Happy Bloated Bellies Day, Newsletter and ArtBeads.com

Hope you are all feeling well today and don't feel like this poor squirrel looks LOL.  This is what I call the day after Thanksgiving because we usually make so much yummy food and eat far too much. I didn't eat too much yesterday but Rob and the dogs went into food coma and took a nice long nap after dinner.

While they were napping, I took the opportunity to go thru some stuff in our closet. We only have one closet. Its a big one but still its the ONLY storage in this loft so its packed. I went thru some of my sewing stuff. I filled another bag for goodwill with fabric, patterns and clothes I'm never going to alter. I also pulled out some vintage bamboo purse handles to put on ebay and found MORE fiber. I found another bag of browns/naturals last week I though I had gotten rid of.  Oi Vay, its been over a year since I spun anything thing and I still have fiber coming out my ears.  I may keep these few pounds, because I'm thinking about making some hats but who knows.  I also put more yarn in the "yarn to sell bag" too. Not bad for about an hours worth of work.

I also finally sent out a newsletter for a special discount this holiday weekend. I've marked everything 25% off, from now until 11:59pm Monday night. I'm hoping this will entice people to buy and get a good deal. For local people, I'm vending next Saturday at the SF MoMA Holidaze sale at the SF MoMA Gallery in Ft Mason. If you're in the area, stop by. There will be lots of great artists with affordable gifts.

I may be wearing this dazzling pink creation next Saturday.

Artbeads.com sent me some AMAZING Swarovski crystal beadsin Ruby and Siam a few weeks ago to review and blog about.  When I opened the package I gasped, it was all so PRETTY!!!  I could really get addicted to Swarovski. I had bought some of the red coral satin beads a couple months ago and they are so much prettier than the less expensive Czech or Chinese crystals.

Anyway, inside my package were 14mm Ruby and 6mm Siam Round beads, crystal links, a baroque pendant and 2 volcano colored buttons.  The colors are SOOOO lush, rich and some of my favorites.

I wirewrapped the crystals with silver colored beadcaps and heishi for the necklace portion and added the siam crystal links. I used one of my own resin Rose Specimen pendants as the centerpiece and hung the Ruby baroque pendant from it. The color matches the pink red of the rose perfectly.

For the earrings, I used some 16g sterling wire to create a loop, wirewrapped the buttons in the center with rose colored craft wire and added 2 crystal charms to the bottom.  I usually make earwires but this time used commercial sterling earwires since I have a bunch sitting in front of me.  I think the set turned out really pretty, but then again I'm partial to these colors ;-)

Artbeads.com is having a 20% off (over $60) After Thanksgiving sale this weekend and always has free shipping. Visit the website for full details.  They ship REALLY fast and I'm always pleased with my purchases and review items from them.

Big News!!!

I've got a couple of great things to crow about!! First = I've got a project in the winter issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry - Tattered Garden Ring.  I got the issue the other day and am also happy to be included with such a talented group of artists including my birthday twin Kecia and online friends Deryn, Kristen and Richard Salley. I absolutely LOVE the photos they took of my work, they are GORGEOUS!!! I had also sent in another project that I made 2 yrs ago to send in for LAST YEARS winter issue but didn't send it in. It's a resin project that will appear in a future issue.  

I need to keep reminding my self to send things in when magazines put out the call. For years I didn't, and always kicked myself. Why didn't I??? because I didn't think it was "'good enough".  That's a familiar story we artists all seem to have. And its usually a load of horse manure.   Luckily I had alot of friends kick me in the butt over the last year and I'm conquering that particular inner demon.  Now I just need to remember to put reminders in my calender about submitting.   If YOU have had the same thought, make yourself do it. So what if it IS really awful (but I bet it isn't!), taking action is the real reward. Don't sell yourself short!

And Big News #2 is - I'm teaching 2 classes at Art Unraveled next year!!

The First is the Ancient Futuristic Steampunk Art Doll and second is It's Good To Be Queen Necklace class. The doll class is gonna be a lot of fun and I'm gathering things to bring with me for it. The necklace class will be fast paced but you'll learn alot about quicksetting resins and have molds and resin charms to take home as well.  I'm really looking forward to both of them, and will be putting up pages with info, supply list and FAQ's for students at the beginning of the year.

I also need to put up my latest Art Beads jewelry project, its with Swarovski elements and so luscious! It deserves its own post so I'll show you the Fuscia lushness tomorrow.

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If Cupcakes are wrong,let me live in sin!

Never have truer words been spoken! Especially when the tasty goodies are from Cups and Cakes Bakery whose motto is: If cupcakes are wrong, we don't wanna be right.

 Luckily (or unluckily for my behind) they just opened their pretty hot pink and black storefront on 9th St this past weekend. It;s a great location because I have to walk by it any time I go to Trader Joes. If you are in SF and in the SOMA area, you should treat yourself to some sugary goodness.

The bakery has a small counter with about 6 varieties of cupcakes and a few other baked goodies to tempt you. This is what i picked up today, and we already ate 2 cupcakes and most of the cookie!

Top row, from left to right: Luscious Vanilla, Red Velvet (devoured and deliciuous!)

Bottom row: Pancake Breakfast (Rob devoured and  LOVED it!) Deep Dark Chocolate, and Salted oatmeal sandwich cookie with creamcheese frosting and ganache. (MOSTLY devoured and most delicious!!!!). I'm half tempted to walk back down there and buy more. Yes they were THAT good!  I would like a doz of those for Xmas Santa! To read more of their flavors, check the website.  They also do vegan and gluten free cupcakes and are happy to do some custom flavors for a party or wedding.

Enchanted Adornments Book Review

Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal Clay, Wire, Resin, and More by Cynthia Thornton.

 Ok=so I'm about a month late posting my review and I apologize. It has nothing to do with the book, its me. I seem to have fallen out of the habit of blogging every day like I use to when I was on craftgossip. Anyway, on to the book.  Enchanted Adornments is more than just a "how to" jewelrymaking book.  It has jewelry techniques, projects as well as a story and Cynthia's illustrations. This book is what I would call "advanced beginner".   It goes beyond basic wire wrapping or bead stringing and gets into the meat of jewelry making. There are alot of techniques and materials used in the projects
 
The first half of the book is called "Essentials".  It covers basic jewelry "how to's", techniques you'll use in the projects and all that. She also shows the reader how to gather inspiration for your work, keeping a sketchbook or journal and other design building elements. This is an essential part of  expanding your creativity and great for beginners who are comfortable with techniques but looking to put more "wow" into their designs.  Also Cynthia has included some unique jewelry making techniques in this section that I've never seen as well. /For example, she shows how to make a texture sheet for your PMC or polymer clay. VERY CLEVER and I'll be making some myself!
 
The second half of the book is the story with the projects woven into the story line. The story is written in journal form with Cynthia's whimisical and fairylike style. There are 20  projects with variations in the book, and all combine various techniques like clay, beadwork and resin. 
 
There's alot of inspiration and technical information in this book for artist of all levels.

San Francisco Bead and Design Show Review and Bead Blog Reading Rainbow

Yesterday I went to a new Bead Show being held in SF, The San Francisco Bead and Design show. It was in the Hotel Whitcomr in the Civic Center/Theatre district part of downtown. It's a dicey area but the hotel is absolutely gorgeous.  It was a really nice show, with tons of interesting jewelry and supplies. There were probably more jewelry and clothing for sale than supplies but the mix was nice. There were also a few classes, which is great and Christi Friesen had polymer clay make and takes at her booth for free which was fantastic!!!   I sat in for one of her steampunk hearts class, and later saw she was about to start a dragonfly class. She was a great instructor and I loved meeting her.  She had some amazing work and I bought a heart pendant from her. I also got to meet and talk to a number of Facebook jewelrymaking people which was nice.   I didn't buy much however, because it seem everyone only sold retail. The few people I asked about wholesale question only gave me me tax off my purchase. I was hoping to get some basics like chain/findings but I guess this wasn't the show for that.

The show wasn't too crowded, which is nice when you are shopping but not so good if you are selling. I think the $10 entry fee really kept people away.  I personally don't like to have to spend money to get into an event where I am going to spend money and usually will bypass events that charge.  Also, unless you took public transit=parking in that part of the city is expensive and there is almost NO street parking.  Those factors really cut into someone's spending budget before they even step foot inside and I think that's why attendence was low.  But since it was the first show IN SF and there were vendors I wanted to see I went. I hope the next one has a much lower entry fee to entice more shoppers to attend. Also hopefully there will be more classes and more wholesale opportunities at future ones. 

And to keep your jewelry thoughts flowing,  here's a ton of fun things to read on the Bead Bloggers linky love today!

A Bead A Day - Do pearls go with everything? Lisa pairs glass pearls with chain and interesting findings. What do you think?

About.com Jewelry Making  - What do you do with a weird piece of chain made from wood? How about making a fabulous necklace out of it.

Art Bead Scene - Art Bead Scene gives you the scoop on findings worth finding - check it out!

Barbe Saint John : I've been a bad blogger!
Carmi's Art/Life World  - Carmi makes a brooch with a cameo and other odds and ends.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva = Cindy has a new shop on Etsy - the bleeding heart. Check it out!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles - Melanie shows the piece she made for the new book Chain Style, and talks about her struggles with letting go of her published jewelry pieces.

 Jean Campbell =  Jean kicks off a new era of self-indulgence with a funky Steampunk necklace.

Jewelry & Beading - Gather up some little beaded flowers and turn them into a very special necklace!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio - Lorelei's annual craft fair adventure is over and she share's some photos of the Aftermath.
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! - Artbeads teamed up with Nintendo DS to create a fantastic virtual learning game for jewelry lovers! Style Lab! Jean shows it off in a youtube clip! FUN for the HOLIDAYS! :)

Strands of Beads - Melissa discusses the virtue of buttons in jewelry-making

Bad Blogger

Yikes, its been a while since I've blogged.Will try to remedy that this week!

I've been working on some funky new jewelry pieces, like these head shrine necklaces and sending out a few "random mailings of love" the past couple of weeks. Those have all arrived their various destinations during the last week, and this week I will hopefully be sending out a few more. I find it so fun to get an unexpected postcard or package in the mail, I decided to make a habit of sending something every week. It doesn't take much to send a postcard to someone. Even putting together a little packet of  "junque" for a friend, or a few trinkets from Chinatown takes very little time but really brightens up someones day (or week)  I have also been working on some holiday gifts. This week, I need to put my focus on business and jewelry.  I will be selling at SFMoMA's Holidaze sale on Dec 5th and I really need to get a newsletter out.  

oh, I nearly forgot to add - I have a short and sweet alcohol ink tutorial up right now on the Alphastamp blog.

 I have had fun playing with them on plastic but you can use them on glass and metal as well. I'll be experimenting with it more to see what I can come up with.

Mini post-This weeks Bead Bloggers

Still under the weather, so this is gonna be a tiny post. I've spent the past few days web surfing and blog reading so here is this weeks Bead and Jewelry blog links for you to enjoy too!

A Bead A Day:  Looking for a great way to commemorate a special moment or gift? Design a piece of jewelry!

About.com Jewelry Making
It's like Wal-Mart, only you want to be there in this virutal tour of Shipwreck Beads.

Art Bead Scene:  Art Bead Scene is having a book fair. Read up on your favorites!

Carmi's Art/Life World:  Carmi has finally discovered how great polymer clay is.

Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva:  Not thinking about your holiday gift list yet? Cindy helps get you started with a Knot Ready for Prime Time Lucky Knots and Friends Projects so you can get started now!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles:  Melanie shares her final Crystal Week necklace... a piece she calls Woodland Mermaid

Jean Campbell:  Jean celebrates her favorite holiday by showing off her costume and some very cool baubles

Jewelry & Beading:  Krystal Backer, beading artist, shares her creative inspirations with Cyndi.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio:  Have you been following Lorelei's Necklace Round Robin? Come take a look at the finished pieces!

Snap Out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!   Jean reviews a delightful book by the editor of BeadStyle: Cathy Jakicic

Strands of Beads:  Melissa shows off her favorite necklace created for Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments and winner in the metal clay category of the British Bead Awards