A small peek before Saturday...

Finally, I'm finished!  

I succeeded in completing my Bead Soup Blog Party piece two days before needed, which makes me happy as I usually go down to the wire on every deadline.  I won't say much about it before Saturday, except to say that it proved as much of a challenge as I thought would be.  Honestly, I'm hopeless at putting jewelry together, all huge thumbs and doing things five times over before I get it right.  I have such respect for the the people out there who do this successfully for a living ( ie. our hostess...).  I must have rearranged things a million times before even starting....please, someone, tell me the process CAN flow more smoothly than this!

It also gave me more insight into what I've been doing most of lately, that is, making components for other jewelry makers - how elements and components might be redesigned to work better, look better and attach better.  So, whatever my piece looks like (amateurish), the time spent doing this has been valuable for making beads and other components to sell to people who know what they are doing.  Not so shabby...

I've also confirmed what I suspected - I like to make every part of a piece of jewelry, even the findings - I guess so that it looks like a part of me ( though sadly, perhaps not like a wearable piece of jewelry).  Will have to get more comfortable with metal.

A little bit of fresco filtering from photoshop and Bob's your uncle!  Wow, I wish it really looked like this!

See you on Saturday...

A second thing -

Must be a record for me, two blog posts in one day. 
Yesterday I received my package from my  Bead Soup Blog  Party partner - she is Marie Cramp of Skye Jewels.  I'd  just like to give you a taste of things to come:

the mystery-

 After opening, I have a generous number of beautiful flat tiles with very evocative images.  I know this is going to to a true challenge for me because I rarely, if ever, use images in my work.  Oh , Lori.....

 What I immediately gravitate towards in these tiles is the sepia/magenta/blackness of them, because I work with these colours all the time.  Maybe I'll be able to find a way in...
Also included are lovely brass finish findings, bead caps, chain and a clasp - another challenge, I ususally make everything in polymer.  (Don't despair,  you'll find those pliers somewhere in the mess on your desk).

 And finally, these lovely little glass beads!  The way to an ex-glass blower's heart...something I can always relate to!

I will succeed, I will!  (But it will be difficult).

Thanks for everything, Marie!

One thing

Somehow a month of precious time has slithered by.  I won't even ask how that happened, or what that month has been filled with - driving various members of these family to their appointed cultural and sportive events, I think.  Before January and February arrive, I always think they will be filled with a calm and purposeful review of my work  and where it's going, and most excitingly, the development of all those ideas that have been waiting in the wings!  The good thing is that the ideas haven't gone....
I'll just have to learn how to join in to that rushing flow of time more easily....

The first thing to announce (because I really did have two things to talk about here) is the results of the draw for testing my hollow bracelets.  I decided to draw two names from my list of 14 people who commented on my post, because really, you can't test something enough before seeing it out into the world!  Using the handy dandy online random number generator  brought me two numbers -1 and 10!  Going by my list, that turns out to be Anke Humpert of Anartisland, and Christine Damm of Stories they tell.  That's pretty exciting!  I'll be contacting them to see if they are still willing!  And as an aside, so sorry I didn't draw Evelyn, as it turns out that she lives about 12 km. from me, just across the river! 

I did make a few interesting beads this month:  as always, some helpful customers prodded me in the right direction.  A series of highly decorative pods emerged, as a continuation of other work I've done, but mixed with the surfaces I've been exploring recently.  Some very stylized and some not so...

Here's a grouping:

A token gesture to Valentine's Day -

And more eyes to stare at you...

As it turns out, I have another post to do today!  I have received the package from my Bead Soup Blog partner, and I will return later with photos....