It's the Project That Will Not End!

...And I'm not complaining one bit. :)

So, without a doubt, one of my largest projects this year has been creating the jewelry line to accompany L.S. Baird's novel Evensong's Heir... And when I listed the last set back in May, I thought I might be done.

*pause for dramatic effect*

Nope! The world is just too inspiring, and there are characters left to explore. 

And so, I just posted two more Songbird Tribute sets--for characters who don't actually show up in the novel, but are extremely important to the history of Valnon.*

They are:

King of the Sea

Set for Hasal

King of the Sea - Set for Hasal
Hairsticks

King of the Sea - Set for Hasal
Earrings

Queen of the Sea

Set for Naime

Queen of the Sea - Set for Naime
Hairpin

 

Queen of the Sea - Set for Naime
Earrings

The listings are here:
Hasal - Hairsticks
Hasal - Earrings
Naime - Hairpin
Naime - Earrings

I should also tell you that there are also necklaces that go with both of these sets, but I'm tweaking the Hasal necklace, and--for the first time ever--I'm keeping the Naime necklace for myself. Now, I am planning on making another Naime necklace and fixing the Hasal necklace, and they will probably--probably--be listed at sometime in the future. But we'll have to see.

And, who knows? There just might be new pieces coming out in the future, too! :)

---

* - Why are they important to the history of Valnon?

I'm so glad you asked! 

Hasal and Naime--the sea god and his bride--are the founders of Hasafel... And, since present-day Valnon is built on the ruins of Hasafel--and the Doves of Valnon are said to have the blood of Hasal running through their veins--Hasal and Naime are really kind of a big deal.

For a lovely blog entry written by the author about Naime and Hasal, go here.

Today's Random Craft of Choice

...finger-knitting!

A denim-colored yarn for a denim-colored scarf.

I've also been working on a few new store listings (imagine!), and making a dress without a pattern, and other such projects.

And now? 

Time for tea.

I will try to post a longer entry in the near future... Until then, hope everyone is doing well! 

Bead Ruckus - Kit 6!

Woo-hoo! 

The next Bead Ruckus kit has been announced!

Bead Ruckus Kit No. 6

...I certainly wouldn't have thought to put those different pieces together, but I'm already plotting what to make. Honestly, it's an excuse to use giant vintage lucite crystals! And pearls! And peacock beads! And... well, you get the picture. 

Come back on October 25th to see what I come up with! :)

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Want to join the fun? Go here for links to buy the different components, and go here to see how to submit your picture to the Ruckus.

Hello, September!

...now, just what exactly happened to August? 

It was a blur of sewing and crafting and custom orders and grown-up type things, culminating in last night's amazing thunderstorm.

August goes out with a bang... or, a boom, rather.

And, honestly, that storm was beautiful--dramatic clouds, heavy rain, and the wonderful lightheaded giddiness after the pressure passed.

And here I am, on the other side, staring at September with hope and trepidation. I have lots of happy aspirations and plans for what I want to get done this month... I suppose we'll see if any of them happen.

For now, I will be content to be on the other side of the storm.

Here's to an exciting month to come!

I Am Grateful...

...for finished projects...

With all this talk of sewing, I wanted to share a photo
of a skirt that I just made. Woo-hoo!

...for fun new jewelry designs...

Because hand-painted Peruvian beads make me smile.

...for strawberry lemonade...

Especially when it accompanies a meal shared with
my awesome mother-in-law.

...for geeky jewelry...

This is a Dr. Who reference:
the Tardis painted in the style of Vincent van Gogh.

...for home-grown tomatoes...

These are not from my garden--
they were gifts from a writer friend.

...for projects to come...

This is going to be a dress!
...If I can figure out how to get the bodice right.
I suppose that's what I get for making my own pattern.

...and for the promise of fall.

Oh, I am sooooo looking forward to apple cider season!

Another busy week has come and gone, but I am thankful to say that it was much, much happier than last week. Granted, there are still on-going issues (my computer is still being wierd, and I am struggling with a whole slew of small things that add up to general annoyance)... 

But! There are also presents from my sister. And custom orders to work on. And lovely music to listen to.

Life is happy.

I am grateful.

...I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Bead Ruckus - Reveal!

Woo-hoo! 

It's time for the Bead Ruckus Reveal! 

To jog your memory, here's the kit that we used:

Bead Ruckus, Kit No. 5

And, before I show you what I made, I have a confession that I need to make.

Apparently, I am hopeless.

You see, I set out to make a necklace. Just a necklace. After all, the rules only require that you make one piece--one piece with all of the components--and I had a vision for a necklace as soon as the components were announced.

But, apparently, I am either an over-achiever or just easily excitable. Or both. In short, I didn't stop at the necklace. Once again, I made an entire set--necklace, earrings, and a pair of matching hairsticks.

Yep. 

Hopeless.

But I had so much fun! Especially since the teal seaglass beads were so much bigger than all of the other components, and I had never worked with cup-chain, and these were things I wouldn't have usually put together. It was a challenge, and it was awesome. And, did I mention fun?

So. 

Now, with that off my chest, here's what I made!

The Necklace

Made using all of the components, plus:
gunmetal findings and coordinating seed beads

The Earrings

Made using all of the components, plus:
findings and silver seed beads, and that's pretty much it.
Even the small sea-glass rounds were spacers for the larger fishbone beads.

...And the Hairsticks!

Made using all of the components, plus:
findings, seed beads, and hairstick blanks
...Because it's rather difficult to have hairsticks without hairstick blanks.

And, just for fun, here are the earrings and necklace together... 

These look absolutely fantastic when worn!
I am so, so excited that I can now wear them when I go out and about--
I've been waiting until after the reveal, and it's been hard.

As I said, I had a lot of fun--a lot of fun--working on this.

Be sure to go to the Bead Ruckus blog to see what everyone else has made! 

Coming Tomorrow!

Do you know what tomorrow is?

...Er, besides Sunday.

Well, in addition to being Sunday, tomorrow is also the official reveal for Bead Ruckus! 

In case you don't remember, Bead Ruckus is where five different designers take jewelry components chosen at random, and make something beautiful out of it! (I explain it here, if you're interested.) 

Here is the kit for this particular Ruckus:

Kit No. 5

Come back tomorrow to see what I made with it!

...And be sure to check out the Bead Ruckus blog, found here, to see what the other designers made! 

I'm so excited! Woo-hoo!

...Please Pass the Coffee

This week has been... well, it's been a week. 

Lots of happy things... A spontaneous trip to the mall and a book store! Geeky jewelry! Giant coffee mugs! Chipotle burritos! Finished sewing projects! Skirts on sale! 

...Excessive exclamation points!

Look, it's an actual bookstore! *drool*

But there have been a lot of ugh-grownup things, too... Like my best friend's car troubles. And late night plumbing issues. And computer problems.

Friend's alternate mode of transportation: An awesome orange bike.
(Kitty basket not included.)

At this point, I want to curl in bed and sleep for a week. 

...Since that's not really an option, though, I think it's time for another cup of coffee.

But! 

To leave this entry on a happy note, here is something cool that I came up with, and wanted to share:

...So, I like knitting. Is that a problem? :)

Yep, that's storage for my knitting looms!

Technically, it's an over-the-door towel holder... Just the right size to hang all of the awesome looms that my husband has bought for me. It's not much, but it's yet another step towards having an organized craft room.

Now I just need to figure out how to store the rest of my fabric. And my beads. And my growing wardrobe.

...Before then, though, it's time for that coffee.

Hope everyone is doing well!