Ahhh the excitement of getting to go to new places!!!
Lisa is in the great state of Washington this week.
 She goes out for a walk and guess what she finds right down the street???
 You guessed it, a bead shop!
Being a “beader” must give us a 6^th sense in locating such thing
No, shes not on a buying trip but that’s what shes doing!
Sharing a piece of “steampunk” that Lisa made—Let us know what you think!
This piece is made with gunmetal chain, watch parts, small pearls, crystals, ruby and black onyx with
lots of chain!

We do so appreciate any feedback that you can give us!

"up change"

On our last blog we mentioned changes. The intention is to do better. We have always strived to do good work but we need to evolve into a little different avenue. We are stepping out of our “comfort zone” in order to bring you more “up to date” and “out there” pieces.

The feature this week is a Pearl and Swarovski crystal piece called “Class Act”. Pearls are always classy, but, add Swarovski crystals for a little glitz and WOW!!!!

To see more on this lovely piece, please visit our ETSY store.

Look for more Pearl and Crystal pieces to come as we love the look of these two together with a bit of chain.

Changes

We are very fortunate to have one another to work with and keep the inspiration going. Lisa began beading as a hobby about 5 years ago and she talked Kay into trying it soon after. Let’s face the truth here, beading is addictive. Kay was quickly addicted also and it wasn’t long before we found that friends and family members loved our creations and would ask “Can you make one of those for me?”

Even though we have truly enjoyed making each creation, my sister and I have found ourselves in a state of "change"... we are "changing" our style of jewelry design, stepping out of our comfort zone. Our pieces are beautiful and well made, but with our decision to step into the internet sales, blogging, Esty, Artfire and other forms of marketing ourselves, we needed to change to accommodate that market.. We would like to share some of our early pieces, what worked  and what did not and our attempts to market our pieces.

Here are some photos of our earlier and later work~



 

This is a piece made from a

 vintage opticle lens,

we love making these.



   

This is the reverse side of the

 Family Record pendant



                                                                                

 

Swarovski crystal and pearl

 7 1/2 inch bracelet.  We made quite a few of these.



 

This is an infants bracelet made from
swarovski crystals and sterling silver



.



Jasper bracelet and earring set, with fleur di lis dangle



Black and Topaz Swarovski crystals
(Black & Gold Saints colors),
SS findings and SS fleusr di lis dangle earrings



New Orleans Water Meter
earrings





Deep red, White and turquoise glass beads
 on sliver chain. 18' long



   



Black and gold fresh water pearl necklace
with fleur di lis dangle at the clasp
and earrings with fleur di lis dangles



Hi! Welcome to our Blog, it's really nice to meet you!

Kay and I (Lisa) are sisters who have raised our families and are now following our dream of creating and sharing our hand-made jewelry and other hand-made, multimedia creations with you!  Kay and I love to work together and learn new ways of doing things; hopefully we will all share and learn together. 

We have worked in various arts and crafts media from crochet to water colors.  Maybe we need to find something with an “A” and something that starts with “W-X-Y-Z” to finish the alphabet!  She and I have taken classes in everything via online webinars, standalone classes, and formal courses in art.  One of our favorites is the “Decorative Soldering” class I took 2 years ago, so much fun and you are limited only by your imagination!  I’m anxious to get the Kiln going and learn more about slumping and fusing glass among other things that can be done.  Our work room/studio is a barn-like shed that is filled with a myriad of items to work with, scrapbooking supplies, a “Cricut Expressions” machine (love it!), paper of all sorts, card stock, 3 sewing machines (standard, Embroidery, Serger), fabrics, yarns, threads, beads, paints (acrylics, glazes, watercolors, oils, and?), Inks, stamps, stretched canvasses, glass, glass beads, crystals, and all sorts beads and pearls of all kinds, vintage items, upcycled items, Steam-punk pieces, not to mention almost anything else that you can think of in a home-based studio!  Whoever dies with the most art and craft supplies wins, right?  *G*

As for this post we would like to start by introducing ourselves by sharing our lives with you.

I’m Lisa! 

My husband, Mark and I live in Kiln, Mississippi which is about 10 miles from the Mississippi Gulf coast.  (Yes, Brett Favre is from here and No, I do not know him or his family.  Sorry, but I’m not into football!)  I retired in 1997 from a 15 year career in Nursing and from 5 years of Law Enforcement, yes a strange mix, but it was so much fun! Law enforcement is where I met Mark and we married 3 years later.  We moved from New Orleans about 5 years ago and enjoy living out in the country where we can see the stars at night!  We have 6 cats and a German Sheppard Dog who keep us jumping!  Mark and I each have 2 children from previous marriages, ages 25 to 34 years old.  Our two eldest children have given us four grandchildren, 3 boys and 1 girl ages 2 ½ to 15 years old.  They are amazing, but then again aren’t all grand children?

I also love genealogy; family history is near and dear to my heart and oh so rewarding.  Our ancestors came across the pond primarily from Scotland and Holland and we are now spread across the southeast United States.  My husband’s roots are based in Norway and Sweden, which was a learning experience also as the naming customs of those countries are quite a challenge!  Although my family’s history is very rewarding, I also find my clients ancestors equally fascinating!  Wait, this is a topic for another post!  J 

I think I’ve rattle on enough, you’ve gotten to know a bit about me and now I will step back and let my sister and “Partner in Crime” tell you all about her life and what she loves. 

And I’m Kay, the “other sister”!

First I will tell you a bit about myself. I am a widow, have 3 grown and married children and 9 grandchildren ranging in age from 24 years to 4 months old. Most of them live close so they keep me on my toes.

I retired after 29 years with Bellsouth Telecommunications and was married for almost 35 years before I lost the love of my life!

I am in love with my Lord and am very active in my church. This December, 10 of us are going to Thailand on a mission trip. I can’t wait to share what I learn from these wonderful people. This will be my 3^rd time to go there.

My sister got me involved in beading just as a pastime, now it’s in my blood! I never cease to be excited over the idea of a bead show or even going to a bead shop!

I love working with glass and can’t wait till we fire up the kiln and see where that leads us.

We hope to bring exciting blog posts about every aspect of beading or really any kind of craft!

Come Back soon!

We will try to post about our jewelry as often as we can and share things with you that have worked for us and what hasn’t, along with that we’ll explore things together and learn from you also!  Please don’t hesitate to contact us as we love making new friends.   

TTYS! 

Lisa and Kay!