Goodbye and Hello

 Day of The Dead Shrine  - my first project in my reclaimed Studio.

It has been a while since I have posted anything on this blog. I seem to have outgrown it. I started this blog originally to help promote selling my beadwork on Etsy and to keep in touch with other beady types. But I have grown a bit and I'm flexing my wings differantly, so it is time to start a new blog. It is called Cenya 600 and in it I will be discussing inspirationsl bits about lots of differant types of artisan crafting and art. I still make and sell beadwork, but I sell much more at our local Saturday Market than I ever did on Etsy. I have made many friends in the art world and it has helped me to move into new territory which I find very stimulating. In addition, I have finished painting the studio and have moved all of my art supplies back in there (except for my beading, which stays in the beadroom inside the house). So I now have a very inspirational place to create all types of art.
I think you will like the expanded interests - not just beading anymore - and I invite you all to come follow me there. This will be my last post on Emerald Window. It has been a wonderful ride with all of you and I hope it continues on Cenya 600.

 

Sherbet Sugar Skull and A Sweet Little Heart

I have been playing with some new color combinations and came up with this skully in sherbet colors.



And I made this sweet little heart in blues and a bit of purle. It's an itty bitty heart.

Two More Barrettes

Finished 2 more barrettes and wanted to show them off.

This large scarab stamping has been sitting in my "bits and bobs" drawer for more than a year. I never knew what to do with it.

This blue number has a calla lily and lots of crystals. 



Release the Kracken!

I'm still working on Barrettes. But now I'm making another kind to suit the discriminating tastes of long hair everywhere.
I made my last batch of barrettes using a base that looked like this:

But many would-be customers complained that they wouldn't stay in their hair and asked if I had any of the other types of barrettes. So off I went to the hair supply store to buy differant barrettes. And this is what I found:

I was hoping that they would have differant names, so I could distinguish them, but the word "barrette" didn't even appear on either package. One simply said "Effortless Beauty" and the other was labeled, "No - Slip Grip".
So my "No - Slip Grip" Barrettes are pictured below and my "Effortless Beauty" Barrettes may be seen on the prior blog post.

I call this an octopus, but my son said it looked like the Kracken from "Last of the Titans".

This is one of my favorite colors of green and I wish I had long hair so I could keep it.  I'm working on a blue barrette now. Hoping to have it ready for Saturday Market tomorrow.

Barrettes!

In my pursuit of beady goodness, I have decided to make barrettes!

I thought of this when several customers asked if my Winged Hearts were pins or barrettes. And some seemed disappointed that they were pins.

So I whipped up six or so and shuffled them off to Market where I sold one immediately.

Most were Winged Hearts, but not all, as you can see from this sweet little purple item.

I used to have very long hair, but never really wore barrettes, so you can imagine my perplexion when one lady said, "Oh, those aren't the type of barrettes I use". I hadn't paid close enough attention to the differant types in the store, so I asked her what type she used and off I went to the hair care supplier to buy some differant types of barrettes. So now I am beading away again and by Market this week-end, will have barrettes of several differant ilks for the discriminating customer. 

WINGS!

I had a very good day at Market last week and sold almost all of my Winged Hearts. So I've been busy making more. Here's a sample.

I haven't put any of them in my shop, but would be happy to sell them if any of you are interested. They are $20 each with free shipping.

New Work

Some new items I have made for Saturday Market...

Reclaiming My Studio

Once upon a time, my son asked if he could move back home for "3 months or so". He was having a tough time and had lost his job, so I agreed. I let him move into my studio since I wasn't using it at the time and he didn't want to live in the house proper.

Well, 3 months turned into 3 years and my poor studio took a beating in the hands of a young man. But, he has moved out now and I can finally reclaim my space.

As you can see, I have to repaint everything, from the ceiling to the floor.

I need to pull a hideous credenza out from under the counter and do a bit of landscaping up front. There are "Glow-in-the-dark" stars on the ceiling that need to be scraped off before painting.

I intend to paint it in fun colors and hang bulletin boards along the long wall. Since I have a bead studio in the house, my beads won't go out there, but all of my other art supplies will, along with my art books. I want to use it for teaching a couple of classes, inviting my artist friends over for "Inspiration Parties" and to do a semi annual studio sale.

Now all I have to do is get the ladder out there and start scraping those stars off the ceiling!









Bijou Bits

I recently opened a new shop on Etsy because I was finding myself inundated with little bits and bobs and beads that I didn't need, and I thought this would be a great way to clean my closets and make a little cash. Cleaning out old jewelry boxes left me with some pieces of costume jewelry that I didn't want.

I also make glass cabochons from antique postcards, and thought I could make extras and sell them as well.

And I bought a large quantity of antique French Seed Beads and decided to sell some of them. Sorting through my bead drawers (Yes, I have drawers full of beads) made me realize that I could easily part with some of them.

And I found lots of cute little clasps that I won't use and put them in the shop too.

So please feel free to browse through all my little bits and pieces. The shop is called Bijou Bits and can be reached here. 

More Beaded Pretties

I promised some more pictures of what I've been beading lately. These are two brooches made of glass cabochons that I created from scans of some antique french postcards. This one (above) has antique french seed beads in celedon green accenting it.

I love the image in this one. I call it "Drama Girl with Horse". Ha. 





I'm Back!

I know I have been gone a long time. I had to deal with my mother's death and my second journey with breast cancer. But... I had my last chemo treatment and I am getting stronger every day and I'm ready to return to cyberspace.

I have been beading steadily while going through my treatment, so I have quite a few bits and pieces to show. I went through a heart phase around Valentine's Day and made many of these "Crazy Heart" Brooches.

I'm partial to green and purple, so these were two of my favorites.

But I liked the hand offering the crystal in this Teal number.

I have a lot happening now. Saturday Market starts up in April, My son moved out of my Garden Studio, so I'll be repainting it and moving much of my art process back into it. I plan on offering classes and hosting art inspiration groups there.

I'll post more pictures in the next few days. I have been very busy and my beading has been my therapy, so I have many differant styles that I've been playing with.

Till then....