Bad Blogger

copyright 2009 Barbe Saint John

I've meant to blog all week long...somehow it didn't happen. I also wanted to get a newsletter out, since I've marked the art yarns at 40% off. That didn't happen either. The road to hell is paved with good intentions so they say.

I've been busy doing work and attempting to be creative. Everything I touch this week seems to be fighting me, taking me so long to finish any ONE thing. I don't like when my vision in my head, turns out like pooh in my hands. But it was not all struggle this week, I did finally get my show banner and some postcards made and ordered. That was a huge thing off the to-do list. Today I made a few items for Hannah Grey to use as samples in their booth as well as for a book submission. I hope they like them!

I've been working on some Objects and Elements Team samples as well the past couple of weeks. One has just failed at least 3 times. so I give up and will have to come up with a different project. The other, I needed a special tool to complete. So I had to order it and wait for it to get to me. I got it and created one part. I like how it looks so I'll be finishing those parts tomorrow and making that piece this week. And a friendly safety tip - Be careful with thin edges of resin, they can be VERY sharp and slice your finger really well. Trust me I know.......

And now, I bring you this weeks Bead Bloggers.

A Bead A Day Lisa’s “Swarovski Summer Picnic” project is progressing. The only thing missing are the crystally butterflies!!

About.com Jewelry Making School's out for summer, but is it really? Nope, not when you can take one of these free jewelry making e-courses.

Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge painting for July is the Lascaux Cave Paintings. Get your stash of beads out in ivory, red and brown to match the color palette of these ancient drawings.

Beading Arts Wonderful wonderful wonderful new CopprClay! Cyndi is so excited about this new material that she can't stop playing with it!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi attempts to create a necklace after a resin pouring disaster.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Cindy shows off some new chain and realizes one should never shop for jeans on her lunch hour.

Humblebeads Check out the 2009 Bead Cruise design contest winners!

Jean Campbell Jean Campbell finished off her new LeTemps Necklace design which marries bling to grunge. Hurray!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Lorelei has busted out of the studio and into the Museum of Art for a trunk show.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews a different, colorful, and inspiring book called Glass, by Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett

Strands of Beads Melissa talks about where to find reliable information on copyrights - the U.S. Copyright Office, of course!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Challenging himself with a smaller scale, Andrew tackles doll jewelry. Check out five new designs with dolls in mind!

Oops, I did it again

Put up the Bead Bloggers post last night and didn't hit publish! In my own defense, I was a bit down yesterday but for a good reason=Mr. DJ Puppy got adopted!!! A wonderful couple fell in love with him at the Chihuahua Meetup and adopted right then and there. I'd been telling him all week "We're gonna find your new parents at the meetup on Sat", but I seriously didn't think it would happen like that! He got a wonderful home and his new name is Dusty to match his dust colored fur. I am so happy he got a wonderful home, I just miss his manic puppy feet running around and his little happy bat face.

So, my mind wasn't on doing work yesterday and I got nothing done. And apparently couldn't even do the beadblogger post correctly. So without further delay, lots of jewelrymaking blog reading!

About.com Jewelry Making Heard about copper clay or coppr clay? Find out more about this great new metal clay product and check out some new metal clay projects too.
Art Bead SceneArt Bead Scene gets creative with the "Best of ABS."
Beading Arts Cyndi reports on her experiences with firing and finishing CopprClay pieces. This stuff rocks!
Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Instead of continuing on with the tried and true techniques of jewelry design, Lorelei is finally ready to take the leap and try something new.
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean gets her cool stash from Use the Muse II, and muses about it.
Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva Cindy learns to make murrini and deals with mud.
Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Sometimes you need to have a jewelry makeover.
Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi tries Ice Resin and upcycles a greeting card into a necklace.
Humblebeads Bead & Button stash and Heather's inspired creations are highlighted today.
Jean Campbell Jean gives a sneak peek of her next Beadwork magazine piece.
Katie's Beading Blog Check out Katie's wire-wrapped dragonfly!
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Even without a lot of time on her hands, Melanie finishes a clockwork themed bracelet using Swarovski faceted rings from ArtBeads.com.
Strands of Beads Melissa wants to know what outrageous materials are in your beading stash?
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Stop by and say hello to Andrew in Charlotte, NC this weekend. Check out his new designs and some delicious new metal clay coins!

Happy Independence Day!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great day of celebrating our freedom. We are a country born out of rebels, revolutionaries and radical ideas/philosophies and we should NEVER forget that. 233 yrs ago we declared our independant nation to Great Britain who was none too pleased. "That's treason and punishable by death" Great Britain said. "To bad,we tired of your oppression and are going to be free, no matter what it takes." we replied. Our founding fathers did anything they had to do to be allowed the freedom to be who they are and live how they wanted. Today we honor that freedom and those who made it happen with fireworks, picnics, memorial celebrations and parades.

I miss small town parades. Where I grew up, just about every little town and village had a parade and anyone could join in thru some group or another. I remember tying red, white and blue streamers to my biccyle and riding in many a parade either for church youth group or 4 H, or getting to ride in a horse and antique buggy once. It was always super hot, and we kids were ready to drop out midway thru. but the thought of icecream at the end of the parade and fireworks in the evening kept most of us going on. I don't think SF has a 4th of July parade, but the week before we do have a HUGE Pride Parade which is a celebration of freedom.

We watched a small fireworks display at the ball park last night and know there will be a huge one tonight. I love fireworks, but the animals don't. It/s loud here and we are 4 or 5 blocks away from where they set them off. I can't imagine how loud it is in the apartments right by the Ball Park.


Today, we will be going spending the afternoon at a Chihuahua Meetup. DJ is now ready to be adopted, so we can show him off and let him and Bettie get some doggie playtime.

Photo copyright Barbe Saint John/Saints & Sinners®

Also, I still have room in the Perfumed Locket class next Sunday at Tangerine in Dublin, CA. Come spend a few hours making a pretty necklace or two! It's going to be a fun class and the store is filled with all kinds of tempting things to buy. Email if you'd like to sign up.

Simply Gemstones Book Review

Simply Gemstones: Designs for Creating Beaded Gemstone Jewelry by Nancy Alden
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Potter Craft (July 14, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307451356
ISBN-13: 978-0307451354

I recently got this book and it was soaked to the gills from some problem at Fedex. I really wanted to read but had to wait until it dried out which took a few days.

On the cover is a necklace of YUMMY tourmaline briolettes in watermelon colors. I love tourmalines so the cover sold me!

The book states " Get the high end look without the high end pricetag." If you’re a jewelry maker, chances are you have lusted after a gemstone or ten. For some its chunky majestic turquoise, others love the fire of opals and nearly everyone loves the bling bling of sparkly diamonds. There use to be a time when the only place you could buy an semi precious or precious gemstone beads was at a jewelry store. Luckily today they can easily be found online, bead fairs and in local bead shops.

”Simply Gemstones” author Nancy Alden is your gemstone fairy godmother. She brings back her popular Beadworks series with this book focusing on greating great gemstone jewelry. As with her other books, she makes the process easy and shows even a novice how to create stunning gemstone jewelry.

This book begins with a primer on gemstone basics including cuts, value, fakes, etc... It also introduces the reader to common as well as uncommmon gemstones such as Cornflake Pearls, Pink Sapphire, and Black Spinel, among others.

There is over 5o projects in this book and they lean toward simple strung necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The use of an amazing colored or shaped stone/stones make even the a simply strung necklace into a masterpiece. There is a jewelry techniques section in the back as well as stone measurements, how to clean and care for gemstones, and resources. The book as lots of eye candy and is a great resource for someone who isn’t familiar with gemstones. My favorite pieces are the rough diamonds necklace (yes DIAMONDS!), Rubies and Rose necklace and cover necklace.

Questioning the unknown

Dear Supreme Being/Beings/Powers that be,

I know you have a grand plan for me. I know there is SOME reason that instead of being in a small Cardiff apt, getting read to start a Welsh Language intensive Wlpan at Cardiff University tomorrow morning, I'm still in SF. Don't get me wrong, I love my home and family. Also, I'm loving the REAL summer weather and 80 degress outside but I'm still sad I'm not in Cardiff right now. I know you've got a REALLY GOOD reason for it...really, its good, right? Hello..............Hello..................

Not to sink into a solitary pity party, I will focus on the positives. It IS a gorgeous summer day today and a great day for the Pride Parade. Pride Day isn't the same with my cat Pan. He use to love watching the parade on tv. We had pics of him watching it but lost them when my computer did a big crash last year. I thought about taking the pooches down but DJ is still really fearful of lots of noise and I think it would be too much for him. Bettie, would bark her head off but you wouldn't be able to hear her over the crowd. So we'll watch a bit of it on TV then go over to the park and let the doggies soak up the sun.

I'm not going to be late with my Bead Bloggers post today either. We have a few new bloggers, so theres LOTS Of reading for you to enjoy!

A Bead A Day: Lisa shares her selection of summery pink beads and crystals. The "Watermelon Crawl" bead mix is sure to conjure up visions of a family picnic on a warm summer day!

About.com Jewelry Making: Take these quick polls about wearing and making jewelry. Which are your favorite pieces?

Art Bead Scene: The Trendy Bead shows off wood filigree pendants.

Barbe Saint John: Read Barbe's interview on the Objects and Elements blog

Beading Art:s Cyndi's initial thoughts on working with the new CopprClay. There'll be lots of projects coming this summer!
Carmi's Art/Life World; Carmi hand felts a pretty bead from wool roving.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva: A trip to glass city doesn't go as well as planned. Yet Cindy finds inspiration and few new tools!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles: Melanie mixes up gunmetal chains and components with brass to make a necklace with one of her Toolbox Treasure pendants

Humblebeads: Heather sketches out some new designs using this summer's hottest color.

Jean Campbell Ink: Eureka!: Beading in the fresh air clears the mind, bringing fresh creativity

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio: Searching for some new inspiration? Lorelei's got just the place for you to find it!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!": Jean reviews Wirework, a new book by the famous Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Strands of Beads : Melissa shows off her new lunar phases and compass rose designs

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Andrew introduces eight new fine pewter pieces from his family's company, Green Girl Studios.

Polymer Clay Play Day

I finally pulled out my box of ancient polymer clay this week and did some playing around. Still usuable if a bit stiff to work with. Some things turned out great, others not so much. I love the way these 3, double sided soon to be beads or charms turned out. I used some old homemade texture sheets I created for a mica shift class I took with Grant Diffendaffer about 8 yrs ago. I'm glad I kept these sheets but now regret that I gave away most of the sheets now. I was a woman possessed after that class. I must have made 500 polymer clay beads, most of which weren't that great but I didn't care. I loved the process so much I couldn't get enough. I feel like making some right now, remembering it LOL. Back to the now- I need to seal these ones and can't remember if you use Future floor wax or car wax?? I need to see if I have any polymer clay books or make a run to Borders or the library.

This lot I did in the Pantera/Nunn Design Bezels I got a couple weeks ago. It's a different look than the ones in the top pic, these are gritty and steam punk. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep these or put them on Etsy. I have a couple for a project set aside but unsure about these 3.

I spent a bit of time doing some blog surfing this morning (instead of doing the work I needed to be doing!). I LOVE seeing other people's work spaces and all their stuff. I could get a bit jealous at the amount of room people have and all the COOOOOOOLLLLLL stuff they have to play with, but its better to be happy for someone than to be bitter. That got me thinking about a situation I'm viewing from a distance right now: Is someone REALLY your friend if they can't be happy for your successes? To often I see people pull away when a friend suddenly starts to make their dreams come true - someone takes an around the world trip,becomes successful with their business, or gets married, gets pregnant, etc......... Why do people get upset when a friend gets happier??? Isn't that what we should WANT for the people we love? There is plenty of goodstuff to go around, its not taking away from their happiness so what gives? Very strange to me. I think it brings up feelings of insecurity, self worthless, jealousy or doubt in some people when it really shouldn't. What someone else has, has no bearing on your life. If you want whatever it is that you are jealous of, go out and make it happen.

But on that happy note I need to walk the doggies and do some work myself!

Nose firmly planted on grindstone, grind grind grind!

I've spent the morning, doing my favorite (insert sarcasm)- resizing photos and adding new jewelry to the website. I got 3 pair of earrings and one bracelet done and now I need a break! Going to the worktable and work on some swap stuff.

I also need to go over to Douglas & Sturgess today too. I've had it on my to do list and, have forgot about it for 3 days now. I want to get some quickset molding putty rather than making regular silicone molds and having to wait 24 hours for htem to set. Of course, if i had made the molds on MONDAY, they'd be done and useable today. Oh well better late than never. I love going over there anyway so gonna go put on a face and walk over. I might take DJ, since he won't bark at the guys like Bettie does. LOVE that they are a block away just wish they were open on Saturday.