Gorgeous Greek Ceramic Bead Designs

I love color and these two creations are color intensified! Stacy who has a shop on Etsy called StacyGarrettJewelry makes the most luscious earrings. In this shop she makes just earrings, and did I say earrings! Tons of earrings! And, I mean tons! She has a wonderful sense of style and color and it shows in her creations. I love cruisin through her shop just to look at all the different colors! She is also opening another shop that is going to be necklace and earring combination's. I'm looking forward to seeing what the necklaces are going to look like!

Our New Family Member - Lucy

This picture isn't the best, I took it with my phone, but it is Lucy having Acupuncture. And, that brings me to who Lucy is. She was rescued by the Austin/San Antonio Cocker Rescue and we adopted her a month ago. We don't have all the past info on her, but from x-rays the Vets could tell that she had broken her leg and it had been wired. At some point the wire broke and was poking her which made her stop using that leg. When the Austin/San Antonio got her they then had the wire removed. She now has an issue because she hasn't used her leg for so long that she has arthritis in her joints and her mind tells her that she shouldn't be walking on the leg. But, we did notice that when she ran she did put her leg down a lot more.

So, that brings us to her seeing a vet in our area that does Chiropractic and Acupuncture. What was funny is that Lucy discovered that if she can get up she can shake all of those needles right off of her body! So now, we have to keep her occupied so that she won't want to get up.

Lucy has been so much fun having around and she is getting Lady, our other Cocker to get up and move around. Maybe even a bit of chasing around the house!

Mykonos Creations from an Electric Penguin!

The first thing you notice when you enter Pam's shop The Electric Penguin is what a cooool banner she has! Next come her creations which are very colorful as you can see from the two examples displayed here. One of the creations not shown here are these really colorful cuff bracelets that have beer labels wrapped around the wooden beads. Different! These two creations that are portrayed here are two examples of how she incorporated the Greek beads into her designs. Gorgeous creations in my opinion! Check out her shop on Etsy and be prepared for lots of color!!

Handmade Spark - Linden Avenue Designs

Handmade Spark - Linden Avenue Designs Yep, I did it! I set up my Handmade Spark Mini Site! Super easy to do! Next, I'm working on my banner! I've been wanting to do this for so long and finally had a quiet moment. I've been so busy adding new items to my shop that it pretty much took over my life! But, I do love the new Bali Sterling Silver Beads and Findings that I have added. I also had gotten in a whole new batch of Greek beads, so between the two shipments it has been chaotic. Back to work for me!

Gorgeous Creation Using Varitey of Beads Including Chunky Disks

This creation has so much color it is just demanding you stop and take a look! Julia of smARTgirrrlART definitely has an eye for design, don't you think! I was so sorry to see that it looks like she is taking a hiatus from her shop. I am crossing my fingers that it isn't a permanent thing! She has a wonderful sense of design. I personally am drawn to designs that have lots of color and a variety of components that peek your interest. I'm always looking at the finer details and seeing what the designer did that made the piece work so well together. So, thank you Julia for this wonderful creation!

Close To My Heart - The Humane Society

The Humane Society is a wonderful group of people who save the animals that can't speak for themselves. One of my buyers, Roberta of bertaberta4444 has taken on this wonderful cause, making money for the Humane Society with the sale of her bead creations. She has been selling her earring designs at a coffee house in her area. As of July she was able to contribute $300 to the Humane Society from her profits on her earring sales. Considering she just started this past March creating for this cause I think she has done a wonderful job!!

Juicy Earrings Using Mykonos Ceramic Beads

Everytime I look at these earrings I want to go find a piece of fruit or a super drink concoction with lots of pineapple and coconut OR something I haven't thought of for a while. A Tequila Sunrise! They are sooo juicy it is hard to not want to pick them up and and put them on! I like the variety of the many different components that made these beads. These wonderful creations are from LimeintheSky a wonderful shop on Etsy. Stop on in and take a look around!

Some More Glam Using Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads!

One striking thing I like about these two designs is how the photography was done. The second creation is photographed with a clean background showing off the beautiful bracelet created by Kristen of MJM Jewelry Designs on Etsy. The first has in the background her garden, slightly out of focus, but enough focus to give you the feeling of a country garden. This garden background includes a lot of color and lovely green which is perfect for the earrings she created. Two totally different styles of background which work very well with these two different creations.

Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads meet the Pacific Ocean

I know that I keep saying this, but I am again blown away by another of my buyers creations. Lynn of nardiesarttowear sent me these two pictures of her latest creations using the Mykonos Greek Ceramic beads. The fine delicate detail in these two pieces named Pacifica is just wonderful. I find myself going around and around as I look at the pieces picking out the different beads included in the two pieces.

I also had to cruise through Lynn's Etsy shop to look at her crazy quilt designs in purses. Her little change purses are so dear! It sure brought back memories of the 70's for me. I don't know if it was just a Southern California thing but I had a handmade purse, very large actually, that I had for years that was a crazy quilt design. What I can't remember is how it closed at the top. I have visions of two designs, one with a wooden dowel on each side where the purse attached with one inch wide straps running along each dowel. The other had a flap that came over to close the purse. I'm beginning to think that I might have had two purses from the same designer. They were very popular purses in the Balboa area of California.

So, be sure and check out Lynn's shop, nardiesarttowear.

OH MY! Just Love These Designs!!!

Rebecca of Knee Deep Originals made these wonderful Wine Glass Charms. What a wonderful way to keep track of your wine glass during a gathering of a large group of people. With these distinctive beads all you have to do is remember what color yours were! Rebecca is a songwriter, painter, and jewelry designer. To me her most interesting jewelry designs are her scrimshaw pendants. They are made out of old piano ivory keys. You ought to check them out at her Etsy shop!






















Mara sent me these pictures and I was immediately taken with them. She is a talented artist that does these wonderful drawings on a variety of objects that she turns into jewelry. Her Etsy shop maracardenas also carries dolls, key chains, pocket mirrors and a variety of buttons. Check out her Etsy shop! she has a variety of items for you to peruse through!

Creations

Some more creations from my wonderful creative buyers. Helen of TheBeadSmyth created this lovely unique necklace! Included in the necklace are faceted green labradorite teardrops and big turquoise magnesite rondelles with handmade ceramic Mykonos washer beads as spacers. The two pairs of earrings were created by Anne of Glasshousedesigns10. She said that she used sterling earwires, resin and czech beads in her creations. It is always a pleasure for me to see what happens with the beads I sell. I always wonder how they will be used in a design, and as these many posts have portrayed, they all definitely are unique! You can't go wrong with a handmade, unique, individual design. IMHO it is much better then what everyone else is buying out of the chain stores.

Something New For Me - Project Wonderful

Well, I have bit the bullet and dove in without a life jacket, (good grief!) and have decided to try out Project Wonderful. If you haven't heard of Project Wonderful it is an innovative way of advertising. I definitely admit right up front that I cannot explain how it all works, but in simple terms I would say in comparing it to Google ads; Google works on the per click theory, Project Wonderful works on the Auction theory. What does Auction theory mean? Well it means that whomever at that particular second wants to pay the most, which is usually pennies, for a spot on a particular blog, or website, gets the spot. It gives the person who is on a limited budget an opportunity to have ads all over the place for a very nominal fee. In theory you keep the ad until someone else comes along and bids a higher price. It is possible to keep it for quite a while, days, and other ads will only last for a little while. It just depends on the location of the ad and how popular the site is and how you set up your parameters which is something I am still trying to figure out.

There is a system called a Campaign which is more convoluted and I will get into that later. At the moment I am still doing the manual bidding which can be interesting especially when you discover that you are bidding against yourself!!! I found that out quite by accident the other day when I found an ad that I didn't realize I already had. Silly me, I thought I would snap that sucker up real quick before anyone else got it and lo and behold I find out the next day, it was me I was bidding against! To this day I'm not quite sure how I did that! Why I didn't see my ad there in the first place! Yeesh! What was I thinking! Though, there is a constant state of bidding going on. One second you are on, the next you are off. But, then you are back on, because someone else decided to back off. Yikes! It is enough to give you gray hair! Oh, sorry. I've already got that. You've got the idea. I think I will just let you dip your toe into the vast waters of Project Wonderful. Come on in, the waters fine!!

Some More Beautiful Creations!

I'm a sucker for anything in blues and this piece that was designed by Lisa of dancingraindesigns definitely caught my interest. I really can't pinpoint down exactly what I love about it, but I think it is the combination of the variety of beads combining aqua, brown, and bronze which makes the bracelet just sing with color! Add her hand forged copper spirals and Shepherds hook clasp just finish off the piece perfectly! As usual, I am as always floored by the beautiful designs that my buyers create!









Another beautiful creation using a combination of beads including the Mykonos Aegean Tube beads. The one thing I do love about the Tube beads is that you really get to see the wonderful color combination's on this long bead. Jamie of HaiKorInc sent me these pictures of her necklace and I love the combination of beads she chose. And as I have said before, you really have to see these gorgeous designs in person. Pictures just don't do the creations justice! This necklace so full of color and definitely a lovely length to wear with the summer dresses and blouses coming out this Summer. Please check out these two wonderful designers shops. You will be in for a treat!

A Shawl With Pizzaz!

Well, here is another unusual creation that has the Mykonos Greek Ceramic beads included into its design! I am constantly amazed at the wide diversity of ideas that turn into creations. This lovely shawl was created by Inger of ingermaaike. I am a total novice when it comes to knowing what and how Nuno Felting is done. When I received the picture of her shawl I had to do a little investigating into the subject. What an interesting way to create something so beautiful that is light and airy too! I like the idea that you can add additional elements to your design. To me it almost seems like a blank canvas that can be drawn on with whatever adornments you wish to include. Paint a picture! What a neat idea! For more check out Inger's shop on Etsy!

A Wonderful Way to Use Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads!

I was stunned to see this very unique way of using the Mykonos Greek ceramic beads! When Lizz of pawshdogwear on Artfire contacted me about the beads I was so fascinated to see what she was going to do with the Mykonos beads. I tried visualizing how she would use them, but I never would have come up with this wonderful creation! I had to use the second picture too because in the background she has a Cocker Spaniel that looks like my first Cocker, Lady. As I have said repeatedly, my buyers are a wonderful group of artisans that create some of the most wonderful, unusual creations! Check out Lizz's shop. I think you will love her creations as much as I do, especially if you have a furry creature in your life!

Earthy Collection

Another great design from one of Etsy's wonderful jewelry designers, Rebecca of KneeDeepOriginals! A lovely combination of lampwork beads, gemstones and sterling silver beads. The focal is a carved feldspar leaf; all strung on leather. Another example of the wonderful designs these great designers create using the many different components that are available. Chechk out her store and stay awhile!

Wowza!

I was completely blown away by these designs! When I got the e-mail from Sandra, saying that she had just gotten the beads the night before and here were the designs she had created I was amazed! What would have take me forever took her an evening! She did a wonderful job of incorporating so many different elements into her designs. I'm a sucker for turquoise so I think that is my favorite creation. I know that I am always saying this, but I am humbled by the creativity of my buyers! They never stop amazing me with their designs. Sandra has a shop on Etsy and it is called zsazsazsu1963. I'm going to have to ask her what the meaning is behind her unusual name for her shop.





Does anyone know how to get the pictures to line up next to each other. So frustrating! Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. There is no rhyme or reason to how the pictures behave!!

A Poll

I want to ask my buyers and anyone else out there who has an opinion to please give me some input on this situation:

After you purchase an item online do you expect or want to hear personally from the seller that they have received your order?

I ask because I've been comparing the many different places that I have purchased items from online, from Amazon to Office Depot, and when I compared the different businesses I felt that Amazon was the most similar venue when comparing to Etsy and Artfire. On all of the sites when I purchase, the host site sends you, the buyer, an e-mail confirming your purchase. I have looked back through my purchases and I can't find any additional correspondence from the actual seller concerning the sale. That's to say I haven't heard from them if everything is going smoothly. If they have a problem with my address or there was a problem with the order, then I heard from them. Up to this point I didn't think it was necessary, but I am now curious to see what everyone else thinks.

If this interests you please leave a comment!

A Burst of Color With Peyote Stitch

Oh, my goodness! I do love this bracelet! I have tried Peyote stitch and loved the look, the flow of the design, and that you didn't have to be perfect. Which brings me to this style, the Freeform. I didn't even know that it had a name! My first exposure to this medium was from a book one of my neighbors lent me, Exquisite Beaded Jewelry by Lynda S. Musante. That was my first look at incorporating lampwork beads within the design. But, what really captured my interest was how she had designs that flowed all over the place, stopping and starting new rows that weren't connected. Definitely my cup of tea!

This wonderful bracelet was made by MaryLou who has a shop on Etsy called time2cre8. The bold use of color drew me in for a closer look, and then I found myself meandering around loving the changes in the color and size of the beads. Gorgeous!

I had promised myself that this year I was going to break out of my lampwork fixation and get back to my roots of doing watercolor, prismacolor, or even back to oils. And, I have all of my Scratchboard's just waiting for new designs. I even moved them so I should really use them. And, then I saw this bracelet and it reinvigorated me to pick back up that bracelet I started a couple years ago. Boy, does time fly! So thank you MaryLou for figuratively giving me a kick in the hiney!

ETTA HAS ARRIVED! The Continuing Story of the Traveling Meerkats Journey Around the World

Etta, that world traveling Meerkat from the British Isles arrived late in the evening tired and world weary from all of her travels. She had just left Kansas where she had visited Jeannie a wonderful jewelry designer on Etsy. Etta was ready for a nice lazy evening when she smelled something unusual. I caught her leaning over the pot of Tortilla Soup ready to take a header into the pot. After rescuing her from her almost untimely dunk in the soup she settled down for a nice snooze.















That quickly became impossible when the girls rallied around her wanting to know about her world travels. But, first they had to get over the obligatory sniff to make sure they recognized each other.














Lady and Callie then sat down to hear about Etta's latest adventures traveling throughout the USA. She had left her Mum, Heather, in England who has a wonderful shop on Etsy called NiftyKnits, to become a world traveler visiting the many great locations around the world and visiting with her Mum's variety of friends during her trip. Etta's sister Treasure, also being a world traveler, and Etta had both left their Mum at the same time and were making their way around the world planning on meeting back up with their Mum at an unknown later date. One can't rush a Meerkat while she is seeing the world!

Etta continued her story, but Callie being a cat and way too independant, slinked out of the room when Etta wasn't looking. But Lady, being the lady that she is, stayed to hear about Etta's adventures.




The next day Etta and I went out to do a bit of sleuthing! I had a bit of mystery shopping and auditing to do and she came along to see what all the fun was about. When I came back to my car I found her positioned on the dashboard with a birds eye view of everything that was happening.



As we were making our way back to home we took a detour over to downtown Main Street in Pflugerville Texas. It was a beautiful day so we took a slow walk around the small square checking out the old buildings and stores.



We continued on making our way back to home and Etta insisted on sitting on the driver's side of the car! She told me that first I was driving on the wrong side of the road and second the driver's side was on the wrong side of the car!



Back at home she joined me in my studio getting things ready to torch. I took my eyes off her for one minute and turned around to find her completely covered in beads! It was obvious that she couldn't make up her mind what she liked. I personally thought they were a bit big for her. Oh well, one can't agree with everyone's taste in jewelry!



Then I showed her the new necklace that was made especially for her which is made out of the smaller version of the Chunky Disks that I love to make. She sashayed around a bit, trying out her new necklace and then spotted the beads I was getting ready to photograph for one of my buyers. Etta insisted that she wanted to see how I photographed beads so we went to out to my big fancy photography area; the outside patio! She sat down to watch how I set up my fancy setup; a clipboard.



After we finished up that small task, back to the studio we went for torching. Etta was super interested in why I had this big glass shield that I looked through when I torched. I explained that it was a Didymium shield that reduces sodium flare and enhances the viewable colors while protecting me from UV/IR emissions. In English that means I can see the glass being melted because the normal occuring flare that happens when you work with glass is basically erased while you are looking through the shield. Of course she had to have a look herself so she let me give her a lift so she would have a better view.



Etta then cruised around my studio checking out the area while I did some work. She finally settled down and found a perch sitting in with the glass rods. I had to admit that her choice of location for the best view was outstanding! She was high enough to view what I was doing, but far enough away to avoid any flying glass that could occur when one mixes glass with a flame 1700 degrees or higher.



The next day we loaded up all of her luggage and the various presents she has acquired during her trip. With a last look at the rolling landscape passing by the car Etta then settled down for the drive to the next stage of her journey, visiting Lindi of Lin Designs. For more fun and info on Etta's journey and her sister Treasure's journey around the world check out this Facebook account of their adventures!

Jewels of the Nile

Sometimes I think that my approach to beadmaking might be a little different then other lampwork artists. I'm fascinated with how a glass can change so drastically when melted with another glass. There are times when I have taken just one color of glass and done test beads where I have melted on a variety of other colors of glasses either just adjacent to it, or one of my favorites is to swirl the two colors together. It is amazing how another color can influence the outcome of the color of the original glass.

These crystals are a perfect example. The outer layer is a glass call Aurae. Aurae is a pink flavored glass that changes to a golden silver when it is passed through a high propane flame. What I found interesting is how it influences the base glass that it is put on. These crystals were a base of a pale pink but when the Aurae is added it changes to a golden pale yellow.

I just love what Donna of donna8 has done with these crystals. The pairing with the Bali beads is just gorgeous. Donna has named this creation Jewels of the Nile a fitting name for her creation. Check out her Etsy shop for a variety of designs!