articulations

Happy Holidays....and some sage advice from my husband....

I'm back...once again. We have finally wrapped up the Holiday Sale, with just a few small things to finish up. The Holiday Sale has kept me busier than I thought, and then I came down with a serious case of yuck-so I just haven't been feeling myself. I'm on the mend, and feeling re-energized to get back into the studio and start making a giant mess again. I've been taking some huge mark-downs in my Etsy shop, and also adding a few new pieces here and there. Look for silver to play a new role in more of my designs in this coming year. I'm crossing my fingers that I will be able to get a small kiln at the beginning of 2010, and that will add a whole new dimension to my work...not to mention a whole new course of study for me...xo

After a particularly ugly rant this afternoon, my husband interrupted me with a phrase I really needed to hear...and luckily for me, I was able to hear it..."LET IT GO..." I was really upset about another artist copying one of my designs...I won't go any further than that, but I was not happy, and feeling pretty ugly about the whole thing....which wasn't doing me any good...he then opened up his jacket and presented me with a box from my favorite local bead shop-Rocks of Ages....

Inside the box, this beautiful strand of Aquamarine gemstones....I've looked at this strand several times....I've dreamed  of this strand of lovely blue...my birthstone...I certainly didn't deserve this gift, especially today...which is what made it so special. Even after listening to me say such rotten things about another person, he let me say it, let me get it out of my system, and still gave me this gift...wow....I'm feeling lucky, and a bit ashamed. But I will let it go...thank you honey...for knowing what I needed to hear, for letting me say what I needed to say, and loving me in-spite of it. wow.

And lastly I wanted to share with you the amazing talents of another etsy artist...Ellen Dooley...

 

I'm amazed at the beauty she captures in each of her beads. They are tiny pieces of artwork, rivaling any fancy cut gemstone. I've started to incorporate several of her beads in some of my new sterling silver pieces, but please check out her shop, her photography is amazing too! Whenever I receive one of her packages, I feel like a small child on Christmas morning. I know what's inside will be grand, but I'm always delighted at  the beauty of her work...

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, no matter how or what you celebrate. May you be surrounded with those you love, and safe in your travels. I hope you all have a little bit of handmade in your holidays too! light and love-amanda xo

Dragonfly Meditation Bracelet
 

Last Day...

Just wanted to invite everyone out to the last day of the Holiday Sale at KeLe Alpacas! We still have lots of great artwork and wearable art available! 

It's been far too long...

Where have I been? I know, it's been some time...I've been working everyday for the last few months at a Handmade Holiday Sale. The show is going well, but it leaves me little time to do much else. I just wanted to pop in and say hello. I'll be back again soon. The show closes on the 6th of December, and I hope to get back into my own rhythm once again. Please enjoy the special Holiday Sale I'm having in my Etsy shop while I'm busy finishing up at the brick and mortar shop. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello. The sale is located at:

KeLe Alpacas

E1870 Pine Grove Rd.

Kewaunee, WI 54216

need directions? just shoot me an e-mail, and I can help you find your way....light and love-amanda

Total Randomness...

 
I've spent alot of time Home lately...I'm not sure why, although we have had alot of things going on with our family, work, life...you know how that goes. I've cut way back on my work schedule these last few weeks, but I still don't feel caught up on "rest."  I haven't done a whole lot in the studio, and oddly I only feel a small sense of guilt...But now, I'm getting back into the swing of things, and getting energized about this coming year. I've spent alot of time researching some new tools to add to my studio, and still have more research to do. I'd really like to add a kiln, but I still have some fact finding to do (and some money to save) before I take that leap.

We spent the week-end celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday. She had a few friends over on Friday. Saturday we took all the girls bowling and out for pizza- I think everyone had a great time. I couldn't remember when the last time I had been bowling...it had to be at least 16 years ago...but it was kinda fun. Something to keep in mind when my daughter complains about being bored.

...New wire-wrapped bangles...

I've really enjoyed making these new bangle bracelets. I stumbled upon a wonderful web-site called JewelryLessons.com by Eni Oken and friends. It's a great resource for all things jewelry related and has wonderful tutorials that you can buy and download for just a few dollars. Some of the tutorials are even free. These bangles were made using techniques I learned  from a tutorial by Tadaosgirl. The tutorial was called "Robin's Egg Bracelet."  There is a wealth of information and knowledge on that website, I'm looking forward to heading back over there to try some more tutorials.

I've also been working on some more resin/bezel pendants. I just listed "Ode to Poe" today.

Ode to Poe on Etsy

 Well that's about it for today. My husband just came in to yell at me that the sun is out, and it's not freezing cold. I think that's a hint it's time to take a walk...hope you have had a wonderful week-end. light and love-amanda

 

Bead Tour Today!!!

Pathfinder Garden Stake from GlassEtc on Etsy. She has many beautiful glass pieces!

Just a quick note this morning to say Yahoo! The Rings & Things  Bead Tour is in town today!! What's a Bead Tour? Well it's just what it sounds like. They tour all over the US with thousands of beads and other goodies. They set up "shop" for a few hours in each location, and then move on to the next city. Today they are in Green Bay at the Suamico Ale House.  2310 Lineville Rd. from 12-4. Wednesday Milwaukee, and Thursday the Chicago Area. I'll post some pictures of my haul when I get back this afternoon. I'm meeting my mom there today for her first ever "Bead Tour" I can't wait to see her reaction. I know I about died when I first saw all those beautiful beads and gemstones laying out on the tables. Maybe she will get the jewelry bug too....light and love-amanda

Fiber Art Eye Candy

Ok, it was difficult for me to wait until 8:15 to bug my friend. I am such an early riser, that I forget normal people don't get up at 4:00 in the morning. I did get her blessing to post a few pictures of her work, I wish I was a better photographer, but this is what I wanted to share with you...

Front

Back

This wonderful jacket has so much detail, it's really hard to see in these photographs. It's beautifully lined, and the most comfortable jacket I own. Love it!

This next photo is of a felted wool collar that Jeanne needle felted a beautiful blue bird image into. The detail again is amazing. In person the design looks like a watercolor portrait....I've never seen anyone else who can blend the wool in this manner...

 

Ok, and lastly my Magic Jacket. Jeanne made this for me on my birthday this year. She called it a smock, but I wouldn't dare wear it for a smock. It's my Magic Jacket, and I do wear it in the studio, but only when I'm not being messy. It's so beautifully illustrated and painted. It's one of those things  that makes you smile, and makes you feel loved and grateful for the friendships you have.

 

 

 

The above picture is on the back...Magic

Fresh out of the tumbler-a special order of sterling silver and gemstone earrings...now I have to match those pairs! Have a great afternoon-I'm going to hit the couch with my dogs! light and love-amanda

Friend and Fiber Artist Jeanne Shay....Published in Belle Armoire this Month!!!

 

I Just wanted to say congratulations to my dear friend Jeanne Shay! Jeanne called me this week to let me know she heard that her beautiful felted wool collar would be in this month's (Sep/Oct) Belle Armoire (page 77) magazine. So please pick up a copy and check out her inspiring work. Jeanne is one of the most talented women I know and I'm so excited for her. I met Jeanne a few years ago at a friend's holiday show. She mentioned that she might be looking for a companion -of the furry sort-and me being the dog magnet of the area, set out to find a good match...we've been friends ever since....and yes I did find a dog for her-a lovely border collie cross who had been abandon by her owner..."Maggie" couldn't have found a better home with Jeanne and her husband. I'm going to call Jeanne today and see if I can get her permission to show a few photos of her other work. I've been lucky enough to receive several beautiful pieces of her work as gifts, and I'd love to show them to you...light and love-amanda

P.S. Jeanne's fiber art can be found at the Red Cup Coffeehouse on Washington Island, WI.

Isn't it lovely!

A Bit Scattered...

I didn't even peek at the date of my last post. I know it has been too long. Things have been crazy at our house these last few weeks of summer. My daughter went back to school last week. All of us were looking forward to getting back into the routine, Hannah because she missed her friends, me because I really need to get some time in the studio, and Andy, I'm sure, because he is sick of me whining that there aren't enough hours in the day to get done everything on my to do list. But for all the anticipation back to school time creates, we got the day wrong. We were all sitting in our pj's when the school called last Tuesday, wondering where my daughter was....sad, but true. We thought school started on Wednesday, not Tuesday. Needless to say, she did make it there...2 hours late, but I felt terrible, and completely embarrassed...so embarrassed, that I made my husband take her because I couldn't stand to face the women in the office who probably already think I'm off my rocker...so that's kind of how last week went for us. A horrible trip to the vet with my little chihuahua/doxie mix rounded it out to be a week I'd rather forget. This week is turning out to be more promising...we were all sick over the week-end, including the dog, but things are looking up this afternoon...

We still have a few things blooming in the garden, and for that I am grateful. I think I will take some cuttings this afternoon before the last of the summer flowers fade.The weather here is definitely showing signs of fall. I've seen lots of trees starting to turn color, and the nights having been cooling off.  Fall is my favorite time of the year. Bug season has passed, and the woods smell like heaven to me. I'm looking forward to slowing down my work schedule a bit, and getting outside with my family on a few hiking adventures.  

Despite the craziness here, and sick people and animals, I did manage to get some new things made and put up in my little etsy shop.

Crossroads available now on Etsy.

I've been playing with sterling silver again. Dangerous I know. With my new studio set up, it's a little easier to use my torch set up. Unfortunately two trips into town, on two different occasions yielded two different empty oxygen tanks. I'm not kidding...wondering if this has ever happened to anyone else? My husband has been a welder for most of his adult life, and he can't remember ever buying an empty tank...don't know if it's the supplier, or just tanks sitting on the shelf too long...but I'm sitting here this afternoon with 5 full propane tanks and 3 empty oxygen tanks. I'm going to try my mini butane torch, but it's not too useful for what I want to do. Hope last week's bad luck isn't running into this week.

Elemental available now on Etsy

Ok, this has turned into a much longer post than I had intended. I will do some book reviews very soon. Hopefully things will be in better sync for me. I hope you had a beautiful holiday week-end...light and love-amanda

 

Kinda Crabby...

I know, the title doesn't exactly encourage you to read this post...I've been in a funk all day. I actually had to leave for awhile this morning just to give my family a break-from me.....I got an e-mail this morning (from one of my sisters) telling me about someone who is making birdhouses and various other jewelry that bares a striking resemblance to mine...to make matters worse, they have a "rep" and are doing some wholesale markets in close proximity. I checked out her web-site, and yeah, it's pretty darn close...I have mixed feelings about copyright. It's such a hot topic among artists right now. If you want to start an argument, that's the conversation you want to have. So I won't bore you with my whining, but here's what went through mind as possible solutions to this issue...

1. Send her a mean, nasty, and anonymous letter.

2. Call her out on my little blog.

3. Sell my stuff at cut rate pricing.

4. Give a free tutorial on how I make the birdhouses.

5. Cry and Whine

6. Complain to my family

7. Let Karma handle it.

8. Consider the possibility that we are both on the same creative wave length.

For tonight I'm going to stick with #7.  Since # 5 and #6 weren't too effective. And I'm not ready to try # 8.

As I'm typing this, my daughter brought me a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream with Hershey's Syrup. She proceeded to drop the entire bowl over the door way, (we have half doors to keep the dogs out of my studio.) bumped my soda-spilling it on the keyboard of my laptop-(which isn't even paid off yet) and then shattering the antique bowl (Fire King-Jadeite) all over the floor of my studio.-How's that for Karma?

...I know this isn't a very nice post, but I just had to air out my thoughts tonight.

Don't worry, I didn't even yell at her. I'm too tired from being crabby all day. She was sweet enough to offer me her bowl of ice cream. (sigh) But I declined.

Like the Wind Spirit Rattle Necklace

I'm working on some new things in the studio, and hope to have new work posted for sale in my Etsy Shop later this week. I'll also be back this week to give some book reviews. I've picked up some really good books over the last few months, and just wanted to share my thoughts on them...

Spirit Dance Spirit Rattle Necklace

I'll leave you with a picture my daughter drew on the computer. She e-mailed it to me to cheer me up...xo amanda

Just a quickie...

Begin Again-up on Etsy tonight!

 

It's Never too Late...on Etsy tonight too!

Have a good night-light and love-amanda