Some journal pages....

Hi everyone,

     I have been busy ripping up magazines and have now started to cut and paste!!  I went and got two big journals and thought I would have them filled in no time!  I now know that I really don't have a good grasp on time management!  It took two days and one swollen hand to cut up half of my pages! I thought I would just breeze through that part! Wrong! I filled half a shoebox with the cut images and so I thought I would start pasting....and two days later, I have about 10 pages done.....man, is this going to take a long time!  I do like the pages that I have done so far. I have made some that represent an idea for a bead or a series of beads and then some of them are just colors put together for me to use when I am working with the polymer or resin. I have a page for interesting ideas on setting stones and some with ideas on different bead shapes inspired by ceramic and wood items. Since I am not going to Tucson, I am planning on experimenting in a big way!! I hope everyone has a great holiday....I will try to write after the big day and before the other one. I know I am getting some books, I bought them, but didn't peek inside, so I am looking forward to that.....my brain may explode by New Year's with all the ideas rattling around now! I tried to take a nap today and found myself constructing a beaded bezel in hot pink beads with a PMC center!  Looked pretty good, so I may have to make it! I am posting 3 pages that deal with color....I think they look good enough to eat!  Have fun with your journal pages, Kelly

Photos of my upside down tree....

Hi everyone,

   Since I have had requests for photos of my upside down Christmas tree, I thought I would take some....it isn't decorated as heavily as I normally do but you will get the idea. It looks great when I put on the expandable tinsel....it looks like a waterfall of silver.  Hope you like it. The first photo is the whole tree and the second is one of the little vellum lampshades that I put around the bulbs and the last is one set of the little glass birds that hang around the tips of the branches. I may even take it down this year and redo it next year. One year we had it up for 4 years....the boys loved bringing home their friends to see it!  Need to make some new lampshades though....maybe in a color!  Purple sounds good!  Happy Holidays everyone! Kelly

Nutcrackers and more magazines....

Hi everyone,

   Well, as the title said, I am still working on my magazines, ripping them apart and throwing out the parts I don't need. I now have a box full that I have to start cutting up so I can start sticking them down in my journals and the instruction pieces can go in the filing cabinet!!  Watching the "Nutcracker" with the Royal Ballet on tv while working on the magazines....great music!  There are some really weird "Nutcracker" ballets out there....my favorite is still the one designed by Maurice Sendak (the guy who wrote "Where the Wild Things Are"). He did some great designs for the sets. I would like to say that I put up my Christmas tree but as it has been up all year, that would be a lie. It still looks nice though. It hangs upside down from the ceiling and has little light shades that I made out of vellum on the little light bulbs. Lots of icicles hanging down, a bunch of Chris Radko ornaments and little glass birds and bells. I will try to get a good photo and post it this week. I hope everyone has had a good time in the studio making gifts for family and friends....so, since I haven't played (just filling the well)..I will post some of my other photos...hope you like them, Kelly        The first and second photos are of beads I did about three years ago and the second one was the front cover of the PMC Guilds magazine.  The third is the inside view of the ring I posted last time. The watch glass on the top is a magnifying lens so the "diamonds" look bigger than they were....great engagement ring! K

WOW! Time flies.....

Hi everyone,

   So sorry that I haven't posted in a bit. Ed offered to help me put the "library" in order and get all my books up off the floor and onto the bookshelves. I actually ran out of room and so I decided to go through 8 years of magazines to pull out the bits that I want to keep. So far, I have cleaned off 2 1/2 shelves and only filled one box with the saved bits. Now I have to go and buy some blank journals to fill....maybe I can put books on my Christmas list!!!  For those of you who see me in Tucson, I have to tell you that I am sorry that I won't be coming out this season.  I am planning on putting my time to good use and experiment with some things I have had cooking in the back of my mind. I am also working with a wonderful bead artist to make some kits featuring my centerpieces.  Hopefully I will be able to get back on track with the Master's Registry pieces....have some catching up to do!  Well, back to ripping up magazines, filling the well, as Christie Friesen says....gonna have to get some more glue sticks too!  Have fun playing, Kelly        Thought I would post some of my rings, I ran across some of my old ads that showed the pearl ring and I had forgotten how pretty it is. Hope you like them. K.

Recovering from the holidays....

Hi everyone,

   I figured everyone would too be busy doing other things to have time to check in with me, so I put off posting. I hope everyone had a nice holiday, wherever you were. We decided to do something different this year....Morgan and I thought we would be by ourselves so we choose a Moroccan recipe to experiment with. The recipe we chose was chicken with apricots, prunes and pomegranates with cous-cous. And then we threw on some potatoes....YUMMMM! It is a keeper recipe for regular meals now and it was way easy to make!  We did have apple cobbler though! Morgan may not care for turkey, hence the chicken but he does like apple pie and apple crisp.  I also got to watch a series of architectural shows that I had recorded and got to draw a lot of ideas based on parts of the buildings. I have had a urge to re-visit some of my older designs that combined the angel photos I took with the assembled pillars and arches. I may even re-design some of my "Peep Show" beads. I always liked them. I am planning on stringing up some necklace and bracelets to show how some of my beads can be used (for all those wonderful people who have purchased beads from me in the past and still don't know what to do...maybe this will be a good jumping off point for them).  So, not much to show in the new work arena..but some photos to hopefully inspire.....Have fun playing, Kelly 

     The photos are from (in order) The Walters Museum, San Francisco farmer's market and then finally, my front yard....some kind of crazy weedie type bush whose berries turned blue and purple after the first frost and they now continue to grow in these colors and even turn white with blue dots on them...crazy beautiful....I am thinking they will be great looking beads! Hope you like them....Kelly

went to the show....

Hi everyone,

  I was going to say that I was going to the show, like that old song but then thought..."but I have already been, hence the title change. Anyway, I met up with my friend Gloria at the Walter's Art Museum yesterday to go to their annual jewelry show. I loved most of the jewelers there but was disappointed by it at the same time. Most of them are jewelers that you would see at any ACC show and have seen for years in the magazines, and yes, their pieces are beautiful, but it would have been great if it had been jewelers that are not seen so much and are exciting and new. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the pieces I saw but it really would be nice to see some new artists! I know there is a lot of great art and artists out there but when will we get to see them and their work?  Well, enough said....we did have a nice lunch in the little cafe and then we went upstairs into the Asian and Japanese wings....so, have to go back with a sketch and a camera....I am going to post some of the statues and doors and a lentil of marble.... wait til you see what I missed 'cause my camera battery died!  I can't wait to go back..and it is a free museum!  Fab!  I hope you are all going to have a great holiday week/weekend and don't get hurt if you go out on Friday! Me, I am staying home and playing in the studio and Morgan and I are going to be experimenting with Moroccan food for Thankgiving since it is just the two of us....wish us luck!  Have fun, Kelly

San Francisco....

Hi everyone,

   I brought my computer to San Francisco thinking I would be able to write about the show and all....but I couldn't quite figure out the hotels ethernet stuff so I am doing it now that I am home. My luck I would have had to pay for the internet service on top of everything else and I would have been done in!  I forgot that Oakland is it's own entity and not part of San Francisco and flew into the wrong airport! It cost me 65$ to get to the hotel and 90$ to get back to the airport 4 days later and on top of that, the fee for a overweight bag went up in June from 25$ to 50$.....and I could have spent that money on beads!  I did luck out and had a fun group of girls in my class. We went out to the farmer's market for lunch and I am going to post the photos of the orchids that I found there. Saturday and Sunday were the show days and I had a fun time seeing all my friends....I was next to Andrew Thornton from Green Girls, which was great fun! Andrew has to be one of the nicest guys on the planet! We finally had dinner together on Sunday night at the "Silver Dragon" (what a great name,huh?) and it was the best Chinese food I have had in over 10 years! I has hoping to be able to eat at the Moroccan restaurant but I didn't have another 130$ for the taxi ride plus whatever the dinner would have been, so, maybe next year I will eat there before I go to the hotel!  I got some great beads and sequins and antique lace and buttons to come home with and am planning some great beads to play around with! I really enjoy the time between this show and the beginning of the year...it is experiment time in the studio....and who knows what will happen!  I will tell you that I got some eucalyptus electroformed pods with eyeballs in them and some antique glass glitter from France (that was a gift from a friend) and then add some resin in the mix and then you have something fun to work with....I will post photos when they are done!  So, I am going to play in the studio now and hope you will too! For everyone that I didn't know before and had the pleasure of meeting, it was fun getting to know you and thanks for stopping by.....and to all my friends who stopped by, thanks for all your lovely comments!  Have fun, Kelly        Do you think I love the color purple?

Class with Gwen Gibson....

Hi everyone, 

   In between getting ready for my class and show in San Francisco, the BABE show, I got to spend a day playing at a friends taking a collage class with Gwen Gibson.  It was great hanging out with some of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time and playing cut and paste. There was a lot of wine (and milk!) and even some fortune telling....and then dinner at the Thai restaurant. I leave in the morning (5 a.m.) for San Fran and am packing and making sure I have all my stuff for class...don't know how I will fit it all in my new, smaller luggage.  Wish me luck!  I hope if you are in the area this weekend, you will come by and check out all the great beads....the show is at the Marriott Convention Center in Oakland. Trarie always does a great job of selecting artists for the show. Some of them, I only see at BABE.  Stop and say hello if you come....Have fun this weekend, whatever you do and I will post when I get back, Kelly

Finally Patina'ed....

Hi everyone,

   Well, I finally went and patina'ed the bead that I made in the class of Barbara Becker Simon's. I had a great time making it...it was so nice just to sit back and enjoy the process of learning something new and not have to worry if it would sell or if anyone likes it. I like it and I think it has lots of potential! I was going to just spray paint it a flat black and then sand the highlights but when I saw all the different colors of spray paint, I had to break down and get the purple tones! It was really too cold for the spray paint to dry quickly so after it was mostly set, I brought it in and put it on my TV to dry....you know how hot a TV can get in a enclosed space! Almost better than an oven! I then sanded down the highlights to bring up the design. I really like the way the two different lace designs merged on this bead to look like it was wrapped in a single bit of fabric.  I also like the way the edges and part of the overall design look worn away and banged up. I think I may put this on a strand of rubies and some amethyst beads and maybe some tiny silver beads or tiny pearls to look like something from the late 1800's. Anyway, I had fun with it and I think I will be experimenting with it a lot more...so, go into your studios and play with your art!  Have fun, Kelly

Polymer polygon.....

Back again, since we know that I can't load more than three photos, I decided to do this small post.....here you go with some of the sides of the polymer bead I made yesterday...sanded and buffed, no polish at all....enjoy, Kelly

What's new and exciting....

Hi everyone,

   Well, since I didn't have photos to show of the class with Barbara, I thought I would post the photo of the bead before I spray paint it. I was excited about the polygon bead itself and all the possibilities and was writing down ideas all this week and yesterday, I finally had time to go into the studio to play. I decided to use a polymer mokume gane plate I had experimented with this past winter and stored as a record. I have all these wonderful polymer plates that have been baked and placed on index cards with the paint, ink or color samples and notes for what I did to the clay to get that certain look. Not all the experiments worked as well as I had hoped but a lot of them turned out better than I hoped. I made a big polygon bead with a beautiful blue , green and transparent pearl mokume gane. I used super glue to do the whole thing and while I was photographing it today, it fell onto the porch and held up great! It is also super lightweight, so I think they will mix well with the metal clay ones.....lots of ideas....so a HUGE Thank You to Barbara!  I think I will be experimenting a lot in the near future. 

  On a side note, for those of you who have been asking about my classes, I am teaching at the BABE show in San Francisco, Nov 14th and 15th (may need to check the dates....). I hope to see some of you even if you aren't taking a class.....please stop by and say hi!  I am looking forward to going out to eat at a Moroccan restaurant that I researched online.  Seeing all my friends is fab too, but hopefully, they all know that!  It is so nice to talk with anyone who "gets it", whether it is beads, stones, or creating.....most times, the family thinks I am out in left field by myself, but really, it is quite crowded out here!  Anyway, I hope you like the beads I made and I hope to see you soon, Kelly     these photos are of the metal clay polygon bead...before paint...

and last but not least....

as the heading says....last but not least, I got my copy of Cynthia Thornton's book, "Enchanted Adornments" and my embroidered cuffs are in the gallery section. I wish the photo was right side up so the mermaids are not upside down but Jean Yates did a necklace with a bead of mine as the focal point so I don't mind about the cuffs. I am going to show you a photo of the cuffs and Florida...hope you like them...I mean, who else posts three times on one day...Trick or Treat? Have fun in the studio this weekend, Kelly      I tried to post the photo of the stag horn fern three different times and am so glad it finally got posted.....I now know that I can't post more than 3 photos at a time.....so many photos, so little space!

and 3 more....

I hope you like these....I had forgotten how plush the South is...in Maryland, everything is pretty well done for the season...but down South, it seems like it is the middle of summer...guess they didn't get the note about the change of seasons....Kelly

more eye candy...

More treats....sorry the last group had a blurry one....hope you like these....Kelly

Happy Halloween.....

Hi everyone, 

  I just realized that it is Halloween! So, I hope everyone has a nice one and no eggs or toilet paper in sight!  I think I will just post some "Treats" and leave it at that.....I am looking forward to getting into the studio and playing tomorrow with the ideas of beads I had after taking Barbara Simon's class.....and I have to get some spray paint so I can antique the beads I made in her class....Have a great weekend and don't forget to turn your clocks back tonight!  Extra hour of sleep...how nice is that??!  I hope you enjoy the photos...going to post several sets since you have all been so good...Kelly

Birthday Weekend.....

Hi everyone, 

   I am still in Florida...enjoying my birthday week....came in on Thursday and played with metal clay (we had homework for Barbara's class) and then on Friday, we went to Marie's to play with polymer clay. I taught Wendy and Marie how to do mokume gane. They were quite happy with the process. Then on Saturday, we drove to Bradenton and saw some rosey spoonbills and egrets on the way there. We had a great time in class and made some fab beads! The girls surprised me with a fancy birthday cake and a song! and a card! I have gotten some great photos of flowers and the beach, so I am going to post those for you. I forgot to take photos of the class....this is the first time I took a camera on a trip, so just flowers and seafoam....hope you have had a great week. I will post photos of the beads I made next week after I antique them. Have fun playing, Kelly

I tried to put up 5 photos but it didn't want to load that many....so, the photos are a hibicus flower, a decaying leaf on a stag horn fern and then a shot of the seafoam around my toes...hope you like them, K

and time passes....

Hi everyone,

    I can't believe how fast time just zips along.....I have been losing myself on the computer trying to find out the answers to all my questions.....trying to find some items for some models I want to have made and planning out some kits to go with them. I am talking to a couple of big seed bead/crystal bead babes about doing some kits with my polymer and pmc cabs as the centerpieces. I am excited about all the possibilities!  This weekend I am going to be slaving away under the eyes of Barbara Becker Simon in Florida....hope the weather is nice! I am still enjoying the weather up here, although Morgan is now sporting a jacket when he sits outside with me! I have been working on some purse designs and of course, my Master's Registry project. This one is the resin piece. I am going to take my camera with me to Florida and will post a note or three about the class and my shelling trip on Honeymoon Island...way excited about that! Well, off to pack up my supplies for the class and make some copies for the homework....going to do the rest of the homework when I get to Florida.  I hope you enjoy this weekend playing in your studios, Kelly             P.S. The first image is my MR piece and the second is some of my ideas for my purses.....K