BAO Item of the week

The Bead Art Originals street team from Etsy is an incredible group of artists. I was invited to join ages ago when they started the street team and because of a CRAZY school year, have not been able to be very active. Hence, summer vacation is here and the the beads are flying (along with the weeds in the yard this morning!).

One of the really cool things that BAO does is to have an item of the week offering.
Each artist participates in her own way, with whatever discount or "special" they want.Mine item will change through the summer but will be offered at a 20% discount. SOOO...Check it out each week to see if your favorite item made the discount list.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7215986

http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com

Loving Me Some Summer!

Not much is better than laying by the pool,

soaking up the rays

sipping on a shave ice...

except new beads..

a broken plate...

and creating a cool piece of jewelry!

Enjoy!

Summer Vacation has officially begun

We are out of school!
I've got beads all over the counter, a little bit of sun, and "East of Eden" which will be my summer pool book.
I've actually finished 2 new pendants which I'll try to photograph this afternoon and post the pictures for you.
I also made a trade for this fantastic purse on Etsy that I am dieing to get!!!!

A Mind Of Its Own

I'm not sure about other beaders, but my beads have a mind of their own. I started out with these pink and green beads which were to be a peyote stitch choker with a cherry quartz in the center. The beads turned themselves every which -a -way and said they wanted to be a freeform piece. Something that could be worn on a breezey summer night, with a flowing dress and flip flops. Man those beads are pushy!! This is what they were meant to be.

September 11th remembered

Well, life is a little different since the the 9-11 attacks. I think it has made my family a little bit more alert, definitely more aware of surroundings and more careful to say "I love you, have a good day". Make sure that you let all those around you that you love and care for, know how you feel.

I've mentioned my friend Natalie several times, she is such a free spirit. She loves yard sales, flee markets and anything funky and at a good bargain. She bought these great wood hearts. one for me and one for her. This is the necklace that I created for her! I think I'll do one just like it with my heart. You never know we may show up at school wearing them on the same day. Thanks, Natalie!

New Creation

Earlier, I mentioned that I made a trade with a friend of mine, Natalie.
I got this great box of vintage beads and things that were already started.
In the box was a bag of metal beads!
Then there was a piece that had been beaded together with wire. My first "Natalie" project Will be with this unfinished metal bead piece and the remaining beads. Thought you minght like to see how the process goes.
Here are the starting pictures of what I'll be working with.

Tuesday - Wimbledon is cutting me short

Okay, Wimbledon has started and tennis is big at our house.Needless to say it has cut into my beading time! I just finished watching an incredible match, The British guy finally won! I finished the bracelet that matches the necklace that I listed yesterday. Aptly named "Seaweed Treasures Bracelet" It makes a wonderful sound and the weight of it is perfect. Any good pirate would want it for her treasure chest.

My antique tiger lilies are blooming and I am dieing to do something in that great bright orange. Every time I lay black with it though I think of Halloween and that is definitely not the look I'm going for. I will have to think on this for a while. A lady emailed be about doing a custom piece similar to one I recently sold. So, that will be the project of the day. I told her, I could come close but I know that I can't exactly do the piece. We will see what comes out! House to be listed on Thursday.....

Thursday - Tennis Tournament here we come

I finished a bracelet the other night and
as I was putting beads away, I saw a shell
pendant that I had stashed away. I thought
The colors were perfect together...so a
necklace was born. Hope you enjoy seeing these
2 pieces. Named them "coffee on the beach".

We are off to Columbus for my son Jordan's
tennis tournament. This is on clay courts
which should be interesting.I hope he does well.

Sunday - 4 more weeks!

Well we only have 4 more weeks of school!
I love school, I love my job, I love being around the kids.
I love to sleep late, lay by the pool and bead.
Hard choice...
I got a great idea to bead a beaded bezel around broken china ..... sort of like you bead around the stones.
As soon as I can take pictures, I'll post it.
It might work...might not. I thought I'd give it a try.
Wouldn't it be neat to have a necklace made out of vintage china or a piece that was your grandmothers.

Here's a few flowers that are blooming in my yard right now.

Monday....

Another week is here. Jordan won his tennis match Saturday!!
Taylor is working on her art and will soon start art lessons after school.

This is my next beading project. White Glass disks, and blue green seed bead mix.
I have no idea where this one is going, I just like the combination of colors and the large disks compared to the tiny seed beads.I'm waiting for the creativity to hit me in the head or stab me in the finger!!

THURSDAY - April 12

Change and growth are Good... I am in the process of cleaning out my bead stash, as a result I'm opening a new Etsy shop called PACK RATS DAUGHTER. I am going to sell some of my beads, findings...things that I know that I'm not going to use even though I love them. There are beads that I've bought and thought would look great in a piece but then when I've tried to put it together it didn't work.I've also been amazed at how my taste and talent have changed. I actually started this beading process about 7 years ago. I started with seed beads and making anklets. Then a friend said that she had some old pieces of jewelry from her grandmother....did I want them...I jumped on that one. From there I started collecting beads from flea markets, thrift stores, consignment shops, road side markets... you name it. Family and friends would bring me bags of stuff. I started makeing killer bracelets and selling them for $10.oo. I sold hundreds!!!From there the obsession with learning beading stitches came. Once I "got" the peyote stitch, my whole beading obsession changed. This is all growth and good..so I'm cleaning my bead stash. I'm sure it will take a while. I have set the store up and will add beads as I get them photographed and a description. I'm glad I'm growing and changeing.