Getting Grounded into the New Year...Hopefully!

Hatch chiles and me in New Mexico

Merry Ristras!

You know me and my utility covers!

I needed a warning that I might run my ass off during the holidays.

What a whirl it's been.

I got to meet some cool artist types that I admire.

Check out Elizabeth Frank's amazing painted carvings/assemblage pieces with a distinctly southwest flair.

She has an Etsy shop too.

We're looking forward to some play time together one day.

And I got to meet this lovely lady too at her home in Santa Fe.

Yes, chiles were involved as we were treated to a wonderful meal including Bloody Mary's at my request.

You may already know her as Darlicious Rejuvenations  or Darlene of DarliciousHouse on Etsy

I have a heck of a time keeping up with this partner and I'm a little tuckered out with the running and playing we've been doing.

(I've got my son visiting with his new camera and he was trying out some action shots)

I thought this one was wonderfully ridiculous and I'm not jumping very high...notice the hot pack around my neck...kind of lame, literally.

Then we tried some with my camera, that's the most action I could manage but at least I don't look quite so stressed from concentration in this one.

No, this isn't Alaska... this is effin' southern Arizona!

...and it still hasn't totally melted yet.

That there is supposed to be out view of Mexico.

I instagramed it to make it look like someone's nostalgic childhood memory.

Now for the good stuff... I have been utilizing the wonderful Petra's ceramic bits as I have somehow managed to carve out a few hours of time between the visiting and the visitors and too much funnedness of the holidays or else I may go cray-cray.

Those are her elephant skin beads peaking out from under my  torch fired enamel bits.

You prob can't tell but those are some itty bitty headpinny bits of mine. 

lemme know if they are up your alley and I can make some more sets.

So these got me excited... I was actually trying to make them into orbby blobbly lucious fruit-hanging bits  butthe glass started to get away from me and I smashed it down and now they are smashed sideways all button like and I must say I rather like them and they have a multicolored sheen from the Bella Donna frits I've been experimenting with.

Oh, and swoon on this new color for me appropriately called "ghee" with some extra frit sheen

This glass is called peaches and cream and with a little raku frit They serve up quite nicely.

Petra's dangles and coral and acoupla transparent beadcaps.

All they need is some earwires now.

I got the coral in my stocking. See not coal, coRal.

We went to this great hot springs before Christmas because I thought it apropros to have our end of the world celebration in a place called Truth or Consequences. 

what a great soak and stay we had at La Paloma Hot Springs and Spa

I would recommend it highly.

Oh, I kind of wandered there. I saw the coral beads in a little shop in that town and requested them as a stocking stuffer.

These still need some wires as you can see

Dichro sparklies

Bella Donna sheen action

We're staring off shiny this year as you can see.

High-grading my own supplies again. 

NKP beads and some vintage bits

More Petra-iffic components

ScorchedEarthOnEtsy

More NKP beads with my criffles

I finished this one earring, one more to go.

After this we have more visitors (family) and a few days trip to Mexico and then to Maine after that so if I don't get much posted send me calming, peaceful grounded thought and wishes.

My super fun retired life is about to wear me out and I could use a few of those solitary summer days in Alaska again.

I almost forgot to share my new resolution to do more journaling and I collaged 4 pages already.

I think this reflects how busy I've been feeling.

I chose the word "seed" as a journal prompt for the year.

This was a two page spread in silver and gold

Happy New Year to you all!

XOXO, Kim

Earring Extravorgazma

I'm going to go backwards in time with my earring making spree.

I wanted to start with the pair in which I'm most proud.

( how's that for proper grammar?)

These were made with some metal tile that I found out near our desert property.

I brought a few of my pre-cut pieces back with me from Arizona.

I have a goodly stash to return to November but for now this is it.

Look how the light comes through them

Those are faceted pyrite lashed on with silver wire.

I can't keep hoarding my silver stash just because it's expensive now.

Yeah I kept these little torch fired copper enamel rounds for myself so far.

Revisiting my "roadsmithed" design with smashed bottle caps that I find on the streets in Bisbee.

Those of you that have followed for awhile might remember them.

Oh, we have litterers here in Alaska but it's a big highway with lots of wide open space.

I think there are more can people here that litter anyway.

And huge ditches and lots of brushy stuff, not so convenient as curbed pavement for searching.

And big snow plows and road graders scrape the roads clean.

Got some new and different supplies in a trade with Kim from Flotsam Tide

I find it's best to put newly gifted supplies immediately to use.

And you just might be able to see how she influenced these.

I haven't done much of the chainy work before.

Spacing is important I realize now.

How many times did I have to fasten the charms so they didn't overlap too much?

Found some old supplies that I made into these simple earrings.

Somehow little perfect frames aren't me anymore but I tried to funk them up with some lava and trade beads. Put on some extra long silver earwires to glam them up a bit so they weren't too pedestrian.

There was a time when I was going to sell out all of my tribal & trade beads since my style had veered away from that style. Imagine that, they've come back  'round to me again

 I finished this pair with NKPbeads

Petra of ScorchedEarth's ceramic rings, Kristi Bowman's charms

and my last set of baubles- double ended headpins on copper.

I do need to make more of those again sometime.

This is where I riffed off of an amazing design of earrings that I got in a trade with Darlene of DarliciousHouse

( I said riffed off, not ripped off and am happy to say she feels the same way. I checked with her to make sure)

My headpins matching the faceted carnelian

Multicolor matchsticks with some faceted opal

I finished these too. You know how I was squawking about doing custom pieces?

I just needed one criffle to match the other one.

Did I get it right?....no!

Different sizes and different colors. I ended up using a different stray orphan from my work table just because I wanted to finish these.

I'm at the end of my outdoor shows now and will be stocking some of the local galleries and shops in addition to several nice warm indoor shows.

The next one will be  "The Bad Girls of the North" in Fairbanks at the end of the month.

Great name eh?

They serve cocktails and hors douvres and the women they are happy cruising through with their wine glasses.

Oh, and one big question for those of you  that have the new activity feed on Etsy.

What do you think of it?

I happen to absolutely love it but was shocked to find that so many abhor it.

Must be because I have a Mac and follow such great folks because it all looks scrumptious to me.