Frankenkitty and Etsy

See this big fluff ball of a kittyboy?  Well, last week we had some drama in the Velasquez household.  One of Brando's eyes had some issues (I'll spare you the details because they're gross) and he had to have it taken out.  Yep, he had enucleation.  Even the medical word is sort of creepy.  I won't share the post-op photos because one of my friends already almost threw up.  haaaaaaaaaaa

I'm happy to report that he's doing great and with the stitches on his sweet pudgy face he looks like a little Frankenkitty!!  It has been almost a week, so he's struggled with the e-collar (I call him "tunnel head") and pouted enough for me to take it off of him...so, he only has one of the six stitches left.  :)  The most frequently asked question I get from friends is whether he'll have a patch or not.  Nope, no piratehood in his future.  He'll just have a plain old white fluffy cheek...an extra-large white fluffy cheek that is.

I've been trying to think of the perfect post to write in his honor, so tonight you're getting my version of an Etsy treasury...and it's all about the Cat's Eyes!!!  Get it?!  haaaaaaaaaaaaa  I just did a search on "cats eye" to see what I'd find and there are all sorts of cool things!  But, I stayed with the jewels because that's what I do...lots of the fiber optic sort of cat's eye beads, but also a few gorgeous pieces of chrysoberyl, the naturally occurring "cat's eye."

1.  Victorian Cat's Eye Bracelet by OnTheWingsOfMaybe

2.  Damsel Pyrite & Cat's Eye Earrings by SugarRococo

3.  Tangerine Delight Earrings by CrazyDaisyme

4.  The Cat's Meow Necklace by karensugarmandesigns

5.  Cat Eye signed original print by cheeseandbean

6.  Sunny necklace by BOiS

7.  Tiger Eyes by JelliesJewelry

8.  Black wire wrapped cat by WireArtInk

9.  Casey earrings by LaneyStudios

10.  Cat's eye recycled necklace by ecoblingcouture

11.  White Cat's Eye Hemp Bracelet by contourmysoul

12.  Dark Canyon Earrings by PoleStar

I didn't do any shopping...vet bills, you know...but I certainly enjoyed browsing around in the wild halls of Etsy's jewels.  I highly recommend it!  It's time for me to go read something about Afghanistan for school tomorrow.

Take care!

Jen, Brando the Frankenkitty...oh, and Frankie the Scaredy Cat >^..^<

Spring Pink Bubbles

I just love these pink vintage plastic beads...they look like bubbles!  So, here's a bangle and some earrings to get you in a springy mood....

p.s. they're in my etsy shop.  :)

Turquoise Challenge

How hard can it be to mix turquoise, violet and some shades of yellow? 

That was the challenge that the Art Bead Scene, in coordination with Margie Deeb, threw out in February.  Well, the deadline of April 1st is fast approaching, so it's time to share my end result...

The art bead I used is an enameled cone by Barbara Lewis.  Then, in the coiling spirit I've been in, I used gunmetal grey colored copper wire to create the links and the bunch of stone dangles in the focal.  The stones are turquoise nuggets, iolite faceted nuggets, and lemon quartz faceted rounds.  One of my fave parts of this necklace is the clasp...it's the first toggle that I actually made all by myself because I couldn't buy one that matched just right.

Now that I loaded this bit in my Etsy shop, I have to go snuggle with my one-eyed cat for a bit before heading off to work. :)

Anticipation - Focus on the Positive

The way I see it, when you're waiting for something, in anticipation, you're in one of two mindsets...
 ...you're excited because something positive or good or fun or wonderful is most likely to happen
or
 ...you're worried or afraid that something bad or negative or scary or yucky will probably happen.


For the April Art Bead Scene Carnival post, it's my task to write on "anticipation."  Well, I want to delve into how important it is to look forward to something...and creating something for yourself to look forward to in a positive and exciting way, in particular.   I think we all tend towards viewing life in one way or the other...an intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.  What the h*ll am I talking about?  Well, I think you can either feel like you have some control over your own destiny, and see things as positive opportunities; or you can attribute things that happen to you to someone else--"they" or "them"--and see the negative consequences.  What I'm trying to say is that you can create opportunities for yourself to look forward to--that pleasurable feeling of anticipation--in small and big ways through art and creating and even growing a business.  (I'd say that family and career and relationship are all in here, too, but I've got to have some focus, right?  haaaaaaaaaa)


Now, I am not Miss Positive Energy all the time, believe me.  But, when it comes to my craftiness, that's where I really like to focus on the positive...here are few examples...


First, trying new things.  I wanted to try making glass beads.  What's the worst that could happen?  I could burn Juli's workshop down?  haaaaaaaa  A week or so ago, I shared a post about meeting Julianna Cannon and getting my first try at the torch.  I was sooo freaking excited to try it that I really didn't even think about the whole "what if I can't do this?" or "what if I hurt myself?" because even if I can't do it the first time, I know I can try again and even if I hurt myself it will be a funny story!  Not only did I have the anticipation and excitement about working with fire, but then, once I was done, I had to wait to see how my beads came out!  Juli annealed them and cleaned them for me, I had no idea how any of my random color efforts would come out.  Well, TA DA!!  They are some jacked up wonky beads but I love them!!!!!

Second, ordering new things.  Another one of the best parts about creating is buying tools, supplies, or other people's art on-line!  If you haven't experienced the sweet anticipation of packages on the way from your fave Etsy shops or on-line bead suppliers or tool shops, then you don't know what you're missing!  You can wear pajamas, drink coffee, talk to the cats and have snacks all at the same time (if you're a weird cat person who likes to wear pajamas a lot like me).  So, in the spirit of giving yourself something to look forward to, I picked a couple of Etsy shops out of my list of favorites to share...

Purple Tie-Dye Polymer Beads by ArtyBecca

Art Museum Letters for Mixed Media Applications from KathyOrf

Blood Orange Ceramic Beads from MAKU Studio

Third, meeting new people.  I enjoy being a part of this blogging community and getting to know the work of so many wonderful folks.  Looking at the latest posts, seeing the latest magazine issues, and sharing in the experiences of so many people who have the same passion that I have is something I look forward every day!  That's the definition of anticipation right there!  And, even more exciting to me is April's BeadFest Wire in Philly.  I get to meet other creative people and vendors from all over the place--some of you are going to be there, right?  One of the things I'm most looking forward to is taking a class from Kerry Bogert in person!  Her latest book has really lit a fire on my coiling so I can't wait!  Here's a peek at some of the "Totally Twisted" inspiration that has me going lately...

These are my version of bangles with TONS of great glass artbeads...SueBeads, HMB Studios, Lisa New, and even some by Kerry!

So, I hope that was enough positive energy sharing so you can go anticipate something great for yourself.  I actually get to go think about my car being in the shop with some sort of crack in the engine (I don't think that's good); on of my kitty boys, Brando, who had to stay overnight at the vet because he got a cut in his eye and they have to take it out tomorrow (yes, the whole eyeball); and the ever-inspiring physical fitness test that I have to take in the morning.  Awesome...I think I'll go make something!  haaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Enameled Beads 'R' Cool

Enameled beads are the best...especially when they're in some earrings.  I've been in an earring sort of mood lately.  Quick projects...attention deficit design. :)

These baby blue beads and the matching enameled headpins are from Barbara Lewis, that Painting With Fire gal.  :) I was hoarding these, but I still have a couple, so it's okay to let them go, I guess.  Barbara just got a book deal, so if you want to own some of her "fireworks" before she's too famous for all of us to afford, you can get these earrings in my etsy shop.

Quite a few of my blog-world bead buds have caught the enameling torch fever from Barbara...a recent class in Northern Virginia was a great success!  I'm so ready to get back to the North...with luck my orders will be coming down some time soon.  :)  Just to name one of these new enamelers:  my recent bead swap partner, Sue Kennedy, from back in my home state of Pennsylvania, has been going crazy with enamel!  She just posted some new beads today and they'll probably be gone momentarily.  :)  Check them out on the SueBeads blog.

Another of my blog buds, Sharon, at Sharon's Jewelry Garden has been trying her hand at enameling and sharing some great stories of her progress.  I need another jewelry habit like a whole in my head, so I just have to cyber covet all these new skills.  Oh, and keep buying their pretty beadies!

A Little Birdie Told Me...Go See The Perch

During my spring break week (no school!  Whoo hooo!) there was nothing but art and spring and old episodes of House going on at the Velasquez homestead.  Thanks to all that House watching, I'm convinced everytime I have an itch that it's some sort of disease and I start checking myself out for other symptoms.  Nice.  haaaaaaaaaa  So, to escape for a bit, I made a little roadtrip to Auburn to visit a bead shop I'd heard about on the radio:  The Perch Bead Studio.  I had some preconceived notions about the place....thinking...college town, youthful, hip, cute, fun.  Well, I wasn't disappointed!

This is a pic of the shoppe from the website.  Isn't it cute?!

As soon as I walked in, I knew I could sit right down and start getting my bead groove on.  Ainsley, the sweetest freshman ever who was working the shop for the evening, chatted with me and the other girls who were poring through the little bowls of goodness.

The Perch has a definite focus on things that are pretty, dainty, eclectic, fun, and special...you can see it in the shabby chic design (I watch a lot of TLC, so I know what that is) and the selection of beads.  Lots of faceted pretties, petite briolettes, and unique colors.  The ideas around the shop are fun, funky, and pretty...I'm not putting any pics of their original designs here so you can go see them on the website!  :)  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the big classroom in the back.  Lots of sunshine through the windows and inspiration boards full of great pictures, magazine clips, and fun bits of motivation.

You want to see what I bought?  That's the best part, you know.  Plus, you have to see the cutie little birdie bags that nestled my new treats.

Pretty faceted bits...

Check out the vintage enameled flower...

I love supporting small business and with a shop as cute as this, it's easy to do.  :)  And, just so you know, I haven't met Barbara Birdsong, the owner, so I'm just blogging about The Perch 'cause I want to, not because I'm getting any kickbacks! haaaaaaaa  :)

I Got Lost on Boll Weevil Circle

There were lots of potential titles for this post:
- "I 'heart' Julianna Cannon"
- "Glass Really Does Melt In Your Hands"
- "It's Some Sort of Molecular Thing"
But, Boll Weevil Circle captures the spirit of my latest adventure...

On Friday, I was truly blessed to meet Julianna Cannon from Julsbeads fame down in her stomping grounds of southern Alabama.  :)  I drool over lampworked glass like there's no tomorrow.  So,when I noticed during the Bead Soup Party back in January that Juli was at "Location: Alabama" I figured I might as well invite myself over to her "shiny shack out back" and see her goods and meet her craziness in person!

I mean seriously...look at these...aren't they yummy?  Even a non-bead-pscyho person can appreciate them!  haaaaaaaaaa  If you feel like getting some for yourself, she's stocking up her etsy shop.

Well, as you might have guessed, or seen in Juli's post, we hit it off.  A little shared enthusiasm goes a long way in turning a beautiful sunny day into an even more beautiful adventure!  I know the value of shop time, so I'm still so amazed at how generous she was.  :)

So, let me get to the good stuff...I demanded, right away, to be taken to the shack and taught something!  haaaaaaaaa  Look at this?  She cleaned it up so this gorgeous rack of colorful, amazing glass was just waiting for us!  And, of course, she got her teachering skills on by explaining about all the different types and their melting points and such.  It's a molecular thing, you know.  haaaaaaaaa  As the good student that I am, I just nodded, didn't take any notes, and made her rush to get the fire on!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  I wanted some action!! 

Juli worked through the basics for me and then she let me sit down in front of the torch.  Uh, how awesome is that!!!  I used a hot-ass fire to melt these luscious raw materials into a mess!  haaaaaaaaaaa  Actually, they weren't too bad of a mess.  Besides, when you're learning something new you're supposed to make a mess, right, so you can learn how to work the materials and fix mistakes.  That's what I told myself, anyway...haaaaaaaaa  She was lovingly patient, but then we were both starving.  Off for a lunch break.

After lunch it was my turn for teachy-teach.  Juli's a seed bead master...for instance, when I showed up she was wearing this gorgeous piece:

So in her mind, I actually had something to teach her--how intimidating!  I was wearing one of my new art bead bangles because I thought it would be a perfect way to showcase her glass, too!  She agreed and a bit of tutoring ensued.  If any of you have ever crafted with me, in any medium, you know I have a little trouble being patient and letting other people do the work.  Luckily, Juli picked up on that right away while she was working on coiling and sent me back out to the shack.  I got to do fire and glass for hours!  Playing with colors...trying to make dots that didn't string all over the place...all while hoping I didn't burn down the place.  When she finally came out to get me I was totally in the groove.  And exhausted!  It was soooo fun and I was concentrating so hard!! 

That takes us to the end of the day...you may be asking, "Where are those wonky beads you made?"  Well, they have to get annealed in the kiln so they don't breaky-break so Juli's firing them up for me and I'll have them to show off next week.  And, believe me, even if they're ugly messes, they're going into a piece of jewelry for me!!  haaaaaaaa

As for Boll Weevil Circle...I had a 90 or so mile drive home after this day of creating and joy and friendship.  With all that excitement and new ideas racing around in my head, I was ready for a good hour and half drivve home.  But, I was singing loudly and ignoring the directions to get home while enjoying my Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic.  :)  I didn't seem to be getting any farther away from Enterprise, Alabama (think Army Aviation if you're wondering about the scene down there) as I passed the same buildings over again.  Ahhhhh, It's Boll Weevil CIRCLE.  That means you have to turn off of it to actually go somewhere else!  With that mystery solved, I trolleyed north and made it home to my sweet boy kitties who smelled dog and excitement on me and then just begged for treats!  So, it was a day of treats for all of us!!!  Whoo hooooo!

Color Adventure: Split-Complementary

I'm no color genius...I can't even figure out what my natural haircolor is!  haaaaaaaaaa  So, when it came to the "Split-Complementary" challenge through the Beads of Clay blog.  I had to do some resesarch.

I started first on this website, recommend by Kristie of Artisan Clay:  The Color Schemer tool.  You can pick a color combo and then play with a sliding scale of values to see your options. 

Then, I broke out my new "3-in-1 Color Tool" that I picked up on Amazon.  It's made for quilters, but it's great for my bead drawers.  I can pull out the "swatches" I need and then use them to search for just the right colors because each swatch includes all the tones and shades of each color.

I picked my focal first and then built from there.  This awesome purple zinnia piece is by Tracee Dock from The Classic Bead.  From the purple, across the color wheel, is yellow-green, so to split that I got chartreuse and green. 

The end result:

Zinnia Stoneware Pendant - The Classic Bead

Faceted lemon quartz

Facted iolite

Green/yellow agate rounds

Green chunky pearls (I hate the word "blister" so I can't use it here even though I think that's what they really are)

Sterling silver wire used to bail up the pendant

And you can own it...it's for sale in my etsy shop.  :)

There are two more color challenges in the mix right now, so come on and join me in exploring: 

The Tetradic Color Scheme - through April 2nd

and

The Neutral Color Scheme - through April 16th

Orange Inspiration Around the House

In a spin around my house this morning, looking for the orange inspiration, it wasn't hard to find...

First, my kitchen floor...this wool rug that I picked up at my favorite rug shop near Pordenone while I was stationed in Italy at Aviano Air Base.  I couldn't resist the rich colors.  Of course, the vegetable dye left its mark on the carpet in my old house, but I still love it.

Over in the kitchen by the fridge is this little number by Danilo Soligo.  I picked it up at a flea market in Italy along with a couple of other pieces and framed them up with the bright colors.  I love picking frames because it always makes me think of my sister and how different our tastes are...she would have picked brown or grey for this one.  :)  (Love you, April!!  haaaaaaa)

And, in the dining room, a bigger drama by Kerin McBride.  I found her at an arts festival in Occoquan, Virginia and absolutely fell in love with her color!!!!  Her website has even more gorgeous goodness. 

Over by the front door is this sweet copper mirror.  It came from a vendor at a festival in my hometown, Bedford's Fall Foliage Festival, a couple of years ago. 

Back over here by my desk is the orange chair that came from my grandparents' house (which only shows a little bit of the cat scratch fever it has) and some fun pillows.

Can you believe I've been having trouble picking out colors for my wedding next year?  Uh, now that I look at these pictures, it seems a bit obvious.  Can you see orange and pink with cherry blossoms in DC in April?  haaaaaaaaaaaaa

My Awesome Orange Beaded Basket!

During my stay here in Montgomery, I've gotten involved in the local Society for Arts & Crafts.  At the December holiday show, I met Jenny Antoline, who has become a great teacher and friend.  She is a weaver.  Well, not just a weaver, an amazingly talented weaver of gorgeous baskets and other wonderful pieces of art!  If you want to see some amazing stuff or shop for custom-made baskets, Jenny's website is Gypsy Baskets.  She can do just about any sort of basket you need--one order she was talking about the other day had baskets that were four feet high!  Plus, she's actually made custom baskets for a Vegas restaurant--SEABLUE at the MGM Grand!

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Stella and G.G. and I spent a day at Jenny's house learning the basics of basket weaving and we each created great handled baskets that are great for grocery-getting or craft-material-hauling or whatever!  And, they're sooooo pretty!  But, I was struck by the thought that I really needed to have a basket with beads on it.  Oh, and it should probably be orange, because that's just the way my jewelry biz materials roll!

So, we headed back to Jenny's house for another round of weaving...this time I took beads along and started playing with the pattern.  I'm totally thrilled with how it came out!  Plus, I've had these recycled glass beads in my stash for ages so it was nice to be able to use them. You can't see them in the picture, but there are cotton canvas handles so the basket is perfect for hauling stuff. 

We had such a great time chatting and laughing and weaving and breaking canes and starting new canes and breaking canes again... haaaaaaaaaa  I just love trying something new, even if there is a point when I just want to stop and hand it to the teacher and ask her to finish it!  haaaaaaaaaaa

I don't know if I'll be making any more baskets since Jenny's moving away from Montgomery, too, along with lots of Air Force families...but, I have my pattern and her phone number for cane breakage emergencies!  haaaaaaaa

Yours in exploring new craftiness!
Jen V.
p.s. for my friends and family I haven't seen in a long time...isn't my hair long????  haaaaaaa  It's crazy!

Can You Really Hate Orange?

This morning I had a great laugh over one of my bead bud's blog. Marcie at La Bella Joya declared that orange is completely uninspiring.  Can you believe that?  haaaaaaaa  It is a great post which you should definitely check out.  But, I have to declare in response that orange is key to life!!!   I haven't been as diligent about looking for orange around my house, but I don't have to look far...especially in my studio.  I have a whole lotta orange! And, uh, have you seen my blog background?!  haaaaaaaa  So, this week's posts and my etsy shop adds are going to be part of the orange family...because orange rocks!!!

Here's the first piece...I just love the "focal coloring" tool  that I found at Picnik, so I wanted to show the sweetness of this crazy lace focal.  The orange and purple all swirled and pretty...

And here's the whole kit and caboodle in color! 

It's like when you can't choose the grape soda or the orange soda.  Both of them are wonderfully sweet and when you're on the road wandering around Italy in your convertible, the most refreshing taste at the roadside stop is a frothy, fruity Fanta.  Yes, I lived in Italy and had a convertible and drank a lot of Fanta.  haaaaaaaa

Thanks for the inspiration, Marcie!!!  haaaaaaaaaaa

Ciao,

Jen Velasquez

(yep, that's my new name!!!)

Some Lucky SueBeads

Gotta give a shout out to my bead swap bud, Sue Kennedy, with these earrings!

Sue sent me a great selection of beads, but the bestest ones are the ones she made.  For these two pairs of earrings, I picked some pairs :  one set of lampwork glass and one set of her new enameled beads.

First, the vibrant red enameled bits are combined with some bronze-colored copper coils that I twisted for a nice dramatic dangle.  Then, for the second pair, the olivine green lampwork rounds are set up with some striped agate and purple, yes, bright purple, coils.

I think it's so cool that a session at the work table can come up with such different pieces...but with just the perfect things in common:  awesome handmade beads. 

Feel like getting your shopping on? 
First stop at my etsy shop to see all the latest goods--I just added a few earrings and some necklaces. 
Then, go see the latest SueBead offerings. 

The Sisterhood: A Traveling Bead Giveaway!

So, check this out...

I'm one of many out there who have TONS of beads stashed away...collecting them for years...hoping for the perfect project...happy to share...well, Heather Powers has the greatest idea based on just this very idea:  The Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads Giveaway.

She's put together a box of goodies gathered during a studio cleanup/makeover...over $200 worth of beads and findings!  Here's the collage of pics from her post:

Heather'll pick one winner from her blog post comments.  That person will get the box in the mail, pick and choose goodies out of it, replace the chosen goodies with new items out of her stash, and then have another blog giveaway.  Isn't that a fun idea? 

I have drawers and drawers of beads just waiting for some love...in honor of St. Patrick's Day this week, here's just a glance at my two "green" drawers:

If you're interested in being a part of the traveling bead fest, check out the Humblebeads blog...if you're not all that into beads, you still might be impressed with Heather's recent studio cleanup.  I'm so jealous of all that clean counterspace!!!

Bangles! Mini Art Bead Collections!

My latest projects...

Inspiration?  Can you see the Totally Twisted in these?  haaaaaaa  My take on Kerry's projects from the book...It’s not just a bangle, it’s a mini art bead collection!

I used tons of great art beads from lots of different sources (all listed below with their Etsy seller IDs)...

For this one...

- Big enameled metal by Barbara Lewis at PaintingwithFire

- Lampwork glass by Cherie Ranfranz at Happyskull

- Polymer by Heather Powers at Humblebeads

- Lampwork glass by Karen Richards at LibelulaDesigns

- Lampwork disk by Heather Boardman at HMBStudios

For this bracelet, I used:

- Polymer clay from Doreen at Doreensbackyardbeads

- Lampwork disks from Heather at HMBstudios

And, then I couldn't resist mixing up the metals along with some more of those great round beads and some faceted lemony quartz.

And, some of my Air Force Blue beads from HMB studios for this pretty blue and silver number.

All of these are available for your shopping pleasure in my Etsy shop!

Yes, Actually

I spent the day home sick on the couch today.  Yuck. 

But, I have something to share...another piece with the turquoise-purple-yellow color scheme.  This is a casual little necklace that I call "yes, actually" in the spirit of yes, those colors go together quite well.  There's turquoise, amethyst, and a sweety lemony quartz.  Plus, the art glass focal on this piece is a Gardanne glass bead by Anne.  The colors are all there in one bead, so I had to use it!  She puts out new beads every Wednesday and has a giveaway going on, so go check out her blog!

(It's for sale, too!) It's sold!