Sorry I'm Late, It's Been a Busy Few Weeks!

Some of My Farmer's Market Gear

Wow, 2 weeks went by in a flash! Sorry about that, I've been a busy little bee. I've started working some mornings at a veggie farm down the road from me to earn a little extra $$ and to help out my friend who has a TON of planting to do. We've had a really wet early spring so most farmers are just getting things planted now. Last week we planted a ton of tomato, basil, melons, red and white cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sunberries, ground cherries, peas, beans, carrots, beets ad probably a few things I'm forgetting. she starts all of her seeds herself and they have been taking over her entire house! What is more amazing is that although I am only there for a few hours at a time, I'll be exhausted and SO ready for a shower and a nap, and yet, she keeps going for HOURS at a time, I mean, this woman should replace the Energizer bunny, it is incredible. I'll try to take some photos to show you the progress of the farm.

Goodies in the Fridge, Ready to Go!

In other news, Arwen the Wonder Dog and I have been doing obedience once per week for the last month or so. I really can't believe the changes in that short amount of time. Arwen has always been a great, friendly dog, but she's had her issues (as we all do, I'm sure). The four or five classes we've had have been just amazing and she is really quite a star (Though I knew that all along!). Arwen is now so much better behaved when people come to the door, she hardly even barks now, except for a few barks to let us know there is someone in the driveway. She isn't pulling me into ditches or across the dirt roads when we go for walks now either. The biggest thing so far? The instructor and my veggie farm friend, Kathy, brought their dogs last week for socialization. Initially Arwen was a real pain, but, knowing that she is really lacking in the social bits, she calmed down remarkably fast and went about her obedience as if very little else was happening. Amazing! We're doing another class this morning with the other dogs and I know she'll be good.

Breads, and Scones, and Cookies, Oh My!

And of course, what has been keeping me the busiest is doing the Merrickville Farmer's Market each Saturday. Initially I was only going to sell my jewelry, but after telling a few people that I eat gluten free, egg free, corn free, etc., etc., I was convinced that I needed to add my GF baking in the mix too. I've been busy baking, packaging and coming up with labels, ingredient lists and displays. Busy Busy!

The first weekend was two weeks ago and went very well, especially as it is a very small market (only 5 vendors) and no one knew that I would be there. I am very lucky to be sharing my tent with Louise of Fireseed. She makes amazing glass beads that are featured in a few of my pieces. She's ducking behind her display in the above photo, silly Louise!

Here's my table from the first week. This past weekend I toned down the jewelry a bit (I think there was too much for people to look at the first week) and added more gluten free vegan goodies, with sample plates for people to try things before the commit the money to a full bag of cookies. GF baking is SO much more expensive, though I am going to be getting my flours in bulk soon to cut costs. This past week went even better than the first! I sold a bit more jewelry and the gluten free vegan goodies just about flew off the table (And not only due to wind, people LOVE my goodies!). For this coming weekend I am working on some crusty breads, oh my gosh, there are some in the oven now and they smell SOOOO good!
Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, I'll try to correct that this week!
Have a great Monday!

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

New Photo, Pledge Update and Glass Bead Demo!

Here is another photo of our rings - yes I had sapphire blue nail polish - I couldn't just go with traditional French, lol!

As for my Chatelaine pledge: Yesterday evening I rode my stationary bike for 30 minutes, and then did 40 minutes of yoga - feeling some serious exercise bliss and so proud that I did it instead of watching a movie and probably eating mindlessly (even if it is usually healthy stuff, it is still mindless eating - and I avoided it!). Woot!

Tomorrow I am going to watch a glass bead making demo with my friend Louise from Fireseed - we are going in together to see a woman make glass beads that look like the inside of an aquarium. I can't wait to see the demo! I am going to try to remember my camera to take some photos for you all :)

Have a great weekend!

Terrific Tuesday: A Great Contest!

My good friend Louise from Fireseed.ca is having a phenomenal giveaway where you could win one of 4 prizes, including a bracelet made by me with some of her fantastic beads. Head on over to her website, fireseed.ca to get the details...Good luck!

Fabulous Friday: New Bracelet!

Wow, where did Thursday go? I know I was busy cleaning the house and doing yet more holiday baking, but to miss a blog post?? I'm very sorry! I was also working on this beautiful new Viking Weave bracelet...maybe that is where the time went.
I do apologize for the rather crummy photos, but I will have this listed with better photos very soon. I used a beautiful round lamp work glass bead by my favorite glass artist, Louise Ingram of Fireseed. I wanted to complement the 15 feet of sterling silver wire that I carefully wove into this gorgeous Viking weave bracelet, and this big, heavy bead was the perfect match. It does make the bracelet a little top heavy, but it will be perfect for someone who likes to play with their jewelry when it is on...like me! Okay, I will list this for sale, but I do like it an awful lot...
I also hand forged a sterling silver "S" clasp and attached two silver plate jump rings to attach it. All in all, this is a soft, heavy, gorgeous piece and I hope you like it. I can't wait for it to find its forever home :)

Have a great Friday,

Tuesday's Treasures: Viking Weave Necklace is Complete!

It's Done, it's DONE! I am so happy and proud to show you my first completed Viking Knit (Weave) project! I chose to make a copper weave to keep the costs down in case I messed up my first project in this style, but it turns out the weave is actually very easy to do and quite fun too. I made a custom bail for my new Viking Monkee, Thor, made by Glass artist extraordinaire Louise of Fireseed.
It starts out as loops on a wooden mandrel, and you keep going until you have 10-12 inches of this (you gently pull it off the mandrel as you go so that you have enough of the dowel to weave on).
When you have enough length, you pull it through a draw plate (initially I just pulled it with my hands and it elongated and became tighter), until you get the desired diameter of weave. Mine ended up about 17 inches long, a little longer than I wanted it, but I wanted it to be a small diameter, which explains it. Next time (for me anyway) I'll weave a shorter amount of wire to make a slightly shorter necklace. This necklace took about 25 FEET of fine, 26 gauge copper wire to make this slim, graceful and very soft woven necklace. Pretty neat!
Here is my little Thor, all done up on his custom bail (the part that suspends the pendant from the necklace). I used a small spiral at the bottom to complement the chain, and made a simple wrapped loop at the top to hold the pendant onto the chain.

This one is mine, but what do you think? Would you wear a similar styled necklace? What about the bead? What kind of bead would you have? Should I keep this one or sell it? I'm kind of inclined to keep this one, but would you buy something similar?

I'm off to try this in sterling silver, I have another of Louise's beads that is perfect for a bracelet, though it isn't cute like my Thor bead, it is a beautiful, fluid round bead. I'll keep you updated on that.

I want to thank Louise for inspiring me to make this necklace, without you, I'd still be blankly staring at the components!

That's all for now!

Sweet Saturday: What a Great Week!

WHEW! What a week! I'm sorry I've been very absent this week, but it has been crazy busy...in a VERY good way! First I had a wonderful visit with a goldsmith friend and her mom on Monday where we talked jewelry and ate fresh baked goodies from my oven (vanilla cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting). She lent me a bunch of books to read (see above).
Then Tuesday I had my last gluten free cooking class of the year - a GIANT gluten free baking exchange with over 15 people and 15 different recipes. It was a HUGE success and an absolute ton of fun!
Wednesday was recovery, but I baked some gluten free and dairy free sugar cookies, and Thursday I baked some gluten free gingersnaps and put up the tree. I am trying to get my baking done by the end of the weekend so that I can give my baking gift baskets out early this year.
Yesterday I had my good friend Louise from Fireseed over. We ate fresh baked shortbread and exchanged some goodies: I finally got to buy her little Viking Monkee, Thor (isn't he DARLING??), and then she gave me these beautiful blue beads to play with! Louise is currently making reproductions of ancient beads and is doing a tremendous job of it! These were inspired by a necklace from the 2nd cen. BC to the 4th cen AD. Isn't that cool? I have MANY ideas for these beads!
Last night I started on a new project - Viking Knit! This is done with VERY fine wire and is actually WAY easier than I had been led to believe. I am going to make this for my little Thor to rest on. If I am fortunate enough, I'll make a necklace of this to rest him on. Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated (promise!).

That's all for now, I did put up my tree, and I'll post that later on.
Have a great weekend!

Monday Update on the Bead Show!

I am interrupting Monday's normal "Monday's Methods" posts to bring you news of a fantastic show I went to over the weekend. On Saturday I took my mom to the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show in Ottawa, Ontario. It was fantastic! I didn't take many photos as it was crawling with people, and I didn't want to be jostling everyone, but I did get some great handouts from various glass bead makers.
I was also very, very good in that I only bought 2 strands of faceted onyx briolettes at half price. I stayed away from the Baltic Amber chips at $22 per strand...though I really, really wanted it!
I also bought a book on chain mail work! I am SO excited as I have had this on my Amazon.ca wish list for almost a year. This is a great book as it has great chain mail designs that are also added on to with beads:
It is fabulous and I can't wait to make some new creations with it, stay tuned for that!
I also saw my good friend Louise, who owns and runs Fireseed, her own private lamp work glass studio. She makes the most amazing beads and it was to see her and her newest creations in person that I really went to the show. She makes the most adorable Monkee beads - monkeys with different hats, different outfits, all out of glass! She even has a new Viking Monkee in honor of her newest endeavor - creating beads that are recreations of historical beads...some of them dating back thousands of years! Louise is on the right, and her good friend Jane is on the left.
I was, again, very good and didn't buy anything from Louise, though I am going to buy a Viking Monkee from her...she only had one at the show and I didn't want to take the only one and not let her clients see it. I will, however be buying it, or one like it if the original sold. That being said...
...I do already have quite a few "Fireseed By Louise Ingram" beads...I think I have an addiction...no, wait, I DO have an addiction. But really, after looking at these beads, how could I not?

I had a great time at the show, seeing so many different artists, being inspired, I will DEFINITELY be back next year, and I highly recommend that you go to...you need a vacation, right? See you there next year!

Tune in tomorrow for the FINISHED bracelet I've been working on!

Funny Friday - A Cat That Waters Himself

~Raff, in One of His Lesser Moments~

Now, I didn't tell my friend Louise from Fireseed that I had posted this photo of her cat Raff, so I hope she doesn't mind, but I really couldn't help it. A photo like this needs to be shown to the world, in all it's embarrassing hilarity. It really is an accomplishment to get your head, shoulders and one front leg in the toilet, with the other front leg on the seat, and the rest of you perching precariously on the seat.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Sweet Saturday - What An Awesome Thank You!

I visited good friend and glass extraordinaire Louise Ingram from Fireseed yesterday, to pick up the beads I traded for the amigurumi dolls I made for her and her cat and wow am I impressed! The pink beads I asked her to make waaaay back in February and I have a design just waiting for them - aren't they fantastic?
She had mentioned that she had included a few surprises and when I got home, I found these stunning red beads too - don't they just look like candy? Maybe rubies? I can't decide - but either way they are so gorgeous, I made a bracelet from them right away, see below for more pictures :)Then, I peeked into the bag again and out came these beads! Wow, I can't wait to make things with them, they are so different and beautiful :)
Last but not least (not by a long shot!), I found that she had included her famous animal beads! The naughty-but-nice Louise had included a Bunkee Bead (her delightful Monkees dressed as bunnies!), a black cat bead, and a sweet little black dog bead that I swear she must have used a picture of my dog to make, the resemblance is staggering (she got the smile down perfectly, lol).
I have to say I feel very spoiled and I will have to do a few more monkey dolls to feel I have repaid her for her amazing generosity!
Here is a photo of the bracelet I made with the red-candy beads - I made links from individual rings that I had linked by hand to make a chain mail knot, then I attached each link to a bead. I made a square clasp to match the square beads - too cool, huh? I know Louise definitely brings out the best in my work - her beads are so beautiful they always inspire a piece that is (in my humble opinion) as much art as functioning jewelry. Thank you Louise!

Sweet Saturday - Beads That Make You Go Awwww!

~Bunkee~

~Easter Monkee~

I have posted about my good friend Louise, from Fireseed, here before, but she keeps inventing new and exciting (and CUTE!) beads so I suppose I will keep having to feature her until she stops :)
Her newest beads are an addition to her line of famous Monkee Beads, sold on her Etsy Store and her ArtFire Store; the newest additions are Easter Monkees and, most ingenious, Bunkees - Monkees dressed and Easter Bunnies! I saw them and almost fell off my chair...I don't know how she does it, but her work keeps getting better and better and I wish her many monkees new and happy homes :)
All of her work is digitally annealed so that they are very durable, and all are hand cleaned for a professional, smooth finish. These beads have a hole running horizontally through the back of their head, so it will be easy to string on a simple cord, or incorporated into a more elaborate project.
I have worked with her beads on many occasions and I have always been amazed at the quality and attention to detail in each bead, no matter how small. Each of her stores are different, so I do hope you'll visit Louise in each of her different shops and see all of the beautiful goodies she has to offer.

Fabulous Friday, Part 2 - The First of the Monkeys!

~From the front, what long arms you have!~

~From the side, what a cute, curly tail you have!~

This is the first of (hopefully) a few monkeys I have made. I crocheted him using grey and red yarns to make him look like a sock monkey. Although he does have a bit of a squint, my glass safety eyes arrived in the mail today so from now on I will be using those instead of sewing them with more yarn. This one is a gift to my friend Louise of Fireseed, and I am currently starting an octopus for her wonderful orange tabby Raff. I'll keep you posted!
I am still listing new items in my Etsy shop every day, and my SUPER 50% OFF SALE is still on - for a limited time! Check it out for some wonderful Valentine's gifts.
Meghann

Twisted Tuesday

So I was on my friend Louise Ingram's Website Fireseed today and she did a cool blurb on this site called Typealizer. I had to try it, and here are the results:

ESTP - The Doers

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Now that is just creepy ;-)
Tune in tomorrow for more cool earrings!
Meghann

Fabulous Friday!

~This bracelet will make anyone feel Fabulous!~

I have decided, in the interests of making my blog ideas easier to come up with (okay, we all realize I am creative with crafts, not words!), I am trying to have each day correspond to a theme ie: Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Fabulous Friday, etc. Of course, not being particularly loquacious (I had to throw that in there), I am having a hard time figuring out neat alliterative words that I could use for jewellery blogging on each day. Any ideas?
Today, however, is Fabulous Friday and I thought I'd show you a piece of mine, as well as a creation from a friend of mine, Louise Ingram.
The bracelet above is something I have had the inspiration to create for a long time. I love chainmail, but I wanted to give it a girly (but not too girly) edge. I added over 80 flower shaped shell beads in various colors, with no two shells of the same color being right next to each other (ok, a little finicky, but worth it for the color scheme!). I also made wonderful earrings to match, these with the colors being mirror-imaged for beautiful continuity.

These beads by Louise Ingram of Fireseed are absolutely fabulous in every way. She makes these delightful lamp work glass beads, known as "Monkees" in her workshop in Merrickville. She is almost entirely self-taught, which makes these adorable beads even more fabulous. She also makes the most wonderful cake testers, available on her ArtFire Store, as well as having an Etsy shop, and a few other things going on as well. You can see her website for more details. I have made quite a few pieces with her beads as main components and I have to say that these beads are worth every penny, making my creations come alive with beauty and uniqueness. If you want something Fabulous for a gift or special creation, check out Louise Ingram, the "Glass Queen" as I have now decided to call her :-)
I have more items listed in the SALE 50 PERCENT OFF section of my shop, I do hope you'll check it out, there are lots of GREAT deals! Even items that aren't on sale are always well priced so please check out my Etsy shop for more beautiful, unique items.
Also, don't forget the monthly Contest, ending soon!
Meghann

....And We're Back!

~One of the Pieces I Made for Fireseed~

Well, let me start by saying I am so, so SO sorry for the long space between posts! I have been very busy - I started a new medication for my fibromyalgia a few weeks ago that I am now coming off (long story), and have been busy battling the side effects, plus I was honored to have Louise Ingram from Fireseed ask me to make some jewellery with her amazing beads for a show she just did this past weekend. I am now making new displays for a jewellery party I am doing this Saturday, so my time has been pretty much fully occupied!
I have lots of new pieces I want to make, I simply need the time to make them. Never fear, however, there is always next week!
Don't forget to enter this month's contest to try and win a beautiful ring!!
See you tomorrow,
Meghann

Go Ape for Monkees!

~The Monkees Want to Hang Out With You!~

My friend Louise came over today to drop off some beads for me to make into creations for her upcoming show and showed me some beads that she wanted turned into a brooch. These Monkee beads spoke to me immediately and I thought of some great leaf beads with a blue tint that are great with the blue eyes of the Monkees. She said that she wanted them to be sort of 'hanging' and this just worked perfectly - I was actually able to make it while she watched! Using sterling silver wire I strung the Monkees, leafs beads and sterling silver round beads and made this beautiful brooch - what a great advertisement for Fireseed!
Meghann