Persian New Year, Yummy Baklava & Beads...

Another happy week around here, made even better with sunshine & warm weather...Happy Persian New Year...the first day of the 13 day holiday was a few days ago, as always we had some fun getting together at my parents...I even made my famous Baklava, the recipe in this link is not how I make mine all, mine has no almonds, rose water or saffron, mine has honey, walnuts & a few other secrets...below are some photos of the fun we all had...

Here is my Baklava, on the table with a ton of other goodies & sweets...

Mom's HalfSeen Table for Nowruz, since this not a religious holiday every Persian family has their own book of faith on the table, ours is a great book of poem by Hafez the very famous Persian poet...

Mom made a ton of very yummy food as always...

Parents & hubby...

right to left, Grace, mom, me, & Grace's friend Maria...

Sophia & I...

The kids & I...I just love playing with them...

This past Wednesday I had a great student named Sharon...she is already hooked & she was a natural...

I did make a lot of  yummy beads this past week as well, most of them are listed in my etsy shop now...photo shows a few of them...

Ok now we come to the bead giveaway part, last week's two yummy focal beads go to "our favorite Things" please send your address...for this week I have the very cool mohter pearl pinky silver glass encased focal in the top photo...enter to win by making a comment on this post...

Thanks for stopping by, life is good, I am watching Project Wonderful, I love this show...I love seeing how the minds of these creative people works & brings to like their designs....

Jelveh

Peace

New Beads, Rain & Sunshine....

Not sure what the weather is doing anymore, on Friday when we had our very successful March Get Together at Graceful Studios it rained forever...All kinds of new folks showed up & we shared some food, beads, Jewelry & silver soldering...it was a great mixer...the next meeting is Friday April 9th, my next class is scheduled for Sunday April 11th & don't forget on the weekend of April 24th we are having are great Rock Carving class with Carmen & Ron Martinez from Arizona  click here from some information about their last class at our studio...

On Sat when the sun was out for a while, we went to Monterrey for some fun, we saw the very cool Alice in Wonderland with my in-laws & had dinner at the very yummy LALLA Grill...on Sunday I had a class with a very nice student named Jill, she was great at the torch & made some cool beads...

I did manage to make some fun beads this week too...I will be listing them from now until Friday at 12noon California time in my etsy shop...photo below if you like any of them let me know & I will reserve them for you...

This past week's landscape bead giveaway goes to....Joy F. send your address please...ok for this week I have two very yummy beads to share with you, one is a encased flower bead with a Dichro base & the other is an ellipse shape bead which is feathered on both sides...both very yummy, I made them both while demoing on Friday during our March Mixer...enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

I am conducting a color survey on the right side of this blog for the next few days, please stop by & vote...your feedback on colors is always appreciated...

Thanks for stopping by...life is good & not only because our taxes are done with & its still March...
Jelveh
Peace

March Mixer & New Beads?? Maybe...

Hi all...hope you are warm & dry wherever you are...we had a low key weekend & managed to spend some time on Sunday just being...later Sunday I watched the Oscars..I have to say it was a boring show to some degree & my favorite movie, the best movie of all time Avatar lost...my mom says the Hurt Locker is good, we have to see it yet...but is it better than the best picture ever made? I don't think so...

Ok, about new beads, I have some good ones for you, will try to list a few in the next few days in my etsy shop, which currently has about 20 items in it, I know that is not good, with etsy one has to have 100 or more items at all times to be seen in the crowd, but its hard to keep up with that number all the time...

This Friday we are having our monthly meet & have fun mixer at the studio, the theme this time is Flowers, painted, melted, fused or what have you...I will demonstrate a few bead flower types & Grace is showing us a few silver soldering techniques...please bring your flower items to show & tell...here is more information on Graceful Studios blog...See you at the studio...

Check out our new class that is forming for April, its a Snake Weave & Double Twisted Rope Chain Maille class, I saw their awesome work  & I am so taking this class...yummy...

I am teaching a 5 hour glass class this Sunday from 8am to 1pm, let me know if you are interested & need more information...

Mary (fiberone) wins the yummy make a bracelet set from last week...this week I have the very large yummy desert landscape bead above for you...enter to win it by making a comment on this post, perhaps you can tell me what colors you are looking for in beads these days...have a great rest of the week...

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

TON O' Beads Thursday...

Hi all, hope you are all doing well out there...we are doing fine...I am catching up with my rest & seeing family...we spent some time with both sets of our parents in Santa Cruz on the Beach at the Crows Nest...it was a fun day...ok now for a relatively short blog with points of interest...oh yeah lets not forget the weather, its been raining mad here again this week...I guess I am thankful, last year there was a shortage of water in California...

Ton O' Beads Thursday reminded me of when I was a manager for a movie theater chain in San Diego back in the day, we had discount ticket nights at 3 of our theaters so we called them, TightWad Tuesday (I hated that name), Discount Wednesday (that was at my 10 screen theater, classy name I thought) & Thrifty Thursday (not so bad a name I guess) So I decided to have a discount promotion this Thursday, check below for more information...

First of all DONT FORGET, please click here to vote for the yummy Kelli Burns Bracelet to win Bead Style's Magazine Challenge with my Beads...Today is the last day to vote...

I will have a ton of new yummy beads listed in my etsy shop by 1pm Thursday March 4th. You will get a $10.00 Discount when you purchase 2 or more beady items from my shop from today until the end of Monday March 8th California time...BE SURE to mention MARCH Discount in the comment section when you check out & I will refund your discount via Paypal...here are some photos of the beads I am listing...

And yes there is more beads...I had some fun at the torch...let me know if you see any beads you like me to reserve for you...

I also had a short post on the Watch Me Create Blog, check it out....

Last week's yummy bead goes to Ginny of FL...for this week I have what I am calling "I would make myself a bracelet with these if I had the time" Beads...The yummy group of 4 beads, 1 Bali Silver bead & clasp, in the top photo can be all yours, enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

Mark your calendars, next Friday March 12th, we will hold out 3rd Monthly meeting at Graceful Studios...the fun starts at 3pm, there will be a drawing of all the folks who attend for a yummy gift bag full of goodies...I will demo some new yummy beads or anything you like to see me make & I know how to make it...& Grace will be sharing some silversmithing secret with us...want more information on where we are in Gilroy California? send me an email

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

Jelveh

Peace

Great Corina Class & Beads...

Hi all, hope you had a great week so far...this past week was rather busy for us at Graceful Studios...Grace, Frank &  I hosted Corina Tettinger & 11 lovely students for Corina's 3 day Floral Class...needless to say it was an amazing success, Corina is still the queen of glass beads...Grace is the best she cooked & hosted the best party ever & I ran around making sure the studio ran well during it all...Frank made tools on demand, it was very very fun for every one...the students did so well, I have never seen so many great beads made one after the other in a class...just awesome...below are some photos of the class...

These are some of Corina's sample beads for her Floral Class...can you say yummmy?

everyone making yummy beads...

some of the yummy beads from the first day...wow just look at all the roses...

Corina doing what she does best...great teacher & artist...

And here are some of the yummy beads made on the 3rd day...

I have more photos of this great class, including group photos, but they are in Grace's camera, so I will save them for another time...on Monday Grace held an excellent Social where folks who were not able to take the class came by the studio to meet with Corina & see the yummy beads that were made...one of the people who showed up is one of my all time favorite bead artists and people in our industry, Toni Lutman of Wildwood Art Glass, below is a photo of some of her yummy work, she will be teaching a one day class at our studio sometime in Aug 2010, contact me for more information on this class...

and in other news the winner of last week's red opal bead pair is Sandy of California, girl send me your address...for this week I have the yummy focal bead above, enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

NEW BEADS from me...I will have new beads listed in my etsy shop by Friday noon California time....

Thanks for stopping by...Life is good...I have mostly rested the last couple of days...

Jelveh

Peace

Spring, Photo Story & Beads...

OK well since the busy busy life of Jelveh seems to be a regular event anymore...in the interest of time & so you wont get bored reading my stories, I decided to do a photo blog of whats up with me & Jelveh Designs these days...so here it goes...first off this is another exciting weekend at Graceful Studios as our friend & the very talented lampwork artist Corina Tettinger is teaching her very Full to the Rim, all about Flowers class at our studio...we are so very honored to have her here with us, stop by on Monday the 22nd of Feb for our first ever Meet the Artist event, where Corina will be sharing some of her yummy new designs...oh click on photos to make them larger...

Grace & I saw Avatar (my 4th time) & had Sushi girls night out...photo is from our Friday meeting...

Valentines day was great, need I say more...what does it mean when your shoes match your furniture??

We had a great time Friday at the studio, folks came all the day long...brought lots of green spring goodies to show & tell, check out the butterfly Sioux made...last min guest, not pictured, Edward, Sharon's partner won the prize giveaway for the day...he was so sweet he told Sharon she can pick what she wants, she is taking my class this month so she opted for Glass as her gift...

Grace showed us how to make the Viking Weave Bracelet & Jewels pictured on the left had a great time learning it...I think I will try my hand at it one of these days too...Grace used copper for the demo...

I made some yummy beads if I say so myself, there is more than whats in the photo, I will be listing them all today & in the next couple of days in my etsy shop...

Hubby & his aunt share a birthday, the whole family got together at a great party hosted by hubby's parents...the food was awesome, even though I was under the weather we had a great time...

We even got a bit of Gardening in, both our lemon & orange tree have so much fruit this year...there is lots more left, we could not reach it all...

Now to the bead giveaway, last week's yummy Grateful Dead beads go to Mel P. of UK, send your addy girl...for this week a pair of yummy Opal Red beads for you...loving this new frit, will be working with it more this next week...enter to win this pair of beads by making a comment on this post...

Last but not least the next big news, the very talented Lampwork Artist Heather Trimlett is teaching a 2 day class at our studio Sept 11 &12 2010...contact me for more info on this class....

Thanks for stopping by...life is GOOD...

Jelveh...

Peace...

Grateful Dead & New Beads...

Hi all...hope you had a good week...ours was good & busy...we saw a couple of movies this past weekend, one bad, From Paris With Love, & one OK, Legion...I love all stories about god & angels, I am listening to a book right now called Good Omen, its kind of cool, strange & funny...

I made & listed some yummy beads this week too...you can check them in my etsy shop....

In other news, don't forget this Friday we will our second monthly meeting at Graceful Studios...the get together will start around 2pm & go on till 7pm...the Theme is Green this time, as in dreaming of spring...so wear green, bring a piece of jewelry, bead or art in Green & share...torches will be available if you like to demo one of your goodies...I will do some demos as well, Grace is going to show us how to do a yummy viking weave to make silver bracelet...oh yes there will also be a winner of $25.00 worth of glass, tools or Sterling Silver from my stash...see you at the Studio...

The winner of last week's beads is Lori Anderson of Lori Anderson Designs, send your addy girl...for this week I have the yummy set above...A few times a week I ask hubby what this set looks like or that set looks like when I am stumped while naming beads...His answers sometimes become the name of the beads & sometimes not...when I showed this set of yummy turquoise & some soft reds to him, hubby said they remind him of The Grateful Dead, he said he has no idea why, but the colors & patterns make him think of this band...enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

oh yes don't forget to stop by here & vote for Kelli's Pink & Green Summer Bracelet with my beads... its the last one on the page but the best one for sure...

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

The Sun has come out & New Beads...

 
Hi all...the sun finally came out a bit here & there...we had a busy weekend, a breakfast out with family for my mother & my brothers birthday...then we did some antique & thrift store shopping...it was really fun...

I got a chance to make some beads & I am really proud of this group...I have listed some of them in my etsy shop & will be listing the rest by Thursday 10am California time...below is a photo of a few of them...

Last week's bead giveaway goes to Dorothy, please send your address...this week there are two beads up for one winner in the top photo, the tree bead & the lentil scroll bead...enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

I was trying to add a calander to my blog for all the cool up coming events & classes at the studio...but I am having a hard time adding a cool one & the one that blogger has is not a good size...do any of you know of a good calander widget that I can add to my blog, so for example I can tell about the Friday Feb 12the get together at Graceful Studios from 2 to 7pm...more on this later...

Thanks for stopping by...life is good...oh dont forget to stop by this link & vote for Kelli's bracelet to win...

Jelveh

Peace

My Beads in Bead Style Magazine...

Hi all, hope your weekend is going great, mine is!!! A very talented client of mine Kelli Burns of The Hole Bead Shoppe entered a yummy bracelet that she made (photo above) with some of my Pink Summer Garden beads in the Glass Challenge in the current issue of Bead Style Magazine. it is the March 2010  issue which says Fun & Easy Resin on it..the Bracelet made it to the top six...
You can click here to vote for this awesome bracelet to be the winner of this challenge, the winner of the challenge (hopefully Kelli's Bracelet with my beads) will be featured in the July issue of Bead Style Magazine...
I did buy a few of the mags...for gift you know...lol

Did I mention it already? PLEASE PLEASE go vote for this yummy Bracelet here...
Thanks for stopping by...Life is good, there was so much sunshine today...we were giddy like kids at the dog park playing with other peoples dogs...we may even adopt one...
Jelveh
Peace

New Beads & Rain...???

Hi all, hope your weather & days have more sunshine in them than our weather has had...This Rain stuff is getting really old...the big storms have left, or so they say, every day I wake up thinking we have moved to a cold forest like area, there is dense fog & rain...its not like me to complain two weeks in a row, but hey a girl on fertility drugs can getaway with a few cranky moments...lol...
I think we got spoiled with the sunshine in Mexico over the holidays...although we managed to get a bit of sunshine both Saturday & Sunday we went to the park & had a bit of picnic, our favorite thing to do...that was nice...oh & we saw the Book of Eli...the movie left me unsatisfied...wait for it on DVD, although I must say the color of the film was amazing, a few times I remember thinking I wish the rest of the movie (like plot, acting, editing) was this good...
I had Lani & Pat my new favorite studio mates in for classes this past week, they say they are having a ton of fun learning how to make encased flowers & hearts...they are much fun to hang out with...
I made some yummy beads this week too, trying a new frit that is so awesome, I listed a set of the last night with another new set in my etsy shop, it sold this morning, before I got a chance to get this post up...will make more today...photo of the new beads & buttons below the rest of which will be listed in my shop by later today...if you see anything in the photo that you want & it not listed let me know & I will list it just for you...

I also got a whole lot of shipping done this week, so if you had won beads in the past few weeks, your beads are in the mail...thanks for all the fun...speaking of bead giveaways, last weeks yummy bead goes to Melissa M. Please send your address...This week's bead is a yummy bicone focal I made with that new frit I was telling you about...enter to win it by making a comment on this post...

In other news, as you may remember last week I told about a new tool The Hold Me Tight Rod Holder, made by Frank the in house amazing engineer, who is half of the Graceful Customs, Grace's hubby, my friends & creative studio partners...well the tool has sold over a 100 already, it is such a needed & cool tool, by the way I am not getting any royalties for telling you about the tool, its just that it really is the best rod holder I have ever had...when you get a chance go check it out here & if you already have gotten yours, let me know what you think of it...

Thanks for stopping by...life is good & much less busy this week...
Jelveh
Peace