Earrings or "How I can still fit into things I wore in high school."

Right now I have in a pair of gold hoops. Little gold hoops that I've probably had since high school.

And hey! They still fit!

I love to make earrings and I love to wear earrings for that exact reason: they always fit.

My Etsy shop is pretty well stocked at the moment:

My favorite earrings tend to be ones I can't make myself. I love these:

Double Dot Stems from Vivian Gaston Designs

and these:

The Larissa by Passions Victorina

and nothing makes my heart beat a little bit faster than turquoise:

from Society Hill Designs

One size fits all.

Gallery Gallery

I'm prepping for the busy (fingers crossed!) summer tourist season here in Northern Michigan by getting my stock ready for Three Pines Studio in Cross Village. It's a fantastic place and well worth the drive if you're up in this area of Michigan.

Besides making all the jewelry (which includes making many of the components, too), I now have to attach my homemade tags, label everything, take pictures, and inventory each item.

I need a lackey. Or some minions.

Here's a glimpse into what will be soon making its way up to the gallery:

Nocturne

Similar loose beads can be found in my Etsy shop, if you're the type who would rather make her own jewelry.

I'm a complete and utter sucker for chalcedony. And any gemstone that has facets. Or maybe just any gemstone. Or maybe I'm just a sucker.

Please don't leave a comment about that. Unless you want to disagree with that last statement. And comment on my long legs and washboard abs.

Those kinds of comments are always welcome.

And true.

Mossy

Cube-shaped lampwork beads of ivory rolled in silver and covered with a transparent green glass. See the flecks of silver peeking through? I love it when that happens.

You crafty types (as in "a person who does crafts," not in the "sly, duplicitous person," kind of way) may snag your own Mossy beads here.

I've paired these beads with antiqued brass findings.

I love these new Swarovski crystal beads. They're large and in charge.

I've been working on a whole new line of Lake Glass beads. No, not "real" lake glass since it's quite hard to find, but I've made my own version in beautiful tones that I've etched in acid for a matte, lake glass feel. I've also taken glass that I've found on the shores of Lake Michigan or Huron and attached it to a sterling disk for a charm. And a piece of the area to take home.

Trilliums are also indigenous to the area and a beautiful inspiration for beads:

These have been made into a bracelet (obviously), but I have pendants and bookmarks, too.

All for now! More later.

Beads Available Now

Geekery. What?

Etsy seems to have its own set of rules, its own vocabulary, its own je ne sais quoi.

I've always wanted to have a reason to say that. And italicize it. I sound so sophisticated and worldly and French. Which I totally am. not.

One of the terms that is quite popular on Etsy is "Geekery." It even is its own category. For months I was confused as to what "geekery" even referred to.

I think I've figured it out. Apparently it's a catch-all term for items that are attractive to geeks. I don't think of myself as a geek, per se, but some of this geekery is quite cute:

(from funknugget)

(from sabahnur)

Some is odd:

(Lovely on your guest bathroom shelf! from yourorgangrinder)

(I pity the fool who doesn't want a pair of these! from bellamodaartist)

And some makes sense in my small, stereotypical mindset of what a geek would like:

(clever, no? from LastFuse)

(Soap. Mountain Dew scented. I can't make this up. from digitalsoaps)

And for some unknown reason, both Etsy and this category are big on mustaches:

(from newyorkcouture)

But I can't even get started on the mustaches. They are probably a post in and of themselves.

My entries into the Geekery category consist of the little glass monsters I make. Do I think that nerds will like them? Do I find them substantially geeky? Honestly, they don't make the cut in my mind for what a computer savvy individual would find attractive, but hey, if it helps them sell, fine by me. Plus, I asked Danielle in the virtual labs if the monsters qualified as geekery and she said yes. I don't tag indiscriminately. Often.

Now go get your geek on.

Knitting. I've Tried It. It Wasn't Pretty.

I have tried knitting. I bought a pattern on Etsy that said, "Easy! Great for beginners!" But it wasn't easy. And it wasn't for beginners.

Or, at least not for this beginner.

I wrote about it on Cluck and Tweet. If you check out that post you will see that this is as far as I got:

That might be the reason I'm so impressed with knitters like this month's Etsybloggers Featured Blogger: KnittingDragonflies who has not one, but two shops on Etsy.

1. DizzyDragonflies which has delicious hand-dyed yarn

And 2. KnittingDragonflies.

But even more than that is Vicki's blog which is a wealth of tutorials and links to tutorials and yarn-y eye candy.

KnittingDragonflies.blogspot.com. I'll be following Vicki's progression as she spins her own yarn.

I actually used to know how to do this myself since back in high school, when a friend-of-the-family borrowed our antique spinning wheel to spin her dog hair in to yarn. Vicki, feel free to contact me for tips.

Or not.

Spring. The Myth. The Legend.

I love fall. I love winter. Okay, let me qualify that. I love winter in December. And January. And maybe in February. But come March, when the calendar says "SPRING" I expect to see some green stuff peeking its way out of the earth. And I don't even mind the smell of mud, except when I have to wipe the dogs' paws off. Again. But spring doesn't always arrive to Northern Michigan in a timely fashion. Or at all. So I've been wishfully thinking of Spring in the items I've been putting in my Etsy shop.

Flowery beads. Great for anyone who loves flowers but is allergic. Unless you're allergic to glass, then all bets are off:

And my own jewelry that reeks of Spring:

So, it may be wishful thinking. But I'm ready for it.

Or a vacation.

One of my very favorite vacations. Ever.

I love to travel. And perhaps more than the trip itself, I love the planning of the trip. I spend much of the winter months (okay, Northern Michigan winter months, which can include October through May) planning where I would go if I could. Or how much it would cost to have a second home in the Turks and Caicos. Um, yeah, that would be too much.

I do a lot of checking on VRBO and Luxury Link and Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Hey, I've got good taste.

But one of the best vacations I've ever been on was on a small boat with 9 people I didn't know in the rain and cold of Alaska.

(It's the one in the middle)

My mother-in-law gifted us a trip to the Inside Passage of Alaska from Juneau to Sitka. Before we left our summer had consisted of rain and cold and then more rain. And a little more cold for good measure. When I looked on the weather reports that it would rain and be cold in Alaska in August I was a bit disappointed, but geared up to go and see and do everything.

It was grey, but magical. And because of all the rain we saw twenty times the waterfalls than the crew had seen the week before. Because of the rain, we awoke to thousands of moon jellyfish mating in the cove where we spent the night. Don't worry. It was very G-rated.

This trip happened to be with The Boat Company, a wonderful group of people trying to save the Tongass forest of Southeast Alaska and promote conservation. Were money no object, I would take that trip every year of my life. After spending the winter in the Caribbean, of course.

Bead Focus

Lately I've been focusing on making beads to sell rather than using them in my own designs. I'm never sure which approach is the better one or the more profitable one and sometimes these little decisions lead to bigger ones like, Should I start a new Etsy shop focused strictly on beads? And keep one strictly jewelry?

See the kinds of questions that keep me up at night?

Here are some recent sets. All available right now on Etsy.