Check Out My Website

Unfortunately, I didn't get chance to make my way to blogging yesterday. I think I've told some of you that we've been working on creating a website. My hubby is a software engineer so he was stoked, of course, to do it. I kinda have mixed feelings on it. It's another way to get people looking but I don't expect much traffic and the upkeep may be a hassle. We shall see. Most of the items I have for sale are on Etsy and the website. When you choose to buy on the website it redirects you to the Etsy page. There are a few items that are only on the website and we even have a spotlight item which is on sale for 10% off. This item will change every week. Please check out the website when you have the time. I'd love to hear input on the style and layout.

BeiMondi.com

Here's this week's spotlight item.

Fallen Leaf Lariat
Pink Ocean Jasper oval stones trail through an Vintaj antique brass leaf focal piece resembling leaves falling from the trees in autumn. Chain is Vintaj antique brass with a length of 24 inches.

I'll still be contributing to my Etsy shop hopefully daily. I still think this is the best way to pick up business. I made this copper beauty to add to my Etsy shop. It features the same stones as the lariat featured above.

Harvest Time Copper Bracelet (on Etsy later today)
Yummy warm copper linked between pink ocean jasper. Each stone varies in shades of cream, taupe, tan, and amber with an occasional pink hue. Center contains nice large focal stone along with copper washer with a sweet swirl design. Piece clasps together with a handmade toggle design with a hammered copper washer. All copper has been oxidized and hand polished to create a glowing rich patina.

Oh, and I noticed Jeanette at Fundamentals.com has the copper washers I am constantly using and they are at a better price than what I paid. These are the ones Sharilyn Miller uses in her new Contemporary Copper Jewelry book. They are so much fun to hammer and polish up. I've even started playing with brass washers I found at Lowe's. I made a bracelet and earrings with a combination of these brass and copper washers that I'll post later. You've gotta give these a try! Have a great Tuesday!

Help With Birthday Gift and Stamping Mania

My next door neighbor and close friend has a birthday in September so I've decided to make her a bracelet. She loves the fall colors especially since she has olive skin and hazel eyes. She's one of the only people I know who looks good in orange. So, I need help! I want to make her a special piece with these colors. She's especially fond of plum purple which is not an easy color to find. I'd love to do gemstones and amethyst is an option but I think it's a bit to dressy for her taste. So, once again I am reaching out to my veteran beaders who have been through this and know where to find the good stuff. I'd like to use copper which I know will just compliment the colors even more. Also, any recommendations for personalizing this piece? You know I am open to all advice and I appreciate your input. :)

So, back to my labor of love. I just can't seem to get away from using copper. It's a good thing for me that it's in style right now. I still get frustrated with bending the thicker sterling wire. It's just so hard! I guess I'll figure it out in time. You're sure to see stamping galore once I get all my goodies.

Creme Caramel Lampwork Bracelet

Thanks for the advice yesterday on the stamping sets. I purchased one of the basic sets from Fundamentals.com along with a few copper blanks and polishing cloths. I can't wait to try it out! I figured I'd start less expensive and if I really get into stamping then I'll upgrade later. Who am I kidding? Of course I'm totally going to get into it. I love metal and personalized gifts so it only seems fitting that I'd be into stamping. I was peeking around Etsy to see what others have done with stamping and I found a few cool ideas that maybe you haven't seen before.

Ok, so I just added this one in for laughs. Who couldn't use a good laugh on a Thursday, right?

And this one is such an inspirational piece and look at that hand formed "L" in the center. So pretty! Both of these styles are from Punky Jane (gotta love that name). She has lots of great stamped items so check it out when you have the time.

Oh, I almost forgot. I also bought a few more interesting items to help me along with my stamping. Here's a few cuties that I ordered from Tropacopy and Stamping Sisters.

Yeah, I couldn't pass up the owl and I thought it would go great with the moon. And the hot air balloon was just too cute and something you don't see all the time. I'd love to see pictures of what you gals have created with your stamping sets so post away!

Copper and Silver Wire Work

Here's the guy that really tore up my hands this weekend. Pulling this wire tight is pretty difficult. I tried Sharon's idea from before about combining copper and sterling silver. The two metals really look nice together and I thought the moonstones would mimic the colors of the metal and not take away from it. I like the results but I'll be wearing gloves from now on. Ouch!

Seductive Aura Moonstone Necklace

These little guys I made to match. They are a bit crazy but kinda fun too.

They are up now on Etsy so let's see if they get much love. Ok, that's it for me. See ya, girls!

Glowing Copper

Hey guys! Just one going in the shop today. This was the "project" piece that gave me so much trouble. I replaced the copper around the center with an artistic design. I guess you can call that art. I like it, it's different. I was going to try silver with the copper like Sharon suggested but something didn't look right to me. I will try this idea on future projects though because I love the look of mixed metals. Thanks for the suggestion, Sharon!

Autumn Skies Copper Bracelet
So much glowing copper in this beautiful piece. Large Itasy jasper holds soft warm hues of gray, pink, and cream. Focal stone has artistically wound copper surrounding it which brings out the rust colored spots within the stone. Made with hammered copper washers that are connected with petite swirls and held together with a handmade clasp. All copper has been oxidized and hand polished to bring out the brilliant shine.

I'm really loving copper. I think it's so much easier to work with than silver I guess because it's softer. Plus, once it's oxidized and polished it seems to have so much luster to it. And you can't beat the price! That's an added bonus. I think you'll see many more designs with copper from me in the near future. And that warm rust colored glow would go perfect with fall colors. Perfect timing! What do you gals prefer? Silver, brass, or copper?

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!

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!