Camera woes

So I've been making a large amount of lampworked beads reciently and I seem to have hit a block in the road. You ask, "What could possibly block you?!"

....My camera. It's a wonderful camera, don't get me wrong. I just seem to have lost my touch. The white balance is off, the pictures aren't sharp enough and nothing I do in photoshop can fix any of that. *sigh* So today I'm going to go out, try and get some good photos in natural Colorado light and after that I get to play surgeon on my light box. There is no other choice.

I think I'm going to use this DiY tutorial on how to put together a light box. I'm very fond of it.

I'll let you know how it all works out! Hopefully I'll have photos soon that look similar to the one in this post!

Reasons..

So I'm rather addicted to the internet, as many are. I spend so much time around the 'net itself that I often forget to post! So- I'm going to share some of my favorite places to visit.

There are going to be lots of links! :D

http://www.starvingjewelryartists.com/ - The forum of a lot of wonderful ladies and gents. This is a jewelry forum that often covers everything from lampwork to metal smithing and even "basic" stringing. I love all of the amazing people there!

http://www.lampworketc.com - Home of wonderful lampworkers and those that work with glass. There are many great and creative people here that I learn from. Definitely one of my favorite forums.

http://www.etsy.com - Of course this is one of my favorite places to visit! What better to do that shop through many many talented artists. I have so many favorites that it almost isn't funny!

http://www.lestbeads.com - The home of the Lampwork Etc Street Team for etsy.


There are a few of the places that have been keeping me from you, my dear readers.

My Mother, My Business

"Mother’s Day has special meaning to all of us. In a moment of remembering Mom, share with us her impact on your business. " -Flaming Hot

My Mother is my everything when it comes to the roots of the business. She is my sounding board, my cheerleader, my sales rep and my rock of never ending support. Without her Silver Faerie Designs would not exist today. When I started making jewelry she became my buying support, always going to shows with me. She openly gives her opinion, good or bad. I welcome that opinion with open arms and a joyful heart- after all; She's Mom. :)

So what next?

Often I'll create a piece or two, finish up everything and sit at my work bench wondering "What next?". For me it's not so much a problem of what to do, it's a problem of what to do next. I have so many creative things that I enjoy and so many that are rather time consuming.
I sit back and I relax, listen to the music on my computer and look around my studio. If I'm working on a jewelry piece I'll look through beads, findings and sometimes I'll even go for a walk. If it's sewing, or any other sort of crafting I stand up and walk around the studio a bit, humming or listening to music. It's a matter of what sparks my attention next.
For example; right now I have a pair of Faerie Wings in the works as well as a necklace and a number of bottle cap pendants. I make sure that each time I'm done with a step, if I have to wait for drying time etc that I move on to the next thing. Never taking the time to get too terribly distracted. For me, distraction is Public Enemy #1.

What do you do to stay on track or get inspiration for your next work?

Music

So I've had a number of people ask me what I listen to while I'm working. The easiest answer would be, "Anything and everything." But I suppose that all of my readers out there want a bit more than that.
My tastes in music range from Country to Goth Rock and New Age. I often listen to mixes I've made via i-Tunes that correspond to my mood. Some of my favorites include: Voltaire (If you don't know who he is, you should look him up), Loreena McKennitt, and Anything Pirates of the Caribbean. Most of my music lacks words on some days, other days I sing along as I create. It's hard to say what my mood will be when I wake up, but it's always fin to figure out what to listen to.
I also found a site for music lovers. It's called Pandora Radio and best of all, it's free!

So there you have it. A bit about the music I love and listen to. What do you listen to when you create?

Loving lampwork

For the longest time, all I used in my creations was silver and gemstones. Recently I've started using artisan glass, or lampwork as some call it. (I do too!) I have to say that not only am I in love with making beads I'm also in love with using them. I've found some amazing hot glass artisans that make me drool over their beads without trying, and I love using their work in my pieces.

The first I have to talk about is Melissa at Inner Realm Creations. Melissa is an amazing woman with an eye for design and color that makes me green with envy. You can find her designs on Ebay as well as Etsy. She's incredibly creative and uses a ton of color in her pieces. One of my most favorite one of her sets is to the left. She uses a lot of sterling mesh and wire too.


Secondly, Gail of Beadles.de. Gail really has an outlook on beads that I can only call "neat" because there isn't another word to describe it. Her designs are very different, she often uses the stars in the sky to inspire her. She can be found on her website as well as Ebay.



My third artist that I have to sing the praises of tonight is Steve Rhoades of Bokamo Designs. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve and his wife at the past Bead Renaissance show in Denver and he was amazing to talk with. Steve uses Boro (or Borosilicate) glass to create amazing beads. You can find his designs on the Bokamo Designs website.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

For some time I have heard of these things... They've been called "BPAL" and "IMPS" and I could never figure out what they were speaking of, until I found the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. I'm in love. I never thought that going through a website of scents could be so addicting, especially when you can't actually smell any of them. Here I am, running through the many pages of the site, drooling over names, descriptions and imagining the scents that they list. I'm going to buy my very first Imp's Ears set, and I'm going through and picking out six that I think will suit my personality. With name sets like "Wanderlust", "Diabolus" and "A Picnic in Arkham" who can't love these vials of perfume?
I'm hoping that these will inspire me for a few mew designs in my jewelry. I'm ordering a lot of musky, earth type scents and look forward to wearing them while I work.

After the whirlwind of yesterday's "Talk like a pirate" day, I find myself sitting here staring out the window longingly. It's another gorgeous day here in Colorado. The trees are beginning to change and I'm drooling over all of the fall colors! I've made a few orange/fall colored pieces thanks to the changing leaves. One using a leaf from Melissa at Inner Realm Creations. I love Melissa's work and it was so much fun working with one of her beads. The other is one that I finally used my Autumn Jasper on. I've had the beads forever and they just haven't called to anything else on my bench. A couple of days ago I found some sunstone rounds that just glittered with the jasper. That made me a happy woman.

I also have a piece of beadwork that is waiting to be finished. I started it a while ago, sadly I had to take a hiatus from it due to the amount of other projects that I had going. At the Denver Renaissance Bead Show I found an amazing booth that had more green seed beads than I had ever seen before- Green was the color I needed. Needless to say, I now have the green I need to finish my newest piece.

This piece to the right is one of my first in a long time. It is now sitting in a shadowbox that my father made. I really enjoy this type of beadwork, it takes a bit of time but I think it's worth it!

In The Process

I reciently started separating my jewelry from the beads and findings that I'm selling. The task is going to be a tedious one, but I'm up for the challenge. I've started shifting everything from my main account to my supply account. I'm still having my two dollar or less sale as well. In the next week I'll be adding more supplies to the shop, hopefully others can find inspiration in things that I had hoped to one day use!

I'd also like to announce that as well as being part of EtsyBEAD I'm now a part of EarthPath Artisans (or EAST). Summersea says it nicely, so I'll quote her: "We are a team of people who walk similar alternative spiritual paths, focusing our beliefs in the world of Nature. Our team membership encompasses different Goddess-based traditions, as well as Taoism, Buddhism and similar paths. Our shops are as diverse as our membership. We are not limited to selling only items representing our spiritual path, but also create to make your everyday world a better and more interesting place."

I look forward to creating unique items with the inspiration that I receive from both etsy street teams.

Colorado Mornings

It's the start of a beautiful day here in Colorado. I woke a bit later than normal, my mind was fuzzy from less than restful sleep.

The Pirate earrings arrived in Texas and I'm told that she hasn't hardly taken them off! talk about a compliment to my work. I plan on having a few new sets up soon, fall colors is a given set. The trees are already changing here!

Lately I've been listening to a radio station that I made on Pandora, it's a very neat site, you add in artists and it matches their genre, mood and overall feel to create a radio station. Right now I'm on a Loreena McKennitt and Sarah Brightman kick. The music really helps me get motivated to create. Check out the site if you get the chance, it's really amazing.

Speaking of motivation and creativity, I'm still in the process of photographing new pieces for the site. I'm slowly working my way through, I think I have something like 260 left. That's a large number, yes. But nothing compared to the 600+ that I started with! To the right is a close up of one of my bloodstone bracelets. I am in love with bloodstone, it's so unique. The random "splatters" of red along the dark green stone just make my day when I'm in the right mood.

A Day In The Life

Rather the odd title for a blog entry, but I figure that it's fitting. I had a very late night last night and 9am came far too early for me. I was hoping to sleep in! I had my morning sit on our back deck and traveled down to the basement to sit amongst all of my shiny objects. I fill my studio with beads, baubles and anything that catches my attention. It's actually a wonderful thing and it keeps me inspired. At any given moment my table is littered with beads, half completed projects and bits to inspire. I have this stunning quartz crystal that sits to my left, near where I photograph my pieces. To my right is where I plan on hanging the brass door knocker that was my Grandfather's. It's a fox. I keep telling myself that I really should clean said area, I have so much stuff out that I have hardly any space to work! Ah- the mind of a artist. That's what I tell my friends. If it's put away, how can I possibly find it?
Last night I almost finished two more bracelets, with mahogany obsidian and smokey quartz. I tossed some Swarovski in too- Light Topaz to be exact. I've had approval comments on them so far. Yay! I'm not a big fan of brown, it doesn't look too good on my very fair complexion. So I need other opinions on my pieces that are brown, it's a nice ego boost on days that I'm feeling down!