going to aspiring metalsmith spring gathering in Fl

yahoo, hubster agreed to change the date for client spring party so now i can attend the aspiring metalsmith May gathering in st petersburg, fl.
still in the final planning stages, around 15 or so going. 3 four hour metal workshops, an evening craft booth at saturday nite Art walk.  lots of time to talk, hopefully some beach walking time.
our group has never had a meet-up but some lucky folks have met on their own in various parts of USA.
the reason i woke him up this a.m. to ask about changing party was the fact that Barbara Lewis will be teaching one of our workshops. i've been a member of her online Painting with Fire group for years (actually met a fellow PWF member when i did the thompson enamel workshop in Ky in sept '10.)
Here's a link to Barbara's book, so many new PWF group members from their seeing the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Torch-Fired-Enamel-Jewelry-Workshop-Painting/dp/1440308861

 how lucky for us she is moving to St Pete and will have her studio ready to teach us....

the party date adjustment will mean a bit of crazyness. Saturday will be hubster's high school yearly reunion party and then Sunday will be client party. we usually have about 80 or so folks hanging out in the back yard for that one.

valentine's day

must share this joke a fellow crafter posted on one of my etsy team threads.......

After she woke up, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed you gave me a diamond necklace for Valentine’s Day. What do you think it means?"


"You’ll know tonight," he said.

That evening the husband came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--to find a book entitled “The Meaning of Dreams.”

hope you enjoyed the chuckle.
I don't have any diamonds in the shop but check out my other goodies...

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.

a gorgeous day to make necklaces in san diego

oh it's a cruel world. while the Nor'east has been hit with a very early wet snowstorm, i'm spending the day in San Diego where it is bright sunny and probably 77 degrees. Ray and I arrived just at sunset last nite and will be leaving in about 45 mins, so just 22 hrs spent on this visit to the boat...

i brought jewelry tools and supplies so i could make necklaces while ray was sleeping ( thankfully we have a salon area that is separate from the master cabin so i can move around, make noise, watch TV while he sleeps)

so i apologize for the poor photos i took with my blackberry. i find it impossible to edit photos on a laptop, it's too hard to tell what the true color is.. i can't even tell which picture is the ruby and which the sapphire...
but i wanted to share these now...



studio move going well, can't wait to sit down and create in the new space

oh the move of jewelry tools to new area is going soooo WELL! i avoided it forever it seems, such a big project was overwhelming to my brain. it's not the 'perfect' environment for metal tools as originally it was an outside room and rain water runs through it. a new security screen door cut down the ease that lizards, snakes, rats and mice had to get under old door. maybe i will just be soooo HARD at work in the winter, i won't notice how COLD the un heated room is...
i've got a whole LIST of items i want to make....maybe i'll take some time on my birthday this week as a treat to myself and just lose myself in pretty semi-precious jeweltone briolettes making up the necklaces and earrings that i've sketched out....
the former jewelry studio is transitioning to fiber/fabric studio ( I just can't let loose of that passion yet!) plus a bedroom for Mom to use when she stays with us this Winter.
i'm amazed how the furniture is just falling into place for new setup... okay , YES i have to CARRY it out there first LOL but i'm getting some much overdue exercise in the bargain.....
just been reviewing in my mind all the different ways we've used various rooms in our house since moving here in mid-80s...

i'm using 2 bookcase nightstands that were in Ray's childhood bedroom to raise up my wire shelf units to better eye level. when the boys were young, i painted "Welcome" and a bird on the side and had them sitting on front stoop for our shoes...took me down memory lane seeing the paintings yesterday. Son Scott says he remembers them on the porch. Now his shoes are too long for the shelf... boy they grow up quickly, don't they?!

NEVER throw anything away is a motto that does work for me for the most part but i admit i took it to the extreme last couple years and was veering into HOARDERS ANONYMOUS territory.
thank goodness i've figured out some storage containers that work for me...

well hoping sooon the men folk wake up so i can get back to moving stuff...WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP