Has this happened to you?

The scenario:

You have exactly 45 minutes to photograph 4 pieces of jewelry, do the photo editing, eat breakfast, and list all 4 pieces before having to jet out the door to work.
Half way through the photo session, the rechargeable, piece of shit batteries that you have had for a year, die.
Now the time is dwindling. You now only have 35 minutes. So you try to recharge the batteries for the bazillionth time. You eat breakfast. You try the batteries in the camera again, just to see if you can squeeze out 4 more pictures.
Dead. Nothing. Nada.

Okay. Time to move on.
Here are 3 of the 4 pieces I created last night. Could it be that I am already influenced by the new color in my studio??

Attention blog readers!! See this lovely handmade
lampwork glass bead? I got this from a blog reader
who participated in the Big bead/earring swap.
Can you please raise your hand, leave a comment
that you made this bead so that I can correctly
credit you in my etsy listing?
THANK YOU!

Best Husband Ever

When I got home from work yesterday,

I found this when I got upstairs.


The bead room was:
Dark, and dismal
NAVY BLUE

The new color:
Vintage Map
by Martha Stewart






jewelry was not created because the
room looked like this:

Joe got one full coat on the room.
The second coat will go on Saturday.
I'll post more pics when the room
is put back together again.
I love the new color.
I'm looking forward to decorating it.
I want to use an antique tablecloth that
has some red in it, for the curtain/valance.
I wish I knew how to sew!!

Featured Seller on I MADE THAT

Come read the feature I did on Jessie's Blog: I MADE THAT. You might just learn something new about me that you didn't know. AND, there is a small chance you could get a little discount code there. :)

The Traveller

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Welcome to this months BLOG GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to my next Blog giveaway! This weeks giveaway item was donated by one of my favorite fellow Etsians,
JADE SCOTT!

Lovely little copper owl bezel filled with green glitter and resin, would add a bit of pizazz to any piece of jewelry! I know you'll love this pendant, ya'all are lucky I'm not keeping it for myself!

That's how I roll, I share the l o v e.

Now here's the deal. Leave a comment on this post- and I'll pick a random winner on Friday May 1st! Good luck, and thanks for participating!

New for Spring!

Mom has outdone herself yet again, and has created a bunch of new aprons for the Spring. I have been slowly but surely getting them listed in her Emee Shop.
Check out this cute heavy duty Stripes and Sunflowers Gardening apron! Perfect for the season, and would also make a really great gift for Mother's Day!

Steamed Punk

Feelin' kinda Punk-ish lately! I've been enjoying playing with some new ceramic beads from my friend Melanie over at Earthenwood Studio. Check out Melanie's online store, she has many new steampunk goodies listed for sale like these.



The glaze on this gear bead that she sent me, is really so very cool. It has a very METAL appearance. I went to the local bead shop yesterday looking for some ideas to use with this, and found these awesome Hemitite wheels, and some gunmetal bead cages, and gun metal toggle clasp. I knew they'd work perfectly with the pendant.
My next challenge was making the bead into a pendant, since the hole was through the center of the bead. A little clever wire work, and thinking it over a looong time, I came up with this! Fold a piece of wire in half, string 1 hemitite round. Polk both ends through the hole from front to back. Bend the wire up at 10 and 2 o'clock. Form wrapped loops, and string the pendant onto the beading wire! perfect!



Today is going to gorgeous! I'm spending a few hours this afternoon at Afternoon Tea at the Rosemont Inn with some friends. Looking forward to some serious tea drinking, and mini-sandwich eating but am mostly looking forward to Rita's scones. They are to DIE FOR!!

Check back on Monday morning, I'm doing a blog giveaway- Prize is donated by the ever-talented JADE SCOTT!

Markdowns and Newbies

I marked down a few things in my shop this morning. Check out the sale section!




Last night I created a couple bracelets. One is a little too similar to the piece in Semi-Precious Salvage so I won't be selling it in my shop. What can I say!? I too, am influenced easily by a great design. This 3 strand bracelet is one of those really awesome designs, and the color palette is perfect for spring. I used one of Jade Scott's image charms for the focal. I love the wire -wrapped sections of buttons, they are just such a cool shape and add a bit of movement to the piece. Hey I may just keep this for myself!





The other, a big chunky, stretchy wood cuff with one of my new little bird buttons from Sienna Orlando. Look how cute!! I used some faceted Turquoise rondelles and some small cream recycled glass beads from Happy Mango Beads. I love these double-drilled, big chunky wood beads. I found them at Beads and Pieces. I hope this bracelet sells as quickly as the last one did!

I hope you all have a great Friday! Spend some time today reading some great posts about Copyrights. Melanie at Earthenwood wrote an interested post about this topic. So did Lynn Davis. Take a couple minutes and read this post, it gives some links to important articles also all about copyrights! I know I learned a few things by reading, and I know you will too!

Have a few laughs

Comedy Central Presents	Friday 10pm / 9c
Lynne Koplitz - Interview
comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Lynne Koplitz is one of my favorite stand-up comedians. She's hilarious, and if you ever have a chance to watch this whole special on Comedy Central, do it. You won't regret it. She is sooo funny!

Another favorite comedian of mine is Jim Gaffigan. OMG funny. Someday, I'd love to see him perform live. Here's a little clip of him too.

Humblebeads and Mix Tapes CONTEST!

1991

Since I don't have a scanner, this is the best I could find from my teen years.
I was in 11th grade I believe, and my sister in this pic was 1 year old.
This was back in the day when all I had was a tape player and the radio and I'd
tape songs off the radio to hear them again and again. I would play them over
and over and over, memorize the words, sometimes write the words down!
See my 80s playlist in the side bar on the left <-----------------------------
Go on over to Heather's Humblebeads Blog and play along in her challenge
to win some free beads!

Fear

one of my fears:
bees
i'm trying to work through it.

A work in progress

bead porn

Since taking these pictures of my new studio space, I've gotten an additional 6 foot table to have a bit of a space for packaging up orders. It's on the wall where the small shelving unit is. I like my new space! And I think I've narrowed the colors down to 2 options. A nice GREEN or possibly a Teal Blue.

I want something bright and cheerful. Still have to get a new chair. These folding chairs that I use are probably why my back always hurts, Umm, ya think?? Really?? So here is a Before pic.

you remember how the studio was before? super small

Now the studio resides in the bigger of the 2 spare rooms. Some pictures have notes on them, click them to see them bigger.

my work space. it's HUGE and it still doesn't feel big enough.

The room is actually really large. what you don't see is, the closet and dresser on the other side of the room. There is more space to grow into it. The only thing about the tables is- they are low. And it hurts to stand over them looking for beads. And now that I've moved everything around, I spend 50% of my time searching for the beads I need for a project. If I had higher tables, maybe that would help?


See notes!

Of course, a bigger room only means MORE BEADS! The bead collection is growing. and growing. and growing!

Yesterday, I begged Joe to put up the bird feeder in the yard so now if I sit just right I can look out my windows see it and I am hoping the birds find it soon! We have some cute chickadees nesting in the Gourd bird house we have hanging on the front porch!





Also yesterday, we broke down and decided to grow some veggies this summer. So we went to Lowe's and bought one of these planting trays. It's made by Ferry-Morse Seed Company. Each tray holds a pellet (72 trays) and you poor warm water over the pellets and they expand into this little 2 inch high planting pod. You throw a couple seeds in, and put the tray on and in 1-2 weeks you have started plants. This is our first time doing anything like this, so it was kind of fun, and almost like a science project! We planted hot peppers (for Joe), sweet peppers, 2 kinds of tomatoes, scallions, green beans, snap peas, brussel sprouts, and cucumbers. Wish us luck!

new work- sunday night

picture post!
all of the following are now on etsy.

Introducing: Whirled Peas

Yesterday, I had to go the bead shop to get more leather cord. So I could make more of these. When I walked in, I saw Denise. Denise Sachs-Mishalanie is the sole proprietor of Whirled Peas.

What are whirled peas you ask? Lampwork glass beads!! And beauties at that! Denise was at EmMi Beads having a trunk show. We got to chatting. And I talked Denise into putting some of her beads on etsy. Check out her shop. She listed a few pieces last night and will be trying to list more in the coming days.

While I was there, I picked up a few things, and thought I'd share what I made yesterday! This first necklace is such a fun piece. Lampworked glass bumpy rings with this amazing coral and purple color on the edges. Also the deep blue-purple small rounds are also Whirled Peas. The chain along the back came from AD Adornments. And I made that funky hook clasp out of brass wire.


This next pair of earrings, I created with a larger sized boro glass bead in a miriad of spring colors. I suspended the beads on brass headpins with swarovski crystals and Vintaj brass filigree tubes. The beads are so pretty, and have swirled in color to create a really cool multi-dimensional look. So versatile and would go with anything!



And then this second set of earrings, I hand-forged some brass wire into the cris-cross shape and strung 2 of Denise's smaller sized rounds I also added a couple of copper spacers, and some faceted opal green glass rounds, that sit mid way up on the curved wire.


Check out Whirled Peas, tell Denise I sent ya! She's a really sweet person and I totally enjoyed chatting with her yesterday. The cool thing also is, we live in the same town! She's lived in upstate NY for the majority of her life. Show Denise some love and buy some of her beads. She's really great, and does take custom orders too. She has a LOT of beads on hand, that you might not see in the Etsy store. Just send her a convo and ask her about something you're looking for. I'm sure she'll have it!

Weekend Warrior

Ceramic Leaf: EveryHeartCrafts
Chain: Theodoras2007
Ceramic Egg: NKPBeads
Lampwork bird: GreenGlassCafe
Clasp: Vintaj

WAHOOO! It's the weekend! I am so glad for the weekend. I can never sleep in on the weekends. I used to be able to sleep half the day away. Now 6:30/7am hits and I am UP.
Yesterday I was so excited to get a package from my new favorite place to shop, Beads N Pieces. So last night I got to play around with my new beads. I love the natural beads lately. Nuts, seeds, wood. Adds to the whole organic feeling of my jewelry designs. I like doing the whimsical stuff too though. I go back and forth. I'm pretty multi-dimensional when it comes to jewelry design, don't you think?
Anyway, hoping to get some more beading in today. In between cleaning the dust bunnies up around the house. And the 47 loads of laundry I have to do.

faceted glass rondelles
saging-saging rings
deep red charlottes
wood rounds
copper rounds- Charlene's Beads

Ceramic Button- SiennaOrlando
wood, double drilled beads
faceted green aventurine rondelles
cream recycled glass beads

Pugahan Half Dome Seed beads
Bahay Seeds
deep red faceted charlottes
bronze glass seed beads
Clasp- AD Adornments
Charm- Fusion Beads

untitled!

I don't have a title for this piece yet. Or an agenda. But I love the colors and I can thank Christine Damm of Stories They Tell for sending me these really cool polymer clay beads. She is a master with polymer, I'm serious. They almost look like tapestry or fabric. Check out Christine's blog!

I paired this set of beads with small smoky quartz rondelles, faceted green stone rondelles, small copper spacers, and then up around the back, I seed beaded 3 strands of teal, black and lime. The floral brass ring on the right is from Vintaj. And the brass clasp on the left, I handmade myself. The pewter round is from Green Girl Studios and features small flying bird impressions around the bead.