Oh Suzanna

Here's a brand new colorway for my "Oh Suzanna Bracelet." This is a special edition for the upcoming Bead & Button show.

Directions are printing right now as we speak. Or type. Or, um, read.

No Comment

For several days now I have not been able to comment on my own blog. I try to respond to the comments left by others but get nowhere. Has anyone else experienced this? Although I suppose it's silly for me to expect you to be able to comment on this if I can't even leave a comment. Can you leave a comment? Testing... 1, 2, 3...

Donde Esta El Sol?

Dear Sunshine: Where have you gone?

Living in the Pacific Northwest certainly has it's pros and cons. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. So lush, so green. What keeps it this way is the rain. Rain. I'm so damn sick of rain.

It's amazing how much the weather affects me. We had a few days of sun and I felt so good and was incredibly productive. I had tons of ideas for new projects and felt so inspired. The rain came back yesterday and it was like my productivity was chopped completely in half. I didn't feel like doing anything. I had to force myself to bead. What's up with that? I fear today will be more of the same.

I have some of the sun lamps that are supposed to help with seasonal affective disorder but it really is not the same as sunshine. And just what is so seasonal about the disorder when it rains all year round?
I just need a good dose of some desert sun. Or southern CA sun. I need to feel the rays on my super white vampira skin. Amen.

Tropicana

I finished the garden bracelet that I started yesterday and made all of the kits. It feels good to get items crossed off my list. I believe I will call this one "Tropicana". What do you think?
Today I plan on putting the printer to good use.
And design a cuff.
And...

Bead & Button Prep

I've been busy getting loose ends all tied up for Bead & Button. I've made a few more kits for my Bezeled Bottle Cap Pendant Class. Here's one more sample I whipped up:

Plus... I cleaned and separated a boat load of bottle caps for my students to pick through.

AND... I whipped up a couple of special limited edition colorway kits especially for Bead & Button.
First, I created two colorways of my "Better With Crystals Kit". Here's a sneak peak of one:

Currently I'm working on a new garden bracelet colorway, which I must admit, I'm falling in love with:

Next on my list: print directions, print more business cards, put kits in packaging, and if time permits, create one special limed edition embroidered cuff kit.
As I'm creating kits and samples, I find I have five million ideas floating in my head for new creations. I want to stop what I'm doing and bead my ideas before I lose them and while the inspiration is flowing. But, alas, I'm being a responsible human and doing what needs to be done. I'm grateful for the inspiration, though. There's nothing worse the beader's block.

They'll stone you when you're trying to be so good

This morning has been full of synchronicity, which I just love. It makes me feel like the universe is in check for a moment or two. Or at least mine is, anyways. Like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing or I'm where I'm supposed to be.
Last night I reworked the clasp on a necklace that I had made for my father some time ago. I didn't quite make the extension on bar end of the toggle clasp long enough and it was a bit of a struggle to open and close. So, after months of having the necklace to repair (sorry, Dad) I finally fixed it last night. The pendant is a piece of fordite cut by Gary Wilson. It is reversible as you can see in the photo below.

I was just about to blog about this and the fact that I'll be helping Gary out at his booth at the Bead & Button show this year, when I noticed Marcia DeCoster's blog post about her pilgrimage to Gary's place with the Seed Bead Summit Gang.
Last night while I was working on the necklace, I noticed the movie Frida was on, which is one of my all-time favorites so, I watched it while I worked and made dinner (yes, I can multi-task). The music of Lila Downs, who I really dig,  is featured in this film. This morning my friend Edgar sent me link to a more recent you tube video of Lila doing a collaboration with one of his favorites Enrique Bunbury. Enrique reminds me of a Spanish Dylanish Jim Morrisonish kinda guy. I dig him, too. 
Here's the link for the video.

Holy cow!

Only 20 more days until Bead and Button Show starts! How can that possibly be??? Am I ready? Uh... no. There are still so many bottle cap pendant samples I want to make before I get there. You should see the mondo collection of super cool bottle caps I have been collecting for class. It pays to have friends who are bartenders, I tell you.

If you are signed up for my class, don't fear, I'll have lots of cool caps to choose from but if you have been collecting some of your own, please bring them. It's always great to see what treasures my students find. I've taken to buying beer based solely on whether or not the cap is bezel-worthy. Seriously.

cool giveaway allert!

Anne Gardanne of Gardane Glass Lampwork Beads is having a giveaway on her blog. The above beads are the giveaway prizes. Pretty cool, eh?! I'm particularly enamored by the two items I believe to be cabochons- the top left reddish raspberry piece and the center olive greenish piece.

I really need to get some work done today. I'm still fighting this stupid virus(?) thing from hell and honestly, it's left me lacking in energy and motivation. I've been sick for two months now and I tell you I'm over it. Done. Finished. I've had a sore throat for a month straight and I just can't shake it. My doctor suspects it's allergies, however, I am not entirely convinced. I've had allergies before and I've never felt like this. Enough with the feeling sorry for myself already.

The kids.

I finally picked up my guitar again this past week. Barry bought me a new acoustic guitar for my birthday last weekend. It's a Composite carbon fiber beauty. I shall post a picture soon. I promise. PLUS... he got me a wah wah pedal which is really too much fun.

More Kids.

Each one has a name. Off to the left is a painting I did way back when I was in college and I thought I was an abstract expressionist. Ahh... the good old days.

thirty something

The cherry blossom tree is in finally in full bloom. This usually happens by mid-April but with the lack of spring weather, she's a bit late this year. I look forward to this every spring.

I like to think the tree waited to bloom for my birthday. Yes, yesterday I turned 39 and while there really isn't anything monumental about that number, for some reason I'm having a difficult time with it. I think it's the realization that soon I will no longer be in my thirties. I don't know why this is scary for me but it is. I feel like I should have accomplished something really big before I turn forty. I guess I've got a year left to get it done. Whatever it is.

Vintage Jewelry Design

I've been meaning to tell you about a great new book that I recently won on Lorelei Eurto's blog. The book is a Lark Books publication by Caroline Cox and is titled "Vintage Jewelry Design". My head is reeling with ideas after poring over the pages of this book. Caroline does a thorough job covering vintage jewelry from the late 1800's through the 1990's. Thank you to Lorelei for the inspiration!

Return from Portlandia Part I

I had a really nice weekend in Portland and while sales were not through the roof, I met many wonderful people and got a chance to visit with some friends. The amount of talent packed into this one show was overwhelming and I left feeling particularly inspired.

I got a chance to check out the most recent work of my good friends Marcie and Greg of Hanson-Stone. Marcie does incredible beadwork and Greg is an amazing glass artist. I'm always blown away by his glass work and this time was no exception.
I had to make a daily pilgrimage to visit the mindblowingly fantastic work of Teresa Sullivan. The craftsmanship of her work is over the top but what I like most about her work is that it makes you think. If you ever get a chance to view her work in person, you really should. Plus, she's super cool! And she plays the bass. How much cooler could she be?

I swiped this photo from Teresa's site. This is one of the pieces I drooled on at her booth this weekend. 

I picked up a few goodies from Lani and James at Bullfrog and I-Ching Beads. Lani is a sweetheart and it was nice to get a chance to visit with her. Her and her husband make awesome glass beads. I got into trouble at their booth and if I hadn't maintained some amount of restraint, I could have gotten into a world of more trouble.
The forecast called for sunshine today but alas, it is gloomy once again. I'm so tired of this weather. I long for sunshine and find myself excruciatingly homesick for southern CA. I don't care about the traffic. I don't care about the smog. Just give me sunshine...