A Week Off & New Beads...

Hi all, hope your Easter holiday was nice...ours was good, as you may have noticed I was gone for a week or so...just needed some rest & relaxation...spent some time with family & friends & made a ton of beads...so to follow is a photo story of my week off & a few comments...you may not know this but not only I share my blog with you, the bead people, but this is also a great way for my family & friends around the world to see what we have been up to...

First off we saw Clash of the Titans, almost as good, campy & funny as the old one, I recommend it specially for those who are in love with Sam Worthington...like me...yes the same yummy guy from Avatar...

Please note I have added the up coming  event & classes at Graceful Studios & my Classes on the right hand side of this blog...for more information send me an email...

Don't forget this Friday 4/9/10 we will have our fun monthly meeting, open torch & glass fusing demo at Graceful Studios...

I did manage to make a bunch of yummy beads, I have listed most of them in my etsy shop, below is a group shot of some of them...

here they are the yummy beads I made this week if I say so myself...a few have been listed the rest will be by end of today...

I hardly ever drink, so imagine my surprise when I found out these yummy Margaritas at the Whole Enchilada in Moss Landing have 4 1/5 shots of alcohol in them, the cute blond is my mom in law & we only had one each, but as you can see even before we finished them we were off the deep end...it was a blast, we went dancing after...

Grace & I had some fun making beads & drinking hot chocolate with peeps this past week at the studio...

I made some goodies for one of my favorite clients...

Lets see the winner of the yummy pearly bead from last week is Julianna C. from Alabama, send me your address girl...for this week I have a set of 4 beads in yummy spring colors with a ceramic metal covered key charm that I got in Turkey last year up for the weekly giveaway...enter to win them by making a comment on this post...

Thanks for stopping by...life is very very good...there is more to tell & there are exciting new classes coming to the studio, more information to follow next week...
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

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

New beads & one to win...

Hi all, wow has this been a great week or what...we have a new president elect & life seems full of hope...and that is always a good thing...

I have some new beads for you listed in my Etsy Shop

& the bead to the left is this week's giveaway this is a large encased in the middle bicone bead, about 35mm along the hole, I love how it came out, the colors are better in person, some Raku purples, greens...

To enter to win this bead, leave a comment on this post with your favorite jewelry commponant or fixing as it were...the Contest will end by Monday afternoon England time...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

Back for a day or two...

Hi all, our time in Turkey was awesome...I can not describe in words to you how it felt to see & spent time with my aunt & her gorgeous daughter...it was amazing, we cried, we laughed, we talked for hours...we visited all kinds of cool places & mostly spent time together...as the days passed I realized how much of my life somehow has been lost to me...these people, my family, I should have known & never knew...at times the sadness overwhelms the happy feelings I collected while on this trip, I miss them so much already...it seems too private an issue for me to talk about more here...just go love your family & friends as much as you can...life is too short not to...our time in Turkey was certainly too short...looking forward to seeing my aunt & her daughter (my new adopted daughter) again soon...

I may not share more photos of the trip, for now here are some photos of a night we all went to dinner with some of my friends that I have in Turkey, these lovely people were in my class this past June, save for Pinar who introduced me to the school that I now teach at regularly...I made a special glass bead project to share with my friends...here are some photos of it...in one photo you can see us all in the bathroom sharing & in another Gunay, Burcu & Ayse are already wearing their beads...we had a great time...I miss them already too...

Went to London & saw the Eye on Sat...Going to Stone Henge with mom & dad on Monday while hubby works...then we are off to Spain at the end of the week...more later...perhaps even a few new beads on Wednesday...keep an eye out...

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

What is today...?

Hi all, we are back, I have been so tired, I don't even know what day it is... we came back a couple of days ago from Edinburgh in Scotland where we enjoyed a bit of the Fringe Festival, from Music to Comedy, from Theater to the Book Festival & everything in between, this town rocks for a whole month...click here to see some of what goes on at the Edinburgh Festival...there is a link below to our photos from the trip...

We saw one of Martin's favorite writers Will Self, he was amazing. We also saw 2 great Comedians, Shazia Mirza & the ever so funny Mark Watson, I don't think I have laughed this much & for this long forever...

Here are some photos of our Trip...we loved the castle, the city as a whole is so alive, with its rich history & all the people who bring so much art & talent to the city during the festival...we were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people & the wasting of so much paper used to print information for the hundreds of shows at the many venues that you can visit...

There is so much more to talk about today...I saw my "President" Hillary give one of the best speeches I have heard this year on why we are all democrats & we should stick together...I cried when I watched, I think Mr. Obama will be our next President & I think he will be a good president for America, but I think we missed a great opportunity as a people to elect a person of great intellect & strength to be our next President...Hillary is such a class act...maybe in 2012?

Where are the Beads...? I will list some yummy beads for your after 4pm on Thursday...I will send an email letting you know when they are up...& yes there will be a chance to win some yummy beads on the blog... We are so excited my parents will be here next week, they are staying for a whole month, we are going to Turkey with them in about 12 days to see my aunt who is coming from Iran to see us, it will be the first time I have seen her in 30 years...& we have a big dinner planned in Istanbul with my Turkish friends & fellow glass addicts...so much going on...more on this later...

Thanks for stopping by...

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

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

Win These Beads...

OK, here is a yummy set of 3 beads, that I made with a ton of silver glass from double helix, you can not see the color that well...the iris pearl is yummy in them...

Here is the question: name one of the 3 most favorite bands of mine from the mid to late 80s...

first person with the right answer get the beads, you must answer on the comment section of the blog, it can not be on the email...

N0 correct answers yet. its Clue Time!

couple of you have come close to my type of music, so I think it is time to give a clue...I was once thrown out of a concert for one of these bands...I was there to watch over my sister and her friends, I got asked to leave, because I did not have the key to the hand cuffs that I was wearing as a belt & they could not be removed as they were not allowed in the venue...lol...some chaperon was I...hope this helps...

Jelveh

Peace

Captain there be Beads here...

Remember that line from Star Trek movie "The Voyage home"?, Scotti said it to Kirk after he had the Whales on board safe & sound, taking them back to the future to save the earth...OK so I am a Star Trek nerd.

I refuse to go by that other name "Trekkie" even though I have a signed uniform by one of the crew members of Star Trek Next Generation.

So here is a way to win an awesome bead, the Star bead above, a $30.00 value. Guess which star signed my Next Generation uniform (need the actor & character name) & you will get it...answer here on the blog, to this entry, so we can see the time line, first person with the right answer wins it. one guess per person please. I will send out an email to all in a few minutes...

Jelveh

Peace

New BEADS...Finally

I got beads up for you, one set sold already, I will be listing others, but first I will send everyone an email.

thanks so much for stopping by...

Jelveh

Peace

A Preview...

A preview of some beads I will be listing later today on Etsy...there is more but you have to come back to see them.

Remember how I complained about the hot hot weather, well last night it rained like you would not believe.Now its gorgeous again.

Jelveh

Peace

Waiting...FREE BEAD

Do you ever just wait & wait? until you forget what you are waiting for?Here in England I wait at the post office for so long, 1 hour 15 minutes the other day, I feel like Bart Simpson, writing on the black board in my mind over & over, "I will never ever say another bad thing about the post office in California. Take the case of our stuff, you know, bedding, photos, decorating goods, cool things we have collected from out travels, our carpets, our beds, oh yeah & there is the matter of 700 pounds of glass, 3 of my torches, all my presses, all the rest of my tools & all the goodies to make jewelry with, including my silver, crystals & what have you. We have been waiting since the end of May for our STUFF to arrive from America. We have already bought a ton of bedding, since what we had with us is not really enough, I had brought a torch & initial set up, also I have purchased a ton of Glass from http://www.tuffnellglass.com/ & countless other items. So apparently the wait is over, we should have our stuff soon. Cross your fingers. Be the first to Guess what I am missing the most out of my stuff & get a set of 3 beads. Leave the guess here in the comment section, this section is moderated, but when I post your comment, it will have a time stamp on it, so we will know who was first. OH yeah I have new beads....enjoy. Jelveh. Peace

What's in a NAME???

Ok. Happy Monday.

Here is a couple of collage photo of some of my old beads, these photos are just a few of the sets I made as early as 2002 to late 2006. As most of you know the number of bead sets I have made runs over 4000. But back in 2006 I stopped putting them in the archives of my site, back when my dad was sick, I was too busy to worry about it. For the past year of course you can find the beads I have sold in the sold section of my etsy shop.

I was looking for some beads that someone said I made & was selling them under my name in a bracelet, which turned out not to be mine, just my name was in use...I was flattered really. But while I was looking I fell upon some of the photos of my past beads & decided to use them to ask about NAME changes for old designs, when they are being made by newer artists & designers, as in the case of some of the clothes we see today.

For some time now, I have been seeing some beads listed on line & in the forums, lovely beads, no issues there, but the design names are confusing to me...in the past I have made these beads, I have seen other artists & glass bead makers who came long before me, also make them, some designs have been around for a few hundred years really.

From the time I Started making beads about 8 years ago til now, the two designs that I am talking about have been called Harlequin (& its many different branches, thats the triangles that come together or past one another to the other side of the bead with good encasing) & the other is the twisted encased stringer bead. Now they are being called Wigwag & Ribbon beads. my driend Ilknur was even trying to show the twisted strigner encased bead to me as a new design in the class that I was teachign in Turkey last month.

Not sure when this happened, not sure why folks think these are new designs that need new names. I wonder why this kind of thing happens at all & not just in glass bead making?

My friend who is also my mom in-law & I, talk about this all the time, how the new generation changes the name of something the last generation has been doing forever & then calls it a new idea, this comes up mostly when we talk about political ideas. I am however noticing this trend in everything anymore, from folks wearing the puffy shoulders of the 80's & those horrible bright primary colors & calling them new designs, to that big ugly belt that everyone, here anyway, is putting in the middle of their waist over everything they wear, which is also a total recall from the 80's for sure. Some car designs, some home designs, even some movie & book plots, all recalled from the past.

What do you think? why is there this need to stamp something that has been around for some time NEW? Is it because we all need to feel like we are the creators of our own time? is it because there is no more creativity left & we just have to recycle everything to keep it fresh, every 20 years, what goes around, comes back around. Should I have kept my big ugly belts, my big shoulder clothes, in the primary colors? Say it ain't So??? when it comes to beads should I remake my past beads?

Or am I just getting older???

Jelveh.

Peace