May 08 2008
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Spring is in the air, the bees are working their magic in our orchard, and what could be more perfect than a sale on all of our “wing” beads & charms? Our current special includes all of our Swarovski & Cats Eye butterfly beads, plus our extensive “Wings” collection from TierraCast - Angel Wings, Fairies, Butterflys, Honeybees and more. Prices good through May 31, 2008.
May 07 2008
With the soaring costs of precious metals, I could think of no time more ideal than now to introduce a new line of plated base metal beads & findings. This collection is in its infancy - more parts are due in next week, and even more in June. Our introductory line of silver, gold & gunmetal plated beads & findings is officially online and available for purchase. Keep checking back for more, and let me know what pieces you’d like to see added to the collection!
May 07 2008
Copper is a relatively new found love for me. In 1996, my mother started beading with copper, and the unique and vibrant flavor that copper brings to a piece of jewelry made quite an impression. I’ve been hooked ever since!
Copper tarnishes very quickly - more more so than sterling silver. Just being exposed to the air will turn copper, but body oils will bring about a change very quickly. Copper in its untarnished state is a somewhat pinkish-orange-brown, and when worn will quickly turn to dark brown (with a touch of olive) as the surface of the metal reacts and forms a patina. During this period of chemical reaction, while the surface layer is changing, copper jewelry may cause the wearer to turn colors (usually green) where the metal touches. Once the chemical reaction is complete, and the copper has finished darkening (the patina is fully formed), it won’t change anymore (and won’t turn the wearer green), unless that surface layer is abraded.
In addition to the solid copper beads and findings featured on these pages, I have an EXTENSIVE line of copper finished components from TierraCast. This line includes heishe and spacers, bead caps, toggles, beads, charms, earring and chandelier components, and much more. These stunning pieces are made from start to finish in America, and unlike the solid copper beads and findings shown on these pages, the TierraCast pieces have been lightly antique to bring out the detail, and given a tarnish inhibiting finish to keep them looking brighter and more colorful. I tend to use primarily TierraCast copper finished pieces in my copper jewelry, with solid copper rounds and findings as accents.
Apr 25 2008
Yesterday afternoon one of our neighbors called on her way home from work to tell us about a baby owl she found in the road. She pulled over, scooped him up out of the road, and then waited and watched to see if the parents showed up. Eventually, when none did she put him in a box and continued on her way home.
We met her on the way, and took the look guy to a wildlife rehabilitation center where he will be cared for by a surrogate parent (Barred Owl) and eventually released back into the wild!
See below for more about when to take a baby bird to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Apr 19 2008
One of my favorite places to visit in cyberspace is the Starving Jewelry Artists website. With forums, tutorials, blogs, galleries and all kinds of other goodies, it is an utterly delightful place for a bead lover to spend time. This is not a commercial website - its an open community for bead lovers to share and learn and just hang out. Hope to see you there!
Apr 19 2008
These gorgeous earrings earned me three complements in the first hour I wore them out! They’re super easy to put together, and they have lots of swing and sparkle. A talent for opening and closing jump rings is the only technique you need to assemble these lovely earrings - get ready for the complements!
These earrings use Swarovski’s flat briolette pendant drilled crystals (style 6012), and TierraCast’s pinch bails (made to work with the 6012’s), plus the new twisted tube links added last week. With these beautiful floral colors, these are just the thing for spring!
Swarovski Briolette Earrings Project Instructions
Apr 19 2008
I’ve been beading for about twelve years now. I started out with seed beads, but soon moved on to larger beads, and for most of this time, I’ve considered myself to be primarily a “stringer” - bracelets, necklaces, earrings and such — strung on flexible jewelry wire or headpins. For the past two years, though, I’ve started to spend more of my time and creative energy working with hard wire. I’ve picked up some hammers and a bench block, and my dad, the leather man even made me a shock absorbing leather pillow for my block, after I spent a month or two searching with no luck for such a cushion.
So I was really excited to discover this little gem (shown right) in one of my tool catalogs. They call it the “Bench Block Helper” - a three piece set that has a beautiful steel bench block, a matching nylon block, and a cunning little rubber base that is perfectly designed to hold either block, and absorb the shock and sound that comes from working wire.
And of course - I couldn’t have a bench block without some hammers, so the 123Bead tool collection now includes two beautifully made hammers. Our hammers, a lovely steel chasing hammer and a nylon hammer, have lovely polished hard wood handles, and are excellently designed tools.
I’ll be adding more wire working tools in the coming month, as well as some projects using them. You can find these hammers and blocks on the wire tools page - here.
Apr 15 2008
I just finished unpacking our new lighting system - cubes for diffusing light (the 12″ one is pictured), three lighting units, and an underlight.
Erin is doing some photography right now. I cannot wait to see the results!
I’ll let her say more when she is finished playing!
Apr 07 2008
I should have done this years ago, but with out further ado….
TierraCast Jewelry Components - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
My love affair with TierraCast began in 1996 when I first discovered their beautiful Celtic beads and charms, and I’ve been using these beautiful components ever since. I use TierraCast beads, toggles, bead caps or charms in nearly every project I make! These components are manufactured from start to finish in the United States, and the quality and workmanship is phenomenal - better made and better priced than many precious metal alternatives.
Visit my Projects Page to see some of the many free designs using TierraCast beads, charms, toggles, bead caps and more.
Apr 06 2008
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| I’ve added little bits here and there over the last two weeks. Several new styles of Sterling Silver Beads, a few new Sterling Findings, and some new Antique Copper beads from TierraCast®. More items on the way soon! |
Apr 01 2008
This is a fun and fairly easy project, using one of our new adjustable beading rings. For this project, I used a ring with only one loop at the top. You can buy this style of ring with more loops, of course, but I choose to use the single loop style for this project because I find it is easier to work with. The rings that have more loops are designed to have the beads wire wrapped directly on the ring’s loops. This isn’t too difficult for the first dozen beads, but once the ring starts getting full of beads, it is harder and harder to add on more beads. For this project, I wrapped each bead and closed it without attaching it to anything, and then attached the wire wrapped beads to the ring using just a few jump rings. It was much easier and speedier to complete the ring this way.
To visit this project page - Click Here.
I also spent a little time over the weekend working on instructions for finishing cord ends with a wire wrapped coil, or with a wire wrapped hook and eye set. To have a look - Click Here.
Mar 21 2008
Our darlin’ little lovebird, Ostara, is celebrating her first birthday today! Ostara is the old Celtic name for the Spring Equinox, and a fitting name for this little girl, born on March 21, 2007. In honor of her birthday, Ostara is the official Friday-Beast-Blogging beast this week.
Some cutie patootie bathing birdie photos after the jump (click on the “Continue Reading” button)!
Mar 21 2008
As I started thinking about this year’s spring newsletter, I found myself looking for significant words to describe the changing of the season from winter to spring - reawakening, renewal, transformation. I love these words, and the message of spring; the ecstatic awakening of life outside my door is in fact a reawakening of life that was only resting under the peaceful weight of winter - it doesn’t spring forth from nothingness. The trees in our little orchard that were barren and stick-like a month ago are now covered in blossoms, and the mulch filled emptiness of last month is now full of daffodils and hyacinths in bloom - life’s potential made manifest. What potential can we find hidden within ourselves?
In the last newsletter, I asked for your input on some fairly radical changes to the appearance of Lytha Studios, which has had the same look for over ten years. I received nothing but positive feedback, which was certainly the tipping point that brought about change at last after several years of dreaming. It turned out far more beautifully than I had imagined, and I’m so happy to have a web site that reflects where we are now (as opposed to where we were ten years ago.) I hope you’ll take a few moments to visit and see the transformation Eric and I have brought about, and let us know what you think!
Wishing you a beautiful reawakening this spring. — Erin
http://www.lythastudios.com
Mar 14 2008
After a month of voting, the peabrain has a name at last! An appropriate name for this Indian Peafowl: Indira - an Indian word meaning “beautiful” or “splendid” - a lovely name for this lovely lady. Many thanks to those of you that participated in the poll!
The complete poll results and another classic shot from today’s “photo shoot” appear after the “more”…
