Monday, November 5, 2012

One Fish Two Fish

One Fish ~ Two Fish

Okay, I don't actually have any red fish or blue fish, but there is a whole school of them in my studio right now! 

So let's give one away!!

Go to my Facebook Page, like the page and guess how many fish are currently in my school.

This winner will recieve this fish:

If more than one person has the same guess we'll do a random drawing from among the right answers.

Winner will be announced Friday, November 9th.

 Happy Fishing!


Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Pirate Looks At 40

40!?!

I can't believe I'm turning 40 this month ~ 
I can't do anything to stop it, so I'm going to celebrate with a sale!

For the entire month of November
40/4/40 
that second one isn't a 40 for a reason :)

So, what is the 40/4/40 sale?

40 cents off every item all month long!
Buy 4 items (see, aren't you glad it's not 40!)  and get 40% off 
the highest priced item.

To receive your discount just put Happy 40th in the note to seller and I'll send you a refund through paypal. 

Since I have to turn 40 anyway, I may as well be positive about it!


And a special Happy Birthday shout out to my sister who turns 38 this month ~ I love you Melly!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

October

Apple harvest should only last a few more days, then it's back to full time bead making!

This morning we picked apples in the rain.



And it really made me want to be warm and cozy in my studio!

Okay, so I'll have to do a LOT of cleaning before it looks like that again. But first, more beads! 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The best part of being a beadmaker

Do you know what the best part of being a bead maker is?

Even if it's October, and raining, and 11pm ~ I can still pick a bouquet of flowers out of my kiln!

I LOVE MY JOB!!

Watch for some of them in my Etsy shop tomorrow :)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Artist Spotlight





ARTIST SPOTLIGHT





I have this customer.... 
okay she started as a customer, but she's turned into that fun, crazy friend that you know you'll eventually wind up in jail with!

Anyway ~ she makes some absolutely beautiful and incredibly affordable jewelry and I want to make sure everybody knows about her!

First, she makes these great barefoot sandals!  I have 2 pairs and they are a fun and flirty addition to any summer outfit!
Barefoot Sandals Foot Jewelry Juicy Orange Beaded Swarovski Fire Opal Siam Drops

She also has tons of fun bracelets:

Red Leather Cord Sterling Silver Tube And Beaded Bracelet
Red Leather Sterling Silver Tube
This one I gave to a friend and she
loves it! Lightweight and goes with
everything!
Mens-Topaz November Birthstone Swarovski Leather Wrap Bracelet
I bought one like this for myself, but
my 12 year old daughter promptly 
comandeered it because it was
"girl on fire". She wears it all the time!



And of course ~ she uses some lampwork in her designs :)
Flowers For Rue Lampwork Sterling Silver Necklace
Flowers for Rue
Old Glory Lampwork Beaded Black Leather Bracelet
Old Glory
                                 
                                                     
So there you have it ~ quality, affordable, sparkly jewelry from a talented lady with a first rate shop! 

The Holidays are coming up fast, so get started now!

Also, check out FamilyManJewels for a great gift for the men in your life!



Monday, October 15, 2012

RINGS!

I've been wanting to make rings out of my beads for a long time, and I've also been looking for a new use for my square beads.


SUCCESS! 
SQUARE RINGS!

I'm so excited about these :)

Here's a close up

You know I'm going to be making more of these!
They really are fun to make, fun to wear, and way easier than I thought.

If I can get a friend to do some photography for me, I might just put up a quick free tutorial. Stay tuned!

Here's the song that's been stuck in my head all week ~ enjoy!

Monday, September 24, 2012

FALL

It's officially Fall!


So I'm working apple harvest


With my Grandpa


Making apple beads


And just generally busier than any other time of year!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

New Tools!

ZOOZII'S BUBBLE PRESS

I was fortunate to be able to attend the International Society of Glass Beadmakers Gathering this year.  It was an amazing experience!  I learned so much and met so many great people.  And of course, I also did a LOT of shopping! Thankfully Dusty went with me and not only carried everything, but even encouraged me!  

One of the purchases I made was the Zoozii's Bubble Press. 


I was a little intimidated because it looks so difficult to use, but it made such fun beads I couldn't resist! Amy even showed me how to use it during one of the open torch sessions,

I've made about 15 of these so far, but I already only have these few left at the house.  


I swear the only thing happier than bubbles is bubbly beads!

More of these will be turning up in my Etsy shop in the days to come and of course you can always find them locally at The Sun Dog Bead Co.

Happy Beading!!


Just for fun ~ here's a little music that always makes me feel bubbly!
Richie Spice - Yap Yap

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Scavenger Hunt!!

Let's have a little fun!  

My kiln is currently undergoing maintenance so I can't make beads for a couple days. 

So I thought we'd have a scavenger hunt!

There are 3 randomly chosen items currently for sale in my etsy shop with the number 50 in the listing.  If you find one of them send me a message either here, on etsy, or on facebook  and I'll give you
 50% off that listing!! (first one to contact me on each listing is the one who gets the discount)

Good luck and have fun!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

5 Social Networking Errors Businesses Should Avoid

 You are a small business. You sell products or services that I'm interested in and I'm ready to become your best customer!  And then I notice a few things and look for someone else in your field.  Even if you have customer service down to a science, there are things that make me walk away.

1.  Do not load your feed with political or religious posts.  It's okay to have an opinion, and even to share it occasionally in a respectful manner, but remember you are talking to your customers and many of them may not share your views.

2. Do not badmouth a customer.  Ever. Seriously, other customers are reading this and wondering what you are saying about them.  Is it worth a two sentence rant to lose even a small percentage of your business?

3.  Do not complain or whine or gripe about your lack of sales.  When I see that, I just assume that everyone else knows something I don't and join them in steering clear of you.  While we're on the subject, don't post sob stories about why I have to buy something from you because you need the money so badly.  We all need money to get by in this world. If your kid needs braces and you whine about how much you need to sell because of that, you may just remind me that my kid needs braces too, so I should save my money.

4.  Do not write a blog post about how to sell the stuff you don't like, at your top price, to a group of people that you consider less important than your real clients.  You think I'm joking?  I've seen this!  Some of us treat every single customer with the same respect and work hard to give them our top products. Customers do know the difference.

5.  Do not make me try to decipher what you are saying.   DO use proper English, and check your spelling and grammar. Also,  I don't want to see how many swear words you know, or how many creative ways you can use them.  If you can't shout it in a room full of grandmas, don't say it online.

Your name is inextricably connected to your business, so even if you post these things on your personal pages your customers know, and despite what you may think, they probably care.  Stay positive and respectful, it  makes the difference between success and failure.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Bead Inspiration ~ Tropics

Once again, I am dreaming of some tropical location and wishing I lived under a palm tree!  I think this week I will focus on all things tropical ~ palm trees, the ocean, sea creatures ~ you name it, I'll be trying it on a bead!

Here are a couple of things I'm going to use for inspiration this week:

And I think I have a really interesting idea for this:

This week I'll start posting pictures of what I made based on the inspiration.  I promise I'll share the good, the bad, and the ugly ~ as long as you understand there will probably be more ugly than anything!

Since it's on my mind again ~

Two Tickets to Paradise by Eddie Money



Have a productive week!

Monday, April 23, 2012

MONDAY?!

Ouch!  Looks like I fell off the blog again.  I think I may have skinned my knee this time ~ they ought to make training wheels for these things!! 

Okay, today's motivation ~  hmmm....  Flowers!  I've been working on improving my flowers lately, and I've come up with quite a few things I like.  But I think I'm ready to up my game!  Let's try something like this: 


Or this:

These might be wishful thinking, but I have to keep pushing myself!

I guess a little music about flowers is in order :)

Scarlet Begonias by Jimmy Buffett


Have a great week, and stay motivated!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Motivation Monday - Custom Orders

Oh, so it's not Monday? It is still early in the week though right?  I hope so, because I still have a LOT to do this week!

I didn't have much time during the past week to play with the cupcake patterns I posted last Monday because virtually everything I made was a custom order.  Did I tell you I love custom orders! They often inspire and push me to try things I may not have otherwise considered.  Please don't hesitate to let me know if there is something special I can make for you!

Here are a few from the last few days, and I have several more on the board for this week.

I think a little Bachman Turner Overdrive is in order for this week's motivation!


Have a great week and stay motivated!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Motivation Monday - More Cupcakes

I'm not sure why I find cupcakes so inspiring for beads.  Maybe just because they are round?  In any case, I'm always finding the cutest cupcakes on pinterest and thinking I can make them into beads!  Here are a couple I think I'll try today.




And I'll be listening to some of my all time favorite music ~ it is most definitely "Good To Be Me"!

Happy Monday and Stay Motivated!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What's Up Wednesday - MARCH CONTEST!

It's March (well, almost) and time for a new contest!

I know there are a lot of Veda's Beads out there and I think it would be great fun to see what everyone is making with them. So post your pictures on my facebook fan page VedasBeads and you will be entered into a random drawing for FREE BEADS!  

A set of squares in your choice of color

The more pictures you post the more chances you have to win!  If you don't have your VedasBeads yet hop over to my Etsy shop and get yours now!

As a bonus, you get another place to advertise your great jewelry, and I'll promote you too ~ you win either way!

Here's the first entry from Sun Dog Bead Co.:  

 Click Here  to purchase this one!

So get out your VedasBeads, post something on my fan page and enter to win, what are you waiting for!!


Monday, February 27, 2012

Motivation Monday - Kalypso

DH Kalypso

I realized I have a lot of special glass sitting in my stash collecting dust because I didn't feel I was "good enough" to use it.  DH Kalypso is one of those colors.  It's expensive and I'm frugal, so it's hard for me to risk making ugly beads with it.  However, I just accidentally ordered more last week, so I felt it was time to use some of it!

It doesn't look very special in the rod:

But I made this bead with it the other day:

and I'm really excited about it ~ I'm always looking for pink!!

I think I'll do several experiments with Kalyspo this week,

and I think I'll do them to the sounds of the Carribean and this beautiful steel drum soundtrack!

Happy Monday ~ and Stay Motivated!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Motivation Monday - Orange

  CIM Pimento 

I have a new orange to play with! It's such a bright color and I'm really excited about it!  


I see this mixed with a whole lot of other bright colors in my beads today!


And since we're talking orange, I think this is an appropriate song... 
JJ Grey and Mofro ~ Orange Blossoms


Have a great week, and stay motivated!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Motivation Monday - Pantone

With Spring around the corner I think I'll see what I can do with this year's Pantone Spring palette.  It could be very interesting to see what comes of this in bead form!


I found this in my bead inspiration file today too.  Funny that it looks like it has all the colors!  Wonder if I can do this in a bead?


And the motivational music for the day has to be Zac Brown ~ much like every other day, I'm ready to go to "Where the boat leaves from"!

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

What's Up Wednesday - CONTEST!

It's time for a contest!! 

My 400th Etsy sale will be coming up soon and I want to share the love!  The prize will be a set of chunky squares like this:
in your choice of color. All you have to do is guess what date I'll reach 400 sales.  
I'm pretty sure that short of winning the lottery, free beads are the best contest prizes!


So here's the rules:  "Like" my facebook page HERE then post your guess (i.e. Feb 28th) ~ that's it! (If you already like me just guess) :-)  If you want more chances to win ask your friends to do it too (then knock them down and take their beads if they win!)  lol!  If multiple people guess the correct date, the winner will be selected by a random drawing.

I only need 37 more sales, so what are you waiting for?  GO GUESS!!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Motivation Monday - The Ocean

Dusty has to go out of town for work and he invited me to go with him.  *smiles!*  Because spending time with him and being near the ocean are two of my favorite things, of course I said yes!!  It really doesn't matter that it's a 4 hour drive and a ferry ride, or that the water will be freezing cold, it's the ocean!

I'm sure this picture was taken in the middle of summer and it won't look like this while I'm there, but it is beautiful ~ and it is salt water!!

And we'll need some driving music!

Happy Monday ~ Stay Motivated!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What? It's Tuesday? Where Did Motivation Monday Go?

So yesterday I completely forgot it was Monday.  But the good news is I was extremely motivated!  I think I had double the number of beads in the kiln this morning than any typical day in a long time.  I'm up really early this morning, so I'm going to make this post quick and get straight to work.  Watch for lots of new Etsy listings today!

For some reason I've been thinking about birds lately.  I have no idea why since I typically steer clear of sculptural work.  But I'm going to see what I can do with these little guys as inspiration:
















and I think it's a Traveling Wilburys kind of day:

Happy Monday (Tuesday)  Thanks for stopping by and stay motivated!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

What's Up Wednesday - Murrini

upcoming events, news, and interesting tidbits

The good, the bad and the ugly.  Sometimes you have to share them all!  I tried making murrini for the first time the other day.  I have a new appreciation for those that make these little guys! I've always been impressed with skill required to produce those tiny works of art.  I tried the simplest one, and this is what happened:


Teeny, tiny little things!  And using the glass nippers had these things flinging all over my studio!  I was down on my knees under the table trying to find them and wound up with 8. So I tried incorporating them in a bead.  This has never been my strong suite, which is actually what made me want to make these in the first place.  I figured if I practice the application with murrini I made, I wouldn't be wasting the fancy ones I've purchased!

This one turned out ok ~ if a little bland:

Now for the real fun.  (fun?)  Trying to encase the little guys.  

Oh look ~ little red bats!  So not what I was going for! 

And so I head back to the torch for more practice.

Have an absolutely fabulous Wednesday!!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Motivation Monday - Colors

Things that inspire me, color combinations I love, the music that rocks my studio and 
anything else that makes me want to jump up and make a bead!

I seem to have been inspired simply by color lately.  It happens occasionally, a whole day where only 2 or 4 colors come out of the kiln.  This week I had a coral day, and a blue and green day.  It's a good exercise to just see how many ways you can use a few colors.  Today I really think I want to focus on pink and black. I found this pic on pinterest and while I don't think I have a pink that vibrant, I'm still inspired by the photo.

Really, if any glass company produced this color I would buy a hundred pounds of it! In the mean time, I'll work with what I have (and see what I can come make with layering).

On the other hand, I purchased a photo from Natural Illumination the other day that I find really inspirational, so maybe I'll go with that; the ocean always, always inspires me and the quote is awesome!! (p.s. great customer service and stunning photo!)


and the music for the week is Styx
Friends of mine are opening for them at a local show, so of course I had to get tickets!  Congratulations to Lynus and Lucy!


Thanks for checking in ~ and stay motivated!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

What's Up Wednesday

The view from my studio window

The view from inside the studio

Guess where I'll be all day!

Stay warm my friends!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Motivation Monday - Colorful Combinations

Things that inspire me, color combinations I love, the music that rocks my studio and 
anything else that makes me want to jump up and make a bead!

It's Motivation Monday and do you know what I want to make today?  Everything!  I'm sitting here with a hundred ideas running through my head; colors, shapes, styles ~ and I just can't decide where to start.  I seriously need to focus!  

If I could make a bead from my thoughts right now, it would look like this~

or this

I think I need to listen to something really calming today!  A reminder to just breathe is probably a good idea.
There's a Jimmy Buffet song for everything!

Thanks for checking in and stay motivated!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

What's Up Wednesday - New Torch

upcoming events, news, and interesting tidbits


I got a new torch! Well, I got it last summer, but I finally set it up!

  I've been using a Nortel Mega Minor for the last year.  

I love this torch!  It's perfect for what I do, the flame is big enough to melt glass fast, and small enough for detail work.  I can fiddle with the knobs for a wide range of propane and oxygen mixes to affect the colors of different glass.  Plus, it's pretty!


But, I bought this guy.  It's big.  So big that I've been afraid to set it up.  It's been in a cupboard in my studio since last summer.  I finally decided I had to set it up, so I cleared my bench and set it up next to my mega minor, because I knew I didn't want to switch completely yet.
This one has a HUGE flame!  Just about the first thing I did was burn through a mandrel. Mandrels are made of stainless steel and I didn't even know it was possible to melt them!  So far, in two days of playing with this, I've made approximately ONE bead that wasn't totally ugly.  I even pulled out my boro glass, and still got ugly beads.  I'm going to have to use my smaller torch for a while to catch up on orders, but I WILL master this one!