Bracelets and miscellaneousness

It probably doesn’t seem like it, but I do actually make stuff with all these beads I buy. Not as frequently as I’d like (why aren’t there more hours in the day???), but I do occasionally manage to finish things.

Like this bracelet featuring yummy 5 Fish beads (now you know why I ordered so many new sets from them, right?):



I added lots of dangles and some Thai silver leaves in what I hope is the right amount to enhance the beautiful boro glass without overwhelming it.



That one came out so well that I made another one:

I think this one came out best of all. Originally, I didn’t think this set of glass beads was quite as interesting as the set in the first bracelet, but once I started mixing in the crystals and pearls and the sterling silver heart charms, the whole thing just really came to life.

It will be PERFECT as a Valentine’s Day gift for someone, but still yummy enough to wear the rest of the year as well.

In other news, I had a brief vacation with the kidlet by spending a long weekend in Palm Desert this past weekend. Fun, but H-O-T. My brother came along and brought my nephew with him. We took the boys to the Air Museum where they got to climb in and out of old WWII airplanes all day.

Then, had a dentist appt. yesterday (boo! hiss!) which is probably about my least favorite thing to do on the entire planet, but it had to be done. Had THREE (ouch!) fillings replaced, but all went well (or as well as can possibly be when someone is sticking big needles in your gums and drilling holes into your head) and hopefully I won’t have any more problems. At least I didn’t end up needing anything more invasive like a crown or root canal. Yay!

Lastly, I’ve received word that six (count ‘em, SIX!) of my designs will be published in the March, 2009, issue of “Bead Trends” magazine. I’m SOOO excited. I’ve wanted to submit things to a beading mag for years, but I was too chicken to do it. I’m so glad I finally took the risk to do it. After all, even rejection couldn’t possibly be as bad as the dentist, right?

KJ

Bead Fairy Delivers the Goods!

Economic crisis? What economic crisis?! Hey, all I can say is that I’m doing MY part to keep things moving and the bead fairy graciously agreed to deliver the results of my “trickle down” (although, I’m pretty far down on the scale myself these days) project to my house this week:

Yummy, yummy, yummy sets of 5 Fish boro glass beads:

“Amethyst Sparkle”:

“Earthy Elements” :

“Cosmic Verde”:

“Maui Rainbow”:

“Cerulean Circus”:


“Speckled Splendor”:

Yay! New beads to play with and they are mine, all mine! Now, which candidate is it who is offering a tax break on all beading supplies???

KJ

Pretty in Pink

Well, I never did find my missing furnace glass beads (sob!), but I did finally remember to scan the last of the stuff I bought (that I DIDN'T lose):

Here's another view:

And another one (just 'cause I like this copper stuff so much):

I also managed to make what I think is a rather pretty bracelet out of lampwork (while using NONE of the new stuff 'cause I'm just crazy like that):

The pretty pink, green and white lampwork beads are by a wonderful eBay artist named Alisha White. Sadly, she hasn't had any new beads listed for eons so I'm not sure she's still making anything. Guess I'm glad I snapped up this set while I had the chance. I've added lots of Czech glass flowers and leaves, some faceted white cat's eye beads and, of course, Swarovski crystals for sparkle. The large, round green beads are ceramic and the clasp is a sterling silver leaf-shaped toggle that I thought was a nice, unusual touch that still kept with the "garden" theme.

KJ

The ecstasy (and the agony) of bead shows…

I went to the Costa Mesa Bead & Gem show last weekend and had a great time. Every time I think I’ve seen all they have to offer and don’t need to go any more, I find a new vendor or product to spend all my money on and get my creative juices flowing.

Like these beautiful boro glass dolphin beads:


Here they are in pairs just PERFECT for earrings and they were quite reasonably priced, too. Of course, they weren’t so reasonable that I didn’t have to leave 3 pairs that I really, really, really wanted behind at the show, but there’s always next time LOL!

Or, these fun enamel earring disks:

Or beautiful new porcelain artist beads:

Sometimes, I find myself needing to buy stuff that I had always previously turned my nose up at.

Like strands of vintage Czech glass glass beads in different shapes (including flowers and faceted rondelles) and colors. They will make perfect dangles for the lush, wire-wrapped bracelets I’ve been creating lately (more about those in an upcoming entry).

Of course, it’s always good to find new and exciting stuff at some of my favorite vendors like new sterling silver components:






Or, beautiful new shapes and colors from Swarovski:








Or, yummy-like-candy cane glass…oh, wait. Here’s where the whole agony part comes in. I bought some of Glasscapes stunningly beautiful cane glass (enough to make at least 3 bracelets) and somehow managed to come home without the beads! I have looked EVERYWHERE for them with no luck. I’ve contacted the vendor to ask if I accidentally left them behind at the booth (no) and I’ve visited the restaurant where I had dinner after the show to see if I might’ve left them behind there when my fellow bead addict and I were doing “show & tell” at our table (answer: also no).

I loved, loved, loved those beads. I miss them and want them back. Not to mention the $$ I dropped on them.

I would say I could just replace them at the next show, but this vendor almost never comes to Costa Mesa – this is the first time they’ve done the show in a couple of years and I don’t know if they’ll be coming back or not.

Sigh. I’m just sad now. I think I need to go home and play with the rest of my new stuff from the show.

Have a good weekend…and hold onto your beads!

This doesn't seem right...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 623 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

My name is so generic, I was sure there'd be at least 1,000 of us. Rather surprising...

KJ

If it's Friday, it must be "new stuff" day...

Well, Friday seems to be my day for posting new stuff, lately. Not on purpose – it just seems to work out that way.

I bought some new beads from Littlecrow:

And while I’ve been waiting for them to arrive, I made some new stuff:

These are the same as the Hydrangea earrings I posted earlier, I just used pink and amethyst CZ briolettes instead of the blue and green. I’m in love with the CZ’s – I think I need to get more of them!

Then I added some aqua quartz and some genuine amethyst brios to these cool earring components:

I may end up changing these a bit as I’m not sure the stones are big enough to counterbalance the big components, but we’ll see.

I bought some fun, little hammered components at a show a while back and finally got a chance to do something with them:

I think the aqua quartz brios look great with them and the hammered finish on the components has a great sparkle.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Happy beading!

KJ