Thursday, February 12, 2015

While waiting in the Wyndham Garden hotel...

So, I took 2 seat bumps today and am now being put up overnight in a hotel. Definitely hitting Ft Lauderdale tomorrow, though. :)

I signed up for a blog hop and the partners were announced yesterday. I probably won't get my introduction post done until I get back from the Bead Cruise because it is crazy cold here where the hotel computer is. Maybe the Motel 6 has computers and I can do it tomorrow. Won't be nothing degrees in Florida. (yay)

So, the blog is the Swap N Hop organized by the lovely ladies of the Bead Peeps Facebook group. Since I haven't had a working home computer, I haven't posted any of the things for it yet on my blog here, but it's on my list. We're supposed to introduce ourselves, which I didn't manage to get done more than posting some jewelry pics that I had readily available to use while on my work laptop. No pics here, obviously, but I thought I would answer some "get to know me" questions.

What got you started making jewelry?
Well, I've always really enjoyed crafts and making things. I also love working with colors and have been known to color still at times. Made friendship bracelets a lot when I was in Jr High and doing rings and such with what we called Indian seed beads was very popular at that time in Girl Scouts and I was really good at it. But that was as far as I got. I always thought I would enjoy it and it was always in the back of my mind. Especially being someone who was not only overweight, but also just has a larger frame. Buying special occasion jewelry always involved a lot of searching for places that sold larger sizes. Then came time for my best friend's second wedding. I decided to make jewelry for the both of us for the wedding, which was a small affair. She wore a gorgeous floral dress from Igigi that was white with purple, fuschia, and other tropical colored flowers. I was able to use Swarovski pearls and crystals to create something that matched and was made just for her. It was awesome. So, I started hoarding beads and making things for my family and friends for special occasions. Now I am to the point that I need to expand to more than that and actually start selling some stuff so that I can use up some bead stash and be "allowed" to buy more.

What type of jewelry do you make?
I mainly do stringing and some basic wirework. I do enjoy some beadweaving and experiment with different stitches at times. I've done right-angle weave, spiral tubular herringbone, some peyote, and some other spiral stitch that I'm not quite sold on. I make all sorts of pieces from simple to bold. I'm still an amateur but I am experimenting with forcing myself to try out asymmetry, more bead soup type of mixes, etc. I think the thing I'm best at is probably color. I have a pretty good sense of color.

What materials and colors do you use?
Semi-precious stones (lol, ask to see my red creek jasper and amazonite collection), pearls (sooo many pearls), artisan beads (huge lampwork collection, good sized Humblebeads and Jangles collections, too). I love tagua nut beads and nicely done wood beads. Love, love, love vintage beads: glass, metals, lucite. Love them. And I use a lot of chain. I don't use a lot of precious metals, just occasionally if the materials I'm using really demand it. But the plated items I use are made by quality manufacturers.

Colors. Hmm. Well, it depends on who I'm designing for. I try to use a variety of colors and to challenge myself. For my own use, I prefer silver, gunmetal, pastels, blues, purples, pinks, certain reds. But I try to design for others, as well. And I love working with antiqued copper. It has such a richness... I'm not overly fond of orange and yellow and grass green, but if the piece is right, it can catch my eye. Hate neon, though.

Well, I can't remember what other types of questions I was supposed to answer and my hands are getting mighty cold. It's around 0 here in Detroit and these hotel computers are right by the entrance. Brrr.

Thanks for reading!  :)