My Trip to Oberlin

Well, I went on a bead shopping trip yesterday. Which is never a good thing. Bead Paradise is a bead store that is about 45 minutes away. I have been going there for forever. When the kids were smaller, they would have to go with me. They would crawl around on the floor and pick up all the loose beads, it would keep them busy for hours.  When I finally finished picking out the beads I had to have, Brian and Kate would take there little pile up to Ruth, the owner. They would be so proud of themselves. Ruth was always so nice. She would bag them up and hand them back to them...they were thrilled! (I wonder if they still have these in there rooms somewhere?)

Anyway, every January she has a big 25% off sale. I think she does it to get ready to go to Tuscan. I can't stay away from a sale!! So I always head over once or twice during the month. I didn't buy a lot and it is really kind of a funny mix, but this is what I got.

This is a strand of Blue Lace Agate. I just loved the chunky rough cut of it. I already have an idea for a necklace, that I may have to fight my daughter for. The different shades of blues stripes in these stones is really so interesting.

I also bought a couple of older strands of spacers. Bead Paradise has alot of vintage beads and findings. I find these older strands really fascinating. They have more detail and some wear and tear to them. I got a  strand of brass beads and two different sizes of Ethiopian silver. Ethiopian silver is not as pure as sterling silver, which is 925 parts pure silver. The Ethiopian silver is only about 833 parts of pure silver. Anyway, I think these spacers are a great shape and cant wait to use them in some of my pieces.

The last little batch of beads i bought is very eclectic. I wanted to get some pure white beads. I'm not sure these are exactly what I was looking for, but I couldn't leave them behind. The turquoise flowers...well they are my color and it is fun to use these in summer pieces. I had to have the oranges because the last time I was there I bought limes...need I say more?

So this was my trip to Oberlin. It is a great store to go to but make sure you have plenty of time to visit, they have so much to look at

You Gotta Love Frit

 So, Kate and I decided to play with making some frit again(this stuff is addicting). I was running low on two of the combinations I had originally made, so I had to replenish. And then we came up with four more! These are only for me to use, but for some reason we think we need to name them.

This is By the Beach.....because we love the beach of course!

 We are calling this one Costa Rica because my family is planning a trip there later this year and even though we have never been, these are the colors we think of.

 This one is Lily Pond...lots of blue and green and purple.

And I just love this one! But we haven't come up with a name yet. Turquoise, bright green and grey...Kate says I should name it My Closet, since these are the colors I always wear. Funny girl.

Spring Break 2012

 This past week was spring break for my daughter, so we decided to take a road trip and visit my parents. They live just a short PATH ride from NYC, so we always try to make a trip into the city. This time we wanted to see the 911 Memorial. It was both sad and wonderful. It is a very moving tribute. The whole design is amazing with all of the names inscribed into the bronze, the waterfalls, and just the size of it. There is even a tree that they have nursed back from the day of the attacks.

 Here we are standing in front of the Survivor Tree. It was such a warm day for March!

 Of course we had to make a few stops at some bead stores. (My son hates this part.) These are some of the czech glass beads we saw at one of the stores. We also spent sometime at Metalliferous. They have moved in the past year, up a floor and the space is even smaller!! But they do fit a lot of cool stuff into that tiny store!

I just loved all the colors on this building!

Bead Soup Reveal

 

My partner, is Suzette Bentley and these are the beads she sent me. Don't they all look so pretty together? Lots of blues and browns. The clasp is brass and is two circles that link together. It is very cool! The focal is really organic looking and it is from Humblebeads.

 

In this necklace I used the brown and blue beads she sent me.  I then added a couple of my lampwork beads that I had in the blue that matched the clay focal perfectly!  I used all different kinds of brass chain, even one I made myself!  This is the first time I've ever made a chain from scratch.  Some of the brass is darkened and some of it is not.  I think it gives the necklace some nice highlights. This necklace used both the clasp and the focal Suzette sent me.

 

 Suzette also sent me some small round pink beads and I knew I wanted to use them in something.

 

I couldn't really figure out how to use them in my main piece.  So, I made a quick wrap bracelet in pinks and greys.  I added in some rose quartz, grey Swarovski crystals, opalite rondelles, and one of my lampwork beads for the closure.  I can't wait to see what Suzette and everyone else has created with their bead soup!

Barbara Lewis-Painting with Fire eCourse

I really like using enamel beads in some of my jewelry. I have learned how to do this in the last year or so from Barbara Lewis. She is very generous with her knowledge either through her website or The painting with fire ning site. Barbara is (in my opinion)the Queen of torch fire enameling. She wrote a wonderful book called Torch Fired Enamel Jewelry. This book contains many wonderful projects. It also gives you all the basic tools to learn the techniques of this really fun process.  But now you can learn directly from her, without even leaving your home. She has just announced that she is offering an E-course so that you can learn right along with her. If you are interested in taking this course just click here.