How the Rainbow was invented

I found this lovely tutorial on Parole de Pate, the French polymer clay site. These beads were made and hidden in a pile on the bead table for weeks. Lately I've been adding a patina to some sculptures I did a few years ago, and the look is completely changed. I decided to do the same for these beads and I love the earthy look. I'm adding stuff gradually to etsy-just not sure what direction the shop should take: loose beads, bracelets, sculptures? For now I'll add a bit of each and keep preparing for future craft shows.

Everything old is new again

These are focal beads made especially for pendants. I've been sculpting little people since the 80's. Normally I made them about 4 inches tall with a hanging loop in the top of the head so they could be used for ornaments or hung from a car mirror. These are slightly smaller with a stringing channel hidden in the hair so that they hang perfectly as a pendant. The peacock queen and the mermaid are on etsy. Today I made a baker, a cat lady and a hippie chick. I have over 300 designs from the ornament days that I need to adapt slightly for pendants but I'm trying to get the patina just right before letting them out into the world. What do you think?

Blogging bracelets

I set a goal of 100 new bracelets in January and I made 106! Really the goal should have been to put the beads on etsy, but I couldn't resist turning every set of beads into a bracelet. I've been experimenting with Mokume gane, caning,all the wonderful online tutorials available and some new finishing techniques. This one,called Dance of the Seven Veils, has a hand buffed wax finish which gives the beads a matte surface but still brings out the colors. Bracelets don't photograph nearly as well as individual beads because you can only arrange them one or two ways. The bracelets look very inviting laid out on craft fair tables in their little boxes. Perhaps it's best to think of bracelets as a craft fair item and individual beads as possible online items? ¿Quién sabe?

Squirrels are eating our car!

We have to park our car under a walnut tree because there's nowhere else near the house to park. Last year there was a bumper crop in walnuts. Squirrels were everywhere! The check-engine light came on in our car and wouldn't go off. We took the car to our mechanic. When we picked it up two days later he said, "Craziest thing! It looks like something has been gnawing on all the hoses." It cost almost $400 to fix everything so the car would pass inspection. Darn squirrels!