some gift suggestions from artisan friends of mine

have you heard of Etsy? an online venue for handcrafted items, supplies and vintage?
one of the great things about Etsy is the community of artisans from around the world. we can join teams based on techniques used, business topics, etc to help with business ideas and to get answers on how to do certain techiniques.

so the starting gate is just about to open on the holiday shopping season...
i thought i'd showcase some of my teamies. the artisan industry has huge dollar influx into USA economy but artisans are constantly battling up against mass produced imported items.we unusually can't compete on price but we pour lots of love into our creations...please take a look at these handmade items and try to support an artisan... school budgets keep leading to more arts programs cut so where is our next generation of artisan going to learn? american crafts have always been a big part of our culture. please help keep us around... and the best part is you get some unique items to enjoy...

laura lives in MA and has a goat herd, how cool is that? her soaps are fabulous
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TrystingTreeFarm?ref=pr_shop_more

Tropical xmas tree skirt

Annie is a  local Southern Californian. as you know we can have wonderfully warm xmas. i don't miss MI winter. would it be tooo cruel to send this xmas skirt to someone buried in snow?!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/anniekdesigns

 whimsey, what a great word and feeling, lets add some in to our lives....
you can order custom banners for your special events
http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplewhimsey?ref=ss_profile

Jenn can also create custom cards for you. i love this happy card
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophienme?ref=ss_profile

carol has cards for many occasions
http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuirkynBerkeleyCards?ref=seller_info

okay it can get cold here...
dana makes fun hats
http://www.etsy.com/shop/danadooleydesigns?ref=seller_info


heres one last one, a tote bag to carry with you, made by a high school friend and former neighbor.


melissa is a fabulous seamstress. we have a baby quilt she made Scott. she has bags in many styles along with other fabric items such as book covers
http://www.etsy.com/shop/japanesqueaccents?ref=seller_info

wishing you all a safe fun Thanksgiving weekend,
jeanne

how many earrings can i design in a year's time?

how many pairs of earrings can i design in a year's time? it turns out alot! at the beginning of the year in 2010, i set a goal of just going in the studio and making 5 pairs a month.... lol now i could easily make 50 different pairs a month
obviously i can't give all of them a home on MOI ears, so i will be listing alot of pretty new ones to go on their way to a new home all over the USA...
here are some samples. i still struggle drastically with my photos, my creations are much prettier in person...

a pair of lampwork glass barn owls for my MOD friends, you know whooooo you are

a small pair of xmas ornament looking red glass beads with copper accents swirled around

i love these eggplanty purple glass beads, the side is a matte finish, the front and back are polished so it's like you can see into the heart.. accented w/ assorted glass beads these are on sterling silver earwires

i love the ocean, anyone want to go on an island vacation? these remind me of ocean waters, the triangular glass bead has several ocean blue tones, the shell dangle is silverplate

so those are just a few of the ones waiting to go up in the shop. i've got scads more using freshwater pearls in assorted colors and shapes, fance semiprecious gems in briolette shapes w/ faceted rondelles...
hopefully tomorrow will be a good day of photgraphing and uploading...

say kumihimo 3 times

kumihimo you ask what is that?! an ancient Japanese braiding technique using silk cording.... it is now the rage with beaders using various size and shapes of seed beads...
i spent Sunday in San Diego learning the technique from Margie Fish, one of my favorite instructors at the Shepherdess bead and yarn shop in Old Town San Diego.
Margie has 'invented' an updated way of using kumihimo to insert focal beads in the middle of a bracelet. It was her inventive take on the ancient craft i was most excited to learn.
as usual, my brain was ready to explode with all the potential ways to incorporate the different braiding patterns and finishing methods in my creations...
i was fortunate to be able to spend the nite on the boat after class which kept me from driving home on the freeway in the rain. today was an absolute gorgeous day to drive 120 miles on the San Diego Fwy: gorgeous blue sky, puffy white clouds, sparkling ocean and mountains with snow on them were all visible for various portions of my drive.