Etsybloggers' Carnival

For Mother's Day: a bedtime story

I think the most endearing thing my mother ever gave me was her time. When I was very young, we would get together every evening, close to bedtime, and read a book.

(an all-time favorite - what's yours?)

I remember I could hardly wait to continue the story, and listen to her soothing voice as I fell asleep. Thank you Mom, for instilling in me the love of books and words.

New Kid In Town

It’s always so nice to come into a new town, and have those special people who are outgoing and helpful to lead you by the hand, and show you around.


I met one of those people a few weeks ago, when I joined the Etsyblogger Street Team. The street team is “for those who love to blog about their craft, the creative process, and other Etsians!” Oh, BTW, Etsy is the website where you can buy and sell all things handmade.


I knew I would like this creative bunch, and I especially want to thank Stormy Designs for her guidance, who was chosen as April’s Featured Etsyblogger.
This bowl is a little different from her other pieces, and is one of my favorite shop items. It is truly amazing what a creative mind can do, if you let it run wild.

Haiku and wearable art

“I’m the Storybeader” I told a friend who was looking at my new necklaces.
"Then you need to write stories to go with your jewelry.”

That’s a unique twist, but a whole story! So I decided on Japanese poetry, the haiku. I’ve always been drawn to things that are short and to the point. In English, the haiku is a 17-syllable verse, written in three lines of 5 -7 -5 syllables. When I’m working on a necklace, I let my mind wander, and write a verse to go with the piece. Here are some of my favorites:

The little girl ran
Home from the state fair with a
Turquoise candy cane.

Black Turtle found the
Treasure chest, and made fast friends
With the fetish drops.

I wait for Martin's

Song, near the backyard feeder.

Summer has arrived.

Earth Day Celebrated

In commemoration of Earth Day, I picked two of my favorite photos of our beautiful planet.


This was taken from Tortola, B.V.I., looking east towards some other small islands. It's a little foggy, but I love how the islands jut out of the water.



We dropped anchor in a little cove and went exploring on shore. Nikki went on a hike, and this is what she found. Cactus blooming!

storytellers and storybeader

My business and etsy store name, storybeader, originated with a storyteller I saw a few years ago. She was similiar to this Zuni figurine made by Venita Tsipa.
(You can find more of Venita's beadwork at http://www.twinrocks.com/artists/539-Zuni-Beaded-Artist-Venita-Tsipa-artwork.html)



I decided to look on etsy, and see what kind of storytellers were out there. These are some of my favorites:







Here is a spirit stone created by Tree Pruitt. She has it in her etsy shop, mysticgriffin, at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6609257

This next favorite is a necklace - it's body and fringe is 11" long. Created by Carol at wildeyeddesign. (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7945929)

You've got to check this out!

There were two prints I especially liked - one is by Olga Sugden at goldeneggsnest (left) (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11051555 ); the other is by stefanivance (right) (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10452709).






I've got to tell you more about the storybeader, and what SHE'S all about, but for right now, have fun looking at all the great artwork!

Septem, the Bull

I know that lots of us have little animals hanging out around our computers. I bought my little bison last December from Astrid's Beads at the Christ Kindl Weihnachts Markt on Fort Sill. I thought of drilling a hole and hanging him (oh no!) as a pendant, but the more he stayed on my tower, the closer we became.

Septem is a Utah septarian nodule, who was formed approx. 60 million years ago, give or take a couple of million years. His dead sea life was chemically attracted to the sediment around him, they say, and he formed mud balls. As the decomposed shells seeped down into the cracks of the mud, calcite crystals formed.

His name, Septem, comes from the Latin word for seven - as the mud balls dried, they had a tendency to crack in 7 points, in every direction. He used to live in the Gulf of Mexico, but was pushed up to southern Utah, where someone dug him up and carved him.

That's my story. So, who keeps you company?

To repair or not to repair

After people compliment me on my jewelry at craft shows, many ask if I can repair their necklaces. Great - that's all I need to worry about! Should I take them up on it? What would you do?

Before you go any further, see the piece in person before you make any promises.
It could be a simple problem, like restringing beads or an easy soldering job.

Exchange phone numbers. If you're too busy, let them call you.

Tell them your hourly rate, and don't be shy. Basically, if your designing your own jewelry like me, you're doing them a favor in repairing their broken pieces.

I recently met a woman a few months ago at a craft fair. She liked my handmade jewelry, and especially was taken with my treasure necklaces. I thought I had a sale! Then she told me one of her necklaces broke while she was traveling. All the pieces were in a bag. Could I fix it for her? Well, I was a little peeved at first, but told her to call me and gave her a card.

Last Monday she called, and I met her at my work. We discussed what had happened, and the whole necklace needed restringing. She had liked my work so much, she told me just to do what I thought was best, and use as many pieces as possible. And she gave me some extra turquoise she had. I told her about Etsy. She was excited to hear about an online community of handmade artists, and jotted down the web address.

Moral of the story: what goes around, comes around. I think I did a good deed, and we all came out happy.

mermaid and glass

Visited with Lake Erie Beach Glass (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5065278) on We Love Etsy. Her shop sounded so interesting, I had to take a look.

Beach puts glass to a great use, and also draws little mermaids with all sorts of pretty colors. I'm thinking of getting one for my husband's birthday (in August!) , to keep his mermaid company.


Here's a quick glance of the tatoo. Gorgeous, isn't she? She looks kinda like me {:-D , but I don't have blue eyes.

successful church craft fair

Yesterday was a success for my new suncatchers. Sold two at the Bethel Church Craft Fair. I would put up photos, but never got around to taking a group shot.

One of my favorite bracelets sold - the baby blue cloisonne (here's my first plug - see more of my unique jewelry at http://www.storybeader.etsy.com/ )

Each cloisonne bead is worked on individually. Tiny stripes of copper are soldered to the surface, creating "cloisons" or cells. These cells are then filled with four layers of enamel, fired after each filling, then polished, revealing its beautiful design. A lot of work for an individual bead.