Lil' Cousin on a Uke

Didn't get much jewelry making done last week. My work schedule was all wonkified because of the new boss. Meh. It's somewhat normal this week so I'm grateful for that at least.

I know I promised new sterling silver pieces (if you follow my Facebook at all, you'll know I got some sterling wire... YEE!!!), but haven't had much time to play with it yet. So. Instead. I leave you with a video of my cousin's daughter playing her ukulele and singing a Lady Gaga song. I don't have a TV but apparently this was inspired somewhat by Glee.

Etsy Post and Photography Rantage

Updated the shop tonight.

 Feels like it took forever!

 Wanted to give up and just go back to sleep...

 But what would that accomplish?

 I now have a shop with 19 items!

 Even added the sliding knots from the last post.

 Now there's the task of promoting myself...

 I'm not very good at that.

Though I really do enjoy blogging... :)

My day consisted of posting to Etsy. I'd made a resolution to do it once a week. I missed last week because we went to Encinitas. But I'm hoping to do two posts this week to make up for it... today's was the first.

I'm not sure how I feel about the photography of my new works. I used to use scrapbook paper and silk flowers as props but found that it was a bit busy so I went to just a plain white background. It certainly makes color (ha... almost added a "u" to color...) adjusting in Photoshop easier.

What kind of props do you use in your photography?

Happy Monday, all!

Sliding Knots

 I think...

 I am in love...

with sliding knots...

Took a little break from the wire wrapping to make these bracelets. They will be in the shop Monday afternoon, at the latest. I've been trying to make bracelets that could, in theory, be for a man OR a woman. What do you think?

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Happiness in My Mouth: Macarons

When someone says the word "macaron," images of super sweet coconutty cookies (sometimes, and usually so very preferably, dipped in chocolate), spelled with a double 'o,' come to mind. Yesterday, I got to try the single 'o' variety. HEAVEN. My sister-in-law raved about them when she and my brother went to Seattle so, naturally, when the BF and I saw them in a tiny French bakery, I HAD to try them.

Yummy. Not too sweet. Perfect with a cup of tea (though I ate mine plain). Pistachio is my favorite. Next time, I want to see if they have almond... that's my favorite kind of gelato so it stands to reason that I will LOVE almond macarons.

Side-note: I am absolutely head-over-heels for this ring on Lorena Angulo's blog. Want very badly to commission her to make one for me...

Mastering the Art of Beading

I picked up this book last month. It's called "Mastering the Art of Beading" by Genevieve A. Sterbenz. Before I go on, I just have to say I love the play on Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." LOVE IT. K? Alright. Moving on.

If I were to teach a beading class, this would be the text book I would assign. The subtitle reads "essential tools and techniques every jewelry maker must know." That is absolutely correct. It goes over the basics like making wrapped loops and opening and closing jump rings, but it also goes over the different kinds of beads out there. I never knew exactly what fire-polished beads were (other than BEAUTIFUL) until I picked up this book.

It's chock full of projects and (best of all) really awesome step-by-step photography.

If you're a beginner looking for a book to help you learn the basics or if you're an experienced beader looking for new projects and great reference material, this book is a must for your library.

PS. Updated my shop tonight! I know, I can't believe it either :P

Tatonka

I'm not very good at making jewelry for men. I admit, I've only tried once to make something for my boyfriend and it ended in frustration and tears. But a friend who is dear to me is moving away at the end of the week so I wanted to make something for him.

At work, a select few of us have given each other code names. His is Tatonka (which means "buffalo"). I think he chose wisely and I accepted it as soon as I heard it. It fits him rather well. The buffalo is a strong animal with a deep meaning. The buffalo has come to symbolize strength, gratitude, stability, and prosperity. I found a silver charm and strung it on a simple piece of black leather. I added two stones, black onyx and brecciated jasper.

His mother turned me on to a wonderful book describing the power of stones and those two are protection stones. More importantly, the jasper will help keep him grounded which is important because a lot of people become jaded or lose track of what is important when chasing the dream he is going after. I don't want that to happen to him.

I made this bracelet for him as well. More black onyx. I don't know if he will wear it or if it will even fit (man hands are so much bigger than women hands) but I thought I'd give it to him anyway and if he needs it to be bigger, I can change it.

I'm hoping to give him his present today. I'm hoping he will like it. I wish he wouldn't move away because he and I have such great conversations and he is such a supportive friend. He inspires me quite a bit when it comes to my art. I want him to succeed. I hope we stay friends in the future.

I'm a Wrapper...

I am having such a grand time with my seed beads and copper wire. Copper works so well with so many colors and there are soooo many beautiful seed beads out there!

I'm calling this one Rajkumari Necklace. "Rajkumari" means "princess" in Hindi. I'm really quite in love with that faceted quartz drop.

Semi-precious stones work well as well. Here, I have brecciated jasper, which is red jasper with veins of hematite running through it. Both are protective stones and more specifically, brecciated jasper also is said to help give you a positive outlook on live and ease stress. I thought it matched well with the "om" symbol. I finished the necklace with leather cording and it is claspless (sliding knots are happiness, in my opinion).

I promised in one of my previous posts that I would post a better picture of the earrings I made here. The previous picture was a bit green. Sunlight really is quite magical :) These are Phul Earrings. "Phul" means "flower."

Etsy update sometime today... I know. Shocking. Hahaha. Check the shop sometime tonight.