Two Colors

All but one of today's beads were made using just two colors each. I love how they turned out! I'll be listing them on Etsy later on this weekend.

Heat Wave Beads on Etsy Now

It's HOT. H.O.T. Record breaking temps for Seattle and the area. 103+ today. That's outside, I think it's even hotter inside. BUT, it's not that bad if you don't have to DO anything. Mostly we've been spending the days in the pool, eating popsicles, sitting with the fans blowing on us... that kind of thing. But today, I decided I would try to melt some glass before it got TOO hot... I managed to make these before noon, and I call them Heat Waves... thanks for looking!

A River Full of Garnets

We went garnet hunting near Lake Wenatchee, yesterday. It involved waking up at 5 AM, driving a few hours east, meeting up with our new rock and gem club, hiking through old growth forests, braving the vicious swarms of man-eating bugs, sticking our feet in an ice cold creek... but still it was worth it. Imagine a a river sparkling with mica-speckled rocks and glitting with little red gems... and that is where we were. Scoop up a handful (or shovelfull) of river sand and pepples and pick the red sparkles out. An amazing day.

Two New Beads on Etsy

Two new beads listed on Etsy:





And a yummy custom order set - I need some of these for myself!



Thanks for looking :-)

My Rock Cutter

This is Luke, cutting a piece of jasper slab. Isn't he amazing? The kid will try anything. Of course, his mother? Not so much. She's afraid of power tools. She can play with fire, but saws and drills and such give her the hebejebees. Glad to see he didn't inherit that fear.



So yeah, the family joined a rock and gem club last night - Frank and Luke are really into it, I'm just along for the ride. Though, if they learn how to turn these rocks into pretty beads and pendants... perhaps I'll show a little more enthusiasm. It's hard work, this rockhound stuff, and dirty... digging in rivers, climbing mountains and digging a cave under an overturned old tree root, camping with bugs... you get the idea. Give me a bead show and a hand basket to put my selections in and I'll be the happy camper. We'll see, there is a garnet dig coming up soon, maybe I'll join them for that. And thunder eggs. Whatever they are, they sound cool!

Eyes on Etsy

Eye beads, that is! Freshly listed - thanks for looking!

Looking at you, kid.

Luke graduated from vision therapy last week and I thought it would be pretty cool to make "eye beads" as thank you gifts for his therapists... I've been working on them all weekend and finally have something *I* like. What do you think?

Yesterday's New Beads

Doesn't this bead look like leather? And doesn't it look like it's looking at you? Or through you? It's a strange one, but I really like it anyway.



And this one... looks like the cosmos...



Both on Etsy - thanks for looking!

Etsy Store Restocked!

Here are some new beads - finally! All on Etsy... thanks for looking!

Collage Fun

Just messing around while I'm waiting for my hand to heal enough to make beads again - almost there.

This is a painting that went bad, altered to become an abstract landscape, fabric shapes cut out and pushed around and waiting to be gelled on.

Maggie Sells Sea Shells

My friend Maggie Towne from California makes shells, lots of them, all different colors and it's been fun watching them evolve over time. I bought one, a long time ago, before they got fancy and stuff. And I finally made it, along with the matching discs, into this necklace. I'm not sure if I'm done with it yet.... but here's a quick shot.