Beaded Desert Blog

Crafty Resolutions - Eighth Month Update

2008-08-06T11:43:00.003-07:00

Okay, I meant to do this in June, at the 6th Month mark,but I was busy (buried under projects). So here's an update a few months later.

Beaded Desert's Beading/Jewelry Making Resolutions for 2008

Experiment with PMC and make one small item [I'VE MADE THREE SMALL CHARMS SO FAR, AND BOUGHT A WHOLE BUNCH OF SUPPLIES RECENTLY TO PLAY MORE]
Spiral rope using one of those great lampwork focal beads I bought off Etsy
Experiment with wire rings [SEE PREVIOUS POST WITH THE FOUR RINGS!]
Learn one complex beading stitch (tubular peyote, herringbone, weaves, etc)
Complete one piece using the stitch above
Complete one bead crochet piece (now that I know how to do this)
Experiment with resin [DONE! I PLAYED WITH SETTING SOME BUTTONS. NO FINISHED PIECES YET, BUT I HAVE TO WAIT FOR COOLER WEATHER NOW, TOO HOT TO BE OUTSIDE WORKING WITH TOXIC MATERIALS]
Experiment more with metals (cold connections/soldering, actually finishing something...)
Buy more delicas!! [UM, YEAH, LIKE THAT WAS A HARD ONE]
Experiment more with wire pieces [DONE, BUT THERE WILL BE MORE]
Get a total of 10 pieces listed on my Etsy site by the end of the year [I HAVE FIVE PIECES WAITING IN THE WINGS, JUST NEED TO DO SOME FINISHING AND THEN I CAN LIST THEM!! THEY'LL BE A LITTLE SERIES OF PENDANTS]
Work on a holiday line beginning in August [HMMM, ITS AUGUST, MAYBE I SHOULD GET ON THIS ONE....]

That wraps things up for this post (wow, three posts in one day, I'm going for a record here). Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Phoenix Bead Expo Goodies! - Photo Update

2008-08-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took some classes at the Phoenix Bead Expo in May of this year. I am now in love with making chain maille! But I learned that I need to get some better tools if I plan to make more. Cheap chain nose pliers and 6 hours of working = very, very, very sore hands (that sport a lovely red mark across the palm).

The first class was the Open Roundmaille with Crystals Bracelet. This was a fun and fairly simple weave, once you got past the first couple of rows of rings and mastered the pattern. It's made using a core of 4mm bicone Swarovski crystals (I chose a dark teal blue, since darker colors show up better), and sterling silver 18 gauge 5.5mm ID jump rings. I managed to finish the bracelet in just two hours. Here's a shot of my finished masterpiece:

Since I had two hours to spare before my afternoon class, I had a quick bite to eat (an overpriced quick bite to eat, but that's convention center food for you) and then I hit the Bead Bazaar (the most important part of the Expo). I was actually a little disappointed in the bazaar. It was no where near the size it had been a few years ago when I went, and it only took up half of the ballroom it was in. It took me less than half an hour to walk all the way around and pause at every booth. But Jane's Fiber and Beads had a huge booth, so I stopped in and picked up some seed beads. (Jane's provided me with some stellar customer service via email a couple of months back, and I'm now a loyal fan. They are my new Silamide supplier.)

The afternoon class was the Turkish Roundmaille with a Twist bracelet. This actually used the same beginning weave as the Open Roundmaille, so having that one under my belt made it that much easier to learn this weave. It is made using 18 gauge 3.5mm ID sterling silver jump rings (both smooth and twisted). I only completed half of the bracelet in class, it was a more complicated and ring intensive piece. But so much fun. Since my tools were less than ergonomic, it took me a while to finish. Here's a close up shot:

The classes were both taught by Sue Ripsch. She has had pieces featured in Step by Step Wire Magazine. She sells kits for projects and I highly recommend them. The kits include great step-by-step instructions with plenty of pictures as well as enough rings to complete the project in a number of sizes. After the classes I just had to purchase another kit and I'm looking forward to a little European 4-in-1 fun over the next few month. Here's a shot of the work in progress:

So if you haven't tried chain maille yet, I highly recommend you look into taking a class. I am so happy that I did, and not just because I can cross one more resolution off the list for the year! ;D I'm hooked now. So hooked in fact that I splurged and bought some high quality tools so I can create more pieces with less pain. Ain't they perty?

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Beaded Goodness - Photo Update!

2008-08-06T11:25:00.010-07:00

Okay, as promised, I'm going to post some pictures of my recent work.

First up, I bought a wire weaving kit a few months back and here's the results of my first attempt at this:

And here is some recent bead work:

(I'm hooked on the spiral rope, what can I say)

(This was a fun little pattern that only took a few hours, so I just had to make two)

(Yummy, Kazuri beads)

And I bought some great beads and tools recently (along with a bevy of PMC supplies that I have yet to photograph, including a kiln!!):

Delicious Delicas!

Tumblin' Along

Luscious Lindstrom Pliers

Tasty Pearls and Adorable Ducks (pardon the blur)

Just one of the CDs I bought. Music to bead to.

Well, that's all I have for this update. I also made a sunglasses cord for my mom. But it ended up being extremely heavy, so I'll be converting it a necklace. Some other projects I've been playing with, but didn't photograph are some bookmarks and a few pendents (the pendants will hopefully be done soon, and I will be listing them in my Etsy shop, watch for that update).

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Quick Update!

2008-07-23T12:43:00.002-07:00

I was kidnapped by the yarn pixies a few weeks back. But I managed to escape last week, when I finally finished that darn purple wash cloth. Man, am I slow knitter.

Received my "economic stimulus check" and plan to use it soon to help stimulate the bead suppliers economy. Just have to put the order in. Will post about some of my goodies when they arrive.

Came down with a nasty case of food poisoning last week. Whatever you do, do NOT get food poisoning. I don't ever want to be that sick again. I went into the ER Thursday afternoon, was admitted to the hospital late that night and spent the next day and a half there. Ugh. Worse, I was too sick to bead or craft in any way, so I couldn't even take advantage of the time. I spent it staring at a limited number of television channels in between listening to the woman down the hall pray to various religious figures while yelling for a nurse. It was a restful weekend. :P

Really, photos and content of interest are on the horizon.

Thanks for reading, and happy beading!

Non-Bead Content: Bowl-a-rama Fundraiser!

2008-07-01T09:23:00.004-07:00

As you may have read in earlier posts, I volunteer with a local euthanasia-list dog and cat rescue organization called RESCUE.

Right now we are in the final weeks of one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, Bowl-a-rama. We have a goal of $45,000, and right now, we're just shy of $20,000. I have a personal goal of $1500, but so far, I am no where near that. But you can help us out by logging onto our website and making a secure and tax deductible donation today!

You can read more about the event over on my dog blog: http://azdogsofourlives.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading, now get back to beading!!

What I've Been Up to Lately!

2008-06-22T16:46:00.009-07:00

Time for a little photo update of what I've been working on. No shots of the chain maille yet, they're so darn flashy that I'm having trouble getting good shots. ;D But they'll get a post of their own soon.

I've been dabbling in some writing lately, and its been a nice creative break. I've also gotten back into knitting, working on a lovely purple washcloth. And I started the first square of a large crocheted afghan, but crochet tends to bother my shoulder, so it may take me all year to finish that.

As for beading, I'm working on a European 4 in 1 bracelet (its like butta' on the skin), but I have to work in bits, as my tools are not really meant for extended working. I'm going to ordering some quality ergonomic chain nose pliers soon (waiting that economic stimulus check), and then I'll be able to finish up that pieces.

Here is a shot of some earrings I designed for a bead swap on Swap-Bot. I call them

"Cloudy Days":

Cloudy Days by A. Letendre is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at http://www.blogger.com/www.beadeddesert.blogspot.com.

The theme for the swap was "April Showers." I used three colors of 11/0 seed beads and a 3mm faceted bead (glass or plastic? not sure) in a coordinating color. The stitch I used was two-drop peyote stitch. The pattern is my own design. Interested in the chart for it? Email me at beaded desert (all one word) at YaHoo (dot) com and I'd be happy to send it to you, as part of the Creative Commons License.

Here are some more earrings I made for recent beading swaps:

I've have played with PMC but I haven't been able to take any shots of those. Mostly just little charms. Unfortunately, its getting too hot to be firing pieces outside with my torch. I'm hoping to order a kiln (when I order the tools), but until then, I won't be working with PMC for a while.

Wire seems to be big for me this year though. Here are a few rings I made earlier this year:

The one with the pink beads is a mosaic ring. It's two rings with beads woven between them to create a wide band. It's very uncomfortable to wear. ;D

And last but not least, here is a wire brooch I made for a swap. It has a South West theme to it:

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get some decent photos of the chain maille pieces and the PMC charms soon.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Photo Update Coming Soon!

2008-05-11T12:30:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, I was going to take pictures of all that I've been working on. I turned on the camera only to find the memory card was not in there. I'm hunting. I hope to find it when I clean up my worktable today, that's likely where it is (since its a mess....that I cleaned up on Friday morning....but looks worse today than it did then.....). But I promise, photo update is coming soon, and maybe even a post of some interest and substance. ;P

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Phoenix Bead Expo!!

2008-04-27T14:50:00.003-07:00

Next weekend is the Phoenix Bead Expo! Its being held at the Phoenix Convention Center. Friday hours are 11am-6pm; Saturday hours are 10am-6pm and Sunday hours are 11am-5pm.

So grab your checkbook and your credit cards, and go nuts!

I'll be taking two classes at the Expo on Saturday. Both are simple chain maille bracelets. Chain maille is one of those things I just can't seem to figure out. I think my main problem is that I don't have jump rings of the proper size and gauge (and I'm not even sure what the gauge is on most of the jump rings I have...). So I'm hoping that taking a class, and actually have someone show me and step me through it, then I'll know if I like it and if its something I want to do more of.

There are still openings in many of the classes and you can register on-site for the classes. So, if you're in the Phoenix area, you should check it out. Look for me in the Bead Bazaar. I'll be the lady with that crazed-for-beads look in her eyes and an empty wallet. Oh wait, that will be all of us at the expo.....

On a side note, I've been busy since January and have not had a chance to post over here. January was spent cleaning the house in my spare time in preparation for family coming in February. February brought company and horrible nasty cases of the flu (I'm sure you all experience the Plague that was going around earlier this year). In March, I actually was able to start making things again. I've been working on a few things and I plan to take some pictures this weekend. Hopefully I'll get to post them all soon.

Until then, thanks for reading and happy beading!

2008 Crafty Resolutions!

2008-01-02T09:58:00.001-07:00

Its that time of year again, time for those pesky resolutions. But I'm not talking about losing weight/stopping bad habits/starting good habits types of resolutions. No, those are just way to hard to keep. I'm talking about the truly important resolutions - Crafty Resolutions!

Anyone who reads my blog (all what, 4 of you? ;D) has probably read about my crafty resolutions for 2007 and know that I didn't do so well. But that's okay, I'm cool with that. It has helped me to come up with a better list of goals for 2008. I've learned I must be a bit more vague about my goals, less pressure to actually complete something tangible that way. ;P That and I'm only going to list the beading/jewelry making resolutions here. If you want to read some of my other crafty resolutions, go and check out my Crafting Under a Cactus blog (link is off to the right there).

So, here they are, in no particular order. Drum roll please!

Beaded Desert's Beading/Jewelry Making Resolutions for 2008

Experiment with PMC and make one small item
Spiral rope using one of those great lampwork focal beads I bought off Etsy
Experiment with wire rings
Learn one complex beading stitch (tubular peyote, herringbone, weaves, etc)
Complete one piece using the stitch above
Complete one bead crochet piece (now that I know how to do this)
Experiment with resin
Experiment more with metals (cold connections/soldering, actually finishing something...)
Buy more delicas!! (that one shouldn't be too hard, eh?)
Experiment more with wire pieces
Get a total of 10 pieces listed on my Etsy site by the end of the year
Work on a holiday line beginning in August

See, most are pretty vague, lots of experimenting I want to do without the pressure to actually complete a whole piece. We'll see how I do.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

A Look Back: Crafty Resolutions for 2007

2007-12-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

Well, 2007 is finally winding down. Where the heck did the year go?! I'm still trying to find August frankly (I think its in the closet, behind the fabric bin...). I can hardly believe that December will be ending in just a few days. Can I have a do-over?

I decided that I'd better take stock of my year and what all I managed to accomplish. This meant looking back on that list of Crafty Resolutions I made at the beginning of the year and seeing how I did. Let's take a look together, shall we?

Crafty Resolutions for 2007:

Complete one amulet bag. NOPE
Learn tubular peyote stitch and complete one piece. NOPE
Learn Ndebele/herringbone stitch and complete one project. NOPE
Complete two complex Eni Oken tutorials (cuff, necklace) and then complete my own variations on her technique. NOPE (not off to a very good start, am I?
Buy kit/supplies for PMC and complete two pieces. YEP/NOPE (bought everything, haven't done more than pull it all out of the box and oogle it every now and again...but I did receive a PMC book with DVD for Christmas this year, so we'll see what 2008 holds)
Complete one new metal jewelry piece (cold connection or soldered). NOPE
Take "Solder 101" class from Metal's Edge Studio. YEP
Learn basic crochet. YEP (that's what I was doing when I pinched a nerve...)
Learn to crochet using beads and wire. YEP (with beads)/NOPE (with wire)
Paint "Zoo" sign letters and Coca-Cola tray. NOPE
Woodburing: complete two simple projects such as wall plaques or a trinket box. NOPE
Learn to sew using the sewing machine. YEP
Learn Byzantine weave and at least one other chain maille weave. NOPE
Sell 5 items (not for charity or to family). YEP (actually, I sold a few more than 5 even)
Have a small in-home show by August. NOPE
Learn to use all the Knifty Knitter looms I have bought in 2006. YEP (though I haven't really made anything, just played with each one)
Master some complex macrame knotting (micro macrame) and complete one project. NOPE (instead, I admired KnotGypsy's work)
Post to Blog at least once every week (and get the links set up, add more pictures, etc). um, NOPE

I don't know about you, but I'm seeing way more red up there than blue (11 NOPE's, 5 YEP's, and 2 YEP/NOPE's). But that's okay. I may not have accomplished all my crafty goals for the year, but I did manage to lose 30lbs this year, and that wasn't even a resolution!! ;D (Not that that last part has anything to do with beading or crafting, I'm just very proud and had to share with the few readers I have.) But, this is not something I'm going to beat myself up over. Its been a good gauge of how I work (or don't, as the case may be). Oh, and I blame most of the lack on Swap-Bot, I keep finding new crafts to try there. Shame on Swap-Bot for taking me away from my beadwork. Bad Swap-Bot, no cookie.

I'll be thinking of new resolutions for 2008 (and trust me, it will be a much shorter list) and will post them sometime after the New Year. If you are working on a list of beading or crafting resolutions for your blog, leave us a link in the comments.

Thanks for reading and happy beading! (Hopefully, I'll be back to beading myself soon).

Out of Commission for a Bit

2007-12-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in weeks, but I have a good excuse. I haven't really been working on anything, and that includes writing. I pinched a nerve in my right shoulder in mid-November. This meant resting it, avoiding activities that involve repetitive motion, downing anti-inflammatory drugs, and getting to know my ice packs and heating pad better than I ever wanted to. As fellow crafters I'm sure you know how that went. I was attempting to do things within days of the initial pain. Yes, I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to slow down and listen to my body when its trying to tell me something. So as a result, I'm still trying to rest and therefore not creating much. Its been like being someone with a major addiction to a substance, who suddenly decides to quit cold-turkey. Oh wait, I am someone addicted to a substance (a substance that includes beads, wire, paper, pens, scissors, glue, and weekly visits to craft supply shops)......

So I decided I'd pop in, leave a message to let everyone know I didn't fall off the face of the earth or become buried in an avalanche of yarn, fabric and beads. I've alive and well, and still trying to force myself to just rest. I am getting caught up on a lot of reading though, so I guess its not all bad.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season. I'm looking forward to the new year and new projects and techniques to try. And I hope to be able to post about a look back at the crafting resolutions I made at the start of this year, see how I've done, and then make new crafting resolutions for 2008.

Thanks for reading and happy beading! (Bead one for me, won't you?)

What Have I Been Working On Lately?

2007-09-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Not as much as I would like. We rearranged some parts of the house last month and its a good thing. I can now actually use my work table and I can actually find stuff for the most part now. But things still have a ways to go as far as organizing everything. I'll get to that in a bit. Needless to say, I haven't gotten a whole lot of bead work done lately. But I did get a new pair of earrings made and posted to my Etsy shop. I call them my "Orange you Glad to See Me" earrings.

They're very light and fairly small. You can see in the picture below just how small they are (pardon how blurry and overexposed it is, I stink at taking pictures):

They were very easy to make and took no time at all. In fact, in less than an hour I'd made three or four pairs (I sent some out for some earring swaps).

Swap time!

I promised in a previous post that I'd post a link to my next earring swap so here it is: Autumn Earring Swap. The idea is to make earrings that reflect the Autumn season. They can be made of any media and its up to you to interpret the theme. I have 12 participants already, which is a nice number. But I certainly wouldn't mind if a few more folks signed up. You have until September 28th to sign up. After that date, sign up will close and partners will be assigned. Then you have until October 22nd to make and mail your earrings to your partners.

Getting Organized! (Again...)

Now, I mentioned we're reorganizing and rearranging some areas of the house. Part of that involves my craft and beading supplies. Yikes. I have discovered that I need to respect the Stash and to make my peace with it. But that doesn't mean I shall let it take over my life (or my spare bedroom). So part of this overhaul, besides finding a home for everything, will be to go through all my stuff and reevaluate what I need and don't need.

Here's a before shot of my worktable (before we rearranged rooms):

The bookshelves that you can just see on the left, along with the ones you can't see to the right, were all moved out of the room. We organized and purged my giant book collection (man, do I have a lot of books), found new homes for some of our sports memorabilia and our knick-knacks, and decided that a few of our bookshelves had served their purpose and could now move on with their lives and bring joy and book holding to someone else (ie. we're taking them to Goodwill later this month).

The work table was moved over to the left and on the right is where we moved our beast of a desk. Here's a shot of the new work table area (pardon the mess, works-in-progress and things I'm still finding a home for):

To the right of the table is a tall book shelf that holds a stereo (so I can bead to groovin' tunes), some baseball memorabilia, my beading books and magazines, my ATC binder and some other goodies that still need to find a permanent home. To the left of the table, on the floor, are all my tackle boxes that serve as bead boxes. Then to the left of that is the closet. The floor of the closet holds my two plastic rolling drawer carts and a number of plastic bins (now labeled, yay me) for my knitting/crochet supplies, paper embellishments and ephemera, and my fabric stash and sewing stuff. Still needs work, but that will be another post.

Do you need a little help getting your stash (or stashes) organized? Do you need some ideas on just how to get started? Well, do I have the site for you!

I recently found the Organizing Junkie, via the Material Mama podcast. The Organizing Junkie has a wonderful blog chock full of great tips for organizing, containerizing, and keeping your sanity amongst the clutter while you learn to take control of it all. She has written up some great entries, gives you additional resources to check out and she's also organized her "30 Day Challenges". There are some people who participated in these that organized their craft areas. So if you're wondering what others have done, check out her blog.

Bird-Brained?

Oh, and there is one more thing I have been working on all summer that I wanted to share. Its more a sewing project but I used beads to embellish it, so I'm going to share it on this blog. I did a one-on-one forum swap on Swap-Bot. My partner asked for a bird stuffie. Well, I had recently made this one for a normal stuffie swap:

It was a fun and easy pattern (from Crafts n Things magazine, you can find the pattern on their website, for free) that doesn't take long (provided you properly attach the beak to the body before you sew up the body seams.....I'm still learning, cut me some slack). So I thought I'd whip another one up in no time for her. The crafting gods were against me on this one. Maybe they didn't like my choice of fabric, who knows. But I messed up on the second bird a couple of times. Then I finally had the beak correctly attached to the body part (some day I WILL remember how to do that before I sew up the body, really, I will). I began to sew the body and my machine crapped out. I ended up hand stitching the rest of it, and that just took me forever. I finally completed her a couple weekends ago though. I decided she was a little bit plain though, so this time around, I embellished her with some beads. Here she is:

Full Body Shot

Close-up of the beading on the wing

Close-up shot of the tail

I thought she turned out pretty cute this time around. The beaded embellishments gave her some sparkle. I just hope my partner liked her. Especially considering how long it took me to get her done and sent. *Sigh*

Well that about does it for this post. Whew! That was longer than I thought it would be. Guess I'm just trying to make up for my lack of posting most of the summer.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Its a Very Cherry Day! (Another Etsy Sale!)

2007-09-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! I'm doing the "happy beader" dance today. I've made another sale on Etsy. The very first thing I listed on there back in February finally sold! After over 6 months and more than 200 views, they finally sold. The next time I list them, I'm going to go with sterling ear wires and up the price a few dollars. Maybe that will help them sell faster. And the holidays are coming up, and they're the perfect small gift or stocking stuffer after all.

What wonderful piece of beaded beauty was this you ask? My Very Cherry Earrings of course, silly! They're cute and simple little earrings, and they barely weigh a thing. I love to wear the pair I made for myself.

So that's three sales on Etsy this year! And I made one non-Etsy sale (she bought more than one item, but it was one individual so I count it as one sale). That's four of the five sales I had made a goal for this year. How cool is that?! I know, its a small thing, but for me, its huge! Its such a motivating thing to make a sale, no matter how small. My shop is still pretty bare but now I just want to rush home and start churning out some great new pieces for the fall and for the holidays!

Hope your beading adventures have been a success so far this year as well. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Whoo-hoo! I Made Another Sale on Etsy!

2007-08-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

That's right, I sold another pair of earrings on in my Etsy shop! That's two pairs of the Rawhide earrings this year! I'm almost up to my goal of five items that I made as a New Year's Crafty Resolution. Still no sales of the Very Cherry Earrings. I'm thinking of making them with sterling ear wires and re-listing them with a slightly higher price, see if I get any bites. But I'm happy with just the two Etsy sales, I'm not expecting much out of my first year on there.

And I've started a third blog, one that's for all my other adventures in crafting. I've decided to call it Crafting Under a Cactus. You can also link to it through my profile or the links over on the right hand side of the screen. I wanted to keep this blog about beadwork but I still wanted to talk about my other crafty projects. Figured it was time to start a second blog. So check over there a couple times a month if you're interested in seeing what other creative things I'm working on. I'll also be removing some of the non-bead crafty links I have here and giving them a new home over on the other blog.

Over the weekend, my husband and I decided to undertake the huge task of rearranging the front bedroom (basically, my craft and book storage room) and the living room. We wanted to turn that front bedroom into a study and craft workroom. So we moved the desk into there (it just fit around the corners of the hall, quite the adventure at two in the morning), moved the bookshelves out, moved my craft table to another wall, and re-organized the closet (so all my Stash bins and boxes could now be stored out of sight). We love it. I can actually work at my work table now while my hubby works on his computer at night, and we can still be together in the same room. What a concept! I'll have to take some pictures of the new arrangement and post them here.

And I mentioned a post or two ago that I hosted an earring swap on Swap-Bot. Here are pictures of the earrings I made for my two partners:

The partner I made these for indicated that her favorite colors were blues, green and yellows. I scored the perfect Czech glass rounds a few months back, so I just had to use them. I love them because they're slightly faceted and are the crackled glass. The smaller cube bead and the blue-green round were salvaged from costume/vintage jewelry I found on ShopGoodwill.com.

And the partner I made this pair for had indicated in her profile that most of her clothing was black. I thought these animal print beads would look sharp with black, and at the same time be subtle yet fun.

That about wraps things up for now. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of August 5th-11th, 2007: What Have I Been Up To?

2007-08-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been slacking again on posting. I was pretty busy last month with work and RESCUE and really didn't do much jewelry making. Therefore, I had nothing of real interest to post about here. I suppose I could have bored you with something, but I decided to spare you.

Anywho, I'm getting back into the beading swing of things, and I have a few pictures to share.

I've been participating in a number of crafty swaps over at Swap-Bot, and a few have actually been jewelry and bead related. One was to make your partner jewerly using hemp, so I made these for my partner:

(I didn't have a model handy, so I had a bowl stand in for one ;D)

It was fun to dig out the hemp spools and do some knot work again, even if it was just really basic.

I'm coordinating a handmade earring swap. Its closed now, I meant to post here while it was still open, but alas, I've been in La-La land. But I'm planning to coordinate some more on there, we have a number of beady gals, and I'll be sure to post the links here. I'm still working on the earrings for my partners for that swap, but I'll post those when I've completed them.

And I joined one more earring swap. This one had a specific theme to it, the color brown. I had recently learned to make leafy fringe using all seed beads (for both the vines and the leaves). But I wasn't overly thrilled with how the leaves looked. So I decided "Hey, why couldn't I replace the beaded leaves with leaf beads?" (Say that three times fast....) And here is what I came up with, I call it Autumn Foliage:

Hope you enjoyed. Look for more pictures and updates in the coming weeks (no really, I mean it).

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Adventures In Soldering (I Didn't Burn Down the Studio)

2007-06-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, as you may have read last week, I took "Soldering 101" on Saturday. This was one of my Crafty Resolutions for this year, so it feels good to be able to cross something off the list.

Let me just say, I went in a little apprehensive about using the torch and the chemicals. I have taken basic bead lampworking classes, so holding my hands near intense flames was not new to me, but I knew that soldering would be a little bit different. But really, it wasn't that scary or difficult. In fact, I had fun and I can't wait to get some things designed and cut up so I can rent some studio time there and do some more soldering!! I have a small torch of my own, and I can get solder and pickle and the tools, but I may want to take those first few in to the studio so if I need some help or tips, I may be able to pick some one's brain there.

I didn't burn myself or anyone else, nor did I burn down the studio. So I was quite proud of myself. And I didn't even have to remind myself NOT to touch the hot metal with bare fingers. Good me. ;D

We spent the morning going over the different types of solder, safety concerns, and looking at examples of soldered pieces. Then we broke for lunch, because lunch is very important, and had the afternoon to cut up metal into pieces and the practice soldering bits and wire together. A Saturday well spent in my opinion. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I feel more confident about soldering (though I still really love the things you can do with cold connections and rivets), and I plan to start experimenting with metals more when the temps here start to cool down (so I can be out in the garage without melting from the heat).

Here are a few pictures of my practice pieces. One didn't work so well, the solder didn't take, but I want to show it anyway, its part of whole "trials and tribulations" of learning to make jewelry.

The other piece I am quite proud of. I may even clean it up and use it in a piece for myself. Or I may just drill a little hole in it and hang it from something on my work table, as a reminder of what I can do now. Taking this class was very empowering for me.

Well, that's the update for now. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of June 19-23, 2007

2007-06-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, where the heck did May go?! I came back from vacation and became a total blog slacker!! I have actually been working on a few things, nothing ready for photos yet. And idiot me, I did an earring swap with the Bead Circle gals and I didn't take pictures of what I sent.

Well, that's one crafty resolution I dropped the ball on I guess, weekly blog updates. But at least I'm making good on some of the other resolutions I made. This coming Saturday, the 23rd, I will be taking the "Soldering 101" class from the Metal's Edge Studio. I'm really looking forward to this. I haven't really had a chance to mess with the metals in almost a year (I'm going to be so rusty with the jewelers saw, hopefully they won't have us do much cutting, just lots of soldering), and I have all these ideas and sketches that I really couldn't do much with until I learned to solder. So I will be taking pictures of whatever I manage to not destroy or totally screw up and next week I'll share that whole experience with you!!

I've been looking forward to this class for the past two weeks now, and its put me in the mood to work with metals, so I think this weekend I'm going to break out the wire again and start working with that some more. I need a break from eye-straining, hand-cramping stitches.

I also made my first sale on Etsy in May! I sold one pair of the Rawhide earrings to a gal who also works with shelter dogs. How great is that?! And I completed a cute pair of earrings that look like oranges. I just need to get some pictures and then those will be listed in my Etsy shop. So keep checking back for those. No, I don't plan to go with an all fruit theme in my shop, I was just on a role.

Off topic, I've also created a new blog, just for promoting the dogs we foster. I'll be posting pictures and updates there, along with plugging various upcoming RESCUE events and fundraisers. If anything, you can check it out for the "Awwwww" factor. Head on over and check out our newest foster, Jade. Of course, I'll still do a little shameless promotion here, but I figured that topic deserved its very own blog. ;D

Wish I had more to report, but I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm still around, still beading, just slacking on the blogging.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of April 22-28th: I'm Going to Disney World!!

2007-04-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

No, really, I am. So I won't be posting much this week and don't expect to hear from me next week. I'll be too busy dancing with Goofy, sporting a pair of mouse ears, and riding the Tea Cups. :D

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of April 15th-21st, 2007: Update on Goals

2007-04-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've been busy, busy, busy lately. But I wanted to take some time today to get caught up on my blog. At the end of the first quarter, I wanted to recap on my goals for this year. But I was a bit busy, time got away from me, and before I knew it, the end of April was approaching. So I'm going to do it now.

If you remember, back at the start of the year, I posted a list of Crafter's Resolutions for 2007 . These were crafting and beading related goals that I have for this year. Much more fun than making resolutions to lose weight or exercise more, right? Here's a listing of the goals and my progress with them so far:

Complete one amulet bag. NOT YET
Learn tubular peyote stitch and complete one piece. NOT YET
Learn Ndebele/herringbone stitch and complete one project. NOT YET
Complete two complex Eni Oken tutorials (cuff, necklace) and then complete my own variations on her technique. NOT YET
Buy kit/supplies for PMC and complete two pieces. BOUGHT KIT...
Complete one new metal jewelry piece (cold connection or soldered). NOT YET
Take "Solder 101" class from Metal's Edge Studio. TRYING TO SIGN UP FOR JUNE
Learn basic crochet. STARTED...
Learn to crochet using beads and wire. NOT YET
Paint "Zoo" sign letters and Coca-Cola tray. NOT YET
Woodburing: complete two simple projects such as wall plaques or a trinket box. NOT YET
Learn to sew using the sewing machine (that I bought after the New Year 2006....). TOOK CLASS, MADE A PAIR OF SLEEP PANTS, AND THEY FIT!!
Learn Byzantine weave and at least one other chain maille weave. NOT YET
Sell 5 items (not for charity or to family). SOLD 3 ITEMS....
Have a small in-home show by August. NOT YET
Learn to use all the Knifty Knitter looms I have bought in 2006. NOT YET
Master some complex macrame knotting (micro macrame) and complete one project. NOT YET
Post to Blog at least once every week (and get the links set up, add more pictures, etc). SO FAR, SO GOOD

Well, I wish I had a few more things crossed off the list at this point, but no. I'll start playing with the PMC probably in May, after my course is done. I'll have more time then, and its something that I just need a whole day for really. Same with the metal and wire projects. I need a full day for those, and that's something I just haven't had in a while. I always have something else to do the first half of the day. But summer will be here soon, and I should hopefully have some more free time on my hands. I did buy two CD-ROMs a couple weeks back, one for knitting and one for crocheting. They give audio and video instructions, along with graphics, to teach you how to knit and to crochet. I started with the knitting one first. I just wanted to do something different. Having fun. Still trying to learn to just keep an even tension (tension is really my nemesis in this sort of thing). But I'll dig into the crochet one in the coming weeks. Hopefully it will help me with the bead crochet.

But I recently found a new site that may help me in my goals. Then again, it may hinder me, and keep me from them.... Its called Swap-Bot. Its an online community of Swappers. Basically, people can set up swaps themselves (host a swap) or just join an existing swap, and then send and receive packages in the mail based on the swap criteria. The swaps are often crafty, ATC swaps being the most popular, and some are just plain fun. I joined two bead related swaps. One was to make cell phone charms, the other was to make earrings. Simple, easy pieces, I know. But lately, I've been more interested in larger, more time consuming projects. So I haven't really felt like just making simple earrings. This swap gave me a chance to recollect my thoughts and ideas, and simplify. I cranked out 6 cell phone charms and two pairs of earrings in the past three nights!! That's more than I do in most weeks. Heck, its more than I've done in the past couple of months! It made me feel productive and creative. I felt good. I needed to do that. It was like a breath of fresh air.

And the Bead Circle is doing a little earring swap as well. I'll be working on those this weekend. Its refreshing to go back to the basics, rather than focusing only on complex stitches.

Well, that's about it for this week. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Warning: Not Bead Related (But Still Important)

2007-04-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still plugging away at some rainbow pieces (a spiral rope and some earrings), and since I didn't get much time over the weekend for beading, I don't really have much to report. I did however get to listen to most of the rest of the CraftyPod podcasts. I just have about 4 more to listen to and I'm all up to date with her podcasts. Check out last week's post for more about sharing in the "crafty goodness."

But today, I just wanted to do a short post about something very near and dear to my heart. When I was 18, I was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. This is fancy-schmancy medical term for "we have no idea why, but you are now a person with epilepsy, you lucky person you." There was some history of juvenile epilepsy in the family tree, but how extensive, we're not sure, as epilepsy wasn't exactly openly talked about in days of yore.

I've been blessed in that my epilepsy is completely controlled by a low dose of meds and that it doesn't really affect my day to day life in a major way. I've been seizure free (knock on wood) for almost 12 years now. But for many of the over 2.7 million people out there with epilepsy, they are not that lucky. It affects every moment of every day. It affects how they are able to live their lives. So because of that, I like to do my part to help out. I'm a member of the Arizona chapter of the Epilepsy Foundation. I donate yearly. I'm even comtemplating being in one of next years Run/Walks, if I can get myself in a little better shape by then. If I tried it today, I'd drop after a mile!!! Uff.

Last night I heard about something pretty cool that is being done to help further the efforts of the Epilepsy Foundation, and I just wanted to share it and get the word out. If you haven't seen the show Heroes, on NBC, you can catch the rest of the season later this month. And I highly recommend you do, its an entertaining show. One of the characters on the show has a son with epilepsy. So they have set up an auction to sell paintings from the show, which will benefit the Epilepsy Foundation. How cool is that?! If you are a fan of the show, you are familiar with the character Isaac, who paints the future. It is those paintings, that were used on the show, that will be up for auction. And some are really pretty neat looking. So go check it out.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

The CraftyPod: The Podcast All About Making Stuff

2007-03-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

What? You haven't discovered the wonders and joy of CraftyPod yet? For shame!

Well, you're just lucky you stumbled upon my blog this week then, so that you can learn about this wonderful site. The CraftyPod is a "blog and podcast all about making stuff", and its hosted by the wonderful Sister Diane. She posts to the blog a couple times a week and does a podcast about every other week. You can either listen to them right there on the site or download them onto your computer. You can also subscribe to her podcasts so that when a new one is published, its sent right to your computer. How convenient!

I lurked on her blog for a few months but never listened to her podcasts, because I couldn't figure out how. But I finally figured it out and I recently downloaded all 47 of her podcasts and have put them on my mp3 player. I have a long daily commute (3 hours per day, 1.5 hours each way) and boy do those podcasts make that commute that much more tolerable. I've listened to about 10 of them so far, and they certainly help to invoke the ol' crafty muse.

She covers all aspects of crafting, from beading to crochet, to papercrafts and ethnic arts. She usually starts out with a history of the technique, then a project or two and follows up with some great related resources. Some of her podcasts are interviews with great crafters from around the country. You're sure to find something to piques your crafty interests. She even did a podcast all about pipe cleaners. Talk about covering all your bases! And her regular blog posts also cover a wide range of crafty topics, including local gatherings and events she attends (such as Portland SuperCrafty and Church of Craft). Its entertaining and inspiring to read. And her enthusiasm for crafting really shines through in her podcasts. She has a wonderful broadcasting voice, clear and spunky sounding. She's fun to listen to. So scoot over there after you read this, or heck, just go there now, you can always come back here later!!!

Through her site I have found links to some great podcasts and other blogs. See her site links list for a complete listing of links. I'm in the process of downloading all of the CraftyChica's Podcast and also those from CraftSanity. Can't wait to finish downloading those and getting them onto my mp3 player as well. Sister Diane, if I could hug you, I would, for introducing me to wonderful world of crafty podcasts! I may have just found a new addiction....

Oh, and I can't forget to mention her musical choices. Love them, love them, love them. I walk around with her theme song in my head all the time now. "Zu-zu-zu zoom zoom zoom". Listen to a few podcasts and you'll hear just what I mean. ;D

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

What a Way to Start the Week! (I've had a busy weekend...) - Week of March 25 - 31

2007-03-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had Chinese food for lunch. I had two fortune cookies (I love fortune cookies, they are beyond yummy). I got the following two fortunes:

"Sunday is a good day for relaxing."
"Nothing can keep you from reaching your goals."

These inspired me I guess, or at the very least, they helped to invoke my muse. This weekend I did more crafty things than I've had a chance to do in a while, and I managed to get quite a lot accomplished.

Saturday morning I decided that this weekend I would finish up the belt my MIL asked me to make for her. We had bought the beads back in October, and in January, I picked up some additional coordinating pearl beads to go with the ones we had bought. But until this weekend, I hadn't really done much with the project. I spent a few hours one weekend sketching pattern ideas, but then set them aside, totally uninspired. But this weekend, that all changed. On Saturday, I strung the beads for the main part of the belt. Saturday night, I had my MIL "try it on" to make sure I had the length right. Then Sunday, I created the clasp and the dangle of beads. This is the finished belt:

And here are some close up shots of the pattern of the beads and of the wire clasp that I made for it using 16ga and 26ga(I think) wire and a potato pearl:

But I didn't stop there on Sunday. I had a "Wrist of Flurries" bracelet that I had assembled back in December, but just hadn't finished it off with a clasp yet. So Sunday, I experimented with one of my clasp ideas, using elastic and a button. It looks a little cheap frankly, not real polished or professional. It works, but I won't sell that version or anything. Originally, I had used a toggle clasp (see the first set of photos) and it worked okay, but I didn't really like the way it "wore". It just didn't look a great when being worn. The bracelet is quite wide, and the little toggle didn't hold it together neatly. I'll have to play with some other ideas. But here's a picture of both the original piece (where I used a toggle clasp) and the new version (where I used a beaded loop of white elastic).
The first is of the original one with the toggle clasp (I love the snowflake buttons, they worked perfectly with 6/0 beads):

And here's some shots of the elastic band clasp version (I adore the white round clasp button, so I'll probably remove the band and try something different with this one):

I had assembled another wide peyote band bracelet in shades of blue-green. Again, I just had the clasp part to work out. So Sunday, I finished that up and used the toggle clasp. It works fine on this bracelet, since it's not quite as wide of the "Flurries" one.

You can see a few imperfections due to not all the beads being the exact same size and shape, but I like it that way. As one author put it, things like that are okay, think of them as your own little spirit beads (check out the great book I linked to above is you want to understand that more).

After all of that, I took all those pictures I'd been meaning to take. I needed new pictures of my Very Cherry Earrings for my Etsy shop, since I made some new pairs (with fixed crimps). I also took some pics of my Rawhide earrings to replace the ones I currently have up on Etsy, since I realized that I took most of those with the Sepia setting on. Doh. If you want to see those, you'll have to visit my Etsy shop. And of course, I took all the pics you see above. Plus, a few weeks back I was inspired by all the polymer clay artists I was seeing on Etsy. Many make mini foods, mini food charms, and mini food beads. I also found some great polymer clay artist sites who are doing the mini foods thing too. These look so fun to make and are always just too cute. So I tried my hand at it and made a slice of Key Lime Pie.

This is what I came up with:

Not too bad if I do say so myself. By no means perfect or sell-able, but it was a fun little experiment.

And here are some pictures of my experiment with making a clasp out of clay:

And in addition to all that, I folded and put away all the laundry, cleaned up around the house, copied some new music onto my MP3 player, cleaned the cat litter, did dishes, downloaded every single podcast from CraftyPod (if you've never seen her site, you must check it out today, look for a post about it later this week) and much more. I got a lot done in just two days. I feel so much better for it too. Its amazing how those little things that you just can't seem to find time to do, can really weigh heavy on your mind, and bog you down. I feel really, well, not to be too cliche, but, free. Just getting something done, accomplishing something, can do wonders for one's mood and outlook. And then the fact that I finally completed a few old In Progress projects, really was just the icing on the cake (or would that be on the key lime pie?).

Add to all of this the fact that our foster dog Dorothy was adopted on Saturday, and it was a great weekend!

Monday and Tuesday I finished up a pair of rainbow earrings (pics hopefully next week), and started a new spiral rope necklace, also in rainbow. The craftiness continues. And on the drive home yesterday, I recorded two more blog posts that I hope to get typed up and posted this week. Wow me.

Oh, and we got a new foster dog on Monday. His name is Aidan and he's a 7.7lb Chihuahua (he's smaller than our cats or out Min Pin). Check him out if you need an "Awwww" moment. :D

Here's hoping I continue to have a productive and crafty week, and that you do too!

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of March 18 - 24, 2007

2007-03-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

I decided today that I am in desperate need of a full week's vacation, where I don't have to run any errands or do any housework, no one calls from work, and I'm home alone all day. Why? So I can get some crafting done and finally have some decent pieces to post up on my Etsy shop. Its frustrating to not have any time in the evenings, look forward to the weekend, only to end up having a million other things that must be done instead over the weekend. Its a little depressing actually, since crafting is my sanity, my zen, my meditation. I have so many ideas, so many new techniques and projects I'm just itching to try, but I just can't seem to find the time. I have the supplies and equipment for three different projects piled up on the living coffee table now (my workplace of choice if there's something good on TV). I put everything out on Saturday. Did I get to touch them yet? Nope. Here's hoping I get to do some more beading this coming Sunday eh?

*Sigh*

Bead-wise, I was on a mission the other day to find silver-lined orange 10/0 seed beads. I had trouble finding them. I had every other color of the rainbow in that style except orange (I'm working on a rainbow colored piece, could you tell?). I went to the shop where I had bought all the other colors. They had silver-lined 6/0 orange seed beads, and every other color in the 10/0. Grrrr. Went home. Next day, I went to another shop. No such luck at first. But then I found them. *Heavenly music and spotlight appeared at the end the bead aisle* So that's on the agenda for this coming week/weekend, get the rainbow colored earrings started. I also picked up some neat "fruit-shaped" beads, so look for another pair of fruity earrings being added to the collection in the near future. ;D

I did finish the clasp that was giving me fits a post ago. I scrapped the idea of making something with clay. But I may dig that out in the future and see what I come up with. It has possibilities for future projects, just not this one. Instead, I ended up using to hook-and-eye style clasps. Seemed to work well. I need to get pictures. That's my motto for the year, I need to get pictures. I say it just about every post.

Today I set up a Flickr account and a My Space page. I uploaded a couple of pics to the Flickr account, but haven't added tags or any of that. Not sure what I'll do with it, Photobucket has served me well thus far, but Flickr has networking potential, and everyone seems to use it and love it, so I jumped on the bandwagon. We'll just have to see. You can feel free to visit my Flickr page, but its not much yet: Beaded Desert Does Flickr

Same goes for MySpace. Frankly, I never thought I'd bother to join. The place kind of scares me. A lot of strange people crawl around there..... But then again, it has networking potential, a lot of people use it for that, and with successful results (based on what I've read in the Etsy forums), so I'm giving it a try. I haven't really set up much there yet, created the account and filled out a few profile details (though I kept it vague): Beaded Desert's MySpace Page . I have thought about setting up a page there for our foster dogs, but I have no idea if that would help to give them more exposure or not. Be interesting to see how many friends they'd get though, wouldn't it?

************************************************************************************

Final sewing class tonight. Last week, I cut out the patterns and the fabric, then stitched up each leg. Tonight, I get to attach the legs together, put in the elastic waistband, and sew up the hem of the pant legs. And viola! New sleep pants for me. I'm looking forward to trying more sewing. I don't always sew a perfectly straight seam, but that will come with practice. I've been looking at patterns online, mostly for tops. But I think making some simple pillow would be good practice for me too (and if I screw up, the dog will still enjoy sleeping on them). So next time you're looking for me, if I'm not in the bead aisles, I might just be hiding in the pattern books or behind the mounds of fabric at the local craft supply store. (Just one more reason for my husband to dread my going to the local craft shops.)

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Here's hoping I'll do a photo update in the next week or so. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Week of March 11-17, 2007

2007-03-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ackkkkk! I just realized I didn't post to my blog last week! Bad blogger, bad bad bad.

Okay, I'm done beating myself up. I had a busy week, what can I say. Tuesday of last week I started my sewing class. We're a small class of 3, which is nice. We chose our patterns and our fabrics Tuesday night. I went with some simple elastic waist sleep pants. I chose a light spring green fabric with little daisies all over it. I needed a pattern that wasn't "one way", like a stripe or plaid, so I chose daisies-all-over. Tonight is class two. We'll be laying out and cutting out our patterns/fabric and hopefully be able to start sewing. We'll have the week to sew and I assume class three will cover putting in the elastic waistband (elastic waistband is required) and finishing up the pieces. I'm enjoying it so far. My sewing machine isn't quite so complicated and scary now. I still tend to push down all the way on the pedal and sew faster than the Tasmanian Devil, but I'll get used to the pressure eventually.

I got no bead work done last week. Honestly, beyond sewing class and my database class, I don't recall much of what I did work on last week. But over the weekend, I redid the Very Cherry Earrings I have for sale on Etsy. When I made them, I was not an expert with crimps. So I just put some crimp beads on, flattened them with a needle-nose pliers, and called it good. Since learning more, and since buying a crimp tool, every time I look at the picture of them, it drives me nuts to see that poor crimp job. So I practiced over the weekend, made a number of new pairs, with nice crimps. I'll need to take new pics and replace the old with the new.

I also attempted to make a clasp using head pins and polymer clay. I have a specific piece that needs the right type of clasp, and so far, I haven't found something like it for sale. So I decided to try to make one. Turned out okay, but looked messy and unprofessional. Going to try something similar, only it will be entirely wire. I have some other ideas too, involving space bars. If any of them works, I'll take pics of the various attempts and post them later this month.

Beyond that, not much beading last week. I should have a little more time this week to do some, but we'll see. My goal for the week is to finish up a beaded belt for my MIL. I've been toying with various layouts and trying to figure out how I would finish it off. So tomorrow and Thursday I will string a couple of different layouts and see how they look (and if I have enough beads for them).

We got a new foster dog yesterday. Her name is Dorothy . RESCUE lists her as a 5 year old Corgi mix. I agree on the 5 year old part (she has some gray on her chin like my 6 year old min pin does), but I don't really see corgi. Actually, I kind of see Doxie. Doxie and something taller of course. She did great her first night with us. Didn't really interact with the min pin, avoided the cats (they seem to intimidate and scare her a bit). Enjoys snuggling close and just chillin'. She's very cute and well behaved. I don't see her staying with RESCUE long before she's adopted. You have to look at her photo gallery and check out those ears! Yes, one always flops down and the other is always sticking up or out straight. They are too cute. I love dogs with funny ears. :D

Well that about wraps it up for now. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Photo Updates

2007-02-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

My order from PMC Supply! Isn't it lovely?!

And here are some shots of the hobby bench, finally. I got the room all straightened up and everything organized. Its a good feeling. The close up shot is of the Button Drawer.

Etsy Spotlight - February 18-24, 2007

2007-02-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you're an artist trying to sell your work, you know that one very important and often difficult aspect of that is: PROMOTION! PROMOTION! PROMOTION! Getting the word out about your work, without exceeding an often minimal (if at all existent) budget. As I mentioned in a previous posting, I opened an Etsy shop this month. I only have two items in there for now, but over the coming months I'll add more. I didn't want to just open an empty shop. Since opening my shop I have had plenty of time to spend browsing their oh-so-helpful (and oh-so-addictive) forums. I have seen a lot of great shops and more beautiful handmade works than I can fully comprehend. I am learning so much from those friendly folks. I have also made a few purchases myself (beefing up the ol' feedback a little, create a presence for myself) and I am taking note of my buying experiences for future reference. From the convos with the sellers, to packaging, and the little extras sellers include as a thank you for your purchase, I'm taking note and getting ideas.

So this week I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite shops. Some of these I have purchased from, and some just have great works that I admire and love to look at, even though I may never actually purchase something from them. I hope to do a special Etsy Spotlight once or twice a month so I can help promote my fellow artists and craftspeople that are the Etsy Community.

The first shop I wanted to highlight belongs to insidedesign. Currently, insidedesign specializes in handmade jewelry and banners and avatars for Etsy sellers to use in their own shops. I purchased my awesome desert scene banner and cactus avatar from her. She created a custom design for me, based on a very vague idea, and came up with a great design for a very reasonable price.

The second shop I want to highlight is one I have not yet purchased from, but I love to browse and see what's new. uppity woman designs creates the cutest sock animals ever! Of course, she sells a number of other handmade crafty items, but its her sock animals that drew me in.

And the third shop I want to highlight this time is JPATPURSES. JPATPURSES specializes in quilted handbags and accessories. I have been drooling over one of her bags for a week or two now, but she has a number that I wouldn't mind owning.

Just going to spotlight three shops this week, as my hands and brain are tired from a long week of computer work.

But be sure to visit the shops I have linked to and then visit the Etsy homepage and check out the newest listings. Visit the forums, especially the Promotion and Critiques section (where sellers can post links to various items they want to promote at that time). I know you'll find something you'll love and will want to buy. And I know you'll find some favorite shops of your own. You'll be supporting artists across the country and around the world, and also just helping to further promote and keep alive the world of handmade arts and crafts.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

What a Wonderful Week! - February 18-24

2007-02-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful week this week!

Last week I bought myself a number of lovely handmade items from Etsy. Two headbands by Nestlings, a resin pendant with a polymer clay koi in it by BabaYagaDesigns(its too cool), a cute dog print fabric zipper pouch by Christina's, and a soy candle (fresh cut grass scent) and some soaps by MartinsvilleEmporium,(which all smell amazing!!). These all arrived on the same day earlier this week. They also arrived on the same day that the box of beads from the Bead Circle Bead Swap arrived!! Oh the decisions I have with that. And the next day, my order from PMC Supply arrived!! I'm going to be home all weekend so I will get to play with all my new toys and treasures. Can't wait! I'll be able to cross off a Crafter's Resolution soon (buying the PMC starter kit and making some pieces). I'm still figuring out Bead Creator Pro. I've tried bringing some images in, but I have to read up on how to change the palettes and set it to only use certain colors and all that fun stuff. So no news on that front, no fun patterns yet.
Over the long weekend I managed to fill up the rest of the drawers in my new storage unit. And I got the room straightened up and organized. I can actually find the beads or tools or projects that I am looking for. What a concept! Now I just need to get some photos of it to share with you all. Its wonderful. I still have some space in some of the drawers, to grow. I did find I needed to keep most of my tackle boxes of beads for now, but that's okay. I was able to empty all of the plastic shoe boxes I was using so there's less stuff stacked up on the work space.

Obviously, it doesn't take much to make me a happy crafter.

I also managed to sign up for the sewing class this week. Starts March 5th. You can read about my sewing class angst in a previous post. I will need to do some shopping for some additional supplies I don't have yet, but otherwise, can't wait. I'm just so excited about taking the class. We can make either sleep pants, shorts, or a skirt. Think I'll go with the sleep pants. That way, if I mess up and make one leg longer than the other, I can still wear them (because no one but my husband and I will see them). So in a few more weeks, that will be yet another resolution I can cross off!!! Its the sort of thing that makes you feel good.

And to top it all off, our little foster dog Buttons went to her forever home on Tuesday. Her adopter was so excited to get her that he called earlier in the day to see if it would be alright for him to stop by earlier than planned to pick her up. He just couldn't wait. That was just so great to know she's going somewhere where they are just so excited and happy to have her. I know she'll be loved and spoiled rotten (but in a good way).

Add to all of that having Monday off work for the holiday and Tuesday off work to attend a seminar, leaving only 3 days of actual office time. So all in all, its been a wonderful week.

How was your week?

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Website of the Week - PMC Supply

2007-02-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I celebrated the big 3-0, so happy birthday to me. We celebrated by going out for dinner (steak, mmmmm) and when we got home, I ordered my birthday present - goodies from PMC Supply. So I figured, why not highlight them as Website of the Week?!

Since it was one of my Crafter's Resolutions for the year (see January post) to buy a starter kit and begin working with PMC, I figured I'd take advantage of my birthday and do just that. I purchased the basic kit and some other tools and a book, to get me started. Hopefully that will arrive next week and I can start sharing my experiences with that media.

The website itself is great. Not only can you shop (they require a minimum $25 order, but you get free shipping on orders of $100 or more), but they also have instructions, tip and tricks, and free online instructional videos. You can buy all you need to get started, from tools to metal clay to firing options (torches or kilns), and even extras like gemstones and dichroic cabochons and silver findings. There's even a Wholesale page for those of you out there lucky enough to have yourself a license.

There's a wonderful gallery of finished pieces by various artists. Its eye candy for hours and inspiration for days. And their instruction and project sheets are easy to follow and include plenty of photos so you can really see what they're talking about.

If you're even just interested in learning more about metal clay, check the site out. Do some reading, and see what you think. I enjoy working with clay in general, so I'm looking forward to using the metal clay. I already have some ideas for first projects floating around my head (and a few I've gotten down on paper).

Look for more entries on metal clay in the future!

As for beading this week, I managed to finish a choker I was asked to make. But I may rethink how I finished it. The choker is a simple even-count peyote band, using pearl-white, clear and clear-AB size 6 seed beads (its about 1 1/4 inch wide). It looks nice in general, but I'm not happy with the clasp attachment. I'll probably work on it some more tonight. I have that and a couple of other pieces I'm working on for someone, and my goal is to finish them before Sunday evening.

I also finished up some more of my Rawhide earrings. I'm going to put two pairs up for sale on my Etsy shop, see how they do. I'll donate the proceeds to RESCUE if they do sell. I plan to post those later today (if the photos I took last night turned out that is). So look for them later today or sometime over the weekend.

Speaking of RESCUE, our little foster dog Buttons was adopted on Saturday. She's spending the week with us while her new dad is out of town, but she'll be heading off to her forever home on Tuesday, so wish her luck.

That's all for this week's edition. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

New Organizational Tool, Etsy, Foster Dogs and So Much More!

2007-02-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I have not had a chance to touch my bead crochet. Maybe later this week. But I have good reason. On Thursday, I picked up our new foster dog. She's a stumpy legged little dog with a major overbite (her lower jaw is about almost and inch shorter than her upper, but she eats and destroys toys just fine). Her name is Buttons, and so far, she's been a great little foster dog. Good with our Miniature Pinscher and great with our two cats. She's even tried to help me bead a little bit. When we got home Thursday night, I spent the evening bathing her and then just watching her adjust to home life (ie. making sure she didn't pee anywhere she shouldn't and didn't have a desire to chase cats).

In a previous post I talked about these great little drawer units that came with a matching desktop. Well, I bought them, and over the weekend I set them up. They look great! They don't come with quite enough drawer dividers (you need two long and two short to have really stable separation, there are 8 drawers, 12 long dividers, 15 short dividers - - you do the math), but my FIL had said earlier that he didn't use all of his so I'm going to see if he still has any to spare. I filled a couple of drawers with my various seed and bugle beads (these beads were living in a clear shoebox before, as I ran out of tackle boxes), and one with all my wire and wire tools. Now I just need to fill the rest of the drawers, finish straightening up the room, and then I can take pictures. I didn't take any yet, because the rooms looks like a cyclone has passed through. And I didn't want you to see that. I want you to think I'm organized. Yeah, that's it. Anywho, moving on.

I also set up an Etsy Shop today. I called it Beaded Desert Designs, of course. I need to come up with a banner still. I tried creating one, but I had issues with sizing, so that is a work in progress. But I decided to post one item anyway, just so I had something there. My "Very Cherry Earrings" (not original, but its fun to say, so that's why I'm using it) are my first piece up for sale. Now I have that much more motivation to get some more nice pieces completed and offer them up for sale. Creating an Etsy shop was not on my official list of Crafter's Resolutions, but it was there in my mind, as something I wanted to do later this year. But I had other motivations to get it going now. More on that in the future (you'll just have to keep checking back now woncha ;D).

So did I get any beading done this weekend? But of course my dear, but of course. I am working on a little bracelet actually, that I designed myself. I used peyote stitch to create some beaded beads in a bright spring green. Then I dug out these large glass flower beads I have (almost like buttons). I'm attaching a vine of bead to each flower, then I'll string the beaded beads and flowers together, like a large vine/branch. I'm still working out some kinks with the flower and vine part. I have some other projects that MUST be done this week though, so this one will probably sit on the back burner for a bit.

Well, that's about it for now. Just trying to keep my resolution of weekly posts. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

The Further Adventures of Bead Crochet

2007-01-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well Monday night I finished loading all the beads onto the thread. Took most of the evening, I kept getting distracted by a loud, colorful box across the room from me (the TV). I'd probably get more done if I didn't work in front of the TV like that, eh? So last night I was finally able to start trying to crochet with it. I have no pictures to share, as I ended up pulling it all out last night and will start it again tonight. But I'll share my experiences anyway, you'll just have to use your imagination and visualize the process.

First off, my arch nemesis, tension, was an issue. But I think I got the hang of it after a few rounds, it started to even out. But then I decided that if I was using a slightly smaller crochet hook, it would probably be easier and the stitches could be a little tighter. But otherwise, it looked pretty good. The beads were lining up nicely and forming a nice spiral pattern (I'm using two colors, a silver-lined teal and a copper-lined black). No beads were "inside" the tube. So I was pretty proud of the 1.5 inches worth I did last night. But I decided to pull it out and try again tonight using a smaller hook. We'll see how that goes. I think I'll surf around later today too, and see what the smallest size hook available is, just out of curiosity. I imagine that if I want to use some finer threads, that I'd need smaller hooks??? I'll have to do some more research on bead crochet myself, see what is recommended. I have some projects in some magazines I plan to dig out, see what they suggest.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Learning to Bead Crochet and Other News

2007-01-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Mandi, over at The Bead Circle Blog, posted about a great new site the other day, Bead Pattern Central. I saw "Pattern" and was all over that in a minute. Its really a great little site. They offer patterns for sale, and most are at what I would consider to be reasonable rates. The website is easy to use, easy to navigate, and doesn't take too long to load. But what I like best is that they offer free tutorials on some basic techniques, and some of the tutorials are actually animated! I spent a little while over the weekend watching the tubular bead crochet animated tutorial. I also want to try out the Russian Spiral, looks like a neat stitch that I don't think I've seen before (well, I may have and they just called it something else).

I decided after watching the tutorial over and over again, that tubular bead crochet doesn't really look that difficult. So I printed out the instructions and gave it a try yesterday afternoon.
The tutorial has you using 45" of beads and an additional 36" of thread. Sounds simple enough. So I spent an hour or two loading beads on the thread I was going to use (I was using a fine crochet thread, think its #10 or something like that, and size 6 seed beads). I still don't quite have 45" worth on there. My hands started to cramp up after about 2 1/2 ft of beads. I'll finish loading beads tonight and try the stitching part. If I manage to make something, I'll take some pictures and post them, hopefully later this week (but then again, you know me, it may be later than that...).

I also finished off my first real project using a Knifty Knitter yesterday. I made a little handbag. I'm going to knit a little flap to use for closure, which I want to attach with a button. Then I plan to attach some beads along the bottom seam to give it some sparkle. And I think I may just do a spiral rope for the handle/strap, further carry the beadwork into the piece. I haven't decided if I want to try to create a liner yet or not, but I probably will, so I can actually use the bag (I carry a lot of little stuff). I used a brown, tan and blue variegated Fun Fur yarn, so the bag is fuzzy and the colors wrap around it in diagonal bands. That part was accidental, it just happened, but its one of those happy whoopsies. I'll take pictures when its all finished.

And the biggest news from the weekend. My husband and I have been fostering a dog for almost 2 years now (it would be two years February 9th or thereabouts). The dog came to RESCUE around the New Year two years ago. His name is Tango and he's a Queensland Heeler mix (we think with some kind of terrier). Well, he was finally adopted, officially, on Saturday, by a wonderful woman. We are so happy he has finally found his forever home. We will miss his funny little face, his goofy antics, and his Wookiee-like grunts and growls, but we know that he chose this adopter himself (he just had to wait until she could open her home up to him, her previous dog passed away some months back and she was finally ready now). And we know she will give him the exercise and mental stimulation that he needs, she'll give him the additional training and discipline a herding dog thrives on, and she'll love him unconditionally. (She even lets him sleep on the bed, he's going to be spoiled :D). We'll be getting a new foster dog tomorrow possibly. Hopefully, this one won't take so long to find his/her forever home, but we'll happily shelter and love him/her until that time comes, just as we did with Tango.

So Tango, we'll miss you dearly, but we know you've found your forever home and that makes us the happiest foster parents ever!

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Website of the Week January 21-27 - D&I Beads

2007-01-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to sing the praises of one of my favorite local bead shops, D&I Beads.

They are located at 7420 W. Cactus Road in Peoria, Arizona. The shopping center they are in is located on the northeast corner of 75th Avenue and Cactus. Lucky for me, I live on the west side of the Valley, so they're only a short drive away!

They have an online store as well, with free shipping to Arizona shoppers. And they only require a minimum $25 order (not a hard amount to reach to when you're buying beads). I don't see myself buying much online, since they are so close, but now I can look ahead of time to get an idea of pricing and such for certain types of beads. Love that.

D&I have a fabulous selection of beads, of course, but they also have a pretty extensive selection of yarns (for the knitters and crocheters out there), with prices comparable to you big chain hobby supply shops. In addition, they offer classes and wonderful customer service. Every time I walk in, I'm greeted. If I look lost or confused, someone spots it and asks if I need help. Usually, I'm just trying to decide if something is more pink or purple, more green or more blue. Or if I already have those beads at home. But anywho. The staff are also very helpful when it comes to selecting items for a specific project you might be working on, giving you advice on what might work instead, and even helping to show you a few simple, basic techniques, right there at the counter. Gotta love that. And you can't beat their sales, which they have regularly, along with their coupons (which appear in various Valley publications but are also available for printing from their website)!

What I love most about their shop though is that everything is hanging on hooks, for the most part (the metal beads and some findings, crystals, and specialty bits are in the glass case/counter). You walk in and the walls are covered in strings of beads. They have a few aisles set up, like short little walls, all covered in strings of beads. Love it!! I can touch the beads, hold them next to other strings of beads, see them from all angles, feel them (I love the feel of beads). Beats Internet shopping anytime. And when it comes to the natural stone beads, you can look them over for flaws or for interesting irregularities (I actually love the flaws and irregularities, gives the stone character), and chose the string that works best for you.

You can see photos of their fabulous showroom here: Walls of Beads (IE. Pure Heaven)
and here: "Beads, Glorious Beads!".

And their seed bead aisles? I usually spend the most time there. Seeds in everyone color and finish. And all the necessary sizes. They also carry Delicas and the like, but I still love my size 11 seed beads.

They also have a large "bin" of glass beads, 15 cents each I believe. I love to dig in that bin, to feel the beads roll over my hands and through my fingers, to hear them lightly clink together. Kind of like when you were a kid and enjoyed digging your hands and feet into the sand. Same thing, only now its beads. I usually spend a few minutes picking out a handful that go together, mostly to make earrings. Its not an easy task, finding ones that go together or "match", but its fun to try.

So, if you're ever in the Phoenix Metro area, and you're looking for a fun little bead shop with great selection and great prices, and don't forget great service, check out D&I Beads. You won't regret it. And you might just run into me, experiencing beaded bliss in the big glass bead bin. ;D

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Not Much to Say...

2007-01-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, to make up for not posting anything last week, I'm posting something now. I actually have a entire entry written up (showcasing a local bead shop), but I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to type it up and post it. Will do later this week.

Started a course at a local community college Thursday night, had a small event on Saturday for RESCUE (which I was busy preparing for during the week) , then I had training for new volunteers both Saturday and Sunday, and so by yesterday morning, I was worn out, literally. I even took the day off from work and just snoozed and made myself take it easy. Sometimes, you just have to listen to what your body says (especially when its whining, complaining or throwing an all out temper tantrum) and rest finally. Still feel tired, slight cough, but better.

So after a week of running about preparing for the weekend, and a weekend where I was hardly home, I didn't get much beading done. I did manage to complete a Lotus Necklace which I did in purple seed beads and crystals. Essentially, it is a string of seed beads with petal shaped extensions of seed beads, and in the petals are drops of crystals. Turned out cute. Need to make some adjustments on the number of beads used in the central petal, but overall, nice easy piece. I found the pattern on about.com (I won't link to it, I'm sure you hate pop-ups as much as I do). But if you look for free bead patterns on that site, you'll find the project. Going to create another one using a different shade of purple seed beads.

I also started working on a simple peyote-stitched-beaded-bead bracelet. This project comes from the Beading Pattern Desk Calendar. Its a great little calendar, especially if you are new to beading. Cute, simple projects with very easy to follow directions. They cover many of the most common and basic techniques in beading, from knot tying to simple stringing and simple to complex beadweaving. They even cover wire and other media. Also helps you to keep motivated and inspired, with new projects every day or so. I know I'll end up keeping many of the projects just as reference for future projects of my own.

My father-in-law is a hobbyist like me. His hobby involves tiny pieces of wood (he builds model ships), but he understands the need for a great workspace and storage unit. He bought these great little drawer units, with side panels, that make great storage. Knowing about the need for attractive storage space, he showed them to me over the weekend. They also accommodate a desktop or can be stacked. So they can be used just for storage, or do double duty and be part of the workspace. And they come in a lovely wood color, so they look nice (unlike my current set up of a plastic card table and some plastic rolling carts with drawers, along with countless tackle boxes stacked on top of said table). The best part though is the side panels. They're like little doors that swing out and inside the door panel are hooks, where I could hang finished pieces of jewelry and/or tools!!! I've been contemplating them all weekend and I think I'm going to get them. If I do, I'll post pictures. We've been trying to figure out how we can rearrange the room where I store all my craft stuff, and still have my stuff be accessible yet attractively stored away. My husband even agrees they'd be great for this. We'll see.

Wish I had more to share in the way of beading. But really, I need a nap. Guess I had more to say than I originally though...

So, thanks for reading and happy beading!

Website of the Week: Gold Onyx Beadweaving Supplies

2007-01-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, January 6, I went to Joann's to sign up for a sewing class. It was Class Preview Day and I got there just as the event was starting. I first went to talk with the instructor to see what class might be best for me. She was great and I was really looking forward to taking the class later this month. Then I went up to Customer Service to sign up. Both the January and February sessions were filled!! How can that be?! The preview event had only started 30 minutes ago?! Turns out you could start signing up for classes the week before. I did not know that. So now I have to wait until their March/April schedule comes out and see if there might be a class that fits my schedule. I was so bummed. But to make matters worse, earlier in the week I had told my husband that what I wanted for my birthday (which is in February), was to take the "Solder 101" class from the Metals Edge Studio on February 17. He kindly pointed out that the day of the class we have tickets to the Improv to see our favorite comedian, Jeff Dunham perform. And that by the time I'd get home from the class, shower, change, etc, we'd be late for the show. So I had to scrap taking that class as well for now. I'll have to wait until their May - ?? schedule comes out. And after Joann's I had issues with the ATM at the bank (let's just say I was standing outside the bank yelling at a machine, with a small audience forming...). Thankfully I had a breeze at the video store for once. But all in all, by the time I got home that afternoon, I was not a happy crafter.

So how did I make myself feel better after that? I went online and shopped for crafting supplies of course. How silly of you to think I would drown my sorrows in liquer and food (well, actually, I did do that as well, went to Red Lobster after I shopped and enjoyed a giant Lobsterita, but I digress). I did a search for Bead Creator Pro 3.0 and found a site called Gold Onyx Beadweaving Supplies. They also happened to sell C-Lon, something I was going to start looking for in the local bead shops . So I ordered both the software and two spools of C-Lon (for micro-macrame projects I want to learn).

The website is pretty basic in its layouts and graphics. But it was still quite easy to navigate and find what I wanted to buy. I went with the cheapest shipping option, First Class (1-3 Days). They offer a couple of ways to pay online, including the ol' standby, PayPal. I thought that was interesting. After I placed my order I received my confirmation emails, from them and from the online payment service (2Checkout). Always a good thing. Then they sent another email when they had shipped the order. Unfortunately, they ship using USPS, so you don't get a tracking number like you would if they used UPS or FedEx. (I get a kick out checking the tracking on the day it goes out, to see what time they actually deliver it, I'm weird). But, USPS is cheaper, so I really can't complain now can I. I should get it maybe today, more likely by tomorrow. I'm very excited.

Bead Creator Pro looks like a fun piece of software. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I really enjoy peyote stitch, but finding patterns I really like isn't always easy. I've tried creating some of my own with graph papers, but am learning that's not my strong suit. I'd love to make an amulet bag or small purse with my dog on it. And I have some other graphics I created that I'd like to translate into beads but just haven't figured it out myself yet. As I create patterns, I'll be posting them here from time to time to share.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Happy New Year! A Crafter's Resolutions

2007-01-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

A new year has begun, and I'm still trying to figure out where most of 2006 went! I am looking forward to a great new year full of learning new techniques, completing many great new projects, going to fun events (and maybe hosting one or two myself), and increasing my skills and talents in all areas. And of course, with a New Year comes that grand ol' tradition of New Year's Resolutions. Yes, in the past I would make the typical resolutions we all make. You know, that ones that no one ever keeps but still make year after year. So I stopped doing that, figured why beat myself up over it.

But this year, I decided to make a different set of resolutions - Crafter's Resolutions. I wanted to share those resolutions with you this week. Maybe it will inspire you to make a few of your own.

Complete one amulet bag. (I have so many patterns but I have yet to actually try one out and complete one). [BEADS]
Learn tubular peyote stitch and complete one piece (necklace or bracelet). [BEADS]
Learn Ndebele/herringbone stitch and complete one project. [BEADS]
Complete two complex Eni Oken tutorials (cuff, necklace) and then complete my own variations on her technique. [WIRE]
Buy kit/supplies for PMC and complete two pieces. [CLAY/METAL]
Complete one new metal jewelry piece (cold connection or soldered). [METAL]
Take "Solder 101" class from Metal's Edge Studio. [METAL]
Learn basic crochet. [KNIT/CROCHET]
Learn to crochet using beads and wire. [KNIT/CROCHET, WIRE]
Paint "Zoo" sign letters and Coca-Cola tray. [OTHER CRAFT]
Woodburing: complete two simple projects such as wall plaques or a trinket box. [OTHER CRAFT]
Learn to sew using the sewing machine (that I bought after the New Year 2006....). [SEWING]
Learn Byzantine weave and at least one other chain maille weave. [WIRE]
Sell 5 items (not for charity or to family). [BUSINESS/MARKETING]
Have a small in-home show by August. [BUSINESS/MARKETING]
Learn to use all the Knifty Knitter looms I have bought in 2006. [KNIT/CROCHET]
Master some complex macrame knotting (micro macrame) and complete one project.
Post to Blog at least once every week (and get the links set up, add more pictures, etc).

Whew! That's quite the list, I know. But I think these are pretty good and attainable goals for the next year. It will be interesting to see just how many I actually complete and what gets tossed by the wayside. I will have to do a recap at the end of the year and share just how many I accomplished. Wish me luck!

So, what are your beading/crafting resolutions for the new year? Setting some goals for yourself, whether its to learn new techniques or just to get more organized or to sell more, are a wonderful way to take stock of where you are, where you are going, and where you want to be in 2007.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Photo Updates - Fun with Wire

2006-11-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, finally sat down and took some photos of my work last night. Here are some shots of my adventures with wire. A couple of shots of my Eni Oken S-Clasps. The smaller one, with the copper beads, is actually the first attempt. I tried too heavy a gauge of wire on the second one. See previous blog post for more details.

I am also including some shots of wire-wrapped furnace glass gift beads (see the most recent issue of Beadwork magazine for instructions). These were just so much fun to make and are just too cute!!

More photo updates later today!
Enjoy! Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Favorite Site of the Week - Sonoran Beads

2006-11-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

I went to the Gem Faire this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. Small event but still had fun and still managed to buy beads (of course). There was a local vendor there called Sonoran Beads, and they are my Favorite Site of the Week. They have these beautiful Kazuri Beads that I absolutely fell in love with. As did others. A woman next to me at the booth was showing me the necklace she made with the beads she bought there the day before. And now she was back for more!! Kazuri beads are simple painted ceramic beads in a number of shapes (Pita Pats, Rounds, Shales to name a few). Some are painted one solid color, others have designs added in other colors or even a gold tone paint. But it was the feel of these beads that got me. Smooth, cool, something you just can't help but rub your finger over it again and again. You see more examples of Kazuri beads at the Sonoran Beads Online Store.

I plan to string my Kazuri beads sometime later this week and will try to get a picture up (though don't hold your breath, I still have pictures from October to take :P).

Still working on holiday themed jewelry. Plan to finish those up this week. Also need to make some jewelry as presents for family and friends. Had a busy Thanksgiving weekend, still trying to figure out where most of it went. Thursday was of course Thanksgiving, and I actually got some beading done. I worked on a Candy Cane inspired spiral rope necklace. I also repurposed a piece of costume jewelry I had gotten in a box off eBay. It was a fun little stretchy bracelet with green beaded charms and seed beads. The cord had obviously broken at some point and they had just retied it. So I took it apart, cleaned up the beads, put the beads onto new headpins (the old ones were discolored and one was actually a bit rusted), created a few new bead charms using pearls and tiny brown disc beads, to fill it out. Replaced the size 10 seed beads (that were between each charm) with 4x4mm cubes. Restrung it all on fresh black elastic cord and now have a fun little chunky charm bracelet. Friday, I got no beading done. It was a day of pulling out boxes of Christmas decorations and decorating the house. Saturday was spent doing the same, but outside. And Sunday was the bead show and a Transiberian Orchestra Concert. So all in all, very little beading got done, but it was nice to have a long weekend.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, thanks for reading and happy beading.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin, Keep them Doggies Rollin', Rawhide!

2006-11-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, finally got a decent picture of the "rawhide" earrings I made (see a few posts back). To recap, I volunteer with an animal rescue organization. I made these earrings to sell at a recent adoption event, with all proceeds going to the organization of course, and they sold pretty well. They are made out of polymer clay and are quite simple, and fairly lightweight. I'm actually quite proud of them, they really do like rawhides you might give your dog.

I hope to get some more pictures up soon so keep checking back.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!

Fun With Wire (Thank you Eni Oken!)

2006-11-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned yesterday, this month is going to be a wire working month. I haven't done much with wire, besides the occasional sad looking wrapped loop, so I'm challenging myself and trying something new. Since Eni Oken's techniques and tutorials get such rave reviews in the wire world, I decided to start with hers. The other night I started one of her round pendants. I ended up making the frame circle larger than her tutorial, thinking that would help me work. But because of that, I found it more difficult to follow her tutorial, since I was working with different sizes and numbers of things. See, when I'm first learning something, I find its best for me to follow the tutorial as closely as possible until I get the technique down. Then the next time I can do my own variations of it to make it mine. But to start, I try to copy exactly, otherwise I tend to get frustrated and give up. So, realizing my mistake, I set it aside and said I'd start a new one later. But I had fun with it none the less, I enjoy intricate and detailed work.

Last night I decided to try a different tutorial, one that involved less beads and more wire, the tutorial for her Double Hook Clasp. It took me about an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half. And I loved it!!! I'm hooked!!! I may just have to make some more. This first attempt wasn't exactly symmetrical, but it wasn't too bad for a first attempt. Even my husband thought it was cool. I had trouble with the heavier gauge wire, but all in all, it was a lot of fun. I plan to make another one tonight. I'm starting with inexpensive wire, as opposed to silver, so that may be part of the issue. But I want to be sure I enjoy it and will continue it before I invest in real silver wire. So Thank You Eni Oken, for venturing into the wire world and sharing your experiences and your ideas with the rest of us, so we too can learn and love the wire world. Artists like you are a wonderful thing.

I hope to figure out how to work my camera soon and get some pictures up, as this blog is quite dull without some visuals. Be patient, I'll get there.

Thanks for reading, happy beading.

November Already??!!

2006-11-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, where did July go???!!! I cannot believe its already November! And I haven't even thought about holiday themed jewelry yet. Wow, I'm slipping (well, maybe not, I bought holiday lights beads and snowflake buttons on Sunday...). But in my defense, I've had a busy past couple of weeks. My brother got married earlier this month so I was up to Minnesota for that. Then the animal rescue group I volunteer with had its first three events of the fall season last month so I had a lot of volunteer coordinating to do. On top of that, I made earrings to sell at one of their events (an "adopt-a-thon"), with all proceeds going to the organization. I managed to make, I think, 8 pairs of earrings, and sold 5. More on that in a minute. Then, when I could fit it in on the weekends, I was finishing up a course I'm taking at a local community college. So all in all, I had little free time to blog or to bead much of October. But I'm back and I have lots to talk about.

First, the charity earrings. I kept one pair for myself, and so I could get pictures and so I'd have a model to work from in the future. I made some simple pieces using shrink plastic and beads. Basically they were just circles with dog or cat graphics on them. One pair had a dog in a wash tub getting a bath. They shrank less than round, slightly oval, but were otherwise cute (sold). Another pair had a cat in front of a TV. I called these my "Murry Line" in honor of a cat the group had at one point that love to watch TV. He was adopted some time back, but the earrings didnt' sell. They too didn't shrink up round, and I realized when I was putting them out on the table that one had a little burn mark on the back. I'll just have to try making them again. Another pair were white circles with a stylized cat, and I used pink fiber optic beads that had rhinestones set in them for accent. Very cute, they sold. Another pair were tiny little brown circles that had a bone shape punched out of them. Accented with a little turquoise bead. They didn't sell. Think it was because they WERE so small that no one could really tell what they were. And then the remaining 3 or 4 were all my "rawhide" earrings. Basically I took polymer clay and made miniature rawhide bones (like you'd give to your dog, the ones with the knots at each end), stuck a headpin through them, attached earwires, and viola! They sold like hotcakes. Plan to make more for events in January. When I get a picture, I'll attach it, I'm really pretty proud of the rawhide line.

My idea for organizing myself and narrowing down my month project choices has changed slightly. Of the five projects I wanted to complete in October (spiral rope necklace, woven bag with bead accents, cherry earrings, wire necklace, and the grapevine bracelet from Bead Unique magazine), I completed one. I completed my first spiral rope and loved it. Have plans for more. The woven bag instructions were difficult to understand and I gave up. I worked on the vine bracelet but only completed one of the five leaves (will continue to work on this though). The wire necklace was pushed aside for experiments with wire, since I'm not great with techniques yet and decided I needed more practice on the basics (my wire wrap loops still leave something to be desired, but they work). And the cherry earrings, well, I only touched them to move them out of my way a few times. So for November, I decide to narrow it down to just two projects. If I finish them, I have two "alternate" projects waiting in the wings, but out of sight. That way, I only see the two projects I want to work on and that's all I work on. I won't get distracted. So for November, my goal is to complete an Eni Oken tutorial (wire wrapped pendant) and to make a simple S-loop wire bracelet with charms (from Beading Help Web). If I complete both of those this month, my alternate projects are another wire wrap piece (cage bead) and a chain maille piece (simple weave to start). November is offically a wire month for me. I started last night on an Eni Oken piece, loving it so far. I like the sculptural aspect of it I think.

Continuting to work my Muses of Beading projects. My ideas for Urania include some difficult wire wrapping, hence my need to hone my wire working skills. The deadline for that project has been extended to January 1, 2007, so there's still time to join in!!

That's it for now. Until next time.

Finding Your Muse (Its not always easy)

2006-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Bead Circle is having a little challenge called The Muses of Beading. You can read more here:
Muses of Beading Challenge

I was inspired by this challenge and have decided to give it a try. I've never participated in a beading challenge before so this should be fun. Here's hoping I can actually come up with something and complete the project before the deadline next month.

The first step was to indentify with a muse. While each muse has played a central role in my life, artistic or 0therwise, over the years, I had trouble deciding who seemed most influential to me the majority of the time. So I did what any good web-junky would do. I Googled for Muses quizzes!

I took a couple and kept getting the same results for the most part. Seems that Polyhymnia, the muse of hymns and sacred poetry, is the most influential. According to one quiz, she is my influence 75% of the time. I can see it. I'm quiet and contemplative much of the time. I really think things through, I'm a born planner. Okay, sometimes, I overthink and overplan, but that's part of my charm. And according to the Bead Circle, as a muse of beading, she wears a simple pendant necklace. That's me. My jewelry, both that I make and that I wear, is most often simple and subtle.

Clio, the muse of history, also came up on two quizzes. For one, she was the most influential, and the quiz actually suggested I try archaeology due to my love of history. I laughed, as this was my major in college and I work for an archaeological consulting company. I'm a big believer in the importance of studying our history. We need to learn from our mistakes in order to move on and better ourselves in the future. As a muse of beading she wears vintage components. I love that.

Urania also came up as quite influential, though she's not the most influential (she was tied for second with Clio, after Polyhymnia). She is the muse of astronomy and science so that makes sense. I'm a logical person much of the time, even when I'm being creative. I have a love of the stars and planets, though I prefer to just enjoy their beauty rather than study them. As a muse of beading she wears a necklace that incorporates many beading stitches all worked together (I assume in a logical pattern).

So now what? Well, I've been brainstorming on some project ideas that would either be worn by the muses, or would pay homage to them and be something they would be honored to have inspired. Oddly enough, I have plenty of ideas for Clio, a number for Urania, but not much for Polyhymnia. Maybe I'll just have to invoke her for some divine inspiration. I may end up making something for all three, or maybe I'll do something to incorporate all three into one piece. I'm not sure.

Over the next couple of days I'll post some of my brainstorming and the ideas that have come out of it. It will help me to organize my thoughts and will likely create even more ideas. Maybe you'll have some ideas to add to mine. Maybe you'll find your muse and want to join the challenge too.

Favorite Site of the Week "Bead Circle" - October 1-7, 2006

2006-10-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I think I may have to do this sort of thing now and again, if anything, it gives me something more to blog about. I'm always surfing around trying to find great new sites on beading and jewelry making. One of these days, I'll actually set up some links.

I found some great beading blogs here and through them, many great new sites I had never visited before. I'd like to highlight one of them today: Bead Circle. Bead Circle is a small but very friendly little online beading community (forum). Due to the small number of members, you don't feel like you'll get lost in the shuffle and you get a stronger sense of community (its easier to get to know a smaller group than a larger group). I've read every post on there so far and its been such a friendly place, everyone is very supportive. It is a diverse group of folks, of varying experience levels and areas of expertise. I've only posted once, but I plan to get some snaps of my very first beading attempts to post there, along with some recent creations, to get some feedback. You can find this super great group here: http://www.beadcircle.com/

Oh, and be sure to check out their blog, it has some great articles, information, and ideas.

Happy Beading!

Setting Goals and Dealing with Information Overload

2006-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

One thing I have discovered upon getting back into beading and jewelry making, is that there is just so much out there now in regards to this hobby/art form. Its almost overwhelming really.

I decided to get back into beading about 2 years ago, when I found a couple packets of old seed beads in a craft supplies box (the things you find after moving 4 or 5 times in as many years). I remembered how much fun I had beading and decided to start up again. So of course, my first step was to find out what's new in beading, where to shop for supplies, and to find some inspiration to get me started. I turned to my computer. And boy did I find what I was looking for. And then some. I spent hours searching for sites that provided tutorials and patterns. I scoured sites selling handmade jewelry (to see what was new, and what folks were charging for their pieces). I printed out hundreds of pictures for inspiration, countless patterns and instructions for projects. I joined a number of jewelry making forums and groups. Then I promptly went to my local craft store and went nuts. I bought beads, wire, ribbon, buttons, thread, needles, organizers, more beads, findings galore, tools, a wire jig, more tools, a few more buttons, some finished pendants, polymer clay and supplies for that, and more beads. It wasn't long before I needed a bigger craft box.

It was also at my local craft store that I discovered all the beading and jewelry magazines available today. Along with all the books and pamphlets. I bought an armload and devoured each and every one. Then I took out subscriptions for most of the magazines.

Now, two years later, I have boxes and files chock full of ideas, instructions, patterns, and inspirations. I have piles of magazines and a shelf of books (though I must say, one can never have too many books, of any type). I even have half of a spare bedroom carved out just for my work table and craft boxes. Its an obsession. But a fairly healthy one I'd say (though I may be biased). But I stare at these piles of inspiration and am I inspired? No!! I'm absolutely overwhelmed! There are just too many great projects I want to try, too many gorgeous patterns and ideas I want to implement. And way too many forms of media to chose from (from simple stringing to complex stitches, crocheting with beads and wire, wire wrapping, metal smithing, polymer clay, fibers, glass, etc). I'd need at least two clones of myself in order to do all the projects I want too. That is, if I could actually decide on a project, stick to it, and see it through (lets not talk about my box of started projects, or the beads I specifically bought for a project but have yet to use over a year later....).

So last night, during my hour-and-a-half-commute, I had an epiphany (I like that word, I don't get to use it often enough). At the next red light I grabbed out my mp3 player, which has a voice recorder, and spent the next 23 minutes of my drive laying out my plans for getting projects done. I spent the remaining 67 minutes singing at the top of my lungs as I passed through the lovely industrial district that is my drive home, but that's something for another time.

What was my big idea you ask? Excellent question my friend, excellent question. Let me tell you. I decided that I needed to narrow down my choices. But how? My plan is to pull out a large bulletin board I have at home that is just collecting dust currently. I will attach the name of the month, because its an excuse to be crafty. Then I will randomly select one magazine or three printed project sheets from my collection. I will photocopy the first page of three projects from that magazine that I want to try. Then I will put all three copies up on the bulletin board. After I figure out my shopping list I can purchase supplies I may be lacking. The goal will be to finish all three projects in the month. If the projects are big and intensive, I may drop it down to two. If they're all really small and simple, and I find I finish them before the end of the month, I'll put up two or three new projects to fill out the month. This way, everyday when I walk into or past the craft room, those projects will be staring at me from their place on the bulletin board. It will help me to buckle down and get some work done. But it will also narrow down my choices. These are the only projects I can work on that month. Nothing else. All other projects are off limits, out of sight and out of mind.

Think it will work? I don't know. But I plan to set it up this coming weekend for the month of October. Wish me luck!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

2006-09-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Despite not being home most of Saturday, and having guests Saturday night, I managed to get some beading done.

I have an obsession with repurposing old jewelry to make new jewelry. It started with some vintage beaded pieces that I bought so I could reuse just the beads. But I also received some additional pieces of jewelry with those beaded pieces and was inspired. Since then, I have scoured eBay and ShopGoodwill.com for steals. I have a price limit, and I set a parameter that I must be able to see at least 5 pieces from the grabbag/lot/mystery-box-o-junk that I absolutely must have, before I bid. Its not hard to find lots with at least 5 pieces that I must have. So I now have a large pile-o-junk-jewelry. I plan to make some pieces that I can sell as a fundraiser for a charity organization I volunteer with. More on that in coming months I hope. And of course, if there is anything in the pile that I know I just won't make use of, I'll sell it on eBay so I can afford to buy some more stuff.

Last night, I started sorting through that massive pile (while watching "The Amazing Race", hence today's title). To make it easier to organize it, I started dismantling the beaded pieces, putting the beads into little zip-top baggies, so they will fit nicely into the compartments of my bead boxes (tackle boxes are the best). I didn't make much of a dent though, so I know for sure, I have a lot. And I love it. And I know what I will be working on tonight (much to my husbands annoyance, as the coffee table will be covered with beads again).

I also made the cutest earring yesterday. Tonight, I may attempt the second one so I will have a pair. And I may even go for a pendant or a full out bracelet or necklace, so I can have a set. I took a little bit of lightweight green beading wire. I strung an earwire onto it, followed by a ceramic leaf bead then crossed the ends of the wire through a crimp bead. I crimped the crimp bead to hold the crossed ends in place. Then I strung a 6mm round red bead onto each wire end, followed by another small crimp. Crimped the crimps, cut the excess wire (right at the crimp) and viola! Adorable Cherry earrings. I'll post a picture after I make the second earring. I still want to perfect a few things about it. Not sure if like how the silver crimp beads look.

I also spent some time on some red chandelier type earrings. I must be in the mood for fall (even though it doesn't arrive in the desert for another month or so). I have this set of beads, the manufacturer calls the colors "Asian Spice", in lovely shades of red and peach, in various sizes and cuts. Lovely eclectic set. Saw them, had to buy them, they sat in the bead box for months. Now I have a use for them. Only problem is, I can't decide on a final pattern. My inspiration came from a beading magazine project that used two-needle RAW to create some cute pearl and crystal earrings. I used beads of my choice, and altered the pattern slightly to make it my own. If I could just decide WHAT that pattern will finally be. I made two earrings, both slightly different. Not completely happy with either one. Will sit down one night this week and try to pull the best from both and finally finish the pair. Maybe I'll post the pictures for them too. I might just have to do a monthly "images" post, to show what all I did each month.

I have some shrink-plastic projects still sitting on the corner of the worktable, crying to be finished. Maybe I'll spend some time on those tonight as well. Gee, its going to be a long night. Good thing there are a bunch of new shows premiering tonight, so I have something to listen to while I bead.

Happy beading!

The Very Beginning - September 20, 2006

2006-09-20T12:45:00.001-07:00

Wow, my first blog entry. I've never blogged before. I was never a very good journal writer in my younger days. I tried many times. I owned many diaries, some with locks, some with funky cardboard covers, some ruled, some with just blank pages. Most of them never had more than a few pages filled. I think faster than I write, my hands could never keep up. But its a new age, and computers are the way. I have found that I type almost as fast as I think, so maybe this will work.

I plan to use this blog for many things. To express new thoughts and ideas about projects I'm working on (yes, another beading blog, if you're not a beader, move on). To post links to sites I want to remember (until I get around to adding them to my Favorites). To share my finished projects and get some feedback before I try to sell them. I hope to get a website up one of these days to sell my work on. But before I can do that, I need to create enough pieces to be worth the effort.

I'm a hopeless beader that way. I love beads. I love to look at beads, I love to hold beads, I love to think about beads, and most of all, I love to buy beads. And I buy a lot of beads. Many have been in my bead box for over a year and have yet to be used or even considered for use. But that's half the fun of beading, accumulating lots and lots of pretty beads. If only I had more free time. I can't just work on something for an hour here, an hour there. I need whole days blocked out. Between working full time, going to school part time, sharing household duties with my husband, and volunteering (which becomes a full time job in and of itself sometimes), finding time to bead can be hard. I did manage to churn out two pieces over the weekend, and I was proud of myself for that. But then I bought some new beads over the weekend too, so I really didn't make a dent in the ol' bead collection. *Sigh*

I think I really need to just sit down and select a set number of projects from my mound of scribbled-out ideas (I get any idea, I quickly scribble/sketch it on any available scrap of paper, which then gets put in a pile on my worktable; I have notepads in my purse, in my truck, in my bedside table, in every room of the house....). Then I need to be sure I have all the supplies for them. Then set up a schedule for working on them. Just like I would with my coursework or my volunteer scheduling. Yeah, but first, I have to figure out some time to do all that!!! Oh to be able to quit my job and just bead for the rest of my days. I'd become the crazy bead lady. That would be a good name for a blog.....

I've rambled enough for this first round. Hopefully my future posts will have some substance, and will actually be about beading. And will be something others will actually want to read.