"She never mentions the word addiction. . ."

"In certain company." Do you know the song "She Talks to Angels" by The Black Crowes? Because I went bead shopping over the weekend, and I got a little wacky. But look! Look! Look! Look! Imagine all the possibilities from this new pile of swankiness! Sparklies!

Yes, I need a Twelve Step program. The first step is to admit you have a problem. The second step is to sit down and make stuff from all of this glimmering joy. After that, I kind of lose track of steps, because I'm in my happy, jewelry-making place.

Wishing you a sparkly week!

Hoarders, MAB style

Okay, I have a problem, and my problem is beading supplies. Here is part of my stash--toggles, metal findings and stuff, and my "special" glass beads. All of the baggies are full of brass and copper and metal pendants.

Yeah, it's like that.
Here are pearls, more metal findings, stone beads, and vintage. There are actually layers of little baggies under the baggies on top, but aren't they nicely organized?

There's some chain in there too, and lucite, and glass, and stuff.
Here's the true confession, though.
This is only about half of it.

I think there might be a TV show in this, huh?

Complimentary colors

Turquoise blue green and fluffly marmalade cat orange.

Absolutely delicious together.

Yeah, I went to Hobby Lobby

And I made an absolute bead pig out of myself. Oink, oink, oink. That's how the piggy goes.

Hey, I was running low on beads. I really was!

Here's my haul of yumminess.

And I've already made this groovy necklace, using the hammered gold beads and gold glass pearls from Hobby Lobby, vintage black crystals, little black onyx rounds, and these rocking Egyptian revival black and gold lucite beads that I bought from vintagebeadnut on Etsy.
Ah, it looks like money, doesn't it? I love it when a bunch of disparate elements come together, and I end up with something lovely.

Almost as much as I love being a bead hog.

Oink.

Today's inspiration: Bead Girl

In one of my first ever online bead orders, oh so many years ago, I received this fantastic happy bead girl as an extra freebie. Since then, she has lived in my bead box, smiling, with her saucy little petal skirt and her ginormous Carmen Miranda hoop earrings.

I wish I could tell you where she came from, but it was six or seven years ago. Every time I'm in a bead rut, I get her out and prop her up on my bead board, and wait for her round orange feet to inspire me to greatness. Or something resembling greatness.

Here's to you, Bead Girl from the Great Unknown.

Salute!

My junk sale treasure haul!

Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

A battered little baby that I really want to make a necklace out of somehow.

A batch of vintage Catholic medals. Love them!

A super cool brass tag from 1966.
Wind watches and watch guts.

Cool little diary keys for a pair of earrings.

A lovely cross with a stone setting.

Some vintage jewelry to cannibalize and repurpose.

And, the piece de resistance, a teeny tiny Scottie dog charm in celluloid.

It was a good day.

The ferrets have gone rogue!

Jess and Dave, aka the Busy Ferret and the Cranky Ferret, over at Two Industrious Ferrets on Etsy are running a "Find the Ferret" contest from May 26th through June 2nd. You can find the contest details on their blog here. Great prizes, and they currently have a thirty percent off sale going on in their Etsy shop full of wonderful, whimsical, unusual supplies. The contest details are in their shop profile as well. Head on over, and tell 'em MAB sent you by!

Need beads? Check out AllOverthePage on etsy

I love beads. I love beads to the point of religious ecstasy, actually. New beads spark new ideas, which then spark new jewelry. This is the key to my version of joy. So, I thought I'd take a sec to profile one of my favorite etsy bead shops, AllOverthePage. A gorgeous shop run by an absolute sweetheart, she has a great variety of beads and findings at terrific prices. I've been thinking that I need to add more stones to my jewelry line. Isn't this amethyst druzy drool-worthy? Great color and sparkle.



I've bought a lot of glass beads and crystals from AllOverthePage and the quality of everything I've received has been amazing. All of the jewelry I make from beads I bought at her shop turns out beautifully. I love these Czech glass rondelles in such a yummy turquoise color with Picasso treated edges.

And vintage? Yes, she has vintage! Vintage beads and other delicious stuff, like these amazing celluloid cabs with orange roses. They look like rich cupcake decorations. Ahhhhh, I love them.

A lot of jewelry designers are strange and secretive when it comes to sharing their sources, but I know that everyone reading this could buy the same three batches of beads and make entirely different stuff from them. Plus, AllOverthePage has been so generous and wonderful, I had to give her a shout out. Check out her inspirational shop. And her shipping is uber fast, did I mention that?
Just don't order all the stuff I want, okay?

Jewelry making tip #8, recycle

Recycle, repurpose, reuse, reconstitute. . .

Revision, re-envision.

Sometimes, you make a piece of jewelry that you really don't like. Or you like it but it doesn't sell. Or you just get tired of unpacking it at shows. Or you made it several years ago, and your technique and eye have improved.

One of the great things about beaded jewelry is that you can cut it apart and reuse the beads and the closure. Usually, you have to pitch the wire, but the rest of the bits are entirely reusable. Nothing goes to waste, and you can make something fresh and happy from the sacrifice.

Sometimes, cutting jewelry apart is just as much fun as putting it together!

And I'm not sure why I wrote this in second person. . .

Jewelry making tip #7, cleaning vintage glass beads

I love vintage glass beads, especially yummy Austrian crystals from the fifties. Nothing shines like those little suckers, I'll tell you. But sometimes when you get older beads, they're a bit gunky with hairspray and fifty years of mystery ick. You know what cleans them up quickly? Vinegar! Yup, take those beads, put them in a glass measuring cup with some white vinegar ($1.00 at the Dollar Store!) and water, and let them soak for a few hours. Rinse them off, dry them with a soft towel, and watch them sparkle.

This will work with all loose vintage glass beads. I wouldn't stick any whole pieces of jewelry in vinegar, because it might do bad things to metal, or eat away the glue that secures any rhinestones. Also, a big no no for pearls of any kind. It will eat the pearly coating off of glass pearls, and delicate real pearls should only be cleaned with a professional pearl cleaning solution. The same with most gemstones, any metal and porcelain. Only loose glass beads.

What or who is raku?

I've had this yummy little porcelain piece rattling around in my bead box for a few weeks, and last night I finally figured out what to do with it. The pendant is raku porcelain or pottery, and I honestly had no idea what that meant. I just thought it was pretty, so I did a bit of research.

"Raku" translates to "enjoyment" or "ease" in Japanese, because the clay is hand-molded. It originated as a method for making pieces for tea ceremonies.

Raku pieces are fired and glazed at a low heat, but the difference is that they are removed from the kiln while red hot and placed in a closed container filled with combustible material like paper or sawdust to cool. This allows for random and interesting effects in the color of the piece and the glaze finish. It also allows for pieces to occasionally explode, not so good.

After about ten minutes, the container is opened and the piece is sprayed to freeze the blooming effects occuring in the glaze.

I don't know about you, but I have trouble making popcorn in the microwave without burning it. This process is fascinating and impressive, and, after learning about it, I love this little pendant even more.

Birthday beads!

MAB's birthday = beads as presents! Look at the lush bouquet of loveliness and possibilities! It's kind of bordering on obscene, isn't it? And, yes, that is a Hello Kitty marshmallow pop at the top. It's too cute to eat. Maybe I could varnish it and make a pendant?

Vintage! Cool brass tags design number two

Okay, I tried these tags in a different design, and I think I like this version more. Originally, I wanted the numbers horizontal, like they would have been is their original purpose. But then I decided to try one this way, and then hang some charms off the hole in the bottom. This is a better use for them. I only bought a couple. I might need more. . .

It doesn't hurt that I had these gorgeous sage green Czech glass beads from artebellasurplus on etsy. She's a wonderful, considerate seller, and her beads are incredible. Check out her shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6121506

Just don't buy the beads that I might want later, all right?