Glass Chip Necklace

I found an interesting tutorial, and decided to use up some of my black and clear glass chips to create this necklace, earring and ring set. I am IN LOVE with it. Not only is it quick to whip up, but they are so delicate.

Ring a Ding Ding

Well, the ring I made on a whim for a customer yesterday went over so well, that I got 2 more orders in. Amazing. I bought a cheap jewelry tray for the rings I've made, and when I laid them all out, I found that I had quite a few! I call this new style "fan rings," because of how they are laid out. I find that making the wire crochet necklaces kind of zens me out, but making rings is a very different brain process- creative and challenging in how I can make plain wire and random beads into something pretty. I love these rings- I might have to make one to keep!

Full Sets Completed!

I just made my first full set of matching jewelry- a ring, earrings and necklace for a customer (I'm just hoping she likes the ring- she only ordered a necklace and earrings!). The ring is a little bit elaborate, but what the hell? The copper rings are a longshot, too- to match a copper necklace I previously sold. She liked the necklace so well, she wanted earrings to match!

Shredded Shirt Fest!

I shredded a shirt for my aunt, and her friend asked me to do a bag full of hers. Here is what I came up with. All of these started out as plain, man-style crew neck shirts. Not sure if I am in love with all of them, but I def love the corset back!

Concept Rings- Are These Ugly or Pretty?

Just noodling around with wire and beads and I came up with these 2 "concept rings" because they are sort of weird, but kind of cool. I am going to try some more with heavier wire and see what I can come up with. I can't tell if they are ugly or pretty or what. I think they are growing on me a bit, and I'm going to try making more of them that are adjustable, instead of all size 6's that fit my finger!

Chain Wrapped Bracelet

Last night, before my middle daughter sprained her thumb and we spent the evening in the ER, I made a couple chain wrapped leather bracelets. They are industrial in feel, and are basically made of leather cording, ball pull chain and tied with waxed cording or wire, which I prefer. They are now added to my stash. Better find some customers- I'm thinking of doing a baby version of sales at a craft show in November. I guess I should, to sock away money for my kids, anyway! Or to feed my continued crafting habit! These are whipping up quick! (Beaded bracelets are mixed with Em's friendship bracelets.)

A Rainy Day

After visiting with my friend, and gifting her with several ear cuffs and a ring, she told me I should build up my "inventory," and sell my stuff. I've no idea how or whom to sell to, but today I busily continued adding to my inventory. Right now, I am trying to use up my stash of odds and ends.

From left to right (swirled colored glass bead ring, 2 mini adjustable wire rings, an amber stone and a purple stone ring, and a wire crochet silver beaded necklace with a stone wire wrapped pendant). Busy rainy day!

A Bling Ring to Match My Necklace

I am meeting my oldest friend for lunch today, so I decided to make a BIG bling ring to go with a necklace I previously made. I'm pleased with the combo, as it matches my jade tshirt!

SHOW BOARD

This is a slap together show board I made of my pieces. My "sales" are to be shown at my mom's Mah Johng meeting, where I hope to sell at least 1 thing. It's a start, anyway, even though the board was slapped together this morning before I had my coffee! After this pic, I did clean it up a bit (removing the orange duct tape and putting up pics of my kids wearing the ear cuffs). Who knows. If I make a sale- awesome.

A Light Little Necklace and Ring

I have an aunt who can't stand anything heavy in jewelry, so I made her a single strand necklace of amber glass beads and very light copper wire. I love it! I think I'll try some more of these single strand necklaces- not only do they go together quickly, they are totally weightless! And the amber beads and copper look great with a summer tan, I think!




And to coordinate with this little necklace, I made a wire wrapped copper ring. The copper base forms the ring and the loopy design, and I wrapped the heavier wire with a really light copper wire. It came out pretty, I may keep this one for myself!

A Little Buddha for Good Luck

I have a male friend who loves all things Asian, so I made him this black suede cord, copper wire and Buddha charm necklace.
That was an easy one after trying to crochet this black curling wire! I added pearls of black, grey and white, but the wire curled so much, I had to add a silver chain for the back of the neck. It still came out alright, but I'm not sure I'll be using that wire again.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

This is a total experiment necklace. Silver wire crochet with these cool little metallic Roman coins on it. It's an issue to get the coins to lay the same way, but in the end, I think it came out kind of cool. I'm hoping it will bring me good luck----and some cash!










My good friend Julie, modeling the copper and blue sea glass necklace, ring and bracelet I made her.











A multi-color glass bead necklace.














A green glass bead necklace- made by my mom!

Bruises and Copper

(Left leg attacked by the window well in a lawn mower accident and dropped an entertainment center on my right leg......klutzy-supreme.)


I helped my cousin April move over the weekend, during which I added to the horrific amount of bruises on my legs. And so, today I am taking some time to recover by sitting still, coating my bruises in Arnica cream and I used up some copper wire I had given to me, and some I bought to craft a jewelry set for my friend Julie. The necklace and bracelet both are made of blue, green and white glass beads that look like sea glass. I used a larger wire to craft the blue bead ring to match. Then, I used up some thin copper wire to learn how to make a filigreed ring. At first I hated it, but now it's growing on me. I might try this again. I hope for speedy healing. My legs look like I've been in a car accident!

Crocheted Wire Necklaces- Beadaholic attack!

I think I made something very pretty. It's a simple single crochet on the wire, adding beads in as you go. 3 strands braided together make a statement necklace. I'm proud of these! Em is modeling a black and silver one.




Mom is wearing a copper and brown/beige glass beads. They don't take more than a 1/2 hour to make, with 45 beads each. Now, I think I may be turning in to a beadaholic!

Stuff Making Frenzy

It's like I can't help myself. I have a cross stitch going, I shredded a shirt for Sarah, and learned how to crochet wire and beads. I love making stuff. Enjoy the pics.

Ear Cuff Mania!

Lately, I have been fiddling around with wire wrapping, especially trying to create ear cuffs. I'm not very good yet, but I'm trying to get better. I even tried to do a wire weave wrap with the one with the grey pearl, but I can't seem to get the spacing correct. These are modeled by my girls and one of their friends, and me (who had the only ear big enough to wear the wire weave!). They are kind of fun to make, keep me busy, and I enjoy learning something new.

Festooning Myself to Two Cinema Club

My friend Eddie gave me a new album to listen to by Two Cinema Club, called Tourist History, which I absolutely love. So, this morning, I sat on my living room floor with my coffee, and made myself some rings. I always wanted to be one of those "artsy" women who wear lots of rings at the same time, and while I may not wear all of these at the same time on the same hand, I'm pleased with how they came out. So, I'm sharing both my favorite song on the album, along with a picture of my pretty rings.

*Note- there is no weird brown dot on my black ring, I think that is a reflection of my phone camera, and also- I think my hand looks weird, but who cares- age spots, wrinkles- bring it on.

White Trash T-Shirt

I finally made a shredded shirt that I can actually wear. So what if I look like white trash? 'Scuse the weird look on my face- my daughter didn't warn me that she was taking the picture RIGHT NOW.

Tiny Little Ankle Bracelet

Sarah is always interested in anything crafty. She has been asking for an ankle bracelet, since I made my own. This morning, I taught her how to put a bead on a headpin and wrap it to make a loop. She made one of the black dangly beads on this ankle bracelet. She and I have sculpted mini things from polymer clay, done poke hole art, made jewelry, drawn together- she is up for anything. She is in love with ankle bracelet, and couldn't wait to get an outfit on to show it off.
:)

Shredded Shirt

Lately, I have been obsessed by shredding t-shirts. Believe me, I have destroyed quite a few of them trying to figure out this process. However, I finally think I may have finally gotten one right! It's not in shreds, it is sort of crocheted. The proof that it's "cool" is that Em actually wants to wear this to school--with a tank underneath, of course. Next, I may try one corset style for me!

YES! I Can Feel Summer Coming On!

My children are playing, the windows are open, the house is clean, and dammit, I can feel summer coming on. I look forward to summer. Each one, since I've been divorced, has been a new adventure. My first summer about 3 (maybe 4?) years ago, was one where I lost about 90 pounds (sadly, some have been regained) and I rediscovered what it was like to feel "girly" again. Last summer, I spent time refinishing my basement, which has been an absolute bonus in my life.

I look forward to finding out what this summer holds. It's always an amazement to me what kinds of things unfold when I stick to my "YES" principal. It's a simple principal, really. If someone asks me to do something, I say yes, even if I am tired, PMS, overwhelmed, etc. Even if I would rather curl up under the covers. I have found that my "YES" principal has allowed me to have a lot more fun.

So, this is the summer for "YES."

It is Damn Hard to Get A Picture of Your Foot

Honestly, no pictures of feet are very attractive, but this is the best I could do. My apologies.

I made myself an ankle bracelet today. Well, actually I made it the other day, and since I am math and pattern impaired, the charms were all over the place. My mom took one look at it, counted it out and told me how many chains between each charm, and where to start. That's why I love her. So, I did it and now I have some pretty body jewelry. I don't think I've ever had an ankle bracelet, so now's the time!

I have to get working on something for my sister. I can't think of what to make. The current item I tried to make is making me feel like a retarded giraffe. I can't get it to work out, no matter how hard I try. Ah well, I like to keep busy, so something will hit me eventually.

And, after multiple tries at things, I went for these earrings. Pretty and delicate, but with a little black onyx bead to make 'em more tough. Hope my sister likes them!

It was a rainy night last night, so I decided to tear apart some old jewelry and make something new out of it. The necklace was an old piece of junk filled with those leaf charms. I removed most of them, and made the chain 1/2 as long. To embellish it a little, I added a heart charm. The long silver earrings had an ugly old pearl bead dangle on them that most of the pearl paint had worn off, so I snipped those off and added some silver beads I had in my stash. The other earrings were part of a kit that I used, and added some silver jump rings and tiny green beads to each ring. It all turned out pretty good, and gave me something to do on a rainy night! I love taking junk I already have laying around the house and refurbing it into something new!a rainy night last night, so I decided to tear apart some old jewelry and make something new out of it. The necklace was an old piece of junk filled with those leaf charms. I removed most of them, and made the chain 1/2 as long. To embellish it a little, I added a heart charm. The long silver earrings had an ugly old pearl bead dangle on them that most of the pearl paint had worn off, so I snipped those off and added some silver beads I had in my stash. The other earrings were part of a kit that I used, and added some silver jump rings and tiny green beads to each ring. It all turned out pretty good, and gave me something to do on a rainy night! I love taking junk I already have laying around the house and refurbing it into something new!

Crafting While Riding A Roller Coaster

Ups and downs- that's what it is all about. Damn the roller coaster, but thankfully today, I got some good news about my daughter, and it's helping bring on a really happy mood! Even though it is shitty outside, I am jumping for joy and feeling crafty again!

Hello, mania- my favorite friend!

And so, in the spirit, and so happy for my daughter, I made a necklace out of a chain decoration thingy. It used to hang on a dress. I took it apart, re-put it together, and now Em is wearing it and smiling. Success!

The Happily Ever After (for now)

Nothing Like An Impulse Buy!

There is nothing like an impulse buy of new shoes to make you feel like a girl again. No matter how you are feeling, having a new pair of pretty shoes makes you happy. So, a new pedicure and some pretty lavender shoes have improved my mood on this gray day! Now, if only the weather would cooperate so I could wear them without freezing!

With every high, comes a low

With every mania, comes a resulting low. Today's low is a result of brain chemistry, rain, doctor appointments and female hormones. What a combination......

Mania Has Its' High Points

I can feel a mania coming on. It begins in my belly, right below my breastbone, where my ribs come together. I breathe faster, my heart beats faster, and I can get a LOT of stuff done. I've been somewhat manic today. It's evident in the fact that I've been busy until my body is exhausted, but my mind won't turn off. I like manias much better than their alternative. The house is cleaner, I feel thinner, happier, more energetic, I get crafty, etc. But, I also hate that I can't turn it off when I want to.

Thank the universe for smart doctors and their vast expanse of drugs that help me control these manias, and bring them down from their big roller coaster highs, to small dips. Luckily, my bipolar II is on the manic side, and NOT the depressive (although I have those periods, too). Not sure what kicked this one in, but I had fun playing dress up with my clothes (and fitting into/trying on things I haven't fit into in a while!). I am going to think of my mania as a visitor. It's awesome when it comes, but I'm somewhat grateful when it leaves, although I look forward to its' next visit. :)

So, I'll ride this mania tonight, until my meds kick in and I can chill out. Trying to be a calm, relaxed person is not my normal, natural state- but it is sort of a goal right now. However, I can't see chill from here right now.