Really Cool Day!

And I don't just mean the temperature outside!

Yes, it was 16 degrees this morning, but it rose to 26 before I left the house, and it actually felt pretty nice, and was a gorgeous day - brilliantly sunny.

I went to Kroger ( I would literally, and I do mean literally, rather have a root canal than go to the grocery store; but when you're out of food, you're out of food...) and then I headed over to the Martinez post office, which is not far from the bead store. I had to ship out the latest item to sell from my new Etsy Destash Shop! I am loving the destashing business...

Anyway - these acrylic risers are just great for folks doing craft shows and other venues where you need too display lots of stuff in a small space, for maximum visibility. The lovely folks at JB Soaps purchased 2 of these (thanks!) - and I still have a few left, if anyone is interested.

Then I headed over to the shop, stashed my groceries in the fridge until I could take them home after work, and opened up the store.

Within a few minutes, a customer came in and said she was looking for a couple of beadcaps, and just wanted to browse around. About an hour later, she was ready to check out, and when I got to the register, she had brought up the 2 beadcaps, and this necklace:

She said that she had been looking around the store for ideas, but that this necklace was prettier than anything she could have thought up, so she just wanted to take it home with her.

What a great compliment!

This necklace had been in my Etsy shop for a while - it is (to me, anyway) just absolutely stunning, primarily because of the gorgeous handmade lampwork beads provided by Amy, of AKD Lampwork. Check out Amy's beads - they are unbelievable! Plus she is a really nice lady!

You just don't know how this made my day - I felt so appreciated, plus business has been super slow since the holiday season ended, so this sale was extra-appreciated.

Isn't it funny how the need for 2 beadcaps led to this?

We have a wire-wrapping class tomorrow at the shop. The projects are 2 completely different styles of earrings, and a ring to match one of the earrings - should be a lot of fun.

4 Treasuries in one day!

I arrived home from work today, logged onto Etsy, and discovered that my designs had been featured in 3 separate treasuries - what an honor!

My Starfish Spiral Necklace is featured in this stunning collection by countryrustic. The colors in this treasury are gorgeous, and it is fun to see all the different ways Etsy artists have worked starfish into their designs.

Makes me want to go scuba diving - now!


My friend and fellow bead-weaver, Carol Dean Sharpe, aka SandFibers, curated this absolutely sublime peach-themed treasury, and included my Just Peachy Earrings, which were designed as a tribute to independent lampwork artisans.

CD always does such a fabulous job with her treasuries, and this one reminds me of peach ice-cream, which would be delicious right now - in this 98 degree weather!

Thanks for including my earrings in this collection, CD!


Sharon, of manamoonstudios, curated this beautiful treasury, and included my wire-wrapped Vintage Crystal Ring. The colors she chose for this fabulous collection are lovely, as always!



Thanks for thinking of me, again, Sharon!




Another beadweaving friend, totallytwisted, included my wire-wrapped Ammonite Pendant in this collection she curated on 7/1/08. Who knew this many fabulous ammonites could be found on Etsy?
What a great theme for a treasury! Thanks, Jean!

This treasury has not expired yet (as of this post), so that makes 4 treasuries at once for me - a new record.

Thank you ladies so much for making my day!

I hope my readers will take a few minutes to visit the shops of these fabulous artists!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Etsy Treasuries

Y'all know about treasuries? Etsy treasuries are member-created collections of items presented in gallery style, usually with a theme, for others to peruse and enjoy - kind of like a museum. The creator of the treasury is even called the curator.

The pictures on the Etsy Home Page are treasuries, pulled from the selection of hundreds of available treasuries by Etsy Admin, for exposure on the front page, where everyone who logs on to Etsy will see them.


I have never made it to the front page, but my items frequently are featured in treasuries. Yesterday, I was honored to be featured in two different treasuries.

In this one, Etsy's manamoonstudios featured one of my wire-wrapped rings in her gorgeously curated pink and green treasury. Manamoon is a frequent commenter on my Flickr page, and one of my favorite people. Thanks, Sharon!


This beautiful collection, curated by one of my fellow Beadweavers, totallytwisted, features my newest beadweaving creation, the Starfish Spiral. Didn't she do a fabulous job composing this? Thank you, Jean





The opportunity to create treasuries is limited, and there is always a throng of members beating at the gates when that window of opportunity opens. I was evidently in the right place at the right time yesterday, and managed to snag one for myself, and created this homage to my favorite breakfast food:




Want to know how to find Etsy treasuries?

Etsy Treasury List
The hard-to-find Treasury West


Check them out - individual treasuries expire every 2-3 days, so check frequently - you might find a fabulous hidden treasure!

The Jury's Still Out on This

So I took another class this weekend, this time to learn how to use Art Clay Silver. If you aren't familiar with this, it is an organic clay polymer in which silver particles are embedded. The clay is manipulated into the desired shape, then fired in a kiln, where the organic binder burns off, leaving fine silver (99.9% silver).

When starting, the clay is grayish white, an pliable. We rolled out it flat, like cookie dough, and then used cookie cutters to form it into the desired shape. The class project was a pendant, and I chose to make a starfish. Before we cut the shape out, we stamped the clay with a textured rubber stamp, to impart some texture to the finished design. I later found out how important this texture can be to the finished product!

A small caliber drinking straw was used to cut the hole for the bail.

After the shape is cut out, the clay has to completely dry before being placed in the kiln. We placed the cut-out shapes on mug warmers to speed the drying process.

After drying, there is a lot of sanding, to smooth out rough edges. The piece is then fired for a short time, and then there is a lot more sanding. The piece is then dipped in liver of sulfate, to impart patina. At this time, the piece is very dark in appearance.

The piece is then polished again, which removes the patina from the surface, and leaves it embedded in the crevices of the textured surface.

That's my finished starfish pendant to the right. The texture is a little flat around the top arm of the starfish, because my big ole thumb contacted the surface during the sanding process, when I didn't realize the clay was still soft. The fingerprint ridges are hidden by the texture I stamped into the clay, which is why beginners stamp textures into the clay - to hide these boo-boos!

This was a very interesting process, with a lot of variations, and infinite possibilities. The clay itself is very pricey, and the whole process is extremely stuff-intensive, as I call it. There is so much equipment involved that start-up costs could be prohibitive. I'm scheduled to take another class, and we'll see if I fall in love with it. So far, the jury's out.