Knot a Rifle

Quite a powerful piece of jewelry.

Crumley New York - jewelry & accessories design

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Black & Blue Beetle Bracelet

Black & Blue Beetle Bracelet * close up 2
Originally uploaded by traSEAlee

Kelly.... you have changed my Saturdays forever.... I can't not make a bracelet on Saturdays now - or it just feels weird!

This is my new one.... I had it planned out last week, shopped for the beads for it this afternoon, and finished it tonight. Initially we thought it was a highly polished chalk turquoise beetle, but after closer inspection, it's a hand carved, glazed ceramic beetle. I love the crackle glaze in that yummy celadon blue, and the artist scribed thier insignia into the back - how great.

I'm dedicating this special one to Lori & Kelly who make THE BEST team. (tear, tear, sniff, sniff)

Vintage Garden Bracelet

Vintage Garden Bracelet
Originally uploaded by traSEAlee

Here's another bracelet, using Kelly's Garden Bracelet technique. I used vintage buttons, pearls (real and swarovski), and more snazzy glass beads. It feels so good on because it's kind of 'weighty' and swishes around as I move. I love it.

I'm collecting beads for my next one.... all black, with an amazing scarab beetle made from turquoise. I want to use shiny and matte beads, transparent and opaque... as many different black beads as I can find. I'm totally addicted!

The Garden Bracelet

I took a beading class yesterday, from the fun and amazing Kelly Angeley. She's been seen all over the pages of Stringing Magazine - including the cover of the Spring issue!
So below is the bracelet I made.... click on any of the pics to see them larger, directly on my flickr page, where I've stuff written about each shot.

Snow Day .... Charms & Headache Free

Last Thursday we had a snow day! Oh ya - we got a whole 2 inches and the town was in a tizzy and canceled school. They just have no idea what snow is around.... it NEVER happens. Sometime we get slushy snow mixed with rain, but it never never sticks on the ground, so to wake up last Thursday and this was amazing!
I was so sick with my damn headache, I wasn't able to go driving around to take pics of the dunes or anything, which was a drag, but I was happy to know it was there.

So yesterday (Sunday) was my fist day, migraine free, in almost a week! I just had the best time finishing up my charms for the other charm swap. Tyler spent the whole day with me (instead of being in his room hooked up to his headphones and guitars), so I was sheer heaven. After spending the entire day taping and soldering I hopped online to read my mail, surf the net, catch up on some blogs and even managed to crank out the two scrapbook pages for the snow and charms in photoshop! I was a little too excited and stayed up till 4:30 this morning playing, but I don't care - it's the first day I have felt like myself in weeks!!!

Here are my charms... I had made up the pic with brushes in photoshop, punched them out and stuck them to the glass pebbles earlier, so all I had to do was wrap them in copper tape and solder them up, but it took pretty much all day because I did quite a bit more than the 25 needed for the shop, since I knew that some of them might would be duds. I am not a master solderer, so I always make extra ;)

(All the credits for my layouts can be found on my flicker page... click on the link to right)

Thank you ... thank you ... thank you

I'm glad to be back among the living... my migraine is gone!
To make my day even better, I've just sold a few pendants on Etsy. Woo hoo. Thanks for the support. It perked me up big time!
I added a new one too... with pearls. Finally made something... the first thing in 2007.

Took the hubby

Today I took my hubby to the gallery where my art is on display. We took a few photos, pardon the glare from the glass case the shadow from the display on the tree pic. You can't tell from the photo, but ALL the stars in the sky on the tree pic are Swarovski crystals. {photo frame credit: Anna Aspnes}

I've had requests to put my charm back on Etsy, so I'm going to do it. Again, if you are in the charm swap - don't look because these are being sent in to one of them (I won't tell you which one, so even if you do peek, you won't know)

Immigration update for those sweet souls who have been following along and sending me emails of encouragement.... We have filed our final papers - woo hoo! Ty can be out of school for some time still, but the superintendent is a champ and promised he would day anything it takes to get him caught up again, upon returning. At least that's a load of my mind.

Peace!

Happy Halloween

This is my brain in the hands of the immigration dept....
Ugh, so much drama!

Isn't this great work? It belongs to turtblu on flickr.

Well today was not nearly as exciting as yesterday... no kids to save or anything.
I was unable to complete my last work for the show, so I'm handing in 3. I just didn't want to put 'anything' on it - so I'll wait till it comes to me and I can do it right, then put in the December art gift show.

If you are in the charm swap and you don't want to see what your charms look like, then DONT CLICK the Etsy link below! I can't stop making these little charms, so I put some for sale on eBay.

Happy Halloween.

My new treasure

click to see larger image

I just love love love my new bracelet from Amanda. Her special touches make her designs unique and oh so pretty. This little gem has a dragonfly charm and a tassle at the clasp - a very nice touch! She also spoiled me with Bath & Body Works goodies that I haven't had since living in Los Angelas - so that was a real treat! I'm so thankful to have spent my birthday with her - not only because I love spending time with her, but she made my day something to celebrate.

My poopy husband gave me his usual gift..... nothing. I try to tell myself ahead of time to expect that so I'm not upset - but you would think just once he would make an effort for me. He even knew I was upset so he tried to make it up to me by buying me flowers the NEXT day. This would be a nice gesture if he did that right, but he didn't. Let me give you some history here - not only did he ask me what I wanted for my birthday (which let me to believe I might actually get something this year), but we also had this major 'flower lesson' at Fred Meyer the other day. (God forbid he get me nice flowers at a Florist, but he is the cheapest guy on the planet - so I'll take the Fred Meyer flowers over nothing). Well almost - so we looked at all the flowers they had a few days before my birthday and he was asking me which ones I liked. I showed him sunflowers, peonies, gerber daisies - all kinds of affordable stuff. Then I showed him the ones I absolutely hated.... garnations... those tiny spotted 'lilly' looking things (don't even know what they are called), crysanthimums, etc. I even commented that they are the 'doggie doo doo' of the flower world, which he thought was funny - so I know he was listening. So guess what he brought me the day AFTER my birthday? You guessed it - the crap of the flora world.
I KNOW we don't have money for expensive jewelry or for him to take me on some fun and fabulous shopping spree - but come one.... don't try to mend my broken heart with a slap in the face. I'm still furious - and he's playing the 'poor beaten puppy' role with me so I'm supposed to feel sorry for him, being a dick to me. WHATEVER! I was hoping that venting here would make me feel better, by releasing it, but so far I'm just refueling my dissappointment. Oh and did I mention my dad didn't call me either - OF COURSE. I hate men, I really do. They can all go #@$% themselves.

So Amanda - you probably have no idea how much your presents and dinner out mean to me!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING ME FEEL LIKE I MATTER!

Glass Collage Pendants/Necklaces

I put my the necklaces that I made for the show last month on Etsy. I made so many, so the space would be full and I have a lot left-over.

Today's mood has gone down-hill from yesterday even. I'm hoping to log on in a couple of days and this will be just a memory... and I'll have moved on to happier feelings.

Goals Met

I'm feeling pleased today that I've met my goals for the 2 out of 3 art shows I'm in. Everything is hung and on display. Yesterday I got the last of it made (below). The first pic is before I soldered on the jump rings and added the bead dangles, the second is after and unfortunately, badly lit.

The last show is not till the end of April and I want to work on some more beeswax collages for those - something in color, not sepia tones. I've got ideas swirling, so I'm excited to have the time to work on them at my leisure, rather than in my usual time crunch.