Something Pretty

Another batch of cupcake beads I was lucky enough to snag.
Just something pretty for you to look at throught the weekend.

Give me a minute

I won the Friday Fiction award from The One-Minute Writer. Each day a word is provided about which you have 60 seconds to write, but on Fridays you get a little more time to write a short (short..short!) piece of fiction. It's a fun
challenge.

See you soon with cupcakes!

Emerald Green Rosettes

With St. Patrick's Day coming up,
I thought I better make some emerald green rosettes.
So far so good. Next up.....plum.

Adventures with Clay

What do you think of my clay rosettes? I had SO much fun making them. These were my FIRST attempt! I love the color too. Clay rosettes aren't very available on Etsy since my favorite artist closed up due to a medical situation before Thanksgiving. So I thought, what the heck, why not try to make my own?


I also played with the cane technique to produce color inside of color. I did all the rolling by hand and got some "wonky" shapes and thicknesses. Uniformity did not happen. So on the next batch I'll be using my little pasta machine to get closer to perfection.

My intended round beads turned into a slightly triangular shape so I just went with that and squeezed them a little more to define the triangle and I like them. I DID end up with a few rounds though. Man, even cutting these must require a specific technique so I'll be checking out books for sure.

So, I got really brave and opened a clay bead shop on Etsy called.......ClayBeads....heehee. It was tough coming up with a username that HADN'T been taken. So I thought, okay, what do I want to do with this shop? Answer: sell clay beads. I typed "claybeads" out of curiosity and it was available, so there you have it!

I hope you come and visit me. Just click HERE!

Something Special

Ahh, a nice weekend at home. I'm working on something special with this amazing glass item in black and fuschia. I mentioned it in a previous post so I thought I'd give you a little taste of what is coming. Think cranberry for that deep pink glass. I have some pretty Czech glass in the same color and I'm challenging myself to work all this into a necklace with a Victorian feel. We'll see what I end up with.

Speaking of something special, my dad brought home one of these fun pincushions home after being stationed with the Navy in Japan during the Korean war. As a child I always thought it was a very unique and unusual item. When my mom passed away, Dad got rid of so many items in the house and I have a feeling this might have been one of them since I haven't seen it anywhere. I might be wrong, but nonetheless when I saw these tiny ones at Cost Plus World Market around Christmas I thought I'd get one of my own.

How many of you have one of these?

I'll be back during the week with fresh cupcake jewelry to show you.

All that Jazz-mine

Here in northern California, we've had nearly a week of great weather after several weeks of mostly rain. We don't get snow where I live, so rain is as intense as it gets here, and we had more than usual, thank goodness. I didn't water my
jasmine for over a month, yet the roots found a source of nourishment which resulted in the first blossom on Monday.


One corner of the vine has the first cluster of blooms. The fragrance is wonderful and most intense at night for this Star Jasmine.



This little group of flowers is just on the other side of the fence so my neighbor can enjoy them too.


My bonus today as I was photographing the flowers was a fabulous spider web full of drops from a brief rain shower.
It's amazing that what looks like a delicate webbing could stretch like a hammock under the weight of the water and still keep itself together!


I also heard a couple of house finches chirping to one another in the beginning of their quest for the best nesting area of these vines. I have 2 sections of it and recently cut their favorite one waaaay back thinking it was early enough to grow back for their nesting dates, but they are scoping the area out early this year. Last year, 2 mating pairs fought over the same section of vines so one pair is smarter this time around.

Any hints of spring yet where you live considering 49 states in the union recently had snow at the same time???

Just some Cupcakes for you

A fabulous placemat from Kohl's that is no longer available...
WAAAAHHHH!
Cute, huh?

Cupcake Alphabet

I'm working these handcrafted alphabet beads in polymer clay from Kennick into a bracelet. They are sitting inside a hand embroidered cupcake on a towel my friend sent me. The towel was near a plant which my husband overwatered. The towel was just close enough to wick up the water which of course, had drained through dirt, right? I had to wash it to remove the stain.....which was successful, but even gentle hand washing loosened some of the thread...but I still have it and still love it and it works as a great backdrop for my cupcake letters, don't you think?

I may be MIA for a few days. Be sure you read back on my past posts since I've been writing more often.

The Background Fairy & Spring Flowers

My little annual harvest of daffodils from my back yard yielded enough for 2 of my blue glass vases...one for the kitchen & one at my desk. How pretty. My star jasmine just started blooming as well. Can you tell I live in California?


I'm having fun with The Background Fairy. The website offers free backgrounds and headers and today I was in a brown & cream colored mood and of course, she had just what I needed. It's an easy change to make and only takes minutes. I highly recommend "playing" there to keep your blog looking fresh. You can also click her "Graphics Fairy" box and gain access to amazing free vintage images to dress up your projects!

See you soon with new cupcake creations!

Fresh Batch of Cupcakes

Yum yum!

Many of these freshly baked cupcake beads from C. Steele are
on their way to my studio, so be sure to check back for availability of
earrings & necklaces that will join my current stock, seen HERE.

If you'd like me to create a custom piece for you, let me know
which cupcakes you'd like me to set aside for you
by emailing me HERE.

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day.
I did...it contained several sweetheart surprises!

Bead Soup Party Reveal

The Bead Soup Party is ON!

This bracelet is my entry. Leslie from Bei Mondi sent me ALL of these beads and I decided my challenge would be to USE all of them! The requirements were that one focal bead and the clasp we received had to be included. I took it to the extreme and used them all which led to a nice "hunk" of a dangle that makes this bracelet really fun. It turned out to look more like a charm bracelet and it feels really good on my wrist...yep, I'm keeping this one for myself!

What is bead soup? It started with an invite from Lori Anderson and required partners sending each other:

~ A focal
~ Some coordinating spacers or beads
~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)

When the respective partners got the packages of beads, they were tasked to make something with all or part of the soup, take a picture, and post it on their blog on February 10th -- TODAY!

Now, everyone gets to hop around to all the Party Blogs to see what's been made! Scroll down for the list.

My favorite bead was the Asian influenced focal bead...

My partner was #30, Leslie of Bei Mondi.The only items I added from my bead boxes were the fat Bronzite stones flecked with gold....the little gold edged green cubes and the round, flat citrine disks you see throughout the bracelet.

Now you are off to see the others...there are a lot so be sure you break up your time into a few visits so you can see them all.

Ready...set....GO!

Party Participants

1. Lori, An Artists Year Off
2. Mallory, For the Love of Beads
3. Terri, Blooming Ideas
4. Cindy, Sweet Bead Studio
5. Lorelei, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
6. Kerry, Kab's Creative Concepts
7. Erin, Treasures Found
8. Jeannette, Jeannette Blix Wire and Metal Jewelry
9. Adrienne, Adrienne Designs
10. Nan, Spirit Rattles
11. Laurel, Rue's Daftique
12. Nancy, Beading From the Heart
13. Mary, MK's Creative Musings
14. Cassie, The Glass Beadle
15. Dot, Winchell Clayworks
16. Sharon, Sharon's Jewelry Garden
17. Lisa, Lo and Behold
18. Norma, Bead Dreams and Moonlit Fantaseas
19. Judith, Judith B.
20. Debbie, Prairie Emporium
21. Maria, Garden Path Beads
22. Susan, Kaplan Creations Jewelry and Glass Design
23. Melissa, Melissa Meman: Art, Love, Life
24. Marianna, Pretty Shiny Things
25. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa
26. Cristi, 2 If By Sea
27. Sandra, Marbella Jewelry Design
28. Maria, Greene Earth Originals
29. Barbara, Jewelry of Distinction
30. Leslie, Bei Mondi
31. Loretta, Designs by Loretta
32. Linda, Bella Bead Jewelry
33. Kathie, The Bead Cult
34. Patty, Plays With Fire
35. Nicki, Nicki's Reef
36. Anne Marie, Heart's Desire
37. Mary, Mary Harding Jewelry
38. Jayne, Mama's Got to Doodle
39. Emanda, Artemesia's Studio
40. Whitney, Whitney Lassini
41. Marcie, La Bella Joya
42. Suzann, Beadphoria
43. Jen, Jen Judd Rocks
44. Julie, Credit River Art Glass
45. Janiece, J Birds Garden
46. Kate, Organic Odysseys
47. Laurie, The Mermaid Tale
48. Michelle, My Crazy Crafty Adventure
49. Sue, Sue Beads
50. Janeen, Wild Vanilla Designs
51. Nancy, The Rabbit Muse
52. Kristie, Artisan Clay
53. Regina, Regina's Writings
54. Tari, Pearl and Pebble
55. Lyn, Lyn Foley
56. Beth, Sunshine Daydreamz
57. Cathryn, Chile Cats
58. Emma, Fred Bean's Nook
59. Connie, Cetta Cheese Chatter
60. Juli, Jul's Beads
61. Julie, RockerJewlz
62. Libby, LibbyLeu and Glass Too
63. Melanie, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
64. Katie, My Life and My Beads
65. Zuleykha, Zuleykha's Polymer Clay
66. Rekella, Me But a Little More in Depth
67. Ricki, What's New at Ricki Voges Design
68. Lisa, Lucid Moon Studio
69. Jo, Daisychain Jewellery
70. Lynette, Rock Hill Designs
71. Lynne, Island Girl's Insights
72. Chas, One Woman's Haven
73. Ruthie, Rose Works Jewelry
74. Elizabeth, Turquoise Sky
75. Maire, Maire Dodd
76. Janet, Singing Woods
77. Eileen, Dorset Hill Beads
78. Julie, Miss Kitten's Jewels
79. Joann, Jo's Jewels
80. Patti, PJ Clark Designs
81. Mel, Kookie Designs
82. Erin, Every Heart Crafts
83. Dale, Flights of Fancy
84. Dee, Runako Designs

Party with me on Wednesday

Join me tomorrow on Wednesday the 10th for the reveal of the
Bead Soup Party
where the challenge was for about 80 jewelry designers
to swap bead goodies and produce jewelry with supplies
they might not normally have in their own bead box.

You'll see all the results on Wednesday and be
exposed to lots of designers whose work
you might not yet have seen.

So come on back now, ya hear?

All My Heart Deluxe Cupcake

How amazing is this heart cupcake?! Mahogany colored cake portion matches the pearlized garnet colored glass hearts on the top & in the danglies. My favorite pink glass, "dark pink by Lauscha" was used for the hearts on the cake & for the icing. Add the sterling heart bail and chain and it makes you say "wowza"!

This deluxe cupcake line was dreamed up my me on paper and wound into hot glass by Payton Jett and is nearly double the size of a "normal" lampwork glass cupcake. It's fabulous, just fabulous. See more detail & photos HERE.

I finished my "Bead Soup Party" jewelry and will be posting it on the big reveal day of Wednesday, February 10th. Come on back now, ya hear?

Love You in Pinstripes

I just brought back the "Love You in Pinstripes" bracelet that features handcrafted pinstriped beads in polymer clay using the "cane" technique.



These "pictures" are not painted! They are incorporated into a tube of clay (called cane) that is rolled smaller and smaller to the desired diameter and then sliced to expose the "pictures" on BOTH sides of the beads.

Amazing, don't you think?



This bracelet has luxurious glass & crystal "danglies" to enrich the red and pink tones of the clay. The bracelet will fit wrists that measure up to 5 3/4 inches. Free shipping on this one!!! See more details in my SHOP.

Be sure to visit my paper shop to get your custom Valentine & Spring sticker needs fulfilled.

Gimme an "A"!

Ceramic alphabet necklaces from my shop...cute huh?