Summer's Here!

Summer has arrived here in the Pacific Northwest with temperatures in the upper 90's and no breeze. It's hot. Some watermelon would be just the ticket to cool down.

I listed these beads in my Etsy shop this week. They were alot of fun to make - using two shades of green wound together to make the "rind." I used Bullseye glass for these since they have such great pink colors and I've got so many more colors of Bulleye than the other types of glass. Hmmmm - that just means I need to buy more of the other types of glass!!

But What KIND of Bird is It?

We've seen this bird and some of his friends at our feeder for a few weeks but we couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was. Slightly larger than a sparrow with Oriole or Meadowlark coloring, but a thicker beak. We finally snapped a picture of him and went page-by-page through our bird book until we found out what he is - a Black-headed Grosbeak. He eats heartily but he's pretty and brings his friends so we'll keep setting the table for him!

New Etsy Listings!

I finally got some time to take and edit photos for my new listings on Etsy. The first is a bracelet featuring some swirly lentils in turquoise and ivory, along with a lampwork conch shell and a unique mermaid toggle clasp. I love this bracelet and need to remember to make another one for myself!



And here's another lampwork conch shell. This one's made with a Bullseye oddlot glass that I got when I took my class in Chinook, Washington. Called "Agate," this glass has swirls of coral and ivory and makes beautiful shell beads.


I finally photographed these silver-blue lentils and listed them. I love this glass but find it frustrating to work with. Sometimes I get color and sometimes I burn the crap out of it in my effort to get color! These turned out nicely though and will make a nice addition to a bracelet or necklace.


I'm hoping to get some torch time tomorrow to make some more fish and shells. I think I'll try some starfish too.

I took a fun lampworking class with Judy Carlson of Jujee Beads and learned to make fish, shells and starfish. Here's some of the fish that I've done recently:

One of my biggest problems is keeping the fins or eyes from breaking. It's a bit of a struggle to keep the whole fish warm while working on just one side of him, but I'm slowly learning. Guess who's hooked on fish beads now?!

Where Have I Been???

It's been forever since I wrote a blog entry! I got out of the habit and it's so easy to stop doing something and much harder to start doing it again after an absence. It's too hard to go back and catch up (besides being boring as hell to read!) so I'll sum things up and start fresh.

One of the more noteworthy events in our life has been the addition of a new dog back in late November. She was about 7 months old when we brought her home from the local animal shelter so she's about 10 months old now. She was hopelessly rambunctious and ran rough shod over poor Dodger dog but some obedience training and a routine have helped quite a bit. She's still rambunctious but a bit better behaved than she was when she first came bounding into the house. She's a sweetie!

It's been a wet and wild winter in Western Oregon this year. If it weren't for a couple of trips to Reno and Houston, the rain might have made me nuts! Felt like I needed these:

We've had a bit of snow, lots of rain and very few sunny days. I'm hoping spring comes quickly and we see a bit of sun!

Summer's Over!

We have the cutest little tree frogs here in Scappoose! They're really most prevalent in the fall and can usually be heard calling (croaking) out to their mates. This li'l guy was on my front window ledge this morning, just sitting there above my flowers. He stayed there for about 2 hours before moving on. Won't be long until the croaking sounds fill the night!



Listed some new things on Etsy and nabbed a Treasury too. You can click on any of the Etsy pics on the right side of the page and go right to my online shop.

Wahoo! First Etsy Sale!

Finally got an Etsy sale! I love this bracelet and I hope its new owner likes it as much as I do. I made the lampwork beads with Bullseye odd lot glass in Seabreeze and a blue-green aventurine color, then swirled some silvered ivory stringer around the middle of the focals. Freshwater stick pearls, Swarovski crystals and Hill Tribe silver completed the look.

I think the new camera is making a huge difference in my pictures. Crisper and much better detail. I picked up a macro lens and a portable light studio and that's making it easier to take close-ups and get the colors right.

Remember this little ditty from childhood?

I see the moon,
And the moon sees me.
God bless the moon
And God bless me.

That's what comes to mind when I look at this photo:

I took this one with the sunset setting on the new camera. No editing at all. Isn't that cool?