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

Pity Party Train has left town

Hey gals!  No negativity and self pity today.  I'm dusting myself off and getting down to business.  You girls have set me straight and I thank you for it.  Seriously though, I appreciate all of your kind words and advice.  I'm so glad we can all help each other out when it's needed.  You girls ROCK!

Did you know there is only 16 days left until Christmas?  I hope you're on track with your gift buying and merriment.  I've seen lots of beautiful trees on everyone's blogs and such creative decorations.  Does anyone celebrate Chanukkah or Kwanzaa?  Let's see those decorations too.  We've got our tree and decorations up so I'll try to take a picture soon.

And speaking of Christmas, I finally saw the animated "Christmas Carol" in 3D.  I really enjoyed it although it is a very dark movie.  The story was the same as the original but this one was quite spooky.  The little kid sitting behind me in the theater kept saying, "Daddy, this is scary."  A bit different for a Christmas movie but the message was there.  And the 3D effects were great.  I felt like the snow was actually coming down on my head.

I'll wrap this up with what I've been working on.  Here goes!

Oh yes, if you are a Sharilyn Miller fan then you recognize this bracelet.  Which, by the way, she has a new book out that Mary Jane and I are totally stoked about.  Although I could never do wirework like the Queen (she is the best), this bracelet is just for me and serves as more wirework practice.  I wanted something lightweight (used 16 gauge rather than 14) with that beautiful copper glow to it.  This definitely fits my personality and we all need to give ourselves something every now and then, right?

 

Trying to get creative with the use of copper with lampwork beads.  This is Norma Brink's lampwork once again and the details are amazing.  I didn't have any copper headpins so I made my own with a little swirl at the end.  Oh, and look at the light bulb clasp.  I learned how to make that from Miss Cindy at Sweet Bead Studios.  The tutorial was in the recent Easy Wire magazine.  Thanks, Cindy!

More Norma Brink lampwork with sterling silver beads and wire this time.  I didn't oxidize this piece.  I like the bright silver with these colors.  I tried to bring out the purple and greens in the lampwork with all the Swarovski.  I hope I didn't over do it.

And last but not least is a sweet little pair of lampwork and sterling silver swirly earrings.  Do you recognize these beads?  These are from the wonderful Miss Sue from Sue Beads.  Love the tiny silver specks trailing around each bead.  Oh, and I do believe Sue is having another sale.  She's had a different sale like every couple of days.  If you need lampwork check her out.

It's Kinda Spooky!

Well, the kiddo has a temp. of 103 and not doing so great.  I caught her still trying to get ready for school, she must really like it.  Poor thing!  It's scary, there have been two cases of H1N1 in the middle school here.  So, I'm keeping a steady flow of cold juice and Motrin going.  Trying to make a doctor's appt. but still just a busy signal.  Ugh!

Ok, while she's sleeping I thought I would jump on here and show you my inside Halloween decorations.  I bought several of Yankee Candle's Bones tealight holders.  The one with the farmer couple holding the candles dripping red is one of my favorites.  And the ornamental grass to the right in the picture is some from my back yard that I've been trying desperately to get rid.  Glad to see it's good for something besides cussing at.  Oh, and no, I don't normally light these candles.  It was just for the picture and I know it's a fire hazard having the candles close to the dry grass.

 

And check out these owls.  I didn't actually buy them to go with my Halloween stuff but I stuck them in to fill up the space.  And they are so cool when the candle light shines through their eyes.  I'd love to see pictures of your Halloween decorations.  This is always such a fun time of the year!

Now onto other things.  That beauty over there -----------------------------------------------------------> at the very top of the page is the spotlight item for this week.  It's name is Bling Bling Bali Bracelet.  This guy is a heavy one all decked out with sterling silver Bali beads and Swarovski crystals to add the bling, bling.  He'll be 10% off for this week only.  Any takers?

And here's another item I added recently to the Bei Mondi Etsy store.

 

Autumn's Abundance Lampwork and Copper Bracelet

The wonderful colors of autumn! This piece combines the yummy warmth of copper with some breath taking lampwork beads. The little cubes of cinnamon and spice are created by Crazy Cat Lampwork and the blue/burgundy ruffles were made by Norma Brink. The lampwork is connected by various copper bead designs with many swirls and whirls to adore.

Have a great Monday and I'll be emailing each of you some time tonight about the Earring Exchange after the hubby gets home.  He'll mix up the names and send one to each of you (me included) so no one knows who gets what name.  This should be fun!

Can We Just Skip Mondays?

What a dreary Monday!  Did you know Pittsburgh gets more rainfall than Seattle?  Oh yes, it seems like our skies stay gray from October till May.  Ugh!  I guess I can't complain too much since I've only had to water my new grass seed once since I planted it two weekends ago and it's growing like crazy.  It is sad though that we had tickets to see the Pirates play on Saturday but , as you guessed, it was raining.  We probably could have gone anyway but the kiddo has a cold so it just wasn't happening.  One good part of the weekend was this.

I got a recipe for pancakes with this yummy apple spice topping from Cinnamon Stick's blog.  They were so good!  I'm such a sucker for apples and cinnamon.

And I finally got my friends present finished.  Remember a while back I was asking about making her something with the color purple.  I wanted to create something in autumn colors also with a plum color.  And this is what I came up with.

 

It's not exactly what I had envisioned but my projects never end up looking like what I first planned.  I added the "Believe" stamping and lots of copper charms.  Can you tell I'm a Sharilyn Miller fan?  Just look in her new book and you'll see what I mean.  Oh, and my daughter helped with the prop for this picture.  These are all the leaves she found on our walk.  What pretty colors!!

Sugar and Spice Lampwork Bracelet
I also put this guy together for my spotlight item this week.  The soft yellow lampwork with flecks of purples I found at Being Beads on Etsy and the burgundy ruffles are from Norma Brink.  Oxidized sterling silver wire throughout and handmade clasp.  This guy will be 10% off this week bringing it from $68.99 to $62.09 in the Bei Mondi store.

Well, I'm off to go get that cup of Kona coffee that keeps calling my name.  Hope your Monday weather is looking better than mine and have fun regardless!

Need Help From BlogLand

Good morning or I guess it's almost afternoon. I am once again looking for help from "blogland". I've got two things to ask about today. The first is metal etching. I'm looking for a really detailed tutorial on the process. I found a few things online but most of what I found didn't include pictures. I NEED PICTURES! And I'm on the hunt for ferric chloride. I had read somewhere that you could purchase ferric chloride at Radio Shack. Yeah, it seemed weird to me too but I tried none the less to see if they had it. The guy behind the register asked me, "Why? Are you making a bomb?" Hm... that tells me they probably don't carry it. He told me to try Lowe's. I went to Lowe's and the guy said, "Nah, you need a chemistry store or something like that." Now, I remember seeing ferric nitrate in the lab long ago or maybe that was ferric chloride, but regardless, I won't be going back to my old job asking for chemicals. So, where's the best place to buy this stuff? And do you need a lot? I've had plenty of experience working with really nasty chemicals so that part doesn't bother me. I worked with nitric and hydrocloric acid on a daily basis before which I understand can etch metal but my pipes aren't protected to dispose of these chemicals. I understand the safety issues and I have my own lab coat and googles at home for just an occasion. Please help me out!

Ok, on to question number two. My daughter is nine and is an excellent reader but despite that I read to her every night before bed. It's our time to talk about the day and enjoy a story together. We've been reading the Narnia series for the past few months. I would like to make her a special charm bracelet themed around the Narnia series as a Christmas present. I'd like to make all the charms different in their own way to really make it interesting. I started the piece by asking Beth from Hint to make one of her "Courage" lion charms for me. This, of course, symbolizes Aslan which, for those of you not familar, is a main character in all the books. There are seven books in the series so I'd like to shoot for a charm for each book and then maybe some small gemstones or metal charms with words from the stories to fill in the gaps. Here's what I'm searching for:

• Large tree with fruit
  
• Faun (half human and half goat)
• horse
• Large ship with many wooden oars
• dwarf
• ape
• silver chair

Yeah, the list sounds a little odd but if you've ever read the books then you understand. If you come across anything that looks unique that happens to be one of these items please let me know. It would really help out with the project.

Ok, here's today's pieces.

Creme de Menthe

This one is made from odds and ends of other lampwork sets I had lying about. I thought the colors complimented each other well. Some of these beads are from Norma Brink who I've mentioned several times. She rocks! Made with oxidized sterling silver.

My Copper Penny

And this one is similar to one I created earlier in the week. These stones are different though. Made with Monaco Agate which have wonderful browns, creams, and even a pink hue. Very nice with the warm copper.

Enjoy your Thursday! Only one more day left to the weekend. Yippee!

Happy Labor Day!!!

Goodness! I have so many blog posts to get caught up on today. I might have to spend the day at the computer to get them all read. I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Labor Day to everyone!

I have been busy, busy, busy. I was working on several wire projects over the course of the past few days and my poor hands are feeling the results. I have areas on my hands split open from pulling the wire, chunks taken out of my knuckles, and numbs for fingertips left from the steel wool. Yeah, I try to use gloves with the steel wool but they usually get in my way and I end up doing without. I know, that's bad. So, needless to say, I won't be doing any hand modeling any time soon. And what do I have to show for my beat-up hands? Three bracelets, two necklaces, and five pair of earrings. All the pieces have been oxidized and some polished. Some already called for and will be shipped out soon.

Here's what I'm showing off today.

Monet's Water Lilies Lampwork Bracelet
Lampwork beads from Norma Brink again in a wide range of colors. This bracelet is very simple but I think those beads have such depth to them and I didn't want to take away from that in any way. All wrapped in sterling silver that's been hammered to flatten the loops then oxidized and polished.

I also made these free form swirl earrings to match which have the same bead as one on the bracelet. These might go in the Etsy shop or they just might get put on my website. More info on that to come.

Ok, so I think I have five people so far for the Thanksgiving earring swap. I'll continue to mention it every now and then to see if we can get a few more in the group. Also, if you gals have any jewelry making friends that you want to mention it to please go ahead. The more the merrier!

The Many Roles of a Jewelry Artist

As I was taking my pictures this morning I started to think about this jewelry making career and what all it entails. No one told me I'd have to be a photographer when I decided to sell jewelry. But the more I look at photos of others, the more I realize it's not an option - it's a requirement. And what else is required of someone who'd like to make an occasional bracelet or two to sell. Well, accounting experience would be a plus, along with customer service skills (although we hope we'll never have to use those). Shipping and recieving skills and you must keep up with your inventory for all supplies including packaging. Oh, and what about style? That's a biggie! Keeping up with the latest trends and trying to accomidate the newest styles while still being an individual with your own flair. And what about the blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr? I guess being a little tech savy helps as well along with having something to say each time you post something so should we add in journalist as well? hehe Of course, attention to detail and the ability to work with tools, metals, and sometimes even chemicals. This "job" does require a lot from you but the thing is... I'm happy. So, for me it's definitely worth all of it. Agree???

So, here's my pictures from this morning while I was deep in thought.

French Lavender
I didn't add any items to my shop yesterday so I'm adding two today. The first is lampwork from Norma Brink once again. Her work is amazing! Love the depth within each piece. Lots of blues, purples, and a tad bit of yellow and burgundy. All wrapped in oxidized sterling silver wire and hand polished.

Second one has a porcelian button focal from BeadFreaky. She's on Etsy so check out her stuff! It also has ocean jaspers, blue coral, and a few tiny Swarovski crystals thrown in for bling, bling. All held together with sterling wire.

Ok, I guess I'm off to do some inventory because you know that's part of the job. You girls enjoy your Tuesday!

Yesterday's Mistake

Hm... Yesterday's Mistake. Sounds like a title to a song or something. Any-hoo, here are the results after shining these guys up.

I'm pretty happy with the first one so it will go into the shop today. I think I'll name it Palau Lagoon. The only problem I really had with it was the clasp so I just remade that part of it. This one has lots of squiggles and wiggles around the lampwork beads. These are made by Norma Brink who is excellent. I've bought several of her lampwork sets and they have all been incredible. Plus, she's extremely nice which is always a plus. Please check out her site. She also sells on Etsy.

Ok, now that second one. I'm thinking I might just change out the focal bead or maybe use the same stone but I won't wrap it in copper this time. I like the colors in the stone with the copper so I'll probably stick with it. Although the whole piece didn't work out the way I planned, I really like the style of the rest of the bracelet. I was inspired by Sharilyn Miller's Contemporary Copper Jewelry. In the book she uses these great copper washers from Harbor Freight. Unfortunately, I couldn't find them in my town so I ordered off of Amazon. About $10 for a box of over 100 in various sizes. I used them in both these pieces. I got the washer idea from the book and I added my own swirls between each to attach them to each other. Let me know what you think! I love the comments!

It's kinda sad. Lauren only has a few days left until the dreaded fourth grade. We've been trying to enjoy the last few days of freedom together as much as we can. She loves doing crafts of all kinds so here's her projects that she has done this week.

This is a stepping stone. Lauren's dog is named Emily and we call her Em for short (although it should be hurricane with legs but that's too long to say). So she made this stone with Em's pawprint and designed with pebbles.

Ok, so we like stepping stones. I guess you can tell that. We made this one together with our footprints. Man, that cement was cold and my feet are big!

Ok, ladies, I hope you all have a restful weekend! Enjoy what's left of August!