New pretties

I got some new "toys" in the mail yesterday, so I have some new things to play with!  

I'm in love with this little copper bird connector.  I plan to use it in a bracelet, and have part of it planned in my mind.

I figured I might as well get a spare little owl, since you can never have too many!

And, finally, the latest batch of beads I've made.  Now, if I can just get rid of this cold I've picked up, I'll feel like playing again! 

 

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday!  Yay!  Seems like the past two or three weeks have just dragged by.  I'm hoping for a pretty quiet weekend.  Key word:  hoping!

I made these earrings last night for a friend of mine who was kind enough to let us use her condo when I went to the glass bead class.  I paired two blue swirly glass beads with crystals.

Hope she likes them!  And, I hope she doesn't read this before I give them to her! 

Unhappy plant

I have a very unhappy plant today.  Our thermostat at work is torn up, so the temp in my office has hovered at around 55 or so today.  It's a coat and gloves kind of day, but unfortunately for my plant, there's no such thing as plant mittens.

Fortunately, it's been a sunny day and I've had him sitting in the sun, but it still hasn't improved his mood.  He's very droopy! 

I've had three orders for versions of this necklace lately:

I'm not doing exact replicas of it, but instead I did the first using red beads, and I plan to do one of the others in red, and one in purple.  We'll see how it turns out as soon as my supplies arrive.

 

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day.  This is a day when most people celebrate the love in their life.  Unfortunately, it's not one of my favorite days.  Now, this has nothing to do with my husband, who is absolutely wonderful and everything I could ask for.  Five years ago today was the last time I saw my sister.  She passed away very suddenly two days later from a blood clot.  She was only 28, and left behind my 7-month old nephew.  It's just a difficult time of year for my family.  Time has made it easier, but this day will always have her memory attached to it.  

Okay, now that I've completely ruined everyone's mood...

I've been spending a lot of time on the torch lately, as I've mentioned (many times!).  Right now my favorite beads to make are these swirly ones:

The green one got a little blobby on me, but the red, white and blue one turned out well.  I turned the black one into a pendant for my mom for Valentine's Day (hope she doesn't read this before I give it to her!).  

I want to get back to making more jewelry and doing some beadweaving, but the torch just keeps calling my name...

I apologize for being a downer today, and I truly hope everyone has a fantastic Valentine's Day!!

 

 

 

Pink birds nest

A co-worker of a friend asked me to make my Birds Nest necklace for her, using pink beads instead of blue.  I finished it last night, and am quite happy with the way it turned out.

I really like the pink colors with the copper.  My 11-year-old, Katie, said she didn't like it because "that pink pearl looks nothing like an egg".  Gotta love the bluntness of a child.  I sent a pic to the recipient this morning and she likes it.  That's all that really matters!  

The plumbers finished up yesterday, and while the problem is better, it's not 100% fixed.  We're thinking now they may have to dig up the main line, which I'm sure will be a big mess and even bigger expense.  Guess that's what we get for living in a 74-year-old house.  It's charming, but problems tend to arise.  I'm thinking about a big etsy sell to offset the plumbing expense.  I know one thing--judging by their fees I'm in the wrong business!
 

Orange

I love the color orange.  Maybe it's because the school colors for my high school were orange and black.  Maybe because it reminds me of pumpkins and Halloween and fall.  Maybe it's because I look pretty good in it.  Whatever the reason, it's always been one of my favorites.  Last night I chose an orange scarf to wear today, and decided I needed to whip up some orange beads for a new pair of earrings to match.  These are the newbies:

I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out.  The shapes are much less "wonky" than the ones I made Monday night.  I made the orange ones into a cute pair of earrings that match my scarf perfectly.

We've had plumbers at our house all day.  Travis has been home with them.  I had to come to work--there's no way I could stand being there while they tear our bathroom apart.  Hopefully this will solve the problem.  If not, I may have to check into a hotel!

 

New Beads

I was able to get on the torch last night for a while, and made several new beads.  If I learned one thing, it's that I don't have much arm strength!  My arms were so tired they were shaking at one point, which may explain why some of these beads wound up with a pretty wonky (yes, that's my technical term) shape.

I had high hopes for this bead.  I had hoped it would be a pendant, but it wound up with a bit of an odd shape.  I'm blaming the tired arms!

These little gray beads were to be the earrings to match the gray and yellow pendant.  They turned out okay, so I'll probably use them.

This was my first time making hearts since the bead class.  It didn't turn out too bad.  The shape is slightly off, and the third heart (not pictured) is a little off.  Hannah really liked it, though.

I designed these beads to go with a starry night pendant from Round Rabbit that I've been hoarding for months.  They're not perfect, but may be usable, since I'm not necessarily going for a perfect look with the necklace I have in mind.

All in all, not a bad night.  I definitely need to practice and build up my arm strength, but it was still a lot of fun.  Someday my beads will be good enough to list in my etsy shop.


 

Bead Trends

The March issue of Bead Trends magazine is now out, and I have this necklace on pages 18 - 19.

Naturally, the magazine's pictures are a lot better, but this at least gives you an idea of what the necklace looks like.  I'm so excited!  I wondered if being published the second time was as good as the first, and I have to say it definitely is!