Well...

I didn't win the Round Rabbit Extra pendants.  Congrats to the winner, I'm sure she will enjoy using them to create something beautiful.

Today, Lorelei is giving away a whole box of goodies, so go and check out what she is so generously offering and follow the instructions for several chances to win.

Good luck to all.

Lisa

Hoping to Win...

One of my very favorite jewelry designers, Lorelei Eutro, is having a week of give aways on her blog and, as much as I have loved everything she has given away so far, I really want what she is giving away today. She is giving away THREE Round Rabbit Extra pendants, and I have a serious hankering to win.

If you would like to win Lorelei's give away today, go visit her blog and check out the pendants. But be warned, I plan on being stiff competition!

Happy day to you all!

Lisa

Earrings, earrings and more earrings...

I figured I better post something, since I've gone almost two months without saying "boo" around here.  Like most of the world, work seems to take up so much of my time that there is little remaining for jewelry making.  My niece, her husband and their new baby visited from Florida over the Forth of July. It was so great to see them and kiss that new baby.  In the last nine months, I've had two great-nephews and one great niece born.  Two of them I get to see all the time, so it was a great treat to see baby Sawyer (and him mom and dad, too).

I have been in the work room making jewelry; earrings, bracelets and necklaces, oh, my!  I've also been playing around with photo collage making, so here are some results.

And a banner....

Clearly, I need more practice.  I also need better photos.  Oh, look, more work to do.  I guess it keeps me from roaming the streets.

Happy Creating, peeps...

Lisa

WHO'S A STINKY DOG??????

I was bee-bopin' through the interwebs a few weeks ago and I visited Lorelei Eurto's blog. I was lucky enough to visit when she was announcing a bead challenge. I do love a good challenge. The beads for this challenge were offered through Stinky Dog Beads, here's a picture of what we had to work with:

 

I love each of these beads, which is why I decided to join this challenge.  However, I haven't risen to the challenge as much as I should have.  I did create one piece from the challenge ingredients, and I have a couple of ideals for other pieces, but that is for another day.

Here is the necklace that I made with the English cut beads:

I've had the ceramic fish pendant for two years now, but I haven't been able to find something to use it with.  When I saw the English cut beads, I knew I had the perfect bead in the perfect color.  I bought the pendant from Firefly Design Studio.  I love Michelle's ceramics so much.  I also used irregular fresh water pearls, assorted small faceted Czech beads and silver toned roundels.  The odd shaped clear "bubble" was an extra that someone gave me when I ordered some other hand made glass beads.

So, there you have it, my entry for the Stinky Dog Bead Challenge.  Thank you Lorelei and Stinky Dog Beads for the opportunity to play along.  Please visit Lorelei's blog for a full list of the other participants, and thanks for visiting here.  I can't wait to visit the blogs of the other participants to see what they have created.

In other news, I did another bead charm bracelet and earring set for a coworkers daughter.  I was told it was to be a birthday gift, so I can't show pictures until after the big day, but, think shades of pink.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy creating....

LISA

Welcome to my table...please enjoy my Soup

Welcome, welcome, welcome.  Thank you for stopping by for the Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by Lori Anderson and enjoyed by many from around the world.  I won't go into all the details, I'm assuming if you are visiting this blog today, you already know what's going on.  This is my third bead soup and I have enjoyed each and every one that I have participated in.

This time around my partner is Linda Anderson.  She is a great jewelry designer and I have had so much fun getting to know her.  For the first time I have actually gotten to know my partner and I hope we can remain friends after this blog party.

Here is a reminder of what she sent me to work with:

Linda also sent some other beads after I had taken this photo, and I had already used those beads before I took a picture of them, so I only have pictures of them in my jewelry designs.  This is what I created with the extra beads that she sent: 

She sent the blue and green round beads and the small blue/green Czech flowers.  I choose to use the clasp that she sent in the bracelet, it acts as a really great focal element with a small group of flowers as an accent.  I also used some of my own Czech glass in the bracelet and earrings.

I made a necklace with the focal and some of the other beads that she sent.  I added some more Czech beads from my own hoard.  This necklace is pretty long, but I like that because it has a great casual feel that would work with breezy summer outfits.

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of the whole necklace, but there are small dangles of coordinating faceted Czech glass beads, spaced along the chain.  I didn't add a lot of dangles like on a charm bracelet, it is a very airy sort of necklace.

When I saw the pink, green and blue poke-a-dot beads I knew that I was going to make earrings with them.  When I designed the first pair I loved the look so much that I went ahead and made them all the same way.  Normally, I wouldn't copy a design over and over, but I really liked the look of the earrings. 

I also created some earrings to go with the long focal necklace.

Linda sent the faceted orange rondels and I added small yellow faceted rondels that I had.  They mimic the dangles that are on the necklace, only a little bigger.

You might be wondering about the large orange crackle and clear round beads.  I have used them, but I haven't finished the piece.  I got to playing around with my polymer clay and made a really neat focal piece, that worked really well with the orange crackle beads, but it is still a work in progress.  Really, it's more like housework got in the way of finishing the piece, but real life has a bad habit of intruding on what I really want to be doing.  Showing off that piece will have to be another post for another day.  I haven't used the silver rounds, yet, but they will get used one of these days.

Here is a reminder of what I sent to Linda; stop on over and see what she created with her soup ingredients.

And here is a short cut to a list of all the participants in the Bead Soup Blog Party.  Please go and enjoy as many of the blogs as you can.

Thank you for stopping by and a HUGE thank you and a hug to my partner, Linda.

Happy hopping to you all,

Lisa

SHADES OF PURPLE...

A while ago a coworker asked if I would like to participate in a fundraiser for her children's school.  I ended up creating a charm type bracelet with different colored Czech glass flowers and other spring type charms (a birdhouse, a bee and a ladybug).  The earrings had a flower and a small bird charm.  But, dummy me, I didn't get pictures.

What I got instead was another order for a charm type bracelet and earrings from another coworker.  She asked, if instead of flowers and charms, I could make the bracelet with different shades of purple beads.  This time I did get pictures.

I hope that Staci likes this set when she sees it.  If, however, she doesn't, I will be keeping this set and starting over.  I really love these pieces. I may have to make more of these in different colors and see how they sell.

Happy Creating... LISA

Finally, I found it...

I have been searching for my micro SD card adapter ever since I received my Bead Soup ingredients from my partner, Linda.  I finally found it! Of course, I found it somewhere where I had already looked, but at least I found it.  By the way, who's idea was it to create a micro SD card, anyway?  What a dumb idea.

Anyway, I now have the ability to reveal the ingredients that I received from Linda and show you what I sent to her.  My apologies to Linda for taking so long to get this on the blog.  When Linda and I got to talking we found that we had a lot in common, and we spent quite a while discussing selling jewelry, the old online vs. craft shows discussion.  Linda does both, and was nice enough to give me her thoughts.  I'm still in the research and trying to make up my mind phase, so her advice was very helpful.

First, let me show you what I sent to Linda. This is the focal that I sent. Ohhhhh, how I wanted to keep this for myself, but I bought it for the Bead Soup Party, so I sent it.  I'm such a good girl.  I bought this little beauty from Shaterra Clay Studio.

And I've had this clasp for a long time, but it goes so well with the focal, so I included it also.  I bought a few of them from Cassie Donlen, and I love them.  Plus, it gave me a chance to challenge Linda a little because I know she doesn't work with copper a whole lot.

All the rest of the beads are from the stash or should I say hoard.

We have purple, green, brown and copper.  Primarily I work with Czech glass, and that is what I sent. I have to say I would love to have this sent to me, so I think that I did okay.  According to Linda, she loved it too.

Now, on to what Linda sent to me.  I have to add a disclaimer here.  About a week after I received my soup ingredients, Linda sent me more to add to what she had already sent.  I don't have a picture of the additional ingredients and I have already made something with them, so they will be seen on May 3rd, when we do the big reveal.  Here is what I first received.

There are some Czech glass and the focal is a set of three handmade discs grouped together.  There are other handmade beads and glass rounds. There are also silver rounds and the clasp is also silver.  The colors are challenging, but I love everything that I have made so far.  I like to try to use everything that I am sent when I participate in the Bead Soup Party, so I have few more pieces I could be making.  We'll see how I do.

Thanks for stopping by and happy creating.

LISA

Partnership...

Woooohoooo!!!  I have my partner for the Bead Soup Blog Party.  Meet Linda Anderson of Cherry On Top Designs, Co., her blog is called from The Bead Board.  I am looking forward to working with her very much.  I was looking at her work and I think we will be very compatible.  She has achieved one of the mile stones that I have set for myself; she has been published.  Kudos to her!

I have contacted Linda and hope to hear from her soon.  I can't wait to send off my soup ingredients and see what Linda does with them.  Let the excitement begin!

Happy creating to you all...

LISA

What I have been up to....

I've been away from blogging so long, I thought that I would share what I have been up to while I have been away from this sphere. 

 

 

The pictures are not the best, so sorry for that.  And, of course, I've been supper busy with the regular 9 to 5.  Oh, how I wish the real world would just leave me alone to let me do what I really want to do.  I'm doing research on opening an Etsy shop, reading books and talking to people.  It is a big step, but I believe that I am getting to the point where I am ready to take the plunge.

I have my partner for the Bead Soup Blog Party, and I will be having a reveal as soon as I make contact with her.  I have my soup all picked out and I am super excited to see what she does with it. I can't wait to see what I get to work with, I love the surprise of the unknown.

Hope you all have a happy and creative day...

Lisa

 

Where I used to be...

Just a quick note to let everyone know where I used to be....http://misswhimsyswonders.blogspot.com/.  Maybe one day I will figure out how to migrate the posts over here.

Hey, Y'all...

Here I am. My name is Lisa, and I make jewelry. That sounds like a confession, but I'm not going to ask for forgiveness. I have been making jewelry for a while now, but it has only been in the last couple of years that I have been selling any of my wares. I've had good success with the people at work and friends of family members, but I think that it is time to branch out. 

I am beginning this blog and researching internet selling so I can try to have jewelry making and selling be a more significant part of my life. That feels like a very bold statement to make, but I am getting to the point where I need to make a bold move with my jewelry. I have been taking baby steps into all the research that goes into even the thought of starting a small business. Mind boggling! Thank goodness for the Dummy books!

There will be more to come; pictures of jewelry and my thoughts and feelings as I walk this road.  Hopefully, in the weeks to come, this blog will develop and evolve.  I would love to get a more professional look, so I am going to be doing research on that too.

Thanks for stopping by...

Lisa