Life is good...Win some free beads...

As I sit here, after a long cold fun day at the torch, I have to say that life is good...OK yes, there are some bad things out in the world that are affecting every one's lively hood & soon they will all calm down and things will change for the better I am sure of it. But over all life is good, I can only look at life from my perspective after all and it is good from where I see it...I was reading some of the threads in Etsy Forums today and it seems many people are not happy with their sales & not happy at others who are doing well and there is a general negative vibe going on...a whole lot of complaining, don't get me wrong, I too complain & have on the forums when the mechanics of etsy are not as good as they need to be...but I never do the "OH WHY ME" thing...

I have always held that When something is good for one us, it is good for all of us. We are after all part of the same fabric of energy...we move in the same stream as it were...and there is plenty for all of us to go around...I always feel that if one thinks in terms of not having enough, then they will never be happy with what they have and will never have enough...so I always say & believe that I have plenty & life is good...I wish for everyone to feel the same happy calm feeling in their lives, even if what they are feeling good about perhaps is a lot less than what the next person has...the idea is to feel good and give as much love to the universe as you can, since it will always come back to you in some way...

So I hold this as truth right now, life is good, the world has found its way to peace & we will see it very soon, the hungry & the cold will find all the food & warmth they need & the economy is recovering day by day...call me an optimistic, call me a positive thinking, tree hugging spiritual hippy, but it has always worked for me in my life to think good loving thoughts...

Do you have a story that proves the power of your positive thinking to you, the power of love? make a short & sweet essay of it & let me know about it on this blog post by way of a comment, hubby will pick 2 winner out of the entries for a set of 5 beads each, your choice of colors, my choice of designs...one entry per person, deadline to enter is Jan 5th, 2009...winners will be announced on Monday Jan 7Th...

Libbie wins the beads from the last post congratulations...thanks for all the great names...

thanks for all the love & for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Where in the World is Jelveh...?

Hi all, still here, just took some time off to take care of other things in life...lets see lots of business to take care of today, so lets get to it...

the winner of the yummy bead from the last post is Lisa of Portland OR. thanks for playing all...

No worries, the bead on the left is this week's giveaway...enter to win it by giving it a name and why you gave it that name, enter here on this blog post in the comment section, one entry per person please...I spend forever coming up with cool names for the beads, sometimes its very easy as the bead speaks to me while I am making it, other times I go back to something I know well, but after almost 8 years and thousands of names later, it gets a bit hard to stay fresh with the names...so name this bead and enter to win it...

I have listed some new beads and I still have 4 more items to list, so keep an eye out in the shop here is the link Jelveh's etsy shop...

In other news, we are going home for the Hanukkah & Christmas Holidays very soon, so another reason I have been really busy getting ready to go back to California...this will not stop me from shipping beads, as I am still here for a while and will have the beads with me, so I can ship from California as well...as far as listing new beads, I will be listing a few here and there...but who knows if that will happen or not, so you have to come by and see for yourself...I will blog however about our trips and all the fun we are having...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Happy Thanksgiving All...

Wishing you a yummy Turkey day, well to my clients in America...we already had a nice dinner with some new friends on Sunday, you can read about it on the last post...

I made a lot of yummy new beads this week, had about 4 hours at the torch, that was really fun, although by the end I could not feel my toes it was so cold out there...check out the new beads here

The bead above is this weeks giveaway, I made it with a layering method, it has a lot of depth, it is a rather yummy focal bead in shades of mostly greens, it is about 25mm along the hole x 29mm wide...

To win it, please enter by making a comment on this blog, let me know what you are thankful for in your life & would love to know what everyone is up to this holiday...Winner will be picked by hubby in a couple of days...

Have a great Thanksgiving & thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Atlas Shrugged...

Just finished with this very long cool book from Ayn Rand on my ipod...Hubby just picked Nancy as the winner for this week's bead...Congrats girl, I will have it in the mail to you on Tuesday...

On Sunday we were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner here in England, a bit early since everyone works on Thursday...it was a great party and we met a lot of very nice people...Hubby made his very yummy cranberry sauce & I made Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes...What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?...Hope it is going to be a fun one for you...

I spend a great few hours at the torch today while I listened to the last of Atlas Shrugged, have you read it? what do you think of it?...

I will list some beads in the next few days & will let you know...

Life is good here, hope all is well with yours? Jelveh

Peace

Fun House CD...

Sorry all, I did have a few beads I was going to list, I am still listing 3 new items today, all together I had 8, but 5 have already sold, before I got a chance to tell you about them...however you can still enter to win the bead above...

to enter to win this very yummy focal bead, make a comment here on the blog, tell me what you are doing today or this week that has to do with glass beads or jewelry making in general...one entry per person please, winner will be picked by Monday afternoon 11/24/08 California time...I will send an email out to all about this weeks giveaway...

Thanks for all the love & stopping by...PS I love Pink's new CD and the song So What? she is so cool...life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

You Ever Wonder?

I often wonder when will I grow up & learn that not everyone is like me.I often give too much of myself & trust way too much, only to find out later, that is not how it was seen on the other side...

oh nothing big or bad happened & I am not hurt or anything like that, I was just thinking about people & some of my connections to them, how they see me & how I saw them...I guess it is mostly my issue, as I have been told many times, I am too naive. I guess someday I should grow up. Or get smart.

But what is this mean really, does it mean we should stop being nice to people? does it mean we should suspect everyone of having ulterior motives? does this mean we should shy away from forging friendships? I do not think I can do this, I rather like people. Every time I see some one's shortcoming, I remember I have many of my own & try to take them as they are, but often this is not enough.

I was thinking about something fun to write about today, but I guess you can not always feel good...the fact that I have been ill for almost 3 months does not help either...but hey life is short, so moving on to better things...I will have beads later today, mostly focal beads and 2 small sets...but all yummy...I will send out an email letting you know when they are up...PS I did not make any tree focal beads, do you want me to make some, let me know, I almost in the mood, this tree bead is from the past, years ago in fact...

In the mean time go send a nice note to a friend or someone you want to make in to a friend...Trust with open arms.

Jelveh

Peace

Winner & Oxford...

Hi all, hope your Saturday is shaping up nicely...ours is good & lazy & even a bit warmer than a few days ago which is really nice... Yesterday it was so nice & sunny, I think we even had a heat wave it must have been about 50 degrees out...I went for a walk downtown or as it is called here in England "City Center". Every month we have an outdoor French Market here & every week on a Wednesday you can find a fresh fruit & some other goodies market...I love this about England, it goes on everywhere...I know that in San Fransisco there are great weekly markets, when we lived in Santa Cruz, there was a weekly Farmers Market every Wednesday that I loved...but the equivalent I could never find in Morgan Hill...

Here in Oxford however the weekly market & the French Market are so yummy...do you have these types of markets where you live? if so what is your favorite item to get...mine is fruit, bread, cheese & olives...although yesterday I went all out & had the most amazing pork Sausage Baguette, cooked right in front of me, with a bit of hot mustard...life is good when you get to eat your lunch outside in the sun in the middle of November in Oxford...oh did I mention, Oxford also has a Covered Market that has been around forever, well it opened Nov 1st 1774. I need another 5 pages just to tell you about it.

The winner is: Hubby did the drawing this morning & Julie from NV. wins the flower pendant & Silver set. Congrats girl...

oh and yes I did make some beads yesterday after I returned from City Center...this round I worked on Ginny's favorite set of the past, I think its SP502 (photo above) my gosh you know I have had about 4700 sets made in the past 8 years, that one was #502, I stopped numbering them after I reached 3000, I asked myself why did I need to, since I was not putting them in the gallery on my site anymore? I stopped the gallery archives around 1500 or so...but I digress, I made 2 sets in the Ginny Favorite colors, I think I might redo a few sets from the suggestions in the coming days...so keep an eye out...

have a great weekend. Life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

We have a Winner, New Beads & New Giveaway...

Hi all, hope your weekend was great & you are having a wonderful week so far...ours was good, a bit colder than I like my November, its been icy cold here in Oxford...can not wait till we go home for the Christmas holidays...

OK first we have a winner for last week's bicone bead giveaway and that person is Stephanie, thanks for all the comments.

Now for this week's giveaway I have a nice big (24mm)round spring flower bead, flowers on both sides, with a couple of friends, 10mm Sterling Silver beads I bought in Turkey this past summer...now to win this set please enter a comment in this thread about which bead set of mine from the past you wish me to make again...you can check these out in my etsy shop sold items, or on my web site archives, you can copy & past a photo of the set you like in the comment, if not just a name & where you saw it, or a link to it would be good too...one entry per person...

and now for the new beads...I have added a bunch of new yummy beads to my etsy shop, with some spring colors in mind, a few focals & such...hope you like, click here to see them...

thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

New beads & one to win...

Hi all, wow has this been a great week or what...we have a new president elect & life seems full of hope...and that is always a good thing...

I have some new beads for you listed in my Etsy Shop

& the bead to the left is this week's giveaway this is a large encased in the middle bicone bead, about 35mm along the hole, I love how it came out, the colors are better in person, some Raku purples, greens...

To enter to win this bead, leave a comment on this post with your favorite jewelry commponant or fixing as it were...the Contest will end by Monday afternoon England time...Jelveh...Peace

Loving America...

And as always loving being an American tonight, well it is early morning here in England...Life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

We have a Winner...

Hi all...Ginny wins the silver Rivet bead...thanks for playing all...I will have a few more beads and another giveaway on Monday...

What do you think of the new feature on the blog called Artist Alert.... check out the last post and also when they start happening on a regular basis they will be on the side bar under the heading Artist Alert...if you like to be featured let me know...

Now if you have not voted already...make sure you go vote on Tuesday...it is such a good thing to be able to vote and have a hand in choosing your leaders and your laws...as I have said this so many times, in so many places around the world folks can not choose and vote for their livelihood...I love our democracy... Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Artist Alert....Melinda Fay Studios...

Hi and welcome to the first of many Artist Alert Posts on my blog...from time to time I will review & report on one of my favorite artists of all media...just someone I really like & you may have not known about...

This first artist I happen to have met in person, Melinda of Melinda Fay Studios is one of my oldest dearest clients & friends & one of few that I have actually met in person even though I have known her for the past 6 plus years through the web & my glass beads...

Melinda is one those people that somehow someway has kept her connection to the earth itself, first when you talk to her via email you get a bit of this, but you can feel it most in her jewelry designs & in her person. She is calm, pure & present with a lovely smile. She is a great example of what I would call a born artist & designer. I used to think wow this girl is so in to my beads, the way she describes them to me after she gets them...turns out because of her I started to see my beads in a brand new way years ago...

Like most of my clients & beady friends & myself, she is not in this trade to make money, she has a day job so she can support her addiction. She spends hours coming up with wonderful detailed ways to showcase just that one special bead...often I find myself at the torch thinking, while working on a large detailed focal, "What would Melinda say if she saw this bead" not "will she like it and or buy it", but will she see the very organic nature of this bead, will her naturally well adjusted eye to all things organic & earthy, see this bead for what it is & ultimately will she approve of its being?"

I met her once, in her home state, hubby had a work thing & I went along just to meet Melinda...she was everything & more in person...I wish I could see her everyday, I wish I could have her be my friend here in England now, when I could use a friend or two nearby...silly, I cry as I write this...but she is so wonderful, I find myself waiting for her long emails letting me know what she thinks of my beads...embarrassing to some degree...my ego tends to not like too much of that kind of praise, lest I believe it & get a big head...I hope you like her work as much as I do...

Jelveh

Peace

Win A Bead, New BEADS...

Hi all, I have new beads listed in the shop, look to the right to see the link and you can win the yummy bead above by entering in this blog, one entry per person...tell me what you like more right now in beads, focal beads, bead sets, small beads, large beads, what size sets...or are you still buying beads?...incidentally the bead you are entering to win is encased large focal with a silver rivets, about 15x25mm...drawing ends on Friday afternoon England time...

Also You get a $5.00 Discount, via a paypal refund, if you purchase 2 or more items between now & the day after the Election in America...

thanks for stopping by, have a great rest of the week...

Jelveh

Peace

Christie Wins...

Hi all, thanks for playing the game...we had the drawing, Christie wins the yummy green gourd bead...

speaking of beads, you be happy to know there will be more of them on Wednesday sometime in the afternoon my time here in England, I will send out a notice to all...I am feeling better so there is twice as many as I have had in recent weeks...also there will be another yummy bead (or beads) to win...so be sure to stop by...

Oh I did make a ton of beads in the colors you all suggested...

I am feeling better, hope you are all doing well too...thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Beads & a Giveaway...

Hi all, hope you had a good week...ours was good, sunny & cold...I have been feeling a bit ill, but other than that all is good...I did make some beads & you can enter to win the yummy gourd bead above by responding to this blog entry...in your response please say what color beads you wish you had right now, you can only enter once...a winner will be picked from all entries by Tuesday AM California time...

You get a $5.00 Discount, via a paypal refund, if you purchase 2 or more items between now & the day after the Election in America...

Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Sunny Days...

Hi all, it is so gorgeous out today, just like yesterday, I could not really stay in and make beads, when I could go out and enjoy the last of the sunshine for a while here in Oxford...life is good, hubby & I saw the Vagina Monologues last night in a lovely theater here. It was great. The other day we walked by the Oxford Castle and there was an open air photograph exhibit, Earth from the Air. Check it out if you get a chance, the photos are amazing, great source of inspiration for beads...

Anyway life is good here, hope it is great for you too...thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Maria Wins...

Hi all, thanks for playing the game...hubby picked Maria from Portugal...congrats, I will ship your bead on Monday...I should have one more focal bead listed in the next day or so...

Hope you are having a good weekend, ours is nice & calm...its getting cold here in Oxford, almost like snow weather in Colorado. I have been told it does not snow here much...we shall see. We also saw the movie Burn After Reading, I just love the Cohen brothers, sometimes their movies are about nothing and then again about everything. it was great, I loved it.

thanks for stopping by...stay happy.

Jelveh

Its Bead time...

Hi all, hope you are doing well...life is good here...I finally have some beads listed in my shop, click on the photos of the beads on the right to see more...

PS I almost forgot, if you purchase 2 or more items you get a $5.00 discount. promotion runs between now & the election. About the bead photo above, this one is the giveaway bead for this week, its rather lovely if I say so myself...

OK. please answer this question on this blog, you can enter only one guess, hubby will pick a winner out of the correct entries by Sat am California time.

Question: In which decade of the 20th century did BathTub Gin got its name?

Thanks for stopping by & playing the game.

Jelveh

Peace

October is all about PINK...

Hi all, we are back...Boston was amazing, Katie is an awesome person, she gave me yummy cookies and gloves she made herself...I was so spoiled...on my last day there I got my toes & hair done. I got a bit of pink hair as you can see in the photo, it was all for Breast Cancer Awareness, so it went to a good cause. On Tuesday my mom is having a tiny bit of something removed from one of her boobs, she is fine, it is just an outpatient thing, her mamo came back with something in it, but its all good, caught plenty early enough to be bad. This is a lesson to all of us to get tested & make sure to do self exams every month...

Sadly in England they don't think you need a mammogram as early as you do in the states, I have had mine done by my sister every year. Here in England the NHS DR. said to me, oh you don't need one until you are 50. So I guess we all have to be our own advocates.

BEADS, where are they? what are they? oh yeah I make them...I should have some new beads sometime this week...for sure, as I miss the torch very much...

I know the economy is scary, but go out and spend a little bit, don't break the bank (well someone broke them already)but stay positive, don't let the press spook you, know that all is good right here, right now...the other stuff will pass...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

In Search of the Constitution...

So today we went for a lovely walk on what is called the Freedom Trail here in Boston...one historic building and or exhibit after another...all marked on the sidewalk with a stripe of red paint or red bricks that have been made to look like a red line...we went looking for the USS Constitution, the Oldest Commissioned warship afloat in the world...that is how our walk began, we saw some cool places & I learned some facts about American History, hubby knows most of it, he used to teach Western Civ in college. here are some photos & stories of our trip today... there I am starting our walk...but that's not the USS Constitution. So we keep on going, first of all, Boston is gorgeous, clean & friendly...we walked to a market area & met all kinds of cool people... This next photo is of the Old State House, I love how it remains its glory & is even complemented by all the modern buildings around it...this is we saw everywhere we went on our Walk... We had lunch at a wonderful & famous place called the Union Oysters House on Union st. This is the oldest restaurant in America, in 2003 the owners got a call from the Interior Dept. telling them just that & giving the building its justly due historical standing by making it a National Historical Landmark, it was built around 1717.

And here is me enjoying my lunch...

Martin met up with Paul Revere... After a few other great stops including a the very cool Copp's Hill cemetery, we took a walk over a bridge & followed the signs to the UUS Constitution...She is lovely, I took about 114 photos yesterday, I will put them together with slide show later & put in to a blog, but for now here is a photo of me with the USS Constitution.

I love boats, many of you don't know when I was about 18 or so, I worked for a Boat shop, I was the only girl in the shop, I used to cut the fiberglass for the hulls of 27 & 37 foot Xpress boats made by Alsberg Brothers. Not sure if they are in business anymore, but I used to be so good at my job, that I almost cut myself out of a job, the shop only made one and half boats a month & by the end of my first month there I had cut enough fiberglass for 13 boats, so I started to help in other areas, I learned how to paint the molds that the glass & balsa wood was then laid on to make the hull of the boat, I learned how to fit in the bulkheads & interior cabinets & other goodies like the shower, I worked on polishing the wood, I worked on the top deck, including fitting in the hardware for the sails & the Gel Coat...I love boats so to see this one, even though her Square sails where down for up keep, was an amazing experience for me...not to mention the lovely history of this 211 year old boat...

Today I am meeting with Katie, more on that later, thanks for stopping by... Jelveh Peace

An American in Boston...

Hi all, we are here in Boston for a week, hubby has some work meetings & such so I tagged along for some fun & to meet one of my long time glass bead clients & maybe do some shopping...

Last night when we came in to Logan airport, while going through passport control, I was treated very badly by the immigration officer. We both walked up together & she took my passport first. As you may know when you are an American Citizen that was born in another country, your passport states your country of origin, so as soon as she opened my passport, she said, "where are you coming from & what are you bringing in to the US?", I had a Borders bag with books in it, and about $110.00 cash, so I said, "I got some books & $110.00 cash"...she said "have you been to Iran on this trip?", I said, "no". She looked at me & held my passport up a bit, with a nasty half smile & said, "why not? you are Iranian aren't you?"

I looked at her with wide open eyes & said "I am an American. I have not been in Iran for 30 years"...I said "I cannot even travel to Iran on my American Passport." She held up my passport again & said, "yeah well not on this passport", implying that I had an Iranian one, I explained with a sting of tears in my eyes, "years ago I tried to go to Iran to see my grandmother before she died, but could not." The contempt & the distaste that she had for me was so easy to feel, see & hear. Hubby was shocked after he saw the shock on my face. We both did not want to tangle with Immigration officers on racism or other attitude issues. So we just stood there while she drilled me some more, about where had I exactly been before I came to Boston, I explained we have been living in England for 5 months, I pointed to the English Visa glued inside of my American Passport & again said, "I have not been to Iran on this or any other trip for 30 years"...she gave me another disgusted look, asked where we were staying in America? Why we were here? How long we were staying?

Do all Americans have to answer this question when they return back to America from another country, is this how it works...? I cried all the way to baggage claim & beyond.

As many of you know I am a very patriotic American, I love this country, I love what it has done for my family, As much as I appreciate America, I am disgusted with Iran's new government of the last 30 years, its views, all of its hate mongering & all of its human rights violations. But I guess you can not walk around with sign around your neck that says, "I may have been born in Iran, love my Iran that is no longer there, love my family in Iran, but am an American through & through..."

Off to see Boston, the bed of so much of what is American History...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

We are back and the Winner is...

Hi all, how is your week so far...? we are just back from London, we ended up not going to Paris, the trip along the tube by train under water had gone from 2.5 hours to 6 hours due to some fires a couple of weeks back...& by the time I found this out, it was too late to fly without paying an arm and a leg for the tickets...so we went to London for 2 days instead & saw so much we had not seem before...we got a chance to go in to Buckingham Palace & see the 19 State Rooms, but you could not take photos, here are a couple of photos from our visit which included Hyde Park, The Tower of London, Big Ben, a drive by most of the big attractions, the Crown Jewels & a lovely sunset Cruise on the Thames to finish the weekend off with...it was fun...

Lisa L. wins the Mexican fiesta beads shown in the last post...please send me an email with your address so I can send them to you...thanks for playing all...

Life is good here and busy still...mom and dad are leaving on the 2nd and we fly to Boston on the 4th...I may or may not have some beads to show, I have a couple of sets...not enough to warrant an update...I think I might hang on to them and have a big update when we come back...

Try and have a good week even though the stock market vows and political doings may conspire to change it for the worse...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Beads & trip photos...

Hi all, how are you doing? how is your September coming along...? ours is great...Listen up this one is long & has a ton of info in it, including photos of our travels this past month & new beads to win on the blog...time goes so fast when you are having so much fun...save for the Tooth issue which I had to have pulled here in England last week...life has been really nice here...even the weather has been sunny which is not usual of Oxford this time of the year at all...

Mom & dad just got back from Spain, they spent a few days in Barcelona they had a great time & saw a great Opera Flamenco while there... http://www.operaflamenco.com/index.html

Here are some photos of this month's trips so far, we will be going to Paris this weekend & next month hubby & I are going to Boston for a week, for his work... if you want to see the photos larger & read the captions click here http://picasaweb.google.com/jelvehdesigns/MomDadTrip# other wise see the slide show...

So on with the beads, the lovely Mexican Fiesta beads above are up for grabs, lets do it like we did last week, tell me what shapes & number of beads you like best by way of commenting on this post...only one comment per person, all entries will be put in a drawing for the Mexican Fiesta beads in the photo...drawing will be held on Friday same as last week...you have until 3pm Friday California time to enter...

I also made some beads & listed them on etsy...to see the yummy click here www.jelvehdesigns.etsy.com

Thanks for stopping by & looking & my photos & reading the blog...

Jelveh

Peace

And the Winner is...

Hi all, hope you had a good weekend...ours was happy, sunny & full of movies...one good and one really bad... We saw Tropic Thunder which was really good & we saw Pineapple Express which was really dumb & not as funny as you would think...

we have a winner for the last blog bead contest & that person is...Lisa D. of Portland...

Thanks for playing all...I will have more beads in a few days...

Jelveh

Peace

Question & the Tooth...

Hi all...as you may have read the last post, we are back from Turkey...on our last day there, I somehow managed to damage my tooth that was under a crown for the past 10 years, long story short, if you ever need emergency health care while on vacation, you want to be traveling in Turkey...the place we went to was awesome, they took care of me & sent me home to my dentist...I already love the Turkish people, Turkish food & Turkey in General, now I am loving their health care system too, it makes the health care system and facilities in America look like the 3rd world...

On to beads & the question, first of all, I have some new beads just listed on etsy...click here to see the yummy www.jelvehdesigns.etsy.com

Second, answer this question here on the blog by way of a comment:

What 2 or 3 color combo you are looking for most in glass beads right now... you will be entered to win the yummy large flower focal(16x22mm)with the Bali Silver beads in the photo above...one entry per person, hubby will pick the winner by 3pm California time on Friday the 19th of September.

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Back for a day or two...

Hi all, our time in Turkey was awesome...I can not describe in words to you how it felt to see & spent time with my aunt & her gorgeous daughter...it was amazing, we cried, we laughed, we talked for hours...we visited all kinds of cool places & mostly spent time together...as the days passed I realized how much of my life somehow has been lost to me...these people, my family, I should have known & never knew...at times the sadness overwhelms the happy feelings I collected while on this trip, I miss them so much already...it seems too private an issue for me to talk about more here...just go love your family & friends as much as you can...life is too short not to...our time in Turkey was certainly too short...looking forward to seeing my aunt & her daughter (my new adopted daughter) again soon...

I may not share more photos of the trip, for now here are some photos of a night we all went to dinner with some of my friends that I have in Turkey, these lovely people were in my class this past June, save for Pinar who introduced me to the school that I now teach at regularly...I made a special glass bead project to share with my friends...here are some photos of it...in one photo you can see us all in the bathroom sharing & in another Gunay, Burcu & Ayse are already wearing their beads...we had a great time...I miss them already too...

Went to London & saw the Eye on Sat...Going to Stone Henge with mom & dad on Monday while hubby works...then we are off to Spain at the end of the week...more later...perhaps even a few new beads on Wednesday...keep an eye out...

thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Off on Vacation....

Hi all, my parents are here, and they are jet lagged, can you tell from the photo...? we are taking some time off to go on vacation with them...so there will be no new beads listed for about a week or so, then I will have some beads...for now if you buy any of the items listed in the shop, they will not ship until after the 12Th of September...

First up, a visit to Turkey to meet with some of my Glass friends & my aunt is coming from Iran to see us there, I have not seen her for 30 years, this is going to be a great trip...I will update with photos & story as time goes on...

Thanks for all the love...

Jelveh

Peace,

Visitors...

Hi all, been getting ready for my parents visit, they arrive today, I am off to the airport in about 20min to pick them up...the driver just rang the door bell, got to run...

More on bead photo above & other goodies later when I get a chance...

Jelveh Peace

Eye Candy for your soul....

Hi all, Last week when I was in line at the Book Festival in Edinburgh, waiting to get my husband's copy of Will Self's book signed by him, I thought of another great writer I like named Christopher Moore, and how so much of their styles can feel the same, although they are different form one another...so I asked him what does he thinks about over lapping ideas in creative writing these days and how sometimes it is just plain plagiarism that we see in writing or in other art forms...he looked up at me, with his strange set of eyes & without so much as missing a beat he said, "its easy I just don't read what others write, that way I will never know either way" he laughed after he said it, so did I, we had listened to him for about an hour taking questions from a sold out crowd of several hundred people in a small venue. by this time I knew he was smart and funny, but I also believe he has a point...we are only responsible for what we do, not what others do...

When I first started to make jewelery with lampwork beads, I used to look at them all the time, eye candy was a huge reason for me to go to the forums... 7.5 years ago when I started to make my own beads, I visited the forums & sites of my favorite glass artists like Sharon Peters, Diana East & Corina & still do in fact, I took only 2 classes in person that was years after I had made beads, they were with Diana East & Sharon Peters...

When I got my own site up and running I wanted to make sure others could come and see my beads as they wished, I never locked my photos or got upset & never will get upset, when some were inspired by my beads while making their own...there are so many designs even names of beads that I have seen out there that could very easily be one of mine...some pretty obvious, some a 1000 years old...I have always been flattered & never ever questioned anther's creative mind...

Speaking of inspiration take a look at the eye candy photo of what the lovely artist Ginny made with a set of 3 beads I made inspired by the famed Salmon Egg Beads by Andrea Guarino-Slemmons...I added my own twist to them of course, in fact I have seen tons of people make the Salmon Egg beads, in some way or another, but never credit the original creator of them, I think this is getting harder & harder as I go along in my journey with glass, as I do not have time to look at other's work to see if they are inspired by mine or to be inspired by them, Andrea made the first of these beads years ago, as far as I know they are her design, but who is to say, prior to my eyes looking at this art form of 3500 years old, others had not done the same design...perhaps Will Self is correct...

In Ginny's hands my beads find a gorgeous place to call home...I love how she showcases & takes care of them, when you see these lovely works of art, when you see how it all comes together & makes a circle, gets handed down to the next group of creative minds, this is when I can not agree with what Will Self said...we must share art, we must share our creative minds, in this way we can all grow & better our artistic nature, not to mention the truth that Eye Candy is great for our Souls... What do you think about sharing art and Creative minds? Who is your favorite Writer...?

Thanks Ginny for all the love... & Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Things go Missing...

Hi all, today has been an odd day...I woke up & got an appointment for a minor checkup & all went down hill from there...I should have been back in time to wash the beads, take photos of them, list them, update the blog & send out the email to all... by the way the above is the group photo of the beads.

But that did not happen, so first Time went Missing...then there was no sun, then the photos took forever, since the Sun had gone Missing...then after I got it all together, after I had to drag out the lights and the cube, I sat down, got the photos up loaded to the lap top & started to write up the information...one of the beads went Missing, I have found it since, but now I can not find the other item that I need to write up my descriptions.

GAME TIME... Guess which item I am Missing now & win the lovely bead set you see above, These are so yummy...you will love them. Rules, one Guess per person, and one item per guess. Answers here on the blog only, first person who guesses correctly wins the beads...the blues in this set are all silver glass Picasso...yum.

Thanks for stopping by & by the way the item that went missing is still gone, I can not find it anywhere I have looked all over this house...

Jelveh

Peace

What is today...?

Hi all, we are back, I have been so tired, I don't even know what day it is... we came back a couple of days ago from Edinburgh in Scotland where we enjoyed a bit of the Fringe Festival, from Music to Comedy, from Theater to the Book Festival & everything in between, this town rocks for a whole month...click here to see some of what goes on at the Edinburgh Festival...there is a link below to our photos from the trip...

We saw one of Martin's favorite writers Will Self, he was amazing. We also saw 2 great Comedians, Shazia Mirza & the ever so funny Mark Watson, I don't think I have laughed this much & for this long forever...

Here are some photos of our Trip...we loved the castle, the city as a whole is so alive, with its rich history & all the people who bring so much art & talent to the city during the festival...we were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people & the wasting of so much paper used to print information for the hundreds of shows at the many venues that you can visit...

There is so much more to talk about today...I saw my "President" Hillary give one of the best speeches I have heard this year on why we are all democrats & we should stick together...I cried when I watched, I think Mr. Obama will be our next President & I think he will be a good president for America, but I think we missed a great opportunity as a people to elect a person of great intellect & strength to be our next President...Hillary is such a class act...maybe in 2012?

Where are the Beads...? I will list some yummy beads for your after 4pm on Thursday...I will send an email letting you know when they are up...& yes there will be a chance to win some yummy beads on the blog... We are so excited my parents will be here next week, they are staying for a whole month, we are going to Turkey with them in about 12 days to see my aunt who is coming from Iran to see us, it will be the first time I have seen her in 30 years...& we have a big dinner planned in Istanbul with my Turkish friends & fellow glass addicts...so much going on...more on this later...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

River Rock....

Hi all, I have new beads & a new contest to win the lovely River Rock focal bead above...You can win this focal bead by being the first person who guesses which colors of glass I have way too much of...Blues & Greens, Oranges & Corals, Reds & Yellows, Ivory & whites, Black & Grays, Purples & Violets, or Amber & Browns....

I have been Unpacking my glass, what was I thinking, see I had 2 studios one at the house & one at the shop in Gilroy Ca. well I never did inventory I guess & just kept ordering glass...Please note, one guess of a 2 color group (ie Black & Grays) & one entry per person...please make a comment on the blog with your guess...oh yeah maybe you can tell me what to make with it all...

Thanks for Playing

Jelveh

PEace

Relax Day...

Hi all...how is your Wednesday going so far...mine is slow & lazy, I have spent days unpacking & putting things away, we are almost done with it all...I will be making some beads today, but that is just about it, maybe list 3 sets of beads & a focal...the photo above is just for eye candy, this bead sold many moons ago...

My parents will be here in less than 2 weeks, & this weekend we are going to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland...which should be loads of fun...the Festival runs for a whole month...I will have photos & story next week...

Have a great Wednesday...there may be beads later today...no one ever knows, I do need to list more, as I am down to 5 items in my shop...thanks for the love all...life is good.

Jelveh

Peace

Almost Forgot....

Hi all, meant to tell you this yesterday, This yummy necklace is made by Ginny with one of my focal beads, just look at the color match...so lovely and crisp...love to see where my beads end up...

thanks Ginny...

Jelveh

Peace

Monday Bead News & Contest...

Hi all, hope you had a great weekend...ours was just lovely...

I have new beads for you, see the photo above, I will be listing them here in a few minutes one at a time...also from now I will be listing beads as I go & not all at once, so there may be new beads a few times a week, you need to stop by the blog more often to find out...

You can win the 3 amber beads below by being the first person who guesses what relaxing activity I could use most right now...Please note, one guess & one entry per person...please make a comments here with your guess...

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Where are the BEADS??

Hi all, well I listed some beads & they sold before I got a chance to let everyone know they were there...thanks for the love, as I said a few times before I love listing beads as I go, more than a set time for listing beads...so once a week I will send out an email telling you whats up & the rest of the time you need to check etsy or my blog for updates...

Not sure if this is fair to all, but this is best for me right now... so the photo above is of some beads I am listing in the next few days & there is more in the kiln...send me an email if you want me to save you one of the sets in the photo...I will send out an email with the game to win the beads in the last post, on Friday AM my time...

Thanks for stopping by... Jelveh

Peace

Beads, are there new Beads?

Hi all, I was hoping to have new beads listed sometime today...but having a hard time with photos...so maybe on Thursday...maybe later tonight...all I know is the sun came and went...and the camera was having issues even in the photo cube...the photo below is of the bead giveaway for this week...still have to come up with a game...for now you can look at them... Thanks for stopping by... Jelveh Peace

Camden Market...

Over the weekend, Hubby & I went to London to visit the famed Camden Market. It was raining pretty hard, but we had a blast, it is perhaps the best Bazaar I have seen anywhere, although you will not find the same kind of items as you would in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, you would find just about anything you want, I am not even sure what more we could have found, it goes on & on, in & out of buildings, side street, & under ground & right off the street...its not really just a market as it feels like a market town...amazing...

click here to see a few photos of our day...it was hard to get the camera to focus & most sellers did not want photos of their shops taken, some of the outer stores did sell a lot of things not hand made, but there was just as impressive as a collection of Vintage, Antiques & of course Handmade Art...I even met a very nice glass artist who is from Turkey, she will be taking my advanced class in April in Istanbul at Glass Furnace... Hope yours was good too...Thanks for stopping by

Jelveh

Peace

Contest Results...Olympics

Hi all, Ginny wins the beads...she is too funny...she only named one of the 3 which was enough to win the beads, here is all 3 names: Metalica, Annie Lennix & Depeche Mode, you can not tell me you forgot the song People Are People, boy am I getting old...

My favorite Metalica song of all time was Master of Puppets...I was not a Metal Head, I love all kinds of music...but I loved & still love Metalica...I did get tossed from the Justice For All Concert for the hand cuffs that I wore as a belt on my mini skirt over my black tights, OK that's enough I am really old now & embarrassed & no there are no photos. My sister I am sure remembers that day...

Just finished w/ the shipping & been watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony...wow what a show, you got to give it to the Chines, just amazing. lots of work & money went in to this one, lets just hope the air is good enough to compete in...sad in a way, to spend $40 billion to put on the games & not much towards keeping the world green, which is by the way the theme of the Olympic Games in China...The Green Games...

Anyway hope they are fun & safe games for all, I am going to watch as much as of them as I can, my earliest memory of the games is when I watched Nadia Comaneci get perfect 10s & win the gold metal in gymnastics...what was yours?

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Win These Beads...

OK, here is a yummy set of 3 beads, that I made with a ton of silver glass from double helix, you can not see the color that well...the iris pearl is yummy in them...

Here is the question: name one of the 3 most favorite bands of mine from the mid to late 80s...

first person with the right answer get the beads, you must answer on the comment section of the blog, it can not be on the email...

N0 correct answers yet. its Clue Time!

couple of you have come close to my type of music, so I think it is time to give a clue...I was once thrown out of a concert for one of these bands...I was there to watch over my sister and her friends, I got asked to leave, because I did not have the key to the hand cuffs that I was wearing as a belt & they could not be removed as they were not allowed in the venue...lol...some chaperon was I...hope this helps...

Jelveh

Peace

Thursday Already...

Hi all, how is your week been so far...? ours has been good, we have opened some boxes, we saw Hell boy which was pretty cool, I like how some great action movies find a nice way to inform & educate without being preachy about it...this method is particularly great for the younger generations...Anyway the movie is great...

The rest of the time between bead making & shipping, I have been making arrangements for several upcoming trips, life is good...more on that later as they come up...

New beads will be listed by 6PM my time in England which makes it 10AM California time...I am going to try this new thing with etsy when I can list all of my sets at the same time or at least closer in time than before...

oh & we will have a bead giveaway today, as promised...details later in the email...

thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Shipping Day...

Happy Monday all, hope your weekend was good. We saw Persepolis the movie, it is so worth it. having gone through a lot of what the writer/director of this movie went through myself, at least the bit about the revolution & all in Iran, I find she held back a bit about the truth of what happened after the change. But it was good, I cried...I got it, I was there...I remember.

After a long happy slow lazy weekend, I am doing all kinds of shipping today...life is good, thank you for all the love...

The winners of the last of the weekly bead giveaways have gotten their emails, I will send an all email out to the rest of you probably by Wednesday when I will also have some new beads to share...

If you get a chance look over to the right & click on Tell Me...answer the questions if you will...Thanks a bunch...

Jelveh

Peace

Captain there be Beads here...

Remember that line from Star Trek movie "The Voyage home"?, Scotti said it to Kirk after he had the Whales on board safe & sound, taking them back to the future to save the earth...OK so I am a Star Trek nerd.

I refuse to go by that other name "Trekkie" even though I have a signed uniform by one of the crew members of Star Trek Next Generation.

So here is a way to win an awesome bead, the Star bead above, a $30.00 value. Guess which star signed my Next Generation uniform (need the actor & character name) & you will get it...answer here on the blog, to this entry, so we can see the time line, first person with the right answer wins it. one guess per person please. I will send out an email to all in a few minutes...

Jelveh

Peace

Happy Birthday...Sister

Today is my sister's birthday...she is the best sister ever, a bit of nut case, but being from my family that is expected.

She is awesome, from the kind of work she does, which I could never do, working at a breast cancer center, doing biopsy & mammograms, to being a great mom to a couple of awesome kids & a wife. On top of it all she is very nice...just last week she did a biopsy with the Dr. on my mom, she was fine with it. A few years ago, I was in a Dr's office with my mom, she was getting a procedure done, lets just say it was not pleasant, I passed out, while holding her hand for support, the Dr. had to get the nurse to help me up & take care of me!!

She is much braver than I am. Anyway Sweet Sister, have a great birthday in San Diego, I miss you much & will see you at Christmas...her son's birthday is on the 3rd, happy birthday to the little guy too...

Beads soon, I promise...

Jelveh

Peace

They are here...

Our stuff came today...its all over the house, guess where I am going? to the studio to open boxes and find the presses and make more beads.

I can unpack clothes anytime...lol

Jelveh

Peace

New BEADS...Finally

I got beads up for you, one set sold already, I will be listing others, but first I will send everyone an email.

thanks so much for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Sunny Montana...

Hi all, happy beady Wednesday to you...

Check out the cute photo of my other mom (hubby's mom) & one of her other sons Dobby, out for a fun bike ride in Sunny Montana. Another lovely day to spend with our family that we missed out on.

Beads later today for sure...I promise, I even have a couple of pumpkins coming.

Jelveh

Peace

A Preview...

A preview of some beads I will be listing later today on Etsy...there is more but you have to come back to see them.

Remember how I complained about the hot hot weather, well last night it rained like you would not believe.Now its gorgeous again.

Jelveh

Peace

HOT HOT...

Yes well, you would not think so, but its been really hot here in Oxford, I lasted all about 2 hours in front of the torch, before I had to give up. I know a few weeks ago all I could do was complain about the rain & the cold wind, but such is life. With the kiln, the torch & the muggy hot weather we are having here, it was like making beads on the beach in Bali in the middle of the summer, save for in Bali after it gets that hot & that sticky a nice afternoon rain cools everything down. This is not the case in Oxford today.lol

Hopefully I will make more on Tuesday. I will have some beads to list today...we shall see how much time I am going to have after shipping is done.

Thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

Monday Monday...

Hi all, hope your weekend was good, we got a new hamster named Sam, Sammy is so cute, I loves him.

I am going to be making beads most of today & a bit of shipping. All who have won beads on this blog need to send me their address so I can ship your beads...you know who you are. have a great day.

Jelveh. Peace

Power of the BAD eye...

A couple of posts below I was talking about my parents, how much fun they had on vacation in Puerto Rico last month (dad got sick in Philadelphia & they missed a day or two of their vacation) & how my whole family is on vacation now in Lake Tahoe for a few days. I got a call from my sister this morning very early, saying they had been robbed in Tahoe, the very nice large mansion that they had rented, was broken in to while they spent the day at the beach. They are upset, the kids are upset & they are coming home, the place was gone through pretty bad, they lost a couple of cameras & a DVD player that belonged to my sister's little boy. Which I am replacing since his birthday is just next week.

Why is this post called Power of the Bad eye, well because in my culture & in fact many of the oldest cultures in the world including Christianity, we are warned of people being envious of others & what they have & to watch out for this.

My friends in Turkey always tell me not to speak so much of the greatness of my family & my life, just in case a person who is listening, would feel envious & without them even knowing it, the Bad eye or (as the Italians call it & have made glass beads for it for thousands of years) the Evil Eye would show its true colors.

You may not know the whole story of people's lives. For example, how my parents trip to puerto Rico was a gift & a result of saving for many months to be able to go, or my sister & her family saved for months so they can go on this trip to Lake Tahoe, what you hear is not always as Rosy as it sounds, life is good, one should never be envious of others lives, just be happy for them. I have a Friend in California who's grandparents are from Mexico & the Evil eye is commonly known in her day to day life as the Haters, those who can not stand the happiness of others, so they COVET & or are ENVIOUS of what they think they do not have.

So today I am sad for my family, for their vacation going bad, but you know what, I am happy for them always, as their hearts are good & they are safe & sound.

Jelveh. Peace

A New Family Member...

Today we went looking for a new family member, those of you who know us, know that we love little hamsters & have had 3 of them in the past 8 years, who have all moved on to the next part of their journey in the universe.

We found our new family member today, his name is Sam. He is a Syrian Hamster, larger by 3 times than our other hamsters who were Russians. This guy is so cool, he is soft & has long hair that you can brush, he is very funny & from what we see so far has a great curious character.

He is already full grown at 3 months. At the pet shop they called him Big Boy, when we were taking him & all of his home & goodies away, all the people who work at the shop, gathered around to say goodbye to him.

In the photo you can see how he already loves me. I hope, I hope.

He is now resting in his new home & getting used to us, we wont play with him for 24 hours so he can settle in a bit.

We are so glad we found him...he is lovely.

Jelveh.

Peace

Its Saturday...

So its Saturday morning here...life is good.

Today we are going to try & find a pet shop that sells hamsters, we tried last weekend but could not find one.

At this time, back in California, my parents, my sister & brother & all of their kids & family are in Tahoe on the Annual Jaferian Klan 3 day getaway.

I wish we were there, it is so much fun, the kids are great to spend time with in the water & on the beach. We rent a big house each year right on the lake, we bring food, cook & party & play games, its really fun. they called me on their way yesterday.

I have a great family, I mean just like any family we got our stuff. You can not be a Persian family without stuff, guess you can not be any kind of family without stuff, but I love them all & I would not trade them in for anyone. above there is picture of my fun parents on the beach in Puerto Rico just last month. They are so funny. Love the shorts dad...lol. for a man in his 70s and a girl in her 60s they look pretty good.

Hope you are having a good weekend. More beads on Monday, I played with Triton for the time, can I just say WOW.

Jelveh.

Peace

Does anyone know???

Hi all, do you know how to make the returns show up in the blog entry. I seem to not be able to get them to show, so my entry looks long and with out any breaks. Help. Jelveh. Peace

Waiting...FREE BEAD

Do you ever just wait & wait? until you forget what you are waiting for?Here in England I wait at the post office for so long, 1 hour 15 minutes the other day, I feel like Bart Simpson, writing on the black board in my mind over & over, "I will never ever say another bad thing about the post office in California. Take the case of our stuff, you know, bedding, photos, decorating goods, cool things we have collected from out travels, our carpets, our beds, oh yeah & there is the matter of 700 pounds of glass, 3 of my torches, all my presses, all the rest of my tools & all the goodies to make jewelry with, including my silver, crystals & what have you. We have been waiting since the end of May for our STUFF to arrive from America. We have already bought a ton of bedding, since what we had with us is not really enough, I had brought a torch & initial set up, also I have purchased a ton of Glass from http://www.tuffnellglass.com/ & countless other items. So apparently the wait is over, we should have our stuff soon. Cross your fingers. Be the first to Guess what I am missing the most out of my stuff & get a set of 3 beads. Leave the guess here in the comment section, this section is moderated, but when I post your comment, it will have a time stamp on it, so we will know who was first. OH yeah I have new beads....enjoy. Jelveh. Peace

Beady Tuesday...

Hi all, hope your Monday was good...mine was marginal. I got some work done, gearing up to do a big update some later today and some on Wednesday for Etsy...and maybe even a quick update note to all.

I am off to the torch for a bit. The Beads in the photo are sold in the past, I just like to add a bit of eye candy everyday.

Have a great day.

Jelveh

Peace