Thursday, October 29, 2009

furlough friday!


Teacher Alert! if you are a teacher, or have teacher friends, tell them to come to the bead gallery for Oct. 30th furlough friday! Ali and I are going to do a <$10 make and take, and teach you how to kumihimo (japanese braid) a very pretty cord. We'll be making bracelets, but you can always take what you learn to make lanyards, cell phone cords, necklaces and more!

Stop in from 12 -4pm for our furlough friday project!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

oh no frankenstein!

It was a gift making weekend! First i made my mom the citrine bracelet on the left.. then i was inspired to wire wrap my tiny citrines on the right. of course i had to add a big chunk to make it all worthwhile! I might keep that one..

Then i unearthed some black spinel and white topaz, so i HAD to string those in their entirety - to keep it full-blast powerpuffed with grounding and manifesting energies. I find that if the gems are beautiful on their own, then you don't need to add a thing!
Finally, i made jason a sterling silver bracelet, with the antiqued ss hollow shapes and thai silver in between! I've had those beads on my desk for about 3 years now, just waiting for their day. I also wrapped him a frankie that i bought from jujubeadz - you'll see him wearing it this week on my "gangsta" gold rope chain. so 80's! gooooo, Jason!

Monday, October 26, 2009

lotus

dana made this in her custom crochet class with michelle last week.. so pretty! i love the look, especially the lotus charm.

The lotus is quite significant in it's symbolism of rising from the muddy waters, untouched by its impure beginnings... able to overcome great difficulties and awakening to your spiritual life.

no wonder michelle and i were drawn to carry many lotus charms in the store - we should all wear it as a reminder of our beauty that lies within and as a symbol of the strength of our spirit!



Thursday, October 22, 2009

gone fishing.....

I feel like I've been gone so long! It's been busy at the store with the cupcake wellness nite, and LOTS of custom classes! Seems like a lot of our beady friends are enjoying our one-to-one custom classes, so we've been busier throughout the day teaching ALL kinds of stuff!

it's been fun because we get to know our students in a very friendly setting, and connect on more than just a teacher-student, "let me give you info and send you on your way" kind of way.

In retrospect, this is what I've always wanted. To make new friends, and bead with them! pretty simple. And somewhere along the way, when beading got super popular, that became impossible - not enough hours in the day, and too many people. With the sluggish economy, a silver lining has emerged! We definitely have increased our time with each person, getting to know them beyond a retail relationship, so it has been a dream come true. :)

enjoy Bess's beautiful necklace and earring set with london blue topaz and champagne quartz above! i loved how simple and beautiful it was (she gave it as a gift), and i was like, I WANT ONE! so now i have one. it's a photo, but it'll do.. until i make a set for me!



Friday, October 16, 2009

fatima earrings

this morning i woke up really early (it was still dark!) and i was still wanting to sleep more.. BUT for some reason I really want to wear THESE particular wedding cake earrings today, and it was stuck in my head! So since I couldn't get back to sleep, I meditated, climbed out of bed, and decided to make more earrings for a Shriner's fundraiser at Aloha Tower tonight.

amazingly, to me, i will be there doing lomilomi to raise money for Shriner's. Wish me luck and good will, I'm needing it!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

saturday nite post!

if you can come to cupcake wellness nite on Tuesday, Oct. 20th, here's what we are making!


••••••••

i'm at lomilomi class this weekend, working on my rubs :)
in the meantime, cerise is carefully watching the store for me.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

cupcake wellness necklace

this is one of the necklace styles you can have made for you at cupcake wellness night! This is my word stamped in sterling silver, with a handmade silver ring around it, and white topaz gems. You can have one designed for you on Tuesday, Oct. 20th from 4 to 8pm. give me a holla!

if you want more info.... or just a random HOLLA! is fine too :)

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

happy hearts luv mochi!



if you didn't know - michelle's sister is a mochi maker! Renee makes handmade mochi - happyheartsmochi.com in delicious flavors like peanut butter, haupia, strawberry in sweet red bean, and my ultimate of holiday flavors: pumpkin!! AND- if you ever need a quick pick-up place, we have a "system", where she brings it to the store and you can pick it up here (of course, minus the one piece i will eat). just kidding!

anyhoo, michelle's talents aren't only in jewelry making - look what she did using swarovski crystals on the custom decorated favor boxes!

renee's mochi is tasty. i luv it! i'm ordering a batch for my friend's baby's 1st bday this month, just so that i can have one. yep, it's good to be in charge!

hey renee, if you read this... it's pumpkin time!!!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

val's heart


val worked with larger gauge wire for the first time: shaping, hammering and binding, and she made this in wire play day. I was so proud of her.. she had a great attitude, and was determined AND flexible in her abilities and limitations. She never put down her own work, and didn't get frustrated throughout the learning curve.

Thanks for being a great student - i love teaching!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

we are snowflakes!

We Won, WE WON 50,000 books for kids in Hawaii!!! Gooooo Hawaii, I'm so stoked!

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.”


Aloha! jamie