blog by salla

Friday Link Parade

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Still not the title I want... I will keep working it.

So, Cake Wrecks is still amusing me greatly. This week you must check out the Naughty bits post.

Jewelry Making Daily had a gread tip on how to make Perfect Earwires. This is so simple you will slap yourself on the head for not thinking of it!

For some good instructions on what to do if your resin has bubbles, visit this post on Resin Crafts.

And finally, for those of you who saw my necklace this week and said, "I don't normally like steampunk, put that is pretty!" Here is a video to give you a better idea of what steampunk SHOULD be (and to explain my joke about being unable to resist gluing on gears):

New Pattern Wednesday: Simple Weave pattern

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Today I give you a pattern that replicates a basic weave. Throughout this month, I plan to post additional patterns where the weave gets more complicated. Enjoy!

Quote: May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.
- Irish Blessing

What I Made Monday

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:56:00 +0000

This weekend I completed a steampunk-esque necklace that I was making for my sister. The main part of the chain is kumihimo (Japanese braiding) with some antique copper beads. The endcaps for this section are made from vintage watch keys. This is contected by brass chain to a focal made from a lock plate (reproduction found in the scrapbooking section) with a vintage watch face and some gears glued on (I just couldn't resist gluing on the gears!). The focal is connected to the chain using two clasps. This means it can be removed and the chain can be turned around and worn by itself.

I have to admit that I totally LOVE the way this turned out!

Quote: “A clockwork heart can't replace the real thing.”
― Dru Pagliassotti, Clockwork Heart

Weekly Web Wrapup!

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:43:00 +0000

Hmmm... too many W's. I will work on that.

To start us off, we are saying goodbye to a legend. This week the world says farewell to Davy Jones.

After that, we may need a little cheering up, so we head to a completely hysterical post at Cake Wrecks.

Next we think about how names, proper or otherwise, have meaning by following the discussion over on Craftsy's Blog about what to call one who sews.

For tomorrow, you can hop on in to the 5th Bead Soup Blog Party. Even though I am not a participant this time around, I will definately be taking in all the lovely things created for this!

And finally, for the month of March Fusion Beads is celebrating National Crafts Month by having a 30 Day Bead Challenge that includes something new and crafty to do each day! I will participate in this sporatically as the mood strikes me, but they have some great ideas of crafty things you can do!

Go forth and enjoy the web!

New Pattern Wednesday: Rubber Duckie

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:08:00 +0000

Now you can play your saxaphone and still keep your favorite duckie friend close!

Names Matter

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:12:00 +0000

So, I have a name is that frequently spelled wrong... and it really bugs me. It shouldn't. I should be able to shrug it off and not worry if someone gets it wrong. I mean, really, how much does it matter? Do I know they are talking about me? Yes. So, why does it bother me sooooooo very much?

Because names matter.

I believe that one of the main things that makes people people is that we name things. There are other animals that problem solve, there are ones that use tools. We are the only ones that name things. This allows us to view our world differently. To organize it. Categorize it.

In my mind, Sara is not at all the same as Sarah. Even though it sounds the same, it is not the same name at all. When people ask me how I spell my name, I say " S - A - R - A - H. The H is for visual balance." And I say it as a joke, but is it? To me, Sara is some hot young thing who dances and stays out all night. Sarah, however, is that Aunt you love who comes over on weekends to do crafts with you.

Anyway, what set this rant off, was seeing yet another person link to my blog and insist on capitalizing salla. Spelling it in all lower case is actually a deliberate referance back to my real name (Sarah Small). When I send people my blog name, I very carefully spell it in all lowercase. And yet... and yet people insist on the capitalization. Blah.

What I Made Monday

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:16:00 +0000

So, I was away from my studio(living room corner) this past week. In the past I have had bad experiences when traveling with beads, so I was leary about taking them with me this time. But, after much thought (and much repacking) I finally decided to take some with me.

I wanted something that would be easy to work on (didn't need to look at the pattern) and something that could either be finished quickly or was easy to start and stop. These hearts were perfect for that. After I made the first one, remembering the thread path to make some more was easy. The original pattern (only $1!) suggested making each heart an earring dangle, but I decided to string several together and make a necklace.

Attached to some beading chain, it totally fits the clean, no fuss asthetic that I like so much.

Quote: Here's to our wives and sweethearts - may they never meet.
John Bunny

My Field Trip to Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:03:00 +0000

So, last week I was in Arizona for work. Really screwed up my blogging plans for the week, sorry about that.

However, I did get to see some beautiful country and got to visit a couple of nice bead shops in the Phoenix area. I plan to get back to the new regularly scheduled posting tomorrow. For today, here are some of my favorite pictures from my trip.

What I have been making lately

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:21:00 +0000

So, Mondays are supposed to now be the days where I post something(s) new that I have made recently. However, I was traveling for work yesterday and had NO time. So, this first week is a little late.

This is a bracelet that I made to give a friend as a wedding gift. It is done in Russian spiral stitch and has sterling silver findings. I am slowly trying to add to my stash of sterling, but with current prices it is slow going, so for now only special pieces get it, most still get base metal, stainless, or beaded findings.

You may notice that I also put a little white beaded bead at the end of the chain. This helps the chain to hang down and it is cute.

Also, does anyone know if you can iron the backdrops that come with the photo box?????

Quote: Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working.
Anonymous

This Week on the Web

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:49:00 +0000

As part of my plan to have a more structured blog format, Friday will be the day when I share with you the fun places I found on the web this week. Some places will be jewelry/craft related, some will not. Enjoy, I did!

Cake Wrecks - this site is so much fun that I won't bother sending you to a specific page. Just make sure you are somewhere that you won't get in trouble for unending giggling. (also check out her site Epbot where she has all things geeky and frequently crafty!)

Hardly Housewives has some great craft ideas and recipes. Specifically this chicken recipe I tried and it was WONDERFUL!

Rings & Things has listed some new base metal findings. My favorite is the shaped crimps. I don't think I will ever use plain crimps again!

RainyMood.com is just really soothing.

The blog I still love you has a cool tutorial on braiding leather.

And finally, this wire woven vessel is one of the most impressive things I have seen in a while!

New Ring Pattern: Triskele

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:12:00 +0000

I am gonna try to be more organzied with my blogging and have specific topics on specific days. We shall see how that goes.

So, Wednesday will be New Pattern day! This week, we bring you a triskele. Seen in many cultures around the world, it can represent a variety of things to differnt people and cultures. You can read all about it on the Wiki. Personally, I just think it looks cool.

Quote: There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

True love never dog ears pages

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:58:00 +0000

So, for Valentine's day this year, my niece and I made some heart bookmarks. As she has type 1 diabetes, we try to find things to give out that are not candy.

This year I came across a cute tutorial for making felt heart bookmarks. While I am teaching my niece to sew, it is still a very slooooooow process. This necessitated some minor changes. We made our hearts out of craft foam, and we painted on 'stitch marks'. Still turned out rather cute.

Molly was in charge of cutting out the hearts and making the 'stitch marks', I got to do the hot gluing. She then slipped one on each of the Valentine's cards for her classmates. Good way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

Quote: I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my shelf.
Robert Bloch (1917 - 1994)

Michelle Mach Valentine Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:57:00 +0000

For her Valentine Challenge, Michelle sent out some off white embossed cards. The challenge was to embellish the card. She will pick her favorite, and that person will will a gift card to Amazon.

She had a couple of different card to choose from. I picked one that had some lovely branches embossed on it. I was very excited about this, as I had done something similiar with a Christmas card I gave out this year.

However, once the card arrived, I had no idea how to embellish it. I would take it out and stare at it, then put it back aside with no more clue what to do with it then when I started. With the Feb. 10th deadline looming, I finally hauled out the big guns... the 7 year old in the house.

Molly knew right away what she wanted to do. She wanted to paint a sunset. She actually practiced her sunset technique for several days before she finally started on the actual card. She mixed gold and red metallic paints for the sunset, and blue and white metallic paints for the ocean.

Not bad, eh?

Also of note, this is the first item to be photographed in my new photo studio. Really liking how true the colors came out and that the white does not look yellow! Woo!

All of the cards submitted and the name of the winner will be available on Michelle's blog on Feb. 14th.

I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Well, kinda.

After the daily posting of last month I found I needed a little break. There were also other reasons, such as my flickr free account is nearly full so I need to upgrade to keep hosting pictures there, and I was waiting for my new photo setup to arrive so I can take decent pictures.

Speaking of....

It came last night! I am so excited. I didn't have time to get it out of the box last night, but I will be doing that tonight. The picture above is from, and links to, the Amazon listing where I got it.

I am REALLY hoping that some decent lights and a real photo box (as opposed to the cardboard box and tissue paper I was using) will really improve the quality and consistancy of my photos.

So, my plans for this weekend will include re-photographing everything I have ever made, and then updating all my Etsy listings. And adding new Etsy listings to both of my shops.

So, hopefully next week I will have lots of new things to post and will be raving about how much I love the new setup. Hopefully.

Quote: If we were not all so interested in ourselves, life would be so uninteresting that none of us would be able to endure it.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

Happy Groundhogs Day!

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:03:00 +0000

So, I am happy to report that last night I did NOT make any earrings. YAY! I did walk 10 minutes on my treadmill, which is my personal challenge for February. My motto is "If you can make a pair of earrings every day, you can walk every day." The idea right now isn't to actually get any fitter with the walking (I'm not walking near fast enough for that) but to establish the habit of walking. We'll see.

So, today is Groundhogs Day. That day when we all trust a rodent to predict the weather. I have brought you two ring patterns for this festive occassion. One where the groundhog sees his shadow, and one where he does not. And if my groundhog seems a little large... well, have you seen Punxsutawney Phil??? He is HUGE! Best fed groundhog ever!

Quote: Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?
Ralph: That about sums it up for me.
Groundhog Day (1993)

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 31

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Final Day!!! WOOOO!!!! So for the final pair of earrings, I grabbed the wire that happened to be sitting on my work table and made some simple spirals. Add posts and DONE!

My friend Stacy declared this to be her favorite of all the earrings I made in January. I looked at her like she is crazy.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 30

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:50:00 +0000

So, I was gonna do this after the whole challenge was over. However, since a migraine last night kept me from making even crappy earrings....

Things I learned doing the Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge 2012

1) I hate french hook ear wires. The stick out and poke my head behind my ears and really REALLY bug me.

2) I do like lever back ear wires. All the dangle of french hooks, none of the pokiness!

3) You CAN make beadwoven post earrings that don't dangle!

4) My photo setup sucks. Taking pictures EVERY DAY really highlighted just how crappy and inconsistant my lighting is. I will be investing in a better light box and lights.

5) Forcing yourself to create something everyday is a great way to create hate. While I never made a lot of earrings before this, I currently don't want to ever make another earring EVER.

I have come to realize that creativity can't be forced. While there were days when I loved what I came up with, there were more days where I just made something for the sake of making something. I am not ok with that. I think I would rather have days where I take a day off, do something else, build up ideas. Or, a day where I worked on something I was actually inspired by! There have been several days where I had another project but set it aside, cause I HAD to make earrings.

So, while this was an interesting experience, it is not one that I will be repeating. I will stick with challenges that allow a little more leaway in what is created and on what schedule.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 28 and Day 29

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:45:00 +0000

So, for Saturday, we had another set of peyote beaded bead earrings. This time in black.

For Sunday, well, I was working on another project and really didn't feel like doing earrings. So, we have some teardrops hung a litte oddly on headpins. I did this design just looking for something quick, so I could get back to my kumihimo, but after looking at it for a while, I think I kind of like it. Something different to do with a teardrops, a little simpler than the normal messy wrap, and it really allows the shape and color of the beads to show.

Two days left! I am glad, because I am SOOOOOO sick of earrings at this point.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 27

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:34:00 +0000

Made some peyote beaded beads with some gunmetal Toho beads over a really really fake pearl. The pearl actually started out white, but for some reason I dropped a bunch of them into a cup where a black leather cord had been soaking (getting the creases out) and they took on a bluish tint from the cord's dyes. They looked better after that, so I kept them rather than throwing them out as I originally intended.

Any way, if you want to know how to make beaded beads, I did a post on it here.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 26

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:06:00 +0000

For day 26 we have some cute frog earrings done using the same technique as the kitty earrings (peyote circles stitched together around an earring finding and embellished).

I took some additional pictures today, to give a better idea of how the beadwork surrounds the finding. (sorry that the last one is so dark!)

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 25

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:50:00 +0000

For day 25 I made some beaded beads by connecting 2 peyote circles, then stacked them in different colors on a head pin.

These tiny puff beads are my favorite thing at the moment... expect to see them again!

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 24

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Here are my lovely earrings for day 24!

Hmmm... What? You say you've seen these already? Back on day 21? Surely you must be mistaken.

Ok, you aren't mistaken. And I will stop calling you Shirley.

*sigh* So, last night I decided to try something I had been avoiding for a while. Turns out I was avoiding it for a reason. Most beaders find that one of their early projects is a pair of earrings. Specifically, a brick stitched triangle with a bunch of fringe hanging down. I hate these earrings. They do not fit my personal aesthetic, which tends toward simpler lines. I am not a fringe person (though Fringe the TV show is awesome!).

But, it's late in the month and earring ideas are running low, so....

Turns out that I hate this style so much that I couldn't even make myself finish ONE! What you see here is the result of 2 hours of taking it apart and redoing it, trying to get the fringe to NOT BE FRINGE! Yeah, that didn't work. So I went and looked at Cake Wrecks instead. (there are some very disturbed bakers out there... cakes made to look like realistic newborns are WRONG!)

So, since I made 3 pair of earrings on the 21st, I am claiming one pair for today.

And we're moving on.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge Day 23

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Migraines lead to simple dangle earrings...

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Day 22

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:42:00 +0000

I have been doing some etching this weekend, so for day 22 we get etched earrings.

I put some watch gears on the end of erasers and used them as stamps. Worked pretty well.

If you want to see the matching ring, it is listed in my etsy shop.

Beading Daily Earrings Every Day Challenge: Days 20 & 21

noreply@blogger.com (salla) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Ok, so yesterday I made some more of the button earrings in a nice springy purple. Very nice.

Today, I continued to play with this pattern and ended up making 3 pair of earrings.

First we played with pattern:

Next I decided to try embellishment:

While deciding where to place the leaves on my flowers, I noticed that one configuration looked a lot like cat ears, so.....

I am very happy with today's playing. It is always fun to design something new!