Long time, no blog

Though the Bead Up shop is still alive and well, the Bead Up blog has been put on the back burner. Sad, as I have really enjoyed the community and outlet that this blog has provided, but I am happy for the reason behind the vacancy: I am pregnant :) We are so stinkin' thrilled and have been cherishing every moment. That said, though Bead Up is still filling orders and making custom pieces, I have switched my "journaling" focus from this blog to my pregnancy journal (and working a very full time job). I am sure I will be back soon enough, but in the meantime, I miss you all and this venue of creativity and keeping my favorites updates about my jewelry journey. 

That said, I leave you with a parting gift in the meanwhile: GIVEAWAY! One of my bloggin' friends from LA is hosting a Bead Up product giveaway - take a moment to enter to win this fun necklace. Thanks again, Linny! 

Thanks so much for your understanding in my absence. You are loved and missed! 

Earring :: Ideas :: Inspiration

Poet and feminist Audre Loude once said: "There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt." I have heard this said before of any art form, that there is no "new" art, only reinterpretations of ideas already established. Think about going to a museum, be it modern or antiquity. Have you ever left feeling a deep impulse to just create? Something, anything -- so long as you get your say in the process of making something out of something else. I guess it's the same for those who watch sports and then feel motivated to go to the gym (said activity does not have an effect on me, unfortunately). 

That said, one of my main source of jewelry ideas is spending time in the jewelry department of stores such as Target and Macy's or browsing them online. I have been known to get lost in the sea of Etsy products and sketch some ideas from there, too. This past week I found some super cute earrings at Target and, with the new stash of jewels from LA's jewelry district, one pair lead to two pairs lead to seven new pairs of earrings:

This is the original from Target, priced at $40:

And here is the Bead Up version, priced at $19:

Amethyst, Agate, Pearl, and Crystal earrings, $19 

But then I figured, why stop at gold? Silver rocks, too!

Pink and Pearl Earrings, $18

Then I saw these earrings, originally from Anthropology but no longer on their site:

Which turned into my interpretation (based on the materials I had on hand, of course):

Pink Crystal Drop earrings, $19

And these Anthropology earrings:

Turned into these Bead Up earrings:

Pink Briolette Earrings, $20

Then I just kept going!

Gold and Leaf Gemstone Earrings, $20

Cerulean Blue and Gold Hammered Hoop Earrings, $16

Bridal Pearl and Crystal Earrings, $17

And while I was at it, I remembered a sketch I had drawn last week based on a design I saw in a bead magazine:

Which turned into this -- a new spin on an old classic!

Brass Birdie Goes to its Nest Necklace - Turquoise

I think this is the most productive jewelry makin' day I have had in awhile! 

Here's to another one!

100th post!

That's right - this is my 100th post! I started this wee-little blog last May with the intention to expand my Etsy shop through blog lovin' and interaction! Since then, Bead Up's blog has ranked in 227 Google followers, 33 Networked Blog readers and another 176 fans on Facebook, readers from every continent, and over 10,000 hits! Wahoo! Thanks for being one of those faithful followers :) This past February also marks the anniversary of my first Etsy sale (now which ranks over 150 on the website with 105 feedbacks of 100%, and over 300 custom and in-person sales)! It's been a great year - especially since I never thought that Bead Up would grow at such an encouraging rate! Though most people do big-ole' giveaways when they hit milestones such as these, I don't want to over-do it since I just had a series of giveaways and am still co-hosting one that ends on Sunday (click here to enter if you haven't already)! Instead, I am pleased to announce the winner of the Lovely Clusters giveaway. In case you forgot, Bead Up was in the running to be announces a user favorite Blog or Etsy shop. Thanks to all of you who voted, I came in 3rd for Favorite Jewelry Shop (only losing by 2 votes - dag nabbit)! After numbering your entries and using the Random Number Generator, I am pleased to announce that the winner is my buddy John (who actually blogged about our recent doggie adoption on his own doggie blog)! John asked that I either raffle or donate the necklace's price to Used Pets, the organization in which I found my new doggie. I love this idea, and am going to put alot of thought into how best to raise funds for them through Bead Up'in! Lastly, I finished a custom wedding set of jewelry for a friend of mine here in LA. Adrienne asked if I could make her some statement necklaces to match her brown and sage colored themed wedding, and if she could provide the beads herself? Not only do I LOVE making statement necklaces, but I really love when the client provides some of the materials - it makes the process that much more reflective of their own style! I recommended some of my favorite locations in LA's jewelry district to Adrienne, and a week later she presented to me some really cool looking wooden disc beads and some round sage gemstone beads. After showing her some ways that I could string and arrange the beads, we agreed on using brass colored findings for the 2 bridesmaids's necklaces, one junior bridesmaid's necklace, and a flower girl bracelet (which Adrienne requested be made with crystals).I even had enough beads remaining to make a necklace for Adrienne, too! I hope she likes them!

MIA - but still keepin' busy!

Ok, so I know I have been rather MIA lately. But I swear, I have been busy doing Bead Up things (in addition to a million other things, including getting over a bad cold and starting a new job)! Here are a few of the latest projects I have completed... A loyal customer of mine, Karen, asked that I make her 3-year-old niece a little pink bracelet for Valentine's day. I used some beads I actually had left over from a previous project and came up with this little number: I love how the beads capture the light! When I gave it to Karen, she put it on her own wrist and laughed, saying "You will need to make another one - I like this one too much to give it away!" Coming right up! Back in December I blogged about how a co-worker of mine asked that I make her three brass necklaces that looked like exaggerated chains. She liked them so much that she asked if I can make her a double-linked bracelet to match. I mixed and matched some different sized chains and brass links to come up with a cute little bracelet that I thought she would like. When I presented it to her, she liked it so much she asked if I could make another one so she could stack them. I didn't get a chance to take a "formal" picture of the bracelets, but did manage to get a snap shot of them on her wrist as she just so happened to wear some rings that matched! I used the remaining chain and links from the project to come up with a matching necklace, complete with a cute little birdie charm! And finally, I splurged and managed to make something for myself, too! I have arrived at a point where I have become a loyal customer of two particular stores in LA's jewelry district (good products + great price + nice staff = I am there and devoted, baby). Every time I shop at The Bead Factory, I have been drawn to this certain string of peach, brown, and clear faceted round crystals. Finally, upon my last visit, my husband put them in my shopping basket without me knowing and I went home to find a surprise for my personal indulgence! I knew just from looking at these beads that I didn't want to yuck them up with any other beads or wire-wrapping -- I loved how they looked next to each other in their "raw" form and wanted to keep that integrity. And though there were enough beads to make a solid 13" choker kind of necklace, I wanted the beads to fall just north of my collar bone, yet also be adjustable in length. So I ordered some large linked gold chain and gold findings and simply strung the beads on some gold wire: And then added the gold chain and clasp, in addition to a cute little clear faceted bead at the end of the chain :) I LOVE how these crystals capture light: Now if I only knew what to wear the necklace with, I would be set! Meanwhile, I am meeting with a new client this weekend to start creating her wedding jewelry -- all I know is that she wants statement necklaces -- my kind of project! I am also working on a few more giveaways and some really cool, fresh, never-before-seen-kind-of blog-entries :) Keep posted!!

Randomly Raining

Ok, so I need to first apologize for not posting regularly this week. It's been a little batty in the Bead Up house -- for starters, I got a new job (prayers are answered!) and transfer departments this week. Secondly, it's been raining cats and dogs and frogs here in Los Angeles, leaving our roof leaking and our garage flooded (which is what happens when you spoil your house with rainless weather for so long!). Lastly, my brother moved in with us this week, too, and the hubs and I are enjoying catching up with him in the downtime. Needless to say, it's gotten in the way of a bunch of bottled up creativity, both in blogging and jewelry making! I have, however, found a few moments in the space between to post a few new items on Etsy. Most of these are technically "left over" from my Christmas craft shows, but they definitely fit in with the rest of my dainty necklace collection on Etsy!

Butterfly, Turquoise, and Pearl necklace: $14

Buzz Buzz Buzz Brass Bee Necklace, $13 Thrive Brass Necklace with Leaf Charm and Freshwater Pearl, $14 Silver Black Bird Tag Gemstone Necklace, $14

I also re-made a few pieces of jewelry for a friend of mine this week. Carla, who works in my soon-to-be old office, asked if I could help her out with an old piece of jewelry. Carla was born and raised in Peru, and before leaving the country she collected shells and trinkets from the country and had them made into a beautiful long necklace. Eventually some of the shells fell off of the hemp wiring and Carla has kept them in a box for decades. She simply asked if I could restring them into a medium-length necklace and bracelet with gold wire and fixtures. No problem! At first glance, the shells didn't look like a challenge. They had lots of holes already in them, which meant I didn't have to dig out my bead reamer. I hadn't anticipated that, since each shell is so uniquely shaped, the thin wire I was using would take on the shape of the shells and twist and turn permanently. At the end of the day, re-wiring the shells felt more like a needle-and-thread project than a beading game, but I think they turned out well, their own unique way!Carla was all smiles when I gave her the "resurrected" jewelry. She wrote on Facebook: "I have had these shells with me since I was 7. I found them on the beach in Barranco, Lima - Peru; a week before we left the mother land for the good ole' USA." Hooray! So bear with me, Bead Up buddies, as I may come and go within the next week here in Bloggin' land as the rain continues to pour and I continue in my transitions! I'll send you a postcard from my final destination! And if you haven't done so, please consider contributing to the relief efforts in Haiti. Click here for ideas how you (yes you!) can help!

Custom Christmas Gifts

You won't find me complaining about being very, very busy this time of year - I LOVE Christmas and all that it entails, especially all the custom jewelry orders friends have entrusted to me! Here are 6 pieces I finished this weekend: One of the greatest aspects of making and selling jewelry has been all the AMAZING people I had met along the way. Back in April when I "officially" launched my website, one of my sorority sisters took notice and asked if she could host a Bead Up giveaway (my first!). One of the contestants, Nilsa, not only entered to win but also bought a necklace from my shop and lived to blog about it. I always e-mail my customers after each order to thank them for their business and to let them know when I will put the item(s) in the mail. Nilsa wrote back and asked a few questions, and then I wrote her back and asked a few more, and we've been writing back and forth for 7 months now! She's become one of my dearest "bloggin' friends" and customers and I can't wait to actually meet her one day! That said, Nilsa asked that I make one of her gal pals a necklace/earring set for Christmas. In her own words, her friend: "Loves red and orange, and tends towards natural colors (browns, ambers, forest, and olives. She's more conservative on the outside than on the inside, and tends to wear plain clothes but always complains that she's so boring and wishes she could figure out a way to sass it up a bit (that's where your jewelry comes in!) She's tall and athletic and not particularly girly (though she is feminine)." I showed Nilsa a few earth-toned pearls I had in mind and she loved where the necklace was already going and said, "I love your creativity, so I am going to let you play around!" Sounds like a plan to me! After another trip to the Jewelry District, I got to work this weekend. I had recently seen a (grandma-aged) friend of mine wear a super cute long, wrappable pearl necklace of yellows and oranges that she acquired from Alaska. Using this piece as inspiration, I bought orange, green, and brown naturally round fresh-water pearls, in addition to some white coin disc pearls and some super small white pearl beads. I added a few orange and smokey quartz colored crystals, in addition to come deep red semi-precious gemstones to the mix and strung the beads along a yard-long piece of silver wire to create this piece: I finished it off with a re-adjustable chain and clasp so the length can be further varied, and explained to Nilsa that the necklace is the kind where the wearer gets to play and reinterpret the piece - it can be wrapped around the neck 1-4 times (or could even be worn as a chunky bracelet!) and can go with silver or gold accessories, like these matching earrings I made, too.Nilsa loved the piece, and provided great feedback that makes projects like these super fun and rewarding! Thanks again, friend!! Last Friday a co-worker of mine asked if I had any jewelry in stock that she could buy at the last minute for Christmas gifts. I of course did, but also offered to make her a custom piece if time allowed. Ny not only wanted to buy a brass-ringed necklace (as seen on the right - both are sold out!) and a wish-bone necklace for herself, but wanted something in the same color for her friends. "They are rock-and-roll chicks who love necklaces that look like big chains." I told her that, if materials at the store allowed, I can make her 3 long brass-colored, chain-like necklaces that would fall to the waist and be different from each other. She insisted that she trusted my creativity and that I could make whatever I felt was appropriate - sweet! Thankfully, Michael's had what I needed, in addition to a few pieces I had never with before. Here is what I came up with:I even included a little brass bird charm on each of the necklaces to give it a truly Bead Up edge! Additionally, Ny hoped to customize the wishbone necklace for herself, so I added a little red rose charm and bird so she can match her friends! Ny was pleased with the results, especially the addition of the little birdies! Lastly, I helped my friend Alison make a Christmas gift for herself! She bought several copper pieces from me in the past (they go really well with her skin tone and earth-colored wardrobe) and wanted a necklace to match. She expressed that she really liked lockets of any size and the color Fusion Beads calls "Montana Blue." I found a large, 2-sided antiqued copper locket on Etsy and a long matching chain in the Jewelry District. After adding some orange, green, and brown pearls, in addition to a white pearl coin and a little smokey grey stone, we have this:I purposely used this wider-shaped chain for two reasons: 1.) Alison wanted to be able to wear it long or short, depending on her outfit. Since the chain is large enough to be a spring ring for a clasp, all she has to do it put the clasp along the chain where she would like it to fall and is left with the rest of the chain dangling down her back :) 2.) I have found that when making longer necklaces, thinner chain tends to twist and loop around itself, causing not only mess, but also getting in the way of showing the charm's front! Alison loved the piece and couldn't wait to show off her "custom homemade necklace" it off to friends back in North Carolina! Thanks to all these lovely ladies who have made my weekend of jewelry making that much more exciting!