My Bags Are Packed. I'm Ready to Go...

I'm all packed up and ready to go to Art Bliss.  Can you hear my screams of joy through the computer?  Quite a few of my beading buddies are all a buzz about this weekend.  Good times with great people.  I hope to see you there.

My two partners in crime are Shelby Foxwell from Sundown Bead Designs and Sue Kennedy from Sue Beads.  I am blessed to spend my time with such lovely ladies.  Please check out their work when you have a chance.  You won't be disappointed!

And now for a few pieces I've made for my mom and big sis.

My sister requested a necklace made with some gorgeous amazonite stones I acquired recently.  I love these stones!  Lots of character and great color.

Unfortunately, my picture really didn't do this stone justice.  Some stones just have to be seen in person I guess.  This is quite simple but that's the type of jewelry my sis prefers.

But I felt like the necklace was just too easy to make so I had to try something else with the same colors.  Yeah, I've been making these bracelets a lot lately.  I really like their bulkiness and weight.  Plus, hammering the copper washers really relieves a lot of stress ;)

 My mom on the other hand likes things a little more funky and crazy.  She was admiring some copper face beads in my stash when I saw her last.  She just loved their cute expressions and asked if I could put something together in peaches and orange.  I added in the seashell and beach stone since she's a beach lover.

 This guy reminds me of a wise old owl with a mustache :)

 And this one reminds me of a scrawny looking scarecrow trying his best to keep away those pesky crows in the garden.

Ok, that's it for me.  I wish you all the best weekend and safe travels to my friends visiting Art Bliss :)

Do You Know This Stone?

Hm, I think I need some help.  I bought this stone a long time ago and I can't remember what the name is or even where I bought it.  I know that it is a real stone and not man made.  It has areas of purple, yellow/gold, and some light green.  Any thoughts?  It was a perfect match for the gold brass and purple amethyst stones I added here.

Enlightenment Lotus Snake Skin Agate Bracelet

Wishbone Labradorite Sterling Necklace

Happy Buddha Ocean Jasper Necklace

Sunset Turquoise Sterling Necklace

These items are being listed today.  I'm moving in slow motion since the weather has been wonderful here :)

20% SALE in the shop!

Just a quick note to say EVERYTHING is on sale at the Bei Mondi Etsy shop!  20% off sale is going on now until September 14th and I'll be adding new items all week.  Please keep in mind the prices listed on Etsy are the original prices so you'll be getting 20% off these prices.  To get your discount simply buy as usual and the discount will be refunded through Paypal after checkout.  Happy shopping :)

Finally...

I finally have new pieces to put in my shop.  I've been in the process of working on these for about 5 weeks now.  Needless to say, I've been distracted but I'm trying to get things back in order and dedicate more time to creating.

here we go...

Hessonite Garnet Sterling Chandelier Earrings

Please Take My Heart Gemstone and Lampwork Bracelet

Solar Quartz Sterling Silver Necklace

Honey and Apples Lampwork Gemstone Bracelet

Fields of Lavender Lampwork Gemstone Bracelet

I'll be putting these into the Bei Mondi Etsy shop hopefully by tomorrow.  Oh, and I hope to have pictures soon of the new hobby I've become obsessed with.  Very excited!!

The Urban Gypsy

Just wanted to let you know about a great little shop in the Polish Hill area of Pittsburgh.  The Urban Gypsy is filled with handcrafted gems most of which are by locals.  Take a look and it won't take long before you understand why this shop is so unique.

This is Paulette the owner.  A better name for her might be "Mrs. Social Butterfly".  She loves her shop and it shows.  She hand picks all the items that make up the Urban Gypsy from the creative art to the antique furniture to the fresh flowers on display each day.  Just look at that smile on her face!  And yes everyone, she really is as nice as she looks :)

Now take a look around.

Wow!  What a place!  And take a look at this church just across the street.  Such a interesting little community!

And as you might have guessed, Bei Mondi is now being sold in the Urban Gypsy.  Here's a peek of some new items!

And for a complete list of items being sold at this location please check here - Bei Mondi at Urban Gypsy.

If you are in the Pittsburgh area please come and visit Mrs. Paulette's smiling face at the Urban Gypsy!

GalleriE CHIZ

We've started selling at GalleriE CHIZ in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh!  What an interesting place with such a broad range of art!  Creations such as the usual paintings and sculptures to gorgeous handmade books to "off the wall" artistic brassieres.  This gallery really has a little bit of everything.


Friday night they had their opening reception for the"Character Studies: Costumed & Articulated" featuring Dennis Bergevin.  Each sculpture captures the character from well known operas.  Their clothing looked like something out of a movie with every inch adorned with the smallest details.  The hair for each piece looked to be real and was artistically crafted for each individual character's persona.  And my favorite were the faces on these pieces.  These were sculpted out of red clay which created a darker appearance and gave them an almost haunting look.  Incredible!  Please check out the photos on the website to see these amazing works of art.


That, of course, was only the highlight.  Ellen Chisdes, the gallery's owner, has such an eclectic array of pieces that make your eyes dance with joy!  Bright colors and different textures for major eye candy.  Even the bathroom was decorated!!  And take a look at the entrance to her gallery.  Wow!

And here are the Bei Mondi pieces currently offered at GalleriE CHIZ!

*New Website*

Bei Mondi Jewelry has a new look!  Please check us out and let us know what you think of the changes.

www.BeiMondi.com

New Pretties in the Shop

New Creations for the Etsy Bei Mondi shop!

Moonstone Copper/Silver Free Form Necklace

Striking Blue Kyanite Slab Dangle Earrings

Copper Creativeness Lampwork Bracelet 

Chaos Bracelet #2

Bamboo Agate Dangle Earrings

Ocean Jasper Keishi Pearl Necklace

Moonstone Copper/Silver Free Form Necklace

Some of these haven't made it into the shop just yet but should be there shortly.  I hope all my friends are having a wonderful weekend with their families this wonderful Sunday!

CAUTION - EXTREME GEMS

I've been drooling over so many gems lately.  I think it's my new porn.  hehe  Don't get me wrong, my favorites are stones with lots of earthy, rustic character.  But every girl loves sparkly topaz and sapphires, right?  So, I was faced with a dilemma.  There are so many businesses to buy from and who is going to give me the "best bang for the buck"?  I've been stalking this company from India for a few months carefully watching their feedback and marveling over each and every gem they have to offer.  My problem was that I'd never ordered anything from India and I, as most of you might be, was wondering if it would end up as a good move or just a horrible mess.

Here's the thing, a good portion of the gems that you see started up in Jaipur, India.  This is known as the "Pink City" and they export gems to countries all over the world.  Google Jaipur and you'll see what I mean.  Sounds like a good enough reason to check it out.  But, wouldn't I have to wait a decade or two to actually get my gems?  I mean, India is so far away.

Well, you never know until you try, right?  So I took the plunge and did it.  And after less than a week I got my purchase!!!

*Warning - If you are on a bead/gem diet please look away!*

Crystal quartz stars, pink amethyst, and rose quartz

Rainbow moonstones and blue mystic quartz

Hessonite garnet and smokey quartz drops

Beer quartz and black rutilated quartz

Mystic pearl quartz, rose quartz, black spinel, rhodolite garnet, green amethyst, blue topaz, and hessonite garnet

Now even though I had them in less than a week and all of my order seemed to have shipped perfectly, I was still on guard.  I checked each gem extremely close to find any imperfections.  The only problem I found was that one of the crystal quartz was faceted more than the other and since I am using these on two separate projects it really didn't matter to me anyway.

In fact, this order was better than I had hoped for.  It's hard to portray the real sparkle and flair for a stone through the lens of a camera unless you are a professional.  Each and every one of them is just stunning in the sunlight.

And now I have to do these beauties justice with some stellar creations although I kinda want to hoard them.  I just keep gazing at them like new found love.  I'm sure my hubby is laughing at me when I'm not looking. 

So, if you are facing the dilemma of ordering from out of the USA please give it a try.  If you are worried just try placing a smaller order at first.  Although, the way to really save money is on bulk since the shipping fees can be pretty expensive.

Well, that's it for me this week.  I'm off to BeadFest Wire tomorrow to meet with some blogging buddies and have fun!  Don't forget there are two giveaways for Bei Mondi pieces that are ending on April 12th.  Here is the one on the Bei Mondi blog and here's the one on Indie Pretty's blog.  Have a great weekend!!!