LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

aka “Stupid beading tricks with no beads.”

I’ve been in a long dry streak, creativity-wise. I have drawers full of jewelry making components and no idea what to do with them. I get caught up looking at other jewelry for hours, then completely choke and not make any of my own. I don’t know if I think I can’t create anything stylish or attractive or what, but it was really getting me down. I’d put beads and findings together and hate what I came up with

So I decided to put the beads away and stick with wire.

This is a 2×2 chain maille bracelet.

Gold and silver tone 18 gauge rings

I really like how it turned out. I worked on it off and on all day yesterday while I was playing World of Warcraft. And since it’s coated copper, it’s pretty light.

Have I mentioned I bought a ring mandrel? Well, I did. And today I figuredd it was high time I made a ring. So with the help of this rosette ring tutorial I did!

22 gauge antique copper finished wire

It’s pretty, and the sharp bits of wire don’t hurt too much. (Kidding)

My cousin’s kid had a birthday party last week. These kids and their birthdays. Due to my advanced age and non-momness I’m completely out of touch with what kids want anymore. Actually, the kids in my family don’t want for anything. So in addition to a check, I made her some stretchy bracelets:

(This photo was taken a week before I realized I could focus my iPhone camera by touching the item I want to be in focus on the screen.)

Three different styles, because tween styles are all over the place. It took me about 2 hours to make the three. The hardest part was tying the knots. I tied them tightly, trimmed the tails and put a dot of glue on the knot to set it. My aunt asked me immediately if I made the bracelets. And I sheepishly admitted that I did.

I told the birthday girl that if they broke, I could fix them. I have no faith in the structural integrity of my own stuff.

And about that — I have more than enough stuff to start an Etsy or Artfire store with. But I’m terrified I’ll sell something and it’ll break and I’ll be out of beads to replace them with. I can make the snuggest of loops and close jump rings so they’re flush, but sometimes things break. Heck, sometimes costume jewelry I buy from the store breaks!

Today WM and I went to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Oaks, PA and I’m completely inspired to grab my wire and … make things that will undoubtedly sit here unworn or worn once.

I had five luxurious days off from work during which I:

–> Played the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion.
–> Made a bunch of earrings.
–> Cleaned up the kitchen. I mean really cleaned it up.
–> Changed all my passwords, thanks to the people who hacked Gawker/Lifehacker/Jezebel.

Cataclysm: My paladin’s level 84 and a third now and the level cap is 85. I try to spare you all the over-the-top game talk by putting it on a separate blog but I am having SUCH a good time. I won’t lie — I timed the days off to coincide with the first weekend of Cataclysm.

Earrings: I was struck by the creativity bug on Saturday, and I took my bead stash to Mom’s for some fun. Here’s some of the stuff I did.

Starbucks cups make for a so-so background.

Last night I made eight more pair. A bunch like the snowflake dangles (which will be part of a Pollyanna at work) and other brown & blue pretties that might end up in the mythical Etsy shop I keep resolving to open.

Kitchen: I started this because I simply wanted to know how much flour I have (answer: a little less than 5 lb) But one thing lead to another and before I knew it my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and I were tearing the place apart. Upon going through the cabinet, I found to my shock and horror that I had FIFTEEN cans of tomato product. Crushed, sauce, paste, etc. I guess we’ll be having pasta for a while.

Eeek! A mouse!

And soup for lunch, too.

Passwords: Long story short: The Gawker network was hacked and my email/user/password was one of the ones released, albeit in encrypted form. Ain’t it grand to find out your email address was up on the Pirate Bay?

Eh, crap.

I have five passwords I use: one for World of Warcraft, one for money sites, one for this website, one for all work things and one for EVERYTHING else, including Gawker. This morning I awoke to an email saying someone was trying to reset my LinkedIn and World of Warcraft passwords.

So if you’re my LinkedIn buddy and see that I got a great job, I’ve been hacked.

I changed Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, eBay & PayPal immediately.

Sadly, I think I’m too behind to finish Reverb 10, plus almost everyone who wrote a question has a book they’re promoting. In many cases, the questions are directly related to the subject of the books. I understand that we all have our projects, but this seems a bit too “promotey” for me. No biggie.

Lunch is over. Back to work. Tonight? More changing passwords. :/