I am completely in love...

with my new storage cart!!! Ah yes, it was love at first sight. Our eyes met as I strolled the aisles of JoAnn Fabrics and there was no turning back. I took this puppy home and filled it with every single one of my molds. It holds all of them and I even have some room to spare! I'm giddy with storage happiness!

The drawers are clear so I can see what is in each one without having to open them up. That makes me happy. :)

In other news... Above is a glimpse of a bracelet I started using Cindy Gimbrone's fabulous glass links and my own porcelain connectors that I made just to fit with the links. It's turning out just as I planned (except for the fact that I need to glaze two more connectors in order to finish it). I'm going to have to get Cindy's links in every color so that I can have many funky bracelets to wear when I do shows. (Have you seen the links in Frosted Pear??? - that color makes me weak in the knees...)

Lastly, below are three new designs that are in my shop at the moment. I am quite happy with the new acanthus leaf and will soon be offering this as a connector in my Extra shop. :)

News about Lorelei

Some of you may have noticed the absence of Lorelei Eurto for the past two days. I just got off the phone with her. She has been in the hospital since Wednesday morning with heart palpitations but she is going to be just fine and will hopefully be leaving the hospital soon.
She wanted me to let everyone know so that there is no needless worry going on (like me, who was nearing a panic when she wasn't returning emails).

Let's all send her some GET WELL SOON vibes so that we can all have our favorite Lorelei back soon! :)

A flock of butterflies

I worked on some new necklaces today which make use of my new(ish) graduated butterfly beads. I made these beads months ago and am now getting around to making some necklaces with them (though they will be making their official debut in a publication this September:).

I really like how different I can make each necklace by simply changing the components and beads. The possibilities are endless ensuring that each one is truly a one-of-a-kind.

This one (above) is probably my favorite. I used four vintage mother-of-pearl buttons that I have been saving for quite a while. They were new old stock, still on their original card, pristine and untouched. You can't tell from the photo but they have a wonderful luster to them - just like real pearls!

On this one I used some of my favorite beads - pierced metal in a warm antique copper finish. They are perfect little cages, very light with an ancient feeling. This would be a great necklace for the Autumn. (Yes, I am already looking forward to my favorite time of year.)

I went super girly on the last necklace. Aqua and pink are such a lovely combination, I just couldn't resist making this as pretty and feminine as possible.

I haven't decided yet if I will list these in my Etsy shop or hoard them away for my next show. If you see one that you are interested in drop me an email and I will list it for you (naneliz2@yahoo.com). Otherwise it may be bye-bye butterfly. :)

And the winner is.....

Mary Harding!!!!

Mary is the winner of my bracelet giveaway! Congratulations Mary!
Send your mailing address to naneliz2@yahoo.com

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my drawing. I will be having another one very soon (as in this week!) so be sure to pop in now and then. :)

Last day to enter giveaway!

I've been swamped with getting ready for and doing a show yesterday. It went very well, I am pleased to report. But now I have to start all over. Each show brings new requests and inspirations - my mind switches into overdrive with new ideas that I can't wait to try. So with list in hand I am ready to get a lot done today.

This is the last day to enter my giveaway - there is still time to hop on board! I will be having another one very soon so stay tuned! :)

Challenge - Lascaux Cave paintings

The theme this month over at the Art Bead Scene is the Lascaux Cave paintings. This was a fun challenge for me. I was forced to work with earth colors, something I rarely do, and I also tried to keep the materials to a minimum. Sometimes I like to limit myself and force myself to work within certain parameters. So I took out my beads and selected a handful to work with.

I started with one of my large porcelain ovals. The glaze on this particular piece looks so incredibly "cave" to me that I just had to use it. The warm rust background is interrupted by lines that mimic both the cave drawings and the natural striations in the stone itself. After that I selected two beautiful pieces of gray fossil - kind of an obvious, cave-ish, ancient-looking choice.

I made these "spears" (above) after looking through a book about the cave paintings and realizing that the only straight lines depicted anywhere in the drawings were of weapons used to hunt with or antlers on the deer. So I made these three spikes with copper wire and glass beads just to break up the design a little (though I think they look more like cattails, which isn't entirely a bad thing, just not very cave-ish).

I stacked some unusual irregular wood chip beads which I think provide a nice textural contrast to the smooth stone and porcelain. And that is about it! Some glass beads in a nice rusty red color, some copper chain and a ring pretty much wrap up this piece. It was nice to do a piece that was primarily designed around color, texture and materials that would usually not be my first choice. Working outside of the comfort zone is a good thing. :)

The Mother of Pack Rat Pearl

I've been hitting a lot of auctions and flea markets lately, finding some wonderful treasures to appease my need to hoard. This incredible stash of mother-of-pearl buttons came from an auction last week and today I hit the mother load at a flea market. I'm telling you, this place was a found-object-multimedia-artist's nirvana! Bits of brass and beads, ribbons and baubles... I had to remind myself to breathe now and then as I had been holding my breath in awe over every bit of "my precious" I uncovered. In my last post Marie asked the question about my inventory and whether or not I have most of my materials on hand when I start a new project. Well, the answer is yes, I tend to have everything on hand. This is due to the fact that I haven't thrown anything away since the late 70s (except for my ex-husband, ha!). Anyone who enters my house can see my sickness all over the place - I am a pack rat to the extreme. I warn people of this if they have never been to my house before (L, that means you;) since they are libel to sustain a jaw injury as it hits the floor in disbelief.

But I am happy floating around in my sea of stuff. It makes me giddy to know that I have everything on hand needed to make anything at any given time. If you need a giant ball of chartreuse wool yarn, look no further! If it's miniature plastic shoes you need (and really, who doesn't?), I have a whole collection! Looking for embroidery patterns from the 1930s? Well, look no further! And if fabric is your passion... I'll build you a house out of the stuff! (Incidentally, I haven't sewn in years but I can't get myself to whittle down the fabric collection. I may need an intervention in this instance.)

Every now and then I get down on myself for being such a cluttered mess. I wonder how "normal" people are able to live clean and organized lives and wonder if they are happy doing it. I'll be the first to admit that I do need to straighten up a bit, but in the end I am happiest surrounded by my things. They inspire me. They are familiar. They are my Prozac. :)

Thanks so much to everyone who has signed up for the giveaway! There is plenty of time to participate so be sure to jump on board! :)

It's Time for a giveaway!

I've been hooked on making bracelets this week and here is another new one. I am playing around with leather, and rivets and let me tell you - it's a hell of a lot of fun! This is a prototype for a new cuff style. It's not perfect and I am still working out some of the kinks but I thought it might be fun to give it away.

Here are the bracelet specifics: Leather band with hand hammered copper end caps. Sterling silver rivets. Porcelain oval component with a copper tag which was hand stamped with the word Time. This piece was wired to the tag and the tag is wired to the leather. Chunky turquoise nuggets accent the tag and the clasp chain. (The porcelain tags can be found in my Extra shop in various sizes.)

OK, so here are the giveaway specifics:
This will be a random drawing. You can earn points for each way you promote this contest so get ready to rack them up!
Ways to earn points (for each point that you earn you will get your name in the drawing that many times):

1. Mention this contest on your blog and provide a link to it.
2. Follow my blog (look to the right to find the follow feature)
3. Twitter this contest and provide a link to it.
   
4. Mention this contest on your Facebook status and provide a link to it.
5. Friend me on Facebook (link is to the right)
6. Purchase anything from either one of my Etsy shops and earn 5 points!!! Shop here or here. (If you purchase please be sure to leave a "message to seller" that you are participating in my blog giveaway.)
7. Leave a comment on this blog post. Just doing that will earn you one point but be sure to tell me in your comment all the ways you will be promoting this contest. That way I will know how many points to award you. :)

This contest will end on Sunday, the 26th at noon and I will announce the winner on Monday, the 27th.

Art Nouveau Romance

A beautiful new necklace design. :)

Design Idea - Edwardian Frame Bracelet

I thought it might be fun to now and then make a piece that uses some of the components I have for sale in my Extra shop. My hope is that it will give everyone some ideas to mull around and possibly provide a little inspiration for a future project.

With that in mind I made this Edwardian Frame Bracelet using one of my porcelain frame components. I think these frames have been a little bit of a head-scratcher for many. They are super pretty and really neat to look at but what the heck do you do with them?? Well, here is an idea!

For my bracelet I started by taking my frame, which was unglazed, and stained it with some permanent alcohol ink. I wanted a very grungy, antique look but with a little color so I tinted it with a deep purple color.

I then took a 16 gauge piece of copper wire, hammered it flat and gave it a slight inward curve. I adhered the wire to the frame using some heavy-duty epoxy. Don't be afraid of gluing! There are some excellent epoxies on the market today that form a bond that is unmovable so don't be afraid to alter things and embellish using an adhesive. I like Epoxy 330 which can be found at Rings & Things.

The next step was to thread some beautiful ribbon through the frame and finish up the ends. The end caps were made by cutting two small squares from a sheet of copper, hammering a texture and attaching a wire loop through the center of each one. I then gave the pieces a patina with liver of sulfer and burnished them to really bring out the texture. The pieces were then folded in half and two holes were drilled straight through both sides. To attach to the bracelet I gathered up the ends of the ribbon and applied a little Fray Check to the ends which also acts as a glue. While still wet I inserted the ribbon into the copper end and crimped the ends tightly. I secured the connection further by threading copper headpins through the holes on each side and wrapping the wire tightly around the ball of of the pin. A clasp, chain and a pretty freshwater pearl complete the bracelet. There you have it! :)

I just stocked the shop with some new frames. And don't forget! I have FREE SHIPPING on all orders in BOTH of my Etsy shops until Friday, midnight! (yes, I am excited)

Lovely new things

I've been adding some new designs to my shop. This beautiful flower medallion necklace is one of them. It's huge (over 2 1/4" in diameter) and looks absolutely stunning when worn (trust me).

This Victorian Floral Shield necklace is another. The design is so delicate and antique (the button I used for this mold dates to around 1880). Truly feminine.

And this little fairy isn't so new but is oh so sweet in Crimson Kiss!

Free shipping!!

I'm having FREE SHIPPING in BOTH of my shops until Friday at midnight!! Now is the time to stock up on jewelry components (I've been filling the shop with all kinds of goodies, including the fun new connectors shown above) and my porcelain jewelry.
RoundRabbitExtra
RoundRabbit
Just checkout as usual and I will refund your shipping costs through paypal. :)

Beautiful decay

I spent some time yesterday visiting with my father and his wife in Elmira, NY. We took a trip to the local cemetery to visit the grave of Mark Twain. It was such a beautiful cemetery with so many incredible gravestones and there I was without my camera. I had to make do with my cell phone.

A Winter wedding in July

Anyone getting married this Winter?
I've been working on some Winter magazine publication pieces and I wanted to share this set with you all before I sent it off. I am pretty proud of the way they came out. :)
My original idea was not very wedding related but once I got going it hit me that this set would make beautiful bride and bridesmaid jewelry. I can't wait to make some other color combinations!

Princess worthy

New design! Perfect for the Princess in your life (and even fit for a Queen - I know a few queens who would trample each other for this piece;).
Shop it here.

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful name ideas for my new grey glaze! I've been tossing them all around and I think I am going to go with the shortened Misty - simply Mist Grey.
It has a nice sound to it, don't you think?

Close-up

It was requested that I show this bracelet in its entirety (whatever L wants, L gets ;) so here she is.
It is really quite simple in design. I started with two of my porcelain rings and a pile of lampwork beads from Blue Seraphim. To coordinate with the toggle (that was the first part I made) I threaded sterling wire through each bead and balled up the ends. I then wove some copper wire through three beads and made two curved links that connect the two porcelain rings. A handforged copper ring (from E2SSupplies) was accented with a chunk of turquoise, attached to the bracelet and the toggle and it was done, done, done.

I've been wearing it ever since I made it. It's comfy and a keeper! :)

Powder pink

Perfect soft petal pink. My favorite color at the moment. It has to be matte and it has to look like I could eat it. These beads fill those requirements.
Made by Susan Kennedy of SueBeads.

Fresh new glazes and a daily dose of bunny

I've been mixing up some new glazes and here are two that I tested last week. The first is what I call Celery. It's a fresh, bright, light green - I am so please with the way it came out! Sometimes I will only test a new glaze on a few pieces just in case it isn't quite what I was hoping for. That way I won't be stuck with a zillion ugly pieces. But this time I had a feeling it was going to be just right so I glazed everything in sight. Thankfully I am thrilled with the color and won't have to tweak the recipe at all. Yay!

The second color (below) is a lovely gray. I still haven't come up with a good name for it yet - any suggestions? It's a wonderful neutral color that goes great with just about any color you put next to it. I will tweak the recipe just a little for the next batch but it will be basically the same - just a little more transparent.

I will be listing most of these components in my Extra shop during the week. If you see anything you want just drop me an email (naneliz2@yahoo.com) and I will reserve it for you. :)

Discus hoops in Celery. They can be found here.

And lastly, here is your daily does of bunny. This is Emma's new favorite place to perch. She went into a room that has stacks of boxes filled with fabric, climbed to the highest one and made herself a lovely little nest surrounded by old stuffed animals. Isn't she sweet?