Bead Soup Blog 2013 A Fairy Tale

As all good fairy tales began, it was a happy time.  A joyous occasion on which I once more was participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party!!  and then...

Dun Dun DUN!! (that was the key in of sad music)  I got a promotion I was working really hard for.  I had been watching, studying and 100% sure this would be a cake walk!!! Well you know the best laid plans of mice and men are easily lead astray right??  Boy oh BOY!!

I was excited!!!  I packed up a little bit of this and a little bit of that and a bit of love from Maebeads (why yes I do love to 'borrow" stuff from her while I am playing at her house and give it away to unsuspecting deserving people on occasion) Thus this is the box I mailed out  

There of course had to be something inside so HERE is what I put inside the box!!
                         

I was a bit behind because I had already received this bunch of luscious goodies so a trend had been set in my mind.  I was worried about work which WAS NOT turning out to be a cake walk and was so very, very much more than I could ever have imagined.  I went overnights for a week while my youngest son learned that contrary to what the Top Ramen packet says, WATER is not a optional item.   We have bought a new microwave which will be installed umm. sometime before I die I am sure!!

Anyway I kept taking the pieces sent to my by The Blue Bottle Tree  (or Ginger) or should that be Ginger? and all I could see was the sea..
                           

Deep aqua bottomless secret cove with a buried ship sea!! There just didn't seem to be a way to make it appear as I wanted.   The first attempt broke.  The second attempt looks like a preschooler was turned loose with the wire. I kept taking it to work.  I kept looking, staring.  I felt so damn useless at work,

I was so THANKFUL every time posting was delayed.     I felt horrible being grateful!!

I was failing at something I wanted to achieve so badly.   I was coming home and sleeping, I was going to work and crying.  I let them make me so angry I couldn't function all creativity just was draining out of me. I was cleaning the house, I was stressing about the kids (why cause their going to do what their going to do at the ages they are) I was freaking out about the refinance we wanted to do...

Yet I ended up with the most beautiful piece I have ever done..   Well possibly!

  I love how it turned out.  The metal is all copper that I stripped down with a bit of Ammonia and then ran through some liver of sulpher.  The interesting part is that the wire touching the clay when dragged though the LOS just didn't really take any coloring so I am buffing a bit more of the LOS off so that the metal has all the stages of coloring on it.   The round copper circle has been embossed with that cool Vintaj Big Kick and it was CUT with it too.  Hmmm!!







How's that for being able to use new toy's in a project.  I tried the paints by Metal Me This but they didn't get me the color I wanted at this time and the butterflied didn't look right.

Metal Me This  Patina

Good thing I still had a sheet of copper left at the end so I could try one more time!! 

I planned to use the clasp I was sent with this bracelet but I just can't get it to look right!

So hopefully I haven't messed up any chances I ever get to play again and I hope you guys really like the pieces I got done!!  I need you guys to keep me in the game!!

I hope that you enjoyed your visit and the background into how I made what I did!!

and don't forget to check EVERYONE who played here  Party Players!!

Time is not on my side

Things have been a little rough around here right now.  I wish I could say that it was more or less than normal, but for some reason I just can't get around what's going on to get things done!!  It's about to give me a major break down I swear!!

So my partner has done the amazing things that we are supposed to do!! Ginger Davis Allman and turned the beads I sent her (including a cute little lampwork heart made off mandrel by Leila of Maebeads who's etsy shops is a little naked due to a show in Portland this weekend)  Really I was totally amazed by what she's done.

Any how I thought better let you all know that later today I am hoping to blog and post some photo's of what I have gotten done and where I am at with the wonderful goodies that Ginger sent me

Words Just Get In The Way

So I heard on Sunday that a store I NEVER go to any more because they just have really bad service here in Lacey, was having a clearance sale on something I have been wanting for a while.  WHAT to do!!  Well in some way's it didn't matter cause I worked Monday and Tuesday and the odds of them having one still by TODAY were really slim right??  I mean really!!  Well here this is what all the fuss is about 

 Which according to the write up you can use to emboss brass metal blank shapes to make your own charms. I thought last year when I saw it, wow that would be fun.  Scrapping and Jewelry in one.  Then of course the heart attack over the price of the machine, let alone the dies..   ANYHOW!!! back to the story..
I got up today, discovered the husband took the car to work.  I HATE driving the truck to Olympia.  It's such a waste of money (at 3.87 a gallon no less) ... Tried to get a friend to go with me..  NOPE!!

Brilliance hit!!  Red Robin still owed me a birthday burger.  So if I got husband to go to dinner for the burger we could just 'accidentally" stop by there to check it out.   HE bought it!!  We went...  I couldn't believe it but they actually HAD ONE LEFT!!  not only that they had 5 die's as well!

FATE was my friend!!  I could just about SCALE tall mountains!!   He of course thinks I lost my mind!!

So upon getting home and realizing while I now have machine and die I failed to buy some thing to "press"  ...

I guess I'll have to go online and look for something.     As I did so I was thinking you know.. When's the last time I checked mail..  Better do that first..

Opened up my mail and there was a  YOU HAVE WON!! email..  Skip that, it must be trash..
Wait!! Did that say it was from a blog??  Did that say a  ZINO magazine?? OMG!!  It's not trash!! I really REALLY WON!!  Thank YOU!


 So a HUGE thanks to All Pretty Things!!  Please go check her out if you have a few minutes!! and another huge thank you to ZINO for giving me a copy of  Lapidary Journal Artist Magazine for a whole YEAR!!

and some stupid email told me today was going to be a really bad luck day!!  What where they smoking ?? 


Here's a Vintaj video on youtube for your pleasure.  Watching another one they have done called "part one" I now have a use for all those embossing powders as well for this particular item which is GREAT news!!

Bead Soup Blog Party 7!! or in my case 2

It's that time of the year again!!  I am excited yet scared.  Nervous yet Thrilled.  It's rather like being on a roller coaster of love!!!

                                    Last year to get me going I joined  Bead Soup Blog Party #6

 and my partner was Christi Searle Murrow of CharisDesigns  

 This year I JOINED again after discovering that pressure does amazing things to one's creative juices!!
It's the biggest party EVER  Over 521 participant's this year!!!!

                  Bead Soup Blog Party #7 

and my partner in crime this year IS GINGER DAVIS ALLMAN of a really fascinating site The Blue Bottle Tree  and I mean really interesting!!  Makes me eager yet even more nervous about this exchange.  Good thing I seem to like running on nerves right??

So there has been ton's of changes this year.  I haven't been nearly as active as I would like jewelry wise because of them.  I still haven't listed on etsy which makes me crazy but there are interesting things a coming!


                                                                 Shall we??  PLAY!!