More Eye Candy

Lampwork in blues and greens wire wrapped in sterling silver with fresh water pearls

And I promised more simplistic styles, right?  Rough cut amethyst on sterling silver chain.

Both in Bei Mondi shop shortly!

Can't Wait!

The Beading Gem has a great post about this upcoming classic revisited along with some intriguing jewelry creations!

Necklace Frame Display Tutorial

I've been looking for a tutorial on how to make an interesting necklace display.  I didn't quite find what I was looking for on the internet so it was time to take measures into my own hands.  I knew I wanted to use an idea using a frame but how would I add hooks to hold the necklaces?  Hm...so this is my tutorial on how to make an inexpensive necklace display.

• First go out to Micheals or JoAnne's and buy an 11 X 14 wood frame ($15).  Make sure it is wood because you'll be hammering into it later.  Also pick up some pins to use as your hooks.  I bought these corsage pins ($1.50) because I liked the shiny metal ends.

• Now cut the pins to about an 1 1/4 inch long with wire cutters and mark about an inch or so on the inside edge of your frame to hammer these into.  I don't need to tell you at this point that you should have already taken the glass and back out of the frame, right? 
  

• After placing your marks on the inside of the frame, take a pin and lightly hammer it into place with a rubber hammer.  Make sure to put the pin in the middle of the wood.  If you put the pin in to far to the edge it might split your wood.  If this happens you can always use some glue for repairs.  

•  Hammer each pin into the wood approximately 1/4 inch deep leaving a portion of 3/4 inch remaining.  Oh, and keep your pins straight.  If they start getting all wiggly on you just take them out and straighten them.

•  Now bend the pin over towards the front of the frame with your finger or pliers.  Come on, bring out those muscles.  You can do it!
  

After you've finished hammering in and bending all the pins, add a backboard piece ($2 each) made for frames that can be found in the framing section of the craft store.  Now add the back of the frame to secure it. 

The background pieces come already cut to fit the frame and in a huge selection of colors and textures.  Here's a few I bought.

 

 Khaki brown color with a suede texture - good for copper pieces.

 

 Rich gray color for blues or blacks

 

White with a tissue paper type effect - great for anything!

Now take your finished piece and set it on a frame display ($12) like the one shown in the picture and you are ready to rock and roll!  I originally made this to display my simple necklace designs and hopefully bring them up to the eye in an appealing presentation.  But I added bracelets in these pictures as well to show it can be used for either.

All the jewelry shown can be found at the Bei Mondi website.  Happy crafting!

More Goodies to Show Off

More goodies for the Bei Mondi shop and the I Made It! Mine show in February.

 Lampwork from Java Bead and Norma Brink with lots of Bali silver.  This one has the color changing Swarovski crystals that go from soft pink to gray to light green which are all colors that compliment the bracelet.

Amber onyx rounds with lots of oxidized copper

More lampwork with Swarovski crystals.  Are you seeing a pattern here?  I guess it's what I love to do.  Mostly blues in this one with just a touch of purple.

Ok, I'm spending the day with the kiddo and working on some artsy stuff.  I hope to have a little tutorial for you by tomorrow.  You girls enjoy your Friday!

What I've Been Doing

I'm back at it again.  A sampling of the pieces I've made recently for the Bei Mondi shop.

Green garnets (my birthstone) and mutilated copper heart with oxidized copper

Amethyst and lampwork glass from Blue Seraphim with oxidized copper

Hill Tribe turtle, lampwork glass from Norma Brink, and Swarovski crystals with oxidized sterling silver

New jade, aqua terra jasper, lampwork glass from Blue Seraphim, and copper beads  with oxidized copper

I'm still having issues with the new camera as you can see.  :(

I really appreciate everyone's advice on shows and the table set up.  You gals have some great ideas and I will try to use all the suggestions that I've gotten.  I've been looking towards future shows that require a picture of the table set up so if I can get myself in gear I'll try to take some pictures soon.

And I thought I'd leave you girls with some music today.  I can't get this song out of my head.  You know what they say, "The best way to get a song out of your head is to get it stuck in someone else's."  I hope it works. ;)  Plus, Barbara Lewis needs some new music to listen to besides Owl City.  hehe

Holy Moly! I'm a Lucky Girl!

Look what I got yesterday!

Wow!  I am so lucky!  Julie Vallejo from Rocker Jewlz is my Bead Soup Party exchange person and just look what she sent me.  Gorgeous lampwork from Payton Jett, beautiful bright citrine, apple jasper, and a sweet dragonfly clasp.  How did she know I like dragonflies?  She really outdid herself and I can't wait to get started on a fabulous piece with these beauties.  Thanks so much, Julie!

And take a look at what she has in her shop.  These cupcake goodies are fabulous and perfect for Valentine's Day.

  

Please check out her blog and shop for the sweetest little creations!

Ok, now I know I promised pictures today so here's two of the pieces I made for the Bei Mondi shop.

Satin silk ribbon in a soft lavender with biwa pearl wire wrapped in center.  A few Swarovski crystals on the side for sparkle and held together with silver cones and a hand forged clasp.

 

 Simple earrings with Sue Beads lampwork and swirls of sterling.  Love the colors in these beads.  Oh, and I believe Sue is having a sale on lampwork heart beads right now.  Check it out!

Yeah, I know you gals were hoping for more and there is a lot more but I'm in the process of polishing about six bracelets, earrings, and a necklace.  I hope I'll have fingertips left after all of this polishing with steel wool.  And now I have a Bead Soup Party piece to create on top of that which I am super excited about.  There's lots to do so I'd better split.  Hope you gals have a great day!  :)

"Where Have You Been?"

Where have I been?  I certainly haven't been blogging lately or even checking others blogs.  Do you ever get into that funk where you're not in the mood to blog?  It takes an effort, doesn't it?  I really do miss everyone but every time I dedicate time to blogging I get sidetracked with something else.  And what am I getting sidetracked with?  Well...here it is!

 I Made It! Mine

 

This will be my first show.  I'm super excited but super nervous.  There is so much to do and I am clueless on what I'm doing.  Luckily, some of my blogging buddies have given me suggestions on set up.  Thanks, Shelby and Judy!  I would love advice from anyone on what to do and what not to do. 

 

Along with that, I've actually had more sales on my website and Etsy.  Not huge numbers, of course, but it's something.  I'm also working on a few special orders which are always loads of fun.  

 

I've been working on several pieces recently that I hope to oxidize tomorrow and take pictures of so you girls can see.  I'm still playing with ideas on how to present these during my show.  I would love to see anyone's pictures of tables for shows in the past.  Please just email me or leave a message here.

 

Ok, that's it for me.  Good night girls!

Changing Things Up a Bit

As I stated at the end of the year, I want to change things a bit for Bei Mondi.  I am hoping to go with a more simplistic style.  When I first got excited about beading it was because of the gemstones.  I'm not talking about the fancy stuff, just a simple jasper or agate.  These stones hold more interest to me than the AAA grade sapphire or a huge crystal clear diamond.  They show character.  They show nature's real beauty.  I want to do work that highlights that beauty within the stone and doesn't take too much away from it.

I also have a love for charms.  They add that little message or certain features to a piece.  If I want you to feel a certain way when you look at a necklace with a single stone attached I could add the word "Spicy" or maybe go in the opposite direction with a calming lotus charm.  These both capture very different emotions without overdoing anything.  Simplistic! 

So, here is the start of some new pieces that I hope will gain some attention.

Kawarimono's Pond Moonstone Necklace

 

Siren Song Opal Necklace

Oh, I still love my copper and I still love to experiment with wire.  Here's obvious attempts at that.

My Heart is In Knots For You Copper Necklace

 

Hot Mess Wire Cuff

My new camera and I are having a love/hate relationship right now.  The white balance is all off so more experimenting is needed on my part before great pictures are made.  I'm still making my way through the very thick manual.

Oh, and it looks like my partner in crime for the Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Party is Julie Vallejo.  She has a blog by the name of Rocker Jewlz.  Wow!  What a name!  I can't wait to learn more about her and to swap out some goodies.

Happy Monday Beading friends!

Nashville

It's been exactly two weeks since my last blog post.  The holidays are a blur but I have a few pictures to remember the excitement by.  Nashville was the highlight, of course.  We had a wonderful time with the in-laws and a house of 13!  Unfortunately, I have some photos on my little click and shoot camera and the rest are on my new camera.  I have yet to figure out how to take them off though.  Here are some of the highlights.

First off, this isn't my best picture.  I mean, what is the deal with that hair?  It looks like birds made a nest on that thing.  Anyway, I was so happy to meet a blogging friend while on my trip.  Do you recognize her?  That's Judy from Judith B Designs.  She lives in the Nashville area so this was the perfect time for us to get together for lunch to discuss beading.  It was like meeting someone for the first time that you swore you must have known in another life.  She is so easy going and a hoot!  We kept talking, and talking, and talking.  I think the waiters were so happy to see us finally leave.  :)

And you can't visit Nashville without riding horses, right?  Here's Lauren on Miss Katie.  Lauren has learned so much from my mother and sister-in-law that she can hop on and just ride.  She was even trotting on the horses which was a bit scary for me at first.  And she even mucked stalls while we were there!

And here I am once again with the hair from hell.  Thank goodness I got a haircut when I got back.  I had to try the horseback riding for myself.  It looked like too much fun.  Luckily all the horses were very calm and didn't mind that I hadn't a clue what I was doing.  I know everyone was trying not to laugh when I tried to get my big butt on and off the horse. 

Ok, now on to the bragging.  Just have to show you some of the great tools I got for Christmas.  The biggest and best is my new camera.  It's a Nikon D5000 and has 12 megapixels!  I've been working on the thick manual and I hope to be taking jewelry pictures very soon.  My other two favorites are a micro torch and a Fretz embossing hammer.  I hope to put these to good use in 2010.