The Peacock Fairy

Peacock Love Forver!

2012-01-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

This week's outfit submitted for Effortless Anthropologie.......

The Anthropologie piece here is the peacock feather skirt by Rutzou. As you can probably imagine, I have a lot of peacock clothes. So, things really need to make an impression now for me to buy them. The colors in this skirt are what did it for me. Such a departure from the usual teals, blues, green, and purples. The bright chartreuse, paired with dark grey, deep plums and a touch of pink - so pretty! A simple eggplant shell, grey cardigan, grey tights and boots (not shown). And I'll let ya in on a little secret..... the tights and cardigan are maternity! Since finding maternity tights, I will never wear regular tights again. They stay up, create a smooth silhouette, and are super comfy. I find myself wearing a lot more skirts and dresses now that I have them.

This week's Anthro outfit: keys in fashion & home decor

2012-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the outfit I submitted for the week at Effortless Anthropologie. The skirt is an older Anthro piece - an eBay find - Secret Key by the brand Odille. The necklace I am wearing (pictured below) is called Love Story by Fossil. It was another eBay find, and yes, I could make something similar myself but since I got it for a fraction of the price it was worth it to purchase it completed.

I went back in my blog history, because I knew that I have posted about keys several times before. I just think it's so cool to see them showing up in fashion, jewelry, and home decor over the past several years. You can see my posts here, here and here.

So this past week, I also did a little home decor project too. I've been obsessed with these artist printer trays from 7 gypsies. I have several stocked up, and do plan to use them for a traditional paper/mixed media/photo display. But this idea came to mind, so I jumped on it. A while back, I saw these vintage keys in the Pottery Barn catalog. When I saw similar keys in the dollar bin at Michael's, I bought them up. I painted my tray a cream color, and then distressed the edges with sandpaper. I drilled holes on each side of the key, up by their heads (not sure what the proper term is for the bigger end of a key), so that I could feed wire through in order to attach them. And viola! A very cool collection to display.

Once I made this tray, other ideas came to mind, so stayed tuned for another blog post to show the others I made to complete the series for my wall.

A day to myself.....

2012-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

I work for a company that is nice enough to give us MLK day off. I look forward to it every year. It's a nice little mid-January break.... you know, after being back at work for a few weeks after the holidays and you're kinda down because winter sucks and all that jazz. My husband has never had it off, so it truly is a day to myself. Not that I don't love him dearly, but everyone needs time to themselves. To refer to an episode of Sex and the City, you need time for your SSB (secret single behavior). Carrie liked to come home and eat saltine crackers with grape jelly on them while looking at Vogue without anyone bitchin' at her. I can totally relate! And I know that many of my other artist friends can too. I've been reading many a blog with this same theme, or talking to my fellow creators.

These moments to myself are even rarer now that I am a Mom. But they are so, so important! After the crazy, busy holidays and knowing that I was going into our busiest time at work (year end close on top of upgrading our entire company's main computer program) I looked forward to this day for weeks! What was I going to do? I had to plan it carefully so that I would get as much out of it as possible. It ended up being a wonderful mix of relaxing and creating. I watched the movie "I Don't Know How She Does It" because I knew Jon wouldn't want to see it. It was cute - I just love Sarah Jessica Parker - and the theme certainly fit my new life! The creating part was not only jewelry, but a few little home decor projects (which I will show soon) and some preparation for a baby shower that is being thrown for a friend this coming Sunday.

The jewelry I made is shown below, and will be listed soon in my Etsy shop. As always, it's a mix of doing all of the things I love: some metalwork and some basic curating of elements that I feel go together. And, at the end of the day, I couldn't wait to see Richard. I was refreshed and renewed. His smile, his laugh, his little arms reaching for me...... it's everything I had hoped for and more. Thank you Dr. King..... freedom comes in many forms!

Through the Anthropologie wormhole.

2012-01-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

I have loved Anthropologie for as long as I can remember. Over the years, I would treat myself from time to time on one of their beautiful pieces of clothing. This is after I would see it in the catalog or online and think about it for a very long time to make sure I really wanted to spend the money on it. Since there are no stores close to me (although they just opened one about an hour away from me in November - yeah!) I would stalk the website daily to make sure my size was still available, and to pour over the reviews. Other times, I would try to snag a good deal on eBay.

This past holiday season, however, I became a bit of an addict. You see, Anthro had a huge sale with an additional 50% off their super marked down clearance. I hit up the newly opened Grand Rapids, Michigan store and then the Milwaukee, Wisconsin store when we were with family for Christmas. My closet is as full of Anthro as it's ever been! Skirts and dresses for $30 or $40 each? Can't pass that up. And ever since I've had the best time mixing together outfits and accessories. And of course, continue to haunt eBay for some items I am looking for.

So while doing all of this, I got to wondering..... I was sure that there were other gals out there, just like me, who had a love of Anthro and had the best fun putting their outfits together. Or even who were in the market to buy, sell or trade. Sure enough, I found Effortless Anthropologie, a wonderful blog that had everything I was looking for! Roxy, the blog host, has weekly posts for members to post items for sale/trade or items they are looking for. There are also reviews on products, eye candy pics from different stores, and reader's outfits. On a more serious note, she also posts the company's quarterly earnings, and news such as the recent CEO resigning.

I just became a part of the weekly reader outfits with my look above. That there is the "Funneled Folds" sweater that I bought a few years ago - it has peacock feathers of course! It's layered with a shirt, belt and pants from the likes of Kohl's and Target. I plan to submit a pic every week, for as long as I can, and will share them here with you too. Even if I can't make jewelry everyday right now, I still have to get dressed everyday, right? And, my style is all a part of what inspires my jewelry anyway. I really enjoyed documenting my pregnancy style by taking pics of myself, so this is a good way to have a purpose to continue that.

Many of the readers who share have their own Anthro dedicated blogs too! And that my friends, is how you get sucked into the Anthro wormhole!

More handmade gifting - totally upcycling!

2011-12-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

I can't wait until Richard is old enough to craft and give his own handmade gifts! But until then, Mama will help him out! Now that we are into eating solid foods, I started saving the little jars because I know there are tons of cute ideas of things to do with them. For Christmas, I decided to make little snow globes.

I started to get even more excited about this idea when I realized that I probably had all of the materials necessary in my basement - a totally upcycled project! I had several bags of tiny trees from some scenery/mountains I had bought about 10 years ago for my Halloween village. I spray painted them purple and black, but of course never used the tree because they obviously didn't fit that holiday.

Then, I remembered that someone gave me a bag of fake snow several years ago for my Snowtown, but I never used it because I feared the mess it would make. I had silver glitter. I mean, what kind of crafty gal doesn't have tons of glitter??? Here is where I started to lay everything out. Mocha was very intrigued.
I washed all of the jars, and used Goo Gone to get the glue from the labels off. I have a love/hate relationship with Goo Gone. I cut circles from some sparkly while felt I had (again for my Snowtown) and adhered it to the inside of the caps. Then I glued a tree in the center of each one.

I mixed a nice bowl of snow and glitter up, praying that I would not spill it all over the place so that we'd be finding glitter until the year 2025. A spoonful or so in each jar, and secure the lids on.

Now I had to come up with how I was going to finish them off. A piece of ribbon tied around the base is the best idea, but have you ever tried to tie a tiny piece of ribbon around the rim of a slippery cap? That is something that I do not have the patience for. So I ran my silver ribbon through my Zyron machine (which puts adhesive on it) and affixed it round and round. I had some circle labels where I could put the "to" and "from" on the bottom and that's it!

Here are some pics with the flash on, and the flash off. I did have one larger mason jar from a candle that I burned down where I was able to add a snowman. I did not use water/glycerin in them because then there is the worry about them leaking over time. I modeled mine after the ones that were for sale at Anthropologie, which aren't on their website anymore for you to refer to. Very elegant and pretty, but for $38, this crafty gal is gonna DIY!

I hope the receivers will enjoy this memory of Richard's first Christmas!

More handmade gifting - Peas!

2011-12-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law, and nephew, love peas!

Heck, I like peas and so does baby Richard.

She also has a fondness for Green Girl Studios. So what's more perfect than making her a necklace with their pewter pea pod charm! I wanted it to be very simple and delicate so it's on a string of random pearls and seed beads - all in pea green colors of course! I am also gifting her with one of my tin cuffs!

Handmade Gifting

2011-12-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

Now that I am starting to send some of my handmade gifts out into the world, I can blog about them! I do apologize though for the bad lighting. Since evenings are the only time I have to create, and we are in the dark days of midwest winter, pictures aren't so great.

First up, I gave my good friend Kristen one of these tin bracelets. These bezel bracelets are so fun to experiment with! She and I have both made button bracelets with them. And now I've finally gotten around the making some tin ones. The trick to them is getting the right size circle because when you dome the metal, it gets smaller. Now that I've got my sizes figured out, for both the small and large versions, I plan to make more of these in the future. I wanted to make each size and then decide which on to give her. I gave her the smaller one which features more variety. I selected tins that had background to them - such as the yellow one she gave me. The strawberries to remember our strawberry picking outing a few years ago. And of course I had to throw in a peacock feather! I am so glad that she likes it!!!

She gifted me with even more pretty tins, and I can't wait to work with them soon!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of my blog readers a wonderful holiday season!

Free Shipping

2011-11-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

So it seems I missed having a Black Friday sale. Or Cyber Monday deal. That's okay because I haven't been able to update my Etsy shop as much as I'd like. I have had some wonderful sales at work, being that I have brought my jewelry in there. And since those customers don't have to pay for shipping, I thought I'd offer a FREE SHIPPING code through the holidays. Check the end of this post for the code. I'm hoping to update the shop sporadically over the next few weeks, and here are some new items I listed last night.

I don't often make the same design more than once, but I just LOVE how these long necklaces turned out. They are so boho, great for layering, and at a good gift giving price of $18 each. The peacock feather is from Nina Designs and I am so impressed by the quality - they truly seem like real gold! I'm tempted to keep one for myself........
A tin cuff..... hoping to get more tin pieces listed soon!

And some metal work. Lately, I've been more drawn to metal work than beading. It's nice to be able to go back and forth between the two.

Thanks for your support, and the FREE SHIPPING code is: Merry

Jade Scott Flower Challenge

2011-11-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, Lorelei and Jade teamed up to have a challenge with Jade's super cute enamel flowers. It was okay that I didn't score one of the ones Lorelei was giving away because I kinda had a surplus of them from one of Jade's Etsy updates. The reason I bought up so many was because I was hoping to get a nice variety, color wise, for the necklace I had in mind. I had envisioned using several of them for a statement piece - a garland for the neck.
It took me a bit to think up of how I was going to do this. I finally came up with a plan. I had purchased these metal components from Rings & Things (more plans for them to come too). I punched 2 holes in the center of the solid ones so that I could thread the headpin down and then back up to wrap the rest of it around the base of the flower.

Then I punched a hole on each end and embellished each one with a rivet to connect all 5 of the scallops together. Simple chain is all that is needed to finish this collar up!

Here are the rest of the blogs you can visit to see more pretty flowers!

1. Lorelei Eurto
2. Serena Trent
3. Susan Raber
4. Shawna Tobias
5. Lucid Moon Studio
6. K Hutchinson
7. Gigi
8. Lois Moon
And also!
http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com
http://mariagrimes.blogspot.com/

Did you think he'd be anything else?

2011-11-02T10:26:00.001-07:00

So, Happy Halloween everyone (a few days late). Halloween is my favorite holiday, and this year was even more fun because of Richard. Well, kindof. Meaning, it's fun to dress babies up, but they don't really know what is going on. They can't have candy, so it's really more for the parents enjoyment. He had a small party at daycare which I went and helped with, but it was quite short because again, they only tolerate a costume for so long.

He was a peacock.... of course. Are you surprised? I figured I'd better do it now before he can make up his own mind about what he wants to be. There are several peacock costumes on the market, and there's always the handmade route, but I found one that I liked and ordered it a few months ago. He's right around 6 months now, so I had it in my mind that he might be sitting on his own. Like in the picture. On the costume website. You know, all the perfect scenarios in a Mom's mind. Not to mention a scrapbooking Mom's mind.

The costume did not have covered legs, so I knew I'd have to go find some pants to go under it and some socks. Being that the costume is purple and teal, I also knew that I'd have to look in the girls section. After searching at several stores, I finally found the most perfect teal velour pants at Goodwill. But they were too large so my good friend Kristen fixed them right up for us.

Okay! So now we're ready for pictures. He still needs support to sit, so I tried thinking of how to prop him up without distracting from the already loud velvet, sequin and shiny goodness he would be wearing. So first we tried laying down. Not so good.

Then we tried going outside and sitting up against a tree. Even in the shade, it was too bright for his little eyes and in most all of them he is more interested in chewing on the sleeves or trying to pick up leaves.

Then we tried the changing table. Better.... getting better.

And finally, we went and sat on the bench in our mudroom where it provided nothing but white backdrop and pretty decent lighting. I'll let the captions do the explaining now.

* Disclaimer: no babies or peacocks were harmed in the making of this blog post.

So there ya have it. First Halloween checked off the list. Believe me, I have many more pictures and my plan is to have a flip book made with them! It will be fun to see the peacock in "action" while thumbing quickly through the pages.

Jade's flowers + SLK = awesome

2011-10-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

So, Jade Scott was having a shop update this week, and I seriously had to force myself not to buy anything. Why? Because I have a bundle of these pretty enamel flowers from her last update that I need to work with. And I was able to do that this week. And not even intentionally, both necklace designs I made also used a piece from the Industrial Chic line by Susan Lenart Kazmer.

This first one I centered in the middle of a brass washer I found. It is stamped with the phrase "the earth laughs in flowers". I really like how the irregular shape of the washer mirrors that of the flower. Very simple and delicate with a feminine chain and some Czech glass dangles in the same peachy colors.
This next one was attached to one side of an enamel Industrial Chic leaf. I drilled a hole in the other side so that it could be strung sideways and then pulled together some coordinating beads and cotton cord.

Have a great Sunday!!!

Yeah! I finally got to make some stuff!!!

2011-10-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hi! So I know my posting lately has been about art events I've attended (which is cool because they are so inspiring) or shopping for peacock items (which you may or may not be interested in). But finally this week I was able to steal away a few minutes each evening to make stuff! Wahoo! So the next few posts will be showing new work.

I got started with playing with my tin again, and here is a new flower pin I made. The large pink flower was on the top lid of a candle tin. I layered it with some more tin and a few openwork metal flowers. Now that Fall is here, people are starting to pull out their sweaters and wool coats - the perfect medium for brooches!
This necklace is a fav of mine - I really like how it turned out. I riveted a piece of an old tea tin to a pendant and then drilled some holes in a tiny spoon (from Ornamentea) to use it as a link. The color combo is pretty cool - the dark black being the total opposite of the pristine white ceramic beads with flowers on them. Some gold filigree and black deerskin leather lace finish it up.

You can find both of these items in my Etsy shop, as well as an additional tin piece that was on display at the recent Upcycle exhibit at the Art Center - a trio of hearts necklace. Their gift shop still has many of my tin pieces for sale, and now that I've gotten the pieces that were on exhibit back (the ones I didn't want to quite give up yet), I am challenging myself to maybe let a few of them go. As I make more pretty things and fall in love with them, I realize that I can't keep everything (as much as I'd like to).

Check them out if you are interested, and as always, thank you for your support!

Another art filled weekend.....

2011-10-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

This Fall sure has been busy with fun art events to attend! Kristen and I enjoyed a full Friday night and Saturday this past weekend!

Friday night was Battle Creek's annual Fall into the Arts. Even though our downtown is still undergoing it's major renovation, it was still possible to make it to all of the stops (businesses) that were featuring artists. Surprisingly, the weather turned out to be very pleasant too since we had feared it was going to rain all day. We had a great time meeting and chatting with people - some newly met and some familiar acquaintances.

We have to remember to order some cards from The Candlewood Grove. We loved their stained glass drawings - check out the peacock!

I got Richard a cute car book by Hot Rod artist Chad Lampert.

Our very own Binder Park Zoo was represented with some very unusual artists - the animals! Many of the animals are having fun walking through paint and making abstract prints. I asked if any of their peacocks did any work and unfortunately, they did not. I told them I sure would buy one if they did! Since my husband loves goats, I got him this cool piece. The colors in person are a lot better than this picture shows - lots of metallic hues, and even some goat hair! What a unique gift!
Jewelry artist Tracy Bell, creates with copper, glass and other recycled items. Check out her blog here, where you can see her beautiful table from Friday night, modeled after that popular display setup I've come across on Pinterest a few times. I bought one of her little leather bound book pendants. I've long admired these when I have seen them at Anthropologie and Etsy, and I love her little button closure. I plan to add a few more charms to personalize it. I already have an ink pen tip charm that I am thinking of since I love to build on a theme when it comes to jewelry.
Saturday, I had the opportunity to have a booth at a new event called Arts & Eats: A backroads tour of art, food and farms. I was at one of the stops - the Gilmore Car Museum - with other artists from The Art Center of Battle Creek. I am very familiar with Gilmore, as we make it out there several times a summer for different car shows and events. Here is the view from behind my booth, in one of the buildings we were in. Too bad Jon was out of town and couldn't enjoy it..... Kristen was such a big help to me all day - I couldn't have done it without her since we had Richard with us.

Here's a view from the front of my table (darn wrinkled fabrics). I packed light, due to my circumstances, and planned to have everything on one table. It was a slow day, but we did sell a few things and I made a good contact with the gift shop manager so there's a possibility of getting some of my automotive themed pieces in there. As with any first year event, it will take a while to build it up. I am interested to hear feedback from other locations on the tour.

I debuted my vintage suitcase display. This is my Mom's luggage that I brought back with me from Wisconsin. There is a larger suitcase, this one, and a shoe bag all in magnificent olive green! She got the set from her parents as a graduation gift. I remember it going all over with us when we traveled when I was young. I got to use this case in particular for our annual trips to Spider Lake in Hayward, WI.

In the week leading up to the show, I played around with how I was going to hang necklaces from the top. I didn't want to damage the material at all. I remembered these rings with clips we found in our basement when we moved into our house, meant for window treatments. I had always wanted to use them for a jewelry display, and had always envisioned attaching a rod to one of my old doors and having them all hang. But since I've never done that, they were perfect to turn upside down and clip onto the fabric ruffle lining. Then I just hooked the necklaces through the rings. I laid a wood tray in the bottom for more necklaces. Now that I am looking at my table, I have both of my parents represented - my Dad's old toolbox, and Mom's suitcase! And the cool thing about both pieces is that they can be packed with items to travel to the shows!

Here is Jennie Hepler-Taken's of The Prim Pumpkin with her beautiful art dolls! I was so excited to take a new pumpkin home with me - you'll see her further down.

Here is Jennie's new husband Joe, demonstrating his glass blowing. I could sit and watch forever!

And without further ado, here is my new lady making herself comfortable among the different bottles of potion on my dining room table, all ready for Halloween! Once I got her home, I kept discovering new little details!

She came with a bottle of arsenic.......

...... and upon her dress is says "and old lace"..........

She sits upon a vintage teapot, with the lid serving as her hat!

I just adore her face!

Whew! We are full filled, but exhausted from our adventures!

Rustbelt Market

2011-10-10T06:22:00.001-07:00

So I know this post is "better late than never", so here we go with the second half of our outing to the Detroit area on October 1st.

Earlier this year, I found out about The Rustbelt Market through Melanie of Eathenwood Studio. She was going to be selling there most every weekend, and Kristen and I knew that we wanted to check it out. Here it is, on the corner of Woodward Avenue and 9 Mile in Ferndale.
A vacant store which has been turned into space that artists can rent on the weekends. Some sellers are there every weekend, as well as others coming in and out. So there is always something new to discover!

I definitely felt a "vibe" while there. An eclectic mix of handmade goods, vintage finds, and an overall feeling of helping revive Detroit.

Melanie's setup was awesome! Kristen and I both partook in her "design your own" idea, making sweet necklaces with one of her ceramic pieces layered with fun charms. (We'll have to take pictures of our creations!)

There is live music every weekend too! I tried to look online to see who this gentleman was who was playing the day we were there, but I couldn't find it. He was very good!

Richard enjoyed his lunch while listening to the music! And I love the retro furniture they had there!

And speaking of lunch, Kristen and I were getting hungry too! We asked Melanie for her recommendation, and we ended up at The Wab (Woodward Avenue Brewery). License plates lined the walls and served as the front and back covers of their menus! Everything was delish, especially their homemade root beer!

We explored a few more cute little stores, and then ended our day with cupcakes from the Cupcake Station! Yum!

What a fun (but long!) day!!! I wish I lived closer, because I'd be hanging out at Rustbelt a lot! Or even selling there! The whole idea and concept is so cool. It's great for the economy and artists both!

Ghoultide Gathering

2011-10-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

It was a chilly morning this past Saturday when Kristen, Richard and I set out for the hour and a half drive to Northville, MI for Ghoultide Gathering. After hearing about the event from our friend Jennie for a few years, this year our curiosity got the best of us and we decided to attend. Here is the line to get into Mill Race Village.

We were greeted with life size pumpkin scarecrows!
The 5th annual event was from 10-2, but die hard collectors came for the special Friday night showing from 6-9. We heard that some people lined up at 8:00 in the morning on Friday, undeterred by the rain that day!

Here's Richard and I with Jennie Hepler of The Prim Pumpkin! It's through Jennie that we had heard about the event. She is a wonderful Halloween doll artist, and recently got married. The weekend to Ghoultide was her and Joe's honeymoon! You can see Richard's pumpkin feet hanging (the socks were a gift from Jennie). They didn't allow strollers, and this was the first time I was going to use his carrier for a good length of time. He's such a laid back baby though that he did great!

They did not allow pictures inside the buildings that housed the artists, but to see some of the fabulous artwork you can follow the links on the Ghoultide site. The other historic buildings were open to tour as well. The village was surrounded by a stream and little bridges, making the setting so magical. Kristen did manage to snag a picture of this artist's sign, for the peacock feathers of course!

Getting Richard introduced to Halloween right away!

Kristen of Once Upon a Spiderweb.

The sun finally managed to break through and warm things up a bit. It was a wonderful experience for us Halloween lovers! Stay tuned for my next post that details our next stop of that October 1st Saturday: The Rustbelt Market.

Friday's Peacock Find

2011-09-30T12:24:00.001-07:00

I got this vibrant peacock feather printed scarf at TJ Maxx. They have a lot of cute scarves by the way. Now that there is a little nip in the air, it's time to pull out the pretty scarves! I love accessorizing all of my plain comfy shirts with them.

Ruffled

2011-09-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

I am so loving ruffles lately! Touches here and there on tops and jackets......... The big ruffle pants from Matilda Jane........ So when I saw these scalloped porcelain components from Round Rabbit, I knew I wanted to do a trio of them for a wild statement necklace. The day of her extra update sale, I hoped that I could snag some that would go well together. These three are glazed with with same two colored pattern, but that's where the similarity/matching ends. The color combo is a bit unusual for me, but I love how it turned out. Sometimes it is hard for me to mix the unexpected together. Since this necklace is so bold, the only accents it needed was some tiny leaf charms and chain.

BTW - More peacocks. Are you surprised?

2011-09-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

Bead Table Wednesday and look what we have here. I guess I didn't have to worry about my Michael's getting any peacock goods (see previous post)...... as they now have an entire peacock themed line called Cotillion! I am in heaven! The only thing that would make it better would be if I had time to create something this week (if you are my Facebook friend, you'll know why). Ahhhh, anyway, my faves that I've picked out here are a multi-feathered pendant, chain with peacock connectors, and a pair of feathers. I've gotta get some ideas brewing......

Have a great rest of the week!

Peacock finds from the weekend......

2011-09-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

In between all of the events we attended this weekend, Kristen and I did find some time to do some shopping. After leaving Heather's book signing at Barnes & Noble, we hit a few stores in the mall area. We spotted a Michael's right down the road and I was on the hunt for those Industrial Chic hearts I keep talking about. While there, I also found these 2 peacock pendants! Since it was a bigger Michael's store, they had a little bit more variety than my local one. So, I have no idea if my Michael's would get these in so I had to grab them.

Sunday, before the art reception, we met up in a nearby town called Marshall. They were having their annual home tour which also includes a craft and flea market. I found this fused glass peacock pendant at one of the booths and gave in. It is such a vibrant color in person and it is begging to be strung on some equally vibrant beads.

I couldn't resist this little ceramic peacock planter at the flea market, especially when the seller came down in price. Even if I don't plant anything in him, it would make for a cool candle or bead holder!

Upcycled Art Reception

2011-09-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

The reception for the Upcycled Art exhibit was held at the Art Center today. About a week ago I realized that since I had given them all of my upcycled jewelry to either display or sell, I had nothing upcycled to wear to the event! So I made up 2 more recent pieces, each featuring the open work hearts from the Industrial Chic line at Michaels. (note: I have bought them all out at the Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, and one of the Grand Rapids stores. I hope they continue to restock them.)

In the pieces I had already made, the hearts stood alone as a pendant or were linked together on a necklace - but you still always knew that they were hearts. As some of them laid upon my table, I saw different ways to put them together to create even more possibilities! After 4 of them were filled with different tin patterns, they were riveted together to form a flower and then additional metal flowers were layered atop which made for a very cool brooch!

In the same fashion as my heart tea strainer butterfly, I took 2 tin filled hearts to make wings on a Tim Holtz "muse" charm. I hammered out his wire antennae and in true upcycling fashion the rest of the necklace was made from beads found on a clearance necklace at a chain store. The barrel beads are actually fabric and I thought the pattern on them really reminded me of the pattern of butterfly wings.

I don't give my nails much attention anymore, especially since I am working with metal on and off. But I couldn't resist these floral nail wraps I saw in the store. Their pattern reminded me of one of the tins I had been working with. They were as easy as could be to apply with the added bonus of no dry time. Perfect!

So after having my nails done, and choosing an outfit to coordinate with one of my new pieces (I choose the butterfly necklace, although I was wearing the pin as a test run earlier in the day), I joked with Jon that he should wear the flower pin. Being the good, supportive guy that he is, he actually agreed! Granted, he was wearing a new concert tee he bought from a local band that played at a party he went to the night before (a rockabilly group called The Koffin Kats), a girl has to take what she can get, right?

Here's a shot of part of the gallery. It was great to see a lot of people who I haven't seen in a while - past Board President, Sharon, is holding Richard here. He sure got a lot of attention from everyone! Was wide eyed for a little bit and then wanted to nap. The walls were covered with gorgeous butterflies by artist Steve DeMaagd. He makes them out of crashed car parts - the wings being large sheets of the body work. Insects or animals seem to be a theme with upcycled work. Some of the other sculptures there included things like an old shovel for a "body" with pitchfork "feet" to make an unusual looking bird.

It was a little challenging to get good pictures of my work under the cases, but I managed to get a few. Our director did an excellent job with the displays! I gave her some extra tins I had to include for props. It was so cool to see how it all turned out.

My wonderfully supportive friend Kristen, who is always game for a road trip, craft project, or just haunting thrift stores for fun finds!

I have to show off the cute card she made for me, as a congrats on the exhibit. It's a really cool mixed media piece. I love the cute little bunting banner. I think I might like having wings! And the little heart is cut out of a tin can.

Here's a good shot of one of the butterflies.

These bowls are made of woven telephone wires - so pretty!

It was a great reception and I truly appreciate all of the kind support and encouragement I have received!

Jewelry Designs from Nature - by: Heather Powers

2011-09-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I had the pleasure of going to a book signing for the very talented Heather Powers! Her first book, Jewelry Designs from Nature, has been published and now that she is living in Michigan again the event was held at a Barnes & Noble in a city (Grand Rapids) about an hour from where I live. My friend Kristen and I made the drive up there and had a fun afternoon!

Here's Heather giving a talk about blogging for your business. She shared a lot of good information and tips!

Many of the gorgeous pieces featured in the book were there on display, and she even had a cool make and take project that she is describing here.

Two Heathers!

Proud author, and rightfully so! I can't wait to dive into the book and examine every page, but from what I've looked through already it is so beautiful and inspiring! I love how it is divided up into different groups of inspiration (gardens, sea, etc.) and also that is includes so many artist beads as well as Heather's own beads! Her sketches add such a personal touch as well.

Kristen and I grabbed some lunch, hit a few stores at the mall, and then went on to a nearby bead store, Bead Quest. Heather will be having a trunk show and workshop there in November. Be sure to check out her blog for the latest details and most certainly check out her book! I look forward to seeing her more often now that she lives closer!

Friday's Peacock Find

2011-09-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't kept up with Friday's Peacock Find posts, for many reasons that I will not bore you with listing. But I'd like to start it up again, being inspired lately by what else??? Recent peacock finds! Friday makes even more sense now too because the afternoons are Mom's "Me" Time. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but my lovely employer has what is called Summer Hours (from daylight savings to daylight savings). Working an extra hour each day lets you have Friday afternoon off. These extra hours are even more important now with the little one. I use them to run errands mostly and maybe squeeze in some jewelry making. Women are typically nurturers and give a lot of themselves so having a few hours a week to devote to yourself is very important and healthy. Therefore, most of my peacock purchases happen to be on a Friday afternoon anyway.

The above top was purchased at Target (a good place for peacock finds) for $19.99
It is a silky navy material with little feathers.
Blousy top with an elastic band is most flattering and comfy!
Easy to throw on with anything and accessorize with a long necklace (the one pictured happens to be from Target also from a few years ago).

Happy Friday Everyone!

Upcycled Jewelry - continued....

2011-09-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

So I realized after my last blog post, that I did not give proper credit to the nice people that came to my house to interview and photograph me. Annie J. Kelley wrote the article, and Al Lassen took the wonderful photos. I am a bad blogger when it comes to that kind of stuff and certainly don't mean to make any faux pas.

I promised I would show some of the tin pieces I made, since a lot of my other upcycled pieces have already been featured on my blog over the years. Here's a look at what I've been spending my spare minutes doing:

It's no secret that I love mixing colors/textures/prints so cutting out a variety of tin circles was a fun way for me to incorporate lots of patterns in one piece.

Lorelei and I had a "tin swap" a while ago, where she gifted me with this pretty blue and white tin that features - among other things - a peacock! Notice he is front and center in this banner design, and I found the most perfect matching agate and ceramic beads to complete the necklace.
Here, instead of cutting out a "shape", I cut out the exact image I wanted - a butterfly. I used a contrasting piece of tin for his background and once he was riveted to the pendant, I carefully bent his wings up as if in flight.

Here is a better look. Pulling the beads together for the wire wrapped chain was fun as these are not colors that I would normally pair together. But once it was complete, I totally fell in love with the mustard, teal, black and purple palette!

I found these cool openwork hearts at Michael's as part of the Industrial Chic line, and immediately thought they'd be the perfect frame for some tin. Here's a trio of mismatched fun!

And here's a couple of single hearts, but layered upon bigger hearts.

Cuffs! I found some great cuff blanks with a nice edging so that the tin would have more of a finished feel. It's a great way to show off a larger piece of the tin, rather than cut it up into little pieces.

Here's another design where I cut the elements out - flowers - and riveted them to a pendant.

A different kind of cuff..... openwork filigree from Ornamentea, which I gave some patina. Then I riveted some domed circles onto it.

Some simpler necklaces - precut designs from Michael's and each one has a message tag on the back as well. Fun shapes for tin to peek through!

I have had so much fun coming up with these designs, and I have even more in the works! The exhibit is now open at the Art Center, and I got a sneak peek today when I stopped in. I am looking forward to the reception on Sunday, and will post an update (with pics I hope). Thanks for looking and for your support!

Reimagined/Recreate: Upcycled Art

2011-09-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Being involved with my local Art Center means that I see and hear about things before others might. So when I heard about their plans to have an upcycled art exhibit, I immediately thought of all of the jewelry I have made over the years with upcycled objects. I approached our director to see if she might be interested in any of my jewelry for the exhibit and was so pleased when she said yes! I have sold my jewelry for many years but I have never been in an actual exhibit. How exciting!!!

Since I now have precious few minutes to steal away to be creative, I was a bit relieved knowing that I already had many designs in my personal collection that were composed of tea strainers, silverware, drawer pulls, and men's ties. But, like many others, I have recently caught the bug to create with decorative tins! So, I did have to carve out some time more recently to make up several tin pieces not only for show, but also for sale. (Which is why I haven't been able to blog/show any new work lately). Upcycling is such a huge trend no matter what type of medium you are working in, so I know I am by no means reinventing the wheel here. But I do strive really hard to create things with my own twist on them.

I will be doing some more posts about this exhibit. I plan to show pictures of some of my favorite tin pieces soon. And then pictures from the exhibit itself. But for now, please enjoy the following pictures and article that were featured in my local paper today! Gosh, I felt lucky enough to be in the exhibit let alone have the paper come to my studio to interview me! It was such a fun experience, and forced me to clean my mess of a studio (let's see how long it stays that way)!

And if you are in the Battle Creek area, we'd love to see you at the Art Center!

A flattened fork in a parking lot is nothing but litter for most of us, but to Heather Trudeau it has potential as something new and beautiful.

In her curry-colored workshop last Friday, Trudeau showed a peacock pin she made, with the curled tines of a fork suggesting feathers in motion.

"I guess I'm always on the lookout for unique things to use," Trudeau said.

Besides parking lots, she finds items at the supermarket, off of old furniture and in rummage sales to incorporate into her jewelry making.

This trend is known as upcycling, and while Trudeau has been making jewelry for the past 12 years, finding a new purpose for life's detritus has become popular in the past couple of years.
"To me, it means using unexpected objects -- or even things that people might throw away -- into art," she said.

Trudeau's unexpected jewelry will be part of the Art Center of Battle Creek's next exhibit, "Reimagined/Recreate: Upcycled Art" from Tuesday until Sept. 24.

It takes keen creative instinct to see a butterfly in a tea strainer or a blooming flower in the pattern on a candle tin. Trudeau's art has been featured in professional magazines, such as Stringing, and can be found for sale at Etsy.com and the Art Center, where she is a board member.

However, making jewelry is a hobby first and foremost for Trudeau. She said that when the process becomes about selling, the pressure of creating something new takes the fun out of it.
She said art is something that helps her relax and that she can balance with her full-time job as an accountant and time with her husband and baby son.

At the moment, Trudeau is experimenting with shapes that she cuts out of decorative tins that would otherwise be destined for a rusty trash heap. For instance, one of her favorite pieces is a mosaic necklace made by linking together discs cut from contrasting tins. It will be part of the display at the Art Center.

The other featured upcycle artist is Steve DeMaagd, who makes insect statues from crashed car parts.

Visitors can also look for their own artistic inspiration in a bin of "junk" provided by the Art Center to create their own item to add to the exhibit.

A birthday gift.....

2011-08-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of my dearest friends birthday, and I gifted her the above necklace. She mentioned she was getting one of the new Matilda Jane sweaters (orange and brown stripes) and I immediately remembered I had this Jade Scott pendant that would match perfectly! Not only that, but the annual hot air balloon fest was in town last week. I just love symbolizing memories in jewelry. Lastly, the rich colors are perfect for the upcoming Fall season.

Latest Love

2011-08-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

One of my dear friends introduced me to Matilda Jane clothing a couple of years ago. A connection through work led her to a consultant (or "trunk keeper") who sold it as it is a home party type company. I don't know too much about the history, but the home base is in Fort Wayne, Indiana (not that far from me). I believe the gal who started it sewed these funky clothes and sold them at art fairs. It got to be so big, she has her own company now! Love stories like that!

Anyway, my friend had been outfitting her and her daughter in the cutest things! So finally, I broke down and bought my first piece. What can I say, I am addicted now. The clothes are unique and comfortable. They truly symbolize to me an artful way of dressing. Their color and print combinations continue to surprise me and push me into being a bit more "daring" in my wardrobe. And they are perfect for pairing with fun jewelry!
The big ruffle pants pictured below (or as Jon calls them, my "clown pants") were so comfy for lounging around the house post-partum the past few months. I am really loving ruffles lately on anything though.

Maybe you already know about Matilda Jane? If not, maybe I have peaked your interest.......

Artist's Sale

2011-08-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Our downtown area is currently under major construction! The streets and sidewalks won't be done until next year, but once they are done it sure will be beautiful. Lots of brickwork, greenery, even a water feature! Downtown Battle Creek is where I work - it's where Kellogg's headquarters is located. So I remember waddling across the torn up street with my big pregnant belly from the parking garage to the building in the Spring. It's a little easier for me now, but still a mess. So unfortunately too, a park in the downtown area was where the Art Center would holds it's annual Art Fair in June. Even though Richard would have been about a month old at the time, I was still planning on doing the fair (maybe I was crazy). So I breathed a sigh of relief when instead, they decided to cancel it this year due to the construction and have a sale at the Art Center itself in August. It was promoted as a way for artist's to sell older stock at a discounted price so I decided to have my inventory of jewelry at 20% off. It was held this past Saturday in the parking lot. It was a beautiful morning as we setup our tent and tables. Even though I usually only do one fair a year, I have my packing and setup routine pretty down pat. My boys (Jon & Richard) then took off to go to a car show so my friend Kristen came to help me out at my booth. The first 2 hours of sales were great! I was very pleased. But then the rain started and radar showed lots of storms coming. Darn! We packed up and headed home. It was a great event though!

Picture of just one of the areas of disarray.

I didn't get around to every booth, but I did find this cute crayon roll that I couldn't resist for Richard. Check out her shop on Etsy! And I will say that a vintage peacock postcard was found too in a stack that Kristen bought!

So as a way to continue the sale, I am offering 20% off in my Etsy shop through the end of August! Coupon code is ARTSALE.

Love You Forever

2011-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

When my Mom had me (almost 34 years ago), my Dad gave her a flowery diamond ring which she in turn gave to me when I was about 16. So when I was pregnant with Richard, my Mom hinted to Jon that he needed to get me a similar gift and suggested the Mother/Child jewelry that is so popular. I think at first, he was surprised at finding out that this was a common custom. Then, after thinking about it a while, he realized that the only fine jewelry I wear daily is my wedding ring. He knows that I prefer my artsy, handmade jewelry and love matching my outfits to it. In fact, if I don't have anything on when leaving the house he will say, "Where's your necklace?" and tease me about how much jewelry I have.

So, in sort of ruining the surprise for me, we went shopping together. We agreed upon a feminine, filigree, floral diamond ring (shown below although a little blurry). I love the antique look of it, and like my wedding ring, I wear it every day. (I also love how his little fingers wrap around mine as I feed him a bottle).

But I did still end up with a Mother/Child like piece. I was thrilled to see at Bead & Button that Green Girl Studios has a design in pewter. The mother/child is carved into the front side of the heart, and on the back it reads "love you forever". This totally fit my style! Over the last few months I thought about what I wanted to design with it. A necklace? A bracelet? I decided on a bracelet. Okay, now what beads? Something that will go with everything so I did a mix of different metal tones in pewter, copper and brass. Lastly, since my mornings are a little more busy now, I wanted something that was easy to get on. Using black elastic was the answer. I am pleased with how it turned out.

Fall-ish Bracelets

2011-08-06T12:31:00.001-07:00

Wow this summer went fast! Even though there are still many days to enjoy, we tend to already think it's over. Especially when we see all of the back to school items in the stores, as well as Halloween and even Christmas (damn you Hobby Lobby)!?!?!

This was definitely a different summer for me. True, I did a lot of the usual things I do every summer, but also missed out on a few. But it was still wonderful!!! I didn't know what to expect when I thought about having a new baby and knowing that my maternity leave would fall over the warmest months of the year. Of course I was ecstatic, but I knew it would take some adjusting too. Richard could not be more laid back so I certainly didn't feel confined to the house at all. We get out almost every day, whether it be a trip to the store or just meeting a friend for coffee. Other days though, it's nice to know that I can just stay in my pajamas all day too.

The time has gone so fast. But even though it has gone fast, it seems like forever ago that I was pregnant. Or that he was so tiny. Does that make sense? Each day is gone in an instant, especially when you think about it in 4 hour time blocks. When he's ready to eat again, I think oh my gosh it's been 4 hours - what have I done in all that time? You'd think that when he is napping that I'd get a lot done - all the day dreams you have when you are working full time of making jewelry all day isn't a reality. It's quickly cleaning up the kitchen, grabbing a shower, doing some laundry. I will say that the internet is such a time sucker! I'd really like to work on cutting my time down on it. So if I were to ever become a stay at home Mom, I'd really have to discipline myself.

I have one more week off before I go back to work. He will start daycare two days next week so that we (aka Mom) can ease into it. It's going to be hard, but we'll all be alright. I plan to use those two days to work on a ton of jewelry - I hope the motivation and creativity will be there when the time comes. I am working on several pieces for a special project that I will share with you soon. In the meantime though, I just listed these two bracelets in my Etsy shop. They are very "Fall" feeling to me. I guess no matter what, we can't deny how fast the seasons change.

Bead Table Wednesday - Candles?

2011-07-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

So technically, this is not my bead table but has to do with my bead table. I've recently begun a collection of peacock candles with the plan being that once they are all burned up, I will use the glass containers for storing beads! Probably the best thing will be to separate little projects into them. I think they are going to look great lining my desk! A couple of them have even come in matching boxes - bonus storage!

Instead of being in a container, this one is adorned with a brass peacock. Can you say instant pendant?

And here's a tip you may or may not know regarding candle wax. If you ever have a container you want to get the remaining wax out of, pop it in the freezer for a bit. The wax will shrink and it will come right out!

All candles found at Pier 1 with the exception of the one in the middle. That one was gifted to me by Erin Prais-Hintz.

New, and Blue, for the beach bride......

2011-07-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

My hairstylist of many, many years is getting married in a few weeks on a Lake Michigan beach. When I went in for my appointment yesterday, I gifted her with this necklace. She said it would go great with her rehearsal outfit! A collection of shell charms, pearls, and blue disks. I had a few favor boxes left over from my sister-in-law's shower last year that I was even able to package it up in.

101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings

2011-07-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

On newsstands now - 101 Bracelets, Necklaces and Earrings! I received my copy yesterday, and what a great issue packed full of inspiration! My Enchanted Forest earrings are featured (first shown in Fall 2010 Stringing). I really like the way they laid out the projects, even creating diagrams on some of them. Check it out - you won't be disappointed!

A special "thank you"...

2011-07-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to thank my parents for all they do for us, and now for Richard. They came over while I was in labor and stayed at our house, doing laundry and making meals for us. My Mom came over again a few weeks later to ride with me to Bead & Button and then came back after the show to help me out for a few more days. We recently went to WI again over the 4th of July weekend and they made some great cookouts, love pitching in to help with the baby, and overall let us "take over" their house with all of our gear (which seems to be growing as our family grows)!

Most recently, I want to thank my Mom for something jewelry related she did for me. I usually participate in my Art Center's annual art fair which is in mid-June. However, this year it was cancelled due to some extensive construction in our downtown area near the park where it is held. Even with the birth of Richard, I was still planning to do the fair. But I must say when it was cancelled I felt a little bit relieved to not have that pressure the weekend after Bead & Button. The Art Center is actually going to have a sale right on site in August that I will do so I am anxious to see how that goes. Anyway, my Mom's company (in the heart of downtown Milwaukee) had a craft fair this past Thursday. She volunteered to take all of my jewelry and have a booth there. The nice thing about it is that they supply the table and chairs so we just had to pack up a few displays (nothing extensive) and the jewelry. It was for 2 hours during the workday and she sold 2 necklaces, 2 bracelets, and 2 pairs of earrings. Not bad, hun? She did this same setup for me a few years ago and my Grandma helps as well.

So THANK YOU Mom & Dad for all you do for us!!! We really appreciate it!

Dear Richard,

2011-06-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

You are such a good baby! Within the past week, I have taken you to an Art Center meeting (slept the entire time). My doctor's appointment (slept the whole time). We had family visit for the weekend and you were quite enjoyed. I was reluctant to try to take you to the Cars 2 movie that our nieces wanted to see but again, you slept the entire time. The next day, we went to the zoo and guess what? You slept through most of it. When you were awake, you were all smiles. You drank your bottle while peacocks wandered around you (they like to hang out around the restaurant for bits of food).
I got the best picture of a peacock that I have ever gotten! I still can't believe it! He was showing off for one of the females.

I am so glad that you like to go places and I hope it continues. Do you want to go for a walk today? How about Michael's?

Love,
Mom

Inspiration from Bead & Button

2011-06-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

Real quick post here...... These 3 pieces were made with new findings from Bead & Button! They are listed in my Etsy shop. Sometimes, it takes getting some new things to kick start the inspiration! It's always exciting to work with new things!

Cleaning out my closet....

2011-06-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

.... my jewelry closet that is. My clothes closet will be next. It seems a lot of designers are in the mood to clean house right now. These pieces are from my personal collection, but weren't seeing much action being worn, so I am deciding to sell them. They are all listed in my Etsy shop now, so head on over and see if there is something you can't live without. Many great bead makers are represented: Green Girl Studios, Jade Scott, Anne Choi, Diane Hawkey and Doreen Wiley.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Jon's first Father's Day and to celebrate, I made him the above key chain. It's for his Camaro, which is orange. He bought the car right before we got married, and he intends to keep it forever. Orange Crush has come up a lot over the years when we refer to the car, so I found these beads at B & B at the Glass Garden Beads booth. I hope he likes it!

Do you remember?

2011-06-18T14:01:00.001-07:00

Do you remember - probably about 10 years ago - pottery shard pendants were quite the trend. Any fashion magazine you flipped through, you would see them or some celebrity wearing one. They were on back order at Fire Mountain Gems forever and if you tried to snag one on eBay, you'd pay a pretty penny. I just loved them and it didn't matter to me that they were a trend. It was one of those things that I was still going to wear long after it went out. I loved the colors and patterns and the idea that a piece of a unique object was being used in jewelry. I eventually got my order from Fire Mountain Gems - above are a few that I have left.

A few weeks ago, while paging through a new Fire Mountain Gems catalog I received, I saw that they now made links! I still like this concept (the pottery pieces) and decided to order some. I immediately thought of making a bracelet with them - that's another thing I love, a collection of the same things. Below is the result and it's now listed in my Etsy shop!

Friday's Peacock Find

2011-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

So while at Bead & Button, Lorelei and I were chatting with Andrew Thornton at the Green Girl Studio booth and all of a sudden, Lorelei pulled my attention to a cute gal walking up the aisle in a peacock dress! Andrew knew her and introduced us - if I recall correctly her name was Shelly (Sassy Shelly as Andrew called her). I asked her about her dress and she told me the website she got it on: Soul Flower. As soon as I got back to my parents house, I looked it up and placed an order! Lucky for me I was conservative with my bead shopping this year. The website is full of cute clothes - check it out! According to the shipping status, my dress will arrive today. I can't wait to try it on and see how much I love it!

BTW (bead table wednesday): B & B Edition (bead & button edition)

2011-06-15T12:20:00.001-07:00

I figured since it was Bead Table Wednesday, what better way to show off my stash from Bead & Button. Actually, it's the first time I've been able to unpack everything and load some pictures. Oh, and I've forgotten the password for my flickr account so I need to deal with that. Crap! Do you ever feel like you have so many sign-on's and password that you often draw a blank? I mean, they can't all be the same (due to trying to protect your identity). There are those for email, blogger, facebook, paying bills, ordering online, programs at work (the ones that are always forcing you to change every month even)!

I had a great time at B & B, as usual. Here are my goodies from Green Girl Studios, Andrew Thornton, Humblebeads, Glass Garden Beads, Joanne Zekowski, Lisa Peters, Golum Studio, Pam Wynn, Vintaj, Diane Hawkey, Earthenwood. Oddly enough, I didn't buy any strands of beads or stones this year except for the ancient roman glass - I'd been wanting some of that for some time now.
Lorelei Eurto was my shopping buddy, and it was the first time we met in person after being online friends for several years. I was so glad she was able to make it to her first B & B show! I hope it will be an annual trip for her!

The lovely Melanie of Earthenwood Studio. I really want to make it over to the Detroit area where she is going to be a vendor at the Rustbelt Market most all of this summer!

Unfortunately, those are the only "people" pictures I captured. I am so bad at taking pictures, especially when there are so many beads to look at and people to talk to! Baby Richard attended the show this year with me. I was lucky to have my Mom, Sister-in-Law, and Nephew there to help watch after him while I shopped. I felt bad that not a lot of people got to see him (or even hold him) but he is so good at being peaceful in his carrier that I don't dare to disturb him. I'm sure next year he will be more interactive!

"Oh my! I've just spotted some strands at 50% off!"

"Let's go Mom - I am soooo tired!"

Sale Reminder

2011-06-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone - just wanted to give a quick reminder about the sale going on to celebrate my upcoming weekend at Bead & Button. Thank you to those who have made purchases - not only do I appreciate your support, but Richard and I enjoy our outings to the post office! And then we usually stop at Starbucks which is right across from where my co-workers/friends are spending their days and we will ring them up for a little visit!

Here are the links for the other sales again:

Erin Prais-Hintz (30% off June 6th - 12th)
Andrew Thornton (20% off June 6th - 10th)
Heather Trudeau (40% off)
Lorelei Eurto (35% off June 6th - 10th)

And I guess I realized that I didn't put a date on the end of my sale so here goes: my sale will end on the 12th which is the last day of B & B. Please note that any purchases made during that time will be shipped out when I return home. I am really looking forward to the show, but also wonder how different it will be for me to have Richard there with me (getting him started early on learning about beads). I am super excited to meet Lorelei in person and shop with her!

If you're going to the show, see you soon!

Bead & Button Show Sale! UPDATED to add another shop!

2011-06-06T04:22:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend, I will be making my annual trek to Wisconsin for the Bead & Button Show. This year is a little different though, as I have a new little shopper to tow with me! I am excited for him to meet family and friends over there. And I am excited to catch up with some of my favorite beading peers at the show.

Therefore, I've teamed up with a few fellow show goers to have a sale in my shop in hopes to have some extra spending money at the show. Use coupon code bbs2011 to get 40% in my Etsy shop. I apologize that I don't have anything new and exciting in there, but there are plenty of pieces that need good homes. Take a look at my fellow bloggers as well to see what kind of sales they have going on in their shops!

Lorelei Eurto

Andrew Thornton

Erin Prais-Hintz

Postpartum Creating

2011-05-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

This necklace is the one piece of jewelry I've made since becoming a Mom. And actually, I had all the beads pulled together in a burst of inspiration the day before we went to the hospital so it was fairly easy to come back to it. I framed this little butterfly image I had in a glass locket, and the beads are wood rounds, painted wood disks, and ceramic cubes.

Finding balance in this new life can be challenging at times. But, I am giving myself permission to take it slow. I guess, just like the butterfly represents, it will be a metamorphosis of sorts. But it's an experience I am so glad to be having!

SALE!!!

2011-05-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am having a sale in my Etsy shop to celebrate Richard's birth (and to clean house for new work)! I have relisted some items, and the coupon code is "Richard" to receive 25% off anything in the shop!

A week ago today...... Started writing this Wednesday, but that's how the days go around here.....

2011-05-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

...... I was getting up for work and sensed that my water had broken. It wasn't the huge gush you see in the movies, but I knew something was up. After calling the doctor (who I had just seen the day before) I took one last pic of the belly and waited for Jon to get home from work. I leisurely got things together around the house (washed dishes, put away laundry). I was not in any pain, I felt totally fine. As we headed to the doctor I thought: this is going so smoothly - not at all like I had thought - I had visions of going into labor at home and riding along in agonizing pain.

Once the doctor confirmed my suspicious, she told us to go next door and check in to the hospital - that I would go into labor within probably 12 hours. We grabbed some lunch first and had those last few moments before this life changing event. Once settled into our room, we started walking laps in the halls to try to get things moving. Nothing was happening. It was frustrating to be there when nothing was happening, but then again if I had been sent home I probably would have drove myself crazy knowing that my water was leaking and wondering when I should go back. I was told that by 7:00 the next morning I would be induced if nothing was happening yet. Around midnight, my contractions started so I didn't get much sleep. By 7:00, they weren't as intense as needed so I was induced.

Almost 9 hours later, I had this little bundle! Richard Alan Trudeau was born on May 12th at 3:51p.m. and weighted 7lb, 13.8oz and measured 19.75 inches. We are still getting into a routine here, but I sense a jewelry sale coming on to celebrate!

Last Minute

2011-05-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Every day, I wonder "will today be the day"? I guess we've felt like this for about 2 weeks now, ever since the doctor's appointment when they told me I was already this much thinned and this much dilated. I remember that evening, my husband was in sort of a panic putting together the last few baby things while I sat in the recliner with the foot bath and hot neck wrap he'd prepared (he really is the best)! After about 48 hours passed, I think we both realized that I could walk around in this "new condition" for a while yet. That was even further confirmed at last week's doctor appointment when I was all excited to hear some new "progress" and I was still the same as the week before.

So every day is a gift, so to speak, of time. Anticipation, waiting, and enjoying each other's company. How much more cleaning can I get done? Will I be able to run to Target after work? Will I be able to complete this jewelry design idea I have? The answer, for now, is yes.

I was so thrilled to see that Michael's is carrying some new items in the Industrial Chic line! I hope that collection is around to stay for a long time! I picked up this layered metal flower that I just love! In true Industrial Chic fashion, I used the very last drawer pull I had from an old desk we refurbished. The large bail on the pendant slid onto it perfectly. I used beads in the same bluish patina and fuchsia pink colors. I just love how the bright colors pop against the antique looking metals!
I also put together these earrings consisting of beaded beads (a variety of stone rounds woven together) and some metal tags.

I go to the doctor again tomorrow. Maybe I will get news of progress.......

My Graduate

2011-05-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

So the other exciting news at our house is that Jon just completed his MBA. It couldn't be more perfect timing that it is right before the baby - I couldn't imagine him trying to study with a newborn! I know that people do it though, and I admire them for that.

This has been a common sight many a days in our living room. Our little Mocha is keeping Jon company while he takes a little nap break.
Biscuit says "Corporate Finance is sooooooo boooooring!"

I am so proud of him and he worked so hard! Besides the usual papers and exams, there were a lot of group projects and presentations. He rewarded himself with this '70 Chevelle, pictured here in one of our local museums a few years ago. He deserves it!

Ready! And waiting.....

2011-05-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

My bag is packed and ready to go. I've paid someone to paint my toenails, since I couldn't reach them. Believe me, my feet are like 3 times this big since this photo was taken! I now know where the phrase "barefoot and pregnant" came from - it's because NONE of your shoes fit! I have been trudging to work in flip flops lately, just trying to make it through each day.

I was able to maneuver some leg shaving - you know, all these things I think are "important" when I know the doctor's and nurse's could care less. It's all for my own sense of comfort / clean / feeling as put together as I can???

I guess since I felt so good for most of this pregnancy, I was in denial about these end symptoms ever coming. I miss wearing my wedding ring (the only piece of jewelry I never take off). I hate not being able to move as quickly or in the same directions as I used to. At least the head cold I was battling is finally gone! I am so happy to breathe again!

The first load of laundry is done in the special baby detergent - his sheets, blankets and some clothes. Some of the clothes are so tiny I have a hard time believing that he will be that little!

Jon and I have been enjoying our time together, these last few weeks, feeling a closer bond than ever. It's been such a special time!

Of few words.....

2011-04-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not writing too much these days. I am just soooo tired! This week especially has been tiring. If I am not napping, I am frantically trying to get things done that I feel are important. Or else I'm blowing my nose as I can't kick this stupid head cold.

At any rate, I thank you for being patient with me and continuing to follow my blog. For whatever reason you follow me - to see new jewelry, to hear about the pregnancy, or just to see what I'm up to in general - thank you!

I just listed the two bracelets above on Etsy. Have a great holiday weekend!!!

ABS April Monthly Challenge

2011-04-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Finches and Bamboo, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)

Emperor Huizong (1082–1135, r. 1101–1125)

ChineseHandscroll; ink and color on silk; 11 x 18 in. (27.9 x 45.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John M. Crawford, Jr. Collection, Purchase, Douglas Dillon Gift, 1981

After not submitting to the monthly Art Bead Scene challenge for a while (believe me, I've missed it), I have two entries so far for April! You can see the inspiration painting at the top, and above is the first necklace I have created. It features a colorful bird from the Vintage Grove line. He is holding a copper etched tablet from Jennifer Stumpf. He is surrounded by brass florals, green and gold agate, and faceted carnelian. And below here, you can see a bracelet that was inspired as well. The art bead is a polymer clay bird from Sharon Palac at Bijoux Jardin. I used textured gold rounds and light blue ceramic rounds to pull colors from the bead. Ceramic lentils with Chinese writing on them bring in more characteristics from the painting.

Both of these pieces will be listed in my Etsy shop as well!

New Listings and/or Eye Candy

2011-04-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

Friday's Peacock Find

2011-04-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

The weeks are getting away from me...... as much as I want to keep up with Bead Table Wednesdays and my Friday peacock finds, they are often a reminder of just how quickly the time is passing. Maybe I will change my Friday peacock finds to Sporadic or Random peacock finds to fit my changing life. At any rate, trying to find peacock items for a baby boy is a bit challenging as most things are suited for a baby girl. But you knew I'd try, right? Several months ago I was alerted (by another blogger) of this fantastic blog - Aura Joon. She too was going through pregnancy, so that - along with her beautiful photographs and inspiring decor - was enough for me to check in with her from time to time. She recently had her baby girl Elodie (congrats!) and the first photos she posted featured a beautiful peacock feather print blanket. So I went in search of this peacock blanket, hoping it wasn't something one of a kind or handmade. I found it! It's a bamboo swaddling blanket from Aden + Anais. I purchased the set of 3 and I think Jon will like the other 2 because orange is his favorite color. I can't wait to get them - bamboo is one of my favorite materials! It is so soft! You can be sure you will probably see some pics of Baby Richard in this blanket!

Mod Pods

2011-03-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

New in my Etsy shop...

I don't have a lot to say at the moment. I am getting over a terrible head cold so the past few days have pretty much sucked. The Spring teaser of weather we had has now turned back to freezing cold and I am getting stir crazy! Hoping this week gets better! Thanks for stopping in and for your support.

Kick Counts, Heels vs Flats, and When Nesting Goes Bad

2011-03-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Not to mention, the post with the peacock tops I've been able to stretch into pregnancy!

Well, I haven't blogged in a bit so I thought I'd do a quick catch up of what's been going on with us. I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks and everything is checking out normal. They told me I have to start doing these daily "kick counts" where I choose a 2 hour period to count and make sure the baby has moved 10 times during those 2 hours. Of course I have felt the baby moving for some time now, but when you assign a number to it, the worry sets in. Of course it seemed like that very next day he wasn't moving much. What if he only moves 9 times - what does that mean? But, no worries. It's all in my head these crazy thoughts. As you can see below, Biscuit is trying to get in on the action. That's another thing.... not only do I have to keep track of the kicks on the inside, but I have to avoid the little paw kicks on the outside. The dogs don't understand why they can't use my belly as a stepping stone to my face for kisses.

A few weeks ago, I was plagued with a side symptom of pregnancy (believe me, there's many) - an ingrown toenail (due to the extra weight and swollen feet). I have never had one before and hope to never have one again! I tried to nurse it myself for a few days before the pain during the night became so bad that I couldn't sleep. It actually would shoot up the bone in my big toe. So I ended up at the foot doctor for him to work his magic. I won't get into detail - just like I didn't get a close up picture of it - but it still took about a week to heal after that. Ouch!

During this time, I wore my flat, roomy winter boots to work which looked a little odd with dress clothes. Because of this - and because of the thought of swollen feet now until the end - I decided I should invest in some cute flats to wear for Spring. Normally, my everyday footwear has some kind of a heel on it. Not a high, spiky heel but rather something chunky or a wedge. In past years, I've bought cute flats only to give up on them after a few wears. They would hurt or rub in some way or another no matter what I tried. I would buy inserts or spongy shields for the heels or toes. Nothing worked. But every time, I convince myself it will be different. I found some cute Skechers and bought them in brown and black. I wore a pair yesterday (after wearing them around the house for a few days to break them in) and found that nothing has changed. I think I just have to accept the fact that the structure of my feet are not made for flats. I wish that weren't the case because there are so many cute options out there! Flat boots are fine because the encompass my whole foot. But anything else will cut into my heel and across the top of my foot - weird!

Lastly, the "nesting" urges can be quite weird. I decided last weekend that the blinds in the bathroom were beyond dirty. So, into the bathtub they went where I meticulously washed each slat, slicing my finger in the process. While I'm at it, the silk plant way at the top shelf in the bathroom needs to be washed too. Oh, and the silverware tray! Just odd little things that you normally let go in your normal cleaning routine suddenly are top priority. Also, about this time last year I made a huge mixed media canvas for our kitchen that consisted of paint, scrapbook paper, stamps, etc.... There were 2 sections of it that bothered me that I didn't think looked "right". So, I finally decided to redo them. That meant resealing those sections once they were done with the clear texture product I used. That lead to me being picky about the edges and touching up this or that. I am proud to say that it is once again hanging on the wall and I feel like someone should take away all of my art supplies so that I do not drive myself crazy over it!

Anyway, that's about it for me lately. I think I need some jewelry studio "therapy" - soon!

Blue

2011-03-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Everything I made in the studio yesterday had some blue in it. I am not sure why, but I just went with it. Maybe the baby boy had something to do with it? Hmmmm. I just got these pieces listed on Etsy:

Multi-Faceted Dreams

Lisa Peters Art focal pendant matched up with a variety of chunky faceted beads strung on cotton cord and chain. I liked mixing the Industrial Chic bolts with vintage decoupage in!

Beach Comber

Featuring a polymer clay focal from Humblebeads
Delicately Charmed
I fell for these turquoise painted metal disks at Michael's - the paint is kinda chippy on them and I love that about them!

So many "if's"...

2011-03-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am really looking forward to my maternity leave. I mean, how lucky could I be that I will be off all summer to enjoy the best months Michigan has to offer? But, life with a new baby also comes with a lot of "if's" that I am pondering.....

If I feel good enough and Richard is a good baby, I want to go to the Bead & Button Show.

If I feel good enough and Richard is a good baby, I want to participate in the yearly Art Fair I do every June.

If I feel good enough and Richard is a good baby, I want to have a garage sale to get rid of all the crap that has accumulated in my basement.

If Jon still has his Firebird (which needs to get sold), he wants to participate in the Hot Rod Power Tour that is coming to Michigan in June (right around the same time as Bead & Button).

What if Jon has to travel to Germany for work in June?

Please note that when I say "good baby", I don't mean there is such a thing as a "bad baby". But everyone is different. While I realize that routine is important, I also don't want to feel confined to the house. I dream of getting out to enjoy the fresh air and going for walks! And I don't want to be one of those Mom's who is afraid to take her baby places. It will all just depend on how we adjust. There are so many variables. But, I am not going to put any pressure on myself. Whatever happens, happens. It's just so hard for me to leave everything up in the air when I am a planning personality. But it's going to be great! It's going to be absolutely wonderful!

But, what if I still want to shop at Motherhood Maternity after I give birth? I mean seriously, is this ruffled tank not the cutest thing you have ever seen? Maternity clothes are so fashionable now, I am so going to wear some after the fact!

Your Name

2011-02-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

Jon and I met at a small, family owned forklift business in Racine, WI. I had already been working in the office there for about 2 years before he showed up, but I knew the Trudeau name well because Jon's Dad was best friends with the owner Rick Schmidt. Both the Schmidt family and the Trudeau family raced sprint cars on dirt - the Dad's were now supporting their sons doing it. Young Jon was off at college in Illinois, and after deciding to take a semester off he came to work at Schmidt's. And we lived happily ever after. No, really, it was much more complicated than that! But it was once we started dating that I attended my very first dirt race track experience.

Jon looked up to Rick a lot - considered him a mentor and second father figure. The above picture was taken at the track almost 15 years ago. I love the candid quality of it and how they are both deep in thought about some strategy on the track. This was before digital cameras were getting big so I had to scan this copy in. It's the only picture I have of the two of them together.

Rick suddenly contracted a brain tumor and after fighting it for several months, he passed away. Jon was heartbroken. Still dating at the time, he told me if we ever had a boy he wanted to name him after Rick. And so here were are, 10 years later. Our little baby's name is going to be Richard Alan Trudeau (Rick's full name was Richard Alan Schmidt). It is an honor and so meaningful to us!

Motor City

2011-02-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

One of the themes that I will probably always create jewelry around is cars. My husband works in the auto industry and is a huge automotive lover. And now that I am giving birth to a little version of him, I am envisioning carrying the little bundle around the car shows this summer!

I think what first sparked my interest in this type of theme jewelry was my discovery of the material Fordite a few years ago. Fordite is layers of old car paint from the factory that has been cut into cabs for use in jewelry. This necklace features a Fordite clasp, a vintage Ford key, and a ceramic "speedometer" from Melanie at Earthenwood Studio (a Detroit native). Double strands on each side feature different types of chain, pyrite, and red beads.

Now available on Etsy

Gorgeous Glaze

2011-02-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

When I purchased a bunch of porcelain peacocks from Nancy at Round Rabbit, the glaze on this one was my absolute favorite! So, he went into my extra special stash of favorite things to wait until the perfect beads or design was concocted. The time frame on that can sometimes be weeks, months, even years. I just looked up on Etsy to see that I purchased him in April of last year - so he had to wait almost a year.

Nancy actually just posted some glazes she was excited about on her blog yesterday! I have always been drawn to glazes when purchasing art...... and I remember the pottery classes I took in high school - I loved the unexpected surprise of the glaze the best! It's hard to give these colors justice in photos or description, but Mr. Peacock is a dusty cobalt blue with an undertone of a pinkish tan. While at Michael's last week for their half off sale, I picked up these ceramic rounds because they appealed to me. It was a lovely surprise when I got home and saw how wonderful they went with this pendant.

There were no other beads needed - let the glaze be the center of attention. I wire wrapped a simple necklace, and even attempted my first handmade wire clasp!

Caution: You are now entering the 3rd trimester...

2011-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

The best way that I can describe the "trimesters" is like a switch turning on and off. The first trimester I was sooooo tired, had nausea, had a hard time finding things I wanted to eat mixed with extreme cravings. My teeth actually hurt. I had eye problems. All in all though, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. When the second trimester started, I immediately felt awesome! Energized, back to eating semi-normal. There were times when I would actually forget I was pregnant! Now the third trimester is starting and the changes are once again abrupt. Major back pain, sharp pains in my ribs, feeling sluggish and irritable. My big toe and heel hurt. But again, I wouldn't trade it for the world, knowing the end result!

I go in for my monthly checkup today, and then they want to start seeing me every two weeks! It seems like that will make the time go so fast! Also today, I have to take a glucose test where I will drink something I am told tastes like the orange drink you used to get from McDonald's on school field trips. Showers are starting to get planned. My Mom is coming to visit this weekend and she is going to go to a breastfeeding class with me and help me finish up my registries. It's getting more and more exciting and "real" with each passing day!

BTW

2011-02-16T05:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry, this picture is not the greatest.... This is what my bead table looks like at the moment. As much as I try to only work on a couple of things at a time (and put things away when I am done) sometimes my method is to have several ideas laid out at once - kind of like a brainstorm - and then work on things as they excite me. Since moving my studio into the room off of our living room this past summer, my goal of keeping my desktop "cleaner" has been pretty achievable - except for this week.

You'll see at the top a few completed pieces that haven't been put away yet. And then "groupings" of other things. Mostly pendants getting paired up with matching beads. I had created a necklace with a Jade Scott cloud and hot air balloon, but I think it is too complicated and not wearer friendly so that needs a redo. For another cloud of hers I have thoughts of kites and/or birds. Hmmmmm.

Also, in case you didn't already know, Michael's has 50% off their bead strands this week! My Michael's has gotten lots of new strands in so that was exciting! They also started stocking some of the Vintage Grove collection. Happy beading!

Hello Valentines!

2011-02-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

Since it's the evening of Valentine's Day, I won't bore you with lots of words - just pretty pics to look at of some new pieces I've listed on Etsy.

So that I can keep some of the pretty things....

2011-02-09T16:26:00.001-08:00

It's a hard thing to do, but I've decided to part with some of my Jade Scott pendants. As I mentioned in my last post, Jade had an update last week where I purchased quite a few things. I got my order on Saturday and ever since then I've been on a quest to incorporate her pretty copper, paper and resin pieces into my work. Some of the pieces I've had for a while and some are brand spankin' new. This is sometimes how I work - I gather and gather until I finally get into a mood where I work with one artists' pieces for a span of time.

Just Be.

"be" pendant by Jade Scott

polymer clay Humblebead

red seed beads

white chain

clasp on the side with flower detail

By Sea or Sky

two necklaces in one here, depending on which side you wear!

frame pendant features clouds on one side, waves on the other
Jade Scott hot air balloon and sailboat correspond with the backgrounds

long multi beaded chain

ribbon detail

Just Be and By Sea or Sky are now available on Etsy. But this one... this next one..... I just have to keep for myself. The peacock/heart drop is new from last week, but the little "H" charm I've had for quite some time. I tend to have a weakness for black and white with a pop of color. This is an asymmetrical necklace with chunky stones, cut glass black rounds, and faceted Czech glass donuts. I kinda think the cut "dots" on the black rounds look like the eyes of the peacock feathers. It's basically a necklace stating: H hearts peacocks! Which you know I do!!!

Rainy Days of Spring

2011-02-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am longing for Spring..... the dirty snow and slush is getting old! The new issue of Stringing - on newsstands on February 22nd - makes me even more excited for the season. It includes four necklace designs evocative of rain, one of which is mine entitled "Rainbow After The Storm". I can't wait to see what the other designers did with the theme!

The necklace in the magazine, just like the one you'll soon see below, features a Jade Scott copper umbrella pendant as well. Raindrops. And a rainbow of pearls. As soon as I get it back it will be listed in my Etsy store.

As soon as I saw this peacock umbrella in Jade's update last week, it immediately reminded me of my peacock rain boots! So this necklace was definitely inspired by them. It also features a Jade Scott cloud and lots of iridescent raindrops all hand linked together. Now available on Etsy.

Productive Weekend

2011-02-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

I feel a sense of accomplishment this weekend - more than usual anyway. I completed a lot of jewelry (more to show this week), house stocked with food, Jon installed a new hot water heater, and I made about 4 dozen LEGO themed cookies for the Art Center's current Art of the LEGO exhibit and attended the reception today. Whew! And I still have some energy left in me to maybe make some more jewelry....

The cookies were a hit - and yummy too! I have not made homemade roll out sugar cookies with homemade icing in so long... I'd forgotten how good they are!

And without further ado, here is the first batch of jewelry - some of which was shown as inspiration on Bead Table Wednesday. To this first necklace, I added a key and some dyed ribbon to the collection I already had going of the porcelain heart and beads. A very vibrant red and purple creation is the result!

I decided to drill a second hole into the two "romantic" word tags I had so that I could dangle a heart locket off each for some funky mismatched earrings.

The bright colors continued into this pink and purple bracelet, composed of dyed jasper, brass, and acrylic.

All 3 pieces available on Etsy. My next post and listings will be showing some new pieces with Jade Scott pendants. So if you are a Jade Scott fan, stay tuned!

6 month... 6 month.... 6 month footlong!

2011-02-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

You know that annoying jingle about Subway's $5 foot longs? Well, it got stuck in my head the other day when I realized that I am now in my 6th month of pregnancy (25 weeks) and from what I am reading the baby measures about a foot long. Ha!

So here are some recent pics I've been playing around with. I am experimenting with the timer on the new digital camera my parents got us for Christmas, and a cool little tripod my dear friend got me. No more pics in the bathroom mirror - yeah!!!

So far, I am still enjoying getting dressed everyday - loving my body and having fun in my closet. The little one is moving around a lot and it is the most awesome feeling! We are able to start to see some of the movement from the outside. Last night, my little dog Biscuit was laying his head on the bump and the boy kicked so hard that Biscuit jumped up and was like "WTF"??? Both dogs love curling up and laying by the belly at night which I find so endearing. It just melts my heart.

BTW

2011-02-02T04:27:00.000-08:00

I've gathered some Valentine inspired components to work on this week for Bead Table Wednesday. A porcelain heart from Round Rabbit Extra, with which I've gathered some red and purple beads I might put with it (faceted carnelian, dyed jasper, glass hearts). The Vintaj heart was altered by Lorelei Eurto - she gave it some texture and affixed a button to it. Then I've got some word charms from Tim Holtz's collection. Happy beading everyone! Stay warm!

Winged Things

2011-01-30T18:45:00.000-08:00

I played around with butterflies and dragonflies this weekend in the studio. First up, I've had this delicate little porcelain butterfly from Round Rabbit Extra for a little while now.....

China Shoppe Blues

I started by hanging it with two enamelled jump rings (in blue) from the Industrial Chic line. I pulled out some ceramic rounds I've had for a long time - white with blue patterns - that look like little tidbits of fine china. I also used some blue flat ceramic round tabs that I had always intended to use with this butterfly because I think the glaze on them is almost a perfect match to Nancy's, and some white shell rounds.

My Words

Here is a porcelain dragonfly wing, also from Round Rabbit Extra, hanging down from a polymer clay piece from Swoondimples that reads "if my words had wings". Navy glass pearls, textured brown rounds, and faceted jade glass completed this dreamy blue and green color scheme.

Lastly, I pulled inspiration from two recent pieces and combined them together. I've used this butterfly image in a piece before, as well as the carved colored combo of resin beads. The locket pendant (one of my favorite, most versatile pieces) has a different colored butterfly on each side. I call it: "Two Sides to Every Wing"

*My Words and Two Sides to Every Wing now available on Etsy.

Friday's Peacock Find

2011-01-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

Check out this cute peacock teapot! It's from a collection called Edie Rose by Rachel Bilson that you can find at Macy's. There is a matching lidded box (for sugar) and plate. What a pretty way to have tea and cookies!

I cheated....

2011-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

So I cheated on my Bead Table Wednesday beads, because something much more fun and interesting came along - the upcycled tin components from Lorelei!
I made a matching necklace & earring set, which are now listed on Etsy. They were so much fun to make, and it has really inspired me to start getting back into metal work. I used some screw rivets to attach one of the flat floral tins to a Vintaj pendant. Some floral connectors I had went well with the charming flower print, and then in order to use the matching bead caps I incorporated some Elaine Ray bronze ceramic beads.

Using the same screw rivets, I attached another two of the bead caps onto these decorative metal pieces I had from the Industrial Chic line and used the floral connectors again to create the earrings.

If you've followed me for any amount of time, you probably already know that I love upcycling unique things into jewelry. Thanks Lorelei, for sharing your genius tin components with the beading world!

BTW

2011-01-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

Bead Table Wednesday - 1/19/11

Today I am showing these strands of plastic (or lucite) beads I got at Hobby Lobby a while ago. I was drawn to their shapes and colors and how they looked together. There is a forest green owl, blue ribbed design, and faceted fuchsia barrels. I want to mix these into some chunky pieces and will probably add some wood beads in, as well as anything else interesting I can find. Since the holes are larger, I am thinking of trying some leather for stringing. Dare I say I am going to challenge myself again for another weekend reveal!

I thought I'd also share what else I am excited about this week, by the way (BTW):

1. Green Girl Studios unveiled a new peacock toggle clasp! I'm not going to Tucson, so I wonder how soon I can get my hands on some......

2. I am expecting some fun goodies in the mail this week that I cannot wait to play with! Some dragonflies from Nancy's Round Rabbit Extra shop..... Some links and bead caps from Lorelei's Tin Snippets shop....... And a road trip pendant from Melanie at Earthenwood Studio to continue to create car themed jewelry.

3. I was the feature designer on A Jewelry Accord blog today. Thanks Erin and Lorelei!!!

It worked!

2011-01-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

The little goal I set for myself this week - to join Bead Table Wednesday and to create something with those beads by the weekend - worked! I've added the link to the BTW flickr group to my side bar.

Anyway, I can't say that it started out easy. All of the beads I bought to go with my new etched peacock shell pendants were shells as well. Working with shell is sometimes difficult for me because quite often it can look like a cheap souvenir necklace from the millions of vendors you might see in a tropical location. Maybe you know what I'm talked about? So the first few stringings I put together were not good. For the lighter colored pendant, I had bought 2 different size shell rounds in the same tone as well as white teardrop shaped shells to mimic the shape of the pendant. I only ended up using the larger of the round beads and then added in some freshwater pearls I already had in colors of white and champagne. It's a simple design but I like it. I liked it so much that I made another one and gifted it to a friend whose birthday was yesterday.
Then I started working with the darker pendants. The shell strands I matched up for these were gray ovals. I pulled out some dark wood beads to put into the mix, and then I ended up using the smaller of my white rounds. Again, a simple design that I have done similarly in the past - I just love separating those elongated wood beads with something smaller.

For my last dark pendant, I wanted to inject some color since the other designs were so matchy matchy to the pendants. I recently bought these carved lucite beads in different shapes and colors and I just loved how they looked together. The dark brown and white beads throughout give the pendant a purpose for being included. I used the smaller white rounds in between again, and then some frilly bead caps on every other bead. I must admit, this design is a repeat of the owl necklace that was in the Fall Stringing issue. That design too, was chunky with bead caps on every other bead. This is my fave among them all! I love the worldly, ethnic feel is has to it.

So, making 4 necklaces after such a long hiatus in the studio was very exciting for me. Even if the designs were not very complicated, and I pulled inspiration from pieces I had already done, that was okay. It was a relaxing way to get back into the swing of things.

By the way.... the last few postings have used pictures taken on the new camera my parents got us for Christmas. I haven't played around with it too much yet (meaning, I haven't read the full instructions - I'm bad about that). I was going to list a few of these on Etsy, but the pictures were too large so I guess that means I'd better read those directions!

It's not peacocks. Or owls.

2011-01-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd let you all in on one of the things that's been keeping me out of the studio - the nursery. And I don't mean that in a negative way at all. It's been a really fun project for Jon and I. Back in November - before Thanksgiving - and right around the time I was 3 months along - we went on our first shopping trip to get an idea about all of this baby stuff. Why so early? Well, as I mentioned yesterday, Jon is in 3 classes this semester so that he can finish his degree in April. Even 2 classes are busy so we knew how crazy 3 was going to be! As exciting as all of this stuff is, being the worry wort that I am, I knew that it was still early and I wondered: what if something goes wrong? Won't it be even more heartbreaking if we've already bought some things? I guess things can happen at any time, but the percentage of things happening early on is a lot higher. Plus, we don't know the gender yet. Isn't it important to know that (for the room that was already blue)? Okay, enough about that.

Even before I was pregnant - say if I was out shopping for a baby gift for a friend - I would make mental notes of the things I would want when it was my time. Oh, I just could not wait! So many cute things out there! Owls! Owls are very popular everywhere now! I knew coming across peacocks would be more difficult. And of course, I wasn't sure what Jon would like since he already teases me about the abundance of peacocks and owls in the house.

So our first stop was a local, independent kids store that has the reputation for the best furniture. Real, solid wood that will withstand the test of time (and kids). But, expensive! We found some things we liked but knew we were going to do more research. One of the things we liked however, was a particular bedding set. The thing that would set the theme of the room. And no, it wasn't peacocks. Or owls. It was cute giraffes, lions and elephants. And, it did not have a speck of blue in it. All along, Jon was intending to only give the room a fresh coat of paint - in the same color it already was. You can see what the room looked like before here - when it was my old jewelry studio.

We went home, did a little research online, and then headed off to Babies R' Us. As much as I like to support local, since our families are in other states, I knew I'd have to register at stores that are available to them. Lo and behold, there was that bedding set we liked in the clearance section - half off!!! They also had the matching mobile and valance so we jumped on it! I went back to the local store for the 2 pictures, so that I could still support them. But now Jon realized he would have to paint the walls AND the trim to match the colors. It didn't matter. At least I could help with the taping. And what was most important to me was that we picked it out together - and it's gender neutral. We picked an off white for the walls, and already had the sage green for the trim that we had previously used in our foyer. He even put a fresh coat of white on the ceiling (which we already had too) and we swapped out the old dated ceiling fan with a fresh new light fixture.

I was surprised, a couple weeks later, when Jon sent me an email with a link to Craig's List. He had been looking for cribs/furniture, and a beautiful crib had popped up in our area. We went to go look at it and bought it. It's a beautiful wood, in the color we wanted, and it transforms into a day bed and then into a twin size bed (which I guess is the big trend now). My other big find was an area rug in the sage green color from Target. I thought at $39.99 it was a good deal. But while looking in the Black Friday ads, I saw it was down to $19.99! A quick price adjustment at the customer service desk was easy! Things were coming along!

We both had 2 weeks off at Christmas time, so that is when the actual painting and putting together of everything happened. Since the room previously had blinds on the window, we opted for sheers to go with the valances so that required a trip to get those and the hardware to put it all up.

The other event that happened while we were on our break, was that we had our ultrasound to find out what the gender was. I think I mentioned in a previous post that it is a boy, but probably didn't give the announcement the hoopla it deserved. I will remember that moment - and that day - forever.

So without further ado.... here is what the room looks like so far!

Of course, I can still find some peacock toys!

When we were putting the Christmas decorations away, Jon noticed these large paper mache animals I have had for years. I got them really cheap at an after Christmas sale at a store that had used them for displays, and have used them in the past for a Gingerbread setup I do once in a while at Christmas. But he suggested we use them in the nursery. I agreed, but said they needed to be painted to match the colors. So here they are before:

And after. I already had bottles upon bottles of acrylic paints, so this was a no cost project!

We are so happy with how things have turned out thus far. I love the fact that we have mixed new with old and used for a budget friendly room. (I didn't take a picture of our changing table yet, but that is an old dry sink that was my Grandma's). This is pretty much the idea of our entire home - mixing new with old. I enjoy repurposing things and owning things that have a history.

Now, we will wander into the room every so often and just look around. Jon will start up the mobile from time to time. It's all anticipation from here on in.

Bead Table Wednesday

2011-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Heather Power's of Humblebeads started a new Flickr group called Bead Table Wednesday (BTW for short which ironically also stands for "by the way"). I decided to join because I feel like I need a boost to get back into creating again. I hate to put this in writing, but perhaps my challenge will be to have something from Wednesday completed by the weekend to post/list.

The selection I have above started off with some new shell pendants from Bead & Pieces that have peacock feathers etched into them. I took them to Michael's to match up some shell strands, and then I'll see what else I might want to incorporate.

So many excuses for not getting into the studio lately: Getting through the holidays (shopping, wrapping, decorating - then putting it all away). Either tired from being pregnant or on the other end of the spectrum, busy nesting. And as much as I LOVE my studio's new location in the little room off my living room, it is really cold in the winter because it is all windows even though there is a heat vent in there. I have to turn on a space heater well before I plan to go in there.

But, no more excuses. Jon is now back in school 3 nights a week, and I vow to enjoy that time and make the most of it!

Call me old fashioned.....

2011-01-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

I came across an interesting article on Yahoo today, entitled Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know. Since I am having a baby in 2011, it peaked my interest. When you are pregnant, your natural thoughts are those of excitement and cute little onesies. But then it sinks in.... how am I going to raise this child? What will the world be like when he is 10? (It's a boy, which I don't think I've mentioned on here since we found out).

So I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts about a few of the items listed, and to see what other people thought too. Some humor, some seriousness. Here goes.....

Video tape: WHAT!?!?!? So you mean I'm going to have to re-buy all of my Disney movies on Blu-Ray or something? Seriously though, I don't know why I have hung on to VHS tapes as well as 2 VCR's in the basement. I guess I thought it would be easy to install these into a kids room someday, so that if they got broken it wouldn't be a big loss. Actually, this last week Jon & I went through an ordeal about buying a new TV. Currently, we have a 27" flat panel with a built in DVD player. It gets the job done, in my opinion. Jon wants at least a 46" LED or LCD or WTF I don't know! Little did I know that also meant a new Blu-Ray player, sound system, and special cords that cost $100 to hook it all up. Luckily, one store was out of stock of what we agreed on and then the big sales were over. I'm going to try to hold off on that as long as I can.

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed. This.... is an important topic for Jon and I. We are on the same page here. What happens at the office, stays at the office. We do not bring our work home with us. Sure, there are some rough days once in a while. But for the most part, we put in our 40 and that's it! Our jobs are not our lives, and if they ever did become that, I'm sure we'd look at other professions. I know it is unheard of, but I have a no frills pay-as-you-go cell phone. And Jon's is pretty simple too, issued to him through work. I don't even know how to text if I wanted to! Do I feel like I am missing out on anything? Not in the least bit. I see these 20 some year olds scurrying around the office, so involved in their blackberries (or whatever the latest gadget is) that they hardly know they are going to bump into you. They are so worried about getting ahead or what's next - what an exhausting way to live! Life is complicated enough without all of that!

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now. As a published jewelry designer, I must say that one of the biggest thrills is holding that physical magazine in your hand and seeing your piece in print. I like books. I like wandering around Barnes & Noble. And I still rent books from the library. This brings to mind a scene from the first Sex & The City movie, where Carrie is reading a book and Big asks her if she is last person in New York that actually takes out library books. She casually responds, "I love the smell". I'm sure if I tried an e-reader, I would like it. But it still wouldn't be the same. The only time I think I can agree with doing away with books is when it comes to text books. Paying $130 for a book and then when you try to resell it to the school they only want to give you $25 - that was the biggest racket!

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie? Yeah, yeah I still do. Although I just signed up for Netflix today.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard. While I probably will never write letters like I used to, I still think a hand-written "thank you" is important. As well as other cards when appropriate. Come on, you have to agree with me because I have a desk full of cards that I will probably never use up in a lifetime!

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song. Okay, I have to agree on this one. After being introduced to satellite radio, it is the best. thing. ever.

So, there you have it. I am not saying my views are right or wrong, this is just.... the way I live. Don't think I am totally backwards though - I do pay bills and bank online for example - two things I know Grandparents would never trust. It's just interesting to take a look at these things and the differences in generations. I just hope that I can do my best in giving fair views and values to our little boy, and that he will grow up to be fabulous!

It was just one of those nights....

2011-01-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent necklace I made, after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I'd had these peacock feather charms for some time, and used one or two in previous projects. But I had reserved a good number of both the silver and brass ones, always intending on using them together in a necklace. I had tried stringing them all vertically with beads separating them, but it just didn't look right. Then I was hit with the idea of drilling a hole in the bottom of each of them so they could be linked together - perfect and simple!

So I thought it would be funny to share the story of our New Years Eve..... We are not big partiers anymore. 90% of our New Years, since being married, have been spent as quiet evenings at home. Once in a while, we will go to a party at some one's house (where I think we were home before midnight anyway) or last year we went to the new casino in our town (which was crowded beyond comfort). This year, our plan was to go to dinner at a new restaurant in town, and then to a movie. I had called said restaurant the day before to make a reservation, but did not get through. I figured it wasn't a big deal if we got there early enough. However, we were turned away as they were only taking reservations that night. Bummer! We ended up at one of our favorite restaurants instead, where I usually order the same dish. It didn't taste as good as it usually does and did not sit right in my tummy. Then, we had some time to kill before the movie so we thought we'd walk around a few stores at the mall - by no means is this at a late hour - we're talking 6:30 - but the mall was closed already! Since the movie didn't start until 8:45, we decided to call it a night and just head home. We got out some board games - first we played Clue where I was Mrs. Peacock (of course) and each won a round. Honestly, I had never been beat at Clue until I met Jon - darn engineer brain!!! Then we played Life (the version I have from the early 80's) and I must say it was the saddest game of Life we have ever played. Have you ever played the game and used up ALL of the promissory notes, so much so that you have to start tallying your debt on an extra sheet of paper? It was so laughable! We each landed on the worst squares ever - the entire game - and we both had so many kids they wouldn't all fit in the car! I told Jon I didn't want to play that game again until our kids would be ready to play which I am estimating to be another 10 years.

So, it was kind of a bust of a night. Oh well, as long as I am with my hubby and two dogs I don't care. I was snoozing on the couch before midnight came. We're going to attempt to see the movie again tonight.........

18/19 Weeks

2010-12-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

We find out what we are having on Wednesday!

Progress on the nursery is great! It's all painted, window treatments up, some wall art, rug..... pics to come soon!

We had our prenatal class this last Saturday - Jon's going to be a great coach. We also got a tour of the birthing part of the hospital.

I am enjoying my new wardrobe - some maternity pieces, some not. The regular styles now are so forgiving when it comes to pregnancy (leggings with big tops, flowy cardigans) that many of the tops I already own are working just fine.

Friday's Peacock Find - a holiday wish...

2010-12-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, I ordered new business cards/labels and such from a wonderful online printing company called Colorful Images. At the time, I had seen this peacock card and kept it in mind for the holidays. I was glad too, that I was able to add another family member to the feathers. Even though we don't know who you are yet little baby, everyone is excited for you! So since I can't send an actual card to all of you dear friends in blog land, I wanted to post it here to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season!!!

The other "new" experience this holiday season is that since I moved my studio down into the sunroom, that is where we usually had our tree. So this year, I set it up in the living room and it is quite enjoyable! I am glad I had a place for it in front of the window so that it can been seen from outside still!

Brrrrrr...........

2010-12-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

I made this necklace this weekend, when I was expecting a huge snow storm to hit. We didn't get nearly as much snow as they were saying, but it was still plenty cold and has been all week. I really felt like the icy blues in this piece were perfect for what was going on outside. But the 2 peacocks, nuzzled together, was a good interpretation of what was going on inside. Jon and I spending our free time curled up on the couch watching Christmas movies like Elf and Rudolph. Or sipping tea and reading. Or working on the nursery. Enjoying our time together - just the two of us - before our lives change forever. Of course, we have our 2 little dogs too, who are the lights of our lives! Our little shadows who follow us around the house, just waiting for us to settle down somewhere so they can occupy our laps.

The lovely peacock focal is from Nan at Spirited Earth. I also used faceted pressed glass, pale blue shell, and silver rounds.

All Tied Up...

2010-12-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is a pun about the true subject that I will eventually get to: ribbon. But let me just explain about what I have been "tied up" with, preventing me from quality time in the studio....

I know everyone is in the same boat right now - the stress of the holidays! I have been feeling great in this second trimester, but the burst of energy I have has not been focused on jewelry (to my dismay). But instead to decorating the house, running errands (aka: shopping), wrapping presents, racking my brain for ideas for presents, cleaning and organizing the house, working on the nursery, getting caught up at work so I can enjoy my upcoming 2 weeks off. Luckily, I had moved my studio from the spare bedroom down to our sunroom back in June. However, lots of odds and ends were left in the spare bedroom to deal with later. Well, later has come and now it is an overwhelming task. The entire room and closet has been emptied out, with all of it's contents taking up space in my upstairs living area. This is so that Jon can paint. But even after the paint is dry, this stuff will not be going back into the room so it needs to find a new home. Whether that be to a new owner, the basement, who knows!?!?!

Anyway, the only jewelry I was able to work on was a few pieces to submit for consideration for a great new book that will be coming out. You've probably heard that Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegel will be authoring A Jewelry Accord: making jewelry using cording, ribbon and lace. I am so happy for the success of these ladies and can not wait to see the completed product of all of their hard work! While they have already selected the 3 artists to contribute to the book, I was excited anyway to challenge myself with these materials that I don't work with often. The main material I decided to use was ribbon. I probably decided this because a.) as a scrapbooker, I had a lot of ribbon on hand and b.) it was probably the most challenging of the 3 materials to me. Here are a few of the pieces I made, which are now listed in my Etsy shop:

Orange Owl: I selected this owl ribbon as the subject to work around. The orange and brown swirled polymer clay rounds from Pam Wynn were the perfect match, so I started wire wrapping them from some wooden links. I then added some pressed glass orange rounds and brown ceramic dot beads as well. A few flower accents and detailed bead caps give the finishing touch.

Boho Butterfly: This is one of those pieces that came together as a surprise - it was not really planned. I had these geometric shaped bezels that I filled with butterfly images and resin. When I saw the ribbon wrapped loops laying next to them, I thought the unique combination of colors and textures fit together perfectly so I started linking them together. To end the necklace, I used more patterned ribbon which I had the perfect size end crimps for.

I plan to work on some more jewelry this weekend. We are supposed to get some snow, so what better way to spend some cozy time inside! Christmas lights and music on, candles lit, and a hot cup of tea! I have a few custom orders to finish for Christmas gifts, and then I hope the inspiration hits to make some fun new things!!!

Loose Feathers featured on A Bead a Day blog!

2010-11-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

Head on over to A Bead a Day to find a nice write up on my wood burned components. Thank you Lisa!!!

Friday's Peacock Find

2010-11-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

So last week I was talking to my friend Jennie of the Prim Pumpkin and she was telling me about this lighted peacock outdoor holiday decoration she had seen at Lowe's. Perfect, I thought, as I knew Jon & I were heading there over the weekend for fun things like toilet parts and a new light fixture for the nursery. I need another Christmas decoration like I need a hole in the head. Honestly, I am actually weeding though and selling some things, now that I have decorated this house for 7 years and I know what I use and don't use. But this was different... it was a peeeeaaaaacock! They only had one left and with minimal eye rolling from Jon, it was mine! I don't plan to put it outside, as I don't trust the little critters from chewing through the light cords (like they did to my display last year). Instead, I am going to put it in my bay window so that it can be seen from the outside, but being safely inside. This is perfect too, because the bay window is in our dining room and I always do our dining room with all my peacock decor - tablecloth, plates, little tree in the center with all my peacock ornaments. Even though I don't decorate until after Thanksgiving, I am certainly starting to get in the mood!

14 Weeks

2010-11-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

Taking pictures of yourself in the mirror is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

I think I can safely call my tummy a baby bump now, instead of just a muffin top! Things are going well. It's funny how as soon as I passed by that 3 month mark, I am feeling a lot better. Well, actually it's more like one day I am full of energy and in full nesting mode - cleaning house and taking no prisoners. And then the next day I am asleep on the couch again. Oh well, I take what I can get when I can get it.

Macaroni and cheese is still my #1 go to meal. It has to be Kraft spirals - not just the regular elbow shaped noodles. I hope the baby doesn't come out orange! But then again, it is a Wisconsin baby at heart so it will naturally love cheese.... even if it is artificial and powdered.

We have an ultrasound to find out what we are having on December 22nd.

I am not digging the pregnancy brain - forgetting things within seconds - or the weird dreams. I have already dreamt that I gave birth to a puppy, and then last night's dream was about zombies. I love my dogs like they are my kids, but I would really rather prefer a baby than a puppy!

This past weekend, the bump and I traveled to Chicago. Friday was spent with one of my good friends and her 5 year old daughter. We had the full American Girl Doll experience. Wow! That was crazy! Then Saturday, I met my Mom, Sister-in Law, her sister, and my nephew who had taken a bus trip down from Wisconsin. I did a lot of walking those 2 days!!! My big purchase in the big city was a new skin care kit from Philosophy. I had been using Proactiv for about 2 years, but noticed it either left my face an oil slick, or a dry flaky mess. Throw in pregnancy hormones and there's a whole new crop of problems. I haven't even been using this new system for a week yet and I can already notice a HUGE difference in my skin!!! I love it!!!

Well, that's what is new with me lately.

Wood Shop Reloaded

2010-11-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

I've just added some new wood burned components to my Loose Feathers etsy shop, many of which are from a scrapbook embellishment package I found. They are wood shapes with pre-printed images on them, but I enhanced them with my wood burning on the front and backs. I am going to try very hard to keep adding new things to the Loose Feathers shop - whether it be wood findings or destash.

It's been quite a productive weekend thus far. I spent the whole day yesterday scrapbooking with a nice group of friends. I scrapped my first trimester, and then got caught up on a lot of other pages. The sense of accomplishment was great, and I think my motivation and speed was based on the fact that I know once the baby comes I will have very little time for scrapbooking - at least at first.

I'm off to see what else I can get done today! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Short & Sweet

2010-11-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

I am in the middle of my busy week at work - has a month gone by already??? So, I will keep this post short and sweet. Just wanted to show a couple of new necklaces I listed on Etsy this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween.... and the winner

2010-10-31T17:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope a good day was had by all!

I am happy to announce the winner of my ring giveaway.......

Pam Ferrari

Pam choose the button ring! Send me your address Pam (hatrudeau@hotmail.com) and I'll get your ring right out to you!!!

Here's a few pics of my dogs in their costumes for you to enjoy! Biscuit was a Hippie Bus, and Mocha was an Egyptian Princess! They are such good sports - the best dogs ever!!!

Friday's Peacock Find

2010-10-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

Socks......That's right - peacock socks!!! Head to your local Target store to find them in the dollar section up front!!! Ugh - please don't mind my pale white, dry ankles!

Don't forget to sign up for the ring giveaway in my previous post! The drawing will occur on Halloween!!!

Ring Giveaway!!!

2010-10-26T05:30:00.001-07:00

Here are some new rings I've made with the blank rings from the Industrial Chic line. They are just so fun to find little elements to fill them with! I've decided that I will give one of these rings away to a lucky reader on Sunday, October 31st - Halloween!!! It's like trick or treating for adults.

To win, leave a comment on this post with your choice of ring and why you like it best. If you blog, facebook or tweet this giveaway, let me know for an extra entry. All of the rings have adjustable bands, but read on to see the specific details about each one. The two rings left after the giveaway will be listed on Etsy.

This brass button was actually a connector from Ornamentea. I snipped the connecting pieces off of the sides and filed them down. Then, I wove some thread through the holes and adhered it to the bezel.

This one is filled with a cute little mushroom charm from Humblebeads. The charm had a little hole at the top, but I filled it in with some putty and colored it with some ink.

Lastly, this is a fine silver peacock button from Miss Fickle Media. I snipped the shank off the back and filed it down so that it would lay nicely inside the bezel.

Good luck everyone!!!

Friday's Peacock Find

2010-10-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry - I just had to do it! I promise, not all Friday peacock finds will turn to baby stuff, but I just couldn't resist! Of course I am finding all kinds of baby things that are peacocks or owls. I know it will be must easier to pick things out once we know the gender, but I still have a feeling that my husband and I will have some tiffs over the nursery decor. This being due to my obsession with peacocks and owls.

Anyway, you can find this cute little rocker here. It's one of those things that won't be needed right away, but would be a great first Christmas gift???

Also, check out the Art Bead Scene blog today. Lorelei has graciously included one of my wood burned pendants in her "wordy" collection today. I have to say, I love word beads too! And speaking of my little Loose Feathers shop, I know I have been neglecting it for some time. But I have been working on new pieces to add soon. Let's hope I have some energy to do it this weekend!

Holding Pattern

2010-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, I had a doctor's appointment this morning and got to hear the baby's heartbeat! That was exciting! Other than that, I don't have anything else too important to report. Although my pants are tighter, I do not have what I would consider a baby bump yet - it just looks like I've eaten too many carbs (which, I probably have). Just waiting out this last stretch of the first trimester.

My due date is May 17th - one day before our 9 year anniversary. And, a few weeks after my husband finishes his master's degree. He is only in 1 class this semester so he has to take 3 in the Spring to graduate then. Needless to say, it's going to be a busy time. We are going to try to get as much done (nursery, classes, etc...) before he starts that 3 nights a week class schedule!

Food aversions and cravings are as weird as ever. Last Thursday I was sitting at work at about 3:00 and was starving! I had already eaten all of the food I brought for the day. Working at a food company, I do have access to our brands of snacks during the day but for the most part I try to stay away from that. Not that my cravings are that much better! At that time, the only thing that would satisfy me were fries from McDonald's and one of their fruit smoothies. I figure the fruit offsets the fries! So, I ran out and got some, quickly eating the fries in my car before I got back! Doesn't it make you wonder what kind of chemicals they put in their fries to make you want their fries instead of say Wendy's?

Jon's class is on Mondays right now, so I consider myself on my own for dinner on those nights. It's hard enough to cook for two let alone one! I can usually satisfy myself with a bowl of cereal those nights. This past Monday, I was craving Olive Garden's bread sticks dipped in their alfredo sauce and some of their salad. The closest Olive Garden for me is about 20 miles. I thought that would be a little excessive to go there. So I ended up at Panera Bread for their signature mac and cheese. Have you tried it yet? It's pretty darn good with a hunk of their bread on the side. But as I sat there eating it, I wondered why I just paid $8 for this when I could have made Kraft at home for $1. Oh well, such odd things pregnancy makes you do.

Speaking of Panera, last weekend we bought a loaf of their Asiago Cheese bread. Ummm, I only got one slice of that bread. In the course of 24 hours, my husband ate the whole thing! Who's the pregnant person here?!?!??! Maybe he is already trying to sympathize with my symptoms.

Anyway, just a few funny tidbits I thought I'd share......

Lorelei's Michael's Challenge

2010-10-17T06:05:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my post about Lorelei's Michael's reader's challenge! As you can see from the first pic, I laid out all of the beads Lorelei picked from Michael's. The only ones I couldn't find were the brown cinnabar. I also laid out a couple of pendant options. I ended up choosing an owl from Nancy of Round Rabbit in a dreamy shade of green.

Instead of using him as a centerpiece, I put him off to the side as a connector. Then, I just started wire wrapping some of the beads in no particular pattern. The other pieces I added were 2 wood circles and instead of wire wrapping them, I used the white chain to integrate them into the piece.

This was really fun and I am pleased with how the necklace turned out. The biggest challenge for me was the size of the holes. The holes in the jade, wood, and cinnabar were large enough for the wire I was using (or even for some cotton cording), but as you all know, pearls have much smaller holes! I had to use some eye pins for those up the back.

I will be listing this necklace - called "Jaded Owl" - in my Etsy shop. But in the meantime, check out the other participants in this challenge with the links below. Thanks Lorelei for organizing this fun event!!!

Mary Harding

Hilary of Fryestyle

For My Sweet Daughter

My Life Under the Bus

Kristie of DreamSomeDesigns

Linda's Bead Blog & Meanderings

Copper Diem

Andrew Thornton

TyneBodenNecklaces

Raida of HavanaBeads

Erin of Treasuresfound

Molly of BeautifullyBrokenMe

Beading by Malin de Koning

AuntieAnnie

Gr8Findings

Deborah M Purdy

Spirited Earth

Erin Siegel Jewelry

beads by breul

Beads for Busy Gals

Cynths Blog

Nayas Organized Chaos

Crafty Hope

2 catch a hummingbird

Rosebud

For the Love of Beads

Jamberry Song

Peacock Fairy

Elysian Studio Art

Designs by Debi

sweet girl design

Silver Rose Designs

Tropic Beads

Friday's Peacock Find

2010-10-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I bring you this awesome scarf from Old Navy. It is a great deal at $12.50, and it is a huge scarf! Very soft material! Enjoy!

Metamorphosis

2010-10-14T16:29:00.001-07:00

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and congrats! It really means a lot to me! I will certainly keep you updated as I go through my pregnancy, and am planning on making a scrapbook as well. I can't wait to take pictures and journal my thoughts. Since this blog is mostly about jewelry/my business, I do like to share little tidbits about my life from time to time. So, I plan to continue with that type of format.

I was able to get into the studio last night, even though I would have loved to have layed on the couch. But, I was excited to work with some new things I had gotten over the weekend. The above pendant is from the Industrial Chic line at Michael's. My Michael's has totally revamped their bead section and I am so happy about it! I had not seen this component, and several others, in the collection before. So I was happy to see that it seems like the IC line will stick around for a while. This is a little metal label holder that you might have seen on old library drawers. The "stock" image that came in it - the butterflies - I totally loved! I had no intentions of switching them out for a peacock feather which is shocking! I wire wrapped the two sides so that it would hang nicely from the strand of colorful pearls. I love how the colors blend into each other and gradually change, just like a butterfly. And just like my body over the next 7 months!

Announcement..... as promised.

2010-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

The sticks don't lie! I am happy to announce I am 8 weeks pregnant. One of the main reasons we were so excited for my parents to visit this weekend - so we could share the news. Now we can start getting it out in the open more. Not that we didn't want to earlier, but there's all these "suggestions" about how long you should wait to tell people, yada, yada. You might be wondering why I decided to blow $20 on MORE sticks to pee on. Well, at about 5 weeks I had a little scare and because I am a neurotic worry wort, I kept taking them to "reassure" myself I was still pregnant. The upside to the little scare though was that I got an ultrasound that week (I probably wouldn't have gotten one until my appointment later this month) and was lucky enough to see the little heartbeat fluttering! That made me feel so much better!

Anyway, we are very excited! I have been feeling pretty good overall. No real sickness, however when I am hungry I have a hard time finding something that appeals to me. Oh, and very tired! Very tired! Naps are a necessity on the weekends and during the weeknights I don't do much. This is hard for me because I am used to being productive, so I have to give myself permission to rest. Hence, not a lot of new jewelry to show. But, I hope to get some motivation soon. It was hard enough for me, these last few weeks, to get my house decorated for Halloween. But since it is my favorite holiday, I knew I would be disappointed if I did not do it.

So, I will leave you with a very easy (and semi-healthy) pumpkin muffin recipe that my family enjoyed this weekend - I know my Dad wants the recipe so here it is. (I was craving pumpkin and cornbread last week. This week it's yogurt and mac & cheese. Oh, and hot dogs from Culver's.)

1 box of spice cake mix
1 16oz. can of pumpkin
Mix these two together - add a little bit of water to make a thick batter consistency.
Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350 for 18 minutes

For the frosting, mix one tub of fat free Cool Whip with one package of sugar free cheesecake flavored pudding mix. I recommend letting this mixture sit for a few hours so the pudding granules can absorb the moisture - it will thicken up.

That's it! Easy and delicious!!!

Chihuly @ Meijer Gardens

2010-10-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying last week kinda sucked. The first week of every month of my job is spent closing the books of the previous month. It's a week of lots of stress and long hours. Add into that the fact that I am now covering for someone who is out on maternity leave through the rest of the year, so I had double the stress. Then, about midweek I get a call from my husband who was on his way home from work when some maniac decided to hit him for no apparent reason.... not once, but 3 times. All is fine, everyone is fine, and the insurance will work it all out. No need to rehash all of the details again.

The only thing that got me through the week was looking forward to my parents coming to visit for the weekend, and the promise of beautiful weather! We planned to go to the Meijer Gardens on Saturday to see the Chihuly installation they had this year. It was wonderful and a good time was had by all! The blown glass sculptures were as spectacular as I thought they would be.

Stop back tomorrow for a special announcement!!!

Friday's Peacock Find

2010-10-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

I have been tossing the idea around for a while now to try to have some kind of regular weekly post on my blog. Since I seem to have so much luck finding peacock items, I thought I would start to share them with you on Fridays. As with anything, don't hold me to it too strictly, but it is something I am going to try to keep up with for a while.

This weeks find is:

Peacock Shrug Sweater by One World

The One World brand is one of my favorites. Their tops are so comfortable and effortlessly stylish. I own many of them, and find that they will always have some kind of peacock or owl patterns. You can find this brand at most major department stores. This particular sweater also comes in black. Both colors feature peacock feathers up the sleeves. I really like these open, flowy sweaters that are so popular now!

Beauty. Style. Design. Art of the Auto

2010-09-29T08:22:00.001-07:00

The Art Center of Battle Creek, where I volunteer, is all moved back into our "home". This is after relocating the gift shop during the summer while major road construction was going on (you may remember me mentioning this). To mark the start of our normal exhibit schedule, October starts off with:

Beauty. Style. Design. Art of the Auto

I am so looking forward to the opening reception this Sunday. This show features the works of nine nationally known artists, many of whom have worked for and designed for the large automakers. Many people think about vehicles as merely a way to get from point A to point B. But there are many reasons why I now have a great appreciation for them. Having been with my husband now for over about 10 years, he is a major motor head. He not only works in the automotive industry, but has had a passion for working on cars since his teens. We have owned and restored many muscle cars, and enjoy going to car shows all summer long. I admire the craftsmanship, quality and thought that went into designing and producing cars before my time. Like the age old saying - "they just don't make 'em like they used to."

Another reason that is now near and dear to me comes from living in Michigan. The heritage of Detroit - aka Motor City - is very powerful. Parts of the city are so sad to see now, knowing how amazing it once was.

I really love the fact that our Art Center brings a diverse representation of art to our community. Since being involved there, the exhibits that come to mind are Art of the Tattoo (featuring local tattoo artists), last years Aviation Exhibit, and now this Auto Exhibit. Many people might turn their nose up, saying "what do tattoos have to do with art?" but tattooing really is an art form. By doing these types of shows, we bring in so many people who might not consider visiting an art center.

I have been gathering up many jewelry elements in preparation to make some auto themed jewelry to sell in the gift shop during this show:

necklace featuring a Jade Scott pendant with classic car images

industrial chic lockets filled with muscle car images

the one on the left also features industrial chic nuts

the glaze on the orange ceramic rounds on the other one look as though they have "oil" splotches on them

industrial chic car charm make a nice double stranded bracelet

If you've been following me for a while, you might remember my posts last year about Fordite (cabochons cut from layers of old car paint). I still have a few pieces hoarded away, but used a clasp here on this bangle bracelet. The Vintaj form is wrapped with wire and peyote stitched delica beads.

the industrial chic line pops up again with these earrings

they look like replacement bulbs for lighting in cars

If you are in the Battle Creek are this month, I hope you are able to see this awesome exhibit!

MIA

2010-09-28T07:57:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been absent from my blog lately. As much as I try not to let it bother me, it does. The time just seems to fly by! So, I thought I would post about some of my most recent Etsy listings.

This necklace comes with matching earrings! I really like how the branch connectors (from Industrial Chic) match the thorned pattern on the porcelain heart from Round Rabbit! This emerald green color is not a color I work with very often, but it is really pretty standing alone on it's own as the only color in this piece.

I've hung onto this dotted owl by Jade Scott long enough. I am happy when I can find the perfect pairing for something, and that came with the dotted beads from Elaine Ray. I mixed in a few of her solid ceramic beads too. With the mixture of wood, this little guy is perfect for Fall!

old listings do rust

2010-09-15T13:41:00.001-07:00

I've realized that I have quite a bit of older listings on Etsy, so I am having a SALE! You may have noticed that I've been using a new background (some tattered linen) for my photos. So, my theory behind this SALE was to mark down every item that was not photographed with that background. That way, my shop will eventually have a more defined look. Not to mention that there are some real pretties that need new homes - like the one pictured above. I did not have a rhyme or reason to how I marked down the items (like a certain percentage or dollar amount) - I just did them individually. But please know that they are reduced by $4, $5, even up to $10 off their original prices. Oh, and I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on the SALE items! The FREE SHIPPING has already been taken off those listings. Thanks!!!!