Finally!!

Finally, all of my jewelry made featuring beads I made in Murano are up on Etsy! I spent a little time doing that this weekend... posted about 30 things... all earrings plus these necklaces.

Go check it out!

Happy Halloween!

I haven't made much jewelry lately. The afts & crafts show I did in Plano was ok, but I won't be doing it again.

I did get some sales, and I DID gain some new customers, which is always a great thing! I'm very happy to have met the great people who came through my booth. It was a good experience overall, and an excellent learning experience. Would you like to see my booth?

Here it is:

I'm really pleased with my booth setup. I think this setup works well for an indoor show. An ourdoor show is a whole other ballgame, so I'm learning! I am targeting a couple of outdoor shows next year, which requires a completely different kind of setup (something that can be shut and locked up at night). If anyone has any clues where to find outdoor jewelry displays, clue me in please! I also need to get a banner to put in my booth.

I have made a couple of things, and I happen to be wearing a necklace that I finished up last night. I haven't taken a picture of it though. I'll do that soon.

In the meantime, I hope to make more jewelry this weekend, and most of all-- I hope to relax. There just hasn't been enough relaxing going on lately. Last weekend was my 5 year wedding anniversary (big one!!) and we went out to a nice restaurant, went to the Kimbell museum in Ft. Worth, and then we went to farmer's market in downtown Dallas to get pumpkins. We haven't actually carved the pumpkins yet, though-- that will happen tonight. Check my Flickr for photos of that!

The previous weekend was the craft show. Now I'm not doing another show until December. I really wish I had one in November. I have so much jewelry that I'd like to find a good home for!

One thing that really struck me-- at the show, and in subsequent emails or other correspondence-- is the request for my beads. So many people are looking for good lampworkers in the area, and the comments I've been getting over and over suggest that I need to hurry up and get my lampwork studio set up ASAP so that I can start offering my beads for sale! Trust me... no one wants this to happen more than me. I have found my new emotional, passionate outlet and I am really anxious to get going with it. This is just the thing I need... just the perfect change from all those years I spent playing the piano.

Oo! I made Brett another necklace from beads that he picked out. I think I will start doing a line of men's jewelry, with his help. The necklace I made is really cool. Very slick. I'm pleased with it. I have a feeling it's going to photograph horribly though, since it's mostly black and gray.

Have a Happy Halloween, everyone! Here's a picture of me sporting my fun pumpkin necklace:

Two quick announcements

Two things...

First, I have updated my holiday craft show post with a new show! I am going to be in a show in December. All the info is in this post as well as the sidebar (on the right) on my blog.

I'm hoping to get into one other show, which would be in November, but I won't know until sometime in October. I'm going nuts with the shows this year... well not totally... but I am trying to get my name out there a bit more.

Second... I'm hearing multiple rumors about Murano Magic 2!!! Here are a couple of sites to peek at... seriously, if you have ever contemplated learning how to make lampwork beads, I highly recommend taking a beginner class and then GET THEE TO MURANO! You better believe I'm going to go back for #2!!!

Sarah Hornik's quickie blog post about it here.
Read all about this year's Murano Magic in March/April here.
Go to the Murano Magic blog site, here.

Color me psyched!!! :D

Jewelry Show - RESCHEDULED

Due to the weather, I have decided to reschedule the jewelry show.

I really debated about this, but I already know of several people who won't be able to come because of the weather, so I figured it's best to be safe rather than ask everyone to come out in the heavy rain and wind!

I have *rescheduled* the show for

Date: Sunday, October 5
Time: 11-5pm
Who: You and whoever you'd like to bring!
Where: My home (email me for directions/address)

Everyone stay safe, and those of you in and near Houston -- I'm sending extra wishes and prayers for your safety!

Fall Craft Shows!

Hey there! I just wanted to let you know that so far this fall, I'm doing 2 shows. One is a home show, and the other is in Plano in October.

Home Jewelry Show

Sunday, October 5th

11am-5pm

(contact me to get the address)

Heart of Texas Arts & Crafts Show (Plano)

October 17 (3pm-8pm)

October 18 (9am-5pm)

October 19 (11am-5pm)

Plano Convention Center

2000 E Spring Creek Pkwy

Plano, TX 75074

972-422-0296

Mothers & Others Holiday Bazaar

December 12 (9am-1pm)

December 13 (8:30am-12:30pm)

Seton Faith Formation Center

3100 W. Spring Creek Pkwy

Plano, TX 75023

I hope to see you at one of these events! I am also hoping to get in to at least one more show in mid-November, but that one won't be juried until after October 1. So, I'll have more details on that later!

By the way...

I added RSS links directly to the blog page, so you can choose to be notified in your feeds when I make a new post, or you can even follow comments.

Mens Jewlery?

I have been thinking about making some mens jewelry. I've made a few necklaces in the past, and I've had good reception. I'd like to use more gemstones though-- and incorporate the earthy tones.


The 'hump' I had to get over was making a necklace for my husband. He picked out some beads ages ago-- at least a year ago, but probably longer than that-- and ever since, I've been pondering what to do with them, to get a great necklace. The inspiration finally came to me over the weekend, and I came up with this:

It's been difficult to get a good photo of it, but it actually looks great on him, and he LOVES it so much! So that's really what matters, right? :)

In other news, I'm getting ready for my first show-- a home show, September 13th. I look forward to it. I'm also doing at least one other show this fall-- the Heart of Texas show in Plano. It's a 3 day show, and I'm really looking forward to that one!! I am actually going to print up some of my photos and get them into pre-sized mattes and see if anyone is interested. BIG step for me.

I am also applying for another show in November, but the application isn't due until October 1st. I have most stuff ready for it, except for a few photos. Hopefully I'll get into that one! And I may do one more in December, or not... haven't decided yet.

I think that's about all the news... I have been making a few new things lately, and I need to concentrate on making TONS of earrings because people always love earrings. ;-)

The rest...

ACK is it ever hot. I'm so sick of the heat and we're just now hitting August. Oh no. Not good. *sigh*

So, in my last post, I referenced a flash card that I conveniently erased photos from. So... recently Q sent me the flash card (YAY!!) and I finally went through the photos and uploaded them.

I miss Italy, so much. It shook me alive! I think it gave me the wake-up call I needed.

Anyway, here are a few photos I'd like to share. The rest are here. I hope you enjoy looking at them!

There was just something about this house... I think it's the way the steps down into the water, the tree, and the placement of the house appealed to me. For some reason, it just... warranted me taking 20 zillion pictures of it. I think this is the best one:

I love taking night shots. And Murano had some true beauty to offer in that department...

I can has giant hunk of goldstone plz?

Ah yes, something else I miss about Italy... the divine cappuccino...

*****

I'll be debuting a line of jewelry with MY beads-- the ones I made in Murano-- this fall. I'm going to be debuting them at my home show first, and then whatever's left will be available on my Etsy site as well as the other craft shows I'm doing this fall. Here are some of the necklaces...

*****

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to pimp my friend Sarah, who has created the most fabulous e-book!!! I went to Italy to take classes from her... and I was fortunate to learn much of what she has shared in this book! It's absolutely phenomenal, with step by step instructions, very awesome pictures, and excellent detail. She claims that this e-book is not for beginners, but I was a beginner when I took her classes (I still am!). She's such an awesome instructor, both in person and in this e-book... I think that even if you are new to lampworking, you will save yourself a LOT of heartache and grief with this e-book!! I can't wait until she releases her next one! Click the image below to go to the site and download it. It's only $22.50!!!