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....