Tangle Tuesday

My latest Zentangle:

I wanted to use a central tangle of some sort, and then have different tangles radiating outward from it. I'm still experimenting with different tangles, so trying to find ways to incorporate lots of different ones into my creations.

I decided to go with a central flower, and started with a cabbage rose center - I labored over what size to make the center, because I didn't want my completed flower to end up dominating the page (oops!) - I thought I settled on a perfectly sized center (any smaller, and the pattern wouldn't have shown) but by the time I added a couple of layers of petals around it, my flower was huge. Then I decided to add some leaves and tendrils. Then I got fancy and added some color.

Once the flower was finished, I added some dividing lines (strings) for the tangles, and ended up with 13 spaces to fill - this was a lot of fun. There are so many tangles I still haven't tried, and yet I ended up using a few of my favorites from previous efforts (over and under, W2, and river).

W2 is one I really struggle with - no matter how careful I am, I screw up and get the little black squares out of alignment (every time!) AND manage to get some of the other lines in the wrong place, too. In the interest of full disclosure:

The section indicated with the red arrow started out to be W2. I drew the little black squares, and they were sort of aligned. Sort of - there was a bit of a deviation where the arrowhead points. But then, I started adding (what I call) the innies and outies - the lines that alternate on the inside and outside of the little squares. And right where the arrowhead is, I screwed up (as usual) and put an innie where an outie belonged. With my sakura felt tip marker - so it was permanent. No way to fix it, so I improvised and made the weird, warped plaid-ish grid you see there now.

I don't get very zen when I tangle - I want to be precise and perfect!

Tangles I used in this doodle (not including my weird warped plaidish grid):

• paradox
• tutus and tiaras
• spearls
• tendrils
• chainging
• W2
• river
• kloonz
• tentacles
• amoeboid
• seasick
• strircles
• over and under
• slalom
• ballot
• stoic

Are you a Zen doodler, or an anal doodler? (ooh - that sounds bad)

Well, I have enough beads left over to...

Remember the freeform cuff from a few days ago? (and a year ago?)

These are the bead piles I worked from on Wednesday when I recreated the cuff (which sold yesterday morning).

I have enough beads left over to make this cuff again, and those of you who read this blog regularly will NOT be surprised to learn that I haven't put the beads away yet!

So - here's the deal. If you are seriously interested in owning this cuff, I will be happy to make one for you - just sign onto Etsy and send me a convo letting me know you would like one. This will be first come, first served - offer good while bead supply lasts only!


Once I receive your convo, I will create a custom reserved listing for you, which will have a picture of the bracelet I made earlier this week. Your bracelet will look slightly different - although I am using the same bead assortment, this is a freeform design, and the beads go where they want to go! Once I have received payment (in full) for the design, I will make your bracelet, and ship it off to you within 3 business days. Easy!

Please be aware that this cuff is not really adjustable. The cuff will fit from size 6 to size 7-1/4. The cuff form itself, being steel, is quite durable, but also rigid, so on a smaller wrist, it will be a little loose, and probably impossible to shape to the wearer's smaller size. Similar, it can't be opened wider to accommodate a larger wrist.

Pics of the first 2 versions of this cuff:

freeform wire cuff, 2013

 freeform wire cuff, 2012

If you'd like one of these almost one-of-kind cuffs, send me a convo on Etsy!

For Breakfast Today? Green Eggs and Spam

That looks ... disgusting.

I keep hearing that Google, Yahoo, and other such web entities are intuitive - like the way Facebook knows to put jewelry and bead ads on my Facebook page.

That's why I am continually amazed at the e-mail spam I get - the spamming community is convinced I am a guy, I think - I get hundreds of e-mails for penis enlargement, Viagra (and other "performance enhancement" drugs), etc, a day. I periodically close e-mail accounts and open new ones, but am never spam-free for long.
Wish I could figure out who keeps selling my e-mail addresses; it's not like I'm visiting porn sites.

But anyhoo - I had to laugh at the latest one to hit my inbox:

It's from "Secret Wife Affairs", and the subject line? "Why wait? Have an affair with a cheating wife today."

Sorry - WHY WAIT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH A CHEATING WIFE TODAY

It just makes me wonder:

• Did all the cheating wives get together and form their own online business?
• Why do these spammers think I am the target demographic for this?
• Why are they yelling?
• Is this type of spamming lucrative?
• Who would click on this e-mail?

Not me.

But - if you feel left out because you aren't getting fantastic offers like this, just drop me a comment with your e-mail address, and I'll be happy to forward this one directly to you*! No charge!



*Not really. Find your own spam.

Freeform Wire Cuff, Redux

I don't often repeat my designs, but yesterday I created one of my most popular bracelets, a freeform wire cuff I first made last year.

I have had several requests to repeat this design, but put it off because I like my pieces to be one of a kind, and also because I didn't think I would be able to collect the same assortment of beads that I used the first time.

But in the process of hunting for something else, I came upon leftover aquamarine rondelles from the initial bracelet - I had squirreled them away in a "safe place", and promptly forgot where they were, and after a few months, forgot that I had them at all. I hate that! Anyone else lose stuff to safe places, all the time?

Here is the fruit of yesterday's labors:

freeform wire cuff, 2013

This bracelet was made entirely from bead soup - no strands of beads were cut, no tubes of seed beads were breached - all of these beads were stashed away; it just took several hours to hunt through all my various hiding places!

Some of the beads I used include: freshwater pearls in various colors, shapes, and sizes - pink, champagne, white, and peacock blue; round, potato, top-drilled, button, and some really cool peacock cornflake pearls; aquamarine rondelles (some faceted, some not) and chips; Czech firepolish beads in 3 different colors; Swarovski crystals in 3 colors, and size 8/0, 11/0, and 6/0 glass seed beads in 3 colors.

The base of the bracelet is copper-plated steel, and I wrapped it with Vintaj Natural brass wire. It will fit size 6 to 7, and is very comfortable (it will actually fit up to a 7-1/4). The cuff base (being steel) is quite rigid, so it can't be further shaped to conform to the wearer's wrist.

More pics, from different angles:

I've added it to my Etsy shop - if this one appeals to you, don't delay! SOLD!

Tuesday Tangle

I created this zentangle over several days, adding bits and pieces here and there as the mood (and time) struck. I am really enjoying using this larger watercolor paper for tangling.

I wanted to use more colors in this one, and got off to a good start, coloring the chlink and string of beads as I drew them. But my color muse left me in the lurch after that, so other than making the leaves green on my vine, I stuck with black and white.

Patterns I used in this tangle include: chlink, string of beads, lacy, paradox, aah, crescent moon, river, squid, leafy vine, galoo, waves, facets, and bunzo. The squid was an afterthought, and if I had it to do over again (and I just might, next time...) I would draw it first, before the string, and draw everything else behind it.

Gorgeous Glass Gems

I spent 3 days cutting up the dichro slabs, engraving them with the Dremel, and then grinding and beveling them, and hustled them into the kiln yesterday for firepolishing - here are just a few of the cabs, liberated from the kiln this morning: (I wish dichro photographed well!)

Those of you with a trained eye will probably spot my mistake in this pic - Of these 7 cabs, somehow, 3 of them (the 2 uppermost ones, and the round one in the middle) - missed out on the beveling stage in the grinder.

Even more disheartening: out of the 35 cabs I made, only about 10 of them are beveled. I don't have the slightest idea how this happened - all 35 were in a bucket next to the grinder, and I was pulling them out one at a time to bevel. I sat at the dang grinder for 4 hours working on this - have NO CLUE how I missed more than 2/3 of them.

I was just going to leave them unbeveled,, until I started planning to solder with some of them - they are 7/16 inches tall, and my tallest bezel wire is 1/4 inch, so it will just barely work. And if I don't slant the top edge a little, I don't think I will get a good bezel.

So I am now going to haul out the grinder again, and bevel all the cabs I missed the first time - and then I'll firepolish them (again) tomorrow.

I have listed one of the cabs on Etsy - these are just SO pretty! Can't wait to make some rings, pendants, and bracelets with them. And I have put aside one for beadweaving, too!

This one's available on Etsy:   SOLD!!

If you'd be interested in some of the blue-green-purple ones, let me know, and I'll list them, too.

Sunday Soldering

This past Sunday, my friend Kris and I got together at Ye Olde Bead Shop to solder - it has been months since either one of us soldered, and we were so excited!

Kris and I share a "Kate Richbourg Connection" - let me explain: Kris took a tube riveting class from Kate at the Bead and Button show last year, and Kate was MY fabulously generous and talented partner in the last BSBP (Bead Soup Blog Party) - what a coincidence, right?

Kris purchased an autographed copy of Kate's Book Simple Soldering when she was up at Bead and Button, and she brought the book to the shop so we could try some of the projects - we joked that Kate was right there with us! I had previously borrowed the DVD from Kris, and enjoyed watching it so much - it is done SO well, and it was nice to put and face and name on my BSBP partner - it really felt like she was right there, talking to me, as I watched the DVD!

 Simple Soldering, by Kate Richbourg

We made 2 projects from the book on Sunday - the stacking rings, and the beads:

my stacking rings

textured & soldered silver saucer beads

The beads were very difficult to photograph - they are so shiny (after a spin in the tumbler) that they were almost too reflective to get a good pic.

I love my rings - wearing them now! Thanks for the help, Kate!

As I said last week, there is just not enough time to do everything I want to do - I wish I could solder more often! It is tough when you don't have designated work spaces (and time!) for all the different media - it's a pain having to put one set-up away in order to set up for soldering, or enameling, or glass fusing, or beadweaving, or whatever - when I win the lottery (that I never play, LOL) I am going to build a huge, beach front, airy studio with separate, well-appointed workstations for each and every one of my jewelry addictions!