Inspiration.. the Bead Blog

i love old beads

Ellen Dooley — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:39:18 +0000

I have talked about Silva Neilands and her website Old Beads

before. On her website you can find beautiful old silver beads from North Africa, strands of anciecnt carnelians, amulets from Asia, India, all sorts of beautiful adornments. If you have some time, make yourself a cup of tea, look through Silva's website, and be inspired! She just posted a lot of new things. Hers is one of the few newsletters I subscribe to so I can see her newest additions.

Strand of Old Carnelians from Old Beads

etsy milestone

Ellen Dooley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:20:54 +0000

thank you thank you thank you!I am closing in on my 600 sale on Etsy! Hard for me to imagine all that glass and time at the torch.

I am so grateful for all of my great customers, for your support and encouragement! As a thank you, the 600th customer will receive a surprise strand of beads and everyone else on the day of 600th sale will get a surprise as well.

You can see my current listings HERE on Etsy

Thanks to all my wonderful customers and friends on etsy!

ellen

customers say the nicest things ♥♥♥

Ellen Dooley — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:04:18 +0000

I received this lovely note from a great customer this morning and it made my day!

Many thanks!

"Hi Ellen,

My husband offered to buy me a dozen red roses for Valentine's day but I told him I would much rather have some lampwork beads to make a piece of jewelry for myself that would last forever instead of a week or two, so when I saw this set I knew it was perfect for my Valentine's gift! "

lampwork beads instead of roses!

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

Year of the Tiger Wooden Toy from IndiaThis year, 2010, is the Chinese year of the tiger. I was born in a year of the Dragon.

The tiger to the left is a great old wooden tiger toy I found on a trip to Maharastra, India.

I found this description of people born in the years of the tiger.

People born is the following years are "tigers". Is this you?

1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998.

Born to lead, Tigers can be stubborn if they realize they’re not in charge. They have a slight tendency to be selfish but overall, Tigers are extremely generous. They’re very intelligent and they’re always on alert. Tigers are very charming and are well-liked by others. They are not motivated by money or power.

creek frog saved from chickensOn a totally different note, we found this big guy out by the creek this morning. Luckily for him, we scooped him up and set him into the creek before the "girls", our little flock of hens found him.

Happy Year of the Tiger and Valentines Day!

ellen

a primavera trio

Ellen Dooley — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:03:56 +0000

February Lampwork Trio on EtsyI know, a lot of the country is digging out this morning, but I have spring on my mind. The three sets I listed today on Etsy are in three different colorways, but they look great together, perfect for anyone putting together a line of spring/summer jewelry! Click on the photo of the trio to get a closer look

a new look

Ellen Dooley — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:43:10 +0000

I always think it is so interesting to take out my case of beads and let a friend go through them and put sets together. Today, I did that myself. I had several sets listed on Etsy, when I went to one of my favorite shops, Stepanka Ceramics to pay for a cup I had special ordered. After looking through her shop and seeing this cup, I decided to take a few of my lampwork bead sets apart and put them together in a new grouping. Here they are on Etsy and I love them this way.

Thanks so much for the inspiration, Stepanka!

ellen

thanks for the songs kate

Ellen Dooley — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:21:55 +0000

I just heard that Kate McGarrigle passed away today after her battle with cancer. Her music was a soundtrack for me in the seventies. Her albums with her sister Anna are timeless and unique. If you don't know her, listen to some of those old albums. Thanks Kate for the wonderful music.

inspiration comes in many forms

Ellen Dooley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:02:24 +0000

Rosamond Purcell, dice from the collection of Ricky Jay. From Dice, Deception, Fate and Rotten Luck, 2003Sometimes we don't recognize it. Other times we can't even remember how an idea started or where it came from. Something like that happened to me this week. While wandering around the web, I discovered the work of photographer Rosamond Purcell. She takes extraordinary photos of unexpected subjects: bird eggs in museum collection cases, decaying celluloid dice, natural history specimen of extinct or endangered species, dilapidated books. The thing is, they are absolutely beautiful in all their decayed glory. Her images of birds and nests are so delicate and haunting. Her keen eye and otherwordly images are certainly inspiring.

happy new year or once in a blue moon

Ellen Dooley — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:43:43 +0000

Blue Moon New Year Lampwork BeadsI was listening to the BBC when I heard that the full moon visible tonight is a "blue moon", the second full moon in a month. This actually happens once every two years or so, but a New Year's Eve blue moon is rather exceptional. The last one was in 1990 and there won't be another one until 2028. So when the moon comes up tonight, bundle up, go outside and make a toast to the new year and the blue moon. You won't get another chance any time soon. Totally coincidentally, I listed a set of blue starry night beads this morning. Click on the beads to see them.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

ellen

oh my!

Ellen Dooley — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:16:24 +0000

I just found out about Richard Salley. He takes ordinary objects and turns them into the extraordinary. I have collected things for as long as I can remember. My grandmother designed and sewed costumes by hand for a Chicago opera company and I am pretty sure I got my genes for collecting and constructing from her. Richard takes it another step and makes some incredible jewelry as well as digital collages and other goodies. I am working on some new projects that are in this vein. Take a look at Richard's website. He even has a nice construction tutorial and check back for my new creations.

ellen

happiest of holidays!

Ellen Dooley — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:38:31 +0000

Merry Christmas!Here's to a very happy holiday season to all of you. Remember what's important...time with family and friends, slow down, breathe!

I'll be back at the torch in the next few days. Even with all the holiday preparations, cooking, taking time for walks and talks, I am working away in my head. One of the blessings and curses, I guess, of being an artist!

Anyway, take time for yourselves, enjoy the weekend and I will see you soon.

ellen