October 1 is hanging over my head....

Bead soup is officially over athough I was unable to comment on a lot of blogs, I did get to most of them.  There were some incredible pieces made and many I would have loved to add to my own collection!!

Now onto the next thing, I have a show on October 1 with Carrie Huber know as Plum in the Corner!  She has beautiful folk art home decor and I am so excited she accepted me to her show held 4 times a year in her home...she transforms her home into this gallery were you feel like you have to own at least one of everything!  You can check her out at http://www.carriehuber.com/home.aspx

I am working on my display and final product to take this week!  I can't wait to share pictures as the date gets closer!  :)

Happy Monday to all!

Bead Soup Reveal!!!!

Today is finally here...well it is here on the east coast anyway which means it is time for me too!  :)

This is my first year participating in bead soup and I was not sure what to expect...I waited for my partner and could not wait to find out who she was!  Her name is Mandy Williamson otherwise known as Mimi's Beading on facebook!  The best part, she lives halfway around the world from me!!  So, she is waiting almost an extra day to post about bead soup!

We both had to wait almost 5 weeks for our soup due to the mail system being so slow and I wasn't sure either of us would have time to create, but the mail came through and I received this from my partner.  I have to admit, she had me stumped!  I looked at it for several days trying to think what to do...should I be simple, should I be crazy, or should I just be myself?

Well, I did a little bit of all of it....I created a necklace, a funky bracelet, and earrings to match each one.  I almost managed to use a piece of everything she sent me.  I didn't quite get to the tiger larger beads but I did manage to use the rest with just adding czech glass black rounds and a little bit of "fur"...so here is what I did:

Necklace and Earrings:  I used her focal and pearls added the crystal she sent and the black czech I had on hand to create a simple but elegant necklace!  I wear a lot of brown and black in the fall, so this I plan to keep for me!  I added to the focal a vintaj arte metal heart and vintaj brass "believe" tag.  The earrings were made with her pearls and small vintaj black metal arte leaves.  I found this a simple way to make an otherwise ordinary outfit, outstanding!!  Perfect for girls night out!

For the second set, I did something I have never done before...make a gold piece and add fur to it to make fun and different!!  I used all the gold she sent me, added a gold chain, and linked in the gold and black beads for a 3 strand bracelet wrapped in a fun embellishment!  Perfect as a conversation piece!  I then made a matching pair of earrings!

BIG THANKS to Lori for putting this together and allowing all us "new" jewelry designers to participate!  I can't wait to read about all the others!!  Click the blog soup link above to read all the blogs today!

Bead Soup is almost here!!

It's hard to believe bead soup is almost here...my designs are done, my pictures are done, and I have my thoughts organized as to what to write...BUT....

What I am feeling is the feeling when you buy Christmas presents too early and wonder when it is close to Christmas thinking, will that person really like it?  Or when you think you have the perfect shirt only to put it on and not feel as confident as you thought you might.

I went WAY out of my box on this challenge.  For those of you that know me well, you know that I love czech beads, anything earthy, pewter, brass, and anything pottery!! 

I was sent pearls, gold, browns, and blacks...

So, believe it or not, I ended up and made 4 pieces with it!!  One set reminds me a little of halloween and the other set a glam night out...both are completely different and both are something I normally would probably not make and one thing is FAR out of my box!!

Why am I blogging today...because now that they are made and pictures are taken, that doubt is coming across my mind!!  A prep blog to all of you makes me feel better somehow!

Bead Soup

Last year I watched everyone participate in Bead Soup....so what is bead soup?  Bead soup is where you send a mix of beads to a person assigned to you and they take your "mix" and create it into something new!!

It sure looked like everyone had fun last year and some people received some really neat beads....sooo this year, I decided to jump in and play too!    My partner is Mandy Williamson all the way from Australia!  She is also known as Mimi's Beading on facebook. 

Mail to and from Australia is taking about 5 weeks....so I have been patiently waiting for my package to come and it finally arrived!!  Here is what I received!

I also sent her a package too and here is what I sent to her!!

 I sent her czech glass, a spirited earth focal from Nan Emmett, vintaj brass clasp, wood and bone beads, coral, glass, as well as a few misc ones. 

The fun part, she definitely took me out of my comfort zone with lots of crystal and gold which I don't normally create with and I think I took her out of hers with a focus more on earthy type beads.  Wanted to make sure I sent her something from a US artist and was excited to send her Nan's starfish...I mean, Australia is all surrounded by water, Right?

Networking

I am starting to figure out in the jewelry world there are several ways to network and get involved with others in the industry and outside the industry...

The first one is to enter contests!  I am currently involved in one right now through J Lynn Jewels on facebook!  Here is a link to her blog to vote and this contest continues through this week...she sent out tiles and asked us to create something with them!   http://jlynnjewels.blogspot.com/  I'd love a vote if you  have time!!  I am #15 and #16!

Another way is to interact with other jewelry artists...what is so fun about meeting them and getting involved is they are people I have watched from afar and have loved their creations and their artwork!  For the first time, I registered for Bead Soup http://networkedblogs.com/l653V.  I am excited to be a part of this bead exchange and create something with some bead soup!  :)

Something I have haven't done yet but is on my list is send in a few designs to magazines...but I feel I need a little more practice!  One day....

It's a New Day

So I have been saying I will do this for months, probably years, but today, I set up a new blog!

I am excited...there are so many things about my day I want to write on facebook and so little space...plus, I am not sure everyone wants to know just anything, so having a blog will be a good place to express!

 You will find all sorts of things out  here...from me, my kids, my jewelry experiences and maybe from time to time a political comment or two...this won't just be for business, but for life...

And guess what, every day is a new day with experiences to share...thank you for joining me on  It's a New Day!