Black Friday Treasury

Happy Black Friday! Ok, I have to state that I am not one to get up early on this day and go shopping. For those of you that can relate, I have created a Black Friday, black and white Etsy Treasury. The shops listed in this treasury are offering Black Friday sales. Enjoy!

Spirals and Labradorite

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I'm back now! 

I've recently created some new earrings; both incorporate sterling silver spirals crafted from 18 gauge wire. The earrings on the left include tiny beads wire wrapped around the bottom half, and I included a small labradorite briolette that dangles from the bottom.

Tiny Crystals

I created a new pair of earrings using 2mm Swarovski crystals. These are the smallest beads that Swarovski makes, so I had to be very careful not to drop and lose them! I decided to wrap these beads in the thinnest gauge of wire that I have on hand. I was originally planning to add a cluster of pearls at the end, but I decided on a simple single crystal pearl.

Sunshine on the Belly...and Roses

I started down the stairs this morning, and caught my cat laying in the sun (as cats are fond of doing). We've had so few sunny days this year, so I'm sure my little guy is loving every minute of it.

And the roses are happy, too.

The Manly Geek - A New Etsy Treasury

I finally made a new treasury recently. My desire to make treasuries seems to come and go. This is the first one that I have created that is man-centric, and I especially love the laptop decal!

Amazing Find from Stumbleupon - Toothpick Sculpture

I found this a few days ago while I was on Stumbelupon. I can't imagine the patience it takes to create something this amazing. There are more pics on flickr.

Toothpick sculpture of San Francisco by Scott Weaver



Random Website Find - CouponNetwork.com

As we all know, consumer prices are rising. If you do the grocery shopping in your family, I am sure you cringe when you notice the price of a loaf of bread, for example. Add the cost of gas to get to the store and, well, it all adds up.

I recently read an article about websites that offer coupons. There are a lot of them out there, but some of them are not reliable or honest. One of the reliable sites mentioned, is CouponNetwork.

CouponNetwork offers two ways for you to save money. The first involved printable, manufacturer coupons (like the ones you might get at the checkout line). These coupons have a “print by” date, and you can sort the coupons by this date if you choose.

The second way to save is through their YourBucks® offers. These are rewards that earn on future purchases. Once you purchase promoted products, you receive your YourBucks® offers that has a cash-like use on a future purchase.

Granted, there are not a lot of coupons and deals listed on this site (right now I see 16 YourBucks® offers and 33 printable coupons). But with the high cost of just about everything, it might be time to do a little comparison coupon shopping!

A Moonstone and Pearl Pairing

I have a couple strands of freshwater pearls in shades of lilac, and I realized they pair nicely with rainbow moonstone. I made two pair of earrings with these pearls and moonstone, and I have more ideas brewing.
A new necklace, perhaps?

Tiny Beads

So I have these tiny amazonite beads that I bought a few months ago. I intended to wrap them around sterling hoops or earwires that I make, which I did. But then I had the idea to stick head pins in them and cluster them around chrysocolla quartz. My problem is, I don't have any fine-gauge head pins. My solution: I made my own ball head pins with my butane torch.

I have made my own ball head pins with fine silver wire in the past, but making them with very fine-gauge sterling silver wire is, well, frustrating. I had trouble grabbing them with the pliers, and I had to make sure I didn't put them too close to the flame (I had one that partially melted).

I love these chrysocolla quartz beads so much, I am about to make another pair of earrings using them. And guess what? I need to make more ball head pins because, just like these earrings, my new pair will incorporate more tiny beads.

Taxes and Yard Work and Jewelry, Oh My!

I know I've been neglecting my blog this month; I was doing our taxes and creating some new jewelry. But taxes are done, the sun is shining… and now it’s time to do yard work! I tend to feel like a bear during the winter months. I hibernate and ignore any landscape maintenance until the spring!

But I have created some new jewelry pieces, including a couple necklaces and pairs of earrings. I had one of my necklaces (posted in my last blog entry) appear in one of the Etsy Finds emails. It was a nice surprise! Here is a picture of one of my latest creations, which I made with Bali spacer beads and chrysocolla quartz.

A Long and Bright Necklace

It's been a while since I created a necklace. This is, however, my first opera length necklace.  I originally planned to add a clasp, but I decided a clasp might limit the options of the wearer.

I decided to make this a minimalist necklace and as a result, there is a lot of sterling chain between the stones. I really am pleased with the color combinations; it makes me think of summer!

Lovely Amazonite

It’s been a while, but I finally made a new piece of jewelry! I’ve been in a jewelry creative slump lately, partly because I have been coming up with ideas for a different product that I plan to make. I started making these earrings a couple weeks ago, and they just sat on my jewelry table untouched.

They feature on of my favorite stones: amazonite. Lately I have been creating jewelry using tiny turquoise-colored glass beads, which are very similar in color to amazonite. I originally planned on using them in these earrings, but I had just bought these small amazonite beads and decided to use these instead.

It Snowed!

Warning: The following post contains photos of the snow. If you live in the Midwest or Eastern U.S., please forgive me. I am just a West coast gal that has a child-like fascination with snow.

Yes, it finally snowed here! I love waking up and looking out our bedroom window to falling snow. As always, I grab my camera and attempted to take some half-decent photos. I’ve always found snow a challenge to photograph, but I usually don’t spend much time trying to get the photos right.

This is my backyard shed. It's so pretty in the snow, since it is the only object with color.

 
 

My potted oregeno. I planted this last year, then pretty much ignored it 

A Treasury Challenge

I am a member of an Etsy team called Treasury Challenge NonTeam, and they recently listed challenge #19. An item is picked, and that item becomes the inspiration for treasuries. This week's item of inspiration is a 14 karat leaf ring with diamonds in each leaf. I had no intention of having a wedding theme, but I found myself browsing at wedding items and I just gave in to it!

Anyway, here is my first attempt at a NonTeam Challenge. I named it 'A Bright Future Ahead'. Hope you enjoy!

Pretty Flowers on the Wall

I never make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I don’t expect a box of chocolates or a nice piece of jewelry. But while my husband and I were grocery shopping this past weekend, I noticed (it was hard not to) the many bouquets of flowers on display. We hardly ever buy fresh flowers, mainly because I have a very inquisitive cat that likes to eat and play with anything and everything. But since we have a pair of wall-mounted vases (again, I had the cat in mind when I bought these!), I decided it was time for some fresh flowers. They look so pretty, but maybe I should have bought another bouquet for the other vase! I currently have faux flowers in the vase on the left, and they happen to represent fall colors. So I have a pretty, fresh bouquet of pink and red flowers next to faux orange and yellow flowers.

Nice, right?

Tiny Turquoise Beads

I am still in the process of satisfying my desire to create jewelry with tiny seed beads.  Here is my latest creation, which I finished a couple days ago. 

The seed beads that I used in this design are called Charlottes, and each bead has one facet. They are beautiful, especially when the light catches the facets. But if I happen to drop one on the floor, I don't bother to look for it!

Another Pair of Earrings With Teeny, Tiny Beads

So once again, I have made a pair of earrings with these tiny glass beads. This time I used opaque purple beads with an aurora borealis finish. I wrapped the beads around these leaf-shaped hoops that I made a couple weeks ago.

My New Labradorite Earrings

I have a new pair of earrings that feature lovely labradorite. I made the long metal components by hammering pieces of wire, then wrapping them around a mandrel (which in my case, is usually a socket from a socket set). I made another set of these components to use in another design, but I am afraid to try it because it involves using my little butane torch right next to a gemstone bead. I am just hoping I don't break the bead!

How to Inspire Creativity – Part I: How the Internet Can Help Inspire Creativity

I am starting a new blog series on creativity and inspiration. I haven't yet decided how often I will add to my series (probably once or twice a month). My first installment is How the Internet Can Help Inspire Creativity. I have included a number of web links to sites that I feel can be helpful.

Color and Texture

Color Matching
There are a number of websites devoted to color blending/matching. These sites are wonderful  when you are trying to find colors that coordinate with another color. Some of these sites will allow you to save your custom-created palette. Here are some of my favorite sites:

• http://www.colorblender.com/
• http://www.colourlovers.com/
• http://kuler.adobe.com/
• http://colormixers.com/

  

Photos
Photos are great for inspiring creativity. A photo of a flower, for instance, can help inspire a new project based on color and/or texture. There are many sites to find photos, but here are three popular choices:

• http://www.flickr.com/
• http://photobucket.com/
• http://www.webshots.com/pro/

  

Words and Fonts

As someone that writes descriptions for jewelry, I sometimes find myself looking for new adjectives to describe a pair of earrings, for example. When I need to get ideas for writing my descriptions, I will sometimes visit one of the following sites. The first two links are good sources for finding the names of particular colors.Words

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_color
• http://chir.ag/projects/name-that-color/
• http://thesaurus.com/
• http://descriptivewords.org/
• http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-adjectives.html#Adjectives

Fonts
Let me start by saying, I love fonts! I have been downloading free fonts for a long time now. There are so many styles to choose from, and then you have the dingbat fonts. If you have a photo-editing program like Photoshop, you might already know all the fun things you can do with fonts and special effects.

• http://www.1001freefonts.com/
• http://www.dafont.com/
• http://www.searchfreefonts.com/
• http://simplythebest.net/fonts/

Nature in Miniature - A New Treasury

I created a new Etsy treasury this morning, titled 'Nature in Miniature'. I love miniature items, as I often find myself using tiny beads when I create my jewelry. And of course, I love the natural world!

Earrings with Red Swarovski Crystals

I have a new pair of earrings that I just finished photographing today. I guess with garnet being the birthstone of January and Valentie's day coming up, I have been in a 'red' mood! I have another pair of red earrings in the making, using garnet briolettes.

Frost and Labradorite

When I first started buying jewelry supplies years ago, I decided to buy seed beads in various colors and shapes. I don't even quite remember what I was planning on doing with them, but I recently re-discovered these cute little frosted beads. I have them in two different sizes and when strung next to each other, create a nice texture. I knew right away that these beads would look lovely with labradorite, so I stung them on my handmade earwires and attached a briolette. I even decided to buy more of these little beads in a few different colors.

A Quick Pic of My New Earrings

I am about to photograph some earrings that I created right before the holidays. I took a quick picture of all five of my new pairs of earrings. The earrings on the far left were a challenge to make; a lot of delicate wire wrapping!