Internets whoppee do!

Hey guess what?

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKK.

I got a killer little mini Dell, wireless connection, and even dragged out the sewing machine to make a fab computer case.

Seriously, I'm pretty proud that I made this without crumbling into tears or swearing like a sailor (there were some tense moments at the end though). I used quilting batting to pad the bag and I think it'll work, it's not exactly tough but it'll protect from scratches.

I even made a pouch for the cord - this was my first time trying a zipper and it presented a definate challenge to my very basic sewing skills. It took much more time than I think it would take anyone else, but eh, my husband was out of town and this was more fun than watching tv.

Here's what I'll look like if I cruise around town with my new stuff.

Now I'll be able to rejoin the conversation from almost anywhere! I can't wait to catch up with everyone!!!

-becca-

Torquoise and Earrings

I spent last Thursday night at the bead shop crafting things. I made two necklaces, this is one of them. It's another knotted necklace. I liked the combo of turquoise with purple. I wore it on Friday...but it's tough to tell from the one photo I took that day.

I'm wearing it again today with my all over pink outfit.

The lighting is doing me no justice, but you get the point: this necklace goes with a lot of colors.

Do you see what else I'm wearing? Probably not, I need to zoom in....

More zoom? yep, more.

These are the earrings I selected for my winnings at Work With What You've Got. I love them! They are super light but big and dangly. Check out her Etsy shop LoveErinDesigns

-b-

Magazine inspiration: Shells!

I was flipping through a recent Instyle magazine and these caught my eye.

They are made & sold through the Melissa Joy Manning webpage - though I can't find them there at all. Maybe they were special order made? No clue.

ME upon seeing earring: "adorable, I can make that. Easy, peasy"

sure....

I tried and below is the pair I made. It was actually a lot more difficult than it seemed. This is one of those projects that is super easy and quick for those that already know how to do it, but figuring it out on my own took a while (well over an hour of arguing with shells). The tough part was getting three shells to line up properly. It's a good thing that I didn't want the earrings to be larger because that work would've tested my patience!

This is my strand of shells before de-construction.

(that photo turned out horrible here, but I swear it looked okay when I viewed it)

After a lot of time, some colorful language, and changing materials (wire to embroidery string) - the earrings were complete

I now have a fun pair of summer earrings. It's a shame that it's August and summer will be ending, but I'm in Houston (hot until November) and I have a feeling that they will reappear next summer too!

PS: I've never heard of Melissa Joy Manning until that article and I have to admit that they have interesting stuff on their site. It's not cheap, but it's definitely interesting.

-b-

Crazy Cat Lady: History & Jewelry

I never even had a choice - I was born to be a cat lady.

My grandmother bred and showed siamese cats for decades. My sister and I used to work at the shows when we were kids. We'd go around and clean all the holding cages between judging rounds. A lot of the cats would get upset/stressed, and um, spray. But we didn't mind because they paid us a whole $10/day and we got to pet the nice ones!!! We were very cheap and enthusiatic labor.

My mom breeds siamese, but not for show. When I was young she bred apple-headed siamese. Now she breeds a cross between traditional siamese and apple-heads.

She is a crazy cat lady....as in she likes to wear kitty themed jewelery. I've been making necklaces, earrings, bracelets for a year or so now and she really wanted me to make her something with kitties. So she bought about 16 glass cat charms. She doesn't want to keep all to herself, she wants to give these trinkets to folks that take one of kitties home.

I accepted the challenge of multiple kitty-themed pieces and below are a portion of the results:

In all, I think I've made about 10 different items because some of the glass kittties were broke when my mom mailed them to me and things like earrings take up two cat heads. I'm mailing the completed project back to her this weekend and I'm going to bubble wrap them up.

Here is my cat, Borris aka bobo, demanding attention during all the mayhem.

I like to think that he appreciated my first 'collection' of jewelry.

-b-

Holiday weekend fun

This weekend was both super busy and super relaxing. I love that about a long weekend, you actually have enough time to get things done, have fun, and relax a little.

Mr. Moto played dirt bike, while I played jewelry (is it odd that we have such sex-defined hobbies?).

I did some major necklace making throughout the weekend. I didn't take pictures of everything, but here is a sampling.

The earrings were the easiest and my favorite. I made 12 pairs and brought them to the July 4th party as favors for all the chicas. They were either a big hit, or my friends are fantastic liars. Either way, everyone traded out thier earrings for some dangly stars. I have a couple leftover stars and am trying to think of something else that I can create with them. Ideas?

-b-

Unicorns

What is running through your brain? Lately for me it's unicorns. And rainbows.

I've scoured Etsy for bags & tshirts with them: http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=unicorn&order=date_desc&ship_to=

And Amazon (Megu Purse in Black Multi Unicorn by Yak Pak)

I've made a necklace:

I have a clear desire to adorn myself with them....they make me giggle.

-b-

(hmmm....that was tough to photograph, any hints on jewelry photos?)