Glass Addictions by Jennifer Cameron

7000 Bracelets of Hope Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:38:00 +0000

This is a different sort of blog hop. The rules of the hop -- make a bracelet in an adult size in blue. The bracelets will be sent to The Global Genes Project, an advocacy group for children's rare disease awareness. The Global Genes Project then sends the bracelets to one of 7000 families having children with rare diseases to show them love and support.

I am WAY late in showing the bracelet I made. I am too unorganized to blog early and too busy to do it the day of. My lovely daughter was in an all day dance competition dancing in four different numbers. We had to be there at 7am until 12:30pm. Home for a shower and lunch, then back at the competition at 3:30p until almost 11pm. We went to dinner afterwards and finally collapsed into bed around 2am.

Completely against every rule I set for myself, I didn't use a SINGLE handmade component. What I did is use some of the beautiful gemstones I have collecting dust. In this case, I used Kyanite and Labradorite. I weeded out any green flashing labradorite and only used blue. The bracelet base is sterling silver and one I bought FOREVER ago and never used. The headpins are gunmetal and I love them.

To visit the rest of the blog hop participants, please visit Lori Anderson's blog.

And to prove we really were at a dance competition, I leave you with a photo of my favorite routine my daughter was in. It's called The Clowns. It involves, hip hop, tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz, theater, and I don't know what else. It's a very very cool routine and I was so excited to finally see if performed for real after the hours of rehearsals.

There are about 20 more kids on stage than what this photo shows. It's a big number. My daughter is the shortest (and youngest) one, just left of center. I had to do her hair and make-up. When they told us her hair had to be teased very wild, she got all stressed out and asked if I knew how to tease hair. Do I know how to tease hair?!?! Please! I was a teenager in the 80's. Of COURSE I know how to tease hair. She got this wide eyed look and asks if people actually teased their hair in the 80's for their real hairstyles? HA! Anyway, I tried to get her to let me do little pony tails all over her head, but she said no, just one pony tail. Also, she wouldn't let me do her clown make-up wild and crazy. There are times I think she may have been switched at birth. Brushing her hair smooth and getting the clown make-up off for the last performance of the night was pretty much the opposite of fun...

Hope you all had a great weekend. I will be having some big changes coming up this week and will explain more later.

7000 Bracelets of Hope Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:39:00 +0000

The bracelet is finished. However, I am at a dance competition all. day. long and wasn't organized enough to blog last night. I will try to get it up here around 11pm. Yes, that's right, 11pm. When I say all day, I mean ALL DAY! (7am until sometime after 10pm) Have fun hopping without me...I will be along to join the fun ASAP.

Parkinson's Law

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Have you ever had the experience of learning of something new to you. Maybe it's a celebrity, or some bit of research on the dangers of plastic, a new jewelry making technique or material, or even a theory. Once you hear of this person, place, or thing, you suddenly start seeing reference to it EVERYWHERE? This has happened to me in so many instances I cannot even count that high.

The most recent example of this phenomenon is Parkinson's Law. I was listening to Tim Ferriss's 4 Hour Work Week audiobook, which I find completely fascinating. One of the things that caught my attention is Parkinson's Law, which states:

"work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion"

Ferriss expands on this law by stating the task grows in complexity and importance the longer the deadline. How to compensate for it? Set shorter deadlines. Rather than giving yourself a week or an entire month, give yourself a day or two to complete a task. Why? Because the longer the deadline, the more complex it will seem and soon we are making a "mountain out of a molehill."

Now I see Parkinson's Law mentioned all over the place-online and in print. I also see it in my life every. single. day. Let's give a couple examples of just how bad it is, shall we? I give myself two weeks to complete a custom order. Guess how long it takes me every single time? Two weeks. It should probably take two days assuming I'm home and not traveling.

How about taxes? We always wait until the last minute and then it just seems overwhelming to do them. We end up cranky and impatient the closer the deadline comes. If we started them in February, they would be done and it would be a non-issue.

Another example: the way I run our homeschool is I assign work to be done for the day. I let my daughter choose in what order and how long she spends on the work. This is a mistake. What should take 30 minutes often takes HOURS so that the entire day is spent doing schoolwork when we could have been doing something fun in the afternoon instead.

How many people do you know claim to work better under pressure with that deadline looming? I know I do. Why is that? According to Parkinson's Law and Ferriss's method of using it to your advantage, a shorter deadline=more focus, less distractions, and the ability to get more done in a shorter amount of time. Ironic that it's pretty much the same thing as "working better under pressure"?

I am taking this new information and trying to stop expanding the work for myself. How do I do this? Set shorter deadlines for myself or take the 30 seconds to deal with a task immediately rather than letting things pile up. Seems simple enough. I've had some success and some not so successful attempts at applying this to my life. It helps to make an "action list" (term and technique learned from Tara Gentile in her Art of Action ecourse) each and every day with 3 very specific bite-sized items-nothing sweeping like "work on a novel today".

How about you? Do you let the work expand? How do you handle it?

Beading Across America Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:40:00 +0000

We have a winner! There were 5 contestants and according to Random.org...

Comment #5 who goes by the name of Soren, is the winner! Congrats, please email me with your address and I will get it sent out this week.

Book Review and Giveaway: Beading Across America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:21:00 +0000

I love the concept of Beading Across America. You pick out a few of the rock star beaders of the United States, only one per state represented, and they bead some creation representing "home" to them. There are 30 states represented (meaning 40% of the states aren't represented by an ambassador beader). 30 states equals 30 projects.

What kinds of projects? They are quite eclectic. Almost too eclectic. While there is something for everyone, there may not be more than a couple projects for any given person's taste.

The skill level varies greatly. Each project is marked with one of four levels: Beginner, All Levels, Intermediate, or Advanced. To give you an idea how much of each level is contained within the pages, the breakdown goes like this:

Beginner: 2
All Levels: 6
Intermediate: 17
Advanced: 5

The beginning of the book contains some basic stitch instructions for beginners or review for those with more experience. However, from my brief perusal of the book, it does not look like every stitch used in the instructions is included in the stitch dictionary. However, I'm sure a quick You Tube search will get you a video of any technique you need to use to accomplish the project you want to do.

Before you order this book, study the front cover. All 30 projects have close cropped photos on the cover. It will help you get an idea for what is included and if it's a book you want to add to your library.

Here's the part you've been waiting for...the giveaway. Would you like to win the copy Kalmbach Publishing provided for my review? Leave a comment by clicking that little purple comment link below. ~~and describe where you are in your peyote stitch experience, where you would like to go with it and how you think this book might help you get there.~~ (edited to cross out this text because it was from last week. I copied and pasted this when I was REALLY tired and didn't double check before publishing. I don't want those who have already made comments to look like they were making random comments about peyote if I simply deleted the whole thing. You do not have to talk about your peyote skills.)

I will draw a random winner the evening of Sunday April 10th.

Bead Table Wednesday: The Business, The Branding, And The Random Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Good morning! It's that time of the week. Again. There's not much new on my bead table except creating one of these made to order Nurture necklaces. The lampwork bead is made. However, the customer wants it slightly altered so it is more personalized and I've been playing around with the design in copper before I move on to the sterling silver (because I would be less than thrilled to mess up a silver disc when sterling is now more than $38/oz!). For each one of these I sell, I donate $5.00 to the March of Dimes.

I just got these new Moo MiniCards in on Monday. They are slightly different than the ones I ordered before. The side with my etsy website is still the same:

However, on the back, I came up with a checklist of potential materials used in each jewelry design. At the bottom I added a #____ so I could assign an inventory # to each piece. Hubs has been on me about not keeping track of my cost of materials for each piece for tax purposes. One of my arguments was when I was at a show, I had no idea what I sold.

This is my solution to simplify. Each piece will be given an inventory number and a spreadsheet will contain the materials and the cost of each material used. When each piece sells, I will write it on the receipt and add it to the spreadsheet. These cards will be kept in the box, the price tag (which is much smaller) marked with the inventory # so I can pull the card out and stick it with the receipt. This has the added benefit of informing the customer what materials were used in the creation of their piece-especially since I have been branching out on types of materials used.

It sounds good inside my head. We'll see how it works in practice. The breakdown in the system will more than likely be using the spreadsheet. I am spreadsheet impaired.

If you want me to send you a jpeg file of this list, email me. I am happy to share it. However, do not ask me to alter it in any way...because I won't, unless you want to pay me for design services.

I also got some Moo Stickers.

I really love these, but I do wish they were a little larger. The plan for these is to add them to the tissue paper wrapper when I ship beads. Also, I will stick them to jewelry boxes and shopping bags.

Yesterday I went yarn shopping and brought home a bag full of summer:

I am going to make some of the projects out of Spud and Chloe go to the Farm for my daughter (specifically the sheep and probably chickens. I want to make Chloe too, but she keeps telling me she's too big at 12" tall...) I am also going to make some hats out of Welcoming Home Baby the Handcrafted Way for my husband to give out to some of his patients when they get to leave the hospital. He "ordered" 60 hats. Bwahahaha!

I have the awesomest mom EVER. When I give my mom an "assignment" she takes it on with great gusto. I asked her to save bottle caps for me. Last week she gave me this quart sized bag:

I was kind of scared to ask why she had that many bottle caps (even though I've never personally witnessed her drinking a beer...just a glass or two of wine at dinner parties) and it took me a week to finally work up the courage. You know that saying "Don't ask if you don't really want to know the answer"? That was me.

Anyway, I finally asked and she laughed and said she found them. Guess I better start trying out bottle caps and resin. I don't have a single good reason not to with such an ample supply of bottle caps. Perhaps that will be next week's Bead Table Wednesday post...

The "C" Word

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:12:00 +0000

Twin Copy Paste by babycakesanddecor

A few months ago my "getting a subway system in Fort Wayne" obsessed son says to me in an offhand way that the name Metrolink (the name he came up with for the FW subway system) has apparently been used by lots of different subway systems. Now, you have to understand something. That child throws random informational tidbits at me all. day. long. So I responded with the "mom trying to sound interested" response of "oh Really?" Yeah, I know. Real clever.

That is when he made a statement that struck me and made me pause to really listen to what he had to say on the subject. He says "I thought my idea to name the Ft. Wayne subway system Metrolink was creative and original." I told him I didn't realize he had come up with the name on his own. I just figured he based it off the name of the only subway system he has ever used-the Washington DC system.

We then had a talk about creativity, and original ideas and how often the same exact idea can come from multiple sources at the same time, or even thousands of years apart but that doesn't make a person any less creative. He's 12 and he gets it. His ego wasn't any less bruised, but he understands how it can happen.

On a side note, I told him I was relieved he came up with a name people would instantly recognize as being a subway rather than calling the system "Purple Bananas" or something crazy like that. I mean, who would take an ominous never ending escalator to something called purple bananas? And yes, I stole the phrase purple bananas from a Prince song because we had just heard it in the car and it was the first crazy name that popped into my head.

Anyhow.... based on the number of times I've seen the "C" word start virtual wars in forums, facebook, etsy, blogs, and everywhere in between and the very real pain the "C" word causes in the years since I started making beads and jewelry, it's a topic every creative type should consider outside the influence of accusations.

What's the "C" word? Copy. Copied. Copies. Copying. Copier. Pick a copy and leave as is or add whatever suffix you choose. It is the number one thing (based on my non-scientific evidence gathering) that gets creative types riled up. It is not just in the beadmaking world or jewelry design world. It's everywhere creativity is desired or required.

Copy Copy Copy by David M. Goehring

The push for original ideas is stressed at an early age. What are kids taught in school? They are taught to never copy another person's work or it can result in penalties as stiff as expulsion from school. Schools push originality and for students to come up with their own ideas. Students are given a blank piece of paper and told to draw a picture or write a story. Those students who come up with the more creative and original ideas are publicly praised.

As adults, we crave that same praise plus the ability to buy things like food and shelter can depend on our level of creativity.

Fortunately, our ability to eat has never depended on my creativity. However, I would be totally LYING if I said I didn't have an ego that wants to be stroked through being acknowledged for creativity. When I had been making beads for about a year, I came up with a design I was SO excited about. I had never seen it anywhere and thought I was rather clever for coming up with it. A week later I got an issue of Lapidary Journal (now Jewelry Artist Magazine) containing a lampwork bead tutorial that was almost exactly like the bead I had come up with.

I was crushed, but it made a huge impression on me that has molded my personal opinions about the "C" word...that more than one person can have the exact same idea at the same time. It doesn't make each person less creative. It also doesn't mean that one person will starve while the other gets all the recognition for being creative .

A few months ago I clicked on what looked like an interesting blog from another blogger's blogroll. I really wish I could remember who wrote the post so I could link it. I think it was a polymer clay artists...but I don't remember for sure. Anyway, the gist of the post was that she found someone on etsy who made work very similar to hers, but just different enough that she was uncomfortable but unable to do anything about it and went on. Doing a search on etsy, she discovered another person whose work looked exactly like hers. She was (understandably) upset and was considering writing the other artist when she noticed this other artist had been selling that same style of work longer than she had. Talk about shock! The other etsy artist could have accused the blogger of copying her even though she had never seen this other person's work before.

Has this happened to you? Has it affected your opinion of copying? Please share your views and continue the conversation by clicking the little comment link below.

This is Part 1 of what will ultimately be a 3 part series spread over the course of a couple weeks. Please stay tuned.

The only definition of success that matters is how YOU define it for yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:52:00 +0000

I'm feeling philosophical right now. Maybe because it's 2:30 am and I haven't gone to bed yet. More likely it's because I just finished my "long" run for the week at 2 am and it's impossible for me to go from jogging 8 miles to sleeping in 30 minutes or less.

I'm still training for the half marathon and it's in less than a month. For a while I was completely freaking out about the idea of running for 13 loooong miles. I want to be able to say I did it, but not actually do it. However, I am committed to doing this thing no matter what. I want one of those Flying Pig Medals. (because I'll run a half marathon when pigs fly!)

What does this have to do with how I define success? My goal is to have a qualifying finish. That's it. Out of curiosity I looked up in the rules for how long we have to finish the race then did the math to figure the average speed. It came out to 3.8 miles per hour (6.12 km per hour for my non-American friends). That, dear readers, is walking speed and totally doable and totally not freak-out worthy.

Does this mean some of the people doing the full marathon may finish twice the distance before I cross the finish line? Probably. However, those people have a very different definition of success than I do. They have been training forever, have run several marathons, have a strong competitive streak (that I don't possess!), and aren't 40 pounds overweight. Their definition of success is probably to attain a certain time they have set for themselves.

Will being beat by people running twice the distance make me any less successful? No. Because I have defined my success as finishing within the allotted time. I don't care if I come in dead last.

Does this mean I don't push myself? No. Does this mean I shouldn't train hard because I could theoretically walk the entire thing and finish? No. Does this mean I look pretty and graceful during that 8 mile run I just did? Nope. Was I fast? Absolutely not.

What's astounding is I just ran 8 miles. 8 miles! That's pure insanity and honestly, I'm happy with even that amount of success.

How we define our success is in every single thing we do. Some days are so trying it's a success just to get the dishes done.

How do you define success? Do you define it based on what someone else has achieved? Are you being fair to yourself when you do that?

Please leave a comment below by clicking on the comment link to continue the conversation and add your thoughts about the subject.

Winner of Peyote Stitch Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 02:53:00 +0000

There were 8 comments, however Ms. Carol Dean didn't want to be included in the drawing because she already has the book on order. According to Random.org, comment #7 is the winner:

Lucky #7? Is Ms. Kristen:

Congrats Kristen! Email or FB me with your address and I will get it sent out sometime this week.

Book Review and Giveaway: Stitch Workshop: Peyote Stitch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 01:27:00 +0000

My knowledge about peyote stitch can fit into a single, very short sentence. After flipping through the book Stitch Workshop: Peyote Stitch basic techniques, advanced results from the publisher of Bead and Button Magazine; I am a little more knowledgeable, but no less wow'd by those who can do it.

My personal favorite part of the entire book (this is coming from a non beadweaver) is that it has a brief history of peyote and the origin of the name "peyote". I didn't know the name for this stitch was used by the Native Americans when the stitch was used to depict symbols on religious artifacts. However, when the stitch was used on non religious items, it was referred to as "gourd stitch". Over the years, all variations of this particular stitch are called peyote.

In addition to the history of the term peyote stitch, the first section of the book includes a very detailed techniques section including: Flat Even and Odd Count, Circular, Tubular, Decrease, Increase, Two-Drop, Zipping, and 5 different Bezel shapes, all using peyote stitch. This section also includes information on threads, what to do with them, tools, stringing materials and more.

This particular book, according to the publisher is organized by easiest to most advanced projects. As a beginning beadweaver looking at the very first pattern called Electrifying Zig Zag Stripes, it does not look beginner level. Some of the patterns a bit later in the book look potentially do-able by a beginner, but honestly, I think this is not a book a beginner should start with.

However, that being said, there are some absolutely stunning and innovative designs in this book and if you are a beginner, it might be a big push of inspiration to keep learning so you can do try some of these designs with a little experience under your belt. There is one bracelet called Ropes and Rings by Laura McCabe that is so lush and gorgeous it makes my heart race.

There is a design where you bead around one of those curvy drinking straws for a really neat effect. One necklace you make a flower on a vine that I just love. The last project of the book shows you how to peyote stitch your way to decorative vessels! Overall, there are at least 28 projects utilizing yummy seed beads, sparkling crystals and mesmerizing rivoli, along with several other types of beads.

Important to note, this book contains projects previously published in Bead and Button.

Here's the part you've been waiting for...the giveaway. Would you like to win the copy Kalmbach Publishing provided for my review? Leave a comment by clicking that little purple comment link below and describe where you are in your peyote stitch experience, where you would like to go with it and how you think this book might help you get there.

I will draw a random winner Sunday evening, April 3rd.

Bead Table Wednesday: Feeling Really Bad about Hating on Kansas Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:38:00 +0000

Fact: Remember how I was traveling with beads last week? So, the beads haven't actually been unpacked yet. Oops. So there's not much to show on the ole bead table except a super duper secret which will be revealed at the very end of this post. So, don't leave yet!

If you read my blog post from Monday, I sort of mentioned driving through Kansas might not have been the highlight of our vacation. I am really feeling guilty about that. Here's why:

See that awesome dragonscale weave using those yummy niobium rings? If it hadn't been for Kansas, I would NOT have finished this bracelet in one day. Plus, for the 3 hours of Kansas I personally drove on the way home, I got to see the strategy for keeping people's hopes up and providing the reserves they need to keep going...SIGNS! There were signs for Applebees or Dairy Queen 100 miles in advance. That's a lot of advance notice, people. Luckily there were lots of reminders because after another 1 1/2 hours of driving those 100 miles, it's very possible I would have forgotten about these things.

There were also signs that advertised "See LIVE rattlesnakes Eat baby pigs!" I was amazed they would advertise something so morbid on the side of the road. Every few miles. For hundreds of miles. I loved it.

But guess what! I read the sign wrong. It actually said " See LIVE rattlesnakes! Pet baby pigs!" It kind of lost it's charm after that.

I also did make a few things while we were in Colorado. I didn't just torment my husband for the fun of it. I will show you a small sampling if you promise to not criticize the lack of patina on pieces that clearly need it (no, I did not take the Liver of Sulfur with me...that probably would have gotten us kicked out of the condo), or the lack of tumbling (didn't take the tumber either), or the lack of great photos because these photos have not been edited in any way shape or form. You've been warned.

I have redone the following pendant several times because the twig connector by Jade Scott just would not sit how I wanted it to. I was fighting gravity and gravity was winning. Well...I took this photo then had an epiphany. It is very likely it will change again.

The following pendant was inspired by one of Cindy Wimmer's designs in Wire Style 2 (more on this in a post next week):

Chainmaille pendants inspired by Scott David Plumlee (more on this in a later post):

This design was kind of inspired by a design in Wire Style 2 by Kerry Bogert:

This next one was inspired by that same Kerry Bogert design, but I have done something similar to this particular piece a few years ago:

Chainmaille weave bracelet design inspired by Scott David Plumlee (again, more on this in a later post):

Now for the super secret project reveal:

Any guesses as to what it is? I will tell you this much. Back in January, I shared some of my goals for the year. Today, I submitted my very first design to a magazine. I don't know if they will accept it. But I'm totally ok with it if they don't. If I wasn't ok with the idea of rejection, I sure wouldn't be putting it here for you all to read! According to my goals, that's one query done, only 11 more to go...

Wanna know another secret? Shhhh! Part of the reason I was finally able to "get around" to doing it? Is because I am taking a class with Tara Gentile called The Art of Action, which has been incredibly helpful for me and the other women taking this class. I will be talking more about it in the next few weeks as there are many changes coming that I'm very excited about. Stay tuned...

I know you have something to say. Please leave a comment by clicking on that tiny little comment link below.

Have Beads, Will Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:32:00 +0000

There are 3 certain members of my immediate family who are insane.

Apparently that leaves me in the lonely position of being the only sane one (pets don't count and even if they did, we seem to have a neurotic lot of them). What this means is, they want to go to Colorado, ride the carnival death ride to the top of the mountain, then fling themselves down said mountain on slicked up aerodynamic sticks.

Crazy, right?

Each year, I have to go along. I think my purpose is ~~insurance card carrier~~, ~~pack mule,~~ ~~cook,~~ ~~chauffeur~~, ~~errand runner~~, moral support using my sparkling personality. Actually, I enjoy going because it means I get the condo to myself for several hours on end. If they take too long to leave for their day of insanity, I am literally putting their equipment on them and shoving them out the door and telling them not to come back before dinner.

What does this have to do with traveling with beads? We left for Colorado Friday March 18th. It's a looooong drive from northeast Indiana (Ft Wayne) to somewhere in the middle of Colorado (Copper Mountain).

Did you know I-70 through Kansas is 423 miles long? Want to know how I know that? We did that drive TWICE in less than a week. Also, did you know that the first 150 or so miles of I-70 in eastern Colorado looks JUST LIKE KANSAS?!?!?! For those of you counting, that's like driving 1,146 miles of Kansas in less than a week. Never been on I-70 in Kansas? You should try it. You'll LOVE it (snicker snicker).

When we were packing up the truck the day we were leaving, I casually mentioned packing most of my studio to my wonderful husband.

Blink. "What?"

"I packed most of my studio. I hope you can make room for it in the car."

I saw I was losing him fast, so I had to start talking fast. "Listen, I have a big show in a few weeks that I am not anywhere near ready for. I will freak out and not go with you. Plus, if I do go and my studio doesn't, I will be driving to Frisco while you are skiing to visit the awesome bead and yarn shops plus all the other really cool shops on Main St. and spending lots of money. So, will the extra luggage fit or not?"

It fit just fine.

See? It made it safe and sound and we didn't have to leave our clothes at home. Perhaps I exaggerated a teensy bit about packing the entire studio. I didn't bring my torch or any glass...

Here's that (REALLY heavy!) suitcase opened up:

Here's the coffee table after day 1 of my jewelry making extravaganza:

I sort of took over the entire condo:

The kitchen too:

Plus I had this lovely view. The door to the patio had to be open almost the entire time we were there because even though the thermostat was set at 50F, the temperature was almost 80F in the condo. Way too hot!

Apparently Copper attracts lots of insane people plus some...not very smart people. Bad combination because they had to post this sign:

Endless Sparkle Giveaway Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:46:00 +0000

Curious who won the book Endless Sparkle? You will not have to wait much longer.

There were 9 comments left. Random.org chose:

Which is the lovely....

Ms. Mallory (aka Rosebud101)! Email me with your address if I don't get in touch with you. I will be going to the post office Monday.

Come back tomorrow for some fun photos bead and travel related.

Bead Table Wednesday: The "on the go" edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:03:00 +0000

The family and I are on our way home from a fun relaxing vacation today. While my awesome husband is driving, I am working on a kit from spiderchain.com. I have always wanted to learn the dragonscale weave, so I bought the kit, watched the video last night, and now I get to spend a portion of the drive home creating a weave I have loved from the first moment I laid eyes on it. I am using a beading mat to hold onto the rings so they don't slide around. I wish I had a small tray with me too, but the most recent issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry is a decent substitute. Spend time creating today and enjoy the process regardless of the outcome. You could even try the ring tutorial I posted yesterday. Have a great week!

Filigree Ring Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:41:00 +0000

During the period following the Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal, I promised several people I would write a tutorial for the ring I made:

However, I didn't have any filigree left to do it. I made a trip to Hobby Lobby last week and luckily they have this exact filigree in stock. FYI~Hobby lobby frequently puts the Vintaj on sale, so don't pay full price. Also, there is almost always a 40% off one item coupon in the weekly flyer. So if you can't wait until it goes on sale, at least take the coupon with you.

Please excuse the photos and my nasty jewelry making fingers. I don't have access to my photo editing software right now but wanted to get this finished.

Step 1: Get a tool a couple sizes smaller than the finished ring size if you don't have a ring mandrel. For example, a marker or some other round object.

Step 2: Gently but firmly start forming the filigree to the ring mandrel in the center. Remember, do this a couple sizes smaller than the finished desired size. The metal has "memory" and will bounce back a little. I started this at size 6, but ended up going to size 5 because I wanted it even smaller. If making the ring too small makes you nervous, remember you can just slide the ring down the mandrel to make it bigger. Not a big deal at all.

Step 3: Holding the center of the filagree onto the mandrel, start forming one side around the mandrel. Push the end down tight to the mandrel. This is not a race. Make sure you move somewhat slowly and deliberately so you don't get off center or bend it in a funky manner.

Here's what one side formed to the ring mandrel looks like:

Step 4: Once you get the one side formed to the mandrel, repeat the process on the other side. If you don't have fat fingers like me, the ends will overlap in the back of the ring.

Here's the ring formed to the mandrel (notice it's at size 5)

What the back of the filigree ring looks like at size 5:

Step 5: Lightly tap all over the ring with a plastic mallet. This will do a couple things. First, it will work harden the ring and help shape it. Second, it will flatten out some areas of the filigree that want to stick out. You do not want to whack it. I hold the mandrel between my knees and twist the ring around to expose each area of the ring. If areas of the filigree still want to stick out, take your flatnose pliers and gently squeeze those areas into place.

Notice I have shaped and hammered my ring at size 5. When I let go of the ring, it slides down to between sizes 6.5 and 7.

Step 6: Cut a length of 20 g wire, about 10"-12" long. I used Vintaj wire to match the filigree. You can use whatever you want, but I would practice with less expensive wire (not sterling or gold filled) the first couple times you try this

Step 7: Select the bead(s) you want to use for your ring and make sure you can fit the 20g wire doubled through the holes. Then you need to eyeball the bead and the filigree and decide the best area of the filigree to thread the wire through to attach your bead.

Step 8: Place your flatnose pliers in the center of the wire. Make a right angle bend in the wire on both sides of the pliers.

Here's what it will look like with pliers removed:

Step 9: Thread the wires from through the top of the ring from the inside to the outside.

Step 10: Make sure the wire sits flat against the filigree inside the ring. If it sticks out, it will poke into the wearer's finger. Ouch! You can do this by squeezing gently with flatnose pliers.

Step 11: Cross the wire ends across the top of the ring and make sure they are flat against the filigree. Using a flatnose or needlenose pliers, make a right angle bend up so that the wires are stick straight up from the ring and meet in the center.

Step 12: Thread your bead(s) onto the wires. Pull them out at right angles as close to the bead as possible in opposite directions

Step 13: I wish I could have taken photos of myself doing this step, but it requires 2 hands so I will do my best to describe how to do it. Take the thumb of your dominate hand and place it in the center of your bead (over the hole where the wires are). Using your other hand, start to spiral one of the wires around the hole. When that wire meets the 2nd wire, let go of the 1st wire and start to spiral the 2nd wire. Think of it as a relay race going around a pole. Often when doing this, it takes a couple times around before the spiral really starts to take shape. Continue to spiral until you are happy with the size and shape. The wires should end up opposite each other when finished.

Step 14: This requires some more decisions based on the size and shape of your bead. In the one I did for the Bead Soup Party, it was a roundish bead without a very flat base. In order to stabilize it, I took both wires and wrapped it around the base of the bead a few times. Then I made a spiral with each wire and called it done.

However, for this particular ring and bead combination, the bead is very flat and has petals. I could have done the same thing as the Bead Soup ring, but decided instead to use the wire to lock the flower bead into place by placing it between petals. While it would be fun for the bead to be able to spin, I wanted the extra stability.

So...after all that explanation, here's how I accomplished this particular method. Eyeball the bead and decide which holes of the filigree you are going to use. Make sure the petals (bumps, etc) meet up where you want to feed the filigree. Thread the wire down through the hole. You will have to manhandle the wire a bit, but try not to mangle it. Remember to use pliers to feed the wire through and not to make any hard bends in the wire.

Step 15: Feed the wire back up through a different hole next to the one you just used. Flatten the wire against the filigree on the inside of the ring or it will poke the wearer.

Step 16: The wire looks a bit rough at this point. Straighten with nylon jaw pliers. Trim the wire to approximately 1"-1.5" (it doesn't matter and depends on how big you want your end spirals).

Step 17: Using round nose pliers, start a coil at the end of the trimmed wire. Using needlenose pliers, continue to coil to where you want the coil to lay on the ring.

Optional: Bend coil out from the ring and hammer with chasing hammer. Bend back into place.

Step 18: Repeat with the 2nd wire.
Step 19: Wear your new ring!

This ring is super easy and quick to make....probably 30 minutes or less. The hardest part is deciding which beads you want to use ;o)

Please let me know if you have any questions. I wrote this up pretty quickly and didn't have anybody look at it before posting. I will do my best to clarify an confusing parts.

Book Review and Giveaway: Endless Sparkle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:17:00 +0000

With a title like Endless Sparkle, what's not to love? Especially if you love sparkly crystals and have the patience to weave them together in various patterns, you could totally overdose on the sparkle and be completely happy about it.

Here's what this book, written by Aimee Carpenter (who learned to bead while living in Tennessee so I read the book in a southern accent even though I have no idea if she has one or not because her bio says she's lived all over the US), delivers:

Intro: the story of how Carpenter learned to bead, the progression from basic to peyote, creating her own patterns using crystals, and how this book came to be. It also explains how to use the book, which I missed the first time I read it which resulted in a bit of confusion.

Materials and Tools: All you need is some beads and a few basic weaving and wire working tools.

Jewelry Making Basics: Peyote and Right Angle Weave are the weaves used in this book. Also covers basics like making a wire loop, crimps, etc.

Crystal Components: This chapter contains photos, diagrams, and written instructions for the 12 different components used to create the finished jewelry.

Finished Jewelry: This section includes photos, diagrams, and written instructions for at least 17 different pieces including rings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and even a headband. Because the initial lessons of this book teach you each separate component, the number of finished pieces you can create is limited only by your imagination.

I really enjoyed this book. The instructions are very clearly written and the diagrams very helpful. I honestly believe a person who has never tried anything like this could make some incredible things if they have the patience and determination and like to forge ahead and try things on their own as opposed to having someone hold their hand. And if one of you wants to make me something with the component called Bouquet, which uses crystals AND sequins, that would be awesome! That particular component got my heart racing a little bit...

The only thing I wish were better is the photographs of the finished pieces. Colored backgrounds were used and I think it makes the crystals difficult to see in the majority of the photos. I would prefer white so the colors don't compete and the crystals don't lose as much sparkle. The only exception to using white might be if clear crystals are used.

Now, for the part you've been waiting for...the giveaway. I am giving my copy, provided to me by Kalmbach to review, to one of my readers. Leave a comment and tell me why you would like this book and what kinds of things you would like to make with crystals and thread. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you and I will draw a random winner on Saturday March 26th sometime in the evening.

Bead Table Wednesday: The Thursday Non Bead Table Show and Tell Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:14:00 +0000

I missed Bead Table Wednesday yesterday. Sorry about that. Here's why:

I kind of have to laugh at the broken disc bead being front and center. I did NOT do that on purpose. I would have hidden that one better if I had noticed it before. Instead, I just plopped them all on the table and took a picture.

I was too busy making beads in between running kids around, grocery shopping, homeschooling, etc. to even LOOK at my bead table yesterday. I have a big show coming up in four weeks and I am in the beginning stages of freakout mode. Excuse me if I neglect the blog. Please pardon my deactivating all beads and antique lampworkified keys in my etsy shop. I may need to use those myself to make jewelry. What this means to you is all new beads will be coming up in April. So that's probably good news for all 3 of you tired of looking at the same beads everytime you visit my shop.

If you will be in the Indy area April 16th or 17th and would like a postcard and discount coupon to get into the show, please email me (in profile) with your address.

Have a great Thursday. I'll write home when I can.

Bead Soup Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:02:00 +0000

I got a package in the mail today. I didn't recall ordering anything and the return address completely threw me. Then I opened it up and read the handwritten note from Tara the Newbie Beader and remembered I had won a bead soup from her bead soup blog party giveaway. What a fun unexpected (because I completely forgot!) surprise. Here's what she sent:

I think I'm going to use those dragonfly wings to make some earrings for my mom. She loves dragonflies and doesn't seem to ever get tired of them. Don't you love the sparklies in the photo? Me too. Sigh.

Vintage Finds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:56:00 +0000

My friend Jaclyn mentioned on her facebook page that she was headed to an antique/vintage show here in town. I never hear about these things until after the fact, so decided to head over there after my 12 year old son's soccer game this afternoon. Let me tell you, he was less than thrilled at the idea of watching me dig through other people's old junk. However, that child is about as good natured as an almost 13 year old can possibly be. Plus, I got him a piece of cherry pie while we were there.

I was on the hunt for vintage things to use in my jewelry. I have been wanting to collect more stuff like that, but am too lazy to hunt for it. However, I did manage to find a few useful things, plus I had fun haggling over the price. Is it just me, or do people way overcharge for vintage jewelry? None of it seemed super special or anything. The one had my eyes popping out of my head because it was a gallon ziplock bag, half full of vintage jewelry. On the outside it said broken pieces and missing stones-$150. Really?!?!?! $150 for broken crap? HA!

Ironically enough, later on I did buy a necklace with a couple broken flowers on it that they wanted $20. HA! I paid $5. I complained it was broken, but didn't mention I was going to take it apart to upcycle (recycle) the flowers anyway. I got a couple brooches from the same place that I am totally excited to clean up and put with some lampwork.

I also grabbed these really cool keyhole hardware bits. Again, to use in jewelry:

Last, I got these subway, bus, tax(?) tokens to use in jewelry. I love these "coins" with holes in them.

My son also managed to score a few treasures. He has a subway token collection that he added to, plus he got 4 road maps made before the interstate system was created. He loves to study maps and was fascinated at how different Indiana and Michigan's roads looked compared to how they look now. I guess the trip wasn't so bad for him after all.

Bonus tip: If you go digging at antique/vintage/garbage shows, take baby wipes. I have never really done this before and wish I had baby wipes with me for my hands. They felt so grimy and dirty when we were finished.

Bead Table Wednesday: How Funky is your Chicken?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:14:00 +0000

The family and I took a little mini vacation over the weekend. They hurtled themselves down snow covered...mountains? Hills? I'm not sure if the elevation of Boyne Highlands in northern Michigan counts as a mountain or not. Whatever. They acted like darn fools. Here's what I did all. day. Saturday.

taken with my cel phone, so not the best quality photo...

I did actually have to change out of pj's to go to lunch with my snow bunny family members, which was kind of a disappointment...

I haven't done anything this fun since Saturday. Well...except to finish one of these Nurture necklaces for an order this morning.

However, the UPS man brought me this gorgeous thing that I've been waiting for over a month now:

Any guesses as to what it is? I'll give you a hint. It inspired today's blog title because I can't get that stupid cheer out of my head since I plucked it off the front porch. Yes, I was at one point a cheerleader until the time I got an In School Suspension for wearing a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee and refusing to call my parents to bring me a pair without the extra holes. Yes, I was a rebel. What can I say.

Give up?

How about now?

Did you guess a Chicken Feeder? Me neither. I got the idea from Mixed Metal Mania (which is currently in the pile o' books to be reviewed right next to the computer at which I am typing). Wanna know why I found it necessary to immediately order one as soon as I saw it in the book? It has to do with Bead Table Wednesday...

By the way, if you feel you need one of these too, this link will take you to several size options. Be warned, it took them a month to ship this thing to me. I was beginning to lose hope it would ever get here. However, it arrived just in time for the new BTW installment.

Bead Soup Blog Party Wrap-Up, A Walk Down Memory Lane, and Why I Finally Believe Running Won't Kill Me

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:43:00 +0000

My butt has grown roots into the chair. Weird, I know. It's from visiting and commenting on the 209 other blogs participating the Bead Soup Blog Party. I am blown away by the talent out there in blog land. Many blogs I have never visited before. You haven't seen my bead soup piece yet? Click on over now and come back.

If you haven't heard, there's already a date set for the next Bead Soup Blog Party. My recommendation if you want to play along? Read this page of information on Lori Anderson's blog. The next step is important...after reading it, follow the directions. Become a fan on facebook. Join the flickr group. Join the Yahoo group. By joining these groups, you will be less likely to miss out. Plus, the Yahoo group does bead swaps and other challenges sometimes.

I thought it might be kind of fun to revisit my bead soup piece from the 2nd Bead Soup Blog Party summer 2010. Lori Anderson was my partner. Here's what she sent:

Matching earrings:

Warning, complete change of topic...Remember how I posted an abridged list of my goals and resolutions? No? That last link will take you there if you're curious. However, one of the things on that list is training for a half marathon. The particular one we're running is in about 8 weeks. Eek!

Since the beginning of January, I have logged exactly 70.89 miles (that's 114 km for my non-American friends) on the treadmill. I have not run since I was on the cross country team my freshman year of high school about 22 years ago. On day 1, I started with running a 1/2 mile. My longest run so far is 7.5 miles. I'm beginning to actually believe I can do this thing and not die.

Bead Table Wednesday the UFO edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:26:00 +0000

It's UFO week! No aliens seen around here, but lots of UnFinished Ornamentation. I supposed I could put a positive spin on it and say WIP for Works In Progress, but let's call it what it really is. Many of these have been WIP for over a year. Pathetic. I blame it on being neurotic.

Why am I dealing with it this week? Because I did a mega clean-up of my bead table that took me forEVER (meaning about 3 weeks of working on it off and on). I came across a ridiculous number of projects and decided to tackle a few a week until they are finished.

UFO #1: This necklace has an actual theme based on the Greek goddess Athena-the goddess of wisdom. See that gorgeous Lisa Peters Art Pendant?

I even handstamped a copper washer and did a cool patina using amonia and salt, and added a few pieces of my precious Roman glass stash. Here's a wider angle of what is completed so far:

Why isn't it finished? The main reason is due to a certain neurotic tendency I have about the fact my business name is GLASS Addictions and when I first started it my focus was on GLASS created by ME. While I would like to create pieces on occasion that aren't sporting my lampwork, it feels WRONG.

This was confirmed at a show I did where I had a display of stamped brass tags to use as charms, add-ons, whatever you want to call them. A woman came up, looked at them, saw my business name on the cards, and says "what do these have to do with glass?" Argh! Not helping!

What do you think? Is my concern legititmate? Or am I truly neurotic? Or both? What if you had a business called Ann's Metal Cuffs and then you decided you wanted to make fiber necklaces? What would you do? I've gone so far as to consider changing my business name so it wouldn't be an issue any more. But what a HASSLE.

UFO #2: this isn't finished because I tested some alchohol inks on a filigree, set it aside to see what would happen. Then I decided this bead would look cool with it.

UFO #3: knitted bracelet with peridot chips. It needs a clasp. Also, it doesn't contain any of my glass art beads. Again, no glass=big issue inside my brain.

UFO #4: I think I made these PMC charms about 2, maybe even 3 years ago. I love them. I'm pretty sure I know what I want to do with them. But there they sit.

View from my bead table tonight:

Bead Tube Jewelry Book Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:22:00 +0000

According to Random.org (drumroll please...)

The winner is comment #12, who is....

Congrats, Grace! I will need your mailing address and will get this out to you ASAP.

Book Review and Giveaway: Bead Tube Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:33:00 +0000

Looking for Bead Soup? You can scroll down two posts or CLICK HERE.

Ever wanted to learn how to make bead tubes out of seed beads? Or maybe you already know how to make bead tubes and you want to take it to the next level in pattern and/or creating jewelry with your bead tubes? Then Bead Tube Jewelry by Nancy Zellers is probably the book for you. Kalmbach sent a copy for my review a few weeks ago and I've been having lots of fun with it. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post to see why and enter for a chance to win this copy.

What you will get inside the pages of this book...

Toolbox: Four pages of tools, supplies, jewelry findings and other miscellaneous stuff you might need to complete the projects.There are some very practical suggestions for making your projects portable, etc.

Stitch How-To's: Four pages with instructions, illustrations and cool tips for: Even count flat and tubular peyote, odd count tubular and flat peyote, SEVEN different ways to turn for odd-count peyote (because I've heard that's a real pain in the buttocks...) so you can try out several different methods and figure out what suits the way you work best, flat and tubular brick stitch, two drop ladder, two drop peyote, and two drop brick stitch.

Reading Charts: Six pages of how to read charts up down, left, right for peyote and brick stitch.

Tips for Making Bead Tubes: helpful little extra hints to make your tube bead making and jewelry design easier and more professional looking.

Projects: There are 28+ projects in many different styles and complexity. I personally like the simpler designs better, but for those that love to go all out, this book has those designs too. Some beads have several different charts to change up the pattern of the bead.
I have really enjoyed flipping through this book SEVERAL times. I even tried to make a brick stitch tube bead for the fun of it. You saw part of it on my bead table wednesday post a couple weeks ago:

I discovered an important secret to making this bead. You are NOT an expert after 2 rows. I stopped looking at the instructions on how to start a new row for the 3rd row and was merrily beading along when I realized after about 3 or 4 rows that the thread was showing on the first bead of each row. WHAT? I don't think that's supposed to happen...so I looked at the instructions again and WOW! You are supposed to add 2 beads to start the next row, not just one. LOL! I didn't go through the hassle of fixing it since it's for me anyway.

Here's the finished bead all wire wrapped:

And because I felt the need to embellish further:

Want to know I stamped the word "focus" on the pendant? I sort of answer (but not really...) in yesterday's post.

My husband watched me sew a row or two of this tube bead. Then he asks what I've wondered myself..."How does one actually make money doing this?" Granted, it's not like he was watching a pro beadweaver or anything. But even if a pro was 5 times faster than me, that is still like a gazillion hours wrapped up in a project.

Even though I kind of abused the book while it was in my possession (laying stuff on it to keep it open), I am giving my copy to a lucky commentor type person. No jumping through hoops...this time. Just leave a comment. Now, if you don't think you would use this book, but want to comment anyway, please do and just say you aren't interested in the book so someone who will use it has a better chance. Thank you for listening to my mini service announcement ;o)

Random Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:06:00 +0000

Wanting to see my Bead Soup Post? Scroll down one post or click here.

I've had about 20 blog posts written inside my head and photos to share since late January, but have put them off because sometimes being at the computer for more than a few minutes at a time makes me insane. Plus I've got tons of stuff to do. Unfortunately, I feel guilty about it like I'm ignoring a friend on purpose because I can't face up to what I've done. Anyway, that ends today. Here are a few highlights from the last month pretty much newest to oldest:

-spent all last week sick and trying to hack out a lung. Missed out on going to meet Jeff Foster (my favorite current Pacers player since Reggie Miller retired) and Fuzzy Zoeller at a small March of Dimes event. Bummer.

-Fuzzy really liked my husband and kissed him twice on the cheek and gave him a bottle, signed by Fuzzy, of his vodka.

-we will probably give that bottle to be auctioned off for the March of Dimes chef's event here in Ft Wayne in October. So if you've always wanted a signed bottle of Fuz's vodka....

-last Friday we attended a Winter Wonderland Gala to raise money for my son's school.

-I freaked out at the last minute about what to wear.

-I bought this style dress:

In this color:

-I wore super cute silver mesh shoes with a beaded flower on the toe that I cannot find a picture of and am too lazy to take one.

-One hour before we had to be at the gala. I made this:

Here's what it looks like while wearing an old grubby t-shirt:

-Here's what I donated to the silent auction:

-and this challenge piece I made and my neighbor won at the auction (YAY LISA!):

-and something similar to this:

-I listed a new bead on etsy (shocking!) Most everything I've made lately has a home or a plan, so listings are few and far between:

-Remember these?

-They became this:

-And is now hanging at the Arts United Center as part of the Community Mosaic. Theme is "Home of the Arts".

-The theme for my mixed media painting (3'x3') is "Home is Where Creativity Takes Flight" It pretty much looks like a 3 year old made it.

-The brass tags (that you can barely see...) say "Focus" because that's my one word or special word or whatever it's supposed to be called, for 2011.

-I still haven't figured out totally what to do with that special word. I guess I just felt left out that everyone had a special word for the year and I didn't.

-which reminds me...WHY do we do goals/resolutions January 1st? That's the worst time of the year to make goals because by February 1st when the gray and cold of winter have seeped into my bones and grasped my soul with their icy claws, the last thing I want to do is be productive or follow through on goals.

-Unless that goal is crawling into toasty bed and hibernating.

-The first day of the year should be June 1st. Well...unless you live in the southern hemisphere...but still! I've decided from now on, June 1st is New Year's Day and will plan accordingly.

-ummm....got a little off topic there. Back on track now.

-My kids did paintings too. Daughter's is titled "There's no place like Home". The lighting at the Arts United Center at night is very bad. I could show a better picture of it at our house, but that's not as much fun as seeing it hanging with the other paintings:

-Some people ignored the theme of the mosaic. My kid and his neighbor friend were among those "rule breakers". Here I present..."Untitled":

-Here's a shot from the end which shows all 3 of our paintings at the same time and also looks kind of cool:

-I keep having dreams Lance Mackey likes to hang out with our family, have cookouts and go to the movies. Weird, right? Especially because it's not that easy to get to the middle of nowhere Alaska to middle of nowhere Indiana...Oh, WAIT! We have Ft. Wayne International airport. That changes things right there...

-There's other stuff too, but I don't have photos to go along with it. That isn't as much fun.

-Come back tomorrow for the promised book review from almost 2 weeks ago. I have good excuses as to why it didn't get done. Mostly it involves...oh, never mind. But when I do finally get that review done, I'll be giving that book away to commentor types of people (my favorite kinds of people!), so DON"T FORGET TO COME BACK ;o)

-Also, if you haven't seen my bead soup pieces, please scroll down just a teensy weensy bit and be treated to some eye candy.