To New Beginnings...

Today was a gold star day!  We signed the papers for our new house.  It's finally sinking in that we're going to be in our own home soon.  I think I was holding my breath.  I don't think I was ready to give into the sweet relief that comes with finally finding a place until all the paperwork was taken care of.  My mother always told me to "not count the chicks before the eggs have hatched".  I was worried that something would fall through or that someone would change their mind and that we'd be left without a place of our own.

But... today we met with the attorney and got everything squared away.  It's hard to believe.  When we were living in our tiny little apartment in Brooklyn, I didn't think it would ever be possible.  It seemed like something that would eventually be nice one day, but I didn't really think that we would be able to.  Things sort of fell into place and now here we are!

I feel so overwhelmingly blessed right now.  Of course, I know it'll be a lot of work and I know it's a big commitment, but I think we're ready.  It'll be nice to set down more roots and make new memories in our new home.  Here's to new beginnings...

Brave Angel Reveal and Silent Auction 2...

Throughout the weekend, I'll be adding more pieces that I created using the Brave Angel Special Challenge kit.  These pieces will be auctioned off and the proceeds will be used to help make a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

This is another of the pieces that I made to help out.  It's made mostly of the Luxury Bead Blend and includes a mix of Czech glass, Japanese seed beads, vintage sequins, and a base metal heart toggle.  The bracelet is approximately 7.5" inches long.

For this auction, the bidding will start at $1!  There is no minimum reserve and there are no bidding increments.  The highest bidder in the comments is the winner!  As a thank you, we will ship the piece to the winner free of charge (to US participants).  This auction is open to international participants.  This auction will run from today (October 29th) to November 5th.  Please make sure to include your name and an email address with your bid.  The winner will be announced November 6th.  When the winner is announced, we will send a Paypal invoice for the total.  Please make sure to pay promptly.  The funds we raise will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Please keep in mind that although this piece is part of a blog hop, not all of the reveals are auctions!  (And that's okay!  The auctions were completely optional!)  While you're hopping, you'll notice that some of the auctions will be going to different charities.  (That's okay too!)  So if you're interested in participating in an auction, please take note and make sure to read over each artist's instructions carefully, as they may vary!  More auctions will be posted throughout the day and over the weekend.  So stay tuned!

CLICK HERE to see the rest of the blog hop reveal.

Brave Angel Reveal and Silent Auction 1...

I know that there's a lot of controversy over "pink-washing" October, but even so, I still wanted to use it as an opportunity to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and treatment.  We don't have a lot of extra money laying around, so I thought this would be a nice way for me to use my talents to help make a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  We spent a lot of time researching places to donate money and found that this charity to be excellent.  CLICK HERE to take a look at their rating from Charity Navigator.

This is one of the pieces that I made to help out.  It's made of vintage Czech glass, faceted crystal rondelles, copper, fire-polished Czech glass, and a bronze bird toggle from my family at Green Girl Studios.  The necklace is approximately 22.5" inches long and depending on wrist-size, can also be worn as a bracelet.

For this auction, the bidding will start at $1!  There is no minimum reserve and there are no bidding increments.  The highest bidder in the comments is the winner!  As a thank you, we will ship the piece to the winner free of charge (to US participants).  This auction is open to international participants.  This auction will run from today (October 29th) to November 5th.  Please make sure to include your name and an email address with your bid.  The winner will be announced November 6th.  When the winner is announced, we will send a Paypal invoice for the total.  Please make sure to pay promptly.  The funds we raise will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Keep in mind that although this piece is part of a blog hop, not all of the reveals are auctions!  And some of the auctions will be going to different charities.  So please take note and make sure to read over each artist's instructions carefully, as they may vary!  More auctions will be posted throughout the day and over the weekend.  So also keep an eye out for them!  We thought this would be a fun and creative way to raise money and hope that you enjoy visiting the participating blogs.  This is a wonderful way to get holiday gifts and help with finding a cure for this disease and raise awareness for treatment and prevention.  Even if you aren't bidding, please consider hopping around and showing your support for the amazing work of all of the participants!

CLICK HERE to see the rest of the blog hop reveal.

Brave Angel Special Challenge Reveal...

Today marks the reveal for the Brave Angel Special Challenge.  If you're not familiar with the challenges, they're a fun way for folks to push themselves creatively, by working from a selection of components that I put together.  When we were talking about kits that we wanted to create, I knew that I wanted to make one that helped raise awareness for breast cancer treatment and prevention.

I was really blown away by how quickly the kits sold out.  (So many people were disappointed that they didn't get a kit that we had to do a second run of kits!)  It was a bittersweet feeling though.  Mainly because many of people who claimed kits were either breast cancer survivors or know someone who battled this disease.  It shines a new light on things when you go from the conceptual idea of creating a kit, to meeting people who have had firsthand encounters with the disease.  It made me think of all the people that I have lost along the way to breast cancer.  It was a truly humbling experience and I'm proud to be able to present this kit.

To find out more about what was in the kit, CLICK HERE.

This was the Mystery Component that I created for the kit.  It was made of polymer clay and hand-painted by me.  After I sent everything out, I found out that the fixative that I used to seal the pieces didn't fully cure and caused the pieces to be slightly sticky.  I was really heartbroken to discover this, because I spent a lot of time making them.  I have to apologize to anyone who received them, as it was not my intention to send anything out that was not perfect.  (Some folks said that their pieces were fine and others got sticky ones.)  I've tried to reach out to everyone who got a kit, but if I didn't get a chance to, just let me know if you got a tacky one and I can replace it.  (Alternatively, the pieces can be washed in warm, soapy water and recoated with a different sealant and that should do the trick.)  Once again, I apologize and hope folks found other things to work with in the kit.

And without further ado... here's the reveal:

This piece was made by Denise Slass-Lipson.  Here's what she had to say about it:  "My necklace includes many beads from the kit.  From my stash, I have added a small mirror, Czech glass beads, crystals, and flower sequins.  I love to work with flower sequins and frequently add them to my bead embroidery to carry the eye from component to component.  This piece contains two hearts – one to fly like the wind faster than caner and the other to show my heartfelt wish that someday soon we will see cancer cured.  There is a small local craft fair next month and I have taken a table.  I will exhibit it there and silently auction it off there."

The next five pieces were made by Angela Taylor.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "Here are the pieces I made from the Brave Angel kit.  The first bracelet was inspired by Stephanie Sersich and her spiny knotted bracelets and the amazing bead mix."

 Another bracelet by Angela Taylor.

 Another bracelet by Angela Taylor.

 A pair of earrings by Angela Taylor.

A necklace made by Angela Taylor.

These pieces were made by Melissa Wynne.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "Thank you for another fun challenge!  Loved the colors and bead selection and the meaning behind the name of the challenge.  I also wanted to show everyone the "Plant Pokes" that I made using the beautiful medallions.  At first, I'd put the Mystery Components in my beadwork, but then I thought they were too beautiful to be hidden away with my jewelry.  I wanted to see them more often.  So I thought I'd design them using sample/test beadwork pieces that I make."

This piece was made by Donna Krtil Hoblit of VeraDonna Treasures.  Here's what she had to say about it:  "I call this piece, "Lend a Hand with Love".  It uses one of my favorite "Andrew" creations.  This piece will be donated to a local cancer organization to be auctioned at one of their events."

This necklace was designed by me and is up for auction.  To find out more about it and to bid, CLICK HERE.

This bracelet was designed by me and is also up for auction.  To find out more and to bid, CLICK HERE.

But wait... there's even more to see! Check out what these participants made for the Brave Angel Special Challenge:

An InLinkz Link-up

We hope you'll check back here throughout the weekend and bid on some of the auction pieces!  

Up next is the Last Harvest Challenge.  I have scheduled the reveal for Thursday, November 6th! So make sure to swing back around and see all the amazing creations!

Scarce Commodity...

I had to look something up on my blog from a few years ago.  I wasn't exactly sure of the entry, so I had to scan through several months worth of material.  I ended up falling down the rabbit hole of my own blog.  It's strange looking back on some of those entries.  I've had this blog for about ten years and there are over 3500 posts.  (And this is the most "recent" incarnation, as there were other platforms before this.)

When I look back, I can see how different I was and can see how some of those dreams and aspirations developed and changed.  I think the keyword there is, "changed".  So much has changed and I imagine it will continue to do just that, like the ceaseless turning of time and the ever-changing seasons.

Looking back also made me realize just how much I've missed blogging.  Even though I attempt to keep a semi-regular appearance here, I've noticed that things have gotten watered down and spaced out.  I used to post content three or four times a day and was constantly uploading images and words. I could say that there was some kind of big gestalt in the blogging world moving towards quicker, more readily digestible content formats (and perhaps to a degree that's true) but the biggest thing to happen was the opening of the store.  After that, time has been a scarce commodity.  When I do have a bit of time, I feel guilty when I'm not working on something.  I keep telling myself that these are the fledgling years and that this foundation-building time period is the most important.  I keep struggling forward, repeating to myself that I am working hard now so that I can work less later.

But, when will later come?  

If blogging has taught me anything, it's the importance of being mindful and capturing the moment.  It's a lesson I have to remind myself.  It's a lesson in not living in the past or living for a day far off into the future, but living for the day and finding a balance that is healthy, conducive to making things, and takes full advantage of the scarcest of commodities.

Evergreen Challenge...

This is the latest Design Kit Challenge: Evergreen!  If you haven't heard of the challenges before, they're a fun and informal way to push yourself creatively by using a selection of components that I've picked.

To participate, you must purchase a Design Kit. This kit features a selection of vintage acrylic, aventurine, waxed Irish linen, waxed cotton, vintage glass, vintage seed beads, Chinese jade, dyed pyrite and a Luxury Bead Blend.

The Luxury Bead Blend consists of Japanese Miyuki seed beads, Toho seed beads, Japanese Matsuno seed beads, vintage Czech seed beads, freshwater pearls, glass pearls, Czech glass (both old and new), aventurine, base metal, jade, ruby zoisite, serpentine, stone, vintage sequins, vintage German plastic, dyed wood, German glass, electroplated hematite, Swarovski crystals, vintage Japanese glass, Javanese glass, and vintage lucite.

But wait... there's more!  Each kit will come with a special handmade component that will remain a mystery until it arrives at your door! It may be more than one piece!

The mystery component(s) will be publicly revealed on Monday, November 30th, 2015! 

When I started to plan this kit, I was a little stumped.  I wanted to do one that fell in line with the holidays, but wasn't the traditional color schemes and didn't favor one holiday over the other.  Lately I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from gemstones, so I went to my workbench and found a strand of aventurine.  It was laying next a strand of Hill Tribe silver and it clicked into a place.  When I looked at these two strands, it made me think of the snow-dusted evergreens.  I could almost smell the clean, resinous smell of the branches.

With your kit, using as much or as little of it as you like, create a piece that showcases your creativity, individuality, and artistic expression!  Ideally you'll pull from the components in the kit and spotlight them, but feel free to use beads from your own stash to supplement the offered selection. Whether you use a little or a lot of the kit, make sure you keep your project secret until the reveal date!

The Reveal Date for this challenge is: Thursday, December 10th, 2015!

Post a picture on your blog or send one to me to post on your behalf (if you don't have a blog of your own). The Evergreen Challenge will end in a blog hop, sharing all the lovely things created with your kit with your fellow participants.

There are only 30 Design Kits available (with one set aside for me)! Once we receive your order, we will process your kit and send it out within seven Allegory Gallery business days. Hurry! Supplies are limited and are on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE basis! (Sorry, no exceptions!)

I also wanted to mention that all the Design Kits will be shipped with Priority mail. This can take anywhere from one business day to ten. For international orders, it may take longer! If you know that it take a long time to reach your destination (from Southwestern Pennsylvania) please place your orders early! I will do my best to get your kit out as early as possible, but unfortunately I can't be held responsible if it arrives late due to the postal service.

All sales of the Design Kits are final and there are no returns or exchanges. Sorry!

With all that being said... we really hope you'll enjoy working with the kit and have a ball playing with it! We can't wait to see what you make!

CLICK HERE to get your Design Kit!

Lunar Eclipse Challenge Reveal...

Today is the reveal for the Lunar Eclipse Challenge.  As always, I'm filled with much gratitude to see so many people acquire the kits and transform the raw components into something magical.  Each piece is different and unique and I always look forward to seeing what people will make.

The color palette for this challenge started off being inspired by smoky quartz and developed into a lovely autumn array of burnt golds, browns, and warm grays.  To read more about the inspiration CLICK HERE.  The kits also included a Mystery Component.  You can read about that by CLICKING HERE.

And without further ado... here's the reveal:

This necklace was made by Julie Tomes.  Here's what she had to say:  "Okay, here is my necklace!  I loved the colors in this kit.  They were very autumny.  I just wanted to make a simple necklace that could be worn with anything.  I was really excited when I realized a copper moon that I had previously made was a perfect compliment to the design I had in mind."

I made this necklace.  For the base of the necklace I used the smoky quartz rectangles and the vintage seed beads.  For the focal, I embellished a chain with wire-wrapped dangles.  The focal has a lot of movement and it just dances!  Often times I get folks who are curious about what to do with the vintage sequins that I include in the Luxury Bead Blends.  Here's an example of what can be done.  It gives just a hint of color.  

But wait... there's even more to see! Check out what these participants made for the Lunar Eclipse Challenge:

Up next is a Special Challenge to honor October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I hope you'll join us to see all the beautiful creations made with the Brave Angel kit.  I have scheduled this reveal for Thursday, October 29th!  We will also be doing auctions on some of the creations, so be sure to join us in acquiring some really cool creations.

ALSO... keep your eyes peeled for the next kit that will be released TOMORROW!  The kit is called, "Evergreen".  

Lunar Eclipse Mystery Component Reveal...

Take a look at the Mystery Component that was tucked in the Lunar Eclipse kit!  I made it out of polymer clay.  This is actually the third incarnation of this pendant.  I had a hard time trying to visually portray a lunar eclipse and ended up scraping the first two versions.  In the final design, I went with something that was less literal and more symbolic, almost like an alchemical symbol with a few flourishes.

The kit reveal is set for Thursday, October 15th!  Stop by and check out all the great designs!

Door Display...

In the shop, we had a credenza set up in the back room.  It belonged to William's grandma and it served us for many years.  In the old location, it provided much needed storage and display space that was behind glass.  Now that we're in the new store with tons of storage and several glass cases, we didn't need it as much and we weren't taking full advantage of the real estate.  We only had one display of pendants and a small box of beads set up.

When we moved into the new store, Diane Wilson was kind enough to gift us with two wooden doors.  With one door (and help from William's brother), we transformed it into our checkout desk.  I wanted to use the second door in a display, but didn't know how or really have the time to figure it out before we opened.  So we put it in the basement and promptly got distracted by running a store.

I set about reclaiming the real estate in the store and creating a new jewelry display.  I used scrap wood and a hand saw and made the rough shelves.

I had an old, heavy mirror that was taken from a sideboard.  I loved all the foxing and age speckles.  I knew I wanted to incorporate it, because I didn't want this display to look too new or too polished.  I was using an old door as the foundation piece after all.  

Once all the shelves were screwed in, I thought I was nearly done.  But I wanted it to be safe and it was definitely not safe just leaning against the wall.  Plus it'd create an unflattering angle when someone looked in the mirror.  So... I built a base and added brackets to the back.  

I used this chewed up, ratty brush to add the layers of primer and beige under-coat.  I wanted the paint job to have a lot of texture and look as though it had been a part of the original structure... painted and repainted over the years.  (You can also see that I decided to repaint the table-top in the background as well!  I figured that I might as well while I had the paint out.)

The original idea was to have the door floating, but with the brackets at the top for extra security, there was a natural shelf.  So I cut a board and put it on top.  I also added a piece of trim to the top.  (Not shown.)  I might add a light.  Eventually I'll place some hooks to hang necklaces.  Currently I am using it to display dozens of earring stands.

Even though it is pretty primitive, I still like it and think that I did a pretty good job.  I used mostly materials that were found around the shop and it provides some nice vertical display space.

Inspired by Reading September Blog Hop...

For September, we read, "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan.  The novel is about a unemployed graphic designer who finds work at a mysterious bookstore with an eclectic patronage.  While uncovering the centuries-old secrets hidden amongst the bookshelves, the protagonist finds modern day romance and unlocks more than he ever could imagine.  All of the participants agreed that it was a really engaging and funny novel.  For our purposes, some participants easily found inspiration and others struggled to find imagery that piqued their muses.

As always, it was a really fun meet-up!  You can't really see it, but I'm wearing a black robe.  (Several of the other members had black robes as well, but got too hot and took them off before the picture was taken.)  Members of the Reading Room wear the black robes.

We had quite the feast of sweets!  Since my birthday (and Dawn's birthday) recently passed, we celebrated with a cake!  (Thank you Aunt Peggy!)  Amy picked up lots of frozen yogurt from the creamery as well!  

Without further ado... here's the reveal:

Laurel Ross made this project.  Here's what she had to say about it:  "In the book there's a set of printing blocks, which turns out to be very important.  I saw these oversized letters and thought this would be perfect.  Along the edges and on the back, I inscribed an saying near and dear to my heart.  My kids wanted to get in on the fun and they also decorated their own letters!  Check out her blog HERE."

Dawn Berkebile made this piece.  Here's what she said about it:  "While I liked the book a lot, I couldn't find anything that really jumped out at me.  I thought about the dark, underground Reading Room and decided to make a necklace that captures the cold stone and warm wood."

I made this piece.  It's a pin made from polymer clay.  I carved the mold and pressed out the piece and then painted and embellished it after it had cured.  The open hands over the book are a symbol of the bookstore and the mysterious group.

But wait... there's more!  Check out what these participants made with "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" in mind:

Mary K McGraw

Sarajo Wentling

Eric Wentling

Ann Schroeder

Marie D'Onofrio

Alison Herrington

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, and Dawn Berkebile

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs is up next for October!  CLICK HERE to see the full list of books for the year.  The in-person meet-up is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, October 28th.  The blog hop is scheduled for the following day.  I've heard a lot of people say how much they love this book, so hopefully lots of folks who have read it will participate!  If you're interested in keeping up with what we're doing, CLICK HERE to visit our Facebook group.