Thursday, July 30, 2009

A Happy Heart


I think that says it all. A happy heart loves life, its kind and giving. In my world, a happy heart is a colorful place....I have a few Happy Heart Pendants in my etsy shop along with a Mended Heart too. Key to My Heart Pendants will be up soon. I'm in a heart mood so watch out!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Kids R Kute

Last Saturday during my Open House I had Kristen's daughter of Gocksfrocks do a bit of modeling for me. She was a natural model.

I love her hairstyle and smile....


I kept thinking of her as a woodland fairy....too bad I didn't have a fake toadstool for her to sit on! My cast iron chair worked fine however.




And here is the big close up. I only wish I had a different necklace on her....something a bit more lively.

Monday, July 20, 2009

How I Felt


I like to teach felting in the summer. It's so much easier managing the wetness when your outdoors teaching and you can just squeeze the water out onto the patio..... without getting up! Last week I taught a small class and shared how to make beads, felt flat pieces, how to needle felt, etc.... I shared all the little tips I know about keeping things simple and relatively controlled. Felting is definitly addicting since its fairly easy and inexpensive to do.

Those who take my class leave with plenty of beads and a somewhat finished pin. I encourage that much of the embellishing to be done at home when you can spend more time and really contemplate what you want to do. I have a selection of glass buttons and people pick one to be the focal of their pin. So much fun to see what everyone does.

Carol was my lovely student the other night and for a few hours we felted like crazy. During my Open House Carol came by and brought her finished pin to show off. It looks fantastic don't you think?!!!

I FELT so proud :)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Lights, Color, Action...praying to the photographic gods




Photographing your work to get an accurate representation is challenging. Its as if the planets must be aligned and the lighting must be just right to capture the true essence of your work. Yikes. Thats alot to ask for. Needless to say, I've been challenged today with my photographic work. So, please keep in mind when I share my latest pieces, the photography isn't world class...


My newest style could be called primitive, distressed, earthy......with a splash of color. I don't know really how to best describe it but it has an edge to it. I'd also say that my newest work is about our own duality and religious rituals. . I guess I'd call it a "Line of work" and I've named it Saint and Sinner. We all have both of these qualities within our personalities but its which trait that is strongest that gives us our personalities. I like to think of most of us as "Saints"........we are good people but we have our moments of doing naughty things ....the "Sinner" side of us all. I am really into human behavior and certain religious rituals particularly buddhist. So, here is a glimpse into what is going on inside my head

Look for more of my Saint & Sinner work on my website....soon. I have to be remotely happy with the images before I'll put them up :)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Featured Artist~Nikki of Bastille Bleu



From time to time, I like to showcase fabulous artists that I come across here on my blog. There are just so many talented people out there. I came across Nikki's work and was stunned to find out that she is a True Blue self taught lampwork artist. She hasn't taken not one class! I think her work is pretty terrific. Here is a little bit about Nikki, her work and where you can find her stuff....

1. How long have you been making beads and/or jewelry? I've been making glass beads for close to three years now, complete self-taught but saving up to take some classes from some of the well-respected and talented instructors out there.

2. What has been the most challenging aspect of your work/ business? I think the most challenging part is trying to decipher how someone else make a particular bead or design and trying to try it out for myself with my own spin on it, and learning this craft from reading about it, watching videos, buying tutorials, lots of practice, learning from my successful moments and "what was I thinking" moments.

3. What do you like best about your work? I love the creative aspect that lampworking provides me and the fact that I can do what I love, at home in my own studio! I feel very blessed.

4. Where can people find your work? My lampwork beads and jewelry are primarily being sold on Etsy.com. My lampwork bead shop at http://www.bastillebleu.etsy.com, and my Lampwork Jewelry shop at http://www.bastillebleubijoux.etsy.com. I also occasionally sell my beads and jewelry at local venues in my area when the opportunity presents itself.

5. Who or what inspires you? There are so many artists who's glasswork truly inspires me such as Kimberly Affleck, Corina Tettinger, Lina Khan, Beatice Killeen (Fried Peas Lampwork), Vickie Miller (HipKittyBeads), Kandice Seeber, Kristine Dery (Krissy Beads)... just to name a few, and of BellaBeadJewelry! Im also inspired by things I love ..... simplicity, holidays, Mary Engelbreit Designs, animals, colors, nature, and sometimes even by a clothing catalog or a dream.

6. What is a fun fact about you? Im a huge fan of history (especially Medieval History) and actually belong to a world-wide organization called the Society of Creative Anachronism (www.sca.org) where we have fun re-creating the European Middle Ages by dressing in appropriate clothing of a specific time period (between 600 - 1600th century), learning and living the daily activities, skills, arts, combat, and entertainment of the Middle Ages, but without all the unpleasantness of the plague, famine, pillaging, etc... and all during a weekend camping event, and on occasion, sometimes longer which are typically known as "wars".

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sunday Stuff

Wow. The sun is shining today and there is NO rain!! We have been hit with a very wet end of June and start of July. Not fun. So today the sun shines and there is little to report. Today has been filled with relaxing things. No rushing around. No where special to be. Nice. I took a nice walk to begin my day, coffee, and then a little of this & that. But I do have something to show you........I'm really enjoying my "new" look these days. Of course with anything new, I tend to hold my breath to see if it really comes out okay....




I like it! I'm going to eventually work it into a necklace design but that idea is still brewing.

My biggest news is about all the windows Peter has been busy installing!! Our house was built in 1924 and we had the original windows........very drafty in the winter to say the least. We now have all new windows thanks to my wonderful husband....new siding happens mid August. Can't wait for that too.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Fixing your own mistakes

Beadmaking is my first love but I do enjoy knitting too. Its like I always need something to keep my hands busy...always need something to create. I just love the colors, textures and all the possibilities that knitting provides. Its also hard for me to do just one project at a time. Currently, I'm working on a tank top, a dog sweater and a bustier....The tank top is my BIG focus. I must finish this and be able to wear it THIS summer! So, I've been busy knitting away when I have the time and am near to reaching the arm area...last night after beadmaking and other household stuff, I sat down to knit. I was cruising along when I noticed that I dropped a stitch!! I first panicked because my girl Pam has just moved her shop and she doesn't open til next week. She ususally bails me out of situations. Then I went to my computer and googled "Fixing Knitting Mistakes" and tah, daaaaaa. There was, a video on fixing dropped stitches! I'm happy to report that I too can fix things!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Etsy Stuff Video

Stray Beads For Sale


In an attempt to get more organized once again in my studio, I have discovered some stray beads that need to find a home. I hope you'll take a peek and see what might find a home with you. I'll be adding things throughout the morning to my Etsy Shop. This is one of my strays. A beautiful cone bead that I just know someone else will love too.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Sentimental Art


As many of you know, I'm an Art Teacher by day. I work with K-2nd graders and just love what I do. To me, its just the best job to have.

For sometime now, I've wanted to incorporate childrens art work into a special piece of jewelry but didn''t know how I wanted to do this. I toyed with the idea of sandwiching the art between glass but really wasn't settled with this. But now with my growing expertise with pmc I've discovered a way to do this in a way I visually like! I can take your child's art, and make it into a beautiful pendant or bracelet made of fine silver!

The one I'm showing was drawn by a kindergartner. I had originally wanted to do this as a retirement gift for a teacher at our school but timing was an issue. So I kept the artwork and made this example with it......I didn't know if it would really work or not.


Here is what the drawing looked like. Once I transfer it to pmc I cropped what I wanted...otherwise it would be fairly large. I made this one into a pendant but I want to do a bracelet next. To bad the school year is done :( I need some kids to do drawings for me so I can make another example!!

I have my Children's Art Pendants listed in my etsy shop and they are done by special order. I'm hoping that these will do well during the holiday season. I'll be asking my niece's, nephew and afternoon art students to do some sample drawings for me to build up a nice display of possibilities. So, keep this in mind...........they are sure to make a great sentimental gift!