Monday, August 31, 2009

artsy craftsy

i love creating stuff with things i find around the house, recycled treasures and scrappy-doos! i glued a piece of bead mat into this metal hinged container, rubber stamped it with robbie robot and color markered it in! now mari can bead on the airplane when she goes to clean teeth in maui!

these little beauties were handmade by gina, my cute-as-a-button helper who hides in the backroom bead cave with me and hunches over the computer, tapping out our little emails. don't know gina? look for the girl with these monstrously large rings on her finger.. JUST KIDDING GINA! I love them!! i just can't figure out why she didn't make me one?

Friday, August 28, 2009

harmony

my simple little straight strung bracelet, composed of crystals rainbowing from pink to brown. michelle "donated" her stamped charm to my efforts - completing, what i think, is now the perfect little package of sparkles and spirit.

mark your calendars for the last day of september! we're going to have a custom stamping event at the store, where you get to design a necklace that will bring you peace, love and harmony - and we do all the work! and there's gonna be cupcakes!

loving you too! jamie

Thursday, August 27, 2009

not so sunny, a little earlier!

look at what our sunflower cutie looked like before the makeover!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

oh sunny day!

so here's a little story on this sunflower cutie: she had a make over!! last month, i pulled her off a display board cause i felt that her charms were underappreciated. michelle gussied her up with the peridot, crystal and freshwater pearl clusters, changed a few jumprings and added the gold/fwp accent on the toggle loop - voila!

we left the sample on the counter, and it was funny how all girls were asking, "where'd that bracelet appear from?" she's been in the store for over a year - and now finally getting some LOVE!

do you have jewelry that needs a loving makeover? bring it in - i'm happy to assist!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

cheerleading practice!

Ever wonder what we do after we close the blinds and lock the doors? We do what everyone else in Hawaii does.... cheerleading practice! that is what everyone else does, right?


Friday, August 21, 2009

black on black

i love these quick cluster earrings - i made them in about 15-20 minutes. super fun, super quick!



Thursday, August 20, 2009

where naughty girls go..



we're going to put you in the beading corner!! i know, that's not really a punishment is it!! that's where EVERYONE wants to go! if you need a little place to work on your project, (so you can have easy access to all the beads that you need), let us know and we'll set you up in the corner.

maybe you can make something deliciously cute like kevin bacon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

so k-drama kine.....


this picture is dedicated to my korean drama mama! it's no wonder that when jason and i go to places in hawaii, we're treated like visitors to the island - we look just off the jet!!
viva tourists!

btw, that's at disneyland! the other happiest place in the world (2nd to TBG!)

AND big news, Michelle's baby girl (MIY saw no pee-pee in the photo) is a comin'! Probably within a week. I guessed this coming Sunday, Jason thinks Monday and Anna is figuring next Wednesday... who's the lucky guesser?

Monday, August 17, 2009

a haku for my wrist


i was looking at all our shell and gemstone flowers, and thinking.. i wish the display were wear-able! thus, the bracelet. the flowers are stuck onto a chain "backing" by running ball headpins from the top of the flower and fastening it to the back of the chain.

quite pretty, huh!

gotta jam - jason and i are driving to KAILUA for breakfast at cinnamon's - yum! such a cute name and the omelettes are delicious! i have to get all my stuff ready: gps, water, sunscreen, camera... that's like going to the outer islands for us "country folks" out in waipahu :)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

marms and grannys!

first, this photo makes me laugh! my mom is such a photo hog! she told me, "take our picture for a christmas card, " haha, i think this says it all! LOOK AT ME!! LOOKATME!
look at poor calvin posing behind her....

michelle made this for her granny for mother's day, and i've been waiting for the right time to post it. well, since i was on a straight-stringing high horse this week, i wanted to include this very pretty bracelet. i told michelle, "this is the first blue bracelet i've ever wanted to wear!"

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

the basics are fun!

basic stringing and crimping by michelle
basic wire wrap by jamie

i think that a lot of times, we underestimate the basics. sometimes, i'll tell myself, "that's too easy", no one's going to like it.... or "it doesn't look like i spent enough time on it...."

that's just a trick i play on myself, to avoid rejection, criticism or comments on my jewelry. i don't want to let anyone down, or have them think that i'm not trying my best.. does this all sound familiar? yikes, and it's just beads!!

so i'm putting it back into perspective. as i made this wire wrapped bracelet for my kumu's relative who was injured in a fire, i reminded myself, this is made out of LOVE. i stopped worrying if she'd like the colors, stopped judging if my loops were round enough or if the technique reflected enough sophistication.

i just held it in my hands and imbued it with all the love in my heart and sent messages of love and healing as i created it.

i must remind myself, that's why i started beading. that's why i started a STORE, and why i still bead today.

Monday, August 10, 2009

mary k.'s bling

lookeee, it's the diamond mine in 6mm bicones - so blingy! mary whipped this up for me in less than 2 hours - maybe even in 1 hour? it was so fast - her needle was a blur! this bracelet done in larger crystals is so eye-catching - the sample is on display at the store.

gotta jet to the eye doctor today - i've been slacking in my eye exercises (did you know there was such a thing?), and now i can't see unless it's 2 feet from my face!!! so hard to bead!!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

pretty girl pics



look at pretty opal with her pretty garden pendant! she made this in a custom class with michelle, and i love the asymmetrical layout of her piece.

that's it for now.. i just got home from work and jason made dinner- gotta run!!
byeeeee! i getting scoldings....

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

put some sparkle in your eyes!



i started a right angle weave bracelet with medium vitrail, and it got so sparkly as i went on... i couldn't stop! i finished it in one night, and it's awesome, can't wait to wear it!

i used 10lb fireline and it performed quite nicely - and i didn't have to join any threads (i pre-measured enough and tucked it on the side - ask me how!) so it was easy breezy!

right angle weave is a beginner's stitch, and fun to do! i'm going to start another one soon- i think in crystal ab :) want to watch me? just let me know you're coming in!

ta ta! jamie

Sunday, August 2, 2009

love the leather

today i did some kumihimo (japanese braiding) for jason on my foamy "loom", the whole bracelet took about 20 minutes - i snuck it in during our slow sunday...

here's the before....
.5mm leather and the disk
and 20 minutes later....
voila!
quite nice! want to learn how? stop in, it's quick demo! i showed jana how to do it in less than a minute, and she went home and finished it right away :)