Leftovers & More...

Hi all, hope you had a great Turkey day...ours was was very nice...having 4 days off was really good, we did just about nothing...went for long walks, did a bit of yoga at home, did a bit of shopping & that's about it...oh yeah ate a whole lot of yummy leftovers, what about you?

this past weekend I managed to list a ton of beads as promised...I will have a couple of new yummy sets, focal beads & leftover sets by Thursday 2pm California time in my etsy shop...

On Wednesday last week I had a quick, as in short intro class to bead making with the nice people in the photo below...Sharon, Lisa & Kevin...Lisa was a natural, Sharon's beads looked really good for a beginner & Kevin did great too...he is also a boro artist, although we had very little boro glass at the studio, he did come back on Sat for about an hour & showed a bit of boro, the second picture is the swan he made for us...he is going to come back to our studio to teach a 2 day intro to off mandrel boro class sometime around spring vacation 2010, I will keep you posted of the dates...

Graceful Studios News: We have added a calendar of events to our blog upcoming dates of note are my lampworking class on Sunday the 6th from 9am to 2pm, & the Christmas Boutique on Sunday December 20th from 10am to 4pm...see you at the studio...

Last week's two yummy focal beads go to Amy, send your addy girl...for this week I have very special bead, I love love this apple core bead with a modified harlequin design...I was going to list it in my shop, then I realized I did not have a yummy bead for the giveaway, so now you can enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

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

Sunny Wednesday Beads....

Hi all, hope you have had a great week so far...mine has been very busy & fun...this past weekend my sister & I got awesome massages at the Well Within Spa for her birthday...the girl deserves it, she is not only the best sister ever, she works very hard at her job & she is the very cool & busy mother of two great kids & wife to a nice man...

Then on Monday I went to a pool party for my sister's little boy's birthday...we many birthdays in August in our family...wish I had photos to show you, but both my mom & my sister have yet to send me the photos...(hint hint

On the bead front I had some fun making more ribbon beads, a few focal beads & some Navajo Rug beads from a Series I have had for many years, those yummy warm colors never go out of style...I have started to list some of the beads & all should be listed by 6pm California time in my etsy shop...

Sue from the NW wins last week's yummy bead...for this week I have a bead that I made while chasing an idea of making Ancient Egyptian inspired beads...the colors are so much more yum that the photo shows...there is lots of blues & silver glass in there as well with enamels & 24 kt gold leaf...its all encased for that yummy look & it measures 27mm along the hole x 22mm wide...enter to win it by making a comment on this post about what your all time favorite colors are...

Thanks for stopping by...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

Wednesday Beads & Update...

Hi all, lets see last you heard from me I was telling you about Iran & the people's up-rising against their barbarian regime, you have seen the news, what has happened can not be put back, so the people of Iran, in some way or another will get their justice & will get rid of their oppressive government...my family is doing well & they have lots of hope for the future& the good changes that will come...

As for beads I made some yummy ones this week, at least I think so, you can check them out in my etsy shop...also changed photos of last week beads, since obviously they were not good...

This past weekend on Saturday I went to the ISGB NorCal big meeting & bead Bazaar that was held at Arrow Springs...I went with my friend & glass bead maker artist Cindy Allen, who although drives way too fast, is always one of the most fun people to go to these events with...if I had driven we would still be on the way back...

For the first time in 15 months I got to mingle with my buddies, lovely people & glass artists such as Craig, Sharon Peters, Toni Lutman , Lisa Fletcher & Nanettet Marie , just to name a few...the most exciting part for me, besides the $600.00 in glass that I purchased & the fun I had catching up with every one's stories & telling mine, was seeing Kim Osibin & her beads, I am not kidding you when I tell you she is the mother of all silver glass beads, long before nice boutique companies made us Silver laden glass to make yummy beads with, this glass artist was doing it on her own...if you ever get a chance to own a Kim Osibin bead go for it, you will not be disappointed...below is a picture of my friend Cindy on the left & Kim on the right both wearing necklaces of Kim's beads...

you can get a hold of Kim at kimosibin@gmail.com Now to the winner of last week's bead, I kid you not it goes to Ginny from Fl. The girl is just that lucky I tell you...for this week I have the yummy bead I made with 2 new glass colors and some goldstone, it is about 30x25x8mm...enter to win by making a comment on this post...

thanks for stopping by...life is good for many of us...

Jelveh

Peace

There will be BEADS...I promise...

Hi all, hope you are having a good week...things are good around here...I am still recovering from that pesky kidney stone...so I am a bit lazy today...

this last Saturday my parents gave a party for my birthday, we had a ton of fun, most fun was the CAKE and everything to do with the CAKE, my sister got this yummy Flowerless Chocolate Cake with a chocolate gnash frosting from Whole Foods, right after everyone sang me Happy Birthday, which I love by the way, my sister put the cake down in front of me on the coffee table & my sweet almost 2 1/2 years old niece Sophia leaned over & blew the candles out & started laughing...she is so cute I loves her lots...for the record I love all of my 5 nieces & nephews & feel so lucky to have them in my life...I would show you pictures, but I forgot my camera & for some reason dad is not able to send me his photos...it was a great day, mom made the best Persian food ever...Thanks everyone for all the love & gifts...Life Is Good...

I did manage to make some beads, I washed them, I have taken photos & I am slowly but surely adding them to my etsy shop...so keep checking back, there will be more later today & on Thursday too...here is a couple of photos of what is coming...

Sarah from Sweden wins the flower bead for last week's giveaway...this week's bead giveaway is a funky focal with a ton of color & encasing, it could be considered a landscape of sorts, I just love the colors in it, its about 27x28mm...enter to win it, make a comment on this post about what is your favorite kind of cake or desert & why...I loved that cake cause it tasted like a dream of chocolate in a bed of fudge...

thanks for stopping by...Life is Good...

Jelveh

Peace

Is it Wednesday Already...???

Hi all, Hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend & remembered all who have gone before us...well if you have read my last post you might imagine that I dont have much energy this week & am still in recovery mode...I do have a couple of yummy petite focal beads, a new key bead & one set of yummy Pink Tropics listed today that I made early last week, check them out here...

Hope to be back at the torch soon...

The winner of the yummy Landscape bead from last week, picked by a random number picker, is Leslie C. of Canada...for this week I have chosen the Flower Bouquet from my etsy shop...I love this bead, I worked on it for some time...it is lovely, about 22mm round & 8mm thick, with yummy flowers on both sides...enter to win by leaving comment on this post...

On Friday night we went to dinner with my awesome sister & her hubby to the Blow Fish in Santana Row...we laughed so hard for so long & the food was yum...

Totally off subject, I have the TV on in the back ground while i am blogging, I see that they will have the American Idol guys on the Today Show, so I change the channel to Regis, since I can not stand anything to do with American Idol & sure enough some guy, I guess one of the finalist Adam somebody is on...tell me am I the only one on the planet who does not watch this show...? he sounds good & looks funky...

Thanks for stopping by...life is good...hope yours is good too...

Jelveh

Peace

Thank You & New Beads...

Well what can I say, I am so thankful for the great response to the Jelveh Designs Key Mandrel...it has been selling like hot cakes & with that comes a ton of shipping & record keeping, thank goodness for my friend Cathy, she has helped me out a lot... what is it they say, be careful what you ask for, you might just get it...I am very appreciative & thankful for all the love everyone...

As fun as the new tool & its sales have been, the most fun for me is melting glass & making beads, so back to our regularly scheduled program we go...I have some new beads for you this week, click here to check them out...

also we have a winner for last weeks Key Bead with the pink flowers on a pea green & black base...the winner is long time favorite Ginny of Fl. for this week, I have one of my Landscape beads inspired by our trip to Reno this month...there is a full moon on one side & a winter tree on the other...it measures 31x28x7mm & enter to win by making a comment on this post about anything you like...

In other news hubby started his very cool new job this week & on Sat we saw Star Trek, I have to hand it to JJ Abrams for doing it well, some fans may disagree but I thought it was brilliant & well done. Over the weekend it grossed $76 million+ an amazing number, not to mention it beats the weekend gross for the highest Star Trek movie to date by $40 million...if you are a fan you will love it, if you are not a fan may just become one...

Life is good, hope yours is awesome too...thanks for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

New Beads & More...

Ok, I was planning on this big blog post about family & friends this past weekend with photos & all, but somehow between the rain (no sunshine for photos), waking up late & being plain lazy today, I fell behind a few hours in my work day...the sun finally came out a bit, I took the photos & am now listing beads as we speak...So click here to see them in the shop, there will be more as the day goes on & some every other day or so from now on...I listed some a few days back too, to see the sold items in my shop click here, I am approaching 600 items sold on etsy in the past 2 years, which is pretty good considering I was gone half the time moving studios & such...life is good & I am thankful for all the love....

The Winner of this past weeks bead is Sandi from TX...This week's bead is called Amazon Rivers & Lakes...it is a yummy encased round bead...part of the Petite Focal series...lot of detail in about 17x21mm space...to win it please make a comment on this post, for example you can tell me what kind of colors & shapes of beads you are looking for right now...

I am going back to listing the rest of the yummies, thanks for stopping by...life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

Happy April & New Beads...

Hi all, hope your April is starting on the right foot...ours is good, the sun is out, we are getting settled back in to our house & I got a new car (used, new to me) this week...the Studio is up & running now, I have made some beads that I listed today that I made at my friends studio, the next ones will be coming from my studio...

So lets get down to the beads, first the winner of last week's bead is "acptuser(at)hotmail(dot)com" Please send me your address so I can send you your bead...

This week I have up for grabs one of my all time favorite shape beads, I made this bead last week too, it is one of my gourd beads, its very yummy at 41mm long it is also very large, amethyst over silvered ivory with teal eyes, can you say yum...to win it enter a comment in this post...

I have 6 new bead sets and focal beads to my shop click here to see , I have 2 more sets & 1 focal still to add, I will put them up on Thursday...

I would also like to invite you to visit my friend Samantha's shop on etsy, the girl is a very talented jewelry artist, she uses the best ingredients & makes very lovely pieces of art, she has just started to offer her gorgeous jewelry on etsy click here to see her yummies & heart her shop for your future gift giving needs...

Thanks so much for stopping by, hope you have a great sunny day...

Jelveh

Peace