A Cup of Soup, Shop Updates and more....

I'm a day or two behind posting this, so bear with me because I have lots to say and this is going to be a whirlwind, so grab a cup of coffee or tea or vino and sit down and buckle up....

I've been so busy over here in my little corner of the globe. Making, making, making. I was stoked to not only be in the Etsy Finds last week and that is in the middle of me making my new Erudite Collection as well as preparing for Indie Craft Parade. Then, on Friday, I had a nice little stint on the Etsy Front Page which led to some sales as well as some custom orders!

I know KJ is cursing right now, because I said I wasn't gonna do it. but I did. I couldn't help myself.

The new batch of Whisper pendants all hanging out together on my favorite rusty thing.

In the midst of all this fun, Lori Anderson over at Pretty Things put up some new designs from her Cup of Soup Challenge....my first thought was a big freak out because I had let the Whisper Collection dwindle down a bit and it was slim pickings up in that section in the shop....



Soooo, I've been busting a hump up in here trying to fill up the Whisper Collection since I know you are going to be inspired by Lori's designs. They are to die for. I mean, putting that copper piece around my focal is pure genius. So go have a look-see, if you haven't already because...well, Lori just plain ROCKS.

Make sure you keep tabs on that Lori girl, because you never know what she's got up her sleeve...like maybe a giveaway...or two (wink,wink). I know she has an awesome one going on right now if you help support an artist in need who lost her studio in a fire....and methinks there might be one more...


Wait, holy hell! I almost forgot to tell you about the owls....



These damn lovely owls. (sorry, I have a potty mouth)

Let me tell you about the owls. I suppose the owls are a bit like children to me. I don't have any children but bear with me here....

You give birth to them and you raise them right and they go out into the world and start to make you proud. Then one day they come home and tell you otherwise, like they hate you for giving birth to them or something or are going through that awkward teenage phase and brought home some god-awful boyfriend...So the owls retired for awhile and I left them to brood in all their owliness on their own...And I suppose the owls started to grow up and finally brought home a respectable mate (i.e. Lori's brilliant owl bracelets) and now I trust them again.

Okay...that was weird, I know....

..just go with it...

In the actual version, I stopped making the owls, as much as I loved making them, because they weren't selling, and because most of my work is one of a kind, I don't keep a lot of inventory and I can't AFFORD to keep a lot of inventory.

But I'm hearing out there in the ethos that people like the owls again so here is my solution:

I'll be selling the owls in made to order sets of 4 (or more). You can have them in all one color or a mix of the colors below. They will be $22 for 4 and you can have them in my four current colors plus my two neutrals:

COLORS
flannel (baby blue)
persimmon (peachy pink)
sage (soft leaf green)
lavender (light purple)
turquoise (deep teal blue-green)

NEUTRALS (not shown here, but available upon request)
white (not a bright white)
taupe (a nice earthy beige)

I do two finishes:

Antiqued: an all-over rusty aged brown (this is how Lori's owls were done)
Distressed Brown: This preserves the overall integrity of the color used in the polymer clay, but has the deep brown finish in the crevices.




For the not-so-selective, I'm also going to offer an OWL GRAB BAG for $18 for 4 owls. They will be a color selection randomly selected by me, which means they will have prototype colors that I am testing and small runs because I often still use the owls in my own work.

The owls will be available in my shop here as soon as I can upload the listings in the next day.

So whew, I'm tired...I need another cup of coffee....this one is cold now.

A (wee) shop update....

Hello all!

Well, all of the updating that I hoped to do this week has fallen a bit by the wayside given the heat and well, life...But I did add two new regular additions to the Breeze Collection today.

Originally, I made this pendant as a one of a kind and it was the touchstone for the entire Breeze Collection. The lovely customer bought the necklace and loved it so much that she has requested a matching bracelet. So was born the matching barrel bead as well as me offering these beads for sale. When I made the focal again, I fell in love all over again. I like the persimmon and white combination because you can add so many other colors into the necklace given it's clean, fresh beachy feel.... soft greens, blues, and others without being obtrusive....

I hope you all like it! Don't forget there is FREE SHIPPING in the shop until August 8....

Going to try this weekend to get the shop stocked up fer-reals....After that, it is going to be a struggle. I've got a show to prepare for, a trip home to see the fam, and the mister's fam here in the meantime.

Bead Soup Party is coming!

the array of awesome beads that Diane sent me
gorgeous focals. love them both. the pink one reminds me of both a sunrise and lotus, simultaneously
These faceted beads are my fave. These are one of the things I've salivated over for a long time. They are cotton candy colors!
I'm participating in the Bead Soup Party, which is a bead swap hosted by the amazing Lori Anderson whom I met after she purchased some of my beads. The Bead Soup Party is comprised of dozens of talented bead and jewelry designers and I couldn't help but joining in. If you look over <-----there to the left margin up at the top, you will find a link.

Lori, who coordinates the enormous task of hosting and pairing everyone up, assigned as my partner, Diane Hawkey, and I couldn't be more thrilled. If you want to see what I sent Diane, go here. THIS, is what Diane sent to me. Diane makes ALL KINDS OF STUFF, but is probably best well known for her lovely ceramic beads and pendants.

I can't wait to make something from all the amazing stuff she sent me. I'm relatively new to the beading and jewelry world, and I use mostly my own beads when I make jewelry, so it is a real treat to get to experience making jewelry with other artist's beads. I can tell already that I'm going to be buying more artist beads and designing more pieces that feature not only my own artisan beads, but also others.

More shameless self promotion....

So sorry it seems all I've been posting about is myself lately....but I do have some lovely features coming up so stay tuned in the next day or so because I've got something super special coming up, that I hope will work into a regular feature.

But until then, here are some new pieces that I've added to the shop. As you can see, I'm much obsessed with my new flannel color this week. I just love the subtle tone it lends and depending on how it is distressed and what beads it is strung with, it looks baby blue, almost gray, or turquoise.

From top to bottom

1) You were born with wings necklace. One of a kind.

2) Nothing is worth more than this day. One of a kind.

3) The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. One of a kind.

4) You were born with wings pendant and bead. Availble now in flannel blue.

All available here.

a few new things....

Here are a few new designs that are in the shop, or will be soon!

xoxo,
b.