Brenda’s Neighborhood

Hmmmm, it's been such a long time since I posted here.  I was trying to keep 2 blogs, one for just my jewelry and another one for my knitting and everything else about me.  My other blog is Uli's Needleworkworld.  It kind of got too much to maintain two individual sites and I thought about why I should separate myself into two blogs.  I figured my faithful readers of my other blog would be interested in me as a whole and not just "all about Uli" minus the jewelry and business aspect.  So I started combining posts about "all of it" including my Etsy shop and my jewelry and abandoned this blog over here.  But I like the set-up over here and just figured I should pop back in and see what I can do to keep this one alive, too.  I wonder if anyone pops in to read along here?  Probably not.

We had a busy Christmas and with craft fairs almost every weekend in November, things certainly heated up leading to Christmas.  I did okay at the craft fairs except my first one was rained out and my last one snowed out.  Can you believe it???  The forces of nature interfered with me twice.  Here's one picture of my set-up:

 

 

 

Small and inexpensive but fun was my craft show best-seller, the guardian angel cell phone charm:

 

I had these guys in all kinds of little colours and am totally sold out now.  I'd like to make some more and might have an order for a whole bunch of them going to Germany in the new year.

And to kind of work my love for knitting into it, I've been working on lots of these little chell phone charms just suited for a little knitting gift for a friend or a secret pal:

 

 

And here is one for those who love to crochet:

 

I have a few other styles including one with a sweater in progress, a ball of yarn with needles, and a spinning wheel.  More will appear in the shop as soon as I can get some decent pictures but the two I'm showing are currently up for grabs here and here. (oh, and here and here - I forgot about those).

I've also been doing a bit of knitting and am showcasing some cuddly and fun coloured toddler mittens - and yes, I have and will continue to make adult ones in the same bright colours if requested.

 

 

Aren't these fun - both sets of mittens are toddler (size 2-4) sized. 

So that's what's new!!!  I've been busy, busy, busy.

 My young dog Holly died very unexpectedly on January 13, 2007. We miss her a lot.

A little Robin came in the spring and has been brightening our home. 

She is a Parson Russell Terrier.

She is very affectionate, funny, smart, loves the three cats and her people.

She loves to swim.

Enjoyed the summer.

When it is a hot day a basin of water works too.

She loves to play with her toys. The best ones always seem to be at the bottom of the basket.

She loves the brown dog next door. He is afraid of her unless she is at his height. The wuss. 

 She likes to play with the ball on rope which is hung from a tree in the yard.

She can fetch.

She helps me in the garden.

I think she is as happy to be with us as we are to be with her.

A puppy on the East Coast.

It's been a long time.  We just came back from vacation yesterday and we had a wonderful time.  Look at how many little stars I created in our family down time ie. when baby was napping and we weren't on the go and when the little guy wasn't destroying our very schwanky cottage.....

 

There are 24 of them and the Halloween coloured one (black and orange) is available in my store now.  Other colour combos may become available but most of these are destined for my fall craft shows. 

I also haven't introduced my caterpillar chainmaille titanium bracelet yet.  I named it caterpillar because I actually scared off a colleague when I put just a small piece of it over my finger and put it under her nose... I love the slinkiness of the box chain and the coloures of the anodized titanium.  I'm a fan of variegated colours in my knitting so I also love to randomly arrange colours in my jewelry creations.

 

And last but not least, this blue heart pendant had been burning to be made into a necklace.  It just took me a while to get it all put together.  A simple blue enameled copper and stainless steel 2 X 2 chain turned the pendant into a necklace.  I'm so pleased with it....

 

These are my latest and greatest in the store.  While I was away, I got two lovely supply envelopes. :-)  So let's see what I can come up with next.  I'm a bit behind on posting about my affection with large kidney ear wires and cubes.... that shall be next up.  Right now, my 18 month old is single handedley demolishing a kleenex box.  I guess a sign I should stop.

A fly-by post and I've got lots more new stuff to show but I'm in total love with these earrings I created yesterday.  They're big, they're bold and they are fun.  I love the combo of the anitqued copper with the orange/red tones.

 

 

And while I'm here, I'm in love with these large sized kidney style ear wires.  Here's a pair of gold filled ear wires with just a hint of sparkle, an olivine coloured 8mm Swarovski cube crystal:

 

All available in my shop now.  Have a great weekend all!!!!

I've been busy to say the least.  I committed to do my first craft show ever.  It's not even until November but I'm going crazy thinking about what to make, how much to have on hand for stock, what to concentrate on, how much variety etc. etc.  It's a 2-day show, at my church - I feel comfortable in that setting at least as I know many faces etc.  So, I'm planning out what supplies to buy and order and I'm easily sidetracked and led down the path of spending way too much money.  More than I'm sure I need and then of course, I forget about the basics like needing headpins and eye pins and ear wires and lobster clasps..... :-)  If anyone has any tips, I'd be more than grateful to hear them.

The other thing I really need help with is getting organized and how to find the ideal storage solution for all my beading and chainmaille supplies.  Right now, nothing is working for me and last night I couldn't find my gold filled ear wires.  Okay, I only have 3 pairs in stock right now and they are in a little 2X2 zip lock baggie so they can easily be missed but come on...... I made a pair of earrings and I want my gold filled ear wires.  So I'm probably just going to run to the LBS and grab a pair which will cost me more than double compared to those that I have in stock.  I knid of know what I want and my Dad would laugh if he knew.  In his working days, when he ran his artistic ironworks business he had this great wall unit that had all these little flip out containers that he used for washers and screws and nails and all the little things that someone like him would need in his shop.  It's that wall unit I'm after.  I'm sure he's sold it by now and if he hasn't, then he's still using it plus it would take a whole lot of cleaning to get it up to snuff for use with fine jewelry supplies.  It came all the way across the water with us when we moved to Canada from Germany many years ago.  I think I need to talk to him.  Maybe he knows where I can get one just like it.

Well, what's new in my store?  A hodge podge of goodies.  Some aren't brand new but I just haven't blogged about them yet and others are in the store but I don't have pictures handy here, at the moment.  So it's always a good idea to pop on over and check out everything that's in store.

First of all, I'd love to show off the set I made for my daughter's Kindergarten teacher for the end of the school year.  I combined some chalk turquoise with some mother of pearl and created a bracelet and earring set.  I think she really liked the set and I love the combination of the colours.  It's just so summery.

 

 

I've also been a bit on a cross kick.  I've always loved crosses and for many years, all I would ever wear for a necklace is my sterling silver cross and a sterling silver "God Bless You/Guardian Angel" charm (text in German) - the only thing I own that was given to me by my grandma.  It tarnished and I never cleaned it up (silly me and now I've got some great tarnish remover so I should get to it).  After learning the persian weave and making some lovely basic key chains and a very pretty sterling silver and copper bracelet, I wanted to learn how to extend that weave and make the crosses so I did and I've been enjoying making them.  I love the key chains but I'm especially fond of the small, dainty cross I made from niobium and sterling silver and attached to a sterling silver chain.

 

Aren't those kind of cool..... of course, if you're not objected to crosses.

And, of course, I'm forever making earrings because if I have no time for anything else, I still have enough time to let my creativity be and make a pair of earrings.  I am so very fond of these funky glass beads that I got in pink and blue. 

 

 

And then here are a few other random earrings that I made.  The flower spheres remind others of eye balls which I think is hilarious.  I didn't see it until others said it to me but I still don't totally agree but I guess if you want to see eyeballs instead of flowers, be my guest. :-)

Time to be off now.  I have more catching up to do later.  All these things are available at Sparkles & Fuzz, my Etsy store.

I love custom orders and this one started with one of my colleagues asking if I had a pair of earrings in browns/ambers, earthy/neutral type shades.  I pulled up this picture for her:

 

She loved the earrings and said she would buy them.  A few minutes later she came back and asked me if I could custom make her a matching necklace.  After some thinking I had some ideas.  Of course, she needed the set very quickly.  This weekend I designed a matching necklace and this is the result:

 

 

 

The design worked out perfectly for her style and what she wanted it for.  The greatest compliment was her hug and the secondary compliment was the fact that others who saw the necklace said: "that's just so HER" ie. I must have managed to capture the essence of her style.  I'm pleased.

My latest and greatest, a varied selection of earrings, bracelets and a few other things:

 

I love these pretty sterling silver filigree triangles.  I adorned them with 4 mm and 5 mm Swarovski crystals.  The AB coating on the amethyst coloured centre crystals just makes them sparkle.  If they don't sell, they might just have to become mine.  Those are SO my own style.  But truly, I'd rather have them find a really good home because I already have so much in those types of colours.

 

Sodalite rectangles and some fancy sterling headpins were all that was needed for these simple earrings that would pair equally well with denim or a nice, crisp navy business suit. 

 

And here are some Lepidolite squares paired with sterling silver oval rings.  These earrings are very pretty and I have now fallen in love with this tone, that I just most recently discovered.  Of course i'd fall in love with it.  It's purple after all.

 

I saw these antique copper asian inspired charms in my local bead store recently and just thought they'd make awesome earrings.  I don't know if the symbols mean anything or what they might mean but I thought they would look great with some copper coloured Swarovski crystals and Niobium ear wires.  These were the result of combining these three elements.

 

These are my contribution to living in Canada and any upcoming Canada Day celebrations.  Actually, I think these earrings will be wonderful year round.  I just had to pair the sterling silver maple leaves with the red and white of the Canadian flag.  My next pair with these maple leaf shapes, maybe will be a bit more earth tone inspired. :-)

I haven't done just earrings.  Here are a couple of bracelets that were recently completed and added to the store:

 

With this bracelet, I paired stainless steel with blue (ice blue and bright blue) shades of silvered enameled copper and then threw in light blue cat's eye beads to break up the byzantine weave segments.  It's all finished with a silver plated lobster clasp and a bit of an extender chain to make it suitable for many wrist sizes.

 

This copper byzantine bracelet was a custom order but I plan to make another one to be listed soon.  The picture was taken in the evening in too bright sunlight, therefore, the colours are a bit off.  Copper is such a wonderful material to work with.  I did exchange the clasp after taking the pictures and replaced it with a toggle clasp of the same shape but with a more antiqued look to it.  Although my copper bracelets leave my home shiny as a new penny, time will age and darken the metal so an antiqued looking clasp was a better choice.  It's easy to shine copper back up by dipping it into some vinegar but I've been watching the natural darkening on a bracelet I made for a colleague.  She wears hers every day so I see what it looks like after wearing it daily for months and I love the more antique look.

Last but not least, I experimented with a pin and here are the results.  I quite enjoy it.  It has sold but I will make more.

 

I just made a new bracelet and hope to get some pictures of it tonight.

The last couple of days have been giving me that summery feeling.  It's been warm.  Yesterday could even be considered hot.  I'm ready for summer clothes, t-shirts, skirts, dresses and all the fun that goes along with summer.  There is always that casual feeling about summer and even though we're still a couple of months away from real summer, it never hurts to get ready for it.  A few weekends ago, I went on a casual earring spree and made up a bunch of casual, fun, bright pairs of earrings that are reminiscent of what summer is about.  Here is a selection, all featured in my Etsy store:

 

 

 

 

 

I love anything with dangly sterling silver chain right now so even though this last pair never made it to my store, I'm sure there will be more of those type of earrings in the near future.

I've been MIA the last week.  Partially just due to general business.  If you don't know me personally yet, I'm the Mom of two (5 and 15 months), work full-time at a pretty demanding and busy job, do the Mom mobile thing taking kiddos to and from daycare, taking them to activities etc. and at the same time, really trying to make a go at my Etsy shop.  My days are filled............... on my other blog............ my main blog - Uli's Needleworkworld I used to blog daily.  I just can't do that any longer.  First of all, I don't knit enough right now to have interesting knitting news on a daily basis and second of all, I just don't have the time.  I would love to get into the daily rhythm again though because I miss it and I miss the regular interaction with my friends and readers.  I love comments and I'm starving for them right now.

Today, I'm not showing off any Etsy additions.  I had quite a few last week and I'll point you to the details of those tomorrow or in the next day.  Tonight, I'd love to show you what I made for my Mom's 70th birthday.  I picked up some Black Line Jasper at the Whole Bead Show in Vancouver on Friday as well as this black stone that I'm not totally sure yet what it's called.  I'll have to do some more research.  I then paired those two with 8mm and 6mm Swarovski crystal faceted bicones.  Of course, unknowingly, my Mom dressed in the best outfit tonight.  Her blouse matched the necklace perfectly.

Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

What do you think?  Nice gift?  I also gave her a lovely Italian silk scarf which I knew she would love.  I managed to pick that up on the fly on my walk back from the bead show to our public rapid transit train.

And tonight, for the record, I'd also like to show my most recent bracelet in sterling silver and copper made in a full persian weave.  This bracelet got snapped up by someone at work and I have to make her matching earrings which I didn't get a chance to prepare this weekend.  Just had too much going on.

 

 

These are the two big new things that won't be making it to the store.  I did add a whole lot of nice new casual earrings last week.  Pictures of those to come.

I like to keep everything up-to-date but I've been slow.  Work has been busy and I've neglected both my blogs a bit.  I have made a few things though and I'd love to share them:

 

These are my most recent earrings that are still up for sale in my Etsy store.

First up are my Pink Squares earrings and they are simple, fun pair made with some square pink glass beads and Swarovski fuschia coloured cubes.  I matched the casual fun of these earrings with hypo-allergenic surgical steel earring hooks.

 

The secon pair are also some lovely oval shaped glass beads in many shades of green.  They dangle from about 1 1/2" of sterling silver chain and are attached to sterling silver ear wires.  I really do like the dangly simplicity of these earrings.

Pair #3 makes use of some of my gold filled supplies.  I love sterling silver but in my "non Etsy jewelry selling world" I have had many recent requests for earrings using gold findings so I went out and added some gold filled supplies to my stash.  This pair of earrings is one of them.  Swarovski pearl drops turned upside down, matched with copper coloured Swarovski crystals and matte gold filled seamless round beads.  Quite a lovely pair.

 

 

Here's a pair that sold faster than I could list it.  Some mixed gemstones that came off a strand of mixed gem stones dangle freely on some long and short link sterling silver chains.  Attached are sterling silver ear wires.  I love this pair of earrings and wish I had more stones to do another pair just for me.  I'll have to pick some other colours of stones and hope I have enough matching pairs from that strand to make a similar pair even if they are different colours.

I also made another flower chainmaille bracelet with blue silvered enameled copper and stainless steel.  I love these bracelets:

 

And, last but not least, a varied selection of celtic stars:

 

Except for the big blue star on the right, they have all sold out already.

Off to make a few more.  See you back with more creations soon.