Journey & Adventure

Here's a little something I've been working on.  It's fitting given all the snow we've been getting up here in Canada. White Bear's Journey Zuni carver, Everett Pinto, carved this white marble bear with the turquoise heart line.  The bear has been wrapped in heavy sterling and the necklace has been strung with white moon shell heishi beads, hematite beads, and nuggets of vintage Sleeping Beauty turquoise from the legendary closed mine in Arizona. The Bear is a symbol of strength, with power from within.  The heart line, which starts at the mouth of the bear (where breath gives life) and point to the soul (where faith, spirit and inner strength reside).

The BIG day is nearly upon us. No, not Christmas. That’s BIGGER than BIG, but the BIG day I’m talking about is the BIG craft show that I’ve been preparing for since… ummm, June. It starts tomorrow and I can hardly wait to get that beast behind me. I cannot even begin to explain how much I HATE – yes HATE making earrings… and necklaces… and bracelets. It used to be fun, but it’s turned to misery. I have made no less than 117 pairs of earrings, 120 necklaces and 35 bracelets since June. I HATE it all right now. Seriously. I know HATE is a strong word, but if I see another bead roll across my floor I will lose my mind…again. I think I’m prepared and I hope I have enough inventory; but in all honesty – I don’t care anymore. I just hope to sell it all. Then, all this misery and misspent time will have been well worth it. For four loooong days, I’ll be immersed in the world of crafters and crafty hunters. Wish me luck and say a little prayer that my sanity remains intact.

Good news (I think). I’ve received confirmation that my jewelry has now been juried and I have been accepted to participate in the craft show I was telling you about last week. So with that, I’m revving up production.  I'm exhausted from just thinking about all the work and it hasn't even started yet. It’s exciting to know that my stuff will be getting a lot of exposure at that show, but at the same time, it’s frightening to think about the “what ifs”. What if I don’t have enough inventory to last the entire 4 day show? What if I have enough inventory because absolutely no one buys a thing? What if I don’t make enough money to pay for the show entrance fees? What if I lose my mind because the eccentrics at the show drive me over the edge? You know who I’m talking about – those over-the-top “crafty” people. What if there is a home-baked goods booth set up beside me? I’m doomed to lose my mind and all my money for sure. Now that think abou...

Summer is still upon us and I’m loving every extreme heat moment of it, but my thoughts have slowly been turning to the holiday season that’s not too far around the corner. I know – it’s a sure sign of insanity. Believe me, I’m not wishing the next 3.5 months away; however I’ve had a dose of reality in that I’m not remotely prepared. You see, I sort of diddle-farted around and didn’t get my application in for participation in my usual November craft show and now, I find out there is no more room. Eeek! Flamingo Tongue Designs has done well this year overall, but I relied on that craft show to increase my sales into the “almost break-even” range.   Shame on me for procrastinating.  What am I going to do now? Well, after some scrambling, I found a bigger and better show to participate in – if I’m accepted. It’s a juried show and my work will be judged before I’m accepted, so you never know which way it might go. The entrance fees are twice as much to participa...

Nothing new here.  The weekend was uneventful, which is always a nice change. J and I went for another loooong walk on the beach yesterday.  I think with all the fresh air and exercise, we need Sundays to recover. I've been working away on a couple of new jewelry pieces, which I thought I'd share. Sea Glass Treasures This one contains pieces of sea and beach glass from Long Point, Lake Erie; Rincon, Puerto Rico; Negros Islands, Philippines; Oahu, Hawaii.  The large pendant piece is the bottom of an old Coke bottle. Driftwood Dreams The pendant on this piece is a piece of old tree bark I found on the beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico.  I love the way the worm holes make the piece look.

Well, there's not much going on in life at the moment.  At least there's nothing worth blogging about.  Okay, well maybe is worth blogging about, but I've done enough complaning of late....so, I bring you some more of my Flamingo Tongue Design creations. Today, it's all about sea glass.  I think if I could make a living from beachcombing, I'd be all over it in a heart beat.  I love finding this stuff... These pieces were all found in the Philippines.  I simply added the pewter bail and chains.

Sorry, but things have been too busy with my "back-up" plan to write about anything else, so I'm going to bore you with some of my latest Flamingo Tongue Design creations. Ripples - Agate Necklace Sunrise Surprise - Sediment Sea Jasper  Rebecca (this one was made for my niece - to wear with her wedding gown) And a couple of purchases from the Philippines, which I plan on reselling on my website.  Don't worry, I will disclose that they aren't my creations. Primary Colors - Bracelet Ahh, Nuts - Bracelet (natural color of the nuts) Spiral Shell Bracelet

Life is slowly getting back to normal and my regular sleep habits are returning after this latest adventure. I’m also less grumpy, although my family would likely dispute that statement. J has started to weed through some of his hundreds of photos – both above and below the water’s surface, so hopefully he’ll have something to share with you in the next week or so. I also hope to share some more of my photos with you. The difference between J’s photos and mine? J’s photos are good, artistic and well-thought out, whereas mine reflect mindless, juvenile enjoyment of the moment at hand. I take photos for the sake of taking photos…no thought, no process and looking back, most of the time I couldn’t tell you what I was trying to capture. My photos are like my life…random. I do have some news about Flamingo Tongue Designs (aka the backup plan). My sales last week where phenomenal and I received my first wholesale order from a Canadian artist for her gallery/shop. Let’s hope the f...

Turns out the pain I’ve been experiencing is actually a tooth infection, which when cleared up will lead to either a root canal or extraction. Extraction would be the cheaper route, but not likely the one I will choose, as it’s the very back molar on my lower right side. Without that tooth, I seriously doubt my ability to chew anything other than pudding. Regardless of the route I choose, it can’t be done before I go away, so I’m on some antibiotics and some regular pain meds. The dentist won’t guarantee that nothing will go wrong given my insistence on scuba diving, but he is hopeful that my “tooth won’t explode while on holidays”. He’s a glass half empty sort of guy…. I’ve been continuing to research the move to Ecuador and want to go now. I don’t want to wait 5 years, but moving sooner isn’t feasible since there is too much work to be done on our house in order to maximize our return on investment. I know patience is a virtue, but honestly, I don’t even know what that means… ...

Finally, with the holiday season well behind me, I’ve finally been able to start catching up on my jewelry stuff. This past weekend was spent photographing, writing descriptions for and posting the finished pieces to both my website and Etsy. I swear the maintenance side of this jewelry business could be a full-time job (if I had the time to do it properly). I don’t understand how I let myself fall so far behind over the holiday season, but sadly…it happened. Actually, it happens every year… The worst part about it…I haven’t updated my business accounting program since tax season last year and guess what’s just around the corner? Ummm….tax season! How the hell, does this keep happening to me and why do it let it? Meh. (insert shoulder shrug here). Anyhow, whining about it isn’t making it go away, so off I go to toil my misery away. I leave you with a few photos of some recent pieces.

I don't normally like to bore you with my jewelry related stuff - that's what my other blog is for, but I just had to share my newest experiment.  I've been attempting to create chainmaille pieces.  Here is my first set of earrings.   I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and I absolutely love the skull beads.  I mean, I LOVE them...

I’ve had a headache for over a week now.    I think it’s hanging on thanks to the shitty weather we’ve been having, or it could be my pillow or my sore shoulder or lack of a good night’s sleep.    You get the picture – it’s a friggin headache that won’t go away. I’m trying to plan another vacation, but the necessary funds needed for such an excursion seem to be alluding me.   It would be quite simple to just charge it and worry about paying for it later – after I have a suntan and have escaped this hell-hole called Canadian winter (if only for a little while).   Why must I be so damn responsible?    I hate me at the moment. Today, we were blessed by rain, freezing rain, sleet, then snow and then a flash freeze.     More snow expected tomorrow.   Fantastic.   I know you are jealous.   I accept that… If the money tree in the backyard magically sprouts, I think we’ll be planning a trip...

Here is a couple of photos of a jewelry piece I recently finished.  I'm so happy with how it turned out that I had to share.  I purchased the beads when I was in Sedona this summer.  It's called "Sedona Summer" - creative I know...what can I say?  

Here are some photos from my first craft show.  I re-purposed the doors, which I found at a yard sale for $5 by cutting them in half and painting them.  I made the table clothes myself and those of you that have been around for a while know how much of a challenge that would have been for me.  To sum it up, sewing sucks. Over all I was happy with the booth turnout.  I received some comments on how good it looked from other vendors and even a few from other jewelry makers.  

Well, I've successfully managed to survive my first craft show.  I might be a little less sane then I was on Friday, but I'm alive.  J deserves an award for his patience and support throughout this whole thing.  He sat with me for two whole days and didn't complain once.  I'm sure he's saving his IOU for moment probably in the not too distant future... The show ran both Saturday and Sunday and it was quite large.  Although there were a lot of shoppers, the buyers were hit and miss.  As with anything, a person's taste are their own and what appeals to one does not appeal to all.  I get that. All in all, I'm happy with how it all turned out.  I made enough money to cover my show expenses, with a little left over.  The best part was the exposure and the positive feedback I received - both on my booth and my jewelry.  At the moment, life is good.  Now I can concentrate of getting some Christmas shopping done. ...

Hi Folks, J and I have returned from the Dominican Republic and once again, had a fantastic time.  Pictures will come soon... I'm off for another week before the new job begins, but life is really hectic at the moment, as I have just one week left to prepare for my first jewelry/craft show.  I thought I was in pretty good shape before we went on holidays, but it appears that my judgment was clouded - that and I sold six pieces yesterday. So, without further adieu, I must get back to my sweat shop.  My fingers are starting to cramp...

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that one of my new necklaces had been selected as a "feature photo" by Sea Glass Artists & Sea Glass Collectors website.  Around The World This necklace is approximately 18 inches in length and has been created using various pieces of genuine sea-glass, which have been handpicked directly from the sandy, sunny beaches of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bonaire and El Salvador.

Just like Nancy's post earlier this week, I too have always been inspired by water - oceans, lakes, rivers or streams.  It doesn't really matter.  Just being near water provides me clarity and brings me serenity.  Here is one of my ocean inspired pieces - made from genuine sea glass handpicked by yours truly from the sunny, sandy beaches of Puerto Rico.  Ocean Whitecaps

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that one of my pendants had been selected as a "feature photo" by Sea Glass Artists & Sea Glass Collectors website.  "He Loves Me Not"... Flamingo Tongue Designs