Friday, February 26, 2010

what the heck is kumihimo?



a snowbird beader, Linda, made these kumihimo bracelets: one with beads on wire, and the other with beads on supermac cord. it was so cool to feel the difference in the braiding using different elements (fiber vs. metal) and i love how you'd never know this came off a disk!

kumihimo is an ancient japanese art of braiding on a standing wooden loom. over hundreds of years, they made cords and ties for scrolls, clothing, armor and used it it cultural rituals to everyday use. thanks to modern day technology, you can do it on a foam disc.

for those of you who have never kumihimo'd before, i guarantee i can teach you in 10 minutes or less - over the counter! (maybe not the beaded version cause the stringing takes some time, but the braid, YES!) it's fun, low-tech, and easy to carry around in your bag - great while you wait in the car, at the hospital, at the bus stop, on the airplane....
make bracelets, lanyards, necklaces, and thanks janice, for the eyeglass cord she just made for me! you'll see me sporting it at the store soon!

************

good bye lil bracelet! this is a super soft suede wraparound bracelet with sterling silver flowers wrapped along the way, studded with mandarin garnets. i dangled citrine and turquoise on the ends for power, success and good health.

this was my "challenge bracelet" to amanda and michelle last month; to make a project in less than an hour with the new silver flowers! sadly, i was the only one that entered the contest. happily, i won!! hee hee! oh well, celia wore it home.....

anyone ready for challenge, part 2? anyone?? haro?

alrighty then..... jamie

Thursday, February 25, 2010

springtime deeeelightlful!


look what charlene whipped out for her next fusing play day class!! fyi, she hosts one a quarter, so you shouldn't miss out! next one is this saturday!

she is sooo darn creative with that torch and wire, i think it's a perfect balance from her lawyerly thinking. Wow, she's got both sides of her brain working - goooo charleeny! love ya! hey, read my blog!


Wednesday, February 24, 2010

cupcake wellness, hello!


i just took this photo myself, so cool! digital cameras and a mirror = home studio! sort of.

We have a cupcake wellness night tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 25th and I wanted to invite my family, friends and friends-to-be, to come!

Haven't been to one? Please come, it's an event that I created for you - people I love and care for. Community building and connecting with each other is so important to me, so I put this on once a month, where my meditation teacher, Stephen Nakamitsu, and I do personal readings and exchange spiritual hellos with our old and new friends! Best of all, we create a personal piece of jewelry for you to wear, with special gemstones that resonate with your being.

I have appointment times between 4-7pm, so please email me at jamie@thebeadgallery.com or call me at the store: 589-2600 if you are interested. I'm happy to answer any questions, you have!

For some testimonials and my purpose of this event, click here: CUPCAKE WELLNESS!

have a super awesome day!

Monday, February 22, 2010

beautiful bracelets!

i love having "in-house" talented designers!! the other day, i said, "i wish we could have a small stamped bracelet as a pretty sample in the store". and wishes do come true! stamped and executed by the girls last week, i love it! look carefully at the 9:00 pm disc. I was so delighted, yelping, "rosettes, so cute!" michelle laughed and told me it was a snail. what we perceive as our reality is amazing, huh!

this was made very recently by lois in a custom herringbone class with me. i love how it stays twisted! we went a little too far in length, so instead of using a clasp, we made it a "roll-on" claspless bracelet - so awesome! creativity is always spurred by necessity, and i love it when it has the chance to happen!

Friday, February 19, 2010

my waterfall of gems

last night, i felt like creating without boundaries so i cut various pieces of chain to all different lengths (without measuring of course), and chose 10 different gems including green amethyst, london blue topaz, blue zircon, apatite and other goodies and wrapped them on with abandon! it was fun! i just went with the flow - moment to moment.

thus the waterfall. so easy to make, it just flowed from my fingers. i wore it today, huzzah! :)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

happy flowers and colors!


today i was in the mood for crafty goodness! i was thinking about girls day coming up, and thought, gee it'd be nice to have something super cute enwrapping the handmade item inside! so i whupped on these boxes, painted some, stamped some and put paper flowers and swarovski rhinestones on all of them!

come and make something for girls day and i'll give you one of my handmade gift boxes to put it in. fyi, i slaved over them, so PLEASE, make something super nice to put inside :) hee hee!


these are some very pretty colors of seed beads - i love how they all look so beautiful together. a chocolate feast for the eyes!

ta ta (as lanette would say!)
jamie

Sunday, February 14, 2010

happy valentines!

this is me with my husband, jason on the left, and my brother, jarret on the right. i thought, gee, we all look alike. that's funny!

it's more funny when people think that jason and i are brother/sister, and then we kiss. NOT! just kidding, but that'd be sooo funny!

just came back from a mainland trip and brought back one deaf left ear. i'm trying to figure out the life lesson/valuable lesson in this. i've almost succumbed to a couple of panic attacks in the past 2 weeks of non-hearing, and also have been thinking of the value of good-humored EVERYDAY living despite my temporary handicap.

it's definitely put me in a state of gratitude, and what i FINALLY figured out was to turn it around from "why me?" to
"why not me?"
and really, i need to start applying that to everything: the lows to the highs and everything in between!!!

some loving valentines food for thought.. love ya!!!!





Wednesday, February 3, 2010

pretties for your viewing pleasure




featured today, are some jewelry pieces that I think are pretty! sandy made the top 2 bracelets with a needle and thread technique (which you can learn in our class, aptly named needle and thread - coming up this month!) her style tends towards colorful, embellished, rich, jewel-y, pushing the limits and borderline excessive. I LOVE IT!

amanda made the gold necklace and gold bracelet. her style is sparse, simple and clean. I LOVE IT!

i love that i don't have to be one way, or another. i am both. i can be all. so can you!

my favorite thing that happens at the store almost everyday is this:
customer looks me straight in the eye and asks about a jewelry piece: "is this too much?" meaning gaudy, over the top, excessive.

me laughing: "i'm wearing 8 bracelets, earrings, 2 necklaces and 8 rings. i adorn every limb and extruding part of my body."

beauty is in the eye of the beholder. i see beauty everyday, and i love it!