Rainy Friday Bead Porn

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!