Freaks and a giveaway!

Tonight I made myself some dinner and watched the final episode of Freaks and Geeks. It was a good night.
I've always heard that that show was good, but it is really, REALLY good. I can't believe that shows like Freaks and Geeks get cancelled, but The Bachelor keeps on going. (Sorry to any Bachelor fans reading this!) I shouldn't judge. But I seriously recommend watching Freaks and Geeks if you haven't seen it. It's just so well written and the characters have such heart. I will definitely be watching it again sometime, and I rarely do that anymore.

Anyway back to the craftiness, I made a new pair of silver and pearl earrings last night and I love them!
I'm still practicing my weave technique using 26 guage wire, but these are my cleanest work yet. I want to practice more, leaving less space between the weave, so it's less zig-zaggy. Not that I don't like the effect these have, but I love wire wrap that looks really solid.
I also made another piece, the Dineen pendant.It's a two piece so it has lots of movement. It's made with all sterling silver wire and Swarovski crystals, and it is strung on an 18" silver plated chain. The pendant itself is 2" long, so it's a little dramatic but it's still nice and lightweight. I'm happy with this one too.

In fact I am so happy with it, I decided to make it my giveaway!Here's what to do to enter to win this necklace...
Post a comment on this blog, I'll enter you once.
Write a post about this giveaway on your blog and I'll enter you twice.
Easy, right? I'll announce the winner on May 10th! Be sure to check back and good luck!

Guest blogging

Hi there. I'm Trish from Little Silver Stars and I'll be your guest blogger this month!
I guess the best way to introduce myself is to send you to my blog, littlesilverstars, rather than bore you with details all over again. I've been an etsy seller since 2005, and a member of EVA since it began. And while my job sometimes keeps me much busier than I would like, I really try my best to focus on my true passion at the end of the day, making jewelry.
I thought a fun way to start the month is to show you my workspace. (This has nothing to do with the fact that I just cleaned and organized it today, I swear it. I also have no idea what happened to that bag of cookies that were in the pantry...)

Anyway, the desk is usually coated with coils of sterling silver wire or scraps, loose crystals and pearls, tools, assorted findings and one of my two cats. Tonight it's just got a ring and a pair of earrings I am working on at the moment.

I have two mascots on or around my desk all the time, depending on how much real estate I have. The first on is my pink glittery deer. I bought it at Christmastime two years ago in a bookstore, and I just think she's so cute I can't bring myself to pack her away. The second is a turquoise garden gnome my sister gave me. No real reason for him, I just like him.

I use a planter for my pen/pencil/crochet hook/random tool holder. It's bursting at the moment. I am sort of a pen hoarder I think. There's also always some jewlery hanging off of it, like these earrings. I made these a long time ago but I think they're boring, so I have just left them there so I don't forget to redo them. They are now tarnished and dusty.

This is the red cabinet that I keep just about everything in. It's about as organized as it gets in here. It's packed pretty tight with random junk, you can even see my hammers on top, which haven't seen the inside of the cabinet in months.
I am realizing as I post these photos that my office looks my prettier in the daylight. Oh well, you get the idea!

So that's it. My little work area. I dream of the day I will have an actual house where I can set things up more permanently, maybe have a larger corner of the universe to work in. But you deal with what you got. In fact some of you with houses of your own might even have smaller work spaces than I do, so here's me not complaining.

So anyway, stay tuned this week for a very special giveaway of one of my own original designs! Check back soon!

And one last thing....

This is Bella. If you stop by, she would like to sync with your iPod!

Update on the Vegas Show

I had a wonderful time at the Glass Craft Vegas show this year. I met a LOT of talented artists there from jewelry designers, enamelers, and of course, glass arts.
This was a great venue to use for meeting others and getting some great networking started. I may even be teaching a class or 2 there next year, but have to get with some people and meet the submission deadline - - hope I make it!
Here are some pics of the showroom floor. Most of the sellers are glass artists, but there are also sellers who carry findings and supplies, PMC, chain mail, enameled pieces for jewelry and jewelry designers who don't actually make glass beads but use them in their product.

Jeannie

Off to the Vegas Glass Expo

Hi Again,

It is very late, going on 1am and I am still preparing for the Vegas Glass Expo at the South Point Hotel and Casino. I am on the road at 6am, so as usual, I am cutting it close.

This is a great event for everything glass and also no-so-glass stuff, too, so I wanted to point out some of the "other" things that are available there, if anyone is interested.

Of course, there's ALL glass stuff there - - stained glass, fused glass, lampwork (like me), sculpture, marbles, goblets - - you name it, along with a ton of suppliers. They have beginning glass classes there also for anyone who just wants to try their hand at one of the many aspects of glass.

But along with all those glass classes, they also have chain mail classes, PMC classes, wire wrapping classes, photography classes and many more. They also have various lectures on being successful in business. It's definitely a great place to gather info and learn a thing or 2.

Please check out the link below if you are interested. This is an annual event, so if you can't make it this year (cutting it pretty close since it starts tomorrow), but maybe you can make plans for next year.

Glass Craft and Bead Expo

Jeannie