Art Bead Scene Blog: Rain Bough Dream: A Necklace Tutorial

Art Bead Scene Blog: Rain Bough Dream: A Necklace Tutorial 
 Check out my picture tutorial at th Art Bead Scene blog!

Introducing.... Rain Bough Beads....

Thank you for all the lovely comments! The name Rain Bough was picked most so Rain Bough it is! Thanks for helping with that! I had Robert draw a name at random and he picked...

Linda!

Please send me an convo through etsy with your address and I will be sending you a Rain Bough Bead!

Sticks and Twigs and Branches.... A Giveaway!

I am officially obsessed with these... (I don't like calling them branches or twigs....) Maybe something more fun is in order.... Sprig? Bough? Growth? Leave a comment for which name for these branch style beads/pendants you like best, Rainbow Sprig, Rain Bough, or Magic Wand and like my Facebook page by Friday noon to win one a single rainbow twig bar!

A few of these will be listed in at www.gaea.etsy.com Tuesday at noon (PST)

Site Unseen

My poor neglected website has had to play second fiddle while I had been focusing on etsy listings. There were so many items that hadn't been added! I hadn't updated my main website in quite a while so I forced myself spend all day Friday on it. I even updated my available colors by removing a few ornery colors and adding some new ones. The color chart got an update as well. It isn't perfect and there is lots more to be done but it made me feel better to give old Betsy some time and energy. I happened to get a few orders as a result, so that felt like time well spent. There are so many new styles to add and I have even more that will be added hopefully sooner rather than later!

Emerald City

I've been reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (I know. I am a bit behind on my reading.) Seeing how the Pantone color of the year for 2013 is emerald green, I found this wickedly appropriate! Here are some of my picks for some wicked emerald green inspiration! Ok. I'll stop with the wicked. Wicked!

'Emerald City' by gaea

Unbelievable 183 Carats AAAA... jaijwalajewell... $99999.99	Kiwi Simple bead set with fo... HeatherKellyGl... $8.00	Verdigris Brass Scroll Conne... PatinaQueen $3.50	My Wild Irish Heart emerald ... RickieBansbach $23.00
Green Ivy House Handmade Car... ElysianArtALaC... $12.00	Emerald Lotus / Lotus Pendan... gaea $27.50	Enameled crown jadescott $14.00	Dragonfly Handmade Ephemera ... AsburyAvenueDe... $6.00
Nautical Wooden Letter & Mot... edenwithpencil... $6.00	Butterfly Wings Bead Compone... Claybykim $14.00	20 yards Silk Sari Ribbon, S... RibbonsAndSilk $12.95	Eye Bead Purple and Green - ... JoanMillerPorc... $25.00
Bronze pendant, scarab penda... THEAtoo $8.50	Vortex Flower- Lagoon- Handm... Genea $24.00	Handmade Silver multi hole S... KristiBowmanDe... $27.00	1 x 5/8" Olive Sage Lim... JLynnJewels $5.50

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Gaea is a designer and lover of all things artsy! You can find her here or here as well as other places...

Sticks and...

Last round of beads found me giddy over bows and flowers and pink. This round has me stripe happy...

and still a little pink...

 These and a few more will be popping into my etsy shop Wednesday at noon (pst) www.gaea.etsy.com.

Sweet and Pink

The bows are in the house! Actually, they will be at www.gaea.etsy.com today 2/22 at noon (PST). So much of this firing was soft and sweet and pink. But not all of it...

Enjoy your Friday! 

Love Me Nut

That "Love Nut" I carved a few weeks ago came out of the kiln and I am pretty pleased! This works for spring or fall and accepted the glazes happily! Here are a few bead bundles I made with them as well as the "first try" on this design. Both made me happy.

"Love Nut" version 1.

"Love Nut" version 2. 

Fit to Be Tied

I tend to make multiple designs when I am creating a new bead or pendant. The first carving  seemed a little small and wasn't having the feel I was looking for. The second bow is a bit larger than the first and had the volume and softness that was in my minds eye. You never know how the final product will be with glaze so both are designs were made and are cooling off....

On a Dime...

I am so proud to have two projects in the Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine! The first project is a pair of earrings featuring my paisley earring pairs and drop charms from Thea too (link below) and a second project for their Jewelry on a Dime section. When I sit down to design something, cost is not always at the forefront of my mind. Keeping the cost of the project under $25, as requested, was a challenge for me.  Not that the items featured in my project were all that costly, but every option seemed to put me just over the target. The first project went over by about 10$ so the editors asked if the design could be edited. I couldn't bring myself to pull it apart so they gave me the option to do a similar design. Here was the outcome...

Because the cost of the full strand of gem stone beads put me over the top, I came up with a new plan...

 This design features a heart charm and button from Thea Too www.theatoo.etsy.com and lovely recycled sari silk from www.ribbonsandsilk.etsy.com

Happy Hearts and Flowers Day!

Calories must run and hide! It is Valentine's Day! Eat some candy and kiss someone! 

World Spinning

My world seems to spin in a regular rotation but occasionally my rotation gets bumped, in a good way! The lovely thing about living in a community with lots of creative people is the chance to collaborate with other artists and crafts people. The project is in the "talking" phase so I don't want to jinx it with too much talk. I can say that the project does involve my clay and drawings. My initial reaction is how am I going to fit one more thing into my life. But when I think about it, how can I not welcome this creative  but slight divergence from the everyday rotation! Emails have been sent! Fingers are crossed!

In other news... This happened in my etsy shop....