Lucid Moon Studio

Halloween fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Cooper entered an online costume contest to win a FREE day of daycare at his favorite place, K9 Kampus. Please take a moment to click on the link below and vote for him! I am trying everything in my power to get Cooper votes without cheating! You can vote once per day until October 31.

http://www.k9kampus.com/contests.html#

The photo we chose to submit is Cooper in his fuzzy warrior hat. He has tons of costumes, but this was one that no one had seen. Below are some of Cooper's past costumes. As you can see, he LOVES Halloween...especially when his mom and dad join in on the fun!

2009

2010

2011

2012

Cooper's Birthday party September 2012

2012 at the Melbourne Beach Library where he works as a therapy dog

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!!

Chinook Blog Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 12:22:00 +0000

I'm back! Well, sort of. It has been a VERY long time since I have blogged or even made jewelry for that matter. After we sold our house in July 2011, we put everything in storage and moved in to our in-laws house temporarily. They are snow birds and split their time between here in FL and PA. We found the house we were interested in pretty quickly, but it was no quick or easy process to buy it! After starting negotiation with them and almost settling on a price, they stopped all contact and took their house off the market. Long story short, we persevered and after almost a year, we closed on the house on July 13 and moved in August 2, a little over 2 months ago.

I thought I would be back to blogging and jewelry making in a short time, but there ended up being more work that needed to be done on the house (and yard and pool, for that matter) than we realized. I entered Chinook Jewelry's giveaway in September for her blog challenge thinking it would be good motivation to get back into making jewelry and thought surely we would be settled by the time the reveal came around. I got picked (yay me!) and still thought we would be settled by the time my piece was due, and boy, was I wrong! We have had one thing after another to deal with in this house - remodeling, electrical issues, water main leaks, pest problems...you name it! The good news is things are starting to finally come together and it shouldn't be too much longer before we are settled (I hope!!). So, here is the current state of my "craft room":

If you look closely, you will see our faithful Weimaraner, Cooper, can make himself comfortable anywhere as long as he has his blanky! It will be a great crafting space some day, but right now, not so much! Needless to say, I managed to find my beads and tools and whip up my jewelry piece using this fabulous pendant that Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry sent me:

I love the colors in it and couldn't wait to get started! Below is what I came up with.

I used a cute bronze leaf charm by Summers Studio that I thought went very well with the main pendant, some ceramic beads by Spirited Earth, some aquaterra jasper rondelles, a faceted agate bead, brass chain and a brass flower toggle clasp.

I have this old rusted tool box that has the same colors in it as the challenge pendant, so I took a photo of them together and I think it looks cool. They almost blend together.

Unfortunately, my mannequin is still in storage, so I can't show you what it looks like on (and I am not feeling photogenic!), but it hangs just right, and I think I will wear it often since I often wear shades of tan and blue. It is a simple design, but that is what I like about it because it makes it more versatile.

I have SO MUCH to share with you, so I am hoping I can find time to get back into blogging again! I have taken photos of all the progress we've made on the house, and I hope to at least share that soon. I can't wait to have my craft room unpacked and ready to go. Despite all the "extra" time and money we've had to put into the house already, we absolutely LOVE it, and we are so happy with our little piece of paradise...it was definitely worth the wait!

Thanks Mellisa for the blog challenge and (probably unknowingly) helping nudge me back into the jewelry making world!!

Oh, and be sure to check out the other two bloggers in the challenge!

CopperDiem

Alice Dreaming

Jade Scott Flower Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I was one of the 7 lucky winners of Lorelei's giveaway for a Jade Scott flower headpin! All I had to do was create something with it and share it in a blog hop...not a bad deal at all! I used the awesome turquoise enameled flower headpin that I received to make a simple, but cute necklace.

I attached the flower headpin to a brass filigree flower shape, then wire wrapped an enameled filigree bead by yours truly! I attached it to copper chain and added a copper clasp. Simple, but easy to wear!

I enameled the robin's egg blue bead using Barbara Lewis' Torch Fired Enamel kit...not bad for a first time attempt! I practiced the technique with Barbara Bechtel and Shannon LeVart...if it weren't for them, I might not have ever mustered up the courage!

I have a few enameled flower headpins from Jade Scott that I have been hoarding, so I decided to use one to also make a ring. Lorelei made a ring with one, and I think they are ideal for a ring. I simply wired the flower headpin to a ring blank.

Check out the rest of the participants in the Jade Scott Flower Challenge blog hop!

1. Lorelei Eurto

2. Serena Trent

3. Susan Raber

4. Shawna Tobias

5. Lucid Moon Studio

6. K Hutchinson

7. Gigi- Gigi's pics will be on Lorelei's blog post because she doesn't have a blog.

8. Lois Moon

Three more people have joined in on the fun:

http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com

http://mariagrimes.blogspot.com/

http://peacockfairy.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!!

http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:26:00 +0000

I hope everyone got lots of treats and no tricks! I have been lurking in the blog world while I try to settle into my new living space. We sold our house, and we are living temporarily in our inlaw's house while we continue our house hunting. They are not here right now, but will be spending Christmas here. I must say, it was quite an adventure moving out of our house. We are storing about half of our things in a pod while the rest is in the 3-car garage. I definitely don't have room for all my beads and supplies in the house, but they are being stored in the garage so I can still access them. I will probably set up a crafting area in the garage or on the screened porch since the weather in FL is starting to cool off nicely.

I am healed from my running injury and back out running races again. It feels so great to be back! This past Sunday I did the Daytona Beach half marathon. I came in 1st in my age group. The week before that, I ran a Halloween 5K race (placing 1st in my age group as well) dressed in costume, and Mark and Cooper joined in on the fun by volunteering on the course. Here we are before the race:

We ended up winning the costume contest that was held afterwards! Lots of fun :) I hope to be back making jewelry in time for the holidays and will also share my running adventures with you.

*NOTE: I did not mean to add the same photo so many times...I kept trying to add it and nothing would show up, so I kept trying. It only showed one on my end. Stupid Blogger.

Kiln Advice Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:45:00 +0000

I need some help from my crafty friends out there! I want to get a basic kiln to try my hand at firing ceramics (I'm thinking beads, pendants and maybe small dishes). I took pottery classes in HS and college and would love to get into it again. However, I have no idea what kind of kiln to get. I found a used one for sale, but I don't know if it is a good one for what I want it for. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get a used one or not, but it seems like a good deal. Here is what I know about it:

Like new Evenheat model PF 1413 kiln with furniture and full and half shelves. 13" x 13". 230v, 3600w. Internet price for new one and accessories is over $1000. $500 obo. Must go. No reasonable offer refused.

Also, it was bought about 5 years ago and never used. It has been kept in storage and looks new.

I couldn't find a "PF" 1413 model, but there is a model that looks just like this one that is a "HF" 1413 model. Any suggestions for questions I should ask? Your opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

Art Bead Earring Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:49:00 +0000

Diana of Suburban Girl Studio had the fun idea of putting on an Art Bead Earring Swap, so I jumped at the chance to participate. I was very excited to be paired up with Staci of Staci Louise Originals. She sells her amazing jewelry (LOVE her salvaged sea glass bezel necklaces!) on Etsy here and her jewelry components here, where she sells stuff made with PMC, bronze clay, polymer, etc. I was lucky enough to win one of her giveaways for her butterfly cuff component, and I plan to use it in a bracelet just for me...mwa ha ha!

Isn't the blue patina amazing?

My earrings arrived in this pretty, creative packaging! I love the sewn pouch and pretty ribbons (which I've stashed to use in a future jewelry design!).

Below are the lovely earrings I received from Staci. I forgot to ask her what the charms are made of, but I'm pretty sure it is bronze clay. They are so cool! I love that these earrings are something I can wear every day, and they are the perfect length and very light.

I really enjoyed this swap and I would definitely participate in a future one...thanks, Diana, for the fun idea!!

Here is the list of the rest of the participants:

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com

Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp http://www.skyejewels.blogspot.com

Lisa Petrillo http://www.lucidmoonstudio.com

Patty Chaban Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com

Susan Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

Cilla Watkins http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com

Diane Hawkey http://www.dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Pam Ferrari http://www.ferrarioriginalsyahoocom.blogspot.com

Lori Bowring Michaud http://www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com

Stacey M. Curry http://www.starhitchedwagon.blogspot.com

Linda Landig http://www.lindasbeadblog.com

Norma Turvey http://www.moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com

Melinda Orr http://www.orrtec.blogspot.com

Holly Westfall http://www.silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com

Rosemarie Cowit http://www.gemrosedesigns.blogspot.com

Staci L. Smith http://www.stacilouise.blogspot.com

Sarah Elder http://www.mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!

Very Vintage Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:29:00 +0000

I foolishly signed up for several jewelry challenges while our house was for sale, thinking it would probably be on the market for awhile. Of course, our house sold, and we have to move everything out of our house the same week the challenges are due! It is totally worth it to have sold our house though. So, I am going to apologize now if this is half ass or doesn't make much sense...I worked all day, then packed for several hours, finished up my pieces, photographed them, and now I am blogging. I am exhausted! I still have to make the jewelry for another challenge, due Saturday, but I am not sure if I'll get it done in time or not. We plan on being completely out of our house by this weekend, so we'll see. We have not found a new house yet, so we are staying at my in-laws winter house until we do. My studio is packed up and will be stored in a storage pod, except for my beads, wire and essential tools, which go where I go!

Below is a sample of the kit I received from Michelle Mach, the hostess of the challenge. I forgot to take a photo of exactly what I got, but it was very similar to this. I didn't use some of the cool, unique vintage beads, but I look forward to using them in future designs.

I worked on the necklace a few weeks ago, but struggled a bit with my idea. I wanted an owl to sit on the branch, so I decided to do a layered chain look. I like the idea of how the focal hangs, but I think I could work on it a little more (when I have time!) to improve the design a bit.

I also made a pair of fun fall earrings. I had fun playing around with the lucite leaves and vintage beads that I wouldn't normally work with.

Now, join me in checking out everyone else's creative designs!

Andrew
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Cat

Boo Beads

Chris
beadjewelry.net

Cilla

Tell Your Girlfriends

Cyndi
Beading Arts

Cynthia
Cynth's Blog

Dawn
Morning Glory Beading

Donetta
Simply Gorgeous

Heather
As I Bead It

Holly
SilverRose Designs

Kate
We Can Make That at Home

Kristina
Wild Roses and Blackberries

Lauren
Laurel Moon Jewelry & Beads

Linda
Lutka & Co

Lisa (You are Here!)
Lucid Mood Studio

Lola
Bead Lola Bead

Mary
MLH Jewelry

Melinda
Melinda Orr Metal & Clay Jewelry Designs

Michelle H.
Firefly Visions

Michelle M.
Beads & Books

Salla
Blog by Salla

Shannon
Falling into the Sky

Shay
Shaiha's Ramblings

Shel
MiShel Designs

Shirley
Beads and Bread

Stephanie
Pixybug Designs

Tari
Pearl and Pebbles

Terry
Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Tracy
The Bead Junkie

Thanks, Michelle, for the FUN challenge!! Speaking of challenges, this is what my current work area looks like!

e-workshops: LAUNCH GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:03:00 +0000

e-workshops: LAUNCH GIVEAWAY: Check out Riki Schumacher's new website and while you're at it, enter her giveaway for several great prizes!

Lorelei's Shadowbox Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 03:14:00 +0000

Back in July, Lorelei (who, btw, invited me to be her roomie at Philly Bead Fest this past weekend, and I am SO glad she did!) had a giveaway on her blog for 23 spots in her Shadowbox Challenge, and I was one of the lucky winners! The wonderful enameled shadowboxes were created by C-Koop Beads whose booth I had the pleasure of visiting while at Bead Fest. As soon as I saw the shadowboxes, I envisioned various miniature scenes in them. Some of you may already know that I used to work at a dollhouse shop, and I made dollhouse miniatures for many years before I made jewelry. I think this is why the Shadowbox Challenge really appealed to me.

As usual, I waited until last minute to work on mine, but an idea came to me almost immediately. I remembered a small 3-D owl bead that I had picked up in NC and chose to use it in my scene. I also found a tiny Vintaj moon charm in my stash and decided to do a scene of an owl in a tree with the moon in the background.

I used very fine 28 gauge wire to wire the owl to a branch that I picked off one of our bushes. My shadowbox came with two holes on top and one on the bottom, so I strung the wire through the top holes to make a loop to hang it from and dangled the moon charm from one hole. At first I dangled a brass star charm from the bottom hole, but then decided to use a glass leaf headpin by Anne of Gardanne Beads (who I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with in Philly also) instead. I think it looks much better.

I was planning to do a combination of beads, chain, wire wrapping and/or ribbon, but when I spotted my rusty orange sari silk and tied it onto the pendant, I realized it was perfect by itself. The pendant has so much going on that I decided it was better to keep it simple. Afterwards, when I was photographing it, I realized it looks like a Halloween design! I did not intend to do that, but I must subconsciously be excited for fall, my favorite season.

Thanks for checking out my design! Now go see all the fabulous creations from the other 22 participants! I can't wait to see all the creative designs.

2. Ann Rishell

3. Malin de Koning

4. Gray Girl Studios

5. Maria Grimes

6. Beads of Busy Gals- Elizabeth

7. The Silly Pearl

8. Shay Stone- Shays creative journey

9. LissC

10. the Beading Yogini

11. Grubbi

12. Jenny Davies- Reazor

13. Beth of Elizabeth Williams

14. Artybecca

15. Stefanies Sammelsurium

16. KreativeKsapylet

17. Shirley - Beads & Bread

18. Hilary Frye- FryeStyle

19. Heather Wynn Millican

20. Staci Louise Originals

21. Suzette- Ellie's Bijoux

22. Marina - Fanciful Devices

23. Andrew Thornton

Thank you Lorelei and C-Koop for the awesome and fun jewelry challenge!!

Stay tuned for my blog post on my trip to Philly for Bead Fest...I'm still unpacking all my goodies in between house showings!

The Road to Bead Fest Sale!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:00:00 +0000

I am very excited that I am able to go to Philadelphia Bead Fest for my first time ever this year! I am flying there this Friday until Sunday and will be meeting up with Lorelei Eurto, Kelley Wenzel, and Nancy Schindler. We are also meeting up with a huge group of jewelry/bead makers Saturday night for a swap and dinner. It will be so cool to meet all the people in person who I've known for years online. I can hardly wait.

In celebration, I will be having a sale in my Etsy jewelry shop. Use coupon code bfps2011 to receive 20% off anything in my Lucid Moon Studio Etsy store! The sale will run Monday, August 15 until Sunday, August 21, but keep in mind if you order over the weekend, I won't be able to ship your order until Monday. I will be listing more jewelry in my shop all week, so be sure to keep checking back!

Check out the other beaders who are also having sales in honor of Bead Fest:

Lorelei Eurto

Andrew Thornton

Marsha Minutella

Melanie Brooks and Earthenwood Studio Etsy

Back Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

It's been so long since I blogged last that I don't even recognize the Blogger format! Everything has changed! It's incredible to me how fast time flies anymore. I would like to say you will be hearing from me more regularly, but unfortunately I can't make any promises. My full-time job is so much more demanding on my time, and it has been crazy hectic there lately. We also decided to put our house up for sale recently, so we have been busy cleaning it out and getting it in "model" condition. If we sell our house and don't have another one to move into, I may be without a studio for who knows how long. Hopefully everything will work out fine. For now I am trying not to worry about it and just go with the flow! There are lots of things I would like to catch you up on, but I am going to try to stay focused on the reason for this particular post.

I was chosen to be this month's blog partner for Chinook Jewelry! I received a pretty heart charm and a flowery pendant. I immediately envisioned a necklace for the flower pendant and a bracelet for the heart charm. The necklace took quite awhile to create because I kept changing it, but I am happy with the final result. I like the color combination, although it was a bit out of my comfort zone. The color palette gives it an ethnic feel.

I used copper wire, dragon's blood jasper ovals, purple recycled glass rounds, fuchsia pearls, a copper filigree bead, purple faceted Czech rondelles, yellow opal rice beads, copper chain, a green faceted clay bead and a disc shaped clay bead from Spirited Earth, and the flower pendant from Chinook Jewelry.

Detail of pendant by Chinook Jewelry

Detail of hand forged copper hook clasp

The second design I made was quick and easy. I was glad it came together pretty effortlessly. I really like the colors too.

I used faceted cherry quartz ovals, another clay faceted round by Spirited Earth, pink and blue seed beads, vintage speckled porcelain rounds, blue pearly glass discs, sterling silver toggle and the flower/heart charm from Chinook Jewelry.

Detail of heart charm by Chinook Jewelry

I am not sure who the other blog partners are, so you will have to visit Mellisa's blog to find out. It was an honor to be a blog partner, and I really enjoyed designing with these great components. Be sure to check out Chinook Jewelry for some awesome ceramic pendants and artisan jewelry!

Artbeads "What's Old is New Again" Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:30:00 +0000

The current challenge for the Artbeads.com blogging team is "What's Old is New Again!". We have been asked to create a design that incorporates old, vintage or antique elements with modern elements - a theme that has been very popular in jewelry recently. I was excited to participate because I love using old and new components in my designs. Adding vintage components makes the piece unique and can also personalize it if the items have special meaning to the designer or wearer. I chose two antique brass pieces from the base metal jewelry findings category on Artbeads.com as the main components of my design. I punched holes in the butterfly stamping so I could hang it and also decided to add some dangles to the wings using lampwork glass headpins from Gardanne Beads. I thought the bee/flower clasp was perfect to go with my whimsical nature themed necklace called, "Jardin de Papillons".

I also wire wrapped two vintage pearly buttons of my late grandmother's into my design. I used Vintaj bronze wire to wire wrap all the beads together.

Below is a close up of the vintage flower button dangle that I added to go with the "old" element of my necklace.

Close up of antique brass bee and flower hook and eye clasp. The oval turquoise bead is an enameled bead by Gardanne Beads.

The tiny teal lampwork glass beads above the flower button are by Pinocean.

Thank you to Artbeads.com for another fun jewelry challenge!

FTC compliance disclosure: The products attributed to Artbeads.com in this post were provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com in relation to the blogging program. My comments pertaining to these products are my personal opinion, no compensation has been received.

Butterfly Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I still have not finished my post on my trip to Ohio and the new jewelry I made recently, but I am going to skip ahead and share with you the adventure my husband and I went on this last weekend. I discovered a butterfly garden open house and decided it would be fun to check it out. The butterfly gardens are located at a residence in Palm Bay, FL. They have a website and blog. We weren't sure what to expect, but we were very impressed with the layout and couldn't believe how much there was to look at. Judi, who lives at the residence, was our tour guide and was incredibly knowledgeable about butterflies and their life cycle. In fact, we were overwhelmed with all the information. Here are some photos I took:

This is the butterfly room, which is full of butterflies.

One of the gardens with nectar plants that butterflies (and bees and wasps) love.

A newly added pond with water plants that are a host for butterflies.

The side yard and nursery area.

Inside the beautiful screened porch. We took a break and enjoyed some cake and lemonade in here. I love the pebble tile on the floor.

Mesh cubes that house freshly hatched butterflies to keep them calm and safe while their wings harden, then they are released.

A box containing chrysalises, which are the pupa of butterflies, similar to the cocoons of moths.

The view from the enclosed patio.

Inside the butterfly room.

A Buckeye butterfly inside the butterfly room.

A Julia Butterfly in the butterfly room.

A Cloudless Sulfur on pretty flowers in the butterfly room.

Judi had host plants for sale, so I picked a plant that is a host for Buckeye butterflies, and she gave me 4 Buckeye caterpillars to go with it! The photo below shows 3 of the caterpillars - they sure do eat and poop a lot! The fourth caterpillar climbed up the wall and made a chrysalis already - see last photo.

Hungry caterpillar

Check out Judi's Butterflies for more information and lots of photos!

Enamel Bead Giveaway!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire Artwear is having a fun giveaway to promote her new book on torch-fired enamel. I am so excited about the book because I received one of her kits for Christmas, but I would feel more comfortable trying it if I had her book to guide me!

Win these beads when you go to her blog and enter!

Do Over Challenge Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Jeannie over at Jeannie's Blog posted a Do Over Challenge on her blog that intrigued me. The basis of the challenge is that she sends participants an "old, tried, boring" piece of her jewelry for free, and then the participants try to rework it into a new, cool, updated design and share it on their blog today. I love doing jewelry challenges because it gives me some direction when I am creating. It is hard for me to just sit down and create something without some sort of starting point or guidelines.

Here is the piece she sent me:

Now, I will make an embarrassing confession (blushing) - I neglected to take a photo of the jewelry when I received it, and one night I was talking to my mom on the phone as I absently started taking the necklace apart. When I hung up, I realized I hadn't taken a photo of it for my "before" photo! Doh! So I pieced some of it back together and took a photo of part of it. The actual necklace was the same pattern repeated in a very long necklace, but you get the idea! Lesson learned :)

Pink, and this shade in particular, is definitely a color I never use, so I knew this was going to be a difficult challenge for me. Added to that, I made a last minute decision to travel to Ohio to visit my parents, and I did not have a chance to make my design before I left. That meant I needed to pack as many beads and supplies as I could so I could work on it at my parents. Last night, I reworked my design many, many times, but I was limited by what I had on hand and finally decided I needed to leave it alone for now. (Btw, isn't the background awesome? My mom has this old side table that was my grandmother's, and it makes an awesome background in my opinion...now to figure out how I get it to FL!):

Leslie of Mad Maggie Designs sent me this awesome beaded toggle clasp, and I thought the colors worked well with the MOP triangle beads and some Czech beads I had.

I did not have any pendants with pink in them, but this mermaid pendant by Nan of Spirited Earth had touches of pink in it and introduced a blue shade to the color scheme. I also used two of her beads in the same shade of blue. I thought the mermaid went along with the ocean/sea theme of the shell triangle beads.

I thought using the triangle beads would be easy, but I was wrong! I think they are too big compared to the other elements I used. I repositioned them a few times and liked this pattern the best. Then I wrapped some beads on them with wire trying to liven it up, but to be perfectly honest, I just wasn't happy with my final result.

These are the matching earrings I made:

As for the pink beads, I just couldn't bring myself to use them. I realize I failed in this part of the challenge and accept that I need to get out of my comfort zone more, but I am definitely not there yet! As a result, there may be a Do Over of my Do Over in the future! It is disheartening when you struggle with a design and end up unhappy with it, but sometimes you just need to set it aside and try again later. I plan to do that with this piece. I believe I can come up with a better design and possibly use the pink beads, but I need to give it a rest for now.

I apologize for such a long post, but maybe you can at least relate to my frustration, and even give me some advice on what you do when you get stuck in a rut on a design :)

The good news is that the rest of the participants came up with some really amazing designs using the jewelry they received, and their creativity is truly inspiring. Go check out all these awesome blogs and their Do Over designs:

Sally http://www.wireworked.com

Dagmar  http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com

Donna(No Blog) See it on Jeannie's Blog: 

http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/2011/05/25/do-over-challenge-blog-hop/

Lisa http://lucidmoonstudio.blogspot.com You are here :)

Christine www.onekisscreations.blogspot.com

Erin http://treasures-found.blogspot.com

Leslie http://www.madmaggiedesigns.blogspot.com

Shannon http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

Niky  http://silverniknats.blogspot.com

Diane http://www.dianehawkey.com

Barbe http://www.barbesaintjohn.blogspot.com

Elisabeth http://www.beadsforbusygals.com

Lori http://www.PrettyThingsBlog.com

Linda http://lindalandig.wordpress.com

Jamie(No Blog) See it on Jeannie's Blog: 

http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/2011/05/25/do-over-challenge-blog-hop/

Pam http://www.ferrarioriginals.blogspot.com

Patty http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com

Nancy http://nedbeads.com

Kim http://www.kimmykats.blogspot.com

Marci http://www.moosepetals.com

Charlene http://clay-space.com

Thank you, Jeannie, for a fun, creative challenge!! Jewelry challenges are great because they encourage our creativity and get us to move out of our comfort zones so we can grow as artists. Not to mention, you meet great people and their blogs in the process!

Weekend shopping fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Last weekend I decided to check out a local estate sale. I had never been to one, so I was excited to see what they are like. This particular house was full of things mostly from Japan, but also things from other countries. As I walked into the living room, I spotted a glass case filled with dolls. I've never been particularly fond of dolls before, except for the dolls I played with with my dollhouse as a child, but some of these dolls just really seemed cool to me. Everything in the house was half off, so they were priced very cheap. I know nothing about them and couldn't find any info online either. If anyone has any info about them, I would appreciate it! They are approximately 7 inches tall.

I also bought these Russian Nesting Dolls that say "made in the USSR" on them.

I thought this stuffed seal was cute. It is leather, and I am hoping it is fake fur, not real seal fur!

There were walls of bookcases full of books, but it was too crowded to go through them. However, I spotted these Alice in Wonderland hard cover books published in 1946 and grabbed them. I don't know if they are worth anything, but the color illustrations in them are really cool.

I scored a bag of various snippets of lace, ribbon and thread. I save this sort of thing thinking I will use it in jewelry some day...time will tell!

Lastly, I bought a box of vintage ornaments. It was hard to tell what was in it, but when I got home, I spread it all out to view.

These three vintage glass ornaments are what caught my eye:

The day before, Mark went to an auction and picked up these cool vintage spoons for me. He also bought me a larimar and sterling silver necklace and earring set for a very good deal. He knows what I like :)

I love the patina on this one!

I don't know anything about these either, but I plan to research them a little. I'm not sure what I will do with these yet - either sell some on eBay and/or use some in jewelry.

Custom Design

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Wed, 11 May 2011 09:30:00 +0000

A friend of mine asked me to create a necklace for a Mother's Day gift. His main request was that it have an Irish theme, since his mom is Irish. I immediately thought of the porcelain shamrock pendant by Nancy of Round Rabbit that I had been hoarding. Although it was a little difficult to part with, I was happy that someone who would appreciate it was receiving it.

I tried to keep the design simple, so that it could be worn with many different outfits. I made a matching pair of earrings, but I forgot to take a photo of them.

Update...

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Wow - so much has happened recently that I don't know where to start! The last month or so has been a whirlwind of emotions. I won't get into too many details regarding some of it, but I was dealing with some family and personal health issues, which have gotten better fortunately. Two weeks ago my husband became unemployed because of the federal shutdown of online poker. I only work part-time, so the stresses of life just started piling up. Fortunately, the woman I job share with agreed to retire if it meant I could go full-time with benefits. I waited anxiously for an answer for a week and a half and FINALLY got the answer yesterday that I was approved to go full-time starting the end of this month! Such a huge relief since I have been without health insurance for two and a half years and have fallen further and further in debt during that time. I'm hoping things will start taking a turn for the better and that my husband will be able to find work soon as well.

The good news is I will have more income, but the bad news is I will have less free time, which means less time to spend in my studio. However, I definitely prefer more income at this point! Hopefully one day I can retire and be able to do what I enjoy most full-time - being crafty. I still plan to continue running regularly and racing, but I will probably cut back on it a little since I have started to feel burned out and have been fighting a slew of annoying injuries. I'm hoping to strike a balance in my life, but it always seems so hard as one thing or another always seems to take precedence.

Well, I think you are caught up on the nitty-gritty, so onto some fun stuff! Hubby and I went to our first auction recently and had a blast. He bought some silver coins to resell, and I found a neat basket of old mini perfume bottles that I got for only $5! I doubt they are worth much, but I thought they were really cool. Plus the metal basket is pretty cool too. We have started watching the shows American Pickers and Storage Wars, both of which we love. Mark just went to his first storage locker auction and really enjoyed it...thankfully he didn't buy any though! We are supposed to go to another one tomorrow and possibly an auction this evening.

There was also a strange little monkey toy in the basket...

I also received another package of awesome goodies from Nan of Spirited Earth to add to my growing collection and finally got some of her coveted beads (especially the faceted ones!):

Here is my whole collection of Spirited Earth goodies:

As you can tell, I've been having fun just collecting them, but I do plan on using some of them soon :)

I'll leave you with a photo I took of Cooper with my phone recently...it has become my favorite photo of him!

Although I think it is tied with this one:

It's good to know that no matter how bad things get, this sweet boy is always there to cheer us up, and we will forever be thankful for that!!

Fun Blogging Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 03:42:00 +0000

There is a fun Do Over Contest going on over at Jeannie's Blog which involves reworking an old and boring jewelry design that she will send you into something new and cool! You can read about the guidelines on her blog. Everyone who participates will blog about their creations (or if you don't have a blog, she will post it on her blog for you) on the same day - May 25. Then she will choose random winners to win cool beady prizes! Go check it out soon - the deadline to participate is April 30.

Above is an example of a design that you could have the opportunity to makeover...

I am excited to participate because I love jewelry design challenges!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Fresh Herbs

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:00:00 +0000

The other night, I made acorn squash ravioli (boxed from World Market) with brown butter, shallots, Parmesan cheese and fresh sage leaves from my herb garden for dinner. It turned out delicious, but I was rushed and didn't get any photos.

The next night, I made BBQ chicken pizza with some chopped garlic chives from my herb garden. I snapped some photos this time and decided I would share the recipe here on my blog.

Ready for the oven!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Recipe and photos by Lisa Petrillo

Flour
Store bought pizza dough ball (from bakery at grocery store)
Barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese
Leftover chicken (shredded, approximately 2 chicken breasts)
Red onions, sliced thinly
Chopped garlic chives (from the garden)
Salt & pepper to taste

Let dough sit out for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle some flour on pizza stone and stretch and flatten dough onto it. Pour and spread some barbecue sauce evenly over dough (I like to go heavy on the sauce).

Spread shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over sauce until well covered. Shred the leftover chicken breast (or use rotisserie chicken for a quick option), season with salt and pepper, and spread over cheese evenly. Slice half a red onion and spread over cheese. Top with shredded cheddar cheese until covered evenly (I go heavy on the cheese too). Finally, sprinkle chopped garlic chives evenly over top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

YUM!! It was delicious!

And for dessert...

Pepperidge Farms Chocolate Fudge 3-layer cake!!

Featuring Two Talented Jewelry Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:00:00 +0000

So, sorry this is overdue, but I guess it's better to post late than never, right? In the last few months, I was lucky enough to win two amazing pieces of jewelry by two even more amazing and talented artists. The crazy thing is, the pieces, a bracelet and necklace, look like they should go together! The first design I won was an oxidized sterling silver wire wrapped bracelet by Carol Bradley Designs. I have admired Carol's jewelry for quite some time, and she is definitely a person I look to when I need inspiration.

The second piece of jewelry I won was an oxidized sterling silver wire wrapped chain by Mary Newton Designs. Mary is another metal and wire jewelry artist that I greatly admire. I commented that I loved her handmade silver chains on her blog, and she was thoughtful enough to send me one as my giveaway prize.

What I love most about both designs, besides being beautiful, is that they are techniques I have not tried, and I don't have the skill or patience to try yet. I have no idea how Carol made the wire spun beads, even after close examination, and I definitely don't have the patience to connect all the jump rings and S-links like Mary did! The other bonus is that both pieces look great together.

Please take a minute to check out Carol Bradley Designs Shop (where she sells similar bracelets with the wire spun beads) and Blog, as well as Mary Newton Designs Shop (I especially love her etched metal!) and Blog - tons of inspiration!! And lastly, thank you to both women for having such generous and awesome giveaways!!

Bead Giveaway!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:17:00 +0000

Check out the generous art bead giveaway on Jeannie's Blog! The prize is worth over $400...I think any of us would love to win that! Oh, the possibilities!

The winner will be announced April 11 - Good luck!!

Adventures in Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:11:00 +0000

The weather here in FL has been perfect lately. It has been 60 degrees in the morning with a high in the 80's during the day- not too hot, not too cold! My husband and I decided to venture into gardening this year, something neither of us have really tried before. Mark decided he would like to grow some veggies, and I decided I would like an herb garden. We visited a fantastic garden center called Rockledge Gardens over the weekend and picked out our plants, containers, soil, stakes and plant food. I had already bought a basil plant that I planned to transplant into my herb garden, and our overly friendly (bordering on pesky) neighborhood squirrel decided it would be a nice spot to munch on a peanut...which is fine as long as he doesn't have some basil with his peanut.

"What?! I'm not hurting nuttin!"

After some persuasion, he moved to my St. Francis statue where he belongs!

Here is my potted rosemary and herb container garden just after I transplanted everything:

I can't wait to snip some fresh herbs for my next recipe! I will get photos of our vegetable container garden soon and keep you updated on how it goes.

No April Fool's Joke!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:15:00 +0000

I know it has been way too long since I've blogged, but I have resolved today to start blogging regularly again. I think my problem is that I spend way too much time reading other people's blogs, and then I run out of time to post on my own blog! I also want to give my blog a much needed makeover, but that might take some time.

Yesterday was my mother-in-law's birthday, so we celebrated by going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, called Concepts on Highland. My husband bought a VW Thunderbolt cell phone earlier that day, so I took the opportunity to try out the 8 MP camera on his new phone. It would be so much easier to blog if I had a phone like his...I don't even have a phone with internet! I am also going to resolve to stop spending money on beads for awhile so I can save up for a cool phone...

For an appetizer, I had a potato bisque soup with a parmesan crisp and a balsamic vinegar and basil oil drizzle.

I had grilled salmon with a kalamata olive, caper and tomato relish over a garlic potato croquette with asparagus and a balsamic glaze for my dinner.

We ended the evening sharing a slice of heavenly key lime pie (but we ate it too quickly to snap a photo!). Everything was delicious and the presentation was fantastic.

I whipped up a pair of earrings for my MIL's birthday as well. I found some plastic flower cabs in my stash that I had bought a long time ago, and they were the exact color of coral I was looking for. These earrings are very different from anything I've made before, but I really like the way they turned out. Kind of a modern vintage look.

I may have to play around a bit with the other flower cabs I have.

Bead Soup Party Reveal!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucid Moon Studio) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 06:29:00 +0000

Welcome to the 3rd Bead Soup Blog Party!

What is a Bead Soup Blog Party?

Each beader was paired up with another jewelry designer and tasked with sending the following:

~ A focal
~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)
~ Some coordinating spacers or beads

Using the focal and the clasp was mandatory, but we could use anything from our own stash to round out the rest, and choose to use the coordinating beads or not.

I was paired up with Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria for the Bead Soup Party. Just a glimpse of all the goodies she sent me:

Go here to read more about the amazing stash she sent me. I have to say, Suzann was so generous that at first I was overwhelmed when I spread out everything that she sent me. Almost immediately though, I saw two distinct design ideas stemming from the silver and gold leaf pendants. I saw in my mind exactly what colors and beads I thought would look good together. I knew designing with the silver would be pretty easy since I tend to create with silver the most, but there were still beads and components that were different from what I normally create with. I also knew designing with the gold would definitely be difficult for me since I never create with gold. I did struggle a little because I have no components or beads in gold, but I managed by using brass wire to wire wrap the beads with.

The first necklace I made used the gold leaf pendant, dyed purple howlite, gold round beads, diamond gold beads, and gold hook clasp from my bead soup supplies. I added lavender seed beads, lavender porcelain disks, large faceted czech disks, and a gold toned pine cone charm. As I mentioned earlier, I used brass wire to wire wrap the beads.

Below is the second necklace I made. I used the silver leaf pendant, aqua faceted glass rounds, silver beaded spacers, silver disc beads, and silver flower clasp from my bead soup supplies. I added small and large link oxidized sterling chain, turquoise seed beads, sterling twisted links, dark blue limestone rounds, and flower disk beads from Beady Monkey. I used sterling silver wire to wire wrap the beads.

I love the way both necklaces turned out, and I still have tons of beads left to create matching earrings and whatever else I desire!

Unfortunately the Bead Soup Party is the same day I am going out-of-town to run the Gasparilla half marathon in Tampa on Sunday. I am hoping I will have a decent internet connection where I am staying so I can check out everyone's designs first thing on Monday.

Now, go see what everyone else made!!

1. Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

2. Kitty Durmaj, Perles and Life

3. Michelle Heim, Life In the Bead Lane

4. YOU ARE HERE! Lisa Petrillo, Lucid Moon Studio

5. Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations

6. Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

7. Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

8. Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

9. Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto

10. Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

11. Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas