Friday, January 30, 2015

Tucson Day 2 - beads, beautiful beads!!!

Day 2 started out wet and just got wetter. In fact it was absolutely pouring rain at several points during the day.  Not to worry - the rain didn't stop me from visiting some of my favorite vendors. Our first visit was with Toyo Feng (Feng's Trading). Toyo always has wonderful beads in some different stones and cool shapes. I always come home with gorgeous, unique beads for me designs. Here is a picture of Toyo and I at this booth and pictures of some of the beauties I'm taking home :)
 

Toyo and me!
Green pyrite, burmese jade, angelite weed grass agate, yellow (dyed) agate, yellow calcite and yellow opal
Turquoise hearts, gorgeous carved turquoise rounds, turquoise barrels and amazonite (leaves and faceted twisted ovales)
Carved mother of pearl, dyed jade, dyed terra jasper, fossil coral and brown opal

Beautiful turquoise, including some sleeping beauty!
Hematite, eagle eye tiger eye (grey), dumorterite

After lunch at El Minuto Cafe we drove over to the Howard Johnson GIGM show, slogged through the mud and puddles and visited our favorite vendors over there - Nevada Turquoise Co.  Here we both are with them.

Dad, me and Shellbone
Dad, my mom and Shellbone
Royal Beauty Mine turquoise and some Sleeping Beauty cabs
More turquoise :)
And that was the extent of our day.  The plans for tomorrow aren't cast in stone but we'll probably go to Gem Mall and JOGS.  If some of my designer friends send requests I may visit with Shellbone and his dad on the way home tomorrow. And, if you're wondering, it's still raining.  According to the evening news the airport got over 1" of rain (at 6:30PM) which broke a record from the 80's.  Since it hasn't stopped raining I'm sure the airport total is probably closer to 2" now.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Some of my new designs ...

I can share some of my new designs.  My Etsy and ArtFire shops are in "vacation" mode while I'm in Tucson.  But they'll reopen when I get home next week and you'll be able to buy some of these designs then.


Orchid Stripe Earrings - Artisan lampwork, argentium and sterling silver - SOLD

Blue Venetian Hearts Earrings - Murano Venetian glass, blue lace agate, gold vermeil and gold filled

Pink Floral Bouquet - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals, pink opal, freshwater pearls and sterling silver - SOLD
Orchid Abstract - Artisan lampwork, enamel on copper, Swarovski crystals and copper

Fancy Denim - Artisan lampwork, kyanite, argentium and sterling silver


Back to Tucson!

It's time for my annual pilgrimage to Tucson again and I'm there (or should I say I'm here :) ).  We got in late today so we didn't get to visit any of the gem venues.  I also forgot to get my camera out before we went to dinner or I would share a picture.  We ate at the Blue Willow restaurant (recommended by the owner of our rental) and it was pretty good.  If you're in the neighborhood of Campbell and E. Prince (it's actually several blocks south of E. Prince) give it a try.  Their menu looks like it's a good place for breakfast too!  I'll let you know tomorrow. ;)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Happy 2015!!!

Wow - the end of 2014 was really busy and it has taken me this long to catch up on everything and get my tax information prepared. I was designing like crazy to keep a nice selection available at the Fallbrook Art Center Art of the Holiday show. I've also had quite a bit of success selling on Facebook. Here are just a few of the recent designs that have sold and a few that are still available :)   If you want to see my designs when they first become available be sure to follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cserpentDesigns) as I post them there first!

Purple Pavers - Artisan lampwork, cubic zirconia and sterling silver

Forest Ivory - Artisan lampwork, BC Jade and sterling silver

Golden Sparkle - Artisan lampwork, gold filled and sterling silver

Royal Purple - Artisan lampwork, amethyst and sterling silver
Topaz Shimmer - Artisan lampwork, red abalone and gold filled (SOLD)

Snowy Petals - Artisan lampwork, hematite and sterling silver (SOLD)

Turquoise Pavers - Artisan lampwork, turquoise and sterling silver (SOLD)

Turquoise Leaves - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals and copper (SOLD)

Seafoam - Artisan lampwork, Czech glass, angelite, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver (SOLD)

It's Good to be Green - Green pyrite, artisam lampwork, seaweed quartz and sterling silver (SOLD)

Striking - Venetian glass, black onyx, glass seed beads and sterling silver (SOLD)
Exotic - Artisan lampwork, cubic zirconia and sterling silver (SOLD)
Fall Cascade - Freshwater pearls, hessonite garnet and sterling silver (SOLD)
Garnet Cascade - Freshwater pearls, rhodolite garnets and sterling silver (SOLD)
Lilac and Ivory - Artisan lampwork, mother of pearl and sterling silver (SOLD)
Oceanic Riches - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals, gold vermeil and gold filled (SOLD)
Pink Petals - Artisan lampwork, Czech glass, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver (SOLD)
Golden Pink Tutu - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals, pink opal and gold filled (SOLD)
Lapis Points - Artisan lampwork, AAA grade lapis and gold filled (SOLD)
Silver Rings - Artisan lampwork and hand forged sterling silver (SOLD)
Renaissance Blue - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver (SOLD)