Twice in One Day Will NOT Tear A Hole in the Universe

Soooo, the earrings are not listed on the shop yet because the pictures are just horrendous.  I'm fighting the urge to go back to my old camera since it's familiar.  I MUST learn how to use my new one!!  Now that that's out of my system....it's not that the pictures are blurry, it's just getting the hang of having to adjust for lighting.  I'm trying to make it slightly easier on myself by shooting in Program Auto, but between window light at 10 in the am to bright overhead lights on wood, the pictures vary greatly in lighting.  I wish our photography teacher had done that class on shooting jewelry.... I'll figure it out sooner or later.

I'm getting really nervous about the necklace I made for my mom.  And the earrings.  It's a set.  My dad had asked me to make something for their anniversary, which is tomorrow.  The beads are not classic beauties, more exotic flavors.  I know she'll say she likes it and wear it a couple of times, but will she really like it???  And I have to close tomorrow, too....

In other news, I bought a bunch of stuff from FusionBeads and FireMountainGems last night, along with a necklace (pure spontenaity) from Lorelei Eurto this morning.  And I listed two of the bracelets in the pictures as well, so go check them out here!

Pictures!

Okay, here's the pictures I was going to put up yesterday, but with all the bloghopping I didn't want to make it any harder for people to find the challenge piece.  So here they are!  Enjoy!  Oh, and the last two bracelets, along with some earrings that match the last one, are up for sale on my etsy shop!

Challenge Reveal

Here it is!  The challenge necklace that  took me eons to finally get the way I wanted!  I ended up not using any of the additional beads that I wanted to use.  The white chain was definitely a big challenge part.  I loved the white cinnabar with the jade so much that I went and bought more to use by themselves!  Anyway, I bounced back and forth between the focal I had gotten and the beads I had, first dangling the focal from the chain and then putting the chain at the ends for the clasp.  I couldn't quite figure out how I wanted to use the light and dark beads together and they looked so wrong separated.  I finally took it all apart earlier this week and came up with what you see here.  I used a clasp I had also gotten from Michael's along with extra crimp covers because I truly loathe crimp beads and had extra space to fill.  Hope you like it!

Okay, update:  I forgot to post the list on here, and for some reason it won't post the whole thing, so I'm just posting the blog that was right after mine.  Enjoy!

http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/

I'm Back! *crickets*

I have no excuse for why it's taken me this long to update, especially since I've been on "vacation" this week....! But I HAVE been making jewelry and of course I haven't posted any of it because I haven't taken pictures because I'm lazy like that. But let's not beat that dead horse into the ground anymore.

So my mom says the other day that I should wear more of my jewelry so when people ask me, I can tell them I made it and direct them to my shop or comission a piece for them. But I said that most of the jewelry I make doesn't go with anything I have. So I decided to make some. But before I get to that.... Tuesday, I believe, my dad came up to me and asked if I'd make a necklace and earrings set for my mom, because their anniversary is in a week. AND he'd pay me....so of course I said yes and went to Michael's the next day and got a bunch of stuff, none of which I ended up using. I DID however, use the goldstone/blue goldstone swirly beads with blue goldstone rounds between them to make a very respectable-looking necklace, and then a pair of earrings with the leftover swirly beads. I'll post pictures tomorrow, because the light in my room is very green. I was kind of nervous, though, because the beads aren't traditionally "pretty." But my dad didn't say anything (aside from the fact my mom was 20 ft away), so I suppose it'll be all right. She does like goldstone. I even had some organza bags to put them in, although you can see right through them.

But anyway, I had a half-formed idea to do something with these purple glass and amethyst beads and silver rose chain connectors for my mom, but that kind of fell through in favor of the goldstone, because my mom tends to go for a more traditional look versus an artsy look....unless she REALLY likes it. So I decided to make a necklace for myself. Without stringing, because I hate crimp beads with a hot and fiery passion. Though it is faster. So I started laying out my necklace while watching the end of PotC 3, which I had started when I made my mom's. I was sitting on some pillows on the floor with my bead tray/mat in my lap. I made about a 20" necklace (again, I'll post pictures tomorrow)and had some beads left over. So I made a bracelet in the same style. and then I had a couple rose connectors left, so I used those in a pair of earrings. All of which I wore today. It was a little after 10 when I came into my room. I unfolded myself from my position on the floor, looked at the clock....and....12:37am?! Stringing is much faster, but using eyepins and findings is much prettier. Although my thumb hurts because I was bending the wire up against it for lack of another solid surface.

I also restrung my challenge necklace for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and was FINALLY satisfied. I made a couple of bracelets yesterday....or maybe it ws just the one.... And today I made some necklaces and a bracelet and restrung a bracelet that was just a smidge too tight. I will put pictures up tomorrow, along with the challenge pictures!

Arg....!!

And no, I did not miss "talk like a pirate day"....I'm just a bit frustrated at, well, everything. Work is driving me up the wall, to say the least. Got my etsy shop up and I'm itching to start selling all the stuff I made Thursday but I can't because I want to replace the earwires and clasps with the good ones that are in my firemountaingems order and I AM JUST SO STRESSED OUT!!!! Breathe....the order will get here when it gets here, there's no rush.... Actually it's not jewelry making that's stressing me out so I need to go to my other blog if I really want to get it out of my system....! I just thought it would be polite to keep up this one, too....

Etsy Shop Up & Running!....Kinda

So, I got my etsy seller's part up today....finally! I was super excited until I remembered that I wasn't going to list any of that new jewelry I made Thursday until I changed the clasps and earwires, which I can't do until my order gets here. Then I was a bit let down. And then I remembered my Gothic style Halloween necklace that I was going to sell anyway, took some pictures, did some cropping and now I have my first listing up! It's going to be a bit of a rough patch here in the beginning since I don't really know my way around selling online, but you have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run....!

There Goes My Paycheck!

So, I got paid today and that is a very good thing because I am about to go spend it all this weekend!!!! With all the rain we've gotten I haven't gone much of anywhere. I was off on Monday but I spent the time I was out at the post office and running errands on that end of town. And it POURED, so I wasn't going anywhere that wasn't necessary. Parts of the base flooded, and our church flooded, and today was the first "dry" day in about 5 days, maybe. Yesterday was the worst. My manager sent me home around 2 because we were so slow, so I ran through the McD's drive-thru. I've recently gotten hooked on the mocha frappes so I bought a medium sized one and by the time I got home, I was wired. So I grabbed my beading stuff.

There were several lengthy interruptions, but from around 3 to around 8 I made two necklaces, three bracelets and nine pairs of earrings! And I finally used up all of my lingering coral chips. I have a really pretty coral necklace, bracelet and earrings that I'm thinking of just selling as a set. I think I'll just add up the cost of what they would be individually and then take maybe $5 dollars off that since it's a set, yes?

I also ordered a bunch of stuff from FireMountainGems, but I forgot the boxes....so, when I go to Michael's tomorrow I think I'll buy some of the little gifty bags I looked at the last time I was there.

I also finally sent my friend her necklace and she got it and loves it! BUT I forgot to take pictures, so hopefully she'll post some on facebook. Now my contacts are driving me nuts so I'll get off of here and update later....!