Recent Work

Often at shows customers make comments about colors or styles they'd like to see. This batch of necklaces is the result of just such comments.

 A short necklace, about 16 inches with iolite, glass and pewter. The round stones are sesame jasper. Sold.

A simple necklace made of 3 strands of different shades of blue glass seed beads.

 Agates mixed with a green/grey glass seed beads and pewter. The one on the right has sold.

Agate with crystal, green/grey and pale grey glass seed beads and pewter. Sold.

Color on a Grey Day

Nothing like some bright colors to perk up a grey day.

I am not sure of the types of stones as they were among a large collection of beads I purchased from a friend no longer doing beading. My guess is they are a collection of jaspers, adventurine, and sodalite. I do know they are pretty! These have all sold.

I recently sold out of these cane glass bracelets so needed to restock.  I have been making these for many years and they continue to be popular. Must be the cheery colors. And you always need matching earrings!

 Speaking of earrings....pink and orange are popular this year so I added to my selection of earrings in those colors.

Bits 'n Pieces Custom Necklace

I have one of these listed in my online store on Etsy. But this particular customer wished to have the necklace a few inches longer. So I created a custom necklace just for her.

The story behind my Bits 'n Pieces line:
One day in studio I was sweeping the floor. I ended up with this great pile of assorted beads. That got me thinking. So I went and got a big bowl and a spoon. I opened up all my bead boxes and took a scoop of this and a scoop of that and stirred. The mix was used to make necklaces, bracelets and earrings. And they were a hit! Now I have small bin on the back corner of my beading table and all extras and go into this to create my Bits 'n Pieces mix.

Turquoise and Magnesite

It is easy to confuse these two stones as they can be similar in color.

Turquoise brings happiness and good fortune. It is the birthstone for Sagittarius: Nov. 22-Dec. 21, as well as the stone for the 5th wedding anniversary. Turquoise guards against diseases and attracts healing spirits. Believed to assist in subtle body alignment and strengthening and the absorption of nutrients while strengthening the immune system and stimulating tissue regeneration. It is also thought to be a valuable amulet for travelers. A protective stone, it is worn to guard against violence and accidents.  It promotes gentleness, tranquility, comfort, and wholeness. And it stabilizes and balances the emotions and drives away evil spirits.

Magnesium rich magnesite is known for its calming properties, helping to improve creative visualization and imagination. It is also commonly believed to bring deep peace and silent relaxation during meditation, stimulate passion in the heart and help strengthen bones and teeth.

 In this necklace I combined a magnesite teardrop with turquoise, sterling silver and matte black glass beads with a pewter toggle clasp. This has now SOLD.

Here is another magnesite teardrop combined this time with iolite and sterling silver. with a pewter toggle clasp. 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. This has now SOLD.

Matching bracelets. Both are now SOLD.

Blue Skies

Pretty blue necklaces to match the color of today's sky....

 Dainty glass teardrop and seed beads with silverplate. Both have sold.

 Dainty glass teardrop and seed beads with silverplate. Sold.

Sodalite, pewter and glass seed bead. This one sold it's first day on display!

Beadware now in Port Townsend

Today I am shipping out a new order to Don's Pharmacy in Port Townsend. You will find this selection of glass bead and stone earrings in this shop on Water Street. 

 

 Triple dangle glass bead earrings in a variety of colors. 

 Stone earrings including moss agate, amethyst, turquoise, peridot, rock crystal, iolite, jasper, hematite, jade, rose quartz, tiger eye, agate, red tiger eye, and sodalite.

As part of this order I created a new style of earring card that can be hung on standard earring racks using a small plastic tab on the back. For all my wholesale orders I am using clear labels for the "ingredient" list instead of handwriting. Another change from my retail materials is that for wholesale orders I remove my name and contact information form the cards. To leave that on would be considered tacky.

Next time you are in Port Townsend stop in and see what Don's has to offer. 

Happy shopping! 

All About Ears

A friend recently gave me a box of assorted glass beads. I decided to turn them into earrings.

All are $10. Send me an email if you see a pair that speaks to you!

 A few leftover freshwater pearls from another project

Tangozulu Online

You can now find a selection of Beadware necklaces among the items featured in the Tangozulu Imports online catalog! 

Click on either Jewelry or the Made in USA sections to see six of my stone necklaces for sale.

 The blue agate necklace on the right can be found there, as well as

the black agate in the center and the painted desert jasper on the right.

If you are passing through Port Gamble be sure and stop into their brand new location in the Morrill Pope House on Rainier Avenue and see the rest of the Beadware necklaces they have, as well as the beautiful fair trade baskets they are known for. . They are open daily from 10 to 5pm.

Green Ocean Jasper

A leaf and a rose, dragonflies and bumblebees........

Green ocean jasper with flecks of cream and gold.  Glass seed beads and small rounds of moss agate accented with gold plated brass. SOLD. 

 Green ocean jasper with a silver plated leaf charm. Silver plated rounds and a rose clasp. SOLD

A greenish blue ocean jasper with a pewter dragonfly charm and small dragonflies along the necklace. On the pewter claps are bumblebees! SOLD.

Green Fancy Jasper

These sweet little stones are drilled through a corner resulting 

in a a different look than my usual pendants.

 On the left: fancy jasper, moss agate, glass seed beads, silver plated rounds and a pewter clasp. On the right: fancy jasper, silver plated rounds, glass seed beads, Swarovski crystals

 and a pewter clasp. Both are SOLD.

Both of these mix fancy jasper, moss agate, glass seed beads and copper. Both are SOLD.

March Green

Green is not just for St Pats, it is also the color of spring! 

Watch for more new green necklaces this month. 

First up is the last in a long line of green necklaces - this is the last  teardrop green jasper that I had in my collection. It is mixed with jasper chips, jade, copper glass seed beads and copper accents.   Matching bracelet and earrings in jade and copper. All have since sold.

All About Ears

Today I made a few earrings. My inventory is really low and I have to start re-stocking for show season! Often beads or stones tell me what they want to be. (OMG she is crazy her beads talk to her!) When I saw many of these beads I just knew they were meant to be earrings. Most of these will not make it to my online store so just shoot me an email if you see a pair you like.

 The main beads in the pairs on either side have a great swirly design.

The matte blue and green disks were destined for earrings.

I like the fun multi-color oblong beads with a chevron-like design.

Tangozulu Imports

Another new retail venue for Beadware is historic Port Gamble a the north end of the Kitsap Peninsula. Tangozulu Imports is a family owned business that brings quality handcrafted fair trade products from artisans throughout the world to their customers at affordable prices. Their specialty is African baskets, but they also carry a wide array of other artisan products as well, including many made locally in Kitsap County. They are committed to fair trade practices, quality products, and superior customer service. 

You will soon find a nice selection of Beadware necklaces in their shop and in their online store. 

 Ocean Jasper and Agates

 Agates and Owyhee Jasper

 Green Opals and Agate

 Zebra Jasper and Needle Agates

Agates and Painted Desert Jasper

Wild Bird Center

I shipped out my first order to the Wild Bird Center of Silverdale last week. Here are the Beadware items you will now find in their shop. 

 Moss agate and ocean jasper earrings

 Red and purple glass teardrop necklaces

 Hand hammered copper earrings

 Assorted jasper earrings

 Assorted jasper earrings

Moss agate earrings and a green opal and copper necklace

I created new earring cards and jewelry tags that do not have my contact info on them. That can be considered bad manners when you are selling to a store. And I used small clear labels and printed out descriptions instead of my usual handwritten ones. 

 I created a thankyou card and a 4x6 artist bio card they can put in their display.

Next step was to wrap everything up, label , and tuck the cards, an invoice and packing slip into the box. Then it was off to the post office!!