Jae's Design

Stumped by the Punk: part one

2010-09-13T17:03:00.009-04:00

All afternoon I was trying to guess what might be in that box! Are they crystals, will it be findings, or tools? I was hoping it was something new for me to try.
I was so excited to come home and open my Blog Partner box from Rings & Things, I was also excited to hear that it was a box and not just a little envelope. I tore that box open, like it was the last night of Hanukkah (Christmas morning, for you gentiles).

Then came a word that I've seen, I've heard but I had never considered: Steampunk.
I know it's huge right now, but honestly I'm not sure I even know what it actually means. At first I was a little disappointed, but then I started thinking. I asked for something new and well, that's exactly what I got.

So Here you go, this is what was in the package. Not sure what I'm going to do with them now, but I'm sure I'll come up with something! Any and all suggestions welcome!
Oh, and you'll be the first to know when I do.

So Excited!

2010-09-03T13:38:00.002-04:00

This month I was one of the lucky 10 winners Rings & Things blog partner goodie box!
I can't wait to get it and see what neat things I can do with the stuff!

Alicia

2010-04-23T21:50:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't written in a really long, long, loooong time. I'm sorry. I really am, but I haven't had much to say. I got a job, I've been busy (I know, not an excuse) whatever. So this moved me. It moved me to the point of writing.

Years ago, I started reading the online journal of Alicia Parlette. She was 23 when diagnosed with some nasty cancer. She was diagnosed just one year after her mother passed away of cancer.

At the time she started her journal, Jason and I were still living in the Bay Area. We read along with her life, her treatments and her ups and downs. Being that we lived in close proximity and her journals were printed in the local papers, we felt like we knew her.

We followed Alicia's story for years. It had it's ups and downs, but Alicia was a trooper, she was a survivor.

Alicia passed away this passed week.

I can not explain how much this has affected me. Over the years, I've felt that I've known Alicia. This is a person I've never met, but I've read about, and I've read her writing. She always wrote honestly. She wrote what she knew. I can not tell you how sad I am that she is no longer with us. But, I am glad she isn't in pain, I would never want her suffering.

I'm not the best writer, not the best at expressing me feelings via typing, but in my heart, I cry for Alicia.

Rest in Peace.

Phenomenal Customer Service

2009-07-14T13:21:00.004-04:00

I am just so blown away by this company I had to blog about them.

I've been looking for a certain kind and color of Japanese paper that I've been using for the base color in my pendants. I had no idea what it was called. There are many, many varieties of Japanese paper with different types of fiber and textures.

I sent an email on July 8th to the nice people at The Japanese Paper Place who in turn suggested I contact Paper Jade, one of the online retailers that sells the paper JPP imports. That same day I sent an email to Paper Jade and received a response within a few hours. They gave me the address to send a sample of the paper to and said that they would be glad to try to match it.

They sent me an email on Monday July 13th saying that they got the sample in the mail and said that they thought it was closest to their Kikusui Parchment paper and emailed the supplier to see if it came in other colors.

This morning, Tuesday, they sent me another email saying that they heard back form the supplier and that they suggested the Moriki Kozo Papers in the spring colors.

I placed my order today, the shipping was free and I got notification with in an hour that it shipped via Priority Mail.

Moral of the story: Customer service is so important, and because of theirs I will be purchasing from and recommending them via blog, twitter, email and conversation for a long time. Thank you again for the beyond any expectation customer service!

Bead Show Tour

2009-06-23T15:17:00.013-04:00

Well, that was fun! I've been looking forward to this for weeks. There were a few things I was going to order online at Rings & Things but I figured since I was going, I would wait and see if I could find what I needed at the show.

The show started at 1pm. I arrived at about ten past. I met a nice lady named Michelle in the parking lot and we went in together.
When you walk in, you are greeted by smiling employees that hand you a tray and explain the pricing, then you are let loose in a large room with I would guess about 36 or more tables that are a good 6 feet in length each. Now mind you I am guessing, but there were 5 - 6 rows down and 4 - 5 rows across. They had the precious and semi-precious stones around the outsides and the yummy 50% plus an additional 15% off tables in the center.

I walked across the back row somewhat quickly, looking but just that. I headed for the metal tables first, since that was what I was primarily there for. There was half a table of silver chain, I must have spent a good ten minutes pulling rolls of chain and putting them in my tray. Rings & Things was nice enough to have a chart with the item numbers and a piece of chain, so you could feel and get a good idea of what was on the roll.

I picked out three rolls:
This one
This one
and
This one

I also got some lobster claw clasps and some crimp tubes with loops.

All of the metal I got was the same price as the catalog and website, but I didn't have to pay shipping and it was exactly what I wanted and needed.

Then I moved on to the rest of the show.

There was a table of pre-made bracelets that were nice and under $5 each. I got 4, hope my Mom will take one or two off my hands, but either way, a good deal.

I'm not sure what these are, maybe stone, maybe glass, but they were pretty and $2 a strand.

I also purchased a few other strands... I just couldn't resist.

I got a strand of tiny flat rectangle Peridot, a strand of cube rectangle Red Aventurine and my favorite, a strand of 6mm cube Natural Agate. Green and Orange, shocker!

And last but certainly not least, (Thanks Dave!!!)

I'm thinking of hanging him in my rear view mirror, but not sure yet, either way, I LOVE him!

All in all, best bead show in Massachusetts! I will be going the next time they are around, hopefully with more money!

Tweetdeck for Twitter

2009-06-13T22:24:00.009-04:00

I heard a lot of people last night talking about how to rt and dm. These are some people that I read all of the time on twitter. So I thought I would help then out and post a tutorial on tweetdeck.
You can download tweetdeck here. It's free and once set up, totally easy to use.

I like tweetdeck because, it's easy. I can filter (make groups) and change things easily. You can also get updates on your facebook feeds.

Here is a screen shot of what mine looks like:

The first column is feed from everyone, and by everyone, I mean every person you are following. My second column I named "read" and I've selected people that I find interesting, people that I interact with, and certain funny stars I want to read. I add and subtract people from this list (mostly add) all of the time. If someone rt's me or @replys me and I like their tweets, I will add them.
My third column is my @replys, and the 4th is facebook updates. There are also 3 more columns you can't see. Direct messages, favorites and trending twitter topics I barely look at these.
I'm thinking about adding another group so i can break out regular tweeps and etsy tweeps, not sure yet though.

At the top there are buttons most of which I don't personally use. On the left grouping the first button is the only one I use. It opens the window you can type into. On the right, the only one I use is the one that looks like a wrench. That's how you change the settings.

Sorry for my poor photoshop drawings, but # 1 shows one of my favorite things about tweetdeck. When you scroll over someone icon it gives you a bunch of options. The top left is the @reply button, bottom left is the re-tweet (rt) and it will automatically copy and paste the rt, @ and text for you. Top right is to direct message someone.
#2, Tweetdeck has pop up notifications. It tells you how many of all frinds have tweeted and how many of your group has.

The bottom right is called other actions. When you click on it there are two options, user and tweet.

Under user, you can add the person to one of your groups. You can follow someone, unfollow someone, view their profile or search. (you can also see a profile by clicking on the username below the tweet).

Under tweet, you can add a tweet to your favorites, you can email the tweet, translate, untranslate, mark as read or delete.

One of my favorite things about tweetdeck, and I'm not sure I can explain this well, if you notice in the photo above, on the side bar isn't all the way to the top. When I need to concentrate on something, or at night when I'm done tweeting but I don't want to miss all the great tweets you guys post, I leave the scroll bar down one tweet, it stays on that tweet and in the morning or later in the day, I just scroll up and I don't miss anything. For me, it's easier than reading back.

So these are my tips, please contact me if you have any question.

CAT OF THE DAY

2009-05-19T18:05:00.005-04:00

I thought about doing a cat a day photo, but I am realistic enough to know I can't keep that commitment. So here are a few shots of Chloe.

I love cat nose close-ups!

I made her a catnip pillow. I think she likes it.

She looks stoned. Too much catnip.

I'm in your box, sitting on your magazines.

And...The Money Shot!

Keep Trying

2009-05-06T13:52:00.003-04:00

There are days, even weeks sometimes where I try. I try to come up with new ideas. I try to keep motivated. Or I just try to make something. Sometimes I have really creative days, it may just be one day out of the week, it may be multiple days. I generally have really crafty get stuff done days when I have new ideas.
This week, I've had two new ideas, two in one week! That almost never happens, so as you can guess I'm pretty excited. Both ideas or designs are in various stages of discovery, working on and completion. Here is a little taste of what I have going.

Grown-up Cookies

2009-05-03T20:06:00.003-04:00

Years ago when I lived in California and worked for Pictopia.com /Vividata.com there was a girl I worked with name Katherine. Katherine likes to bake. She used to bring us samples of all of the yummy baked goods she made. Recently I realized she was one of my twitter friends (I seem to favor twitter to facebook) And I asked her if she still had a copy of one specific recipe she made, all those years ago.
Being the busy Mom of two young children, it took her less than a day to find the recipe and email it to me. I was so impressed!
On to the cookies
I have to post this recipe. I just have to. I remembered these cookies from 5-7 years ago and loved them just as much when I made them this weekend! I should have taken pictures although I have to admit, they weren't as pretty as they were tasty.

So, here you go, Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies

From Saveur issue 81, p.37; originally from the Liberty Bar in San Antonio

1 ½ c flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 - 3/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
12 Tb cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Put sugar, vanilla, and egg into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Add butter and continue beating on high until smooth, about 3 minutes more.

Using your fingers (or a spoon), work flour mixture in until just combined. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 9” log. Wrap each log in parchment paper and freeze at least 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Unwrap dough and slice each log into 1/3” thick rounds. Place ½” apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake cookies until slightly puffed and tiny cracks start to appear on surface, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Note (courtesy of @hiril):

These are rich, not too sweet cookies. Almost like a really soft, dense cake in cookie form. They go well black coffee or red wine (or milk). I have used Scharffen-Berger cocoa and like the results.

Land of Silly

2009-04-23T13:35:00.008-04:00

For years now I have been a fan of and a somewhat fanatic shopper at Archie McPhee. A few weeks ago on their blog they wrote a post about orders customers had mailed in years ago before you could shop on the internet and how decorative they were. You can see the blog post by clicking here.
So I was inspired, to share some of my old Archie McPhee products with you. I bet I have a few more things hiding somewhere, but these are the select items we have out around the house. Enjoy!

You can still buy this:
Shroud of Turin Winky Jesus Card
I've had one of these in my wallet for at least ten years.

The Devil Duckie and Tiny Pirate Devil Duckie:

I don't think they sell the rest of these items any more, at least I couldn't find them on their website.

The Nun Bottle Opener:

Various Cocktail Stirrers:
Monkey with Fez, Hula Girls, Black Cat, and Easter Island Moai Gods

And last but not least...drum roll please

Random Updates

2009-04-15T17:38:00.005-04:00

I have two Llama's done. I'm still perfecting them but I took hiatus to work on a laptop cover for Jason to take to San Francisco. The small llama is Rumpy and the larger one is named Tina. I'll post pictures of the laptop cover when it's done.

If you've followed for a while, or read back through old posts, you'll know that Jason and I have been looking for a good place/way to spray a bunch of pendants at once. He found me this mini-peg board, that is mounted to a wall in the garage. So far, it's working like a charm *wink*.

I also posted two new necklaces today, you can see them:
Shadow in the Woods

Japanese Quince Flowers

Next Blog Post: I was inspired by the blog post of Archie McPhee about the old customer envelopes that I decided to photograph some of my own McPhee finds of years past. Stay Tuned!

Upcycling

2009-04-10T15:50:00.004-04:00

I cleaned my kitchen today. It was yucky. It's really hard to keep an all white kitchen clean. While I was cleaning I looked over at the ceramic flower pots that we use to hold cooking utensils, and I thought this would be a neat thing to blog about.
I bought these flower pots at Ikea in Emeryville, CA years ago. I thought I would use them for planting stuff, but just never did since they don't have holes in the bottom. For years now I've been using them in my kitchen, they've been used to hold garlic, onions, potatoes and probably some other things.

I also posted a new necklace today, I think this is my favorite one so far.
To view it please click here

Four New Necklaces

2009-04-09T17:05:00.004-04:00

I posted four new necklaces to my Etsy store today. You can view them at the links below! I hope you like them.

Tulips

Organic Leaves

River of Dreams

Red Skies at Night

More coming in a few days, stay tuned.

Newest Obsession

2009-04-08T16:21:00.002-04:00

If you know Jason and I, you know we love llamas. We drive by places that keep llamas just so we can see them, and when they aren't out, we get sad. :(
Jason has been talking about llama farming for years now. We don't have a yard, so it's not really a possibility at this point in our lives, maybe some day.
In the meantime I've been trying that sewing thing again. I made my first llama, named Larry. I wish I had taken pictures of Larry but my friend Will (he's 3 years old) really needed a friend at lunch yesterday.

So here are some pictures of Rumpy. He has purple eyes and a magnet tummy. If I can ever get his neck finished he's going to be really cute.

In Loving Memory

2009-04-02T15:37:00.008-04:00

I have a lot of things in my house that remind me of my grandparents. They were the best grandparents I could imagine having. They took care of us, the loved us, they played with us, I have such warm memories. A few of the items I have are
funky retro enamel bowls, glass pyrex storage containers, cool round table, plant stand, picture of me and Gramps.

So pretty much where ever I go in my house, I have a nice little reminder of them.

Yesterday, I was working on a sewing project and decided to go through Grandma's sewing box. I found some really neat stuff and I wanted to share.

It's kind of falling apart an I can't use any of the thread, it's too old. So here are some of the contents.

Ten Cent snaps!

Buttons, $.29 - $.39

My grandfather had a clothing store, many years ago the tag was from there. The buttons, I can almost picture the outfits they came from. The brown one was from a winter coat and the pink satin one...

There were all of these little bags with buttons or pins. The top one had Grandma writing on it.
I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, or at least just enjoyed the cool retro images!

See, I told you so

2009-04-01T14:14:00.004-04:00

"Cat Takes Break from Twitter to Look Out Window"
Story by: Tag Smolders
April 1, 2009

Marlborough, MA - Today Chloe the cat took a break from posting to Twitter.com to watch the squirrel out the window. Cat parent (Jae) said when interviewed, "Chloe writes all of my posts, but no one believes me. There were comments made like, cats can't tweet they meow. Well I showed them, real photo proof and anyway, she's much funnier than I am".

In Related News: Area squirrel is starting a blog to voice its complaints of being stalked by neighborhood cats.

Addicted

2009-03-26T14:13:00.003-04:00

I seem to have a severe addition to twitter. In the past I've avoided it, thinking I just can't handle being witty that often. A lot of the people I saw twittering were funny as all heck and with only 140 characters and I just didn't think I could keep up.
About three days ago, my adviser and graphic designer told me to join. He said it would be good to get my name out there and I could post links to my etsy store.
I did it. I signed up, I followed a few people and frick, I'm hooked. In some ways I like it better than blogging. I don't have to be overly descriptive, and I'm just not that good a writer. But now, I have 30 followers and the number keeps growing. It's crazy. And I learned that you don't have to be funny or witty all of the time.

This is generally how my day goes now, I get up, shower, get dressed, have coffee and hot cereal with hubby and read my emails. Then in between everything else I plan for the day, I tweet. I'll be doing the dishes and stop to tweet because I thought of something to say. I'm addicted, I admit it. So follow along, it's fun and can be funny too. Jae's Tweets

I have been posting the occasional new pendant, you can see by clicking here and I have a bunch in process, so I'm not totally slacking...

Goals for this Week

2009-03-23T11:17:00.003-04:00

Goals for this week:
(in no particular order)

1. Laundry
2. Making lots of charms/pendants
3. Organizing the huge pile of recipes
4. Making a list of groceries for this weekend
5. Working on bird house
6. Keeping the house clean
7. Sending out invite for friends this weekend

Lots of charms in various stages of done-ness
Huge stack of recipes in need of a home
Bird houses that are in need of decorating

Mean to the Cat, but not that mean

2009-03-18T20:49:00.003-04:00

Since we lost Buka, Chloe gets the kitty blunt of our kitty fun. But don't think we are cruel to the cat. In fact, we barely do anything to this cat since she's such a coward, chicken, lazy...
But we couldn't resist.
We just couldn't resist this. It was too good. Too funny. Oh, Chloe, you give us such great pleasure and make us laugh.

Charms Published!

2009-03-17T17:19:00.002-04:00

I know, it took a while, but two new necklaces have been posted with the new charms!

You can see my lovely charmed necklaces by clicking on the links below.

And thanks for looking!

Spring Branches

Sunset on the Horizon

Charmed

2009-03-13T12:54:00.003-04:00

I'm working on some new charms that should be available soon. Here is a little preview...

Black and Blue

2009-03-11T23:09:00.003-04:00

Years ago, when I lived in San Francisco...
One night I was leaving work, and it was raining (typical winter in SF) and I was running down the escalator at the Bart station @ Market and Civic Center, everything was wet and slippery. For years I heard that you shouldn't run down the escalator at the train stations because they get slippery. Well, they actually do. So one night, I fell down the escalator, I looked like I was attacked by a bear. Like a Black Bear. A big, angry, skin wrecking Bear. I fell down the escalator, it scraped my back, and the back of my leg. I was bleading by the time I fell to the bottom. There was a lady who picked me up, she helped me up to the Bart offiice window. He said he couldn't help.
I got on thew train. there was a lady, she offfered me some bandaids, she had them in her purse. She happened to notice that the blood was pooling in my sneekers and took pity on me. Jason and I took pictures, because it really looked like I was mauled by a bear, there were scrapes, bruses and in genreal it looked bad.

So here we are, many years later.

I am still me. I can't help it.

So, today is Wednesday. On Monday Night, I fell. We have this coffee table, it's not big, not heavy, it's just a small thin coffee table. So, me, being me, I fell. I fell and I hurt myself. I'm sure you aren't surprised. Generally if I fall, I hurt myself, it can't be helped, and I can't imagine you expect anything else.
So Jason and I are working on a progression of photos of the bruse on my thigh, It's HUGE! I can't wait for you to see it. It's funny and again, not so funny, but only if you are me.

New Necklaces

2009-03-10T17:57:00.003-04:00

Not only do I work in piles but in bursts also. I posted two new necklaces today. You can see them by clicking the links below.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22111035
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22109348

This past weekend, my sister, brother-in-law and the kiddies came to visit. I had so much fun playing with them! One of the highlights was taking pictures with my 4 year old nephew. He has one of these cool kids digital cameras. We ran around my mother's house taking pictures of everything. Here are some of the photos I took.

Blogging about blogging

2009-03-04T16:48:00.003-05:00

Blog, blog, blog, blog...
Sometimes I don't think anyone other than my sister reads this drivel, actually I'm pretty sure she's the only one (Hi Sissy!)so sometimes it doesn't seem worth it (sorry Sissy)
But sometimes I just don't have anything to report, or say.
I haven't been doing anything lately. I seem to spend my time doing dishes, playing KOL and on facebook. It's sad but true.
There are projects I have ideas for, but can't seem t get there.
So here we are.
Today, I played KOl until 1:30Pm when Jason and I had lunch, then I went to Target and bought some kleenex and toilet paper and then I came home. That was the extent of my day. Sad but true.
If anyone has some motivation advice, I'd love to hear it.
(I mean sissy, if you...)

Art in the middle of NO WHERE

2009-02-26T13:49:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to the Museum of Russian Icons. I have to admit, I didn't read the website before we went, so I wasn't really sure what it was all about, but OMG! What a cool museum. The building is an old mill which is typical out here. It is very modern which is a great contrast to the icons. The wood, the metal, the details! I highly recommend taking a trip out here to the country.

Thesaurus Day

2009-02-24T18:02:00.003-05:00

So I wanted to find a way to express how obsessed I have been with making tiny paper purses that I looked up obsessed in the thesaurus and here is what I got:

Main Entry:	obsessed
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	consumed, driven about belief, desire
Synonyms:	bedeviled, beset, bewitched, captivated, controlled, dogged, dominated, eat sleep and breathe, engrossed, fiendish, fixated, gripped, harassed, haunted, have on the brain, held, hooked, hung up on, immersed in, infatuated, into, overpowered, plagued, possessed, preoccupied, prepossessed, really into, seized, taken over, tied up, tormented, troubled, turned on, up to here in, wound up with, wrapped up in

They are like my own personal tiny, sparkly army!

I also made and posted two new necklaces to my etsy site today. You can see them by clicking here!

Memories

2009-02-20T19:17:00.004-05:00

So I've decided that the best way to keep these purses shut is with ribbon and a bow. I can't seem to tie a good bow, though. Every time I try, I giggle a bit and think of my Grandfather. My grandfather was the best at tying bows, all sorts of bows.

I guess I just have to give in to the fact that I will never be able to tie a bow like Gramps.

A Tribute to...

2009-02-17T18:33:00.003-05:00

I talked to Lisa today. I'm not going to tell you which of the Lisa's but you may be able to guess.
As part of our conversation I was telling her about the paper purses, bags and boxes I've been making, and she said she would read this blog to see them. After our conversation I went back to my art table (currently the den coffee table) and finished cutting out the template I was working on and it hit me *blamo* the little sewing scissors I was using we hers. I've had these things for years. I thought about how entwined our lives were for so many years, mine is yours, yours is mine, mine is mine!

I feel like our lives have moved so far apart and every time we swear we'll see more of each other or make more of an effort, we don't. Lisa and I, will ALWAYS be friends, our worlds could blow up and we'd still be friends, she'd still be my sister and maybe sometime, in this lifetime we will be physically close enough to spend more time together, who knows.
Lei, love ya!

*Lei, scroll down some more to see the mini paper purses!

Purses

2009-02-13T16:27:00.004-05:00

I was naughty yesterday and picked up a new package of paper. This is what I am making out of the vibrant, colorful sheets. These are so cute!

Too Small

2009-02-11T17:17:00.005-05:00

Everyone has got a have a point at which they say, "It's just too ..." In this case, it's just too small. {if like me you're smirking, get your mind out of the gutter and keep reading}

I got some new chain yesterday and check these out. It is a small chain that you cut to size and it comes with these tiny ends. The instructions that come with it for crimping the ends looks simple enough:

Can I just say, HA

I can barely hold these things!

But, I've made some progress with them. You will see soon.

Heishi or Not to Heishi

2009-02-09T16:14:00.004-05:00

That is my questions.
I need your help, your opinion. Yes you!
Do you like the one with the fat heishi spacer or the one with the skinny more rounded spacer?

Made these for Ma over the weekend, sorry for the crap photo, got excited to give them to her.

Mini-Day!

2009-02-06T12:01:00.002-05:00

Today I am working with all things mini. Hopefully something tiny but nice will come out of it, although I may go blind by the end.

Seed Pods

2009-02-05T15:37:00.005-05:00

I've been working for months on these origami pendants, you've seen tid bits of them in photos. I have a few of them actually done and even though I am not completely satisfied with the process I've set up, I decided to post a couple and see if anyone likes them. I posted two today.
You can also see them for sale by clicking here.

Lazy Re-visited

2009-02-04T15:33:00.003-05:00

I got a call from m Doctor yesterday. She said that my thyroid levels were really low and she wanted to re-test me. It's weird how you don't think things are related until you put two and two together. So I found a list of symptoms online and started reading. Yeah, my levels are off. There are things I wouldn't have even thought were related until reading that. For example, for the last two weeks or so, I wake up and my hands are tingling or numb. I just figured it was weather related or something but no, it's a symptom. I've also had a really hard time getting myself to make stuff, but I'm also really antsy. Also symptoms. So I feel a bit justified for feeling lazy. To see the list of symptoms click here.

I had to really push myself to get this done today, but I did it, photographed it and even posted it for sale on my Etsy site, woohoo me!

Little Piles

2009-02-03T16:38:00.003-05:00

I work in little piles. I have too many little piles. Here are a few little piles I am currently working with, through, around...

Lazy

2009-01-30T15:30:00.003-05:00

I guess I've been really lazy about (insert verb here) lately.
So here's a 2 minute update for you:

I'm waiting for a call back on a job.
I'm still playing with plastic, still trying to get it right.
I'm still making jewelry, just at a very slow pace, so slow in fact it can't be seen by the human eye, although I did post some new stuff today. You can click here to see.
I've got ideas brewing but I'm just not getting a clear picture of them, hence the not making stuff.
I've started playing KOL again.
and
I am way, way too addicted to Facebook.

So there you go.

Again with the Plastic

2009-01-12T16:54:00.004-05:00

So, I'm still infatuated with the plastic. I bought a small baby gift for my neighbor but I wanted to dress it up with something I made. I decided to make a charm out of the baby's first initial. M. I started with two different M's and a bunch of design ideas. These are what I came up with.

These are the pre-shrunk designs. I almost hated to shrink them because they came out so cute. But I had to do it.

And these are post shrinking. They are so cute. I think I need to rethink the paper though, it's a bit too much but in m defense, the box was wrapped yesterday and I just made the charms.

Loving the Plastic

2009-01-07T12:53:00.002-05:00

I have to thank my sister for bringing the Shrinky Dinks back into my life. There are so many cool things you can make from them. Here are a few I am working on.

Other thought for today

2009-01-05T17:53:00.002-05:00

I sincerely apologize for not writing during the holidays and leaving you with nothing to read. At least nothing good to read. I promise to get better now that we're all back to "work".
Hopefully my 4 loyal readers (you know who you are) will come back.
Please come back!

Lame-ers

2009-01-05T15:43:00.006-05:00

I feel so lame right now. On New Years eve day, I fell on my fat tush and hurt my thumb. Sounds funny right? Well it is, except the hurt thumb part. I promise you, I am working on some new stuff, but it is hard to work with only one thumb. So I am slowly working on new stuff. Today is PolyShrink day! I am working on a few tasty tid-bits and I will post some photos as soon as they are shrunk.

Update:

First Attempt, broken:

Second, Better...

The good one has now been sprayed with something to fix and finish. Hopefully that will make it waterproof and smudge proof. We'll see tomorrow!

Chanukkah/Christmas

2008-12-26T22:45:00.007-05:00

So Ummm, New England at the Holidays. After years of quiet holidays in California, and walks in our wonderful Temiscal neighborhood, it's hard to be in a snowy land where there are no palm trees, no cacti in the ground and it's cold. Too cold to go for the constitutionals we used to love. So we are trying to keep the tradition at least by making the nice meals.

Here is the end of the snow storm, we got A LOT-O-Snow!

We made mushroom quiche

We also made this cake from scratch, It was yummy.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as we did, now back to work for a few days!

Happy...

2008-12-24T16:47:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays kiddies! Enjoy the food, presents, smells. sights, family, friends and everything that goes with it. And say "hi" to Santa for me!
Jae

Wasted Day

2008-12-22T17:30:00.002-05:00

Mondays are usually pretty good for me. Today, not so lucky. I just couldn't seem to access any creativity. I mean none, at all today.
So instead, I shoveled a ton of snow, I went to the hardware store and got some stuff, then I cleaned the kitchen, then I messed up the kitchen by making fresh roasted salsa. Yum! Now the kitchen is a mess and I'm back where I started.
Maybe Tuesday will work better for me, I give up for today.

Oh Snow!

2008-12-19T17:44:00.001-05:00

5:30 PM

The Storm

2008-12-19T14:43:00.003-05:00

2:40 PM

The Begining of the Storm

2008-12-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

2:00 PM

The Calm Before the Storm

2008-12-19T13:57:00.004-05:00

1:15 PM

Pay particular notice to the first image, I thought someone had been in our hot tub since there were foot prints on the deck. They in fact are ice prints, from out tub adventure last evening. Ice prints, how cool!

Thursday, December 18, 7 days till X-Mas

2008-12-18T19:42:00.002-05:00

So I made this:

Jason thinks the beads at the bottom are too big, I'm not sure what I think. So all of you out there, this is your chance. What do you think? Please let me know! Would you buy this for your; mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, hot girl you met last night at the bar? Your response will save lives, (well, not lives exactly but...)

Ice and Snow

2008-12-17T15:15:00.002-05:00

First snow of the season, oh joy!

Holy Mackerel

2008-12-16T17:26:00.004-05:00

I made something that isn't green!
I went to a new (for me) bead store today. It was only 20 minutes from my house and it's a great little shop. Tatnuck Bead Company had a good collection, the couple working there were very nice and helpful, I would go back if I needed to pick up one or two things.
Oh so back to the necklace, it's not green, in fact it has no green to it at all!
You can see it if you click here
Please click here
and tell you friends to click here too!

Dinner with Dad

2008-12-13T11:08:00.003-05:00

He's so cute!

Outages

2008-12-12T16:15:00.002-05:00

We woke up to no heat, no power this morning and boy howdy was it cold. Power is back and I'm waiting for Daddy. He's coming to cook dinner with me, fun. I'll take pictures!

Agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2008-12-11T19:14:00.003-05:00

I am frustrated.

My PC is dying a slow and painful for me death. Every time I try to type it types over, when I try to do things with images it opens random images and shuts programs.
It's really hard to get anything done. In fact it's doing it now, making paragraph breaks for me and deleting lines I type. Maybe it doesn't like what I'm typing. Oh Well.
I posted a few new items today until I got too frustrated to finish. There are a few more to come but not today.
Now it's just wine and pizza.

Jae out.

Cats and Dogs

2008-12-10T14:02:00.013-05:00

Today is raining cats and dogs.

I've been trying to post this photo for hours:
But for some strange reason I can't figure out it is posting vertically instead of horizontal like it's supposed to. So in the interest of my mental stability, please turn your head to the side to see the progress of today's earrings.

That was fun, now wasn't it?

Shake It All Up

2008-12-09T09:38:00.001-05:00

Sunday night we put the lime in the coconut along with a whole bottle of rum.

I just woke up.

TGIF

2008-12-05T17:29:00.012-05:00

Vegetable stock in the making, yum looks good!

First Round of straining:

Second and last round:

Lunch with Cha

2008-12-04T17:25:00.006-05:00

I picked up Cha at work today and we went to Shing Yee for lunch. We love this place. When I worked at KNA with Cha, she, Gwynn and I used eat Shing Yee, like every other week. We were addicted for a while.
After I brought her back (I did actually stop the car and let her out), I went to Bead Art Resources to pick up some sterling silver wire to play with. This is a great little store for someone looking to pick out beads to make a nice necklace, but not for bulk items, although it is a great place for advice if you need it. Agatha, the owner knows everything, or so it seems to me. Go visit her if your ever in Newton, MA and judge for yourself.
Next stop was Russo's. If you are from this area you know and if you've never been, it's worth the travel time if your not too far. We are running out of vegetable broth so I went to get ingredients to make some more. As usual I found a plethora of great looking veggies.
Tomorrow we make broth!
Stay tuned...

Hump Day

2008-12-03T14:30:00.006-05:00

Lei Came today, she's still not feeling well from the cold, but she made it. She also got some work done, a bit.

While she was here I worked on these:

After she left I worked on this:

I'm gonna go work on more of these bird nest twirly things.
Later!

I know...

2008-12-01T18:33:00.004-05:00

I know I haven't been posting much info or jewelry. I do realize that it's the holiday's and I should be working harder. I am. No, really, I am. I've been working on some new products, and some not working products. The nickel charms are on hold. My Dremel seems to not like working any more. I can't say I blame it, but that's not helpful. These paper things are coming out great, but I'm not ready to reveal them yet. They are good, but not quite finished, yet. This is what I played with today.

I would like to try these with sterling silver wire, but maybe I'll post the base metal one's for cheap, just because they are cool and would look nice on a chain.

I also had a Chloe moment today, I love when she sits at the sliders and watches the world. It's like she is protecting us and not scared!

Thankful

2008-12-01T10:17:00.004-05:00

People I am thankful for, a list by me:
(in no particular order)
Jason
My Sister and brother-in-law
My Parents
My Grandparents
Lei and Den
Merritt and Corie
Sam and Will
Paul, Mo, Sha, Cha, Lisa, Lisa, Dave, Neo, Liz, Mel, Mark, Sarah, Joan, Em, Joyce, Nicole, James ect...
My Aunt
My cousins on both sides
My Great Aunt and Uncle
My In-Laws
My Sister-in-law
The Kids, all of the kids
My Cats (hey, cats are people too)

Oh, and YOU! If you are reading this, I am thankful to you and for you.

Thursday

2008-11-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2008-11-25T15:31:00.002-05:00

Today is raining, lots and lots of rain. It's non-stop. Yuck. I hate the rain unless I can stay home. No such luck today. I went to 3, count 'em, 3 grocery stores today. And now, it's almost 4 pm and I have not done anything today except go to grocery stores. So I am going to sit, and sew some beads to some fabric and nothing else.

Warning: Art in Progress

2008-11-23T10:59:00.007-05:00

Update: The photo of the wood below were mistaken for stairs, they are just planks of wood stacked. I see how that could be confusing.

Yesterday Jason worked on the wooden box frame while I went to an art show with Mom. When I returned home I found this...

Apparently when you build stuff, you should do it on a solid surface, not a plush rug. So the frame I started had been deconstructed. But I hear tell that it shall rise again and be in box form, hopefully by tomorrow.
Point being that hopefully soon I can start making charms again!!
I am also working on a new design spawned from yesterday's art show. Here is a little preview.

For Matt and Sean

2008-11-21T11:40:00.012-05:00

Dear Matt and Sean,
Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. Below are my answers, comments, and stuff for the 24 hour test.

1. Thoughts on the way out, Impressions
a. As I was walking out the door, my first thoughts were, "jeeze, I hope I don't fall down these stairs". It would be totally me to fall down the stairs, especially if you were looking. I was also thinking, I like this assignment. This is going to be a fun challenge. The whole way home I was thinking of what I wanted to write and present. I was excited. I got home, grabbed the camera and talked to Jason while running around taking pictures.
b. I had fun. You seem to mix hard work and a good sense of humor really well. That would keep me motivated. I like the creative atmosphere, that there are ideas in the air that are all shiny and new. I get the impression that I would be always learning and doing new things, or at least maybe new to me, that also would keep me motivated. I also feel as though you both would listen to the ideas I can bring and help make them happen.

2. Creative things about me, passions
I thought about this a lot. I made a slide show of some of my art. I've never made a slide show before. I downloaded a program, figured out how to use it, and I uploaded it below (with some help from my sys admin). I liked this program because of this 3-d ring effect. I thought it was a bit more exciting than just your standard slide presentation. I am passionate about making things. I love painting, beading, putting things together, and making something out of random bits. I love glue, glass, paint, fabric, paper, and linoleum carving. I consider myself a crafter, rather than an "artist", but I guess in some sense it's the thing.

To conclude, I wasn't too thrilled about looking for a new job because of my experiences in New England thus far, but I'm excited to have met you, and I am excited about the prospects with this job. I hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully,
Jenn

Job Interview

2008-11-20T18:47:00.013-05:00

Today I had a job interview. I decided I was going to make a pair of earrings to wear, which if you know me — you know I only wear my diamonds.
New life, new… well, something like that.
So anyway, I have these head pins that have these little dangly things at the bottom and I've had them for an eon or so, time to use them. So I pick what I want on them and I make the first and it's cute, I mean like, really cute. So I get started on numero 2. Not so much luck with the second. The dangly things at the bottom of the pin breaks off.
I say something to the effect of "$()&*"! And I move on.
Now, I can't let this lovely little creation go to waist. And Voila, Necklace!

Oh yeah, the interview. So I had this interview today. And I have this assignment from them for tomorrow. So I guess you will have to wait until tomorrow. HaHa!

Moved Operations

2008-11-19T17:22:00.003-05:00

These are today's offerings:
These I love but have not had any views, that's so sad. *pout*
Pressed Glass Flowers
I had a heck of a time photographing this pendant, still not happy with the results.
Amethyst Delight
And last but not least.
Sweetheart

This afternoon I moved operations to the den. I wanted to sew with the tv on. I admit it. And look at how cool this is coming out. Lei is going to be psyched on Monday!

The Saga of the Wood Frame Box Project

2008-11-18T15:39:00.011-05:00

I posted 3 new pairs of earrings today, you can see them at the links below.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17496990
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17496662
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17488580

The Wood Frame Box Project:
Over the weekend I had a lunch time conversation with Jason, I explained to him that I wanted to start making the nickle charms again and needed a place to spray finish them. I wanted to make a box of wood to spray in. He asked me to draw a picture, because he wasn't getting what I was trying to explain. So I took a napkin and drew a square and showed it to him. He laughed, I laughed, it was funny. So we talked more and I drew a bit more and this is what we came up with.

So, today started the wood box frame project. It hasn't quite gone according to plans though. It all started this morning, I went to the Home Depot that I am lucky enough to live mere blocks from and I asked one of the guys for suggestions and to cut what we decided on for me. The guys that assisted me were really nice and helpful. We picked standard 2x4 which would give me just enough 2' sections. I brought them home and was ready to go.

Please take note that the flowery gloves are my gardening gloves, but the only gloves I had.

So I grabbed my hammer and a few nails and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to do this. After a few minutes I realized this was just not going to happen. It was freezing out, 37-ish degrees and nails were not the right thing to use. Jason ran to the Depot at lunch to get me screws and corner brackets. (trip 2)

But wait, it gets worse. I start trying to put this stuff together, wood, screws, brackets. And I'm doing a terrible job of it. It's not square, I'm trying to put screws where they don't belong, it's just not happening.

And then I realize there isn't enough wood. I've got 4 planks in this lopsided base and 5 planks left. So Jason and I start looking around, maybe I left them outside, maybe I left them in the trunk, who knows. We do the math to make sure. He cut 3, 8' planks of 2x4, that should give me 12, not 9. I'm missing 3. So, I get back in the car and go back to the Home Depot, (trip 3 if your counting) I march to the back where the giant cutter is and there sitting at the bottom are 3, 2' pieces of wood. I grab my wood and tromp down to the registers and tell the girl that I bought these this morning, but the guy who was nice enough to cut them down for me forgot to give me all of them and I try to show her my receipt, but she just told me to leave. I guess who's going to make up a story like that, right?

I have learned a few things today. I suck at building. I can fix things well enough, I'm good with tools, except when it come to making things from scratch. Jason save me!

Made a t0n

2008-11-17T16:16:00.003-05:00

Lei came this morning, we had coffee and bagels, yum! I was sneezy. Really, really, sneezy. Even so, I made a t0n of stuff. Took photos but need to write descriptions. I hate writing descriptions, I don't feel as though I am any good at it. Oh well, I guess like everything else, I'll get better at it. I need a nap!
I'll post stuff later. But for now, a little hint of what's to come.

Tins, candy and more

2008-11-16T10:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I spent the day helping my Dad. We are trying to photograph and catalog all of his antique candy and cookie tins. And there are a lot of them. We are trying to decide where and how to sell some of them. We numbered them, took pictures of them, and write short descriptions. We started with about 15 of them. Here are a few.

Advertising

2008-11-14T17:47:00.003-05:00

Today I tried doing a little research into advertising. It's not so easy to find avenues that are free. There are bunch of blog ping sites and stuff, but it doesn't seem as though there are really good places for us little fish. More research will be in order.
I also had a phone interview for a job today. Not sure exactly how it went, or if it would be a good fit it's too hard to judge over the phone, but we'll see...
I also made my daily piece, click here to see!

Subscribe is working!

2008-11-14T14:43:00.001-05:00

If anyone tried to subscribe and was unsuccessful, it is now fixed! Subscribe away, please.

Wrapping up for today

2008-11-13T17:31:00.005-05:00

I ran some errands this morning. Not very exciting, but I did treat myself to a new pair of pliers. I love these!
They are one of my three favorite pairs, here are all three.

I made these earrings today.
I also started these barrettes, if I can swing finishing them well, they'll be really cute!

Wednesday

2008-11-12T15:48:00.008-05:00

Today I made some earrings, click to see I also started working on sewing beads to fabric. It's slow going, but it will look good, I think.

I also started playing with these charms. I like the idea, but the pendant trays are a bit flimsy, but they are cute.

I also baked this, thank you Emeril! It smells really good.

Blogging

2008-11-12T13:32:00.001-05:00

Chloe came to help me post new earring and blog! See she's giving me advice. meow.

What I did today

2008-11-11T17:40:00.003-05:00

This is my report of what I did today, by me!

Today we got a bit of a slow start. Coffee was made before the showering, stuff like that. I logged on to the internets and started checking emails but then the internets crashed. After freaking out for just a moment I called the one man I knew could figure out the problem. He looked, he hemmed, and I think there was a bit of hawing. He told me tales of small furry woodland creatures stuck in the internets pipes. Then he called Comcast.
I decided, after the shock of no internet, phone or cable tv that maybe I should get to work. I didn't need no stinkin' internets to make the pretty jewels!
So I made two necklaces that I posted today. See here That was good.
Jason, my hero, made blueberry pancakes! That was also good, especially since he makes really good pancakes.
When the internets came back, I checked emails, posted necklaces and IM'd Cha. Then I went to the hot tub store and bought chemicals, oh and I drove the Honda. Do you believe it, I drove the Honda!
Now, I'm going to go make a yummy dinner.
See you tomorrow!
xoxo
me

Newly Posted Items

2008-11-10T19:08:00.002-05:00

So here as promised are the newly posted items.
Let me know what you think!

This morning

2008-11-10T15:00:00.004-05:00

The ladies came this morning. I set up an extra table in the dining room so there would be enough room for all of us to work.

Lei and I worked on change purses. This is the first. Needs a little work but it's cute. I'm planning on making a beaded strap to attach to the top side on the end side of the zipper.

I also got a few things done for the shop. I'll post them soon!

Weekend

2008-11-09T19:10:00.002-05:00

No art this weekend. But, lot's of art tomorrow! Very excited both Lei and Mo are coming tomorrow. Lei is going to teach me to use the sewing machine that I've had for almost a year!!! I have some ideas for Lei, things we've been talking about. Not sure what Mo wants to do but she's welcome. It will be really nice to spend the day making stuff with the girls!

Strange

2008-11-07T16:25:00.003-05:00

I had an odd experience today. I went to a bead store this morning to get some wire. I can't find my spool, so instead of looking too hard, I went to get some more. First, the owner, looked at me like I was nuts and tells me there is no such thing as base metal wire. HA! Then as we were talking she notices the blue plastic owl on my key chain and goes on to tell me that my wire wrapping is "atrocious". Then proceeds to tell me with a shocked expressions for just $--- I can take her class and blah, blah. So okay, the owl was not wrapped with care, in fact, I did it SO carelessly, but either way, not a really good way to get me to give you money. Here is a photo of the offending owl, isn't he cute?

OMG!

2008-11-06T18:26:00.004-05:00

Oh my God! I am so excited!
I was a bit worried this morning, I was bored. And I thought, crap, now what am I going to do. I just quit my job and I'm bored after just two days.
It was around 4PM and I decided, no more cleaning, I need to make at least one thing per day. Just one. I can handle that. If I at least make one thing, I'll feel like I accomplished something besides having a super clean kitchen. So I sat. I sat at my make shift art table (dining room) and made a pair of earrings. I LOVE THESE EARRINGS!

Today, revisited

2008-11-05T20:38:00.002-05:00

So today was the first day of my freedom.
First
I showered
then
I had coffee
then
I im'd Gel
then
I called unemployment
the recording told me to call tomorrow and hung up
then
I drove to the unemployment office
then
I sat, and sat, and sat
for 2 hours. There was only one woman working on claims. There were many people before me. After the 2 hours, the lady called me in. She was snaggle toothed, I never saw top teeth, but the bottom were sparse and brown. She decided to tell me stories, to which, I nodded and smiled, although I just wanted to leave. She did know I'd been there waiting for 2 hours.
then
I did some errands
then I came home and posted some lovely jewels online

jennrosen.etsy.com

Now it's tv and martini's until sleepy time.

Today is the first day...

2008-11-05T09:31:00.002-05:00

Today is the first day of:

The rest of my life
A new life
New hope
Less stress
Some fun
My creative-ness

On Friday I gave my notice at work. On Monday, they told me Tuesday would be my last day. Today is Wednesday. Obama will be president. I will make things. Check back soon!