Spring Is in the Air...Somewhere! (Not Here.)

And that idea inspired me to dig into my new Happy Mango Beads stash! Plus feeling lots better after being laid low by a mystery bug. Getting back to the gym has helped with muscle pain and fatigue--gotta love endorphins!

I put this bracelet together with my new technique, using Indonesian lampwork discs from Happy Mango in olive-lime, lilac and vanilla. I accented those with little charoite roundels from Lima Beads, glass seed beads in lime, and a bunch of little copper bowls (a/k/a upside down copper beadcaps). White greek leather from Magpie Gemstones completes the bracelet, fastening to a hand-forged toggle bar.

I was totally beside myself with dopey glee when I created a flat headpin the other day--It was a spontaneous thought, figured it wouldn't work. "Gee, I wonder if I could make my own flat headpins from my ball headpins?" So I put a ball headpin tail down in the vice, tightened it up, and tap-tap-tapped on it until it was flat. They look like chubby little nails. Love them!!!

I just love the swirls in the ivory and lilac beads:

"Spring Around the Corner and Then Way Down the Road" Bracelet

I'm getting foolish collecting more lampwork discs from various Etsy sellers. I can't stay away from Outwest and Alisha White's shops! I also loaded up on some spacers from TheSpacerQueen that I thought would coordinate with my discs. I think those spacers will be perfect little buttons for pieces like this. She has oodles of colors!!!

On the Mend

Well, I finally feel like I probably don't have swine flu. Sore throat finally went away, and the party has now moved to my Eustachian tubes. What's that you say? What? What?? WHAT???? THEY SHOULD START MAKING SOUNDPROOF ROOMS OUT OF SNOT BECAUSE IT HAS AMAZING DAMPENING PROPERTIES! LIKE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU AT ALL!!! WHAT?? I'M WHAT??? SELLING??? HECK YEAH!!! WHAT--OH, YELLING???

fine i'll whisper. here's what i made today. don't worry, i made it inside one of those biohazard safety cabinets--you know, it looks like an incubator and you stick your hands into these built-in gloves and there's negative air pressure and all that. sort of looks exactly like this.



really hard to pick up head pins with the gloves on. i was a little frustrated. i used up the rest of the "barbed wire" earring hoops i had made. a looonng time ago i had said something about pink ones--well here they are.


and grass green ones, in honor of the first day of spring, which was yesterday. apparently. somewhere.


and lastly, moody "black diamond" ones, for the goth in all of us.


well, as soon as i can hear again i'll have to unload the biological safety cabinet on ebay so i can buy a dremel and a house. i think it would be great as a diaper changing station.

Look Ma! No Symmetry!

This is my first attempt at an asymmetrical necklace. (Sorry, no buttons yet.) It is essentially monochrome (tone on tone)--I couldn't do multicolor AND asymmetry in one piece. Maybe later.





It features matte finish (which I guess is the natural finish) Crazy Horse Stone roundels, garnets, and big fossil agate rounds. The lead-free pewter pendant is from Happy Mango Beads. Hand forged, oxidized chain and S-clasp. The round silver beads are a gift from a customer--she sends me the most amazing stuff for my stash! Available in my Etsy and ArtFire shops.

Alas I could only do one asymmetrical piece. That's all I have in me right now. The First Bank of Asymmetry is empty. Come back later. I was able to do this, though, with a big steel washer I've been carting around forever, and my new favorite stone, apple green howlite. Well, Co-Favorite with red sponge coral. I really like this necklace. The wire is all annealed steel, hand polished; little sterling daisy spacers add a little sparkle. The stones are apple green howlite and serpentine.





The necklace includes a 9" removable, hand-formed steel extender chain which matches the chain on the necklace. With the extender chain attached, the necklace can be worn as long as 28". The extender chain is adjustable. Without the extender chain the necklace measures about 19" and is also adjustable. The necklace can be worn at virtually any length between 16" and 28".

I coated all the steel with Future acrylic floor polish. Inhibits rust and adds some shine. Smells good too.

P.S., Harbor Freight shipped my doming block set early! It's on its way! Yay!! And I have my copper and brass sheet and my other tools, so hopefully handmade bead caps by moi are right around the corner. Decided to go with a pin vise drill with itty bitty drill bits for making the center holes (but of course I also got a Fiskars hand drill just in case), we'll see how that goes. A bientot!