Every time I think I am finally going to be able to stay on the blogging bandwagon something happens... illness, family crisis, or in this case... the war between my netbook and I. My netbook's name is Morrigan (yes, that Morrigan... also called Morgan le Fay), apparently naming her that over two years ago was a mistake because boy does she have a bad attitude ;). The good news is I had a friend help me out and she seems to be mollified for the moment, though I believe a new computer is inevitable *sigh*.
Anyway! I had planned on writing out a happy little post with my first of two (or maybe even three) giveaways celebrating my one year shop anniversary over a week ago! I am so behind thanks to Morrigan *grumbles*. So, on to the giveaway! I will be giving away this lovely wrap bracelet to one lucky winner:
I will also be giving away this set of four bracelets (seed bead fun :) ) to a second lucky winner:
All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment and tell me... your favorite thing about May :) (oh and PLEASE leave my your email address unless you use blogger and have email turned on already, otherwise I can't contact you to tell you you have won! :) ). For a second/third/etc entry share this giveaway on FB, Twitter, or your blog (make sure to leave separate comments for each entry leaving me a link :) ). I will draw the two winners next Tuesday (May 29th)! I am also having a sale for my FB fans, so go check out my FB page for the coupon code :).
And on to other news... here are some of the things I've been working on :)
Where have I been? Here, I swear it. But I have been a very naughty blogger. It isn't that I didn't want to talk to you, I promise. It is more that I am a wee bit overwhelmed with life in general and it has me blinking sleepily at my screen often these days. A large part of it is... *looks around anxiously, then at you earnestly* I am itchy. I have been itchy for about a year now. And sometimes it is worse than others... the last couple of weeks it has been a bit much. I have discovered new allergies *wince* thanks to my wonderful dermatologist. Hopefully removing these allergens as much as possible from my environment will help my skin calm down :).
I promised you an inspirational lady and I will fulfill that promise, but she's been a bit busy herself the last while. So for now, I am going to share some of my current favorite things... things I am wistfully sighing over ;)
This is from the wonderful Erin of Tesori Trovati... I love to write, someday I hope to be published! My wonderfully talented friend Marjorie and I have been writing together for four years now... so this pendant of Erin's just made me gasp with delight:
Click on the pic to go to the listing :)
I also love to dance... though just for fun, I'm not trained or anything lol. And I love this gorgeous piece by my dear friend Janice over at JLynn Jewels:
Click on the pic to go to the listing
As some of you know, I've become enamored with dolls again... I collected dolls for many years (my first "special" doll was given to me when I was about 8) but stopped in college (lack of space...). I decided to combine my loves for making jewelry and dolls... and am making jewelry for dolls lol. I have started making friends with the wonderful Blythe community and found some incredibly gifted people through it. One of these is the amazing Cindy Sowers, she customizes dolls (new hair, face carving, face ups etc), sews the tiny costumes, and even makes wonderful hats! I fell in love with this gorgeous dress she made...
Click on the pic to check it out :)
Another shop I just love to stare at is Mab Graves'... it is the most deliciously, eerily, charmingly beautiful shop I've ever been in. Truly. I am currently eyeing about twenty things in her shop, bemoaning many that sold already... here is one of her prints I'm fond of:
Click on the pic to check it out :)
The details on everything she does are incredible, she makes the tiniest paintings you can imagine for cameos too, using an itty bitty paintbrush!
And the last one is... this gorgeous pendant from the sweet and kind Yoli of Yolanda's Clay:
Click on the pic for more information and to check out her amazing shop :)
Ok, dear friends, I have little girls who are late to bed, I will hopefully have my special beautiful soul up next week for you all! Have a beautiful weekend :)
If you are searching for my Challenge of Music post, go HERE
I have to say, I wasn't certain if I was going to be able to pull everything together in time for this one! I was not counting on my entire family (including yours truly lol) being sick off and on for over two weeks! But, somehow, I did it! :) I didn't quite use up all of the incredible bead soup my sweet partner Kari Carrigan of Wee Gems and Charmed Pennies sent me, which you can view HERE, but I made a good effort! And things are still swirling about in my head what to do with the last bits!
My biggest challenge this time around was... which focal to start with?? Kari was so incredibly generous and I had so many possibilities that it was hard to choose where to begin! But after sleeping on it one night, I woke up the next morning with an idea... I pulled out the sweet little acorn that she had made and stared at it. Then I began pulling things from my stash, faceted pale blue jade, czech crystals, stainless steel chain... and finally Marsha Neal Studio silks. Here is what I came up with and I personally LOVE it, I have already worn it a few times (I couldn't resist).
It's really long, the longest necklace I have ever worn and I love it! The next piece that I came up with was another necklace, I could not resist the "J" pendant... it made me think of something from the Regency period. So I set out to make something with a vintage flair...
And came up with this :) Simple but a bit sparkly, elegant, I think it will be perfect for an evening out!
Then it took me time to decide what to do with those gorgeous Charmed Pennies she sent me... Of course the logical thing to do was make necklaces, right? But no, I had done two already.. and this was supposed to be a challenge... hmm... then one day it hit me... I remembered seeing the wonderful Rebecca Anderson of Songbead had done really cool little bangles! Now hmm, I didn't have pre-made bangles... but I did have some fabulous 14g Fallen Angel Brass wire. I'm one of those, if I don't have it I will try to find a way to make it myself girls these days! I also didn't have a bracelet mandrel which presented another problem, so the first try (the red one) I simply made to fit my own (rather small) wrist by simply bending and shaping the wire around my wrist. After I finished I thought, hm, well, that's alright... but I bet I could find a better way... and I stared at that coil of 14g wire for a while and then it hit me! The wire was already coiled to the perfect bangle size! I tried to fit my hand through a loop and it was no problem! I was giddy! So, I quickly whipped up two more bangles for the last two pendants and was pleased as punch!
And the last that I have to show you I made with the incredible lampwork beads Kari gave me, they are so very beautiful!!!
Please excuse the pics if they are a bit off, it was icy out and my fingers were cold LOL. Ok, ok, I know you all have a ton of other hopping to do , so I'll close up for now by saying, my son's birthday was yesterday and I'm having a sale in my shop (20% off anything except Blythe jewelry) using the code: BIRTHDAY Also, I am giving away the gorgeous earrings above to a lucky person who comments (by random number generator but you MUST leave me an email to contact you at, otherwise I will have to redraw!). I will announce the winner on my birthday, March 26th :). Make sure you visit my partner Kari's blog to see what she did with what I sent her! http://weegemsdesigns.blogspot.com/
Thank you so so much, Lori, for making this blog hop possible, for having this amazing idea.. and for bringing us all together as a creative community!! You ROCK!
I had to take Linky thing out LOL it was driving everyone nuts! Here is the list instead:
I had the most amazing musical experience on the first of this month, I went to a little "pop-up" concert by Ingrid Michaelson in Portland (Oregon, for those of you who don't follow my blog :)). I have always thought her a good artist, have always enjoyed her music, thought her voice beautiful... but I have to tell you... there is absolutely no comparison to her live. Watching her interact with her audience, listening to her tell us about her music, catching glimpses into her sweet and warm and funny personality all made me adore her. But the truly spell-bounding moments were when she sang, her voice is so pure, her emotion so real you feel as if you can grasp it in your hands as it winds around your soul. Even singing lighter, more upbeat songs, her voice is so beautiful it just captures you. I cannot for the life of me remember the last evening I enjoyed that way, I was about ten to fifteen feet from her the entire concert and it was incredible.
Every piece was amazing, but the song that pierced me to the quick was "I'm Through." She confided that we were the first group to ever hear it live and told us in her own words what the song meant. She told us it was about trying to move on, going out with someone for the first time after losing someone you loved very deeply. And the new person is really wonderful and ordinarily you might really like them, but you are still too broken over your previous relationship. When she began singing, it was just her on the keyboard, I was overcome by the beauty of the music and her voice... and the sadness. Yet there wasn't just sadness, there was the bitter-sweetness of a relationship that was life changing. There is even a hint of hope, or more correctly, a knowledge that it won't always be so difficult. That moving on will happen, but when you are ready, in your own time. Here are the lyrics, courtesy her official website:
I'm going out again tonight
the first time in the longest time
he holds the door and holds my hand
but doesn't feel like you
we laugh at all the people in
the restaurant across from us
he talks a lot but not too much
but doesn't sound like you
it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through
I know there'll come a time again
when everything will fit right in
and I won't have to see your face
in strangers on the street
but I would rather feel the sting
than never to have felt a thing
I'll always know that you were the one
to rip me from the ground
it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through
it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through
I did manage to take a video of her on my ipod at the concert I went to, but the quality is wanting. But I did manage to find another video on youtube of her singing it at the pop-up in Seattle! Here it is:
And now, finally, here is my piece inspired by this incredible song and the lady who performed it:
The picture came out brighter than it really is, the sari silk is actually a deep navy blue. I wanted the whole piece to be rich and moody and slightly tattered feeling which is why all of the metal is Fallen Angel Brass. I chose this amazing pendant from Marsha Neal Studio that I have been hoarding, I love the way it's glazed dark and smoky blues, greys, and browns and looks distressed. To me it represents the fact that the love had before was beautiful, as she says, she would have rather had it than not... better to have loved and lost. I used grey fire agate, dark faceted sapphire rounds and a single grey glass pearl. That pearl is that knowledge that someday it won't be as painful, that life can be good again when the time is right.
I'm through...
Thank you so much, Erin, for hosting this amazing challenge, I have loved every single moment! I hope you will take the time to visit all of the other participants on this wonderful ride of a challenge!
I love music. Music has always been such an enormous part of my life. My earliest memories are of dancing with my mom when I was around four years old, to songs like "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson and "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" by Wham... My first crush was on the incredible David Bowie as Jareth in the Labyrinth, I blame his voice. Even now I can't help but love that movie... and him ;). I can tell you what I was listening to in order to get through some of the most difficult times in my life... and which songs for some of the most joyful.
I don't discriminate, I love so many kinds of music! And I am always eager to hear new songs and learn about new styles of music, new artists, new songs! I find that, for me, the perfect music always seems to arrive at just the right time. When my Grandma Ruby died freshman year of high school? It was Backstreet Boys, and I am not ashamed to admit it, their harmonies and light melodies kept me feeling light, helped me survive the trip south and staying nights in her house without crying nonstop. When my Great-grandmother Madeline died in 2003, I was in college, I was listening to a mix of Evanescence, OTR (an a capella group based at the UO that I was friends with), John Mayer, and Miles Davis.
Happier moments... singing along to Bing Crosby music on Christmas Eve with my dad... we did it every year he was home. One of my absolute favorite memories. Singing "He Loves Me, He Loves You Not," (ok ok and dancing..) in a group of girlfriends for the school talent show my senior year was nerve wracking, but fun. I can likely name several songs from every dance I went to in middle school and high school, but I won't. One of the ones I remember best was arm in arm in an enormous circle with my fellow classmates at my Senior Prom singing altogether, Vitamin C's "Graduation". First song that was Eli and mine? "Kiss the Rain" by Billie Meyers... our first dance as a married couple was to Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss to Build a Dream On..." I adore that song. First song I sang to Addy as a lullaby? "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes". Julie's favorite band as a baby? Paramore, go figure. Toby loves just about everything, but the kid can't go to sleep without me singing "MacCrimmon's Lament".
There's a wonderful English version of it, that I'm going to have to purchase so I can learn the words better (the version I have is all in Gaelic, which I don't speak, though I wish I did!).
So... what does this have to do with my work? A lot, actually. I listen to music almost constantly, so chances are? A piece I have created was influenced by a song... a lyric... an album... something. One of the latest pieces I did is called "Rose Kissed", I have to admit to being a sucker for Taylor Swift. She is so cute and her songs are just... captivating. Her latest single "Ours" inspired this piece which features the most amazing focal by Diana of Suburban Girl Studio:
I love the chorus: "Don't you worry your pretty little mind/ people throw rocks at things that shine/ and life makes love work hard/ stakes are high/ the water's rough/ but this love is ours". Plenty of Fallen Angel Brass, sweet freshwater pearls, and soft sari silk ribbon from GoldenOneToo on Etsy give a sweet, though slightly roughened look to this piece. I love it :).
I think I have been thinking about music like this because Erin's Challenge of Music is coming up! I finished my piece and now just need to do my write up :). The piece was both easy and difficult for me, but I think in the end, it turned out just right. I am so excited to show everyone, the reveal is on the 29th. Also, don't forget, the Bead Soup Party reveal is on March 3rd. I have been working on that one too and am also excited! I will be having a giveaway on my blog for that one, so don't miss out.
I'm recovering from the worst flu I've had in years, so if this post was a bit scattered... blame it on that ;). I hope you are having a great week!
As any of you who caught my last post know, I was totally shocked and excited to find that I was one of the winners of the Artisan Group Giveaway. If you missed my last post, please check it out :) I met some amazing artisans! The last of my goodies hadn't arrived when I wrote the post, but it arrived a couple of days later and oh! It is so wonderful! It is a positively stunning leather wrap bracelet by Julicia of Julicia's Creations! I am in love :) She makes them custom and it fits so so perfectly! My kids are totally thrilled that I get to wear their names around for everyone to see LOL.
Now, what have I been up to? Trying to create a lot more beautiful pieces to go up into the store in preparation for the coming holidays! That's right, they are cooooooooming! I LOVE Christmas, so I am excited! I made I think it was six? Pieces this last weekend? I was hoping to make more, but it was a bit nutty in my house. (I blame the littles... always their fault ;) ) Here are the new pretties I put up this morning, featuring... Fallen Angel Brass! Are you shocked? I'm sure you are *wink*. The first up is my personal favorite earrings ever I think... I call them "Gypsy Soul"
Next up are two winter-y pieces I am dubbing the Snow Princess collection :) I love snowflakes, I think they are just amazing and beautiful:
And the wrap that features the most stunning silk ribbon from Mudhound Studios on Etsy... maybe my favorite ribbon ever!
What do you guys think? I am pretty pleased :) I love all the sparkle! These three are up in the shop now! Click on the pics to go see the listing with even more fabulous pics. :D I'll have even more fun and fabulous things up later this week! I have another set of sparkly earrings and a new lariat ready to be photographed!
My beautiful eldest daughter just went on her very first field trip on Friday (my husband got to go!) they went to the pumpkin patch :) They had an absolutely amazing time and she brought home a very cute pumpkin lol. I'm hoping we'll be able to take the others to pick out pumpkins sometime this week! (before Halloween would be optimal LOL) What are you all up to this week? Anything fun? Hope it is a fantastic one!
