A Glass Princess Tale.....

The Pain of Being You...

2012-01-29T19:29:00.002-06:00

I rarely make posts on my blog very personal. I tend to keep them about my business and things that interest me. BUT sometimes I need a place to put my thoughts down on "paper" so to speak, and this is one such moment. It's a post for me, a cleansing, purging, release of sorts....

It's a new year and I don't know what to expect from this year. I've had a few years that have been a struggle, but I've managed. I have a wonderful, supportive Husband who believes in me no matter what and at the end of the day, I couldn't ask for more. I have a daughter who loves me. We get a long well, but she is a teenager and as such, we do have our moments! But at the end of the day I never question that she loves me.

I Do have some very good friends, most of whom live hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from me. We keep in touch and they are the kind of friends that are timeless.. we can talk once a month or twice a year, no real time passes between conversations. I am eternally grateful for these people in my life.

What I no longer have is a decades old friendship, the "best" friend. Life has a funny way of working sometimes. I don't know if we change, or we realize who we really are and become comfortable in our own skin. It's hard to pin point where a relationship changes and why it becomes unfixable. I guess when you stop really knowing one another... I can't find a place to blame.. Just sadness at the loss. I feel the damage is done and feel it is truly irreversible. Not that I wouldn't give a limb for my friend back, but I think I lost my friend years before our friendship truly ended. Slowly, bit by bit. A lack of understanding developed and a gap in communication formed. Eventually it just became too much of a gap to straddle and one side had to say, I can't do this anymore.

I've always been who I am today, I am just a lot more comfortable in being ME. I am not afraid to be who God made me to be. I think it's so easy to think you know people and who you think they should be. When we grow, it can stretch those around us, if they aren't comfortable with who you are or who they think you should be, they can become uncomfortable with you... Sad really...Very sad.

Words cannot express the loss I feel, almost daily. A friendship that spans over three decades has a person interwoven into the fabric of your life. You DON'T just walk away unaffected. It stings for a VERY long time. I think I will always mourn the loss. I don't know that I will ever replace the void that is left. I don't know that I want to.

I miss you. I am not angry with you, I never was. I was hurt, probably still am to some degree. I wish you could have understood me. I know you have your own issues going on in your life right now and I am sorry for the pain of all that it brings. I hope you find peace and happiness. I do still love you very much.

FINALLY... Some New Beads!

2012-01-15T18:02:00.000-06:00

After taking about a 6 month break from bead making for various reasons, I am back at my torch and working hard to make some pretty things! Much to my own surprise, I actually didn't lose much in the way of skills during my break. I expected to come back and have to relearn everything, but thankfully that hasn't been the case! I can't say I am trying NEW, complicated techniques, but I felt like I not only picked up where I left off, I think I am actually better for having taken a break. My head is clear, my thought process is stronger and I seem to be more confident in what I decided to tackle!

I am still in LOVE with making hearts and I make them all year long, not only when it's approaching Valentines Day. I think hearts are a wonderful shape no matter what the season, and I love the canvas this size and shape bead gives me to work on.

I have ventured into other shapes these days and I find myself favoring lager, focal sized beads, rather than making bead sets. I will still be making Pandora style beads, in sets as well as larger focal beads. I LOVE the bigger beads in the Pandora style. While they aren't really suitable for using on charm bracelets, they make great focal beads on a thicker chain and I use them a lot in my jewelry designs...You'll see more of that in the near future!

Please stop by my Etsy bead shop, Principessa Glass and see all the new listings I put up this weekend. I will have some new items in my jewelry shop, Principesa Jewels in the up coming weeks as well... There are ONLY so many hours in a day and I am trying to not run myself ragged.. I do have lots of new things planned for both shops, it'll just take a little time to get it all going. Thanks for stopping by!

What I Did and DIDN'T Know About Pinterest!

2012-01-11T21:57:00.004-06:00

I did know Pinterest has LOTS of cool pictures.........
I did know that one COULD spend a LOT of time looking on Pinterest.......
I did know a lot of people where using it and LOVING it...........

What I DIDN'T know was.... How much I would love it!
I didn't know I would find RECIPES on Pinterest!
I didn't know I would find great links to cool blogs on Pinterest!

I've only begun the scratch the surface of the potential here and I know that I could easily spend WAY too much time on this site.

I will leave you with the biscuit recipe I made for dinner tonight.. found? By following a link from Pinterest! I am a good cook and can make just about anything I set out to cook, BUT for some reason, biscuits have always been my nemesis! FINALLY, I can say, I can make biscuits, FROM scratch, quickly and they are divine!

Oh, and you can follow me on Pinterest if you want.. the link is on the side with all the rest!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 12 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Re-...

2011-11-12T22:26:00.000-06:00

A final recap on a great event! Check it out!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 12 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Re-...: It's Saturday already!! I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the Stroll with Visits and Comments!...

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 11 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Laura

2011-11-11T12:58:00.000-06:00

Yet another amazing artist to discover!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 11 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Laura: Laura Staley is our Featured Artisan for Today! I was born and raised in South Carolina. My mom was a homemaker who always had a craft o...

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 10 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Audrey

2011-11-10T13:31:00.000-06:00

More shops to stroll and today's featured artist is....ME!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 10 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Audrey: Audrey is our Featured Artisan today. Audrey is from Principessa Jewels & Principessa Glass on Etsy. Stop by her shop and have a look...

Holiday Yum!

2011-11-09T14:37:00.001-06:00

I Recently made these with my daughter and they couldn't be more simple and delicious! We opted not to use the candy canes, but used lolly pop sticks instead. It's still a bit warm and sometimes sticky here in Texas, so I figured the Candy Canes might get sticky and soft.

We dipped them in both white and chocolate bark... Sprinkled with chocolate sprinkles... YUM!

Candy Cane Brownie Lollipops

Ingredients:

1	pkg (18-21 oz or 450 g) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make brownies)
24	candy canes
10	oz (300 g) chocolate-flavored almond bark
	Additional decorations such as red jimmies (optional)

Directions:

Line Medium Sheet Pan (9 x 13) with a 13-in. (33-cm) piece of Parchment Paper; lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; pour batter into pan. Bake 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool 20 minutes or until still slightly warm.
Meanwhile, cut off straight ends of candy canes off to form 4½-in. (11-cm) sticks using Utility Knife. Place candy cane tops into resealable plastic bag and crush using flat side of Meat Tenderizer; set aside.
Using Medium Scoop, scoop brownie into 24 rounded scoops, packing brownie into scoop using hands. (Entire brownie will be used.) Roll brownie scoops into smooth balls. Insert candy cane sticks into centers of balls, mounding brownie around stick.
Place almond bark into Small Batter Bowl; microwave according to package directions until melted and smooth. Spoon melted bark evenly over each brownie ball, turning to coat completely. Allow excess bark to drip off. Dip into reserved crushed candy canes or additional decorations (see Chef’s Corner) and stand upright on a piece of Parchment Paper. Repeat with remaining almond bark, lollipops and crushed candy. Let stand until set. Place into miniature cupcake liners.

Yield: 24 servings

Nutrients per serving: (1 lollipop): Calories 260, Total Fat 11 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 20 mg, Carbohydrate 40 g, Protein 2 g, Sodium 75 mg, Fiber 1 g

U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving (1 lollipop): 1 starch, 1½ fruit, 2 fat (2½ carb)

Cook’s Tips: While still slightly warm, the fudgy brownies rolls easily into balls. Although the edges of the brownie are crusty, they do not need to be discarded. Simply scoop the edges along with the center, and they will soften as they stand.

Lollipops can also be decorated with colored sugars or nonpareils.

Wrap lollipops in cellophane, tie with ribbon and use as table décor, place settings or take-home party favors for a special holiday touch.

© 2011 The Pampered Chef used under license.
www.pamperedchef.com

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 9 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Sher...

2011-11-09T14:04:00.000-06:00

Today's Artisan has such adorable things, makes me wish they came in adult sizes! Stop by Jan's blog and get to know this talented seamstress!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 9 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Sher...: The past 8 days of the Stroll have just flown by, haven't they? Have you been shopping and finding items for those on your Gift-giving l...

Handmade Holiday Pledge!

2011-11-08T16:16:00.000-06:00

Check out this site! I pretty much do this every year being an artisan, but I am trying even harder to do it this year! I don't necessarily give away things I sell. This year I learned to crochet, so.... Yep, if you know me you are probably getting something crocheted, along with a few handcrafted, delicious candies as well!

Handmade Holiday Pledge

I also have a button that is installed on the side too!

Handmade for the Holidays!

2011-11-08T16:04:00.000-06:00

With the Holiday's just around the corner, It's time to start thinking about what to wear to those Holiday parties, family gatherings, and of course, start looking for gifts.

If you are wanting to support your local economy more, seriously consider buying handmade! Whether you shop online Via places like Etsy, or Artfire, or shop at local weekend markets, small locally owned gift shops that sell items made by local artisans... It all makes a difference! Sometimes it takes more planning than that last minute trip to the mall, but I think you'll find a great satisfaction in buying something directly from the person who made it!

Finding unique, one of a kind gifts is a fun and interesting way to shop! I think the recipients of these gifts feel the thought that went into their selection and enjoy getting something not everyone else will have.

My Etsy shop right now has lots of items that are ready for the Holidays and beyond! Jewel tones are really big this fall/winter and I have plenty of beautiful vintage jewel pieces to choose from!

I have a full schedule for the next two months of Trunk shows and Weekend Markets, so if you've had your eye on something in the shop, don't wait too long! A lot of things I am not able to get more of!

I've added a lot more crystal earrings and bracelets to my shop! I have quite a few that are not listed as well, so if you see something you like, but are wanting a different color, I may have it in stock, or can make it in a short period of time.. Just ask!

While I haven't had time to make bead for my Principessa Glass shop over the past few months, I do hope to get back on my torch after the Holidays and start filling my shop again!

Whatever your plans are for the Holidays, no matter what Holidays you celebrate, I hope you have the most festive of seasons! Enjoy the people who are close to you, eat something yummy, and laugh a little more!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 7 - 2011 Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Sara...

2011-11-07T00:55:00.000-06:00

Stop by Jan's blog and get to know today's fascinating artist and her story!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 7 - 2011 Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Sara...: Welcome to Day 7 of the Stroll!! The Featured Artisan today is: Sarah from WindscryDesigns I am a retired Special Agent that worked f...

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 6 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Mich...

2011-11-06T01:07:00.000-05:00

The Stroll continues on! Stop by Jan's blog and meet two new artisans! So many talented people!

Buy Handmade for the Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 6 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Mich...: With today being DAY 6 of the Stroll, we're at the half-way mark. Each day, through the 12th,I will be featuring one or 2 Artisans and the...

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 5 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Beck...

2011-11-05T01:40:00.000-05:00

More amazingly talented artisans to get to know!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 5 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Beck...: Do you have memories of Christmas shopping when you were a child? I do. I'd go with mom to shop for dad and with dad to shop for mom. I...

It's starting to feel a bit chilly around here!

2011-11-03T15:40:00.000-05:00

It's finally starting to cool down a bit here in South Central Texas.. Meaning it's only in the mid-70's most days, which feels delightful after a VERY hot summer! I am starting to have a craving for soups, chili's and chowders...

I just got the Pampered Chef ^® Deep Covered Baker and have been experimenting with new recipes to make in it.. Last night I made a microwave risotto which came out delicious! My next venture is the "Loaded Baked Potato Chowder"... The recipe is below!

The Pampered Chef ^®
Loaded Baked Potato Chowder
Recipe

3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb/1.1 kg)

3 1/2 cups (875 mL) milk, divided

4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

2-3 green onions with tops (1/4 cup/50 mL sliced)

4 oz (125 g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper

Optional toppings such as chopped cooked bacon, sour cream or steamed broccoli florets

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise with Santoku Knife; place in Deep Covered Baker. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the milk over potatoes. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11 minutes. Remove baker from microwave. Move center potatoes to ends of baker and outer potatoes to center. Cover; microwave on HIGH 8-11 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove baker from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes with Mix ‘N Chop.
Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth in Classic Batter Bowl. Slowly add remaining 3 cups (750 mL) milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until mixture is hot. Slice green onions with Chef's Knife.
Carefully remove baker from microwave. Grate cheddar cheese over chowder using Rotary Grater; add green onions, salt and black pepper and mix using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®; until cheese is melted. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (8 cups/2 L)

Nutrients per serving: (about 1 1/3 cups/325 mL): Calories 390, Total Fat 19 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 14 g, Sodium 880 mg, Fiber 3 g

Cook's Tip: For a lighter version, omit butter. Substitute fat-free (skim) milk, reduced-fat (Neufchâtel) cheese and light cheddar for the 2% milk and full-fat cheeses.

U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 16 g, Sodium 890 mg, Fiber 3 g

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 3 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Debi...

2011-11-03T15:26:00.000-05:00

Two more fantastic Artisans to check out!!! Stop by Jan's blog daily!!

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 3 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas 2011 - Debi...: The Stroll is on it's 3rd day already...but it runs through November 12!! So I'll continue to feature quite a few MORE Exceptionally Talen...

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 2 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Beth & De...

2011-11-02T00:46:00.000-05:00

Jan Tanis Designs: Day 2 - Stroll the Shops for Christmas - Beth & De...: The Stroll is off to a Wonderful Start! Thanks to all of you who visited yesterday! *************** ON WITH THE STROLL!! ***************...

Jan Tanis Designs: Welcome to the 3rd Annual Stroll the Shops for Chr...

2011-11-01T01:10:00.000-05:00

Stop by Jan's blog for her annual artisan shop feature! Shops change daily, with a recap of all shops at the end of the run.. Get a head start on your Holiday shopping.. BUY HANDMADE!

Jan Tanis Designs: Welcome to the 3rd Annual Stroll the Shops for Chr...: I'm pleased to be back here again this year - and the 2011 Stroll is going to be the BEST!! I've had alot of help from all the participan...

My First Cooking Show...

2011-10-02T22:02:00.004-05:00

Last night I hosted my first Pampered Chef cooking show as both the host and consultant. I think it went OK, but there is a lot of room for improvement! I felt ready and confident in a number of areas, but in reflection, was under prepared in some key areas, which I will definitely work on. Fortunately this was for a group of friends, so everyone was very supportive and encouraging.

I made ahead a Mediterranean Orzo Salad , which had roasted veggies, pasta, a Greek type vinaigrette, feta cheese and some Kalamata olives. It came out beautifully and I think everyone really enjoyed it! I also made a yummy appetizer called Elegant Artichoke Cups using a mini muffin pan, some won ton wrappers and a delicious filling similar to a hot artichoke dip. They were quick, simple and you make them in two steps, so the little won ton cups could be made in advance, then filled with the filling when your guests are arriving and popped in the oven. It'll look like you spent all day making them, when you spent only minutes on these yummy treats.

Lastly, I made a Microwave Rocky Road Brownie Dessert... YES, you read that correctly... MICROWAVE! Now, anyone who knows me, knows, I am more of "from scratch cook" not a from the box kind of gal, and I have mostly used the microwave for reheating things, melting butter, etc... So this was NEW for me.. This recipe was made using one of the many pieces of Stoneware The Pampered Chef sells. You make a simple brownie using melted butter, unsweetened chocolate, the usual suspects, flour etc.. then you cook it in the MICROWAVE... it comes out perfect in 5-7 minutes... you top this off with some cut up jumbo marshmallows and unwrapped Hershey's Kisses. Put it back in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and out comes a warm, delicious, gooey dessert.. not dried out, not over cooked, no strange texture... just yum! To say that I was impressed is an understatement!

Until I became a Pampered Chef consultant, my experience with stoneware in baking was a couple of pizza stones, which work marvelously, and a Pampered Chef Stoneware pie dish, I purchased about 10 years ago, still have and still love. I now have the Large bar pan which came as part of my starter kit... Let me just say, I don't how I have gone so long without such a great piece of cookware/bakeware in my kitchen! This pan does everything, anything and does it well. Thus far I have made several different types of pan pizza, all which came out with a perfect crust, multiple pans of brownies all of which came out divine! Perfect edges not hard or over-baked, but still giving you your "brownie regions", for those who like middles, or edges. I cooked a whole package of bacon,, it cooked quicker, can out perfect and everything I cooked afterwards, didn't taste like bacon! I also used it to roast the veggies for the recipe listed below and they came out perfect! I told my husband, I think this pan has a brain!

I have been amazed at the quality of food you achieve using any piece of stoneware, whether you are cooking in the oven or the microwave. What do you think of when you hear about cooking chicken in the microwave? Rubbery? Not if you use stoneware.... how about a cake? Try a 12 minute cake in the fluted stoneware cake pan... your jaw will drop, as will anyone you serve it to!

To say that I have found something I am passionate about may be an understatement! I am thrilled to be on this journey! I have the recipe for the Mediterranean Orzo Salad below... Give it a try!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

1	pound asparagus spears, trimmed
1	large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch wedges
1	medium red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
1	tablespoon olive oil
2	garlic cloves, pressed
	Salt and coarsely ground black pepper (optional)
3/4	cup uncooked orzo pasta

1	can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1	package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2	cup pitted whole kalamata olives
1/4	cup snipped fresh parsley
1/4	cup prepared Greek vinaigrette dressing
	Romaine lettuce leaves (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine asparagus, bell pepper, onion and oil in Stainless (6-qt.) Mixing Bowl. Press garlic into mixing bowl using Garlic Press; toss to coat using Mix ‘N Scraper®. Season with salt and black pepper, if desired.
Spread vegetables in a single layer on Large Bar Pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden brown. Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool completely. Cut asparagus and bell pepper into 1-inch pieces.
Meanwhile, prepare orzo according to package directions in Small (2-qt.) Saucepan; drain and rinse under cold running water in small Colander. Place orzo in Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl. Add vegetable mixture, beans, feta cheese, olives, parsley and salad dressing; toss gently. Serve at room temperature or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve over lettuce leaves, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrients per serving:

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 3 starch, 1 medium-fat meat, 3 fat (3 carb)

Cook’s Tips: Vegetables can be roasted up to 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature until you're ready to use them.

Orzo is a tiny, rice-shaped pasta, which can be found in the pasta section of most grocery stores.

To trim asparagus, snap off and discard tough stem ends.

Italian dressing can be substituted for the Greek vinaigrette dressing, if desired.

© 2011 The Pampered Chef used under license.
www.pamperedchef.com

Oh So Good!

2011-09-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

I recently started a new venture and I am really excited about it! I became an Independent Pampered Chef consultant! I have long loved their products and It just seemed like the right time for me to join what I feel is a really great company. I like the fact that you can make this business what ever works best for YOU! I do love to cook, always have, but there are plenty of people who are attracted to this company not because they love cooking, but because of the business opportunity it present, the quality and innovative products, etc... It definitely has a broad range of appeal!

I've been trying out new recipes created by The Pampered Chef, and I have to say I am quite impressed! The one posted here is down right sinful! Give it a try!

The Pampered Chef ^®
Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies
Recipe

1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided

1 pkg (18-21 oz) brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided

1 cup salted mixed nuts, divided

5 rolls (1.7 oz each) milk chocolate-covered chewy caramels, divided (40 pieces total)

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly brush Large Bar Pan with vegetable oil using Chef's Silicone Basting Brush. Chop 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate morsels using Food Chopper. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil, eggs and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar; mix well. Fold in chopped chocolate; pour batter into bar pan, spreading evenly using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®.
Chop nuts using Food Chopper. Combine half of the nuts and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar; sprinkle evenly over brownie batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, using Utility Knife, cut 16 caramels into quarters. Place remaining 1/2 cup chocolate morsels in Prep Bowl; microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after each 20-second interval. Spoon melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag; set aside.
Remove bar pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack. Immediately press remaining 24 caramels evenly into brownie in four rows of six caramels each. Sprinkle quartered caramels and remaining nuts over brownies. Trim corner of chocolate-filled bag with Utility Knife; drizzle chocolate evenly over brownies. Cut into squares; serve warm using Mini-Serving Spatula. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Yield: 24 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 16 g, Saturated Fat 4.5 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 38 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 135 mg, Fiber 2 g

DondaLee's: ::GIVEAWAY:The Cottage Market::

2011-09-05T04:25:00.000-05:00

Yep.. it's another GREAT giveaway on DondaLee's Blog! You'd better run over and enter, cuz I entered this one as many times as possible! SOOOO many cute things to win! I had to try!!!!

DondaLee's: ::GIVEAWAY:The Cottage Market::: I'm super excited to introduce you to one of the cutest shabby chic shops out there- " The Cottage Market ". Andrea is the sweet ga...

BRAVO... JoAnn Fabrics!

2011-09-03T00:19:00.000-05:00

This evening I went to a local San Antonio, JoAnn store, they are having an awesome sale on yarn this weekend...BUT that isn't what this post is about. My 17 year old daughter was with me, she's young and pretty (I think so). While browsing the isles for yarn, a man walked by on one end, I didn't really see him, but she reacted. I asked, and she said "He was a creeper". I responded with a standard, just ignore him kind of answer.

We had found some yarn and it was the "right" yarn, so I told her to go put back the other stuff she had in the cart and we'd get this stuff. That's when she said she didn't want to leave the isle, that she didn't want to run into the"creepy guy" again. This prompted me to asked exactly what the "creepy guy" did... She tells me he looked at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable and winked at her. Now if you are a female, you know there is a way a man can look at you that is unsolicited, unwelcome, and you instantly feel uncomfortable from it.

Being a Mom, I asked what the man looked like, which had my daughter worried I was going to approach him...NO THANK YOU! I went straight to a store employee and reported the predator! From the response it appeared they knew about him. When my daughter saw him again a few minutes later, I approached another store employee, explaining this man had been inappropriate to my 17 year old daughter.

The employee, I think was one of the store managers, said they thought that was the man I had reported, but it appeared he was shopping with his wife! They couldn't ask him to leave the store unless they saw him do something inappropriate, but that they would make sure that he stayed away from my daughter and I while we shopped.... AND BOY DID THEY!

For the remainder of the time we were in the store, they had an employee standing at each end of the isle we were on, followed us to check out and escorted us our car to make sure he didn't approach us in the parking lot! To say that I left the store impressed is an understatement! I am so impressed with how these employees worked to make us feel safe while we shopped and tried to help my daughter feel secure. We didn't stay a long time after the initial incident, the damage was already done and my daughter just wanted to get out of the store and away from this guy. I can't say that I blame her...

I am very thankful to the staff at the JoAnn Fabrics store, who went out of their way to do whatever they could the help the situation! It's refreshing to find people who will do the right thing!

What's New? Keep Reading...............

2011-09-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

This will be a busy month for me! We were able to get into two different Markets, the one we did last month in Boerne Texas and New for this month will be the Market Days in Gruene Texas! I am very excited about the Gruene Market.... It's a juried Market, Artisan only, so it's NOT easy to get into. We know we've been accepted for September, but not sure about the follow on months... We'll find out more when we do the Market.

The Boerne Market Days are September 10th-11th and Gruene is the following weekend, September 17th--18th. If you live in the San Antonio area, please come out and see us! These Markets are both really cool, have lots of interesting stuff and it's NOT too soon to start thinking about getting great handmade items for Holiday gifts!

I have a number of items I am selling at the Markets only.. You WON'T fond them in my Etsy shops... You'll have to come out to the Market to purchase them. Plus having the opportunity to look, touch and feel is great! I don't have photo's of my "Market Only" items to taunt you with yet, but will get some taken and post them!

I am gearing up for the Holidays! I know it seems early and it does seem annoying when you go to the store and see Christmas decorations out before Halloween has even past, but from a retail stand point, you have to start early, and when you make EVERYTHING you sell by hand.. YOURSELF.. it takes a bit of planning!

The pretty soft pink earrings pictured are a nice, different, slightly less showy version of Vintage Jewels. They are transparent and domed, rather than faceted and foil backed. They still take in lots of light and have a nice sparkle, but are a nice, more subtle option for those who like things a little less.."Look at me". I have a similar jewel in a beautiful olivine green soon to be listed, and just got in a wonderful ruby red, which will be great for the holidays.. I have them in both antiqued brass and silver settings, but I have a limited supply. Sometimes I can get more... Sometimes I can't.

I have a nice stash of new crystals in and have been making Vintage Style bracelets out of them. I am working on some coordinating earrings as well, so look for those to be coming soon!

If you want updates on new listings, follow my Twitter! I post things there daily. I also post to Facebook, but less frequently. I have buttons on the side bar on the right if you aren't already following those pages. Be sure to check my Principessa Jewels shop for new jewelry listings and Principessa Glass for beads! Thanks for stopping by!

August Market Days...

2011-08-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday Set up

I recently started selling at the Boerne Texas, Market Days with another Etsy seller, Katie, from Bling is my Thing / The Orange Poppy. I have wanted to do this type of thing for a long time and finally connected with the right person to do it with. Katie has been selling in this manner at shows and Markets for several years, so she knows the ropes pretty well and had built up a nice display booth. I had none of these items, so it was nice not to have to start from scratch and buy all my own equipment just to get started.

Saturday set up

First let me start by saying this was one seriously HOT weekend! We did have a lot of fun and learned a lot. Getting set up was a bit chaotic, but we did have the tent and tables set up the night before. We set up things with the tables towards the interior on Saturday to see how that worked with this market.

Sunday set up

One must note that the temperature was over 100 degrees each day, so from a logical stand point you'd think people would appreciate shopping inside the tent, out of the sun, but alas... this is not how it worked out! We did do OK on Saturday, which had a reasonable traffic flow, but I think the excessive heat, combined with school starting just a week after this market, it wasn't a booming business.

On Sunday we decided to change things up and see if that improved our business... Sundays are traditionally a bit slower and not usually the higher dollar day of the weekend. Moving all of our displays to face out made a BIG difference and we did more business on Sunday than Saturday! People stopped and looked and were willing to walk around all three sides to look at items...in the BLAZING sun! For whatever reason, people REALLY don't like walking into single tent spaces.. They will go into larger ones, but not a single.. WACKY! I'm sure we have some bugs to work out of our set up and such, but I think we are on our way!

Sunday set up right side

Emily

My Daughter Emily comes along with me to help with everything and does very well! She is awesome in engaging people, greets everyone who comes near the booth, before I can even open my mouth and does tons of work with all the set up and tear down.. all this in over 100 degree weather all weekend! The only relief we found was the lady selling Hawaiian Shaved Ice right next to the bathrooms... Brilliant! We we're drinking gallons of water, so frequent trips to the public facilities were made, and then we made a stop at the Hawaiian Ice shop! Kept us form melting completely!

Sunday set up left side

We will be back in Boerne each month through the end of the year, and if all goes well, we'll probably continue at this market each month next year. If you are local in the San Antonio area, stop by and visit us!

I'll soon be opening my own website! I'll still have my Etsy shops, but I decided it was time to branch out and have a little place to call my own. I'll be having both items from my jewelry shop, Principessa Jewels and my Artisan Lampwork Bead shop, Principessa Glass on one website. I'll let you all know when it's live! It'll be www.principessajewels.com (right now that link forwards to my Etsy shop, but is active). Thanks for stopping by!

Dear Etsy

2011-08-20T22:20:00.000-05:00

I think Relevancy SUCKS!!! That's all I have to say on The subject!

Oops! I Did It Again.....

2011-07-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

Yes... I won yet another blog giveaway! I wish the rest of my life was going this smoothly! I really should seriously think about buying lottery tickets... I will say... that I enter FAR more of these blog giveaways than I win, but I seem to be on a roll and am almost feeling guilty since all three that I have won, have been on the same blog! I can assure you that there is no favoritism being given, I am just entering like anyone else... why I am winning is any one's guess! I for one, am not complaining!

My goodies from DondaLee's Blog Giveaway!

Once again this was from DondaLee's Blog.. She has some really fun posts, great giveaways and a really cute Etsy shop. You'll have to pop over and check out what she has going on. If more people enter these contests, I'll have much less of a chance of winning.. not that I dislike winning, but I'd like to share the wealth!

The bundle of goodies I received from Dondi this time were all items made by her and available in her Etsy shop. I got a set of darling note cards, some hand stamped tags with cupcakes on them and a really cute cut edge, a pair of pink glass earrings.. and I do LOVE pink.. a really fun, rolled flower fabric brooch, also in PINK! It was all packaged so cute! Part of it was in the cute little muslin bag, also hand stamped, and the cards and tags were both tied up in pretty, colorful, bakers twine.. I just love that stuff and have been thinking about getting some for quite awhile.. Honestly I don't know what I would actually do with it, but I am sure I'd find something!

I've been posting some of the cool giveaways I find here on my blog so that others can enter them too.. this may be shooting myself in the foot, but I don't want to be greedy! Thanks again to DondaLee for another great giveaway.. and for the record, I was one of three people who won this one, so it wasn't just me this time.. she gave away three bundles..I just got one, which was great!

Look What I Just Found!!!!

2011-07-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I posted my favorite cookbooks on the book page here on my blog, along with my very biased opinion on them. I've been cooking for a LONG time and have amassed a LARGE collection of cookbooks. I have thinned out the collection a few times, and have about 250 or so currently.

1950 Edition Betty Crocker Cook Book

One of my all time favorites is the 1950 edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook. I have a copy that belonged to my Grandmothers Cousin. It came complete with notes in the margins, old recipes from the newspaper and a few recipe cards tucked into various pages. All in all the book was in great shape and it holds some of my favorite recipes, ones I still make! Why? Because they are classics, things that haven't been improved upon. As the revised publications of this book came out it evolved with the current food trends of the times and adapted to a more quick and easy form of cooking using packaged foods, etc. Personally, it's not how I cook. Yes, old style can take a little longer, but if you've been doing it a long time, making a pie crust from scratch takes less time than going to the store and buying that stuff they sell in the refrigerator section and it only contains ingredients a six year old can read.

Today as I was scrolling through my activity feed on Etsy, I saw listed in a shop a book I easily recognized...Yep.. the 1950 edition of Betty Crocker! If you LOVE to cook.. I'd run and grab this gem! They did reprint the book a few years back and put it in a note book style format, I also have that one, I acquired it from my Grandmother, who purchased it when it came out, but honestly, it NEVER gets opened...I like my old, starting to fall apart at the binding, full of history, yellowing pages, antique copy! I do also have my Mothers copy from the mid-1960's which is literally held together by some string, it is missing a few pages, but I do still use it for a few recipes. That edition is also worth getting. It was before they really sold out to convenience. I know the current editions still have some recipes that do require actual cooking, but they are a far cry from where the books began.

A Few New Things!

2011-07-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

I've been expanding my vintage jewelry line, most recently adding vintage, resin cameos. I am really loving the selection I am finding and will continue to add more pieces. My only complaint with these is there seems to be a limited range of colors available. I do really like the classic carnelian/coral background with an ivory image, but it's hard to find a lot that moves out of that color group. I have a couple in blue and gray currently listed..VERY pretty and more to come in a few more colors, but unfortunately, these aren't available in a wide range of color choices.

A while back I decided to try some of the Asian made crystal beads. I have always been a Swarovski crystal fan, but it is hard these days to make anything with a significant number of crystals and still keep the price range reasonable. Most people are pretty careful with their spending right now and I like creating pieces that are quality, yet affordable. I won't compromise my quality, but I can make adjustments. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this crystal is. It does lack the precision and super high quality standards of Swarovski, but it is still a very decent product. I did find a few beads on the strands I bought at a local bead show that were what I would consider unusable, but all in all, I was very happy with the beads. It should be noted that ALL crystal contains lead. This is the universal difference between glass and crystal. Swarovski crystal is... crystal and contains lead, just like any other crystal bead, or that crystal vase you have.. The metal content is what gives the clarity and weight to crystal you will not get with traditional glass.

I am continuing to play with vintage glass jewels.. always looking for new and interesting colors and finishes. I love the more unique jewels, but they are quite difficult to photograph well. I am working on getting in some awesome colors to transition to fall. Some I have coming are just YUMMY!!!!

If you haven't seen the filigree rings with vintage reproduction flower cabochons on them, give them a look! These are truly fantastic! The price is almost too good to be true...I made myself one and wear it all the time. It is fun, comfortable and very feminine! I love the filigree ring base I was able to get.. these are very nice.. they are not thin, cheap, flimsy stampings.. nor are they really stiff and difficult to size...They are like Goldilocks and the three Bears..."just right"...

I have a great selection of my Vintage Jewel Daisy Pendant Necklaces in my shop now. Just about every combination of jewels I can get in this size, in both a silver plated brass settings and and antiqued brass setting. I am now setting all the jewels in these myself, I like the creativity that allows me. There is a limited amount of jewels in the size I need for these pendants, so I won't be able to make them in any color, but I have found a lot of choices. I am hand making most of the pendant hangers you see on the necklaces as well.

I have been severely neglecting my bead shop lately.. I intend to try and get some torching done this week and next to hopefully have a few new things to add. Please stop by my Principessa Jewels shop to see all of my latest jewelry offerings and Principessa Glass shop for artisan made lampwork beads!

I've added pages to my blog! Some are still a work in progress, but click on them and check them out! Hopefully you'll find some of the info listed interesting! Thanks for stopping by!

Handmade canvas art music posters vintage wall decor: giveaway of July. Today's giveaway is a poster Vin...

2011-07-19T16:35:00.000-05:00

Another awesome giveaway to check out on this blog!!! I'd LOVE to win this piece!

Handmade canvas art music posters vintage wall decor: giveaway of July. Today's giveaway is a poster Vin...: "Welcome to giveaway of July. Today's giveaway is a poster Vintage artwork Paris Decor Mixed Media art on canvas - Artist proof ..."

CurryDesignsHandmade: Featured Etsy Seller "PrincipessaGlass"

2011-07-17T01:09:00.000-05:00

I am the featured Etsy Seller On Curry Designs Handmade Blog Today! Stop by and check out her article and leave a comment for her! So sweet of her to choose my shop!

CurryDesignsHandmade: Featured Etsy Seller "PrincipessaGlass": "After going through my favorite shops that I 'hearted' in my Etsy account I came across a shop called, PrincipessaGlass . It is a bead supp..."

Simply Whimsical!

2011-07-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I entered yet another contest on DondaLee's Blog and low and behold... I won... AGAIN! For someone who up until this point, almost never won anything.... this is amazing.... I may just run out and buy a lottery ticket....I mean it can't hurt right!

This time she was featuring the Etsy shop "Simply Whimsical". To say it is adorable would be an understatement! The owner Kathy, has filled her shop with listing for adorable, unique little "Pinch Pot Holders" (that's what I won), and darling aprons in really cute designs, made from the most beautiful fabrics! Who wouldn't be twirling about the kitchen in one of these aprons with your "Pinch Pot Holders" at the ready to fetch your fantastic dinner from the oven?

Kathy also has a web site which is amazing well done and easy to navigate. It even has some yummy looking recipes for you to try.. She included a really cute, printed recipe card with the pot holders for some Blueberry Muffins, which I intend to try very soon!

Please stop by Kathy's Etsy shop and check out all of her amazing handmade items! Thank you to both Kathy and DondaLee for a very fun giveaway! Check out DondaLee's Blog for her latest fun giveaway!

My Winnings....

2011-07-06T03:13:00.001-05:00

A while back I won a really fun giveaway from DondaLee's Blog... It was a really cute felt business card holder, from an Etsy shop named, Pick Some Flowers. The shop owners name is Dara and she makes all kinds of adorable things for her shop!

Besides, the cute little card holder, she also has a great selection of hand crocheted items... Hats, flowers.. (she even tied one onto my little package.. so cute!) and a nice bunch of accessories.. head bands, bracelets etc...

Everything in this shop is bright, fun and fresh! Stop by and see what she has to offer.. this cute little card holder is going right into my purse! Thanks again Dara for participating in such a fun giveaway!

DondaLee's: ::SimplyWhimsical Giveaway Winner!::

2011-07-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

Guess who won this giveaway??? ME!!! You really MUST visit this blog and check out all the cool giveaways she has! She also features tons of cool Etsy shops finds each week.. You never know.... You could be the next winner!!!

DondaLee's: ::SimplyWhimsical Giveaway Winner!::: "Hello all! I'm excited to announce the winner of the SimplyWhimsical giveaway ! And the winner is...by random selection... #4 Glass Pri..."

DondaLee's: ::GIVEAWAY:SimplyWhimsical::

2011-07-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

DondaLee's: ::GIVEAWAY:SimplyWhimsical::: " {French Toast} This weeks Etsy shop review is on, Simply Whimsical , a fabulous shop full of handmade aprons and accessories. I fell in ..."

Do I Really Need to Learn a New Craft??

2011-05-31T23:23:00.000-05:00

Personally, I don't feel that question needs to be answered.. Some may ask that, but I am just moving on tho the next thing that interests me and I have my reasons... My Grandmother knit beautifully and I promised I would learn to knit..and I will, BUT for now I am going to learn to crochet. I am following a great person on Twitter..Sarah Coffey, and she crochets beautifully, among other things..She is offering free, online, beginning crochet classes from her website, and from looking at the beautiful items she stocks in her Etsy shop.. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Let me just say that Sarah is one of the most pleasant and enjoyable people to follow on Twitter that I have come across so far. It's no surprise that she has over 3000 followers! She is responsive, friendly and retweets faithfully! Her Etsy shop is filled with gorgeous crocheted wraps, baby items that make me wish I had found such things when my daughter was about 17 years younger and a few fun pairs of hand embroidered "Naughty" panties that are just a riot!

I bought the suggested crochet kit and yarn today from my local Hobby Lobby. I was going to just order them from Amazon.com as she suggested, which is often my go to place, but I thought I would check HL just in case. The crochet kit was only $1.00 more and the yarn was the same price.. Saved me any shipping and NO waiting..

If you've been wanting to learn to crochet..check out Sarah's website for the schedule of dates.. It's basically once a week on Sunday night, starting on June 5th. She even has things set up so you can view missed classes in the event that you do miss one!

I also highly recommend checking out her Etsy shop and if you Twitter... Follow Sarah!

Guilty Pleasures!

2011-05-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

I have a few guilty pleasures.. admittedly, these days I am finding myself leaning more towards the practical side of life, downsizing in a lot of areas, but there are a few, nice, quality items I feel are worth the money, both for the sheer pleasure they give and the fact that they actually last longer. In a lot of cases if you are smart and shop around a bit, know what things cost, you can find what I consider Lux for less.. You have to be a bit careful when shopping this way, because frequently things cost less for a reason..

My number one Guilty Pleasure... high thread count sheets!!! Now, let me go on record and say I have read enough on the subject to know that there is high thread count and then there is ridiculous! Most consumer reviews will tell you any thing over 600 thread count is a waste of money and likely not what it's cracked up to be.. What do I buy..Sheets from Costo! Their Kirkland Signature 600 thread count Supima cotton sheets are amazing... They are over sized, which if you've bought high end sheets before, you may have found that some actually cut corners in some interesting areas.. size for one, with the sheets barely fitting today's pillow top mattresses and cheap elastic which gives up after a couple years. I long ago gave up on those matching sheets that go with your cute bedding, in favor of all white or ivory sheets.. they can be bleached and go with the next thing you decide to go with a couple years from now when you get tired of the current comforter. At around $75.00 for a queen sized set, the Costco sheets are by far the best quality and price I have found. I have two sets of ivory and after two years, they aren't showing any signs of wear, piling and come out of the dryer, if folded while still warm, fairly wrinkle free. If you have to have perfectly pressed sheets, these might not be for you, but they in no way look like a mess when they are laundered.

Number two... Good hair products! I find that spending a little more money on salon quality hair products is well worth it! They usually are much nicer to your hair, you use less and the results look better. I don't use a ton, and buy from a store that offers a discount, but since going down this road years ago, I can't see using something off the shelf from the grocery store again!

Number three.. OPI Nail Polish! I have more of this than I should admit! I used to treat myself to a pedicure once a month from one of those cute little spa pedicure salons, but since moving to Texas, they are not as popular here and the ones that are around are either dirty, or over priced, so my daughter and I do our own toes. Besides the abundance of nail polish, we have all the other accoutrement's one needs and have a great time bonding over toes!

Number four...Parmesan Reggiano...There is no other way to go! No green can of saw dust, masquerading as Parmesan cheese will ever cross the threshold of my house! One taste of the real thing will leave you wondering how we ever got so far off from the original! I do buy large chunks at Costco, along with some Pecorino Romano, which is a nice alternative and half the price, for when I don't feel the good stuff is warranted.. Yes.. I am a food snob.. I will readily admit that, but have you tried REAL Parmesan???

Number four.. Good Bras.. Yes.. I am going there! While very few women actually where the right size bra, which accounts for a great deal of discomfort and doesn't make you look any better in clothes.. I usually only buy my bras at Nordstorm's..sounds snobby I know, but I have a decent set of girls and they aren't getting any younger or higher up on my chest, so I want to make sure I am getting the most potential out of this under garment! Being fitted and wearing the right size makes a world of difference in not only comfort, but how your clothes fit and look on. Yes, I do pay a bit more for them, so I don't have a large collection, but I do know the girls are well cared for and looking their best! Plus once you do know what size you SHOULD be buying and what is a well made bra, you can frequently find them at discount stores and save a bit of money!

I do probably have a few more I could add to this list, but like I said.. I am moving much more to the practical side these days.. My daughter and I shop a lot at resale shops.. I have a whole bunch of premium jeans, like Seven for all ManKind, Lucky, Joe Jeans etc.. all bought at resale for a fraction of the retail price.. some never worn.. I just recently bought an adorable silk and cotton Gap dress I know wasn't cheap at retail, for $15.00.. It's darling! While I do have a few things I am willing to pay more for.. there is a whole lot more I am able to find for less... maybe that will be another post! Thanks for stopping by!

Favorite Finds!

2011-05-13T18:26:00.000-05:00

I used to try and do features on some of my favorite Etsy shops a while back and got busy with life and stopped. I need to start doing them again, so here I go!

My first feature goes to Shades of Heaven. I love this little Etsy shop which is dedicated to making handmade fabric flower pins and brooches. Her style and designs are delightfully fresh and unique! I have bought these type of flowers from a number of other Etsy sellers and each one seems to have their own way of making their flowers a little different adding ones own personal style.

What sets this shop apart is ShaLayne's stellar customer service and attention to detail! I love her unique choices of fabrics and color combinations, along with the inclusion of those pretty little rhinestone pieces! She is very quick to respond to messages, does custom request when possible and ships it all out with amazing speed! I should also mention this isn't her only Etsy shop either! She does all this, on top of making gorgeous jewelry which I have admired for years! Her other Etsy shop is Shalayne Originals, where she makes beautiful, romantic styled pieces, many featuring lampwork beads (now you know why I noticed her work!).

ShaLayne is on facebook, stop by and "like" her page, so you can get updates on new products, sales and such. I found my latest flower brooch on her page and asked her to make me one, since the one from her shop had sold.. she did and it was to me in no time at all! Be sure to check out both of these great shops from a fantastic Etsy seller! Thanks for stopping by!

More Flower Power!

2011-05-08T20:33:00.000-05:00

Yep! Still paying with flowers... still loving it! I've been able to find several sources for hand dyed reproduction vintage Lucite and they are GORGEOUS! The shades they are creating are fantastic and the pieces with multiple color tones are to die for!

I'm still of course playing with my Czech glass flowers as well.. so many colors, sizes and finishes available in these, both vintage and vintage reproduction. I really like combining the Lucite and Czech glass together. The end results are beautiful and still very light weight to wear.

I have some more of the beautiful vintage jewel pendants in the Daisy settings coming. I am setting some myself these days in both the antiqued brass and a silver plated brass. I've found it to be quite labor intensive setting all those little navette jewels! And quite hard on my hands! It's also not easy to find the necessary size jewels needed for the settings. A lot of the price of each necklace is all in the pendant.. they aren't cheap little trinkets.. lots of jewels, which take quite a bit of time and some finesse to get in place.

Most days when outside taking pictures, I do have a very "helpful" photo assistant named Daisy. She's my ten year old, overweight Tabby cat, who loves to spend the warm Texas days out on the porch. I think she thinks, she is a big game cat, out in the wild, soaking up the heat. She alternates to the cool cement when needed and of course has plenty of fresh cool water at her personal "watering hole" (aka dish hiding under wicker love seat, so slobbering dogs don't defile it).

I did manage to get some beads made over the past couple of nights, but don't have photo's taken of them yet. They should be listed in my Etsy shop Principessa Glass early this next week. The jewelry shown here is (or will be) available in my other Etsy shop, Principessa Jewels. Thanks for stopping by!

If All Else Fails......

2011-04-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

Make spacers! Yep.. when confronted with a lack of creative thought in the bead making dept, but a desire/need to make beads.. I go to making SPACERS! This time around.. little Pixie Pairs.. cute cute, I must say.

I have jars and jars of pixie dust I have bought over the years, but to be honest I usually just grab my "go to" pearl pixie power.. all purpose, goes on anything because it's just a shimmer with out any color and I call it good. Well, what do you do with all those colors and finishes that sounded good when you ordered them... I could leave them to collect dust with the jars of frit.. (my frit challenged status is another post) OR I could play with them and see what happens.

That is about the extent of my creative flow in making beads this week.. what can I do with different colors of pixie dust over different shades of glass???? So far the results have been good. Only one dud thus far and by dud, I mean, I didn't like it, so therefore, I won't be taking pictures of it and listing them...

I've had a couple nice surprises. I thought putting a gold highlight over a woodland brown would produce a deep gold, but instead I got this great antiqued bronze look.. defiantly going to remember that combo! For the most part, things have come out about what I thought they would and I hate to say it out loud.. (I guess I'm not, I'm typing so it doesn't count right?) I think I may even by a few more colors and do some more experiments...

I have loved pixie dusted beads since the first time I saw one.. Don't know why.. I just do.. sweet, sparkly, but not over the top. I have been adding them to my bead sets since I starting selling beads and even put them in my Pandora style sets. I occasionally put a whole set of regular sized ones for sale in the shop and may do so in the near future. I like things that are basics, but with just a little more pizazz to them. I think pixie dusted beads are just that! I have both regular and Pandora style beads in pairs and sets (Pandora Style only in larger sets right now) listed in my Principessa Glass Etsy shop. Stop by and see what's new! There are also new listing most days in my Etsy jewelry shop Principessa Jewels. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Shop in Full Bloom!

2011-04-27T20:04:00.000-05:00

Spring is fully upon us, at least here in the south, my condolences to those living in areas that seem to be off to a slow start moving from one season to the next. Here in Texas, temperatures are firmly planted in the mid to upper 80's through the upper 90's depending upon the week. I love the warm weather and am glad it is back. We had a cooler winter this year and it was beginning to get to me.

I have been very much enjoying working on vintage inspired pieces and have recently added Vintage Lucite flower and Vintage/ reproduction vintage, Czech glass flower earrings to my line. The array of colors and styles is amazing! The Lucite is extremely light weight, even the Czech glass weighs very little compared to the lampwork beads I make! These flowers range from very dainty little things to larger more focal sized flowers. I am having a lot of fun playing with combinations of colors, layering, etc.

My focus thus far has been to buy only Vintage as much as possible, especially with the Lucite, but I came across a source the other day that take the vintage reproduction pieces and hand dyes them. The results are stunning! Each batch is unique and different, just the kind of thing I love!!! I have been searching for interesting and not so common filigree bead caps to layer with these flowers to add to the uniqueness. I have been using gorgeous, handmade antiqued brass, ear wires on some of the earrings which are so pretty! I love the little touches that make my pieces a little different from the other similar items being made by other jewelry designers on Etsy.

I am working on adding more beads to my Principessa Glass shop. Admittedly, I have been severely lacking in inspiration these days, so I have decided to go back to basics! I have been playing around with the large collection of pixie dusts that I have and combining them with different colors of glass to come up with unique pairs of spacers. I will try and get more bead sets made, but we'll see how my creative flow goes! Thanks for stopping by!!

Flower Power!

2011-04-23T19:44:00.001-05:00

In life.....We seem to have the best of intentions, but some how get side tracked by other things.....Many other things! A number of years ago, I can't even say how many anymore, I started buying vintage Czech glass. Mostly flowers, some leaves and other beads, but my focus was on vintage... I LOVE VINTAGE! Then one day I stumbled across vintage Lucite flowers and was smitten again. I bought quite a number of both, but aside from making a couple bracelets from the vintage Czech glass, I have had them all sitting in a big plastic tub for years. I wanted to make really cute flower earrings with a vintage flair out of them, but never got around to it.............Until now!

I've seen a number of other people making similar type earrings, so I am not pretending to have invented this version, but rather I aspire to do my best to improve upon it in using the best materials, and adding my own personal flair where I can. I use sterling silver wire and head pins, along with some silver plated brass bead caps and ear wires for the silver versions. For the antique brass versions, I use only pure brass head pins that have been oxidized, high quality antiqued brass wire and ear wires, along with bead caps and findings. I try to buy supplies that are made in America! This is important to me. With so much being made overseas, and not always being able to know what the metal content is, I'd rather pay a few cents more and get a well made products that supports THIS country!

I generally buy only vintage Czech glass and vintage Lucite. I do occasionally make an exception and buy vintage reproduction pieces if they are unique, such as hand dyed flowers etc. I use beautiful Swarovksi crystals, which are hands down the best crystal beads on the market. You won't find more sparkle or durability in any other crystals. I also use Swarovski pearls, which are fantastic! My creations are always wire wrapped together whenever possible. I rarely ever use jump rings, especially on earrings, and I don't very often use a simple loop. I like knowing that what I make will stay together!

I think I am still trying to find my "niche", but I feel I am getting closer to where I want to be all the time. I love making pieces with a vintage flair, combining old with new. If you haven't had a chance to visit my new Etsy shop Principessa jewels, please pop over and take a peek! My bead shop, Principessa Glass, is still on Etsy selling lampwork glass beads, handmade by me! Thanks for stopping by!

Now Open for Business!

2011-04-06T22:58:00.001-05:00

My new Etsy shop, Principessa Jewels is now open for business! I put a few listing up today and will continue to move listings from my old shop, Juniper Gems over to the new one. It will take me a while to get everything all in one shop, but eventually it'll all be done.

I've been adding a lot of new jewelry pieces, especially the vintage jewels. I have some new bracelets to be listed this week and some really cute necklaces. These pieces are so much fun to wear. These aren't just for those "dressed up" occasions, although they are great for that. These pieces look awesome with a simple t-shirt and jeans, or a simple dress. I love being able to put a little sparkle into everyday life.

Here in Texas sparkle is Queen! You don't have to look hard to find anything and everything embellished with a little bit of bling! I learned very quickly that if you are going to do sparkle here.. then you DO IT! Let's just say it's not a subtle little shimmer.

I've been working on getting more beads in my other Etsy shop, Principessa Glass, but that has been slow going! I did just list three new sets of Pandora style beads, and I will hopefully torch another time or two this week and get a few more things done. Stop by and check out my new shop! Thanks for stopping by.

What's in a Name????

2011-04-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

Plenty, they say! Who's "they"? I guess that depends on who you ask, but marketing experts will tell you a name for your business means a lot. I already know mine is too complicated to pronounce, but I traded that for having something that had meaning to me and a bit of inside humor. My Lampwork glass shop is named Principessa Glass. I thought long and hard about a name for this business. I considered many versions that were a play on my jewelry shop, named Juniper Gems, which has been in place for several years, but nothing had a flow for me.

While I was building my lampworking studio, which was a costly endeavor, my husband was also in school, finishing a degree in nursing. One day I jokingly told him during a conversation about my "needs" for more lampworking supplies, that if he would just get a job, I could afford what I needed to get! (This was in jest!!!) He responded with a smirk and said..."you are such a Princess!" I replied "Thank you!".....

Now, a few months later, while trying to come up with a name, this conversation popped back into my head.. I started playing with it.. Then I took it a little further.. My father is Sicilian and one of my all time favorite movies is "Life is Beautiful", where the main character calls the woman he is in love with and trying to win the affection of, Principessa (Italian for princess), throughout the entire movie. The rest kind of fell into place for me. I told my husband the name, he smiled and said.."yep.. that's it!".

Now, to make a long story even longer....(I'm good at this)... I have two Etsy shop with names that have nothing to do with one another, which was fine with me until now. I am working on selling my Jewelry and some of my beads locally and need a singular name, so I am moving my jewelry shop and renaming it Principessa Jewels. It will still feature my handmade jewelry using my own artisan made lampwork beads, and my latest obsession, vintage jewels. I use the vintage jewels in combination with the lampwork and alone.

I have the shop set up, but have not yet moved my jewelry there. I will be doing so over the next few weeks in a slow steady stream. Please stop by and check it out!

Super Size Me!

2011-03-13T17:00:00.002-05:00

Hearts That would be..........I have some new extra large, focal sized hearts, I just put in my shop. They are about 32mm x 30mm x 18mm(1 1/4 x 1 1/8 x .75 inches) in size. I also have another new shape which is a folk art/ Shaker style heart, which is long and slender.

The large focal heart can be made with either a horizontal or vertical hole. The folk art heart is available in three sizes, the largest of which is currently listed in my shop. I will work on making the smaller two sizes this week. I think the smallest one will make a really cute earring size.

The bigger hearts do have a bit more weight to them. They take the better part of a rod of glass to make and a significant amount of time to build. Since these spend a lot of time in the flame this size may not be well suited to some of the more sensitive colors like pink, which tends to get fickle when heated too long. The more heat loving glass like ivory and opal yellow are awesome with this size, since the longer you work it the more interesting it gets.

I will be playing around with designs on these two new sizes and shapes in the weeks to come. The larger heart offers a really nice big canvas in which to work on.. lots of potential for design possibilities there. It's also a lot of glass to control and keep hot!

I am still playing with my vintage jewels! I will continue to explore designs with them and you'll see these larger hearts be incorporated into my heart necklaces soon. I may also do some simple pendant style necklaces with them as well. The jewelry as always, is listed in my Juniper Gems shop. Thanks for stopping by!

Different Metals...Make a Difference!

2011-03-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

Seems like a simple concept doesn't it, but it isn't usually till you see things in action that you realize how a small change has a big impact on the overall look of the same items. What do I mean exactly? Well, I have been using a lot of vintage jewels in my jewelry designs lately and I LOVE them. They are pretty, sparkly, affordable and have a little history built into them. It's kind of cool to add these pieces to my jewelry knowing they have been around for awhile either sitting waiting in a warehouse somewhere to be discovered, or they have already lived some life and are now being re-purposed .

I love the look of antiqued brass and the way it combines so well with the vintage jewels, but not everyone likes that look, plus I also wear a lot of silver jewelry myself, so I have been finding more jewels set in silver plated brass. I have found it rather amazing, how by simply putting the same color, size, and cut jewels in two completely different settings gives such a different look. The vintage jewels are still the same of course, but the setting have a big impact on the overall look.

I have posted several pictures here of jewels in the same sizes, cuts and colors.. the only difference is one is set in antiqued brass, the other in silver plated brass. Take a look and you'll see what I mean. I like having the option to offer the jewels in both metals. I wear them both and find they both go with anything. For those with a strong preference one way or the other, you have choices! I still find more things in antiqued brass than silver, but I have a supplier I am working with to get more variety. You'll see more of both versions, along with necklaces and bracelets in both metal options in my Etsy shop, Juniper Gems in the weeks and months to come. Thanks for stopping by!

My How Time Flies!

2011-03-04T02:34:00.000-06:00

Apparently it has been almost a month since my last blog post! Shame! I was really trying to do so much better about being consistent with posting... ah.. such is life! The big news this week, is my kiln has decided to take a vacation.. I am waiting for a part, which I am told (fingers, toes and any other parts that will cross, crossed) will likely fix the problem and be easy to install. I am fairly handy, so hopefully this won't be beyond my capabilities! In the mean time... NO BEADS... Can I just go on record to say how much that sucks!

I have been working diligently on making more jewelry. I have a lot more listings in my Juniper Gems shop. I have lots more things to list with many more in the works!

On Monday my little girl will be turning 17! We are having a birthday party for her this weekend and I am currently praying that all 20 of the 16-17 year old's she invited DON'T come! I do like her friends..and yes, we did let her invite that many, but partly because in past years such a small number actually ended up coming to the party, that I figured push the number a little higher and and hopefully she'll have a satisfying turn out...Nothing is worse than your kid sad that nobody is coming to their party!

Hopefully my kiln will be back operating by the beginning of next week. I have a feeling I am REALLY going to need an outlet after this weekend.. either that or a whole lot of wine! I have several new things on the bead front planned, but I am going to keep them a surprise for now...Not a big departure for me, but something new just the same!

There are still plenty of nice things in my bead shop.. hopefully I will have some new offerings sometime next week! Spring break comes early here in Texas.. the kids are out the week after next I think.....I guess I will have to find some entertaining things to do. At least it's warm now! Thanks for stopping by!

Ignorance is............

2011-02-08T17:07:00.000-06:00

Can be bliss, but in this case it's losing money! I finally made myself sit down the other night and do a comparison of glass prices. I knew where sterling silver had been going. It was hard to miss that. But I hadn't really been paying attention to the rising cost of glass. I bought when I needed it, tried to get things on sale when ever possible, but recently a couple different sources referenced the rising price of pink glass. This caused me to actually sit down and look at what I had paid for these colors in the past. Let me just say I about fell over! One glass, which thankfully I haven't used a lot, but I do like and would like to use in the future has gone from $30.00 a pound to $85.00 a pound!

If you buy glass, you'll know that the expensive, silver laden glass can run between $85.00-100.00 per pound. The glass that just went up to $85.00 is just a soft pink, semi-opaque color, that doesn't do anything special! Needless to say, in the future, if it is pink, it's going to be priced a wee bit higher than other beads. I also just ordered more sterling silver tubing for coring my Pandora style beads and that is about 50% more than it was a year ago. I have been making more sets of beads unlined and they seem to be getting a good response. I am still going to core some of the beads, but may just stick to doing so on larger focal's and single beads.

I have been listing beads at least once a week in my Etsy shop, some times twice. I think I have found a pretty good rhythm that works for me and allows me the time to fit in other things and doesn't wear me out. I have decided to stop previewing my beads on Facebook. I am trying to fine tune things down to only doing that which is a profitable use of my time. While I really do enjoy giving my Facebook customers the opportunity to see things in advance, this was only creating twice the work for me, so I need to cut out what isn't helping me. I'd rather have more time to do the creative part of this endeavor, and be more efficient with the necessary, but much less fun parts like photos, editing and listing!

I am working on getting more jewelry pieces listed consistently. This seems to be the thorn in my side right now! For some reason, I just can't seem to get all my ducks in a row on this one for more than a week or two at a time! I will just keep trying. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble!

Snow????

2011-02-04T02:35:00.001-06:00

I am only posting this NOT because I have never seen snow before, or lived somewhere where it snowed, but because it is snowing here in South Central Texas! It is a VERY rare occurrence that little white flakes even fall from the sky, but when they actually collect on the ground, even if it's only a half inch, it's still quite a big deal!

My husband who works an hour south of the city in a rural hospital can't even get home tonight. They have closed all the major highways and freeways after the accident toll reached over 500! Yes, I know this is NOT the blizzard they are having up in the north, but to people who have never driven in snow before, (and are really BAD drivers to begin with) it may as well be a blizzard!

It remains to be seen if they will cancel school tomorrow. Apparently they will be posting that info to Facebook and Twitter, as well as the district website.. When I was a kid you had to listen to the radio or watch the morning news.. the school district didn't tweet or have a Facebook that you could "like" them on. I DO get the whole social networking thing.. but I have to admit I am still amazed at who has a "follow me on Twitter" or "find us on Facebook" on their package these days. Thanks for stopping by! Keep warm where ever you are, and if you live in San Antonio and don't know how to drive in the snow... please stay home... Our car insurance went up 50% just moving here if that tells you anything about the average driver here!

My Latest Creations!

2011-01-19T21:29:00.000-06:00

I finally got myself back on my torch and spent some time working on goodies for the shop. As usual, I placed a large empathises on hearts. This time I spent a good deal of time working on some ocean/beach themed pieces. I am pleased with the results, but there is more I can do with this concept, so you will be seeing more of these in the days to come.

I made a couple of bead sets with a focus on spring. I am SO done with winter! While it is not truly winter here in Texas, it has been cool lately, cooler than I am interested in, so I am ready to see some nice spring temps!

I am working on keeping a better stock of Pandora/Troll style beads in the shop. I have been focusing on unlined sets currently, but I am working my way into some nice cored focal pieces and may possibly put in some basic spacers sets in a variety of colors and see how those do.

I continue to preview my beads on facebook prior to listing them in my Etsy shop. I try to give some notice of when I am going to be putting items up for preview. It is a bit random and depends upon some of my other life obligations which tend to not always land on the same days. The best thing to do is to just check often! I am working on some new pieces for my Juniper Gems shop. Hopefully I will have some things to start adding soon. Thanks for stopping by!

What did you get for Christmas?????

2011-01-06T16:09:00.000-06:00

If you got one of the European style charm bracelets and need to start filling it up, I just made a whole new batch of beautiful Artisan glass beads for these bracelets. My beads will fit all the popular brands like Pandora, Troll, Biaggi, as well as any of the generic or knock off versions.

All of my beads are my right here in my home studio in San Antonio, Texas. They are properly annealed (a tempering type process), which many inexpensive import beads (China) don't do. Not annealing the beads leaves them unstable and prone to breaking, not something you'd want to have happen while wearing glass around your wrist!

The beads I make are all hand made and are one of a kind. They are uniquely my style, and although many people make similar beads, we all seem to put our own little signature on our work, which makes it something you won't find anywhere else. The name brand companies do offer beads, or charms as they refer to them, in glass, but the selection is limited and is not very unique.

I make beads that are both lined and unlined. I can line beads with Sterling silver, Brass which can be polished to a high shine or left oxidized (I think it is prettiest this way) and copper, which can be treated the same as brass. The unlined beads are perfectly fine to wear on your bracelet, but I do recommend making sure that they are not allowed to slide around a lot, use stoppers to keep them in a limited space while you fill your bracelet. Once it is full, they won't slide around very much.

Unlined transparent beads can pick up the tarnish that naturally comes off a sterling silver bracelet. You may notice that the inside of lighter colored, transparent glass beads may start to look dull or gray. This is easily cleaned. Just take them off your bracelet and use a mild soap, like dish washing soap and a soft toothbrush. Gently clean out the hole until all the residue has been removed. Allow the beads to dry and replace them on your bracelet. It only takes a minute and they are sparkling clean again!

No matter what brand your bracelet is, your glass beads should always slide on easily. You should never have to twist or force them on. I know some of the brands use a threaded system with their beads and this is the exception. Even with those, if the threads don't line up, don't force it or you'll ruin the threads on your bracelet. If there is ever a problem with the size of my beads for your bracelet, they can always be remade or adjusted to fit properly. If in doubt about the size needs of your particular brand bracelet, you can always ask for assistance. I should be able to help you with that.

The beads shown here are available for preview on my facebook today and tomorrow and will be listed in my Etsy shop later this week or next week. I have plenty of great jewelry pieces in my Juniper Gems shop! Stop by and take a peek!
Thanks for stopping by!

New Beads!!! Finally!

2010-12-11T13:23:00.000-06:00

Yep... you read that right.. I made beads! I've been working so hard on other projects lately that I haven't taken the time to make a lot of beads, so I decided to get back to my torch and spend some dedicated time just making beads. I think my creative slump lifted a bit and I was able to come up with some fun sets.

I, of course, still made a bunch of hearts, I think that is just a given these days, I can't help myself. I did go bright and bold with most of them. I decided I wasn't interested in doing anything truly winter themed or in real neutral colors, so I went with a "Cheer up, Winter won't last forever" point of view. I like how they turned out... Hope you do too!

I absolutely love the red I have been working with lately, a Lauscha red. The glass brand does have a reputation for NOT working and playing well with others, even not so well with itself, but so far I have had no major problems. I think most of the issues with this glass come with encasing and I don't do a lot of that. The red is the perfect "Holiday" red, but not just speaking of Christmas.. Valentines day, heck ever the fourth of July would be made better with this red! It's a nice medium color, not too dark, but not too orange-red, and it plays well in the flame. A lot of reds will get dark spots, even turn a bit brown if not worked just right, but I find this glass to be very cooperative! The beads all come out gorgeous and glossy and it doesn't even leave striations, so it's a nice even color through and through!!! Can you tell I'm in love???

The beads I have shown here are currently being shown on my Facebook page, but will be listed in my Etsy bead shop, Principessa Glass on Monday. I still have lots of fun jewelry pieces available in my Etsy jewelry shop, Juniper Gems and there is plenty of time to get things shipped, most places, before the Holidays. I can always upgrade shipping upon request to Priority mail for anything last minute. Thanks for stopping by!

Sparkling Jewels!!!

2010-11-30T19:02:00.000-06:00

One of my latest obsessions is vintage jewels. These pretty little sparkles have been around a long time, but like depression glass, have stood the test of time. Lots of it has sat in boxes, forgotten for decades only now being unearthed and given a new life. The array of colors and finishes is astounding! I feel like a kid in a candy store... so many pretty sparkly things!

The jewels themselves are vintage, the settings are all new, which allows for some diversity in the type of metals used and finishes. I of course am loving the antiqued brass, but I have been finding more pieces and settings in an oxidized silver, which you will be seeing soon.

I have been using a lot of these pieces in earrings, but I have also made bracelets and used them in some of my necklaces. No doubt I will be incorporating more of them into everything as time goes on! I love the look, and feel that they have and I love that little bit of history they bring to each piece I use them in.

I have been using a lot more antiqued brass lately and have plans to start incorporating some other metals soon. As of today, sterling silver is now $28.00 a troy ounce. In the year 2000, silver was $5.25 an ounce, at the beginning of this calendar year, it was just over $18.00 an ounce, it has gone up $10.00 in the past 11 months. That makes the costs of all the components I am fond of using a whole lot more expensive to me! These are cost increases way beyond what one can absorb. I have always been annoyed by the way your local gas station will raise the price of gas based upon what the price per barrel of oil that was just announced toady. It's not the price they paid for the gas you are buying now, but somehow, you get to pay more sooner. I have put off raising my pricing on items containing sterling, mainly because I have always carried a large stock of items, so I don't buy often, but I am to the end of many things and am forced to restock at record prices. So if you don't like the price of sterling silver jewelry.... maybe I could interest you in some lovely antiqued brass!

I have decided to limit my previews on Facebook to beads only. It appears that the majority of the interest lies there. In the interest of making life more efficient and cutting out things that aren't worth the effort, I will just post a link to the listing I have put on Etsy for my jewelry. You can check out my Etsy jewelry shop, Juniper Gems to see what new listings I have and my Principessa Glass shop for all of my Lampwork beads. Thanks for stopping by!

More Pretty Pendants!!!

2010-11-29T20:49:00.000-06:00

Emily and I have been hard at work making more of our soldered glass pendants. I am finally getting more of her work soldered and listed, so you'll get to see what she's been up to. I've had her busy creating art, cutting glass, even wrapping the pendants in the copper tape that goes on before the solder. She hasn't started soldering yet... a bit of a learning curve there and I am just getting it down myself. I will get her going on that end eventually though!

It's been a lot of fun creating these! More than I had ever thought it would be. We spend hours sitting at the table pouring over pages of digital art, working out each design until it is just right. While I know some people make the same pendant designs over and over, we are just making each one once. You may see the same art pop up again, but we won't be using it in exactly the same way twice. I like things that are made that way. It's nice to offer something that is not only handmade, but unique as well. I have been putting a soldered jump ring on the bottom of about two thirds of the pendants we are making and wire wrapping Swarovski crystals and pearls directly onto them. I love the little bit of sparkle it adds and what girl doesn't like some embellishment??

We have a nice selection of Holiday themed pieces, and an ever growing pile of witty and sassy ones. Emily has quite the sense of humor and has come up with some pretty funny pendants! I like things in life that don't take themselves too seriously, since life itself, often tends to get all too serious.. I like anything that can liven things up a bit and lighten ones mood! We try to make some that are just middle of the road.. you know, Pleasant.. fun... nice... But don't expect to find a Hallmark card... Just not our style!

My Facebook Fan page is the first place all of my listings get shown, then they are later listed in my Etsy Jewelry shop and Bead shop. Stop by my Facebook and see what is new, or just drop by Etsy to see what has made it to be listed. I do sell quite a few things directly from Facebook, so many things never are shown on Etsy. Thanks for stopping by!

More Pretty Things!

2010-11-26T01:39:00.000-06:00

I have more new listings up on Etsy for you to check out! Several new long necklaces with my own Artisan Made Lampwork Hearts, with antiqued brass chain and findings. I love the vintage look and feel of these pieces. I have never been a necklace wearer myself, but I have made myself a couple of these necklaces and LOVE wearing them!

I've added some new bracelets to my listings, a couple of Czech glass, with Swarovski crystals and pearls, and a beautiful multi-strand pearl bracelet.

I have my full line of Swarovski Crystal Christmas Tree Earrings listed, with a limited number of pairs available. When the on hand stock is gone, that is it for this year! I won't be making any more or ordering any restock on supplies. They are too had to get this late in the season.

I have many more soldered glass pendants to add in the up coming days. Emily and I have been hard at work while she has been on Thanksgiving break making more of these fun, one of a kind pieces! Thanks for stopping by! Check out my Etsy shops for new beads and new jewelry and my Facebook for updates!

New Listings on Etsy!!!

2010-11-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

I have some new listings in my Juniper Gems jewelry shop on Etsy. Stop by and take a peek! I have the complete selection of Swarovski crystal Christmas tree earrings that I am offering this year available now. I have listed some new shorter vintage style heart necklaces that are just beautiful!

Emily and I are working hard at making more soldered glass pendants. I have a new batch listed on Etsy with many more to come! More of Emily's pieces will be showing up in the next week or so. I have her hard at work while home on Thanksgiving break, to make more of her quirky, sassy style pieces!

Please stop by my Facebook page and see what I have put up for preview! My Facebook friends/fans get the first peek at most items before they are listed on Etsy. The "Stroll the Shops" feature is still going strong on Rose Haven's blog, so make sure you stop by and see the featured shops each day until Thanksgiving! Many more great artisans still to come! Thanks for stopping by!

Stroll the Shops!

2010-11-22T13:21:00.000-06:00

Today I am being featured on Rose Haven's Blog! She has a wonderful feature called "Stroll the Shops". It runs all week and features three new shops everyday. It's a great opportunity to see artisans and their work that you might not have know about otherwise. Jan provides a nice selection of pictures and working links for all vendors. It's easy to scroll down through the past posts and see the previous features from over the past several days. There are plenty of cool things to see and lots of great gift ideas! Please stop by Rose Haven and take a look!

I have a preview planed for later this afternoon on Facebook I have titles the "festival of Trees". I am showing my collection of Swarovski crystal Christmas tree earrings for this year. There is a limited number available and I won't be ordering more crystals for these this year, so once they are gone... their gone! My Facebook fans/friends will get the first look and opportunity to buy these. Anything remaining will be listed on my Etsy jewelry shop, Juniper Gems, over the next few days.

A lot of people make these every year, so why look at mine???? Well, I think I bring something different to the table. First of all in design, mine are not the standard looking version. Second, I give great attention to detail, doing my very best in my wire wrapping, no jumprings are involved, these earrings are wired together to stay together! Lastly, I have some awesome color combination's! I don't wear only red and green between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I think having something sparkly and Holiday themed that will work with something besides the traditional holiday color theme might be nice... Can anyone say pink Christmas???

If you are intrigued... stop by my Facebook page later and see what's up! Or you can check my Etsy shop during the next week for what is remaining. Thanks for stopping by!

Ready, Set, SHOP!!!!

2010-11-21T15:46:00.000-06:00

Yes... it is almost that time. Once again I feel caught off guard. Even though from a business perspective, I have had a reasonable grasp on the time frame of the upcoming Holidays, on a personal level, I feel a little behind. It was only a few days ago that it suddenly occurred to me that... YES indeed, next week is Thanksgiving. I have procured the proper piece of poultry, and all of it's accompaniments, except for some yams, which will shortly be in hand. I have a menu written down, and a plan in place to make things ahead of time to make the day go easier. Since my husband is an RN and works in an ER, he'll actually be working on Thanksgiving day, so we'll be having our "Thanksgiving" dinner on Friday, just as we did last year. This allows him to have Christmas day off and with a teenage Daughter, it is much more important to celebrate that day "ON" the day, than Thanksgiving, plus being an official holiday, he gets paid a crap load of money to work it!

I have a lot of new jewelry pieces for my Juniper Gems shop and am constantly working on more. I am focusing a lot of the vintage look using antique brass findings and chain. I love how the pieces are coming out! I am incorporating vintage jewels (think 1940-1950+ costume jewelry rhinestones etc) into a lot of these pieces. They are beautiful, full of sparkle and add a bit of real history and true vintage to the jewelry. I am still, of course using plenty of sterling silver, but the price of sterling has gone to the moon, so it makes everything cost more!

I am working on new techniques with my Lampwork glass beads after taking a weekend long class with Kerri Fuhr. What a darling person she is! I love her scroll work and have been working on that technique, but please know, that I will likely never be Kerri... I will always be me and will work her techniques into my style and tastes. So don't expect to see Kerri duplicates, she's way outta my league to think I could pull that off! Hopefully you will see the influence of her style in my work, but that it will still be distinctively me. I have made a bunch of hearts using scroll work and made some into necklaces, and offered some for sale as single beads. I am always happy to wire any of the hearts into a pendant to slip onto your own chain. I can do them in either antiqued brass or sterling silver. See my Principessa Glass shop for the latest listings.

I have many more things to show in the up coming weeks, so check back! Thanks for stopping by!

So Much New Stuff!

2010-11-15T18:14:00.001-06:00

I have so many new things to share! It's been way too long since I last put up a post, but I have been busy working on quite a few projects, with a few more things I still have yet to accomplish! I have ventured into some new areas of jewelry design. One was inspired by my Daughters amazing ability to do collage art. I was sitting in her room and noticed the note books she was required to cover for school, sitting on her bed. She had done the most elaborate and interesting collages on them! It got me thinking about all the pendants I had seen becoming so popular using digital art in many different forms, but I ultimately settled on soldered glass pendants as the right thing to work on with Emily.

I have been blown away by her creativity and the way she can wield an exacto knife! She will sit and cut out the most intricate details with great precision for hours! I feel like I am learning a great deal from her doing this project, just watching her in her own creative process. I have a few of the pendants currently listed in my Juniper Gems Etsy shop, with many more to come.

I have also started playing around with making resin pendants in various forms. It started out as something to compliment the components I have been using in the long necklaces I have been making, but I found a lot of the bezels a bit larger than what I wanted, once I bought them, so I made them into altered art pendants with a resin glaze coating. I have both silver plated and antique brass versions available.

I have been making more jewelry pieces using antique brass, and love every piece! I adore the vintage style that the antique brass evokes. It is such a wonderful metal form to work with and I find it to be very versatile. I have many more things planned with this style. I am really enjoying the vintage jewels I have been incorporating into my designs. They are beautifully sparkly and have a bit of history involved.... I always like that aspect. It feels like you are putting a little bit of a story into each piece.

This past weekend I took a class from Canadian Lampwork artist, Kerri Fuhr. I found her to be the most delightful person and a fantastic instructor! I am eager to get back on my torch and see how I can develop the concepts I learned into my own work. I am very inspired by her beautiful work. She brought many pieces with her and had a trunk show going on at the studio where the class was held. The pieces are even more beautiful in person than I had imagined. I would have loved to have treated myself to a piece of her jewelry, but since these classes don't come cheap, I had to settle for the opportunity to look at and touch them.

As I have mentioned here before, I post items on my Facebook, and I am now doing so prior to listing them on Etsy, to give my Facebook fans/customers a little advantage. If you aren't already a fan of my Facebook page, it's quite easy to become one, if you have a Facebook account. There is a link on the right hand side of the page here that has my Facebook on it, just click "Like". I don't have set times that I list items, but I am doing so with greater frequency with the Holidays coming up.

I am trying to keep more stock in my Lampwork glass shop, but with so many things going on, it has been challenging. Plus things tend to get purchased quickly off Facebook, and often never even make it the point of getting to Etsy. I need to post thing's here more often so my post don't drag on forever! Thanks for stopping by!

Staying Sharp!

2010-08-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

As I may have mentioned here before my father has a knack for making all the right connections. Sometimes he finds them, sometimes they find him. This would be an example of the later. My parents live in a smaller neighborhood with just a single street allowing access into and out of the area. Their house is conveniently located at the T that comes into the area, if you keep driving straight, you end up in their drive way. This allows my retired father, who spends a great deal of his time puttering around in his garage/shop, to play the neighborhood male version of Gladys Kravitz. No one gets in or out of that neighborhood without him knowing about it.

One day while doing his normal work (puttering), a man he didn't know from the neighborhood came up and asked him if he wanted some scrap wood. They struck up a conversation and my Dad learned Bob, lived just a short ways from him and made knives in his own workshop, out of his home. My Dad later visited Bob's workshop and found an amazing array of knives. All hand made, with wood handles made of various woods, in different, patterns sizes and styles. He offered to make a knife for my Dad, and not being the type to turn down anything free, my Dad gladly accepted, he also said he would make another knife for someone else in the family if Dad wanted him to.... I am the recipient of that knife!

Pictured here with an additional knife he also made for me, it is a big, beautiful, 10 inch Chefs knife with a handle made of several different exotic woods. The blade is razor sharp, made from High Carbon Stainless Steel. The blades are hardened and tempered. Once an edge is ground into them they keep it! Let me tell you.. this knife is sharp, but a sharp knife is a safe knife! You use less pressure when you cut, giving you more control. With a dull knife you'll use an unnecessary amount of pressure to compensate for the lack of sharpness of the blade, this results in a lack of control and a greater likelihood you'll injure yourself!

The boning or filet knife he made me has the most beautiful wood inlays! Bob says he uses exotic woods from all around the world, ebony from Africa, tigerwood, Bolivian rosewood, jatoba, redheart and yellowheart from South America, and many, many, more. The blade has a gorgeous curve to it and would work well for both fish or meat. All of the knives are acid etched using a medieval formula of fuming acids. He has etched my name on one side of each knife blade and a beautiful swirling pattern on the other. This is a very old fashioned way of etching, which he describes as dangerous, messy and altogether fun! He says he doesn't know of anyone else acid etching knives this way, these days most companies use laser etching. Bob has been a hobbyist knife maker for over 35 years.

I don't think I could begin to list the array of knife styles Bob makes here, but he makes all types, not just the culinary type I have pictured here. My Husband is getting a Bowie knife from him shortly, and I won't be using that in the kitchen! If you are interested in one of these Artisan made, functional works of art you can contact Bob Absaroka at krbents1@frontier.com

Whats New....

2010-08-11T19:55:00.001-05:00

Here's a peek at a few new things that are now listed in my Etsy shops. The jewelry pieces are in my shop Juniper Gems and the beads are all listed at Principessa Glass. Some of these items have already sold and some are still available.

I've been making a lot of hearts these days! I found a brass press that makes a truly awesome plump, consistent heart and I just love the results. It still takes a bit of skill to use, its not a simple load and press kind of deal, but it does allow you to make beautiful, nicely sized hearts, that are of a consistent size, with a nice crisp finish to them.

I have also embraced the trend of making beads directly onto vintage/antique skeleton keys. First I do love hunting in antique stores for these little treasures, and then of course, you know I do love making beads, so its fun then to put my own signature of sorts, on this little piece of history. I have been selling some in my bead shop and converting some into necklaces that are sold in my jewelry shop.

I have been gearing up for fall working on more organic looking beads and warm toned color palates, but I am also pleases to see the color forecast for fall has some very nice colors in it this year, not so neutral based. Lots of reds, greens, plums and purples and plenty of blues as well.

I do have an eye towards the winter holidays and have been testing out colors, shapes and designs. I will likely start offering my winter/ holiday beads in early fall. As always, I list all of my bead and jewelry listings on my Facebook within minutes of posting to Etsy. I have also started putting them on my Twitter. Thanks for stopping by!

New Jewelry Pieces!

2010-07-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

Finally I have made and listed some new jewelry pieces in my Juniper Gems shop on Etsy. It has taken me a while to get things together since I started selling beads online at the beginning of this year, but I hope to continue to be able to add things on a regular basis.

I made a couple of necklaces, which is a fairly new thing for me. I wanted to do something that utilized the Pandora style beads I make, but in a different way than the traditional bracelet or a single bead slid onto a chain for a necklace. When I bought a troll bracelet for myself last year, I noticed in their catalog that they had a necklace concept, kind of lariat style necklace, that is anchored with a large silver charm. I have since seen several people doing different variations on this same theme. I wanted to do something that was unique to my style, so I have decided to make my version anchored with my pretty, plump, lampwork hearts. The chains don't have clasps on them, (unless you want one) and are long enough to slip over your head. This allows you to change the Pandora style beads that come on the necklace with others you may have or if you purchase more, giving you the ability to change the look of the necklace with ease.

I am also taking some of the vintage skeleton keys I have been making beads on and making necklaces out of those. They have a very vintage style to them, using antique natural brass chain, wire and charms, as well as Swarovski crystals, pearls and anything else I think looks good!

I have some new bracelets listed, with many more in the works, all featuring my own artisan made lampwork beads. I am finally doing what I set out to do when I learned to make beads! I wanted to be able to make beads for my own designs and have them be exactly what I wanted, not buy what was available from other bead makers. I have always loved buying beads, but often times, I couldn't get exactly what I wanted, or too many of one thing, not enough of another... Now I am finally utilizing my own skills to suit my needs! I really like this new aspect! I of course will continue to sell my beads, but up until this point I wasn't making them for my own jewelry designs.

I have really enjoyed the growing relationships I have made with all the people I have met through facebook. I post all of my bead and jewelry listing there within a short time after I put them up on Etsy, so it's a good way to see what is new, quickly and easily and stay connected with all the goings on in my crazy life! If you haven't already become a fan, pop over and become one today! Be sure to stop by my Etsy bead shop Principessa Glass and see what is new, and Juniper Gems for jewelry listings. Thanks for stopping by!

Key to my Heart!

2010-07-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

Beads... of course! Well, that and maybe a shopping spree at Nordstroms! I don't know where the time goes, but go it does! I have been distracted lately with a nice long visit from Emily's best friend Hannah, who we enjoyed for two weeks. The girls kept me quite busy, but we really had a very good time trekking all over San Antonio, checking out all there is to see and do.

On the bead front I have been making loads of hearts and skeleton key beads lately, hence the title of this post. I found an awesome bead press, thanks to a post by Marcy Lamberson, from a Gal who lives in the Canary Islands. She makes some very nice, unique brass presses and the heart press is to die for! I took a little leap of faith and bought it, since the last one I bought wasn't really all that thrilling as far as I was concerned. This one makes beautiful, plump hearts! It's not a super simple press to use, it does take a little practice to get it down, but it's also not terribly complicated. It is a bit like making a heart without a press, but this enables you to make them of a consistent size and gives them a nice crisp finish!

I have been searching antique stores for skeleton keys, which has been a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, but I do enjoy the hunt! Thankfully, Emily also likes antique stores and knows to look for keys, so she lets me know if she stumbles across a stash. I have begun resorting to buying them online, but have found plenty of sellers willing to test them for me and pick out keys that meet my preferences. Not as much fun as picking them out myself, but so far I have had pretty good success with the online purchases.

I am starting the think about fall and winter beads already. It seems odd, but if you've been in your local craft store, like Hobby Lobby, they are already selling fall decor and I have no doubt that Christmas decorations are in the stock room and ready to hit the shelves any day!

I am gearing up to get my jewelry shop, Juniper gems, back in shape in the next few weeks. I have some great new pieces planned and some new (to me) concepts to introduce as well. I am going to try and be more consistent with my blog posts. I have just been so distracted by other life issues lately!

Stop by my Etsy shop and see some of the new bead sets, hearts and keys I have listed! Also if you aren't already a fan of my facebook page, consider becoming one, I post all my new listings there as soon as I put them on Etsy each day. Thanks for stopping by!

Thoughts....

2010-06-30T02:04:00.000-05:00

I came across this little quote on a friends facebook status tonight. It rang very true in my heart at this present time, so I thought I would post it here.

"When people walk away from you, let them walk. Don’t try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring for you, coming to see you, or staying attached to you. When people can walk away, let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left."

Gone To The Birds!

2010-06-07T03:51:00.001-05:00

Have you ever thought that maybe one or both of your parents had..."Gone to the birds?"... You know, a bit off the deep end, so to speak.. or literally..actually... now was a total bird nut! It started years a go when I was growing up, I just had no idea how far it would actually go. First it was bird hunting with our Chesapeake Bay Retriever. They both were pretty good, actually brought back some ducks, even a goose as I recall. Of course as a kid I had a limited appreciation of these events. I think I was mostly grateful I wasn't forced to go along under the pretense that "It would be fun".

Later in life when retirement came, it turned into making bird feeders, many trips to the bird store to buy the feed, special containers to store the food to keep pests out... Books for identification... the binoculars never got put away.. you just never knew when you might need a closer look to be sure you got the right bird name. Words like Bush Tit became commonly spoken... more bird houses... too many to use... Let's paint them and give them away.... They were both involved now!

Dad has always played around with woodworking. He did some furniture building.. My lampworking table is a piece of his handy work.. He did some work with gun stocks called checkering. He acquired more and more tools and bigger pieces of equipment... then he got a lathe... This was the beginning of all thing turned. I could go on about this slow slide into insanity, but I'll just get to the real point of my post. He has taken all these years of bird/wood obsession and turned it into an Etsy shop called Pacific NW Woods. He is offering his own hand turned and finished bird calls. There are other possibilities beyond birds as I am to understand it, but... as I said before.. the man has really gone to the birds!

Stop by and see these beautiful functional works of art at his new shop. You can even send him a message, but don't expect a 100 word response like you'd get from me.. he's not quite as chatty!

The First Taste of Summer....

2010-06-01T02:17:00.002-05:00

For me the first taste of summer usually comes in two forms, watermelon and my first root beer float. I have already been through a couple of watermelon and they have been good, but not as good as my beloved Hermiston watermelons from back in Oregon. Today while at the grocery store, I decided that it was time to have the first root beer float. We now live and Texas, so this even comes a good month and a half before I would even think about it in Oregon since summer doesn't really start there until about mid July, if your lucky.

My normal root beer of choice for many years has been Henry Weinhard's. It is a good root beer and is considered one of the premium products. My local grocery store was out. It is memorial day, so I guess this is to be expected and the weather here is a nice crisp 95 degrees. I suppose I might not be the only person thinking root beer float this weekend.... So desperate for an alternative, I began scanning the shelves. I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of coming home with A&W. They may have made good root beer back in the day, but now in an era of high fructose corn syrup and artificial everything, I wasn't feeling it. Then my luck was about to change... on an upper shelf, pushed back a bit were a few four packs of Virgil's Micro Brewed Root Beer... Eureka! I had read about Virgil's before, I had even picked it up at the store once, but didn't buy it because of the price. But today, because no other quality root beer alternative was available, in the cart it went.

I knew I was taking my chances here. Not because I thought this was going to be a big waste of money, but more likely that I was going to be trying something that was going to be far superior to the brand I was very happy with that was much less expensive..My suspicions were right! This root beer is amazing! I mean OMG good! It is made with real sugar, try finding that on the shelf at your local store these days. You can actually taste all of the delicious spices used in this brew. This is REAL root beer. Not overly sweet, nicely spiced.. flat out fabulous! My root beer float is a thing of beauty! It would only be better if I had been able to get a pint of my beloved Haggen Daz Vanilla frozen yogurt.. they were out of that too. I had to settle for a big tub of some other brand of frozen yogurt. YES... I am a food snob.. I will own that! I love food! I like putting good food made from quality ingredients in my body. I'd rather pay more for the stuff that is made like food should be. As I have raised my Daughter, while shopping, when she wanted something at the store, I made her read the label, The rule was if the ingredients sounded like food we could buy it, if she couldn't read the words or it sounded like chemistry class, it stays at the store... pretty simple I think!

Time to finish my root beer float! I think I am now ruined for life! I may still buy some Henry's for penny pinching purposes, but I will live for a Virgil's!!!

Loooook! New beads!

2010-05-24T18:36:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it??? I finally have a few new listings up! Between trying to learn my new camera and life just constantly getting in my way, top that off with a migraine and you've got one bugger of a week, or two! I do have some great sets, at least I think so, coming up to be listed in the next few days. I have some more pictures still to work on, but things are coming along. The new camera is amazing and would probably be even more amazing if I really knew how to use it!!!

I am thinking about taking some classes this summer on photography and Photo shop. I am sure I would learn a lot and since I am a very visual learner, so reading a manual only makes me crazy! From the class descriptions for both, it sounds like I would gain knowledge by taking both courses. It beats banging my head on the desk!

I am hoping to get my poor Juniper Gems shop re-photographed and spruced up and possibly even start making some pieces for the shop!! You know, I don't know where a day goes.. I rarely sit down unless I am at the computer and then I am working on stuff, like hours of editing for example! I hardly ever even sit down to eat my breakfast! Suffice it to say, I don't have grass growing under my feet, but yet, I can't seem to get much accomplished in a day. I suppose I might be setting unrealistic goals for myself... me... no, not possible..

Stop by my Etsy shop Principessa Glass and see what new listings I have for this week. Hopefully I will get some torch time in soon and have some more beads to keep this momentum going...

Cool Stuff!

2010-05-20T00:21:00.000-05:00

Etsy has some very cool things. Every so often, I come across something that strikes me as very unique, interesting and functional. The owner of this Etsy shop, DAM Jewels, Had ordered some beads from me, so I took some time to familiarize myself with her shop and what she sold on Etsy. I thought this Stethoscope jewelry was a very cool idea and a great way to jazz up an everyday item that is used by many in the medical field.

She can customize the colors and charm elements to suit ones taste or given field of work, which I thought was so very fun. I personally don't work in the medical field, my husband does, and I know for a fact he won't be looking for jewelry for his stethoscope, BUT, it is still a area that is largely dominated by women and WE like pretty things. She also offers plenty of other jewelry designs in her shop as well, bracelets, earrings, pendants etc. If you are in the medical field or know someone who is, stop by and take a peek at what DAM Jewels has to offer.

New Camera...?

2010-05-17T03:45:00.001-05:00

OK, I took the leap and plunked down a good bit of cash on a new camera in hopes of improving the quality of my bead and jewelry photos. I mention the jewelry here only to fool myself into thinking that I am actually doing something with my poor neglected Juniper Gems shop... (that's a whole different subject!) After doing a bit of research, which I am known for being a bit obsessive about, I settled on a Nikon D40. I ordered it online and got it on sale at a significant savings, which made me happy and kept my husband from having an immediate coronary issue. After a ridiculous shipping mishap, I finally got my new camera two weeks later, but still needed to get a memory card. I knew I needed one, but not being super techno girl, I was waiting on my honey to help me sort through the array of choices online. He works 50 hours a week and tends to be in a zombie like state for at least the first 24 hours he is off, so I was trying to be patient. He does after all pay the bills... it's not like what I do makes any money!

So now I have all the parts.. charged the battery and inserted the memory card. Step one.. turn camera on... OK, this is NOT a simple point and shoot camera that I am used to, so it took me a good hour of going through all the features in the menu.. repeatedly... to get things set the way I thought they should be, and this is on the most basic settings... It took some adjusting. I have to now use a view finder, I'm used to a big screen on the back of my old camera.. the image you take a picture of will display on the screen after you take a picture on the new camera, but it's not a big view finder like my old camera.. This puppy has a big lens on it, it works very well, but it makes the camera big, much heavier and more awkward to handle.. I've just never used this type of camera before, so this is like having a dishwasher after hand-washing dishes your whole life!

The first few photos I have taken on this thing have come out fantastic! I am amazed at it's ability to adjust to lighting situations without the use of a flash. I showed my Husband the first couple bead pictures I took, just some simple preview photos for custom orders, with NO editing, these pictures looked better than my best edited pictures on my old camera, except for the dust... that darn silver riser!!!

I took some indoor pictures around the house in all kinds of situations that our old camera just would not have worked.. this new one worked like a charm. My outdoor photos needed almost no editing at all, a little sizing and a tiny light tweak! I know I have yet to realize the true potential of this camera. I am hoping to find some online tutorials to watch or read to help me get better acquainted with my new techno camera... All in all, I think it was well worth the money. I am going to try retaking some photos of beads in my Etsy shop that are not very photogenic and see how they come out. Some elements in beads and jewelry are REALLY hard to capture in pictures, but I think I have found the assistance I need to do a much better job. Hopefully this won't take me as long to figure out as photo shop did, nor require the amount of tissues I used!

New Beads!!

2010-04-22T17:34:00.001-05:00

Yes...Finally some new bead sets are listed in my Etsy shop! I am working on getting a flow going, a certain rhythm to my making, photographing and listing. If I had things MY way in a perfect world... I would just spend my day being creative making beads, maybe even spend time making jewelry again. I would have this lovely very accommodating assistant that would clean my beads, clean the mandrels, re-dip the mandrels, order glass and misc supplies, make up bead sets, take photos, edit them, and list them on the web site. Sadly... the creative... I make beads part of this life, is really not the majority of my day, unless I do silly things like stay up until 3-4am making beads. That has happened more than once this past week and it has produced some nice results. Obviously I can't keep this schedule forever, it just throws everything off for the next day, since I then sleep till noon, so my day gets started even later.. and the whole cycle gets more and more out of whack!

I am not sure what the real answer is to how this is done best, but I will keep trying to get things more balanced and have more time to do things at an enjoyable pace. If you haven't already done so, check out my Principessa Glass facebook fan page. I list my beads there when I get them put in my Etsy shop and I have a photo gallery of past and present work in there. It isn't a complete gallery, but does have most of the past couple of months worth. I will work on getting some of the past stuff in there when I find where I put all my free time... I'm sure it's around here some where, I must have just misplaced it.

My Juniper Gems shop is still open and still severely neglected! It is on my list of things to do...I was so excited to have my own beads to work with and now I don't have the time to do any thing but make the beads...Thanks for stopping by..Check out what is new in my Etsy shop!

Living YOUR life...

2010-04-14T01:27:00.002-05:00

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

I read the above quote on someones facebook page this evening and it really spoke to me and the place I am in life right now. There are often many voices and influences in our lives which can help guide our lives, or they can be a distraction from ones own personal path. Our lives are a very individual thing, No two are ever exactly the same. I think we can learn a lot from each other and our shared life experiences. All too often I think we tend to focus on our differences rather than what we share in common, which tends to be much more usually if we look below the surface.

Doing The Right Thing???

2010-04-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like despite the fact that you follow the rules, do the right things, play fair, and you still get screwed by all of those who don't and seemingly get away with it? I was rear-ended last week while driving to go get a pedicure. I had waited several weeks to finally go experience this little slice of heaven. It's one of my few guilty pleasures. I was almost to my destination when I was hit by a driver not paying attention coming up to a stop light. It did a bit of damage to my car. Not know what was wrong and given the fact that I was alone and the car was making a new strange sound, I opted to have it towed after I had reached my destination, which was only a few blocks from where the accident occurred.

You hope that all the information you are given when you are in an accident is correct, and that the person is driving legally with insurance, just like you are. I pay my insurance premiums every month, which just moving to this state went up 50%!!! But I still pay them! Today, five days after the accident I was finally contacted by the other parties insurance company. Turns out that they have what is termed as a restricted policy and the driver of the car may not be on the policy, there for not covered. Fantastic! I do have insurance, but the estimate on my car is below the regular deductible, which we keep fairly high, so that we can keep our insurance costs relatively reasonable. The amount I would have to pay to get my car fixed is more than I have sitting in my piggy bank right now. If it is determined that the driver is not insured then I could use the uninsured driver coverage on my policy, which takes my deductible down to only $250.00. This is much more reasonable, but still would make this the most expensive pedicure I have ever gotten!

Life can be rather disheartening at times! We have always paid our bills and done our best to pay them on time. Even with no late payments and great credit, almost all of the credit card companies we have cards with have raised our rates. Why? Because other people haven't paid their bills. We didn't get a government bailout, but we are paying more for the mistakes other people made! We have never filed bankruptcy, even though we had some seriously lean years and it sure would have made life easier to wipe the slate clean rather than suffer through and pay off all our debt. Actually took longer to have good credit again, than if we had filed bankruptcy! How does that make sense? You pay your debts, and get penalized for it!

Yep... I sound a little bitter today! Frustrated is a better word. You work hard, live life to the best of your abilities and one day you leave the house for a little piece of enjoyment and someone who doesn't play by the rules can really cost you a bundle!

Lost and Found!

2010-04-05T01:32:00.002-05:00

I think it was the year 1990 when my Husband and I got sent to the Island of Okinawa as part of his Military duty, upon arriving there, we met up with several people he knew from previous assignments. It was nice to met people he knew, most of them had wives who were very nice and I became friends with them quite quickly. My husband told me he wanted to have a friend and his family over for dinner, so I made preparations, can't remember what I made, but he said they loved food, so I doubt I held back. They arrived, everyone seemed nice and I met the wife, Kim, she was pregnant. She seemed a bit shy, but not terribly and warmed up as the evening went on. I enjoyed the company and I think we all had a nice evening. I didn't see her again until I stumbled upon her at the hair salon, just before she had her baby, she was very friendly and we had a nice chat. The baby came, an adorable boy and she and her Husband were quite pleased, as this was the first boy, they had three girls already. Bob wanted to go visit the new baby, so we set a time, bought a cut boy baby gift and went to visit. Kim was very warm, sweet and friendly and so happy to be a new Mom.

In the next few weeks we began getting together more frequently for dinners and then as our Husbands were out of town, which was often, we started getting together on our own and cooking. Kim was a good cook and waned to learn even more things, so I happily taught her anything I knew she was interested in learning. We spent many hours sitting in the room off her kitchen eating Oreo's while sitting with her little guy, hiding out from the rest out the kids, pouring over cook books and getting to know one another. We both loved dogs, she had a Boxer, I had a Golden Retriever, we would get them together and let them run around outside the kitchen while we stayed safe inside.

I can't say there is a lot about our personalities that is a like, in fact we are quite different, I'm overly chatty, Kim is more quite, I am quite the "Girly girl", Kim is much more down to earth and rarely ever wears make up. We did both love to run, which I can no longer do, but I think Kim still does when she has time. I could go on about all of our vast differences, but it's not important to my story, what is, is the bond that was created over 20 years ago on a tiny island in the middle of the South China Sea. Within in a couple of month of getting to know Kim she shared with me one of the most precious and difficult life experiences she had ever been through up until that point. Something very few people knew about. I was floored that she put so much trust in me, but it told me this woman wasn't afraid to invest in a relationship. Someone who had know deep hurt and still was willing to be vulnerable. I have come to know this to be one of her greatest attributes!

As I have watch this woman over the past twenty year I have seen her weather many unbelievably difficult life situation and still she remains tender, sweet and caring. I hope some day when I grow up I can be just like her! She is now in school to pursue an RN certification so that she can become a hospice nurse. When she told me this I asked her, "Do they know how easily you cry?" ...

I called this post lost and found because after all of our moves and travels we lost track of each other for a couple of years. We had both been looking for each other, I took a chance on an address I had in my horribly disorganized address book after we moved and sent her a card to let her know of our change of address. She called within minutes of getting it! We had found each other again! I have many friends in my life and they are all special to me in different ways. When I tell people about this Kim, I tell them she's the most beautiful person I know!

Mothers, Photos and an Almost 16 Year Old....

2010-03-02T23:31:00.001-06:00

My Mother was here to visit for about 6 days, we had a pretty nice time. I do think I likely drove her crazy since, I did comment on the frequent, unrequested help with driving skills, finding a parking space, and other random "helpful" suggestions. The weather was pretty nice for her stay, which made it possible to get out and see the area a bit, but we didn't get to go to all the places we would have liked, but since I won't be leaving Texas in the near future that I can see, I think she'll have the opportunity to see those places on future trips.

I have been working on getting better photo's for my beads. It's a whole different thing to get used to taking pictures of. Jewelry certainly was and is challenging, but beads are different in their own way. I bought a new light tent, lights and a photo riser, to give things a whole new look. I will be transitioning things over as I get time to take pictures and edit them. I will also be putting up new photos of all the jewelry pieces in my Juniper Gems Shop, which has been sorely neglected since I started selling beads. I will get this whole balance thing down eventually. I feel like I make small strides towards accomplishing the things I desire to be able to accomplish on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. It's not going to happen overnight, and I am learning little by little how to prioritize and how to allow myself to take a little break from things without feeling guilty.

This coming weekend my Daughter Emily celebrates her "Sweet 16". Most days I wonder where on earth that term originated, since sweet only happens when they are asking you to get them something. The rest of the time, it's a crap shoot! You just never know what you are going to get from one minute to the next. She'll be making you laugh, and moments later be storming out of the room because you upset her in some way...??? The good things are still there everyday. She does tell me at least ten times a day that she loves me without being asked or in response to being told that you love her... she does it all on her own. I keep that with me at all times to remind me that the "Sweet" is in there, and that something is going right.

I should be putting up a few listings for beads this week, but will be a bit busy this weekend with a bowling Birthday party and a sleep-over with a half dozen 15-16 year olds. I could go torch just for the solitude!

I have decided to end my other blog, and combine it with this one. I just don't have enough time and energy to write for both, so this one will be the one that stays. Please stop by my Etsy shop and see what is new!

Looking for Balance...

2010-02-11T13:48:00.000-06:00

Anyone seen it??? I have been trying to strike a balance between doing what I love, making beads, doing the practical side of running an on-line business, taking photos, editing, and putting up listings, along with being a good wife, mother and animal care taker. I have remembered to feed the dogs everyday for quite some time now, so that is an improvement. The cat lets me know in a rather vocal way, long before she is actually out of food that her dish is getting low...Heaven forbid it actually be allowed to run dry!

I did get beads made this week, not a ton, but a nice bunch of Pandora style beads which I will list after I finish this post and a nice regular set. I had some custom orders to finish up, one is done, one is still in the process. It's a funny thing about doing custom work, somethings are very cut and dry, quite obvious what you used to make the beads. I don't keep an actual record of the colors I use and sometimes a bead or bead set is an evolving creature that sort of happens in the moment with what is in front of you. In the morning you pull it out of the kiln and think, Wow, that turned out cool. I even have trouble some times when I go to list the beads a day or two later, thinking what color is that??? So when somebody asks you to remake a particular bead, you say sure, then you pull up the photo of the sold work and begin to analyze your work... hmmmm. what did I use at that end there???? I am in just such a pickle right now. I know what 90% of the bead is, it is just one stripe, at the end, I am baffled as to what I used, so I will have to sit down and give it a whirl and see what it looks like when it comes out of the kiln tomorrow.

I still need to get a handle on the rest of life in general. How to get the laundry done, groceries and dinner on a consistent basis. I have a reasonable routine going that seems to keep thing from falling into utter chaos, but I still have lots of work to do to actually get it down! I am trying to get some yoga and physical therapy exercises in a few times a week, since my neck and should are back up in a serious knot again. They have been heading that direction fro quite sometime and I knew what I needed to do, it was a matter of making time to do it. Pain is a good motivator!

I'd better wrap this up or I will never get these beads listed today! Stop by my Etsy shop later today and see what is new! I also intend to get a few new pieces up in Juniper Gems some time this week... We'll see how it goes!

Need Twistie????

2010-02-05T16:58:00.000-06:00

I've got your girl!!! If you hate making twistie, or just aren't very good at it, like me, then I have the best source I've found, to tell you about. My friend Nikki, Of Bastille Bleu, has started selling her own handmade twistie in her bead shop on Etsy. This stuff is fantastic to work with! It's straight as a pin, a nice long length and runs about 3-4mm, so it's not a big fat thing that you need to stretch out in order to fit on your bead, which tends to distort the pattern.

I've had twistie from other sellers that is no where near the quality Nikki offers, and her customer service is top notch! She has multiple listing in her shop right now offering pretty, color themed, selections of twistie in packs of 8 pieces, ranging from 8-12 inches long, for $12.75. She will also do custom orders on twistie, if you desire specific color combos.

My beads pictured here are all made with her handpulled twistie! Until I can make my own decent twistie, I will continue to buy hers! Nikki is a completely self taught lampwork artist, which, let me tell you, is no small accomplishment! Her skills continue to evolve and expand on a daily basis and I am always amazed at what she comes up with. I would have never probably made it very far in this craft if I had gone the self taught route!

Stop by her shop and see what she has to offer. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she is also one of the nicest people you could ever run across! Thanks for stopping by my blog... Have a great day!

New Look!

2010-01-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

I gave my blog a face lift today and I really like it! It's more in line with the pink, black and white with a little bit of lime that I like for Principessa Glass. Hopefully it's easy to read. I personally don't like to try and read blogs with backgrounds that compete with the writing. I have eyes with a problem where they fight for dominance, so trying to ready anything in a busy font, or against a busy background drives me bonkers! I am going to spend the rest of today working on beads, and them tomorrow I have an 8 hour class with Sam Hibbler on encasing. Hopefully I will learn a lot, since encasing is an area I am really not to good at! I'm off to melt some glass!!!

Featured in a Blog!

2010-01-28T12:08:00.000-06:00

I got a nice note this morning that a fellow blogger had used my beads in a feature she did. She has a great blog! Stop by and take a peek at what she does! http://www.frommaris.com/ . Thanks Maris!

New listings!

2010-01-27T16:03:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to say I have been busy, busy, busy!!! I am still trying to get down the dynamics of running two shops. I can't say I've got it all figured out, but it is slowly coming together. I have been slowed quite a bit by a cluster of migraines this week, which has made getting anything accomplished a challenge. If I am not in pain I am in a complete stupor from my meds. It's definitely a case of the cure being almost as bad as the sickness.

I have some new listings up in my shop and have been slowly building up a little bit of inventory. It has been more challenging than I expected since things have been selling quite quickly, which is a good thing, just unexpected. I haven't been able to get much torching done this week due to the headache mentioned above, but hopefully can recover some of my lost time later this week and over the weekend.

I will be putting up some new bracelets in my Juniper Gems shops later today all featuring my own artisan made lampwork beads, so stop by and take a look at those! I'm off to get back to work on those listings since I am moving like a turtle today! Thanks for stopping by!

Happily Overwhelmed!

2010-01-20T17:08:00.002-06:00

Well, I am pleased to say that all the beads in my last post that I listed yesterday have already sold along with several more sets, including the ones I listed today! I thought it would take a while to actually start selling beads and that I would be kind of building up some inventory, but I am having trouble keeping up with this pace right now. I need to get my hiney out to the garage and work on some more beads! I have some more to list sitting here, but I still need to be working on more and keep the flow going, so to speak, since there are beads to clean photos to take, editing, and listing all involved in this process. As I mentioned yesterday, I also have a few other "household" responsibilities that seem to be slipping right now. I did remember to feed the dogs today though! They like that!

Thank you so much to all who have visited my shop and bought my beads already, your support means the world to me! It took quite some time and effort to actually get to the point of putting beads up for sale and to open my e-mail today and have beads sell in less than 24 hours after listing them truly overwhelmed me. I listed some new beads sets today, some of which have already sold today, as well as some bracelets in my other Etsy shop Juniper Gems. Stop by and take a peek. The bracelet made with my own beads are listed under the section " Made w/ Principessa Glass. Thanks for stopping by!

Finally... I Have Beads Listed!

2010-01-19T18:39:00.003-06:00

After what seems like an eternity, I have listed beads in my Etsy shop, Principessa Glass. Not a ton mind you, but there are a few listings and I will be building up my inventory as I can get it made photographed and uploaded... Ah, the beauty of being a one man band! I am still finding "ME", my style, what appeals to me most to make and what I am the most successful at making right now.

I have a couple more classes I am signed up to take that will greatly help
some areas I am less than proficient in, which I will be attending in the next couple of weeks. It is amazing to me how much I can learn and continue to learn for an 8 hour class. You can only get down so much on the day of the class, but you leave with much to draw from and have a number of "Ah ha" moments afterwords as you work and finally get a concept by continuing to work on it.

I love the Pandora style beads and use those almost exclusively in the stuff I do for my personal use. It began quite innocently and became somewhat of an obsession! I just adore these things! I love being able to change out my bracelet in a matter of minutes, and the variety and possibilities are endless and ever changing.. I've begun saying, "It's not a bracelet, it's an obsession!" You've been warned... I have begun using my own artisan made lampwork beads in my jewelry designs in my Juniper Gems shop. Stop by there and have a peek at what I have listed. I still have a large stash of beads made by other very talented artist, so there will still be pieces in my shop with beads not made by me. My listings will specify if I made the beads. Thanks for stopping by.. keep checking my listings.. my tastes and skills are an ever evolving creature.

Coopers Sale!!!!

2010-01-01T03:11:00.000-06:00

This is Cooper, My dear friend Nikki, of Bastille Bleu's 3 year old Golden retriever who recently came down with a severe case of rocky mountain spotted fever. He has been to the vet after showing signs of not feeling well and test confirmed that he did in fact have the above mentioned illness (too many words!!) They put him on what was the normal course of treatment and sent him home to get better. It seemed like he was doing better for a couple of days and then began to crash!

He was taken to an emergency vet hospital, which can also be called the bottomless pit of spending! It is wonderful that we have these places to take our beloved pets to, but the costs can rack up by the hour! The doctors were stumped as to what was causing Cooper to get worse. He had now started having seizures. As you can imagine, my poor friend was beside herself with worry. After running a myriad of costly tests and getting Cooper re-hydrated, they determined that he had been experiencing what amounted to the worst case scenario for an animal with rocky mountain spotted fever. Most respond to the standard treatment which he had been given earlier in the week by their regular vet, but poor Cooper had to be special!

He is finally back home now, having lost over 20lbs and still very weak. He'll be recovering for quite awhile as will his owners who now have an enormous vet bill! Nikki is running a one day sale in both of her shops, Bastille Bleu, for handmade artisan lampwork beads and Bastille Bleu Bijoux for jewelry made with her handmade lampwork beads. Some of the bead sets are up to 50% off, so I wouldn't wait!

Stop by Nikki's shops and take a look around, if you find something that appeals to you, your purchase will be supporting a much loved family member! It's kind of cool, since you'll get something and be giving at the same time! Thanks for your support!

He Came.. He Went...

2009-12-23T14:01:00.001-06:00

But that's just fine with me because he left what I had been waiting for.. My new kiln! The "Man in Brown" Aka, The UPS driver did come yesterday and deliver my package without a scratch on it! I opened that box up, read the instruction, Yes, some people do that, and then went out and made the necessary adjustments so the cord would reach the plug in and I could still conveniently reach the door with little effort. It only took a little finessing to get things the way I wanted them and I had things all set up.

The kiln comes with several pre-programed annealing schedules, but I wanted to input a custom schedule that would accommodate my use of both Effetre and Bullseye glass. This was easier said than done since I am not exactly a whiz at this type of gizmos. It usually takes me a dozen or so tries before I get the damn thing figured out, but once I do get it down, I usually have a pretty good understanding of it since I have done it every possible wrong way and now have a fairly clear grasp on the right way.

I ran it through the program last night just to test it out and see if it ramped through all the steps correctly and it appears to have come through with flying colors! I am planning on getting out there later tonight make some beads and actually anneal them IN MY KILN!!! Yes, I find this thrilling! It has been a long road to get here! This is no cheap art form! I still have several significant things to do that will cost a bundle, but for now I have a workable studio. At least until the temperatures here in Texas start creeping back up and my garage becomes a sauna!

Waiting forThe Man...

2009-12-22T14:22:00.001-06:00

Nope, Not Santa yet, I am waiting for the "Man In Brown", Every girls boyfriend that brings her gifts, the UPS Man. I am supposed to get my kiln today and can't wait! I just love it when the UPS Man or the Fed Ex Guy arrives at my door. Even if you know you've ordered something, it still like a gift has arrived and it's so much fun to open your box and unpack all of your goodies! It sad someday's when he drives right by without even so much as a wave... Hey, I thought we had a good thing going? Why are you being so distant? Then comes that ring of the doorbell and knock, they always do both, if their any good! And once again my hope in the Man in Brown has been renewed. I have to say though, that Fed Ex guy has been pretty frequent as well lately, I wonder if Mr. Brown will get jealous?

I have a bunch of new glass coming in the next week or so, as well as some new presses. I have several jars of frit I have yet to get a chance to play with and several new tutorials that I am dying to try out. I have finally found most of the unusual and unique glass and such that the tutorials call for, so hopefully I can get to working on those soon.

It'll be nice to see Santa later this week, but for now... I am waiting for Mr. Brown!

I Bought A Kiln!!!

2009-12-17T12:19:00.001-06:00

Yes, I bought a kiln and am currently doing quite the little happy dance! This finally brings it all together! After months of torching, taking classes, buying more equipment, tools, supplies and getting things re-set up after a considerable move, I can finally make and anneal my beads! Being that is is the middle of the holiday season, I won't be killing myself to try and make beads and get them listed in my Etsy shop until after the first of the year and all of my holiday festivities are over, decorations are packed away for another year long hibernation and I have regained what sanity I still posses. I'm sure there isn't too much sanity left, but I have always though crazy people had the most fun anyway! I mean if you are too nuts to care, I'd say there is great freedom in that!

I will post some photos here when I get that far and likely on my other blog, Juniper Gems, as well. Thank you to all who have placed a heart in my empty Principessa Glass shop! It means a lot to have so much support in advance! I still have a lot of inventory in my Juniper Gems shop if you are looking for Holiday gifts still. I ship everything from that shop via USPS Priority mail, so as long as you buy before or on December 21st (early in the day) You should have no trouble getting and on time delivery. Just remember, I do my best to get things out the door in 24 hours or less, after that it's up to the postal service to do their job!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Frit...

2009-12-15T11:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet "That Frit Girl", Leslie Cifelli at a local Starbucks to pick up some frit I had ordered from her on her website. What a delightful person! She had offered to meet me locally and save me the cost of shipping, how cool is that? Since I just move to this city and only know a handful of people I jumped at the chance to meet a fellow lampworker, and another human being in general. It was lovely to sit and chat with Leslie over coffee and talk about all things glass and a little life in general. The frits she brought me are absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to get out to my torch and start playing with them.

I am really excited about a special program she is involved with called Beads of Courage, which makes beads for sick children. On her website are the details of how she has incorporated this into her frit business. It's very cool and something I intend to join in with. If you want to take advantage of Leslie's Frit challenge the details are on her website. You can just click on the link provided here to read all about it. Basically, she'll allow you to select from different groups of frit samples, that she will send to you free of charge, you make beads with the frit as the highlight, of course, and then send them back to her. She will take photos of them if you would like, post them on her web site and then pass them along to beads of courage. I'd say it's a win win situation! You get to do something really cool for sick kids, try out frit blends for free, and make beads! All things I love!

If you haven't already, check out That Frit Girl, and if you live in the San Antonio, Texas you might even get the chance to meet up with Leslie.

I should be purchasing a kiln sometime this week!! Yeah for me! Hopefully I will be able to start listing some of the beads I make around the first of the year. I am now in the throws of Holidays, so it is doubtful I will have anything up before January. I look forward to being able to anneal my own beads! Check back into my shop Principessa Glass to see what I have going on, plus I will try and put updates on here as well. Also I will soon be using my own hand torched beads in my jewelry designs, so stop by my jewelry shop Juniper Gems and see what I have listed there.

Making Some Progess....

2009-12-10T10:28:00.000-06:00

I've been out torching glass like a fiend having a mix of success and failure. Such is life! I have made some strides in my quest to beat the cold, but it still plagues me. I am able to be out there on cooler nights, but COLD is out of the question. I stayed out last nigh a little too long and had a large rod 8-9 mm of new violet Effetre explode about 2-3 inches into flying glass projectiles! I am used to glass getting shocky, especially since it tends to get cool in my garage at night, but this was a big rod of glass that literally exploded! I decied then it was time to call it quits for the night. I have been making an effort to get out there earlier in the day, while it's still light out and the sun is warming up the garage door. However I tend to get lost in the art and spend hours out there! I thought I was doing good yesterday, got out around 4pm, wanted it to be earlier, but was distracted by other things. I came in and made dinner at 7pm, then back out a 8:30pm. I figured with the door closed I could reheat the space while I was in the house, which did work, but with the temps dropping into the 30's overnight that didn't do me much good for long!

I'd take some pictures of my recent work and post them here, but it is too darn cold out this morning to do so... another day! Plus I am still cozy in my PJ's.. The beauty of working from home! No one knows that you look like something that cat drug in from behind a computer! I will hopefully have a kiln just after the beginning of the year and start listing some beads in my Principessa Glass shop. I have a few new listings up in my jewelry shop Juniper Gems. The Holiday pieces are clearing out quickly. I still have a large selection of my Swarovski crystal Christmas tree earrings, but some versions are down to just one pair.

I think I am starting to feel my holiday "Fa La La"... that's what I call it anyway. That feeling that it IS Christmas time and you are enjoying the whole idea of it. It took awhile being in a new place that doesn't exactly have a real winter. I just got my shipment of goodies I need to make my holiday candies, so I am set to start that any day now. I still have some shopping to do, but I was waiting for Friday to roll around with another paycheck to fund my efforts! Thankfully I really like shopping and enjoy finding the right thing for people. Have a great day! I'm off to torch some more!

BBRrrrrrrrr!

2009-12-05T01:51:00.001-06:00

It is currently 26 degrees outside! Now, if you live somewhere that has a cold winter, this would be expected, but this is south central Texas! They say it will be a record low tonight of around 23 degrees! I couldn't take it anymore and finally turned on the furnace, our house which is uber insulated, was at 68 degrees and I thought I was going to freeze! It was quickly up to 72 degrees and I resisted the urge to raise it all the way up to 78, which is where it is at most days. Yes, this may sound warm, but it's actually not, it's very comfortable in fact. Even my husband who is like a nuclear reactor, heat-wise, all on his own, is very comfortable.

Needless to say, with the problems I have been having with my glass rods cracking while I work out in the garage, I knew that this cold was way beyond what my current set up was capable of handling. I have made some adjustments lately that have improved things significantly, but temps in the 20 and 30's are just too cold for me!

Fear not, the weather should be back up into the mid to upper 60's by Monday! I may not freeze after all!
I put up a few new listings in my Juniper Gems shop, and my good friend Nikki at Bastille Bleu made me super cute holiday banners and avatars for both of my shops. You'll have to go and see them! They turned out so cute! She came to my rescue, since I am severely challenged in this area myself. I tried several different programs and methods for making my own banners and failed miserably. There are some things that it is wise to acknowledge that you CANNOT do yourself and pay someone else to do it for you. I was coming close to wanting to throw my new computer out the window, which in the long run would cost a lot more than paying someone to make a banner for me. I now know without a doubt that I suck at this and should make no further efforts at trying. The world in general will be a happier, safer place if I stick with this plan.

Hopefully I will be back at my torch later this weekend. I can only go so long with out a fix!!! I just got a new shipment of Creation Is Messy glass and am expecting more glass on Monday. It's like boxes of candy arriving! The rods are all so pretty to look at, and you can't wait to go fire up your torch and see what you can do with each one. I'll have plenty to play with this next week! I have a couple projects I am working on for the holidays, hopefully I can make something decent! Stop by my shop Principessa Glass an see my new holiday banner! If you leave me a heart, (aka, save me as a favorite) I will heart you back!

You Get What You Pay For...

2009-11-25T01:16:00.000-06:00

I have been seeing an increasing amount of cheap imported lampwork beads flooding the listings on Etsy lately and am becoming quite annoyed and concerned with this trend. I am used to seeing this on Ebay, but Etsy in the past has been fairly good about weeding out the stuff that isn't really handmade.

How do you tell the difference, price is usually a good starting point. A "handmade" lampwork bead being offered for $2.99 with a sterling silver core, isn't handmade by the person offering it, nor is it likely to have a sterling silver core. Some sellers have a habit of presenting core that is plated with silver as sterling, but this is only known as silver plate, and should not be stamped with the .925 that signifies true sterling silver. Not only are these beads not made by the seller as it is usually stated, but they usually are not annealed. Annealing is a cooling process that takes place in a kiln, which slowly reduces the temperature of the bead at a controlled rate, this can take up to 8 hours. With a very inexpensive bead this step is almost always skipped since it takes time and time is money! Non-annealed beads are unsafe for use in jewelry as they can break at anytime, it could be weeks, months or days after you receive them. These are glass, would you want that to break while being worn on your wrist?

The photos you see in listings are often stock photos, so the beads you get are probably not going to be the ones in the picture. If you are getting 3 beads for $ 2.99, run for your life. It is a good bet that if the seller originates in China or India, you may not be getting quality lampwork beads. You are getting cheap beads.

Most reputable lampwork artist selling on Etsy, Ebay or websites will have acquired a self representing artist designation, as well as a membership with the International Society of Glass Beadmakers. They will tell you in their listings what types of glass they use and how they anneal and clean their beads. I have run across an Ebay seller how had all the right verbiage on her listings, but did not have the self representing artist logo or number to back up her claim of possessing such a designation. When I looked at her listings, I could quickly recognize them as cheap Chinese imports. The best bet is to get to know your seller and ask questions, even ask other sellers you trust, most will be honest with you about whether or not this person is selling handmade beads. After awhile you learn to spot them, not to mention within the lampworking community word travels fairly quickly when someone is misrepresenting their work.

This is an age old art form and the people who do it, love it and take pride in their work. It is important to continue to educate people as to the differences in bead quality so they can at least make an informed decision about what they are buying. I certainly don't believe in price gouging, but if it seems too good to be true, price wise, it probably is...

What A Week!

2009-11-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Sometimes your week just doesn't go as planned.... I have had THAT week. I have had kind of a comedy of errors type of week, except that it has been less comedy, more error. It took me DAYS to figure out my new photo editing software, and I have by no means, got it figured out, but I can at least use it a little now. I have been trying to get my photos right for my jewelry shop since we move, but still don't have the right spot. I may have to just finally buy a photo tent and proper lights. I prefer natural outdoor lighting, but I have yet to find a workable spot at our new house.

It has gotten cold here this past week in the evening, and since my "studio" is out in the garage, it gets cold out there. This means that my glass, once I heat it up and use it, will crack the next time I go to use that same rod of glass! I have tried several different methods for trying to keep this from happening, but so far nothing has been really successful. I have a little space heater, but... it's whimpy! I think I am going to go to Costco and get one of those big disc heaters! I am getting desperate! This girl needs to melt some glass! I keep trying to get out there earlier in the day, but so far this week, I have been plagued by pretty bad headaches which won't go away until late in the day, if at all.

I just got a shipment of new glass and a whole bunch of cool new tools from cgBeads, that I am dying to play with! I will get out there sooner or later, I'd just like it to be sooner!

Allow Me To Introduce Myself...

2009-11-20T21:49:00.003-06:00

I am the Glass Princess, at least at my house I am. I have fallen in love with the art of lampworking, also know as glass bead making. I work in my "studio" out in my garage. It is a temporary set up, but it will do just fine for now. I work on a GTT Cricket torch with an oxygen concentrator. I absolutely love my Cricket!

I have an Etsy shop ready to sell my beads once I feel I have something worth selling, but for now it sits empty. I also have a domain name, but no actual web site set up yet. If you put in my web address, you'll just be redirected to my Etsy shop.

I have been making jewelry for a few years now and selling it on Etsy in a shop under the name Juniper Gems for the past year. I have really enjoyed the creative process and where it has taken me. It's been an evolving sort of thing which has taken me in many directions, but ultimately lead me to fall in love with lampwork beads. I just find them fascinating to look at even more fascinating to make!

I have another blog associated with my jewelry shop, which I will continue to maintain.... at least for now. I don't currently use my own hand made beads in my jewelry, but will in the near future. I will always continue to purchase and use artisan made lampwork beads from other artist, since I really like to offer variety in my pieces of jewelry. There is such a wide range of styles and techniques to explore, far more than one person will likely cover.

I hope you'll enjoy this journey along with me.