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| Ashley Earrings |
Just a quick update today. I’ve got a few new projects coming up that I’m trying to finish up, finalize, and/or get off the ground. At least one will show up within a few days; the others over the next couple weeks and months. It’s exciting, and I look forward to sharing them, but for now, I’m plugging away.
I’m also trying to work in a quick vacation sometime soon, but that may be wishful thinking!
What are you up to today?
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| Aden Earrings |
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| Serena Earrings |
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| Singer Necklace |
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| Shaine Necklace |
Oh, I love spring! The colors do me in every time.
I have a few new pieces for the shop. Since I had a slight hurdle to overcome on a new line I’ve been thinking about (it just isn’t working! the nerve), I’ve put it on hold for the time being. Instead, I’ve been turning my attention back to my favorite boro beads. I have a decent stash (clearly), so I’ve been working through those the last week. I’ve been picking out ones with new color schemes I haven’t really explored, or at least trying to approach them with the idea of using new colors together.
Like the Aden Earrings – these are incredibly substantial and kind of heavy, so they aren’t for everyone. But wow, does that red really sing. I’ve paired it with pale yellow and pale aqua blue, trying to explore how to use a primary color palette in a different way.
And my Serena Earrings. My gut reaction is to pull out the blues I see in the boros, but I’ve done that before. So, this time, I decided to stick with just purple, and found some keishi pearls that I forgot I had.
As for the Singer Necklace, this was supposed to be a part of the Art Bead Scene’s February beading challenge… but I couldn’t get photos done in time. Still, it’s a bright little rainbow, and I’m loving the way it came together.
And of course, I couldn’t ignore the blues and greens I saw in the boro I used for my Shaine Necklace. But I tried switching it up a little by adding a warm whiskey brown.
What do you think?
I have to say that I’m positively giddy about the change in seasons. I can’t wait to break out the dresses and sandals, and put away the hoodies (though I do love them so). I’m so delighted that I decided to celebrate Spring and St. Patrick’s Day by having a Spring Sale!
From now till March 17th, take 20% off your entire order from my shop. Simply enter code SPRING on the checkout page before completing your purchase. Sale ends 11:59pm EST on March 17th, 2011, and does not apply to shipping costs.
I love Spring, how about you?
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| Flora Earrings |
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| Bloom Earrings |
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| Poppy Earrings |
Just a few things today, as I had to wait on my silver order last week. I’m really pleased with the way these earrings turned out! They might just be my newest favorites. Now I get to play and see if any necklaces can be made in the same vein…
I’m also dabbling with a new line. Taking a cue from the color palettes I love so much, I’ve been trying to work with fibers. “Slow going” is as good a description as any, but I’m going to keep pushing. I’ve been thinking of changing up the materials and trying a new approach – anybody have any experience with air dry clay? Or how about painting polymer clay? How do I seal either, with varnish?
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| Dylan Necklace |
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| Cora Necklace |
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| Saffron Earrings |
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| Verna Earrings |
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| Whitney Earrings |
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| Whitney Necklace |
It feels good to be making again. But I’ve yet to find a rhythm that works well.
On Etsy, it’s list every day, multiple times a day, just to be in the search results. When you have your own shop site, that kind of pressure is off (so nice), but now my question is do I still list every day or do one big shop update per week? Does it matter? If I was still on Etsy, I’d already know the answer, but I’ll figure it out eventually (insert hope here).
New this past week are a few more boro pieces for my Artisan Lampwork series. I stumbled upon these cute little Thai silver flower charms that I bought who-knows-when, and decided to go ahead and make something with them. Inspired almost entirely by my desire to see flowers growing again, I picked out brightly colored pairs of boros and yummy gems, and turned them into earrings. Cute, right? More of these earrings to come, and once my silver order comes in, necklaces, too!
What’s new with you this week?
P.S. If your husband/boyfriend/significant other still needs to order a Valentine’s Day gift for you, or if you’d like to treat yourself, enter code “bloglove” during checkout at www.catiesblue.com for 14% off your order! Good till Valentine’s Day (which is next Monday, did you know?).
I’ve had these funny little marquise-shaped brass dangles in my stash for… let’s just say a while. I had an idea to take metal paint to them, which I did, but I never did anything with it once they dried and cured (please tell me other people buy and abandon supplies, too). So, I took some time last week to finally do something with them and get them listed in my shop; I like the way they turned out!
I have to say, it felt good to cross off that little to-do item off my list, so I’m going to keep that trend going this week. I’m making time over the next few days to finish up lingering projects, like my nephew’s first year photo book. As he’s going to be three in January, I’m only a tiny bit late (*snort*), but I’m determined to surprise my sister for Christmas (she thinks she’s getting a necklace – and no, she doesn’t read my blog, so I feel safe announcing her present to everyone else). It’ll feel so nice to start my holiday break with a clean slate, or to-do list, don’t you think?
How about you? Got any lingering projects you’d like to cross off? Wanna join me in tackling those this week?
Copyright © 2010-2013 by Brandi Hussey. All rights reserved.