Albino Guinea Pig Bead

Every time i look at this bead i smile.  It really captures the "suchness of guinea pig," as one of my art teachers would have said.  :-)  In the shop now.

Lace Beads or Tentacle Beads

My tentacle/lace beads are available in my etsy shop--teal and purple versions at this point.

It's a Boy! ... or Girl! baby sock monkey beads

If you know anyone who is having, or has just a had a baby, you must have one of my super cute little "It's a Boy!" or "It's a Girl!" sock monkey baby beads.  I am making these pink and blue sweeties for my etsy shop now.  They would make unique gifts for a baby shower, or for new mom and grandma.

I realize that not all of my customers are jewelry makers, and for those folks i offer to make you a bead pendant on a chain, at a unit price of $15 each, for base metal findings and chains. Sterling silver prices available upon request.  For more information, please contact me through my etsy shop:  www.TheBeadYouNeed.etsy.com.

[Keep out of reach of children.]

Mary's Gold

Introducing a new color combo for my lens beads: Mary's Gold! (Available in my shop now.)

Several years ago i made some little cylindrical beads with one end transparent amber, and one end rubino oro, with a narrow band of reduced silver foil where the colors came together. I made them into earrings for my mom and this summer she told me they were a very special color for her. So if she's reading this: Mom, i'm working on some more earrings for you. :o)

Honor

I'm so pleased to have one of my beads (the Gord O'Lantern guy) featured in this treasury today. There are some really good lampworkers in this group, and i'm flattered to have something i made put in the same set. Cool. (To get the treasury version complete with hot links, click here.)

GemBonz!

My line of handmade glass birthstone bone bead dog collar charms is finally available again, under the new name of GemBonz. I have all twelve birthstone months listed in my etsy shop. My original charms, the BirthBones, sold for $10 with free shipping. The new GemBonz price is now $8, but i charge my low shipping rate. Other items in the same order ship for free, so i figure it averages out to a small savings for the buyer.

GemBonz beads are also a little larger than the BirthBones were. And the Super Size version, which makes optimal zipper pulls, or charms on large dogs, will be listed some time during the week, i hope. And one more difference i've made to the GemBonz is silver bead on the bottom, whereas the BirthBones had a swarovski crystal. The plain silver bead looks much cleaner and simpler.

oo la la!

je'taime Paris, listed in the etsy shop. The mauve color is so soft and fleeting. The flashes of reflecting light bring in so much gold and blue-green that these are the kind of bead you can enjoy watching. I keep picking them up and carrying them to the window to be fascinated by the flash--some people are like that: dazzled by little sparkly things...

Stan-O'-Lantern and a few more squash studs now have their personal ads in the shop. They are very hopeful they're going to meet their special someones.

Fossil Fish Beads

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

We had a really nice camping week. And i returned to the computer to find some wonderful, huge bead orders! I'll be working on filling them for over a week, i'm sure.

We were camping in the mountains east of Santa Fe. At the top of a ridge we found an outcropping of shale that was flaking off and sliding down the slope. It was one of those really neat geological instances of finding fossilized aquatic animals at the top of a mountain. There were really fine skeletal corals, and bivalves, but i was ready to sit there all afternoon looking for a fish skeleton, when a loud animal snort nearly gave me a heart attack. I fled, in a semi-contolled fashion, on legs of jelly, back down the mountain. It was probably just a mule deer, but i wasn't taking any chances. :-)

A couple of fish skeleton beads are now in The Bead You Need shop.

Pink Grapefruit

This is just some pretty eye candy. The beads have been sold. But don't they look stunning as a collection?

Easter Rabbit Bead

Here's my little Easter bead. Not so much a bunny as a rabbit. I haven't decided if he's for sale. I think he might need to stay here so that i can be sure to get chocolate.

New Beads For Monday

I listed a couple of new items in the old etsy shops today. This is one of those beads sets that proves terribly difficult to photo. There is so much gold flash and salmon gleam to them that refuses to get preserved in my pictures. What are ya gonna do, ya know?

The monkey bead is just a cute little face with big ears.

Tiny Glories

W 0 0 t! My fish finger bead photo was accepted by craftgawker (after 3 of my other submissions had been rejected). I have no idea if this will add traffic to my etsy shop, but google analytics will tell me. :-) I read about craftgawker in an etsy mailing. I believe it was an example of "free advertising". Too bad i don't really have much in that shop yet--another demonstration of how it doesn't pay to spread yourself too thin.

I ask myself: "Is this really necessary?"

I am such a dummy! lol I opened a third etsy shop for my beads. I don't really know why. We'd been talking about how listing made-to-order-beads is kind of off-putting to folks who want to see exactly what they are buying, not just an example. And how people who shop for artisan-made lampwork beads want to consume something unique. They don't want to know that everyone and his dog can order yet more of the same beads.

So we were talking about going back to listing single beads, but providing the option to order more of the same pattern if a buyer really needs a pair to make earrings, or a set of 6 or 10 to make a bracelet. For some reason it struck me that it would be easier to start a new shop than to revamp the old one. Sigh. So now The Bead You Need is open for business. I'm not rushing to fill it up. Just in case i come to my senses. I mean, does a person really want to run 3 shops?

Sock Monkey Keys

I want to share this really neat birthday present that my brother and his family sent to me for my birthday. Sock monkey key covers! How cool is that?!

Also, this is my 100th blog posting, which seems pretty amazing considering i don't usually have anything worth saying. Just like the majority of the bloggers out there! LOL Go, us!

And i stocked the Sock Monkey Beads shop with a new set. Someone can turn these into a pretty necklace or earings and pendant, maybe.