20-30% Off Holiday Sale! Early Bird Sale for Newsletter subscribers!

Hello friends! 

It's been awhile, I know. I apologize for my absence as I have been recovering from my divorce. If you didn't already know about my huge life change that happened this summer you can read about it here. 

But we all know you are really here to find out about our sale, right?! Right! So what are the deets? Well if you are lucky enough to be a newsletter subscriber you get to shop EARLY! Yep, that's right! After you are stuffed full of holiday food you can shop at 8pm CST and get 30% off by using our subscriber only code! Join the mailing list HERE.

 Sales Details are as follows: Early Bird Subscriber sale (Sale begins at 8pm CST Thursday night) check your newsletter e-mail to  receive your special discount code. For Black Friday you can use the code "GBBF30" for 30% off(sale begins at Midnight CST) and if you happen to miss our early bird sale and Black Friday sale you can still get a super sweet 20% off discount Small business saturday- Cyber Monday by using the code "XMAS20"(Sale Begins at Midnight CST on Saturday). The sale is in both of our shops for beads and our jewelry. The sale will end at Midnight CST on December 1st. 

Don't make jewelry? Let us take that off of your plate! You can shop our jewelry shop for unique creations for all of those special people on your list!

Wishing you all the most wonderful kick off to the holidays enjoying time with friends, family, and loved ones. 

xoxo Genea

Riding the Waves

Hello friends,

It's been too long, I know... I have been thinking of you and I have wanted to write, but couldn't sit myself in front of my computer. 

I have been.... struggling. Struggling a lot with life. Riding the waves of my emotions up and down. They go up and down throughout the day. Sometimes I'm plummeting to my doom and then other times I am rising up. I remember the strong and amazing person I was and still am. I remember that I am and have always been that person. That I don't need another person's support to remember that about myself, but sometimes..... I forget. I get stuck again in that struggle.

That is where my art is. Strangely stuck in that place where it should bring me healing and peace to create, but it's the opposite. I sit down to work. Everything feels weird. It reminds me of the past life I had as a fulltime lampworker where now I have to work a regular job in a warehouse as my main work. I sit down to try to create and try to turn on music and the same music that made me feel on top of the world makes me want to cry. I look at the ipad and phone that I used to receive messages on while I worked and it stares back at me with a blank stare. All of these things flood in as I tired to sit and create. I made myself at least sit for a half hour and when things feel like too much. I get up, turn everything off and leave the house. 

It's hard that all of the things that brought me so much joy and comfort are feeling strange and foreign to me. My lampworking, my hooping, my music. Things that brought me so much joy, growth, fulfillment. It just feels weird. I am trying to power through it and just force myself to face these things until they feel normal and good again, but I am struggling. 

So what happened between now and my last post? Well as you know I am in the process of a divorce that began in mid July. In that time I had a close friend that turned into a whirlwind passion filled romance for it to have ended just as magically as it began. As you can imagine that plunged me back into the sadness I didn't fully face at the beginning of my parting with my partner of 12 years. All of those emotions I was too distracted face came flooding in x2. I was devastated... again, but if you know anything about me... you know what a determined person I am. 

I signed up for a divorce care class at a local church and signed up for a therapist as well. So 2 nights of my week I seek healing through these places to "make me well" again as I call it. I hate being in this place of feeling so out of sorts, weak, and lost. I want to find the fastest exit the FUCK out of here and onto life where things feel "normal" again and things are back into place. 

In this strange new space I am alone for the first time in many years and by alone I just mean that  really all I have is myself. This is a new thing for me. I think somewhere along my life I missed this growth I was supposed to have inbetween 18-24. Some lost space after highschool and into my "college years". So the universe has seen fit to throw me back into that mindset to do the growth that I missed out on. My therapist put it so well. She told me excitedly that I get to do this with a more wise self on this journey. I guess it's like that thought process of "If the me that I was in highschool could talk to the me I am now" kind of thing. I dunno.

All I know is that this new space is so different. So... well.. new. It should be exciting, but at the moment it's kind of terrifying. It's that whole fear of the unknown thing I have, I guess. The thing where I am terrified of all bodies of water where you can't see the bottom. 

I am trying to have a new positive perspective on life, but as all things learning new thought pathways takes time for them to stick. I do realize that on this path I will get to not only re-discover the sleeping beauty that lies within, I will be able to build her stronger, and more beautiful that she has ever been. She will be a force with which to be reckoned, she will shine so much light that when she walks in a room the whole room will turn to her and feel her presence. She will be one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She will make the most beautiful art anyone has ever seen. She is in here healing and coming closer to the surface day by day. 

Rising up from the Ashes.

Hello friends,

It's been a hot second, I know. As you have read life has been pretty crazy in new ways. Re-buliding your life from the ground up takes time and LOTS of energy. So what has happened since last I posted? Well I got a "real job" in the "default world". I worked for a local bread company for a few weeks and just recently changed to a job working in a door and window warehouse a little bit closer to where I live. I work a day shift from 7:30-4, Monday- Friday with weekends off. Hellz yeah! Do you know how nice it is to get a job with weekends off and a day schedule?! Pretty amazing, not as amazing as working for yourself, but it's all good.

I also got a car, YAY and BOO. I have only driven my car long enough to use a 1/4 tank of gas. Yep, that's it. I got a '97 Nissan Maxima on Craig's list. Seemed legit, but there was a problem with the clutch. It would drive awesome for awhile and the longer I drove it(after about 30 minutes) I couldn't get the car in gear. Uh yeah.. SCARY. While driving too I might add. For those of you that don't drive stick. If you car is not in gear you can't move ANYWHERE. So my mom was kind enough to have let me borrow her car for the last 3 weeks while I try to get my car repaired. After trying to track down about 5 different people to do the work I found help in the most unlikely of places. My neighbor's son worked on my car and replaced the slave cylinder that controls the clutch and engages the clutch pedal. The damn pedal was STILL sticking. So the clutch needs to be replaced too. Ugh.. always something, huh?! But FUCK THAT. Life is not getting me DOWN! The phoenix RISES UP FROM THE ASHES. That's right. Life can SUCK IT! I will figure this out! So still working on trying to fix that problem this week.

I *DID* find a roommate to rent out my house with me as well, YAY!! Another new friend so that is really cool. What does that mean? Well first of all NO MOVING. I get to keep my studio and dogs with their fenced in yard and live in a HOUSE. Yes, life is GOOD. So Things are falling into place for sure. Life has settled down a bit, but I'm still adjusting. Still improving, still striving for greatness. I'm not done yet. I have a certain place I want to be to feel "comfortable" with my living. You know enough to pay the bills and play while having a roof over my head and a working car. Then onto what the hell else I am going to do with my life to keep this style of living. Back to school for some more life skills and a bigger pocket full of cash? I am thinking that is my direction, but what to do?? I have been an artist all my life. Unfortunately art by itself won't pay the bills with me supporting me. So what else do I do? I am not really sure honestly. Do I get a quick trade skill to make some more money an hour and have a skill and go from there? If I am going to invest 5 years or so in school and get eyeballs deep in college debt it has to be something I am kinda passionate about, yanno? Still figuring that one out while I shuffle the other crap into line. I suppose the answers will come. I am still waiting for that strike of lightning that wakes me out of a dead sleep with a very definitive answer. 

I just want to give a shout-out and some mad love to Lori Anderson for doing an auction to help raise money for me to get back on my feet and for all of the lovely people that jumped on to help. You all are so fucking amazing. Truly, you rock my socks! I am so fortunate to have you all in my life. Thank you from the very bottom of my full heart! 

So yeah, I have been featured in Stringing Magazine 2015 as well. If you have not gotten a copy, what are you waiting for?! Check it out for sure and you can find the beads and findings in my shop. 

I also have another tutorial coming out Wirework Magazine Fall 2015! That will be out in another week and it will feature my "Dusky Desert" earrings featuring my glass headpins, recycled sari silk and Wooly wire.

I have also obsessively followed Burning Man through their Radio Station and Live web feed. I am SO going next year! Here is a photo I screen shotted from the live feed. Everyone says Disney World is the happiest place on earth, but I am thinking it's probably Burning Man. Just sayin'. 

Well this about does my update to fill you all in on what life has been all about for me over the last month. Expect to hear from me more frequently as life settles in. 

xoxo Genea

New Beginnings 20% OFF STOREWIDE SALE FRIDAY-SUNDAY(July 31-August 2) Midnight CST

A special  thank you to Mary DeTray for the lovely sales graphic she created :)

Hello Friends,

Let me tell you life sure has been challenging the last few weeks. Where I know this is all temporary and that things will change for the better it doesn't make things any easier. I am offering this 20% OFF STOREWIDE SALE in both shops.Genea Beads and Genea C-K Jewelry,  Friday-Sunday (July 31- August 2) Midnight CST. Use the coupon code "NEWBEGINNINGS" at checkout to receive your discount. 

Maybe it has been put on your heart to send money with no strings attached. You may do so by sending money through paypal  to eyedoglass@hotmail.com. 

I am having this sale to help raise funds to buy me a cheap vehicle. I am hoping to find one for around $1,000. I also need to raise money to find a place to stay. I have 30 short days to find a place to live. It's all very scary and stressful. I was not able to stay in the house I am in and rent it out with friends so I am having to figure something else out. I also need a car to get to the new job I was just offered today. I will start either this Monday or the following Sunday. I was going to try to ask for rides to whom ever was available or try to take the public bus to get to work, but having my own car would make all of the difference in the world. That way if I don't get a living space worked out I will have a car to live in. Ha ha, but eh... maybe that is closer to the truth? Let's hope it doesn't get to that because I will have Leeloo to worry about as well. 

I just want to thank each and every one of you for being here for me when others have walked out of my life for whatever reasons they have. It means the world to me to have you here with me supporting me in this crazy thing called life. 

With Deepest Love and Gratitude,

Genea

Big Life Changes

You just never know what life will have in store for you.

A burn gives you what you need, not necessarily what you expect.

This past weekend I went to my first very regional burning man event in Topeka, Kansas. The regional burns take place in cities all over the country and Burning Man takes place in Nevada over Labor Day weekend. I was in a place where I camped with my " burn family"(close friends) where we shared memories, lived life and lived in a place where there is no money exchange(everything is gifting). These events follow the 10 Principles of Burning Man.

The week before I was supposed to go to this burn Ricky announced that he wanted to leave from our marriage. He wanted to travel and be a free spirit and that he had fallen in love with someone else. So after 12 years of being together (9 years of marriage) we will be parting ways. 

Things are pretty intense as you might imagine after sharing things with someone for so many years. I will be completely starting over. I need to get a car, get a job with a stable income, and find a new place to live. I don't have established enough credit to get a car loan or even get a place. I am hoping to find a way to rent a house with some friends so I can keep Leeloo with me and still have a place to lampwork on the side. I would love to figure out more ideas to make my business more profitable so that I can continue to do it full time in the future, but at the moment I need to do whatever will get me the funding I need right now. 

I have had some hiccups with my Etsy shop, but plan to get it back online soon and run a sale to help get raise funds for all of my expenses. It's been a tough last few months and I am so grateful for all of you that have been here to support me with your words of encouragement and purchasing my work. 

I am just trying to take things one day at a time. It's hard. I feel like I have a world of things to conquer and that they all need to be done RIGHT NOW. I am just trying to chew off manageable  bites each day to get to where I need to be. I just wanted to let you all know where I have been and the struggles I am facing in life right now. I hope to be creating along side looking for another job. I will post new work as I get it made. 

I don't really know what else to write at the moment, but felt like I needed to get this out.

Thank you all for everything you do in my life.

With deepest gratitude, 

Genea

Find me on Facebook- Genea Beads

Hello friends!

Just checking in with you all to let you know that we are experiencing a few hiccups with our Etsy shop. You can find our current work for sale over on our facebook page here. So where are these new beads of which you speak? Well I have been on a Weeny Ding kick so you can find several amazing sets on my page ;)

So your next question might be "How do I get my hands on these beads?" Well all you have to do is hop on over to my facebook page and send me a message or comment on the photo of the beads on which you would like. I will send over a paypal invoice to your e-mail addy. Easy peasy and almost the same as ordering from the way you used to ;) 

I hope to get this issue remedied soon, but for now you can find us there and we will update you here with things change;)

I have been enjoying a wonderful summer with friends exploring beautiful places in Kansas City like this work house castle downtown. 

Here is one shot of the building outside. You can see Sean hooping off to the right. 

Here is another part with it's graffitied walls. 

Here is my friend, Megan by this pretty bird :)

She clicked this one of me hooping and doing a chest roll. I love it! 

Thanks so much for checking in! 

See you soon!

xo Genea

The Magic of Wakarusa & Big Holed Dread Beads

Hello friends!

Wow, I had such a magical time on Mulberry Mountain! I want to thank each and everyone one of you that made it all possible! I have returned back to Kansas City with a full heart and wonderful memories. I spent 7 magical days with new friends and old listening to music, exploring art, and playing in nature. Above is just a small snippet of the memories I made, but I think they capture the essence of my experience :)

So I did end up coming home with a few more beads than I had planned, but my first and most important goal was to really experience Wakarusa.  You can find all of the new dread beads in my Etsy shop here.  It has been pouring buckets so these were the only photos I managed to take before the rain. I have another couple dread beads and a few other smaller stone textured beads to photograph and add to the shop soon ;) 

I was running short on time so I made myself some new clothes with some of my old tie-dyes. I had some extra fabric from the cut out's I made in my clothing so I made recycled tie-dye cords to go with the dread beads. My great idea was that if they were not being worn you could simply tie the bead around your wrist or neck! Genius, right?! 

So what happens if you don't have dreads? Well you can wear them like my friend, Kelsey. You can simply braid your hair and wear them or you can add them onto some yard extensions. 

Isn't she darling? She is even wearing one of our taped hula hoop necklaces :) I did make those specifically for the hooping community, but if you are interested I would be happy to make them available to all ;)

What if you don't want to wear the beads in your hair? Well these super LARGE bead holes are awesome for: hemp, kumihimo, thick fibers, or seed bead woven ropes! The possibilities are endless!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See you soon!

xo Genea

Wakarusa Music Festival and 20% Off Wanderlust Sale News!

Hello friends!

Do you ever get an amazing opportunity to travel and not only travel, but to hear some mind blowing music? My darling scheming husband talked to his parent's and they got together to get me a ticket to Wakarusa Music Festival in beautiful Ozark, Arkansas!

I have to say I am excited and terrified all at the same time. I am NOT a camper. I like to sleep in the dark with it quiet, and I er.. um... am a little skeptical about port-o-potties. I will be going on this expedition solo(without Ricky), but will be traveling with some new and amazing people(You know who you are! Love you guys!). This is a really big thing for me guys... I am stepping WAY out of my comfort zone for this one. I expect to return home with my life changed forever in so many positive ways. I know this experience will make me grow with so much love and gratitude.

The festival is set in Mulberry Mountain.  It is a 4 day camping and music festival in nature. Here is a photo from the event last year :)

Look at how beautiful the venue is and did you see they have a FERRIS WHEEL?! *Wakarusa photo by Phil Clarkin.

Here is another photo of one of the stages.Wow, does this look incredible or what?! *photo by electronic midwest.

So not only will this event have music, camping, a FERRIS WHEEL, but it will also have art installations, live painters and performers, a poster design contest, and so many more exciting things I could go on for days.

These types of events are life changing. You go with friends, drop your drama at the door and get yourself immersed in: nature, music, hooping, and all of the amazing people that have traveled from all over to come together in one magical place to celebrate life. Doesn't that sound like something you would want to do? Just thinking about it makes me pretty emotional(shhh don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold ;) 

Now, as you know, all great traveling experiences do take lots of: planning, camping supplies, food, gas, and any extra fun you plan on having at the event(purchases of artwork, clothing, jewelry, and other creative works). 

So I will be offering a 20% OFF SALE to help raise funds for my trip. Use coupon code "WAKA2015" at checkout to receive your discount.  Sale will begin  THIS weekend (May 22-May 24th) at Midnight on those dates. Our newsletter folks will get "first dibs" and early shopping Wednesday(May 20th)! If you are not already a subscriber, you can join our mailing list here.

You can receive our discount in our Bead Shop and Jewelry Shop!

To make things even MORE exciting I will be doing a GIVEAWAY  as well! For each item purchased you will get an entry into the drawing to win a stash of some very special art beads (from myself and other artists) along with some stringing materials!

Have you ever wanted to travel? Have you ever wanted to really get yourself immersed in culture, but were a little timid about the whole experience yourself? Help support my journey through this sale and travel safely with me through my experiences, and photos on this life changing expedition :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. See you at the sale!

xoxo Genea

Coming up for air- creating and outsiding.

Hello friends!

I've decided to come up from some air. I have been busy making and "outsiding". I have really been enjoying lots of time being outside in the beautiful spring sunshine. Here are a few pictures from our Kansas City Drum Tribe. 

Hula hoops!

A little Acro yoga. Ricky and our friend Kristen are doing a position called the "box". 

 I have been been making beads and jewelry and going from pile to pile sorting out the mess as I go. So let's take a look at what I've been making :D

It sure does take FOREVER to list jewelry, but I got a few new pieces in the shop. I still have LOTS more to photograph and add, but I am trying to balance out my "work" and "play". A few work things for a few play things :D 

Last weeks shop update with more rustic lime green, aqua, and teal beads. Yum! Did you see I even made Vortex Flower HEADPINS! Yep, sure did! 

Lots of other "little bits" in the shop as well. Some Vortex Flower bead focals, glass headpins, and little sets.

Here is what we made for mom for Mother's Day. Hooray for Pinterest!

We found a really great and easy tutorial for transferring an image to a wax candle. My idea for the candle holder botched. I sure did hand cut out text on some contact paper and etch "family" on the vase. I only had my bead etching liquid which does NOT work, so don't bother ;P I searched around and saw this idea using scrap book paper, so we did that instead. It turned out super cute :D There weren't any instructions, but I figure you guys are pretty clever and can figure it out. We used a little bit of sand paper to sand the glass where the paper went and applied the paper with mod podge. We hot glued the ribbon and bow separately :)

What's a pretty gift without a pretty package. I made this bag for mom with a stencil, some scrap book paper, and little vellum banner. 

I got this amazing air vase from the lovely, Marsha Neal Studios! My mom kills plants so I decided to save her the trouble and I just gave her dead flowers :D

Mom's birthday just passed as well. Mother's day and her b-day are always a week apart. Boy lots of creating to do that week! Here is the necklace I created for her with the carved focal by S L Artisan Accents, and sea urchin bead by Blue Berri Beads.

Did you know I do all kinds of art? Not just a pretty face ;P I created this fanciful Harry Potter wall art for a swap partner I had. I made a cosmic nebula with Harry Potter's outline. It's layered over a page of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with the quote"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live". I was  a little proud of my new "baby". I took LOTS of photos of the process of this piece. You can see them here.

My friend Jamie moved out of state and I had wanted to make him a bead for forever. He never did tell me his favorite colors. He wanted me to be inspired to make him whatever called to me.... You can see why he didn't get a bead for awhile. Lol. I couldn't really think of anything until right before he left. I decided to do moon phases and the "Mother, Maiden, Crone" for him since he is Pagan. I made LOTS of these seemingly simple style beads before I was happy with them. These were the best ones I made ;) 

My sister's b-day was in April and I was inspired to create these earrings for her. I really LOVE the black and pale aqua together. I had some GORGEOUS watermelon tourmaline faceted teeny beads. I had to dig through HALF the bag just to find a few that were drilled big enough to fit over 28 gauge wire. I am going to find the person that drilled these beads and punch them in the face >:D

I have contemplated making more of these, but I need to dig through those damn beads and see if I can find just enough to make another pair for my shop. Awesome "clay dings" are by my friend, Karen Totten :D

My sister has always loved rainbows together so I made her a pair of these for her birthday too. I made super teeny beads for my collaboration with Zenned Out so I used some of the extras in her earrings ;)

*Whew* see why I've been "absent" lately. Lots of stuff to make and do and not nearly enough time for ALL of it. Good thing I plan to live for a VERY long time so I can get most of my life's ambitions completes before joining "the man in the sky" ;P

Thanks for checkin' in! See you soon!

xoxo Genea

"Sunshine Lotus" Earrings Tutorial in Wirework Magazine Spring 2015

It's here, it's HERE! Did you receive your copy?! I'm so excited that our "Sunshine Lotus" earrings tutorial is in the latest Wirework Magazine for Spring of 2015! I will be listing the pair that was featured in the magazine in my Genea C-K jewelry shop soon. Keep an eye out for that ;) So where can you get all of these wonderful supplies to make these amazing earrings?

Genea Beads- Spiral Earh Stones "Sunshine Peach" , Starry Road Studio- Hammered Copper Hoops 

Wooly Wire Etc.- "Sunrise" Wooly Wire, Miss Fickle Media- Copper Ball Headpins.

Now let's take a step backwards and see where this design originated...

Do you remember these earrings that I created for the 8th  Bead Soup Blog Party? I used these gorgeous polymer clay hearts by Jael's Jewels, Copper hammered Rings from Starry Road Studio, and Wooly Wire from Wooly Wire etc. I called this design "Loving Lotus Rays". 

Here is what the earrings look like worn. They are super LONG and look very large due to all of their negative space. They are actually very light weight for their size :) 

The next pair that I created I made for my friend, Melissa. She was going through chemo at the time and starting to lose her hair. I thought I would make her  a FABULOUS pair of earrings to take her mind off of her hair. Her favorite colors are ivory and orange so I used my Spiral Beach Stones "White Sands" beads and the "Sunrise" Wooly Wire. 

I was really quite taken by this wooly wire so I decided to pair it with my Spiral Earth Stones "Sunhine Peach" beads and the "Sunshine Lotus Ray's" earrings were born! My good friend and fellow bead maker, Cassie Donlen had told me that Wirework Magazine was taking submissions. So I hopped on over and submitted my beauties. They were accepted and published as the "Sunshine Lotus" earrings you see below :D

I would LOVE to see your creations with this tutorial! So please feel free to e-mail me or stop on by my page on facebook to share!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

xoxo Genea

P.S. If you are wondering what Leeloo's doctor results were you can check my comment at the bottom of my last blog. xoxo

Vet for Leeloo 20% Off Sale.

Hello Friends, My dear sweet Leeloo (my 9 year old  female Australian Shepherdon the right) gave Ricky and me a frightful scare today. Her head started to twitch and she began circling. Her eyes bounced back and forth like she was dizzy. We had her lay down,  pet her to comfort her, and waited for this strange behavior to subside. Within a few minutes it stopped, but we were pretty freaked out. At first I thought maybe she had a seizure. I got online and began researching her symptoms and came across this article on Vestibular Disease. After reading this article her symptoms fit all of the ones described. We are super worried about her and will need to get her into the vet asap.  To help pay for these costs I will be offering a 20% off sale in both of my shops from now through Wednesday at Midnight(April 6-8 Midnight CST). Use the code "vet4leeloo" at check out to receive your discount in our Bead Shop and our Jewelry Shop.  If you have a moment to send her your healing thoughts and prayers we would be very grateful. I would also be greatful if any of you have any wisdom to share about this disease and treatments. xo Genea

Sun, Spring, and Magazine Tutorial Release!

Hello friends!

Spring is finally here in the Midwest! I couldn't be more happy to be outside enjoying the GORGEOUS Sunny weather! It's amazing just how much warmer temps have really awoken my spirit. You can really see that inspiration in my latest work. I am really loving pulling out all of those gorgeous pastel colors and stone textured beachy style beads. 

I created some lovely gifts for 2 of my friends using my new "Sugar Beach Rainbows" beads and some mouth watering Wooly Wire.

I also finished up the last of the "Sugar Beach Rainbow" series of beads with my "Rainbow Sugar Cubes".  I don't usually make this shape so I thought it might be fun to work it into this design. After making this style bead I remember why... getting the bead out of the press bends the EVER LOVING HELL out of my mandrels! We all know how much fun it is to make beads on wonky mandrels :/ Well maybe we all don't, but trust me, it sucks. Lol. 

So pretty, aren't they? There is something so soothing about that calm pale aqua blue. It's like rain, or ocean, or tear drops. I dunno, but I just love it! Clear is really gorgeous stone textured as well. Add some ivory and you've really got a winner ;) 

How about a little taste of the beach? These colors remind me of that gorgeous green sea glass. Mostly that gorgeous color comes from things like coca cola bottles. Believe it or not, the bottle glass is actually green, not clear ;) 

While we are into that green, why not make some headpins too?

If you aren't really into all that water, you can always hit the desert with it's warm caramel hues with kisses of rainbow.

Do you ever go back and re-work some of your old designs? I had the opportunity to work on a new and improved design for my friend, Amanda's necklace. On the left you will see the original necklace. On the right you will see the NEW and IMPROVED "INDESTRUCTIbail" design. Amanda's son, Adam reached for her pendant and gave it a yank stretching out the entire pendant. So to remedy that problem I created my "Indestructibail" design for her instead. Just look at how GORGEOUS it turned out! I must say it sure was hard to give her this necklace back without wanting to keep it for myself! I really love the shifts of color you can see using longer lengths of Wooly Wire.  You can find my "Mystic Moon and Sister Sun" focal bead here.

Here is a close-up of the bail. OMG isn't is SO PRETTY?! This is one of my favorite colorway's of Wooly Wire called, "Sunrise". 

If you love this color too, keep an eye out for it in the shop soon! I will also be releasing our "Sunshine Peach" Spiral Earth Stone earring pairs as soon .  Our "Sunshine Lotus Ray's" earrings will be featured in the Wirework Magazine Spring 2015. Subscribers can expect to see it in their mailboxes as soon as the first week in April! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Spring!

xo Genea

NEW Series, "Sugar Beach Rainbows", "Naked Sugar Beach Rainbows" and the process of creating a new series.

Hello friends!

Have you seen them?? They have been BLOWING up all over Facebook! 

Check out this screen shot from my Facebook page! Wow, exciting huh?!

I would love to introduce my NEW series of beads "Sugar Beach Rainbows" and "Naked Sugar Beach Rainbows". It all started out with a single bead and turned into an entire series of new work! Below is the bead that started it all :)

 I don't know if I am completely done with the series just yet as I have NOT made any glass headpins or spacers ;) The chilly temperatures of what's left of this half ass winter are keeping me from CRANKIN'  out beads in my studio. Looks like we will get some more snow over the next couple of days our "big" 1-5 inches of snowfall. *cough cough* Then temps will climb back into the 30's and even up to 55.

A new series really starts out with laying out all of the colors you want to use and getting out your scientist hat. This is the development phase. Not all colors will work out the way you planned so it's a good idea to test things out before doing an entire run of beads. You could think something will work out perfectly only to find out you made an entire run of beads that could use a few more tweaks in the design. 

So step 1. color choices, step 2. color tests. This is more important for stone texturing. Not all glasses like to make that pretty texture. So this is really important to figure out before moving on. After all of those steps are done, next comes color layering. I wanted the look of the colors gently fading one into the next. This works really great if we have a TON of colors in that specific hue, but is harder when we have all of like 3 hues for our pinks. We have super pale, one slightly lighter and then hot pink. This doesn't really make for easy color transitions. Luckily our friends over at Creation is Messy are kind enough to try out new colors and adding some fantastic new additions to our existing palette. Finally someone that will listen to our color requests :) 

So lets take a look at one of Messy's wonderful new pink additions to our palette, Blush. On the left you can see the original batch. Hubba hubba, huh?! Is that a SEXY pink, or what? That is the OLD batch of Blush from when the first color came out. On the right is the newer batch that came out kinda recentlyish. So you can probably expect to see more of that hue. It never does hurt to ASK when you order your glass though. The color does shift all the way across the entire lot of glass they receive ;) This is where I will 1. Tell you to be sure to ask when you order, and 2. One of the MOST important gems of advice I can give you... If you find a color batch you like ORDER A LOT. Glass changes ALL the time. So if you find that one batch you like STOCK UP the next batch could be totally different. Reactions and colors.

Anywho... so as you can see the older batch is darker and the newer batch is lighter. The newer batch fades more gently in color so that is the one I decided to use.

Oh and you're welcome for me telling you one of the colors I used :P As a lampworker one thing aside from skill is knowing your color palette. This is one of your BEST weapons from setting yourself apart from everyone else out there. You may be able to do the same techniques as everyone else out there, but color layering and being able to pick out colors that  look beautiful together is actually a skill. One I didn't realize I had until I met some people that didn't have it. I have to thank my mom for that one. She too has the gift of pairing up colors. 

Now let's take a look below. Before moving on for the headpin designs I tried out a few different things to see which I liked best. On the left you can see this is the "naked" style with no color core underneath. You can see the colors fade more gently, but it's hard to see that there are actually 3 colors on there. The next 2 are different layers with cores. No, I can't tell you EVERYTHING. Some things you need to go sit down in your studio and to yourself. This is what makes you a good artist. Go do your homework :P

So lets back track a little bit and start back with the first bead I made for the series. Of course you knew I would start with green and blue, right?! ;) So the bead on the top right you can see kind of fades from yellowy green to a more minty green and the bead on the bottom fades from green to more aqua blue. The bead on the top right is the original bead and the bottom right is the bead that is featured in the "Sugar Beach Rainbows" set. After creating the different beads I got curious. As you can see with the white cores you can see the stripes of each color. You can still see them with the "naked" style bead, but they fade more gently on the bottom left. On the top left you can see that the colors fade almost invisibly. How does that work? Well remember when I told you that the more colors you have in that hue the easier it is to color transition? Case in point....

Now it's time to make some beads! So grab that glass and let's get to work on a run of beads! Here you can see the original set of "Sugar Beach Rainbows".

What is a collection of work if you don't make some focals?

Sugar Beach Rainbow "Warm Rainbow". SOLD.

"Naked Sugar Beach Rainbows"

Naked Sugar Beach Rainbows "Warm Rainbow"

Naked Sugar Beach Rainbow "Cool Rainbow".

So hopefully with this post this gives you a little bit more of a look into the process and why I charge what I do for my work. It's easier to put value on something if you understand all of the work involved in the final product. So let's recap... 1. Color choice. 2. Color development. 3. Surface texture. 4. Test run of beads. 5. Series run of beads. 6. Cleaning beads. Did you know there is actually a science for this? My stone textured beads go through a rigorous cleaning before they look like the finished bead. They sure don't come out of the kiln looking so pretty. To paint a move vivid picture. Imagine excavating dinosaur bones. 7. New design development. Trying out more styles of beads to fit in the series. 8. Photographing, editing, listing. 9. Promotion and introduction of new work. 10. Tying, pricing beads. 11. Packaging, and shipping new beads.  Wow, that's a lot of work, huh? One of the many amazing services I offer you, my lovely treasured customers. XOXO.

Thanks for stopping by to read about our new series. I hope you find something you can't live without!

xo Genea