this is when i fell in love with borosilicate glass lampwork beads, when i saw multiple layers of glass that had been gold fumed and encased in crystal clear glass.

when i discovered these incredibly beautiful beads. i was forced by some unknown freak of nature, compelled to buy five without any plans whatsoever to create or god forbid sell them when made into jewelry to anyone else. i am a hoarder after all...

the really sad part is, i don't remember who made them, jeff olson? if anyone out there does please drop me a line, it would be greatly appreciated!

elegant bone beads by lynne hoppe

dem bones... two more handmade lampwork beads from my collection. these two beads are so silky smooth and tactile they feel like they were made from porcelain and so much fun to fondle... they seem ancient and well, a bit archaic? lynne hoppe is an incredible glass artist, i love her work!

a new piece listed tonight

...bloom damn it!

light and dark

lampwork beads by emiko sawamoto

ever wonder where artists get their inspiration? what was happening in their mind that this piece of art came to be? i do.

i'm an avid bead collector or at least i was, i have curtailed most of it by simply not having the space for these gems that i hoard so lovingly...

the beads made by emiko sawamoto reflect the light and dark of the human imagination. it's hard to believe that these two beads have been made by the same woman, not because of her advanced technical and highly creative skills with fire and glass, but with the light and dark side every human being that creates art. these two beads say it all. i had purchased them at the bead & button show a few years ago directly from the artist. right along side her 'monster' beads and her interpretation of Japanese Temari balls in glass, were very sweet little kitten beads, i was so enthralled by the juxtaposition of what i saw that i had to buy two!

these two beads are incredible! i marvel at the beauty of both, i hope you enjoy.

growin' my own

nope, not a political social or an economical change, we all know the answer to those guys. i need the seasonal change, big time! it's windy and cold and should be spring but that 'ain't gonna happen' any time soon. spring in northern minnesota lasts about 2 weeks if we're lucky, then right into summer. but the summers here are glorious, so worth the 9 months of winter!

i caught two of my succulents in bloom. the small pale yellow flowering cactus is in bloom for the first time, i have had this plant for about 23 years, a sweet little guy. the dark reddish purple flowering succulent blooms when it thinks it's in mortal danger of going extinct, also known as in dire need of water...

growin' my own spring.

spring

i need the small patch of boreal forest that i live on to be green once more. on tuesday, we may be dumped on by 10 to 15 inches of snow and high winds and i don't want it to ;) i want spring to come again.

Stimulated Mind

this blog by Emiko, simply put, is gorgeous! please take a peek.

one of my lockets is featured :0

art! the featured seller on etsy

i love this artist's work, i have kept an eye on a couple of pieces for a long time, she is currently etsy's featured seller, Geninne D. Zlatkis. please check out her interview and her lovely artwork. the two pieces i couldn't live without and of course purchased were, "three little birds" and "bird no.31" and they are gorgeous! thanks Geninne!

buenos aries

a newly listed piece.





aaa grade cognac quartz and prasiolite gemstones with hand forged sterling silver discs and chalcedony beads.

building a new website

i am beginning to set up my own website for many different reasons. i have my jewelry on multiple selling sites though etsy is the one i consistently sell on. i feel, not think, which may be a mistake, that i need to move away from etsy, not have all my eggs in one basket, to use a cliche, and have my own site. my goal is to sell equally or more on my own site as well as with etsy. some days i question the sanity of it all.

found handmade

a new promo site by Timothy Adams. very cool! you can set up 'spotlights' in byhand.me and have them submitted to found-handmade
here is a link to one of my spotlights, spot!

made by hand. by me.

i really like this this site. it's another handmade business/social networking site but better than most, Made By Hand. By Me. also aka as, byhand.me you have the option of listing all the sites that you use, shops, blogs, flickr.... you get the idea. check it out when you have the time.

the necklace above is a 'love life' stamping that is in no way perfect, just like the real life stuff but you love it anyway.

Henry Cochon

O Henry, what a big sweet lovable pig he was and and in many ways still is, we talk about him every day. he still seems to be a big part of our lives, it's so hard to let go of a beloved pet. Henry was my pot bellied pig as you probably could tell from the photo, though i did have someone ask what breed of dog he was... and my smart mouth proclaimed, he's a hog dog! poor man, totally confused...
Henry came home with me when he was 7 weeks old, he was the cutest pig puppy ever! piglets smell so good when babies, i bet you didn't know that, really it's true ;) he was very smart, curious, defiant, he knew what he wanted and when and voiced his opinion every chance he deemed appropriate. he was incredibly affectionate, a really good kisser and could sweet talk his way into anything. he loved watermelon, fresh dandelion flowers, corn on the cob and juice treats, well, anything with the word 'treat' after it, Henry loved! Henry lived a very long life for a pot bellied pig, he lived to be over 15 years old. towards the end of his life, i believe that he lived solely for the sake of eating watermelon and a drink of juice. he would promptly bellow at 7:10 pm when his expected watermelon was not received within his own set time frame. yes, we conditioned the pig extremely well...

this is a little memorial to a beautiful old soul who happened to live in a pig's body.

i will always miss you.

exposed! eeepppp!

so much has happened in the last few weeks that my poor brain hurts a bit. on 01/14/2009 i was etsy's featured seller. what incredible exposure for my work and etsy shop! it was nutz for about 2 weeks answering convos, requests and getting orders to the post office. google analytics logged over 4,500 hits in two days to my etsy shop. amazing!

all in all it was a wonderful experience.