Product Playtime: The Ebony Door

I recently received a package of goodies from Rings and Things as a part of their blogger program, and included in the package was this crazy cool wooden chain! It is big and chunky, and appears to be cut from one piece of high quality wood, as I don't see any seams (if there are, they are immaculately put together). I have never seen anything quite like it available for beaders. The chain I received is a long and short chain link style made of Ebony and I couldn't wait to play with it! I figured some big chunky pendants would work well with it, and the color and shaped matched my new oval key and keyhole pendants perfectly!

I linked the pendants to the chain with some brass and gunmetal heavy jump rings and hammered brass circles, and then was trying to decide what to do for a clasp for this chunky necklace. I wanted something big and industrial looking, and remembered the Idea-ology Swivel Clasp that was also included with the R&T package. I clipped the chain off of it, and used it as the clasp. Perfect! It is listed for sale in my Etsy Galleria.

This necklace is chunky and funky and really different! Before I got the chain sample, I had seen it in the catalog and had to try it, so I also have a piece of the Bayong, more rust colored chain below. Maybe I will work on a bracelet for that chain. It is really fun to play with such innovative new supplies!



The wooden chain and clasp used in the previous post, specifically referenced as from Rings and Things, were provided as promotional gifts by for review or design partnership purposes.

Metamorphosis

I finally finished the smaller version of the Lotus Butterfly pendant. In a way that seems appropriate for a butterfly design (metamorphosis and all), I carved the smaller one from the large one. I just took half of a wing, and altered it from there. That saved me quite a bit of time. I have them finished in charms and links in a bunch of colors, and have them photographed, but its too late tonight to edit and do any listing. Soon, though!

In other major change news, over the weekend, we tackled a very difficult task of cleaning a very messy room of the house... the storage room in the basement. This little room was the catch-all for everything that I couldn't store upstairs. And it was scary. I couldn't even walk into the room anymore, it was just piled with stuff. Most of the items are display and packaging supplies... things I only need once and a while. After a show, I would usually just toss them into the room. It also was filled with a lot of my old ceramic work, much of which I have disposed of over the weekend. It was a very cleansing thing to do, and I was dragging my feet and being crabby about it, but Alex helped me and organized everything and encouraged me when I got overwhelmed. Now there is space to spare! I don't have a before picture (way too scary) but here is the after picture.

Next up in the great studio cleaning will be the craft closet in my bead room. But now that there is some space in the basement room, with an area for more shelving, I will have space to store the closet stuff! There are almost no more embarrassing and scary places in my house anymore! yay!

Unlocking this week's links

I don't have much to blog about today. I have just been running around, being a busy girl! Have an even busier week ahead. The holidays are definitely on the way, and there is much to be done before the rush really starts.
A few days ago I listed a bunch of new Keys and Locks to the Etsy shop, and I am working on a necklace design using them, which I hope to finish soon. I shall leave you with this week's Extra links:

A Bead A Day
A surprise package of beads arrives and provides a week of fun on abeadaday!

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy has another installment of Make It Merry this week.

Art Bead Scene
November is full of fairies at the Art Bead Scene. Come check out the inspiration painting for the monthly challenge!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a give-away offer on "the ugly necklace."

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy reflects on how to live life at a slower pace. Her reflections inspire a pair of earrings.

Jean Campbell
Jean finds her first piece of beadwork in a junk drawer and discusses how important it is to reinforce your work

Jewelry & Beading
Gorgeous jewelry designs by artist Paula Huckabay!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie's combining resin, chain, and tubular peyote stitch in a project for Beadwork magazine - download the pdf for free!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Setting up a table at a craft can be daunting, but Lorelei put together a perfectly Vintage Chic display that will hopefully lure people in.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
In the spirit of the season, whereby "you can get nything you want" as in the famous Alice's Restaurant song by Arlo, you can get some fascinating things at Andrew Thornton's store. Great for holidays to come!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a necklace she made...for herself!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using a hand-painted Russian pendant from Artbeads.com, Andrew creates an enchanting response to Art Bead Scene's November prompt: Dadd's The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke.

Now Showing at Studio Saturday

I wrote a big blog post about Now Showing Studio for Art Bead Scene's Studio Saturday today, complete with a giveaway of the three pendants shown above to one random winner. Want them? Click on over and tell me about your favorite movie snacks in the comments and you will be entered to win!
As I wrote over there a little bit, I am a bit torn with this new line. It is just like what happened with Earthenwood in the early days... beaders and crafters have been asking for the pendants not as finished jewelry, but as supplies to make their own jewelry with. While we intended this to be a finished jewelry line, and will continue it as such, I am thinking of adding some simpler pendants like the ones shown. I think I might offer them for sale with a simple piece of black cord, so it can be sold as a simple-to-make necklace or just as parts. I would love to hear your thoughts... both from the beaders and crafty types and those of you who read this blog who have been wanting me to sell finished jewerly.

Under Lock and Key

I am fortunate enough to have three of my jewelry designs featured in the new book Chain Style by Jane Dickerson. I recently got my copy in the mail and I am really impressed with it! It shows so many different ways to work in chain, interpreted by several different designers. The projects are detailed and rich looking, but none of them are overly complicated. It is a great source of inspiration for those who are new to beading, as well as seasoned beaders. I can tell by looking at the projects, having worked in chain for many, many years, that Dickerson did a great job of finding the designs that fit her aesthetic for the book, with designs that pushed simple chain and beading techniques to the limits! It is a visual treat and an inspiring look at the great creativity that can be found in the seemingly simple idea of chain.

For many years, I have hoarded the pieces that I have had published in magazines and books. I liked to keep them for when I have a bead show, so I could make a nice display of finished work to give my beading customers ideas about what to do with my beads, and to show off my recent press. It sort of just became a self imposed "rule" that I keep it all, and I have had the good fortune to have had a lot of pieces published over the years, so at this point, I have a huge collection of finished jewelry pieces hanging around the studio. I have decided to start letting them go, so I started with posting this one, Under Lock and Key, in the Earthenwood Galleria on Etsy. I figured the holidays would be a good time to offer finished jewelry, so I intend to fill up the shop, slowly but surely...

Enchanted Adornments

I had a delightful weekend for my birthday celebration, and it has taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things. I am keeping busy with orders and getting ready for holiday sales, but I wanted to take a quick break to write about a new book that is on bookshelves. Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments has finally come out! I have been eagerly awaiting this book release, and not just because I was fortunate enough to have my Queen Mab necklace below added to the gallery section of the book. That was quite an honor. I knew this book would be great, knowing Cynthia and her magical work. And it certainly is great... it is absolutely gorgeous! There are all sorts of enchanted sketches and drawings throughout it, and the projects are wonderful! I was definitely inspired to want to try new techniques after just a quick flip-through. Just like Cynthia's delightful Green Girl beads, the book is full of fantasy and steeped in traditions of fairies, stories, and magic. It is a breathtaking journey through her creative process, and I think that readers of this book will be in for a fantastical treat!

You can enter to win a copy of Enchanted Adornments and a selection of my new beads! They are some of the prizes offered in the Art Bead Scene challenge this month. Create your own enchanted fairy themed jewelry using some art beads, and enter to win! Details over on the Art Bead Scene.

Newsletter, New Stuff, and My Birthday!

I sent out my newsletter last night announcing my new beads in the etsy shop, introducing readers to Now Showing, and a big sale at my website. If you aren't on the newsletter mailing list, you can view the newsletter here and take advantage of the sale too! For those of you who did get the email... did the mini-etsy shop at the bottom come through in the email, and did it work properly so you could click to etsy? I would love some feedback on that, please.

I still have a few more hearts and the keys and locks to list today. I am also working a bit on another etsy shop (I know! I am crazy!) This is one I set up a while ago for my tile and ornaments, but havent' really had a chance to utilize much. I thought I would revive it, call it the Earthenwood Ceramics Galleria, and start listing some of my finished jewerly in it. Maybe some tiles and ornaments if i can get some made for the holidays. I just don't like to mix it in with my etsy bead store for some reason.

Well, there is much to do today. And the weekend is every full with social gatherings. Sunday is my birthday! YAY, me! I will be off celebrating! see you all next week.