I am currently advertising in Stringing magazine for the first time and I would like to keep track of how many people find me from my ad. If you visit my site because of Stringing magazine please send an email through my "Contact Me" link so I can make sure the ad is working for me. Thank you!
Thursday, September 2nd
"New Sets"
Good evening! I have three new sets for you tonight all in a somewhat Fall theme. Here they are........
"Apple Crisp"
"Vino"
"Leaf Pile"
Aren't the yummy! I am still working on coming up with fresh color combinations which is where "Apple Crisp" came from. I have been making beads for so long that sometimes I tend to revert back to the same combinations I have used for years. I'll keep pressing on to make fresh new sets for all of you. Vino is a set that I made for a particular bracelet.....I can't share all of the details because it would spoil the surprise but lets just say that the next issue of Stringing will be a good one! Leaf Pile was an old favorite that I re-made with some better colors....love it!
I hope all of you have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend! We were supposed to go to a water park but that's out since the high on Sunday is only in the upper 60's....should make for good relaxing weather though:) Night!
Thursday, August 26th
"Bracelet"
Just dropping by to show you the bracelet I made for Kristen with the "Funky Zebra" set. She wanted to use the words "ROAR" and "DREAM" to stand as symbols for sayings that have special meaning to her. We thought about using letter beads but decided that the tags would be fun and trendy. Isn't it adorable!
Have a great week and I'll be back with some new sets soon!
Sunday, August 22nd
"Happy Birthday"
Happy 14th Birthday to my beautiful step daughter Kayleigh! I can't believe she is 14 already....boy how time flies. Last night we went out for a birthday dinner with Kayleigh, her mom Sandy, mom's boyfriend Chad and his son Caden, grandma Jane, and Kayleigh's friend Megan. It was a great time and it was nice that Kayleigh could have everyone there for her birthday all at once.
Happy Birthday baby girl...I hope it was a great one!
Anderson is in complete birthday mode himself; It's not until October 30th but he tell me everyday what he wants and that he wants a blue Thomas the Train cake. He had a Thomas birthday last year but I guess if that is what he likes then why not do it again:)
We had friends over Friday night for Mexican and I made the best fresh salsa! We liked it so much that I called grandma Jane for more tomatoes and josh ran to the store tonight for more limes so we could have a batch with dinner. Here's the recipe
- three to four small tomatoes
- one small red onion (or large if you relly like onion like I do)
- two garlic cloves
- two fresh jalapenos seeded and rinsed out
- lime juice from one lime
- fresh cilantro (about 12 sprigs)
- and salt to taste
Throw it all into a food processor, blend to desired consistency, and enjoy!
Yummy!
I do have two new bead sets for you tonight. Both are a play off of my "Zippy Zebra" set; I just love that design and can't seem to get enough!
First up is "Funky Zebra"
This set was made for my customer Kristen who suggested the color combination.....I believe she is going to have me design a bracelet for her which I can share once it's done. I know sometimes it's nice to see what others do with a bead set you may have also designed with.
Next is "Sunset Zebra" which was designed for my sister Megan.
It leans towards Fall more than the Funky set but I love them both because like I said above.....I like the design a lot.
Well that's all for now. I have to figure out how to load songs onto my ipod:) I know....that probably sounds really silly since they have been around forever but I have been asking Josh to show me forever and we just never get around to it. I'm sure there is a tutorial online somewhere....wish me luck! Have a great week and more beads will posted soon.
Tuesday, August 17th
"Blog Carnival"
Good morning! Have all of you received your Fall issue of Stringing magazine yet? It is amazing!!! They have completely redesigned the issue making the featured jewelry look even more amazing than before; which I'm sure was very hard to do! To kick off the new issue I am participating in a Blog Carnival with 23 other designers. We will all be blogging about our featured piece and explaining what inspired us to make it, what materials we used, and what stands behind the name. My chosen piece is "Hint of Spice" and is featured in the "Ribbons" section of the magazine along with four other necklaces all using ribbon as one of their main materials. This being the Fall issue I decided to use my favorite Fall hues.....rich browns and golds, cream, and a hint of black to set everything off. I chose to use black ribbon because shiny sterling chain just seemed rough and hard for the soft feeling I was going for, plus I had used copper in a few of my past projects and wanted to show some variety. For the beads I used Swarovski crystal, Swarovski pearls, a hint of sterling silver, and my handmade lampwork set "Truffles" which is a yummy mixture I made up last Fall. You can find it in the "Funky Rounds" section of my site.
Good morning! Have all of you received your Fall issue of Stringing magazine yet? It is amazing!!! They have completely redesigned the issue making the featured jewelry look even more amazing than before; which I'm sure was very hard to do! To kick off the new issue I am participating in a Blog Carnival with 23 other designers. We will all be blogging about our featured piece and explaining what inspired us to make it, what materials we used, and what stands behind the name. My chosen piece is "Hint of Spice" and is featured in the "Ribbons" section of the magazine along with four other necklaces all using ribbon as one of their main materials. This being the Fall issue I decided to use my favorite Fall hues.....rich browns and golds, cream, and a hint of black to set everything off. I chose to use black ribbon because shiny sterling chain just seemed rough and hard for the soft feeling I was going for, plus I had used copper in a few of my past projects and wanted to show some variety. For the beads I used Swarovski crystal, Swarovski pearls, a hint of sterling silver, and my handmade lampwork set "Truffles" which is a yummy mixture I made up last Fall. You can find it in the "Funky Rounds" section of my site.
The beads in the necklace are scattered about organizing the shapes and colors but keeping the design loose and abstract.
When I look at this necklace my Fall favorites come to mind......
- Warm gingerbread soy chai from Starbucks
- Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
-Fall candles from Yankee candle....especially Autumn Wreath
-Pumpkin picking with our favorite friends
and
-Spiced cider with a cinnamon stick to stir with
those are just a few!
Find my necklace and others in the new issue on news stands today. Believe me...you wont be disappointed!
Visit all of the other talented artists at their blog spots and leave a comment for a chance to win great gifts! Don't forget to send me a comment as well about the new issue to be placed in the drawing. You can do so by following the "Contact Me" link on the left side of my home page. Have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by!
Kristy Abner
Kelly Angeley
Marianne Baxter
Ruby Bayan
Carrie Beckwith
Melanie Brooks
Gaea Cannaday
Lorelei Eurto
Amy Haftkowycz
Beth Hemmila
Tari Kahrs
Stephanie LaRosa
Michelle Mach
Denise Yezbak Moore
Kelly Morgan
Sharon Palac
Anne Perry
Lisa Petrillo
Erin Prais-Hintz
Erin Strother
Kelly Angeley
Marianne Baxter
Ruby Bayan
Carrie Beckwith
Melanie Brooks
Gaea Cannaday
Lorelei Eurto
Amy Haftkowycz
Beth Hemmila
Tari Kahrs
Stephanie LaRosa
Michelle Mach
Denise Yezbak Moore
Kelly Morgan
Sharon Palac
Anne Perry
Lisa Petrillo
Erin Prais-Hintz
Erin Strother
Sunday, August 9th
"New Beads"
As promised I have two new bead sets for you this weekend.
First is a set that I had made five years ago when I first started making beads. It was one of my favorites and when I saw a customer wearing it on their bracelet the other day I decided to bring it back. Here it is in all it's yumminess!
"Tropical Ice"
and it's Fall sister set...
"Caramel Apple"
I hope you enjoy the new sets. I was hoping to add some pictures of what we have been up to lately but I hear Anderson running around upstairs.....after I tucked him in before I came downstairs to update:) Back to bedtime land!
Have a great week and new goodies will be up soon:)
Tuesday, August 3rd
"New Sections"
As promised I have opened my Fall and Winter sections this week. I know a lot of you do holiday shows and need the beads a little earlier than those who give holiday jewelry as gifts or make it for themselves. I will leave the Summer sections up for another week so if you still need starfish and shells then now is the time to get them:)
I also have two new sets but I'll keep those hidden until later in the week....maybe Friday...Hint Hint!
Have a great week and enjoy the new Holiday goodies.
Friday, July 30th
"Postcard"
Tonight was one of the most perfect nights I have had in a long time! No it wasn't some big event that we went to or an evening at the spa (though that would be nice)....it was a walk with my baby boy. It was the perfect temperature so we decided to take a walk to the park, on our way we spotted the hot air balloons I was telling you about in the blog below. The sun was going down and they were littered all across the horizon in front of us as we walked...just like a postcard. We stopped a few times and sat down long enough for 3 or 4 to pass us and then we continued on our way to the park. Anderson played for a bit...without hitting or pushing anyone...(that perfects the night right there)...and then we saw a hot air balloon heading right for us. I plopped him into his stroller and ran to the clearing it was headed for and sure enough it landed right in front of us. Anderson was super excited but wasn't sure of the whooshing noise the balloon made when they pulled on the gas. We watched it for a bit and then he started our walk home. We followed balloons the entire way home and I can't wait to see them again tomorrow! Here is a picture of Anderson right in front of the balloon....it was taken on my phone so it's not the best but just look at his sweet face!
Tomorrow night we are having friends over for a cookout and bonfire. The balloons should lift off again plus they will have fireworks at 10pm which we can see right from our driveway. To finish off a perfectly good evening I am nibbling on some yummy fresh blueberries that I picked up from the farmers market today and enjoying a nice cup of chamomile tea....ahhhhh!
I do have two new sets for you tonight. I have been working on new color combos for a while now and I think you're going to go gaga over this next one.
"Zippy Zebra"
I actually liked this one so much that I kept it for myself! Now those of you who know me best know that I hardly ever wear my beads just because #1. I'd rather sell them then keep them for myself....and #2. I am always working on orders so I don't have time to make myself extras:).... but this one I had to have! Here is that bracelet I made....I'm in LOVE!
I wore it today and received 4 or 5 compliments on it.
The next set I love as well but just not as much as I love my "Zippy Zebra".
It's called....
"Chinchilla"
I tried out some new designs in this one and I was very happy with it.
Sorry to cut it short but that's all for now...I didn't realize that it was getting so late and I have to get up early for work tomorrow. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the nice weather!
Tuesday, July 27Th
"Kickoff Time!"
As most of you know I live in Ohio.....home of the football Hall-of-Fame. This weekend the town is packed with football fans excited to see the Hall-of-Fame game, fireworks, hot air balloons, and much more. As you also know I am not a huge football fan, so you can thank my wonderful husband for the sports section on my site. Each year he lets me know when I should start making football beads and what teams I should design my sets after. I decided that this year I will make as many teams as I can and I would love to take special requests from all of you as well. To kickoff the football season I made a new set......
"Florida (Miami) Football"
You can view all of my sports sets in the "Sports Team" section of my site....just click on the link below.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful week and as always thank you for supporting my site!
Friday, July 23rd
"Mr. Fish"
So, Anderson calls every one by their first name and adds "fish" to it. He calls my mom Naya fish, my dad Papa fish, my friends are "first name" + fish. It all came about when that fillet of fish commercial came out and he has been saying it ever since. Sooooo, I found it hilarious that he decided to wear his fishy lunchbox as a hat the other night. Here he is.....Mr. Fish!
Isn't he adorable!!!!!
Oh yeah, for some reason Josh is still "Daddy Dinosaur"...haha
I do have a new set for you tonight. I have been playing with new color combinations that are kinda out of the box for me. I actually saw a really pretty one on some ladies swimsuit at the pool today that I am going to try later this week:) This new set is called.....
"Hint of Lime"
I hope you like this set; it has already received tons of complements at the bead shop before it was even pictured online.
That's all for tonight, I'm headed upstairs to relax and get ready for work tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
-Jen