Jewelry Affaire Magazine Autumn 2013

Here's my shameless self-promotion...

I'm in the Autumn Issue of Jewelry Affaire Magazine...

A nice two page spread...

with text written by me...

These earrings were just returned to me from the photo shoot

and are now available for sale in my

ETSY SHOP

and for inquiring minds...

The Long Beach Open Studio art walk was killer!

I did really well and now it's got me thinking about

maybe doing some more events like this ...

It was great to sell stuff directly to the customer and see what they

pick out...and see it on them...

The Long Beach Open Studio Tour

I am pleased to announce that I will be showing my work at the Long Beach Open Studio Tour
on October 12th and 13th, at 3868 Gaviota Street up in Bixby Knolls.   I have been very busy working on new designs ....this along with keeping up with my metalsmithing class up at Long Beach City college has kept me at the work bench....My poor Etsy shop is suffering because of it and I haven't put a thing in there in what seems like ages...

I'm making some of these just for the show...these however went to my special bestie before that could
happen...I think I'm going to try to make  something similar as these are way too cool...

I just love these sea urchins...got a lovely stash of them recently,

but was a bit put off with the hole drilled in the center...

couldn't quite figure out how to work with them but found out

that the extra wire work involved actually seems pretty cool.

These sold right out of the box...I tried something new with the polymer

I added inks over the top and the craziest colors happened...like Tiffany glass almost...

Making some more of these for the art walk...

  I would love for you all to attend but of course since most of you are all over the world I don't think I'll be seeing many of you, such a shame...wouldn't it be wonderful...

 Also the Long Beach Ukelele Club will be playing on Sunday, of which I am a proud member, so it
ought to be a great weekend...

  Here is the website to the event ....The Long Beach Open Studio Tour

Our Darling Ginger...

Our beautiful little cat of 15 years, Ginger died this morning at 3:30 am

after a long illness...

Our beautiful boy was never quite the same after his mum died last September.

He missed her something terrible and just kind of lost his spark and then just

fell into a lung condition that didn't respond to treatment....and the last couple of months have been torture for us as he has been in and out of the vets...the last time, last Friday, the vet said we should put him down...but we took him home instead, with us, in his own little bed, where he belonged and where we could love him to the very end....and it got tough...real tough...but it was the right thing for all of us, because when he decided to pass away, he gave us signs and it was over with in a few hours...and we are grateful that we stuck to our decision.

These cats were the reason we bought a house...Our landlord wouldn't let us have pets and these strays worked their way into our hearts and we got them in, and worked on their feral ways, with love love and more love.  I saw the tender side of my husband come out...I'll never forget the first time I came home and heard him cooing and baby talking to him...Ginger was always "his pal"

Now this is from a man who swore he didn't like cats..."I'm allergic to them" is what he always said.
They became steadfast and true friends...Ginger picking him over me anyday...my boys stuck together.
Ginger would sit on the bathroom floor in the morning and watch him shave, they would play endless rounds of "tennis" and filbert nut throwing....Ginger was smart...real smart...come when your called smart unless the lure of freedom got to be to much for him and we would have to chase him a little bit...
Both our cats were inside cats...living where we do cars, crime, racoons, hawks, fleas, other cats, all were ready to play havoc...so we kept them indoors...after they got a bit older , I would sit outside with them in my side garden and watch over them.

So today, my husband is building him a copper box, and we will lay our beautiful friend to rest in our garden next to his mum...

Our house is quiet ....

our hearts are so heavy..

our loss so complete...

college bound...The Full Story

Stamen Polypods

I knew when I was typing this post that something was very wrong...

and it was...and I lost the entire post which I just so carefully wrote...

Do I want to do it again?  heck no!  

So I will give an abridged version of my long tale and tell you that I am returning to college to take a metal smithing class.

I will be going to the local junior college and I am just so excited I got into the class,

which after a difficult time even trying to get registered, I finally got in by the skin of my teeth.

So I'm going to be a bit busier than usual and my Etsy shop will show it...

but I'm off to learn how to finally use big girl tools and play with fire...

Thanks Penny for sending me the orignal blog....

here it is in it's entirety....

When I graduated from high school way back when, there was no question in my mind that I would go to college.
It was never really brought up, encouraged or even asked about...What was I going to do? No one asked...no one cared.
I personally hated school, high school in particular, and the idea of going to school another four years just was out of the question...but I remember graduating and thinking" now what?" It was assumed I would work in a factory or get married even though I never had boyfriends, so it's not like marriage was looming on the horizon.
So what did I do? I worked in a factory for a week, where I cried every lunch hour. I got a ride to the job with a neighbor lady who had been working there for 20 years....the thought of this kind of a life...endless repetitive boredom was not for me...but I was lost and didn't know what to do....

I did meet a boy and fell in love and after being with him for about 6 months he told me he was going to California and did I want to go with him...Well my bags got packed that night and to the shock and dismay of my poor parents, i hitch hiked the 2,500 miles in the middle of a March snowstorm to Venice, California.

I never really did figure out what I was going to do with my life...I dabbled in just about everything...you name it ...I have probably done it...acting, singing, dancing, boat washer, waitress, photographer, camp cook, seamstress, curtain maker, upholster , craft services, production assistant, stage manager, antique dealer...have I forgotten anything? probably.

Cut to today...my main job has been wife, "home-maker" and I had my own antique business for 9 years in a brick and mortar store at Wertz Brothers Antique Mall in Santa Monica  and I have been making my own jewelry and running my Etsy store....I have known all along that I need to be my own boss, that I have a hard time focusing on getting a task done  and of course I am bone lazy and love to do as I please....and although I did finally go to college at the tender age of 30 and got two AA degrees, one in liberal arts and one in theatre, the time has come for this old gal to go back to school.

Long Beach City College...one of the orignial buildings from the 20's

Now I'm doing anything as crazy as trying to get my bachelor's degree...I got into a silversmithing class at the local junior college...It meets two days a week for both lecture and lab...I am excited and scared.  The college has had a major overhaul...It is beautiful..It retains it's old California Spanish charm but with luxury upgrades, beautiful xersicopse landscaping, and fabulous rose gardens...There use to be bunnies running all over the campus...I guess people dumped their pet rabbits and it turned into a major "Bunny U"...but they captured them all before the re-model and they are not there anymore...I loved those bunnies, but now the clean, wide open spaces are just so beautiful that the bunnies are now just a lovely memory.

where the bunnies ran free

I will probably not be making as much jewelry for the shop as I would like but this new challenge is going to expand on what I am doing already.

xxbh

Polymer Clay Daily

So I got a message today from my polymer clay mentor, Ginger Davis Allman, from The Blue Bottle Tree saying that I was featured in today's Polymer Clay Daily.   Ginger's tutorial on head pins is what got me started on my latest addiction...she probably has stock in Fimo and Premo....

Well as many of you know,  I am pretty new to working with polymer clay...but now I am completely hooked on it and want to learn all I can...I have had some really great response from the PolyPods that I made...

MARSH PODS

EARTHEN PODS

and I have been trying new things everyday...

I kinda went crazy with making beads....

I didn't  think anyone was really paying that much attention,

so to get into this polymer clay daily is a pretty cool thing...

So here's the link to the feature...

Thanks to all that helped...you know who you are...xox  bh

Polymer Clay Daily

Jewelry Affaire Magazine Summer 2013

I have the honor of being featured in the Summer 2013 edition

of Jewelry Affaire magazine...Stacks of Bangles ...on pages 12-13...

I'm creeping my way closer and closer to the front...

What's next?  Cover?!!  well why not...

This is the third magazine I've been in now...

each time is as thrilling as the first 

There is nothing like seeing yourself in print, seeing your work

on the racks of one of my own personal favorite hang-outs, Barnes and Nobles,

and walking into that store, going to the  mag rack with a cup of Starbucks

and sitting down and reading about....me!

For all of you out there, and you know who I'm talking about,

who has not yet submitted their work to a magazine,

go ahead and do it...It is a thrill of a lifetime...

It takes a little time to do it, but it's well worth it...

Polymer Clay Madness

It all started simple enough....I saw a tutorial on distressed polymer clay headpins by Ginger Davis-Allman from  The Blue Bottle Tree.  I bought some of her headpins previously and thought, hey I can do this, they are so cool, just what I need and want ...so I bought the tutorial and downloaded it on the spot.
  This tutorial is really well put together with every little detail covered.  The step by step instructions are clear and easy that even a learning impaired adult like myself could understand it.  There are lots of pics, again clear and nothing left out...Ginger did a great job.

Next stop, good old Micheal's for the little packages of clay...I chose  Premo and Fimo...I thought I'd try both to compare the two.  I have tried making polymer clay beads before and went through about a pound of the stuff with some disastrous results...Ginger told me I was using crap clay for starters and between her and Rey at Greybird I  realized I wasn't cooking for a long enough time and at too low of a temperature...  Yes Rey!  The high priestess of clay started with polymer...have a look at her old sales if you don't believe me...she put polymer clay into the stratosphere...  I sent her one of my bead mishaps clear over to the Isle of Skye and she helped me too.

Here's the first batch...

 So...I have been clay shaping, bead painting crazy over here ever since I got the tutorial...somebody stop me!!  cause I am hooked...it's fun...it's challenging and you get some cool beads and focals no one else has.

The Ancient Ones were inspired by American Indian pottery...

Chaco Canyon

Bullseye!

Pottery Shards...

see I told you...Stop Me!

Works in progress

And another thing I learned...is how time consuming, frustrating, did I say time consuming making beads is...I had no idea...So next time you have to send you hard earned cash to Greybird Studio, Ragged Robyn,  ScorchedEarth, Numinosity, Sara at DivineStudio2, Happyfish, Shipwreckdandy...be thankful these hard-working gals are doing it all for you and at a real bargain for all the time involved in the making of hand-made beads.  

Still a lot to learn and many mistakes to make I am sure... 

SteelBridge Songfest 2013 Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Well my decision to let it fly and go to the Steel Bridge Songfest sure was a good one...

It was one of the best times I ever had, bar none...  I ended up meeting up with

two very good friends and we had such a great time hanging out, laughing our heads off, and

just enjoying the music, food, and the entire event.   I didn't know what to expect, how the thing was

run, where to go , who to see, but it didn't matter cause everything we did was fun...

I got there early and went to the Holiday Music hotel to get my lanyard which

allowed me into some 15 different bars, coffee houses, an old movie theatre and

other various venues scattered thought out this little town...all pretty much within walking

distance of each other...I was lucky I  got there early cause all the participating musicians were

gathering for this years photo....little did I know, the talent that was assembled here.

Here is the view out of my motel room...not the Holiday Music Hotel,

as that was for the musicians...I stayed at this funky joint outside of town right on the lake...

The red building in the back ended up being one of the venues, so when I got in at 2am.  I  could still catch some more music right in my own backyard with the car safely parked ...

Such a pretty spot and fun place to stay in.

So here is the headliner, Jackson Browne along with Pat MacDonald who is one of the founders of the festival and one of the owners of the Holiday Music hotel.  Yeah I know my position here at the show really sucked....You may remember Pat from the band Timbuk 3, which had this really cool song and even better video the was heavily rotated in the early days of MTV, The future's So Bright I Have to Wear Shades...

There was only like a few hundred people here and this part of the show was held in the hotel parking lot... they had a few VIP chairs in the front which were empty so in my usual fashion I said well why not and sat my self down...thank you vips that didn't show.

Jackson with my friend Tony Menzer, bass player extraordinaire

and the guy who turned me on to the festival via a facebook post...

My photo of Jackson Browne which I thought turned out rather well...

This man is unreal...still super cute and his voice is the same...not wrecked but

perfect and the songs....well you know...I don't have to tell you about those classic tunes...

pretty much part of the soundtrack of many of our lives...

Will I go next year?  phht...you betcha kiddos...this festival is mellow,

the talent just off the charts awesome and I'll say it again, one of the best things I ever did...

The musicians of the 2013 Steel Bridge Songfest in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin..

Here is the webpage ...check it out...

Steel Bridge Songfest

And I am outta Here

   Well Kids...I am finally ready to hit the road..

I am off on the old red-eye on Thurs/Friday midnight

to go to Wisconsin....First, six nights with my big brother.   He of the best Fish Fry possibly in the world...made with the fish he caught himself....then many frozen custards....Wisconsin is about eating so eat I must...

Then on Thursday, I head up to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for The SteelBridge Songfest.  I have never attended this festival, but I heard about it on facebook and it sounded so cool, I just had to go...I almost said no to myself, but one thing about getting older, you start to say yes to a lot more things....I have my own rental car, my own room....apparently you just go from pub to pub with different music going on for four days...I am excited....and happy I said yes....

Beatnheart on etsy will be open for shopping but I am not listing or making ....I am truly going on a real vacation....It will do me good to get away for awhile on my own....thank you Mr. Beatnheart for letting me be who I am...

Adorable

Just had to show you this too adorable for words kitten

Who I found on Kath's wonderful blog Hillside House...

It took me a bit to work out how to do this link as I have never posted anything moving....

I have been following Kath for quite a while now and what a treat it is to read about her wonderful life in a house she and her husband have been working on for awhile now in the beautiful town of Glastonbury, England ... A place that upon reading about, seems too magical to be real.

Kath has been one of those blog friends that are on my list of ladies I'd love to meet...
She shares her love of her town...her crafts and cooking...her dogs...It's a storybook read and she never fails to lift my spirits.

Pop by and enjoy the magic and soon, like me, Glastonbury will be on your bucket list of places you want to visit.

Happy Etsy anniversary

It was two years ago that I offically moved into my Etsy store.

I was so new on the computer,  I didn’t know what  to do or how to do it.

I managed to open it but it remained untouched for a full year...

it just scared the bjeezus out of me, so there it sat.

Then finally I got the courage to take a picture of something and post it on the site.

This is the first thing I posted.

Later that night I got an email saying “Notification of Payment Received”

I started screaming to my husband, now what the heck is this!!  I don’t owe anyone any money?

So  I looked at the email and couldn’t believe my eyes, someone had bought that dang shoe clip...

The very first day.   

Well I went full steam ahead then, and started to take pics of everything I had that I was ready to sell.

and I sold, and sold and sold...I got a very good start and that was before I knew anything about activity feeds or convos or anything....I just had the goods....and great prices...I didn’t know how to ship, pack, anything ....I never even bought anything on Etsy.

So I sold my vintage stuff and did well...but then I wanted to make something.

 I thought I’d try and make some jewelry.

I never made much before and certainly never had the guts to try and sell it.

So I took pictures and listed my little earrings....but they didn’t sell and hardly anyone looked them.

But I carried on anyway.  

and in those early days I did get some encouragement...

one person was the dear sweet Lady of the Hills, Naomi...

who bought some of those early earrings and from that gave me

a boost of confidence...

 I just kept at it...

I don’t even know why...I must have gone through about 2000 of those bright

finished brass head pins...

I then I took them apart and then put them back together some other way.

I didn’t know what I was doing, more importantly why...but then finally I realized there doesn’t have to be a why...just do something for the sake of doing it.  The credit here really lies with Mr. Beatnheart as this is the way he has always lived his life...do for the sake of doing...I always felt there had to be some reason ie. make money...but finally it didn’t mean anything, I was doing it because I wanted to, and I wanted to get better at it and I wanted it to be something meaningful to me...

and so here I am now...

and things are going good...

and I’m still at it and still learning and learning something new everyday...

sometimes what I learn is sit back and wait...don’t push things...

let them develop...cleaning my work bench is working too.

I must have made a thousand of these by now...

they are all over the world.

So I celebrate that I made it this far and kept at it and now I know why I did,

because it has changed me in so many ways...I am so much better for it...

and the friends I have made on Etsy have blown my mind because they are the coolest chicks on the planet.

Saturday’s Public Practice...and how it went.

Well...it went fantastic...what a day.

 I was nervous/excited because I didn’t know what to expect.

Of course, the freeway was jammed and I got tense about being late,  but Mr. B said he’d drop me off at the location and then he would go and park.


  I got to the sign-up table just as the Cathedral bell chimed three times...

This was my first location...right in the center of the lawn at newly built Grand Park, with City Hall looming in the background...absolutely brilliant location and a beautiful slightly overcast day.

Some of my friends came along

which sure did add to the fun factor.

 the city skyline.

That’s Mr. B with the camera, and Matt and Tina.

After I practiced for 45 minutes,  I was moved to a another location

on the second tier of the park, in the Flag Garden. This time I was left alone, as my companions walked around to look at the rest of the park and the other musicans.

This chick got a pretty cool location.

My alloted practice time was up at 5pm so I had time to look around...

I didn’t get too far...

I saw this cello player in my old location.

I went up to him and watched, looked at what he was playing and it was an Irish Jig...

Well it looked kinda easy to me, so I said, wanna jam?  I knew now that the rules were pretty lenient,

so I thought why not....and boy oh boy am I glad I did cause it was big fun...

The kid and I just jammed that jig...he was happy cause he said he never played it that fast or all the way through...we kinda fell in love, but don’t tell his ma.

I read a little music but not much.  When playing the uke, I just follow chord diagrams, not notes.

This sheet music had the chords and I knew the song, so it was something I could do.

Well I never even held a cello, so he let me hold it and I tried to play...

man oh man is it hard...He said he’s been playing for five years and

it’s still really hard to play.

 He played the uke too...what a cool kid.

A high point of my life and I am so glad I did it.  I practied just like I was suppose too...I chatted with my friends, but practiced as well, and made mistakes, and swore outloud, just as I do at home when I practice. 

  And I learned that it is not the destination, it’s the journey...that the hours of practice do end up meaning something...as uneventful as it may seem at the time.   That the time you spend gets you to where you want to go but you’ll never really get there cause there is always more to learn and you always can get better and I need and want to be better....and that is just one of the reasons I love music so and why it is so meaningful  too me...

  And I learned the importance of stepping up and moving beyond your comfort zone and putting yourself out there...

On Tuesday night, all the participants are invited to a private party with dinner and a jam session at The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, right there in the fabulous Music Center....

I hope the kid is there.

sometimes, I Love LA.