My Photo Area and Other Jewelry Stuff

It's been too long since my last blog post, and after wracking my brain for something interesting I thought I would show you my photo setup and other jewelry related stuff. I work in three different areas; the dining room table is where I make jewelry, our office is where I take photos, and I did have a soldering bench set up on the basement but as of last night that was dismantled (please ignore any dust or clutter you might see).

Normally I like an all white background for my jewelry. I love that clean crisp feeling and rarely use props. Below you can see how I set up to take photos. You can't see it in this picture but to the left is a window that faces north. It lets in the perfect amount of filtered light, unless it's a gloomy day. I use an old parlor table with a white craft paper background. Propped against the desk is a large piece of foam board which reflects the light from the window back onto the table. It's worked very well for me, and with Picasa it's easy to crop, add fill light, highlights, shadows, etc.

With the arrival of autumn I wanted to switch to a darker background. Here I'm using an old crate which is propped up on a plastic tote.

While I was cleaning up my soldering station in our basement I came across this pile of bezels I made during Stephanie Lee's Homesteader's Metalsmithing Class a couple years ago. Unfortunately this, plus a soldered chain is all I made for the class. My mom was very ill and I just didn't seem to have the desire to keep going. It was kind of fun to uncover these, and I can see I have a long way to go in terms of soldering. 

Here's a delicious pile of beads I won from Malin some time ago. The colors are beautiful! Blues, greens and browns are my favorite to work with.

Below are some wonderful enameled beads I won from Keri at Lemonade Stand. I can't wait to use these beauties.

Recently I have been wanting to get my jewelry into shops, so I purchased a Plexiglas display case--pictured below.  It's a bit smaller than I realized but it will do for now.  The first shop I approached told me my jewelry was too expensive for her shop. The second shop was moving to a smaller place and would not have room for anything extra. I'll keep trying and hopefully I'll find a shop that fits my jewelry.

And I just want to say I abhor (my polite way of saying it) Blogger's new interface. No matter how I put together a post, the photos do not stay where I want them, and the text wraps around the photos even though I choose left formatting. There are huge gaps between photos and text, but when I try to eliminate them the photos slide up beside each other or the text splits between the top and the bottom of the photo. I've tried it with formatting, and without formatting. I've tried it in compose mode and html mode. I'm so frustrated with Blogger!!!!  Am I the only one?

On a more pleasant note, October 24th is my one year Blogiversary! I've been the lucky recipient of so many giveaways and now it's my turn to give back. Stop by on the 24th to celebrate with me.

I changed my blog header today to represent my favorite season—autumn. Normally I like a white background for my jewelry but I’ve been inspired the darker ones I’ve seen around blogland like Lorelei and Sparrow Salvage. I named this piece ‘Frost on the Pumpkin’.

Yesterday I got a lot of things done; dentist appointment in the city, a trip to Walmart, follow up on a benefit for my best friend’s husband who has cancer, several loads of laundry, dishes, supper, and so much more. But today I was still in my P.J.’s at 10:00 am., and have only cleaned the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, lately I’ve felt I’ve done our kids a disservice in the way we eat; mostly processed foods, not much in the way of fruits and veggies, and we have something sweet nearly every evening. I stumbled across a blog that is hosting ‘October Unprocessed’. The idea is to pledge to eat as much unprocessed stuff as you can during the month of October, or at least try it for a day, week etc, or even just be more aware of the food you eat. I took the pledge, but I know that it will be very difficult to make the change, especially when we really have no farmers markets around here, and the produce in our grocery is nearly out of date when it hits the shelves. But I’m going to try and make little changes and just be more aware of what we eat. Click on the ‘October Unprocessed’ badge on the right side to be taken to the site. If you sign up you can make the pledge and sign up for emails for tips on how to eat unprocessed.

I have so many things to share with you like our trip to Chicago, A harvest meal served family style in a gorgeous stone barn, beads that showed up in the mail, and so much more. But creating a blog post with the new interface has been nothing but frustrating to me. It’s part ignorance on my part, and I just need to get used to it. I’d love to hear what you are up to this week. Maybe it will get me motivated.

Remember October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Have you made your appointment? I definitely need to get that done.

Missing ME Home Companion

I like to save hoard magazines. Yes, its an addiction, but not a bad one. I try to store them in order of the seasons so I can easily find the ones I want. The other day I was pulling out my autumn issues and I found these from Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. If I had to choose a favorite magazine it would be this one. The issues are full of colorful photos, artist features, yummy recipes, inspiring articles, home decor and so much more. I started getting these when my youngest daughter was little. In each issue there was an entire page with a cute paper doll and accessories to cut and keep. My daughter was as excited as I to see this magazine arrive in the mail. She kept each and every one of those paper dolls for years. Also included was a darling tear-out art page created by Mary. For a time I kept them on the fridge for fun. The magazine is no longer in print, and I sure miss it. As I look through these issues I find Mary was very forward thinking.  Many of the things featured in these older issues are still in style today.  Here are some of the October/November issues I hung on to.

Kalmbach Bead Soup

A while back I signed up for the Kalmbach Bead Soup Party in honor of Lori Anderson's new book Bead Soup. Generous bead and Jewelry stores all over the US sent in bead soups.  The recipients are asked to create a necklace with the soup ingredients they received.  I kept waiting, and hoping, but no yellow envelopes arrived in the mail. Dozens of other people had already received theirs, and I figured my name did not get chosen.  Then a couple days ago it arrived!  Right on the front of the mailer was a big star that said 'Bead Soup Enclosed'   Here's the beautiful  bead soup I received from The Creative Fringe.  The soup reminds me of the beautiful blue Kansas sky, and our state flower--the Sunflower. I can't wait to get started!

The Creative Fringe (love that name) is a bead shop in Grand Haven Michigan.  In addition to an extensive selection of beads, they have all kinds of supplies such as fibers, tools, sheet metals, metal clays and more.  Also they offer classes, and an open bench, and they will even help you finish your project.





I Fell Off The Wagon

First, I want to thank everyone who commented on my Bead Soup Reveal and The Challenge of Travel Reveal. I had so much fun with both and met a few new jewelry and bead designers.

And now for the confession. At the end of last year I decided I needed to use up the beads in my stash before buying more. I allowed myself to purchase the necessary components and findings like clasps, spacers, wire, crimps etc, and beads that were required for a customer request, and once for a bead challenge.

I'm surprised that I lasted so long because it sure isn't easy when every blog I visit had some awesome beads they made or purchased themselves. And finally I caved. It was just about a month ago, and once I started, I just kept going. So here are the offenders; the beads that I just couldn't live without:


These are the cutest little lampwork beads I've ever seen. From Pebble Dreams



And Too Aquarius makes these wonderful polymer beads. I've purchased them before and just had to have more for my Challenge of Travel.



Also from Too Aquarius



From Penny at Fagins Daughter
I considered these findings....don't you agree?



More from Fagins Daughter; mostly vintage, and yes, there are definitely beads in here.



I purchased some wire from Fusion Beads, and they just happened to have a great coupon. But I needed to spend just a bit more in order to make the limit. These Jade beads are gorgeous, and of course I love anything Vintaj. If you haven't signed up for Fusion Beads emails you are missing out on some great discounts from time to time, plus free shipping over $25.00.



I purchased a little surprise from Erin for my daughter's Christmas present. I can't show it here just in case she reads this post. But when it arrived there was a sweet coupon that I just had to take advantage of. I purchased one of her Motley Owls, and a beautiful polymer shell pendant.
On the back the pendant reads 'You can't cross the sea merely standing on the shore'. Erin has the most beautiful packaging.



And I just had to share what I won from Heather Power's Bead Fest Pity Party (the prize was a coupon to her site). The little squirrel, fox, and bird house are just adorable!


I'm going to hop back on the wagon and see how long I can continue this self-imposed 'bead diet'. If you want to join me I could use the company.

A Perfect Match and a Giveaway

Have you heard about the collaboration between two fabulous artists Genea and Staci? Yup it's true. And they have a new blog dedicated to this wonderful collaboration. To celebrate, they are giving away beads. Yes giving them away! Check out their blog, there's lots to see. I'm sure you'll want to follow them so you don't miss a thing.

Here are the bead for the first giveaway.

Creative Bead Chat Appreciation Day

Today is the day we celebrate five wonderful ladies from the Creative Bead Chat site on Facebook. These ladies take time out of their own busy lives to provide a place for us to be inspired, learn new things, ask and give advice, and so much more. I am enjoying meeting new people and I’m so glad to be a part of this wonderful group.

So who are these fabulous ladies?


Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs


Marla Gibson of Spice Box Designs


Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio


Melinda Orr of Orrtec


Marla James of Marlas Mud

A big thanks to all these wonderful ladies!!!! If you want in on the action click the Creative Bead Chat Logo at the top to see what it's all about.