Pumpkin faces, skeleton (key) & Halloween kitties

I love Halloween! (why else would I do a Zombie Walk?) This year I had to create a few jewelry pieces just for the holiday! I etched pumpkin faces and Halloween kitties in copper, and some of them are up on Artfire...
I had this great idea using the Vintaj brass key blanks... weave them through the eye of a skull bead I bought... it's my Skeleton Key! yuk yuk yuk! It's actually pretty cute, and I'll try it get it up on Artfire this week sometime.. if you are interested just drop me a line.

Stray Pictures

I'm trying to clean up my photo files on the computer, and ran across some from the last few months that i never got around to posting.

Here is my latest version of a Woolley Worm, all very bright colors. Makes me think of a carnival or a circus. I have a fall one on the desk right now.. reds, yellows and oranges.
This is PMC made from an old vintage bone button I have. I made a mold of the button to cast the clay in.

The back side is really lovely swirls. This one is long gone, but I have a version done in Bronze clay also.


Fused glass cab (fused by me of course) wrapped in sterling. I think this one is gone also..

Grand Tour II: my Fused Glass Cabs

I really really really need to get back to fusing... I'm feeling the urge very strongly but I need to get that side of the studio cleaned up and a couple thousand comics out of the way. sign.

In honor of these feelings ( and the fact it's going to take months to list and sell the comics and I really don't have anywhere else to put them) I decided to explore my box of fused glass pendants next.
Here is a shot of some of the goodies waiting their turn to be wrapped! Or filigreed, or something...

I selected this lovely purple cab. Like many of my cabs it's got glass recycled from blown glass art pieces. I bought several points of broken bits a couple of years ago and incorporate them into my cabs.

It's wrapped in 21 GA sterling silver.

Grand Tour I : Silver plated brass stampings

I'm taking a grand tour of my jewelry making stash, box by box. Some of the adventures I'll be sharing here on my blog.
This entry features brass stampings in a silver finish. Just about a year ago, I really got into brass stampings via Vintaj Natural Brass. I've discovered other brands that I really like, such as Trinity Brass and B'Sue. These other companies offer a range of plating's and patinas. I'm very partial to silver plated. I can mix in a dash of sterling with some brass stampings and create really lovely, expensive looking pieces at more affordable prices.

Brass stampings have been around for hundreds of years, but the jewelry boom started in the mid 1800's.

The wonderful thing is a huge amount of the stampings made in the USA are made using vintage dies. You can actually buy a stamping in the exact style someone used 100 years ago, made from the same tools!

I've been buying brass at a prodigious rate. I started out with 1 plano box for Vintaj, and a smattering of "other". A couple of weeks ago I reorganized my brass collection loosely based on "color" .. ie vintaj's chocolate brown, ox gold, copper, silver etc. I've ended up with a large tube of the "golds" , 1 vintaj plano, 3 smaller containers of other finishes, and a couple of planos with findings and beads to go with all of these colors. If I buy much more I'm looking at another box or 2. Somehow this doesn't dismay me in the least!
Here's a overview shot of my silver plated brass stamping box.

Here I am just playing around with different components trying to find a combination I really liked.I really liked how these components meshed together!
I got such a romantic, vintage vibe from this I used vintage starlight crystals. In the end I used the following boxes in my studio: brass, silver plate; chain box; vintage crystal box black/purple/special; and a couple of finding boxes.

Flea Market Finds

Doesn't this picture just want to make you drool?? These pieces I just bought this morning!


I love garage sales and flea markets, and it's such a lovely day today, and I have some birthday money, I just had to go.

The Iowa State Fair grounds has a huge flea market every month but August.. I don't think I've made one since maybe March due to shows, so going today was wonderful!

and I FOUND SOMETHING REALLY KEWL!
This is a really old picture ( it's backed by dark brown metal.. poss tin type? ) I bought it, believe it or not, for $1.00. It's brass-lined bezel glass , and it looks like maybe it was part of a locket. Hard to see in these pictures, but the bezel is very sharp and sparkly, which is why I noticed it. When I got it home I found out the picture wasn't permanently mounted in the glass bezel frame, so I can use them together or not, as it strikes my fancy. This is just unusual and really kewl! The picture was cut to fit this frame, I'm guessing it's pretty darn old! The bezel looks hand cut, which definitely dates it.

I spent $23.00 total on jewelry finds. Since I'm making more and more jewelry using chain, I've kept an eye out for interesting chains. Most of the chains I bought are probably in the 10-20 years old, but are in great shape.

I also bought a really nice vintage ( probably 1950's, it's strung on very fine tiny chain!) crystal necklace, and few nice glass/crystal pins.I did purchase a few other odds and ends... and cookies!! There are always a few booths selling baked goods... vintage jewelry and baked goods! and and got a couple of paperbacks, and some Tupperware...... really had a lovely morning!

Introducing the "grand tour"

Isn't she a cutie?? aw............

OK, now that I've got that out of my system, I've been looking around my studio trying to decide what is next.

I have 1 more show, (East Village Bazaar Oct 16Th) and I'm looking at signing up for a couple maybe in December. So really, I'm done for the year!!! Oh the Freedom to do whatever I want to!!! oh the lack of motivation and creative energy as i"m burned out.

So the last few weeks I've taken it easy, I haven't really made myself make things, caught up on real life stuff in the household and even cleaned up the studio alittle.

refreshed somewhat, I look around my studio, at the thousands of beads, findings, vintage jewelry, tools,books and mags and odd bits and I'm not sure what to do next.

I started thinking that it's time to really revisit my collection. I do this every couple of years.... go through my stuff and weed out the goodies I no longer want ( which I destash on etsy.. ) and get inspired by materials I've forgotten I have. Sometimes I think the fun of making jewelry is as much the search for that perfect component as it is in the making of it!

So I'm going through every box, container and drawer in my studio and making something from each one, and I'll journal most of them here.

I'm calling it the "Grand Tour" . In part because I've been reading regency books lately and it's what all the "ton" did back then. It also captures the scope of the project and it just sounds kewl!

I'm not going to go in any peculiar order, just as the mood strikes.

But I'm going to have fun!!

I'm also going to start listing new items again on Artfire.. so be looking out for new stuff !

Marshalltown Bead Bash 2011

This weekend (Fri & Sunday) was the 9Th Annual Marshalltown bead Bash. I went down Friday night with friends Anne & Jodie, to check it out.

There were fewer vendors than in past years, but that never stops me from finding goodies!

Here is a shot of all of my stash. I got some brass in sheets and in bracelet form for more fun with etching. I bought some really nice irregular drops in fancy jasper ( one of my favorites, a lovely mix of neutral tones ranging from green to pinkish) a great cab and of course, a bunch of crystals. I can't help it, I love the sparklies!
I feel in love with this cab! It's candy corn shaped piece of Mookite with a great range of colors on it! It's more pinkish than it shows in the pic. It's going to be super fun to wrap!
the crystals, droool!

Zombie Walk 2011

Had more fun than a barrel of ...... zombies!

cute little girl zombie! lots of zombies families out today. Makes the heart warm as you run screaming for your lives....
Zombie friends!
Me as a Zombie!
Zombie protesters! Jerry's favorite sign read "Get a life!" . I liked "biting is naughty!"
Crowd shot during the walk.

Jerry as a Zombie!

Zombie walk Des Moines.. even the undead can have a good cause!

I can hardly wait til Sat! I'm going to be in my first Zombie walk! It's actually the 3rd Annual Des Moines walk, but the last couple of years we were out of town.

More info here!

As if dressing up as the undead wasn't draw enough, it's for a good cause!! Central Iowa Shelter & Services is a wonderful organization helping Iowa families get back on their feet... they accept donations of money, and are on the look out for certain goods, such as coats and blankets. Read more about them here. They even take leftover food ... here is more information on donating.

If you need help on your make up, you can get it at the blazing saddle 11-1pm.

I hope I see you there, whether you are fast or slow, rabid or brain eater, or a trout zombie!

ID or Mommie Tags

I've gotten some questions on my Mommie tags lately so I figured it was time to put up a blog on them.

I can stamp just about anything on them that will fit... names, dates, pithy statements or words that have special meaning for you.
I can do them in brass, copper and sterling.
I have 3 different fonts available, and the brass and copper and I can etch instead of, or in addition to, adding words.

I can add crystals, beads or found items for you... basically I can do whatever you want, as long as you can give me a clear idea of what that is. Prices start at $20.00, so if you are looking for a personalize memento you can wear, let me know

Recent Chainmaile

Just a few recent designs in chainmaile. I will fully admit I love rainbows and it seems I do rainbows quite a bit in chainmaile. It's just such a natural thing ! This Necklace is done in one of my favorite patterns: helm. The kewl thing about helm is you can make 2 necklaces in one.. this view you see mostly rainbow in the correct 6 color range. If you flip it over (sorry I know I should have a pick) it's large black rings with smaller colored rings inside.. so a dark rainbow.

Here are some earrings I've been making to match all of my rainbow chains.

This is a caterpillar pattern. This isn't a rainbow, but it's a progression of 7 different colors, with brass rings. I never seem to use the same size rings on this pattern.. the important thing is the middle rings are just large enough to keep the larger colored rings "floating" on the small inner rings. I realize that reading that doesn't make the most sense, but you should pick one of these things up, they are as fun to play with as a slinky and have the most wonderful drape!

Shows and Weather.....

This is what my tent looks like normally:


And this is what it looked like this weekend ---- notice the lack of shelves ( gusts of 20+ mph wind kept trying to knock them down.. notice how much the tent wall is blowing inward...) Because of the rain and wind, I didn't put up my normal busts as they melt in rain while my jewelry only needs to be cleaned. Strange eh?

Customers were few and far between, and gosh darn it, I can't blame them! It was nasty, cold and Sunday, wet.

Here is a view of where I sat most of Sunday, making stuff to keep me occupied in-between the 10 or so customers...
LOOK! there is a customer! wow! (look how fast they march by, trying to get out of the bad weather)

Here is someone's tent after the overnight storms.....
and one of the kewlest things I've seen at an art show, stilt walkers... woot!

I've been doing shows for 9 odd years, and it's just part of the business that sometimes you have bad weather. Unfortunately the last 3 years the trend seems to be to more extreme weather. How many 500 year floods have we had in the last 3 years?

And this summer, I did a couple of shows in 106 degree heat. That's not counting index, that's what the mercury said!

I've only got 1 more show on the books ( October 16th, East Village Sunday Bazaar ). Now I do have my eye on a couple of holiday shows, but for the most part the show season is done.

This weekend I plan to spend up in the studio doing whatever the heck I feel like doing... cause I no longer have deadlines.

It's a good feeling. I'm thinking sometime in the next 2 weeks I'm breaking out glass again.. I hear the kiln calling me.....

Honestly I'll probably do spring, summer and fall cleaning all at once cause it's pit like right now! I haven't had time to really get it up to snuff since June.

Whatever I do, I'm not going to force anything for a couple of weeks. I need some "down" time, to just unwind and remember who I am again.

Life is good, when you can slow down enough to appreciate it.

motivation (as in lack of)

trinity brass dragonflies and dyed agate beads.


I'm having motivation issues right now. I Have a big 2 day show coming up this weekend, in Maple Grove MN. I have today and tomorrow to get a few last minute projects done and I'm having trouble doing ANYTHING. seriously.

It's not that I don't want to make jewelry, I really do. There is so much I need to do right now... clean the house, help the kid with play practice ( she got a speaking part and she's only a freshman! woo woo ! ) do bills, research shows, print out all the materials for this weekend show, etc etc etc etc etc.

I just seem to be numb, unfocused and guilty cause I don't seem to be getting anything done.

I haven't even had supper yet... nothing sounds good from the fridge, and frankly nothing sounds good at all. Chinese is slightly tempting, mostly because I don't have a car so if I can't eat what's here it has to be delivered.

But calling the Chinese place seems like too much effort. Maybe I 'll just open a can of tuna or something. It would be cheaper.

I started a load of dishes, but the thought of actually *washing* them just makes me wilt.

It's like all the color has drained from my crayon box.

But hey, at least I can cross my blog entry off the list.

bali beads for sale 89.8 grams

**** beads are sold, thanks! ****

OK, if I send these to the refinery I can get $100 + for them due to silver being so high right now. But they are lovely beads and it seems a shame to melt them down .. so here is the deal, I'll sell them for $95.00 postage paid in the US, which means after fees/ postage I'll get about $90.00 for them. So save the beads!!!
I took pictures in 3 lots, it's over 3 oz.s total between the 3 lots. I just don't really use big sterling beads in my designs anymore, so maybe someone who does can buy them. so just click the button on top or on the bottom to buy these. thank you for saving a bead.