My First Watch

I had so much fun creating this watch. The details include Swarovski crystals, delica and seed beads. I will be working on more in the upcoming days. As always, you can find this watch for sale at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15682738

Can you believe that October 1st is tomorrow? Our weather has turned cooler here in Chicagoland. I guess I'm going to have break down and start getting the yard ready for winter. In honor of Halloween coming soon, I listed my first (and probably only) Halloween item.



I think it turned out really cute. And if you live anywhere close to me in Northern Illinois, it is the team colors of a Lake County High School. I figure it will do well at the craft show that I am hoping to be at in November. Still waiting for my confirmation.

Last night was Bingo night again. I didn't win on my cards, but won the door prize. My luck is still holding. I started working on a new zig zag bracelet with the fire opal Swarovski crystals. I can't wait to show it to you. It really goes with the beautiful autumn colors.

Tomorrow is featured artist Wednesday. Make sure to stop in and see the Etsian featured tomorrow. I'm not quite sure who it is yet either.

Productive Weekend

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog entry. This may be a long blog, because I want to tell you about all of them. (Guess I better start blogging everyday).

The big change to the blog that you will notice is the addition of many talented artists who also sell on Etsy. They were nice enough to share their "mini etsy's" with me, so please take a look along the right and left of the blog, and admire their work like I do. If your in the market for hand crafted items (as we should all be), check with them first. These items are top quality and if you are giving as a gift, it will be much more appreciated then a big box store item. And you will save gas!

My next big news, KimForBeads (who has a mini here) was nice enough to include me in a Treasury. It's my first treasury, and I'm so excited.

Now if you look to your left at My Showcase you will see that I listed six, yes 6 new items today which finally took me to two pages of listing. The top six items are the new ones. The bobby pins were so much fun that I just might make more.

My beading buddy came over last night and we had fun. She learned how to make three new bracelets. It is really nice to share my passion with a friend, in addition to all of you, of course. I figure that if you keep coming back to check on me, hopefully you like something I'm doing.

No promises, but I'm really going to try to do features on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday and Friday are definete, but Monday's sometimes are tough.

If you've read this far, thank you for sharing in my excitement from this weekend. I would love to hear your comments. I will talk with you tomorrow.

Featured Friday Artist Tackled And Shackled

TackledAndShackled describes this darling journal as: "You'll treasure this precious keepsake forever and ever. A plain 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" (21cm) white blank book has been lovingly embellished with whimsy and heart, every page eagerly awaiting your thoughts and images".

This wonderful Etsy shop has a variety of items in it from magnets, bird houses, wall plates to jewelry. I have had a wonderful time exploring it, and had a hard time trying to pick one item in the shop to feature. I choose the journal because of the beautiful fall colors and its ability to be used in so many different ways.

Stop by http://tackledandshackled.etsy.com/ and enjoy her great talent. Here is an excerpt from the profile to give you an idea of the style: "I enjoy many different forms of crafts and creativity, but my emphasis leans towards altered books, papercrafts, and jewelry".

So last night was the season premier of Gray's. If you watched, were you as disappointed as I was? It seemed kinda lacking in excitement, and when I thought back on it, nothing really new came to light. At least I almost finished a striped black and white bangle bracelet. My goal is get some new things listed this weekend.

I'm looking forward to Saturday, as my new beading buddy is coming over. She is so full of enthusiam for learning this awesome style of beading, and we have such a good time together. All this time of knowing each other and she had a secret stash of beads that she was trying to put to good use. I think she is now officially addicted!

I'm planning on adding some mini Etsy's to the blog too! Another etsian shared this wonderful idea with me. If you would like your mini Etsy on my blog, just leave me a comment or convo me on Etsy.

Have a great Friday and I will talk with you tomorrow.

My first Necklace

This is picture of the first necklace that I made. It was made in a tubular fashion with right angle weave. This is my first time using this stitch, but what doesn't reflect here is the great mix of bronze and topaz. The pendant is gold and topaz. I had to take a really quick picture of it because it was custom ordered and my wonderful client came to pick it up quicker then I thought she would. It has a wonderful sparkle to it. Since it will not be listed on my Etsy shop, if you are interested, send me an email or leave a comment. I will get back to you on it. It was a lot of fun creating this piece since it continued to change and evolve as the necklace grew. Click on the picture for a close up - it really does look so much better.

I'm hoping to work on some bangles tonight while watching the season premier of Grays Anatomy. Hope it is a good one. I'm wearing the black and white Swarovski bracelet today, and I love looking down at my wrist. I also am waiting patiently (not really) for my new order of crystals to come. The ideas are still pouring out faster then I can create them. I really enjoy my day job, but need more hours when I'm awake for beading. Things like laundry, cleaning and cooking keep getting in the way.

Hope your Thursday is going well, and make sure to stop by tomorrow for another Featured Friday artist.

Wonderful Wednesday Featured Artist

This captivating print is called "A Walk through Monet's Water Lilies" and can be found at ImagineStudio Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5664830.

She has other amazing work, and it is just a pleasure to look at. This particular piece really caught my eye today, as I needed some relaxation today. It is very stressful at work today, and I actually feel calmer just looking at this piece.

On this artists profile it states: "The lyrical beauty of each piece is well worth your time to see. I hope that they can provide a renewed sense of quietude to your the heart, mind and soul. So...let your spirit take flight in the beauty and awe of your own imagination."

This statement says it all, so when you need a calm, relaxing feeling, make sure to visit ImageStudio's.

As you can see, I decided to feature another artist on Wednesday too! I am randomly picking people who's work appeals to me. If you would like to be featured, please leave a comment. I would love to open my world. Have a great Wednesday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow, when I get my first watch up! It really turned out great.

New Pieces and CUBS WIN!

Okay, now you know that I'm a Cubbie fan. Now off to the World Series. It's going to happen this time, and if not there's the old saying, "There's always next year".

On to the jewelry side - I uploaded two new pieces this morning. The Swarovski red and crystal would be a perfect compliment to any Christmas outfit. It's delicate and the ruby colored bicones really stand out against the crystal backround.

This light blue swirl uses Delica beads and 3mm Czech fire polished blue crystals. The two sizes of beads creates the look of a double spiral within one bracelet.

These can be seen on my Etsy shop. I hope your weekend is going well, and I'll talk with you tomorrow.

Friday Featured Artist

Don't these darling coasters just make you think of the fall? I love the beautiful design and workmanship that you can clearly see in the creation of these little works of art.

These and more great pieces can be found at our featured artist site: http://bellflowertextiles.etsy.com/

Here is an excerpt from her profile which will give you an idea of what to expect:

"Creating a variety of home textiles that go beyond the classic definition of “quilt” but which still incorporate quilting elements to them. My placemat and coaster designs are pieced of multiple fabrics, and they usually have intricate hand or machine quilting to help make them sparkle. "

In addition a really nice blog gives you more info: http://growingnotes.blogspot.com

Two New Tumbling Cube Bracelets Added.

These two bracelets were added to my Etsy shop today. I love the pattern of them, and how it really looks like tumbling cubes and triangles. The copper one on the left just shines and I have dubbed it Autumn Glow. The tan/gold one on the right really sparkles. Both are perfect for the fall and are sure to receive many compliments. A version of the tan/gold one has also been special ordered for an October wedding.

I will post a few Christmas bracelets tomorrow although actually they are great for all year since one is red and crystal, the other other is green and silver. I also finished a blue spiral and it will be going up soon.

Did you watch Biggest Loser last night? I really enjoy this show. Maybe because it took me so long to lose 30 pounds and the people on the show are really an inspiration. Enough so, that I finally took a walk at lunch today.

Friday will definitely have a new Etsian featured. I had several responses, so there will be a few weeks of new artists, and then I will go with my favorites.

Want to be featured on Friday - just leave comment.

Well, it's Tuesday and I won at Bingo last night. It's a good thing too, since I spent so much money on beads this weekend. (But what a better thing to spend money on!)

My business card doesn't show as well on here because it is white on one end, but you get the idea. They came yesterday from gotprints and I am very happy with them. I recommend using them if you need cards. Very fast, great price and exactly what I ordered.

I've been kicking around the idea of having "Featured Friday" where I feature a newbie Etsian or even some of my favorite sellers that I have drooling over their goods. I think we will start this Friday. I'm going to post on the Etsy forum for a newbie with zero sales, but if you fall into that category and are reading my blog, just comment to it so I know you are interested.

I took pictures today, so new bracelets are going up over the next few days. Of course I will post here, but also watch my Etsy site. Biggest Loser premiers tonight (one of my favorite shows), so you may hear some comments tomorrow. I see you then!

It's Monday.

The weekend came and went so quickly, and now to soon, it's Monday. Although as far as weekends went, it was very nice. We went out to dinner with friends on Saturday, and I did get some design time in. I finished a cute little bracelet with Swarovski crystals in emerald green accented by tans. Also made rings to go with it and one earring (ran out of crystals and am waiting for my order). I started a really cute spiral in blue and am deciding if I should put a clasp on it, or use memory wire. If you have a choice, leave a comment. I would love to know what people's preferences are. I also designed a pin of a dragonfly, but have to fine tune it.
I should be posting pictures by mid week of the new stuff.

Three custom orders came in over the weekend and I placed orders for materials, so it's getting busy. Still looking for the craft show I want to do.

Tonight, I am going to play Bingo. We won last week, so lets see if our luck holds over tonight. Wish me luck and I'll let you know tomorrow if I won.

Where does the time go?

It is amazing that time just seems to fly. The weather is getting cooler and there are just not enough hours in the day.

Last night, I worked on putting together images for advertising, signed up for a few new sites, and just am running out of time. I have not beaded for two nights and I'm itching to pick up my beads and start creating. I finished my new logo which you see above. The backround changes around for my needs. Business cards are ordered and I finished working on a darling design for bags after a piece is purchased. I didn't want just the same old-same old bags. I'm excited about them and will post a picture soon (I actually have to make them first). This leads back to when am I going to be beading again?

I will post again this weekend, so check back, and let me know what you think about the logo. I will post a picture of the new business card this weekend.

Things are happening!

So many good things happened today. I'm so glad that I can tell you about them. First of all, I made my first sale through Etsy! One of my friends told his friends about me and he bought a bracelet for his daughter on Etsy and then came over to pick it up. It was so fun meeting my first Etsy customer.

Then through a contact of my husband, I am going to have the opportunity to be in a juried show in a private home, and was told to have lots of stock on hand. I'm not sure that I can do this, but will be burning the midnight oil to make pieces. And on top of it, she customed ordered a piece for her wedding in October.

I finished two pieces this weekend. One is a darling red and crystal bracelet. The other was so fun and exciting to make. This summer I met a young woman by the name of Jessica Lynne. She is in college majoring in art, but her passion is glasswork. She made me some beautiful one of a kind lampwork beads to use in my pieces. I finally finished my first piece and was so happy to be able to put it on Etsy. You can see it above. It will never be duplicated. I also expect many amazing things from Jessica Lynne in the years to come.

Come back soon to find out about more pieces.

New Format and Layout

Wow - I can't believe another week is over and the weekend is almost here.

I changed the format of the blog to something that I think is more appealing. Let me know what you think. I have been working on my jewelry and will be putting more up this weekend. I've also been having so many ideas and gaining so much information from the great people on the Etsy forums. My next steps are to run some sort of promotion on Esty Secrets (check out my blog list), and also a giveaway on this blog.

Make sure that you bookmark my blog, as I'm picking up lots more ideas to keep things interesting and to make sure that you keep coming back.

I will be posting this weekend. As always thank you for stopping by!

New Items and more!

I added two more bracelets today. One is a delicate, darling pointsetta bracelet perfect to wear for the Christmas holiday (which is approaching much too fast). The other is an elegant black and crystal bracelet with over 80 Swarovski bicone beads. It really sparkles and shines. This bracelet is another version of the one that will be listed in Mary Englebreit's Home Companion magazine in the December/January issue.

I have been added to another etsian's blog page. There is some great things over there. Make sure to check this one: http://www.tagsandbuttons.blogspot.com/

I have finally had a chance to update and list more. The weekend has been filled with getting my son ready to go back to college. We dropped him off today, so maybe now I will get more done.

Happy Labor Day!