Halloween is Coming!

I know, I know...it's still two months away, but for designers and jewelry artists, it's never too soon. I was working on some earrings this afternoon for the up coming holiday. I have to get some more bats, spiders/webs and skulls so I can supply my store with spooky things for Halloween. Boo!

Halloween Earrings

I have some glow in the dark beads that I will be making into earrings. I'll show those when I get them done. Don't know if I can get pictures of the glowing part, but the beads in light will be easy.

Rudraksha Beads

I spent part of my weekend getting some necklaces listed in my store. Here is one that is interesting, and as I found out, full of "power" and mystery.




This necklace is made of rudraksha beads. Scientifically known as Elaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb. The Rudraksha tree is a large evergreen broad leaf tree that grows in India. Mistakenly thought to be the seed of the bodhi tree, they are used in many beading applications. To learn more about these seeds, follow this link.

Sunday Quotes

Cloth Paper Scissors

For those who don't know, CPS is a great magazine about mixed media collage. What it is, who does it, what it looks like and how to do it. This month there are a number of very good articles on Steampunk art dolls, sharpening your mixed-media skills, carving a reduction print and making a mosaic collage. One feature article is about Ivan Lovatt, a sculptor that uses chicken wire, yep, chicken wire, to create awesome figures and wildlife. I can't describe how cool they are, so here is the link and you go check for yourself! Ivan Lovatt

Friday Night Spotlight

It's been quite "electrifying" the past few nights. We've had thunder storms in and out of the area, I think we're getting more tonight, and have had to shut down the computer and other electronics early each night before I can even log on. But....I'm here now and I'm typing like crazy to catch up before anything happens.

Friday has come again and here are the selections for the 26th:

yogibear66 has a beautiful brooch she wants to highlight tonight.
Vintage Victorian Smokey Agate Brooch
Victorian styled; very detailed; no markings are evident; total length is 3 inches to the end of the tassel.

CountryNaturals sent in this link for one of her special rose bookmarks.
Hand Knit Rosebud Bookmark
The double rope is approximately 11" long, with a tiny tassel on the end. The rosebud is about an inch long and 1/2 inch in diameter. These would make nice gift tags, stocking stuffers, or keepsakes from a wedding or shower.

DraggonTagger is having fun with her yarns, too. Check out her
Soap Sock 2 Red White Blue
The Soap Socks are made with cotton yarn so are soft enough for a baby, but work well for gentle exfoliation in the bath or shower! They hold a regular bath sized bar of soap that saves you money so you can use up ALL of your soap! Stuff the slivers in there too and use it all! Soap Socks have a draw string that you can loop around your wrist, while in the shower or tub, so you don't have to worry about dropping the soap!

I'd like to add one of my favorite doll maker's link. Akira Blount creates little beings that are something more than the average doll. Take a tour through the galleries at Akira Studios and you will be amazed by her art.

For a laugh, go to Peter F. May's Unusual Wine Labels and see what people are drinking around the world. One of my favorites is on page 10 of the Unusual Labels, Old Git, and Old Tart can be found on page 11. Very funny labels. Have fun reading about them.

Some Necklaces

Here are a few of the necklaces I took pictures of yesterday.



This necklace is done in large, open weave spiral. A difficult technique until you get the rhythm of the stitch. The second picture is a close up of the weave. I used a button and loop closure with a mother of pearl button.


One of my favorite necklaces, the carved bone bats set off this necklace made with mottled brown beads, that look like stone, metallic colored glass beads and seed beads.


The green glass cabochons were "captured" by copper-lined seed beads and freshwater pearls, then woven together with the peyote stitch. A spiral stitch necklace and vintage button, for the button and loop closure, top it all off.

In the next few days I'll be adding these to my store, when I can get my computer to work properly. I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get on tonight, but I did after foolin' with some configurations. I hate it when you get a new update and things happen that shouldn't. I'll be doing the regular maintenance thing tomorrow. big whoop

Busy Monday

Spent most of the day taking pictures of my jewelry and catching up the close ups of the rest of the Challenge earrings. My poor little camera was so busy, it's never had quite such a work out. The weather was much cooler today and I think that helped get my energy up to get all those pictures taken, almost 200 of 'em! Got them all organized and the bad pictures deleted (I LOVE digital cameras!) and the next thing is to get them listed in my store.

Before I do that tonight, here are a couple of necklaces I made yesterday afternoon.

Jade Buddha
Blue on Blue

I need to retake the pictures for these necklaces as they are too dark. I also need to change the background color on which to lay them on.

Well....off to work on my store at Z'annes Bazaar.

Sunday Quotes

These Are The Nights.....

...that I love the most. The moon will come up very late, the skies are clear and the stars are bright. You can even see the "dark" matter in the Milky Way. I am not very star literate, but I do know a few. I could pick out Orion, the Pleiades, the big and little Dippers and the constellation Leo. I'm still learning, ever so slowly.

Just think, all those little tiny lights in the sky are suns. Most of which may have planets circling around them. Will we ever get out there? Will we ever get past our own solar system? Or will we ever get back to the moon? I hope we can. Until then, I'll go out on the clear nights and study the stars.

Here is a site the has some great info on Space Weather. You can keep track of solar flares, astroid encounters and geomagnetic storms. It's cool. And if you want to see the virtual phases of the moon from any date and time between 1800 and 2199 A.D. click here. Now, go outside and look up...if the sky is clear.

Friday Night Spotlight

Time again for the Spotlight! Here are three links from my friends at OnlineAuction.com.

First up is davendeb1178. They have a great little business of printing up business cards and stickers and labels, for a very good price. Great way to advertise and promote your online business.
Promotional Custom Business Cards or Stickers/Labels

CountryNaturals is next with the My Dog And I First Aid and Travel Kit for you and your lovable puppy.
FIRST AID TRAVEL KITS COME IN A DURABLE CANVAS BAG WITH REMOVABLE POUCH AND ROOM TO ADD PERSONAL ITEMS. ALL KITS COME WITH A “FREE” BAG OF AKC DOG TREATS AND A PLUSH DOG TOY.
My Dog And I First Aid and Travel Kit

Last, but not least is yogibear66 and the wonderful beaded project items she has. Positive Life Gratitude Beads. The purpose is to remind everyone of the positive in our lives and to give gratitude to ourselves and others. Each string will consist of 4 beads and little seed beads plus a charm at the end.
Positive Life Gratitude Beads

Thank you for stopping by and checking out the links above.

A Steampunk Link

The last few days have been a kind of catch up from the past weekend. With all the house cleaning I did and the work on the doors for the PAC show, I was exhausted. It's taken the past few days to get back to normal, sort of. I seem to be getting into my summer routine, in bed by midnight and awake between 8 and 9 am. That means I have a shorter time at my computer at night and I'm getting too tired to post. Not good for a challenge to post every day. *cringe* So...I'm trying my best and will do something new to make sure I can get my posts in daily.

If you happen to like Steampunk stuff, HERE is a GREAT site to check out. Think Victorian computers. Yeah...very cool!!!

Sunday Quote

The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.

Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

Cloudy Again

Missed the meteor showers last night. It was clear until some time after midnight, then the clouds came in. :( This has truly been a very strange summer. It was drizzly when I got up this morning and all of 52 degrees at 9:15. By 5:30, this evening, it had warmed up to 58 degrees. At least the drizzle stopped by 11 a.m. Sheesh!

Tomorrow is the Portland Art Collective Door Cleaning Work Party. It looks to be a cool and possibly rainy day. The weather people say the rain will come in late on Sunday. Yeah. We'll see. We have doors to clean and paint and if it get wet outside there ain't gonna be a lot of painting.

(Ok...I just had a deja vue moment of me sitting here proofing what I just wrote!!!) Must be the full moon or somethin'. (Twilight Zone theme song playing in the background.) I've been getting a few of those lately. 8^0

Here is some information on the 2011 Meteor Showers for the rest of the year. SpaceWeather has all sorts of information about the sun, asteroids, meteors and other sky anomalies. Very interesting stuff.

Friday Night Spotlight

I missed the last few days of posting due to lack of sleep. By the time it came to blogging, I was too tired to compose, write or even read anything on the computer. But...I got my sleep and am here for the Spotlight tonight.

For the first link, I found the most fantastical paper artists that have really taken their work to new heights. Their media is cast paper and the sculptures they make are beyond belief. Allen and Patty Eckman create life size sculptured pieces of nature scenes and American Indians. Be prepared to be awed.

Janet Hickey recycles everyday items into very interesting art. Most of what she works with are the remains of peoples memories and belongings from Hurricane Katrina. My favorite is the VW engine cover. Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

For the third artist I chose another paper artist. This time Kylie Stillman carves images into stacked papers and books. A very unique way to recycle paper stuff. Check out the hand laced venetian blinds!

Megan Noel is an eclectic artist from Seattle. She draws, she paints, she beads, she knits and she plays the violin. All very creative, beautiful and fun. Take a stroll through her website and don't get lost in the forest.

Where does bad art go when no one wants it? The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) is the world's only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms. If you have any bad art hanging around now it the time to send it off and have it hanging in a gallery. :0)

I hope you enjoy your trip around the arty web. See you next Friday!

Fascinating

I am a regular listener of Coast to Coast AM radio with George Noory. I love it. Yes, there are weird things like ghosts and UFOs and psychic stuff, but there are also discussions on the wars we are having, the Twilight Zone series, global weather changes and things political and economical. Tonight there are the two lawyers who defended John Wayne Gacy. A very bad man. They have written a book about their case and why they did defend him during his trial. Very interesting!

Trying To Relax

After company this weekend and then the stock market on its way to crashing today, I just wanted something to help me relax. Something simple, like...coloring. I picked up my colored pencils and had a little fun with the new Zentangle/Z'oodles that I created last week.

Here is what I did that calmed my nerves and added some color to my life.

Sunday Quotes

Bubbles and Roses and Wormz

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a play day with members from Portland Art Collective. I brought beads for our play day, but wasn't really in the mood to bead, so I got out my pens and paper. I decided to make a simple Zentangle picture of roses, grid and bubbles. I decided to scan this little picture before it was completed. There is no shading or color to it, but by scanning it now, I can always print out any number of prints and color them all differently. Sneaky, eh? LOL



Here is another Zentangle that I did the same thing with. There are a myrid number of ways to shade and color this one.

Friday Night Spotlight

Another Friday, another links night. I had a play day with my art group buddies today and since I'm in the mood for all things art, that's where we're going to go.

First is Teesha Moore's site that includes information on one of the best art retreats, ArtFest. It's situated in Port Townsend, Washington, a beautiful place to visit and learn some new arty things.

Another fabulous art retreat is Art and Soul. They have retreats all over the country. Click on the link to see when and where the next ones will be.

Next up is Margaux Lange. If you love Barbie, you may or may not love her art. I find her jewelry fascinating and strange. Take a look here and see what she has done to the famous fashion doll.

Keith LoBue is a rare person, a great teacher and a innovative artist. He creates the most intriguing jewelry from vintage and new, precious and junk, steel and stones. After looking through his website, check out his blog for step-by-step pictures on some of his creations.

The last link is for Susan Taylor Glasgow and to show you what you can do with glass if you choose to think way out of the box.

I Was On The Radio

Yep! I was interviewed, as Seller of the Month, on OLA Radio tonight. It was fun and exciting and I had a great time. I got to meet MetzyMom, one of OLA's great members. What a kick!!! She is fun and funny and full of wonderful information.

This has been a great honor to be picked Seller of the Month. But....that means I need to go into my listings and do a little housekeeping, which I'm doing now as I write this. There are advantages to dial up on some occasions. ;)

Other than that, it was a very humdrum, quiet day. I had the wonderful experiences of doing laundry and cleaning the bathroom. Yes, I'm sorry to have shattered your ideal picture of my regal comportment. LOL Ya cain't be too fancy wit' yerself win ya got yer elbows deep in da john. ;)

I'm so disgusted

I received my health insurance information this week. Rates went up over 5%. Doesn't sound like much, but it's an increase of over $25 per month in my payment. (Expletive deleted) I think of all the money I've paid for my health insurance over the years, I would be rich if I only saved it. Oh yeah, that's with a $3,000 deductible! This whole thing is such a scam. Things were cheaper and life was easier until the insurance companies got involved. I could go on, but my blood pressure is already high enough!

To lighten the mood, here is a funny picture that I found on one of my arty groups at Yahoo. It is photo shopped so don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this photograph.

The Night Sky

Just went out to see if the cat is all right. The coyotes have been singing and I don't want my cat to be a midnight snack. (She's Ok.) The skies are clear and bright with the moon long gone from the sky. The sky is so beautiful at night with the Milky Way painted across it. This is the beauty of living out, away from the lights of the cities.

I wish I knew more about the constellations, perhaps one day I'll take a class or more than likely, get a comprehensive book on the subject. Usually every summer I set up the hammock so I can relax during the day and watch the stars at night. Not sure if I should try this year, it might bring on the rain, like washing the car does. ;) It's easier to lay in the hammock, wrapped in warm blankets, to watch the meteor showers in August than to stand or sit and try to watch them.

I tried to take some pictures of the Milky Way tonight, but it ain't happenin'. Instead, here are a couple of pictures I took of the full moon, one from March last year and March this year.

March 2010
March 2011

I took these pictures with a Canon Power Shot SX120IS with 10X optical zoom. I LOVE my digital camera! I've experimented with different aspects of light, dark, movement, etc. and if it doesn't work out I can just delete the picture. Without years of practice and experience, I would never have tried to take pictures of the moon with regular film. This is fun! Go play with your camera and see what you can do.

A Good Day Today

Today, I am being featured as Seller of the Month at OnlineAuction.com. I feel very honored to be chosen since I've only been a member since Christmas last. I'll be on the front page all month. Come by and say, "Hi !"

I also played with some new beads I got last week. These deep rich green porcelain beads are made into crystal and green links. I linked 20 of these together and added a big "ball" of flower dangles as a pendant. Having a few leftover, I added them to the necklace. As soon as I get better pictures of this necklace, I will list in my shop at Z'annes Bazaar.





This is a fairly long necklace and it has a nice feel when you wear it. I have some more of these green beads and another necklace is calling to me. I think I'll have to try different design this next time.

Sunday Quotes