Turquoise in it's many forms

I was doing a little research tonight on a shopping site, and I did a search for Turquoise beads.

2290 items.... well that's too many. So I put in 'Natural Turquoise beads not Howlite', 2160 items returned. Sigh, so as I shuffled through the listings I noticed, Orange, Pink, White, Yellow, Purple, Bright Blue, Lime Green... awful ugly beads, crosses, skulls. Nothing like what I was looking for, which was natural, real turquoise beads in traditional turquoise color. I flagged a few, then realized that was fruitless, there were just too many.

Do people buy this stuff? Now I will be the first one to admit, I have purchased some dyed howlite or magnesite beads. But I knew what they were. And I certainly didn't try to pass them off as "real turquoise" to anyone. I bought a few of the carved skulls, in black and white, these wild orange, yellow and hot pink skulls are awful.

But what really yanks my chain are the listings for beads that look like turquoise, almost. You know they are not, but the seller merrily describes them as Turquoise, they don't say where it's from or what mine. How can they? They came from China.

to be continued....

Rum Raisin?

So...... I thought Rum Raisin would be a good name for a Bead Mix I thought up... A nice dark red mix sprinkled with black. Huh? How did I think that up? Bead mix colors often just come to me when my muse strikes, ( or hits me over the head with a rock). So I googled "Rum Raisin", and what did I get? Ice Cream! and Cake! Not RED at all.... I like confirmation that my name choice is appropriate for the colors.

Then I tried "Red Rum Raisin"..... Well that was a little better, I got Red lipsticks, a reddish brown horse, various food stuffs (none of which reminded me of rum raisin, and a brown goat! And this guy >>>>>

Although what he has to do with "Rum Raisin" I have yet to figure out! But he is kinda "wickedly handsome" isn't he?

I will post a picture of my Red Rum Raisin mix shortly and hope ya'll like it enough to buy some. I have been in a really creative mood lately with my bead mixes... several new ones have come to life as well as re-creating some of my old ones in the tiny size 11/0. Here are a few.....

Witch's Brew

Azurite-Malachite mix

how about Firey Sunset?

You can see them all at either of my online stores;

http://spiritbearbeads.etsy.com

or

http://Spiritbearbeads.artfire.com

Thanks for coming by!

Of Tools and Rocks...

Not Cabbages and Kings... I'm afraid.













So continuing from my last delinquent posting. Why did I build a 2 car garage and dub it the Flying Pig ?





I have acquired, besides a considerably quantity of BEADS, a CONSIDERABLE amount of tools, jewelry and lapidary tools, and I needed someplace to put them. The tack shed was a temporary site, but it did not begin to provide the space needed. Then I considered the old shed where we keep lawnmowers, tires and the ATV's, but then where would they live? Aside from the fact that it has a dirt floor, all the windows are broken and it is full of bugs and other nasty critters. Quite as 'sheds' often do....





So I decided to build a new one. Just for my and my beads and my tools and my growing collection of ROCKS. "Rocks?" you say? "Why do you have rocks?" Well, you use the tools to make Big rocks into little rocks. Pretty little polished rocks that you put into jewelry and other things.





Taa Daa!

OH Dear.... I am a bad bad blogger. It has been almost a year since I posted here.

Soooo busy. I have built a studio, it is called the Flying Pig Studio at Devils Den. Now isn't that pretentious. But there is a reason.... I kept saying it would be built, 'when pigs fly'. Then for Christmas my Brother and Sis sent me a metal pig, with wings! So it is, the Flying Pig Studio.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Lewis Carroll

Holidays

Why am I writing about holidays in the middle of June? No holidays here. Oh! But the 4th of July is just around the corner. Now why would I write about that? It's one of my favorite holidays. REALLY? Oh yeah. WHY? Because it and Halloween (my other favorite holiday) are much less stressful than the more traditional, end of the year, holidays. Thanksgiving is terrible, Turkey or Ham? One son likes turkey the other ham, if I have only one, the other complains, or DH complains, where is the _______? ( insert missing meat here). And who is going to go pickup Grandma, and will she make it up the stairs this year? Who will take her home? And then there is the menu planning, everyone gets in on that, this daughter will bring this, this daughter will bring that, Grandma will bring _____ but, it's not ready, just stop what you are doing and help her. Sigh... to much stress and way too much food. The leftovers wont even fit in the fridge.... see what I mean? And let's not even get started on Christmas!

So back the the 4th of July. Wanna shoot off some fireworks and grill a burger? Fine. Wanna sit by the pool and veg? Fine. Somebody is always having a block party. They don't mind if you crash, just byob and don't be obnoxious. And unless you are a total recluse, someone you know is always having a big feast, with all the kids running around with sparklers and the Mom's fussing over the potato salad. Wrangle yourself an invite, bring some imported beer, (be sure to offer your host one), your own lawn chair, and there ya go. Stress free holiday.

This year I have to work...........

Long Time no Blog

OH I cannot believe how long it has been since I wrote in this blog. And then last night I watched "Julie and Julia", you know, the movie where the young woman cooks and blogs her way thru Julia Child's cookbook. And eats all that BUTTER and doesn't gain a pound! Becomes famous and lives happily ever after.... Not that I can't cook, I can and do cook, but those recipies! My husband wouldn't eat half of that stuff, much less attack the lobster pot.
No, I would much rather create jewelry, or design new colors of bead mixes than cook or blog. Hence my absence from the blog page. As a matter of fact, short of sitting out on the patio with a glass of wine by a nice fire, watching the sunset, I would rather be creating than almost anything. Hmmmmm
To the right of this post is a picture of my first real custom order, from a customer, not a family memeber. Where a patron came to me and said, "make me a ......" I am so pleased how it turned out, I could hardly send it to her. But the motto must be "Everything is for sale" so I let it go. Let me know what you think.

Taking the Plunge

Here is my favorite quote;
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

I first saw this in Moab, Utah. We were there in August, the temperature was 100 degrees plus, and we were going Jeeping. That is we rented a jeep and drove it out into the red rocks. Anyway the quote was emblazoned over the doorway of the outdoor recreation center where we rented the jeep. They also rented all sorts of outdoorsy equipment for the adventurous tourists who came to Moab.

But it stuck in my mind and I have carried it with me now for several years. Because, that is the person I wish to be. Not some safe placid grandma who takes care of everyone and bakes cookies. Not that there is anything wrong with baking cookies! You know what I mean. I want to be adventurous, unafraid, and maybe not shocking, but surprising.

Well what does this have to do with beads, you ask? Indirectly one could chose the wild and extreme beads and baubles to create unconventional jewlery works, but my pieces don't seem to lean that far to the left. For me it is reaching just beyond the conventional, to where one would say "hmmmm, look at that!" or "that's different". Of course that may not be what sells the most, but it isn't always about selling.

So now my reaching has lead to silver and turquoise . The pieces are not, in themselves unconventional, but I am trying to choose stones that are. Not your normal turquoise, but those with character and interest. Set in a frame of plain silver the picture in the stone is the design. Let me know what you think. Thanks