Beady Wednesday, I mean Thursday...

Hi all, how are you doing? ready for Thanksgiving yet? Hubby & I are in charge of the Turkey, Stuffing & the cranberry sauce...thank goodness for Harry & David, we picked up the Turkeys, now we just have to cook the stuffing & cranberry sauce...life is good

Over the weekend we saw the movie 2012, it was good but it was about 30 minutes too long...I mean really no one edits anything anymore...half way through I am thinking do we really need yet another climatic scene of another plane taking off just before the runway caves in? I think we are over stimulated as a people already...

oh yeah we are here for beads, I had a great time making a bunch of yummy beads...I am going to start listing them in my etsy shop after I blog today & until Thursday eve the 19th...so keep an eye out...here is a photo of what is coming, plus I am adding a few other items like finished earrings & pendant necklaces & yes a bit of silver findings too...I am thinking Toggles...

Last week's yummy dichro bead goes to lucky Kristen, please send your address...this week's bead is large focal from my Ribbon Tornado series with bubble eyes...enter to win it by making a comment on this post, love to hear about your holiday plans...

Graceful Studios News: We are going to start having monthly get together at our studio in Gilroy, each party will have a theme, first one will be in Jan 2010 & theme is hearts, every one should bring a heart related glass, bead, piece of art or jewelry with them to the party, we will have open torch for a few hours, a bit of nosh food & a ton of fun sharing & being...oh yeah I almost forgot we will enter everyone's name in a drawing to win some goodies, January's giveaway will be $25.00 in Glass Rods...more on this later...

Thanks for stopping by...Life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

New Beads & Veterans Day...

Is one day enough to pay tribute to those who serve & die for the rest of us...? I just wanted to send shout out to all of our veterans for all they do...

Well its finally cold here in Northern California, I mean it was cold a couple of days ago it was 54 in the middle of the day...I know what a wimp right? but not used it at all...over the weekend hubby & I took advantage of the nice weather & had a picnic at the park...on Sunday we went to Santa Cruz & got a couple of much deserved massages...

I managed to make some yummy beads in the last week or so even though I have been feeling a bit under the weather...I will have them all posted by 7pm tonight California time in my etsy shop...here is a group photo of the beads I am listing today & on Thursday...oh I may add some sterling silver goodies too, so keep an eye out...

I wrote a quick blog & posted some photos on Watch Me Create, check it out when you get a chance...

oh yes the winner of last week bead is jozd5150 please send your address, for this week I have purple & blue flowers on a bed of dichro...yummy, enter to win this bead by making a comment on this post...what was the last fun thing you did in the sun??

Thanks for stopping by...life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

Back from Turkey...

Hi all, I am back from Turkey, I had the most fun in one of the best classes I have had in a long time...the Glass Furnace & all of its staff were as nice as ever. Although the weather was colder than the last few times I was there, the grounds & the river were still very lovely to visit...in my two week class I had 4 great students, Aybuke, Elif, Nasrine & Gozde, my class assistant & translator Gunay was with us the whole time too (thanks for all the work girl). In the first 3 day class we also had my new boy friend Alten & his assistant in real life Gulsan in the class as well, then on the last 3 days we had a total of 14 students in class with me & Gunay (16 of us in total) which made for a fun busy room full of glass bead makers...we had so much fun, the picture above was taken on the second day of the advanced class...

This past Saturday was graduation, many of the students got their certificates the day before after class ended, only the original four & Meneske were able to stay for the ceremony & exhibition day.

I will never forget the amount of fun we all had in the past two weeks...we made so many beads & had a great adventure...I so miss everyone & wish to see them again very soon. my next class at the Glass Furnace is scheduled for May 30th to June 12th of 2010. As usual I will have the two week class, plus two 4 or 5 day advanced classes as well...

Below you will find some random photos of our time at the Glass Furnace...

some of the beads I made while in class... Here we all had fun trying on my sun hat, sadly not too much sun for me to wear it...Gozde had the best hat attitude... After everyone got their certificates, our class photo...we had all cried a bit at this point... Aybuke's Exhibit... Nasrine's exhibit... Gunay's Exhibit... Menekse's Exhibit... Elif's Exhibit... Gozde's Exhibit... Gunay, Fulya (last year students, life time friends) & me... The Bee Kingdom doing their magic...awesome that we got to see them... Need I say more...I mean Really??? Nasrine plays pool, rather well...my student who came from Iran for the class... My new friend Gaye, whom I met through my old friend Pinar Hakim, Gaye was the reason we had 10 students for the advanced part of the class, thanks a bunch girl, see you next year... Student from last year & this year & friend forever Mari-Liis who came from Estonia to have some fun with us... another shot from Istanbul, this one from the ramp while waiting for the next train to come, watching the big cruise ships on the Bosphorus sea...Turkey is so lovely & did I mention I love the people & the food...

Thanks for stopping by...life is good...will have beads for you next week...

Jelveh

Peace

Lazy Bead Wednesday...

Hi all, hope you are doing well...life here is slow, lazy & hot...did I mention it was hot here...we saw the movie G Force over the weekend, it was fun, just a bit slow...I managed to make some yummy beads, it turns out where I broke my finger is not in the way of making beads too much & my finger is feeling a ton better that it did...the bruise on one side is mostly gone, while the bruise on the nail side is very purple & the nail will fall off sooner or later...but thankfully the pain is almost all gone...

I have just started to contribute blog posts to a very awesome blog called Watch Me Create, created by the very talented Lori Greenberg please check out this blog, if you are a lampworker you will find all kinds of great stories & tips, it's a great read no matter what your creative media... New Beads will be listed in my etsy shop by 5:30 California time...

Last week's Red Salmon Egg Andrea Guarino-Slemmons inspired focal bead goes to Jean of Los Vegas, please send me your address...for this week I made a yummy landscape bead in the shades of fall...enter to win it by making comment on this post...tell me about your favorite bead shapes & colors if you like or how your summer is going...

Thanks so much for stopping by...Life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

All Better Now...

Hi all, thanks for all the love & good wishes...finger is feeling great...I have just posted one of Glass Drawer Knobs on etsy, photo above...hope you like...here is the link to the listing... Have a Great fun weekend, life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

Excuses Excuses.....

As excuses go for not having any beads this week, I think this is a good one...on Sunday we took our bikes to West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz for a ride with my sister & her kids...a ton of fun was had by all, we then met my parents on the wharf for a late lunch & a visit to the art, wine & jazz festival that was on at the time...as we drove home in the evening I remember both of us remarking on how awesome this day has been...we got home & unloaded the bikes & put them in the garage, as I was bringing down the sectional door of the garage, I mistakenly for a split second, put my finger in between two of the sections as the door was coming down...

Hubby says my scream sounded like I was being killed & well the pain was that bad...I pulled the door back up with my left hand in that same second as it was crushing the tip of my middle finger on my right hand & pulled my finger out, the pain was amazing, I almost passed out from it...

This is the same hand by the way that I use to apply glass to the mandrel with & add details to beads with...The Doctor said I will be able to work again in about 10 days...dont even ask me how long it took to type this post...funny thing I never wear nail polish anymore since with lampworking there is not much use to it, by the time you wash the beads the polish is chipped off...but on Saturday I bought & painted my nails with this bluish purple color nail polish, the under side of my broken finger has this fat bruise that is the same color as the nail polish on the other side of it...I asked the DR. if we should remove the polish to see what it looked like under it...he laughed & said no reason, the nail will probably be the same color as your nail polish & it will fall off anyway so you can leave the polish if you want...

So there are no beads this week, sorry folks...the photo you see above is of a bead I am giving away this week from my private stash...last week's winner anonymous from Reno please tell me who you are & your address so I can send you your yummy bead...enter to win this week's bead by making a comment on this post...hope the photo of my crushed finger did not gross you out...it is in a finger tip splint thing now that is there to protect it from getting banged around, but there is not much they can do to fix it, just time, rest & meds...

You may not expect me to say it with a broken finger, but life is still good...thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

peace

Melting in California & New Beads...

Can you say hot hot hot??? did I mention is was hot here in Northern California...? well it is, we need RAIN, where is the rain?...even with the heat I did make it to the torch one day this week, the rest of the time I was not going to sit in front of a torch when the kiln controller was reading 98 degrees inside the kiln before I even turned it on, that's with the lid down, doors of the kiln closed & it was turned off...OK enough whining, I did make some yummy beads that I am listing later today...towards 5pm California time...you can check them out here in my shop...

Last week I spent some time with my mom, my sister & her 2 sweet kids at the beach having lunch & ice cream...I had so much fun with them...

Last week's abstract fish creature bead goes to Brenda H. Enter to win this week's large yummy focal bead make a comment on this post...lets keep talking about colors and shapes of beads if you like, or you can tell me all about the cool weather where you live...wishing for a the summer in Oxford England now that I am in the middle of 108 degree weather here in California...

As you can see there is a link above this post to my next class in Turkey at the Glass Furnace in Istanbul, the best school of glass anywhere...I loved teaching there last year & I am looking forward to my next class, the school is a not for profit organization, so the cost you see for the two week, 6 days a week class goes mostly to the school. This cost covers your room & board & the fun activities for the two weeks that you are in Istanbul for, you have to pay for your own way there...please let me know if you have any questions about this very cool class & trip...from the pool side to the great rooms, to the infinity pool & sitting areas, to the library, the galleries, the shop & the class rooms, to the meals by the river & the very awesome people who run the place, oh my gosh did I mention the food, this is one of the best places to visit & take a glass class of any kind at, mine included...

here is a link to a very large collection of photos & stories from my last class there...I recommend that if you do decide to take this class, take a little bit longer time to spend in Istanbul & other parts of Turkey, this is one part of the world that you must see to believe...I have been 3 times in 2 years & I can not get enough...

Life is good...thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace...

Bitter Sweet...

Hi all, So by now most of you know that we are on our way back to America. California, the land of sunshine, where our home is & most of our family & friends live...the last year in England has been awesome, we have visited so many great places, we have lived in Oxford known world over for its lovely spires and prestigious schools...one of my fave is the New College which was built in 1379 ...This town is so gorgeous that during WWII Hitler told his military not to bomb it, he wanted to live here after the war...we have met some lovely people & made great friends here...going back home is always sweet, but leaving great new friends behind is the bitter part...what more can I say, our life is good indeed & we are grateful for all of it...

over the weekend we went to the British Museum & saw a couple of exhibits...I must say the one about Shah Abbas, one of the Kings of Persia who ruled about 400 years ago, was not as cool as I thought it was going to be. It seems that the new Government of Iran is trying re-write history again. They were responsible in a large part for making the exhibit happen, this was so apparent to myself & many other Expats as we noticed that the Persian part of Iran was kept out of the exhibit for the most part, all the writing & art that was displayed from the time of Shah Abbas was all in Arabic & Islam related...it was kind of deflating to see that the new Muslim Government of Iran is trying to kill off the Persian in the Persian History of Iran...After all Persia's history precedes Islam by about 1500 years or more, don't get me started...

The photo above is of the Egyptian part of the museum, its of core formed glass perfume bottles, coal eye liner bottles & fish made over 3200 years ago, I actually teach this technique of Core Forming in one of my advanced classes...as you can see contrary to what modern glass bead makers might tell us, raking designs have been around for many a millenia...

I have listed 2 new bead sets on etsy, click here to see them...

Kristen wins the bead for last week, send me your addy girl...The Pink Berry Splash bead above is this week's giveaway bead, you can enter to win it by making a comment on this blog post...

I had such a great time with Laura these past few weeks...will miss her lots...

Thanks for stopping by & for all the love...see you on the other side...

Jelveh

Peace

Casualties of Moving...

I have the best hubby ever, he practically packed this whole house and got us ready to move all on his own, the movers came today and all of our stuff is on its way to America... When I was torching last week, he was behind me in the studio (garage) helping me pack my glass, he said these wont fit in the tubes and i was not looking so I said oh yeah ASK glass they are longer than the normal rods, just use my glass cutters...I guess I should have said to cut them in half...not being a glass bead maker himself, he did not know that it would be best to cut them in half and not just at the tips...

This glass is now discontinued as many of you know, I use my stash of it sparingly, specially this color the Mediterranean Olive...he felt so bad, but what can you say, the guy is a gem and things like this happen...we laughed about it...I thought i share with you just one casualty of moving...no worries, I will melt them back in to larger working rods...

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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