Blog Closing

Hello Friends!

Jewelry by Jules, Indy Jules, Julie Miller, it's all getting to be too much to keep up with so I am merging everything into Julie Miller Glass. The transition will begin over the next couple of months. Beginning with my new blog which can be found here.

I have my new Etsy store in place and will begin listing there September 13th. If you would like to go ahead and favorite my new shop, thank you! It's JulieMillerGlass.

I debated this move and I know a few people will get lost in the transition even though all old links will be up or forwarding for awhile but I think now is as good a time as any and I look forward to the clean slate it brings.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Bead & Button 2010

The show is about a week away now and I think this picture of my studio best conveys the chaos and panic that sets in about this time. I think I have enough, I think I thought of everything and put it on the "big" list but everything is either half done or half packed; I need to start finishing something! Half of my new light bar arrived last week and has been primed and painted. The other half was supposed to be here Saturday and, well, it wasn't.

I did finally get my example jewelry finished just today. I like to have some examples of things that can be done with my beads just to give some idea and inspiration or a good laugh for real jewelry artists. The picture of the hollow ribbon necklaces is not the best but my photo cube and lights are buried somewhere and I didn't take the time to do a proper excavation. I'm pleased with how they turned out.

I'm looking forward to the show and seeing everyone again. Donna Mehnert of Blackberry Beads will be next to me in booth 3 so I think it's going to be a blast. She's a fun gal and her work is beautiful.

I have 4 days of solid torching in front of me before I pack it in, up, and take it on the road so I hope to get yet a few more pretties made.

To all who are attending, I will be at booth 2. Please don't forget to print your admission discount coupon here. $2 off is $2 more to spend on beadie goodness!

Friendship & Etching

My friend Lisa called this morning. We spent the better part of last night working on the ISLAGA postcard together, well, she did most of it because she works in a land of Photoshop that I don't visit. I offered opinions and helped keep track of changes but mostly I learned alot.

Anyway, I told Lisa I was going to update my blog and she started giggling. She knows I have trouble keeping up with my blog that writer's block keeps me from posting more often but telling her and having her giggle at me made me resolve to do it. Well, that and she said she was going to check up on me later so if I don't want to hear about it, I better do it.

Lisa was just finishing cleaning her house. Neither of us enjoys housework but we both really enjoy a good cleaning purge or at least the result of it and we both get to a point where we obsess about getting it done and relishing the reward. It's liberating in a strange way and I think we both feel a "slate cleaning" sensation that gives us a lift that carries over into our torch time. We can confess and discuss this weirdness because we both know it but telling someone else about it doesn't always translate.

What I mean to say here is that a friend is a powerful force in our lives. We teach each other what we know when we know something, motivate or bait one another out of our comfort zones, and share satisfaction in weird stuff that most anyone else doesn't appreciate. So, I value having Lisa as my friend and hope that I am a good friend to her.

Oh yeah, I etched some stuff yesterday. Mostly vessels and weessels but a few bead sets as well. Getting out the chemicals, gloves, and working with the solution is something of a project so I tend to just keep a box of stuff I want to etch and then do an afternoon of it. A few of the above pictured will be posted on Etsy but mostly I am trying to build up inventory for Bead & Button coming up June 10th.

And the Winner is....

Stephanie of Lulu's Cottage! Congratulations Stephanie!
Please visit her blog and see what an amazing studio she has!

Thank you to all who participated and I am thankful for the new friends I have made because of this event!!

One World One Heart

I just heard about this amazing event from my bead buddy Lisa Atchison. One World One Heart is a global event to unite bloggers everywhere. To find out more or to participate, please visit the One World One Heart Website.

This stop on the magic carpet ride is the beach!

I will be giving away one of my favorite items; a beach ball necklace. This handmade glass globe is filled with tiny sea shells, driftwood and coral to remind you of a beautiful day at the seaside. It's capped with sterling silver and has a fine sterling bail. The size of the globe is about 23mm and the length of the necklace is 18 inches.

This beautiful necklace will be given (and shipped freely) to one lucky winner on February 15th. Here's how to enter:

1. You must have an active blog

2. You must leave a comment below to be eligible and you need to include contact info so I can contact you if you win.

Please visit my bead buddies who are also participating; Samma Parcels at Samma's Studio Lockdown and Lisa Atchison of Touch of Glass Designs.

January Special

Hi!

Wow do I ever stink at blogging! So, to make sure I at least post once a month, I will be having monthly specials for Etsy shoppers. For January and this frigid cold weather, I was going to offer your city's temperature as a percent off but that would just be rewarding those lucky stinkers that live in warmer climates so I will go with something easier; free shipping. In order to qualify you must put "free shipping" in the in the notes to the buyer. I will then refund your shipping fees and send your package on its merry way.

The photo above is of the back yard from last Spring. Before the new herb garden was planted around the fountain. I had an "after" picture but I can't find it. Hopefully this will remind you of what green really looks like and help tide you over until we see it again.

After the Show...I will

Well, I made it back from Bead Fest in Philadelphia! We rolled in at about 6 in the morning on Monday which is way too early for me but being nearly shot at a Waffle House in Ohio gave me the adrenaline I needed for that last push in to town.

I had a good time and a good show; thanks to all who stopped by to say hello including Julie Ryan. My email address is jewelrybyjules0@aol.com and if the zero after jules is left off then the email goes to Julie Ryan. This sweet lady has been forwarding my emails for over a year now and I thank her tremendously for this kindness.

I’m good at remembering to pack the camera but not so good at taking pictures mostly because I’m afraid I will be caught in front of the camera and be digitally reminded of how I really need to get my butt on a treadmill. Anyway, no pictures of the show; sorry!

I started making a list of stuff to be done “after the show” but since I had Bead and Button in May with only a little torch time in between, I opted to keep adding to the list until after Bead Fest here in August. That was maybe just a little too long.

One of the big items on the list was a clean out and reorganization of the studio. It’s been unnavigable since April but I had my excuse. No excuses now so that’s some of what I did this week. I didn’t take any “before” pictures but hey, if you don’t know what a mess looks like… The big part was the closet. It became one of those where you throw something in and close the door really fast. Everything had to come out. The left side has all of the mismatched storage drawers stacked up on either side with a board running across. This gives me a little workspace to package things up for shipping and, bonus, all of my shipping supplies are in one place now. The other side of the closet has my EZ up and light bar in the corner with a shelving unit to hold bins full of my show display stuff.

All of this new space gave me a chance to clean out my work bench area and even give the right half to Ann (my mom). As you can see, she is gearing up to do some serious jewelry type stuff including making jumprings.

Lastly, I hooked up my new torch, a Mega Minor. This is a small upgrade from my Minor but…well…it’s red and that’s cool! I need to tighten up the front screw so it sits upright without the film canister to prop it but it works and is ready to go.

I have a class with a bunch of lampwork buddies at Boca Loca Beads this Sunday so I’m looking forward to getting back to work next week creating some new goodies.