Tropical blonde

What I have been up to...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:28:00 +0000

Besides a ton of laundry due to 2 sick kiddos, you mean? Oh. Well, I did send off some merchandise to my first brick and mortar store! Recycologie by name. Check them out at recycologie.com or on Facebook.

New to the Tropical Blonde line....

Handmade brooch/hair clips and scarves!

These last two are fresh yesterday and will be staying in my personal wardrobe for a bit. But I love them so much I see more in the near future. If you just HAVE to have one, I will entertain the possibility of custom orders, shoot me a note :)

Bead swap with the Gossiping Goddess

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:52:00 +0000

There was a smaller, lesser known bead swap recently with no finished project required. My partner was Lesley the Gossiping Goddess. I have no idea how much she gossips but I sure can tell you she does awesome bead swapping! Take a peek...

Adorable paper (that was complete with sari silk bow but I couldn't keep my hands off it ;))

TONS of goodies (see the ribbon?!)

Lesley does some fabulous bronze clay work. These are some of her textured discs and inspirational pendants.

Lampwork, textile beads, chain and goldstone to name a few.

Hand dyed silks

Gorgeously intricate glass

Textile beads (I had never seen anything like this and can't wait to play!)

Saving my favorite for last...bronze clay pendants by Lesley! Love, love LOVE these!!

And now that I have finally gotten this post up I can go play with it all! Don't forget the Virtual Craft Show that is going on this week. Go comment on Lori's blog to have a shot at some AMAZING art. Use the code VCS20 in my Etsy shop to get 20% off your order until December 4th!

Virtual Craft Show starts today!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Guess what?! Lori Anderson's first annual Virtual Craft Show starts today! Head over to Pretty Things and leave a comment on Lori's posts to get a shot at winning oodles of fabulous merchandise from all kinds of amazing artists. 70 different artists will be giving away their art and many of them are also having sales in their online stores so check them out each day between now and December 3rd. Comment on her post to have a shot at winning one of the fabulous prizes (I think my art bead bundle will be going up on December 1st so watch for it). I will be having a sale in my Etsy shop starting today for 20% off everything in my Etsy shop! Use code VCS20. Get started on that gift list!

Honoring our Veterans.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:04:00 +0000

11-11-11. A special day this year to honor those who volunteer to die, if need be, so that we can enjoy the freedoms of our amazing nation. To the beady blogland's veterans like Jennifer and Lori and all of our devoted men and women who have served or are serving, we thank you!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:16:00 +0000

I have not been posting as regularly for the past three months for several reasons but I think things might be "slowing down" as the holidays begin. Is that even possible? I am hoping to be able to post a little more regularly again, if not quite as frequently since I have some long term plans that might be taking up more of my time. I will let you know about what's up when it's a little more concrete.

One of the things I jumped on board with is this....

Brought to you be the fantabulous Lori Anderson. Check back for more details.

Right now I am off to start on my secret project ;). Hope you have a great Thursday!

Winner of the giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:48:00 +0000

So I was web surfing and came across this guy...

heehee!

I decided to name my spacey earrings in honor of our no longer recognized friend, Pluto. But since I still have stuff to give away I went to the random generator and had it pick a winner. Congrats to TeriB (number 5, thank you to random.org)!

RIP, Pluto!

And thank you to all who participated!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Click this if you are looking for my Bead Soup Blog Party post!

Tutorial and giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Ok, folks, I am stuck. I have not been able to come up with a name that I like for these earrings! So here's the deal. I will show you how I make said earrings and you then leave me a comment with a name suggestion. Whoever's name tickles my fancy will either receive a pair of earrings (custom made for the winner after consulting them) OR a pair of my own art beads to make your own earrings! I will take entries until the 16th of October and I will announce the winner on the 17th. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you don't have your email on your blogger/commenter ID.

So here you go...

String a bead onto 20 gauge wire. If your looking for the particular style I use here go check out Julsbeads. Even if your not looking for that style go check her out. She totally rocks. I know I say that a lot but it's true.

*unpaid advertisement over*

Make a loop to keep the bead from falling off (that might kinda ruin your look ;))

Wrap one time around a regular Sharpie marker...

Then twice more.

Slide the marker out and bring the coils over the top of the bead and pull them down around it. Depending on the shape and size of your bead you might need adjust the wires shape to suit yourself.

Tada!

So now for the hard part! What to call it?!! Leave your suggestion in the comment section for a chance to win earrings or beads.

Hammered Drop earring tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Take some 20 gauge wire and cut 2 lengths of equal size. However long you want your finished earring to be cut the wire twice as long. Here I have about 3.5inches of wire (not exact I kinda eyeball things like that). Make a loop at one end.

If you are using copper wire, sterling or some other non colored/covered wire you may proceed to beating the bejeebers out of the front half of the wire. I like a ball peen hammer for texture but you can just flatten it with a the regular type if you like.

However, colored wire usually requires a little extra TLC so as not to lose that awesome finish. Here I gently flatten the front with an acrylic hammer head before GENTLY using the ball side. This may take some practice. If in doubt start out as lightly as possible and gradually use more force as you experiment. Also, make sure your hammer head is free of burrs and such.

Once the front has a satisfactory texture, bend the wire in half and shape to your satisfaction.

Add your beads!

Wear with pride ;)

Tomorrow I will be posting the tutorial for these babies...which I can't think of a name for so maybe there will be a contest/giveaway involved for helping a sister out ;)

BTW Earring Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted some earrings and talked a little about the ear wires that have become my favorite "flavor of the month"! I have pasted the tips I got from Boot~C over at Mama's Got to Doodle in response to my Bead Soup comment.

"as to my earwires? a sharpie(basic reg, not the skinny point kind they are a little skinnier) is what I use to wrap my wire around,tightly,until I have about an inch of coils. when I clip wire & let go it loosens up to the round size you saw on the wire.file the edge the goes in the ear, & turn the loop w/ your pliers for the earring charm. the loop can be turned to the outside(orig tute called for this) but I like it turned under.I keep a coil handy & clip off wires as I need them. I think Ornamenta is where I saw it "

I did try to dig up the original tutorial on Ornamentea but I didn't see anything that looked similar in their archived section.

So I decided to add a few pictures to show you my process.

I grabbed some art beads (ridged glass by Juls and the my own pillow beads and flower beads).

The secret weapon ;)

I used 20 gauge German style wire.

Coil the wire.

Snip and put a loop on one end.

If you like, you can use a mandrel and make larger sizes (I have found that I like to use a slightly larger size depending on the size of the bead).

Add your bead of choice!

While I was in the tutorial mode I took enough pictures to do two more styles of ear wire. Check back over the next couple days for these babies as well as the Hammered Drop using Artistic Wire I mentioned earlier in this post. Click on the images for the full size view.

What's on you bead table? Check out the whole BTW gang on Flickr.

Earrings are tickling me this Tuesday.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:22:00 +0000

I seem to have been in the earring making mood recently. Here are some of the more recent pairs I created with the handmade glass goodness of Julsbeads. I am totally loving the ear wires in the first picture here which I got from Boot~C. She made some rockin' Bead Soup and in her response to my comment shared her "Sharpie secret" with me. I will be posting a little tutorial tomorrow as long as she's ok with it ;)

These are a some I did for a giveaway I did on the blog for my church a couple weeks ago.

Do you get into a groove with making one thing?! Or are you a "set" person? Bracelet, necklace, earrings, matchy matchy? A little of everything? What's your pleasure? No matter what it is I know everyone loves free stuff so go check out Patty's Tickle Me Tuesday giveaway as long as your surfing the www!

Fall Festival 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Saturday was the Fall Festival PTO fundraiser for the boy's school. Fun picture ops..

Carnival games...

More fun pictures...

Bake sale...

The boys played the games and earned tickets to trade for face painting and prizes. Here is Isaac playing with his yo yo on the walk home.

Let's see if we can get a fun brother pic...think we can do it?! Maybe...how many do you think it will take to get a good one?

ONLY 5???!!!! That has got to be a record.

Tell me, what's on your fall "to do" list?

na, na, na, na....Batman!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:48:00 +0000

A few weekends ago I reorganized the boys room to make it easier for the school year. I had been planning to redo this dresser all summer and just never seemed to manage it. So it seemed like the perfect time to knock it out. It started out this medium brown (it was left at the house we live in when we move in so it didn't cost anything!).

I painted it with primer because nobody makes gray spray paint apparently :) And then taped off the Batman outline.

Filled in the yellow,

And then the black...

Had the boys "unwrap it".

Voila! There were a few issues with doing the whole logo with spray paint instead of by hand like I did with the other dresser (click here to see the Spiderman dresser I did last year). But the boys were happy with it and it kinda has that grungy look that Batman uses as a major theme in Gotham so we're gonna roll with it. Have a great weekend!

Bead Table Wednesday...wow it's been a while.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:42:00 +0000

I have a confession to make. I sometimes get a little stressed out over not blogging. Are you a blogger? If you are do you know that feeling? It's not that I just miss posting, although I do. It's like I feel GUILTY for not posting, sometimes. Am I weird?! Maybe...or maybe it's something else. My husband is a "lurker"(reads but never comments) on a bazillion blogs totally different from the online circles I frequent. He sent me this post the other day by a guy that seems to know a lot about blogging. It was really helpful to me so I thought I'd post it for you bloggers out there that might benefit from it too. Having said all that, I have had a few minutes to myself this morning and hope to be able to get back to posting a little more regularly.

On my bead table today are some leftovers from the Bead Soup Party Conundrum post.

While I did use some of the first batch in one of my final BSBP pieces, I still have a bunch left that I still think go SO well together. So here's to extending the party, right?!

What about you? What's on your Bead Table this Wednesday? Check out the whole gang here on Flickr.

Bead Soup is here!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Here's what I sent to my partner Charlotte Penvy of the Infrequent Beader.

Here is what I received from Charlotte. Isn't is uncanny how similar they are with the exception of the scale of the beads?! I usually work on a pretty large scale as far as jewelry is concerned (it might have something to do with the fact that I am almost 6 feet tall ;0)). This batch of soup kind of daunted me at first with it's daintiness but I do these parties to stretch my style and abilities so I pledged to "do something different than I normally do" even if it killed me. It didn't. Kill me I mean. I'm still here and extraordinarily happy with the results of my soup.

The first necklace contains the PMC focal that Charlotte made herself as well as the carnelian teardrop she sent me.

I made the wire loop on the teardrop so that the focal can be adjusted according to the mood of the wearer.

I then used fresh water pearls and labradorite nuggets in a more free form cluster style.

Where's the clasp, you say?! You HAVE to use the clasp! It's the rule! Here it is!! I loved the PMC clasp Charlotte made so much that I had to use it as a focal too. A few of the larger turquoise nuggets she sent, a couple green garnet tubes with more pearls brought this delicate yet versatile piece together.

And finally.....I had a *few* beads left over since I was so focused on "less is more". So what did I do? I went with my regular habit of throwing a bunch of beads into one piece and hoping for the best ;) Well, really I do have a method to my madness but I wont bore you with messy details. See for yourself! With some of my own beads and findings I added Charlotte's turquoise, carnelian and a few others roped in to make a Tropical Blonde piece "signature look". Big, bright and asymmetrical!

Oh and don't forget the earrings!

I hope you have at least half as much fun as I did with this party! Hop on, my beady friends, hop on!

A HUGE shout out and thank you to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for hosting this enormous undertaking and putting up with A LOT this time around. You totally rock the beading world, my friend! Check out her blog and the full list of partners here.

Blogging about not blogging (part 2: Aquarium trip)

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:44:00 +0000

While my brother was here we all took some time to do some fun stuff besides just hanging out and catching up. Like the Denver Aquarium!

My Dad with Declyn and they looked like little peas in a pod :)

This is my brother with his baby girl Rhys who you've seen before if you frequent this blog regularly.

Blogging about not blogging: Part 1 Grandma Vivian turned 100!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:29:00 +0000

I haven't posted for a week! There are several reasons but here is one of the BEST ones!

My great grandmother Vivian turned 100 over Labor Day weekend!

She just moved into an assisted living facility at the beginning of this year and is in FABULOUS shape for her age. She partied like it was....well, her 100th birthday! ;)

Here's the birthday girl with my youngest son, who turns 1 at the end of the month. I think that is cool!

My grandma Marge, Vivian's daughter (my Mom's mom) in purple and my father's mother Margaret in green.

"The Outlaws". Paul, my hubby with Jenni in the denim jacket and Mallory in the floral shirt.

Uncle Vince, his daughter Sarah and my Mom.

Paul took the official pics

Me with my sisters (in-law but I just kinda skip over that part ;))

Geoff and Mallory

Vince, Josh (cousin) and Paul

Kiddos

Ben, Jenni and Rhys with the star!

My Dad was the MC

So there you go! I have some more stuff going on while my brother Ben is still in town visiting. I DO have some Bead Soup time planned though and since I won't be able to post too many pictures of that I might dig up some other beady goodness for you!

From the tiny anvil to Bead Tables near you.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:13:00 +0000

I have been struggling a little to adjust to like with a kindergartener, preschooler and infant (some days 2 infants). As a result I feel like my jewelry, blog and general online presence are "suffering". I know in my head that this is totally acceptable. My kids and family come first. This IS a side gig. But I MISS it! I have been able to get a few things done in the creative arena of my life. These new hammered copper charms are one of them. For Bead Table Wednesday I am hoping to a few made. You can find what I have so far in my store on Etsy. Each picture will take you to it's own listing.

What's on your table today?!

DIY Jewelry Displays.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:22:00 +0000

I took some picture frames I got a a yard sale, some spray paint, a set of shears and a staple gun.

A roll of aluminum screen (like you put in doors and windows.

I painted the screen.

In contrasting colors...

Then I cut the screen out and stapled it to the back of the frame with the contrasting color.

It might be hard to see but the red frame had turquoise screen, turquoise frame has red screen, black frame has turquoise screen and the fancy frame has black screen.

Tada!

Bead Table Wednesday and a SALE!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Today I am excited about what is NOT on my bead table! And dresser. And bathroom counter. And side tables. Earrings!! I have a bad habit of taking off my earrings (and shoes *ahem*) and leaving them places. Usually, right where I take them off. So I came up with a pretty way to store earrings. To entice me to put them away. We'll see how that goes ;). I made several versions. Tomorrow I plan to post a tutorial so you can make your own! Stay tuned.

As for the sale...enter the code BTW20 for 20% off in my Etsy shop! Just because I need more to keep me busy these days ;) I will be running this sale thru Sunday.

Don't forget to check out the Photo Challenge for this week. It's especially appealing to beaders!

To see more BTW go here. It's awesome.

Bead Soup is on!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:19:00 +0000

My partner Charlotte Penvy sent me this awesome batch of bead soup.

Handmade PMC clasp and focal by Charlotte with sterling toggle and handmade headpins. Turquoise , carnelian, copper, pearls, garnet and labradorite.

I am laughing that we send such similar batches of soup! If you missed what I sent check it out here.

Also, I host a weekly Photo Challenge and this week's theme is suited especially well to the Bead Soup crowd. Check out this post and then shoot me your entry for a chance to be voted the winner. I feature the winner for a week in my sidebar to help you drive traffic to your site!

Photo Challenge is back on! Current theme is "BEADS".

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:11:00 +0000

This week I will be featuring Tracey from A Beadiful Mess in my sidebar again with her entry for the "Jewelry" theme.

This week we are in the midst of the Bead Soup Blog Party and many of us have received our bead soup batches. I thought it would be fun to keep the beady theme going for my weekly Photo Challenge. BUT, you don't have to be a Bead Soup participant to enter. All you have to do is send me a picture that YOU took of some great beads. If you have a great photo of beads you love, shoot it to me in an email. I will post all the entries next Monday with links to your website or blogs and we will vote on our favorite. The winner will be featured in my side bar for the following week while we collect entries for a new theme! Email me your bead pictures and be sure include a link to your website so I can add that too. I will take entries right up until late Sunday night!

Bead Soup Conundrum

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:46:00 +0000

I started with this. Primrose pendant (olive/turq.), copper clasp, 5 petal flower beads, and a ceramic frog (artist unknown).

I added some (begin top and go counterclockwise) labrodite, tiger eye, sunset jasper, grossular garnet, czech glass and ceramic rounds.

Then decided Charlotte might need more options so I grabbed some different Czech glass assortments in amber and greens as well as those African Trade glass beads in the center.

"What about the clasp", I hear you say?

My tiny anvil produced this toggle as well as one of my "Grow" charms and some hammered rings.

*Here's the kicker* I did not send this soup!!!

Read on to see what happened next....

I had volunteered to send out a second batch of soup to anyone that had a partner mishap, mail mix up, whatever. I got an email from Lori by accident and thought I needed to send out an extra batch. So I mixed this batch up below. I found out a little later about the hiccup and that I did NOT actually need to send out a second batch but now that I had two all ready to go....what's a girl to DO?!

Primrose pendant, orange and turquoise garden lentils and a *new debut* orange and turquoise disks!

Coral chips, tiger eye, carnelian rounds and turquoise.

Some czech glass for filler and options and I was debating on the two sizes of clasp.

Finally, I decided that the orange just had to go. I don't know Charlotte except for the few emails we exchanged and the few posts I read on her blog, The Infrequent Beader, but this soup just seemed to WANT to go to her. I wrapped it up with a piece of sari silk and popped it in the mail!

BTW 8/17/11

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Today I am working on turning these awesome lampwork beads from Julsbeads into....

...earrings!

The silver rings are actually upcycled from junked computers. They are the aluminum spacers that are part of the hard drive...you probably care very little about what they actually do and more about how light and fabulous they are as findings, though! I hammer the bejeebers out of them than with a ball peen hammer and then wire them up. Fun, right? And much better than throwing it away! What kind of things do you upcycle and give new life?

Photo Challenge Winner for Food!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Great job, Tracey at A Beadiful Mess! Tracey's chicken and peas was the favorite for voters last week and she was the ONLY entry for this Jewelry theme this week. So here's what I am going to do. This week I will display Tracey's Food Challenge photo and next week I will change the featured photo to this....

Lovely, isn't it?!

Congratulations, Tracey!

I am going to put the Photo Challenge on hold for a week or two as I adjust to school for two of my boys, keeping my niece and with Bead Soup going on I want to focus on that. We will pick this up again though, never fear. It just might be a week or so, deal?