The Stones!

Remember when I went mining in South Carolina? Well, I had two of the rough rocks that I found cut and polished and they arrived in the mail today! The one on the left is a golden beryl, the same family as emerald, and the one on the right is an aquamarine, which is what that area of South Carolina is known for. I've shown you what the rock looks like before and after. How cool is that! I'm desinging in my head what kind of settings I want to make or have made for them. Input?

A not so funny prank

I woke up this morning for the 4th day in a row stiff and in pain - I've done something to aggravate my neck pain, which in turn has flared up the back pain. Needless to say, I've not been very jovial. Image my surprise, then, when I signed on to Facebook this morning to find my son's status as "Jason Lemons is engaged to Sophie Ash". No sooner did I sign on as I was getting instant messages and phone calls - 5 in 5 minutes - wanting to know the details on this engagement! Imagine how stupid I felt saying they know as much as I do and just read about it on facebook myself. It was 2 hours later that Jason finally signed on to say it was just a prank. So NOT funny!

Preparing for the Holiday (hopefully) Rush!

Its the last of the fall leaves, the trees are getting bare and the nights are getting colder - we will be into the frantic holiday season in no time! I've been gearing up for the holidays as well, making lots of pretty pieces for your gift giving and self-adorning! These are just a few of the pendants I've made in the last 2 weeks, this week I'm working on making some in silver, and creating some holiday themed bracelets and earrings to wear to those holiday parties, the office or to lunch! Heck, I wear jewelry to the grocery store, but I don't expect you to be as freakish about jewelry as I am! I will be at the market this Saturday, November 7th, and at Cincinnati PinkFest on November 22, then at the market full time from November 25th through the holidays.

Today was the open house and studio demonstration at my dear friend Lorie's house. We had a disappointing turnout, but those that did attend really enjoyed watching Lorie create such amazing glass beads! While she was doing that, I was busy playing peek-a-boo with an adorable baby that came with her mommy to shop for pretty jewelry!

On the way home, I was delighted by the pretty fall colors and an amazing sunset! God is good!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!!

My good friends Vicki Morris and Terry Ronald own a british import store and tea room in Dayton. Their shop was discovered about 2 years ago by a production company as a site location to shoot a television show. They liked Terry so much, with his british accent and theater background, they gave him a major part in the show! The show is called "J8DED" and will air starting in January 2010 - I'm not sure yet what network. Anyway, they needed some extras last night while shooting a scene in the tea shop and Vicki asked if I wanted to do it. She warned me it was long hours and a lot of standing around. Well she wasn't kidding - I didn't get home last night till 2 AM! WAYYYYY past my bedtime, but it was a fun experience to see just how tedious it is to shoot a movie or tv show. The shoot the same scene several times, and from several angles. That means moving the set around and setting up lighting and cameras, then changing everything around and doing it again, but it has to be seamless, so if your tea was 1/2 full in one shot, it has to be 1/2 full an hour later for the next shot. If there was a fern in the window for one scene, it has be be in that exact location, even though they moved it several times to be out of the way of the camera. Thus, there was A LOT of doing nothing for the actors and extras!

The director of the show is Michael Daemon and one of the main characters is his wife, Vida Edit Daemon, (aka "Markita"), who has been in several tv shows, and had a number one pop hit in the 1980s called "Toy Soldier". (http://www.j8ded.com/) It was fun to see everyone getting hair and makeup done, and while some of the main characters spent a good hour in the chair, all I got was a dusting of powder and blush. I'm taking it to mean I did an excellent job on my own makeup and not that I was a hopeless cause! :)

Here are some pictures from last night: (remember you can click on them to see them larger)

After that glamorous evening, this is what I'm doing today - cleaning up the major dust Noel caused by sanding the plaster in the entryway!

He also painted the bathroom! Yea! Things are getting done around here - gotta love that!

Tomorrow is the open house and studio tour at Lori's - I'll be sure to take some pictures of her beads and demos to post!

Anger, Frustration and Disgust

I just don't understand people with a lot of money. I'm flipping through In Style Magazine's "Best of the Web" article, and the first site listed is called http://www.aloharag.com/ - so I go to it and take a look at their jewelry page. (I'm always looking for ideas, what's in fashion, and prices). I find this bracelet:


Cute, right? It cost $765.00!!! That is SEVEN HUNDRED SIXTY FIVE DOLLARS! It is made of plastic beads and a few pieces of 14kt gold. And get this, it's SOLD OUT! Or how about a necklace made from legos for a mere $69? When you are done wearing it, your kid could play with it!

I'm having trouble selling pieces I've made by hand, in this country, mostly one of a kind, for $45.00 using real gemstones, not plastic! Ay - I think I'm going to have to find a new line of work - this is just too frustrating! $765 for plastic beads....some people have just too damn much money to throw away.

An Open House

This Sunday (October 25th) from 2-5 my friend Lorie Burger and I are having a joint open house and studio demonstrations - these are a couple of Lorie's beads that I have wire wrapped - aren't they stunning! I can't decide which one to buy for myself!

And I thought I would share with you how beautiful the trees are in my backyard today - what a perfect autumn day!

I came across this picture today on Etsy from http://www.prettybabybowtique.etsy.com/ and thought this was about the cutest picture I've ever seen! She makes these cute baby headbands and has the cutest ever babies as models! Please visit her shop, if nothing else than to look at those cute little faces! I was supposed to visit the triplet girls today, but both their mom and dad and brothers are sick, so I'm staying away. It seems like people everywhere have flues and colds - I'm planning to lock myself in the studio for the winter just to stay healthy!

For kicks, I took a belly dancing class yesterday at Blue Karma here in Brookville! What fun - I had little jingles on my butt and a chiffon scarf and got quite the workout! My obliques are sore today! I plan to go every Monday - anyone want to join me?

I finished up the ornaments and have been working on some lampwork glass bead pieces getting ready for the open house/studio demonstrations on Sunday in Beavercreek. Hope you can join us! Call me for details if you need them.