One of the dreaded phrases Account Managers, Copy Writers or Art Directors in the advertising world have to hear -- AAs -- especially if they happen more than once (Yep, I was an Ad Exec in a past life). What it basically means is, you are in the final stages of say getting approval on a print ad proof from your client, and Mr. BrainFreeze thinks the headline is "Just not right." and this after he's approved and seen the print ad from the early stages of conceptualization to now when you are just a day away from the magazine print deadline. "Let's go with the other headline instead. That shouldn't be a problem, right." concludes Mr. BrainFreeze -- and everyone in the room just feels like tearing their hair out.Segue now to my life as a jewelry artist and I'm Mr. BrainFreeze doing the author alterations I so keenly abhorred my clients doing. I have this bead pattern which I just kept changing and changing, over and over again. I have 3 "final" versions of the pattern. And this is only because I remembered to save versions of the "final" pattern.
I kept "tweaking" and "tweaking" (where did this word originate from?) till I forced myself to stop - ENOUGH! I even did one more "tweak" even AFTER I started working on the bracelet.
I have named this pattern KAOS!
Here's the finished bracelet which I will be listing in my Etsy store as a Made To Order Item:
And here are the 3 variations:#1 - I didn't like the blue here.
#3 - so I changed the lower part as you can see!
Fewer men wear cuff links these days. I think it's sad because somehow it signifies the decline of the art of fine dressing. But I'm hopeful and so I work on more cuff links. I've done about a dozen of these in the past and they have sold in craft shows and all have been bought by men. I noticed most of these guys were not expecting to find anything on my table and, therefore, surprised -- "Oh, are these cuff links?" They were even more surprised by how inexpensive they were.
P.S. While in production, I happen to take this shot of a batch of cuff links while waiting for the glue to dry. Looks very E.T!
I started a new project the other weekend, playing around with chinese crystal beads. I posted my first attempts on this the last time (
Well, it seems I've developed some patience. And stepped outside of my comfort zone. Now I'm working on patterns and even worst (?) I lay out my designs first! I would either drawn or design first on a beading software program before I'd pick up bead, needle and thread. It began with the triangle patterns I developed into pendants and 
I had a busy and rewarding day yesterday. I got to make 4 necklaces and 2 earrings. I had a bit of a slow start with a new design - did 3 false starts before I finally got the hang of it - then did a quick trip to the local bead store for some emergency supplies and back to beading again. This is a short post cause I need to get back to work! Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!
Beading is great therapy. It certainly helps me to de-stress from work. But life took a turn and the stress became personal as my husband was diagnosed with cancer. The energies got shifted to him and beads became trivial. But beading still helped to keep my sanity. What do you do when you don't have access to a computer, can't really bring your beading stuff with you and had hours of dead time in the hospital where you really couldn't concentrate but needed to occupy your mind? I turned to coloring triangles. Pages and pages of triangles, I had a box of my son's coloring pencils in my bag, a template of a triangle and I would ease my mind into a mindless mental state and just color those little blocks. Some people looked at me like I was crazy (I still am!). Half the time, the results would be nice, the other half just gibberish. Funny how the mind can go into hypermode and idle at the same time. Mind and No Mind, kind of a thing?
Now we are in remission (yay!) and life getting back to somewhat normal - depending on your definition of normal. I took the drawings and started to render these triangle pendants. It's been satisfying to bring these colorings to life. You know what they say about finding some light in life's dark moments. I think about my state of mind then when my purpose was just to color each tiny block. And now the satisfaction I have in finally taking these drawings and creating something tangible, real. And, hopefully, give enjoyment to the person who decides they like the pendants enough to wear them.
I tend to take the earrings I make for granted. Probably because I make earrings when I need a mental break. Well, I've done a lot of earrings in the past year (yeah! needed that many mental breaks!). They've all been in hiding in my box of earrings begging to be photoed and shown off to the world after staying in the dark for too long. So I'm going to start introducing them here and in my 
All too often it happens. You work on a piece and end up wanting to keep it for yourself! I'm doomed on this unless someone out there knocks me to my senses. Can you blame me? The design is Laura McCabe's (for the few who don't recognize her work). I did use vintage swarovski crystals that cost me an arm and a leg (well, almost). Take a close look at the crystal next to the toggle bar - it clearly reflects the beading right in the middle of the stone! So cool! And those 24K gold charlottes are so teeny, tiny pretty!
My mental fog has been lifted and I'm working away and I thought I'd show you this pendant as the work progresses. Should I stop here or keep going? I have visions of working further, adding more rings, spiral rope, embellishments, etc., etc, etc... or go minimalist and do a simple beaded necklace.
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