When Amber...isn't.

These guys are our examples for the day. Say hello to Baltic Amber, African "Ocean Amber" copal and Colombian Copal.

I'm sure there are a lot of blurbs in blogland about this very thing, but I wanted to share my own adventures in getting my paws on some amber. I just want to say here that I know what amber is. I have friends with Lithuanian grandmas that sewed amber pieces into their clothes to make the journey overseas to America. Amber is precious and a little bit rare, and this is why we all love it! 

This. Is Baltic amber - the good stuff

So when I bought some "Baltic amber" from a seller on Etsy and was not terribly impressed with it, I left neutral feedback. The seller was not pleased. She swears that stuff was Baltic amber. I think she was hoodwinked on her end -- the stuff she sent me was copal.

I dubiously sacrificed a piece of it to some "testing" to make sure it wasn't plastic. It burned sooty, it smelled piney and it floated in salt water. It was an organic thing, but it wasn't fossilized amber. 

This is Colombian copal. From Columbia. Not the Baltic Sea.

Copal is amber's younger, smellier, stickier cousin. It's amber that isn't ripe yet. When you touch it, it leaves a slight sticky funk on your hands. Copal also tends to craze, which kind of makes me worry about the future of anything I'd use it in.

This is another kind of copal from Africa called Ocean Amber. I nabbed it from Kandu Beads. It's so smooth and nice to pet! :) 

I hope this was a little bit educational. I learned to not challenge the opinions of suppliers on Etsy, lest they set me on fire. I also learned in all of my research that the big honkin' amber ring I bought for $8 on eBay all those years ago is probably heat-treated, compressed Baltic amber. The cute little inclusions in it aren't leafy bits, but exploded bits of condensation. Darnit.

Oh well. It's still my favorite. The other rings in the picture are a skull wax seal ring from Sue Gray Jewelry, and story stack rings from Delias Thompson. They also make me smile. :)

The Box:

I'm a weird, sentimental person. Silly stuff like a neat rock, fortune cookie fortunes or toys from vending machines are the souvenirs I keep from my travels...but not usually commercial-type touristy junk.

It is in this train of thought that I present to you, The Box. It came to me when my grandmother passed away, packed full of all kinds of wild seashells, some plastic discs, some clip-on earring findings and a tube of 1950's adhesive. I put all of that other stuff away somewhere -- I was smitten with the box itself.

 

This is the box that  I use when I photograph pretty much every pair of earrings that I make. The address is for a house that was knocked over in the 80s to make room for a highway on-ramp.

I think it's spectacular. The graphics are awesome. It boggles my mind that three cents could provide enough postage to send anything anywhere!

I don't really have a point for this post, except to share the origin of a random thing that shows up in so many of my listings. You don't need a fancy-pants studio setup to photograph your jewelry. You can use an unintentional heirloom and a little bit of sunshine! :)

My Sexy Studio Space...

This is my entry for the Clean-up, Fix-up Challenge Blog Hop sponsored by Sharyl's Jewelry. I made it! Woo!

I didn't get everything done that I outlined in my previous post, but I made some pretty amazing progress after spending all of this morning fretting over when the UPS guy would arrive with the storage bins I ordered. They say the last minute is the best...right? Let's take a tour!

Remember my really gross closet? Now it's home to almost all of my art supplies, my photography equipment and the books that I'm not putting on the shelf in the living room because there's naughty pictures in them. *gasp of horror*

I'm pretty jazzed about how the big black wire shelf of doom turned out. This is where I spent money, and it was worth it. I now have a happy home for all of my shipping, sewing and tool-related stuff!

I'm also thrilled with this part of the room. I think I'll celebrate by starting a massive sewing project later.  :) I didn't get a chance to raise the table yet, but I have all of the parts to do it!

 

The fancy-pants gold silk curtains came with me when I moved. I have red ones, too. They were a steal at $1.80 a panel, and they're probably the best bargain I have ever scored in my life. I love how they warm up the room. I will probably be buried with them, I'm that smitten...
 
Here's the before shot of the bead table in all of it's sloppy glory...

And here's the after! I cleaned a bunch of stuff up, put things away and amazingly, found a table under there!

A few months ago, I scored a massive vintage lot of 700something unused vintage guitar strings on eBay that have been underfoot, driving me batty. I conquered them with plastic storage tubs that are tall enough to keep the strings in their original envelopes. There's useful information on that envelope! :)

I've let my hoard get away from me. My day job is really busy during the summer/fall, then we went on vacation for about half of December, then I had the plague for what seemed like an eternity. That's a long time to not put things away! I have a nasty habit of buying all kinds of really awesome stuff, and then forget what's there when I find another fantastic deal. It's gotten a bit out of hand.

When it comes to storage, I use every clear container I can find. I need to be able to SEE EVERYTHING! 

I've got some stuff in Talenti gelato containers. I love their shape. Perhaps two pints of turquoise might be a little excessive. Then again, so might one pint of copal, or ammonite. Everyone's got their guilty pleasures. :) Mine might be too much gelato...or too many beads...or...

I even used something I'm not fond of -- those darned divided boxes -- to corral my pearls and artisan-made bits and other funky baubles that keep getting lost in the shuffle.

 I guess they're okay for bigger stuff, but trying to scoop anything small out of them is infuriating, so I kept them out of my life. These particular boxes were already here. Free is good!

And that's all I've got! Thanks for sticking with me!

_____________________________________
Go visit all of the other prettied-up spaces in this blog hop! :)

Host: Sharyl McMillian-Nelson … http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com

Donna Millard http://fyrebeadz.blogspot.com/

Beda Hendrix ... https://www.facebook.com/SasijuhlsThings

Ann Schroeder… http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Pamela Rachelle… http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com

Kristin L Oppold… http://www.yayjewelry.blogspot.com

Heidi Kingman ... http://heidikingman.blogspot.com

Andi ... http://strungoutjewelry.blogspot.com/

Patricia Buchanan Click “Blog” on the menu bar at http://www.braceletstoo.artfire.com

Helen Simon… http://helensharvest.com/

Kashmira … http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/

somethingunique ... http://somethinguniquebylana.blogspot.ca/

Renetha ... http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Kathy Lindemer ... http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com

Swapna Dinesh … http://www.swardaa.comLinda Landig ... http://lindalandig.wordpress.com/

Ann Schroeder ... http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com/

Beti Horvath ... http://stringingfool.blogspot.com/

Sam S ... http://samsbeadshopandjewelry.blogspot.com/

Christina Miles ... http://wingsnscales.blogspot.com/

Islandgirl ... http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/

macmillanmarie ... http://www.macmillanmarie.blogspot.com

Emma Todd … http://www.apolymerpenchant.com

Neena Shilvock …
http://www.capriliciousjewellery.com/3/post/2014/02/neither-ship-shape-nor-bristol-fashion.html

Dee Clark… http://biz-e-bead.blogspot.com/

motidana ... http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.com/

Here Bead Dragons ... http://beaddragons.blogspot.com/

Carol D. ... http://dillmansdallies.blogspot.com/

Pam Sears ... http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Nan Smith ... http://wirednan.blogspot.ca

AliMc ... http://northwoodscreativestudio.blogspot.com

Kari Asbury ... http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Shirley Moore ... http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com

PyxeeStyx ... http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/

Jayne Capps … https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Louann Elwell ... https://plus.google.com/117746558861718110652/posts

Rain ... http://honeyandollie.com/

Lori Bergmann ... http://www.LoriBergmann.blogspot.com

Helen Simon… http://helensharvest.blogspot.com/

Arlene Dean ... http://aglassbash.blogspot.com

Sandra... http://city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.de/

Alicia ... http://www.allprettythings.ca

Natalie Pappas ... http://blog.nkpdesigns.com

Mike Flint ... https://www.facebook.com/bagomag

Studio Shaming:

In a fit of clutter-induced rage, I signed on for Sharyl's Clean-up, Fix-up Challenge blog hop. It's a nice way to share my hot mess of a studio with the entire planet -- hey everyone, look at my grossness! :D

About a year ago, I moved from a really BIG house into a really tiny shoebox of a house. I did a lot of downsizing, but I had to hang onto a lot of stuff -- mostly fabric stuff -- and art supplies. What? That stuff is expensive! In the 10 years before I found my current job, I made costumes, corsets and did custom seamstressing, with a bit of photography here and there. The room I used as a studio in my old place was easily 2.5 times bigger than the room I am using now.

I am going to start my journey to a happy, usable space by shaming myself into action. Here's some before shots of my workspace:

I have a jewelrymaking area overflowing with pirate treasure, a microscopic closet fitted with a bookshelf crammed full of books, art, art supplies, fabric, empty storage containers [?!], my studio lights and other photographering junk...and tons more random homeless stuff. I'm a Tetris master.

This 3x6 worktable is currently my command center and unfortunate catch-all space. It's supposed to be where my big anvil and soldering stuff lives...as well as the cutting table for sewing shenanigans. There are more totes full of fabric, patterns and notions chillin' under the table. I want to put wheels on this table to raise it up above knee-trauma height.

This huge wire rack is great for holding totes full of fabric, but not much else. I keep all of my plants in the studio because cats. This is also where my printer, shipping stuff, camera gear, sewing machine and serger hang out very awkward and inefficiently.

Because I like to think I'm in a much bigger room, the sexy industrial sewing machine that is technically the property of my boyfriend's leatherworking business lives in here, too! I need to put a tool magnet for leather-specific tools on this wall, and some shelf space for storing all of the bits and baubles that come along with making leather stuff. What I really mean is "Wow! That wall is naked! That can't happen!" :)

So there you have it. My huge new project that will hopefully make every other project in my future happen! Wish me luck? :-\

Ohai!

Happy winter, all 1.5 of my readers! :)

I wanted to pop in and leave this here for posterity -- I was one of the cool kids to get interviewed for the latest issue of Bead Chat Magazine! The whole darned thing is a good read with tons of eye candy! Take a peek! :)

Birthday loot!

I recieved a very thoughtful gift card to a neato bead shop called Stony Creek Bead for my birthday, and this is my haul! I grabbed some brass and copper flowery skull guys, some great big honkin' lobster clasps, a strand of pretty red pearls and a cache of Elements Pottery by Duane Collins raku baubles because I couldn't leave the freakin' store without them. They knock my socks off, and I can't wait to include them in some super epic bling!


This isn't the only beady goodness I picked up for my birthday. I spoiled myself rotten with two strands of big, chunky Mexican fire opals and a cart full of loot from my favorite bead crack dealer on Etsy. :) I'm ready for a long winter of jewelry making shenanigans -- if my day job ever slows down long enough for me to sit down, that is!

New digs & the art of being notorious

So, I moved. Into a tiny house in a tiny town with a gimongous back yard full of trees [trees!!!] that I immediately set out planning a vegetable garden for. With this move came a smaller studio space, an itty bitty kitchen and a microscopic bathroom. But it has walls and wiring and a boy in it that likes me, so I'll count my blessings.

This lovely pair of Kyanite earrings was part of the Rings n Things blog about trends in 2012. :)

With this move comes a new outlook, new opportunity and hopefully a higher level of productivity. I am going to switch the main idea of this blog from just my jewelry to all of my work. I want folks to know what we are up to...and perhaps what life is like for weirdos like me. Being an artist is kind of a mysterious brew, and I would like people to see that it's not all starvation and tortured angst. ;)

This bracelet was featured in an Earth911 article about repurposing musical stuff into usable things.

Over the past few months I've gotten some recognition for my Strung-Out jewelry here and there. I scored a new wholesale client in the UK...I hear tell there aren't any jewelry designers working with guitar strings over there. Perhaps the musicians can send ME all of their strings!? Heh.
 
I joined a community of artisans and designers called Artisan Whimsy. I'm not sure where I fit in, exactly...but I am enjoying the ride when I find the time -- which mostly involves me being a smartass in the Facebook group.

The Rose - available on Etsy!

A couple weeks ago, I whipped together a rose-themed bracelet with pearls and girly pinkness aplenty, and it was incorporated into the June issue of Beat Chat Magazine. It looks so amazing on the page with everyone else's work! I love it! It's chock full of glittery stones and pretty pearls, way more luxurious than I usually aim for, since I think guitar strings are a 'temporary' medium.

That's about it. Brace yourselves for a slightly more regular schedule of snarkasm and silliness...