Notes to Self ~ Feb 09 Update

Yup ~ lagging behind the artisan jewellery wagon and taking on too much new glass bead stuff. What have I been up to? Well, I joined JewelryGeeks.com ~ only handcrafted artisan jewellers on that site. Then I started a group there, Love Beads, with an invitation to all jewellery geeks interested in seed beads. Only 2 criteria: you must be a member of JewelryGeeks.com and you must be willing to participate in the group. Easy, right?! Are you kidding! If you have as much on your plate as I have on mine, you know how difficult participation really is. So far the membership is drawn from Australia, Canada, and the USA. With good luck, we may have other countries and cultures join us: it adds flavour to the 'stew'.
I received an order for earring findings near the end of January and I wanted to source the goods in the Toronto area. Well, my customer was given a jewellery supply catalogue to determine just what she wanted: she was shopping for items to give to her Mum who is the jewellery repair person at a local seniors home.
I placed the order and waited. My friend returned from holiday and I still didn't have her order filled. I got in touch with the warehouse and its shop and nobody knew what I was talking about. And that left me hanging in a most undignified way.
So I sent my order to another, even closer, shop. They made up the order lickety split and, when my friend and I showed up, didn't bat an eye when we busily added to the order. We couldn't have been better cared for. The bonus for my friend is that the shop is within her Mum's stomping ground, there are coffee bars in the same block, and she can take her Mum there without me. In my books, that's great.
I got home and sat with the treasures I bought and fatigue swept over me. I laid down for a nap and over 4 hours later woke up in time to go to bed. I don't understand the sudden weariness because I was driven there and back and the outcome was so favourable. Well, now I'm doing what I had hoped to get done yesterday afternoon. And I'm feeling if not rested at least not as tired.
I started making up bracelet kits the other day in preparation for my big Almost Spring Bead Oasis Show 2009 in March, here in Toronto. I think my bead count is way out of order so I'll have to go back, just to settle my worry, and do another bead count.
And I've made up some earrings kits, too. I'm almost finished with the card and instructions to go along with the supplies. I moved from giving all the findings for the kit to explaining how to make your own findings for this pair of earrings. It sure cuts down on the time and effort making these kits.
Because I am not good with 'time,' I know I'm running out but can't grasp the idea that I have no time left. Tomorrow I will be turning my dining room table into my booth just to determine the layout of the goods. That will also tell me how much of this is stocked and how much of that is needed. I'm sure that exercise will go a long way to calming my nerves.
Is it any wonder that I haven't even started February's bead challenge!!? But I'm good for it ~ I promise you that.

Notes to Self: Stumble Photography

Well, you know I make artisan jewellery. And you understand I like instant gratification. I want my first attempt at a new technique to be perfect. And I want my photographs to be clean, clear and detailed. At the first go. Am I being unreasonable? I don't think so. (Caveat: my 2 sisters and I are very 'high maintenance')

I guess part of it is the age in which I was raised. It wasn't that long after the Depression and the end of World War II when I was born. Waste was frowned upon. We were far 'greener' than today. We learned to make do with less and to use our imaginations to find new ways of doing things. This led to hoarding : I have a lovely collection of cardboard boxes for which I haven't found a use ~~ yet. And I have a great collection of plastic buttons. As Mummie would say, 'I haven't finished with them yet.'

I thank God for the inventor of the digital camera. Please let him into heaven just because of his invention. Gone are the days of the Brownie, the SureShot, the SLRs. We no longer have to wait for our pictures to be developed. I can take as many pictures as I want, I can edit them myself. And I can post them on my websites and in my blogs.

But even this convenience, while it goes a long way to satisfying me, doesn't quite fit the bill. I want to be able to take a picture only once and, with a bit of tweeking, have a wonderful picture. I don't want to spend all this time experimenting. Whoever tells you they have a camera that does everything for you doesn't get it: there's a lot of work after the shutter is pressed.

But, I think I've hit upon something: the backdrop and a display rack that is working the best is a small Inukshuk (an Eskimo signpost). Her name is Judy; a nod to dressmakers' mannequins, or judies. My Judy looks like a surfer, doesn't she!?

Judy stands 5in tall (13cm) and can hold my glass bead artisan jewellery: earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I've not tried to display any brooches on her, yet. But I've made a couple of amulet bags done in the tubular peyote technique and they stand up well with Judy.

I played around with pretty glasses as my backdrop but I just could not get them to look pretty in a picture: a case of 'you look better in person than you do in the movies.' Even my absolutely gorgeous lead crystal sherry glass in the shape of Scotland's thistle looked dowdy. I wanted a glass to go with my blog name: Glass 0 Beads. It just didn't work out.

I've begun taking photographs of my artisan jewellery straight on instead of from above. I tried to lay things flat but the pictures looked flat, too. I tried on an angle, 45 degrees above: that didn't work either. When I tried straight on, no angles, I had the most success. Now I can use that success as a springboard from which to experiment.

The editing software I am using is Picasa2 from Google: it's free. I like free. It is easy to use and allows for some great experiments. The first thing I learned how to do is cancel, or undo, some of my experiments. Learning that allowed me to try all kinds of things. I knew I could get rid of the unsuccessful photos of my glass bead artisan jewellery and that took a lot of tension out of my experiments.

Now I have to spend some time getting new photos of all of my artisan jewellery. I hate having to redo things. But at least I won't be experimenting with the retakes. I'll do what I know works.

Anyway, I am much happier now that I can take pictures, edit them, and post them on Lampwork and Beads and Glass 0 Beads. Give me a bit of time to see the fruits of my labours.

I am a happy camper again.

Up to my eyeballs in beads ~~Helene ~~Glass0Beads

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October Submission

Well, my escape wasn't entirely successful. I have made some more artisan jewellery. I used seed beads, and bugle beads and a bunch of techniques and what I created is another addition to my line of glass bead artisan jewellery.

So I have spent some days in bed and other days gallavanting with my sister who took her birthday week off of work. Now I am trying to catch up and regulate my activities.

So!! I wish I could show you what I did for October. You will have to wait until tomorrow for the picture. My camera battery discharges too quickly and it is on the recharge thingy today. I'm sorry about that: I'm hoping a magic elf will give me a new, back up battery for Christmas. It's just that they are so darn expensive.

But I really did something: a brooch. It's a combination of techniques all jumbled together. I am thinking about making a kit from it.

It measures 1 1/2in (3cm) across and the techniques used are ladder stitch variation, brick stitch (just 1 row and it goes around in circles, too), and spiral variation. The colours are muted bronze, yellow gilt and silver gilt. The spiral variation makes it look like a wee ballerina's tutu.

It's round, like a wreath. And if it were done in Christmas reds and greens, golds and silvers, it would look very festive. A perfect giftie for Auntie Lee.

There are only 2 problems: while it doesn't look flimsy, it feels like it in the hand ~ its 'hand' is very fluid; and I don't like the pin finding.

I want to try adding a 2nd row of the ladder stitch variation to stiffen it a bit. And, if I add it to the backside, it might be just be the trick that hides the ugly pin finding. I'll add a pic of the backside, too, so you can see what I mean. Tomorrow.

I guess I have to blame a chum of mine, Jenny. She made a ladder stitch garden bracelet and gave the instructions without a picture: probably the same problem with her camera as with mine today. I made the 'garden on a ladder' just following her steps and it looked entirely different when finished than hers. I went back to the instructions and could follow it now that I had a picture in my mind. So my bracelet is entirely my own work.

But, doing the ladder stitch and playing with it and trying different add-ons giave me my October brooch. It's the combination of techniques that makes it my design. And it did allow me to play a bit. Thank you Jenny.

I want to make some more of these pins as gifts for my family. Each pin need not be expensive: the design would be great for using up some of the bead soup we all manage to collect.

I am reminded of Wimpy, Popeye's friend, who often said "I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." So, you'll see my wonderful pin pictures tomorrow.

Oh, I almost forgot, I made earrings to go with it. Something I set myself to do to go with whatever I make for each month.

Yours in Bead Heaven ~Helene ~Glass 0 Beads

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