Sue Beads

Barb Fernald really comes up with some fantastic designs. Barb was one of the people who purchased the same beads I used for my Aristan Clay Design Team piece. She molded a pod and ocean stones she found to make the PMC beads. She also made the draped hollow beads and the clasp. She used freshwater coin pearls that match perfectly with the beads I made. She's one talented lady!

Today's the day! The day for the Artisan Clay Design Team to reveal their creations. Kristie Roeder, of Artisan Clay , put together a design team. She sends a piece that she made each month, and we have a ridiculous amount of time to put together a wonderful creation using her wonderful creation! Of course, I waited until yesterday to actually put mine together. I've had it in my head for weeks. I made the beads I used weeks ago. I've even sold some of the same beads I made to put this little darling together! But as usual, I waited until last minute. Sometimes I think it works better for me that way. So, ta daaaah! Here's my finished piece. I really like it. The connector component was what I picked from Kristie. It's really beautiful! I may have mentioned before that we get about three days of sun here in the 'burgh so it's really hard for me to get good photos. (Unless I get out the light box I have, which I really despise using...). Today the sun ...

Recently I was lucky enough to receive a gift certificate from The Bead Chest , and I picked out these pretty African beads. Isaac has also just informed he just got back from a 2 week buying trip in Africa and will have lots of new beads on his web site soon! Their strands are really quite generous, and I will never use them all. So, I'm having a giveaway and you can win the beads shown above - a strand of Christmas beads, 15 recycled glass beads, and a pile of bronze beads! All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post- that's it! If you are so inclined, you can let me know what you'd like to see in my shop, but otherwise, just a comment is fine! Thanks! I will pick the winner on May 4th in the morning!

Finally, after two weeks of not being able to do it, I am back at Bead Table Wednesay. This is what I am contemplating this week. I really like the combo of beads; they were going to be a bracelet, but I think they want to be a necklace instead. Maybe asymmetrical? Who knows. But I do love all the beads!

Just listed some cool focals in the SueBeads etsy store and have a few more to list tomorrow! Take a look!

I feel so blessed! Lisa Liddy, of the new store Metal Me This on etsy, had a giveaway to celebrate the opening of her new store. I felt really fortunate to stumble across the message on the Bead Soup News Group, and I entered her giveaway. Unbelievably, I won it! She sent me a selection of bead caps from her new store. The photo above is an example of what she sent, and some of what she makes. She makes copper, brass and silver components for jewelry design - bead caps, connectors, etched pieces, just to name a few. They are really gorgeous! If you get a chance, stop by her shop. You can also find her at Joolz By Lisa on etsy for her jewelry designs.

Moira, from The Musings of Mystic Pesto blog, came up with a Spring Time Earring Blog Hop, and I decided I wanted to participate! These blog hops or challenges really help to force myself to make jewelry. I love making my beads and enamel pieces, and it's hard to sit myself down and make jewelry with them on a regular basis! This works for me! Below you'll find a list of participants. I made two pairs. The first were made with vintage copper teardrop beads that I enameled. I used the sterling silver bead caps that look like flowers and swarovski crystals. The second pair is made with my enameled flower charms. They look like those little violet flowers you see in your yard from time to time! Have fun visiting everyone else's blog and seeing their springy earrings! BooBeads Handcrafted Baubles My Life Under the Bus For My Sweet Daughter Silver Rose Designs Lois Moon Create with Moxie Sue Beads Alankarshilpa Nutkitten

OMG! I received a copy of Beads 2011 in the mail yesterday - I failed to notice that on the label it said "Advertising." I thought it was the copy I ordered for myself. It wasn't - it was my copy from the magazine because, are you ready? I.AM.IN.IT!!!!! I was so excited! I can't believe it. I hadn't heard from them so I just assumed I wouldn't be in it and decided to try again next year! So imagine my surprise! I have some enameled pieces in the issue, plus a lampworked bead I made that resembles the ocean - one of my signature beads! I just had to post about it, I am so happy!!! And there are so many wonderful beads in this magazine, by so many wonderful people that you all know! Also, Happy Easter to everyone!

We had our second night at Bedford Springs earlier this week. It rained the whole day - when we got there, it was even thunderstorming! We made the best of it thought! We played ping pong in the kids' room for an hour, then decided to go eat dinner. When we went out side, it had stopped raining so we went on a hike. We had a great walk, saw this tree that a woodpecker is handily destroying! The tulips around the fountain opened up and are gorgeous! After our hike, we went and had dinner in the tavern and then played a few games of pool. I lost every one, but I did come close on the second game - we each had one ball left, but I couldn't sink mine before he did. Oh well... after that, we took a beer out to the fire pit and had a nice conversation with someone we met out there. In the morning, we took advantage of the mineral pool and had a dip for a bit before we ate and checked out. Then we went on another hike. Sadly, we did have to go home after having such a wonderf...

Here's a cute little idea for some earrings using the enameled flower charms I just listed in the SueBeads etsy store !

This morning after the treadmill and before I took the girl to the ENT to get her broken nose checked, I made some enameled flowers! They are made from flattened bead caps and Thompson enamels and I think they turned out very nice, in all their spring colors! Today is supposed to be the only sunny day of the next 7, so I did take some photos and they will be listed in a bit in the SueBeads etsy store . Some of the photos came out dark, though, so I will try and reshoot! I made some more when I returned from the doctor's office, too, so there are several sets to choose from! To me, these little charms are screaming to be dangles on earrings or even bracelets! The doctor said that although her nose is broken, since it is not crooked and not causing her much distress or any breathing problems, that it can just be left to heal on it's own. She can even go back to softball. Sigh...

Here are my beads for today - what I made the other day before we went to Bedford Springs again. Tomorrow I'll have some more photos of our trip - we had just an awesome time together! You can find all these beads listed at my SueBeads etsy store !

Today is bead cap day! I made glass beads in the morning yesterday and enameled bead caps in the afternoon yesterday. They will be available in the SueBeads etsy store shortly! Since I live in Pittsburgh and we get about 3 sunny days a year, the photos here are a little darker than the actual beads. So on to the broken nose part. I got a call yesterday late afternoon from my daughter. She called to let me know she got hit in the face with a softball. The trainer got on the phone to tell me I should take her to get x-rays when she gets home...yay. This is the same girl who got a concussion last spring playing softball. I took her to the urgent care place and sure enough, they said she has a broken nose. At least it's not crooked or anything, just swollen and black and blue. I have to take her to the ENT on Thursday for evaluation. It's always something! On a lighter note, I was so happy to find out this morning that I won a giveaway in Lisa Liddy's new shop on et...

I listed some new beads last night in the SueBeads etsy store ! Take a look!

Way back in December, I purchased two Groupon coupons for the Omni Bedford Springs Resort for me and my sweetie to have a little getaway. Life got in the way for literally four months, and the coupon was set to expire on April 3oth. So in mid-March, I finally got around to making our reservations. As luck would have it (or procrastination) there were no weekends with two nights available. So on Friday we headed to Bedford Springs Resort for one of our getaway nights. Friday was a fairly beautiful day in the 'burgh, and we thought we'd be able to go hiking. Again, as life gets in the way, Jason had to work a lot of the day so we got a later start than we expected. But it was still a very lovely ride together and we arrived after 5 pm. We checked in, got stuff situated in our rooms, and checked out the place. Wow, it's fantastic! The outside is beautiful and the inside boasts several restaurants, an indoor mineral pool, spa, and much more. We stopped in the tave...

Lori Anderson, of Pretty Things , is hosting a blog hop today! It's part of the 7000 Bracelets of Hope Campaign by The Global Genes Project . The bracelets are given to one of 7000 families having children with rare diseases to show them love and support. This is the bracelet I made! I have to say I'm pretty happy with it! I used my own lampwork beads, silver beads, quartz nugget beads, czech beads and freshwater pearls. This is an ocean-themed bracelet, and I used a little fishy charm on the toggle clasp. You can check out all the participants and what they made by visiting their blogs from the list below! Bracelet Blog Hop 1. Lori Anderson, Pretty Things 2. Jayne Capps, Mama's Got To Doodle 3. Kym Hunter, Creatively Kym 4. Mandy Duffy, Beads for Brains: 365 5. Charlene Sevier, The Bead Dreamer 6. Lisa Boucher, Lisa's Clay Happenings 7. Mary Harding, Mary Harding Jewelry 8. Barbara Lewis, Painting With Fire 9. Amy Severino, Amy's Beads 10. Jennife...

Recently, Diana of Suburban Girl Studio had a giveaway on her blog and guess what? I won. It was this fabulous pair of earrings. I wore them last night whilst watching the Pens beat Tampa Bay! I really really like them. They are very lightweight and perfect with so many things. I love her little ammonite charms. And guess what else? She sent along a few little goodies for me to play with, as well! What a generous person she is! I hope you check out her shop, if you haven't already!

I got some time on the torch yesterday, so I have some more beads listed today in the SueBeads etsy store! I had fun making the mosaic at Big Huge Labs . Tonight is the last night of my class at the Pittsburgh Glass Center . I'm going to see if they have any classes in the daytime coming up - these nighttime classes are too hard on me, and the kids have too many things going on for it to be convenient! I'm off to make my Blue Bracelet for the blog hop on Saturday - Lori Anderson is hosting a blog hop for the 7,000 Bracelets for Hope. The Global Genes Project is a group who will donate the bracelets to families who have rare diseases, just to let them know someone is thinking about them and understanding their plight.

I had a little time at the torch yesterday, so I made some beads I hope you like! You can find them at the SueBeads etsy store ! I am finally going to get to the chiropractor this afternoon - it's been a long time! I didn't want to go until I was fully recovered from my surgery, and boy does my neck and back need it! It's really raining here and yet another softball game was cancelled for this afternoon.