just4you

I am having a sale in my etsy shop starting tomorrow, and lasting for 2 weeks.  Everything will be 40%off.  I was thinking that I would have to get up at the crack of dawn and start re-pricing all my items.  Then I saw a little button at the side of "my etsy", that said coupon.  I followed the prompts, and lo and behold I can make up a coupon that my customers can plug into the appropriate box when they make a sale and they will receive the discount.  Wow, technology sure is great (most of the time).  So, starting December 1st at approximately 8am Pacific Standard Time, just plug in the word "just4you" (not the quote marks though), and you will receive 40% off the sale (not including the shipping).  If you make a mistake, let me know, and I will manually refund the discount.
                                                               

Brass Monkeys - set of 3

Etsy Sale starts Dec 1.

I have decided to have a sale in my Etsy shop.  So starting on December 1/2010 sometime in the morning (Pacific Standard Time), I will begin editing all my prices to reflect a 40% discount.  The sale will last for 2 weeks.  This morning I found a box of beads that I had forgotten to unpack after the October Fraser Valley Bead show, so I have posted those items today, and I will look around my workshop to see if I can find some more hidden away.

Hope you have a great Sunday evening!

It's a Penguin Parade!

There are short ones, tall ones, fat ones, skinny ones, worried ones, crosseyed ones, etc . . . .

My dear mother has ordered 16 penguin zipper pulls.  So I have spent the last two days making all these little fellows.  They look like they are wondering just who is going to get to the pile of snowballs in front of them first.  I am not sure what my mother is going to do with 16 penguin zipper pulls, but I am not one to turn down a sale!

Many thanks to Emma Green for her tutorial  http://www.beadenvy.co.uk/penguin-tutorial.htm, and to my friend Gail H. for doing a demo of these cute little guys at a meeting of our glass group - Vancouver Island Fire Flies.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Snow, Snow, Snow

After working all week getting ready for the 4 day studio tour that started on Thursday, it was quite dissappointing to get up this morning to a white winter wonderland.  Although it looked very pretty, it was not great for customers coming, and the expected flood of people was a mere trickle.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better - although it is supposed to get colder and freeze everything solid.  On the bright side, I will have lots of stock for the spring shows. sigh.

The picture below is from our front porch.  If you look closely at the lower left hand corner, you can see the path to the studio we very carefully made and covered with bark mulch, now has snow shovelled off and looking very messy.   Can you tell I am "ticked off" at Mother Nature?

The Studio Tour is on!

Here is a picture of my tables in my studio.  The room is quite narrow, so my tables are against one wall, while a friends pottery and another friends beads are against the other wall.  It is a little crowded, but looks quite nice.  However, I see that I should have ironed the table covers - LOL

The next two photos are of a couple of new pieces I made for the show.  I am having a definate love affair with copper!  I think I prefer it to silver.

Bye for now.

Studio Tour Starts Tomorrow

Well, I think I am nearly ready.  I should be - my husband and I have been working on the studio since Sunday.  We have been putting up christmas lights, christmas trees, making a new path, laying bark mulch, re-gravelling the driveway, putting up ropes, signs, ribbons and numbers, and all the other bits and pieces that come up when you do a studio tour.   Also cleaning, sweeping, washing, tidying, putting in tables, decorations, rugs, shelves, music, etc. inside.  I will try and remember to take some pictures of the inside when I go out there tomorrow.
The tour starts tomorrow until Sunday, and opens at 10 am and goes to 5 pm each day.

The first picture was taken from near the corner of the house, and the second picture was taken from the other side of the trees.

Bye for now!

And before the bears . . .

Before the bears there was pottery - a line of decorative and functional stoneware.  I had a 10 cu. ft. electric bisque kiln, and a 42 cu ft. walk in gas kiln that my husband and I built.  I "threw" the pots on my electric wheel and then fired them in the two kilns.   I have very few photos of the items I made, but these are a few of the pieces I kept.

I have been out in the studio all day today, tidying and cleaning, and generally getting ready for the upcoming studio tour show next weekend.  I'll take a picture for you when we have it all ready and stocked.

Bye for now!

Re-visiting my previous career

Sorry, I don't have anything "beady" for you at the present.  I am getting ready for my next show, which is  the Cedar/Yellowpoint Artisan's Christmas Tour, next weekend.  This is the first year that I have participated, as I now have a suitable studio that is apart from the house. Here.

I do however, have pictures of some of the teddy bears that I used to make.  I was looking through my photos today, and thought you might like to take a look too.  These bears were made from mohair fabric imported from either England or Germany, they are all fully jointed, and have glass eyes.  They were made as adult collectibles and not suitable for children (because of the glass eyes).  I made all their clothes too - sometimes from scratch, and sometimes for the larger ones I would re-make children's clothes.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

So Very Tired!

I have just finished a three day Christmas Craft fair here in Nanaimo, and I am exhausted.  Spending three days smiling and laughing is just too much for me - LOL.  My sister very kindly volunteered to help me for the full three days - what a great sister!  We laughed so hard sometimes that we ended up crying - I think some of the customers must have wondered what on earth was happening.

I am not at all pleased with my booth this year - I think it is the white necklace stands/busts/boards.  They are great for summer, but I think that in winter I need to get more black ones for display.  I also think I need a softer colour than the black top cloth I have been using for the winter shows - maybe a lovely rust, or perhaps a deep plum - what do you think?  I would love some feedback.  Anyway here is a very poor picture of my booth.  The black backdrop is the promoters choice - I wish they would have silver/gray or something like that.

Right now I think I am going to go and make a cup of tea, and sit and read for a while.  Tomorrow I will be out in the studio again making beads for the studio tour coming on November 18 - 22.

Bye for now.

Golden Strands

Three more pendants for the show tomorrow.  I have wired these ones in copper and put them on matching silk ribbon cords - I love the warm earthy look.  I think I am definitely moving over to copper - I love working with it, and I don't feel guilty if I have to cut it off and start again the way I do with the more expensive stirling silver.

Well, I better get packing, as I have to be at the show bright and early tomorrow to get set up.

Have a great weekend everyone!

New Necklaces

I have been working on this style of necklace for about a year now - ever since I purchased some leather cord and then didn't have any idea what to do with it!   It has taken many "trys" and many "tear aparts" to get to where I am finally pleased with the designs.  The large beads in the middle are hollow, and I posted a picture of some of the beads in a previous blog post.  I think they have a very ethnic or tribal look about them, so now I have to figure out a name for them.  Any ideas?  They are just a tad longer than choker length, and I will provide an extender chain if requested.  These necklaces will be going to the show this weekend - hope they are a success.

After the show season is finished at the end of November, I am planning on making more of this style of bead for my Etsy shop - so let me know if you are interested.

Have a great rest of the week.