Bead Hoarders Blog Hop

For the second year, I decided to participate in Lori Anderson's Bead Hoarders Blog Hop.  This is a great way to motivate myself to use beads I've been hoarding for a (long) while.  This year, I chose several beads out of my stash to create this necklace.

The green bead at the top and the brown one below the wooden bead are from Heirlooms in Glass.  The pinecone is a glass bead I picked up a few years ago at a local craft fair (unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the artist), and the red leaf is by Elaine Ray.  

This came together so easily.  I was afraid the green bead mixed with the red leaf might make it a bit too Christmas-y, but I don't think that's the case.  I strung this on a simple copper chain--anything else felt like overkill.  

I'm very pleased with the results and I think it will be a staple in my wardrobe this winter.

To see what everyone else made, hop on over to Lori's blog at prettythingsblog.com.

Coupon

For those of you who plan to do some holiday shopping this weekend, I'm offering 10% off everything in my Etsy shop.  Use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY14 and take care of some gifts, stocking stuffers, or a little something for yourself!  

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy shopping!

Snowflakes

It's a cold, dreary day outside and looks like it's going to snow. Unfortunately there isn't any in the forecast, but I decided to pull out some polymer clay and play last night. I made some small snowflake charms and plan to turn them into earrings before the next real snowflake falls!

The Big 4-0

I turned 40 yesterday.  Yep.  The big 4-0.  It didn't bother me as much as turning 30, but still I admit it bothered me a little.  The vain part of me doesn't care about the number--I just don't want to look my age!  I think I'll start telling people I'm 50.  I can imagine them saying "wow--you look good for 50" instead of hearing I'm 40 and saying "is that all?"

Moving on, though, I did have a very nice birthday.  Travis brought home dinner and a cake, and we actually got to spend what was a very nasty evening outside at home.  My kind of night!  Plus, he got me tickets to Barter Theater.  If you're ever in this neck of the woods, I highly recommend a trip there.

I just updated my Etsy shop and renewed some fall listings, including my acorn pendants, like this one:

Happy shopping!

Imagine Bead Blog Hop

A few weeks ago I signed up to participate in a mini blog hop sponsored by Charlie Jacka of Clay Space. Charlie chose three people to receive her Imagine bead, create something, and then blog about it. This is the beautiful pendant I received. 

Naturally, I failed to take a picture of the pendant before I started!  

This is the finished piece. 

I used yellow discs to highlight the area in the star, and black rings to coordinate with the rest of the pendant as well as to dress up the chain. 

This is a fun piece that I can see myself wearing often. I can't wait to hop over and see what everyone else made. To see, visit Charlie's blog at 

clay-space.com/blog

Wrap bracelets

I've fallen in love with wrap bracelets.  I bought a stretch bracelet at a popular department store a few years ago and loved it, but it wasn't long before the elastic frayed and broke.  I kept the bracelet because I loved the colors of the beads together and I knew I would eventually use them in another project.  This is the result.

I loved this bracelet so much, I decided to make a fall version with some cube beads I had.

These are so quick and easy to make I'm sure I'll be making more soon!

Shop update

I just updated my Etsy shop. Here's a sneak peek.  Enjoy!

Beach vacation

We returned from Carolina Beach (NC) on Sunday, and are now back to reality.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pics from the trip, but first, remember the suitcase I was fixing up for my beads?  I finished it, and was very pleased with the results.

I used some vintage-looking fabric, and made push pins by gluing owl buttons to plain metal push pins.  It held everything perfectly--even the new beads I bought.

Here are a few of my favorite beach pics:

 Hannah and Katie 

 Travis with a gun on the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship

 Hannah, Katie and me (my hair got a bit wild in the back)

 Storm clouds over the ocean

Katie, Travis and Hannah

We had a blast!  I wound up visiting a local bead shop twice, and also picked up a beautiful copper pendant at a farmer's market.  I'll post pics ASAP!

New glass beads

I've been back on the torch a little lately.  It's easy to forget how much fun it is.  I'm really into making swirly beads, but I wonder if they look a little too much like marbles...

The little polka dot ones were fun to make, too.

I was inspired by this recent blog post from Jennifer Jangles to make my own craft suitcase:  http://jenniferjangles.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-craft-suitcase.html

I'm hope to have pics soon.  Right now it's sitting outside in the sunshine, airing the musty smell out.  I hope to have it all fixed up to take on vacation next week.  I can't wait!  Carolina Beach, here we come!

Back in business

I've been very terrible about posts for the past 3 or 4 months.  There has been so much going on that jewelry has had to take a bit of a backseat.  But, now things seem to (hopefully) be settling down, so I'm trying to get back to business.  

I created this necklace a few weeks ago to match the dress I wore to a wedding.

I wish I had a picture of the dress handy, because the necklace matches it perfectly.  

I've also been back on the torch a couple of times lately, and have pictures to share later.

We're heading to the beach in a couple of weeks for a much needed vacation.  I've got a couple of ideas in my head for beach jewelry, so I'll be posting more soon.  

It's good to be back!

Bead table Wednesday

I've been seeing a lot of jewelry made from wine corks on Pinterest lately, and have been itching to try to make something.  I'm thinking something summery, so I gathered these beads to work with.

These colors scream "beach" to me.  I'm not sure which ones I'll wind up using--just depends on how the mood strikes me.

Now to find the time to work on it...

Bead Soup Blog Party reveal!

Today is the day!  We finally get to reveal our creations for the Bead Soup Blog Party and see what everyone else came up with.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was paired with Stephanie Weiss, who's blog can be found here.  She was kind enough to send me two soups--one in my comfort zone, and one outside it.  This is the comfort zone soup:

I had a blast working with these beads, and I adore the colors.  I wound up making a necklace, bracelet and earrings from the set.

Next, came the set that was outside my comfort zone.  I don't work with black much.  I tend to lean toward browns and warm earthy colors.  This is the soup:

The bracelet I made came  pretty easily.  I knew almost immediately I wanted to use the tiles in a bracelet, strung on stretchy cord.  I made little metallic beaded beads to use as  spacer beads.

The seed beads used in the beaded bead are a mix of copper, silver and gold.  

I have to admit I struggled with the necklace.  I had the hardest time deciding what to do with the plain black pendant.  Finally, I found these little metallic flowers, glued crystal flatbacks in the center, and strung the pendant on leather cord.

And, finally the earrings to go with this set.  I used the black/metallic square beads and made some more beaded beads to dangle from them.  The square beads were difficult to photograph because of the finish, but I think you can get the idea.

I really love the results of both soups!  This is my first year participating in this blog party, and I've had so much fun!  Click here to see what the other participants came up with.

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com//2014/04/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

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Key earrings

New earrings!  I made these last night with some sparkly red teardrops and key charms I found at Michaels.  

Thankfully Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party reveal date has been postponed until May 10.  I've procrastinated a little too much!  I plan to try to finish my pieces this weekend since we have 3 softball games this week, gymnastics, and the prom on May 10.  Wish me luck!

Bead Soup

This year I decided to participate in Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Hop for the first time.  I was paired with Stephanie Weiss, and I'm thrilled!  It couldn't be a more perfect pairing--we're both named Stephanie, we both work in HR...  Amazing!

A few weeks ago I received my bead soup from her and I couldn't be happier with the goodies she sent!  She actually sent two soups--one in my "comfort zone", and one outside it.  This is the one that's in my comfort zone.

I adore everything about this--the colors, the owl (!), the little house bead...  

This is the set that's outside my comfort zone.

I don't use a lot of black in my designs, which means when I do wear black, I don't have a lot of my own jewelry to wear with it.  I'm so glad Stephanie included this set.  I love the copper paired with the black, and I'm up for the challenge!

As an extra treat, Stephanie's sweet daughter made this for me to hold my badge at work.

Isn't it beautiful?!  And, so sweet!  I love it!

I can't wait to sit down and use these soups!  The reveal is May 3, and I'm anxious to see what everyone comes up with!

A lesson learned

I had a pretty frustrating day at work yesterday, so I decided to sit down last night and make a new bracelet since that always seems to calm me down.  Since I had already decided to wear brown and pink today, I pulled out some seed beads and, using a spiral stitch, made this bracelet.

The problem?  I didn't use the best lighting when I was working on it, and those core beads I thought were brown are actually a dark purple!  I didn't even realize it until I stepped out into the light today.  

Oh well.  Guess next time I'll check my colors in better light!

Decisions and Updates

If you recall, a couple of months ago I decided to open a new shop on Jewel Span.  After much deliberation, I've decided to close that shop, and stick with my original Etsy shop.  It's nothing against Jewel Span--I just found that it's difficult to keep track of two shops, and Etsy seemed to get more traffic. I've added a few things to the Etsy shop, and I plan to add more throughout the week.

I just got back from a business trip, and while I was gone, this little toy arrived:

I can't wait to play with it!  I saw it used on an episode of Beads, Baubles and Jewels, and it looked like so much fun!

I packed away all my snowman decorations yesterday and got out all my spring ones.  Naturally, they're now calling for snow tonight and in the morning.  Not that I'm complaining!

Long time gone

My goodness--where does time go?  It's hard to believe it's been nearly a month since I last blogged.  A lot has happened, though.  We've gotten a lot of snow (and a few snow days!), and I battled a horrendous stomach bug.  Not to mention work, and life in general with a teen and pre-teen.

I have been working, though.  I made this bracelet Saturday morning, posted it on FaceBook, and sold it within a couple of hours.

Because of this little bracelet, I was asked to make a bracelet for a co-worker, commemorating her brother who passed away a few months ago.  I quickly agreed, since, having lost my sister 6 years ago, I can sympathize with her pain.

I also tried my hand at a project from Beadwork.  These Celtic knot earrings worked up pretty quickly.  I also posted these on Facebook, and promptly had my BFF requesting a pair.

Obviously, I don't charge her for anything.  I figure if she can put up with me for 30 years she deserves something!  

I also entered Lori Anderson's Bead Soup blog hop.  I don't know who my partner is yet, but I'm anxious to find out.  I've never participated in this before, so I'm excited.  

It looks like I'll be taking a trip to Seattle in May for some work-related training.  I have to admit I'm pretty excited.  I'm embarrassed to say I'm 39 years old and have never set foot on a plane.  I'm not nervous about the flight yet, but I am deathly afraid of heights, so I'll have to try not to think about that part!  Hopefully we'll be able to manage a little sight seeing time in between all the training.  

More to come soon--I'm determined to never go this long between posts again!

Snow Days

One of the things I love most about working in higher education is the potential for snow days, and we were fortunate enough to get to leave early Tuesday, and we were off the entire day yesterday.  I knew it was the perfect time to pull out some of my hoarded Elaine Ray beads and get to work.  This is what I came up with.

Birds Nest earrings

Bare Branches

Twigs

Violets

I can't decide which I like most!  This was the first time I incorporated leather into my designs as a chain, and it was actually much easier than I thought it might be.  

These are all available in my new shop, www.mustardbead.com. 

It's only January, so maybe we'll squeeze in another snow day or two--at least that's my wish!

New website

A couple of months ago, I read about a website devoted to jewelry makers called Jewelspan.  After much consideration and research, I decided to open an account, and create a website there.  You can find it at mustardbead.com.  It's very basic at the moment, with only a few pieces featured.  I hope to have more on there soon, but right now I'm sitting in a hotel room (I'm at a conference) fighting with my internet connection, so the basics are all I can manage right now.  

My Etsy account is still open, but I simply haven't had much luck selling there.  It's an easy and wonderful venue, but there are so many shops on there it's easy to get lost in the shuffle, so to speak.  So, I'm giving this a shot, and we'll see how it goes.  

Playing with polymer clay

It's cold outside.  Brutally cold.  We haven't seen weather this cold in 20 years.  During lunch today, the temperature was 1 degree.  It's supposed to be below 0 tonight.  I don't live in the deep south, but I live south enough to not be used to this kind of weather!  

Since I can't change it, I might as well enjoy it, right?  Nothing like curling up with some beads or a book in front of the fire on a cold night.  Add a cozy blanket, a nice cup of coffee, and the dog and it's perfect.  In honor of the cold weather and snow we've been getting, I played around with some polymer clay last night and made these beads.

I used white polymer clay, and stamped the snowflake images and the word "snow" onto them.  I can't draw to save my life, so stamps are perfect.  And, since I had the clay out, I figured I might as well make a couple more small owls.

Hope it's warm wherever you are!  Tonight I'll definitely be wrapped up in a cozy blanket in front of the fire!