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