A Love Letter to Swarovski

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I have to write this post, because I am ridiculously happy right now. And, because I am ridiculously happy well… I’d rather share that than complain about the weather. Again.

If you’re just joining me as a reader on my blog, one of the hobbies I do to keep myself sane is bead. I’m rather fond of the beading community and I love how it brings women and men together from various walks of life to create art via jewelry. Plus, they make excellent gifts that often have a story behind them. During the holidays, I usually pick three random people (usually women) and make them jewelry as my way of paying it forward.

One of the things I like to do for myself, though, is collect skull jewelry. I’m picky, because I really prefer the rocker variety over bone, but I also have metal allergies. (No, you’re right… I couldn’t POSSIBLY make that MORE complicated…) Ergo? I usually make jewelry myself and incorporate skulls when I have a finished pattern. I suppose you could say I’m methodical because I felt I needed to know a lot of the basic stitches and patterns prior to going out on my own — which is why this new bead which I found via Fusion Beads is absolutely perfect timing.

Silver Skull - Copy

When you’re doing bead stitches, you need precision cut beads for your patterns. To have access to a well-designed half-inch skull like this in multiple colors, well…I’ve got dozens of ideas for pendants, rings, earrings, etc. I’m definitely picking up some for my birthday and hope Swarovski will consider making various sizes and flat-backed skulls. All their beads are so easy to work with and they look fantastic every time.

If you’re remotely curious, here are some of my previous posts related to beads and skulls.

Hopefully my own enthusiasm will inspire you to get off your bum and create something yourself — after all, March is National Craft Month!

    Mood: It’s a miracle!
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I was bad. I admit it.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Type… Type… Type….
    In My Ears: Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye
    Game Last Played: Sonic All Star Racing Transformed
    Book Last Read: Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
    Movie Last Viewed: Can’t remember. It was some horrifically awful “but my husband t’aint really dead” movie.
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Freedom Flyer
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.


February 8, 2014
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A Day O’ Beaded Jewelry

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Saturday was the annual recognition of small businesses everywhere. To celebrate, my local bead store (Fat Cat Beads) had a raffle for door prizes and offered a huge sale on everything from kits to precious stones. I was there for the day. Besides hanging out at my favorite bead-n-bitching locale here in town, I offered to make samples of a few kits, too. Truth be told: I needed the break. I have a lot on my mind and a ton of writing to do. Now that the weather has cooled off, I don’t need to hide in my cave anymore: I am planning on making great use out of my office.

But I digress. The first picture you see here is the Lotus Ring. This took me about a half an hour to make. The time-consuming part, is to decipher the instructions and figure out your ring size.

The second picture you see here is the Sunburst Ring. This ring took me about an hour to make; you can see from the close-up the reinforced stitches as I weaved back and forth through the transparent crystals.

I started (and stopped) two other bracelets that were a lot more stitching oriented. Those require counting and focus, so I didn’t finish them. This last one is my favorite of the day. Citrine gemstones were on sale, so I picked up these and made a bracelet with Size 6 Clear Crystal Japanese beads. These are often used as filler in between other beads or in a beginner’s kit of beaded kumihimo. I love the texture of this one and — better yet — it’s supposed to signify “focus.” Whether or not that’s the case. . . Well, the sentiment is a nice one, anyway, and it feels good to wear natural stone.

I’m also working on some original designs, homemade Pandora beads, and a “few” holiday-related gifts. No pics until AFTER the holly-days, ’cause that’d just be rude! (Apologies for the camera phone blurry-ness, by the way. I’ll probably make some rings for myself and upload pics after the calendar new year along with the others.)

    Mood: Back hurty.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One with the potential for several more.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: I lifted a needle and thread. That should count…
    In My Ears: The dishwasher.
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age: Origins
    Movie Last Viewed: Spiderman the new one.
    Latest Artistic Project: In progress!
    Latest Release: “Dig” The Lovecraft eZine Issue No. 19
November 26, 2012
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Peanut Butter and Frosting, Starve Better and a Few Links

Okay. So one of the benefits of being an “adult,” is that you can have whatever you want for breakfast. Since there are only so many bowls of crispy chocolate flakes I can eat, peanut butter plus chocolate frosting is the equivalent of taking a cruise to a tropical island in the middle of winter. Yes, you may believe that this concoction may be a poor substitute for Nutella, but you would be mistaken. NOM NOM NOM.

But I digress. I got my copy of Starve Better: Surviving the Endless Horror of the Writing Life in the mail yesterday. It’s a book written by Nick Mamatas that’s full of tips (and non-tips) that, quite frankly, are really relevant for today’s writer. It’s pragmatic and blunt and the unpopular stance, because it isn’t a bunch of “this’ll make you really happy” floofie crap about how writing is all sunshines and rainbows. Quite frankly, this is exactly what aspiring writers need to hear because there’s a market for writing advice, and it’s not always coming from an experienced source. While Mamatas’s take on many topics is blunt, he can be. Like any other book or article out there, I’d say take what you want and leave the rest, but his logic is sound on a lot of the tips.

I also received my first issue of Bead and Button magazine. I’ve got a few projects I’ve been working on at the moment, but this’ll be good to try some new techniques. My style is more modern than frou frou, but the biggest battle is learning the stitches. For that, I can deal with a couple of flowers and crystals before I move on to skulls. Muwahahaha.

Anyhoo, gotta fly. We’re going to go see Thor yet again this evening, and I can’t wait. Who’s my favorite thunder god? THOR.

June 1, 2011
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