SGB NOR CAL Meeting & New Beads...

Hi all, hope you are doing well...things are a bit nutty around here...lets see Grace is in the hospital with her back injury, the good news is she will be home soon & will continue therapy & will be back on her feet in no time...

Hubby & I had our 7th wedding anniversary, we went to Negeen our favorite Persian food restaurant & the funny thing is we got each other the same card...life is good...

Over the weekend, my sister treated mom & I along with her friend & her mom & sister in-law to a two day one night visit to Sonoma, we had a blast, had way too much wine & cheese & stayed at the Sonoma Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa...it was an awesome Girls weekend...one that I hope we repeat again with the same group, they are all so much fun...

I have been making a ton of beads but have been slow about listing and or sending an email out to everyone, finally got a few listed & will be listing more as the days go by...stop by my shop to see them all...36 items listed already...

Society of Glass Beadmakers Northern California, aka SGB Nor Cal is holding their September meeting at our studio on Saturday September 25th, the fun will begin at 1pm and go on till about 6pm...several artists will be on hand to show & tell about their art, they will included Silver Artists, Glass Artists (Sharon Peters & Lori Peterson to name a few) & a Rock Carving Artist among others...it is going to be a pot luck...bring your beads, your art to share, show & sell...need more information send me an email...

Last week's focal Ribbon bead goes to Sioux G. for this week I have a rather large yummy focal bead that goes with two of the sets of beads that I am listing tonight called Wild Thing from an older series of mine, I just love these colors together...enter to win this focal bead by making a comment on this post...

Thanks again for stopping by...life is good, specially now that Grace will be coming home soon...oh more information on the Beauty Contest soon...as you may have guessed the deadline has been extended again...
Jelveh
Peace

Leksi Designs...This Handmade Life: BLOG #75 BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY! TWEET TWEET

Leksi Designs...This Handmade Life: BLOG #75 BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY! TWEET TWEET: "THEME: EVERYTHING 'TWEET TWEET'!!!Follow all of the blogs via the BLOGMANIA LINKY!!GIVEAWAY #1 GOLD SPONSOR! WIN A $450.00 Boutique Graphi..."

OH NO She Hurt her back & New Beads...

Hi all, hope you are doing well...life is good here, well kind of, Grace hurt her back really bad last weekend after the very successful Toni Lutman class came to an end, Toni was the best teacher ever, the students, Grace, Frank & I feel very honored to have had her here...photo below...

The SAD news is that Grace hurt herself really bad, she has been off of work for a week & she is on her way to an MRI & a Neurologist on Wednesday...Due to this unfortunate accident we have to cancel Heather Trimlett's class next week...rest assured everyone will be refunded & her class will be rescheduled for a later date...we are thinking Spring 2011...Grace did add more firt to the shop, she just wont stop working...

This past week, while Grace was suffering, hubby & I took a few days off, went to Montana to visit the grandparent (hubby's)...we had a great time, they were so much fun to hang out with...from picnics to lovely drives & conversations that went on forever, we enjoyed our time with them & laughed so much...& cried a bit too, specially when Grandma gave hubby this very cool book of all the letters & cards that he & his brother had sent them over the years...Hubby & I went for a long two and half hour float in a tube on the Madison River among other fun times...

Now about some new yummy beads, if I say so myself,  I made a couple of weeks ago & have been listing them in my etsy shop today...shipping is still free for all orders over $50.00 until Tuesday the 7th of September...

Last week's delicious bead goes to one of my favorite jewelry designers & new glass artists around, Lori of Pretty Things...for this week, I have one of my Ribbon Beads, the colors are mostly blues & soft greens...yum, to win it make a comment on this post...

Beauty Contest Rules & Dates:
Please send a high resolution photo of your jewelry/art piece entry made with my beads by September 20th...photo should have your names, but I can also add it, so no worries, you can enter two items if you like...winners will be picked by Fire Mountain Gem as usual...
1st place winner will get a $100.00 gift certificate to my etsy shop
2nd place winner will get a $50.00 gift certificate to my etsy shop
3rd place winner will get a $25.00 gift certificate to my etsy shop

Thanks for stopping by, life is good...
Jelveh
Peace

Frit & Toni Lutman...

Hi all...this one is going to be quick and easy...ok there are so many things to tell you about, first off I love love love giving a bath to our guinea pigs, they are so cool, they just sit there & let you wash them & dry them & clip their nails...we saw The Kids Are Alright, it was a great movie...Other than that I have been busy at the studio with students & frit & making beads, beads will be added later this eve, so when you wake up on Sat & Sun this weekend you will have a choice of a ton of new beads...so check out my etsy shop often to see all the new yummies...

I will be teaching a class today to two sisters from Arizona, who are also here to take Toni Lutman's sold out class on Saturday...I know you wish you could take Toni's class too, we are so excited to have her, sign up for my email list to find out about classes, beads & new tools...

Grace has new yummy COE 96 frits in her etsy shop for sale...yours truly helped out with picking  colors & testing...it was very fun for me...I love the new colors which are called. Amazon, Monterrey, Ocean Breeze, Purple Passion, Tropical Sorbet, Victorian Pink & very warm Indian Masala...check them out they are awesome & well priced...

Lets see we had our monthly meeting last Friday at the Studio & there was so much fun to be had, Ed Ferner came with a video of his work that won an award, Jen & Jim brought out the big machines, I learned how to trim & polish my fused pieces, its a long process dont know why all the great fusing artists out there dont charge more for their work...although if I had done it right in the first place I would not have too much polishing to do...we had a few new people at our meeting, and then second...you can see all kinds of photos and stories on our Studio Blog...

Last weeks winner of the yummy set of 3 garden beads is Brenda H. send me your address girl...they yummy bead above is a pillow shape bead silver foil encased in two transparent colors and details in white stringer, I love this bead, been holding on to it for a while and today I decided to let it go...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

Thanks for stopping by...life is very good
Jelveh
Peace

A little of Everthing...& Heather Trimlett...

Hi all, hope you are doing well...life here is good if not a bit cold for this time of the year...I just wish the weather would make up its mind, be warm when its supposed to be & cold when its supposed to be...

This past week Grace, Frank & I had the pleasure of taking a one day class in enameling with Gloria B. one of the most talented & generous people I have met in a long time, she ...having never done any enameling I had no idea what to expect & I am happy to report it was so much fun...I am looking forward to making more enameled pieces & we will bring one of Gloria's most favorite teachers to do a class next year...life is so good when you get to create...

Speaking of Creating & great teachers, we are happy to announce Heather Trimlet will be here at our studio to teach a class on her very famous Hollow Vessels, Spare Tire beads & if time allows Core Formed vessels, the class is going to be held on September 11 & 12 2010...for more information on the class & to reserve your space send an email to Jelveh or Grace...we are so very excited about this class...photo below is small representation of Heather's awesome glass art...

Grace & I also did some fusing, kind of my first time, I have fused 104 glass before, broken in half beads to be exact,  but this time it was honest to goodness coe 90 glass dichro on black & I even added some copper cut outs from my new friend Katie's etsy shop to one of my pieces, now we have to cut and polish them...

About my new beads, like the weather, I too could not decide what kind of bead mood I was in this past week, so I made a little bit of everything...I have started listing them all in my etsy shop & hope to finish by later tonight...in the mean time the photo below is of all the beads coming today...

And last but not least, we have a winner for last week's bead giveaway...Mary, from Mary Me wins the beads for last week, please send your addy girl...and for this week I have the delicious set of spring flower beads above, enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

I almost forgot, dont forget this Friday the 13th of Augest (3pm to 7pm)we will have our monthly meeting at the Studio, there will be lots of fun to be had, from demos to giveways and dont for get the food...

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

Jelveh

Peace

Let's try something NEW....

Wow over two weeks since I blogged, I could tell you we were on holiday, but that’s not so, I could tell you I was busy with family, well that could be true, I could tell you a whole bunch of reasons for not blogging, but mostly I have to say I was just plain lazy…I was making beads & teaching classes, seeing movies (Must see Inception & Salt, both good)…buying a bunch of new glass related goodies which I will list below…we also attended Grace & Frank’s (my friends & studio partners) daughter’s wedding which was awesome…the whole day was lovely & it felt like there was a lot of love & romance in the air, check out some of the photos on our studio’s blog at www.Gracefulstucoms.blogspot.com Grace used a cool program called Smile Box to do a slide show of the wedding photos which is rather cool...

I have been adding new beads every other day, so there are a lot of new beads to check out in my etsy shop, more to come every day or so…

what I am most excited about this week is using Copper Cut Outs from Katie of Katie Lee Designs in my beads, they are so very cool, I have used copper wire and copper mesh in my beads before, but not cut outs, these are just perfect, I just love the fact that Katie is making these for us to use, the cost is very reasonable too, you get a bag of 25 cut outs perfectly sized for use in beads for use under $3.00, she has a tons of designs…below is a photo of one of my new beads with two of her cut outs…I love them…you will too…

Speaking of new glass goodies, check out the new frit book from our friend Val Cox, called Frit Secrets-Condensed, this is a abbreviated version of the original Frit Secrets by Val Cox, which is the best companion for all frit users & lovers…while you are at it check out her great frit too...

Last new item, not new, but just a reminder that Graceful Studios is now selling the ever popular Squeeze me Right Mashers in the new larger size named Big Brother Mashers, check them out I have one of every masher they make and love them all….also don’t repeat this it’s a secret but a new masher is being developed as we speak…

Now for the winner of last time I had a bead for giveaway goes to Stefanies Sammelsurim from Germany…please send your address…for this week I have the delectable set of 3 beads olive green encased silvered ivory organic beads with a copper cut out leaf on each side…ready for fall or any other time of the year…enter to win this set by making a comment on this post or sending me an email at

A quick reminder that Heather Trimlet & Pati Walton’s classes are coming up fast and I think Pati’s class is full but we are taking names for the our waiting list…need more info check out our blog or send us email Jelveh or Grace…

Thanks for stopping by…life is GOOD…

Jelveh

Peace

Hot hot days of summer....

Hi all, hope you are having a great summer like we are...our trip to the Russian River was very fun, some photos below, we had a great 4th of July weekend...The river was very nice, but the Red Woods were amazing we took a couple of long hikes in the park...the tall tree canopy made the park a very cool place to be at...the one tree we are standing in front of is 1400 years old and named after the founder of the park... oh we saw the best movie ever so far this summer Despicable Me...you will love it...

since then I have had a couple of students & made a ton of beads most of which have been listed  in my etsy shop...a group photo of the beads below...last week's discount still applies to everyone on my email list, if you remember what it was please mention it at checkout in etsy and I will refund your discount via paypal...

Dont forget to join us at the studio on Friday Aug 13th for our monthly meeting, Toni Lutman's class for Aug 21st is all booked now, we still have a few openings for Heather Trimlets class in Sept. & Pati Walton's class in Nov. check out all the info & see all the new tools at Graceful Studios Blog...

Last week's encased flower bead goes to our own Amber...the random picker like her...this week's bead is a yummy bead I made with silver glass...enter to win by making a comment on this blog post...

Thanks for stopping by, Life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

Happy 4th everyone...

We are having fun as this weekend is the 10th anniversary of our first date...hope you are having a great & safe holiday yourself...the cute guy in the video and in the photo below is Ari, other wise known as Michael Cera Jr. we are hosting him at our house for the next couple of weeks in his own house of course to see if he gets along with Mr. snuggles...if they don't get along I think we will still keep him, just not in the same house with our other boy...click on the second photo to see Ari eating...

and this is a photo that shows how much they like each other so far & the size difference...Ari AKA Michael Cera Jr. is a year older & well eats all the time, he has to keep his figure...

Check out the new beads in my etsy shop....

Thanks for stopping by...Life is good & hope your 4th of July holiday is awesome...

Jelveh

Peace

Mr Snuggles & New Beads...

Ok, I know its been forever, but there is so much to do & so little time to do it in, its been almost two weeks since I came back from my trip to Turkey & the things of have done a lot of are, spend time with hubby,   sleep, be at the studio making beads & getting ready to go on holiday...but the one thing I have done the most is snuggle Mr. Snuggles...the newest member of our family...

You see sadly our beloved Sammy the best hamster ever who came to America with us from England passed away a week before I went to Turkey for my class, he had a stroke at the ripe old age of 3 & died in my hands...we were heartbroken, he had seen us through a lot of good & tough times...needless to say my trip to Turkey & my time there teaching was all overshadowed by the loss of Sammy...he is in hamster heaven now...both hubby & I cried for some time & still do a bit here & there...
However life must go on & so does loving small critters...

Enter Mr. Snuggles...he is a baby Guinea Pig...unlike Sammy, he loves & needs to be held & he is constantly talking...so I guess I am finding out what it may be like to have a baby who needs to be held all the time...I have been looking for a friend for him, I was not able to find another Guinea Pig yet, I am surprised that they did not have him with a friend for sale, as many Guinea Pigs need companions & are sold in pairs...so guess who he is bonded with? he is even jealous of hubby when I pay any attention to him while Mr. Snuggles in on my lap...

In other news, I have new beads, Listed many on my etsy shop, will list more in the coming days...photo below...

Last Friday we had our Monthly Get Together at the Studio check out the photos & the story of the fun had by all....be sure to stop by Grace's etsy shop & check out the much sought after new mashers that Frank has been making, I love love all of them...

On Sunday I had 2 lovely students Wendy & Gloria in my beginning lampworking class, I can tell they are both going to be great bead makers & I am glad to report they are both Glass Addicts already...I have another student Amber coming in on Tuesday...I love my job & getting a chance to meet all these lovely people...

Mel P. wins the yummy vessel from last week...for this week I have a yummy encased dichro background pink flower focal bead...I love the way it came out, its about 20mm long & made in to a pendant with silver I bought in Turkey...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

I am sure there is more that to talk about like two very good movies we saw this past week, Knight & Day, a great fun movie & Grown Ups, another fun movie...

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

Jelveh

Peace

Rock Around the Clock....

Ok well not exactly Rock Around the Clock anymore, more like I have been sleeping since I got back from my trip to Turkey which was a bit like Rock Around the Clock for about 19 days...I had a ton of fun...I had lots of adventures...met great people & in general am pretty happy about my trip...I got a ton of silver to keep to myself as always...I know I always bring silver and goodies back & never really share with you guys...this time I promise to list a few items...I have over spent again...lol...

Hope you are all doing well...& life is good for you...

I know the golf spill is still going on & that is really sad...perhaps that is the only way we learn to change our ways, when we actually see nature damaged beyond repair, hope its not too late to turn a new leaf in the way we treat our planet...

I do have some beads & a real up date will come this next Monday or Tuesday, when I have had time to take photos & such...There are some beads in the shop & I have a set or two of beads that I will try to list today...

in the mean time check out this link on my face book photos for the story & photos about my class & my great students in Istanbul... http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=83992&id=1142616817&ref=pb

The last bead listed in May on the blog giveaway goes to Stephanie...thanks girl...for this week I have a very nice, very cool, took me forever to make corked vessel made with silver glass up for the giveaway...enter to win it by making a comment on this blog post or go to the facebook link above & make a comment there...

I am to out monthly meeting today, sorry I did not give a longer heads up about it, but its today from 3pm to 7pm at Graceful Studios... by the way if you have not checked it stop by Grace's etsy shop & take a look at the many new mashers they got...I sold all of the ones I took to Turkey with me, my students & my friends love them....

So much for a quick update, thanks for stopping by...life is good...
Jelveh
Peace