Sneak Peek!

 I am so excited! Earlier this month I had a photo shoot with Liora K Photography! My dance friends Jen and Rachel served as my beautiful models, showcasing some of my tribal designs and some other jewelry that would also look great with dance costumes. All three women were so much fun to work with!

Soon I will be adding the images to my Etsy listings, and listing some new jewelry, but for now enjoy this cute picture of Jen and Rachel, and this sneak peek of the trays of necklaces!

I love bats

I don't understand how anyone can not like bats. Bats eat mosquitoes. Mosquitoes eat me. Every mosquito that gets eaten by a bat is one less mosquito that might nibble on my toe, right where my sandals will rub against it. If I could have a domesticated bat in my house, I would -- although I have a feeling that the chaos from two cats and two corgis chasing a bat would be a bit overwhelming.

The other night we went out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, because during the summer they have special Saturday evening programs. That particular Saturday was all about insects, which was super exciting. But we also got to have a very long conversation with one of the docents about BATS! She told us what species we have most commonly in Tucson, how many mosquitoes they can eat in an hour, and where and when to go if we want to see huge flocks of bats come swarming out from under a bridge. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any living bats, but there was a very cool bat skeleton. Their bones are so amazingly tiny and fine!

The bat bead in my Hanging Around Bat Necklace is so cute and detailed. It shows the friendlier side of bats, not the creepy black "turning into Dracula" stereotype. If you met this bat, you'd want to cuddle her! Maybe give her a high-five to thank her for eating so many insects.

A gift

After my friend Marilee bought the Orchid Rose bracelet, I decided I should make her a crystal bracelet to match. I had these new purple iris seed beads that I'd purchased at the gem show -- they look kind of blue in this photo, but they're actually a very dark purple. They're a great compliment to the Cyclamen Opal crystals, which are the same color as the ones I used as an accent in Orchid Rose. I topped it off with a hexagon-shaped pewter button.

In the meantime, I discovered a secret stash of crystal bracelets that has never been listed on my Etsy shop, so I should be photographing those on Monday.

Twee Tweeter

The Woodland Jewelry section of my shop has been a little neglected lately, but I did recently add these adorable Nesting Time earrings. The charms are of course from Green Girl. How cute are they? They even inspired me to break my usual rule of not making matching earrings. Of course, they're close enough to matching.

So the truth is I have a ridiculous amount of Green Girl components. I mean, I use a lot of them, but I buy even more than I use. Each one is just so sweet, I have to have them all! The fantasy-themed ones are of course my favorite, but I like to throw a few sparrows and owls in for those of you who like your jewelry with a bird on it.

Fun with Photography!

 I'm currently working on photographing some of my past work that has not made it onto Etsy yet. For instance, this Fire Dancer beaded lariat. My last attempt to get a decent set of photographs resulted in exactly 1 useful image. But yesterday I sat down to take some photos and I am really happy with them! In fact, the above picture is one of my favorites. Ever. It's just so nice! I am surprised that I took it.

Just for fun, here's a less-useful image. This is what happens when someone with zero formal photography training plays with the macro function on her digital camera.

Allegory Gallery Late for June

 My new goal is to tackle all of my monthly obligations early, instead of putting them off until the end and then suddenly not have time for everything. There's really no good reason for me to be posting my June project more than a week into July, so expect to see my July project next week rather than rushed in at the end of the month.

These chandelier earrings feature three types of beautiful beads from Allegory Gallery. First, the yummy translucent green AB leaves, which have the most delightful luster. Next, some tiny fire polished beads in a nice metal-lined medium emerald green. Finally, the cutest little vintage Japanese beads, which came on a looooong loop of the original thread, with the original Made in Japan sticker. It was hard to cut that strand! They were just so adorable as-is! I wanted to wear the strand like a long necklace, but it probably would have snapped some time when I was out to dinner, sending tiny green beads rolling under tables, perhaps even causing a waitress to slip and spill a tray. Any plan that involves injuries and lost beads is not a good one.

Anyway, I took all these sweet beads and I dangled them from a really cool pair of Sterling Silver chandelier findings that I've had forever, to make a simply gorgeous pair of earrings. I have plenty of beads leftover (especially the vintage ones), so I think I'll have to make a matching necklace.

 Disclaimer: Some items in this blog post were provided for promotional consideration by Allegory Gallery.

Belly Dancer

I made this Silver Siren belly dancer pendant a while ago, and put it on consignment at Plaza de Anaya. Sadly, it did not sell, and since I am no longer taking weekly classes in Tempe, I pulled my consignment to list it on Etsy instead. So now you, the general Etsy-shopping public, have your chance to own this very elegant beaded pendant! There will be more dancer pendants in other colors eventually. I really love these vintage dancer images.

As for dancing itself, I am still obsessed! I'm in classes at least three days a week, practicing all the time to stay on top of troupe choreographies and my own solos, and performing once or twice a month even in the heat of the Summer. I love it even more than beadwork, and that's saying something. If you want to know more about what I'm up to, it's best to follow my other blog, Confessions of a Dance Pants Addict.

Lots of new earrings!

 I'm on a quest to get my Etsy shop up to at least 100 items, and to keep it that way. I want my customers to have a great selection to choose from. To that end, I've been busy listing some new earrings in the shop. Above, Basalt Talisman, the latest in my line of Hamsa earrings.

 Tribal Bauble is made with some of the first Kashmiri beads I ever purchased. I've probably had these for about a decade now, maybe longer, and I've been jealously doling them out in small amounts. I think this is the last of them. A great accent to your favorite tribal necklace.

 Vampy Starlet goes perfectly with all of the red and black I've been featuring lately. The red beads are vintage! They're a really rich opaque red, like lipstick.

Since the hamsas have done so well, I decided to give these henna hand charms a try. Lovely Dancer Hands would be a great gift for a henna artist or belly dancer.

I really like using that little wooden box as a photo prop, by the way! It's so elegant and just the right size to display earrings, bracelets and anklets.

Allegory Gallery May Project

Whoops! I fell a little behind on Allegory Gallery projects. Well, in May I was supposed to create an item and write a tutorial for it. I chose to do one of my crystal bracelets because it's a good way to introduce people to beadweaving, it can be done in any color, and it has a button clasp for an extra special touch. However, Andrew decided to postpone the tutorials for now, so I can share the pictures in my blog instead.

I decided to get a little fancy playing with different angles, to get some nice artistic shots that say "gallery worthy" to me.

This bracelet uses Dark Turmaline Swarovski crystals from Allegory Gallery, woven together with brown Nymo beading thread also provided by the gallery. I added some Japanese seed beads from Beyond Beadery and a button that I picked up somewhere along the way. I buy buttons wherever I find them. I chose red-orange as my accent instead of going with a complimentary color, as I am forcing myself to work more with contrasts, and I have a skirt with these colors in it.

Disclaimer: Some items in this blog post were provided for promotional consideration by Allegory Gallery.