Creation of Etsy shop - Day three

More goodies in the shop. Here we go!

I love making bracelets. They are so much easier to me then necklaces or even earrings. Earrings seem easy but they rarely are since such a big statement needs to be made in such a small area. Whenever I first see a bead I always think about how large it will be on my wrist. If it's too big for my wrist then I usually pass it up. It's kinda sad actually. When I worked as a chemist I wasn't allowed to wear jewelry especially bracelets. They could easily get caught on something or end up dipped in some weird substance like a sample or acid. I think that's why I am so in love with them now. I guess it's the forbidden fruit that I wasn't allowed to have before. So, needless to say, here is yet another bracelet. Please excuse me and my love for certain accessories!

Sweet Marzipan

This little beauty reminds me of candy on Easter morning with it's pink, green, and yellow tourmaline which happens to be one of my favorite stones because of it's variation in color. It has a triple strand of the stones with a few tiny freshwater pearls.

Solemn Mt. Emei

Ok, so here's a necklace. Yeah, I actually broke down and made something other than a bracelet. I guess stranger things have happened. This one is named Solemn Mt. Emei which is one of the sacred Buddhist mountains in China. Glowing peach, gray, and white moonstones along with a lotus charm.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend. I have a camping trip scheduled. Too bad it's supposed to rain all weekend. :( Oh well, I guess that just adds to the adventure.

New Items

Here's some new items for the Etsy shop. Please let me know what you think!

Many blues, yellows, and browns in this piece. The name is Assateague Wild Ponies which is fitting because my first thought when I was making it was ponies running along the beach. Vintaj chain with yellow jade, blue howlite, tiger's eye chips, smokey quartz, and a lampwork focal that ties all the color together.

The other one listed today is Cliffs of Moher. Lots and lots of freshwater pearls with a sliding silver clasp with a celtic feel. Simple but elegant! I'll be listing items throughout the week so I'll be back tomorrow with some new pieces. Have a great Thursday! The weekend is almost here!

Humble Beads Giveaway

Not much time left! Everyone has until 5pm today to post a comment about Heather's Studio Tour at the Humble Beads blog to be entered to win. I am in love with her Van Gogh Dreams bracelet she has in her Etsy shop. What a talented artist!

Van Gogh Dreams Bracelet

I'm on Etsy

I've been working on a website for Bei Mondi for what seems like FOREVER so I decided to put a few items on Etsy and see how it goes. Here's some of the pieces recently added.

This is my Sweet Little Sparrow necklace made with Vintaj chain and the sparrow charm. There are a few purple freshwater pearls along the sides and a large amythest cubic zirconia brilotte dangling from the sparrow's beak.

Santorini's Sunset has lots of Monacco agates and a few silver Bali beads with a matching Bali clasp. These colors remind me of the seashells on the beach.

I read Lorelei's interview in the 2009 Creative Jewelry magazine about adding pieces everyday to your Etsy shop and how it can bring in more "looky-loos" so I'll try to add one or two each day for a while. Lorelei is an amazing artist who really knows what she's doing so any advice she gives I will definitely take notice of.

Please check out my Etsy shop. It's a work in progress so any suggestions or comments (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated.

Bei Mondi's shop

For the Birds

My daughter and I find something special to do at least once a week with each other. It's our "girl" time and we spend the whole day doing something fun, eatting out, and just enjoying each other's company. A couple of weeks ago we visited the Pittsburgh aviary. We own one sun conure (Picasso) and two parakeets (Skit and Fern) so it's easy to tell we are bird lovers. Here are a few pictures of our trip complete with my daughter trying to look like an owl and trying to talk to the penguins. Oh, and please keep in mind that birds rarely pose for the camera so some of these or maybe all are a bit blurry. Enjoy!

Goodies from Chinook

Here's a great giveaway. Chinook Jewelry is looking for names for new glazes and they are fantastic! Super rich and vibrant! Check out her blog and check out these goodies!

http://chinookdesigns.blogspot.com/

Rabbit Muse Giveaway

I think we all love freebies! Especially when it's jewelry or beads. Nancy Schindler of The Rabbit Muse is giving away an ultra cool leather bracelet. You've got to check it out! It's a beautiful piece of wearable art with a thick leather strap and a copper tag across the front with the word "TIME". Here's the link to her blog.
http://therabbitmuse.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-time-for-giveaway.htm

Playing with Wire

I've seen some really fantastic pieces with elaborate wire work. The best ones in my opinion look like the artist hadn't a care in the world and simply kept wildly wrapping and wrapping. Unfortunately, my skills are rather limited but I figured I would try my hand at a few simple designs to pass the time.

This first one was made with copper wire and China chrysocolla cubes. These little cubes have wonderful blues, greens, and even sometimes a rust color streaked through them. The brilliant glow of the copper really pops next to the subdued tones in the stones.

The next one is a silver cuff bracelet. Yellow turquoise is great if you're looking for a stone with some character. Each one has it's own unique color and variation ranging from bright yellows to blues or even blacks. With such variety from stone to stone, this bracelet only needed one type of stone to keep it interesting.

The last one is a charm type bracelet. Little salamander and toad charms adorn this piece along with lots of Vintaj brass components and a large twisted brass colored wire bead. Two large Feldspar stones and little seed beads add a calming teal color to the piece.

If anyone has any tips or can suggest a good book to read on using wire, please let me know. It's loads of fun and quite addicting!

Finished Bracelet for "Use the Muse"

A couple of teaser photos for the "Use the Muse" contest. Of course, I still can't show the main focal bead so these are just of the sides of the bracelet. Once the Use the Muse site has presented pictures of the bead then I'll post pictures of the whole piece. This was so much fun to make! I incorporated all the beads within the kit and added these silver Bali beads which have a design close to that of the "Muse". I can't wait for the next contest. This really offers a chance to try something new with beads you may not have thought to buy.

Items up for sale soon!

Here's a collage of a few current pieces. I've been playing with different backgrounds for photos to make them more interesting. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I've tried everything from fabric and scrapbook paper to twigs and rocks from the yard. You might even see a little ant or spider crawling around in a picture for added authenticity! :)



The sun is shining outside so it's time to get off the computer and enjoy it. Hope everyone's enjoying their summer!

Caribbean Chic Earrings

New earrings for the collection. These are made with "glowing" blue chalcedony briolettes paired with white button freshwater pearls and petite peridot chips. All are wrapped in sterling silver wire connected to a sterling chain and French hooks.

Fireworks!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe July 4th!