New Beads & Quote of the Week...

Hi all, hope you are keeping cool in the midst of this summer's heat wave...we are doing well here, life is very good & busy, went to the best party ever for my sisters 40th, she is so cute, does not look a day over 29...we saw the movie Horrible Bosses...it was funny, perhaps even more so for us since hubby & I have both worked for such people in the past & you probably have too, life is full of difficult people...
life is good...I made beads...

I have listed a few sets of beads to my etsy shop  below is a photo of the new beads...

Quote of the Week: A feature I had for years on my weekly newsletter, many of you remember I am sure, but for some reason I stopped it, well its back...here is this week's Quote: I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. By the Dalai Lama

Our Bi Monthly Get Together is this coming Saturday July 23nd from 11am to 5pm at Graceful Customs in Gilroy. click here to read all about the cool happenings, it promises to be a fun day with a lot of artists sharing their great skills...

While you are checking out Graceful Customs stop by their shop and check out this new great tool...I a have been having a ton of fun with it...

Winner of last week's bead is Meredith, please send your address. This time I have a lovely fish bead (if I say so myself) for the blog giveaway...enter to win by making a comment on this post...maybe you can help me out with my photo question, white background or gray rock background?

Thanks so much for stopping by, life is good...its just a bit hotter than usual...
Jelveh
Peace

Hi all, hope your summer is off to a good start & you had a great holiday weekend...we went to the Russian River for the holiday, although it was really hot hanging out at the water was fun...lots of things have happened since my last post which was in May, some are really good and well some are not so good...

Lets talk beads first, I have managed to make some beads in the past few weeks, and you would be proud of me I have actually listed most of them in my etsy shop below are some photos of the beads...after 10 plus years of making beads, once again I have changed my photos, from white background to gray & rocky background, so please let me know which you like best...the white ones take so long to do...change is good!!! right?

John Rizzi's last class was so much fun at our studio, check out photos of the day & beads here & other stories on Graceful Customs Blog

I have added new class & get together information to the left side of my blog, check it out, try & make it for one of our meetings, I think both the Chain Maille class & possibly silver soldering glass are full, but send Grace an email & get more information.

Keep an eye out for new tools from Graceful Customs as well...

The last blog post bead goes to Sandy "SanSan" from Sacramento, send me your address girl...for this blog post giveaway I have a bubble eye bead with deep see blues & silvered ivory, love this bead, it will make a great pendant...enter to win it by making a comment on this blog post...maybe tell me your thoughts about the new photos...

And here is the rest of the story...After months of doctor appointments, many many different kinds of procedures & drugs, we had our one and only IVF cycle & it did not work...So we move on now, although I have been feeling down about the whole thing, physically, emotionally & getting over all the shots & drugs is very hard too...as I struggle to get back to my daily life, I remember so many other people who struggle in their lives with far worse issues than mine...I remember my parents struggle to bring us to America so we can have a good life & not have to live in oppression. I remember how we had no money & my father a man with a PHD working  for 17 years as a card dealer in a card room club for tips, my mother, a master degree holder & teacher working at Kentucky Fried Chicken, so we could have good a life...I remember so many people suffering all over the world with far worse life problems than mine, from the middle east to Japan, from Arizona fires to Floods all over the country and so many many other ills all over the world...So we move on, life is good...I have so many things to be thankful for in my life...Life IS GOOD...
Thanks for stopping by...
thanks for all the emails asking about my whereabouts...
Jelveh
Peace

47 & counting...New Beads too...

Hi all, What is 47, is it just a number? surely it is not the answer to the meaning of life, if you remember that number is 42...47 = I can count 47 things that I am great full for in my life, heck I can count 4700 things that are positive & good about my life...47 = just about the number pounds I would like to lose...

47 = there is an actual group called The 47 Society no joke...47 = I can give you 47 reasons why you should never ever buy any glasses from any Site For Soar Eyes or their mother company Sterling Vision locations, bad service & so over priced & mean people...send me an email if you need more information

47 = I gave away & tossed at least 47 pieces of clothes, thanks to my mom's help my closet is 47 times more organized than it was...

47 = the number of listings I hope to have in my etsy shop at all times check out the ones I have so far...

47 = is a prime number...

47 has many other meanings but so do other numbers I am sure you can find them all on the web...this last weekend I turned 47 years young...I don't feel older, I don't feel different at all in any way...it is just a number to me...we went to Santa Barbara for a couple of days & had an awesome time...it was a great calm happy birthday...I am sorry that the same can not be said for so many people in Joplin MO and other parts of the south that have storms going through again today...sending lots of prayers & good wishes to them all...

and here are more beads I will be listing...

Graceful Customs has a new cool website where you can purchase all of their cool tools from, Grace is extending her introductory price on the tools for a bit longer so check them out now, as the prices will go back to normal soon...

I have listed the new Classes & the July & September bi-Monthly get together at Graceful Customs Studios  on the left side bar of this blog, check them out and contact Grace if you have any questions & want to sign up...

Winner of last blog post's Zentangle bead is aMorita-sa of GA, please send your address...for this blog post I have a yummy marbled blue white water color bead with rain drops & raku spots, this bicone bead is about 36mm long & very lovely if I say so myself...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

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

Jelveh

Peace

Past Few Weeks & Lots of New Beads...

Hi all, hope the last few weeks have been good to you & life is good...my life had a whole lot of things going on in it, perhaps below is the best way to explain it all...


Most of the time there was the usual fare...

At times there was a lot of Drama...

Protection from evil was needed more than usual...

Soon there was The Spring class to teach, students were so nice http://gracefulstudios.blogspot.com/

I often wondered about the collage or zentangle that is my life...which seems to be the new name for what we have all being doing and calling doodling for ever and ever... every time I turn around there is a new name for something that has been around by another name for a long time already...

And Just before I got to deep in to my head & got tired of the rain, spring sprung all around me...

And life is sweet & good...

This coming Sat is our bi monthly get together at Graceful Customs from 12 to 5pm, there will be door prizes every hour & bead making demos & bring your goodies/beads & such for show & sale...

John Rizzi is returning to Graceful Customs for another great class on June 18th, contact Grace for more information, John Will be teaching a one day beginning complex murrini class. Students should be intermediate level and have good heat control skills as we will be working off mandrel.John will be teaching at least 2 designs in class first he will teach a blooming flower murrini with detailed stamen center. In the afternoon we will learn how to make a complex rose murrini. several students have already signed up, he is a great teacher with lots of knowledge & talent not to be missed...

The yummy beads from the last blog post go to Lori A. of Pretty Things...for this blog post giveaway I have one of my collage, crazy quilt or Zentangle beads for you, this one is a bicone about 38mm with goldstone & black details & one eye...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

Thanks so much for stopping by...life is good...you can check out a whole lot of my new beads in my etsy shop...

Jelveh

Peace

If I Ran the World...& NEW Beads...

If I ran the world, there would have never been an earthquake in Japan or anywhere for that matter...how sad the news is out of Japan...my heart aches for all of these people...

If I ran the world everyone's life would be full & happy like mine is, all would have a great partner with cute pets who loved them as much as ours do...

If I ran the world I would wish that all the lampwork instructors who ever came to our studio Graceful Customs in Gilroy to teach would be just as talented, just as nice & just as lovely a human as John Rizzi from John Rizzi Glassworks. He was the best teacher ever,talented, the students loved him, Frank, Grace & I loved him...We all learned a ton about murrinis...Also click here to check out the slide show photo album that Grace made with some the photos from the murrini class with John...

If I ran the world my beads would get listed all on their own in my etsy shop  but that is not the case, I had a great time making beads, this week I worked with a lot of silver glass & more spring beads...but I struggle often with listings, I fuss with photos, names & the story of each set, each bead...but at the end I will get them all listed I promise...below is photo of what is coming...speaking of beads, I am teaching a "All About Spring" one day class at Graceful Customs Studios in Gilroy on Sat April 16, Check out the information on the Studio Blog, class is limited to 8 students.Click here to Contact Grace to sign up...

If I ran the world everyone who made a comment on my last blog post would be a winner, but that is not the case, there is only one set of beads to give away, so it goes to Ginny C. of FL...for this week I have a set of Egg and friends set of beads in the shades of Blue, lavender & Ivory...enter to win the set by making a comment on this blog post...

If I ran the world life would be good for everyone everywhere...thanks for stopping by...life is good...

Jelveh

Peace

New Beads, Doggy Dock Diving & More...

Hi all, Happy March to you...the sun is finally out today but on Sat we had snow in Gilroy, when we had our bi- monthly meeting at the studio where we hosted Beads of Courage...lots of beads were made for the cause, thanks again to Lena Rhoeds for letting us be involved in this good cause.

Thanks to also all who came to make beads and give their support, Frank, Grace, Lena, Kathy, Sally, Kim, Barbara, Sioux, Joann, hubby, Lani, Pat, Jim, Jennifer & me, hope I am not forgetting anyone, oh yeah Mooshi also came by for a visit...photo above is of some of the beads...

In Bead News: I have a whole bunch of spring fun beads that I am listing in my shop tonight & on Wednesday...photo above is of a few of them...


In Pet News: Mooshi is still very jealous of Ari & Mr. Snuggles...hopefully one day they can all learn to get along...couple of Saturdays ago we took Mooshi Dock Diving with her class mates, all of whom are 40 pounds or larger...she had a blast, she only swam in the water once, not a diver yet, had the water been warm I think she would have jumped. Her photo below was taken by Kelly Frazer, she is very talented, if you need some great photos she is your girl...

For the rest of the time we were there she just waited on the short walk in to the pool for the bigger dogs to jump & bring in the toys...she was so funny & was having fun...

Bead Giveaway: Last week's landscape bead goes to Fireborn of SC, send address please...for this week I have a set of beads in a yummy light coral with some pearl & silver & some murinni from John...enter to win the beads on the first picture above by making a comment on this blog post...


Thanks so much for stopping by...life is good, the sun was out today...
Jelveh
Peace

New Beads & Class News...

Hi all, life is good here, Tuscon was fun, but not enough to make me want to actually make beads all year long so I can go to this show as a seller, but I had a great time with Grace, we bought a ton of findings, silver and gem stones to have fun with...I met Jeff Barber and saw some old friends and made some new ones too...
Since then the sun has been out, so Mooshi and I have been going to the park everyday...save for today, it actually rained today, surprised us all...but hey it is spring weather after all in these parts...A happy fun birthday to my hubby too...

New Beads: There are new beads in the shop & there will be more, so keep checking back...

Bi Monthly Meeting: Join us at the Studio for our next meeting on Feb 26th, friends of ours from Nor Cal SGB will be here to make beads for Beads of Courage, it promises to be a fun day...

New Class: We are excited to announce a One-Day lampworking class with lampwork artist John Rizzi, at our Studio on Saturday, March 12, 9am to 5pm, supplies and lunch included!  Cost is $200.  There is very limited space left!  John Rizzi will be teaching a one day beginning complex murrini class.  Students should be intermediate level and have good heat control skills as we will be working off mandrel.John will be teaching at least 2 designs in class, a basic 3- 4 color flower and a feather murrini in the afternoon. We will also practice different ways of murrini application. The class will focus on creating murrini on steal punties and heat control to get a good consistent pull of your cane. We will use basic tools and learn how to create pattern and design in murrini from the inside out. John has been a lampwork artist for the last 9 years.  He creates a variety of sculptural, wearable and decorative art pieces. John has a special interest in the art of murrini making, you can view more of his work at his website  http://www.johnrizziglassworks.com Or view many of his murrini designs at his etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/JohnRizziGlassworkss

For more information on this class and others held at our studio in Gilroy, contact Grace by clicking here...

For the last blog post we have two winners, Sioux wins the electronic copy of Hubby's new book

And the cool bead from the last blog goes to Brenda H.For this week I have an awesome & large Landscape bead, over 34mm round...love this one...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

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

Jelveh

Peace

New Beads, Tucson & Studio's next Get Together...

Hello all, hope your year is off to a good start...our life is good, I made some beads, Grace and I are going to Tucson & at our next get together at the studio we will be making beads for Beads of Courage...all of these things are great & I will give you more information on all of it later in this post...However...

The big news this week at our house is that my brilliant husband has published his first book, Jerusalem Syndrome on Amazon.com for kindle readers, pc readers & apple readers...which can be downloaded from Amazon... this is so exciting, Martin wrote this books years ago, when I met him he had just finished it...he shopped it out to a couple of print publishers late Aug 2001, after the tragedy happened on Sept. 11, 2001, one of the more famous publishers send him a hand written note explaining "that although the idea was awesome & original, the post 9/11/01 environment was not the best time for this book, as the story starts with a riot on Christmas eve in Jerusalem...The story is a Sci Fi / Horror Novel that happens in our time, so they call this kind of book Future Science...I am giving away a download of this book to the first person who makes a comment on this post...Shameless plug I know, but he is the love of my life & the book is a great read.

Speaking of being published, one of my Flower Implosion beads made it in to the Flow Magazine's current issue of Women In Glass...

Beads: I have some new beads to share in my etsy shop...below is a preview photo of whats to come & there are even more beads that need to be washed, photographed & listed, so stay tuned...

Studio: Join us on Sat February 26th from 12 to 5pm at our Studio in Gilroy. Bead makers & Glass Artists will be coming over to make beads for Beads of Courage, it promises to be a fun day full of Demos...come over for a visit, this is a pot luck party so bring a goody to munch on if you can...

Tucson: Grace & I are going to hang out with a whole lot of Beady people in Tucson AZ for a few days...it should be a ton of fun...I will have more news & photos of out trip when we come back next week...

Winner: The last beads for the giveaway, the 3 yummy focal beads go to Deci of CA. Please send me your address...This week's bead is a yummy focal with bubble eyes on each side, it is about 36mm long x 22mm wide. Enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

Tools: Don't forget to check out the newest cool tool from Grace & Frank, The Pinch me Tight is an awesome versatile tool that you will love having on your work bench...

Thanks so much for stopping by...life is good, even though the ceiling of our dinning room came down with a bad water leak last Wednesday, now the floor is being replaced too...we are thankful for all the good things in our life...
Jelveh
Peace

New Year, New Beads, New Tool...

Happy New Year everyone, hope you had a great holiday season & are now looking forward to a great new year like me...life is good, I have no excuses nor any real reasons for not blogging or listing beads for over a month...I am having a great time playing mom to Mooshi, she is such a great dog & we are so happy to have her...I did have a bit of a cold for a few days, but other than that all is good around here...

I made some new beads, listed some & will be listing more in my etsy shop...including a brand new design from me called Charming Grace, since the idea is really Grace's, over the holidays Frank made this new tool that Grace played with it & came up with this cool idea with love love the Pinch Me Right...a very cool hip tool that does a lot of fun things, you need to figure all the cool things that are possible with this tool...

Also with the new year we started our Private Beadmaking Parties at the studio...the group on Monday Jan 10 was so so so nice, there was 8 students in class and for 2 hours I thought them how to make one bead and I have to say they all did such an awesome job, I had a ton of fun with them, they are a very artsy fun group, I look forward to seeing Mary-Lee & her group of glass addicts again at the studio soon...can you tell in the photo below which bead is mine, no one had any experience in glass prior this two hour class/party...

Oh ok now for the winner of the last blog post which was oh my gosh all the way back in December 2010, is Janette from NV. Enter to win the trio of yummy focal beads in the photo above by making a comment on this blog post...

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

Holiday Boutique & Beads...

Hi all, hope you are doing well & have been having fun getting ready for Christmas & Happy Hanukkah too, today is the 7th day...we are doing well...the puppy is doing great, she is so much fun, we are wondering how come we never got a puppy before...
This past Saturday we had our second annual Holiday Boutique at Graceful Studios, it was so much fun, there were lots of people and goodies there to be had...below are some photos...Grace also has a story and photo on her blog...click here to see

I made a few new beads, added them to my etsy shop...will be adding more in the days to come...if you are a returning client, send me an email and I will send you a new coupon code good for 10% off your purchase when you check out...also I added some beads on remake request only, so check them out...

Last week's organic yummy silver red beads go to Elizabeth of Virginia, send your address girl...for this week the giveaway is a focal bead from my Earth From Above series...I love this bead and have been hanging on to it for a while...enter to win it by making a comment on this blog post...

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

Jelveh

Peace