The Last Hurrah

Like I don't have enough going on at the moment. My computer decides to get a virus yesterday. So unfortunately I will not be posting more pics of my swap goodies. No pics of new jewelry (don't worry there isn't any)

Last night I got home from work and off we went in search of a new stove. Joe decided to sell our electric range on Craigslist and it sold a lot quicker than I had anticipated. Leaving us stoveless yesterday afternoon. So first we went to the Sears Outlet. They had a nice stove on the floor, black, decent shape. UNTIL we pulled it out of the line up and noticed it was all bent up on one side and the drawer was all facocked.

I wasn't fallin' for that. So then we went to dinner at this new place in Rome. It was okay. But the service was awful. The waitress couldn't have been more miserable. And we were there a good 2 hours. It took FOREVER. Then we went to Sears and found a nice black stove, glass top electric range. Got it home in the cargo van and joe and I had a dolly to get into the house. It looks right at home near the new black fridge and the black dishwasher.

I should be taking photos of this kitchen renovation but just haven't had the opportunity to get some good shots. So when I get home from the cruise, hopefully the cabinets will be on their way to red, and I'll be able to show you all some before and after pics. It's very very exciting. This kitchen had to be the most outdated kitchen I've seen in a while.

I am sorry that this last hurrah of a blog post isn't all that great. It's all I can muster at this point. Hopefully I'll get my 'puter back today.
I leave tomorrow morning for New Orleans. And then I am officially on VACATION for a week! YAY! See you all when I get back. I'll take as many pictures as my digital camera with allow me with the smal 256mb camera card. gah!!

More Blog Swap goodies!

Yesterday was like Christmas at my house. I walked into the house from work and the dining room table was littered with several packages! Here's what was there.

1. Stringing magazine!! and my returned jewelry!

2. Preview copies of Step by Step Beads where I have one featured project!!

3. This lovely package of Ceramic rings that Nancy (Round Rabbit) sent me for the Blog Swap!

These are my most favorite thing! Check out the May/June issue of Step By Step Beads to see a project using one of these rings!


4. SueBeads (Sue Kennedy) sent me some lovely lampwork glass beads, and a challenge.

These little electrician type doo-hickys. Hmmmm. Wish they had a different color on them but they might be cool. I'll see what I can come up with!

5. And a package from LeAnn from Summer Studio Etc. LeAnn sent me this cute little ceramic dish, and a nice little variety of beads and buttons that she made, plus some vintage buttons from her super secret button stash!


I am looking forward to using all of my new goodies, and I may even try to bring some of them with me on my trip.
Now Go to my shop and buy this new bracelet, take advantage of the free shipping that's going on all week!
A word to the wise, I will be closing my shops (The Bead Pod, EmeeShop, and Lorelei1141) the week I'm away. I'll be back to open the shops back up on the 9th.
Thanks for your patience!

3 days and Counting!

I am leaving on a jet plane in 3 days. This bead cruise could just not come at a better time for me. Morale is low. It's cold. When I spent a few days in Philadelphia, I got so used to the ZERO snow, and the warm 50s weather. When I got back home it was warm for one day. I thought to myself, ahhh, we are on the way to Spring. It's right around the corner. And then BAM. the next day, we get 6 inches of snow and it's been blowy and blustery ever since. It can ruin a person. I am stuck in this rut.

On a funnier note, this message is for those of you I will be meeting for the first time in person, on the cruise. P l e a s e don't judge me. People are much different in person. I tend to be an open book. and P L E A S E don't be offended by my swearing. I have a dirty mouth. Most of the time. The F word and I are good friends. It's just my way of expressing myself. I'm an expressive swearer. I am a passionate person. AND sometimes, I TALK way too much. Have gotten myself into trouble on more than one occasion. Don't hesitate to tell me to SHUT UP! And by the end of this trip, you might all know way more than you bargained for, about me and my life and my dysfunctional family. But I am hoping to become great friends with all of you and I can't wait to give you all big bear hugs. I'm a hugger. SO be prepared.

On a jewelry note, I worked on some new pieces last night. I am quite happy with the outcome of my beading session. I was in the moment. Ideas were flowing easily. For example, this first bracelet- I came up with this design on a whim. These glass beads, the encased coral beads, I bought from Kelleysbeads. And the rings came from Jenn over at Blue Seraphim. I used some awesome steel wire to link them together with big ol' loops that I formed around a crayola marker. No mandrels in this studio. I use what I've got! This second bracelet is a simple strung bracelet with wood discs, and various lampwork glass beads from The Orange Bell. Not a fancy piece but a fun bracelet for the summer. I like the color combination the most.

And then this third bracelet is my first attempt at using some Polyester chain that I found at my local bead shop EmMi Beads. It's made by The Bead Smith. Very cool stuff. Nice and lightweight. I created a charm bracelet using a bunch of different things, Vintaj key and butterfly, a brass asian coin charm, a teal button and a Green Girl Studios Snail charm that I got from Beth from the Blog swap! (p.s. Speaking of Beth, Yesterday I helped her get all set up with her new blog: check it out at Beth Anderson Pulls the Wool. A glass drop from Unicorne Beads, a lampwork ring from Beads of Passion, and an amazonite flower bead. It's a fun piece. I also created another pair of lamp work glass beaded earrings for the shop. So stay tuned for these new goodies this morning.


The swap items are slowly coming in! I wanted to also show you these lampwork beads from Anne Lichtenstein. Anne will be selling her beads online at Etsy in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted. She sent me some really great focal beads! I love the shape of the tube bead. And the colors in all of them are amazing and perfect for summer designs. THANK YOU ANNE!

Running in Circles

It took everything in me to come home last night and start packing my suitcase for the bead cruise, iron clothing, eat dinner, sit down and create 2 custom listings. I literally fell into bed at 9:30. I feel like I could use just one more week to prepare for this trip. Going on a 7 day trip is always more stressful than it needs to be. Even though I'm a pretty avid list maker, I still forget something.
I'm panicking about all the little details about the cruise too. Like tipping for my bags, and having enough cash, and buying extras on the ship. I think I might splurge for a massage while I'm there just so I can calm the F down. geez.
Get a grip.
It's a vacation. Not a freakin' permanent MOVE. No I do not need to bring every skirt, shirt, pair of shoes in my closet.
Sorry, I'm just rambling.
Yesterday I received 2 packages from my big Blog Swap! Beth sent me some awesome beads, and leather cord, and the cutest little snail pendant from Green Girl Studios! And Sue from Suebeads, sent me a little baggie of various beads and buttons all with such a beautiful spring time color palette! I think I'm going to try to take a bunch of things I receive, with me on the cruise.
Here's a custom order I did last night. I recreated the Married In Vegas necklace I had done a while back for a customer who requested another one.

New Work in my shop!

earrings

One lonely pair of earrings never got claimed yesterday. So First come First serve, if you read this post and want in on the Swap (even if you've swapped on Saturday!) go ahead and leave a comment on the post! Thanks! Thank you to MARY HARDING who nabbed this last pair this morning! Thank you everyone for being such great blog readers, and supporters! I hope this was a fun experience for everyone! I mailed out almost all the earrings this morning! My mail lady was so pleased, he he he.

New work will be listed in my shop today! And p.s. Don't forget, FREE SHIPPING ALL WEEK!

Second Round- EARRING/BEAD SWAP

Number 2 is STILL AVAILABLE! Grab it quick before they're all gone!

I am having another shot at this for all the blog readers in central and western USA. Here are the Rules:

1. Pick ONE pair of earrings. Please pick one. Leave a comment on this post and tell me you want to participate and that the pair you chose is___. Important tip: Take notice of the COMMENTS to see which earrings have been chosen already!

2. You must live in the US to play along.

3. This is a trade, so you must send me something in return. Some of the earrings here use Lampwork glass beads. Some do not. You decide what you think would be an even trade for the earrings, and send what you want.

4. I am looking for swaps of Beads, Wire, Chain, beading elements, glass, ceramics, clay, pewter, keys, whatever you've got that you think I could incorporate into jewelry would be awesome. I do not have a color preference.

5. You must leave your email address so that I can contact you to exchange mailing addresses.
My email (if you'd rather just send me your address directly) is LJEurto[at]gmail[dot]com.

Good luck to everyone and thanks for playing along! If the spots don't fill up by late tonight, and you live on the east coast, feel free to snag a spot. I'm okay with that. Just wanted to give the west coasters a chance to play along!

Happy Sunday.

Good Morning! *Yaaawwwnnnn.

Today I have a lot lined up. So much to do before I leave Saturday morning for the Bead Cruise! Keep in mind, I won't be around for a whole 7 days. I'll blog about my trip when I get back home. I plan on keeping a journal while I'm gone so I don't forget to tell you all the fun things I did while I was there.

I have to start packing my suitcase. I have to find my sunscreen. and a beach bag. and a sun hat. I have to pack some tools. some beads. can I just bring a suitcase full of beads? Yea right. I have to look cute, so I HAVE to bring clothes. I got some really awesome summer clothes at Old Navy yesterday. Little bathing suit coverups and a nice bright and colorful button down shirt, and some awesome polka dot jammies.

Also today, I have to type up some jewelry tutorials to hand in tomorrow- hopefully it won't be too late. If you ever decide to submit to magazines, let me warn you. It's not a fun process. It's work. I always procrastinate because it's time-consuming. I want to blog about this more but am afraid I'll say too much. I tend to be an open book, but I always like to keep things positive on my blog. Not that this topic I want to discuss isn't positive, it's just truth and sometimes truth hurts. Another day maybe I'll get into it. Not today though.

I have to color my hair today. The grays have taken over. Yes. I have grays. I hate them. Little buggers. It's gotten to the point where I can no longer pluck them as I see them. I would run out of hairs on my head real fast if this was the case. lol

I also have to package up the earrings from yesterday's swap! I want to say thank you to everyone that participated! I was overwhelmed at how quickly the spots filled up and the nice response to this little contest. I am having another round this afternoon so that the blog readers on the west coast have a chance to play along too. So check back in at 4pm (eastern standard time) - I'll be posting 6 more pair of earrings for a swap. Remember this is mostly for the west coasters. If you live on the east coast, let them have a chance first. If spots don't fill up by say 1am est. then go ahead and snag a spot.

I have gotten quite a few beads in the past few days. I wanted to share some pics with you. One of my beloved customers contacted me several days ago and asked me if I would be willing to swap a few of my jewelry designs for some artisan beads, and other beads she had in her stash that she wanted me to have. I said YES, send them along and I have to say, I was quite shocked when the large Priority box arrived on my doorstep. I put all the beads in bins and here is what she sent!



Here is a closer look at each bin. There are all kinds of goodies in here. It's an understatement when I say that Tami HOOKED ME UP. Thank you Tami if you're reading this. You are such a wonderful, generous heart. xox!

I also received a few beads from Pam Ferrari. You can find her lampwork at her etsy shop: FerrariOriginalBeads. These are gorgeous, and I can't wait to put them into some designs.

And I got these beads from April Larson. April's lampwork shop on etsy SharplineDesigns, is chock full of glass beauties. April and her husband also sell Green Girl Studios pewter beads at BeadLady.
April sent me these beads so I could check them out in person before purchasing. It was sweet of her to agree to do this, and she really sent me some gorgeous beads. I will probably order some more from her after I get back from my trip.




I am going to have Free Shipping this week in my Etsy Shops, starting tomorrow Monday 2/23 through 2/27. That includes Jewelry, Mom's apron shop, and my Bead store. So take advantage of that. Also, I've marked down a few more pieces- you can find them in the Clearance section of my shop.

Dearest West Coast blog readers.

I apologize for not thinking in advance to have this contest later in the day. So I will be having another 6 earrings posted for TRADE tomorrow - late afternoon. Bout 4pm. Make sure you tune in to see 6 new earring designs available for TRADE for beads or whatever you've got to give.

YAY!

I'm excited! More Love to Share and Get! :)

Let's SWAP! UPDATED!

All spots have been FILLED. #4 and # 11 will go to Erin and Cindy once they each pick one.

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Please send me your mailing addresses if you haven't done so yet!

Mish Mash

Sometimes I have trouble formulating a clear and precise blog post. So this one is Mish Mash. Random thoughts. Hopefully it makes sense. It's just how I'm feeling right now. Crazy. discombobulated.





* Here's a new necklace I made last night. I listed it in the shop this morning. It shows off a lovely copper etched pendant from Nancy over at RoundRabbitExtra!








* I finished my Use the Muse contest submission. I think. I don't know if I like it.





*Someone asked me yesterday to list more of my music favorites. Here's an artist I can't live without in the studio lately. Paolo Nutini

* We are starting our kitchen renovation. Joe, so far has painted the tile backsplash which was cream and mauve, Now: lovely metallic silver. The walls, were cream, are now Gray. We got a new Black shiny fridge! The cabinets will soon be red. The knobs will be black. The floor, a vinyl which we haven't picked out yet. Eventually the counters, sink, faucet will be changed. Things in the kitchen right now: CHAOS.
I would show pics but you wouldn't really get how much of a maze it is in there now.


*Check back in this weekend. I want to host a jewelry/bead SWAP. I'm needing beads. There will be 10 spots. First come, first serve. (U.S. residents only please) I will post 10 pair of earrings. (we'll start small) If you want to participate, send me an even trade of beads, or, chain, or, wire, or, jewelry supplies of your choice. Don't have beads? That's ok. Send whatever you want. I'll give more understandable details this weekend. Don't forget to check back in.

Eurto Out.

A bit overwhelmed.

When I finally sat down at the bead table last night, the "second wind" didn't hit for a good hour. To say the least, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am totally procrastinating the write-ups for some magazine submissions, I have 2 custom orders to do, am running really low on supplies right now, (like the "elements" of jewelry such as WIRE, and CHAIN, and JUMP RINGS, and HEAD PINS, and Earring Wires, and now I've found I am low on GIFT BOXES. The Cruise is just 10 days away and I haven't even started thinking about what I need to bring with me. Definitely beads. Definitely tools. But what about the wire, chain, jumprings, headpins, earring wires. OMG!

The deadline of the USE THE MUSE contest is coming fast, March 16th! I did start something for that last night. My design isn't over-the-top. It's simple. And the colors are so gorgeous. And yes, I used the Muse, and it came out awesome. I think so anyway. I'm about half way through.

I finally became inspired after awhile last night, and created these 3 pieces. 2 pieces, a bracelet and earrings, using beads from Doreen Willey. They are gorgeous and they just go so well with wood. I got these cool wood nuggets in Philadelphia. These two pieces are being listed in my shop now.
I also created this awesome bracelet- wire wrapped beads from lampwork artist Kelley of Kelleysbeads. Also used some plum colored dyed Buri rounds. Some silver beads. Some bead caps. And the piece de resistance: a handmade, silver Pear charm from one of my favorite designers: Jade Scott. This piece was a real splurge. I'm not sure what to do with this piece. List it? Submit it? keep it for myself? It's gorgeous, I love it. I hope you do too. Let me know in the comments.

Special Sale Item- Bird Watching

This pretty necklace has been

sitting in my shop for too long. It should be laying around someone's neck, not collecting dust in my studio.

This lovely pendant is handmade by Heather Wynn. I've strung it on a simple single strand with silver seed beads, interspersed with faceted garnets, faceted pink, and blue Czech glass. I wire-wrapped a few vintage buttons into the strand as well, giving that vintage look that is popular in jewelry right now. The clasp is a sterling silver S clasp.

I am discounting this necklace for one day only. If you read the blog, you'll know about the sale. If not, well then, you won't! At check out, type

Birdwatching in the notes to seller.

I'll do up a new invoice and send it to your email address.

The sale price for today-

Was $45

Today: $32!!

That is a total savings of $12!!


Now CLICK THIS LINK to PURCHASE!

Rustic Tomorrow Now Showing at MWPAI

Find out more about this wonderful exhibition here at the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute website. www.mwpai.org AND don't forget to become a fan of MWPAI on Facebook!

Looking for Knitters

I have a proposition for you. I want to do a swap. In trade for jewelry, I would like a pair of Fingerless Flap Gloves like these:

I would prefer them to be Grey Heather. I love this rustic wood button! I would also prefer them to be knit, not crocheted.

If you would be interested in this challenge, leave a comment. I would love it if you had a picture of something you've done similar to this beforehand. My email is LJEurto[at]gmail[dot]com.

Coming Soon!

Lampwork glass: Blue Seraphim, The Orange Bell; Vintaj Brass; Wood: From Rosanne ;); Ceramic: Keith O'Connor

Lampwork glass: Sue Beads; Wood charms: Beadworks

Brass: Vintaj Brass

Birthday Wishes

No Post today.

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie, Joe!!

February Art Bead Scene Challenge- The Kiss

I worked on two Art Bead Scene submissions today.

Inspired by The Kiss by Klimt; I contacted Jenn of Blue Seraphim, and asked her if she could create a series of beads that mimic the polka dotted areas of the woman's dress.

Jen created these lovely rounds with the same color scheme and elongated dots.
I created a fringe detail by wire wrapping small sections of matte gold seed beads. Three large loops of seed beads form the underside of the bracelet. I finished the piece off with a gold vintage button.


I decided to also create a necklace in the theme of Klimt's The Kiss. I had received this funky french script etched tube from Jennifer Stumpf awhile back.


The charms of flowers, below the tube, lend to the painting's flowers in the foreground. 2 lampwork glass beads from The Orange Bell. Purple and yellow lampwork glass discs from Blue Seraphim, close in the sides of the open tube. Double strand necklace with matte iridescent multi-color seed beads, and Czech glass rounds.

Matte gold seed beads with mother of pearl accents that are white on one side and black on the other, which mimics the black and white on the man's body.

Day Late and a Dollar Short

I feel like I'm operating on a 1 Day Late schedule here. I'll catch up eventually!! I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Staying home all day (which was A-OKAY to me since I'd just been away for 4) I got caught up on my laundry, cleaned and dusted a little, and finally took down all of the Christmas decorations. Yes, I was holding off because I still haven't celebrated with my father yet, and he was supposed to come up here to do Christmas. But I think that it will be more convenient if we head home instead. The house looks so much cleaner, and uncluttered now.
We have no kitchen table. Joe gave our antique pedestal table and chairs to his mom. I've been without a kitchen table since Thanksgiving. It's okay. I'm not too bitter. But I finally convinced Joe to go look again at this work table at Pier 1 that we had spotted a few weeks ago. It would work perfectly as a kitchen table. It has a walnut stained top, and the sides are a light gray, and have nice shelving on each end. It's also taller, than a normal table. We get to Pier 1 and already the stars aren't lining up in my favor- the price is $100 MORE than what I had told him it was. Finally convincing him that it will work really well and that's the one I want, we ask a clerk. That's the FLOOR Model. She checks the stock, and of course, No they don't have any in stock and they would have to order 1. Could take 2 weeks to come in.
Well, that was that. We left. Checked out another furniture store, with no luck. So my wait for a kitchen table continues.
Came home and I cooked Sam the Cooking Guy's recipe for Pasta Puttanesca. My absolute favorite of his recipes. It was so comforting, to eat a nice home cooked meal, after eating every meal out for 4 days. Then we settled in and watched the premiere episode of SURVIVOR. It was so good! We love that show.
I gave Joe this photograph from the very talented SARAH SKEEN. It's a curled Fern, but in actuality, it's a Fiddlehead. Joe's grandmother, who grew up in northern Maine, used to travel up there every spring and pick piles and piles of Fiddleheads. She'd clean them and freeze them, and when we would go to Connecticut to visit, we would BEG her for at least 1 bag! They are so amazing, blanched, and sauted with a bit of butter and lemon. OMG. delicious!
I am finally getting back into the studio today. Joe's friend Larry is coming up from the Glens Falls area, to spend the night, and during the day they're going out ice fishing. I'll have the whole day to my thang! First I must clean, because the studio is a big fat mess.
Hopefully, new jewelry later! yay!

Friday the Thirteenth

I was not a happy camper when I found out on the morning news that a small plane going from Newark to Buffalo had made a fiery crash to the ground Thursday night. Not a good feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that I would be boarding a plane the exact same size, different airline, at 4pm. It was a very long morning. I wandered around, trying to keep my mind off of it. Walked to Barnes and Noble, had a scone and some coffee. Searched the shelves for a beading magazine or book that I hadn't seen yet, with no luck. Had a tearful conversation with Joe, who tried to convince me that the chances were just too high for a crash to happen 2 days in a row. I finally made it to the airport, 2 hours early- just to find NO line for security. That rarely happens. And then I waited. Worried. waited. Boarded the plane and enjoyed a nice white knuckled flight to Syracuse which was literally only 47 minutes long. I enjoyed me some iHop when I got home and am so relieved to be back at my house. I am hoping the plane taking me to New Orleans in 14 days, holds more than just 40 people.

Thursday Feb.12

Thursday, my friend Beth drove into the city and picked Tara and I up for a fun day out and about. We headed down to the South Street area of Philadelphia. A street filled with all types of independently owned shops, such as The Condom Shop. lol No we didn't go in, but we laughed about it as we walked by. We found a nice shoe shop on our way, and experienced some really excellent clearance shoes, where I found this awesome new pair of Keen Mary Janes for $40!
We then headed straight to our lunch destination which was a neat little Mexican restaurant called Las Bugambilias. Our lunches were AMAZING and the three of ate for under $40 which I thought was such a deal! If you are ever in the area, you've gotta go here to eat. The atmosphere was really great.

Here is a cutie pic of Tara and I. (We work together at the museum, and live 2 blocks from each other! Tara makes and sells jewelry on Etsy. Check out her shop!)

We then practically ran to the bead shop (man, it was really super windy) Beadworks was a really great store, however they are moving in a week to a new location. A lot of the beads were packed up already. There was still a lot to shop from, but most of the stock was sold as loose beads. ( I find that the beads are much more expensive when they are loose) I also thought the prices were high, but that's typical in a city location. They had a lot of HIGH END AAA gem strands, and also lots of AA gem strands. I picked up a strand of wood nuggets, a strand of pretty rust colored pearls, some Czech glass, 2 vials of seed beads, a pair asian wood charms, 4 carved polka dotted wood rounds, and a pair of faceted jade briolettes.

After we shopped, we decided to head to the local Ikea. It was a nice store, I enjoyed walking around and I did pick up a few things. A tray with some elephants on it, a set of two plastic flexible cutting boards, and 4 celery green pasta bowls.
When Beth dropped us off at our hotel, we ventured to the Reading Terminal Market, and picked up some cupcakes from the Flying Monkey. I had one of their cupcakes the night before, a vanilla buttercream doozy that was possibly the best cupcake I've ever eaten, EVER. And we walked around, enjoyed the local Anthropologie store, which was amazing. Just the building alone was worth checking out. The details inside, were all original, like this beautiful stained glass dome in the center of the store.
The clothing and jewelry at Anthropologie is so fabulous and if I was ever a very rich person, would only buy my wardrobe from this store. We had to purchase something, just to say we had, so I ended up getting a small vial of delicious perfume, and Tara and I both purchases small Sterling silver pendants that were stamped Friend. Cute for layering with other small charm necklaces, I think I'll put mine on a sweet seed beaded chain. (they came on some pale blue silk cording)
Whew. Long day. We were beat.

I heart Philadelphia

I had a great day today with my friend Beth, we met up and walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, ate lunch at the cafe, I worked for a bit, then we enjoyed some of the extensive Impressionist collection there. My favorites were the Degas and Monet paintings.
We then headed to the other end of town, and experience the Reading Regional Market. What a place! Tomorrow's agenda: Tara, Beth and I will meet up and head down to the South street area, enjoy some bead shopping, lunch at a Mexican restaurant there, and also do some antiquing. Til tomorrow, here are some pics from my day! (*16 days til the Bead Cruise, wahoooooooo!)