Wordless Wednesday...

Neil Zeller Photography

www.facebook.com/NeilZellerPhotography

Blog? Me? Maybe?

Well, I'm going to try something new and call Thursday my blogging day, so from this day forward Thursday will be 'Blog? Me? Maybe?'.  This is crazy. :)  

So, we are into Fall full swing in our house.  Schedules are still shaky and taking a bit to get used to, but we will find our footing soon (I hope).  

So, with the Fall comes a new 'little' freedom for me, I find myself free for 3 hours every morning during the week day.  My tiny tyke has made it into Kindergarten and I am now finding myself with a little time to get caught up on things around the house or even jewelry making.  This new freedom didn't come without a little sadness, as I have spent the last 5 years of my life with my child beside me 24/7.  However, once I got past the first day of tears (me, not child), I am now seeing how healthy, refreshing and creative this 3 hours can be.  My child is very happy in school and I am finding a creative groove, without guilt.

So, what have I been up to the first week of school?  Obvious answer, beading.   Here are a few creations that have come from my bead table, tell me what you think??

 Into the Blue Necklace

 Swarovski Crystal Christmas Trees

 Autumn's Silence Necklace

Fun Earrings!

So, the first official, Blog? Me? Maybe? Thursday Post. Until next week, this is crazy.

All the best,

Traci

A step (or two) outside of my comfort zone...

Sometimes you need a change, sometimes the change is thrust upon you. 

I have been wanting to branch out from my normal jewelry making with just beads, wire, etc..  Then I received a message from a valued customer asking if I do metal stamping.  Well, funny story, my dear husband bought me everything I needed to get started doing that back in April, but its just something I didn't think I could do (well at), so I brushed it to the side.  So, with this message looking me in the face, I had 1 of 2 options, respond with a 'Sorry, no, I don't do that' OR 'Yes, I do have the tools to do that and Yes, I CAN do that. Can you give me a few days to work on it?'.  The customer was more than happy to give me a few days to work on things.

So, in a fit I scurried to find all my tools that I stashed in my 'other' jewelry tool bag (you know, the one that weighs a ton because it holds the heavy hitters in there ~ hammers, steel mandrels, steel hammering blocks, steel anvil, you get the picture, heavy stuff).  I excitedly and nervously pulled out all my metal stamping tools (to date) and started the trial and error process.  Let's just say some times trial and error can be pricey (and this was definitely a pricey trial and error process), but after 2-3 flubs I seemed to get the idea and started making things easier on myself.  Things were looking POSSIBLE on this project.

Its amazing when you chat with someone about what you are doing what can develop.  In chatting with my father-in-law about my current venture, he offered me his metal hole punch (with a variety of sizes available).  How AWESOME!  A tool I needed and didn't have to buy.  I was like a kid in the candy store and this was better than Gummy Bears!! Have I ever mentioned I LOVE tools?  Well, I do!  Next item on my list, rivot gun! and more metal stamps! I'm digressing, I need to focus.

So, now I have all the tools I need, the metal stamping is coming along nicely and I seemed to have found my way into something other my ordinary beading.  I did finish that project for my customer and she was very pleased.  She requested custom keychains for her anniversary with a penny from the year they got married.  

I think they turned out pretty good.  I'm  now offering these in my Etsy Shop.  You can order them personalized with your name, a single word, penny year of your choosing, etc..

 (www.etsy.com/shop/gettagift)

So, since taking this leap last week, I have also started to stretch my wings with another little project along the same lines and will SOON offer them in my Etsy Shop too.

I made this necklace for my Mother-in-law for her birthday.  Necklaces will be listed soon and again, will be a personalized, custom order item.

So, again, sometimes you need a change and sometimes you are thrust into change.  Sometimes its painful and sometimes (most times) you will surprise yourself of what you can actually handle (accomplish).  Stayed tuned for more an exciting things as I travel along this new path of creativity and continue to step outside my comfort zone.

Take care and take step outside your comfort zone!

All the best,

Traci

Summertime all the time...

I know I have been a little remiss in looking after this blog and I will try to get a little better at this with Autumn coming at us.  

Bear with me as this post will be a bit jumpy and cover a lot of stuff they may or may not pertain to jewelry making.  :)

My summer has been full of laughter, adventure, family and down-time.  What my summer hasn't had is a lot of jewelry design.  Its not that I have strayed from jewelry design/making (because I have certainly stocked up on great pieces to create with in the coming months), its just that I needed some time away from, well, anything that seemed fast-paced, pressured or had time frames around it.

Throughout the summer I have enjoyed spending an endless amount of time with my family.  We took our first family vacation in 5 years, have gone to the local amusement park a few times, tons of swimming, enjoyed picnics, local sightseeing, birthday parties and anything else that we found interesting.  Its been a complete joy doing all these things with my family.  The laughter and memories we have created I can't put a price tag on.

During the summer I have also seen a few more of my designs published in Bead Trends magazine.

This bracelet was published in May 2012 Bead Trends.  I named the bracelet 'Karen' after my mother and she is now in possession of this bracelet and a copy of this magazine.

These earrings were published in June 2012 Bead Trends.  Summer Blues, available in my Etsy Shop (www.etsy.com/shop/gettagift)

These earrings were published in July 2012 Bead Trends.  Pink Lime Flair.

All photography is courtesy of Bead Trends Magazine (Northridge Publishing).    I love the way they photograph my pieces making them sparkle and look glamorous.  I look forward to seeing my future pieces in print later this year.  

So, with Autumn rushing its way into our lives and my little guy starting kindergarten, you will find me settling into a more routine schedule of designing and making jewelry.  I have been busy scheduling Christmas Markets around the area and will update you all on my schedule in the next few weeks.  Please come back often, visit me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GettaGiftJewellery and feel free to browse my Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/gettagift.  I do ship worldwide and promptly.

Until the next blog post, have a great day(s) and hold on to these last days of summer as long as you can.

All the best,

Traci

Oh My!.... where have I been???

My blog has really been neglected lately, but never fear I think I will post a little something later this evening. :) Hang in there with me and I'll catch up with you soon. :)

April Showers....

It has been quite some time since my last blog entry, for us life has just been moving along and we've been doing the life things. I'm sitting in my dining room on a Saturday morning, watching the snow fall outside, listening to the sounds of an empty house and my fingers tapping away on the keyboard, drinking a cup of coffee, alone in my thoughts.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the 2010/11 we had, now that we have come out on the other side (stronger in our relationships with one another) and settling into our 'new' life. I know I have alluded to our recent past as being horrible, but have never gone too much further with divulging information. We hit some pretty hard times in our lives, the economy through out some pretty harsh cards and we left the table with our hats in hand (and that was just about all we had was our hats). During that time, as challenging as it was, I am very proud & grateful for the strength we had as a family unit. We never waivered in our commitment to one another, the love we have for one another and the support we gave one another when some days you just felt like you couldn't go on. We are very fortunate to be together, lots of couples don't survive what we went through, even though in hindsight its small peanuts compared to other peoples stories.

I know your thinking what a 'Debbie Downer' post, but it’s not all like that (I promise). I think when you have a birthday coming up you become very nostalgic, reflect on your past and contemplate your future. Yes, this month I am having a birthday, a significant birthday, I'm turning 40 years old. I don't feel old, as I don't think any age is old, it’s what you make it to be. I don't feel sad about turning 40. I don't feel regret. I don't feel anger. I feel lucky & fortunate & blessed. I have been given the gift of turning 40. I have been given the gift of a beautiful family, an incredible husband, a son that is the light of my life. I've been given the gift of good health. I've been given the gift of food on the table, roof over my head and more 'things' in my life than I'll know what to do with.

Turning 40 years old to me means a new chapter in life, new lessons to be learned, new experiences to be had, new attempts to get things right. It means figuring out what's important and what's not. It now knowing what a mole hill is versus a mountain. It means being thankful for each day your given and dealing with life on a day to day basis. It means eliminating negatives from my life and filling it with positives, hope & happiness. It means watching the world through my son's eyes with sheer enjoyment and delight. It means good old fashion belly laughs. It means stopping to smell the roses. It means appreciating what you are given and knowing what and who are important. It means having more empathy & compassion for people. It means accepting myself. It means letting go. It means living life.

Life is short; it can be snuffed out at any time for any one of us. Go out and enjoy what you have, forget about what you don't have, listen more, talk less, laugh lots, accept yourself, give love, receive love AND just appreciate the life your given, it’s a gift.

Now, I'm off to the bead store, but I'm leaving you with a simple quote.

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." ~ Maria Robinson

Serving up a Bowl of Bead Soup - Reveal Day!

This is the big day, the day 200 participants of the 5th Bead Soup Party share what they made with random beads, focal and clasp they received from a random partner they were paired with by our lovely host, Lori Anderson.  Lori is the woman who created Bead Soup Blog Party and organizes the chaos.  The party has become so popular Lori receives hundreds upon hundreds of applicants to participate and then by random organizer 200 people are chosen.  I was lucky to be chosen to participate and this is my very first blog hop.


I was paired with a lovely lady in Augusta, Georgia by the name of Sonya Stille.  Sonya and I have communicated by email several times and have become good friends on Facebook.   As this bead soup party has been moving along Sonya and I have been learning more about one another.  We are quite similar, I believe.  She is a wife and mother, like me and we both seem to have similar personalities.  I think Sonya and I could sit down for a cup of coffee and chat for hours if given the opportunity.  I have also been discovering little things here and there about her beading and am very excited to see what she has done with the bead soup mix I have sent her.


I received a lovely parcel in the post from Sonya and it was exactly my style of beads, focal and toggle!  Even my husband looked at the mix and said, "Well, that certainly is you".  He knows me so well. :)


Let me dive right into this with a picture of the soup mix I received from Sonya.

Sonya sent me Snakeskin agates, brown freshwater pearls, copper flower shaped toggle and a pendant SHE made herself.

Here is a closer look at the pendant Sonya made.

So given this bead soup I knew immediately I was going to make a necklace and pair of earrings.  Of course, with the copper toggle and focal it was going to be all copper as well.  I poured through my bead boxes and found some beautiful Czech glass beads I recently purchased at my local bead store and I also recently purchased some decorative copper spacer beads that gave the timeless, antique feel I was aiming for this necklace.  The necklace went together quite quickly and I incorporated the beads Sonya sent with my personal stash and am quite pleased with the end result.  (I already had someone offer to buy the necklace!)

The necklace and earrings!

The earrings were something different for me.  I knew what I wanted them to look like, but wasn't quite sure how to get there as I have not worked a lot with 26 gauge wire and itty bitty beads like the freshwater pearls Sonya sent me.  I started with a couple of coppe hoops I had in my stash and I took a VERY LONG piece of 26 gauge wire and I started wrapping it around the hoop and stringing on pearls at intervals until I had this happy looking sun staring at me.  I then made a couple of earwires from eyepins and VOILA!  My earrings came together just like that.  Again, I was tickled and now have found a new love of small beads and 26 gauge wire.  Oh the new obsession this has created! LOL

Here are a few more pictures of my necklace and earrings.  Please hold on after these pictures for the piece that came out of nowhere!

 Another close-up of the beautiful focal made by Sonya and the sweet flower toggle she sent me.

The earrings using 26 guage wire and freshwater pearls, snakeskin agates dropping from them and my handmade earwires.

So, I finished these pieces over a week ago.  The designs for these two pieces came very quickly to me, but the other day I was making rings and this idea came into my head for a ring and my bead soup.  I quickly got to work and again, trying something new for me, I was pleased with how it turned out for my first try.  I used 1 of the snakeskin agates and wire wrapped it with 20 gauge wire on my steel ring mandrel, then I used 26 gauge wire and string freshwater pearls around the agate giving it a very elegant feel/look.  I didn't use copper on this piece like I did the first 2 pieces, I resorted back to my comfort zone, antique brass.  Here are a few pictures of how my bead soup ring turned out.



All in all I'm pleased with my creations, I enjoyed making them, I enjoyed the anticipation of seeing what Bead Soup Mix I was going to receive from Sonya, I enjoyed meeting Sonya and so many other talented jewelry designers in the Bead Soup Cafe and I feel this helped me to step a little outside of my comfort zone and take a risk at something new/different.   I would like to thank Lori Anderson (http://www.prettythingsblog.com/) for being such a wonderful hostess and again for organizing such a HUGE amount of people. 

You can follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GettaGiftJewellery.  You can visit my Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/gettagift.

 

Now!  First, I am looking forward to hopping on over to my partners blog to see what she has created.  We can all catch up with Sonya at http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/. You can also follow Sonya on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAS-Jewelry-Designs/291318200921323.  

Finally, there are 200 brilliant jewelry designers who participated in this Bead Soup Blog Party and below you can find a link to all their pages and see what creations they made with their soup mixes.  I'm looking forward to sitting down with a Diet Coke and enjoying all the lovely sites!  Thank you and Enjoy!