The end of another year....

Today is the last day of 2010.... I will remember 2010 as the year that I helped my parents move out of the house that they had lived in for 60 years & that I grew up in! It's also the year of the 11,000 mile (16,000 km) road trip. We drove through parts of 23 states and 7 provinces and I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time!

This was my 11th summer for the gallery... As far as sales go, it was a 22 day summer August 11 - Sept 2, the weather was wonderful all spring and all summer, but the people were non existent! The summer ended on Sept 2 because of a hurricane warning... Once again the hurricane was a non event. However, while I was in Edmonton on Oct 13 there was a storm that was not forecast that did cause damage! Then there was the flooding a couple of weeks ago! The curling rink has power again but all of the plumbing has been condemned.... Nothing to do with the flooding, it wasn't done properly in the first place... no-one noticed until now! Doubt if the ice will be put back in this year, so Gord will curl in Black's or St Andrew's! I'll take the year off. Actually we've had four major storms in the last 4 weeks!

and yes... our house still leaks not very much, but the kitchen wall will not be finished until the last drop is stopped! However if the wall had not leaked I wouldn't have got a new sliding door and a deck off the kitchen as the entire wall would not have been rotten!

DO I have any New Years resolutions... not really, Every year I say that I will improve my online presence There's Etsy, then there's my website , and then there's this blog (guess you don't need the link to this since your already here!) Nothing gets the attention it should.... Part of my problem is I buy things online, but I don't really buy jewellery or glass beads online so I guess I figure since I don't buy beads or jewellery online why would anyone else? ... The reason I don't buy those may be because I don't need them since I make them!

Thommy would like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Years!

Almost wordless Wednesday

This is what I spent Christmas Eve doing... teaching myself to spin with a drop spindle...I had help from some Utube videos.... now why do people post videos online that don't even show the spindle... or where the 'fibre' is so thin it's invisible??????

Single ply is sort of fun.... plying is less so ... think I'll break out my wheel for plying in future! It needs to be dusted off!

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday!

Don't you think Emm looks handsome in his $-store collar!

Sateam carnival blog "Why did I start making jewelry?"

I have fond memories of picking through beads as a teenager and then stringer them into short choker length necklaces... I have no clue where I bought the beads.... or where any of these necklaces now reside... Next stop on the jewellery train would be sometime in the 90's I took a glass fusing workshop from Warren Langley at Pilchuk in WA state, the class had absolutely nothing to do with beads, or jewellery.... BUT there was also a flameworking class going on at the same time... mainly sculptural stuff....

Pilchuk always has an auction towards the end of the 3 weeks and one of the auction items was a silver wire and glass bead necklace.. which I had to own & do. Looking at the beads now they are very wonky... but that necklace started me on my journey with flame and silver.

But there were a few more stops on the train before I got there.... First was a handformed metal class at Series in Red Deer taught by Karen Cantine.



BOWL !!!! Scale on this is 12 inches square and the sheet metal was 14 guage.....

After a week of hammering that bowl ... my thoughts turned towards smaller items How about a silver class with tiny hammers..... my First 'jewellery' instructor at series was Dee Fontans, she's actually almost more of a performance artist than jeweller. (She actually does phenomenal enameled pieces... but that wasn't the class!) This is the only piece that I know that I made in that class.... (I brought the dichro cab with me)





Enter my hot head torch (1994)..... NOW I have beads I must use them... so although I'm actually a competent silver smith most of my jewellery making is confined to wire wrapping, chainmaille and stringing. I think it's a price point thing more than anything else Under $40 earrings and pendants sell.... over $40 I have to dust them and clean them GACK!

However I still like to do more intricate work ... problem is it's all mine... How much jewellery can I wear!

This was a bracelet I made in a workshop in GA... I did the 'chainmaille' at home after the class ... took it back the next fall to show the instructor and spent spare time during that class making the box link closure! (B'let 2006 & 2007)

Yes I do make silver pieces with smaller hammers ... everyone needs a silver spoon don't they?



But one silver spoon is enough.... However although one can only wear so much jewellery at one time... it;s something that you can never have enough of!

To view other blogs from this talented team - check out:

Bead Sohpisticate

Island Girl ....your here

The Familee Jewels

Galadryl Designs

Musings of a Northern Girl

Beadsire

Almost wordless Wednesday

Typical cat won't stand still to have his picture taken!

What I spent my evenings this week doing....

I spent 8 or 9 hours this week in the evenings while I was watching TV making this! The pattern was a free download from Bead&Button. The tree would have shown up better if I'd used oencolour of green opaque beads. My white beads are larger than the rest which I actually think looks better. If anyone has 9 hours to waste I will be happy to send them the link!

Almost wordless Wednesday

The Starving Artist Team on Etsy Sateam had a challenge in November to work with colours you don't normally work with. I like bright beads.. but this was an order, she wanted a pink and white bracelet, so I made the beads!.... and the woman I made it for loved it!

I think I would still rather have a purple or yellow bracelet... but that's just me!

Art Bead Scene Ornament Blog Hop

Welcome to the First annual ABS Ornament blog hop! Inspiration for this ornament...

I was looking around the house at all the boxes of beads that are stashed on every flat surface available.... trying to find a focal bead for the ornament... I had made a bunch of hollow beads with swirls of Clio on the top last summer... Although one or two of them are gorgeous they all still got thrown in a box, this is the wonkiest of the hollows so I thought it would be an appropriate addition to our 'Charlie Brown' tree.

But why did I make a Christmas ornament out of 'garbage'? If you have been following this blog you will know that I spent 16 days in Oct helping my parents move out of the house they had been living in for 60 years, I swore when I got home I would start cleaning up here.... & that I would quit buying more beads, wire etc unless I really needed it... This ornament is my first stab at operation cleanup!

The 'Findings' if they are still findings when you are making a Christmas ornament are all copper, (scraps I found in my 'work room') and the seed beads were chosen because their edges are too sharp to use with thread.

I will hang my assembled collection of scrap, unloved beads & misfits with pride on my tree this Christmas and every time I look at it I will remember that I promised myself that I would start to declutter... Someday!

Wishing everyone a Happy & Safe Holiday Season!

Other participating blogs

Art Bead Scene

Creative Impressions in Clay

Diva Designs

Elysian Studios

Fab Fibers

For the Love of Beads

Humblebeads

Island Girl's Insights - you are here!

Jangles

Jeannie's Blog

Lampwork Diva/Cindy Gimbrone

Mary Harding

Michelle Mach

Spirit Rattles

Wondrous Strange Designs

Almost wordless Wednesday

Aren't they cute! Someone was a bit slow taking down the 'Punks' after Hallowe'en so I bought them hats!