What's on the Desk

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a what’s on my desk post, and thought I might share with you what I’m currently working on.

On my desk, as usual, are several UFO’s. More accurately several projects I have pulled beads for but have not yet begun making. 

Including leftover pieces to a refashion and two UFO’s, one of those in the midst of a refashion itself. I thought I had finished it but I never really loved it. I pulled the bird off it to send out with bead soup and have finally decided why I didn’t like it and what I need to do to fix it. I pulled beads and made a new bird, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten with it. Last of course that poor necklace that has been sitting on my bead board for well over a year now. If I didn’t think the finished piece was going to be beautiful I might scrap the idea and start over but I really do think it’s going to be beautiful …… when I do eventually get back to it.

Beads pulled for  #6

These are the beads I have pulled for sketch number six. I started with this wonderful little stone bead I received from my friend Anne on the Jewelry Making forum. She hinted the beads she sent might look wonderful in filigree and I have to agree.

I had drawn the sketch for the focal and then realized I already had a sketch in my “to do” pile. A couple very small tweaks to the sketch giving it a little more filigree and it easily became number six. I think this one is going to be a really pretty necklace once I get through the take away stage. I love the crystals and the picasso beads but I just haven’t decided if I want them together yet. I think I’ll use gold wire for this one, the gold section in my shop is still a lliiiittle light. In any case, I think those gorgeous soft greens and blues really really call for gold and I’m happy to listen.

On the home front….. jump up and down with me and do the happy dance people! We FINALLY have one room completely finished!!! Unless of course I decide to add crown molding lol It is such a good feeling to have one 100% done, no trim pieces waiting, no paint, no flooring, it’s all done! Here’s to the next one, whichever room it is!

Thanks for stoppin by!

We’ll see you next time!

25 Sketches

  Todays post offers up #s 2, 3, 4, & 5 of my series of 25 sketches. Ideas hoarded away and finding their way into the light of day.  IF you were actually looking for my Bead Soup Post it can be found HERE!

Brass Lotus/Fans

 Sketches two and three were a no brainer. My muse demanded designs in Boho and that they were. I’ve often said inspiration comes from everywhere. I sew or I did quite a lot when my kids were much smaller. So when they out grew some favorite piece of clothing I would try to find a way to extend its life. Sometimes it meant shirts turned into throw pillows, sometimes it meant pants were turned into shorts and sometimes I didn’t get to something in the mending basket before it was completely outgrown. This was the case with a pink poncho/shawl and an embroidered paisley pant leg - a favorite outfit of my younger daughter.  That long forgotten pant leg was the driving force behind the original sketches, Bead Soup the vehicle my Muse used to bring the idea to fruition. She’s a smart one and at times can be quite persistent, and I’m thankful for it! :)

Brass Paisley with Pearls and Leather Tassel

 I make what I love, which pretty much means everything in my shop is from my heart. But, as in all things, we evolve. From time to time there may be an item or two in my shop that no longer reflects my current abilities. Loving what I have made, it makes me sad to think I could do better. So I’ll add a small flourish, a twisted ring or two, a back plate, tighten a twist or a wrap,  and sometimes it means taking the piece back to the original idea I had in the first place before I ran in another direction with it! This is the case with the second two sketches I'm sharing today. 

Trio of Copper Hearts

 The trio of hearts has been in the shop for some time. While I loved the rustic feel of them - I’ve been leaning more in a romantic boho direction. Classics given a touch of whimsy and added elegance in twists and turns. 

This particular sketch was an idea I was playing with using a key as the focal but as I tightened the twists in the hearts I realized the twining in them was what was really needed for the trio.

Silver Hoops

The hoops were simply a matter of finally working out that a small jump ring was all I needed to give the ear wire the flex I wanted without sacrificing the arc. A V-8 moment if you will. I have a pair of woven hoops in the shop that may get the same treatment in time as they have the same type of ear wire.

I hope you've enjoyed your peek into a few more of my sketches and design processes. 5 down and 20 to go! 

Thanks for stoppin' by!

We'll see ya next time!

Socializing Social Media?

What’s on the Desk! My desk has been pretty empty lately between cleaning, assessing goals for the year, and miscellaneous end of year office duties, my Muse has sat patiently waiting for me to quiet and listen.

As most of you know I taught my son Alex how to weave a cross. He was in the process of weaving one and decided he just didn’t like it. I tried to convince him it was a very nice cross but he wasn’t having any of it. So I took it and attached it to a filigree and hung that from a choker I’ve had sitting here that I wasn’t thrilled with. Shhh No I don’t know where he gets it from!! Wait, it’s his father, yup that’s it he gets it from his father! Believe me? Stop laughing! HE is just as bad as I am! Poor kid, between the two of us he didn’t have a chance!

Getting back to the choker, I just adore the copper bale, found a pin on Pinterest and knew it would be perfect for this piece, I whipped one up right away and was not disappointed. While this isn’t a first collaboration for Alex and myself, it is the first one we'll be selling. It’ll be heading to the shop sometime later this week. Along with another piece that I’ll be telling you about next week - the first of my 25 sketches!

As I mentioned and you’ve been reading, I’ve been assessing my goals for the coming year. After looking really closely at my posting habits I haven’t been very sociable as Wind Dancer. I’ve been posting in groups and such but as myself not Wind Dancer….sigh

socialize verb

interact, converse, be sociable, mix, mingle, get together, meet, fraternize, consort; entertain, go out; informal hobnob.

ooooh hobnobbery! I like that!

One of my New Years resolutions/goals was to start using my social media in a more consistent and well, social way. I used to spend a lot of time posting to Twitter, Facebook, here and boy I could hang out on Pinterest! But then I discovered I could feed the blog into Facebook, and feed Facebook into Twitter, and Twitter into Linked in. Whoa what a time saver! But far less social and all duplicate posts, and it dawned on me I really wasn’t posting much about what I was doing as Wind Dancer anymore and I sure wasn’t being social. Oh sure my weekly posts here on the blog are pretty much uninterrupted but Wind Dancers Facebook page and Twitter have gotten quite dusty.

Rebel Mouse does a wonderful job of compiling what I’ve been doing out and about on the interwebs but I still haven’t quite learned how to use it to my advantage yet. I know it all feeds into my Mouse and I can post from it too. I’m thinking maybe what I need to do is unlink all the feeds and use the Mouse as command central to post to all my media so my posts aren’t identical anymore an SEO no no and I can hopefully become more social again. I considered Hoot Suite for this reason but the idea felt slightly off.

Next up on my list then is a regular media schedule, I already post to the blog on Tuesdays and was considering Treasury Thursdays. I still need the rest of the week filled out …….. photography Fridays? photos for the blog, Facebook and listings. Does Twitter still do Follow Fridays? Master Monday….mastery…. Map it out Mondays …mapping out the week, blog theme, what I’m working on , need pics of etc etc. Ok now I’ve got Map it Monday, Blog (talk lol) Tuesday, Treasured Thursday and Photography Friday. That leaves Wednesday…… Wow Wednseday? hmmm whatever wows me? Sharing something someone else has done that wows me? A color scheme, a photo just whatever wows me. I like that!

My media schedule - sounds too official doesn’t it?! ahem
My Schedule of Hobnobbery is as follows:

Map it Monday
Talk Tuesday
Wow Wednesday
Treasured Thursday
Photography Friday

I like that, it gives me prompts of a sort of topics to post on and a routine to follow so that you my awesome followers know you can peek in on any given day to see whats new on that topic. That way it doesn’t really matter if Monday provides a theme for the week to follow or if I’m being completely eclectic. Mondays will always provide a what to expect, Tuesdays will always have a blog post to read, Wednesdays will always have a little eye candy etc etc. It also allows me to post in whatever media I choose AND be social. Did you notice? I gave myself the weekends off. That allows me time to just be me, with the family or online. Or even get a little ahead from time to time.

It may take me a little to get the whole thing pulled together. New habits and all but I’m optimistic and off to a good start I think.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to share your social media routines here too. Maybe together we can make it less trudge and more fun! I seem to recall a time in my life where social actually meant FUN not work and I’m sure you do too.

Birthday Toys and Mozart

Last month's emotional roller coaster left me tired and feeling a little drained and not much in the mood to do anything creative. So I thought I'd turn my focus into a little house cleaning in those areas that were bugging me - the dust bunnies hiding under the couch, the dust accumulating on the front edge of the ceiling fan, the clutter on the kitchen counter tops. Something physical enough to get me up and moving but inside (summer woke up from its nap!) Unfortunately I had already used up those newly written back up posts so I missed last weeks post during my need to clean - oops!

While I was sipping my coffee this morning the e-mail brought a nice little note from Pandora radio. It said "Your next favorite song is waiting on Mozart Radio" Well why not? I'm in the mood for a little Mozart. Once upon a time I played violin and Mozart is as soothing to my soul as working with my hands is. One quick click later and my foot is keeping time and the stress is melting, just that quick.

I sat reading the rest of my e-mail, foot still keeping time, and checking in on Etsy. Quiet save for the violins, not even any chatter in my brain. A smile. Then a flash of a little something and a need to grab the sketchbook. A little time with the pencils and the need spilled over to my new toys. (My birthday was last week and I got some new toys to play with) With Mozart and friends still playing in the background I played a little. Cut, embossed, patina'd and buffed. I even dapped a couple. Not quite sure what I plan on doing with them yet. There really wasn't any plan for them to begin with, but I like them and since I'm waiting on beads to arrive what better way to entertain myself!



”Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures.” -- Henry Ward Beecher.

My bead from Erin should be here any time now and the beads from Bead and Button should be here by the end of the week so together should be enough to keep me creatively happy for a little while. If I forget to pop my head up I apologize in advance - I see more Mozart in my near future!

Thanks for stopping by!
We'll see you next time!

One Finished UFO and the last of my babies has Graduated HS

I mentioned earlier one of my very first on the desk postings included a UFO of an embroidered piece. A recent Art Jewelry Elements blog posting issued a challenge - FINISH A UFO! oooh game on!! So I choose that embroidered piece to finish. I had planned on it anyway so it was serendipitous timing lol

I've had this design in my head since the moment I saw the beads Kateri (and most awesome nephew) had offered up for the months drawing. But once I had the beads in my hands, they were soooo pretty, I was immediately intimidated. I had to do them justice, but could I? Then I won the beads from John (I was on a roll) , the gold stone daggers were perfect for the design :) but I was still not quite there. So I bought some turquoise and some bronze delicas ......I was almost there I could feel it.
I've been playing with stamped filigree lately and it hit me as I was cleaning off my desk THAT was the missing ingredient to the design in my minds eye. And Finally it all came together.

My Copper Sunrise
Mt first embroidered piece. Gold stone, red tigers eye, turquoise, wood and seeds, stamped brass and acrylic leaves. Twisted Copper wire borders the embroidery and plain solid copper wire makes up the chain and connectors. The earrings sport forged copper paddles, turquoise and also feature leather.









I'll be wearing them tonight (Friday night) at my son's graduation. I'm prescheduling this post so I don't forget :) Busy couple of days coming up!! I'm so very proud of him, that sweet little boy who hid behind my legs has grown to become such a fine young man.

I'm going before I make myself cry :) Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting...
We'll see you next time!

My Bead Soup Favs

Since Lori added the contest feature to the blog party, and since the winners "should" be announced by the time this posts (Yes I prescheduled this one lol). I thought it might be fun to compare my favorites to the judges favorites. There were several other pieces I loved, but they didn't seem to make it into the contest portion.

In no particular order .... Here are my picks:

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460710926780
Pinterest apparently doesn't allow embedding pics anymore {phooey!} It was so easy to pin and keep all the info with the pic. The above pin is the floral goodness of Kumi of Malie Kai Designs - her blog:
http://maliekaidesigns.blogspot.com/2013/03/bead-soup-7-reveal.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460710927973
This Mood Bracelet by Donna Millard Jewelry

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460710961444/
Jean Yates Heartlands Necklace, Jean's blog:
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/03/reveal-for-bsbp-7-part-one-in-which-i.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460710973724/
Sweet charm bracelet by Lola of Bead Lola Bead, her blog:
http://beadlolabead.blogspot.com/2013/03/7th-bead-soup-blog-party-1st-reveal.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460711014789/
Another charm bracelet,this one by Audrey of Toki No Hourousha, her blog:
http://esperianterra.blogspot.ca/2013/04/bead-soup-blog-party-6-reveal-2-reveal.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460711015836/
A sweet necklace by Michaela

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460711129050
This sweet embroidered piece - I LOVE - from June

I obviously have a very romantique style lol Lots of hearts and flowers in this group! But, hang on! There is one more favorite.........

http://pinterest.com/pin/96827460711144334/
A touch of industrialism! Go figure, but I like it! Necklace by Elsie of ladelizchica.blogspot.com.

There you have it! Can't wait to see the judges picks, cross your fingers, eyes, toes, etc one of MINE also makes their list :D

Thanks for stopping by and having a little fun with me!
See ya next time!

a touch of filigree...

My final focal piece is finished. Well, except for the finishing. The tool I've been waiting on seems to be meandering around the Ft Smith processing center. It's been there nearly a week now, or so the tracking says. sigh There's always plan B if need be.

***********

While I've been waiting, and waiting.... I decided to work a little on some of those sketches. Actually cut apart a couple vintage pieces to harvest the beads and crystals and decided I need to reorganize my stash - didn't do it, just decided I needed to!

A little filigree, a little weaving. Sterling silver wire woven into a heart and topped with a touch of filigree. A nice little bit of Chalcedony in the center and an Aquamarine drop at the bottom. I couldn't decide if I wanted to oxidize it or not so I took a looksie around Etsy. hmmm it's about a 50/50 split, some do some don't. But I still couldn't decide so I posed the question in a forum, again 50/50. So we'll leave them as is and let the silver do it's own thing, and hopefully they sell before I HAVE to retake the pics to show the "new" color lol



I should have these listed in my shop sometime this week.

Thanks for stopping by!
See ya next time!

Evolution of an Idea.... sort of.

I'm going to do something a little different this Bead Soup. I'm going to share a little bit of my design process, no pics it didn't occur to me until just now that it would be my topic :), not to mention we don't want to spoil the reveal!

Sometimes when I pull a design board together I already have an idea of where I want to go with it and the board sort of acts as a reminder to keep me on track. Sometimes I use it to develop an idea and just kind of run with it.
Jennifer's soup was/is very inspiring to me. I don't use a lot of green in my designs and her soup had a wealth of greens. I live in a log cabin on the edge of the woods, so of course all those greens spoke to me of the woods. The mossy carpet under the mulching of dried leaves, where the tiny orchids and toad stools live. Those images nearly always pull up thoughts of fairies and kindred spirits. That's the idea I pulled my design board around. Hobbit images (having read the books when I was young they're ALL hobbit to me lol) or Lord of the Ring images were abundant and they fueled the board well, weaving a mystical feel into the woodsy colors. My inspiration/design board = Faerie Folk

Pulling together a feel I liked and the colors already chosen I began arranging the beads together, just kind of putting these next to those and moving a couple of those next to this. Playing really, getting a feel for which colors I liked best with what, string some on wire to get a better idea of how they fit together. In doing this several design ideas are laid out.

Having laid out the design for my focal I notice I've wavered from my original idea I had while assembling my board. It's ok sometimes you just have to listen to the beads :) Once I've decided I'm pretty happy with the focal I started working on the chain. I had gotten quite a few links of it worked up when I noticed, now that those beads are no longer on the design table these other beads really look GOOD next to the focal. Pulling a couple beads from the strand I slide them over and decide yes indeed, nix on the chain for this necklace....... hey I have a (blank lol) in just those colors and voila a second necklace is born from the first. That focal is waiting for finishing and then the whole thing just needs a clasp and piece number two will be finished. I'm aiming for one a week until reveal, good thing as that focal just keeps spawning new ideas!

So with new beads designated for the focal's chain, I think to myself, maybe this bead would look better over here with this group of beads. Sliding all the beads off the wire so I might get to that bead I realize my focal looks much better as two pieces! A third necklace design is born! Looking at what's left of my focal I realize, I've just returned to the original idea I had when working on my inspiration/design board!

And that's how I create and design in big circles with lots of secondary ideas in between! I enjoy it though very much!

Thanks for stopping by!
See ya next time!
Dana

The Soup has begun to Simmer!

Our soups have made their way to each of us and I must say my partner Jennifer was very generous!



I think this was payback for sending Jean all those packages last soup hop lol But I have to say, I think it's the way to go. You don't have to send a lot, but packaged up is just so FUN!! Makes me feel guilty all over again. I felt guilty when I sent it to Jean, but now I feel guilty I didn't send it to Jennifer.

Even the card she sent was super cute!



I don't have a lot of greens in my stash it's something I've tried to remedy but I just seem to be drawn to the other colors more often. So it's really cool that greens are the color she chose to send. The lamp worked pieces she made are just beautiful and I'm proud to have them.

Source: flickr.com via Dana on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Dana on Pinterest

The beads are very earthy green, just soft and mystical. Paired with the copper and brass they have a very woodland feel to them.

Source: flickr.com via Dana on Pinterest

A fairy like feel to them. And so my Faerie Folk and Fantasy Inspiration Board on Pinterest was born.

I'm really looking forward to playing with these beads, the inspiration is flowing and I have several ideas perking. :)

Now that Jennifer has received her soup I can show you what I sent. Since Jennifer owns a bead store I didn't want to send a bunch of beads she could just pick up from any of her shelves, I took it on as a challenge to make all the components I sent so they would be new and unique to her. I feel a little guilty I didn't send more but no one else will have the pieces I sent to her :)

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon, I'll be designing with these beauties, getting ready for the reveal on Mar 30th!
See ya next time!

Master Bath Mural

Here she is! I may tweak a little more later. I'm not entirely in love with her lips and she may need a little more shading but that can wait for the time being. I am happy with her for now!



I have to say, it's been kind of fun watching her morph on the camera. Though I did have a moment of panic this afternoon. I cut my toe while I was adding a touch of high light to her face and had pretty much obliterated ALL of the shading. But I was concentrating on not bleeding all over everything and I didn't really notice until I uploaded the photos - ack!

Three new sketches for some gorgeous filigree on the desk! End of year book work is actually getting done lol Signed up for Bead Soup Seven ..... It's going to be HUGE! Monstrously HUGE!! Over 500 people signed up this time!! I thought my eyes were going cross reading all the blogs last time! This is going to be FUN!

I guess I should get some sanding done in the front hallway, the laundry room and the weight room. Then maybe I can get some more painting done and curtains sewn and hung downstairs.

Obviously no rest here! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!
See you next time!

Sign Ups for Bead Soup Seven are under way!

and YES I did sign up! It is ALWAYS a blast!

On the HomeFront: I still (yes still) need to finish the face of my mural. She is looking beautiful but had to take a back seat while the tub was installed and then the sink. I waited for the support wall to go in on the front of the tub but it hasn't happened yet - I think I might just have to start painting again for that to happen! I've uploaded the in progress pics I have to my daughters computer. I can at least give you a couple in progress photos, right?

On the Desk: I actually finished a UFO this week! I know!! The pieces have been sitting in that little triangular tray for over a year. I am so excited to have it finished, it's such a sweet little bracelet. No pics yet, I only finished last night and have been playing on Pinterest today. I know bad me. Not really I love iron work, I have pieces of it all over my house (you see it in my pics all the time!) it translates into wire so well that I decided to create an inspiration board of just iron. I think I blogged about actually cleaning off the desk - maybe that was a FB status update oops any way I said I had actually gotten it cleaned off and of course already had a couple projects ready to go. I had a custom order I needed to finish, then the UFO and now this piece - HEAVILY inspired by the iron. I have another UFO I'm really ready to get to and I want this piece finished up before I begin so my desk can be devoted to what I'm working on.

But Dana, Bead Soup is on the counter waiting for a sprinkling of inspiration. Yes and I have a dead computer that needs to be boxed up. I think it's safe to say after four months it isn't going to spontaneously turn back on. I know, I've been trying. Once it's boxed up my computer desk will be - an empty surface. Since I have decided I like the mobility of Paige's laptop and do believe I'd like one for my own, I don't think the desk is going to fill back up with computer. I'm also looking at rearranging the furniture in there just a hair to free up even more space. So no worries, I got it covered! Huge grin!

Sneak Peeks at the mural these are IN PROGRESS shots NOT the final thing....







Wraps around three walls with no stenciling all free hand. I did use the painters tape as a straight edge - I can paint but I can't draw a straight line lol Even with the tape I managed to get it crooked. Still needs a couple touch ups and her face and hair need finishing. I forgot to put her other arm in - it is in my sketch but somehow didn't make it onto the wall. Debating whether she really needs it, would be something of a pain to tuck in to the white of her gown and match skin tone at this point.

Thanks for stopping in and listening to(or reading) my ramblings. If you liked the in progress shots I may consider doing more - we still have a few projects to finish up around here. Cabinets and tiling, pine flooring, etc etc
See ya next time!

Scorpions can Walk on Ceilings and other bits

That is what I learned this week. Impressive isn't it? You really should learn something new every day or week. I just never thought that was a little tidbit that would ever come in handy. I was in the bathroom when something caught my eye on the ceiling. Since I'm finished in the kitchen until hubs gets those trim pieces cut and he finally turned his attention to our bath ((YAY!!!!)) I've been doing a little taping on the ceiling and shadows stand out really well on an all white surface. There it was walking along on the ceiling! So I slithered very non cowardly along the wall - so as not to be directly under it should it suddenly lose it's grip and fall. Hey I've been stung on two separate occasions now, it hurts, keeping it away from my face is survival mode lol So I'm slithering and calling for the hubs to come rescue me. He of course doesn't believe me - On the ceiling? He grabs his boot. We have 10 ft ceilings, hubs is 6 ft and change, that's why we have 10 ft ceilings! and here he is with a boot. I laugh, I mean it really is a sight to see. All I can think is he's going to shake his boot at the scorpion and warn it!! Have I mentioned, we have 10 ft ceilings!

The hubs gets in the bathroom, I flip on another light so he can see it. With boot poised for the kill he says, "Huh, it's on the ceiling." Face-palm "I know!! Good luck with that boot thing mister." I'm safe now, standing on the bedroom side of the archway.

He grabs my ladder, picks up my drywall spatula and ascends with spatula in one hand and boot in the other, very menacing. Flicks the scorpion off the ceiling and throws his boot at it.

It's a miss.
But he's a scared scorpion.

Back down the ladder, picks up the boot and misses again.

I'm thinking this little guy is going to be really po'd and there will be no sleeping tonight. Hubs goes for a third try, smacks him dead and finishes the job. My hero!

Scorpions CAN Walk On Ceilings! I'm in such big trouble, I have to watch my feet outside for snakes and now my ceilings for scorpions. There are walls and trees and things that must not be walked into this could be a problem!

On the jewelry front I have managed to get those charm bracelets listed! I have a couple pairs of earrings to get listed and I've just wrapped a pretty little cabochon I received from John during the Christmas swap with a piece of Vintaj filigree. Working on a beaded brass chain for it as I type this - that is I have several inches made up and I'll get back to work on it this afternoon :) I can actually see parts of my desk again!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope I haven't scarred you with my scorpion tale :D
See ya next time!
Dana

The beads, those wonderful little spices that make the soup soooo good!

I know I usually post on Tuesdays, I apologize for my delay. I had an uninvited guest in my bed the other night, a scorpion. The little harbinger of havoc stung me six or seven times before I could get back out of bed. Not a fun way to wake up. Being allergic to these types of things I had Benadryl on hand but that leaves me in a stupor for some time. I knew I had things I wanted or needed to do, just couldn't remember what those things were.

I loved this photo Jean had shared on her wall so much that I pulled out just about every bead I had that would work in that palette! I actually had to remind myself that Jean was supposed to create something not me!



Don't you just love the colors!!

Jean's spices are rich and full bodied themselves. Gorgeous focals, luscious gems, and beautiful colors - a feast for the eyes!

Source: Uploaded by user via Dana on Pinterest

Just look at the flash on those Labradorite brios! And the sparkle in the Amethyst! Such gorgeousness! Both focals are floral in nature (pun intended!) and that bee clasp, so cool! I love them!
No surprise then that my inspiration board is titled GARDEN GATE. You can click on either the title or the soup to visit my board. My designs are sketched out and I'm just debating the size wire I want to use before I get started. I'm really looking forward to the way the designs play out in my hands and the reveal, both Jean's and mine!

Busy Busy! Summer is almost here!

I'm sorry I missed last weeks posting! My son Alex has been having a wonderful couple of weeks and I have just been absorbed in his joy! We were invited to an awards banquet and were considering blowing it off. Who wants to sit for a couple hours and listen to how wonderful everyone else's kids are when you're pretty much inclined to think yours are every bit as wonderful, right? lol His instructor tells him it's a must attend, so we put the good clothes on lol and omg he's Student of the Year!

He opted to compete in Skills USA this year. Alex is second year auto shop and really enjoys it, but regretted not trying last year. His scores on the written test were so high it earned him an invitation to the AAA Ford Competition in Batesville at Mark Martin's. Only 10 teams are invited and scholarships are awarded to each participant.

Each team is given a car with the same problems. They each have one and a half hours to find and fix all 9 problems. Alex was the second team to get their car started and were the fourth team to finish. They lost points here and there, never having worked on air conditioning they completely passed on trying to locate the problem and fixing it - turns out it was a plug unplugged under the dash oops! So they finished in 9th place. But to be 16 and to be in the top 9 in the state is such a huge honor! I just really couldn't ask for any more than that, it was such a great learning experience for him. He came home with tools, a scholarship and a job offer!

Since auto shop is no longer just a class in high school - it's vocational study at the University. He also has completed his course of studies and "graduates" tomorrow night.

It is finals week at the University and my younger daughter is finishing her freshman year. It's so hard to believe how fast this year has flown by! She has her classes scheduled for next year and have made sure she's met all her requirements to keep her scholarship going. She's really looking forward to getting her Etsy shop up and running this summer - be on the look out for updates on that front!

Last but not least I've changed my profile picture on Etsy. In embracing the hand made movement, as we all have, I've decided to make my hands in the process of making one of my filigree pieces my new avatar. Though I suppose technically since it is still me, it's just a new profile pic! Big Grin!

The idea came to me when reading the forums at Etsy. They were discussing a silent protest showing their disproval of a manufacturer as having been chosen as the seller of the week. Ooops!! This as they are cracking down on drop shippers and resellers or at least trying to step up their efforts. Then a team mate of mine on the wired team is suspended for her rather wordy thank you for supporting hand made announcement while she places her shop on vacation for rebranding. On her blog she shared a photo of her hands.

And well darn it if hand made isn't ALL about our hearts and hands and so it just makes perfect sense to me.

So here they are my hands as avi - though I guess I could have used a full size pic instead of the avi sized one huh?

Be good to yourselves, enjoy your summers! Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you next time!
Dana

Time for the Bead Soup Reveal!

I have to say this has been a blast and has really allowed me to play and create pieces of jewelry that I wouldn't normally. I've gone big and bold while I usually prefer petite, I've learned to knot and I've gone heavily ornate. and you know what?? I liked it! annnnd I think I wanna do more of it :D I even took apart a vintage necklace to re-use the beads in my creation, this was another first for me, taking the beads from a necklace that wasn't already broken. I surprised myself and enjoyed that too!

Courtney sent some really great ingredients, some were already favs and others have become new favs. Some were in shapes I might not have tried or used if not for this swap and I find myself looking at those shapes in other beads now too - I think my stash may grow a bit this year. I've been trying really hard to use only what I have for the past year, I think it may be ok to splurge a bit before too terribly long!

and now......The Reveal!!

Sand Dollar Focal - Dreaming of Marrakesh
This focal brought to mind the breathtaking colors of an ocean sunset and the bounty of mermaid treasures. In creating my mood boards the visual word play brought me around to Marrakesh and more of those same breathtaking colors and exotic treasures. We travelled from the sands of the ocean to the sands of Marrakesh in all its riches, to a style of jewelry that is bold with an exotic beauty and I really like it!

From Courtneys Soup Ingredients :

• Stamped Brass Sand Dollar Focal
• Polymer disc focal
• FW Pearls in shades of blue, white, browns and purple
• Big gorgeous puffy silver beads
• Mother of pearl round bead frames in ocean blue
• Copper toggle clasp

From my pantry :

• copper plated brass filigree stampings
• copper beads
• copper wire in various gauges
• coppery topaz and rose cathedral glass beads
• deep ocean blue and coppery FW Pearls
• white and copper glass pearls
• silver plate moon connectors
• shell discs

Skeleton key Focal : Key to my Heart

There is no doubt here that Pirates of the Caribbean granted a very generous amount of inspiration from the watery blues of the labradorite and "Black Pearls" to the lines and opera length of the talismans Calypso wore around her neck. It is with a knowing nod to the love affair between Calypso and Davy Jones, that I present to you the Key to my Heart.

From Courtneys Ingredients

• Antique Skeleton key
• Labradorite faceted coins, cubes and rondelles
• black onyx beads
• silver hook

From my pantry:

• labradorite wheels
• labradorite focal heart
• copper wire in various gauges
• deep ocean blue and black FW pearls
• bronzite rounds
• vintage ceramic and brass beads
• sterling silver wire
• steel baling wire (yes, from a hay bale)
• vitrial finish Swarovski crystals
• midnight black softflex beading wire
• 6mm black rainbow ceramic beads
• 11/o emerald seed beads
• 10/o black seed beads

Torch Enameled Bead : Kreuz mit Frühlingsblumen

While debating which ingredients to play with next I stumbled upon a photo of a sunrise in gorgeous pinks and purples - almost the exact shades of the quartz and dyed agate Courtney had sent. Pinks and purples then were the color to work with here and one of those gorgeous enameled beads just happened to be purple. Very spring like shades, the daffodils have begun blooming here so the colors were very fitting, and as my daughter Paige pointed out, very Easter like. Several weeks ago I had read a blog post on Berlin Iron and had been wanting to make a piece of filigree in a similar style ever since, now seemed to be the perfect time.

Better pic! Last nights hurried photos color was a bit off - todays pic in filtered daylight, much better!!



From Courtneys Ingredients

• Faceted Rose Quartz
• Dyed Agate
• Enameled Filigree Bead

From my Pantry:

• micro faceted rose quartz
• copper wire
• fine silver wire
• copper beads
• Swarovski crystals
• Miyuki fringe beads

Well, I've had my fun! Let's head on over to Courtney's BLOG and see what she's done with the ingredients I sent her! Just in case the hyperlink didn't work........http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/ Then if you've got your coffee and your comfy chair you can continue on the hop with these wonderfully talented peeps!



Have fun and we'll see you next time!

A Glimpse.........

I broke down and bought the ribbon ends and extender for the ribbon choker. I've decided to list it with the option of the clasp at no extra charge. I really want to stay true to my design but something about it just didn't feel finished. So now it's become a semi custom piece and that works so much better for me.

On the desk this week..... I completed a custom order for a Rose Quartz and sterling butterfly, another order for a WickWire style skeleton key, and am in the process of searching out components for another custom order.

A tiny yet wordy glimpse into how my brain works.... Surfing through various vendors searching for a 3-4 inch sterling feather suitable for embellishing with 4mm czech glass beads not really finding what I want but finding  a smaller feather here and there. Not writing any product numbers down or where they were because they weren't quite right. Decide to write a note to my customer to let her know where I'm at and double check her request............ NOT 3-4 inches,  but 2-3 inches! head/desk Ummm where was that feather at? It was 2.75 inches, and perfect for wrapping, where was it....where, not here..... where??? GONE  ugh!

ok she's not in a hurry, it's not the only feather in the world.  Start the search again and take notes of where I'm finding what.

Not much selection......one more search, jackpot! Love these feathers, except they're all stampings.......hmmm the designs are awesome though. I could drill holes where I need them for embellishing......I could put those beads wherever I wanted them......cool.

Hubs comes home for lunch and I tell him how the one I really thought was perfect just disappeared *poof* and tell him how I thought I could drill the stampings.

He asks, "Did you buy them?"

"uh, no"

"But you said the one you wanted sold out just that fast."

"They're trending right now. I don't think I've ever seen one sell out like that before"

"And you didn't buy these?"

I just bought $30 worth of feather stampings and some bead caps.  Part of my brain says really?? The other part says heck yeah! See that sheet over there these little bead caps will be perfect practice and then you'll have some sweeet solid caps! Look at the lines on those feathers, are they not the perfect design for practicing a little repousse??

LOL Good thing I like them and am finding inspiration in them cause there were three or four others not from this vendor that I have for her to choose from and she could still pick one of them!

The Creative Process

I had in my head the perfect post to introduce a series of posts on my creative process.
Can I remember word one of what I wanted to write? Noooo The bread and butter business interrupted my writing with end of year paperwork and insurance and banking and life as we all know it! My perfect introductory post .... is toast!

Ah well, I do remember it had to do with these earrings. They've been on my to do list for the lifetime of my blog to date so I thought they would be really fitting to show off since you've been reading about my needing to make them for so long :)

Every now and again I'll start an awesome project and for various reasons it gets put aside - sometimes for much longer than intended - oops These earrings are the perfect example of that lol

A friend of mine really liked these Sterling silver filigree earrings but the drop is a Swiss Blue Topaz and her birthstone is Golden Topaz.


So I hunted down some Golden Topaz and started the frames, set them aside to wait for the Topaz to arrive and in the meantime........I'll just play with these little cuties over here....... Several pieces later I picked those frames up again to work on them when I realized I didn't have enough 2mm silver beads left to make the earrings and I had JUST placed an order, so put them aside again.

Two orders later I got those silver beads and gathered all the components to make the earrings and, well, I just wasn't in the mood. I had all these other ideas demanding attention and other things I HAD to do, so they sat, and sat, and sat. Until a few days ago when I picked them up again and felt really guilty that an entire year had passed......... So here they are One year and Three months in the making :)

Now thankfully not all of my pieces take so long to make, but it can seem that way when description writing faces that same time dilemma LoL or when it takes two days to write one description because the words just aren't coming even after playing the word association game which is really how I should write my tags!

The Update for the To Do List :) is a little shorter this week!

The talisman got a leather cord instead of chain, that chain ended up a tassel hanging from a Danish love knot at the bottom :) the whole thing took on a very oriental feel and I'm very happy with it. Not bad for I think I'm feeling better, lets try to bend some wire! Needs a description and price, maybe one more pic

Replica of my fav necklace is done - needs pics

Egyptian talisman finally has pics, and a description and finally got listed :) Took me two days to write this lol

Peacock is assembled and waiting for a couple more inches of chain :D yay!

Pulled together all the components to start the valentine earrings -- and a simple pendant not matching just got the idea a few minutes ago lol

Color of the week is yellow and grey - don't have much for yellow but I may try some Hessonite Garnet with some oxidized silver and design it for the simply adorned collection.

Still have a couple descriptions to write - everytime I write one I make another - so I think this is more like laundry - it's NEVER ending lol

oooh just realized the desk is getting cleared of UFO's again time to sketch out a design for the Aventurine Donut I won at Christmas from the Jewelry Connection oh and get to those earrings I sketched out for the Flourite I won on the forum! Oooh fun fun! Jewelry Lessons is also doing monthly challenges now maybe I can play at a charm bracelet for that along the way as well. Time to get busy!

Til next time!

It's Better HandMade - Color Me Friday - Red!

With my photos, bio and inspirational blurb turned in for the Beads n Blessings contest, I had time to check in on the color of the week for It's Better Handmade- and Red it is! The first piece I thought of - hasn't been listed yet- oops! Better get busy on those photos and descriptions!! So I submitted one of my other favorite pieces.

Knowing my love of filigree and iron work, my dear friend Mollie of Rough Magic Creations issued a challenge to me.
She showed me this photo by Cat Ludwig Studio of Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16340338
and challenged me to make a piece of filigree from it. After many hours of design and redesign in the sketchbook, this pendant is the result of that challenge. The wire wrapped filigree pendant measures just one inch in diameter, with four 4mm Garnets in the center. Hanging from my hand crafted chain, with a hand forged clasp, the total length is 17 inches long.

One of the things I have noticed (I may have forgot to submit one of my pieces last week, Diana found one she liked and submitted it) is I really need to crop my photos a little tighter for those thumbnail shots. While the picture looks good as a whole, the jewelry disappears when it gets squished down to the itty bitty size. ack! I think I actually like the cropped photo better too. You can see the original in my listing here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/39278126/copper-and-garnet-filigree-pendant

I think I have some work to do in my studio - and editing of listings! Then while I'm there editing maybe I can actually get around to listing some of my newer pieces.

Til next time! Dana