Bead Trends

I kept waiting for February to announce that one of my wine bottle stoppers is featured in Bead Trend Magazine. Of course I took out the magazine just now so I could post the page and see that it was the January edition. SHEESH! Guess I'm a tad late. ;-)

Not sure if it's still on the newstands, but take a look if you get a chance. It's on page 46.

Another MRI??

To say I'm bummed is putting it mildly. My neck is finally starting to feel better, but still achy & stiff so I went for a series of trigger point injections today. While there, I mentioned to my neurologist that I've been having sharp burning pain in my left knee & numbness around the knee cap.

He examined it & doesn't feel it's arthritis. He thinks it's related to my lower back & ordered an MRI & EMG. I have an appointment for the EMG this Thursday. Now just need to wait for approval from my insurance company for the MRI. Funny thing is that my lower back doesn't really hurt me. Not sure which way to root....lower back or arthritis? I guess neither is too wonderful. I just want to live pain free! Is that so much to ask??

3rd Month Free With New ArtFire Pro Account!!

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Become an ArtFire Pro with this link and get your 3rd month free!

Beads of Courage

Let me just say that I've only been back on the torch recently after a 3 month hiatus following spine surgery. And, living in NY and it being WINTER, we've been hit by lots of snow and cold weather....not the ideal torching weather when your studio is in the garage as mine is.

When temps hit 40 the other day I decided to turn on the space heater and brave the cold. I turned on the kiln, lit the torch, but somehow it just was not my day. The kiln fairies must have been visiting someone else that day because it sure wasn't me. So instead of forcing things I decided to work on some butterflies for Beads of Courage (BOC)

For those unfamiliar with BOC, it's an amazing program for children coping with serious illnesses. If you want to see what it's all about and some of the children it's helping, watch this recent video broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning.

They collect all sorts of beads, but 2 in particular have special meaning. Purple hearts, which indicate the end of treatment and butterfly beads, which are given to parents who have lost a child.

Now back to beads....I have never made butterflies before, but decided it was time to test my creative skills in this area. Nothing else was working that day so I thought it would be a good day to attempt some butterflies. I am fairly pleased with my 1st attempt and will be sending these off to BOC (once they're cleaned of bead poop of course) along with some orphan beads that the kids might like.

Saw this on a friend's facebook page earlier and just had to share it here where it will be a permanent reminder of what life is all about.

Skeleton Key Beads Anyone?

 

So, I've only been back on the torch a couple of times since my surgery. I had a session or 2 of soft glass and then most recently I made some skeleton key beads that were tons of fun to make. A customer requested some for a necklace for herself. Once I got started I had such a good time that I just kept making more. :)

What do you think? Have a favorite? Maybe I'll make some more necklaces up too to sell once she selects her favorite. Oh and sorry for all the bead poop in the photo. All the keys are cleaned out nicely now. :)

Happy New Year!!

I've decided NOT to make any New Years resolutions this year. I always start out with good intentions, but after just a few short weeks or months (on those years when I'm particularly ambitious, I fall off the wagon. I'm not necessarily talking about dieting either, though that seems to be one of my most often used resolutions.

Rather than  set myself up for failure &/or disappointment, I've decided instead to list some of the many things I'm grateful for from the past year. It was a trying year for me, having gone through some medical issues and major spine surgery that knocked me out of commission for over 3 months. However, I am to the point where I feel that I'm over the hump and well on my way to recovery. I see a light at the end of the tunnel and it is beautiful and bright.

So, here is my gratitude list:

1. First and foremost, I have regained my health.
2. I have a wonderful husband and a very dear friend (you know who you are!) who got me through the past several months following my surgery. I am eternally grateful to you both.
3. I have a wonderful family and am fortunate to have my 89 year old mother in my life.
4. I have a sweet father-in-law that's always there for us.
5. I will have a daughter soon as my son and his beautiful girlfriend just got engaged.
6. I am grateful to my many customers who have purchased from me, allowing me to continue practicing my art.
7. I have 'met' and become friends with so many wonderful people across the globe thanks to the internet that I would not have met otherwise. Several of those have become close friends.
8. I'm fortunate to have a working studio, albeit small, where I can melt glass to my heart's content.
9. I have a roof over my head & food on the table.
10. I'm grateful for a new year ahead!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy & Healthy New Year with only good things for the coming year! Enjoy this special time with your families and loved ones. Stay safe and warm. 

 

I'm back!!!

After 3 months I finally got back on the torch last night. These beads are the result.Only 1 casualty and another that took a bath. Not too bad all things considered.

As you may or may not know, I had spine surgery back in September and have been unable to torch as a result. The Dr. gave me the go ahead to give it a try at my 1 month follow up, but something told me he didn't really understand what was involved. I was still wearing a cervical collar at that point, which kept my head and neck from moving at all, so the thought of trying to torch while hot glass could go flying didn't seem like the best idea since I couldn't move much.

Now that I don't have to wear a cervical collar any more, I decided to give it a try. Boy, was it FUN! I felt like a little kid. I made some of my "usual" beads (won't call them signature because I don't consider myself that accomplished yet) and then tried out some new techniques and an awesome new tool I had purchased. Life is good.

Bead Trends

OMG! I have been so bad about blogging, but had to share my good news. One of my skeleton key bead necklaces made it into the December issue of Bead Trends magazine. I've been reading this wonderful magazine since it's inception. I'm in love with their photography and am thrilled and honored that they chose to feature this piece.

I've been holding off saying anything until the issue was published, but I got my necklace back in the mail this week with 2 copies of the magazine so can now share the good news. Pick up a copy and let me know what you think.

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale!

Looking for a bargain? You don't need to leave the comfort of your home. From Friday, November 26 through Monday, November 29, 2010 I am having a 20% off sale in my ArtFire and Etsy shops. Use coupon code HAPPYTHANKSGIVING. If making multiple purchases from both shops, just message me and I'll combine shipping for you too. Happy shopping!

Breast Cancer Donation

October kind of snuck up on me and I didn't get a chance to make any breast cancer awareness beads, but these are pink, so they count. I ran a campaign to promote a portion of my ArtFire sales this past month to benefit the Susan G Komen Foundation. My husband and I also donated to Race for the Cure in memory of our son's girlfriend's mom, who lost her battle to breast cancer at a young age.

Well, I wish it could've been more, but sales were really down for me this past month. Here's a copy of my receipt though I had to delete my personal info so couldn't copy and paste it verbatim.

November 4, 2010

Mrs. Lea Avroch

Dear Mrs. Avroch, 

Thank you so much for your generous contribution of $5.00 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.  Your support is hard at work bringing us closer to our promise of saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

With nearly $1.5 billion invested to date, we are the world's single largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to confronting breast cancer at every stage. In fact, since we started in 1982, practically every advance in the fight against breast cancer has been touched in some way by a Susan G. Komen for the Cure grant.

With friends like you, along with survivors, activists, and supporters in more than 120 U.S. locations and a growing number of international cities and countries, we are literally making an impact and helping save millions of lives around the world.

Again thank you for your generous donation and for your commitment to our steadfast promise to end breast cancer forever.

Sincerely,

Amb. Nancy G. Brinker

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

komen.org | privacy policy For breast health or breast cancer information call: 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636) © 2010 Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Check out my new banners!!!

I am SO challenged when it comes to banners, but thanks to a good friend, Scott Bjorge, an amazing graphic designer and jewelry artist, I finally have banners for my Etsy shop, my ArtFire bead shop and my ArtFire Destash shop. I won't bore you with them all here, but feel free to click on my links to see his work.

Scott was amazing to work with. I gave him a general idea of what I wanted and he was able to hone in on the look that I was going for. Actually his banners give such a professional look to my shops that I'm not sure my beads will live to them. And did I mention that he also designed new business cards for me??

You can contact Scott on Facebook or message me here, on Facebook or any of my shops if you want more info.

Scott, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're an amazing artist and friend!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I am donating 20% of all sales from my ArtFire shop this month to Susan G. Komen For the Cure. This is a charity that is near and dear to my heart and I'll be adding new listings as the month goes on. 

My son, Justin and his girlfriend, Sara are also participating in Making Strides in memory of Sara's mother Gail. Please visit Team Gail's page to read all about Gail Finkelstein, a beloved mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend and teacher lost her life to breast cancer.

I Don't know How It Happened!!

I started out making jewelry innocently over 10 years ago. My love of all things sparkly soon took over and before long my "jewelry studio" looked like this.....

This USED to be my desk. 

The dresser is filled with more beads. The bottom drawer, that's now broken, is filled to the brim with pearls. The rest is miscellaneous. Gotta love miscellaneous. hehe!

 

These bins are filled with gemstones, sterling, gold-filled, etc. (LOTS of etc.!)

See, the thinking behind all this "stuff" is that you never know when you might need something. The trouble is that I stopped being able to find anything long ago and so just kept buying MORE! And, these days, though I still love making jewelry, my focus is on making beads. Where to put all the beads???

As much as I'd love nothing more than to open a bead shop, hubby doesn't care for the idea of getting further into debt, so sadly I must part with some of them. I've therefore opened up a 2nd ArtFire shop, LAJewelryDesingsDestash for destashing some of my beads and findings. I'm slowly stocking it so please bookmark it and keep checking back. I'll be uploading new listings to my facebook page so please friend me if you haven't already done so.

Calling All Jewelry Artists!!!

The Fire Divas are hosting their quarterly jewelry challenge. The theme for this one is The Holiday Season so really anything goes. And we want to help you celebrate. Some of our members have donated very generous prizes, approximately $250 in artisan lampwork beads! Gotta love this group!

Check out the Diva Blog for details. Entries are due no later than 10/15/10 so don't delay! Here's a sneak peak of the fabulous prizes:

http://www.twoglassyladies.ca

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanelDudleyBeads

http://www.arensea.etsy.com

http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com

http://www.artfire.com/users/BabsBeadsandDesign

http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com
or http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com

http://www.hollysfolly.com

http://www.lutrick.artfire.com

Owl bead from http://www.maybeads.etsy.com

http://www.emakaye.etsy.com

http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com

Go Pro With ArtFire for $5.95!!!

ArtFire is about to exit from their beta status & is offering $5.95 per month memberships to the 1st 20,000 people that sign up. I already have an AF shop, but I've elected to sign up for another one so that I can have 1 be Certified Handmade Artisan, which means that everything in that shop, LAJewelryDesigns, will get the recognition that 100% of the items in that shop is made by hand by me!

The new shop which I just opened, LAJewelryDesignsDestash, will be reserved for destash items from my jewelry making days. One look in my basement will tell you that there's LOTS of destash items coming! But don't delay! Once those 20,000 spots are filled, that's it! ArtFire only announced this new pricing opportunity a few days ago and over 4,000 of them are gone already. Check out their Group Deal for the specifics and to sign up!

Some More CIM Color Testing

Jsut 2 more test beads to share today. This is one of my favorite beads to come out of the testing process so far...DH Psyche over Stone Ground Unique.

It seems to have just as much of a reaction as DH Psyche over Canyon De Chelly:

Glass Color Testing

I did some color testing for CIM (Creation Is Messy) this week. Love the name of this glass! Makes me giggle! & I love the glass! It melts so smoothly, not runny like a lot of the other 104 COE glass. I was sent a bunch of different glass rods to test. With my upcoming surgery, I only had time to test a few but here are my results so far. Click on the links below to view beads made by other testers as well.

Unique Mermaid - Mermaid Unique base w/stripes of adamantium, over which I layed down psyche & gaia & then swirled them. It seems that the psyche spread out over the admentium completely covering it as it's hardly visible at all. & I was unable to get the DH colors to strike much. I also was a bit surprised to see the red in there on the left. I may have over heated it a bit. I also wanted to note that I really love this color, but it did boil a bit when 1st heated. Then if you heat it a bit more, it all melts in smoothly.

Unique Adamantium - adamantium unique w/DSP shards. I was dissappointed that the silk like quality was lost when melted. Then again, I also melted the shards in all the way so difficult to see the contrast. Adamantium just looks like a med. gray under the shards.

Unique Sepia - Sepia Unique w/DSP shards. It's interesting that the sepia on it's own as a base remained very close to the rod color, maybe a bit more gray whereas in the 2nd bead where it was used over stoneground, it took on more of a pale brown tone.

Unique Butter Pecan - the base I used was butter pecan unique with psyche & gaia over it. it was very hard to get the colors to strike so just looks kind of muddy. I tried to add a swipe of color to the top because it needed more glass there, but I picked up the adamentium by mistake which is why you see the gray, while the rest of the base looks more ivory.

Do All Artists suffer from ADD??

Today I had a plan. As soon as the temps went below 90, I would go outside and work on testing for CIM (Creation Is Messy). CIM, for non-glass folks is a glass company that produces fabulous glass rods in 104 COE (coefficient of expansion) in dozens and dozens of yummy colors, many of which are not available from other glass companies.

My testing glass, all 2.5 lbs. of it, arrived earlier today so I was gung ho on getting on the torch to play. Well, by the time the temps were low enough to torch I had thought of some other things I wanted to work on. I had wanted to make something special for a dear friend. Then I eyed my leaf press & decided with fall around the corner, wouldn't it be fun to make a nice set of leaves? And truthfully, I no longer remember what else is in there, except that I did manage play a bit with the CIM glass (oh so beautiful!) & hopefully tomorrow morning when I open the kiln I will be rewarded with some lovely beads!

First Beads Made On My New Torch!

I have to say that I am loving my new torch! I hadn't torched in several weeks so when I finally got it hooked up, I sat there & couldn't think of what to make so I played around a bit with some fabulous murrini I got from Janel Dudley. They are so realistic, don't you think? I mean the murrini, not the beads necessarily. ;-) then I made several of my 'signature' beads since there's no thinking for me on those any more. And this is what came out of the kiln earlier today.

My second batch is in there soaking right now. Hope the kiln fairies are good to me tomorrow morning. :-)

Torch Envy

Every lampworker and glass blower out there understands this phenomenon. Well, I got an e-mail today to say that my brand new torch has shipped! A Scorpion! YAY!! This is the newest torch made by GTT. It has the standard 5 inner jets of the Cricket and an additional 8 outer jets and is supposed to work great on concentrators. I can't wait to fire it up!

Here's a photo of the torch I started on, a Nortel Minor. I was so excited (and a wee bit scared) when I got it after taking a lampwork class. I was so afraid to fire it up, but boy how I loved it! Sorry for the stock photo, but I no longer have a photo of it.

 I then advanced to a Knight Bullet Burner, which I bought after taking a boro class. I thoroughly enjoyed the class & seeing all the color variations I can get from the various glass rods, those wonderful hazy, smoky yet bright colors & knew that my minor would take forever trying to melt the glass.

Please excuse the messy workspace, but that's how it normally looks, actually not too bad. ;-) I've loved the heat & power of this "Big Girl Torch", but have been somewhat frustrated at times that I haven't been able to attain the beautiful colors out of boro at times that I feel I should. Mainly because instead of using tanked oxygen I use 2 concentrators. But that's supposed to be the Scorpion's forte. So I will be stalking the mailman till that torch gets here. Stay tuned for (hopefully) some wonderful boro beads from me. :-)

I NEED Airconditioning!!!

Not really,,,but the heat just got to me this week.

The other day, as some of you know, my car battery died just when I was leaving Marshall's. The all too familiar tick, tick tick when turning on the ignition alerted me to a problem. I called hubby to come get me, which he soon did with jumper cables in hand. We then proceeded to search for the battery under his hood, which was hiding for some reason. He has an old Jaguar. I kid you not! Neither of us were able to find it.

So off we went, back home (cause I didn't want to stay by myself in a dark parking lot after hours) to get my son's SUV and back to give my car a boost. We managed to get the car started that time.

Yesterday I decided to take a mental health day. I decided it was too nice a day to spend it at the garage so I torched instead. I had the best time & will post pics in a day or 2 of the new beads I made. A fellow lampworker generously posted a wonderful tutorial which I had lots of fun playing with.

So, today, hubby took me for a new battery, but of course the car needed some other things so we wound up leaving it there. Upon my return I called to make an appointment for some scans for my mom. Lo & behold, they had an opening today! Which was good & bad! Good, because I had a free day. Bad, because the only car at my disposal was my son's SUV & the airconditioning isn't working in that car. :-(

With temps nearing 90, high humidity and a BLACK truck no less, I headed out to get my mother. Just as we got there, we hit a downpour. I then realized that my mom's handicap sticker was in my car at the garage. Thankfully a volunteer was dropping someone off when we pulled up & she let me use it for my mother.

Several hours later, with the scans all done, I drove my mom home & then came home to collapse. I took the longest shower I could before the hot water ran out. I feel ALMOST human. I NEED airconditioning!

EtsyTwitter Shop of the Week - Crochetgal

ETT's shop of the week is crochetgal who offers crocheted wearable art and specialty yarns, as well as display mannequins. Valerie, the crochet talent and proprietor, also sells handcrafted soap dishes made in her family's woodshop!

Valerie is the sole designer and creator of crochetgal's crocheted offerings. She crochets each item with meticulous detail and is equally committed to customer service. She is inspired by "almost anything" she says, "from an interesting piece of material to a shape to a color". Valerie loves the flexibility and change possible with her craft as she explores various methods in detail. She says, "Right now I'm in my 'exploded lace' period with the crochet and have been there for about 3 years, but I see that direction changing within the next 2 years."

Valerie takes her business very seriously by setting both short and long-term goals. Initially, she defined a 5-year plan to make the business 'work' and provide an income. Her next 2-year plan was to double the size of the business. Her current 2-year plan is to double the volume of each year's business over the previous year. "It's ambitious, but without a goal in mind, a business cannot flourish."

A great deal of energy is spent during the Winter shows. She spends her summer planning her strategy...and relaxing while she can! In her spare moments she likes to tweet. Her emphasis is to interact with other people using Twitter, rather than posting continuous links.



crochetgal is celebrating
Christmas in July with
20% off all shawls
20% off a wide range of yarns,
(some yarns are net 65% off reg retail price!)
~~~~~~~
Etsy shop - crochetgal.etsy.com
Confessions of a Yarnaholic Blog - crochetgals.blogspot.com
Twitter - twitter.com/crochetgal

EtsyTwitter Shop of the Week: SmutopiaI

I had a great time perusing "Smu's" Etsy shop today. I love her beach themed jewelry in particular. Check out Jessica Smutek's etsy shop for more beautiful one of a kind creations. She likes to trade and take custom orders & she's offering a Super Summer free shipping sale! Good to know! :-)

Are You Feeling Lucky?

I am! I just joined a new etsy team (new for me that is), EtsyTwitter and am very excited! It's a big, fun group made up of many talented etsyans. This week's Shop of the Week is SalonDArte. It's their 1 year anniversary and they are celebrating by offering Christmas in July specials all month long.

Tuesday's Treasures - Lune Artisan Jewelry

This week I'm featuring a fabulous jewelry artisan, Keirsten Giles. Keirsten has some beautiful pieces for sale in her shops on etsy and artfire including these:

Let's get to know Keirsten better....

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?
Well, of course there isn't just one thing, but what pops into my mind right away today is that I usually "march to my own drummer", i.e., I pay the most attention to my own "inner voice" (or I try to) for every decision I make, and this is becoming more and more the case as I get older. If something doesn't feel right, or I think it will divert me from a direction I am wanting to go, I don't do it. (Or at least I don't do it for very long!) Oddly enough this has always been something I've had to work at; my inner voice is often kind of quiet and hard to distinguish from other influences.

2. What role does your family play in your art?
My boyfriend is my best cheerleader--he lets me know regularly that he's proud of my work and what I'm doing to market and sell it, and he's willing to help with whatever I need. My mom is one of my best customers, and she and my stepdad let me know all the time that they believe in me and love my work. It's a great confidence booster to know they're behind me. They even bought me my first Dremel!

3. Where do you live and what is it like?
I live in a small resort town in northwest Montana called Whitefish; it's surrounded by towering mountains, glacial lakes and endless green. The lifestyle is pretty laid back, and most people come here for the lifestyle and scenery. Our summer playground is Flathead Lake, which is about an hour south of Whitefish by car. We try to spend as many weekends there on our boat as we can. We live extremely simply, in a very small house that keeps us from accumulating a bunch of useless crap, and we like that. I love small houses.

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught?
Couple years ago I was frustrated that I couldn't find the kind of jewelry I wanted to wear. It seemed that everything I found was characterless and mass produced. I started making some pieces for myself and quickly realized I didn't know what I was doing. I signed up for Tammy Powley's email "Crash Course" in jewelry making on about.com, and started practicing those techniques. I found other instructions here and there online too. I found I really liked it, and had a lot of ideas. Too many ideas for just me to wear, so I decided to give it a go selling it and took the plunge in December of 2008, designing a little collection of pieces and opening shops on Etsy and ArtFire. Every technique I use I have learned either from online instructions, looking at other people's jewelry, or occasionally video tutorials.

5. How long have you been working at your craft?
Well, I'd been dabbling in jewelry making for about a year before I decided to get serious at the end of 2008. So I guess it's been about two and-a-half years.

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general?
Oh, everywhere. Nature of course--that's really plentiful around here. But sometimes I'll see somebody wearing an outfit and I'll love the color palette; or a plateful of colorful food will inspire me; or a building, or an oily puddle, or a photograph, or even a feeling I want to capture. I once designed a necklace around the carpet at the gym where I work out.

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Well, I'm kind of a practical sort with an analytical bent, so my advice would be to research the crap out of the practical aspects of whatever you want to do. If you are hoping to make money at it, or at least practice your art without it being a financial drain, figure out how you're going to make it work. Is there a market for your art? Where is it? How much does your art cost to make? Can you get your money back out of it? How long will that take? Do you have the cash to invest in it? Can you afford to spend that cash right now? How much time can you give it right now (not just the creating part, but the selling/business part too) based on your other commitments? Scale it appropriately to where you are in life; starting small is OK--just get your bearings, and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Treat it as reconnaissance! A little intelligence gathering sortie--and if it snowballs into a full-fledged business, well, right on!! Talk to other artists, find out what this kind of commitment entails. Choose a selling venue that suits your personality, and when you're confident with that, start pushing your boundaries. "Follow your heart" and all that is fine advice, definitely do that, but frankly your heart is going to need help with things like pricing, marketing and record keeping.

8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on?

Tools. 

Check out Keirsten's work at the links below:

ArtFire

Etsy

Blog