New Season

Well, it's yet another season of our lives!
Not long after I wrote the last post, let's say I get really tired. Really, really tired. I then lived in a tired  haze for quite some time made up of work, sinus headaches, soaking my feet and collapsing onto the couch.
We are having a little baby girl in November :).
So, needless to say my focus and what energy I had during the first trimester were not about beads. And then as my energy returned it was about getting through each work day and putting my legs up and resting when I got home.
I am now starting my third week home and not working as my legs would not handle eight hour shifts on them at a go. I am spending a lot of time organizing and cleaning, getting the baby's room ready and nesting.
But it also mean I have time and energy to bead! Yay!
My poor Etsy shop has been sorely neglected. I'm debating about finding a new street team on Etsy or waiting until after little girl shows herself and seeing how her days go first.
Either way, it's also a new season for my beading.
As yes, I have maternity leave and a bit of money with that, but not as much, I'm hoping to get back to selling a little more often and putting more efforts into that online I seem to have sold more in person over the last few years, but I have the time to try to advertise and such more now.
 It will also be a new season in that, since I'm not working right now not all the profits will go to missions. I will still have times where this is true though.
I have some pieces to photograph and listings to update, but mostly I'm excited to play with my beads again :)

I'm also excited to have time to look at other beady buddies blogs and get back into the beading community online :).

See you all soon!

Purple Blush

It is so incredibly hard to photo light purple! Add a dash of light pink and ...well, still not 100% pleased with these photos, but what can you do?

floral cuffs

Well, I DO have a slew of new pieces...
However, they need to be photographed and listed as of yet as I have been busy unpacking and with various other things in my busy life that have gotten in my way these last few weeks (how rude!)

In the mean time, I've decided to spotlight some of my floral cuffs :)
Enjoy:

Red Panda

I am a longtime fan of RedPanda's amazing Chain maille!
Just this week I finally made a purchase of my own, these amazing and funky earrings!

She makes such a variety of styles that exude quality, originality and pizazz!
She is sure to have something that will fit your style.

Of course, I am partial to her colourful pieces, but that goes without saying :)

(Aren't her photo's amazing?)


Right now Red Panda is running a contest in which you can win one of her pieces!!!
Be sure to go and check it out!!!
RedPanda's Bog

Earrings :)

I know that I have been painfully abscent from this lately, I am going to make it a higher priority. Pity when work and life get in the way of my bead obsession!

Some earing eye candy today, to tempt you (all for sale in my shop):

Valentine's Sale!!

Wanting to get something unique and special for your sweetie this year?

Now through February 2nd I am offering everything at 15% off!!
One of the great things about beadweaving is that it is so durable while looking so elegant: I wear mine while doing dishes, at work, swimming, sometimes accidentally in the shower, and it holds up like a dream. Beadweaving will last for generations!
Come and browse: Regal Beads

Snow Queen

When I hear the phrase "Snow Queen" the first thing to come to mind is the picture of an evil witch who held a mythical country under her spell for hundreds of years of winter, always winter but never Christmas!

This months etsy challenge is titled "Snow Queen", and the entries are amazing!
Be sure to stop by and vote for your favourite piece from the 9th through the 15th of the month!!

HOLIDAY ETSY FEST

I have not been as great about posting lately, just not enough hours and energy.
Right now I am working up a bunch of earrings for a little show next weekend.
Anything I don't sell will be put up on etsy, but I think I'll just have to make more up for etsy , these are way cute :) They are a new design I just came up with.

AND NOW:
I am going to be running a sale along with a lot of other sellers!


MY SALE:
Along with my free shipping sale that I am running through Christmas, you will also get an additional 10% off!!
Shop for your sweetie, your daughter, your mother...and buy them something that will be unique, beautiful, and that will last a lifetime!

Also, be sure to check out the Holiday Etsy Fest Shopping Guide!

Earrings, earrings, earrings

I don't know about you, but I love my earring collection!
Recently I decided to try my hand at some beadwoven earrings.
I made some for myself (of course! :) ) and have some listed in my shop.
Right now, when you order any of my cuffs or necklaces, receive a FREE pair of matching beadwoven earrings!!

Sheer Blond Set

A special set for a special girl.

Gifts

What good is it to be able to make beautiful creations if you don't share them with those in your life who are extra special and dear?
This week I've worked on a few gifts :)
That first piece is for my Mother In law who isn't a big jewelery lady, but wanted some Russian work for her jacket. :)
(Pattern © by Galina Barsky )












Netted cuffs. These type will be showing up in my shop shortly. I've really gotten to like them!









































As will some of these! I love herringbone! It can be time consuming, but there is something about the flow of it that is amazing.




























I bought these "ladies" from Mugsysbeads
a little while back after coming across them and simply falling in LOVE with them! Aren't they they cutest?
There are a couple of special little ladies in my life who will be getting a special package in the mail :).

Belladio

My featured seller today is Belladio:
http://belladio.etsy.com
http://belladio.blogspot.com

What she has to say about herself:I am a Stay at home mom with 3 boys living in Indianapolis. Six years ago I began playing around with beading during a play date with friends. I started out just making jewelry for myself and then giving them as gifts. As more people took interest in my work I started taking it more seriously. A few years into crafting, buying beads and stringing them no longer thrilled me, so I decided to go to the next step and make my own beads. Thus began my work with polymer clay. Polymer Clay opened up different avenues for me as I was able to sell my designs in the antiques/tea room where I worked. I am never content for long and felt the need to branch out even more and added wirework to my designs. In between all of these ventures, a friend turned me on to Cafepress. I started to design t-shirts from drawings that I had done. Looking around, I wanted to express my faith to any generation so I made designs that had scriptures in them, but could be worn by anyone. Thank you so much for stopping by and looking through my shop.

cserpent

My featured etsy seller today is cserpent:


http://cserpent.etsy.com
http://cserpentDesigns.blogspot.com

What she has to say about herself:



Hi my name is Susan and I'm the creator of cserpentDesigns! My husband nicknamed me Sea Serpent during our scuba diving days (picture a tall person in a purple and black drysuit with a pink flotation vest coming out of the water with big black fins on her feet ... yep sea serpent fits!). He even got me a sea serpent stamp to use for my "signature" on my hand made cards.

I got started in jewelry making when one of my soccer teammates got me to go to a wirewrapping class with her. I made my first bracelet in that class (and as I look at it now I want to take it apart and redo it to look a lot nicer!). I then saw a beaded watch band in a magazine and figured I could expand on that idea and make myself a cool beaded watch band in PURPLE! (my favorite color). I started the watch band using gold plated findings, finished it up at another wire wrapping class and got interest from many of my friends and family in having jewelry made for them. I still was just dabbling and got really mad when the gold plated findings started to tarnish in a very short amount of time. From that I learned my lesson about making things that last - don't make them with gold or silver plated parts if you want them to last a long time and remain beautiful!

That 2nd wire wrapping class really drove my interest in making jewelry with beads. I took more classes in basic jewelry making (stringing, knotting, ...) and have been making jewelry for family and friends and other customers for 4 years now. My jewelry designs are also for sale at a gallery in La Jolla, CA - Gili Anna - so I'm starting to expand my sales base.

I have a great time buying the parts needed to make my jewelry. I REALLY like the gorgeous artisan lampwork beads that are available through etsy as well as other online sites. My "inventory" is quite large so I really have to get designing more so I can share these beautiful beads with others. Sometimes I'll find one interesting bead or gemstone and that will be the kick start for a piece of jewelry. I really enjoy the creation process and get excited when I finish a piece and can share it with folks I know and with Etsy I can now share my creations with a much larger family.

Meet my sometime codesigner!
----------------------------
My mom enjoys buying beads as well, a little too well if you ask me. Since she won't stop buying them I told her she'll have to start making jewelry for sale with some of the many beads she's purchased (and which I "store"). She has made many jewelry pieces for herself, family and friends but she buys way more beads than she has used in these designs. So my bead bins overfloweth and mom has to help clear them out by making designs to sell.

Be sure to check out all her goodies in her etsy shop!!

Lucky Girl Trading

Etsy Buy Handmade LUCKYGIRLTRADING

My featured seller today is Lucky Girl Trading :
http://luckygirltrading.etsy.com
http://luckygirltrading.blogspot.com/

About the artist:
In the spring of 2001 I was overwhelmed by sadness and huge piles of clutter. My marriage was in the midst of a very ugly ending, and he had left tons of his stuff behind. I suddenly realized that I was a very lucky girl to be rid of him, and Lucky Girl Trading Company was born. I began listing his stuff for sale on eBay, clearing away both the clutter and the sadness. A few years later I met my lucky guy--who was selling a bit of jewelry--and married him in a hot air balloon ceremony in 2006. We've worked together to build Lucky Girl Trading into a fun and fulfilling enterprise. I've also discovered working with glass--one of my all-time favorite creative outlets. I've also discovered two ancient arts: Kumihimo and Temari. Both are centuries-old crafts, and both give me a zen-like tranquility while working.

I truly am a Lucky Girl! Every day I gather pretty, sparkly things and send them to people. I imagine a person opening their mail and taking out their new pendant or chain or pouch. It's perfect--they have a huge smile on their face--and so do I. I'd love for that person to be you!

Katrin Lerman Jewelry

My featured seller today is Katrin Lerman Jewelry:

http://KatrinLermanJewelry.etsy.com
http://katrinlermanjewelry.blogspot.com/

What she has to say about herself:

I come from a family of makers and have been doing jewelry since I was a little girl (if making friendship bracelets is considered jewelry ; ) Originally from Germany, I settled in Massachusetts, US almost ten years ago. I can’t believe it has been such a long time already! Nonetheless, I draw inspiration from my German childhood as well as from the time spent here and from every little moment I can remember happening in between. Sometimes, photographs of finished jewelry pop into my mind and I have to quickly run to jot them down before they are gone. Other times, I have an idea in mind and it takes a lot of drawings until I have figured out how to best do what I was thinking about. Of course, those sketches are not written in stone and I often change a design while I am making the piece to arrive at the best end result possible.

I graduated from the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University in Boston with a Degree of Fine Arts in Interior Design. Interior Design is all about color, form, and texture – and that’s what I’m integrating in my jewelry designs.

Now that I have a beautiful baby girl, I try to spend every free minute (and those of you who have a baby know that there are few) creating jewelry. Naturally, I have lots more time thinking than creating and so my sketch book is filling up with ideas for years to come. I can’t wait to get working on all those ideas and designs!!!


Be sure to go and look at the rest of her shop!

Scorpienna

My featured seller for todays 90 in 90 challenge is Scorpienna:
http://scorpienna.etsy.com
http://scorpienna.livejournal.com

About the artist:
I'm an engineering student in Missouri. I like to use tools, to make things, and to play with beautiful colors. I also love to procrastinate my studies, and I've found that making jewelry is a great way to relieve stress while putting off my homework just a little while longer!

If you would like something in my shop in a different color or length, please contact me. I can also split up sets on request. Check out my sold items for more things that I can make for a custom order.

All earrings are pristine (never been worn).

If you are disappointed by an item you buy, let me know and we'll work something out. I want my customers to be satisfied.

I have a cute little spoiled parrot (green cheek conure) so I'm particularly interested in parrot artwork and crafts as well as bird toys. If you have anything cute and parrot-y, let me know!


If you love ear rings, you will love her shop!

But, don't take my word for it :).