Green Millefiore Glass and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Yay, more millefiore glass.



I bought a lot of these beads in preparation for my summer sale. Now I just have to DO something with them.



I don't know where the time has gone. But I had plenty of time to think about that mystery while lounging by the pool all Memorial Day afternoon!



And yes, I feel a little guilty, thank you very much.



Still, everyone deserves a break.



Right??




Yes. And for $22, you can add this delightful glass and sterling silver bracelet to your accessory wardrobe. Just see my Etsy listing.

Another Treasury

I'm still waiting to figure out exactly what an Etsy Treasury is. That site has a lot of stuff going on, let me tell you...

Anyway, if you've ever seen the entry page for the site, you see a grid of photos. Those photos have been selected by a member according to whatever theme/s that member chooses. And a lot of people 'audition' for the front spot by creating their own collections of images called Treasuries. Or so I think...

Anyway, someone selected one of my necklaces to be in a Treasury, so here you are:



(just the first lines are shown in this picture). Click to view a larger shot.

Bags

I'm starting to organize things for my upcoming sale, and I decided I don't want to offer every customer (pleasepleaseplease!) a cardboard box with purchase, so I bought some organza bags to replenish my stock.


They'll be easy to carry down to the Betsy Ross House and weren't overly expensive.

The Way of Clay

Not jewelry, but still crafty--

I signed up for another pottery class this session, after a 5-month hiatus. I want to go back to a series of work I made 2 summers ago--beach-themed pottery. I have become obsessed with starfish. If you live near me, or talk to me frequently, you know this. I cannot get enough of them. I search for photos of them, I watch youtube videos featuring them, etc. etc.

2 summers ago, I helped to organize a wedding shower for a friend of mine, and we held it at the beach. I decided to make serving dishes for the buffet, and this is what I ended up with:



above, you see a small plate decorated with...uh...some kind of shells. You know the ones I mean. Like conch shells, but less lumpy-bumpy and smaller. I used oxides to paint the shells, but glazed the plate clear.

Below is a small bowl I made in which I mixed a more basic claybody with porcelain, using the finer clay for the motifs I added.






Right and below: a low, flat dish I made, using scallop shell motifs. All of the shapes used here were molded from actual sea shells.







Cute little starfish!



I think that using porcelain yielded the nicest result, but mixing 2 claybodies is usually a bad idea in pottery. Each dries at a different rate, and so they might not bond well during firing. If you look closely, this is slightly noticeable in the starfish bowl.

I used clear glaze on these pieces because I wanted to expose the claybody--I recycled this clay from the big bin in our studio, and it looks very 'sandy' which works nicely with the shapes I added.

And yes, that's my cordless phone in the first shot. I was talking with a friend, but wanted to snap the pix before the sun slipped out of the sky (this explains the glow you see in the shots of the small bowl).

Latest Etsy Listing

My latest Etsy listing:

Bead Bonanza

On Tuesday night, I finally got around to placing an order with my vendor in preparation for the Flag Fest sale in June. I spent $200.41, not counting shipping and handling. For that, I got lots of coin-shaped Czech beads,















50 feet of sterling silver wire,

























and lots and lots of heavy sterling earwires (I can definitely find cheaper wires, but I like the look of a substantial 20 gauge earwire because it matches my 20 gauge wire and headpins).



Luckily for me, all of the colors of glass beads I need were in stock. That doesn't usually work out!

I also bought some new shapes in glass beads--tubes and faceted rounds, in various colors. I want to make a necklace of the type I saw in a catalog.



I plan to use sterling silver wire, like you've seen me do a million times, but to intersperse the rounds with the tubes, in a rainbow of colors. I'm thinking if making them 2 stranded, but we shall see.



Sometimes, my ideas really take off and find buyers; other times, not so much.
When you're working in sterling (which has become VERY expensive in this economy, thank you very much) it's not always easy to take a chance on a new idea.

Custom Coin Earrings

I continue to work on the order for my custom-design client. She asked for earrings that matched her bracelet and pendant, but had a single bead only.


I used slightly fancier earwires than normal; they have a small round sterling bead on them, which gives the simple earrings a bit more oomph.


I'll be finishing up her order soon and sending it on its way!

Crackling Like a Roaring Fire

First things first: a thank you to Lauren for her suggestions on what Crab Fire Agate might be. I agree that it's carnelian (and it's funny that I bought it along with some traditional carnelian). And yes, these are definitely real stones. And they're heavy--I think I need to make sure my beading wire will hold up.

The stone's crackle lines, as I think of them, are created by heating the stone, apparently. I think it's amazingly beautiful. I can see how the name is misleading to the gem industry though. "Fire" in a stone is meant to denote a specific optical property of a stone (something like internal sparkle or glow), and isn't applicable to this stone. I suspect someone thought "fire" sounded expensive. It's misleading to use that term to describe something that is heated to bring out internal characteristics in a stone.

Now, what I'm still not sure of is whether this is carnelian agate, or carnelian chalcedony.

Custom Orders

I'm currently working on a custom order for a buyer who found me via my Etsy shop.

She has requested 2 bracelets, 2 pairs of earrings and 2 matching pendants. Pendants, you ask? Why no, I don't normally carry them, but the customer gets what the customer wants, and it was a nice change of pace to design them with her in mind (and, certainly, she gave me lots of input).

You'll notice that the cobalt coin beads in the bracelet are interspersed with small cobalt rounds, per the customer's design.



The pendant is her design also. I'm working on more pieces as we speak...er, type. Well, as I type.

Playing and Working

Oh, lord people, I've been a busy girl! I spent a chunk of yesterday at the beach, though the beach pictured is actually in Hawaii (please note palm trees, not native to the Mid-Atlantic region).

I was in New Jersey. So let me show you a photo of that promenade instead:


Anyway, my computer and camera are still refusing to talk comfortably together and I'm not having any luck brokering the detente. I will have to start making sketches pretty soon.




The other issue on which I've been working is Flag Fest. It's coming up sooner than I realized. I went ahead and rented an overhead tent for the weekend--I think I'm going to need it so that I don't fry in the sun AND because it's a rain or shine event and I don't relish boxing and bagging up all of my supplies in a downpour. I'm planning on reminding all of you that I'm hoping you'll come out to see me for at least a little bit on June 13-14.

Handmade Philly Mention

So, the crafter collective of which I am a member--Handmade Philly--was just mentioned at a site called Design Philadelphia. Here's the blurb:

Handmade Philly - looking to build membership

Handmade Philly, a member-run collective, encourages independent artists, crafters and designers to join Greater Philadelphia’s growing network of professional and amateur artists. Once limited to the members of Philly Etsy Team, the group seeks to further our city's local, sustainable handmade movement by building community, providing educational workshops and promotional events.

By joining Handmade Philly, you will form and build relationships, help plan and participate in events, and share resources. Doesn’t matter whether you’re selling out gallery openings or dusting off an old paint set, Handmade Philly wants artists of all media, styles and levels of experience. As an active member, you must be producing your own work (sorry, no vintage or re-sales) and will be expected to participate by attending meetings, posting on the message boards, distributing group information (website/ flyers/ advertisement design) or planning and hosting events. In less than two months, the group has over 70 designers, artists and makers including illustrators, woodworkers, printers, painters and photographers from Philadelphia County, Montgomery County, Chester County, Delaware County, NJ and DE. So if you're eager to learn new skills, got some tips and ideas to share, or just need a little boost to keep the creative juices going, check out Handmade Philly!


Check it out here.

Back to the Red Bracelet

Finally getting back to some sunny photos of my red square millefiore glass and sterling silver bracelet.



I have more shots, but my Picasa (photo editing software) program is being a card. Or is it a pill? Or maybe a pip? So frustrating...

Crab Fire Agate

Crab Fire Agate!



I LOVE this stone. It's really beautiful. I'm trying to get a handle on what it is, though. It might be a chalcedony or a type of carnelian, though crab fire agate is the name it goes by in the trade.




The stones are a glowing orange color with white matrix that looks like a crackle glaze running throught the stone.


These beads are rondelles--taller than they are wide, and rounded. They are approximately 13-14mm at the widest point. I'm thinking of stringing them with a few 14k gold-fill disc beads and a gold-fill clasp. Very simple. I don't think these beads need much embellishment to make a statement.