Having More Jewelry Fun - Barn Owl Necklace

I'm still not able to torch so I'm still into making some jewelry pieces and just having so much fun doing it again !  I feel very much inspired with all these new beads and some new pendants to "play" with.  :)  This latest piece I ventured back into beaded Kumihimo again and may I say, I LOVE the outcome.  :)  So very pleased with this necklace I don't know if I'll sell it or keep it.  lol !  Still the pendant is the star in this piece.  The Barn Owl porcelain pendant made by artist Laura Mears.  Wow !  Fabulous work.  I want more of her pieces even though I have no idea what I want to do with them.  I still have an otter and a hummingbird I need to work with. 

It finally came to me in one flash of a moment what I needed to do with this owl.  Instead of doing the typical bead embroidery around it, it needed to really shine in whatever I ended up doing.  So the best thing I could decide on was to just leave it as it is.  I needed to add the bails to it to be able to attach it but that was all.  I made the right decision.  :)  

 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon.  One of these days, I'll be able to torch again !  lol ! 

 

 

 

     

Bead Addictions Can Be Costly !

I'm sure that's true for any addiction but at least with a bead addiction, it's fun, it's colorful, it can be creative.  :)  All of the afore mentioned is where it's at for me these last going on 10 years !  Wow !  I just now realized it's been 10 years on my bead journey.  Something I began 10 years ago has grown to include many things that branched out from beads.  Like Kumihimo, dyeing silk cords, Viking knit and the list goes on.  :)  But the real true love, the one I continue to always come back to that's deep in my heart is melting that glass into a pretty little bead.  :)  Doesn't matter the size, the outcome, the colors, it's ALL good.  :)  Yes, costly indeed.  :)  Still, I regret not one penny spent.  It has taken me to a place I had not known prior to the discovery - a place of knowing where I belong and what I was suppose to do for ME.  It took me a very long time to arrive.  I DID arrive there though and that's what it's all about.  :)  

For now, that glass melting is on hold due to weather and all that's keeping my mind preoccupied with family stuff.  Still, with the discovery of those fabulous Greek beads, I do get the opportunity to play a bit and make a piece or two of jewelry.  These beads just have my complete attention at this time !  This past week I put together a few more pieces using those beads.  :)  I was able to "test drive" a necklace and earrings I'm keeping last night and I loved how the necklace felt.  Lightweight and easy.  I purposely did not put a clasp on it since it's long enough to go over my head.  I prefer my own necklaces to be like that.  Anyway, it worked perfectly with my dark orange shirt and became the focal piece of what I was wearing.  That makes me happy.  :)  

So here's what I worked on this past week.  Two more sets pictured below.  The first set is very similar to the original set I made pictured in the previous post but has more earth tones & the necklace is longer.  The second set is much more earthy and organic in color, there are less beads used and a lot of the beads are smaller.  I left the bracelet unfinished so that whomever purchases it, I'll be able to fit it to their wrist.  :)  Both sets are in my Etsy Shop now.

 

That's all for this week.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon to see what's goin' on.  :)

 

 

   

New Year - New Ideas - New Fun

Ok so the holidays are over for a while.  It was fun and exciting for a brief moment but now it's time to move forward.  The New Year always starts off (for me) with, " Ok, now what ?"  lol !  Do I stick with the same ole' same ole' or try something new ?  Challenging myself can sometimes be regrettable.  lol !  Still, I don't want to give up nor do I purposely give up. Sometimes, life gets in the way and that's just not a silly excuse.  Right now, we have so much happening within our family it's almost funny.  It's all good stuff but will keep us on our toes over the next several months.  With weather the way it's been, all that's been and will be happening, I don't see spending too much time at my beloved torch. sigh.  Making jewelry is what I fall back on during the rough weather times.  Only on the "warmer" days will I be able to light it up.  :)  

As to what new things are on my mind.  I have "discovered" new to me beads !  They are Greek ceramic beads and have been around for some time but are new to me.  May I say I LOVE them !!  I love everything about them !  The colors, the textures, the shapes !  They make me VERY happy !  In particular the matte ceramics.  Yummmmm !  lol !  I ordered some from a fellow lampworker and that started my latest addiction ! :)  I found a wholesaler and the order I placed arrives today.  I'm very excited and can't wait to make LOTS of jewelry !  

For working at my torch.  As soon as the weather clears and warms just a bit I'm there !  I hope that's VERY soon.  I have new idea's floating in my head that need to be put to glass. 

In the meantime, here are two photo's of what I DID do this past week.  The first photo is of the set I made using those Greek beads only.  I LOVE it !  Not sure if it will go for sale.  lol !  The second photo is of a necklace I made using both the Greek beads (large plain purple beads and black tubes) and my own lampwork beads which are the black disks and the decorated purple beads in between the large plain purple beads.  I really like this necklace a lot.  It looks very elegant I think. This one I believe will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop when it reopens in March.

 

Time to wrap it up and start my day.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

    

I'm Sorta Waiting

For this icy blast of cold air to leave.  lol !  Don't get me wrong - I still love winter, cold air and all but this icy cold is a bit much.  I really have the inclination and need to be at the torch now and I can't.  Too cold in my work area.  The kiln wouldn't even keep me warm.  lol !  With this cold air, I just wish it would snow.  And I don't mean just a bit of snow either but A FOOT would be real nice.  :)  Yes, I know, I'm crazy but I love the white stuff and miss it terribly.  sigh...........

Since I can't torch at this moment, I did manage to put together a "little" necklace.  Remember those 40 plus beads I made for the 40 bead challenge ?  Well, they've been sitting on my desk since finishing them.  I couldn't figure out what to do with them.  I don't wear jewelry much anymore.  Never wore necklaces at all but these beads were too big and too many to make a bracelet.  Mainly a bit too bulky.  So, a necklace they became.  Had to keep it simple because the beads, all put together, are HEAVY.  I weighed the finished piece and it weighs in at nearly 9 ounces.  Now, that might not sound like much but believe me - around the neck, it is !   lol !  Had to keep it simple.  Not much room for many additional componets.  Just added some tiny black beads to basically separate the big beads.  Wha-la.  I think it came together nicely.  I will wear it tonight to dinner out.  This sort of thing is more of a statement piece I guess you'd call it.  Simple yet your eye is drawn to it.  Hard NOT to look at all those big, round beads !  lol !  

 

Hopefully, I'll be at the torch soon.  Thanks so much for coming by !  Please come back again soon !

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Wishing one and all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year !  Here's to 2014 ! 





Thanks for coming by !  I hope to be back at the torch soon ! 

Just Another Christmas Post

The season is upon us with Christmas less than a week away now.  Are you ready ?  I am thankfully.  I hate being "behind" in things this time of year cause there's always so much more to catch up on in the end.  Yet, when it's all over, do you feel relief, let down or are you asking yourself," What just happened ?"  Or in other words, did I just miss something ?  It goes so fast and seems like every year it speeds by even faster than the last.  Yes, I am of the ages I see the years zoom by now.  lol !  It happens to us all but that's for another discussion.  :)  Onward and upward - as it were.

Since I did not torch this past week, I did manage to make a couple of bracelets for myself.  Yep, I was selfish and gave myself another couple of little Christmas gifts.  lol !  I had those fabulous purple beads to either list in my Etsy shop or make something with them.  I realized I might not get that edp to turn out so great ever again so I HAD to keep them and use them for me.  :)  Cool thing is, that color matches the colors in a new shirt I have so -  perfection !  I didn't have ANY jewelry with that purple in it so this worked out quite nicely.  It's a tad on the larger size but it still fits. 

I also wanted and needed a bracelet with Christmas colors.  I have snowman earrings and needed something to fit the holiday & to kinda match.  Beaded kumihimo was the way using these fabulous magatama beads.  I love the look !  And may I say, there is NOTHING like using a good, strong magnetic clasp.  So easy, so fast and secure !  Love it !  :) 

 

That's all for this week.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

I wish you and yours a safe and very MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

 

 

        

Early Christmas Gifts are FUN !

Yep, they sure are !  I've been wanting a new DSLR camera for a very long time.  I have a digital point and shoot camera that worked "ok" but not great for my needs, which of course was bead and jewelry photography.  I also have an old Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film camera which I LOVED and used for MANY years.  Have a bunch of lenses to go with that camera too.  Well, a couple weeks ago, QVC had a great TSV for a Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR package. Came with 2 lenses and a great package as the Q tends to do.  :)  I ordered it.  It came Monday and let me say - a lot has changed since the days of using 35mm film but a lot has remained the same as well.  It's just a matter of learning new things - again.  lol ! 

So once again I am on a learning adventure but this time with a camera - and I'm having a fantastic time !  I'm just going over the various functions of the camera this week but will start really practicing hopefully next week one chapter (in the instruction book) at a time.  :)  Simple and easy at first so I'm thinking the auto function will be a huge part of simple and easy.  lol !  Still I'm anxious to learn more about depth of field the most.  :)  

I've added just one picture I took just playin' around.  The octopus bead is a "Secret Santa" gift I received a few days ago. The glass forum I belong to has a Secret Santa every Christmas and this year I participated.   I have been drooling over Joy Munshower's octopus beads for some time.  She brought a HUGE smile to my face a few days ago when the package from her arrived.  I tore into that package and there it was - (along with a few chocolates and a lovely Christmas card), a fantastic octopus bead !  That bead will go into my faux fish tank as soon as I can find time to do the rearranging.  Thank-you once again Joy for helping make my Christmas a little nicer.  :) 

Anyway, octo bead was just sitting there on a sheet of white paper, I set the camera to close up and just shot.  No special lights, no adjusting the lenses, nothing.  Just shot.  I didn't even edit the colors in my edit program !   I was amazed !  The colors are PERFECT !  I do know of course, this won't happen with bead photo's much.  This is a HUGE bead though so I'm guessing that was part of the reason the photo turned out so well.  So more fun will follow.  :) 

 

I have but one photo of a bead I made this past week.  Alas, this little guy is all I could come up with.  A doggie with no tail !  lol !  So he'll stay home with me.  I do have some flowers in the kiln this morning.  Just been busy with other things this week.  Sometimes melting glass has to wait.   

 

 

Thanks much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon !