Three Fates Design

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

2012-02-01T08:17:00.000-06:00

I told everyone to stay tuned for an awesome giveaway and well, here it is. I have been asked to try out the My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software as well as, this is the best part, give away a copy of the software to one lucky winner. How cool is that?

Even if you're not into scrapbooking, I think you would still enjoy this software. I mean, I'm definitely not a scrapbooker, but I had so much fun creating pages.

Here is the first page I made. It's by far not the best page ever created, but it's still pretty neat. Those are our pictures from our trip to the house on the rock. It was ever so easy to just click and add the pictures.

I decided to begin with their ready made template because I had never used the software or really created a scrapbook page before. But as soon as I begun I couldn't wait to venture on my own and create some by myself.

Here is the first one I'm attempting to create from scratch. It's a lot of fun and I think I know how I'm going to make our Christmas cards this year.

Then I thought, why not use this scrapbook software for my jewelry. I created a few collage type pages of my work. It was super easy and I think they would be nice to use on my blog as well as printing some out to have on display at shows. Now I can create really cute picture layouts on my blog.

My Memories Software can do so much. They have a bunch of templates you can purchase on the website as well as a dollar section and, wait for it, a FREE section. I was looking through the gallery pages and was just amazed at all the things that you could do with this software.

So now lets get to how you can get your hands on this software.

Head on over to the My Memories webpage and tell me what your favorite scrapbook kit is and what you would use it for. It's that simple.

And do you want and extra entry? Of course you do, but how? Just do one (or all) of the following things and then come back here and leave a comment letting me know what you did.
Follow the My Memories Blog
Like the My Memories Facebook page
Follow My Memories on Twitter

But wait, there is more. Because I love all of you so much, I have a coupon code. Use the coupon code STMMMS11215 to get $10 off the My Memories Scrapbook Software, PLUS $10 dollars off anything in the My Memories Store. That's a $20 value. How awesome is that? I'll tell you, pretty awesome.

Giveaway ends February 10, 2012 at midnight (central time). So what are you waiting for? Get your entry in. Even if you aren't a scrapbooker, this is fantastic software to have. So enter today and good luck.

Snuggle Buddy

2012-01-31T12:03:00.001-06:00

So I really didn't accomplish that much this past weekend. I had big plans, but they all fell through. Between seeing friends we hadn't seen in forever and nursing my lyrangitis, I didn't have a lot of time to bead or do much of anything.

I did make a really cute gift bag for my coworker that is pregnant. I made it using a cute little tutorial I found on Pinterest. I made a bunch of these little mini pom poms for the front of the bag. The tutorial is from The Bakers Twine website.

They turned out really cute, but did I get a picture of the finished bag? Of course I didn't, that would have made too much sense. So, you'll just have to take my word that it was cute.

And when I did get a little time to rest, I had quite the little snuggle buddy. At times I think she took most of the blanket for herself. And since I've lost my voice, she's pretending like she can't hear my whispered, hoarse commands. I think she's actually enjoying me being sick.

Hopefully I'll have a little bit of time soon to work on a few projects and maybe, just maybe, I'll actually take pictures of these projects. :-)

On to the next

2012-01-27T13:22:00.000-06:00

I have finally finished up my large custom order. It feels good to be done. I do sort of wish that I had a picture of all 12 bookmarks together, but since she purchased them 3 at a time, that won't be happening anytime soon. Oh well. I could always make a photoshoped picture. :-)

But now that I'm done with that order it's on to the next. Her daughter has now ordered a bookmark and I think it's going to be a pretty one. She wants me to use the rosemalling from the first bookmark (in pink) and then wants a butterfly in the center. She gave me a few ideas of what she wants the butterfly to look like, so I just took it from there and went. I had to simplify her idea a little bit, but I think, okay I hope, that I got the basic idea right.

That's just a small sampling of the work in progress on the left, it is no where near a finished pattern. I have a lot of cleaning up to do over the weekend, but I think it's coming along nicely. My butterfly I drew in photoshop was not necessarily the prettiest thing in the world, but I've never been very good with drawing on the computer. Thank god I have a tablet, or this would look like a 2 year old drew it.

This whole world wind of bookmark making (I think the numbers at 14 total) started with my client's daughter. She saw my work at an art fair a couple of years ago and just kept coming back to my booth. All day she would come back and look at everything. She asked me if I did custom work, and I told her I was always happy to work one on one with clients. Then she left and came back again. Finally she asked me if I would cut the clasp off of one of my cuffs for her. I was pretty shocked and just sort of looked at her. But she told me she was in love with my puzzle pieces cuff and wanted a unique gift for her daughter, who was a teacher and nanny. So out came the scissors and thread burner, and off came the clasp.

Then I just prayed that this held up as a bookmark. I mean I had no idea if a beaded cuff could be used as a bookmark.

Then early last year she contacted me and asked if I would do a bookmark based on her tribal emblem. And it just took off from there. She has kept two of the bookmarks for herself and given the rest as gifts to family members. I've very glad I've met her and her daughter. They are super nice and great to work with. And I hope everyone that has gotten a bookmark is enjoying it.

Don't forget the check back soon. I'll be having a really great giveaway that I know you won't want to miss. Have a fantastic weekend!

More Crochet

2012-01-26T08:16:00.000-06:00

I finished my skinny scarf the other day, YAY! I'm so proud of myself, finishing a whole crochet project. And of course I couldn't just leave it alone, so I added beads to it to give it that little sparkle. Is that really a surprise, us bead people love adding beads to everything.

I'm happy with how it turned out and hopefully if I keep this up I'll be able to move on to more complicated items, such as a blanket or cute little baby booties. And thank you for all the kind words on my attempts at crocheting. I appreciate them and they keep me from giving up.

Here is my next project. It's just a simple dish cloth. I figured things like dish cloths would be good practice for the different stitches and help me working on turning my work, my edges aren't really that pretty right now.

I'm about half way finished with this one and I will definitely get some pictures posted as soon as I finish it up.

I've also started working on a few new bead projects again. Can't wait to share with you some of those.

And stay tuned, I'll be having a great giveaway in a few weeks. You know you won't want to miss it.

Crochet!

2012-01-23T09:44:00.000-06:00

Well I am finally done with my custom order. It's been two and a half months trying to design and bead 12 bookmarks (two of which are huge), but I'm finished. Now I just need to work on the design for her daughter's bookmark. But that one shouldn't be too hard. Ha, now that I said that, it's going to be a nightmare. Luckily they are great to work with. So, I am having a lot of fun doing these projects for them.

In not so bead related news, I've decided to give crochet another try. It's seriously been about 14 maybe 15 years since I've even picked up a hook. And well my original tries were, how can I put this, crap. But I've been determined to give it another try and see how it goes.

Here's a little scarf I'm working on. I'm hoping it will help me get the technique down. And no comments on how it looks. This is only my second project. My first project was a little dish cloth, which turned out pretty cute.

As soon as I feel comfortable with the techniques, it's on to reading patterns and maybe making something other then squares and rectangles. A cute little stuffed animal maybe.

I also like it because I can work on it on the bus without ralphing all over the place. Which is nice.

Look at me, trying to be a real Renaissance woman; sewing and crocheting. Who the hell do I think I am? But beads and glass are still my first love, nothing will change that. But maybe I can incorporate beads into my crochet, who knows.

But now I must concentrate on getting art fair applications in. It's that wonderful time of year again! :-)

Weekend wrap up

2012-01-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

Ugh, so I finished up my two large (2.5 in by 8 in) bookmarks for my custom order. Then I was in such a rush the morning I dropped them off with her, I forgot to get good pictures. What was I thinking? Now I only have crappy cell phone picture of them. Oh well. I guess I could ask her if it would be okay to borrow one. She works 5 min away from my house. We'll see. I'll talk to her at our next meeting.

This weekend I also decided on a color pallet for my studio. I was going to go crazy with the colors, but decided that because you can see my studio from the sun porch, that maybe I better keep it a little more subtle.

I found this color pallet when perusing the Better Homes and Gardens website, and fell in love. I actually have had it pinned for a while on pinterest. I'm going to use the two main colors for the wide vertical stripes on two of the walls (see, it's still sort of crazy). And then do the ceiling and all the trim in white. And then use the bright yellow as an accent color to make things pop. I'm thinking about painting my small bookcase this color. Or maybe stenciling the bookcase.

Isn't it a pretty color pallet? I came up with a different one that I really like using different shades of turquoise, but decided the colors were just too close to our bedroom colors. And like I said before, that maybe a more subtle pallet would be better.

I can't wait to get started on the paint. I have two long weekends coming up and I'm thinking about working on it then. It will be so nice to have an actually studio that is all mine and I don't have to share with the guest room or dog or boy or storage.....

But first I have to finish up the last two bookmarks of my order, then I can start cleaning and painting. :-)

Almost There

2012-01-05T08:12:00.000-06:00

So I've been working my little butt off trying to finish up a large custom order. Now don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate this order and I'm having fun designing and working on it, but I'm not going to lie, I'll be happy when it's done. I just need a little time to work on other things and I definitely need time to work on my items for my jury pictures for this summer's art shows.

As you can see, I've finished one and have less then half on the second one. Sorry for the aweful cell phone picture, my light box and photo equipment are still waiting to be set up in my studio (since I got kicked out of the back room). These are the second bookmark design for this order. The other one is this design, which I've shown before.

I still have two more of these to go, but luckily they are a lot smaller then the Brothertown bookmarks.

These babies are 2.5 inches wide and 8 inches long. They are good size bookmarks. And they are the dreaded single drop peyote. Any one who beads and does peyote stitch will tell you that single drop takes the longest time. And because I read patterns a little bit different then most people on my normal two drop designs, I had to re-learn how to read a pattern. Let's just say that first work took me an hour or two to finally finish. But luckily I've remembered how it's done and they are working up a lot faster.

I'm hoping to have the second one done before this weekend, giving my plenty of time to finish up the other two clover bookmarks. And with luck, I'll have my photo stuff set up again, and I can get GOOD pictures of these babies. Then it's on to picking a color for the studio walls and getting that disaster organized.

Update!

2012-01-03T09:50:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. Unfortunately I don't have any huge impressive items I've been working on, just the large custom order I've been working on for two months. And the best part, I'm almost done. I only have two more to go and I'm done for a while. WooHoo.

But I have been thinking about getting my studio in order. I mean, it's been a year in the new house, you think I would have done this by now, but I have not. I guess I have felt that other rooms were a little more important. And I have been sharing the room with J's computer. I know, it's not exactly fair that I have to share my room when he has his own studio, a garage, and is designing the reading room, oh well. But over the vacation I decided I was going to start working on the room as soon as this large order was finished.

It looks even worse that the picture above. The ferret has since been moved to the extra bedroom (also a room that J uses) and many more boxes have been added. And the piles of crap seem to have grown immensely, mostly because the lack of storage. But no more!!! It's time for me to get this room cleaned up.

First order of business is paint color. I decided that I want to do a color that is a lot more bold and bright then I would normally use.

Maybe a bright green or deep pink. Like this green, it's called Parakeet. I'm liking it a lot. And then maybe doing a stencil with a lighter color of green. I've seen a lot of people use stencils and I'm liking them. Maybe use a bright blue accent color, just a little tiny bit of blue. That would be pretty and definitely inspire me to create.

Maybe this blue. I like it, it's bright and beautiful. And I think it would work great with a bright green. Maybe I can even paint some of my furniture in this room this color, I like that idea.

The we discussed the idea of doing vertical stripes on the wall because of the paneling on the wall. It would be pretty easy because I would have the lines already drawn for me and should be easy to do. But what colors would I like to do that in?

Maybe a lovely purple pink color. Like this one. It's pretty and bold. But maybe it's too dark for my studio.

I could do a little bit lighter pink color, like this one. It's bright and beautiful. I could accent it with black or even that bright blue from before. Hmmmmm.

Or I could just do a nice grey wall and accent it with one of these crazy colors. Maybe in the form of a stencil. Well I guess I have a lot more to think about. This is becoming a lot more difficult then what I thought it was going to be.

What do you think? What color is your studio or what color would you paint it? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-11-29T08:40:00.001-06:00

Well Thanksgiving is over, but that just means Christmas is around the corner. How did this year go by so fast? Oh well I guess I just except it because complaining about it won't make it summer again, but oh how I wish it were summer again. Especially when I'm waiting for the bus in the morning.

I've been working very hard on my custom order. It's going along well.

But in addition to the 10 bookmarks, I'm also working on two other one's for her. It's an extended version of this one I made for her back in the spring. The sides are extended out so the image is complete. I also added the words "Brothertown Indians", her tribes name, to the bookmark. I just sent her the first draft of this today, so we'll see what she says tonight. Hopefully she'll like it.

And just in case you forgot what the other bookmark looked like, here's a reminder. Like I haven't show you this picture enough. ;-)

I have three completed and two almost completed. That only leaves 5 more to go. And now since Thanksgiving is out of the way, I should have a little more free time to work on these babies. Hopefully I'll have these done in a couple weeks. Then I can dig into some of my new beads I've been dying to work with.

Have a happy Tuesday everyone!

They're Here

2011-11-17T13:32:00.001-06:00

morguefile.com

Yippy, my beads have finally arrived. I ordered a bunch of beads to finish up this large custom order over a week ago. I knew it would take at least a week to get, but was sad when it took this long. And yes I am a little upset that FedEx just changed the estimated arrival date (which in turn made the "on time" status true). But who cares now, they are here and I can finish up with the bookmarks. And yes, I beaded till midnight last night.

And of course I didn't just get beads for the bookmarks, I may have gotten a few for me. Like a few new cabs and some tila beads (can't wait to use these guys).

So my time will be filled with continuous beading until mid December. I actually took a couple days off work to make sure I get this order done. I can do this, I just need to manage my time. :-) I'd love to hear about how you guys take on big projects. What have you found to be the best way to manage time?

It's that time of year again

2011-11-16T13:15:00.001-06:00

So I'm just reminded over and over again that Thanksgiving is only a week away, so that means Christmas is 5 weeks away. How did this month slip by so very quickly?

Right now I'm working hard on my custom order (and waiting patiently for my bead order). But I just wanted to let eveyone know that Christmas ornaments are back up in my etsy store. And the best part about them, they're still at clearance price. Only $10 + shipping. Check them out today!

Okay, back to putting the finishing touches on my pattern, then bead, bead, bead. Have a happy Wednesday everyone.

Custom Order Upadate

2011-11-11T09:08:00.001-06:00

Well it's been over a week since my last update. Sorry. I've been crazy busy. I dropped off my last two custom order bookmarks last weekend. She was not super excited that they had two different backgrounds, but she said she would given them to two different people that won't know there is a difference. So it all worked out.

We also talked for about 1.5 hrs. It's always nice to connect with a customer. She showed me her very cool art. She inlays semi-precious stones in walnuts, then cuts them in slices and make pendents out of them. I would love to get my hands on a couple of those. They were beautiful.

Then while I was sitting at home on Sunday, working on my newest project, I got a text from her asking if I could make her TEN more bookmarks. Holly Cow! So I put in a bead order to get all the colors ordered and then started working with the beads I had. I guess my newest project gets put on hold for a bit since my nights are pretty much consumed with getting these guys made up.

Guess what I'll be working on this weekend? :)

Custom Order Ready to Go

2011-11-03T08:38:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited because I've finally finished the next two custom ordered bookmarks. WooHoo!

My customer that ordered the first one like this, see story here, was so happy with it that she ordered two more almost imediately. One is for her son and one is for her uncle. I was more then happy to do a few more for her, but these did not come without headaches.

First I came down with the flu as soon as she ordered them. Then I ran out of beads and had to run to the bead store. The first bead store didn't have anything I needed. So I had to go to the other side of town to the big store that has the full line of Delicas. The other side of town, it sounds like live in a huge metropolis and it was a huge deal. It only took me 10 min on the beltline to get there.

But the bead store is always a dangerous place for me and J. I picked up my beads and was on my way out when J spotted some old vintage keys. And he had to have one. If you didn't know any better you would think he was 3, he's 30. Then I was 35 cents away from my next punch on my card, so off I went to find something that would bring me up to 2 punches. I got some cool bead caps, if you were curious.

Then I finished up these bad boys in a few days. Then I noticed that I used one color of bead for the background on one and then another color on the other. Blah, hopefully she won't mind. I guess I'll see soon.

But after all of that I'm still really happy with these guys. I think they turned out great. Hopefully she'll be okay with the two different colros. Fingers crossed.

(Sort of) Worldless Wednesday

2011-11-02T08:44:00.001-05:00

Serena's Beadery

These beads are so pretty. I love everything in her shop. Click above to see more of her beautiful work!

*Wordless Wednesday represents my Christmas list of wonderful handmade items. None of them are made by me, they are made by other artists. Please make sure to check out the featured artist's site every week*

WIP - Non Jewelry Bead Embroidery Project

2011-10-31T21:36:00.001-05:00

Welcome to another Monday everyone and Happy Halloween. Hopefully your weekend was exciting, mine was productive. So I guess that's good.

I've been working steadily on my beaded bookmarks and I'm happy to say they are finished. Now I just need to get my butt in gear on her second project. I can't wait to show you guys that one, it's pretty neat!

But I am also trying to get some projects done that are a little out of the ordinary for me and they aren't exactly jewelry. See, I'm trying to get into one of, if not, the biggest art shows that WI has to offer. People come from all over to exhibit in it. It's called Art Fair On The Square. And it's held around the beautiful state capitol building.

From Madison Magazine

Well, I'm actually trying to get into Art Fair Off The Square, which is held during the same weekend but is located Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, one of the streets that runs into the capitol square. Art On the Square is very difficult to get into, open to anyone, and much more expensive. Art Off the Square is only open to WI residents and is put on by the Wisconsin Alliance of Artists and Crafts People. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still extremely difficult to get into this show, but I feel I might have a better chance if I just have to compete against people from WI. And every show I go to I hear over and over again, "Why don't you have a booth at Art On The Square? Your work is definitely worthy." Well, I guess the answer is, I'm too scared to apply, it's pretty pricey for me, and I know I will have a more difficult time getting in with jewelry. I mean have you been to a arts/crafts fair recently, everyone and their mothers design some sort of jewelry. It's an over saturated market. So I thought if I could deviate away from the jewelry a bit, I might have a better chance.

So I'm working on bead embroidered pictures and other objects. I just need to get a few items finished in time for the application deadline. Then I need to step up my photography skills, that's a whole other blog post.

But so far this is what I have for my first embroidered picture. It's not complicated, just simple for my first attempt, then I'll step it up a notch on the next one.

Hopefully I'll have a little bit of a chance, but I guess if I don't make it it will be a good experience for me and I can always try again next year.

Wordless Wednesday - Cielo Rusa

2011-10-26T11:37:00.004-05:00

Simple Tote - Cielo Rosa

One my wishlist for Christmas this year!

Necklaces!

2011-10-25T09:03:00.000-05:00

It's a rainy day here in WI. The leaves are changing (we have a ton in the back yard) and the weather's getting cooler, I guess summer is really over. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Today I just have a few necklaces to share.

The first is a ribbon necklace. I made one of these one night about 30 min before a party because I needed a big statement piece, and I've gotten more complements on it then probably anything else I've made. I don't take credit for inventing these, because I'm pretty sure I've seen similar ones other places.

This necklace is made using some black ribbon, acrylic beads in purple, black, and white, rubberized purple beads (these are so cool) and some stone nuggets (I can't remember what they are off hand, I'll have to look again tonight). It's big, bold statement piece, but still girlly. I love these.

The next is a crazy one I made using that fuzzy yarn and my Kumihimo disk.

This yarn is really soft and a lot of fun. I made myself a bracelet out of it as well. I also made a smaller rope using embroidery floss. I then added some glass beads, a few wooden beads, and brass washers. I really like this one. It has such a crazy side.

And the last one is one I made for myself.

I used this wonderful purple yarn for the Kumihio braid. And then made a simple beaded focal tube. I was going to make a few little beaded beads, but I was lazy so I just made one. Again, nothing new or exciting (this idea has been done a ton of times before by artists much more talented then myself), just a simple beaded bead with a simple braided rope. Just something pretty and soft I can wear.

That's all I have for you today. I'm hoping to bring back Wordless Wednesdays where I feature some of my favorite sells of hand made goodies. Hopefully no one minds. See you all tomorrow!

Another Pendent!

2011-10-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

Monday, Monday. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours was productive. Got some stuff done around the house, ran out of beads for my bookmarks, so I had to run to the bead store (and they only had two of the three colors I needed). You know, a typical weekend.

I didn't get a lot done in the beading relm of things, but I did get some sewing done. I knew crazy, me sewing. But I got myself a serger, and well, I've been a sewing machine, hahaha.

But I do have a new pendent to share. I'm in love with this one. I'm a huge fan of color, but black and white is always so clasic. And I adore the cameo.

I even made a lovely black and white Kumihimo braided rope for it using black fiber and white fiber that has a hint of sparkle. I picked the white fiber up at one of the local thrift stores. It's so pretty and soft.

This is the last of the pendents I made over the summer months. I have a few other pieces I finished up over the summer that I still have to share, but no more pendents. Hopefully these pendents will go over well during the show season. I love how quick and easy they are to make, so I can keep the price down on these. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Have an enjoyable Monday everyone, see you on the flip side. :-)

Beaded Pendent

2011-10-21T09:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Oh yes, it's Friday! It seemed like it couldn't come soon enough this week. I've been battling severe migraines all week (just after getting over the flu, booo), but I slept in an hour this morning and I'm feeling pretty good right now. Hopefully it will last and I can work on some projects tonight. I'm currently making three more bookmarks and working on my first non-jewelry bead embroidery piece. Can't wait to show you guys some of these.

But until then I have some more embroidered pendents to share with you. I was going to post some pictures of a black and white one, but decided that we needed something bright and fun this Friday afternoon. So here we go.

This is one of my favorite ones I've made to date. I think it's fun, bright, and funky. I love the color combo, I think I might need to add a new favorite color combo to the list. The bright pink and green go great together. I thought about keeping it for myself, but I won't.

It's on a simple white Kumihimo braid (I said I loved making these), accented with two large hole crystal beads. I have been thinking about putting it on a colored cord, but I think the white works best, what do you think?

Well that's all I have for you today. I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and happy creating.

New Obsession

2011-10-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

I have a new obsession. It's super simple and it's really fun. I can take it with me and work on it on the bus if I want (which is nice because my bus ride is 45min long).

What is it you ask? Why it's Kumihimo.

I have been so many talented artist making beautiful braids, that I couldn't wait to try. I got myself a little disk. I would love to have a one of the nice wooden stands, but I just don't have the funds right now. Maybe some day.

But my little foam Kumihimo disk works great. I can take it with me because it's small and can be thrown in my bag. I have the nice plastic bobbins to hold all my fiber in place, so the strings don't get tangled in the bag. And I made it's own little pouch so everything is together. I can sit on the bus and get about 3-4 inches of braid finished, depending on the type of fiber I use. It's perfect. And the best part is I now have something to do during my boring bus rides. See I get motion sickness very easily, but the braiding doesn't seem to bring it on like reading does. Like I said perfect bus companion.

I'm also, for the first time in my life, really excited about all the different fibers I can use. I've always liked fibers, yarns, ribbons, but never had a use for them. Until now. I now find myself looking at every type of fiber out there and imagining what it would look like braided. It's a strange new obsession for me.

I've even tried my hand at making beaded braids. This is perfect since I have no concept of crocheting or knitting. I've tried, many a time, lets not get into that here. :-) I've made one necklace I'm keeping for myself and now I'm working on a second one that I might make a big beautiful pendent for.

It's so much fun. I highly recommend it. And if you don't want to buy a Kuminimo disk, there are a number of places on the we that show you how to make them out of cardboard, foam, or even a paper plate. So you have no excuses to try this fun technique out.

Now I'm off to work on some projects (I'm making two more bookmarks and a larger beaded tapestry) and get some things done around the house (plenty to paint). Take care.

Some new stuff!!!

2011-10-19T22:17:00.000-05:00

So, I finally cleaned out my photo tent and started shooting some of my new stuff. And boy is the pile of things I need to photograph large. So I might as well get started.

Here is a bead embroidered pendent that I actually made at the beginning of the summer. It's my two favorite colors and my favorite color combo; green and purple. I love the cat eye cab in the center, it gives it such a nice depth.

This is just a taste of all the things I've been working on this summer. I have a few more pendents and my newest obsession, kumihimo!!!!

Custom Order - Bookmark

2011-10-07T19:34:00.000-05:00

I have finally cleaned out by photo tent. Yup that is what my photo tent has looked like for the past month. Stuff we didn't know what to do with was just piled right inside of it. That's the only bad thing about it being in the extra bedroom right now. But that's part of owning and remodeling a house, right?!? And just ignore the walls in this picture, we haven't gotten around to updating this room yet.

But enough about the photo tent, it's all cleaned out and ready for pictures of everything I've been working on. And boy have I been busy. I have a whole bunch of projects to share with all of you.

And the first one is a custom book mark I made for one of my customers. This is the third bookmark she has bought from me, and the second that was custom designed for her.

She ordered this book mark over the summer after her father passed. She wanted something that would remind her of him. She designed this one herself, with each one of the elements representing something about her father. The plaid his Scotish heritage, the clover represents his Iris heritage, and the rosemaling (the swirls) represent his Norwegian heritage. She plans on keeping it in a book that was very dear to him.

It's a simple, yet special design for her. It took me quite some time to get it the exact way she wanted it, but she is very happy with it and I'm happy that she chose me to help make something so dear to her.

And stay tuned for some more goodies. I have a bunch of them :-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

Beaded Rope

2011-08-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

Well I've been neglecting this blog as of late. Owning a house and remodeling is so time consuming. We're busy with projects all the time, check out my other blog to see some of the projects we've been working on.

But I have been busy making things. I've been working on a custom bookmark and a few bead embroidered pendents, as well as a bunch of Kuminimo braids. Boy, those babies are addictive. This is my first beaded ones. I just used some cheap beads I've had for ages, but I think it's still fun. J says it looks like sixlets, which he's right. If only those colorfully little beads were filled with chocolate. Now I just have to dig my photo box and tripod out to take some pictures. The extra bedroom has become a catch all from our remodeling projects, so my stuff is buried. Maybe this weekend I can get a few pictures taken. Fingers crossed. Have an enjoyable weekend everyone.

Wordless Wednesday - Fireworks!

2011-07-27T07:52:00.001-05:00

Strawberry Fest

2011-06-22T08:40:00.001-05:00

Wow, I haven't updated this blog in almost a month, what am I thinking?!?! Well I have been busy. J has had a number of shows this month again. And we've had a few trips to Chicago. Which was nice because we had a friend watch the house and we took a weekend to ourselves (and of course stopped at Ikea).

And I've been getting ready for my only show of the year. I unfortunately didn't have time to apply for shows this year with buying the house and all. So I had to settle on one show, which was a good one.

I was in Sun Prairie at Strawberry Fest. It's just a little show, but I always do pretty well at it. And the people are always happy and nice. Plus there are strawberries, yum, yum, yum.

This year I sold a cuff and two pairs of earrings to a mother and daughter duo. They were in my booth for ever and were so nice. We discussed a lot of my pieces and they may have convinced me to apply for Art Fair off the Square next year.

The woman that ordered a custom book mark also came and picked that up (more on that later). She loved it and she even sent me a thank you email before I was even done with the show. And the best part, she ordered another book mark (again more on that later). It's always so exciting to see peoples reaction, especially when they're happy. I couldn't continue to do this without happy customers.

So now I'm done with shows for the year (even though I'm thinking of having a trunk show when we get the house a little bit more completed). That means I can start to focus on things like my blog and new designs, which I have plenty of. And I've discovered Kumihimo, so stay tuned for that.

New Pendent

2011-06-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a bunch of different beaded pins and pendents as of late. They make for fun small projects that I can normally finish up in one sitting. The perfect project when I want to take a break from on of my larger projects.

Worldess Wednesday!

2011-06-01T11:09:00.001-05:00

*Picture from Kindred Threads Etsy site.*

Look at this lovely yarn from fellow WI street team member Kindred Threads. It makes me wish I knew how to knit/crochet.

*I'm going to try and feature other etsy shops that I drool over on Wordless Wednesday from now on. Hopefully everyone is cool with this! :-)

What's Old is New Again!

2011-05-18T16:40:00.010-05:00

Oh how I loved this ArtBeads Challenge. Take something vintage and pair it with something new, how fun!!! I almost immediately went thrifting (like I needed and excuse to do that) to find that perfect piece. And here is my cuff!

I found this wonderful pair of vintage leaf earrings and fell in love. I knew almost instantly what I wanted to do with them; create a cuff that had a vintage feel, but still new and fun.I knew I wanted to pair them with Swarovski; crystal always has that elegant vintage feel. I also wanted to stick with green as my focal point, so I went with the Fancy oval in chrysolite. It's a large stunning focal that definitely gets your attention.

I then paired the green with a mix of pinks, purples, and golds. That's a perfect vintage color combo in my eyes. I used my favorite TOHO bead mixes for most of the bead embroidery (Raspberry mix) with the addition of TOHO hex beads and cube beads.

I even added some 25kt gold rounds and some Swarovski roundelles for that added sparkle. And I had some great Peridot chips I used as well to bring some green into the bead embroidery.

I then sewed the wonderful embroidery onto soft green leather. I used a wonderful bronze size 6/0 seed bead for the trim and then accented the trim with different pink tones.

I'm loving this cuff, it's big, and it's definitely beautiful. This blog challenge was definitely one of my all time favorites. It was fun and exciting and I love seeing what everyone came up with. I'm very thankful to be part of this wonderful group.

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.

And We Have A Winner (well actually Three)!!

2011-05-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

First off I want to thank everyone that stopped by and entered my birthday giveaway. I am happy to share my birthday with all of you.

And without further ado, here are the three winners from my birthday giveaway. Drum Roll Please.

The winner of the $10 gift certificate was.....

Comment Number 3, Vitali. Vitalia, if you see this post please contact me so I can send you your gift certificate.

Vitali said...: Nice bracelet, green is my fav color <3; April 14, 2011 8:34 AM

The winner of the blue beaded cuff was....

Comment Number 2, Lisa of Altery, Antique Button Jewelry and Gifts.

Lisa - Alterity Button Jewelry said...

I've tweeted!

http://twitter.com/#!/alterityart/status/56532749351260161

(Which, by the way, will show up on my blog, too...I show my tweets there, so twice the promotion to get people to your giveaway.)
April 8, 2011 8:44 PM

And the winner of the green cuff is.......

Comment number 4, Sparrow of Sparrows Nest. Sparrow please contact me as soon as possible so I can get your new green cuff out to you as soon as possible.

sparrow said...: The blue is sooo gorgeous. You do fantastic work!; April 14, 2011 12:19 PM

Congrats to all the winners and thank you all again for entering my giveaway. It's always so much fun to celebrate with all of you. I will be contacting the winners later today (or waiting for their responses) to let them know they won. Stay tuned for more beadwork, lampowrk, crafts, jewelry, and giveaways.

Super Secret Cuff

2011-04-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

So I've been working on a secret project for a few weeks now. It's something that only I knew about, not even J knew. It wasn't as important as other projects, so it just got a little of my time here and there. But I've finally finished it. And I've pretty happy with it.

This is my cuff, it's not for sale, nor will there ever be one for sale. It's a one of kind, something to show my boy I support him and the band. It's the logo for J's band, 4 Aspirin Morning, or 4AM.

It doesn't look exactly like the actual logo, but I'm gonna go with it's my artistic take on the logo. It's harder then it looks to make a cuff look like a logo. Especially this one.

I had to simplify some things and move some things around, but over all I think it looks good.

I wish I would have gotten a better picture for the reveal, but I couldn't wait any longer to post something on it. My new remote shutter should be here next week, so I'll plan on getting a better picture and showing off some of the detail.

I like it a lot and wear it all the time. I also am loving how the back background looks. I used different sizes and finishes for the black, and it looks so cool. I can see an all black cuff in my future. Like I said I'll re-post better pictures of this cuff in a week or two. Then I'll go through all the details.

So hopefully my cuff will go over with the other guys, I haven't shown anyone other then J so far (and all of you). We'll see what they say.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway. There are only a couple more days to get your name in the hat. You could win one of two cuffs or a gift certificate. Click HERE and help me celebrate my birthday with all of you.

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-04-27T11:01:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to enter my Blog Giveaway. Only a few more days to enter and win one of two cuffs or a gift certificate to my etsy store. Enter today.

ArtBeads, Make It for Mom Challenge

2011-04-26T12:03:00.000-05:00

Want to win a $250 ArtBeads.com gift card and be featured in their Learning Center? Well then get on over to the Make it for Mom Challenge. Show off what you've made for you mom for mother's day. It can be anything, jewelry, crafts, etc, as long as it's made with beads. Share with everyone your lovely creations that are truly special.

All design submissions must contain at least 50% products available at the Artbeads.com website. Contestants must be 18 or older to enter and this contest is open to entrants worldwide. The winner will be determined by a public vote on Facebook starting at midnight (Pacific Time) on Mother’s Day. Make sure to submit a design yourself and tell all your beading friends, family and blog readers to enter this fun design challenge!

Beaded Pendents

2011-04-18T09:51:00.001-05:00

I've been working on a few smaller products as of late. I think they help me keep focused and motivated. They bead up in a few hours instead of a few days, so that instant gratification is what I need to keep me going.

Here is my first little bead embroidered pendent. Just a fun little one in dark blue and bright orange. The center is a small blue cat eye cabochon.

It's then backed with some nice leather and finished with a sheer white ribbon.

I like these because they are simple to work up, but they are also something that anyone would like. They are small, so the people who aren't big fans of my statement pieces would love this. They are affordable, so the people that want something handmade and unique but are trying to save money (aren't we all), will also like it. So it's a win for all different people.

I have a few more of these to take pictures and list. I just finished up a fun green one with a lovely cameo cabochon. These things are almost as addicting to make as the beaded triangles.

You can find this pendent in my esty store HERE.

And stay tuned for more of these little guys as well as a few new cuffs. Plus a sneak peak of a custom order I'm working on for a repeat customer (I love custom orders).

✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺

And don't forget to enter my birthday blog giveaway. I'm celebrating my birthday and thanking all of you that make blogging and creating so much fun.

New Cuff!

2011-04-15T17:28:00.001-05:00

Do you remember that little teaser shot I posted the other day? One of some of the projects I've been working on. It's okay if you don't that's it's not that big of deal. ;-)

Well if you do remember it and were wondering what the finished product looked like (and even if you don't but just want to see some beady eye candy), well here it is.

I love it. I've really been enjoying bead embroidery. Who would have thought that I would be saying that. Just a few years ago I loathed it with a passion. I tried on project and vowed never to try it again. It sickened me. I would stick with my trusty peyote or herringbone or RAW stitches. I didn't need no stinking bead embroidery.

Oh how time changes you. Look at me lately, I'm on a bead embroidery roll. Every time I start a project I think of another one I want to try. There's just something about it that makes me happy. It's like painting or something (and we all know I could paint a picture to save my life).

This cuff was just something quirky I wanted to try. I didn't really have a design or pattern, I just glued some cabs down and went. I didn't even know I was going to make it in this shape, the wavy shape. I figured I would just make one in normal rectangle cuff pattern, but no, I ventured out of that dull, boring shape and got all crazy. Now the possibilities are endless. Who knows what I'll make next.

Thrift Store Shopping!

2011-04-14T11:45:00.002-05:00

The ArtBead blog partner theme this time around is "What's Old is New Again". What a truly fun theme. There are so many possibilities. The idea is to use something vintage (or vintage looking) and mix is with new components to make something awesome. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. There are so many things that could be made, so many fantastic vintage items to use.

I swung by the thrift store ~~on my weekly visit~~ the other day to see what I could find. I was a little distraught at first because I couldn't seem to find very inspiring jewelry pieces. I use to stop by the local thrift shop all the time to pick up old costume jewelry to gut for their fantastic components. But at first, my vintage hunting was not going as planned.

Click on the picture to see my thrift store finds better!

Then I came across these fun little leaves. Such cute little earrings (and of course they're clip on). I love the little pearl detail. Simple and beautiful. I had an idea of what I would like to do with them, but wasn't sure.

I also picked up a little bag of buttons at the first store. I always love finding buttons. They can be used for so many different things.

And of course I found tons of buttons at the next store. Even a few that I thought would work with the color scheme I'd like to go with. I'll have to see if they work when I get my little package of beads.

I can't wait to start working on this project. I have my sketch all worked out and I'm ready to get beading. I'll give you another little sneak peak when my beads arrive. And I can't wait to see what all the other talented artists come up with. I'm sure this challenge won't disappoint.

Out of a Rut?!?!

2011-04-08T08:47:00.000-05:00

I've started to feel bogged down by all the work I want to do around the house and J having a show every other day (okay not exactly, but it sure feels like it). It feels like I'm the only one who wants to do things around the house because he's so busy. It has started to get to me, but I'm hoping the warmer weather that has finally arrived will change my mood.

I seem to go through this cycle of being very productive and then just not even touching a bead for days. I'm sure it doesn't help that my studio is still a pile of boxes and mess. Or the fact that I haven't touched my torch in over a year (oh how I miss melting glass). Or that I have to share the space with J's computer (which isn't fair because he has the garage and downstairs studio). It's just not really an environment that produces a very productive state.

But sometimes you just need someone to tell you that the rut will pass and things will be back to normal soon. And I feel that's what happened. I just needed someone to tell me to hang in there and things will calm down. And sometimes you just need to clean up the sun porch yourself to create an awesome beading space (pictures to come).

Sneak Peak of Current Projects

Now things have not really calmed down. J still has two shows every weekend, but I've started to put things into perspective. And I'm trying not to take too much on and do what makes me happy.

The result, I have been so unbelievable productive this week. I really have.

I finished up the bead embroidery on a cuff. I started a beaded rope. I am half way done with my super secret project (I'll share soon). I started and almost finished a bead embroidered pendent. I've started planning my ArtBead project. And I've been sketching like crazy.

Holy crap, that's a lot (for me). I'm pretty proud of myself and I'm hoping that I can keep this up. Hopefully I can balance beading and house projects for a while.

And for an added bonus, I'm enjoying Awesome 80s Friday and new hair cut. Have a fantastic weekend all!

Also don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway. I'm giving away two cuffs and a gift certificate to three lucky winners this month. All you have to do is comment. Check out this blog post for details. I want to celebrate my birthday by giving back to all of you that have made blogging such a wonderful experience!!!! Thank you!

Birthday Giveaway!!

2011-04-05T13:31:00.000-05:00

So it's my birthday month, yay!! Another year older and I hope another year wiser. So in honor of this month being such and awesome month, I'm having a giveaway. WooHoo!!!

And what can you win? Well it's a pretty awesome line up this month. This month I'll be giving away two cuffs and a gift certificate to my etsy store (you can also use it if you visit me at an art show).

Fist prize will win this fantastic green lace cuff on light brown leather. I love these cuffs. I love how the lace beadwork and the leather work together. And these green beads are so beautiful. This will make a perfect addition to anyone's jewelry collection.

The second prize is this great blue beaded cuff on light brown leather. It has a subtle triangle design that's oh so pretty.

And the third prize is a $10 gift certificate to my etsy store. That's $10 to use on anything you would like. Pretty awesome.

And how do you enter, you ask?

Well it's easy. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post and you're entered. And you're comment could be about anything. It's as easy as that.

Want an extra entry? Oh course you do. I'm gonna leave that one up to you. Anyone can have ONE extra entry if they promote this giveaway in anyway. So you can blog about it, post something on facebook or twitter, or anything you can think of. Let me know how you promoted this giveaway and I'll throw your name in the random list generator twice.

So lets recap. You could win one of two cuffs or a $10 gift certificate just by leaving a comment on this blog post. And you can get an extra entry by promoting this giveaway. That's sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

I'll be running this giveaway for the entire month of April. So get your comments in by April 30, 2011, midnight (central time). And don't forget to share this fantastic giveaway with others. Good luck all of you and thank you for making my blogging experience so fantastic!!!

New Necklace

2011-04-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

I finished up this necklace over a month ago, but haven't gotten any pictures posted. I know, I've been really bad about blog posts as of late. And, well to be honest, I've not been in that creative of a mood.

I have a bunch of projects either half started or need to be started, but I've had very little motivation to do any of them. I just think all the projects around the house are getting in the way. And now it's spring, so major projects will be started (hopefully my studio will be one of the first).

But I'm gonna try and get things posted up here and try to get some new projects done, I promise.

But back to the necklace. I am having a lot of fun making really simple bead embroidered brooches and pendents (when I get anytime to actually bead, see above statement). And this one was no exception.

I used a small rectangle cat's eye cabochon for the center and just went to town with pink, brown, pearl, and gold beads. I'm in love with the color combo.

I lined this baby with soft brown leather and added some pink and gold beaded edges. And I made one of my other favorite things, a spiral rope to finish it all off. And this is a double spiral rope, so it's really full and beautiful. And boy is it sparkly.

I like this a lot and I'm hoping to get a few more made before the show season starts (even though I'm only doing a few shows this year).

Now I just need to get the motivation to get this listed in my esty store (as well as all the other things I have waiting to be listed). I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! ;-)

Music for Everyone

2011-03-25T19:48:00.003-05:00

So most of you know that music is a big part of my life. I grew up with a dad and brother that played multiple instruments and I started playing in 4th grade. My parents always felt music was important, whether it be learning to read sheet music or just being introduced to different genres. And I'm still surrounded by music. J is in a ska/punk band and it seems like the majority of our friends are in bands. We're always going to shows and meeting new people. It's really a fantastic part of our lives.

Some of the door prizes they will have at their clinics

The other day I was contacted to see if I would like to donate a few items to a local organization that give free guitar lessons to underprivileged children. It's called The Fearless Project and I think their goal is fantastic; to give children, that normally wouldn't have the opportunity, the gift of music. What a fantastic idea. They are a brand new organization here in Madison, only starting up last year.

J and I both met with them the other night to learn more about the project and what we could do to help. I was asked to donate door prizes for their upcoming guitar workshops. I couldn't wait to start working on some of these projects.

I am donating some guitar string bracelets as well as some guitar pick necklaces. I'm also working on some ideas of leather pick holders. I have plenty of leather scraps around here, so if I have some free time this weekend I plan on playing with the pick holder idea. Hopefully I'll have some successful items to show you next week :-)

I feel this organization has a lot of potential and I would like to help them out as much as possible. This is why me and J wanted to live here; to be part of the community, to help out and volunteer, to be around the arts.

More Door Prizes

We've talked to a few people about this already and they love the idea. We have friends that would like to do a benefit concert for them and maybe even volunteer their time to teach some lessons.

If you are interested in donating (money, time, guitar stuff) then check out their website. It really is a great organization and I hope others will like it as much as J and I do.

Green!

2011-03-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. The day where everyone wants to be like me; a green eyed, pale skinned ginger. Granted I'm not a true ginger, we're the brunette kinda Irish folk. But when I started going gray at 25, yes you heard me, I decided I might as well be a redhead. I'm just rambling right now, enough of that!!!

I don't have any specific St. Patrick garb in my store (we just bought that house, I've been busy ☺), but I do have plenty of green items to go around.

I love green, I always seem to gravitate toward green. You should see how many green beads I have. And don't get me started on the different shades of green glass rods I own. It's just a great color.

Stop by my etsy store today and check out all the wonderful green items up for sale. And a lot of them just might be in the clearance section (even better).

I hope everyone has a fantastic St. Patrick's day!

And I hope spring has started peak it's little head out for most of you, it has finally started to make it's presence here in WI.

Winter Wonderland

2011-03-15T09:02:00.001-05:00

Now most of us by now don't want to even think about winter. We want the warm sun and green grass. We want birds singing and flowers blooming. Well at least I know I do. And that just might happen here in WI this week. We just might get a sneak peak at spring.

But before that happens, I have one more winter related item on the agenda. And that's my ArtBeads blogger partner project. The theme was Winter Enchantment! I had a really good idea of what I wanted to do as soon as I heard the theme. I knew I wanted to do something with blue, white, and silver. The colors I always think of when I think of winter.

I found this wonderful cab. It was so beautiful and the perfect color combo for my vision. I had to have it.
And the rest of the project just fell into place (don't you just love when that happens). I did a diamond shaped bead embroidered pendent with loads of fringe (ugh, fringe). I used the TOHO seed bead mix in blue frost for most of the embroidery and fringe with a mixture of white, silver, and blue beads I already had. The fringe has Swarovski cubes, stars, and snowflakes. The perfect addition for the sparkle I was looking for.

Then there was this absolutely gorgeous cameo. I mean look at it, it's beautiful. I fell in love with it online, and then I fell in love with it again when I ripped open that little package of beads. The three ladies dancing in the wonderful light blue color is just stunning. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I kinda like this cab.

I have a few cameos from art beads and have never been disappointed. They are wonderful.

This project isn't completely finished, I was waiting on some back ordered seed beads to finish the beaded rope (but I have them now, so I need to get my butt going). I normally don't use anything that's on back order for these projects, but these beads are perfect. They are light blue lined with white. Like I said perfect for this project. I'll get pictures up as soon as I finish the rope. Then you can see how it all works together.

From ArtBeads.com

I also have a wonderful sterling silver snow flake toggle clasp. It's so pretty and will add the perfect addition to this winter themed necklace. I'm really enjoying designing with these themed clasps. It just brings a piece together.

Now I just need to get that beaded rope done. I promise I'm working on it right now.

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.

*I'm redoing the pictures for this piece. I know they are too busy. I will hopefully have new pictures up by the end of the week.

I've been crafty!

2011-03-03T11:03:00.000-06:00

So I wrote about this on my other blog, but I was so excited with how it turned out that I decided to post a few pics over here as well (sorry for the repeat for those of you that visit both blogs ☺).

I am dying to decorate our new house. I mean I've sort of started, but without ~~most~~ all of our furniture, it's sorta hard to start decorating. We have so much we still need; a dining room table, sofa table, side table, shelves, coffee table (a bigger one), etc. I just can't possibly start putting out the candle holders and decorative vases until we have some of this stuff. So I'm dying here. I want to decorate so bad. I want to take my picture frames and crap out of boxes and get it up. But I have to be patient, I have to wait a little bit longer.

So to quite my frustrations, I've started to make stuff that will have a place soon. My first project was a coffee filter wreath. I've seen a few of these online on various blogs and really fell in love with them. I like how they look and I couldn't wait to try and make one. So here's mine.

I went back and forth on weather or not to dye the filters, but since we have a brown color scheme going on, I felt the tea dyed filters would fit the room better then white ones.

I just dyed the filters with tea, let them dry, then hot glued them to a wreath form. And this is the outcome. I'm really liking it. I think I might get a little bit wider ribbon, but over all I'm happy. Even J likes it (he was a little iffy, but he always questions my DIY projects).

I have it hanging on our horrible brown door right now, but I think I might hang it on our red wall (once it's painted). I think it will contrast nicely with the red wall.

But I'm just excited with how it turned out. It looks pretty good for just a wreath made out of coffee filters, don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-03-02T08:04:00.000-06:00

A little sneak peak

2011-03-01T10:34:00.001-06:00

So here a little taste of one of the projects I'm working on right now. It's a little pendent. Okay, let's not be ridiculous, this is a big pendent. It's a big, beautiful, bold pendent that a shy girl just couldn't and wouldn't want to pull off. My favorite kind of jewelry. Sparkly jewelry that screams, "look at me." I love it. I'm just working on a beaded rope to go with this pendent and then I'll share the whole thing with you!! I'm gonna try to make a long rope for this one, but we'll see if my patients (and excitement to finish this) lets me get one done.

I've been having so much fun with bead embroidery lately. I've been making up little bead brooches like crazy and even my ArtBeads project (that will be done this week, I can promise you that) is bead embroidery. It's just so much fun to create with it. I have a couple of cuffs that I hope to have finished by the end of the month. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

I also wanted to let everyone know that I added a clearance section to my etsy store. I'll be adding things on a regular basis. You can save up to 50% off some of the items. I'm just looking to update some of my stock and get rid of some of my older pieces. It's a perfect way to pick up a beaded cuff or pair of earrings. So out with the old and in with the new :-D

One Done, One Not So Much

2011-02-28T09:39:00.000-06:00

So I was extremely productive this weekend. I am very happy with myself. It seems like I've been so obsesed with the house and getting it painted, and decorated, and looking like a home, that I've put me bead work on the back burner. That makes me a little sad. But not this past weekend, I was super woman when it came to beadwork!!!

I finished up my orange and green beaded brooch. I'm in love with this one. I love how elegant it looks. The colors are great. I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Now for the brooch that didn't work out so well. I was also working on a brooch that was bright and sunny; the opposite of what it looks outside my window right now. I had such high hopes for it. I thought it would lift my spirits and get me ready for spring. Well it hasn't. It's one of those projects that just problem after problem arise. You know the one, the one that doesn't go right no matter how easy it is. No matter how much you think it's going to be a quick little project to fill some time, nope, that's not how it works. Well after broken bead and more broken beads, I decided to put that project aside and come back to it when I wasn't so frustrated and ready to throw it across the room. I'm hoping to have calmed down enough to finish that baby up soon. Who knew a fun bright project would make me so angry?!?

I'm also working on a few beaded pendents. Big ones with fringe (oh god that's such an awful word) and sparkles and what not. Pendents that demand attention from anyone around you. I can't wait to finish them up and get the pictures up. I'm so happy with them. One is my project for ArtBeads, which I hope to be done with that this week. It's big and beautiful. I'm in love with these new ones.

I have a few other ideas that I can't wiat to start. My sketch books seem to be overflowing with ideas as of late. Which is fantastic. Now if only I can get that bead/glass studio organized!

I am also loving my new tripod (thanks to Rose at The Beading and Buttons of Random Creative for the suggestion). I missed having a tripod and I'm loving this one. It's just simple and a photographer would probably laugh at it, but it works great for me. But now I have to actually sit down and get some pictures taken. My next purchase will be for a remote shutter, because waiting for the camera timer is killing me :-)

Wordless Wednesday - I'm wishing for spring!

2011-02-23T08:43:00.000-06:00

WIP - Beaded Brooches

2011-02-21T07:09:00.000-06:00

So I have been having a bunch of fun making these bead embroidered brooches. I love how simple they are. Nothing fancy, just a lovely cab and some even more lovely beads around that cab. They really are fun and pretty. I have two almost done. I just need to wait for the glue to dry on the backing and then they can have the beaded edge sewn on, and DONE!

The first one is the more "fancy" one. I'm not a huge fan of orange, but I love this one. The way the hex cut beads sparkle in the light. The way the rich color combination just screams opulence. I'm in love with something orange. Weird. Well I can't help it, look at how pretty that little guy is.

Then the next one was just a fun one that I've been working on. It's bright and colorful and the total opposite of what the weather is like outside. It reminds me of some place warmer, some place fun and exciting. Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean.

This brooch has a small dark yellow cat's eye cab in the center and is surrounded by bright yellows, pinks, and teals. Fun!

Like I said I need to get the beaded edge sewn on both of these, then they will look more complete. I'm hoping to get that done this week sometime. I'll be working on them between my ArtBeads project. Which is half done (and I can't wait to show you that one, I used one of the most beautiful cameo I've ever seen on it). And even thought we're super busy with the house, I'm excited to get some time to take pictures using my new tripod. So don't forget to come back and see some of the other projects I've been busy with.

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-02-16T09:01:00.000-06:00

New Camera Tripod, YAY!

And The Winner Is.....

2011-02-14T08:31:00.000-06:00

It's that time again to announce the winner of my blog giveaway. This was the first one of the year and up for grabs was this great heat broach. All hand embroidered with different red, white, and pink beads. A perfect little brooch for your coat or bag or anywhere you want to wear it.

Okay, enough of that, lets get to the winner.

The lucky winner of this fun little brooch is Karen of My Opinion Counts. I will be contacting her today to let her know that she won.

I will also be contacting Sangeetha of Just Sangy and Shop@JustSangy letting her know that she won a $10 gift certificate to my etsy store.

You see I only had those two ladies enter (multiple times, so I know they both wanted to win!!!) this giveaway (I've never had that happen before). And I couldn't just award one prize when both ladies wanted to win so very badly. So that's how I came up with the idea that I would give the runner up a gift certificate.

I hope both ladies will enjoy their prizes. Thank you for entering. And I apologize for not announcing the winner on the 12th like planned, our internet router broke last week, and they haven't fixed/replaced it yet, so we don't have the internet at home (isn't that how it always works).

New Bracelet Finished

2011-02-08T08:47:00.000-06:00

I have been sort of behind on getting new things listed as of late, what a surprise. I was on such a roll last month, but then disaster hit. My tripod exploded. I'm serious, it pretty much exploded in my hand. It wasn't a very good tripod, it was a super cheap table top one that I've had for a few years now. It's nothing special, and like I said cheap. I've actually glued it back together a number of times. But for the last few years it's done it's primary function, hold my camera steady and still while I took pictures, so I can't complain much. But alas, that time is over. There is no gluing it back together anymore. It's done, finished. So I've attempted to take a few pictures without it and I miss it already. So now I'm in the market for a new tripod. And until then, I'll be kinda light on the new pictures. I just am not happy with how they turn out without the tripod. It really does make all the difference.

But anywho, I did finish up my fish scales cuff pictured above. I used some little silver lined red triangles to add some color and boy do I love it. This is a big cuff, it's over 2 inches wide, but oh so pretty. The silver lined hex beads catch the light and sparkle like nothing else. I love these beads and I'm in love with this cuff. I can't wait to pick up a new tripod so that I can get the rest of the pictures taken. Then I can get this listed because I know it will make someone very happy. Yay, sparkles!

And don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. I'm giving away a beaded heart broach just in time for valentine's day. This giveaway ends this Friday (February 11th), so hurry up and enter soon. Check out this post for all the details, pics, and ways to enter. Enter today!!

New Cuff

2011-02-02T09:10:00.000-06:00

Since I have finished up my Cheshire Cat cuff (last year sometime), I have been officially hooked on bead embroidery. I mean it really lets me "paint" with my beads. I can make these little beaded pictures that you can wear, how fun is that ? I have made quite a few more cuffs since that first one as well as necklaces and brooches. I'm just loving it.

And here is my latest bead embroidered cuff. I'm in love with purple, I always have been and this cuff captures that. It has such a wonderful royal feeling. All the beautiful shades of purple playing with the sparkle of the silver lined beads, just so beautiful. I'm almost a little reluctant to get rid of it, I would love to keep this one, but I won't. I just made my self a brooch, I need to stop keeping things for myself. :-)

This cuff should be listed in my etsy store soon (as soon as I get a new tripod. That's a long story that I'll have to tell soon.) I'll make sure to add an updated link when I do.

And don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. This pretty bead embroidered brooch could be yours. But hurry, this giveaway ends February 11th!

The First Giveaway of the Year!

2011-02-01T08:10:00.001-06:00

Finally!!! I finally finished up my giveaway prize. Then I broke my tripod, so it took me a little bit longer to get it posted then first planned, but I did it. I got a few decent pictures and, Drum roll please ......... IT'S TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!

And what do you have the chance to win? Well you have the chance to win this lovely bead embroidered brooch. Just in time for Valentine's day, this little brooch has a wonderful white cat eye heart shaped cabochon encircled by a variety of red, pink, and white seed beads. It is then backed with lovely black fabric and a pin back.

It's all hand embroidered and is quite lovely if I do say myself. It measures 2 3/8 inches (6.03 cm) long and 2 3/8 (6.03 cm) inches wide.

So what do you have to do? There are a few simple ways you can enter.

1. You can leave a comment on this blog post. It can be anything; you can tell me what you would do if you won or just say hi. Any comment will equal one entry.

2. You can tweet about this giveaway, don't forget to add #threefates to the tweet so I can find it. Then come back here and let me know you tweeted the giveaway. That will equal one more entry.

3. You could blog about this giveaway. Just write a short blog post describing the giveaway and link back to my blog. Then don't forget to come back here and leave a comment to let me know. I even made a little a button for this giveaway! This will equal a third entry.

4. Post about it on Facebook. It can be a post on your personal page or your business page, it doesn't matter. And like before, just come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did it.   And this is a fourth entry.

5. Become a fan (like) of Three Fates Design on Facebook. Stop by the Three Fates Facebook page (great place for updated news), become a fan, and then come back here and let me know. Holy cow, that's five entries!

6. And because I want everyone to have as many chances of winning as possible, I'm adding a 6th entry opportunity. Follow my other blog, Three Fates and J Grow Up, leave a comment on this blog entry to let me know, and you will entered in this giveaway.

That's up to 6 entries. You don't have to do all 6, you can do just one, or two, or three, well you get the point. Do as many things listed above as you would like, but remember to leave a comment for each individual thing you do here on this blog entry. This giveaway will end on Friday, February 11, 2011 and I will have a winner announced on Monday, February 12, 2011.

Good luck everyone!!

The First One!

2011-01-27T12:40:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the picture quality (and pet hair)

Here is my completely finished first broach. I took it apart the other day and redid the backing on it so the pin back would work. I'm pretty happy with this one. It's clearly my first attempt at this, because you can see all the glue and crap I got everywhere. And I'm pretty sure the pin back isn't level, but I can't say for certain.

So I'll be keeping this little guy. Which is fine, I love sparkly, pretty things.

I was going to take a picture of the back to show you what it looks like now, but like I said earlier, it's not that pretty. I sorta looks like I let a two year old loose with the broach and some glue. I'm not really sure what I was doing when I glued the back on. Okay, I do know. I was very tired, frustrated, and didn't have the best lighting. So it shows. And that is why I'm not going to giving this broach away. I don't want you guys thinking I can't handle my glue. That would be embarrassing ;-)

But I have been working on a few more of these and I have to say I'm having so much fun. I like to work on them when I need a break from a bigger project. It's almost like a little break, a little vacation from the time consuming, extremely frustrating larger projects I have going right now.

And best of all I'm finishing up the last little details (pictures) for my next giveaway. I should have the info on that up tomorrow. Fun, fun!

Almost Ready!

2011-01-26T08:45:00.000-06:00

So last night I took apart my last broach that I was going to use in my blog giveaway. I took the leather off the back and replaced it with a much thinner piece of fabric. It worked really well and now the little locking mechanism works fine. I was all ready to get some pictures of it and get it up for my giveaway, but I wasn't truly happy with it. And I don't want to giveaway anything that I'm not fully happy with. So what does that mean for my giveaway? Well it means that I will be keeping the broach for myself, but I will be offering up an even better one. As you can see on the right, there is a fun pink and red heart broach in the works, that's the one I'll be giving away. I finished it up last night, and now all I need to do is snap some pictures tonight. Then it will be available to win. I think it turned out really cute and would be a perfect valentines day prize. So stay tuned, and I promise that I will have my blog giveaway up before the end of this week. I promise!!! :-)

Road to Tucscon with ArtBeads

2011-01-25T11:40:00.000-06:00

Wanna go to Tucson and the 2012 Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase? Well if the answer is yes, then you're in luck. ArtBeads is offering a free trip for two to Tucson, AZ!!!! This sweepstakes is open to all US and Canadian residents over the age of 18. Entry deadline is March 16, 2011 at 11:59pm PT, so hurry up already and enter, I have. Just think the lucky winner (and a guest) will receive round trip airfare and three nights accommodations, as well as classes with well known bead instructors. So like I said before, hurry up and click the picture above and enter already. :-)

To Be or Not To Be

2011-01-24T10:01:00.000-06:00

So I finished up my first bead embroidered broach this weekend. Like I said, it's just a simple, but at least I think, pretty little broach. I used a cat's eye cab for the center and pink, blue, and silver beads around the outside.

I'm happy with the beading, I think that turned out really nice. And I'm happy with the moleskin type fabric I used to sew on. It was easy to sew through, but still really tough and didn't really fray.

But what I'm not happy with was the pin back. I thought I had some pin backs. No I swear I had them. Maybe they got misplaced in the move, maybe I've lost them, I'm not sure. But what I do know is I didn't have any. So I ran up to the craft store to pick some up. Well they only had the pin backs with the little locking mechanism on the back. And I'm not happy with this. I don't really like those pin backs that much because I feel like the little mechanism always breaks. And once I put the one I bought through the leather, the little mechanism doesn't even work because it can't turn. :-( So now I'm trying to find just the simple pin backs that don't have the mechanism. And boy is it harder then planned. I thought they would be easy to find, but I'm not having any luck. I'll just keep looking until I find something I like.

What do you use for pin backs on your broaches? Do you use the little locking pin backs or something else? And do you back your work with leather or do you use a thinner fabric so the locking mechanism will work?

And because of this, my first giveaway of the year will be postponed until I can figure out the whole pin back dilemma with this broach. But as soon as I figure it out, you will be able to win that little beauty above. So stay tuned for an update on that.

TGIF

2011-01-21T12:24:00.001-06:00

I am so proud of all the work I got done last night. I finished up the beadwork on my broach. Now all I have to do is put the pin back and add the trim. Then that's one all done and ready for my next giveaway. I also finished all the beadwork on my large sparkly "fish scale" cuff. This cuff is about 2 inches wide and oh so sparkly and pretty. I just need to add a clasp and I'll be done with that project. Now I only have to finish up the beadwork on my bead embroidered cuff and finish up my latest guitar in my musical cuff series (hint, it's an acoustic). I am on a roll lately. Hell yeah! And it's time for the next ArtBeads project. Ohhhh, that means I get to place a bead order!!!!

I have even been pretty good about getting new things listed on etsy. Not every single day like I wanted, but almost. I have so many triangle earrings and pendents, that I'll probably be listing those for the rest of my life.

I listed this fun blue and white spiral rope today. I love, love, love making these. They are so much fun and pretty easy. I love how just changing a bead here or there changes the looks so drastically. I plan on making a bunch more in the future (I already ordered a crap tone of different beads to make a rainbow of spiral ropes).

But this one can be found HERE in my etsy store (15% off and $1 shipping). It's 24 inches (60.69 cm) long and is a wonderful light blue and white necklace finished with a fun lion's head button I picked up at a thrift store a while back. I really like the button, it's kinda fun and I think adds a quirky aspect to the necklace.

And in show news, I've started looking into art shows for the summer. I've decided not to do as many as I did last year, just a few local ones and that's all. With the new house, I don't see us having as much time to sit at art shows all weekend, we'll need some of that time to do the upgrades on our list. So I've started to make my list and will start applying soon, so hopefully I'll have some shows to add to the list where you can come and visit me.

WIP

2011-01-20T08:17:00.000-06:00

Wow, I seem to have a whole bunch of those lately (not including the ones I had already been hoarding). I guess when my creativity came back, it came back with vengeance. I have had so many ideas pop into my head. Then I try to write them down or sketch them as quickly as I possible can so I don't forget. But my mind festers on them, and I must start them. What I already have three projects on my bead board right now, I DON'T CARE, start a new one. I work on a little of each one every night. Which isn't as quick going as if I just worked on one, but it seems to be keeping my interest, so I'm going to keep it going.

Here is a quick picture of one of the projects I'm working on. It's my first beaded broach. I've always adored others work, and I love me a good broach, so why not try it. I'm keeping this first set really simple. Just bead embroider around a cab. No patterns, nothing intricate, just simple. I'm liking this one so far. I might keep it, or I might have a blog giveaway. Hmmm, I wonder which it will be. Maybe if enough of you want to try for beaded broach, I'll put it up for giveaway. So who wants me to do a giveaway????

☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃

And so I don't forget to remind everyone, I'm still offering 15% off on all items in my etsy store. That's 15% on top of the $1 shipping (US and Canada). At Yoda's last appointment we found out her eye didn't develop properly and her eye lids are rubbing on her eyes, causing dis-colorization and eventually blindness. We would like Yoda to keep her sight since she's only 1 1/2 years old and she's been through so much already, so we're trying to save up as much as we can (which isn't that easy when you've just bought your first home), so she can have the surgery. So all the sales from my sale will go towards reducing her vet bills. Thank you everyone for your continued support in Yoda's plight to healthiness. It's been a long journey so far, but we're hoping healthy report card soon! :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Blue Hoops

2011-01-19T10:46:00.000-06:00

Making Progress!

2011-01-18T10:31:00.000-06:00

I want to thank everyone for their kind encouragement. I feel like I'm really getting out of the slump. Thanks everyone, you're awesome!

I didn't get a whole lot of beading done this weekend because we were trying to get a bunch of house stuff done. But I did manage to clean up the studio a bit.

I know it doesn't look like much in the picture, but trust me, before I started it was just a huge pile of boxes. I actually set up my glass table and unpacked quite a bit. I'm still waiting on my pegboard. J needs to help me put it up. I was going to paint before I did any of this, but I've decided that I'm just not going to get around to painting this room for a while. I'd rather be organized and have everything put away then wait for the paint color. And I'm glad it was dark outside when I took this picture, or you would have seen the even bigger mess that is known as our three season porch.

I also picked up a copy of Curb magazine the other day. I've been wanting to pick up a copy for a while and I've just never been able too. So I made J take me out for Chinese food because I know the one Chinese restaurant has copies of them. This is the magazine that is put together by UW students each semester. This semester was a woman's magazine and they used one of my cuffs in there. It's my first magazine appearance, and even though it's just a student run magazine, I was pretty excited. The magazine itself is really nice and professional looking. Those students do one heck of a job. If you live in the Madison area, I would suggest picking up a copy to check out the hard work of these students.

My cuff was in there and it looked really nice. I was honored to be chosen from all the extremely talented female artists in Wisconsin. I can't believe something I made caught the eye of someone and then it ended up in a spread in a magazine, holy crap that's awesome.

I grabbed a bunch of the magazines (yes, they're free, so if you live in Madison, there is no excuse for not getting one), I'm sure my mom will want one. No matter how old you get, mom's will still collect things like this just like they did when you were in the second grade. ;-)

I think I just might be....

2011-01-14T09:07:00.000-06:00

So I've been in quite of a creative slump as of late. Maybe it's just winter. The short cold days, never seeing any sunlight. Just wanting to snuggle up under a warm blanket and hibernate. It just makes everyone a little bit sad.

Maybe it was the stress of buying a house and then moving (in winter) that really was getting to me. I mean it took really everything out of me. It's hard buying a house so far away from where you live. It just means long nights and little sleep. But we did it and now I have a studio (well I will as soon as I get off my butt and start putting it together).

Maybe my creative slump was caused by a bad show. All of you out there that do art shows know the feeling. You do a show that you think will be fun and you'll make some monies, and then it just sucks. Then you start questioning your work and telling your boyfriend that you're done making things and doing shows because everyone hates your stuff. You get a little depressed and kinda just want to crawl in a hole.

Well I had one of those bad shows last month. It was one held at my work for employees and family members of employees. They have it every year and it's little, but free. You just have to donate a little of your earnings to the animal fund. Okay sounds good, guess I'll give it a try. I probably won't sell much because my stuff is expensive, but even a few things would be okay. But then I found out that money was taken at the door and then distributed later on. Well, I was a little iffy about this. I mean who wouldn't be, you hand over your hard work and don't physically get any money in return. But they said they didn't have an problems in the past so I went ahead with the show. Long story shot, I only sold a few things, but I made about $100, which isn't really great, but the show was only 3 or 4 hours long and it was free. So I was happy with the extra hundred dollars I would have for Christmas. Well when I went to go collect my money, they handed my $26. When I protested that amount and showed them my receipt book, I was told that they didn't have any extra money and didn't want to take it out of the donation pot. So in the end (after much debate and argument) I ended up just taking the damn $26. That's $74 short of what I should have made, that's $74 that could have been used for home improvement crap, that's someone that got a free cuff for Christmas. So, needless to say, I was unbelievable saddened by this. This is why I didn't want to hand over the goods without getting some money in return, and this is why that was the first and last time I'll do that little show.

So I think that had a great impact on my creativity. Why create crap, if I'm just going to be ripped off? It just made me very sad.

Thankfully, one of my coworkers commissioned a piece for his wife. It was a Christmas gift. I made a cuff like my horse cuff, but with a cow instead (she has a pet cow, yes you heard that right, a pet cow. And no they are not cattle farmers, just one pet cow). So imagine that cuff with a happy jumping cow in it. It turned out a lot cuter then I thought it would. I didn't get any pictures of it before I gave it to him, but I'll get some soon. She really liked it and wears it all the time, so that made me happy. It sort of helped me out of that slump. It showed me that people liked my stuff and people were happy to wear it. So I started to feel that spark of creativity come back. And it started to make me forget that we don't have any furniture in the living room yet.

Crappy Iphone Pic, but you get the idea!

That got me started, I've been on a roll this last week. I started slow with some small projects that utilized the small amounts of beads that were left over from other projects. I just sat down with some thread and a bunch of small piles of beads in front of me and started beading. And before I knew it, I had three cute, colorful bracelets made. Each one unique, never to be replicated. It showed me how to have fun with the beads again. It's what I needed. Take my mind off of everything around me and just make something pretty. Sometimes I think we all forget that, that it should be fun.

Fish Scale Cuff! Ignore the bead mat mess!!!

So those three simple bracelets got me going. I then started a sparkly cuff, a big one. That one is also just free form, no pattern just some sparkly hex cut beads and what every pops into my head. I'm loving it. I looks a lot like a cuff I made last summer, and that one sold and the first show I brought it too, so maybe I'll have the same luck with this one. J says it reminds him of fish scales, but in a pretty way. I guess I'll take that. I really love how sparkly it is and how much it catches the light. Cant' wait to finish this little guy up. Maybe I'll use my sparkly buttons for clasps on this one, we'll just have to see what I'm in the mood for.

Purple embroidered cuff! Again, ignore the mess!

Then I received a bead order and that sparked another cuff idea. So I got straight to work on that. Last year I bought a grab bag of cat's eye cabs, no know what I would do with them. Well the white square cab went great with the purple and blue beads. And I'm trying out a new fabric to bead on. I'm trying some good old moleskin type fabric. We have a bunch of it laying around from a project J did, and I thought why not. I'm in love with it so far. I love the colors and I love the look. Simple, but still so pretty. I can't wait to get it on some leather and finish it. I want to see it on. Oh, I can't wait.

So hopefully I'm out of this slump I've been in. I seem to be. I seem to be back in the swing of things, with more ideas then I have hands to make. My sketch pad is filling up fast. I'm glad to be back creating!!!

Cow Print Listed - Check that off the list!

2011-01-10T08:35:00.001-06:00

When we moved into our new house it gave me the opportunity to go through my beads and finished product and see what I actually had. I realized I have a crap ton of beads that I should maybe, just maybe try and use. So right now I'm working on some small projects that use up some of my left over beads. You know, the ones that just sit around with no plans for the future. I've show you my guitar string bracelets that use left over beads and used guitar strings, but I'm also working with my left over seed beads. Just making a few true one of a kind bracelet using all the tiny little beads I have lying around. I'll get pictures of them up as soon as I finish them.

I also had the opportunity to go through all my finished stock. All those pieces that I've finished, maybe photographed or not photographed, and then put in my finished pile to just be sort of forgotten. Well not really forgotten, but just not listed on etsy. I guess last year was just such a busy year that I didn't get around to listing everything I wanted too. But I promise I'll try harder this year. I'd like to list all those lost forgotten souls before the end of the month. It's a big task, but hopefully I can do it.

One of the first projects I have listed is my cow print cuff. Now I'm not really an artist that can draw all that great, but cow print I can do. So I sat down a drew up a very simple cow print and then made up a cuff. I wanted it to be more then just black and white, so I used hex cut beads in silver and black. This little guy shines and sparkles so much.

J doesn't really think it looks like cow print. He told me it looks cool and abstract, but not like cow print. But I have been told that it does look like cow print by some really fantastic bead artists and friends. So there J, it does look like a cow. Hopefully all of you think it looks like cow print as well. ;-)

If you'd like to see more pictures of this cuff you can click HERE to go to my etsy store. I listed it last night. See I'm on a roll, I have listed a cuff, 3 guitar string bracelets, and 2 triangle earrings, as well a few renewals. So lets hope I can keep this up. I know that our home remodeling and decorating may try to get in the way, but I'll try to keep posting new things and keep listing new things. Now I jut need your guys help, if you notice I'm getting behind let me know, give me a little kick in the butt.

I'd also like to announce my next project soon. And I would love all of you crafty or non-crafty people to be involved. I know that's pretty vauge, but it will be using color pallets from one of my favorite shows and I'd like to see not just what I can come up with, but what you can come up with. I'll have move on that soon.

And don't forget that I'm still having my 15% off sale. Everything in my store will be 15% to help us save up a little bit of money for Yoda's eye surgery. We're hoping to save up some money in the next couple months so she can have the surgery as soon as possible. Click HERE to read more about Yoda.

Guitar Strings Upcycled!

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-06:00

I actually have some new things to share with everyone today. It's not actually anything that I've made recently because I've been a bit distracted by other things, but it's stuff I haven't posted here or listed in my etsy store, so it's like it's new.

I have been hoarding J's used guitar strings for a while now. Every time he changed his strings, I hid the old ones away. I've always wanted to do something with them, I've just never have. Well, that's all changed.

I made myself a bangle out of them last summer. Just a simple bangle with some left over beads strung on the strings. Then I just did some simple wire wrapping to hold it all together. It seemed to work and I really liked it. I still wear it all the time. I made a few changes to how it was made (like soldering all the strings together), but over all I like the idea, so I made a few more.

I have three guitar string bracelets made right now. A pink one, a green one, and a red one. These are great because they reuse J's old strings that he would probably just throw away and they use up my stashes of left over beads. You know the ones that you only have a tiny bit left so you can't really use it for another project except maybe a bead soap project. Well now instead of throwing those beads in the big bin of left overs, I can use them for these. Perfect.

Each bracelet is made using all the different sizes of strings he has. So there are little ones and bigger ones in each bracelet. The beads are free to move around the bracelet, which I think makes it fun. I left the ends of the strings on because I find them visually interesting. Then soldered all the wire together, which is easier then it sounds. Guitar wires don't really like to stay all wrapped in circle, they want to spring open and be free. To hide the solder, I added some wire wrapping. I kept it simple because my wire wrapping skills are pretty sad.

You can check them out in my etsy store. Click HERE for the link to my red and yellow bangle.

As much as I love these bracelets, I've been playing around with some other ideas as well. I have some smaller sections of the strings left when I make the bangles, and I didn't really want to throw those away. They were perfectly good art materials, they just needed a purpose. So I made myself a simple little pendent.

Again I used a left over bead I had sitting around, I love putting those extra beads to use. Just wrapped the wire in two ovals and soldered the top to hold them in place. I again added some wire wrapping to hide the solder as well as add a loop to attach it to necklace. I put the pendent on cotton cord that I made adjustable by adding a small glass crow bead to the back.

I love this necklace. I wear it all the time. It's really simple but really stylish at the same time. I've gotten a ton of comments on it when I wear it. I haven't made any more like this. I'm just testing the waters with the strings. If I get good feedback on this one, I might have to start making some more.

And I have added to my collection of strings since last summer when I started working on this project. Since then I have added bass guitar strings, which I hope make more masculine jewelry with (J's suggestion) and some cello strings, which are so beautiful, I can't wait to start working with them (they have silk on them). So stay tuned for some more guitar strings jewelry as well as other guitar and music themed items.

Wordless Wednesday - Someday I'll get things listed again!

2011-01-05T10:03:00.000-06:00

Big Sale to Help Little Yoda!

2010-12-29T11:36:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone's holiday season is still going great. J and I had a pretty laid back Christmas visiting with his side of the family. Even little Yoda got to come and celebrate a bit (Momma snuck her a little cheese).

We've been spending the rest of our vacation either sick, painting, remodeling, or band shows. Yup, both me and J are extremely sick. It's such an awesome way to spend a vacation. But we've also forced our selves to get off our butts and do a little work on the house. You can check out my other blog for updates on that. And of course, we're both sick and extremely busy, so J has to have a bunch of shows. Three to be specific. He has three shows while we're both sick and miserable and exhausted. So much fun.

But enough about us. I wanted to let everyone know that right now I'm offering 15% off everything in my etsy store from now until February. Yoda had her check up the other day and they found a few disturbing things. Not necessarily life threatening at this point, but things that could lead to bigger problems.

First off she has two puppy teeth that never fell out. This is fairly normal (or so I'm told) in pugs, but they have to do a x-ray just to make sure that there is nothing serious going on in her jaw that is holding those little puppy teeth in. Then they need to pull those puppy teeth and ~~I wanna take all your money~~ dentist (yup that's right dogs have dentists too), suggests a cleaning. I'm not sure if we're going to go as far as a cleaning, but we definitely want to make sure her jaw is healthy and those teeth get pulled.

The second major problem they found is some discoloration on her eyes. Because pugs have bulgy eyes, they have tendency to poke them and sometimes their nose roll rubs on them, causing irritation. Well Yoda pokes her eyes all the time. We make sure that there is not damage and try to watch her carefully. But we found out at her last visit that her eye lids are rubbing on her little doggy eyes and causing the irritation. And without corrective surgery, she will more then likely go blind soon. That is not something we want. So they put her on an eye drop regimen for now, but we'll need to schedule an appointment sometime early in the new year.

Now this news was nothing we were expecting. We just figured it would be a normal check up with a possible liver panel to make sure her liver surgery is still working. I mean we just bought our first home at the beginning of the month, we weren't expecting to have to get Yoda surgery to save her sight. She's only a year and a half old, how much does a little puppy have to go through before she's healthy? It's just overwhelming in so many ways.

To help pay for the surgery all the sales from my etsy store from now until February will go towards her surgery. That's 15% off everything.

Thank you to all that helped a year ago when we fixed her liver; with donations, sales, and kind words. I'm asking you all again to help Yoda. This time the surgery isn't needed immediately, so we can save a little money before she goes under the knife. Please spread the word and help us get Yoda the help she needs. Thank you again.

Moved in and ready to go!

2010-12-20T22:28:00.000-06:00

So we are all (almost) moved in to our new house and have finally got the internets hooked up, so I'm able to post a few things before the craziness of the holiday season falls upon us. My studio/our home office is coming along nicely. I've unpacked a lot of the boxes, but there is plenty left to do. I'm looking forward to getting in there and being creative.

I'd also like to let everyone know about a fantastic offer from ArtBeads. They are giving away $100,000 in gift cards, FREE. You just go to there website and fill in ten of our favorite beading friends, and they will receive a $10 gift card to ArtBeads. How cool is that? Ten of your friends could get some free beads for Christmas, awesome. Now hurry on over there, you only have until December 22, 2010 to get your list of ten super people in. You know you'd enjoy getting beads, now give that gift to your bestest friends. :-)

Featured!!

2010-12-06T09:04:00.001-06:00

We have a pretty busy week ahead of us (we're closing this week), and I'm going to find it tough to be able to update again, so I'm going to try and get all my updates into this one post. And I hope everyone had a great weekend, will have a great week, and an even better upcoming weekend.

Okay, now that's out of the way, I can share my exciting news. My cuff has finally made it's debut on The Curb Magazine's site.

This is a magazine that is run by students at UW Madison. Each semester they put out a magazine based on a specific topic or idea. This semester was "women with moxie" They have a few articles on etsy and they used my Eternal Daydream cuff in their buying guide.

This was pretty exciting, I've never been in a magazine before. Everyone should go check out the article as well as all the other fun articles that the students worked so hard on. Thank you Curb Magazine and thank you Julia for picking my cuff for your article.

Also on the art show front, last Friday was my last show of the year. It was just a little show here at the SVM, so my clientele were vet students, veterinarians, researchers, and professors. I sold a pair of my beaded hoops and a guitar cuff. The woman who bought the guitar cuff said her daughter plays bass and her favorite color is lime green, so I hope she enjoys it. I see her around from time to time, so I'll have to ask if her daughter liked it.

I know I only sold two items, but I was only there for about 3 hours, so I don't think it was too bad. It was fun to talk to the woman next to me (which sold adorable painting by the way, you should check out her website) and too see everyone I worked with. I think I'll do it again next year.

I'm also working on a cow bracelet for a co-worker right now. It's a Christmas gift from her husband, who I also work with. It's like the silhouette horse cuff, but with a happy, jumping cow. It's actually pretty cute. It will be done soon, and I'll try to get some pictures of it after the move. I'm showing her the pattern today, so I hope she'll like it.

And last but not least, don't forget to vote for your favorite entries in the ArtBeads "What Inspires You?" beading contest. I entered my Summertime Cuff, which is inspired by my love of the beach and my love of old vintage post cards.

Stop by today and vote for your 5 favorite entries in two different categories. Voting ends December 8th, so get those votes in. :-)

Packing Up!

2010-12-02T07:45:00.000-06:00

So tomorrow is my last show of the year. I'm just doing a little show at the SVM that benefits the Companion Animal Fund. I thought it was just going to be a fun little show that would allow me to get to know some of the other people here that do arts and crafts. But of course it looks to be quite the hectic day.

1st I have a doctors appointment at 9:00 in the morning. Okay, I asked my grad student to look after my table while I was gone. That's taken care of. Then I find out yesterday that it's also going to be a collection day. Ugh, I don't have time for a collection on Friday and I sure as hell won't let anyone else do the collection. So now I have to get to work extremely early to get my stuff set up, then rush to the doctors, then sit around waiting for the surgeons to do their thing, which means I'm sure I will be at work late. I'm hoping that the collection isn't till after the show is over so I don't have to go running out of there like a bat out of hell just to collect and process a tumor. But if I have to, I can always send my grad student back down there to babysit my stuff.

Then this weekend I'll be working on packing the last things in my studio. I only have a few things left to do and I'll be ready to move. And I can't wait to show you guys my new studio. It's 1000x better then my current one. I know I've been lacking in my posts and I'm sure until the new year I'll continue to lack, but as soon as we get settled in I feel like the creativity will just gush out of me. Okay maybe not, but lets hope so. I mean it's a pretty nice studio. :-)

What Inspires You?

2010-11-23T10:46:00.000-06:00

Voting for ArtBeads What Inspires You? opened at midnight last night. This fun little competition shows what designers are inspired by and the beautiful creation that comes from that inspiration.

I entered my bead embroidered Summer Time cuff. This was one of the most fun project I've ever worked on for ArtBeads. And only my 3rd bead embroidered project (I think this was the one that got me hooked).

My inspiration came from my love of summer and the beach. I wanted to capture a wonderfully warm summer day, where the sand is hot, but the water is cool. I wanted someone to look at this cuff and be transported back to their childhood; building sand castles on the beach and chasing the waves.

I also looked to old vintage postcards for inspiration. I love how they depict everyone having such a fun time at the beach. These old postcards are bright and fun and real works of art.

My cuff was all hand embroidered using product from ArtBeads. It was then sewn onto super soft dark brown leather and finished with snaps.

To vote for my cuff, click HERE. To check out all the other entries (there is a necklace category and a general category) click HERE. You can vote for your five favorite entries in each category. Voting ends December 8, 2010, so get your vote in today.

This is not a paid post.

My Finished Fall Collar!

2010-11-19T09:05:00.000-06:00

So I'm a little embarrassed about how long this took me to get done, but I have finally finished my ArtBeads blog partnership fall project. I got up at about 4:00 today and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided that I might as well take a whack at taking pictures again. And I think I might have done okay this time. I'm not sure If I'm going to get the desired look I'm going for, so I'm settling with acceptable. And here we go.

Here is my finished bead embroidered collar. It took a lot longer then I had originally anticipated, but I'm pretty happy with the results. And keep in mind this was my very first attempt at a beaded collar, so there will be things that I change the next time I attempt one.

I used wonderful TOHO bead mixes (my favorites) for the base of the necklace; the sky and land. I love these mixes. The color combos are fantastic and so inspiring.

I also used TOHO seed beads for the beaded tree. I also used the TOHO marbled seed beads for the trim, fringe, and beaded rope.

The bead embroidered part of the necklace is backed with tan leather. It goes so well with the fall palette.

The fringe is finshed off with a beautiful pressed glass beads. I used a combination of dagger and leaf beads in a fall color palette. Some of the glass leaves are also on the beaded tree. I also used silver lined square beads and a collection of vintage beads I already had lying around. The vintage beads really catch the light and make everything sparkle.

The beaded rope was made using the marbled seed beads, some hex cut beads I already had, and some fun size 11/0 silver lined red triangle beads. I threw in a few vintage beads to pull everything together.

The collar is then finished with a fantastic sterling silver clasp. As always, I am in love with the clasp. It's a falling leaf clasp; which I thought would go great with the whole fall theme. It's so pretty and delicate. I'm adding it to my list of favorite clasps. I just think if fits the necklace so well.

So for my first try, I am pleased with my results. Like I said earlier, I do plan on changing a few things the next time I take a stab at a bead embroidered collar. But I assure you, that won't be until after we move and are settled in a bit.

Thanks to everyone for being patient with me and hopefully there were a few of you who are still interested in how this project turned out, even if I started it over two months ago. Hopefully it was worth the wait. :-)

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.

Christmas Time!

2010-11-16T12:24:00.001-06:00

**Ornament Sale!!! To help reduce the amount of things I need to move, all ornaments are on sale! They are all $5.00 off! This is the perfect time to pick up a few for gifts and a few for yourself. Please stop by the Christmas section in my etsy store to check out the selection. I'll be adding more everyday.**

Okay, so I know I promised to have finished pictures of my collar today, but last night did not go as planned. I had a huge allergy attack and was pretty much out of commission for the whole night. So maybe tonight I'll get some pictures, maybe not. See today we got the official word that our loan has been approved and we will own our first home in less then one month. So we might decide to go celebrate tonight, but if we don't, I'll make sure to get pictures.

But on a side note, it is almost Christmas, so I've started listing my large assortment of beaded Christmas ornaments. They are nothing super fancy, but they do look pretty nice on the tree if you ask me. They also make great gifts. Almost everyone in the family has at least one beaded ornament, if not more. They like to receive them and they like to give them.

Check out my Etsy store for the selection. I have a whole bunch of them, so I will be adding a few everyday this week.

I'm finished (almost)

2010-11-15T08:18:00.001-06:00

So over the weekend I finished up my first every bead embroidered collar for the ArtBeads blog partnership. I have been working on this project since September, so I was pretty happy to finish up.

Unfortunately my photo taking skills did not seem to be up to par over the weekend. I tried getting a decent picture of the collar, but I failed miserably. So you'll have to just do with a few close up shots that did turn out okay, kinda the last sneak peak of this project.

Hopefully my photography skills will be a little bit more in tune tonight and my pictures won't turn out crappy. Let's just hope.

The first picture is a close up of the bead embroidery part. I'm really happy with how that turned out. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I think it looks pretty good.

The second picture is a close up of the fringe that caused me oh so many problems. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't, I HATE WORKING ON FRINGE!!!!! I just don't think I have the patience for it and it always causes me way more frustration then it's worth. But I do have to admit, it adds a nice touch to this collar. And I love the glass leaves and daggers at the ends. They're pretty.

So these two little (last) sneak peaks are all I have for today. Hopefully I'll have my whole write up on the project and great pictures for you tomorrow. Lets just keep all of our fingers crossed that I can manage to snap a few good pics tonight.

If you would like to see my sad attempt at photography you can stop by my facebook page. I have them posted there for now.

Almost Done!

2010-11-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

I finally got some time to sit down and work on my beaded collar for the ArtBeads blog partnership. I'm so close to being done I can taste it.

I finished up the spiral rope and got that attached (using some more of those vintage beads I had laying around) and I got a bunch of the trim done. I wasn't sure if the trim was going to work, but I'm liking it so far. It frames the piece nicely and gives it a wonderful finished feeling.

So now I just need to finish up the trim and attach the great sterling silver leaf toggle clasp and I'll be done with it. I know that's awesome. It seems like I've been working in this piece forever. I'm ready to be done and see the finished piece. I'm happy with it thus far, lets just hope I'm as happy with it when I finish.

I don't think we have anything planned for this weekend, so maybe I'll have plenty of beading time. That would be nice.

The Global Genes Project

2010-11-11T09:14:00.007-06:00

The other day I was contacted by a mother of a child with a rare genetic disorder. She wanted to know if I would donate a bracelet to the Global Genes Project for their 7000 bracelets of hope. This is a fantastic project that is helping to raise awareness for rare diseases and disorders seen in children.

Here is some more information about the project from the Global Genes Project website.

Rare Disease affects over 250 million people worldwide, and the largest percentage are children. There are over 7,000 rare diseases that have been identified all with very unique needs, but many with little to no support. In order to really help this community they need to be viewed as one, one community of millions, impacted by disease. Rare disease is not so rare, and the community is much more likely to garner the support, attention, and resources it needs if it is viewed as one.

Our Mission and Promise

The Global Genes Project™ exists to unify, support, build awareness and raise much needed funds for those affected by rare disease. The Global Genes Project™ campaign will broadly promote the needs of the rare disease community as a whole, engaging the general public, garnering corporate support under the unifying symbol of hope ~ the blue denim ribbon.

Most of us do not know the struggles and hardships that families with children with rare diseases/disorders go through on a daily basis, but everyone can help. My day job is working in research at the university. We study osteosarcoma, which is an aggressive cancer found mainly in children. Osteosarcoma is the most common bone cancer seen in children, but you don't hear about it that often because it's not the most prevalent childhood cancer. Therefore research dollars are harder to come by. It makes me think of the labs that are researching conditions that are even more rare and are having even more trouble finding reseach money.

This wonderful project is trying to raise awareness and educate people by representing rare diseases as one. I am very happy that I was contacted to help support this cause. Now it is time for all of you to help. They are looking for designers and crafters to help donate bracelets. As their website says "anyone can make a bracelet." Please stop by their website today to learn more about how you can help millions of children just by donate one simple bracelet. I'm donating, are you?

Time to Vote!

2010-11-10T09:49:00.000-06:00

Don't forget to vote for your favorite entry in this month's Etsy Beadweavers Challenge; Holiday Treasure. There are 36 beautiful entries this month. Just stop by the Etsy Beadweavers Blog today to vote. Hurry voting ends November 15th.

2010-11-08T09:12:00.001-06:00

So this has been a pretty boring blog as of late. One, maybe two, blog posts a week if I'm lucky. What has gotten into me? Why does it seem like I've forgotten about this blog? The truth is, I've been busy. Yes, just like all the rest of us life has taken over and blogging gets put on the back burner. As you know, me and J are buying our first home. Read more here. It's an exciting time, but it's also an exhausting time. And since we currently live about 45 min away from where we work and where we are buying the house, the commute really gets to us. By the time we get done with work, do any house buying related things that need to be done, drive home, and eat dinner, I'm ready for bed. Most nights I don't even want to get the beads out, that's how you know I'm tired.

But I did get some work done on my beaded collar this weekend. I had to order some more beads from ArtBeads to finish, but it's coming along nicely now. I'm hoping to have it done by this weekend. If that's going to happen, I don't know, but that's my goal for now.

I have half of the spiral rope done and all of the fringe done (finally). Now I just have to finish up some edging (the idea came to me yesterday while I was working on it, hopefully it works out nice) and I'll be done.

I really picked a bad time to try making my first bead embroidered collar, but the whole buying a house thing was only a thought and a dream when I started. We really didn't think we would find a house we liked until spring since it is so late in the year and people are pulling their houses off the market already. But we did find a house that we loved and now is a great time to buy, so we decided to go for it. Unfortunately, my first time diving into an endeavor like this has suffered, but I won't let it deter me. I plan on making another collar after we get settled into our new place.

I also come up with a fun project that I can't wait to work on. But that one I'm waiting until we move to start. I also have been considering inviting all the artist out there to join me in my next project, maybe a challenge type project because I love seeing what other people come up. But stay tuned and let me know if any of you out there would be interested in joining me in a challenge. It's based on one of my favorite shows, but you don't have to like the show or even know what it is to join. I'll post some more info on it next month. And I promise to try to post a little bit more on this blog until then. Just to keep everyone updated. :-)

So Close!

2010-10-29T11:34:00.001-05:00

Last night I was determined to get as much done on my beaded collar as I could. I wanted to finish up the fringe. Oh the fringe that is driving me insane. But I ran out of beads at this point. I'm getting my order in to ArtBeads today so I can hopefully get the project done before next fall. This project has taken me so long. I guess trying to take on my first bead embroidered collar while trying to buy our first house was a bad move on my behalf. I'll remember that the next time I'm buying a house ;-)

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Do you want to hear a side story on the fringe and the pain it's causing me? I guess it's a funny story, it wasn't so funny when it happened. So I'm gonna tell the story anyway.

The other day I had the whole day off for a dentist appointment. I work for the university, so I have to take a number of furlough days a year, I try to plan them around things like dentist appointments. Well my appointment wasn't till later in the day so I thought I would get some work done on the collar. Why not, I didn't really have anything else to do at the time.

So I get my lap desk out and snuggle under a blanket or two (hey, it's getting cold here in WI already) and started working. Well to no surprise, both cats jumped up and made them selves comfortable on the blanket. They always do this, and except for the occasional I wanna touch the shiny things moments, they aren't any trouble. Well I guess Nacho was not content on being content.

I had just cut a new piece of thread, got it all tied in and started in my beadwork. I had just put the beads for that row of fringe on the string when Nacho started eying up the string. I noticed, and I cautioned her to behave. Well Nacho doesn't do very well at listening to anyone. She grabbed the string in her mouth and took off at mach speed towards the basement. I truly didn't know she could move that fast. She pulled the string out of the needle (that I was holding in my hand) and pulled the collar off my lap desk. And with that action, the carefully counted out beads I had sitting on the desk went flying through the air almost like they were in slow motion.

Luckily, Nacho dropped the string half way to the basement, probably because of the horrible noise that came out of my mouth. It probably scared her to the point she knew she better drop what she had and save her own life.

Now I knew I would be close on my beads, I couldn't afford to loose just one. So as I looked at our carpet that is perfect at camouflaging beads, I knew this wasn't going to be good. With a huge sigh, I set me lap desk on the table and got down on my hands and knees picking up every bead I could find. This continued for at least a half an hour because I was determined to find every bead that had fallen.

Did I find them all? Oh hell no. You know how it is, you have something that is important and tiny and then you drop it, you'll never find it again. Anyone who beads can contest to that.

Needless to say, that did not boost my excitement for fringe work. It actually made my so much more frustrated, that I stopped working on the collar for the rest of the day and made a cuff. And now Nacho is no longer allowed anywhere near me when I bead.

And that is my beaded fringe story, or as I like to call it, the day I thought I might kill our cat. :-)

Halloween Sale!

2010-10-25T11:28:00.001-05:00

I'm having a sale!! I've decided to have a sale because I really haven't had one in quite some time and well it's almost Halloween and I love Halloween. So to celebrate my favorite holiday everything in my store is 15% off. Check it out!

I'm also giving this Etsy on Sale site a try. It's a new (at least it's new to me) site that allows you to program sales in your etsy store and it changes all the prices and adds a little message to each title if you want. Which is nice because anyone who has a large amount of items in their stores know it's a pain to go through and change each additional item. They also give you a sort of home page with all your sale items. Each item links back to etsy.

It was pretty easy to set up and plan a sale. So we'll see how it goes and see if I would use it in the future.

Featured!

2010-10-21T13:18:00.001-05:00

Well I didn't get any more work done on my collar last night. I know I'm never going to get it finished if I keep procrastinating, but I had a good reason. After J and I got home from work, we went straight to the grocery store and then by the time we got home it was 8:00. Then we had a light dinner and well with all the stress and drama we've been having lately, we both passed out on the couch by 10:00. J has practice tonight, so I'm hoping to get some time to sit down and get at least half of the fringe finished on the color. Then I think I can gauge how many more beads I need to order to finish.

In other fun news. This is the cuff that I'm dropping off tonight for the professional photo shoot. A UW student contacted me and asked if she could use this cuff in her article about female artists in WI. I was more then happy to help (and be featured), so I told her I'd drop it off on my way home. I don't know when the magazine is out, so I'll keep you posted and make sure to put up links when it is.

I've never been featured in a magazine before, so this is a pretty cool thing. Where have some of your work been featured, and do you remember the first time?

Day 5 - Started the Fringe

2010-10-20T09:22:00.001-05:00

I've finally got most of the bead embroidery done and the leather attached and the edge on. I like how it's coming along so far. Last night I started on fringe. Oh how I hate fringe. I say this every time I work on a project with fringe. I just have the hardest time ever with it. I think these four strands of fringe took me an hour to complete because I took them apart about a billion times. At first I was just playing around with different looks, but then when I decided on something, I just kept making mistakes and breaking beads (The one vintage beads I'm using have fairly small holes). It was so annoying. I finally just called it a night and set it aside. I'll pick up work on it tonight. Hopefully my fringe will cooperate for me tonight.

As soon as I'm done with the fringe I need to get the spiral rope started. I don't think I'm going to have enough beads to finish that up, so I also need to get a small order placed. This project is taking me a lot longer then most projects I work on, but I know it will be worth it. I'm already pretty in love with it and the pictures just don't do it justice. I can't wait to get it done and get some good pictures of it.

Flowers!

2010-10-18T12:07:00.001-05:00

I took a break last night from my beaded collar for ArtBeads. I'm so close to being done with it, right now I'm just working on getting the edge stitch around the whole thing. Can't wait.

But while I had some free time I sat down with my beads and some wire again to tackle more french flowers. I am just working on getting some of the basic stitches/loops (I don't know what you call them) down. I have made three flowers so far, the newest one being the one on the far right, the largest one.

It's so cute and I had so much fun making it. I could definitely tell my first petal from my last petal. I had improved pretty well from the first to the last, not that I'm even close to being an expert. I have really no idea what I'm doing at times and the patterns I have for some really pretty, but complicated flowers, boggle my mind. But hopefully I'll just keep practicing and keep improving my skills and I'll maybe be able to actually make a beaded flower that looks like a lily, instead of a generic looking flower.

Day 3 - Sneak Peek

2010-10-13T08:57:00.000-05:00

Last night I finished up all of the bead embroidery on my fall collar. I'm pretty excited about this because, well I think anyway, that it looks so pretty already.

I'm currently embellishing it with some glass pressed leaf beads in fun fall colors. I'm really happy with how it is turning out so far. Now all I have to do is get it sewn onto a piece of leather, the spiral rope made for the necklace, and add the fringe. Yeah, really nothing much less to do, yeah right.

But I'm really happy with it so far. I'm just a little worried that I don't have enough seed beads to add the border and add fringe, guess I'll have to make another bead order, oh no.

I won't have time to work on it for the next couple of days because we're looking at another house tonight (for more house hunting news click here) and then J has a gig Thursday, but hopefully by Friday I'll be sewing the leather on. Oh I can't wait.

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In other super exciting news, a student from the UW contacted me today. They would like to feature one of my cuffs in an article about female artists in WI. That's super cool. They're going to have a professional photographer take pictures of it, which is really exciting because well my photography is okay, but I would love to see what my stuff looks like after a professional gets their hand on it. I'll update everyone with more news as I get it.

Progress - Day 2

2010-10-11T08:41:00.001-05:00

Here is a quick sneak peak at my first beaded collar type necklace. After receiving my beads from ArtBeads, I quickly got to work. I have the majority of the bead embroidery done, just a few more rows to go. Then onto embellishing, sewing it onto the leather, and making a spiral rope to finish it. Almost done (I wish).

But even though I have a ton of work to do on it still, I'm really happy with it. I'm really having a lot of fun working in bead embroidery. It's fun to use the beads to paint pictures. I see plenty of bead embroidery in my future.

Stay tuned for more progress pictures in the upcoming days. We have a busy week ahead of us, but hopefully I can make some time for beads.

So Excited!!!!

2010-10-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

Looky what just came in the mail? It's my beads for the ArtBeads fall blog partnership. I can not wait to dive into these little guys. This is what I was waiting for to finish up my bead embroidered collar.

I got some really fun beads, including a bunch of pressed glass leaves and daggers. And of course an absolutely beautiful leaf toggle clasp. Love it.

I'm adding a few beads that I already had on hand, like the silver lined red triangles and squares. And I think I might use some of the glass leaves I already have.

I cannot wait to get started on this one. In my head this is going to be beautiful, lets just hope when I start actually beading I still feel the same way. Hopefully I'll have a little time tonight to work and I'll have some progress pictures tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday - Yarn Bombed Bus Stop, Madison, WI

2010-10-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Stress of Being an Adult

2010-10-04T07:54:00.001-05:00

So for some of you that haven't stopped by my other blog, I'll do a quick update. J and I have decided to buy a house. J just started his new job (today was his official 1st day after a week of training), and we decided it was finally time to just do it. We have been looking for about a month now and boy is it stressful. Well I guess not necessarily stressful, just exhausting. We have looked at more houses then I want to think about. But we think we have found one that suits us and we hope to look at it again this coming weekend and even possibly put an offer in on it. So then it's on to the next headache of buying a house, but it will be all worth it in the end. ☺

In bead news, I have actually found some time to sit down and work on beads. I took last Friday off as a personal day and all I did was bead (and some cleaning, but not too much). I worked a little more on the beaded collar I started, but I have to wait for the rest of the beads to finish that.

I also tried something that I had always wanted to try, French Flowers. I love the way French Flowers look. They are so delicate and beautiful. I have a few books on them, but have never actually sat down and tried to make one. Well this month's Bead and Button had an article with a bracelet made with small beaded flowers, so I decided I might as well try.

I tried making the flowers in the B&B article first. They were a little bit more difficult then I had expected, but once I got the hang of them, they weren't too bad. Here are my first two. The one on the right is my first one and the one on the left is my second one. I really like them. I have some ideas for Christmas decorations using these, but now I just have to sit down and make a billion more, okay maybe not a billion, but close to it.

I also started on a lily. I have accomplished one petal so far. The lily seems to be a little bit more difficult for me, but I am determined to finish one. I'll take some pictures when I have more then one petal made. ☺

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T07:44:00.000-05:00

New Project - Day One

2010-09-28T07:24:00.000-05:00

A quick sneak peek at my current bead embroidery project. It doesn't look like much, but I can't wait to get it done. I tell you that I plan on making a beaded collar type necklace. This will be my first attempt, so we'll see if it actually works. Check back in for more progress shots.

Not much but a cute picture of Yoda!

2010-09-21T08:08:00.000-05:00

I have been so crazy busy as of late. As some of you know who have stopped by my other blog, J got a new job and we are currently in the process of finding and buying our first home. This is an exhausting process and has made us both pretty stressed out, I think J might be more because he has the stress of also starting a new job.

I have had no time to bead because after we get done with everything else we need to do at night I'm exhausted to the point of passing out. So I will be happy once we are done with all of this, not just because the stress will be gone, but we will also own our own home. And that's a good thing.

So I leave you with this picture of Yoda. After a very long weekend, I found her all cuddled up in the blanket on the couch sleeping. I woke her up to get this picture.

Momma, this blankie is comfy, I'm just gonna nap right here.

New Blog

2010-09-14T09:13:00.001-05:00

So I've decided to start a second blog, because I definitely need more things to do in my life. J/K This blog will follow me and J's path to adult hood and you can get to know me as a person a little bit better. I'll be talking about those things you need to do to actually be sort of considered an adult; buying a house, moving, fixing a house, getting married, etc, etc. You know those things.

It's called, Three Fates and J Grow Up. Yup real original, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else to call it at the time. Right now I'm focusing on us looking at houses and J's new job (yes he finally, after two years of looking, got a job in Mad Town). My first posts are looking at the houses we've gone and looked at thus far. Then I plan on branching out and venting my frustrations of moving and home improvements. But we must buy a house first.

So if you'd like a look into a little bit of my personal life and maybe get to know me a little bit better, stop on by my second blog. It's not much yet, buy I'm slowly growing it, and who knows maybe I'll get J to post on there a few times, but probably not.

September Voting Time!

2010-09-09T08:03:00.001-05:00

It's that time again, time vote for your favorite entry in the Etsy Beadweavers Challenge.

Stop by the Etsy Beadweaver's Blog and vote for your favorite entry. This month's theme was Bollywood, and boy are there some fantastic entries, 52 to be exact.

My entry is number 38. I really had fun working on this challenge and I'm very happy with my entry. I used a clay cab that I made myself and then did some bead embroidery to make a medallion style pendent. I also made a little spiral rope wrap bracelet to match.

Stop by the EBW blog to voter for your favorite today. Voting is on the right hand side of the blog. I know it will be a hard decision to pick just one, but please click HERE to vote before September 15th.

Music Influences

2010-09-07T12:05:00.001-05:00

I have been working on a number of different projects lately that have been inspired by music. I have always loved music and have always had music in my life. My dad is a musician, playing both guitar and piano. My brother is also a musician, he sings and plays guitar. And as most of you know, J is a musician. He plays lead guitar in his ska band. So my life is filled with music.

I have been using all of this as inspiration as of late. I have been working on some larger projects (that I hope to have a finished project soon to take pictures of) as well as some smaller, simpler ones. I have been having fun playing with all the guitar strings that J has given me over the years. I have so many ideas for them.

I also have some guitar pick necklaces. I have been making these for some time and selling them at shows for about 3 years now. But it just recently dawned on me to put some of them up in my Etsy store.

I use a little tiny rivet on each pick to make sure that they don't break and I string them on leather or ball chain. I really like the way the tiny rivet makes them look, and it gives them extra strength (I've had some of these in the past that were easily broken). It just gives them a finished look. I have a pink necklace and I love it. I use to wear it everyday, but I haven't worn it in a while. I think I need to get that little guy out.

I am looking into getting a dye cutting machine that will allow me to make my own guitar picks, so that way I can make them in what ever colors or styles I wanted. But I'm still on the fence about this, maybe I'll see after Christmas.

Click HERE to check out all the guitar themed items in my etsy store.

Finally got the camera out!

2010-09-03T17:55:00.002-05:00

I have been finished with my entry for the EBW Bollywood challenge for quite some time. I wanted to make sure that I got this one in on time since I had so much fun making it. But as always I had a hard time convincing myself to drag out the camera and photo tent and tripod, etc, etc, etc. It will be so nice when I have room to have the all this stuff setup all the time. So it will be super easy to just snap some quick pictures. But I digress.

So without further ado, here is my entry for this month's challenge. I was really excited to do this challenge. I love the beauty of Bollywood movies. They are so colorful and beautiful and a little over the top.

I had been playing with my clay recently. I have boxes of clay and supplies, but have really never sat down and used it. I have tried in the past, but it just wasn't for me. But since my lampwork studio is unusable right now, I thought I'd get out the clay and try again.

I just made a couple cabs. Nothing special, just used some foil I had and made circles and hearts. Just to see what it would look like and if it would be possible to bead around them. I've made a cuff with one of the hearts but, I had this one cab that I didn't know what I was going to do with it. It was huge at about 2 inches wide. What was I going to do with this large pink cab? Then this month's challenge was announced and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

So I went to work doing a bead embroidery medallion using silver lined gold beads, copper lined clear beads, and my favorite vintage black AB beads. I backed the necklace with light brown leather and added purple fossil beads as a fun and colorful beaded edge.

I have decided that I have plenty of product for shows, so I have decided to push myself and try new things. So I have decided to try spiral stitch. And I have to say, I love this stitch. It makes such a lovely beaded rope for pendents and medallions or just by itself. And it works up so much quicker for me that my other favorite; circular herringbone. I have been playing with different beads sizes and type also, and love what is coming out. I'll have pictures of some of those soon.

I used the silver lined gold, the copper lined clear, the vintage beads, as well as a transparent pink to bring the color of the cab into the beaded rope. Then I got a huge filigre button for the clasp. Love that button so much; it's just so pretty.

And because I'm having so much fun with spiral stitch, I made a little wrap bracelet to match. It's not exactly the same as the necklace rope because I don't like things that are matchy-matchy. It's just a fun little extra that matches the necklace and pulls everything together.

Now I only have the problem of naming this creation and getting it listed on etsy. I guess I have a couple days still to do this. But I better get my butt in gear. That's easier said then done these days.

You can check out my challenge entry piece HERE on etsy.

And The Winners are.....

2010-09-02T08:50:00.001-05:00

Today is a good day. Today I will announce the winner of my blog giveaway. I am celebrating three great years with Etsy and I wanted to share the celebration with the most important people, the people that make it all possible, you!!!

So without further ado, I give you the two winners of my blog giveaway. I used Random.org list randomizer to pick both winners. After the first winner was picked, I removed that person from the second drawing.

The winner of the blue earrings is.....

Latricia from 1 Stop Mom Giveaways and Reviews (I know, I accidentally typed in 1StepMom, my mistake).

And the winner of the butterfly cuff is....

Theresa of Theresa's Treasures

I will be contacting both people later today to let them know that they are the lucky winners. Congratulations to both winners and thank you all for entering. If you didn't win this time, there will be more giveaways in the future.

My Newest Beaded Bottle!

2010-08-27T09:47:00.002-05:00

★★★★★
Don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. There are only a few more days left to enter. The lucky two winners will be announced on September 1st! Click HERE to enter!
★★★★★

As you know I've been really trying to push myself and try new things. A while back I made a little beaded vessel. It was really fun to make. I enjoyed making that little guy a lot. Well my next project was to bead around an object. I searched a house for a little bottle that I could use, and well we have a bunch of these little guys around (J plans on using them someday). And I just sat down with my bead soup and started beading. After many, many days (granted I was working on numerous other projects also) here is the finished product.

I really think it looks cool. I worked on it at the last few art shows, and people were really excited to look at it. They seemed to get a kick out it.

Even though I really love the outcome and enjoyed beading around an object, I probably won't be trying this again for a little while. I have a bunch of other projects that I need to work on first before I can start experimenting with patterns and other objects. But I will bead around more things, it's fun and the end product is so much fun.

★★★For fun, the first person who tells me what kind of bottle I used to do this product will be entered in my blog giveaway. We have a winner to the trivia question!!!!!!! Bobbi of The Bead Goes On won with the answer of a Tobasco bottle. She will be entered in my blog giveaway. Didn't win, that's okay, there are five other ways to enter. Click HERE to enter!! ★★★

An Update and New Ideas

2010-08-24T07:57:00.000-05:00

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

First off I want to thank everyone that has entered my blog giveaway so far. If you haven't don't worry, you still have time. The giveaway is open until August 31st. One lucky winner will win a pair of beaded earrings and one lucky winner will win beaded butterfly cuff. Yes, that's right, two winners, two great prizes.

So please stop by HERE to enter (there are 5 possible ways to enter).

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

I made it through my last show of the summer season. I luckily felt pretty well. I even ate some cheese bread and part of a calzone. I know, there's nothing like being sick for a whole week and then jumping right into some calzone, buts that's what I wanted. At least I didn't go for the bbq calzone. Hehehe, oh that sounded so good. The show was okay. There were a lot of talented artists there and a lot of lookers, but not a lot of buyers. I did meet a nice woman that holds home shows and she told me that she features local artists at her shows and said that she would be interested in featuring me if I would like. So I think I might go to her next one and I might take her up on that offer. That's a pretty awesome offer. I'll keep everyone updated on that.

I've been spending a lot of time with J's band mates and I've been thinking about offering a few music related things. I've been playing with all the guitar strings I've been collecting from J over the years and I think I have a few good ideas down. I made myself this bangle with some leftover beads and some strings (I know the picture is awful). I love how it looks and I have a few other ideas I'd like to try too. I'd like to try braiding the thick wires, I think that will look great. And we have a few different ideas for adding clasps.

I have also been thinking up a few different beading ideas and I think I'm going to get a loom to try out these ideas on. J has promised he'd make me a loom, thank god for engineers, right. So he's been looking at different looms and planing mine out. I can't wait for it to be finished. Hopefully I can figure out this whole loom thing. I tried it once before and it didn't go over so well, so I'm hoping it will work better this time. So I'll have to post some pictures as soon as I try my newest "experiment."
So I'll keep everyone updated on my latest ideas and post some teaser pictures soon. ☺

Blah!

2010-08-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

Momma, I'm glad you've decided to stay home with me forever!

That's how I feel right now. I have been sick with gastroenteritis (that's a fancy term for "you have some sort of stomach bug"). I'm not as sick as a few years back when I got norovirus, oh that was a bad couple of weeks, but I'm just not feeling good at all. I have no appetite and food just doesn't want to stay in my system. But I have been showing signs of improvement and luckily I work with some of the best people in the world, so I don't have to worry about the lab too much while I'm home. The down side is that even though I've had the last few days off, I've been too sick to do anything, even bead. I even tried playing Lego Starwars last night, but about 30 min in I had to stop. Too Bad, being this sick is awful. But Yoda is really loving it. She's having a great time with me home. I think she's off her normal schedule now, so next week when I go back to work might be a little challenging, as she likes to sleep in now. Spoiled little brat.

Unfortunately I have an art show tomorrow in Wales, WI. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to pull that off. I guess I should be okay as long as I don't try to eat anything. I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow at all and I'm hoping that they will be understanding, that if I need to leave, I'm going to leave. I'm hoping that J will help me out as much as he can, so I can just sit and rest. Then hopefully the day won't be too challenging. Fingers crossed. So I guess if you are in the Milwaukee, WI area tomorrow, Saturday, August 21st, you should stop by and say hi or just check to make sure I'm still alive. Don't worry I'm not contagious, I can't get you sick ;-).

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Also don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. To celebrate three years selling on Etsy, I'm giving away a pair of blue earrings and a blue butterfly cuff.

Stop by this blog post to enter for your chance to win one of these great prizes. You have up to five ways to enter.

Click HERE to enter today. This giveaway will be open until the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to enter.

Oh My Arms

2010-08-17T10:14:00.000-05:00

So Sunday was the 6th annual Craftacular in Madison. It was a fabulous collection of artists from WI. They had some really cool things. J had a great time walking around finding different things he wanted. I unfortunately didn't get a chance to walk around. I wish I could have. I would have liked to meet some of my fellow Wist team members. But, alas I had to hold down the fort, literally. I was outside, right next to beautiful Lake Monona. Which sounds like a beautiful place to be, except for the gale force winds that were whipping through my booth. I spent the day holding down the wall that was helping to reduce the amount of wind that was blowing. So now my arms are in so much pain I can barely hold them above my head ;-)

Despite the winds, I had a pretty good day. I sold a few cuffs and quite a few beads. I also gave out almost all my cards. I even got a custom order for a couple little bracelets for a woman's two little granddaughters. So even though the wind made it tough at times, we had a pretty good day. And now I have a list of things I can get J for Christmas.

So it's on to the next show this coming Saturday. This one will be in Wales, WI. I attended this show last year and had a great time, so I expect it will be just as fun this year.

And don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. I'll be celebrating three years with Etsy this week, so I want to share the good times with all of my readers. Click HERE to go to the post to enter. Just leave a comment and you can be entered to win this great pair of earrings or this fun butterfly cuff. This giveaway will be open till the end of August.

A Blog Giveaway

2010-08-13T08:57:00.004-05:00

So I haven't done a blog giveaway in a long, long, long time. I think it's been about a year, yup like I said, a long time. So I think it's time for a little giveaway. Next week will mark three years with etsy and I'd like to thank everyone that has made it a wonderful experience. So time for the giveaway.

So what exactly is up for grabs here? Well let take a look, shall we.

First up is a pair of blue dangle earrings. These are fun bright blue earrings made with tiny little silver lined beads and then accented with glass bicones. I have a pair of gunmetal ones like this, and I get complements everywhere I go. But these earrings are not for the weak of heart, they measure in at 3 inches in length.

I'm also going to be giving some lucky person a beaded cuff. Yup a really cute blue butterfly cuff. It's fun and playful with two light blue butterflies dancing around your wrist. It measures about 2 inches wide and has an adjustable wrist size.

So what do you have to do? There are a few simple ways you can enter.

First you can leave a comment on this blog post. It can be anything; you can tell me what you would do if you won or just say hi. Any comment will equal one entry.

You can tweet about this giveaway, don't forget to add #threefates to the tweet so I can find it. Then come back here and let me know you tweeted the giveaway.

You could blog about this giveaway. Just write a short blog post describing the giveaway and link back to my blog. Then don't forget to come back here and leave a comment to let me know.

And finally you could make a post about it on Facebook. It can be a post on your personal page or your business page, it doesn't matter. And like before, just come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did it.

**I've also decided to add a 5th way to enter my giveaway. If you are not already a fan of the Three Fates Design Facebook page, become a fan and leave a comment here letting me know you did. That will give you a 5th chance at winning one of the fantastic prizes.**

Each one of the things above will count as one entry, so you could have your name entered in the drawing up to five times.

I'll leave this giveaway up until the end of August. That will give everyone plenty of time to enter and it will give me plenty of time for art shows and everything else that's crazy here.

I will randomly choose two lucky winners on September 1, 2010. So don't forget to stop back here and see if you won (please leave a way for me to contact you in one of your comments).

Comments must be in by midnight (central time) on August 31, 2010. Sorry no choice on which item you win (one person will win the earrings and one will win the cuff).