So charming!

Seriously! These new charms from my friend Stephanie Bodine of Bocage NY and Waxing Poetic are A-MAZ-ING! So super cute! Do I want one of each? NO! I think I would need at least two of each! One for me and one to share of course!

I'M SHRINKING! I'M SHRINKING!!!!

Check out the shrinkage between the original and the pressed piece! They shrink even more after a firing! About 1/4"! Which is sort of fun to see the smaller version! Only a few more days and I'll have a glazed piece! They may even make their way into the winter jewelry designs...

Check out this contest! And fantastic blog revamp!

I found Cindy's Sweet Bead Studio blog through Lorelei! Fantastic jewelry AND a giveaway! Have a look see!

I can...

FLY! I was leaving a comment on Andrew Thornton's blog about "Why can't I fly!?!?!" to their bead show in Florida to see their amazing new beads and then thought to myself... I can.... in my mind... SO, new pendants! Here they are...

I was also thinking a "I will fly" pendant would be good too! Maybe the heart should say that?

The framed wing "I can fly" pendant looks huge but will actually be about 1 1/2 inches wide when it's finished. They really do shrink quite a bit!

Have a great weekend!

Stringing Spring 2009...

The newest issue of Stringing has a few projects in it....




There is also a pair of earrings!

Mama needs some new toys! Among other things...

Sooooo. The car died. Yes, Joelle, our car had it's last death rattle in front of a Starbucks! All I can say is that Latte was friggin' fan-tas-tic! And so was the party we were attending for a special someones eighth bday! I can't imagine the car dying at a better time. We were with friends who in the midst of their special day made sure we were ok and made it home safe and that the tow truck driver was "cool". And there was cake! Unfortunately all 3 of our cars are on death row... so as we will not be spending money on fun beady jewelry things ANYTIME soon here is a list of fun things to "wish" for. Enjoy!


This fantastic leather from MacCulloch and Wallis


Or some of this juicy cord

Oh! I see a fabulous bracelet with these!

Truly? Madly!

How friggin' cool does this look??!?!? My friend Bridget sent me a link this morning! YAY! Here is a the article she found. 2010!

Donation made...

A drop in the world bucket, but every drop counts... Thank you again to Janet for her donation.


Your Confirmation Information

06/22/2009 10:19 AM (PT)
United States Association for UNHCR

Gaea Cannaday

Thanks you for your generous donation to USA for UNHCR.

As you no doubt know, this is a time of challenge. In Darfur, Sudan violence and war has forced over 2.7 million people to leave their homes. In Afghanistan, Iraq and Congo, millions more need both aid and protection.

With your gift, shelter, water, healthcare, and other life-saving assistance can be delivered to over 32 million refugees under UNHCR's care, most of them women and children.

Around the world, UNHCR is working to protect, assist, and provide durable solutions for those who flee persecution and war. Your support makes this lifesaving work possible.

We couldn't do it without you.


The following summarizes your contribution:
Payment Amount: $70.00
Reference ID: 93148533


United States Association for UNHCR contact information:
Email Address: info@usaforunhcr.org

This is a system-generated email - please contact the non-profit organization directly.

Just can't help myself...

This one is proving difficult... or at least I'm having a hard time leaving it alone...

I decided to color the lines blue to be more oceantastic. I know, it's not a word.



I was thinking about adding a feather and bird foot prints at the bottom... Maybe that would be too much. I'm really liking the blue lines. Keeps it focused on the pendants.

I have so many projects going on right now I feel like I'm going in 17 different directions. I was contacted to do a tile project for a book cover last month. The logistics of it are a nightmare for a right brain like myself. I can't be bothered by math and percentages, but if I want this gig I need to figure out exactly how much the clay shrinks and how much bigger my starting point has to be so the final tile is exactly 4". UGH! Then I have the web images that I really want to work on and of course the kids are home for summer and, and, and... the list just isn't ending right now which is good because it's keeping me focused! Eye of the tiger baby! Eye of the tiger!

Happy Fathers Day all you DAD's out there!

SOLD!

Congratulations Janet!!!

Contact me at: gaea (at) gaea (dot) cc

Your winning bid will go to UNHCR!

As grandma likes to say (me too for that matter!) "Wear it in good health!"

And thanks to everyone who placed bids!

Going Twice....

Some more "buttons" for the bugs and buttons...





Still time to bid.... Fun necklace! Good cause! Click HERE!

Going Once....

There is still a bit of time to bid on the silent auction necklace! Make sure to place bids from the original post!

Here are a few more tests....

The original image


This one is a lighter color....


This one has smaller artwork and larger pendants....

Having a less is more moment...

Sometimes it's all about the big and bold and bright. This felt really mellow and simple and calm. The crackle glaze with the additional antiquing is one of my favorite things. I am more than a little obsessed with oxidizing silver too, which works out great since the metal loops on the pendants are black unless scrubbed clean. It's a bit hard to see in this photo but the crackle in it is so pretty....



The silent auction is off to a great start! Thanks you guys for jumping right in! Bravo! It is a great cause and a fun necklace too boot! Click HERE to see the auction!

Big and BOLD

I had to do an extra firing last month so I took the opportunity to add a few things for play. The tulip beads were part of that firing and so were about a million Day of the Dead charms. The color combos were so fun to play with. It's nice to just play and go beyond what was ordered that day. This is one of the color combos that came out fun and bold....

More Revamping

This is another image that will become a "button" for the main web page. I hope the illustrations add to the pendants and are not a distraction. This is my favorite so far, the clouds and sun are killing me! Maybe she needs to be her own pendant...




I you haven't seen the silent auction going on, check it out here... silent auction

Revamp Tramp!

I just liked the way it sounded! The tulip bead photo from the other day inspired a bit of revamp of the website... Here are a few of the ideas I'm working with...

Silent Auction

Ok, it's been nearly a year since the Jewelry exchange project. I've been patiently awaiting the return of "Just Beads" to do an auction. I'm tired of waiting! We'll have our own silent auction! I'll start the opening bid at $5... Pass the word!!! The winning amount will be donated to UNHCR... For more information please visit www.usaforunhcr.org

To participate simply place your bid in the comments section!

End date/time: Friday June 19th 2009 12:00 PM PST.

Good Luck!

Participants who made the necklace:

Gaea
Joelle Murray
Lorelei Eurto
Mary Harding
Lynn Davis
Jennifer Stumpf
Stefanie Meisel of Distracted Muse

Tip toe...

Or stomp. What ever. Go with it. Maybe today is the day to just get out and see some. In their natural environment.



How much fun did I have drawing the leaves and butterfly? Too much! I say "STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!" and pick up pencil, crayon, ketchup... what ever is handy and make a quick sketch! GO! Don't judge! Just love it! Ok! Have a great day!

You still haven't seen "UP" yet have you? What'cha waitin' for?

More Belle...

The new Belle Armoire Jewelry has a few new projects! Check it out!

On the work bench...

This here is a detail of something I'm working on... It's almost there... I'm LOVING the black wire and bright colors!

More, more, more...

So here are the hand painted on brick. I'm thinking hand painted on buff will be warm and excellent as well... Next firing!

New!

It is so hard to hold off playing with the new goodies until all the orders and packed and shipped! It's also hard not to play with them and not take photos. It's been cool and grey out for days and it is hard to take photos with out good light. I snuck some in between clouds today though...

Did you notice the new color? I'd actually tried it about a year ago and forgot about it! Purple haze on brick! Pretty! I can imagine these in the hand painted colors! Ohhhh! The hand painted coral reef would be awesome! I also did some experimenting with brights and a different clay... more on that tomorrow!

So how is everyone? Good? Enjoying your world? Excellent!