It's already the 4th of July weekend?

I can hardly believe it!  It has been a busy cold wet summer so far.  The forecast says the weather is about to change for the better and I do hope they are right because we can't take much more crappy weather!

Anyway, I didn't come hre to talk about the weather!   I had a wonderful arrival today, that's what I wanted to talk about!

Glass.  Lots of beautiful glass rods are now in my possession!

I spent some time melting some!

Other than grooming pretty Paris, that is how I plan to spend my weekend after I get my own hair done tomorrow!

Have a safe wonderful happy holiday weekend whatever you plan on doing!

Stephanie

Luna Moths

These brightly colored moths are so very cool.  The sad part about them is that they only live for one week so when they show up and you want to get their picture, you might want to stop what you're doing to take it, as you never know when it will be too late.

I've been swooped!

I was officially swooped. Just like in Alfred Hitchcock's move The Birds, I had birds flying at me from everywhere just now!

Last summer a sparrow built a nest above the door on my south facing deck and I had bunches of fun climbing a step ladder and taking pics. Ok.... fun climbing the ladder is a stretch, but I had fun taking the pics, ok?

After a few weeks, enter empty nest syndrom. :-(...It's always sad when the fledglings fly away for good and I watch the feeders and wonder if birds I see feeding are them, and if they are surviving OK. Especially since I have a fat cat that likes to hang out by the feeders which prompted me to take a year off from filling them at all. Tango the cat is another year older now and at 13 I'm hoping he's slower and the birds stand a chance!

Anyway, for the past couple of weeks I knew there was a 2009 batch of baby birds in the nest but I've been so busy I couldn't stop to gawk, or take pics. Today, on this hot humid 85 degree heat wave, I happened to notice that this years batch look old enough to leave soon so I better get my pics if I'm to record it for prosteriety.

I got out my trusty step ladder and my Nikon, went as slowly as I could up the ladder....and the babies all flew out of the nest and swooped me, some even being so territorial as to touch my bare arm in protest of me trekking so close to their little nest home!

I slowly backed down the ladder in as meek a fashion as I could, sorry to upset them so much.    However, I am not finished trying to photograph them.  I'll just use a different camera that has a better zoom lens and I MIGHT be able to capture them yet, before they leave the nest for good.

This is last years batch...

I'll work on a pic of the much more developed looking this years batch while I wait for beads to come out of the kiln that I plan to photograph to show you later....

Wood Jasper Camouflage Necklace

I've been enjoying making jewelry in green tones lately and it has carried over into my bead making. This latest necklace using one of my focals is one of my favorites!

Wood Jasper Camouflage Necklace

This fun necklace is 20 inches long and features one of my own handcrafted lampwork focals beads which hangs from beautiful Wood Jasper with Jade accents.    The necklace is 20 inches long and  is brough to a close with a sterling toggle.

My own handcrafted lampwork focal bead

Jade and Wood Jasper

I'm not sure I even want to sell this one but I will be listing it on my website tonight...

Thanks for having a look and happy beading!

Stephanie

Watermelon Jade Necklace

When I first laid my eyes on the beautiful Watermelon Jade strands at the bead store the other day I just had to have some so I bought two strands.   Today I made a fun necklace using both the round and disk shaped stones...

Watermelon Jade Necklace

This stunning art necklace of colorful Watermelon Jade is sure to brighten any of your summer wardrobe pieces for casual or dress wear.  The necklace is 22 1/2 inches long and is brought to a close with a hammered sterling toggle.

The stones are so very beautiful!

This necklace is headed towards my website tonight!

Stephanie

Camoflauge Jewelry

I've been making some fun beads and jewelry in green camoflauge colors lately and I'm loving the combinations.  I do have photographs of the pieces but not great ones like I usually strive to achieve as I brought them with me on an outing this weekend and they were snapped up.  Always happy to see my pieces get a good home, I did the best I could to photograph them in the low light situation so I had a record of them being born...

Camoflauge Necklace

The focal bead

Camoflauge bracelet

Watch for more beads and jewelry in this style to come soon!

Happy beading!

Stephanie

Triple Herringbone Stitch

I've been having fun playing with this fun pattern and made a bracelet for my very close friend for her birthday.  It turned out very beautiful and I look forward to making more of them.  As luck would have it, I couldn't get a decent photo of the bracelet as a whole, because it wasa dark and rainy afternoon.  It has a beautiful vintage Czech glass button as a closure and the pattern looks like this...

Right now I'm working on one in pinks.  I cannot even describe to you how luscious and rich these bracelets feel.

Tired of being tired of being cold

It is hard to be motivated when it's well into June and this happens every other morning....

It's much warmer in Fairbanks Alaska at the moment because I just looked.  It is 56 degrees there and today's high in Fairbanks is expected at 70.  We will be lucky to see 50, as the reality is forecasted to be in the 40's!

wah wah wah.....:-(

RIP Koko Taylor

The Queen of the Blues is off meeting her maker. I loved Koko and saw her several times over the years. Thank you for the honor Koko. RIP

http://www.kokotaylor.com/news.html

On a happier note...I have some beads and jewelry to photograph, hopefully later today.   I'm just lovin the new things and can hardly wait to show them to you!

Memorial Day trivia...

I hope that Memorial Day weekend was good for you all!  I had a very nice time making beads and visiting friends.  I did a little garage cleaning and some yard work and fired up my lawn tractor for the first time this year.    Sunday night I stopped by an indoor Blues Festival after making it to the Sunday Blues at LIVE in Downtown Duluth.  It was a jam packed weekend and it was topped off by the smell of freshly mowed grass wafting through the air.   

Don't I sound ambitious!  While it's true I am probably a tad bit more ambitious than most,  I confess that the garage cleaning only happened so I could get at my lawn tractor.   The job isn't finished yet by any means and every year I vow to get the building organized before it gets ridiculously hot outside but rarely achieve that goal.   We'll see how it goes this year...

The beads I made are very fun and I already turned some of them into jewelry that I don't have inages of yet.   I might not have them photographed until Wednesday but stay tuned, I'm pleased as punch with them!

Since I don't have a photo of the beads and jewelry I'll leave you with this fun pic of Reverend Raven & the Chainsmoking Alter Boys!  They were smokin!!!

Big Al Groth playes a killer saxaphone!

And on that note....here's a little Stephanie trivia.  I was born on a Memorial Day!  That must be why I'm so unforgettable.  :-)

Happy beading!

Stephanie

Pollen anyone?

I just love these little plum blossoms.  I have to make sure to appreciate them each Spring because they only last but a day or two!  I have always wanted to photograph them but they are kind of difficult to shoot using the macro setting on my camera.  For one thing, there are so many of them together that most photos turn out with a small part of the shot in focus and the rest is left in some state of blur.   The other thing that makes them not so easy to get a shot of is just the fact that they are so short lived and since it is Spring, after all...relentless winds prevail.  I grabbed my tripod and went out there this morning before the winds took over for the day, for tomorrow these little blossoms will likely be gone...

These days my car and everything else is covered in pollen.  I sure am glad I am not one who has a lot of allergies!

The Sky Blue Waters Vintage Necklace

I recently made  lampwork beads to match a necklace I was given that belonged to my grandmother.  I incorporated the lampwork beads to compliment both that necklace, and some beautiful vintage cobalt beads that I found at an estate sale a few years ago.

This is the necklace that belonged to my grandmother...

What I know about the necklace is that it is from at least 1941, and that it was made in a prison somewhere.  I'll treasure it always and wear it with the lampwork necklace I made.  The two of them look splendid together I think!

I mean, it is a match made in heaven and I am thrilled!

I love combining my lampwork beads with vintage beads and jewelry and you will probably see a lot more of this from me in the near future.

Have a wonderful day and happy beading!

Stephanie

I have Daffodils!

Finally, a little color in the yard.  The trees are starting to leaf out and it looks like there's hope.      I am planning an afternoon of beading in the sun on my deck for awhile today and then try my new Key Mandrel that i bought from Jehlven Designs on ETSY! 

Stay tuned! 

What do chickens have to do with anything here?

Please indulge me whilst I play with the chickens! We have a fun weekly topic on EBSQ each week called "Simon Sez". Whoever is Simon gets to choose a theme for enteries for the week. I was Simon last week and handed over the baton to member Heather Sims, who recently aquired her first chickens. It seems that chickens are quite the craze these days... but anyway, at first I didn't think that I had anything chicken related! alas...I do.

I was promted to set up this still life...

and I also had this shot of the world famous Two Harbors Rooster that I took in January when I was chasing the Beargrease mushers all over northern Minnesota!

You can come and see the Simon Sez and a whole lot of other fun things on the EBSQ forums!

http://www.ebsqart.com/forum/

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers day to my mom and the rest of you mom's out there!  I have just returned from a little road trip with Rosebud and Paris to visit my parents and celebrate the occasion.   This is a sign on the side of the highway on the way, and i can remember it from when I was very young.

I hope whatever you are doing on this Mothers Day,  it is memorable and good!

New Lampwork Beads

I will make them into something, bit I am not quite sure yet.  The fish is my first ever hollow fish!

It's nice to be able to be out in my shop any time I want to now that I don't have to make a fire in the wood stove any more!

My Pretty Puppy

Paris got a big girl hairdo update last night and she is looking so beautiful!

Never in a million years did I think I would be party to growing out a Standard Poodle show coat but it's fun to watch it grow!

 Stay tuned, in about 6 months she will have her big girl hair grown out properly!

I think I died and went to Abalone heaven!

This necklace is a definite show stopper. It is impossible not to notice! How could you miss a stunning beaded spiral dangling from beautiful Swarovski Crystals and 6 whole Abalone shells?

It is going to be hard to part with this one but it will be up for sale on my website tonight! It is so beautiful that I decided to name it Abalone Heaven.

Abalone Heaven

The beautiful whole Abalone shells

Stunning spiral beaded bead in Abalone colors and huge Swarovski crystals

I also put together this necklace for a friend for her Mothers day gift.It is swimming in Swarovski crystals and though I tried, no picture can do this necklace justice.

Sparkling Abalone

 Well, if you love Abalone you have had your fix for today I think!

I have the kiln all heated and it's time to go make some fun beads!  Have an awesome day and happy beading!

Stephanie

Goodbye ice!

This was last friday afternoon when the temp was 78 degrees.  The white swirl is a floating iceberg that has broken away from the shoreline of Minnesota Point.  78 sounds like a piece of heaven but the next day it was as nasty as they come and Sunday we had a snowstorm.  None of this is having an effect on the ice melt, however.   It is going going and soon to be gone!

Lake Superior Agate and Spring Green Necklace

Spring green is the backdrop for the polished and drilled Lake Superior Agate beads in this necklace.  Until fairly recently, finding lake Superior Agates that had holes drilled in them for stringing jewelry was rare, as the stones are very hard.  It takes a diamond saw to cut them, but recently some area rock hounds are having the agates shipped over seas to be laser drilled so they can be used as beads.

For more fun Lake Superior Agate info check this link! http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/education/geology/digging/agate.html

Anyway,  I had a comission for a necklace for someone who likes light green and lives in the area.  Lake Superior Agates seemed a logical choice as we area residents cherish and love our agates!  I incorporated the green glass accent beads with pretty brassy glass rondeles and added two focal spiral beaded beads.   I will deliver it tomorrow!  I sure hope the recipient likes it! 

Beaded focal bead

I hope wherever you are Spring is finally being kind to you.  It is a bit nippy on the shores of Lake Superior these days but a short road trip can alleviate that for now.   The south side of my house is a sunny warm safe haven but I dare not tread from my deck without bundling up first!     Pretty soon people from all over the country will be flocking here for Gitchee Gummi's natural air conditioning properties.   It's funny how that works!