EB Bead and Metal Works

Being Sick Not Fun

2012-02-09T12:53:00.002-05:00

This is me right now! I feel like death warmed over but I am at work because I have some things that have to get done. All I can think of right now are my PJ's, NyQuil and my bed.

Nothing has gotten done this week. I get off work, go home, take NyQuil and fall asleep while watching Morgan Freeman's "Through the Wormhole." I make it through one episode and the next thing I know it is about 7pm and I head to the bed where I don't move until the alarm goes off at 5:30 the next morning.

I HATE BEING SICK!!!

Mom at least hasn't gotten what I have and I have my fingers crossed she won't. I have my fingers crossed that I am feeling better this weekend and I can work on sawing and enameling.

I hope you all feel better than I do!!!

Taxes, Gift Certificate Drawing, Etsy Listings

2012-02-05T15:08:00.004-05:00

Well, I think we are ready for our tax preparer next week. Mom finished up the last of the paperwork this morning. We also finished sending our photos and profile to a juried show this morning. Mom also got all the paperwork straitened out for the rest of the shows for this year, a total of seven shows.

We had our gift certificate drawing this morning and the winners were announced. If you want to see Zola and Lily picking out names head over here.

I then worked on posting pieces on Etsy.

Enameled Copper Pendants:

Bumble Bee Pendant

Flower Pendant

Square pendants - components for jewelry

Lampwork Bead Set:

Water's Edge Lampwork Beads

Tree of Life Pendants:

White Pearls, Red Hearts and Silver Colored Copper Wire

Pink Czech, Purple Heart Beads and Gunmetal/Silver
Colored Copper Wire

Red Chinese Glass Beads with Gunmetal/Silver Colored Copper Wire

I think mom and I are done for the day. Just ate some lunch/dinner and I am going to head home and sit on the couch and work on knitting (though just vegging and watching "How the Earth Was Made" sounds much better).

Gift Certificate Winners

2012-02-05T11:14:00.000-05:00

Today was the drawing for the NOVICA gift certificate winners. As you see from the image above I typed the names up and then printed them off.

Names are cut out.

Names are folded up and placed in a bowl.

Zola patiently waiting to pick out the names. Of course our helper ran away so we had to bring in a ringer.

Lily looking at me asking what I am suppose to do now.

Lily starting to pick the names. But wait...she came back.

Zola wanted to get into the fun and pushed Lily away.

Lily pawing out a name.

One name is pawed out and the other is in Zola's mouth.

Both Lily and Zola checking out the first name - Carol D.

Second name, once I got it out of Zola's mouth - Skye.

Winners of the two gift certificates from NOVICA. If you both could send us your email addresses we will send you the information to claim your gift certificates.

Thank you everyone for playing!!!!

Bead Table Wednesday and Giveaway Reminder

2012-02-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

It is a Bead Table Wednesday the first in a long time and the first in the New Year. If you would like to see what is on everyone's table head on over to the BTW Flickr site.

Here is what is out on our table in the garage.

Mom is working on making more Tree of Life pendants to be posted out on our Etsy site.

This is the completed pendant that I need to take photos of and get posted. Mom used silver and gunmetal Parawire and red beads (not sure if they are pearls or not - gotta ask mom).

This is the one mom is working on. It is silver colored copper wire with pearls and heart shaped beads.

Mom has this laid out waiting to be completed. Purple heart beads and pearls.

This past weekend I enameled these two large bees. After the last firing and cooling I went to take them off the trivets and the antenna's cracked. I told mom if I can't get them fixed, by torching them, we AREN'T DOING Antenna's AGAIN!!!

This is a close up of the cracked antenna. I did work on torching them tonight. I wasn't able to salvage this bee but I was able to fix the other one. I just need to take photos of it and post it out on Etsy.

This is what is on my torching table. I had a request from a customer if I could make a certain color bead and I have been playing with glass and frit. We have figured out what glass and frit to use and now I just need to make up the beads. I had a lot of fun trying new glass with different frit. I did actually write down the glass color and frit combo so I can make those beads again in the future.

Just a reminder that mom and I are having a gift certificate giveaway for NOVICA. To learn more about it and to leave a comment to have a chance to win head over here.

I hope you have a wonderful Bead Table Wednesday!

Gift Certificate Giveaway

2012-01-30T18:15:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we were approached by a representative of NOVICAto write a review of their website. NOVICAoffered us a $75 gift certificate to purchase something from one of their globalartisans and then write a review. Momdeclined the gift certificate but purchased something on her own to provide anunbiased review.

National Geographic is an investor in NOVICA, as is theWorld Bank, and the Grassroots Business Fund. NOVICA’s mission is to helppreserve traditional crafts that have been disappearing in many corners of theworld.

NOVICA does not charge artists fees for listing items on thewebsite. Artists remain fullyindependent to raise their prices, lower their prices, or remove items from thewebsite.

NOVICA has the first-ever microfinance website wherecustomers can purchase products and lend money directly to artisans with loansat 0% interest! This concept is possibledue to the presence of NOVICA offices in each of the serviced regions. Theseregional offices distribute customer orders and serve as disbursement centersfor artisan loans. Mom has requested thatNOVICA investigate the possibility of extending the offer of 0% interest loansto American artisans and representing them on the website. She also suggested that NOVICA strike up analliance with Women for Women International. She thinks it would be a good partnership. If you haven’t heard about Women for Women, givethem a look see. Mom has been a sponsorof an Afghanistan woman for the last year.

Mom visited the NOVICA website and found it well planned,informative (photos, testimonials, etc.), very user friendly and full ofbeautiful treasures. She looked atEVERYTHING before making a selection – home décor, jewelry, apparel and paintings. Checking out was a breeze with severalpayment options. Email confirmation ofthe sale was immediate and status emails followed. Delivery was prompt and the package was verywell wrapped for safe shipping. Afteropening the package, the presentation was very nice.

The package was wrapped inspecial paper with a lovely ribbon. Includedwas a post card with Greetings from Ghana to give Mom a bit of flavor of thearea where her artisan hails. On theflip side of the post card is a personal handwritten message in the nativelanguage (with an English translation). There was a small note card with Kwabena Kufuor Afriyie-Addo Jr.’s artiststatement and an explanation of the meaning of her purchase called Long Cool Drink.

The batik wall hanging is signed by K. Baka. It is 100% cotton using all natural dyes anddry cleaning is recommended. Mom is thrilledwith the quality of the work, and she said it made her smile as she unfoldedit.

To help promote NOVICA, we are having a giveaway. NOVICA has provided us with two giftcertificates – each for $37.50.

Make a comment on our blog through SaturdayFebruary 4^th and we will enter your name into the drawing. You can even enter extra times by blogging about our giveaway or Facebooking about the giveaway. But make sure you leave us comments that you either blogged or Facebooked so we can enter your name for the extra drawings.

The winners will be announced on Sunday. NOVICA is currently promoting accessories, sopop over and see what you might covet. Scarves, Womens Shawls from Peru, Winter Clothing, Womens Brazilian Accessories and Pearl Dangle Earrings.

January ABS Challenge Piece - Tra La La

2012-01-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

Trellis by William Morris, 1862

This month's Art Bead Scene Challenge is based off of William Morris wallpaper design.

We are calling this piece "Tra-La-La". Mom came up with the name and the design. I had one design idea but mom didn't think it would be stable enough. I wanted to use the vines as a focal pendant but we couldn't think of a way to make it stable and durable. Mom came up with the idea of using the trellis squares and flowers for the necklace.

This is the focal pendant. We used the side view flower for this pendant and made a larger square to wire wrap the pendant to. Mom drew the design and then glued the pattern to 20 gauge copper. Mom then hand saws out all the pieces. Once the pieces have been filed and sanded I have fun with the enamels. For the flower pendant I used transparent oranges and yellows and I love, love, love the colors of the square. I used three different opaque greens to get the look with black around the circles in the corners of the square.

This is the middle of the necklace with more flowers and squares wire wrapped together. Again the flowers are from the wallpaper design and the squares are the trellis. Seriously, I love the color of the squares, just thought I would reiterate ;-)

These are some of our lampwork beads that we had extra of. Love those colors and so glad we had them in our stash of beads.

I told mom I wanted to make our own clasp for this necklace. So, we used one of the squares and then cut one of the flowers in half to use it as a clasp. I am really happy with how it turned out.

A different view of the necklace. Both mom and I like how this photo turned out.

One last look of the necklace. Oh, if you didn't notice I am trying to use different props for the photos. I used a wooden box and a textured basket for these photos today. I wanted to try something new and different.

If you wish to view the other entries for this month's challenge head over here and check out all the goodies.

Tomorrow is another enameling session - have a set of bees to enamel, two humming bird pendants and I am sawing out more of these squares to make a set to sell. So, I hope to have more pictures to share tomorrow.

Thank You Everyone!

2012-01-28T09:30:00.002-05:00

Mom and I just wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone who follows us and leave us comments. Those comments help us get through the day and count down the days to the weekend when we can create. You all also give mom and myself big heads with the wonderful feedback you give us on our sawing, enameling and lampwork beads.

So, "THANK YOU" everyone! You all mean the world to mom and me! Happy Creating!!!!!

Etsy Listing and ABS Layout

2012-01-23T18:52:00.001-05:00

I have listed the two heart pendants and the owl pendant on Etsy.

The owl pendant.

The Flaming Hot Heart Pendant.

The Ivory and Gray Heart Pendant.

This is a Tree of Life pendant mom made for my aunt. Her birthday is next month and we thought this would be a great gift. We used beads that represent the birth month of her children and grandchildren. She can either use it as a pendant in a necklace or as a sun catcher out in her all year round porch. I think mom does an awesome job with the wire work.

This is the layout for the January ABS Challenge piece. Mom has it laid out and now just has to assemble it, but not tonight. She is crashed on the couch right now. Mom has also ordered me to finish writing this post and go home! I never argue with my mother when she is right ;-) You all have a wonderful night!!!

Enameling Sunday

2012-01-22T16:12:00.003-05:00

Zola

This is what was sitting in the computer chair when I came in to write a blog post. She looks cute right now but I had to throw her out of the room because she was chasing the pointer all over the screen. Kind of hard to work when I can't see because of Zola.

Mom and I worked on sawing out pendants and enameling this weekend. I was able to enamel another set of bee pendants that we are using in a necklace, two more heart pendants, an owl pendant and all the pieces for the January ABS Challenge piece.

Here is the show:

These are the enameled pieces for the "Bee Hive" necklace. I want to make lampwork beads to go with this necklace. We have bought black lava stones to use and not sure what the other accent stone/bead will be used also.

An owl pendant that I need to take more photos of and post on Etsy. That will be later on this week.

I used ivory and transparent grays in this heart pendant. Mom loves this pendant but I am still not sure yet. This is the smaller sized heart and also will be photoed later on this week and posted on Etsy.

I am calling this one "Flaming Heart" pendant. It is black, red, sunset orange and marigold yellow. You can't really tell the depth of the color from this photo, so I can't wait till I take photos to post out on Etsy.

These are all the pieces that we need to put together for the January ABS Challenge. We are still debating on the color of beads we are going to use. Mom has a plan and it is actually sketched out, so I really can't wait to see what this piece looks like once it is put together.

That is it for this weekend. Right now mom is working on a tree of life pendant for a gift. We also want to make several more tree of life pendants to post out on Etsy. We went to Von's today and bought a bunch of pink and red Czech beads to use and I can't wait to see them completed. So, lots to do and not enough hours in the day. Though I am happy with all we did get accomplished. How was your weekend? Did you get a lot done you wanted to?

Last Day of Sale

2012-01-20T09:45:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that today is the last day of our sale in the Etsy store.

The entire store is 20% off. We hope you enjoy browsing our handmade, one-of-a-kind items. Enter code NEWYEARS2012 to receive your 20% discount when checking out. Discount does not apply toward shipping.

This weekend mom and I plan on sawing out more pendants and enameling. I hope to have pictures tomorrow or Sunday of new items. Possibly even our January ABS Challenge piece, cross your fingers for that one.

It's Friday so have a great one!

New Listings on Etsy

2012-01-16T15:34:00.001-05:00

Today I worked on taking photographs of all the pendants and lampwork beads we have done. I also was able to list all those items on Etsy. Which made for a very long day and once I am done with this blog post I will finally eat and go home and veg.

Pendants:

Small bee pendants

Blue and Green Humming Bird

Kokapelli

Orange and Purple heart pendant

Orient Red and Flame Red heart pendant

Green, yellow, orange humming bird pendant

Worry Stones

Worry Stone

Pink Worry Stone

Bead Sets

Apricot Nectar lampwork beads

Muted Pink Ribbon Lampwork Beads

Pink Ribbon Lampwork Beads

Sedona Sunrise Lampwork Beads

I think mom and I were pretty productive this past weekend. I hope we can keep this up. Have a great one all!

Productive Day and a Sawing Incident

2012-01-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

Currently it is 31 degrees but feels like 21 degrees, but this is the temperature I got the garage up to while I was enameling. I guess it does help to bring a third heater out into the garage to warm it up.

This is the enameling set up with the third heater mom brought out to warm up that area. I really didn't think it would make that much of a difference but it did!!! Mom is sooo smart.

The other two heaters set up around the kiln. It also helped that the kiln was going even with the exhaust fan going it was still pretty warm, except for the water, that was still bloody cold! Mom has a sink in the garage that I use to clean the pendants after each time I bring them out of the kiln. Well, the sink only has cold water going into it, so have to suck it up in the winter time.

Picture of a hummingbird right out of the kiln.

These are all the items I need to photograph and list out on Etsy. I am hoping I can get that done tomorrow morning. As you can see I have four sets of beads to list, three worry stones, a kokapelli pendant, two humming bird pendants, two heart pendants and a set of bee pendants.

Mom is a little exhausted after all the sawing, filing and sanding she did today. And that is Lily giving me the evil eye.

WARNING!!!!

I thought I would share what mom did. If you have a weak stomach go no further.

This is mom's finger wrapped up in a paper towel.

This is mom's finger after she sawed it. I was out in the garage so I wasn't keeping an eye on her to see how tired she was getting. Usually I can yell at her to stop before she does something stupid to herself. Oh well.

Tomorrow mom and I have off for the holiday. Maybe more things will be enameled, but I am not sure yet. I know for sure I want to get the above items listed onto Etsy. So look for those tomorrow. Also, don't forget you have five more days until our sale ends on the 20th of January. All inventory is 20% off in the store.

Sawing in the Kitchen

2012-01-15T08:26:00.001-05:00

Yesterday mom and I worked on sawing out pendants. It was way toooooooo cold to be working out in the garage so we set up our sawing stations in the kitchen. Don't you just love the chair I am using to saw, so comfortable and it rocks. Just so you know, I don't sit or stand still, need to be always moving which drives mom crazy sometimes.

Mom drawing on the pattern for our January ABS Challenge piece.

These are the copper sheets I was working on sawing out. Oh, I just saw out the perimeters and mom saws out the designs.

My pile of copper that was sawed out. To the left you can see the dustpan filled with copper shavings.

These are all the pendants that mom sawed out the insides and now are ready to be filed and sanded. Once that is done I will be enameling them. While I am enameling mom will be sawing out more pendants for us to enamel. I hope to have photos later on today.

We Are Good - Oh So Good!

2012-01-09T18:01:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am tooting a horn for both mom and myself. Mom does a fanDAMNtastic job in sawing and I have to say I enamel pretty good!

I finished enameling the pendants we got filed and sanded yesterday.

Here are the last of the triangles that had to be enameled. I can't wait to see what mom does with all 12 of them.

We had a customer request us to make the female cyclist pendant and that is done. Now just need to contact the customer.

Now these, these I am so much in love with. Mom and I are using these pendants in two different necklaces that we are donating for a silent auction. Each year the Purduettes have an auction to raise money for the Cancer Center on Purdue. Mom contacted the Ford Company to see if we could use their "Warrior Woman" image for our pendant. We received an okay for it and mom went to town on sawing and I enameled today. I SO LOVE THESE!!!!

I enameled the face with transparent otter brown, the two stripes has two different transparent pinks, the hair is black with accents of the two different transparent pinks.

I enameled the face white, the stripes are the two different transparent pinks, and then I used transparent orange/yellow/woodrow red, transparent mauve purple and rose purple, and the two different transparent pinks. I have I said I LOVE THESE PENDANTS! I can't wait to get them into the necklaces. I will also work on taking better pictures.

via Pinterest

Update on mom and her fall. Yesterday I said she crashed on the couch and I guess she got up during the night and could barely walk. Mom got an appointment in to see her podiatrist and he told her she broke something on the top of her foot - so he had to wrap up her foot since mom refuses to wear the boot. He also gave mom a cortisone shot in each foot. The broken screw (which the doctor still can't figure out how mom broke) is still in place and she didn't break any of the other plates or screws in her feet.

Now, mom needs to go see her regular doctor for all the other pains. First though she had to file works comp paperwork because this happened on campus yesterday. So, once she hears what happens with that she will go and get her neck checked out, her left leg (she could barely drive her Mustang today), and her left arm. I think they will need to X-ray her whole body for everything that hurts.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and well wishes for mom. They mean a lot to both of us. We will keep you all updated.

One more day of vacation for me. Tomorrow I will put down the enameling tables and work on making beads. I want to finish off the oxygen tank so we can order more. I also have a lot of pendants that need to be sawed out so I can enamel them this weekend. I have had a wonderful vacation playing in the studio and boy has the weather helped with that! Have a great one!

Studio Sunday - A Lot Accomplished

2012-01-08T16:37:00.003-05:00

Today was an enameling session for me and sawing for mom. These are the tables set up with the colors I used on the three pendants and a set of six triangles done. Thank goodness I have tomorrow and Tuesday off because I have more pendants to enamel.

Mom working away, even though her neck was killing her, her feet and hands. Mom and I went to campus to drop off several bags of clothes for the Martin Luther King, Jr. clothes drive in the School of Science. When we left the building we were throwing some stuff away and mom fell off the sidewalk and fell to the ground. Her knee has a nice scrape on it and the fall was soooo not good for her neck. I am surprised mom lasted as long as she did - she is a trooper. Though I have yelled at her and she is now laying on the couch with Zola.

There is the pile of pendants to be sawed out and two of the pendants that I will be enameling tomorrow. You can barely see moms hands sanding another pendant that is ready to be enameled.

These are pendants that need to be sawed out. There are four hearts up top and then the bottom sheet of copper is part of what we will be sawing out for the January ABS piece.

Pendants waiting to be glued to the copper.

These are the finished pendants. The bib piece was suppose to be part of last month's ABS challenge piece but we didn't get done with it. Mom said it reminded her of a bee hive, so I enameled it in the colors of a bee hive. We have some bee pendants that we will be sawing out and using in a necklace along with the beehive bib pendant. The five triangles, though there is a sixth triangle I did get enameled but didn't add it to the shot, was also part of last months challenge piece but as that it didn't get done these triangles are being used in a different necklace. I still have six more triangles to enamel in the same color scheme. Mom said she had an idea of how to connect them all, so I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is done.

These are two pendants that did get enameled also but they are for someone and I don't want to show them until that person has a chance to see them. Sorry, you will have to wait a bit to see these babies.

I thought I would share a couple of pictures of mom's cats who are sitting in the computer room with me; Zola and Sasha. They are so happy when I open the door and let them come inside. Zola so loves the one chair we have in the room, it is her's, and she pushes Lily off when she gets up with Zola (no sharing for her!).

Don't you just love that look Zola is giving me.

Zola stretching - isn't that face adorable (except when she is getting into trouble).

Sasha yawning at me.

Sasha trying to sleep. He is such a cutie!

I guess that is it for today. Mom just ordered pizza and I am heading out to go get it. I hope to have more pictures to share tomorrow. Have a great Sunday!

Ice and Leaves

2012-01-08T09:26:00.002-05:00

Today is I Heart Macro Sunday over at Studio Waterstone. If you would like to see what everyone is taking photographs of or wish to participate head on over.

Mom and I will be posting our photos on our other blog: EB (Evie & Beth) Photo Journal if you would like to check it out.

I am off to start enameling the pendants mom got sawed out and mom is still sawing away. I hope to have pictures tonight or Monday.

Have a great day!

Oh, don't forget our sale (20% off) in our Etsy store. It ends on the 20th of January.

Still Here - Studio Time

2012-01-06T14:44:00.001-05:00

Studio table

Mom and I are still here, just have been busy getting back to work and into the swing of the new year. I did take Thursday, today, and next Monday and Tuesday off because I wanted to play in the studio. As you can see there is a lot going on.

I have the music blaring on my computer from my iPod. I am listening to my new favorite mix of miscellaneous music.

These are the beads I pulled out of the kiln from yesterday.

These are all the beads I need to cleaned.

And this is my torch going with the glass I am using and the frit I am playing with.

And of course this is Zola, in the way of the keyboard and the screen.

This is Zola watching the arrow go across the screen as I was re-sizing the images.

This is Zola hitting the monitor trying to get the arrow as I am re-sizing the images. Yes, I could have thrown her out of the room but it was too cute watching her. Except when she sat on the keyboard and then the mouse and then sits in front of the monitor and I can't see what is going on, but she is soo cute!!!!

Tomorrow will be a sawing day and Sunday will be enameling. We have some projects we need to get done, so will be busy this weekend.

Oh, just a reminder:

Well, probably not a big sale, but it is still a sale. Mom and I are having a 20% off inventory sale in our Etsy store. The sale will end on January 20th.

Okay, I am off to work some more in the studio. I actually have the garage up to almost 60 degrees - it is a heat wave!

New Years Sale - Now Until January 20th

2011-12-31T14:46:00.002-05:00

Lampwork Beads

New Year Sale!!! Entire Etsy Store 20% off.

Enameled Copper Pendants

Now through January 20th (until midnight) get 20% off all of our items in our Etsy store. We hope you enjoy browsing our handmade, one-of-a-kind items.

Viking Knit Unfinished Chain

Enter code NEWYEARS2012 to receive your 20% discount when checking out. Discount does not apply toward shipping.

Happy New Year!!!
Evie and Beth

Year in Review and Goals

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it is almost the New Year, 2012. Can you believe it??? Where does the time go I ask? They aren't kidding, after you hit 30 time sure does fly. If you would like to see what our year in a review was last year just click here.

This year for us has been good. We did a total of eight shows and one of those shows was a new one.

Mom and I found out about the Square. OMG, if you don't have it for your credit cards mom and I so recommend this device!!!!! It is so much easier to use than the knuckle buster and hardly any fees. I think the only fee is what they take out to process and that is it. All you need is an iPhone, iPad, or Droid. The bestest investment we made this year!

The earrings are Enameled Copper and our
Lampwork Beads

We were published in three magazines:

We participated in two Bead Soup Blog Parties - love the work and detail that Lori puts into this party!!!

February 2011
September 2011 with Erin from Treasure's Found and Inspiration is Everywhere

We participated in 10 of the Art Bead Scene monthly challenges. We are going to be late on the December challenge again, but hey, it is the thought that counts.

I re-vamped the blog and the Etsy site in the last few months. I was tired of the way the blog was looking plus I learned how to add tabs to the top of the blog all on my own, which I think is a feat in of itself.

Mom and I talked over what we were going to sell in the Etsy shop. Because the bowls and jewelry weren't selling we decided to take those out of the shop and just sell the enameled pendants, lampwork beads and Viking Knit. That seemed to go over really well. Two of the ladies I blog follow, and love their work, purchased beads from the store. So, that made us feel really good.

We hit most of our goals from last year, but we still need to work on re-motivating mom and myself and get mom on the torch again.

Our goals for this year:

Work on the photography

I did start a blog called EB (Evie and Beth) Photo Journal
I want to see what mom and I can do with the photography in the next year. If having two blogs becomes too much for me than I may let that blog go
Sell some of the photos that mom and I think are really good

Be published in magazines

We still want to work on being published in Bead Trends and Stringing but we want to try other magazines

Participate in more challenges
Participate in more swaps or collaborations
Work more on the torch, for both of us
Saw, Saw, Saw and Enamel, Enamel, Enamel more
Try to get into more juried shows

What is your year in review like? I hope it was a good one too. See you in the new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

New Blog for Photos

2011-12-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it is almost the new year and one of the things mom and I want to do in 2012 is focus more on the photography. Mom says I have an addictive personality, give me something and I run hell bent for leather with it and I guess it is true as you see with the new blog.

Yesterday I created a new blog to focus on the photography: EB (Evie and Beth) Photo Journal. Mom is a little worried I am taking on too much and I am sure she is correct, but I so want to do something with all the pictures we have been taking. I know some of the photos are good enough to sell, but we will wait and see on that.

This blog is still my main focus but I want to take a year and see what happens with the photography. I am still drooling all over the Canon Rebel T3 DSLR and I hope one day mom and I will be able to afford that camera, but for now I have my handy dandy point and shoot Canon PowerShot and I think it does a great job.

I am off to make sure mom is still in bed. She got her last shot of the year this morning and she was a little bit more loopy than usual. At least she didn't get sick this time, so that is a plus in my book. I am back to work tomorrow and then we have Friday and Monday off. I also plan on taking January 5th through the 10th off since I didn't take any vacation over the holidays. I hope to work on beads and maybe help mom saw out a few things. I have been nagging mom to write up directions for two necklaces I want to submit to magazines, so hope to get that done this weekend.

I hope you all have a great holiday, I am sure I will post again about the year in review and our plans for 2012. Well, you already have a sneak peek on one of our goals. Have a great one!

Giveaway by Lorelei's Blog

2011-12-27T07:01:00.001-05:00

Lark Book Giveaway

Lorelei is having a giveaway! A series of Lark Books and there are 8 books in the series and the winner will receive all 8 books.

If you would like to learn more about the books or how to participate in this giveaway, head on over to Lorelei's Blog.

Vegging Kinda Day

2011-12-26T12:56:00.001-05:00

Fire Hydrant - Ann Arbor 2011

It is the day after Christmas; mom and I aren't doing much. Mom just went through a lot of her paperwork and now it needs to be shredded.

Fire Hydrant Chain - Ann Arbor 2011

Me, I have just been playing on Pinterest and then playing with images in Picnik.

Fire Hydrant - Ann Arbor 2011

There is so much mom and I need to get done but we just don't seem to be motivated to do it. The last few weeks for both of us has been a roller coaster ride of one thing after the other. We both seem pretty depressed and it doesn't help that we both sort of feed off of each other.

Chain on Fire Hydrant - Ann Arbor 2011

Mom is off this week and I go back to work on Tuesday and Thursday (Wednesday mom is having the last shot she can have for the year). It doesn't seem like the shot she had two weeks ago helped out at all, so she is allowed one more shot. I really hope this helps mom because I hate to see her in so much pain.

Top of Fire Hydrant - Ann Arbor 2011

Mom and I need to get out of this funk! I know I would feel better if I started to work out again, stopped about two months ago (don't ask me why). I was feeling so good when I was working out and then I just stopped. I need to get back on the band wagon and I need to get back into the studio. I think that will help my mood a lot. I also need to get mom back on the exercise band wagon too, of course that means getting her Wii fixed (Lily ate the cords on the Wii).

Chain on Fire Hydrant - Ann Arbor 2011

Sorry to be in such a funk, must be the holidays. Mom and I will try to do better! There is so much we need to get done, especially for 2012. I do have a list of things I want us to do plus I want to go over what we did accomplish in 2011, but that will be in the New Year post. I hope you all did have a wonderful holiday, and just ignore us while we try to get our act together. Take care all!!!!

Merry Christmas from Us

2011-12-24T15:50:00.004-05:00

Mom and I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone! May you have a wonderful day with family and friends!!!!

Belated Wishfully Wanting Wednesday

2011-12-22T12:08:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know it isn't Wednesday but I still wanted to keep the title the same.

Here are some of my favorite things all found on Etsy.

A Little Midnight Magic

Painted Cottage Aqua Chic Bed

Your Quote OOAK Ornament

Tractor Spectrum

Nature Photography

Oval Raku Forest Form

Crevan Silver Wire Wrapped Pendant with Citrine

My Mother's Sweater

Mint Sage Ivory Paper Origami Flower

Macrame Art Necklace

Today is the last day of work for four days, though mom has off all next week. I am looking forward to working in the studio. Mom is sawing out pieces that I am ready to enamel and I have some ideas for beads I want to make. I am sure I will do another post before Christmas, but if I don't I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Playing with Picnik - I Heart Macro

2011-12-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

Some sort of bush outside moms house

There was actually some snow on the ground when I finally made it over to mom's house this morning. I thought I would take some pictures for I Heart Macro. I was able to get some photos before the camera battery died on me.

Oriental Grass

Mom has a lot of oriental grass in her garden. I love the fuzzy things, have no idea what they are called. I like how the snow gets caught in the grass.

I thought it would be fun to play with the different effects in Picnik. I am loving how the pictures have turned out. I usually don't alter our pictures, but this was a lot of fun.

Last really good shot I took. Most of the images I took were pretty fuzzy. Then, after the battery was charged, of course, no more snow. Oh well.

Those are my images for I Heart Macro Sunday. If you would like to join the fun or check out what everyone else is taking macro shots of, head on over to Studio Waterstone.

So Angry I Saw Red!!!!

2011-12-17T14:02:00.001-05:00

via Pinterest

That was me yesterday. It has been building for months but it came to a head yesterday and I did lose it. I soooooooo hate it when that happens, but OH MY GOD WAS I PISSED!!!!

via Pinterest

If this could only be easily done . I know there are people and circumstances that will make me angry, it is a way of life, but DAMN!!!!!

via Pinterest

I also know that this is so true. But I don't forgive, and I don't forget very well. I know I should have compassion and let go of my anger because the only one it is hurting is me. But I am one who stuffs, mounts and dances a jig around the thing that has pissed me off. I know that this is not good for me and only hurts me, but sometimes I just can't let go.

via Pinterest

So, I am going to try and do this - forget. Not completely, I do plan on doing something about the situation, but I plan on blanking the person out. That person ceases to exist. I know they won't stop pissing me off, but I will let it run off me like water. They are so not worth it!

via Pinterest

So, I have made a decision, and I have a plan. Lori, Studio Waterstone, had a post on Wednesday about defining moments. I have to say that moment came to me on Friday, when the inkling I had finally came true. The only one who can make a difference is me!!!!! I have two goals now; I plan on making those goals come true.

via Pinterest

I am awesome! Mom said it to me last night, and I have people reinforcing the same thing all the time. I let myself forget yesterday, and I WON'T let that happen again. No one, I mean no one should have that kind of power over me. For a while, I let that person have that power, and I am so disappointed at myself for letting that happen. No more.

via Pinterest

As a friend told me, this event happened for a reason. Yesterday was my defining moment, grab it and run with it. I have already started in that direction, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here. I wish I could go into details of what happened, but I just can't. I just had to purge it from my system like toxic waste. I am ready - Bring It!!!!

Wishfully Wanting Wednesday

2011-12-14T06:57:00.000-05:00

It is another Wishfully Wanting Wednesday. I wanted to get this post done before I take mom over to get her last pain shot of the year. A few weeks ago the pain started up again in her neck and shoulder blade but now it was also going to the other shoulder blade, so pain in another area. She finally got into see the pain doctor last Friday and he was able to schedule her in today (thank goodness!). Mom in pain is not a happy person and then I freak out because I can't make it better.

So, some pretties to make the day a happy one. Enjoy!!!

Clock and Dagger - by La Bella Joya

Frivolous Flowers Tutorial - by Beadology My Life & Times

Copper Elements by For My Sweet Daughter

Shabby Chic - by Schnitzkastchen (sorry don't know how to add the umlaut to the 'a')

Santa Earrings - A Work in Progress

Fire Tractor 8 - by Wolf Heart Photography

Capsule Necklace - By Reinvented Objects

Joss Stone Dress - by Momosoho

Antique Tree Landscape - by galeriedeilluminata

Evergreen Wood Ring - by janeeroberti

Quick Post - Etsy Listings

2011-12-13T09:25:00.003-05:00

I wanted to let you all know that I posted a set of three beads and two Viking Knit chains on Etsy today. These are the only holiday pieces we have made up, except a few sets of beads I need to get out of the kiln and clean tonight. Mom and I really need to start making holiday pendants earlier in the years so we can list them at Christmas time, oh well. That will be one of our goals for next year!!!

Here is what was listed:

Ice Verde Lampwork Beads (clear and transparent green glass with clear frit)

Snow Berries Lampwork Beads (Sangria & white glass with clear frit)

Winters Kiss Lampwork Beads (white with clear frit)

Red Viking Knit Chain - double weave chain

Green/Teal Viking Knit Chain - double weave chain

I am not sure what will be going on tomorrow. Mom is going into the pain management doctor and he is going to shoot her up with drugs, I think in both shoulders. The pain started again a few weeks ago and I have been after mom to get in to see the doctor before the end of the year. I so did not want her in the pain she was in earlier this year, so not fun for her! Plus I need her to saw out some pendants for me to enamel :)

Have a great one!

I Heart Macro Sunday - Textures

2011-12-11T07:31:00.001-05:00

It is another I Heart Macro Sunday and this time it is all about the textures.

Hobe sleeping on the chair

I thought I would share a photo of Hobe. He is one of the cats that has free range of Sleepy Creek Vineyards. Last weekend mom and I were at Sleepy Creek for a show. Hobe was curled up on one of the chairs in the showroom snoozing away. He was in that chair almost the whole time we were there, so I had to get pictures of him. None of my cats lay still long enough for me to get close ups of them, so I used Hobe for my pictures.

Red Viking Knit I just finished up and mom is putting the last of the finishing touches on. I plan on listing this chain later today in the Etsy shop.

More Viking Knit that we are finishing up and will be listed in the Etsy shop.

Wire that just arrived from Parawire. We had a request for a Viking Knit chain and we didn't have the color, so I went shopping.

This is one of the beads I was making yesterday, a sugar bead. I need to get the beads out of the kiln, cleaned, photographed and listed on Etsy.

This is the yarn I am working with and the needles to make a friend a knitted hat/scarf. This is one of those hats that is very long, sort of like a scarf. Plus I have to add a pom pom to the end of the hat, must have a pom pom. I started this hat last January and I put it down until around the beginning of November. I am hoping I can get it done before this coming January. I only have about 66 more stitches to decrease - decrease twice and knit that row and then knit five more rows and repeat. Yeah, we will see if I can get this done since I have only had time to knit about 18 rows at night.

So, that is our textures macro. Head on over to Studio Waterstone to check out what other people are taking pictures of.

Studio Saturday and a Tutorial

2011-12-10T17:35:00.002-05:00

I thought I would start off with a picture of Zola. Right now she is a little drugged up because she had her front claws removed on Thursday. Needless to say she has not figured out she does not have claws and she can no longer climb up your back or your legs. The vet said she did really well, but she is a pig and a holy terror on four legs - that's our girl!

Mom worked on drawing up a design for our December Art Bead Scene Challenge piece - it is based on the Chrysler Building.

This is the heater setup around my torching station. It was a little chilly (what I mean is it was freaking cold) in the garage this morning. So, turned the heaters on to warm it up out there - though doesn't help much after the exhaust fan gets turned on, but it helps a little bit.

Glass and frit I used today to make beads.

This is what happens to you when you stick yourself on a shard of glass when you aren't paying any attention - OUCH!

So, that was our day. Mom did prepare some Viking Knit chain today so I can take pictures of them tomorrow and post on Etsy. Tomorrow will be making more beads and saw, saw, saw, saw, saw. I can't wait!

Okay, my very first and probably only tutorial on how to do something on blogger. I thought I would let you know how I created the tabs on the blog. You wouldn't believe how old the YouTube videos were I watched but it at least was a starting point for me to figure out how to create tabs (blogger inept am I).

So, here we go:

If you use blogger - sign in
Click on Pageviews - that will get you to the dashboard
Click on the "Pages" link
Click on the "New Page" button and choose blank page
Type in the "Page Title" (like Customer Gallery)
In the blank area type in the information - you can add images and links like you do for a regular post
Click the Publish button - this adds your page
There is a button next to "Show Page As" and this is where you can select to put your tabs - as you saw mine are at the top
You can also re-arrange the pages by clicking on them and dragging the pages where you want them
You can edit the pages by clicking on the edit link for each page

That's it - easy peasy. If I can do it anyone can do it! Have fun everyone!

Excuse the Mess

2011-12-09T14:36:00.001-05:00

Hey all,

Excuse the mess of the blog, I am playing.

I have been having fun making a new banner and I am playing with the background, the text colors and anything else I can think of to play with.

I also just found out how to add tabs to the top of the blog. I have added a "Submissions" tab where I will post the pieces and the magazines we have been excepted. I have also created a tab called "Customer Gallery". I thought it would be fun to show you our enameled pieces made by our customers. I am also thinking of creating tabs for "Bead Soup" that showcases the pieces we made and the pieces are swap partner made. I also thought of a tab called "Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge Pieces" where it showcases the pieces we made for that month. It is fun to go back to see what we created and how far we have come in, oh my gosh, almost two years now.

If you have any comments or feedback of the new look and layout please let me know. I want to make it easy for you guys to read the blog and enjoy the pictures.

That is the end of this "Free" public announcement! Oh, and it is FRIDAY!!!! Play, play, play this weekend!

Belated Rememberance

2011-12-08T10:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I feel like a total jerk in not posting something yesterday. I let a personal situtation happen yesterday get in the way of posting something that SHOULD be remembered.

The attach occurred on 7 December at 7:48 am. Of the fleet and personnel: 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killedand 1,282 wounded.

As a vet I should have posted something yesterday and I am deeply sorry I didn't. If you are a World War II vet or a survivor of Pearl Harbor, THANK YOU!!!!

If you have a chance head on over to the blog The Graffiti of War Project. There is a nice post about yesterday's remembrance and a interview with a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. The Medal of Honor recipient wrote a poem about Pearl Harbor and it is well worth the read.

Wishfully Wanting Wednesday

2011-12-07T07:57:00.001-05:00

It is another Wednesday and I thought I would show you all what I have been drooling all over and wish I could win the lottery so I could go spending wild :)

Bracelet by Lori Anderson - part of her Cup of Bead Soup made with beads from Lutka and Co.

Beads by Jane Perala. I love her tree beads, but all of her other beads are fantastic too!

I love the pieces that Sandi Carrico creates - she is the most awesomest metalsmither ever!

Handmade copper components by Kristi Bowman - love, love, love them!

Clear ring made from resin - love this idea!

I love photography - I would love to cover all my walls with photographs and paintings! I especially love the red and the sunlight through the trees. You can find this photograph here.

I have no place to wear this but I love it all the same. Find this beauty by clicking here.

I love the idea of making something beautiful out of all bullet casings. I wish I thought to have collected them when mom and I use to go to the range. You can find this wonderful necklace here.

As I said, I love photography! I especially love black and white and the decay that you can find all around us or that of mother nature taking over man made objects. You can find this wonderful photograph here.

So, those are my wishfully wanting on Wednesdays. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Macro Sunday

2011-12-04T08:40:00.001-05:00

It is another I Heart Macro Sunday!!! I wanted to get this posted before mom and I head out for our show at our friends winery Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Oakwood, IL. The show is called First Sundays at Sleepy Creek. We will be showing our jewelry from noon to 4pm and there is suppose to be music and of course the wine :) If you are in the area head on over and check it out. The atmosphere and wines are fantastic!

Okay, on with the show.

I thought it would be fun to playing a guessing game for this weeks macro shots.

The item I took photographs of is something mom and I use all the time.

We are suppose to clean it every 5-10 uses, but of course that hasn't happened.

You mean we are suppose to clean our tools...though I have to say my metals professor would hit me upside my head for saying that :)

I love the colors and the textures that have formed from the use of this tool.

Last macro shot - have you guessed what it is yet. If not, it is something mom and I use when we enamel in the kiln.

Have you figured it out yet?

Okay, if you haven't here is the full shot.

It is our kiln shelf. We have kiln wash on it and it is laid at the bottom of our kiln. The shelf catches dropped enamel so it doesn't get on the floor of our kiln. As you can see it really needs to be cleaned up and new layers of kiln wash to be painted on. But I just love all the textures and colors that have accumulated over a year - yes I know we are bad.

That is it. Mom and I will be heading for a our show here shortly. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2011-12-03T10:19:00.001-05:00

Mom and I are ready to announce the winner of our After Black Friday Madness Giveaway. This time we thought we would get Zola to help us draw the name.

Here is the process of how the name is drawn.

The names are first typed up and then I get ready to cut them out.

The names cut out. Oh, just so you all know while I was cutting out the names Zola was using me as a scratching tree and was climbing up my back the whole time. I put her down, start cutting out a name, and up my back she goes again. OUCH!

Names folded up and in one of the ceramic bowls I made that mom swiped :)

Zola sticking her head in the bowl - wondering if it is edible.

Still sniffing the paper.

Hmm...must be good.

Maybe I will dig at this unknown thing for a minute.

Maybe I will try grabbing a piece.

Oh, something new to play with.

Okay, you need to share the name Zola.

Now Lily needs to get in on the action. Hey, that is usually my job to pick the names Zola.

Zola looking at the winner - thinking I did a great job.

And finally, the winner is:

Thank you everyone for leaving a comment and participating in our giveaway. Lori we will be contacting you to get your shipping information.

Last Giveaway Reminder

2011-12-02T12:13:00.001-05:00

Final reminder of the giveaway mom and I are having. We are giving away one of our "ThumBOWLina" bowls and a set of our beads.

If you wish to participate head here and leave us a comment.

Drawing will be Saturday morning around 10am.

Have a good one!

Wishfully, Wanting, Wednesday

2011-11-30T07:06:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite things from Etsy. I tell you if I won the lottery I would be sorely tempted to buy a lot of things from Etsy - so many great artists!

Country Winter

Moon Standing Stone in Celtic Landscape

Fairy Door Slide Top Tin

Simple Truth Pendants - Custom Made

Desert Sunset - by Kristen on My Bead Journey

Brown Leather Weekender Tote - so in love with this bag!

Beautifully Broken Me - Nov ABS Piece (Awesome!)

So, these are some of my wishfully, wanting on a Wednesday. Aren't they all fantastic!

Giveaway - beads and a bowl

Also I wanted to remind you all of our giveaway this coming Saturday, so there is still time to participate. Head on over to this blog post and see what you gotta do. Mom and I plan on doing the drawing around 10am on Saturday and all you gotta do is leave us a comment and a way to contact you if you win. So, jump on board the giveaway train!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

After Black Friday Madness Giveaway & Nov ABS Piece

2011-11-26T12:27:00.001-05:00

It is the day after the madness of Black Friday - Yeah! Mom and I promised a giveaway and here it is.

We are going to giveaway one of our "ThumBOWLina" bowls and some of our beads. The bowl colors are transparent yellow's in the center and transparent greens on the outer edge. The beads are blue (6) and pink (3).

All you have to do to participate is leave us a comment and a way to contact you if you are the winner.

You can even enter extra times by blogging about our giveaway or Facebooking about the giveaway. But make sure you leave us comments that you either blogged or Facebooked so we can enter your name for the extra drawings.

We will have the drawaing on December 3rd around 10am Eastern. I will either have mom draw a name out of a hat or see if we can get Lily or Zola to draw a name for us. So, get to commenting or blogging to enter to win.

This months ABS Challenge piece is called Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni by Marie Spartali Stillman, Watercolor, gouache and gum arabic.

Mom had the idea of using a set of roses we hadn't enameled yet and acid etch beads to create our piece for this months challenge.

Both mom and I really liked the colors in this month's painting. I decided to enamel the roses in ivory and spruce green. Not my usual style (usually like lots and lots of colors), but I am happy with the way the color of the roses turned out.

I made beads with ivory glass and frit and then I acid etched them. I really like the muted look of the beads and they went perfectly with the painting.

I love the accent beads (pearls and Czech beads) mom used to accent the necklace and then finishing it off with a Sterling Silver toggle "Leaf" clasp. Mom does an awesome job of creating jewelry, even though that is not her favorite thing to do.

So, that is our piece for this months challenge.

I plan on posting some pendants and a set of beads on Etsy tomorrow, so keep your eyes open for that.

Make sure you leave us a comment so you can be entered into our drawing.

Had to Share This

2011-11-22T14:48:00.001-05:00

As many of you know I am an Army vet and I am very proud to be an Army vet.

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook and I had to share it also.

The WVU Marching Band did a wickedly awesome job and I am super impressed with it!

I have been thinking a lot of what I can do to help military vets. I have been seriously impressed with Florida State University and their new Vet Center. They announced this initiative on Veteran's Day and this has been all I can think about.

A few weeks ago I went to a meeting of Purdue faculty/staff veteran's about being mentor's to veterans who are going to school at Purdue. They want to give the veteran's a person they can go to for help in studies or other areas. During the meeting I was coming up with tons of ideas for fundraising and names of people the president of the Veteran's Student Organization can go to and ask for help on how to raise money for the student organization because they are using grants (as you know grants don't last forever). Mom said, when she saw me, I was lit up like a 1000 watt light bulb. I felt like I was doing something and doing something good.

I am working on writing up a proposal to do something at Purdue like they are doing at Florida State University. I don't know if it will go anywhere but this is something I am really interested in. I have been trying to find statistics and numbers to make the proposal look professional and I think I know who I need to talk with, so maybe next year something can be done for our Purdue alum vets and our vets currently attending school. Who knows, you never know what is going to happen day to day.

Not Feel So Good - Both of Us

2011-11-20T11:32:00.001-05:00

Image from Pinterest

Mom and I aren't feeling too good this week. I had a migraine and I think I had the stomach flu on top of that.

Image from Pinterest

And then mom started to feel sick on Friday night and she looked like death warmed over yesterday and today she is still in bed.

So, nothing new is going on because neither one of us are doing anything. I came over to her house and saw her trying to work on the November ABS challenge piece and I yelled at her to get back into bed.

I hope you all are feeling better than we have been. We (meaning me) hope to have some things posted before Black Friday. We are also planning on announcing our giveaway (since we haven't had one in forever) on Friday, so stay tuned for that. Have a great weekend and feel good!

I Heart Macro - A Review of Favorites

2011-11-12T16:46:00.001-05:00

I know it is early, but mom and I have the last day of the show tomorrow, though we don't have to be there until 1:00pm but I plan on sleeping in dang it! Here it is, another I Heart Macro Sunday. I do have to say this is my favorite part of the week because I love, love, love seeing what everyone is doing with their macro shots.

Since mom and I have a show tomorrow and it is starting to get so blasted cold, I thought I would do a review of our (really my) favorite shot of flowers this year.

Here we go:

Both of these flowers are Pin Cushion flowers. I love how they sort of sparkle near the center of the flower and I just love the ruffles on the petals!!!

Close up of a Spider Plant.

A series of butterfly pictures mom took. I love how you see all the pollen layered on the wings. Mom did a wonderful job taking these pictures!

Unknown flower - just love the pink and yellow colors!

These pictures were taken on July 1st of lilies in mom's front yard. It had just finished raining, so I grabbed my camera and went around the yard taking photographs of all the flowers with rain drops on them.

I just love being able to see the pollen on the stamens of these lilies!

These are the last of the flowers I will bore you with. These photos are from the last time mom and I went to the hort park that is located near where I work, sometime in the middle of October. I still couldn't believe how many flowers were still blooming. I loved the contrast of the flowers that were dead or dying and the ones that were still blooming.

Okay, mom and I have a question. We are looking for a company to have our photos printed, to eventually sell. We have found a few places but the prices are a little steep for these two poor girls budgets. Does anyone have any recommendations? I am also looking to improve my photography, can anyone recommend any good blogs or forums I can go to? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I hope you all have a lovely rest of your weekend! If I think about it, I will take pictures of the venue we had our show at. These people sure do know how to do it (especially after 31 years). I also have an announcement I will make about a class coming, in the Lafayette, IN area that all lampworkers will surely like to know about!!!! Also, mom and I plan on having a giveaway in two weeks - on Black Friday, so make sure you stay tuned for that. Okay, okay, okay I am done now. Peace out!

Happy Veteran's Day and a Show

2011-11-11T13:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who served and those we are still serving!

Me in the field at Fort Hood - Love my doo rag :)

Mom and I just got back from Applebee's where I received a free meal for being a veteran. I am so proud to have served and thanks for all the companies and restaurants who are serving free meals to all of our veterans!

Me at PLDC dinner night before graduation

In two days it will be also 20 years since I went to basic training. On November 12th, grandpa Lee and my best friend Crystal drove me to Indy to spend the night in a hotel and the next day, bright and early, I was loaded in a bus and then a plan to head out to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Wow, where did the time go? And dang, I was skinny!!!! :)

Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday mom have a show at the Frankfort Public Library. This is their fund raising event and it is a big one. This is our second year participating in the show and we love it! Today, at 5:00pm they will open the doors to the patrons for about two hours before they will open the doors to the public. The patrons will come early, and even set up chairs so they can be the first ones in line. The more people the merrier I say! This is mom setting up the one table we get, so we go up to try and put out as much inventory as possible. I also stay out of moms way when she is setting up, she gets a little psycho.

Left side of the table

Right side of the table

The whole table

I am just going to finish up this post with a couple of images. One is of a bowl mom just finished up called "Fairy Jewels". I don't think I showed off the rosary and bracelet I made for a friend's 60th birthday. I think I talked about it but never showed pictures. What I did was use the birthstone colors of her two children and her four grandchildren to make the beads. I also mixed the colors of her two children to make the cross. I love making rosaries like that, using birthstone colors to make it personal for that person.

Czech glass beads are the dew drops on the flower

Top view - colors used were transparent yellows and purples

Here is the rosary and bracelet. I made the bracelet out of the extra beads I had.

Five Decade Rosary

Close up of the cross

Well, that is it for now. I will be taking more pictures tonight and this weekend and I plan on sharing.

Again, Happy Veteran's Day and thank you all for serving!

Enameled Pieces and Finished Jewelry

2011-11-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

I had to start off with a new picture of Zola. I still can't get over how much she has grown since mom got her. She now can jump on top of the garbage can and get into my set up for taking pictures. She sure does not want to be ignored, so she isn't spoiled or anything :)

Today was an enameling session for me and tagging/inventorying for mom. We have a show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so tag, tag, tag and inventory, inventory, inventory.

Today I enameled two wall hangings and rose pendants for the November Art Bead Scene Challenge. One of the wall hanging we had to chip off the enamel because the yellow and oranges did not like the cold weather last week, so I had to enamel this piece in different colors.

Guardian of the Wood

I usually like enameling this piece in transparent yellows, reds/oranges/ and transparent greens. Like I said the yellows and oranges sure didn't like the cold last week so mom had to take the hammer to the back to get the enamel off. Sure was interesting trying to get all of the old enamel off.

Venetian Mask

Sorry, I need a better picture of this piece because this just does not do it justice. There is white, red, transparent greens, transparent purple/pink, and dark greens. Mom did a fabulous job sawing out this piece and I think I did a great job enameling it. I will see if I can get a better picture later this week.

This months ABS Challenge piece is called Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni by Marie Spartali Stillman, Watercolor, gouache and gum arabic. Mom had the idea of using a set of roses we hadn't enameled yet and acid etch beads to create our piece for this months challenge.

We don't have the piece assembled yet, but at least it is laid out. Maybe we can get it done sometime this week.

The October ABS Challenge piece was A Hedgehog in Landscape, 1643-51, bodycolor on vellum by Giovanna Garzoni. Mom and I didn't get the piece done before the end of the month, but we did finally get it put together yesterday and pictures today.

Mom sawed out a hedgehog and then I enameled it with ivory and transparent chestnut brown. We used some of the beads I made and etched with ribbon from ColorKissedSilk on Etsy.

Mom and I also finished putting together some necklaces, bracelets and earrings for the show this coming weekend. Here they are:

Necklace with our Kuiper Belt beads, pearls and Cathedral
Czech beads

Kuiper Belt beads to make a bracelet

Earrings

Our Purple Passion beads with Czech beads to make
a bracelet

Victorian Dream - our beads with a polymer clay pendant
from Singing Cat Studio

Close up of the beads and pearls

Earrings

Winters Kiss -with our sugar beads and Czech beads

Close up of the beads

Earrings with acid etch beads

That is it for us. I still have six more bowls to enamel and I will try and do those before our show either Thursday night or early Friday morning. So much to do and so little time. I am now off to go grocery shopping and clean my house, or at least vacuum. You all have a great Sunday!

BTW - First in a Long Time

2011-11-02T19:47:00.001-04:00

It is BTW (Bead Table Wednesday) and I don't even remember the last time we participated. The time just seems to get away from us and it sure doesn't seem to be slowing down any. Right now mom is crashed on the couch with Zola and Lily fighting to sit on her chest and Sasha sitting on top of the couch. I took pictures of the pieces we worked on this weekend and I am slowly editing them so I can post them out on Etsy.

I thought I would first share with you the necklaces and bracelets I need to finish up for our show next weekend.

Necklace, bracelet and earrings made from our
Kuiper Belt beads

Necklace, bracelet and earrings (Pendant from Singing Cat Studio)

Winter's Kiss - made from our sugar beads

Piece for the October ABS challenge but we didn't get it
done in time.

These are are bowls mom cut out and a mask she is working on sawing out.

These are the pieces I was able to finish enameling. These are all pendants except for the last image - that will be a wall hanging or place in a plate stand.

Mom really loves this piece!!!

These are beads and pink Viking Knit I got done and need to edit and get posted out on Etsy.

Pebbles on the Shore

Turquoise Rapture

So, what do you have on your beading table today?

I Heart Macro - Assortment of Flowers

2011-10-30T08:20:00.002-04:00

It is another Sunday and another I Heart Macro - where does the time go? This week I didn't get much done on the beading or sawing part, though mom sure did. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I sure didn't want to do anything. Though I did finish off a pink Viking Knit chain that will be listed in our shop today or tomorrow. I did work on making beads yesterday and mom finished up a few pieces which I plan on enameling today. So, I hope to have pictures posted this evening of what we have been up to.

Okay, on with the show.

Perennial Blanket Flower

I should know the name but I don't. I just love these colors!!!

Ornamental Cabbage - I love how it looks, like another planet.

The bark of a tree - loved the textures you can see in the pictures.

The last is a bud of some sort of flower, there was no plaque. Mom thinks it looks like a dragon head so I thought I would include it for her.

Mom and I are off to have breakfast and then it is enamel, enamel, enamel. Hope to see you back here tonight for another picture show of finished pieces. We are off!

Autumn's Last Hoorah

2011-10-23T11:59:00.003-04:00

Today is I Heart Macro on Studio Waterstone's site.

Mom and I headed over to the hort park to the last of the flower pictures for this year. I was surprised to see how many flowers were still in flower and I also loved seeing all the dead heads of the flowers that are gone for the year. Today's I Heart Macro is the contrast between the flowers still blooming and the ones that have died. I really love how these turned out. So sit back, drink some coffee and enjoy.

Disclaimer - I didn't get photos of the plaques for some of these flowers so I am not sure what they are called.

I think both of these are Annual Blanket Flowers

I didn't get the names of these flowers, so calling them dead flowers:

Mom loves the shape of this flower - reminds her of a sculpture outside the
Visual Performing Arts building on campus

These are Pot Marigold

Mom thought this one looked like a tarantula

These flowers are called Scabiosa

Mom and I have more flowers but you are just going to have to stay tuned for next weeks I Heart Macro. I am off to clean the last set of beads I made yesterday and mom is out sawing out some pieces. I think I have two more sets of beads I will list on the Etsy site tonight and possibly Viking Knit chain for sale (that is if mom gets it cleaned up so I can take pictures of it). Keep a look out on the Etsy site.

Studio Saturday

2011-10-22T19:05:00.000-04:00

Autumn's Lovely Shades of Brown and Orange

Yesterday I participated in the STATTEAM treasury challenge Scavenger Hunt and I actually won. Of course it helps that there were three of us participating and one of the participants was the curator of the challenge, but I am still excited that I won. I am having a lot of fun creating treasuries and posting them.

This is mom working away on the inventory for our show in a couple of weeks. She is having to re-tag everything with the vendor number the show provides us. If you can't tell mom has fingerless gloves on. It was a little chilly working out in the garage this morning.

This is the glass all laid out with the frit next to it ready to go, when we get oxygen on Monday. I ran out after I finished making up some beads today. I have been looking for oxygen concentrators on Ebay and Craigslist. Mom and I really need a concentrator instead of buying oxygen all the time.

I finally got six sets of beads listed on Etsy today. I need to make up more beads to go with the other sets because I found small smushed areas or blemishes on some of the beads and they had to go into the seconds bin. Here are the sets I did list:

I had to finish off with this photo of mom, Zola and Lily. They are mom's cat blanket. It is a good thing I got this shot because Zola had to get up and check me out.

Goodies

2011-10-20T19:46:00.003-04:00

Pulled into mom's driveway and noticed there were packages up by the door, found out there were three packages. One package from Thompson Enamel, one package from Parawire and a package from Glass Diversions.

Wire to make more Viking Knit chain with. The peacock blue I am currently working with is freaking awesome. I really hope the rest of the wire is as easy to use as the blue!

New colors of frit to play with. I am so ready for this weekend! Beads, beads and more beads.

I took the beads and rings out of the kiln tonight. I have not cleaned them yet.

Mom was really liking what she saw. Cross your fingers that there aren't any mushed spots on the beads!

Well, I like how these rings turned out but neither mom and I can get the darn things off the ring mandrels. I have a love/hate relationship with the ring mandrels. Most of the time I have a 50/50 chance getting them off. Oh well.

This is a necklace and a bracelet I need to finish off and inventory for our show in a couple of weeks.

This is the pendant mom needs to saw out for our ABS challenge piece.

And last I had to finish off with a picture of Zola. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever! That is Lily in the background. Both Lily and Sasha still don't know what to make of this little bit of a thing. This is only the second night mom has allowed Zola to run around through the house. The babies are doing better than they did last night. The hissing and swatting was not good there for awhile.

Well, have a great night everyone! Tomorrow is Friday!!!!!

New Addition to the Family and Shop Update

2011-10-16T17:29:00.001-04:00

This is the new addition to mom's family, Zola. Yesterday mom and I went to the shelter (big mistake I know). Mom likes to go to the shelter because it makes her feel better after playing with the kitties. Well, this one caught both of our eyes! You can't see it, but Zola has a red patch of hair on the top of her head that reminds both mom and me of my grandma Mert because grandma had red hair.

I have to say mom was really good and didn't get Zola yesterday, but I sure didn't help mom today. I asked her if she wanted to go back to the shelter and see if she was still there and mom said yes. If Zola was there then it was meant to be.

Zola was there and home she came with mom. Needless to say mom is going to have to keep her separated from the other cats and slowly introduce her to them. Sasha was having a hissy fit and Lily is not going to be happy being locked out of mom's room for the next few weeks.

But she is totally worth it - look at that face!!! I so wanted one of her brothers but my brood would have gone totally insane if I brought another baby home. Instead of one cat on Prozac I would have to put them all on it. Oh well. I get to play auntie to this one when I come over at night and on the weekends - so worth it!

Okay, shop update. I finally opened up the shop and took out the bowls and necklaces. Currently there are only pendants out there. I am still working on the beads and the Viking Knit.

Here are the new pendants I posted on Etsy.

I also have three more sets of beads made up - though the raku/copper set still needs a few more beads made up before I can list them.

These are the beads I still need to make a few more to add to the set.

I am so in love with these beads. I am calling them "Foggy Morning". It is a transparent gray glass with an unknown frit on top. It was one of the bottles of frit that I purchased from Sandi earlier this year. I have found the manufacturer and I think I have found the frit, so I guess I am going to have to go shopping for me.

I am going to have to work on taking a better picture of these beads. You can't tell the glass is a mint green and the frit on top of it is divine!

That is it for today. I am exhausted and plus I want to go play with the kitty. Have a great night and a great week!

I Heart Macro - Turkey Run

2011-10-16T08:30:00.002-04:00

It is my favorite time of the week, I Heart Macro! If you would like to participate or see what other people are posting, head on over to Studio Waterstone and check it out.

I forget how many weeks it has been since we have participated and I have missed it a lot! This week I thought I would share some old but goodies from a trip mom and I made to one of our state parks, Turkey Run, in May 2009. I told mom we will have to go again in the spring and fall of 2012. I miss walking around, getting muddy and taking photos. I am hoping by the spring mom's foot will be all healed up and we can go hiking.

Okay, enough with me babbling, on with the photos! Oh, the camera was new so I was playing with a lot of the filters. I hope you enjoy!

I love how the dewdrops just are on the edges of the leaf

I thought it was cool finding this leaf just sitting on this rock

Playing with one of the filters. Love the pop of green on the stump

Just loved the bubbles that formed between two stumps in a creek

Playing with the filters again

Playing with the filters - love how the water looks

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

Where to Begin...

2011-10-15T09:52:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week my back was killing me. I seemed to be fine on Monday and Tuesday, but Tuesday night my left side started to really hurt. I about started crying while I was taking a shower to go into work Wednesday and then when I got out of the car, at work, I had to slowly uncrink myself to stand up straight. There were a few things I HAD to get done at work and then I left, went home and laid flat for the rest of the day. I now know some of what mom goes through when her back and neck is acting up on her - it freaking sucks! It is now Saturday and I think I am about back to normal, or as normal as I get :)

This is the garage right now. Mom has all the inventory laid out because we need to see what got swiped at the show last week (we think a pair of earrings and ring were stolen) and we also need to start re-labeling everything for our last show of the year. This show they give the artists vendor numbers and we have to use that on the inventory. So, inventory, re-label and wipe everything down to get ready for the Frankfort show.

These are pieces that mom and I need to get filed and sanded so I can enamel them tomorrow.

These are done and all we need to do is form the large cirlce into a bowl and then enamel them.

Except for Wednesday and Friday night I have been on the torch making beads. As you can see I like having a lot of glass out to play with. Off to the left is also a box full of glass that I haven't put away yet. I figure I hide the glass so mom doesn't freak out on me being messy :)

These are beads that need to be taken off the mandrels and cleaned. But the following images are of the beads I have been working on this week.

These two beads are experimental beads - I wanted to see what the beads looked like before I made a whole set of them. Plus mom tells me to make pairs, so if I don't like them at least she can make them into earrings. Well, I like them so I plan on making up a set of these.

These are my dew drop beads. I am having a lot of fun making them because I love seeing the patterns that the frit makes when I shape the beads.

Today and tomorrow mom and I have a whole list of things we need to get done. I am also meeting my best friend for lunch, yippee! I have more beads I need to make, need to file and sand, inventory, make a couple of customer pieces, enamel, and order a whole list of things. I love weekends like this! I hope you all have a great one!

So Much Stuff and Feedback Welcome

2011-10-10T12:58:00.005-04:00

October 2011 Bead Trends

First off, mom and I received our package from Bead Trends with our necklace and two magazines on Friday. We have our "Pod O' Pink" necklace in this issue.

The polymer clay "Pod" is from BeeTree by m.e., ribbon from Jamn Glass and lampwork beads by us. I am really happy with how this piece turned out.

This past Friday mom and I took off from work so we could prep for our show this past weekend. I thought this was a great photograph of mom.

This is our set up with the garage door open because it was so nice. Now if the weather could be this nice all year long I would be one happy person!

This was my work area. I was re-stringing a necklace, which I need to re-string again, and then I crimp the necklaces and bracelets because mom doesn't do that. The one necklace, blue beads, in the back is going to be re-strung because both mom and I don't like how it looks. I am thinking mom should have used the blue freshwater pearls instead.

This is our table setup for the show on Saturday and Sunday. This was Portage's first show, so it was small but had a nice range of artist there. We were set up next to a stained glass artist and a photographer. There were other jewelry artists there but each of them did something different that there wasn't an over abundance of jewelry.

Left side of the table

Right side of the table

Mom and I are going to give the show another try next year. We sold enough to pay for the booth fee, gas and hotel room. I do have to say it was nice to talk to the customers and give them an idea of what we do, so they came away with a better appreciation of the work that is involved.

This past weekend mom and I were talking about re-vamping the Etsy shop. I am thinking of removing all the necklaces (possibly the bowls too) and just have our enameled pendants out there and start adding our lampwork beads. We are also thinking of adding Viking Knit links for sale too.

Please let me know what you all think. I know there are so many awesome lampworkers out there, but some of you did leave wonderful comments on our beads and that you would like to see them for sale. If you have thoughts/comments please leave feedback. I would seriously love to have feedback from you all!

Now, I guess I should go to work! You all have a wonderful Monday and an awesome week!

A Recap

2011-10-02T11:04:00.000-04:00

In my last post I mentioned about a decision I had to make. Well, the decision has been made and now I have to live with it even if it bites me in the ass. It is still eating at me but I need to keep on trucking and live with that decision and "Don't Look Back". Right now the jewelry is more important to me than going for another job that pays more. I would really like to have the extra money but then I wouldn't have the time to go back to school to finish my degree or do what I really love with mom, the jewelry. So, decision made and life moves on. YIPPEE!!!

Last weekend was our show at Sleepy Creek Vineyards. Saturday it started out rainy, which was not fun especially for setting up. We were lucky and got the tent up before the rain started to come down hard.

Rain falling in the pond

Outside our tent

You can see the rain falling in the pond, which was located right outside our tent. Mom and I love this spot and we have had it ever since Joe and Dawn started the art festival. I think you can see the rain coming down pretty hard outside the tent.

The sun did eventually come out and people started to show up and shop. At this fair there is live music, food, lots of artists and of course the wine - must not forget the wine!

This was our set up for this show. Because of the rain we couldn't set up our screen, so everything is laid out on the back table. Made it a little cramp but at least nothing got soaked.

I had to share these two photographs. Behind our tent was a humming bird feeder and we had this little guy visit it throughout the day. I have one photo of him stopping and actually drinking and I finally got a picture of him flying to the feeder. How awesome is that!

This is mom's garage right now. Once we got home, unloaded the car and then vegged the rest of the week. We did NOTHING! I haven't even blogged, Facebooked or anything. I think I really needed a break. Now, I am back, you poor poor people :)

Today the sun is out so mom and I have the tent set up to dry off. I also set up one of the tables so mom can go through the inventory and clean up the silver before our show this weekend. I am going to finish up this blog post, close out Pinterest (Which I am freaking hooked on now - two hours yesterday and three hours today), go work on cleaning up beads and making new beads. Yes, like I said, I think mom and I need a small break from everything and now I am ready to get back to work.

Oh, I have to share what I did to my hair yesterday.

I went pink again. It has been, about five years, since I had my hair colored pink. I think I felt like I needed to do something different. I love it when my hair is pink and I need to figure out the budget so I can keep doing it. It makes me smile and that is all that matters!!!

Have a great weekend all! I am glad to be back!

Lots and Lots Going On

2011-09-22T11:25:00.001-04:00

I wanted to give a big Thank You to Lori for putting on the best ever Bead Soup Blog Party! I know this was a big undertaking and Lori did a wonderful job as usual. I also want to give a big thanks to all of you who stopped by and left comments. I hope to respond to all of your comments next week. I am working on this blog post and then I am off to work in the studio to try and get some things made up for the show this weekend. I am also still working my way through the rest of the wonderful soup participants. I will get to your blogs, it is just going to be really really slowly. Life is sort of getting in the way of my passion: blogging and beading!

This is what greeted us on Sunday morning, before our show. It was sprinkling before we rolled into our site and then everyone was yelling there was a rainbow. So, I got out of the car with the camera and took some pictures. What a great way to start our show.

The screen we use to put earrings, pendants, and stainless steel necklaces on

The right side of the tent

The left side of the tent

The front of the tent

Mom and I had a wonderful time this year. I did have my friend Lisa, who is such an awesome girl, come and help me set up. Mom was still in her boot and I didn't want her to get hurt.

One of the volunteers was going around taking photos and she took a picture of mom and I. I usually don't like to have my photo taken, but I wanted one of us together. I think we are looking fine!!!

This past Tuesday was a co-worker's 60th birthday. I have known Donna since I was 12 years old. Mom and Donna use to work together out at the airport on Purdue University. Then 10 years ago I started working in the same department that mom worked in and then seven years ago I started working with Ms. Donna. I have been waiting 10 years to decorate both mom's cube and Ms. Donna's cube for their 60th birthday's. I missed both of their 50th birthdays, so I was making up for it. I even told Ms. Donna she couldn't take the day off :) My friend Lisa and I decorated the cube Monday night. As you can tell I had a lot of fun!!!

This is the inside of the cube. Yes, I tin foiled her chair, glasses, keyboard, mouse, keyboard tray, phone, her folders with her work papers, her two coffee mugs and spoon. There are 180 balloons on the floor too.

This is Ms. Donna and me. She was such a good egg for putting up with me!!! You be the best Donna!

I don't think I have told you all that I have been exercising again. Well, I have been. I am on day 36 of keeping track of my food on MyFitnessPal.com. It is an awesome site and I highly recommend it. I don't eat any differently than I did before, but I now know how many calories I am sticking in my mouth and I am watching how much I take in.

I am also on day 32 of exercising and day 10 of getting up at 4:30 in the morning to work out before heading off to work. I have been using the 30 Day Shred and various walking tapes to keep me going. I can tell a big difference in my attitude and how I feel. I have my fingers crossed that I can keep this up. It took me 10 years to get this way, I just hope it doesn't take me 10 years to get back into shape. I just have to keep doing it. Since I have made a routine out of it, I hope it becomes just something I need to do in the day. Plus I like fitting in my smaller clothes again :)

This is how I have been feeling since Monday. The exercise is helping but I feel like I need to bang my head against the wall. Or, I feel like this:

A dog running in circles chasing its tail. I have a decision I need to make and I feel like I am running, running, running in circles. I thought I had made the decision a few months ago, but I seriously was not happy a few months ago, PISSED, was more like it. I have since started exercising, thinking about what I want and I am so freaking confused.

I am making a list of pros and cons. I need to really figure out what I want and what I want to focus on. Sometimes it can be so hard to be an adult.

But, this weekend is to be fun, not thinking about a decision I have to make (at least not yet).

This week is the 4th Annual Salt Fork River Festival at Sleepy Creek Winery. Mom and I have been at this art festival since Joe and Dawn started it and we LOVE IT.

This year will have over 50 artists, live music and art demos. If you are in the Danville/Oakwood area of Illinois I highly recommend stopping in. This festival is so much fun, plus there is wine and wine slushies!

I guess that is it for now. I am not sure if I will have time to blog this weekend or not. We have an hour drive to Sleepy Creek on Saturday and Sunday, so who knows. I just can't wait for this weekend. Oh, forgot to tell you mom is now out of the walking boot and into regular shoes as of last night. Mom can also now drive and I no longer have to drive her around. YEAH, for both of us. Have a great one everyone!