Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Halloween Jewelry


Today I wore a Halloween pin that I haven’t worn in years. I’m not a big Halloween person but I enjoy some of the iconic images--vampires, ghosts, black cats… And it got me to thinking about what Halloween jewelry I have.

Here’s what I could find in a few minutes sifting through my collection:


This is the pin I wore today. The Husband bought it for me at a craft show in the 80’s, I think. I love the vampire, I love the rainbow cape and especially, the red sneakers! This always make me laugh when I see it.


This is a necklace I made myself when I was first making jewelry, probably in 2001 or ‘02. I got the lampwork ghost on Ebay, I think from an artisan in Hawaii. I wanted to make the beadwork look like candy corn but I think I got the colors skewed a little. Oh well, I still love this piece!


Here’s a Boyd’s Bear pin, with a less than traditional black cat. So much detail and texture!

You can tell it’s a Boyd’s from the bear paw print on the cats head. The paw print is their signature.


And here’s a fun necklace that I bought for 25 cents last year at a yard sale in Buena Park. It made me laugh and reminded me of our very own black cat, Watson. I was going to cut it up and use the faces and candy corn to upcycle some new jewelry but I really like it just the way it is!


Do you have any favorite Halloween jewelry?

Do What You Love!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Mixed Media Play Day!


Once again, my friend, Barbara Bastrup hosted a mixed media workshop out of the Bead Society of Orange County at the Bowers Museum. She brings in tons of materials for us to play and experiment with. What’s more fun than getting yourself covered in paint, glue and glitter??


Paints and glitter


Stamps and Carols' project


Halloween candy required for admission to class!



Anneliese...

...and her work in progress

Barbara and me!


And my masterpiece. Paint, glitter, metal roses and beautiful paper that inspired the color story. I brought in foil that I'd stamped earlier in the week with the words "faith", "grace" and "peace". Maybe I'll take a better picture later but right now The Husband is tempting me with a trip out for frozen yogurt!


Do What You Love!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Girls' Day Out


Today, I met my friend, Anneliese, in Old Town Orange, a quaint little area filled with antique shops and art galleries. Here’s the Plaza (more commonly known as The Circle, because it has an honest-to-God traffic circle):


I recently discovered Cherry on Top frozen yogurt, where you mix your own yogurty concoctions. Nom! So that’s where we met for a cool lunch on a very warm SoCal day:


We took our time poking through antique shops and new boutiques that have been popping up, where I snagged some really cool old jewelry to upcycle:


Then we went to a reception for our friend, Marilu Morency, at the Schroeder Gallery, where she was showcasing her beautiful beadwork:

Her little inspiration bags hold a positive word to brighten your day. She works in seed beads, which are teeny tiny and totally beyond my patience (and eyesight!):


Here’s the Bead Society Girls: Me, Marilu and Anneliese:


It was really good to get out with friends today. It’s been one of those weeks where nothing went right and other things just went wrong… It truly lifted my spirits to get out and see girlfriends and be carefree for a few hours!

Do What You Love!


www.bearchick.etsy.com
www.bearchickart.etsy.com
www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com
www.bearchick.artfire.com

The Best Years of Your Life


I hated high school. I suffered through it and couldn’t wait to get out of there. Was I bullied? Well, not in today’s terms. But I was a loner, quiet, always with my nose in a book. Not trendy, not particularly pretty, certainly not in the IN crowd. So I endured taunts and ridicule and never got invited to a prom. I persevered.

But when well-meaning people, who really should have known better, would tell me that high school is the best years of your life, I wanted to say, “Are you telling me it doesn’t get any better than THIS??!!” That one phrase probably caused me the most despair during my high school years. Truly, were all those people who threw that phrase around mindlessly the jocks and cheerleaders?? The ones who actually had the good times and went on to lives of vague disappointment?

When I see news reports now of so many young people, gay or straight, taking their lives in despair after being treated cruelly by people who are allowed to wreak misery by uncaring parents and ignorant, lazy school administrations, it hurts my heart. Young people, both the bullies and the bullied, are not being taught to value themselves and others. I know that the teenage years are fraught with self-doubt and low self-esteem but it seems so much more extreme than when I grew up.

Joel Osteen had an interesting analogy today for self-worth. He held up a crisp one hundred dollar bill and asked the congregation if they wanted it. Naturally, they said yes. Did they still want it after he crumpled it up and got it all wrinkled. Yes, sir. What if he took it out to the parking lot, stomped around on it and got it dirty and oil stained? Yup, that hundred dollar bill held it’s value and desirability. That’s a lesson for us all, when we’re feeling at our worst, whether from a day of failures, set backs or cruel behavior from people who don’t know or love us. We hold our value, no matter what fires we walk through.

If you have children or are close to someone else’s children, please tell them that the best years are coming. That, yes, high school sucks for some of us but life gets better for all of us. Even if those kids seem well adjusted and happy, you don’t know what they’re hiding, especially if it’s embarrassing or humiliating and especially from the adults in their lives. You can’t repeat this enough and you can’t stop reminding them of their innate value.

I can only hope that parents, school administrations and social networks can work together to create zero tolerance for bullying and cyberbullying. I applaud anyone who stands up and fights this cruel and deadly behavior.

Do What You Love!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A Great Vendor Experience


I decided I’d better stock up on padded envelopes and small boxes to send out my jewelry for the coming holiday season, so I wandered around the ‘net a bit and wound up at Papermart, where I’d made a purchase or two before. They had the best prices and I noticed they’re within a half hour drive from me, in Orange, California. Since I had some time to kill on Tuesday morning, saving $14 on shipping inspired me to try their Will Call system.


I called them on Monday with my two case order and figured I’d have an adventure picking them up the next day. The woman who took my order gave me excellent directions (it was only a left and a right from the main road I traveled but sometimes people tell you how to get somewhere when they really don’t know…), so there wasn’t any losing our way drama. First we saw their distinctive signs along the road, so we knew we were on the right track. Then their building was well marked, including the Will Call and Warehouse entrances. At Will Call, the payment process was a breeze. Out to Door #2 (yes, references to Let’s Make a Deal were made by The Husband…) to pick up our two little cases of goodies. The warehouse guy was happy to open the cases for us to take a look and make sure they were what we wanted.


How often do you have such a pleasant and easy shopping experience? We were impressed with their whole operation. Plus the fact that their prices are terrific. Even with shipping you’ll get a great deal buying the items you use the most in bulk with Papermart. And they offer quantity discounts. They sell everything from cardboard boxes to all kinds of bags and liners, fabrics and papers, plastic films and metal containers and balloons… Oh, go see for yourself!

The pertinent info:


Where they are: 2164 N BATAVIA ST, ORANGE, CA 92865-3104
Phone: 1-800-745-8800
Website:
http://www.papermart.com

Do What You Love!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

My First Artfire Coupon


I love Etsy but I have to say that Artfire certainly gives their sellers more tools to work with. This is how they’ve structured their business: Give the sellers what they want, make them comfortable and happy while in Beta, then go for the traffic when they can concentrate on generating customer loyalty without having to worry so much about seller happiness. We’ll see how that works out for them--I’m thinking this was a good time to start up again with Artfire. Time will tell.

At any rate, I was itching to run a promotion with their coupons to see how it works and if it’s a good tool. Sooooo, he’s what I’m doing for my Facebook and blog friends:

From now until next Saturday, October 9, use coupon code FBLOG1 (all capital letters) to get 20% off all items over $10. Most of my jewelry on Artfire is already on sale, so this is a really great deal!

So, when you have a chance, go take a look and keep the holidays in mind!

Here are a couple of examples to tempt you:




Flowers Got the Blues Memory wire bracelet, $10





Chinese Dragon Charm N Bead, $20



Burgundy Swirls, $10

Do What You Love!