What IS that thing?

Consider this your personnal invitation to my New CONTEST on my facebook Le Beadoir page. Click on the photo to link to the contest. Tell your friends! :)

Me!

The New Quadra Beads

Well, technically, not so new, since I started making them about 6 years ago... But I hadn't really made that many in the last little while, until people started asking for them that is. I'm thinking the fact that this one is on my business card is why people are really starting to show more interest in them:
I used to believe that the fun part in making them, was that it was a great way to go through odds and ends beads, left over from other projects. But now, I'm getting custom requests for them, which is sending me all over town in the search for particular stones or colors... More often than not now, it's "Do you think you could make one with these colors?", or "I really like this, but can you make it smaller?"

Ah, the joys of offering custom work. I'm on the fence with custom actually. I mean, I don't mind doing it at all, but whenever I get requests for custom work in front of an impossibly colorful array of my already existing work, it just drives the "You can't please ALL people ALL the time" point home, you know? From my very first craft show, when this lady had about 8 different sets of a particular design to choose from, she STILL asked if I could make one in a different color! Gives you that "Can't win" feeling, non? ;)

Anyway, here are the newest ones I've just completed:

Turquoise, wood, silver, and glass beads.

Ceramic, lace stone, wood, copper, and glass beads.
This one has a different shape. It's the same pattern, but the different sized beads gave it more of a 'flying saucer' shape, as my DH likes to say.

Coral, wood, silver, and glass beads.

Jasper, lace stone, wood, copper, and glass beads.

Same beads as the one above, but changing the sizes of the end beads brought it back to the original design's shape.

This is cute: Large round frosted glass, with wood, silver, and glass beads.

I just got an order for a few more, custom of course. And wouldn't you know it? I've been asked to 'tweak' the design just a touch. This person LOVES my Quadra beads, but she likes to be able to see them from the top, as opposed to sideways, which is how I wear them, just strung on a silver snake chain. No biggie, it's manageable, but still, it still drives that point home. LOL!

Now, if you'll excuse me, the timer just went off, and I've got to remove these eye patches I've been sporting for the last 30 minutes. (I absolutely LOVE these BTW! They totally take the puffy sleepy eye look away! I keep mine in the fridge. Double whammy of depuffing power!) Hey! Nothing like multi-tasking in the morning, am I right? ;)

Back to basics

I've really thrown myself into my Etsy store. Doing a total online reno. My awesome step-dad was so impressed with the Etsy interface, that he very generously offered to help me find a way to save money, simply by switching online hosts. I've still got quite a bit of work to do, what with transfering all of my items from my original site to my Etsy store, but I think it'll deffinitely be worth it in the end. Oh, and guess what? Guess what?

Yes! Barely two weeks in, and I've already made my FIRST Etsy sale! I was so darned excited, I thought I was going to cry. First of many, right? I'm officially and "Etsyan" ;)

My Garden Party Purse is currently on its way to her new home, in Carnation, WA.
I'm sure she'll be VERY happy there!

So, I haden't been doing much beading in the last week, what with all the computer/online work I was busy with, but the few weeks before that, I had busied myself with a few new projects. I wanted to have a nice Mother's Day promotion, and thought a Mother/Daughter cuff combo would be a nice touch. The idea came to me after I had made one for myself, and my daughter loved it so much, that I made one for her as well. She was so pleased to "look just like Mommy", that I just knew someone else out there had another Little Highness that would like it just the same.

Here's Jewels, busilly working on her cuffs on a beautiful warm, sunshiny day.

Not a day goes by that I don't count my lucky stars for where we now find ourselves. I can't tell you how blessed I feel that we finally have our own home. No more appartments for us!
And just sitting there, on my back porch, enjoying all the little birds serenading me with their songs. Nothing beats that.

Hm! Blogger turned this photo on its side. Don't know why... But it still looks kinda neat.

I really like using my Dad's bowls for this kind of work. They're perfect to hold/store my WIP project.

Here are a few shots of the finished product. My Little Highness was kind enough to help model them with me. This one has had quite a few hits on Etsy, I think it's the vibrant colors, they're very eye-catching.

The chosen shot for the site.

This is the shot I really had in mind for them, but we just couldn't get the right lighting, and goodness, my wrist looked way too 'veiny' in this one. Ick! :[

True Blue set

Amber colored set. (This is the one I was working on in the top pic)

I had planned to go for a very special photoshoot today, to redo some of my photographs in a more 'fashionable' setting, but my poor photographer fell ill. So, we're postponing it 'til she's back on her feet. Sure hope she didn't get anything too serious. What with all the health scares going around right now. (It's all about the H1N1 in this house lately... "WASH YOUR HANDS!!!" :/ )

I do know I won't be able to do much beadwork for a few days (maybe weeks...), as I re-injured my wrist while gardening on Tuesday. I may have overdone it a little with all the shoveling and digging I did (spent nearly one whole hour digging up a bamboo patch, and moving heavy garden stones), but what did me in was a rotten rosebush root bulb... Darn thing snapped in half while I was tugging on it with all my might (which is considerably strong...), and sent me flying. Bad news is, I heard it crack... And yes, I did shed a tear... or two... Now I just have to find the time to go get some Xrays. In the meantime, I've been wearing my trusty brace (from when I initially injured myself), and have been vigilant with a regimen of ibuprofen and ice. But it definitely needs to get looked at by a professional (other than my hubby, who hasn't been blessed with Xray eyes...)

Well, that's it for today my friends. I hope you're all doing fantastically well, and are keeping yourselves healthy.

MH TurnStyles on Etsy

Well, I did it. I opened an Etsy store for my Dad. Now I have to find a way for him to see it. He's so far removed from civilization where he lives (I'm not kidding! He just GOT a phone line in about 5 years ago now, and to be honest, even though he's expressed an interest in getting himself a computer, and hooking up to the net, he'd get nothing but sloth-speed dialup, and I could totally see him turning the actual computer into kindling if something didn't work right...), but they do have a small library in the village about 6 miles from his place. Maybe they could show him how to surf the net...

Anyway, I've got the original banner up there for now, but I think I'll be working on a new one. The type seems a bit lost against the bangles. It needs to stand out a touch more. I've been working on this one too:

Me likey!

I also re-did some of the shots, trying with a different colored shirt, and lighting. I found the bright noon sun washed out the colors a bit, so I went for bright, but slightly overcast. I think the colors came out more vibrant. IMO.




Another Black Walnut and Maple bangle, this one's a bit narrower, I think it might be a bit more mainstream. I like it too, even though my fancy is mostly tickled by the super wide ones. Chatted dad up about a few more ideas yesterday, I believe that got his creative juices flowing. What he likes is that the ideas I'm coming up with are things he would never have thought of himself. And they all include using materials he's already got at hand. Frankly, I think he's stoked! LOL!

I so can't wait to see what he comes up with next. It's weird, this passing on of ideas over the phone, no visual aid, trying to convey my visions. It's interesting to see how he's usually pretty close to what I was thinking, but with a bit of his own twist on it. He's very stuck on symetry right now, and I'm going through an asymetrical phase of sorts, so if I ask him for something off center, it's sort of a head-scratcher for him... Well, so far, I haven't had to resort to sending him my sketches, but, I don't think that that's very far down the line. ;)

MH TurnStyles: newest bangle collection

For those of you who've been visiting me for a while, you'll remember that my Dad took up wood turning a few years back. During my last visit there, which coincided with my birthday, he asked me what I would like him to make me as a gift. Being a 'Man's Man', he, of course, offered to make me a "bowl or something?". He actually never expected my reply of "A bangle! Ooh, Dad, would you make me a bangle? Do you think you can?"
His reply: "What's a 'bangle'?"

LOL!

So, I explained to my backwoods Daddy what they were, and what I had in mind. He proceeded to make me a very simple maple one (which you watch in action here). This bangle, of course led to many more ideas, which challenged my Dad. And, well, you know men and challenges... ;)

Anyway, I've been waiting for these for MONTHS - only because Dad's lathe was out of commission for that length of time, resulting in a minor case of cabin fever for the old guy, but he's over it now - and I finally got them this morning. Nearly darn well tripped over the parcel actually, the delivery guy had literally left it ON my doorstep. Ass over teakettle, that would've been cute, eh? Oy!

Here are the ones I photographed today. But no photograph or computer screen could do these justice. None of these have been died in any fashion, the only thing added was tung oil, to add luster and bring out the natural grain of the wood.
These have been made as per my specifications: I wanted them wide, multi-colored, embellished, and since they are to be this wide, I also asked him to make them 'tapered' (one end opening a bit wider than the other), so the wearer can slide it up her arm and still feel comfortable with it on. I think these are still in prototype mode, as I'd like to see if we can't design one with a more aggressive taper. Also, Dad doesn't seem to think that these are quite up to snuff. He thought he could make better ones... I say they're pretty darn outstanding!

Mahogany/Maple combo

Black Walnut/Maple with a little central 'bead' detail

In action

Padauk/Maple

Maple/Black Walnut with shell inlay detail
(dad collects the shells by the river banks by his place)

I've got a few surprises up my sleeve with these babies. Dad and I have been discussing some design ideas, and so far, I'm pretty impressed with what he's sent me. I'm seriously considering opening his own Etsy account. I've even got the banner done (at top), what do you think?

I did it!

Yes I did.
I finally bit the bullet, and opened an Etsy account. Not only did I open an account, I'm going to run an Etsy 'store front'. Yup. I'm on Etsy. I'm still going to keep my website mind you, but I'm thinking of trying something different. A little experiment, if you will. Some of you might be familiar with the fashion terms "Prêt à Porter", and "Couture". Well, that's what I'll be experimenting with. For the last few months now, I've had this idea that I'd like to try setting up two shopping bases for Le Beadoir. One for my "Prêt à Porter", generally produced in high volume, more affordable lines, the Etsy store; and one for my OOAK, higher end "Couture" pieces, Le Beadoir. They'll both be under Le Beadoir umbrella, and I'll probably be tweaking my main site to give it a bit of a more 'growed up' look ;)

I've done quite a bit of research through Etsy, as well as studied those whom I believe were more successful on the site, and tried to decipher what I should and should NOT do. Honestly, the fact that I've been working at this for a few years has helped as far as photos and descriptions go. And I did get quite a bit of insight on the successes one can achieve by reading their weekly Storque Spotlight articles, especially the "Quit Your Day Job" ones. But to be realistic, I DO understand that I will 'reap what I sow'. You only get back what you put in, you can't just sit back and rake in the dough à la "if you build it, they will come"...

Since today was the first day in a very, very long while that I'd had some any real 'Me' time, I decided to start working on my store. I spent the better part of this morning (4 hours!) on creating a new banner for the store, resizing some photos for my avatar, and re-writing my bio/policies/profile pages.

The first banner I created wasn't bad, but it didn't quite have the look I was, well, looking for:

Then I started really playing around with some ideas, and I came up with this one, which I found to be the best. Well, the best to MY liking. Clicking on this one will link you to my Etsy store.


Now, I've yet to start uploading any of my items, but I've gone ahead and started shopping. Oh. My. Goddess.! I've found such beautiful works of art on that site, and everything from beading, to sewing, to crocheting/knitting, and even photography. I've already bought a gorgeous silk-screened slouchy tote bag for my Little Highness, for when she has sleepovers. It's actually quite big, and, well, she may have to fight me for it on occasion...I also got myself a fantastic 25-yard circle skirt, for Belly Dancing, natch! ;) Except I had mine died a deep emerald green at the base border. I. So. Can't. Wait. To. Try. It. On.! SoCan'tWait!

Now, if only I could find the perfect pair of harem pants, I'd be all set. ;)

Getting the Groove back

Phew!
Where have I BEEN?!?

Well, for one, hubby and I are in the midst of a grand opening (His very own clinic, wow!), which has been a long time coming.

Now, with all the 'work' work that's been going on in the last few months, my poor beadwork has taken a back seat to the new hectic schedule. However, I am feeling my Muse coming back - I believe she did enjoy the short hiatus... But, she's ready to get back in gear.

Perhaps it was due to all the 'work' work that I felt I had lost my groove, so to speak, but now that I feel it coming back, it's not without some trepidation. You see, I've misplaced my inspiration too... Blah! Not that I hadn't done any beading at all, I have. It's just that most of the work I've created lately was more or less 'production' work. Custom orders for clients of some of my more popular (read: run of the mill) pieces. Nothing that really required my undivided attention and absolute creativity.

Well, this too was temporary. During 'reading' week I did some, well, reading. I'm sure most of you out there have heard of the hype over the Twilight series (books AND a movie!), I caved and started reading the books. Not little books either people. We're talking over 500-page bricks here. The books were quite good, hard to put down, and I was weary of seeing the movie, as I'm usually very disappointed in movies after reading the books they're based on. Well, I did see the movie, and was duly disappointed by the lack of emoting from the actors, and the fact that the Edward in MY imagination looked NOTHING like the Edward on the screen... However, I found myself truly inspired by the movie's backdrop. The Washington Rain Forest scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and instantly made me want to make something that looked like the lush, green, overgrown forests that were being showcased. This particular forest is called "Hall Of Mosses", in Olympic National Park.

Breathtaking and Awe inspiring.

I want to sit under this tree's roots, meditate and love the Great Mother.
I want to smell the forest floor, let the birds sing me a lullaby while the wind brushes my hair.

I imagine a necklace, big and bold, with tons and tons of fringes dripping from it.
Absolute lusciousness.

A freeform Peyote cuff is what I see here, with some errant tiny fringing here and there.
Mother Nature always knows the exact color balance needed for her creations, non?