starting to get a bit messy due to all the recent projects (leftovers not getting put away at all or getting tossed in their drawers, but not actually put into their tubes/boxes so I took a stab at straightening that up. During that process realized I need yet another iris cart and some more of the fabulous organizing tubes/boxes from Betcey at Beyond Beadery.
Lastly, I think I've come up with an idea for an original technique and am hoping if it works out that I might submit it to one or more of the bead mags and/or create some kits for sale. I've been web surfing/shopping today seeing if I can purchase the components I'll need to try this out and if it comes out well enough, I'll move on to writing the instructions and screwing up my courage to submit an article. Will keep you posted.
C'est tout pour maintenant (that's all for now).
KJ
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Better late than never...
Oops...missed a couple of days of posting...guess I've been too consumed with the Olympics. Wasn't the men's gymnastics (individual all-around) competition AMAZING last night? Way to go, Paul Hamm! Just goes to show that no matter how bad things seem, you've got to keep trying, give it your all, and never give up because you never know what might happen. Definitely a lesson for me in there!
On the jewelry front, I've been working hard on the next peyote tubes project. It's basically done except for needing a clasp. I have a pretty good bead stash on hand, but I tend to mostly work in silver and this needed gold and I'm pretty low on gold clasps so none of the ones I already have will work with this. I'm going to have to...GASP!...go shopping! Don'tcha just hate that? Anyway, I'll post a picture of the work in progress shortly.
The kidlet got up at 4:00 AM this morning and would NOT go back to sleep. Looks like another tooth on the way. This is just not fair (especially considering I keep staying up til nearly midnight due to the Olympics each night...have GOT to quit doing that!). Then, of course, he fell asleep in the car on the way to daycare and didn't want to wake up when we got there. Sigh. On the upside (I think) he did learn to say "Spongebob" yesterday. Well, okay, it sounds more like "punbo" but I know what he means :-)
Have neighborhood summer bbq party this weekend...am not looking forward to it at all. I HATE social gatherings, but DH loves them and insists we go to all of them so I guess I'm going to have to suffer through it. I just hope it's not too hot!
That's it for now - pic posting soon.
KJ
On the jewelry front, I've been working hard on the next peyote tubes project. It's basically done except for needing a clasp. I have a pretty good bead stash on hand, but I tend to mostly work in silver and this needed gold and I'm pretty low on gold clasps so none of the ones I already have will work with this. I'm going to have to...GASP!...go shopping! Don'tcha just hate that? Anyway, I'll post a picture of the work in progress shortly.
The kidlet got up at 4:00 AM this morning and would NOT go back to sleep. Looks like another tooth on the way. This is just not fair (especially considering I keep staying up til nearly midnight due to the Olympics each night...have GOT to quit doing that!). Then, of course, he fell asleep in the car on the way to daycare and didn't want to wake up when we got there. Sigh. On the upside (I think) he did learn to say "Spongebob" yesterday. Well, okay, it sounds more like "punbo" but I know what he means :-)
Have neighborhood summer bbq party this weekend...am not looking forward to it at all. I HATE social gatherings, but DH loves them and insists we go to all of them so I guess I'm going to have to suffer through it. I just hope it's not too hot!
That's it for now - pic posting soon.
KJ
Monday, August 16, 2004
Gem Show Goodies
I just posted a pic of a FEW of the goodies that followed me home from the gem show this weekend. Carnelian, kyanite, ocean quartz, tiger eye and adventurine are only part of the damage I did. There were some great deals and I sure wish I'd had more money to spend! Of course, that's usually the case. Next show is at the end of this month in San Diego and I hadn't planned to go, but maybe if I can save up some more $ (or I get some orders!) I can swing it as there were LOTS of things I had to regretfully leave behind.
Not shown in the picture are some gorgeous Venetian glass beads that I bought from Via Murano, some silvery-gray freshwater pearls, and some fun millefiore-style glass donuts and beads from Japan. I also got sucked in by a LOT of new cabochons for my bead embroidery projects - several different shades of dyed paua shell and some pretty blue quartz and adventurine. Normally I stay away from the dyed stuff, but since this will be embroidered, it won't come into direct contact with skin and should therefore be okay, but I'll test it before I make anything out of it. Will try to post some pictures of the other items later this week if I get a chance.
We had a brief respite from Ryan's nightime antics last week - he slept 4 nights in a row (woo hoo!), but now he's right back to waking up again. I really am at my wit's end as to what is causing this...just don't know what to do to help him at this point. He had an accident at daycare on Friday, too, and came home with a big bump on his forehead right between his eyes. He just doesn't quite have that "running at full speed" thing down 100% yet...poor li'l guy. It looked pretty bad, but didn't seem to be bothering him so I don't think that's what caused the wakefulness to start up again. I guess maybe he'll just have to grow out of this stage...but it's sure taking a lot out of his poor parents in the meantime!
Let's see...what else? Oh, I took a bead crochet class this weekend and while the class itself was fun, I don't think this particular technique is for me LOL! I've always loved the pieces I've seen other people wearing, but I, apparently, am going to turn out to be one of the "crochet-challenged." I've only ever tried it once before (without beads) when I was 8 years old and I seem to remember that didn't go too well, either LOL! Anyway, I tried and tried yesterday and while I can actually DO the stitch, my tension is WAAAAYYY too loose and I just couldn't seem to get my hands in the right position to hold the tension more tightly so in my crocheted piece you can see all this goofy thread hanging between the beads and it's HIDEOUS! I may have to post a picture for amusement value if nothing else. Oh well...back to peyote tubes (at least I was able to master THAT technique!)
Bye!
KJ
Not shown in the picture are some gorgeous Venetian glass beads that I bought from Via Murano, some silvery-gray freshwater pearls, and some fun millefiore-style glass donuts and beads from Japan. I also got sucked in by a LOT of new cabochons for my bead embroidery projects - several different shades of dyed paua shell and some pretty blue quartz and adventurine. Normally I stay away from the dyed stuff, but since this will be embroidered, it won't come into direct contact with skin and should therefore be okay, but I'll test it before I make anything out of it. Will try to post some pictures of the other items later this week if I get a chance.
We had a brief respite from Ryan's nightime antics last week - he slept 4 nights in a row (woo hoo!), but now he's right back to waking up again. I really am at my wit's end as to what is causing this...just don't know what to do to help him at this point. He had an accident at daycare on Friday, too, and came home with a big bump on his forehead right between his eyes. He just doesn't quite have that "running at full speed" thing down 100% yet...poor li'l guy. It looked pretty bad, but didn't seem to be bothering him so I don't think that's what caused the wakefulness to start up again. I guess maybe he'll just have to grow out of this stage...but it's sure taking a lot out of his poor parents in the meantime!
Let's see...what else? Oh, I took a bead crochet class this weekend and while the class itself was fun, I don't think this particular technique is for me LOL! I've always loved the pieces I've seen other people wearing, but I, apparently, am going to turn out to be one of the "crochet-challenged." I've only ever tried it once before (without beads) when I was 8 years old and I seem to remember that didn't go too well, either LOL! Anyway, I tried and tried yesterday and while I can actually DO the stitch, my tension is WAAAAYYY too loose and I just couldn't seem to get my hands in the right position to hold the tension more tightly so in my crocheted piece you can see all this goofy thread hanging between the beads and it's HIDEOUS! I may have to post a picture for amusement value if nothing else. Oh well...back to peyote tubes (at least I was able to master THAT technique!)
Bye!
KJ
Friday, August 13, 2004
Bored, bored, bored...
Not much going on today and not much to report. As you can see, I finally got the Hello/Bloggerbot to post that picture of the peyote tubes set! I also finished an extra pair of earrings in the gunmetal color to match that set and now I've started the next version in a delicious peacock blue/green metallic finish.
Hit the bead store yesterday afternoon and did some damage there including buying some large Egyptian crystal faceted drops (think disco balls in the shape of teardrops - kinda like the drops hanging from chandeliers). Am now wondering what in heck I'm going to do with it - sometimes I get mesmerized by the "pretty sparkliness of things and bring them home with me only to realize I have no clue what to do with them so they go into the bead stash to wait until I have an idea LOL!
It's going to be a buying kind of weekend as I'm going to a gem show tomorrow. Used to go to them all the time, but haven't been to one since before Ryan was born so it'll be interesting to see if the vendors and stock are different. I also got sucked into some e-bay auctions today as well...no really, I HAD to bid on this stuff LOL! Got some cute lampwork beads in some bright primary colors and an unusual "pillow" shape...those oughta be fun to play with and I'm still waiting to find out about some really pretty 8mm aquamarine stone rondelles. They are a beautiful pale aqua shade that ought to go well with some of the new colors for fall.
That's it for now. Take care (especially those in the path of Hurricane Charley!)
KJ
Hit the bead store yesterday afternoon and did some damage there including buying some large Egyptian crystal faceted drops (think disco balls in the shape of teardrops - kinda like the drops hanging from chandeliers). Am now wondering what in heck I'm going to do with it - sometimes I get mesmerized by the "pretty sparkliness of things and bring them home with me only to realize I have no clue what to do with them so they go into the bead stash to wait until I have an idea LOL!
It's going to be a buying kind of weekend as I'm going to a gem show tomorrow. Used to go to them all the time, but haven't been to one since before Ryan was born so it'll be interesting to see if the vendors and stock are different. I also got sucked into some e-bay auctions today as well...no really, I HAD to bid on this stuff LOL! Got some cute lampwork beads in some bright primary colors and an unusual "pillow" shape...those oughta be fun to play with and I'm still waiting to find out about some really pretty 8mm aquamarine stone rondelles. They are a beautiful pale aqua shade that ought to go well with some of the new colors for fall.
That's it for now. Take care (especially those in the path of Hurricane Charley!)
KJ
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Peyote Tubes are DONE!
And don't you wish you could see a picture of them???? Well, you could if the stupid Hello/Blogger Bot wasn't having conniption fits! It keeps ALMOST letting me send the picture and then it craps out and wants me to log in again. Been doing it all damn day and I'm SICK of it!
So, you'll just have to hold your breath until I get the silly thing to work...have no clue what's wrong with it. But, I promise, it's worth waiting for. Came out better than I even expected it to, especially for a first try!
That's it for today...pics coming soon (hopefully)!
KJ
So, you'll just have to hold your breath until I get the silly thing to work...have no clue what's wrong with it. But, I promise, it's worth waiting for. Came out better than I even expected it to, especially for a first try!
That's it for today...pics coming soon (hopefully)!
KJ
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
One more thing...
Thought I'd post a link to one of my favorite authors for whatever it's worth. I just love this guy's Harry Dresden books! If you were/are a fan of "Buffy" and/or "Angel" you should definitely check out these books. They are sort of in that "style" plus James Marsters, aka Spike, did the audio book versions and is in demand to play the lead role when the Sci Fi channel turns these books into a cable TV series. I think they plan to change the name of the main character to "Eric Dresden" though...something about not wanting to be confused with that "other Harry" wizard character! ;-)
Here's the link:
http://www.jim-butcher.com/
Here's the link:
http://www.jim-butcher.com/
Hellooo? Anyone out there?
Well, at this point, I have NO idea why I'm writing here as it doesn't appear that anyone is reading this blog, but I'll keep plugging away anyhow.
Kidlet slept again last night...am starting to believe we've turned the corner. Of course we have had to push his dinnertime back to 7 PM, his bedtime back to 9 PM, eliminate his afternoon nap and make sure that he spends most of each afternoon/evening racing around outside to wear himself out LOL! Doesn't leave a lot of time for mom and dad to pursue anything else...like a jewelry business...or cooking LOL! Good thing Ryan LOVES Boston Market...we get take out from there a LOT!
I've got all the components for my peyote tubes bracelet completed and even have enough for a couple of pairs of matching earrings. Am going to try to get all these strung tonight so I can post pictures. Then I've got the colors for another set out of this technique...this one will be in shades of turquoise and aqua and I also have a pair of embroidered earrings to finish up as I believe I mentioned in a previous post.
After that, I've been perusing various fashion mags and style reports to get ideas on fall colors/styles and I've got some great ideas percolating in my brain...we'll see what happens...they may end up being my "spring" line at this rate LOL!
Bye!
Kidlet slept again last night...am starting to believe we've turned the corner. Of course we have had to push his dinnertime back to 7 PM, his bedtime back to 9 PM, eliminate his afternoon nap and make sure that he spends most of each afternoon/evening racing around outside to wear himself out LOL! Doesn't leave a lot of time for mom and dad to pursue anything else...like a jewelry business...or cooking LOL! Good thing Ryan LOVES Boston Market...we get take out from there a LOT!
I've got all the components for my peyote tubes bracelet completed and even have enough for a couple of pairs of matching earrings. Am going to try to get all these strung tonight so I can post pictures. Then I've got the colors for another set out of this technique...this one will be in shades of turquoise and aqua and I also have a pair of embroidered earrings to finish up as I believe I mentioned in a previous post.
After that, I've been perusing various fashion mags and style reports to get ideas on fall colors/styles and I've got some great ideas percolating in my brain...we'll see what happens...they may end up being my "spring" line at this rate LOL!
Bye!
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Ahh...sweet sleep!
The kidlet has now slept for 2 nights thru in a row! I don't want to jinx anything but...YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Maybe we are finally coming to the end of this nightmare! I shouldn't complain because he's so awesome for everything else and was a good sleeper early on from 3 mos. to about 13 mos, but ever since then he's been waking up EVERY night...sometimes ALL night. We never have a problem at bedtime, but after about midnight it gets kinda tricky and we have not been able to identify the cause. I'm sure SOME of it is teething-related, but not all of it. He's got almost all his teeth now...just a last 2-4 coming in and almost through so MAYBE we can at least get past that. I hope that it's not that he's been having nightmares. I've always had terrible ones and they started when I was a little kid so I worry about that for him and he doesn't have quite enough language skills to tell us yet. In fact, right now his favorite phrase is "Whoa, big truck!" except that he can't say the "tr" sound and says an "f" sound instead so it comes out "Whoa, big fuck!" instead LOL! Just LOVE it when he yells that in the crowded grocery store and people are like "nice language you're teaching that kid, lady." Sigh.
On the beading front, the website has been accepted to a couple of on-line jewelry directories and webrings so hopefully that will drive some traffic and also induce Google to get off their ass and list it in their search engine.
Work continues on the peyote tube bracelet...I got some of the beaded tubes combined with the other components to make finished beads last night and they look AWESOME if I do say so myself. I'm getting really excited about the possibilities for this technique and plan now to add matching earrings and necklaces and branch out in color schemes. Just found a GORGEOUS deep blue/green AB (aurora borealis finish) delica that I think is going to be really stunning when mixed with gold vermeil components instead of silver. Yummmmmmm! Oh and I've got some to-die-for pearls that match and crystals and...and...okay, er, um..I need to take a break and maybe a cold shower LOL!
Bye for now!
On the beading front, the website has been accepted to a couple of on-line jewelry directories and webrings so hopefully that will drive some traffic and also induce Google to get off their ass and list it in their search engine.
Work continues on the peyote tube bracelet...I got some of the beaded tubes combined with the other components to make finished beads last night and they look AWESOME if I do say so myself. I'm getting really excited about the possibilities for this technique and plan now to add matching earrings and necklaces and branch out in color schemes. Just found a GORGEOUS deep blue/green AB (aurora borealis finish) delica that I think is going to be really stunning when mixed with gold vermeil components instead of silver. Yummmmmmm! Oh and I've got some to-die-for pearls that match and crystals and...and...okay, er, um..I need to take a break and maybe a cold shower LOL!
Bye for now!
Monday, August 09, 2004
Long Time, No Post
Woops...sorry about the long delay. Sometimes life just steps in, ya know? I had a busy weekend of working on orders (yay!), kidlet watching, laundry, ironing, dishes and errands. Whoo boy...I lead an exciting life I tell ya!
Got 1 order from the website shipped (which means I get paid - woo hoo!) The other order was a repair of a strand of pearls for a co-worker and I had to re-string/re-knot the whole strand so that took a while. I hope the orders continue...it's exciting to be making some headway in that area.
I got to play some, too. Am still working on that peyote tubes bracelet I learned in a class a week ago - decided to make some changes to the color scheme because I wasn't quite happy with it so I made a bunch more tubes and now I have enough for several bracelets! Just have to get the time to get them assembled. Plus, I got some more colors of delicas in to work with!!
And I also made some progress on another pair of bead embroidered earrings - this set is in shades of green, gold and turquoise...yummmy! The center stone and bezel are done and the ultrasuede backing is finished and trimmed. I just have to do the edging and the fringe now.
If you want to see what a bead embroidered earring looks like, here's a link: http://www.silverparrotdesigns.net/New%20Site/Silver%20Parrot%20Designs%20New%20Home%20Page%20Files/Hippie%20Dippie%20New%20Site%20Page.htm
Check out the last 3 items on the page....or maybe I'll just post a pic here to the blog when I get a chance ;-)
Chirp! (that's parrot for "bye")
Got 1 order from the website shipped (which means I get paid - woo hoo!) The other order was a repair of a strand of pearls for a co-worker and I had to re-string/re-knot the whole strand so that took a while. I hope the orders continue...it's exciting to be making some headway in that area.
I got to play some, too. Am still working on that peyote tubes bracelet I learned in a class a week ago - decided to make some changes to the color scheme because I wasn't quite happy with it so I made a bunch more tubes and now I have enough for several bracelets! Just have to get the time to get them assembled. Plus, I got some more colors of delicas in to work with!!
And I also made some progress on another pair of bead embroidered earrings - this set is in shades of green, gold and turquoise...yummmy! The center stone and bezel are done and the ultrasuede backing is finished and trimmed. I just have to do the edging and the fringe now.
If you want to see what a bead embroidered earring looks like, here's a link: http://www.silverparrotdesigns.net/New%20Site/Silver%20Parrot%20Designs%20New%20Home%20Page%20Files/Hippie%20Dippie%20New%20Site%20Page.htm
Check out the last 3 items on the page....or maybe I'll just post a pic here to the blog when I get a chance ;-)
Chirp! (that's parrot for "bye")
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
They Like Me!!!
"Silver Parrot and I just finished collaborating on a birthday gift for a special girl. It was SO fun working with her to create something we both thought would *fit* my daughter's friend.
Silver Parrot is not only creative, she is extremely professional.
I can't wait to give young Brittney her gift on Thursday!
Thanks, Silver Parrot!"
Okay, that's a quote from my most recent customer and I'm so proud of this success that I just had to share it! Now, back to the beads!
http://www.silverparrotdesigns.net
Silver Parrot is not only creative, she is extremely professional.
I can't wait to give young Brittney her gift on Thursday!
Thanks, Silver Parrot!"
Okay, that's a quote from my most recent customer and I'm so proud of this success that I just had to share it! Now, back to the beads!
http://www.silverparrotdesigns.net
Monday, August 02, 2004
Totally Tubular!
Wow, I took the most awesome peyote tube bracelet class from Sheilah Cleary this weekend! For those of you who are non-beaders, we learned how to weave teeny, tiny beads called Delicas (they are glass seed beads in Japan) into little beaded "tubes" that then become "beads" in and of themselves and then they are strung (along with other components) to make a bracelet or necklace. I'm doing a bracelet to start and I picked a gorgeous silver and garnet clasp so my "tubes" are all in shades of deep red (to match the garnet in the clasp) and a couple of different shades of pink. I think it's going to be yummy when done. Sheilah lives here locally in So Cal, but travels the world doing shows and teaching classes (and yes, I'm green with envy). She's off to Australia shortly for six weeks! You can check out her work and some of the kits she has for sale at http://www.shebeads.com
I'll put up a pic of my finished piece...when it's finished LOL!
I also just finished reading the latest issue of "Beadwork" magazine and am glad to see they've gotten back on track. Their last issue, IMO, sucked. They did sort of a "trash-to-treasure" thing (except I think they called it "recycled art" or something). That sort of thing just doesn't work for me. I want jewelry made of beautiful stones and glass...not old pop-tops and plastic cartons...blech. Sorry, but trash is trash IMO. Anyway, the newest issue is inspired by "antiquities" - think Egyptian, etc. And they introduced this awesome artist from Colorado who does laser engraving on shell, bone and wood pendants and beads for some really awesome, gorgeous stuff. I need to get me some REAL quick...I've already got design ideas burning holes in my head and will post finished pieces as soon as I get the pendants and get stuff made.
That's it for now!
I'll put up a pic of my finished piece...when it's finished LOL!
I also just finished reading the latest issue of "Beadwork" magazine and am glad to see they've gotten back on track. Their last issue, IMO, sucked. They did sort of a "trash-to-treasure" thing (except I think they called it "recycled art" or something). That sort of thing just doesn't work for me. I want jewelry made of beautiful stones and glass...not old pop-tops and plastic cartons...blech. Sorry, but trash is trash IMO. Anyway, the newest issue is inspired by "antiquities" - think Egyptian, etc. And they introduced this awesome artist from Colorado who does laser engraving on shell, bone and wood pendants and beads for some really awesome, gorgeous stuff. I need to get me some REAL quick...I've already got design ideas burning holes in my head and will post finished pieces as soon as I get the pendants and get stuff made.
That's it for now!
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