g-blog in da house!

my friend, geralyn/g-blog, was kicking it in the store with me today, and brought her canon 5d to visit me (an awesome camera with video capabilities).  She captured me in the moment of making her a wellness necklace, and we want to share it with you!

* * * * * *

and here's a fun pic of me and my friend, mary k.

i met her at at craft fair over 14 years ago, and learned how to do many MANY beading techniques from her.  that's where my love of wire, vintage beads, and peyote stitching started!!

 thanks mary, for your continued love and support!  and stop hiding behind me!!

very cute photo, thanks to g-blog of hokulii images

my favorite bangles

recently, i "re-released" a bangle that i made years ago, and to my surprise it REALLY took off this time around! i'm learning that there are no "junk projects", just inopportune timing! i can't tell you how many times in the past 12 years michelle and i've created something, and had NO ONE interested in it. we'd look at each other and sigh and ask "how come??"

we're like two little old ladies minus the rocking chairs - watching trends come and go... and sighing and shaking our heads together in disbelief :)

AnYhoW - onto some silver wire bangles....

i've been teaching it as a custom class, and with each new student, i learn even more (so terry, if you're reading this, email me!) so there's more to share with every new class. that's what's fun about CREATING - there's no mistakes- just new ideas!

michelle and angela surprised me with their mad skillz - cause i didn't realize that they've only taken basic wire wrap - i was in "jamie intense mode" and had them wrestling with 10 gauge wire (crazy thick), hammering, shaping, using metal stamps, specialty hammers, a bracelet mandrel and more!! i was soooo proud - they were daring, experimental, willing to try anything, and went for it! my favorite kind of student :)

***

michelle's bangles: one featuring kyanite (a stone for communication and peace), the other energetically hammered flat and stamped with hearts!

***

angela's bangles: one featuring prehnite (for comfort and feeling safe), the other stamped with baby stars!

***

this pic features all the gem bangles (including mine with the chunk o' tourmaline, that i made as a demonstration)

so much fun!! let me know if you want to make one too! they're pretty simple in technique and evidently, all you need is basic wire wrap skills and a "can do" attitude! i'll help you select a gem that is "just right" for you!

luv ya! jamie

jason, my photographer

i made these silver bangles and jason took some photos that i love! that's actually how we "met". he offered to take pictures of my lampwork glass beads that i made. i was like, "okay," and then we moved in together.

i put them on the bead gallery's facebook page as well, cause i thought they are so pretty! lighting, angles, and having a photographer that cares makes all the difference.

just like in everything in life- the intention and the purposefulness behind ANYTHING, is most important. i just reminded myself by writing this, that buying something made or sold with love, good intentions and honesty, is much more defining about who i am, then buying something that's cheaper, by cutting corners and with less care.

i've been tempted in the past, to buy beads from vendors just cause it was convenient, or a "good deal," or something that i "had to have", even if they were rude, had terrible service, or had unethical practices. i was willing to compromise my values because i wanted something.

it's good to get older and with enough experience, realize that it's not the "stuff" that i have that makes my life. it's people, relationships and all that comes with it, that is the stuff of life!

Thank you!

jamie

beads n coffee

this past holiday, i gave mister calvin a sbux card that reloads monthly, so that he has incentive to walk to the mall for exercise, and get a coffee as a reward!! clever, huh!!

well... even better i wire wrapped one of his handmade dichroic sparkly glass beads to the gift card, and added a bail so now it's CUSTOM awesomeness, and he can hook it onto his pants, keyring, necklace, sha-zam!

i think he likes handing over the card, and getting a lot of "oooohs and aaaaahs" when the baristas see the bead. that tickles me!

byeee! jamie

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!

lovey dovey penguins!

my mom (aka firebug) made these glass penguins on the torch (wow!) for our friend millie's retirement gift! it's a girl and boy penguin (OBVIOUSLY to represent millie and her husband, har har marm!), and she wanted it to be super nice, so she asked me to give it a special wire job.

i mused over the couple for a while, studying their interaction and affection for each other. it was clear that they wanted to be immortalized on sterling silver and the girl penguin asked to sit on a heart. voila! - 2 penguins in love, that want to stay close to each other :)

this is cissy in her bedroom. her mama ought to clean that mess up!!

just kidding! no call CPS!! it's cissy at our latest clutter party - enjoying the spoils. another fun pic to enjoy!

luv jamie

LOVE the lampwork!

love the jeff barber handmade glass beads! we designed and made this necklace for rene, using tiny little gemstone drops to accent the bead, and to increase her personal power :)

wonder why handmade glass beads are called "lampwork"? cause a long, long time ago, they used to be made over an oil lamp! there's more to it, so if you are interested, drop me a line! handmade glass beads aka lampwork, are how I ended up with a bead store! I was so attracted to hot glass, that I picked up lampworking as a hobby about 20 years ago, and beading was secondary (just so I could put MY beads on a string to wear it.) who'd a thought, huh!

i think i want to hop back on that torch! thankfully, marm and calvin have the entire set-up, and they teach classes so i have a place to go!

today is a special day, just like every other - sending you some love, so close your eyes, breathe and be well!

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!

i love wire wrapping!

love this wire wrap with the "herringbone" weave! jason's teaching it tonight. our friend kara, figured out how to do this about 9 years ago (she's my smarty friend), and jason taught kriss, who then spread it out through northern california to other students and teachers in the area, and it caught on like wildfire - it was and still is super popular!! it's amazing how awesome things spread!

i suppose the moral of this story, is, don't worry so much about who's copying who. in the end, it won't matter at all. just make sure you're not hurting anyone along the way, have gratitude in your heart, and respect the divine in each other and ourselves. namaste!

steampunk bracelet

janice berkebile's steampunk bracelet was fun fun fun!! I was able to attend cause anna took half a day off and covered my shift, yay! thanks anna!! you da bomb!!!

janice is an awesome teacher and her class was so much fun - i'm inspired to do more jewelry making asap!

gina, not steampunking in this pic. no, not so much. :)

i was so happy to be able to take a class, i wanted to thank anna with her own steampunkin' bracelet. The one on the right with all the fancy stuff is for anna. The one below it is mine. I didn't have enough time to embellish mine, so i just stamped it with some cool images! click on the pic to enlarge, so you can see the lotus and the om symbols. truthfully, michelle stamped a lot of it cause by the end, my arm was tired, but hey!! i hammered them!! go me!

smarty hearty

smarty hearty!

very aptly named because it was made by a friend that i admire greatly, who is very book-smart, street-smart AND people-smart!

she always makes time to listen, has feedback when appropriate and is genuinely compassionate, without the drama. my idol, my mentor and role model - i'm so happy when she's around - kara, you da bomb, girl!

and here is more evidence of her "smarty-ness"! she designed the floating leaflette (below), and is going to teach it at the store in october... yay!!

sapphire necklace

Sapphire (blue) is like a personal trainer - giving you the support for self-discipline and focus, and the extra boost of determination and ability to tap into our mental strengths and accomplish our goals. Need help with sticking to an exercise or weight loss program, or making time to stay centered and focused.. sapphire is for you!

wish i won it.

at our last charity fair, gale w. made and donated this awesome gold-filled hammered wire necklace. i forgot to place my last bid, and sadly lost. BUT happily, found out that gina loved it and had overbid me, and then let me wear it!

so pretty, and it's a cousin to this bracelet below. just wanted to show you how a spin-off can take on a personality of it's own!

black on black

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

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 :)

earthtones rock!

jujubeads rock!

jujubead news flash!! alert! alert!

kim will have a bunch of beads this upcoming weekend at the Shirokiya summer island craft fair

Friday, July 10th 9:30am - 9:00pm

Saturday, July 11th 9:30am - 9:00pm

Sunday, July 12th 9:30am - 7:00pm

i'm proud to say that i made those two cute samples above. though, as i get older, i LOVE to say that i made the samples in the store, ESPECIALLY if it's a cutie, and even if i didn't make it. the end.

under lock and key

look at my new necklace!! it's got a little silver plated padlocked heart and tiny key! i'm so into the whole key thing!! the key to unlocking the mysteries of life, the key to my heart, the key to the puzzle... i love to say, "the key thing is..." or... "the key to doing this is....."

we have gold and rhodium plated antique keys, silver plated keys (as seen above), sterling silver keys, and keys inset with faux diamonds.... don't you feel like you have a lot to figure out? that we hold the key to our own happiness!!

wear a key as a reminder that YOU are the answer :)

doggie bloggie

ruff ruff! i made this on memorial day! i'd been wanting to make a fluffy bracelet for a while, and was inspired by some brown vintage lucite beads. I remembered that i had some jujubead doggies in brown that have been hibernating in my iris containers, just waiting to break out!

JUJUBEAD fans, if you want to make one, let me know! I'm happy to help you figure out the layout/bead count and choose colors. You need 5-7 jujus :)

quick cluster earrings

our customer pat came in with a request for an earring design! luckily there was no price quote, so i was able to be creative with gems and technique :) this is made with vermeil, london blue topaz and rutilated quartz using the tip drill wrap and quick cluster technique! i think they're super pretty!