Weekend Wrap Up

Whoa, it's been a long time since I last time I wrote a blog post. What have I been thinking? What have I been up to? We've been busy, I think. Since J has finished school, I feel like we're constantly going but not really accomplishing much.

I bought two new lens, which is fun. I bought a new macro lens and I bought a telephoto lens. I've been practicing using them. I've also been working on my composition and my photoshop skills. Slowly buy surely I'll get good at this. :-)

I've been so busy with work because the fiscal year ended on June 30th. It's always busy this time of year. We have to get a bunch of things finished up before the new fiscal year starts. But now the new fiscal year started and we can get back to a little bit of normalcy.

Our 4th of July was okay. We were very busy and traveled all over to see friends We cooked out a lot and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We had a few bonfires and made delicious smores. It was nice to spend time with our friends. But it was exhausting and I'm actually glad to be back to the normal work week.

I did make a little bit of time for beads! I finished a new custom order. I'm so happy with it and I'm hoping my client likes them as well. I now have to work on a few new patterns and look up some bead colors. I also have a few new cuffs that I need to get photos of them and then get them up on Etsy.

That's about it. Not really all that exciting. A little bit of beadwork. A little bit of cookouts. A little bit of enjoying the weather. Not much other then that. What has everyone else been up to? I hope everyone had a good 4th of July.  

Monday, Monday - Weekend Wrap Up

Wow, it's Monday again.  Weekends are always so short lived and this one was no exception.  It was a fairly busy weekend for us.  We hung out with friends, saw some bands, I beaded, J did homework and had meetings, we took the dog for a nice fall walk.  It was a lot busier then normal.

Friday I picked up embroidery thread to finish up planet Saturn.  I'm so excited to get Saturn done and see what it looks like with rings.

If you don't remember, this is what Saturn looks like without rings.  It looks pretty awesome if I don't say so myself.  So just imagine it with a ring system.  I'm hoping to have a little bit of time this week to work on that.

Let's see, what else did we do on Friday?  Oh yeah, a good friend came over and we watched weird documentaries all night.  I know, we are out of control here.

Saturday was homework day for J.  He's really getting close to that Masters.  Only about nine weeks left and he will be done!!!  I'm so proud of that boy.

I working on beadwork on Saturday.  Exciting news, I finished my last planet on Saturday.   Woot, woot!

Uranus is finished!  I cannot wait to see all of them together.  I plan on getting out the canvas and getting all the planets on there today.  So I should have some photos soon!

Hmmm, what else did we do?  On Sunday we took little Yoda for a walk.  We took her up to the high school to let her run around the large field they have up there.  It's one of her favorite things to do.  We just might have to buy a house in the country so our little pug has the room she needs to be free!
We finished out the weekend by going and seeing a few bands play at a local bar.  It was a pretty nice night.  See what rebels we are, we went to see some bands on a Sunday night.  Crazy!

So what did everyone else do?  Did you do some fun fall related activities?  Did you get some crafts finished?

Monday, Monday

Ugh, this post was supposed to be up last week, but due to my inability to get photos taken, it had to wait until today.

I've got a ton of projects going right now.  Well, I guess it's not that many projects, just a few.  Three or four at best.  It's funny to think that when I first started beading, I never wanted to work on multiple projects at once.  I wanted to focus on one project and not move on until that one was completely finished.  There were times where I would bead through the night to get something done.  Now, I'm more then happy to work on multiple things.  It helps me from getting board.  So what am I working on right now.

I only have one more planet to finish up for my solar system project.  Okay, I have to go back and work on Saturn's rings, but I'm almost done with all the beading.

Here is the work I've accomplished on Uranus.  I'm hoping to have it done in a week or two so I can start putting the project together.  I'm so excited to see all the planets together.  Maybe I will have this project done before Christmas.

I also have been working on a few custom orders.  I'm working on making large leather gauntlets for a customer.  This is a first for me.  I love going big, but I've never beading a gauntlet before.

Here is a little sneak peak at the first one.  It's just going to be an all matte white with white glass pyramid beads for accents.  I like that we're starting out simple.

And here is a little sample of bead embroidery for my customer.  We are going back and forth between if these should be done in embroidery or if they should be done in peyote stitch.  I vote for embroidery, but the final word is up to my customer.  It just depends on which one looks better to him.  I'll see what he says next Wednesday, that's if I can get this sample finished.

And last, but not least (okay, that's a lie, I may or may not have some other projects going), is a pair of purple tassel earrings that will be going to their new home in Georgia today.  I love these guys.  They are so playful and fun.  And if you are interested, they are now available as custom orders.

So that's a few of the projects on the board right now.  What is everyone else working on?  Any fun Halloween projects?  I would love to hear and see them.

Christmas Gifts!

I just finished up a couple of necklaces I made for my mom and my MIL.

I really love these beaded rings. I was practicing my beading around objects, and I completely misjudged the size of the steel washer I was beading around, so I just finished them off as rings. I've always loved seeing beaded rings and other shapes, so I'm glad I've (accidentally) learned how.

I received these great bead mixes the other day and couldn't wait to get something made with them. I really think my mom and MIL will like these. They are simple yet really pretty.

I made myself one that was using a green and gold seed bead mix, I love it. (J says it looks like a wreath).
I also got new backgrounds for my pictures (new scrapbook paper). Ok, so maybe it was a gift to myself while I was out Christmas shopping. I was super excited to use it on some new pictures. I love the way the first picture looks.

Featured!!!

My falling leaves cuff has been featured in this great collection of beadwoven beauties. Thank you Rose Works for including my cuff. Please stop by this great blog and check out the other lovelies.

What's on my Bead Board

Right now I'm working on a few different projects. I have a custom order for a cuff and a pair of beaded hoops that I'm trying to get done.

Then I am experimenting with fresh water pearls. I'm working on a really luxurious bracelet that is beadwoven with silver lined seed beads and then covered in white and light silver pearls. I'm in love with it. Unfortunately I ran out of pearls before I've finished, so now I have to wait for my next order to finish this one.

Then I'm working on a bunch of simple lace beaded bracelets. This one is using the same silver lined red beads as the last bracelet. It's simple, but really pretty.

So that's what's on my bead board right now. What are you up to???

Some New Lampwork!

So I finally got the photo tent and camera out the other night. I have been putting this off for a long long time.

I have a large container of lampwork beads that I needed to get a few pictures. Here are a few of those beads.

The first is an orange set that I had done a while back, but wanted to re-take the pictures. I really love this set. The orange color is very vibrant and fun. I'm not normally an orange person, but I really like these. I love the way the orange pops on the black background.

These are listed in my etsy store, you can click HERE for more info.

This next set is using one of my favorite colors, TEAL. I love green and especially love teal. And I really love this set.

It consists of a fun focal bead that is bumpy. It is then accompanied by two black spacers and two teal doted spacers.

This is will make something really cool. I can't wait to get this one listed. I'm sure this set will make someone very happy in the future.

I have many more pictures of my beads, but I'll wait until another day to show some of those. I think I may have taken 4,000 pictures. Okay, so I took about 75, but it sure felt like 4,o00. But those are for another day.

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I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor day, we had a fun filled weekend here.

1000 Markets - Beadweavers Emporium

Looking for unbelievable beaded products? Well check out the NEW Beadweavers Emporium at 1000 Markets.

This market is filled with absolutely beautiful beaded lovelies, like; necklaces, bracelets, earrings, broaches, and handbags.

Don't believe me, check out a few of these beauties.





And yes I am a proud member of this unbelievably talented group of people. Check out all the artists out today.

I finally...

Got some torch time in the other night. It has been so so long (probably about a month now). I guess I've just been so consumed with finding a new job that I wasn't really thinking about getting everything going. But I'm so glad I made time, it was really relaxing.

Here are a few the beads I came up with. I didn't really have a specific direction to go in, so I just had some fun and worked on a few different ideas.

I'm hoping to get a little bit more time again tonight. And then hopefully I'll get a few GOOD pictures taken over the weekend.

I better get going; the show season is sneaking up on me. I've also been asked to do a home show, so I better get going making things for that.

Green Goddess Earrings

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I just got a new pair of earrings up in my store. They are a pretty simple pair of dangle earrings, but I still thing they are pretty cool.

I tried something new when I made the earwires. I put a tiny yellow agate bead on the earwire as an accent for the golds and yellows in the glass beads. I think it's kinda of a cool concept.

As always all the hardware is sterling silver.

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I've been working on a few new cuffs over the holiday season. These are pretty simple, but still beautiful. I also decided to bead these up and not attach them to the leather cuffs. This gives them a little bit more of a delicate look. I really like them and hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures taken today or tomorrow!

Snow, Snow, Snow

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We got another 12 inches of snow last night and this morning. There is a lot of snow out there. But the weekend started a lot sooner because the college closed at noon today, so we all got a half day. Sweet. This picture was taken this morning when I got up. My neighbors probably think I'm spying on them because I just stuck the camera lens between the blinds to minimize the glare from the flash (I was lazy this morning and just had the camera on automatic). A lot of things were closed here in Southeastern Wisconsin; schools, businesses, the airport. It was a pretty bad storm. But it has now passed and we need to start shoveling, yuck! And there is more snow on the way this weekend. You got to love the Midwest.

And here's our little bobcat out in the snow (minus the bob tail). This is her favorite time of year. She is obsessed with snow. When anyone comes into the house she runs over and tries to eat the snow they brought in with them. Then she will just play with it for a while. And this is the only time I let her outside. She loves to play in the snow. She digs and jumps through it. She could stay out there for hours playing. The only thing she hates in her leash, it won't allow her to leave the deck, and that's just not cool in her book. She feels she should be able to just go. Which would probably be okay for most cats, but not this one, it's a bad idea. And after she's had enough of snow she follows me back into the house, takes a short nap and then is sitting at the patio door wanting to go play again. Then she'll loose interest and go harass Nacho (we think she has kitten ADHD).

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On to beady goodness. I have a new obsession. Cocktail Rings. Big, make a statement cocktail rings. I love them. I've seen wooden ones, and acrylic ones, and glass ones. You name it. I just love them.

I stopped by Half Price Books last weekend (love that place) to see what they had in the glass and beads sections. I found a few books I wanted but this close to Christmas I try to not buy for myself. But I did find The Art & Elegance of Beadwork. What a fantastic book. So many pretty pictures to inspire. So of course as I'm looking through it, I am frantically sketching new ideas. And low and behold there is a pattern for a cocktail ring. Cool.

So I made one, and liked it, but had some ideas of my own. Here is what I've come up with so far. The blue on is following (most) of the directions in the book. I like it a lot, but like I said had a few ideas on how to change it. The book's rings had a central bead as the focal point, well I forgot to grab one and I was already all comfy under a blanket with my beading tray, so I left it off.

I love the coral colored one. It's awesome. I'm going to make a few more of these and get them a little bit more perfected. They're pretty rough right now. And then I'm hoping to be offering these in the future. Stay tuned for more cocktail rings. Because every girl should have a few (hundred)!!!!

New Listings Again, wow, I'm on a roll!

First off, don't forget that now until Christmas I still have 20% off everything in both my Etsy store and my art fire store. That's everything, earrings, necklaces, cuffs, and even beads.

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First off I want to apologize to Melissa at Melissa Jewelry and Gems Blog. I was the lucky winner of one of her lovely rings a few weeks back and have yet to talk about it on here. I said yesterday I would feature it today, but I'm not going to be able too. There was a horrible accident on the highway last night and traffic was backed up for miles and miles. We didn't get home till really late, so I was exhausted last night and didn't feel like getting the photo tent all set up. But I promise to get pictures taken tonight and get a little entry up tomorrow or possibly even tonight. I promise.

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Now on the new listings. Wow I'm amazing myself here, getting new things listed everyday again, it feels good.

First off is a blue pair of my beaded hoop earrings. These are the very first pair if I ever made. They are a lot more fun then some of the other ones. Not that the other ones aren't fun, but the other pairs are a little bit more dressy then these. I picture these with a pair of jeans.

I also tried a different look with the multiple dangles in the center. I like the way this looks, I might make a few more like this one.

You can them in my Etsy store HERE.

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And then here is a fun pair of lantern earrings.

These earrings remind me of cotton candy, yum.

I used just a plain white base of glass and then used this really fun light and dark colored pink frit. Fun. These earrings have little tiny fossil beads as accents. I really like using all the fun different colors of fossil beads. And like every other pair of my earrings, they are finished off with sterling silver earwires.

You can check them out in my etsy store HERE.

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I also have a picture of my squares I made for the breast cancer awareness quilt.

Every year people from all over bead up little 1 1/2 in squares that help raise money for breast cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. These little squares are then sewn together to make beaded quilts. You can read more about it HERE!

I belong to the Etsy-Beadweavers Street Team, and we decided as a collective to do a number of squares to help raise money for this fantastic cause.

Each year has a theme and this year's was hearts.

These are my squares. They are not really that fantastic, but I liked them. I used a different stitching techniques for each one.

Two New Lampwork Bead Sets!

I finally got some new things listed in my Art Fire Store; two new sets of lampwork beads.


First up is a set of five beads. These are a wonderful ivory base with dark sky blue accents. I really like how the blue and the ivory react with each other.

The focal bead measures about 3/4in by 1/2in
The large rounds measure about 3/8in by 5/8in
and the small rounds measure about 5/16in by 7/16in

You can find this set HERE.

I also listed a second set of beads, one of my favorite sets to date.

It's a set of four beads. I started out with a base of black glass, I then added white and orange dots to create the "scales" and then topped the dots off with some clear glass for a little bit of depth.

I really love how these turned out. I have a bunch of other colors and they look just as cool.

These beads measure about 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch

You can find this set HERE!

Oh how sweet it is!

Oh I am in such a good mood. I got my camera back this afternoon. It's such a good feeling to be reunited with my baby.

So I've been pretty busy since I've gotten home from work. I have three new things listed. Two on ArtFire and one on Etsy. Yay!

First off we have this great multi-strand necklace. It's made of Purple Czech seed beads, that have a slight rainbow finish. I then used some great light blue glass bi-cone beads to accent the purple. This necklace is finished off with beaded end caps in a matching light blue. All finding are sterling silver.

I am such a purple freak, I sometimes I feel obsessed.

You can find this necklace HERE!

Next are some new beaded hoop earrings. I am really addicted to these right now. I love how they look. They are so fun and funky. And I've learned that a lot of other people like them too (thanks to everyone that took the poll).

The first pair are really fun. What's more fun then a bright green and dark purple pair of earrings.

These earrings are made using tiny little Delica beads accented with dark purple glass bi-cone beads. Finished with sterling silver ear wires. These earrings are about 2 1/4 inches long.

These really remind me of Mardi Gras. And of course purple and green are one of my favorite color combination. Okay, it IS my favorite color combo.

You can see these earrings HERE!



The second pair of beaded hoops are made with some of my favorite beads. Pictures just do not do them justice.

I love the shimmer of these beads. I've had them for a while and just didn't know what to do with them. I loved the colors, but how to display their beauty? I feel that these earrings really show off all the shimmer these beads posses.

I then paired them with bronze freshwater pearls. They just look so pretty together.

These hoops are also about 2 1/4 inches long.

You can find these great earrings HERE!

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Don't forget to stop back tomorrow when I announce my first ever give away. Looks like I'll be offering a pair of beaded hoops, and boy do I have a great pair!

November Challenge!

The voting for the Etsy Beadweavers November Challenge is open. Go to the EBW BLOG to vote for your favorite entry. All 16 entries are stunning, so it's going to be hard to pick just one.

Below is a little sneak peak of all the entries and below that are the links to all of them. Check them all out and VOTE TODAY!
1. Catching A Dream Bracelet - myfairladyvt4

2. Florida Gators Orange and Blue Herringbone Bangle - njema

3. Beaded Ancestral Expressions Petroglyph Totem Cane - SalamanderHouse

4. hands against time cuff - thebeadedlily

5. Celtic North American Native - SilkenLariat

6. The Greek Key - BeadsAndI

7. Hungarian meets French - beaddiddy

8. DNA in Violet and Blue - Wide Beadwoven Peyote Cuff - time2cre8

9. ONE WORLD Bead Woven Embroidered Cuff Bracelet - caraway

10. Trail Mix - ThesePreciousThings

11. Roses and Pearls Necklace - SpringColors

12. Proud to be an American - dreambeadweaver

13. Let My People Go Collar - triz

14. The Hoshen - a Breastplate - beadshead

15. Plaid Pride Bracelet - FrancescasFancy

16. Patchwork Cuff - playnwithbeads

New Bangle

I've been working on a bunch of stuff that is checkered. I like anything checkered, so why not try it with beads.

This is my absolute favorite thing so far. A fantastic black and white checkered bangle. Now I already love ALL bangles (they are so much fun to wear), but pair it with black and white checkers, and it's fantastic.

This is just something super fun for anyone.

I have a couple of checkered rings. They really seem to get a lot of attention at shows. People always pick them up. The younger crowd usually loves them. I'll have to get some pics up of the rings.

I'll have this listed on etsy SOON!
I unfortunately only have this picture of it.
My SIL is coming over tonight for her 1st lampworking lesson, and she will hopefully bring the camera with, exciting!

Voting has begun for the October Challenge

Voting has begun!!!!

Check out all the great entries in this month's etsybeadweavers October challenge.

This month's theme was Animal Instincts, chosen by Julie of GemsbyJules who won the August challenge! This was a really fun theme, and as always EBW members have really out done themselves with all these fantastic entries.

You can vote by going to the EBW Team Blog. The voting panel is on the right side. All you have to do is pick your favorite. And don't forget to hit vote at the bottom of the list.

Here is the mosaic of all the entries for your viewing pleasure. Make sure to check out each entry and the talented artist's Etsy show by following the links below the picture.



1. Black Panther Necklace - triz

2. Flight of the Great Blue Heron - beaddiddy

3. barbary coast cuff - thebeadedlily

4. Just chasing my tail - Chrisbeads

5. A Feathered Affair - beadsandblooms

6. Animal passion necklace - FleurDeIrk

7. What Remains -Fossil Necklace - SalamanderHouse

8. Nautilis Fossil Cuff - vanishingpearl

9. Magpie Cuff - nemeton

10. Turtle Talisman - ErtheFae

11. The Mane Event Necklace - njema

12. Stripes of the Tiger Beaded Cuff - dreambeadweaver

13. Petroglyph Cuff - HighDesertBeadscapes

14. Safari Ric Rac Freeform Herringbone Bracelet - myfairladyvt4

15. Kiss of the Spider Woman Necklace - SpringColors

16. Where's The Orca Necklace - wMarlaine

17. Gotcha - Beadwoven Cat and Mouse Bracelet - SmadarsTreasure

18. Dragonfly necklace - PFordCustomJewelry

19. Fish Instinct Bracelet - enchantedbeads

Fantastic entries everyone. It's going to be hard to pick just one!!!

Vote Today!!!

My Next Arts And Craft Show

I have a show this Saturday. I should be nervous, but I'm not. I've learned the more I attend these things, the less nervous I am for the next one. This one is Saturday the 27th in Delafield, WI. I'll have plenty of beaded jewelry there, as well as my lampwork beads. :-)

This is just a little show, so that's probably why I'm not that worked up right now. It's actually in a shopping center. It's outside next to a walmart and an office max, but all the booth fees went to the local food pantry, so it's a good cause. Who cares where it's located.

I'm not expecting to make a fortune at this one, I just wanted to help out the local area and have a fun time selling stuffs in the process.

I included a map of where my booth is located and a map of directions (from Milwaukee), so if anyone is in the neighborhood, stop on by. There is going to be art, crafts, face painting, and food. It should be a good time.

I've Been Featured on THE ART ZOO Again!

Yay, I've been featured again.

I was busy dropping e-cards this morning when I came across one of my cuffs on The Art Zoo. Yay! It's one of my favorite ones, my Invader Zim Cuff. This was really exciting to see this morning. You should go check out THE ART ZOO, they always have really fantastic art by some really fantastic artists.

Thank You ART ZOO!!!

The Winner of the Etsy-Beadweavers Challenge

Tears of Joy by beadsandblooms has won the September EBW Challenge.

What a fantastic necklace, great job!!!

And the runners up were:

Yin and Yang Peyote Bracelet- SmadarsTreasure

Roundabout - ThesePreciousThings

Lapis Lazuli Necklace and earring set - dreambeadweaver

Circle Gets the Square - beaderjojo

Pin Stipes and Flowers Bracelet - GrandmaMarilyns

Free and Formed - OOAK - beaddiddy

Bananarama Mask - Beadmatrix

Textural atmosphere - LiciaBeads

Le Rouge et le Noir Freeform Bracelet - enchantedbeads

Fantastic entries everyone. Beautiful, beautiful work!!!