Iolite & Agate

This necklace is made with Iolite and features an Agate teardrop. One version has silver plated balls midway (second photo) and the other has the addition of dove grey seed beads (first photo). Both have a silver plated toggle clasp. Necklace $45, Earrings $10 All have been SOLD.

A bit of trivia about the stones:
Iolite is known as the Vikings' compass due to it's ability to determine the direction of the sun on overcast days. When the legendary Viking mariners sailed the wide ocean, they used thin pieces of iolite as the world's first polarizing filter. Looking through an iolite lens, they could determine the exact position of the sun, and navigate safely.

Agate is the birthstone for Taurus, April 20 - May 20. It is also the stone for the 12th wedding anniversary. Agate is a cooling stone, it reduces fever, quenches thirst, and is beneficial in the stomach area. It quiets the pulse and insures good health and a long and prosperous life.

Agate guards against danger. Wearers become cautious. It helps one view themselves with more clarity and see the world through a broader viewpoint. Wearing Agate is believed to cure insomnia and to insure pleasant dreams.

Studio

My goodness has it really been more than 2 weeks since I posted anything?! Been having too much fun digging in the dirt and riding my motorcycle I guess. I will try and make up for my lack of postings this week.

I thought it might be fun to post a couple pictures of my bead studio. I have a small room in my home dedicated as my studio. The walls are a warm terra cotta color and the ceiling is suede brown! It is small so organization is key. Local folks can come and shop here as everything is out rather than packed in boxes.

I have work tables, plenty of lights, and all my tools and supplies are accessible. What does not show in the pictures is that the window to the east has a nice view of the Sound.

Turquoise & Gold

Normally you see turquoise with silver. This bracelet combines turquoise with gold plated beads and findings. All have been SOLD.

Jeweled Dangles

Jewels for your ears - Czech cut crystals with gold trim accented with smaller Czech crystals. These come in a variety of color combinations. All hang from a gold plated earring. All have been SOLD.

Magic Jasper

The weather here has been great so I have been spending more time outside and less time in my bead studio! I am still working on pictures - many need a little tweaking in a photo program to make them just right. I have also been working on some custom requests.

Here is a new picture of a necklace with a Magic Jasper pendant. Soft shades of pink with freshwater pearls accents. All have been SOLD.

Light Box

Here is the light box my friend and I built. Amazing what you can do with cardboard, duck tape and packaging material! I am getting a bit tired of taking pictures, but I am determined to get this project done.

Picture Project

A friend came over this week and helped me to build a light box. I now have a way to take great photos of my work - no glare, reflections or shadows. My goal is to take new pictures of all my inventory in preparation for posting online in a webstore. It will be time consuming, but I think worth it in the end. And, once I am done, then I will only need to take pictures of new things as I make them.

Here is a sample of some of the ones I took today.....

See My Spring Sale

For those that missed my spring sale last weekend here is a slide show for you. The Friday evening girls nite was very fun. On Saturday Lesley worked on two new landscapes. I am sorry I did not take a few pictures of her working on them - oh well, next time! If you are a local customer of Beadware and missed the sale just send me an email or give a call to set up a personal shopping visit to my studio. The displays are not as fancy as during a sale, but the jewerly is still all available.

2009 Spring Sale slide show link:

http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr319/beadware/Spring%20Sale%202009/?albumview=slideshow

Sale Countdown

My spring sale is tomorrow eve and Saturday. I finished setting up and now just have a few last details to take care of. I have not taken any photos yet, but here are some from last spring to give you an idea of what you will be missing....

More Glass Gardens

I finished up my glass gardens bracelet project. The blue ones I call Moonlight. They have stars and moons along with other assorted pressed glass shapes in blue, silver and white. The one with orange and black is called Fiesta. It also has brown and green accents. The last one I call Ruby - red and black with brown accents. Sorry for the fuzzy photo - I just could not get that one to turn out. But I wanted you to see the colors. All have a magnetic clasp. Price? I still have to figure that out so send me an email if you are interested.  All have been SOLD.

Orphan Earrings

Occasionally someone will send me an orphan earring. It is fun to see designs from a few years ago and rewarding to know that folks are still wearing them. Last week this lonely earring arrived in the mail. I do not have the same bead anymore, but I will keep my eye out for it. In the meantime I will make something similar and pop them in the mail.

In December a friend who is hard on her jewelry sent me a whole baggie full of orphans. I cannibalized them and sent her back a package full of new pairs just in time for Christmas.

My Orphan Earring Guarantee: Do you have orphans looking for a new partner? Send them my way and I will repair, re-make or replace. There is usually no cost. Of course if I start receiving lots of baggies full or orphans in the mail I may have to re-think that!

Going in Circles

I played around with hoop earrings the other day and came up with these. They are a mix of glass and silver or gold plated beads, and Czech crystals. The pair with the pale green teardrops - the drop is the stone chalcedony. All are $10 each. All have been SOLD.

Adventurine

A pretty necklace ($30), bracelet ($20) and matching earrings ($8 and; $ $10). All are a mix of aventurine, seed beads and gold plated accents. The necklace has an agate teardrop. All have been SOLD.

Spring Bracelets

These are made with glass squares in jonquil (pictured) or a pink/orange combination. The clasp is a silver plated triangular toggle. Bracelets $25, earrings $8. All have been SOLD.

Crystal Dangles

I took a break from making glass garden bracelets to play with some beautiful crystal drops. The results are a series of dazzling earrings with a bicone Swarovski crystal drop and smaller Swarovski bicone crystals and Czech cut rounds.

Specially priced at $10 a pair. All have been SOLD.