Happy Halloween

Wishing you oodles of Trick or Treaters and lots of sweet treats.  Happy Halloween!

Important! Register Your Cell Phone for Do Not Call

At the end of this month, your cell phone number will be made public, which opens it up to telemarketers.  And that means that if they call, you can use up your valuable minutes telling them "No Thank You!"

Here is the national Do Not Call telephone number to avoid that hassle.

1-888-382-1222

You can call it and register your cell phone on the Do Not Call list.  If pesky marketers still call you, you can register a complaint with their website as well.  www.donotcall.gov

Please pass on this post to all your friends and family.  And remember, you need to call from the cell phone whose number you want to have on the list.

Delicious Acorn Cookies

Acorns...Hershey's kisses, mini chocolate chips, Nutter Butter mini cookies.  Melt some of the chocolate chips then dip the cookie in and stick the cookie to the Hershey's Kiss.  Dab the chocolate chip in the melted chocolate and add it to the top.

I won't make any jokes about squirreling some away for later, because I know they'll be gone quickly.

Recipe is shared from facebook and that came from another magazine...think it was called "Country Woman". 

Enjoy!

.

There's No Business Like Snow Business

Sing along with me....there's no business, like snow business...

My little snow folk have been pretty popular, so I'm adding more to my Studio Marcy Etsy shop.  This little one's name is Chase.  He's got his handknit glass scarf and is ready to be adopted.  He can be worn or even used as a wonderful little Christmas tree ornament.

The Story of the Do Over Challenge

Jewelry designer Jeannie Dukic hosted a challenge for folks to take some of her pieces and make them over in their own style.  I love doing things that stretch me and give me a new puzzle, so I decided to try.

Jeannie sent me this necklace to re-do.  It was made with her polymer clay green beads, the tassle, a few wood beads and nice chain.  I liked it the way it was, but hey, it's a Do Over Challenge.

So I studied it, (and took it apart before I photographed it, (whoops!) and then got to work.  The polymer beads were a lot of fun.  I thought if she had gone to the effort to make those, I needed to keep them.  So I lit my torch and got out my glass rods to make some coordinating beads.  

Can you tell which ones are lampwork and which are polymer?   Usually it's the other way around that their beads are made to look like lampwork, so I thought it was fun doing the opposite.

Here's a close up.  The bottom bead is mine.

So here are the others who have joined in on this challenge.  Please cut and paste the url's.  ( I think I messed up the links!)  Come check them out.

Jeannie, and Donna's  http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog Natasha http://nswhims.blogspot.com Michelle http://fireflyvisions.blogspot.com Sandra http://ladychaos.blog.com Andrea http://www.heavenlanecreations.wordpress.com Cathie http://www.cathiecarroll.blogspot.com Norma http://moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com Dagi http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com Camille http://craft-a-mamie.blogspot.com

Penguin Sweaters

It's not a joke.  

The Skeinz yarn company put out a call for penguin sweaters in the Spring of 2011 and has a pattern for your knitters out there.  Apparently, New Zealand penguins were affected by oil spills. They were cleaning themselves and ingesting the toxic oil.  I read that they have enough now, but  I had to show these  little blue penguins wearing  sweaters. Here's the link if you want to find out more.  Penguin Sweater Link and this one here.

I think the purple wool shows off the penguin's coloring to her best advantage, don't you?  But one wearing pom poms cracks me up. 

Guess which penguin was the inspiration for the bead in my Etsy shop ....  (the colors are truer to the real penguin's picture, but my camera is acting up)  

BOO!!

BOO!

Slightly gruesome and very Halloween.  You can find this little glass lampwork bead guy in my StudioMarcy etsy shop and ready to come scare you and your friends.

Fashionista Carol Saker Cycles for Beads of Courage

Do you ever meet people and are proud to know them?  Well Carol Saker fits in that category for me.  She has gone through a lot medically and is now cycling on the Team Beads of Courage to help bring awareness to the organization.  How can you not love folks like that?

She has a wonderful blog post about being a spokesmodel and shows off her different clothes and accessories which are related to Beads of Courage.  I feel honored that she is wearing one of my Space Alien beads (named Sparky after my daughter) which is a replica of one that went up on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

She has other special gear she's showing off too.. Pop by her blog.  It's well written and do read her "About Me" on the sidebar.  It has me smiling.

Making a Chanel Ring - Video

I watched a Chanel promotional video on "The Making of the Soleil d'Automne ring on YouTube and thought you might enjoy it here. 

I watched it in two ways...the first was to watch the craftsmanship going into this beautiful ring and the second was as a craftsperson.  How they made this promotional video about something they are proud to be making by hand, and how they edited it to show a part of what they do that adds value.

Most of you are fellow artists or artisans and I'm thinking that we all should find a way to put ourselves on youtube, if we aren't already.  Searchable by potential customers, and to show what we do.

So tell me, have you made a video yet that has been posted to youtube?  What do you think?

A Whale of a Time Making Memories

My sister just celebrated her birthday in San Diego with her darling young grandson and his family.  Of course Sea World was on the list of "have-to" places to visit.  I was trying to come up with an unique present and decided to make her a small pendant that would bring back memories of her fun trip.

I found that making a small glass orca whale is pretty easy.  This one has been eating well, but anyone looking at it will know what it is.  

I was thinking of making a tutorial for one, if enough people are interested.  Please post or shoot me an email to let me know if you think it might be something you'd like to learn.

See you tomorrow

Cat On The Hat

Apparently, there's a guy who takes his cat Nicholas for walks around NewYork City.  This particularly amused me as it's so cat like.  They somehow always get their way.

I love quirky. Have you seen anything that really makes you smile like this?

Fabric Vessels- Very Cool!

Mixed-media textile artist Larkin Jean Van Horn makes the coolest fabric vessels.  She's written two books and teaches.  You can find this class here, but plan on a longer period of time to see her full website, because it is full of wonderful fabric objects that are embellished and perhaps magical.

Macro Photography...Animal Eyes

Ah, macro photography...there's something about it, that really intrigues me.  Photographer Suren Manvelyan has documented various animals' eyes which are quite lovely in this large format.  Above is a caiman's eye and below is a black rabbit's.

I think this one is quite pretty, actually.  And when you visit his site, be sure to look at the snail's eye.  Pretty cool.

You can see more photos on Suren's website here.  Be sure to go to his homepage too, for more albums. He has human eyes as well other interesting albums.

At the Beach

Today is my last day at the beach with my friends.  I love the ocean and the feel of the sand and watching the wildlife.  On our last day, we always get up early, grab a cup of coffee and trudge down for the sunrise.  And I must say, it's worth it.

From an artistic point of view, how does one translate these opposite colors melded together?  I look at this spectacular view and think how hard it would be to show in glass.

Back to the real world in just a few hours, but for now, Happy Sunday.  Wishing you a wonderful new week.

Landscape Sculpture- Festival 5 Seasons

It is structure, humor and commentary all in one piece and I love it.  Uysal Mehmet Ali  created this for the French Festival 5 Seasons  (Saisons).

Would you like this in your yard?  Or what would you want instead?

You Pick 7 Bead Exchange

Oh, here I go again.  I love this "You Pick-7"  bead exchange on LampworkEtc. forum.  (It's the 7th edition, not 7 beads)  Here's how it works...You sign up to join and then post one picture for everyone in your group to interpret in a bead.  (It can be polymer clay, but most folks are lampworkers.  The pictures are quite diverse and sometimes they have special meaning.  There are 16 to a group and usually 2 or 3 groups and open to all levels of experience.

I love this exchange for a multitude of reasons.  I live that each ability of beadmaker is stretched- whether you're brand new or an old hand.  You can interpret the photos any way you want...sometimes I take a simple element and sometimes I do the entire picture.  The people involved in it have always been so nice and encouraging to everyone and it's small enough that you get to know some of the others better.

There are still some spots open in group 2.  Hope you're join us over there and stretch your skills a bit.  Oh, and here is the picture I chose.  I've always thought that it would make cool inspiration for a necklace and now I'm testing out my guess.  I just know that I'll end up with 15 interpretative beads from it.

Snow Folks for Beads of Courage

Our Southern Flames Glass Chapter is doing a test for Beads of Courage and has committed to donating about 275 snowmen for the kids in the Atlanta hospitals who will have to stay there over the holidays.

This is my first batch along with some that I've started selling in my Studio Marcy etsy shop as well.  They are cute on necklaces, but also, I like them as holiday tree ornaments as well.

And just for a smile...imagine trying to get that many rounded body beads trying to stand up at once for a photo.  I should have shot a video as they started leaning and then would bump into another...pretty funny- like those domino videos where they all topple creating a chain reaction.  Funny!

See you tomorrow- I hope.  My computer is acting up and going into the shop today.  If you don't see me tomorrow, I'll be back as soon as it's fixed.

Flowers and Angels in Glass at Corning- *sigh*

Corning has a class this winter that I am drooling over...Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco in one class.

It's called Fiori e Angeli (Flowers and Angels) where you do the components with the masters and then put them into a paperweight.  Oh my...it is making me crazy trying to figure out how to get there.

If you are in the mood to drool too, or to check out some of the other wonderful classes that Corning offers, click here.

Fairy Tale Tree House

I've always had a "thing" for treehouses.  As a kid, we built our own and spent a lot of time in trees, feeling much bigger than we were.

I still like them.  And when I see one for adults, I always smile.  I have a feeling that it just reminds me of days past that were so free and fun.  I was quite the tree climber in my youth and we'd play for hours up in the branches looking out on the world.

This particular house is located in British Columbia.  I know if I'm ever in the neighborhood, I'd sure enjoy visiting and perhaps staying in that resort property.  I think we all could use a little more magic and enchantment in our lives.  To read more about it, visit here.

Thanks, Steve!

Steve Jobs has made my life easier.  Thanks, Steve!  I'm one of those people who didn't have computers growing up, (didn't have them during dinosaur days and that's about how old I am).  but when my kids were little and I was a stay at home Mom, I knew I needed to keep up or I'd be left in the dust.

One day, my husband brought home our first home computer- it was an Apple.  Not only was the company he works for using them, but he thought that it might be the easiest for me to learn on my own as well as for the kids as they were growing up.  He was right.  I loved it from the start.  ( well, there were a few times I kind of hated it too, when I was frustrated).  Since that time about 25 years ago, I have only owned Macs.  It has been a pleasure.

As many artists know, often our work is done alone.  We spend a lot of time by ourselves and by being connected online, allows us time with our friends, fellow artists and to share information.

Thanks Steve.  I appreciate what you and of course the team has done to make my life experience a better one.

Visiting Diane and Donna - Steampunk Sisters

Delightful sisters Diane Kovach and Donna Myrick are regional craft show veterans.  So when I popped by the Norcross Art Festivals, I found them right away by all the people jammed into their full to the brim, inviting booth.  Sweet!  Diane said she wished that she could chat, but they were slammed.  As a fellow glass/jewelry/craftisan, I was delighted to see that.  Hooray for great business.

Visit their etsy shop and check out not only the fun jewelry, but also Donna's new line of sweaters.  She had already sold a few when I saw her.  I saw one up close and it was very well made.

See you Sunday at www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com  (I'm taking Saturday off to enjoy the great fall weather.)

Winter Fairy Sketch

Are you drawn to the restaurants that have the white paper tablecloths like I am?  I can have an entire conversation with my husband and sketch the entire time. I love it.

This is a sketch I made while at dinner.  Sometimes pictures just kind of "appear" and are not pre-planned.  I had been thinking about softness and movement and wondering about angles and how they would translate in glass...and whether people would like a bead that is totally profile, instead of the traditional front on view?  ...and of course, I thought about pockets and how I would make them in glass.

Isn't that what you think about while at dinner?  Tell me what you sketch when a piece of paper is put in front of you and you're focused on other things.  I'd love to know.

Fountains for Fun

Somedays I just take photos of things that make me laugh.  This fountain is one of them.  There was an entire booth at the craft fair of these colorfully flowered hatted heads spitting water that just cracked me up.  And the booth was very busy so it must have made a lot of other people smile as well.

Hooray for humor in the arts.

Visiting Sylvie Lansdowne of SylvieBeads

I visited the Norcross Art Festival last weekend and of course, had some friends exhibiting there.  If you don't know bead and jewelry artist Sylvie Lansdowne, please make her acquaintance.  

Sylvie brings a bright and whimsical point of view to beads and jewelry that is so much her trademark.  Even certain color combinations are "so Sylvie".

She recently has expanded her line to add "cute edgy".  Now that is my description of her little skulls and halloween like beads that she sells as ornaments and totems and other wonderful ways.

Please stop by her website and check out her style. I think you'll enjoy it and tell her Marcy sent you.

Join Me for Creative Beadmaking Class at Glassic Arts in Florida

I'm teaching in Deland, Florida at Kathi Truba's Glassic Arts Studio on November 12-13th.  The class is called "Creative Forces" and teaches you how to interpret photos, words or items into 3-D sculptural beads or as surface decorations on traditional  bead shapes.

I make these for the Beads of Courage Dream Beads, but also these simple techniques work so well for custom orders, holiday ornaments and even for those family members who you hate to turn down when they say, "can you make me a _____?"  (Do you get those requests too?)

I've shown you a little sock monkey bead that I made for one of the kids in the Beads of Courage program.  That was the request.  Below is my picture that I used as a frame of reference.  I modified my piece for shorter monkey limbs (sturdier for little hands playing with it), and added the letter C for the child's name.  Here is the photo that I used as a basic inspiration.

So come join me for class in sunny Florida.  You'll come home with fresh and new ornament and bead ideas and more importantly, some great techniques that will just get better.  You can tell by the photos, that Kathi's studio is a lovely place too. 

Now here's another great part...Kathi and I have put our heads together and we're donating part of the (very reasonably priced)  class fees (both the students' and mine) to Beads of Courage.  So click here to find out more about the class. 

More Spring Fashions from NY Fashion Week

I guess I'm still intrigued by what is being shown.

This playful outfit is from Marc Jacobs' spring line.  The combination of colors and prints is pretty amazing and I'm sure would be quite a head turner if I saw this being worn in public.  (It's a potential bead, I think!)

However....  this is more what I would choose for myself from Fashion Week if I had the right figure for it.  I guess I am not a headturner at heart, but someone happy to wear quieter items.  I think these are gorgeous and sophisticated  by designer Donna Karan.  And the bottom outfit really sings to me. It  would be a joy to design some jewelry for it.  That neckline is perfect.  (and no, it wouldn't be my typical whimsical designs either.)