new work

I finished some work with BIG beads (big for me is over 10mm--BIG is over

I'm a beginner at this, just a hobby since i've recently become disabled. I use swarovski crystals, mostly bicones, and sterling wire/chain. Making a wire-wrapped bead is still exciting for me at this beginning phase! I made my mom a silver chain and violet-opal crystal bicone bracelet for Valentine's day. Made a few pairs of earring recently too. I tried something new, a crystal pendulum, with some beads from a junk drawer, the largest of which is chipped but still made up nicely. Probably hang it as a suncatcher somewhere.

I am going to a Stitching and Crafts show tomorrow at Manchester.

Maybe there will be some beads there but I will be able to satisfy my needs for my hobby of greeting card making.

Since being unwell in Jan I have not got back in my creative mode yet. I hope I shall see something tomorrow that will give me a jolt and get me going again. Shirley

PS. I put pictures up of my Christmas table and my family group, under family on my website.

In message , Patti writes

My last gallery closed due to a marriage break up but on the day I heard that news I was invited to put work in a new gallery a half hours drive away. It is in a town where lots of tourists visit and has paring space for bus/coach visits so it should go well.

It opens on Thursday night so I am making beaded flowers for the opening. Red roses, blue lilies, and white clematis. It is called The Empire Gallery so thought the red, white, blue would look good. The roses are traditional, lilies are modern and the native clematis is for New Zealand. The lilies are finished as are the roses and the clematis has a way to go.

A friend will deliver them on Wednesday so will keep going today and they should be ready tomorrow. We have a National holiday tomorrow called Waitangi Day.

Cheers, Jan

Most of my spare time recently has been taken up with collage and altered book projects, but I did finish a charm bracelet in time to wear to the doc when I finally got the cast off my leg/foot. Sterling silber, Bali beads, abalone, Czech firepolish and some lovely lampwork I had been hording for some time.

You turtle friend here, doing things slowly. I wanted to do a craft show before the Christmas holiday and realized I had much too little inventory. So I've spent quite a long while buying beads and findings, trying to be as economical as possible. That IS a challenge. I'm drooling over lampwork, but buying other things (mostly). My last purchase was some plastic cases for storage, along with a book and a few supplies for beaded flowers. I made my first "dreamcatcher" as a gift for my son. He likes primary colors and basically I made 3 linked circles in red, blue, green, etc. Tomorrow I'll post an "ad" for my Valentines auctions amd you are invited to look. It seems that my goals persist - ie, don't all get done!!! I'm determined to work on learning how to make a website very soon. Next week I'm visiting a friend with my seed beads and flower book. If there is time, I'll visit South Pacific Wholesale. But remember, even turtles can love beads and beading. Peace, Lilyflower snipped-for-privacy@theworld.com

I'm looking forward to the bead mercantile show in april. For some reason, it seems that the intergalactic bead show has dropped Louisville from its show schedule..their show here last fall was canceled, and nothing on their schedule for this year. I wonder why?

Anyways, I'm making a ton of new stuff these days. I'm working on a lariat right now, and after that it'll be some freeform peyote bracelets. I made my first pair of earrings a few weeks ago, and now I'm hooked on making them (even though my ears aren't pierced at all)...I have so many new things to photograph, but I haven't been taking any pictures because I can't seem to get anything to photograph well.

which leads me to my next project:

-Amber.

I took 150 lampworked beads, mostly boro, to the local bead store and told them to sell them for whatever they wanted as long as I got $3.00 a piece although even that I was negotiable on. Some of them are little and maybe not worth that but some were pretty darned big and were worth plenty more. I was just tired of having them hanging around. They also bought some nice big boro beads from me to go with bead crochet projects. Interestingly she picked ones that were not my personal favourites so I gave her a good deal. Funny how that works. How is it no one likes the ones that I want to charge the most for? *lol*

They had a sale on at the same time and I bought some nice freshwater stick pearls. I've also been buying some nice semi-precious stones but just haven't been inspired to put anything together. I need to make my MIL some earrings but just can't get my act together even though I know exactly what I need to do.

I torched yesterday mostly in order to run the rest of my oxygen tank out. I have been working on my "Live Long and Prosper" series which is all in Moretti and I am thrilled with the results. Of course I don't have any pictures of the most recent stuff although I personally think it is absolutely stupendous. *lol* The real bugger is that they are going to be very difficult to get good pictures of. All of them have pretty major colour-shifting in them and my experience photographing beads like that is you just can't do them justice. I have also been playing around with a new series I call "Identity" beads although my DH says that they are very "CSI"-ish. That's because I am trying to get them to look like they have fingerprints on them. It is a Smircich technique that I hadn't tried before but I really like how they turn out.

Other than that I am mostly lurking on here, Wet Canvas and Lampwork Etc. Things have been very difficult for me recently so I am having a hard time doing anything much more than saying, "Oh, pretty, me must have." I've been buying lots of beautiful components for jewelry and even buying some pretty colours of glass to go home and play with but not much is getting done. Damn the "having to have a full time job to eat" situation anyways. I had a lousy birthday yesterday which is mostly why I ended up on the torch. I couldn't face much of anything else especially in the family department. Spent most of the day in tears until I got onto the torch. Blessed is the beadmaking.

So that's me. Next?

- Sandy

Happy birthday anyway!

Georgia

That is a great idea! I am going to go buy ingredients too, and make one! I did try a white plastic bowl, but I still didn't get good photos Cindy

Georgia: I really like your pink lilly earrings, and the oriental necklace!

I just got done making ten memory wire bracelets with hematite, onyx, and some with jade chips. I don't think I will be going to any bead shows this spring, because we are going with my husbands buddies to a tractor pull instead! But I did just order lots of sterling wire, and findings to make lots of jewelry. A store in town will carry some of my jewelry:) First time! I am pretty new at jewelry making, so I am excited, but nervous too!

Happy Birthday , and I hope all goes better:)

yeah..the instructions seem easy to follow, and I've been helping my dad with the plumbing since I was a little girl, so PVC pipes are nothing new to me. I have all of the cement and a pipe cutter, and the right pipe...I just need to get the joins and caps.

-Amber.

Awwwwww, Happy belated! I hope today is a better day!

I went to the IBS, here in Ga, yesterday. I didn't have much to spend, but bought a few things and enjoyed looking. Saw LOTS that I wanted, but the show seems to get smaller every time. I keep wondering if it will give up, but as long as it comes out this way, I'll keep going.

Well, I haven't started yet, but I'm dying to try a netted bead necklace. I have the stuff, but have been to busy with lampwork lately.

I made this pendant

my lot in life ... (actually, the idea of having nothing to do scares me)

I've been doing some work on mine, the work in progress is at

Maren, Palms, Etc.: Tropical Plant Seeds - Hand-made Jewelry - Plants & Lilikoi

Hi, Thanks for asking about the photo. It was made in the holiday rush so I didn't take one. You can check my auctions (see Feb 5 Ad) if you'd like to see some jewelry. This is exactly why I need a web site!!! Peace, Lilyflower