Tuesday's Triangle on Vertigo

Because my world is still very much doing this



there won't be a new one of these today.



Sorry.

Be well and get going and may your horizons be steady.

BAO Item of the Week (3/30 - 4/4)

There is something very comforting about knowing that Monday will come around, no matter what. And if it's Monday, it's time to show you my new Bead Art Originals Item of the Week. I've decided to pick one of my more recent creations,

Cubism Diamonds

If you purchase and pay for this by midnight on April 4, you will get free shipping (a $3 value) and a free matching peyote triangle pendant (a $26 value). That's a pretty good deal, so what are you waiting for?

And here are 13 more BAO goodies for this week. Check out the Bead Art Originals blog for details:

Have a great Monday!

Can't you just feel the love!

Well, I could last night when I saw this.

I'm still in awe. 2900 individuals have "favored" my store since I opened it three years ago. Wow. That's a lot of peeps. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! On days when I'm a little discouraged (and yes I have those more than I care to admit), I like to look at my hearts to remind me that someone is paying attention to my work.

One of the draw-backs to working exclusively on-line is that I don't get to see people's reaction to my work. The only feedback I can get is through things like "hearts," and comments, and - of course! - sales.

Back when I was still selling at the Las Cruces Farmers and Craft Market, I could watch as someone picked up a beadwoven cuff for the first time, watch as her expression changed from bewildered to smitten, watch as she fell in love. sigh. Yes, hearts and comments mean the world to me now.

Elegant Undulations Released as Pattern

Thank goodness it's Friday! The threads I have been waiting for the cosmic collar have arrived, so I know what I will be working on this weekend.

Do you have a project planned for this last weekend in March? If the answer is no, perhaps I could interest you in beading up your own version of Elegant Undulations, for which both the "for personal use only" and "commercial use" editions are now on sale at SandFibers.etsy.com:

Tatum wanted to say "hi" today. She's been on her best behavior (which isn't necessarily saying much ;o) since her little escape maneuver earlier in the week.

woof woof (which translates to: be well and get going!)

Thursday's Treasur(i)es

It's been another week filled with treasury blessing for Sand Fiber!

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Afternoon Delight

HighDesertDesign included my Olive and Bronze Peyote Triangle Choker in this collection.



HighDesertDesign offers some beautiful jewelry, including beadwoven goodies like Plumb Crazy Purple woven Bracelet:

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You are getting sleepy heavy

BohemianLoveAffair included my Hypnotize Me Peyote Cuff in this collection.



BohemianLoveAffair offers loads of vintage goodies and a few handmade jewelry items that work as the perfect accessories, like Juicy Papaya Handmade Choker:

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Dramatic Monochrome

totallytwisted included my Dramatic Monochrome Triangle Peyote Pendant on Black Cable Choker in this collection.



totallytwisted is a talented beadweaver who has recently discovered the joys and frustrations of fringe, as evidenced by Voodoo - Beaded Fringed Necklace:

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The Midas Touch

wintergarden included my Youthful Fancy Necklace with Raku Focal and Bead Embroidery in this collection.



wintergarden creates beautiful accessories with yarn and knitting needles;
Trinity Brooch in Brown and Orange is just one colorful example of these:

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Freshly Squeezed

jschubertdesigns included my Sunset Ombre Triangle Peyote Pendant in this collection.



jschubertdesigns creates beautiful fiber art, art that you can wear, like handwoven PASSION scarf:

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Swirling swirling in my head

euphorianchic included my Mirrored Orange Swirls on Steel Peyote Cuff in this collection.



euphorianchic is a talented graphic artist whose work can also be found on practical items, like Happy Green Bird Design Eco Tote Bag:

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SIMPLY ELEGANT

WarmCountryMeadows included my Ivory Lariat with Coralling in this collection.



WarmCountryMeadows creates wonderful terrariums to let you bring the outside in; Moss Garden Terrarium with a Crystal Ball in a Vintage Jar is just one of many in her store:

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Thank you so much to the wonderful Etsians who have singled out my creations for their beautiful treasuries! I get such a thrill every time I see a gold star next to a list :D

Tuesday's Triangle

I had so much fun working with the turquoise and green delicas I used on Lisa Peter's cabochon last week, that I couldn't put them away just yet. Listed this morning:

Turquoise Diamonds on a Field of Green

While last week's official Tuesday's Triangle was this fun little number (that reminds several folks of a snake's head??!!)


what I really wanted to show you was a completely new presentation for a peyote triangle:

But I couldn't show it to you until it had reached its new home in New Orleans, with one of my favorite bead artists: AmberLeilani. This was part trade/part birthday present for this lovely lady, who has modeled it on her blog.

I will always covet Amber's beadwoven cuffs, but what I asked her to trade for is this beautiful amethyst and carnelian pendant I fell instantly in love with when I saw it on her blog:


I love trading my labor and love for someone else's labor and love. It is so much more rewarding, so much more intimate, than a simple cash transaction.

These are just some of the wonderful things I have traded for since last summer:

Have you had any wonderful trades lately?

Be well and get going, my friends!

Not how it looks...really

I'm supposed to be designing a collar around a comet, so why am I doing this?

Well ... I am not one of those creative types who can simply sit down and design something from nothing. I have to be doing something else in the process. I need to let my mind wander around the design possibilities as I work on something completely different. Weird? Maybe. But it seems to be one of the few ways this left-brainer can get her right brain engaged. When you are not by nature creative, you learn a few tricks. Even if those tricks mean you look like you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. Does that make any sense at all???

In case you're wondering, the cabochon is one of several raku beauties I recently received from the wonderful Mak of MAKUstudio. While working on this piece is a means to a completely different, unrelated end...it will also result in something beautiful in its own right.

BAO Item of the Week

Don't blink!

Oh shoot! You blinked!

That was this past week that just went by...

I have an attitude problem today (haven't decided if it's a good or a bad attitude, just know that it's an attitude!), so there is no more appropriate item in the Sand Fibers stable to bring out today than

Sand Fibers With Attitude, Turquoise and Purple Peyote Cuff with Fringe and Loops

Purchase and pay for this by midnight on March 29 and you will receive free shipping and a super cool surprise gift made by yours truly.

And there are twelve more BAO Items of the Week to tempt you into spending. Just take a look at the Bead Art Originals blog for details.

With or without attitude, may yours be a good MONDAY!

We all need to be challenged

every now and then. I've had a few beading situations lately that have made me get out of my comfort zone.

The latest was with one of the cabochons Lisa Peters sent me for "bezeling and bailing." It was one of the gorgeous new hexagon cabs she's been making. While I'm the proud owner (read: hoarder) of several of these, I hadn't mustered the beading courage to work with them.

Lisa's request left me no excuses!

I started with the backing, which I wanted to have fully beaded this time. Two completely failed and "domed" hexagons later, I was ready to cry. But then I remembered this wonderful pendant by my flickr buddy Gerlinde (aka geometricjewels)

It consists of six peyote triangles (yes those very same triangles I'm obsessed with!), so it seemed like the logical solution for covering a hexagonal shape. Gerlinde has warned that this combination results in a slight waviness, but that struck me as an acceptable risk. The result:

Not bad for the backside of a pendant, eh? ;o

The front was another matter altogether, however. I thought that simple symmetrical decreases would result in a perfect bezel. (I didn't have 15s in the right colors, so I really did need the decreases, by the way.) In theory, yes. In reality, no.

Because this cab was made by the wonderful hands of Lisa Peters rather than by a precision die-cut machine, it is not (and should not be!) perfectly symmetrical...which resulted in the need for different decreases at every corner and uneven/slanted coverage.

If you know me at all, you know that I don't deal well with failure. It's not in my nature. My husband saw absolutely nothing wrong with this and most people would probably agree. I, on the other hand, was distraught. I contacted Lisa to see if this would be acceptable to her (she was, after all, the client) but let her know that I wasn't happy. She suggested that I bead "into the cab" and even sent me a beautiful sketch, but that would have meant covering part of the incredible glaze that makes this piece so beautiful. Instead, her suggestion managed to kick me out of my little box enough to do this:

A few peridot and aquamarine gem chips and the problem of symmetry is solved because it is tossed aside completely :D I'm happy; she's happy. A challenge can be a very good thing.

In the meantime, another beady friend (who tends to prefer her anonymity otherwise I would name her -- you know who you are!) has sent me instructions for two more approaches to peyote hexagons that might work for the next cab. I'll let you know ;0

Lisa has sent me two of the most gorgeous cabs you will ever see (I'm serious!) to create substantial necklaces for Bead & Button this summer. The special seed beads for one of these just arrived, but they will have to wait a little until I can get to them next month...

And because life would be rather dull without a challenge around every other corner, I recently agreed to a collaboration with Eve Lynch (aka Kraken Mosaics) a mosaic artist whom I have admired for some time. Eve asked if I could work with a custom cabochon/pendant she made to create a neckpiece that will go on exhibit in the UK this summer.

Here's a sneak preview of the cab.


I will document the work in progress for this project. I'm still at the pulling beads and brainstorming stage, but I have a pretty tight deadline here and so will get started with the actual "work" next week.

And, as if this weren't enough on the challenge front, this arrived last week as well:


Cécile of MlleHyena had contacted me last year about possible collaboration, and now she has sent me this beautiful piece of freeform crochet. Wow.

It is such an honor to have these amazing artists reach out and ask me to work with them. I'm quite floored by it. As you can see, I'm in no danger of encountering boredom any time soon.

Be well and get going on this beautiful first full day of Spring 2009!

Thursday's Treasur(i)es

It's been a great treasury week for Sand Fibers! Thanks to Janice of Naftali, my work even hit the Etsy Front Page for St. Patrick's Day :D

And this morning, half bleary-eyed still, I was able to announce to the World That is Etsy that I

Need C O F F E E

You can visit this collection (and click and comment!!!) until Saturday evening. Just click HERE!

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strange and powerful

gwenbeads included my Repercussion Peyote Cuff in this collection.



This Etsian is an artist after my own heart, loving both beads and fiber, as exemplified by Blue Pentacluster with Handspun Cord Lariat:

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copper shimmer

sweptfromthesea included my Tone on Tone Copper Peyote Cuff in this collection.



I love all the beautiful jewelry created with sea glass in this shop, including Sea Glass Jewelry - Rain Drop Necklace :

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Olive isn't just for

Naftali included my Olive Peyote Cuff in this collection.



There isn't a piece in this shop that I don't love; Crackled Turquoise Reversible Bead is another beauty:

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....BULL S....

lauraslocumpainted included my What's Black and White and Red All Over - Pop Art Peyote Cuff in this collection.



I enjoy the way this artist uses her painting skills to create sweet jewelry pieces like unexpected, comes in a heart tin, an original watercolor art glass pendant necklace :

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Sun and Sky

tabbytoo included my New Mexico Skies Peyote Triangle Choker in this collection.



This is another one of those Etsians whose skills need more than one shop to contain them. This is the jewelry alter ego of twentypoundtabby. I love these Peachy Pink Morning Glory Earrings:

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Aqua Dreams

WoodcraftsandCandles included my Casting an Aqua Net Beadwoven Bracelet in this collection.



This is a husband and wife team that create wonderful candles and woodwork. The husband made this handsome Wine Bottlestopper Mahogany and Walnut Wood 7 :

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Thank you so much to the wonderful Etsians who have singled out my creations for their beautiful treasuries! I get such a thrill every time I see a gold star next to a list :D