Red Agate Slice necklace and other news

Man, that was a lot of  work for etsy.  I had to edit tons of pics, too, which I really dislike doing. So far, the starvingjewelryartist team has snagged lots of treasuries and I was even in one of them with my Red Agate Slice Necklace. I’ll get to those pics in a minute.

So, having been brave (maybe) and joined etsy, I took another leap and joined on online selling venue called www.artfire.com//They have a monthly fee of  $7.00 and you get unlimited listings and can have up to 10 pics of each item. Like I need to try and set up another store, but I have. I’m at www.DancingWindDesigns.artfire.com.

All I have in there right now is ornament drapes. Haven’t gotten around to adding my jewelry yet.

Speaking of jewelry, here’s the Red Agate Slice Necklace I mentuoned earlier. It’s on a spiral chain made with silver lined Burnt Orange Delicas, matte med. topaz and silver lined med. topaz Miuyki seed beads from SeedBeadSue’s shop.

Started a new blog, too

Since I have bitten the bullet and opened an etsy store, bought my domain name and have otherwise gotten businesslike with this seed bead addiction, I have decided to change my blog name to match my business and domain name. I have started a new blog and you can find it here http://dancingwinddesigns.wordpress.com/wp-admin/

I was going to do all this on blogger, since you can have paypal carts there, but couldn’t get these posts moved over there. So it looks like that will eventually be my “store”.

StarvingJewelryArtists have started a team on etsy, so I decided to open a shop. It helps to make a huge leap like that when you’ve got some good friends backing you up and helping you out-and maybe giving you that much needed push off that cliff. Thanks you guys. LOL!

Setting up an etsy store is a lot of work, but I’ve learned a lot in the few days I’ve been working on it. Etsy has quite a learnig curve to it and I’m still just working on the basics.

So, if you are cruising aroound etsy for any reason be sure to check out some of the starvingjewelryartists shops at http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=6461895 . There are some really creative people selling all kinds of things on etsy. I know I have been quite outspoken against the admin. at etsy-there may be times I will be that outspoken against them again, too. Time will tell. I need a very economical way to sell my creations on line and for the time being, etsy is it.

Yes, I kind of feel hypocritical about it, but at the same time, when I was ranting against them before, it was from a non-seller’s view point-the outside. I’m curious to see what it’s like on the inside. What can I say-I’m the kid whose parents were always pulling her inside the house during thunderstorms-I need to see things for myself 99.9% of the time.

Labradorite cab necklace

This is the labradorite cab necklace I made. It’s a tubular herringbone chain, and peyote bezel and bail and toggle clasp. It’s a huge, heavy cab which is why the bail is so wide. I made some simple earrings in the necklace colors. I want the focus to be on the necklace, ot the earrings.

The beads are from SeedBeadSue, a.k.a. MiyukiGalBeads on ebay. She had the perfect colors to go with the stone. Choosing the colors was a project in itself. I wanted to bring out and accent the stone colors. I used olive green, silver lined Capri blue, silver lined aqua and lt. topaz. The cab came from Overstock.com believe it or not.

This pic shows the color of the stone the best. It really has a lot of blue flash to it.

The completed set. This is mine. LOL! I love the way it feels and I fell in love with that cab the second I laid eyes on it.

It’s been a while

I feel like I’ve been running around like a hampster in her wheel. Just popped in to let you know I am still above ground.

I’ve got a new necklace I amde with a labradorite cab and beads from SeedBeadSue. I’ll get pics of that posted this weekend.

 I bit the bullet and set up an etsy store. SJA has set up an etsy team and I needed to find a nearly free way to sell my stuff online, so www.DancingWindDesigns.etsy.com is me. It takes a lot setting up a shop-especially whenyou don’t know what you are doing. LOL!

I also want to get caught up on my blog reading. I miss that.

See you soon.

What I’ve been up to

I have found the coolest little “bead eden” in the world. It’s on ebay, of all places. I’ve always been really leery about shopping on ebay because I was always worried I would get something unexpected, and unwanted.  I came across this shop a few weeks ago-and went back to look-again and again and again. Finally I decided to get a few tubes- just couldn’t resist. That first bead order was one of the best things I’ve done in ages. Notice I said “that first” bead order. The shipping was really fast AND it’s only $1.99 an order to the US and to Canada-hear that Beadden?? LOL! The selection is great and some of the mixes look fantastic, although I haven’t tried them out yet. I am really pleased with this ebay store and wanted to spread the word. Oh yeah, http://stores.ebay.com/Miyuki-Gal-Beads is the link. I”ve also added Sue’s blog to the seed bead bloglist. She has lots of beaders contributing to it stuff they have made with beads they got from her. It’s a neat blog. So, if you are looking for a reputable bead seller, try her shop. customer service lives at this place.

Remember all those ornament drapes I was beading myself batty over?? Well, to try and make a long story short-the shop is under new ownership and they weren’t interested in the drapes. So, I tried a shop in the Historic District, and sold a few to a funky little shop. Now, this funky little shop has a holiday open house and the lady who owns it has asked me to be the “Artist In Residence” when she has it. Of course I accepted her offer. I also tried a Christmas year round shop in Fla.. When I walked in the owner was on the phone cancelling an order she had placed in July. Needless to say, she didn’t buy any drapes.

So thanks, all you politicians for screwing up the economy the way you have.

Starvingjewelryartists is having a Holiday Seed Bead challenge. Just click on the SJA link on the side and it will take you there to get the info about it.

Here’s an unexpected place for jewelry supplies-Overstock.com.. I was looking for a bead embroidery book and stumbled across the supplies. I got a neat Labordorite cab!! They also have assorted metal findings and crimps, swaros, seed beads, and a bunch of other stuff. Really surprised me.

I think that about wraps this update up. Oh yeah, I don’t know how I could forget this- sometimes towards the end of March, I’m going to be a Grandma for the first time. Yeah, I’m excited about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t know yet if it’s a girl or boy-won’t care, just want she/he healthy and happy.

Censorship

A few weeks ago, I got some blog comments that were a little..off the wall would be the polite way to put it. I chose not to publish them for a couple of reasons. One-they were all from the same person, about the same subject. All of them pertained to the lampwork incident and I considered that to be over and done with. Two, they didn’t make much sense to me. Apparently the reading comprehension skills of the writer are somewhat lacking. The comments that were made didn’t really match the posts they were made to.

I have always disliked censorship unless you are filtering what your children are being exposed to. As for adult censorship, I figure that if you get to adulthood, don’t like what you are seeing or hearing, change the channel, or get a new book to read. It’s your choice.

With that in mind, I have decided to post the comments that were made by someone using the name brigitte mars. (This is not the health food lady of the same name). If you would like to read them, they are in the lampwork entries farther down the page and one is posted in the “fluff 5 meme” entry. Why she posted there, I have no clue. This same person sent me a rather virulent email about how she expected me not to post her comments. Brigitte, your email has nothing to do with my posting your words. I have decided to post them because not posting them is censorship.  That’s it-plain and simple.

Readers, you can read these comments and post comments or not. It’s your choice and the last time I heard, it’s still a free country.

Still making drapes

I just wanted to say that I am still alive and still beading ornament drapes. The good news is that I am halfway finished. WOOHOOO!!!!!

In the midst of all this beading, I have managed to create my own pattern and have stumbled across some cool color combos.

I’m still hanging out at SJA, while I’m beading.

I’ll be back to blog more when I get this order done. Only 63 more to go!!

A brief update

I am busy beading an order for 125 ornament drapes for a high end interior design shop, which is why I am not keeping this blog updated. I have pics posted over at StarvingJewelryArtists. You can get there by clicking on the link on the side of my blog. The pics are in the Itty Bitty Beads section under Ornament Drapes-parts I-VI. See ya when I get caught up on them. I’ve only got about 93 left to make. Back to beading.

Triple Spiral Tute and bracelet

There is a neat tute for this stitch

Got a dog!!!!!!!!

I’ve been wanting another dog for sometime now. No dog will ever be able to replace Red, but we have always had a dog in our lives and I was really missing one.

With the exception of a terrier mix puppy we got our son when he was little, our dogs have always “found” us. The people were moving and couldn’t take the dog, the dogs were abandoned, abused, neglected, etc.. They needed a loving family and we just happened to come along. This new little guy is no exception.

About 4 months ago, this little white poodle started hanging out at our house. He would come speeding into the yard when he heard us outside, hang out for a while, then disappear. He started staying for longer periods of time. I picked up a bag of puppy food for him. He was all scrawny and underfed.

We found out that he was living down the road, so the next time he came over, we took him home. We explained that he had spent a few nights in our house because we were worried that something in the woods would get him. The woman instantly started telling us how the dog was pawned off on her daughter at a gas station by some guy on a motorcycle. (The daughter does not live with her). She complained about how the dog pottied in the house and was a general pain in the ass. We offered to give him a home. Then she started saying that it was her grandkids dog, etc,etc-all kinds of reasons not to let us have him. The dog contiued to come over. She came after him several times and one weekend her grandkids were visiting, they came over after him. We didn’t see him for a little over a week after that. We figured he went home with the grandkids. Then one day, he was back. We decided that if she wanted him back, she could come and get him. That was almost 11 weeks ago and we haven’t seen her yet. If she wants him back at this late date, she better bring the police and a warrant with her. She didn’t treat him right.

He does love to chase armadillos deep into the woods, so when he goes out, he is leashed. I know he wants to live with us and not with her. I know this with certainty because about 4 weeks ago, he slipped out the door and took off. About 10 minutes later, he was back, racing around the yard with a stuffed frog hanging out of his mouth. He made a commando raid back home and brought “his worldly posessons” back with him. I knew then that he wanted to stay with us. We spoke with some people at the other end of the road and they told us that they had returned the dog 3 times to her. He did escape once after getting the frog and went to the other end of the road. They brought him back to us. Now all doors are latched because the little knothead knows he can open them if he jumps on them. LOL!

Over the 4th of July holiday, one of the neighbors from the other end of the road dropped by. I was just getting ready to take the dog outside. This guy couldn’t believe it was the same dog. He feeds the fox, coons and cats, so there is always something to eat at his house for critters. He was telling us about how one morning the dog was sitting on his steps as he left for work, looking very sad and hungry. He went back home, opened a can of cat food and said the dog jumped on it like he hadn’t eaten in days. So now, there are 3 witnesses to the fact that this woman wasn’t caring for this adorable little dog.

He has totally won my heart over and hubby’s heart, too, even though hubby doesn’t like admitting it. This little dog is adorable, smart, and his personality just sparkles and shines, so his name is Sparky. If you haven’t guessed, that’s him and Frankenfrog at the top. He likes to chew Frankenfrog up and now the frog has several stitched up areas on him, hence the name. Oh, if you are wondering, Sparky has yet to potty in the house. He goes to the door and lets us know that he has to go out and it isn’t to chase armadillos.