On A Roll

I think I recently tapped into a fresh well of inspiration. I've had one idea after another spring up. I just hope that it's not a shallow well...

Anyway, this last week has generated six new sets. The first one pictured is the last of the color scheme groupings shown earlier. I call it "Demeter's Joy". Greek mythology is something I've always enjoyed. If you're unfamiliar with the story, the Greek god of the underworld, Hades, kidnaps the goddess Demeter's daughter, Persephone. Demeter is basically a Mother Earth figure who is in charge of seasons and all things that grow and the lost of her daughter sends her into such despair that the world becomes barren. Zeus, the head honcho of deity-world, is concerned that the earth would die so sends a messenger to retrieve Persephone. Before leaving the underworld, Persephone eats six pomegranate seeds. Doing so forces her to return to Hades for six months every year. When Demeter has her daughter with her during the year, the seasons are pleasant and fruitful. When Persephone returns to the underworld, the earth becomes barren again. This explained the change of seasons. Anyway, I thought "Persephone's Return" would be too much of a mouthful. :)

Here is "Demeter's Joy":




The next set I made features some cute, glass, fish-shaped beads I found. I can't decide on a good name yet, but for now, I call it "Fishy Fete":



Friday, I started playing with my domino beads again. I wanted to make a bracelet, but I wasn't sure if memory wire or elastic would be best. Since the domino pips weren't going to be covered up, I didn't want it to be reversible, so I opted for the memory wire. Originally, I was going to paint them to match "Wishes" (shown previously), but I liked the idea I saw of using scrap book paper to cover the blank side of the dominoes. I had gone to a bead store in Raleigh, NC called Panopolie (LOVE that place!) on a trip last year and found a box of miniature tarot cards. I'm not into tarot or anything, but I really liked them for their size and bright colors. They're almost the right size for dominoes. After trimming the cards slightly, I adhered them to the beads with Mod-Podge, painted the edges with a silver pen and then strung them on the wire with glass beads. I chose cards that said nice things like "pleasant memories," "a good marriage," "a good harvest," and stuff like that. I call the bracelet "What We Want":



Next is a set I call "Earthen Wear." Its rectangle beads are wood and the blue and brown beads are ceramic. The necklace is long enough to wear as a belt. Don't go into shock with the change of background!




The "Good Fortune" ensemble's necklace follows the same idea as "Wishes" as far as the treatment of the domino bead goes. You can't see it in the picture, but this time I added some gold into the mix of alcohol inks. It adds a nice sheen. I couldn't believe I had enough "antique gold" findings to make the whole set!

Here's the final set (whew!). I fell in love with this pendant. It's dyed shell with a metal applique. I found a bag of coordinating beads, added some from my own stash and a bright, silver chain, and voila! "Spring Meadow" blossomed.

In other news, I just got my business license from the city and my sales tax certificate from the state. Unfortunately, I am still obligated by a contract that I have from another company to not sell jewelry for a year since I left them. My contract renewal date was the end of January and I did not renew, so that would make this "hiatus" year end January of '09. I plan to open my website and my business OFFICIALLY on February 1st, 2009. In the meantime, all (well, at least most) of my new creations will wind up here. I'll be figuring out a way to make a beautiful catalog to put these in for next year!