Volume 12 Issue 5, May 2015
What's New in May?
My gardens are coming along nicely, but that does not make me a gardener by any stretch of the imagination. It does mean that I am really trying to do something that will bring fresh fruit and vegetables to the table this year. Since I use red and green peppers in much of my cooking, I thought it would be a good idea to plant those. In the meantime, I have added blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe and about 40 irises to the gardening experiment of 2015. I have no idea what I am doing!
It’s like anything else, sometimes, you have to just try things to see how they turn out. That is much like the way I approach beadmaking as well. I just kinda jump in there and see what happens. Sometimes, things work out well, and other times, well, not so well. I have a whole box of things that did not work out, but I don’t want to throw them out. They are not good for anything, and they are not a reminder of my wrong turns. I just hate to throw away my mistakes.
This is no mistake, though. These beads are just the way I wanted them to turn out, and I am pleased to say that Beads 2015 magazine thought so too as they are going to feature one of them in the next edition. It was my experiment in hand polishing using micro mesh rather than a varathene coating. I am pleased!
More Beads: I am working on a whole new stash of beads, and I am also trying on some new shapes and sizes. I will have more to show next month, but they seem to be going well.
Primetime Emmys: We are getting ready to put our submission together for the gifting suite by GBK and The Artisan Group for celebrities going to the Primetime Emmys. I am not sure what we will be gifting, but it will probably be necklaces this year.
You will find all of my beads, canes and finished jewelry on my website. www.bluemorningexpressions.com
Until next month,
Julie & Blu
Things to Look Forward To:
New Products:
Watches: I finished up two watches, and I have others that are on the design board, which I hope to have finished this month.
Necklaces: I have a lot of new necklaces in the works that are simple chains. I got one parrot necklace done, and it already flew away to a new home.
Thimbles: I got four new thimbles done and up on the website. There are more in the works!
I love the polished surface - how would you compare varnishing vs polishing in time and good yield? You've been busy - I am always amazed at how well stocked your store is, Julie!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam. I would compare to to adding another hour and a half per bead of work. I have a handful of new cabs to go with this, and they are all being polished. I am starting at 220 grit and going to 12000 grit. 5 grits of sandpaper, and then 7 grits of micromesh. The 220 is necessary due to the nature of the cab base. It's really rough, so it has to be sanded. This process adds a considerable cost to the beads, but makes them much nicer in the end and a great focal for weaving.
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