It's beginning to look a lot like Advent

What's a girl to do when she's nuts about the holidays but works for a bishop who is adamant about the separation of Advent and Christmas?

I love the holidays. Starting with Halloween and ending with Epiphany on Jan. 6 (I celebrate Christmas for as long as possible!) I get all sentimental and happy. I decorate for each holiday and wear annoying holiday-themed clothes and jewelry.

I was contemplating the first Sunday of Advent, which is a season of waiting and preparation, in church Sunday and I thought about Advent wreaths. My eye fell upon my Mah Jongg bracelet and I had an early Epiphany. An Advent bracelet!

I went home had chose three purple tiles and one pink tile. (The pink tile is for the third Sunday in Advent which traditionally is rose or pink in honor of Mary or Gaudete Sunday.) I paired them with large 12mm crystal rounds. I'm quite pleased with it and version of this will be available in my Etsy shop.

I drilled a necklace last night for a customer who bought an Ivory-colored Mah Jongg tile on 18inch silver cable choker but asked if I had any Flower tiles instead. I found, and she approved, a Flower tile on a green flower-backed tile. I paired it with a green cable since it added to both sides beautifully.

Finally, I made a cute red and green checked bracelet similar to what Mom did in August but forgot to photograph it. Oops. Three green-checked tiles alternate with three red-checked tiles. This can be worn year round but I admit I had Christmas in mind as I made it.

Spring forward, fall back

Phew! Now that I've had a chance to catch my breath, I realized it's been two months since I last posted! Not that I've been lounging around. I've been to the emergency room (twice in one day!), helped host the Episcopal House of Bishops (including a trip to Mexico), staffed our annual Diocesan Convention, had a flu-like illness, AND gave myself a concussion!

In between all that I have managed to sneak in a few craft projects....

First of all, I created this Betsy Ray bracelet while thinking about my favorite kidlit author, Maud Hart Lovelace. While I don't know if she ever play mah jongg, the tiny green print on this set makes me think of her and the old-fashioned wallpaper that might have adorned the rooms of her or her friends. And it's green which was her favorite color! So I chose her birthdate, 4/25/92 and added a green dragon since 1892 was the year of the dragon. The beads I chose are 10mm jade since Maud mentions jade so often in her Betsy-Tacy books. It's available in my Etsy shop.

I made this Golden Anniversary bracelet in honor of my parents' upcoming 50th anniversary. We love the colorful gold confetti mah jongg tiles and Mom paired it with the 10mm blue fiber optic rounds since it picks up one of the many colors in the tiles. Personalized versions of this are available in my Etsy shop.

I got two lots of blank mah jong tiles which I thought would be fun for jewelry - and they are! The first is a blue-striped Mah Jongg bracelet with 10mm powder blue fiber optic rounds, although white would work well, too. It's available in my Etsy shop.

I also got these lavender mah jongg tiles and paired them with cracked blue and lavender resin beads of slightly differing sizes. It's fun and makes me smile. It's available in my Etsy shop.

Finally, two necklaces. The first is a set I've admired for awhile so I was delighted when one appeared in a mixed lot I bought. It features two traditionally dressed Chinese children in a colorful print. I plan to keep this one, but if I get enough requests I can buy a set and make more. It's on a 20 inch steel cable necklace with a magnetic clasp.

I also made an elegant necklace from a single gold and black glitter tile on a 20 inch black steel cable necklace with a magnetic clasp. There's another that's black with a faint glittering in it like stars but I'll have to shoot that another day.

I need to make up some new bracelets on 9 inch steel cables which will match the necklaces. Look for those soon! (Seven inch cables are also available but I personally think they'll be too small for anyone to wear after stringing a tile on it.)

I also intend to make more Christmas items, such as my Gingerbread bracelets.

My friend Jennifer taught me to crochet this fall, thanks Jen! Once I get the hang of it I can't wait to try some felting.

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I'm bead, flat, worn out, tired....

I haven't been able to do any drilling since last Thursday due to two emergency room adventures, but I'm slowly getting back up to speed and thought I'd share two of the items I've worked on.

First of all is a custom Trinity Cathedral bracelet I did last Thursday as a prospectus for the Dean after he showed interest in the Diocesan one I did a few weeks ago. I had white Mah Jongg tiles engraved with the Cathedral's crest and strung it with amethyst beads. (Purple is the cathedral's color since it's the Bishop's see, or seat, and the Bishop's ring is traditionally made of amethyst. It's also why bishops wear purple shirts and vestments.)

He liked it and showed it to the Cathedral Shoppe manager. After some discussion we're going to try stocking a few things such as bracelets, necklaces, key chains, and a bolo tie and see how they do.

Tonight was the first time I felt up for using my drill press so I drilled some black Mah Jongg tiles with primary engraving and strung them with 10mm rainbow roller beads. I'm delighted with the colors but the roller beads don't lay as smoothly as I'd like, so I'll be experimenting with them. I plan something similar with white tiles and rainbow roller beads with white spacing between the stripes. Both black and white versions will be available in my Etsy shop with personalization available.

I also tried to drill some chopsticks for my lovely noodle hat but both broke so I'll have to experiment with that when I have both the time and energy.

Don't worry, bead happy

I had yet another productive weekend, although I didn't get much drilling done.

Friday afternoon I stopped by a small local salon and boutique in Scottsdale called S.tylers of 5th Ave. A friend told them about my jewelry and the owner asked me to stop by. They loved what I have and put 11 bracelets and four necklaces on consignment!

So I got busy, after making Mom a Patriotic bracelet. She didn't realize the one I had made was a sale item and had been looking for it so I made her one of her own. Using 7-4-1-7-7-6 (Character?) tiles I made it with red stripes and royal blue beads.

That done, I had to get busy making new items so I started stringing some floral Mah Jongg beads I had. This has been a favorite bracelet of mine for years so I was delighted to find more online. I thought they were drilled tiles but after getting them I think they are just really good beads. Who knows.

First I made another bracelet like mine (six tiles) with 10mm white fiber optic beads. This is on Etsy.

I also made some with 10mm magenta, blue and green glass pearls, which pick up the three colors in the floral tiles. All are in my Etsy shop.

These are really festive but only the green and white beaded bracelets are truly reversible since the magenta and blue don't match the faces.

Saturday was busy with various events so I didn't string or drill anything! However, I was able to give my future sister-in-law her personalized bracelet for her birthday celebration and she seemed very pleased.

Tonight I made more floral bracelets and drilled my four final black Rexphiles logo tiles and strung them with two 20mm twisty black cinnabar beads between each. It's stunning but you'll have to wait to see it since I forgot that to shoot that one.

Monday I need to get busy with gift boxes and tags. And restring a butterfly bracelet for the shop owner's granddaughter.

Oh! And here's the ice-blue bracelet I did last week for Mom with the 11mm sea-green cinnabar beads.

Mum's the word

I had yet another productive night drilling and stringing six (6!) bracelets but, first, I wanted to show off two of Mom's creations.

I love this green gingham set she did. (I drilled the tiles for her but she strung 'em with 8mm white fiber optic rounds.) She has a green gingham jumper and this makes an adorable accessory for it.

Mom didn't care for these ice-blue tiles ... until I held them against the blue and green 8x10mm tube beads. Now she likes it so much she asked me to drill a matching necklace to go with it! She likes the white Dragon tile with the "P" since that's the first letter of her name. Why a "P"? According to Sloperama:

Po means "white" or "blank." Some tiles come marked with a letter "B" or "P." Why "B" or "P"? In Mandarin Chinese, most people these days call the white dragon tile "bai" or "bai-ban" (sounds like "buy" or "buy bonds," er, I mean, "buy bon"), meaning "white" or "white board." In Cantonese, the white dragon is usually called "bok" or "bok bon" (as in "bok choy" which means "white vegetable"). In Cantonese Jyut Ping, "bok bon" is written as "Baak6 Baan2." In some parts of China, what we Westerners think of as "B" can be pronounced "B" or "P" depending on the word and the local dialect. Originally, white dragon tiles were all blank.

As for what I did, my first effort tonight was with pink tiles from an incomplete breast cancer awareness set. I made this to sell on Etsy but I'm so pleased with it I think I'll make another, larger version for me. (If you see five tiles in a bracelet it's pretty much guaranteed to be for sale!) It's strung with 10mm frosted red plum glass beads.

If you like to wear more than one at a time, as I do, then the pink bracelet looks great with this similar mint green bracelet with 10mm frosted green glass beads. As with all these bracelets, it's reversible so you can wear it either direction.

I was shocked by how much I liked this pairing. I'm more of a silver girl, but had five gold mardi gras tiles. I drilled them then stared at my beads trying to decide what went with them. Strands of metallic blue in the gold tiles caught my eye, so I grabbed these 10mm blue fiber optic rounds. Wow! As I said, I'm more of a silver girl, but if I had more of these gold tiles I'd make one for me, too. This is for sale on Etsy.

I then went on to patriotic and Christmas themes. The first set is a red-stripe tile with 10mm frosted green glass beads. It features 1-2-2-5 Bamboo tiles plus a Winter tile. All very Christmasy, no?

The patriotic bracelet is made with either lighter red or a very deep pink stripe tiles. Neither Mom nor I could decide but we loved it paired with the 10mm royal blue fiber optic rounds.

I ended the evening with lovely turquoise-stripe tiles paired with 10mm white fiber optic rounds. It's made with NEWS Wind tiles and the blue and white Dragons.

Not bad for a night's work.

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The beads of ummer*

*with apologies to Don Henley**

Tonight's beading was fun!

As I was sorting through my projects for tonight, I discovered an oops. The summer Season tile was missing its "S" so it was an "um" tile. It made me laugh so I had to drill it as one of my projects. (I've seen some with a letter not filled-in before but not missing the letter altogether!) Here's the coral-backed Mah Jongg tile bracelet made with the four Season tiles, a three Character and a Joker, since I thought the "um" tile was a joke. I strung it with 10mm frosted green glass beads with facets.

I then did a burgundy-backed bracelet with 10 or 12mm beads. I forget what they are but possibly Rhodonite? I like it but I'm not thrilled so I'll probably list it for sale.

I also made a bracelet for my daughter's teacher (the principal's sister!) at her request with the custom tiles I had made with the school's Good Fortune logo.

I also drilled necklaces with my custom black and white (with red engraving) chops and a school tile, too. All for me!

Ooh, and I sold my first bracelet on Etsy tonight!

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**Hmm, yesterday the Eagles', Take it Easy (Eagles), and tonight Don Henley's, Boys of Summer (Building the Perfect Bead?). Guess I need to go listen to them!

Take it easy, take it beady

I decided to take it easy tonight and only strung a few bracelets I had ready and waiting.

First of all I replaced the 8mm dark pink fiber optic rounds on a black Mah Jongg bracelet I've owned for years. What did I replace it with? The same, only larger: 10mm dark pink fiber optic rounds. I liked the color but not the size. I need my bracelets loose or my skin gets irritated and I get eczema - yuck! That's why most of my bracelets have six tiles and about 20mm of beads between each tile.

After that I restrung my blue glitter tiles with midnight blue 10mm fiber optic rounds, since I stole those beads to make my daughter's custom school bracelet. I still love how the midnight blue beads compliment the pale blue glitter tiles.

I then strung green granite NEWS tiles (plus a red and green Dragon) with luminous frosted red glass beads. I'm tempted to keep this one but I can't keep them all!

Speaking of keeping them all, after looking at my rapidly growing collection I decided I needed to sell some. My Etsy store is filling up nicely. Now if only someone would buy or order something.

Oh well, local sales are going well.

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Just for the drill of it

I had a such a lovely weekend being creative!

Friday night I made a personalized bracelet representing my daughter's birth. It's on pink-backed tiles since she's a girl. The numbers represent the date of her birth. (I used Jokers as "0" since there are no zeros in Mah Jongg.) May's birthstone is Emerald so I chose tiles with green in them and strung it with green 10mm fiber optic rounds. I love how it turned out and even my mom, who loathes pink, liked it!

More of my custom tiles arrived on Saturday and oh! I had fun creating jewelry!

First I made a bracelet featuring the logo for The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona where I work. I told the engraver to use her best judgment on what would look best after I told her the color palette we use. Wow, did she deliver! The ivory-colored tile nearly matches our stationary and the logo is engraved with a slightly pearlescent aqua. I strung my bracelet with alternating bands of dark brown and aqua 10mm fiber optic beads.

I then made a bracelet with milky white mah jongg tiles I had engraved with a midnight blue Chinese "Good Fortune" symbol. The symbol is the logo for my daughter's school and I thought they might be able to use it for appreciation awards and school fund-raisers. (Navy and light blue with white are the school colors.) I strung the bracelet with matching midnight blue 10mm fiber optic rounds to wear and show the principal.

I proceeded on to a black bracelet featuring my Rexphiles and Rextiles logos! Engraved in red and green on identical black tiles, I alternated them with black 10mm fiber optic rounds since I wanted the red and green to pop. I think it's simply stunning and totally me. (People have been teasing me about all the purple in my wardrobe. I foresee a lot of black in my future!)

I saved the best for last - and the hardest! My chop, or Chinese seal, was engraved in red on both black (above) and white tiles. I strung the white tiles with red 10mm South Sea China pearls. The reconstituted (!) pearls had the gorgeous color I wanted but the hole was small so I had to carefully ream each and every bead. Some broke and it took me more time to create that bracelet then all the other projects that night!

Tonight I wanted to continue with an idea I had Saturday night. A couple of weeks ago I had picked up an inexpensive 18 inch green cable choker with barrel clasp. It fits me and is surprisingly comfortable, although I do want to get some in a 20 inch length.

The green didn't work with the piece I was thinking of but on Saturday inspiration struck and I drilled a single hole through one of my Rexphiles tiles and threaded the green cable through it. It's not normally something that would appeal to me but I love it with the funky Mah Jongg tile.

So today I bought more cables and tonight I made more. Lots more. I made one for my daughter's principal on a blue cable. I made one for work on a dark brown cable. I made some for fun, and I made a bunch for my Etsy shop.

I also got out my heat gun and embossed some gift tags and boxes.

Can you tell I'm having fun?

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Happy bead day to me!

I went a bit crazy again tonight drilling beads. I finally got caught up on Mom's requests, then did some for myself and for my new Etsy shop.

For me, I drilled some lovely pale blue glitter Mah Jongg tiles and matched them with 10mm midnight blue fiber optic rounds. I love how the contrast in blues works together.

I then made up my own birthday bracelet featuring the date of my birth in numerical tiles: 7-1-1-6-4. Since I'm a July baby I used onyx beads to space the tiles. The year? I thought about using a dragon tile since '64 was the Year of the Dragon, but decided to use a summer Season tile instead since I already have so many dragon tiles in my bracelets.

These are a lot of fun to do since you can commemorate any date (as long as I have the appropriate numbers!) and can use either semi-precious birthstones or beads of appropriate color. I want to do one for my daughter but didn't have the right emerald glitter tiles for her birthdate, so I'm still thinking that one over.

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Beauty and the bead

Well, the wedding dress is done. Phew. The bride can now wear her dress with a smile on Sunday while standing on a Hawaiian beach at sunset.

Putting in the new zipper left me with little time for drilling or beading tonight, but I have high hopes for Thursday. After all, I have a brand-new Etsy store to fill!