My First Website Sales!!

After I was done blogging last night I went to quickly check my e-mail one last time and to my surprise I found I had a paypal payment. I have had my official website for a few months now and after all the work and all the web submissions and all the business cards that I have handed out, Finally!!! A really nice lady named Lisa bought two bracelets!! I was so happy I went and wrapped them up and put a little thank you note in the bag. I drove my kids to school and went right to her house to drop them off. I was really pleased that she just happened to be a neighbour. It turns out I had given my card to her son at the grocery store when he was helping me take my bags out to my car.

So after I get home, I went to check my e-mail again and another surprise! A co-worker of hers had also ordered a bracelet. I was thrilled! So I went and packed her little treasure up with a thank you note.  I went back to Lisa's and dropped it off so she could take it to her co-worker. {Thanks girls}

I feel really lucky right now. I knew it would take time to get myself out there, but it is finally starting to produce results! I Have always wanted to work for myself, I don't seem to do too well in the outside work environment. Some artistic minds wither when involved in something other than their craft, I must just be one of them. I am trying to prove to my husband that this is going to be lucrative enough that I don't need to go out and get a part-time job. Let's hope it works.

Marie

Earrings and More Earrings

I did my best to take pics of a coupe of pairs of my earrings I made. We have had no sun, so natural light has been pretty scarce. It has been dark and gloomy for about 3 days now. I figured oh well, just get it done. This first pair of earrings is more of an experiment that worked out well, than anything else. I started by hammering brass tags with a textured hammer. I used some of the Vintaj tags that I had on hand.

I then used alcohol inks from my scrapbooking collection to add a touch of colour. I made several pairs of these, but the "sapphire" blue was my favorite. I used 3 kinds of blue, a hint of purple and some pearl to create this effect.

This pair is kind of special to me. I used these cute glass butterflies and milky green swarovski crystals, and I attached them to my own handmade figure eight links and then attached those, to my own handmade earwires. I took my first class ever, and learned how to shape metal properly to create earwires and dangles and pins of sorts. I made a ton of cute ear wires and now I am turning them into earrings. I think this week I have made about two dozen pairs of earrings. I used lots of brass and swarovski crystals so keep an eye open in my etsy shop or on this blog for a new post. I may have to reserve a couple for Bead Trends ;)

This last picture is mostly to show you the detail of my ear wires.

I hope you enjoyed your little visit

Marie

Craaaaazy Busy!!

First of all, I got my issue of the October Bead Trends and I got to see my very first piece published on page 20. Another nice surprise was that it is also on the table of contents page. My photography as always leaves something to be desired, but here is a preview of what you will see.

Of course this just does not do my piece justice, but that is why you need to go get the magazine, so you can see how wonderful they made my bracelet look.

On another note, one of my newer creations. I have a lot of new stuff I would like to show you, but with the weather changing so fast here, I am not sure where to take my pictures. I think I am going to set something up in my kitchen, since that is where I get the best natural light.

This necklace is made with Peridot Serpentine and Rough Tourmaline ovals and 4mm rounds. I also used Vintaj chain and a toggle from them as well.

Hope you enjoyed all the goodies
Come again soon :)

Marie

Mine!! All Mine!!

This is the bracelet I created with MY beads. Only three of the green beads on the ends are not part of the stash I made. I put in a few brass spacers and there you have it. My beads may be rough and imperfect but the bracelet turned out really well and I have had a lot of compliments on it. I am quite pleased with it and now I am getting the "bug" to make more. I want to take another class because I want to re-fine my skills before I handle the torch again on my own. It will be years, I think, before I can even think of setting up a shop or something with my own stuff to make beads. The studio here in Calgary is really far too so it is hard to get there very often. I have to make plans for that. So don't worry Sue I will have to get a LOT more beads from you first ;)

So here is a close up of my focal bead. I want to try to "smash" it a little less hard next time and make it thicker. I love how the colours turned out though, the mix of greens, cream and brown. I can't wait to try again.

Become a fan on twitter and you can get free shipping in my Etsy shop today only!!

Marie

Great Bead Finds!!

So in the tradition of Kelly Morgan at Silver Parrot, I thought I would give you my first bead "porn" post.  lol. I discovered CBeads on Etsy recently and fell in love with these colourful beads. She has a great selection of wonderful czech glass beads and lentil beads. I also had to have these...

Yummy! So many colours! You can find some great deals on some wholesale lots Here . That is where I found these beauties. I will have to visit her etsy shop again.

Here are some really nice red czech glass beads from Mountain Shadow Design's. I have been trying to branch out and get something other than green in my designs. I thought these and the next ones might help.

Similar to the first, but a tad different.

I also found another shop with some fun charms for my now quite popular charm bracelets. Olay, they have soooo many interesting pieces that I have not seen anywhere else yet. I can not wait to get them.

These are quite cute, I want to mix them with some of those red czech glass beads and ??? we will see.

Te next ones are leaves. I am really into leaves right now. I love to add them to my designs for a touch of nature. Some are fresh and fun and others have more of a fall texture.

I guess now you will have to keep checking in to see what I create with them.

Keep coming back!!

Marie

Funky Bracelet

I made this with the intention of challenging myself into something out of my comfort zone. I linked different stones with Vintaj elements as well as a lampwork bead. Honestly I think it turned out pretty well, but I am not sure what to do about the clasp. It just seems to fall out. I don't remember ever having this problem before. I assume I combined two pieces that were not suited to each other, I just can not figure out why. Technically the ring is not supposed to be a toggle but it has worked well with other pieces, so I assume it is the knot bar. I guess I will have to experiment to find an alternative clasp.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Marie

Bead Trends Delivery!!!

OMG!!! It is here :) I just got my copies of the October Bead Trends and I got to look at my bracelet on page 20 and grin a huge grin and dance accross my living room floor and grin some more. lol

I am way too excited, and here I thought Christmas was the best. This is WAY better!!! Being published for the first time only happens once, so I guess I am allowed a little celebration.

I will post the pics as soon as I know I am allowed.

Big Hugs!!

Marie

Picasso as my Muse

I have recently discovered Picasso Jasper. I can not tell you how astoundingly stunning these stones are in your hands. I first saw them on Etsy and got them right away, and ever since then I just look at them with awe and inspiration. I am on a buying lockdown right now from my husband so I am carefully hoarding these. If I could just sneak in a few more into my Etsy cart...

This first necklace was made with a combination of wire wrapping and linking. I used all Vintaj brass findings to assemble it as well as wrap the pendant. The colour of the brass is stunning with the multi-coloured Picasso Jasper. They have to be one of my favorite combinations.

Same with this bracelet, all Vintaj wire and hook. I just wire wrapped this one and did not use any jump rings to link it because I wanted to get the most stones possible into the bracelet.

This is the most stunning of all the pendants I purchased. The colours are stunning and warm and vibrant. I did a random pattern of wire wrapped stones with chain links. I also used some rectangular and some square beads to add to the pattern.

I hope you love these pieces as much as I do. They are truly some of my favorites.

Thanks for your continued visits and support

Marie