Still here, just quiet

I'm still here, been meaning to do a post for DAYS...Swamped since I got back from S.C.

Tomorrow is Union Design Show in Hayes Valley,SF 11-6ish. Not sure I'll last until 6 but will try. If you are in the city, please stop by and say hi. I'll be in spot #13-which is across the park against the buildings. I think by the new French Sweets shop.

Went to Maker Fair today and had a great time. Got to meet lots of online friends and will do a proper post with photos on Monday. Utterly exhausted from the day so crawling into bed to get an early start tomorrow!

Get Steamy with me! Another bit of fabulous news

The Steam-Punk Style Jewelry: A Makers guide of Victorian, Fantasy and Mechanical Jewelry is now available for pre-order! I'm also happy to say that I'm one of the 13 jewelery designers who have projects in this book!

It's going to be a fabulous book. All hte projects are cold connections, so anyone can do this at home. Not only are there some cool jewelry projects, but also a steamy gallery section to inspire you; bits of info about Steampunk artists, literature, fashion, and the like.

An Afternoon at Tangerine

"To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed, That can make life a garden."~ Goethe

Today I went out on a business trip to a sweet shop called Tangerine out in Dublin. I went over to talk to Gina about some different classes I could teach and hopefully schedule a couple. It was a lovely day and the ride over on Bart would have been great, had I not been in the train car filled with 12 yr olds and 4 chaperones. All VERY loud but the culprits were the adults believe it or not.

Anyway, it was a pleasant trip over, and when I got to the store-oh my!! It's so CUTE!!!!! There was SOOOOO much stuff to look at, so while Gina looked thru the stuff I brought, I looked thru hers. Dresden, collage packs, vintage bits and bobs, CANDY!, vintage velvet flowers, tiny polymerclay babies, soaps, jewelry, aprons, vintage books, magazine, glass glitter-I could go on and ON! If you live in the Bay Area, you NEED to go over there!

Gina and I spent the entire afternoon talking about all kinds of things. I think we could have spent the entire day talking and I had an absolute blast with her. She'll also be carrying some Saints & Sinners Jewelry along with the other amazing jewelry she has in the shop!

And if that weren't enough fun for the day, I have three classes on the schedule!! woo hoo! I am super excited to be teaching there and will post full details soon. For now here are the brief class rundowns. The June class - Jewelry Alchemy: creating new jewelry from your bits and bobs, July Class- The Perfumed Locket: A bit of aromatherapy combined with a necklace or bracelet creation and for August- Jewelry Cold Connections. Gina will have the descriptions up soon, so be sure to check her website for details.

Monday moves in like a lion, out like a lamb.......

Glamour Girl Mixed Media Necklace ©Barbe Saint John


I found a bunch of jewelry today that I never put on my website or Etsy site. Some I had taken photos of while others were just put in the "take photo's of this stuff" box. I made this Glamour Girl necklace last fall for the KPFA show, but it never made it to the website. Bad me! Most need to have the photos redone so I guess I know what I'll be doing next week. I also made a couple more "Marie" bracelets this weekend=so cute!!! No photos yet, maybe Wednesday




Fleur Nuit ©2009 Barbe Saint John

I spent part of the day making earrings. Not these "Fleur Nuit" earrings though-they were found in the box of "need to photo" jewelry. One of gallery's that carry my jewelry, emailed and wants to switch out stock. All that has sold there in the last few months is earrings, so I'm making some to put in and pull out the necklaces. I'm also going to have a rack of $15-$20 sale earrings at Capsule/Union Design Fair for the budget minded. I am really hoping to make some money at that show. Fingers & Toes crossed!



Another morning I awake with a headache. It's the pillow. This same morning headache happened about 10 months ago so I replaced my pillow. I got a nice & expensive pillow that is memory foam on one side, down on the other. It was heaven for a long time, but the past month not so great. My newish and expensive pillow feels flat, so I need to replace it. Dang!

I am just about all packed for the workshop this weekend, can't wait! Everything is pretty much IN the tiny suitcase, I just need to double check then zip it up. I get to meet lots of online ladies in person and see the pretty town of Lancaster, SC-so excited!!! I got some info about teaching in Southern California but I don't think its the right fit for me, sadly. It's nice to get invited though!

And I'm a day late posting BeadBloggers-bad me! So without further adieu.......

• About.com Jewelry Making Take another look at this UK beading and jewelry magazine that has had a recent jewelry face lift.
  
• Art Bead Scene Be inspired by Impressionism. Monet's Waterlillies are this month's challenge.
  
• Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Bronze pendant inspires a nature themed necklace
  
• Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi makes a cute summer necklace with cell phone dangles.


• Jewelry & Beading Spring cleaning tips to get your jewelry business in tip-top shape this season!Strands of Beads Melissa looks back on two years of making beads and designing jewelry


• The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Taking advantage of the ten hour drive to Bead Fest Wire in Philadelphia, Andrew created three new necklace designs in the car!

Secrets revealed..........

Like this teaser pic? After a few months of hinting around and biting my tongue, I'm finally able to tell share my happy & exciting news. I'm was chosen to be on the first ever Objects and Elements Design Team!!!! This is one of my projects you'll see soon over on the Objects and Elements blog.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Susan Lenart Kazmer, whether thru seeing her jewelry work, read her blog or taken a class with her. She is an amazingly talented artist and instructor. I love her to death, and was over the moon when I was asked to be on the team. I think I screamed OH MY GOD at the top of my lungs and fell off my chair when I saw the email, to be honest. Keeping quiet about this was one of the hardest things I've had to do because I'm so excited about it I wanted to tell EVERYONE! I am thrilled, honored and humbled to be a part of this group of INCREDIBLY talented women.

Our Design Team members are Jen Cushman, Deryn Mentock, Kristen Robinson, Jane Salley and me! Jen is also the new media manager & design team co ordinator for Objects and Elements. She's put a lot of hard work into creating the new blog, doing P.R. and corraling us creative ladies - a big round of applause to her for all the hard work she has done.

In the coming weeks, you'll be able to see our creations on the new Objects and Elements Blog. We'll be creating some lovely projects using amazing supplies from the Objects & Elements store, along with various found objects, beads, wire, etc... The blog has just gone live and will soon have lots of content like featuring jewelry by Susan Lenart Kazmer and her business partner, Jewelry Designer Linda Larsen, more about the design team, updates on new store items, guest artist features, reader challenges and more. You don't want to miss out on any of the fun, so be sure to add the RSS feed to your blog links or add to bloglines or Google Reader

You all know I'm a big fan of ICE resin and it's the resin I use for my jewelry work. You can buy that online at the Objects & Elements store along with a variety of unique beads, fibers, bezels, resin molds and tools for your art jewelry making needs.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude

specimen necklaces ©Barbe Saint John/Saints & Sinners®

So while the beginning of my week wasn't so pleasant, it has been turning itself around. I needed to look at why certain stupid things upset me so, understand why I reacted as such, then focus on all the wonderful things in my life right now and what's to come. Gotta keep that "attitude of gratitude" going or you just sink into the mire.

I got into the Wholesale Trade Show, San Francisco International Gift Fair a couple of months ago-SUPER happy about that. I've been thinking about new products. Since almost everything I make is one of a kind, it's a bit more challenging to do a wholesale show. On the other hand, one of a kind is also a big selling point as well. I'm working on some new products that I can do in multiples = like the Specimen pendants I have above. I have a limited stock of the vintage bezels but enough to take orders on at the show. I'm not sure how to string them though so I'm trying different things. So far a thin sterling chain looks the best.

I finally got the new lightbulbs for photographing today. Haven't tried them out yet but these ones are clearly marked "full spectrum" so I think they'll be fine.

I got most of my supplies and junque for the shrine workshop next weekend packed into boxes. I now need to dig out a small suitcase and pack everything up this weekend. I'm really excited too! Not taking too much, and anything I forget I will just get there or borrow from Heather.

I'm going to leak a little bit of a secret tomorrow too-stay tuned!

Mercury Retrograde Monday

Mercury is in retrograde right now and BOY has it been humdinger of a weekend. Today has been especially "challenging" and this picture is how I feel today. Also I think I made this same freakout face when I got the email I was rejected to vend at a craft show.

I am hoping that the rest of the month goes a little easier or that I gain a greater capacity to handle it better. I came across this "Ten Reasons to love (or like!) Mercury Retrograde. " They are pretty funny, I'm going to use #4 ALOT LOL

The article explains what the effects of Mercury Retrograde are and I found this statement especially interesting "Mercury retrograde is a great opportunity to handle unfinished business". This theory has been influencing me all weekend. I have spent a lot of time looking for things I couldn't find. Aggravated at my own messes, I spent time to sort, seperate and throw out things while looking for lost items. So even though the task began as a nuisance it ended up benefitting in other ways. Also I "found" alot of things I forgot I had-vintage pocket shrine, vintage swarovski rivoli stones, etc...

I still can not find my bank debit card though...urrrrgggh!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there. My fur 'kids' didn't get the memo and created messes all day long for us to clean up, so not the BEST of days for me LOL.

But, I'm about to sit down with a pot of tea and do some reading on this weeks Bead Bloggers!

About.com Jewelry Making Hook up with a cute little fiber flower charm and necklace project! Combine your crochet and jewelry making skills.

Art Bead Scene Hello Spring! Goodbye self-control!

Art Jewelry magazine It's video madness at Art Jewelry and Addie gives you a peek behind-the-scenes.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Cindy's Beads & Barbe's Creativity add up to some great necklaces!

Carmi's Art Carmi sews crocheted flowered into a soft new collar.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles A special event inspired a special neclace, which now appears in a special issue of a bead magazine!

Jewelry & Beading Combine wirework with seed beads for a one-of-a-kind necklace!
Katie's Beading Blog Try your hand at tubular peyote stitch with Katie's free beading pattern, Delicious Donut Lariat.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Like Art Nouveau? See this lovely book by Judith Durant and Jean Campbell who explore great works from that period in jewelry projects!

Strands of Beads Melissa shows off a few beautiful fossilized coral beads.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Andrew shares the new additions to his bead stash.

Sometimes you need a do-over and a make-over

Fit for a Queen

do-over: noun

Definition: a chance to redo an action. A repeat of a previous activity, with the hope of greater success.
Etymology: alluding to going back in time
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of EnglishCopyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC

I'm feeling the need for a "do over"in a few areas of my life right now. Nothing bad or catastrophic, just want to do things a little different and a little better. Perhaps makeover is a more appropriate word. Go big or go home mentality. That includes things/decisions I've already made/done as well as future goals. I am looking at everything with a different perspective. Some things can be altered, some things just need to go.

I'm also re-working some of my assemblages and jewelry. I looked at Love Philter when packing for the show last week and it looked too blah and kinda sad.

So I gave it a make over, and I think it looks a lot better.

Art, Selling and Friends

Yesterday I had a great time vending at the ZNE Art, Paperie and Pleasantries Fair. There were so many wonderful sellers with goods you don't see normal at craft fairs here-there were a number of sellers with supplies like vintage papers, jewelry supplies, crepe paper trim from Birds of a Feather, rubber stamps, dresden foil, and lots of bits and bobs. The Hannah Grey booth was more like a mini store and even had porcelain teeth and tiny seahorses for your altered art needs.

If you wanted to buy some great art,there was lots of that too - paper mache art dolls from Colleen Moody, vintage styled fancies from Iva Wilcox, glass soldering kits & reliquaries from Julee Herrmann, and so much more. I got to meet alot of people I've only known online and it was really fun.

As usual after an event, my legs & feet are aching today. I haven't unpacked my bag yet, but there's no rush. Bettie is still not feeling well, and I spent alot of time with her today. If she doesn't perk up by tomorrow, I'll be taking her back to the Vet.

And since it's Sunday, here is this weeks Bead Bloggers!

About.com Jewelry Making Tammy has some knotting jewelry tutorials for you, as in making jewelry with fiber. It's an often inexpensive media that can add a unique twist to your jewelry designs.
Art Bead Scene Wings are the backdrop for a visual treatise on creativity.
Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi turns a dried crab apple into something wearable.
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie shares her thoughts on ethics in art and an example on how she used inspiration from another artist's work in her own work, finding her own expression with the idea without copying.
Jewelry & Beading Use antique optical lenses to make wonderful mixed media jewelry!
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Kim Miles is on the road and she is giving away beads as she blogs! Check it out!

Day gone askew

I was hoping to have a nice quiet day today. I got everything packed up for tomorrows Art, Paper and Pleasantries show yesterday afternoon, and was planning on spending the day cleaning up a bit, updating the website, pack up the shrine for the workshop etc... That did not happen.

Rob came in with Bettie from the first thing in the morning walk and she was whimpering with her tail tucked under. Long story short-we had to take her to the Emergency Vet because her glands were impacted and infected. Poor little thing, she's all doped up in pain and passed out next to me right now. So my day didn't go anywhere nearly as relaxing or productive as planned.

I did get a few new pieces of jewelry updated on the site, some of them are in the above picture. I made some fun new earring cards for the show. I was tired of the boring plastic ones that did nothing to show of my style or the earrings. So I made my own Saints & Sinners Cabinet Cards.

I used various vintage images, but think I like this one the best. They match my necklace stands and when I get the display stuff down pat I think it will look cool. Tomorrow will be bare bones display wise because I'm only taking what I can fit into a suitcase-which isn't much LOL.

I hope I do well otherwise, and am thrilled to get to meet some online friends in person.