Eye Candy Night

Tonight I present a little eye candy! Some of these are on the web site now, and some will be tomorrow. Enjoy!





Visit me at www.lorianderson.net and see more!
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My Favorite Dress

Don't you just love this? It's currently on my web site and it would make such a cool addition to your summer wardrobe! The dress is a handmade lampwork bead made by Michele Goldstein and it's too cute for words!

Want it? You can buy it by clicking here.
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The Start of Something Big

So what is this, you're asking?

Why, it's the Start of Something Big!

Ever since I discovered artisan lampwork, those incredibly detailed works of art, I've been fascinated by them and they've become an integral part of my jewelry designs. They're not made in factories, but one at a time using a torch and rods of glass.

At first, I didn't think I'd ever want to make them myself -- fear of fire, freakishly intense perfectionist, etc etc. But then my dad and I took a glass blowing class and I made these:

And, I was officially hooked.

Renting torch space in a bead shop was rather prohibitive, because the closest location was an hour's drive in any direction. The solution? My own glass studio.

We already had a huge wooden shed in the backyard, and over time we've cleared out a lot of junk (Goodwill now officially loves us), and just last week, I had electricity installed. Thus, the picture of a wall socket.

I'm very excited! It's been a long time coming, and I still have more to do to get completely set up, but the electricity installation was an enormous first step. All of my lampworking equipment has been collected over time and has been languishing in boxes in my office, and let me tell you, I'll be glad to get all that out from underfoot!

I'll post more photos as things progress!

You can see what I make at www.lorianderson.net
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Mother's Day Sale!

For Mother's Day, I'm offering free shipping on all my jewelry until May 10th! I'll be adding new things nearly daily (like this mermaid necklace) , so head on over to www.lorianderson.net and get all your shopping done (and pick up something for yourself, why don't you?)

Attention Jewelry Designers! Soft-Flex Beading Contest!!!

In 2006, I had the honor of being put in Soft-Flex's Designer Spotlight. I love their beading wire, and have bought it by the 1000 foot spool! They also have the BEST cutters for beading wire out there (did you know that over time, you'll ruin your cutters after cutting through all that stainless steel?). They also sell kumihimo equipment, WigJigs, and wire knitting tools as well.

But I digress.

They have just announced a new contest to launch their very cool new product -- Trios. They're now selling Soft-Flex in a trio of colors, sure to spark your imagination! So click the photo to learn more about the contest:


There's even a give-away prize if you blog -- learn more about that by clicking here.

Have fun!
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In Celebration of Earth Day....

In celebration of Earth Day, I'd like to point you towards my friend's shop on Etsy. She makes reusable shopping bags out of recycled rain coats!


You get two bags (which fold up nice and small) for 10.00. They're machine washable, and it's one of the coolest examples of recycyle and reuse I've ever seen!

Her shop has a variety of cool things, so click here for her main shop.

Happy Earth Day!
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A Friend is More Valuable Than Rubies

You can be a friend to someone you don't even know. Random Acts of Kindness are perfect ways to show the human race that you're not just in it for yourself, but that you want to pass along a little of the joy you have.

One of my dearest friends, Allegra, is trying to help another friend raise money for a life-saving operation. If you click here, you can read more about it on Allegra's site. Funds are being raised towards the operation, and to that end, Allegra is offering this amazing ruby necklace.

The ruby is over 19 carats and is a natural stone. Rubies like this are usually dyed, so it's a true find. As Allegra says,

"A friend is more valuable than rubies" is more than a proverb, it is true. And thus the reason to choose a ruby to remind us all of what is really important in life."

Click here to learn more.

Artist Spotlight -- Annette Piper

Meet Annette Piper. She is a fabulous jewelry designer who write a blog "Under the Loupe". Annette is a jewelry designer with a background in gemology, and I was fascinated by her post about coral. Red is always a striking color, but isn't found often in nature.

I know you'll like her jewelry and her commentary -- go take a look!

Gorgeous Earrings -- Going, going, gone!

I wanted to show you these amazing earrings -- well, I love what I make, but I particularly thought these rocked! Getting all those little garnets wired to the loop under the lampwork bead took persistance (and very tiny needle-nose pliers!) but it was well worth it. The citrine is sublime, too -- the faceting makes it look like the sort of gemstone that would be set in a ring.

I posted these on Facebook, and they sold within two hours. I was floored -- and honored. It makes me so happy when someone loves what I love to make!

I did update even more today, so travel on over to www.lorianderson.net if you'd like to see!
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Web Site Update!

I've spent a lot of time over the past few days updating the web site, www.lorianderson.net -- I hope you'll take a look! Mother's Day is really just around the corner, and don't you deserve a little something special, too?

(Granted, that necklace is anything BUT little, but trust me, there are a lot of little treasures at the site, too!)
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Susan Boyle

By now you've probably already seen the video of Susan Boyle performing on You've Got Talent. If not, click here.

My husband came home the other day and told me I had to watch the video. I did, and I cried.

I liked her immediately because her personality was terrific. And I was angered in particular by the one girl in the audience that they panned in on, when Susan said she wanted to be like Elaine Paige -- rolling her eyes and making a face. How dare she? It takes guts to get up on that stage, whether you have talent or not, and everyone has dreams, no matter what a person looks like or what their talent may BE. And the woman was humble, too -- did you see her reactionto the judges at the end? She didn't think they would praise her that way.

It said she was unemployed -- I hope this show brings her terrific offers!

(BTW, if you don't know who Elaine Paige is, she's HUGE in the musical theater business.)
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New Office Photos

Doing a quick blog drive-by because the house has been destroyed with all the contractors doing work -- dust everywhere and don't walk on that floor, don't use that shower, where did the cats go -- the fun never ends!

But I did get my office back together, and wanted to show some of my new things. The art banner below was made by Blooming Ideas. We did a trade -- she sent me the banner and I sent her jewelry. LOVE trades, and I do them all the time at craft shows. You can't really see, but that banner is full of awesomeness. (Larger photo here.)

And some new artwork! The top one is a mixed media piece by glass artist Kerry Bogert, and I wish I remembered who did the bottom one. She didn't sign it! I met an artist at a craft show and we did the trade thing. I think they go terrific together! (Larger photo here.)

I love my office!
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Watch Me Create -- Mixing Stringing with Wire Work

I have a new article up at Watch Me Create, about how I mixed stringing with wire work. The eye candy is great, too (if I do say so myself!). Click here to read about it!

Jesus is a Girl

Today I asked Zack if he knew why we celebrated Easter. He's been going to a Wednesday night youth group at church so I figured he'd be well-versed.

He started a rapid-fire litany of the Easter story, but I was puzzled ... he kept referring to Jesus as a "she".

I cautiously said, "You know.... Jesus was a man."

He looked befuddled.

Zack: "But he has long hair!"

I guess they missed the pronoun portion of the Easter Story.

As you giggle over that, I'll leave you with a picture of Zack celebrating his new iPod. No, we did not spend that kind of money on a six-year old -- Rick won it at his office at Christmas, and since Zack already had way too many Christmas presents as it was, I saved it for Easter. He's elated that he can now watch Phineas and Ferb in silence.

So are we. Ah, silence.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Beautiful Easter Eggs

Amazing Easter eggs, don't you think? They're made of polymer clay -- I traded some jewelry for them. Zack kept the one with the checkerboard (said it reminds him of NASCAR... sigh...) and the other went to Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist, a MUST READ blog for those who love amazing photos, fairy tale stories, and general beauty.
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A Kindergarten Egg Hunt

The Kindergarten Egg Hunt was the first time that Zack ever participated in such an event. We've hidden our fair share of eggs around our own house, but he's never experienced the mass chaos and hysteria that is a large community Egg Hunt.

First, we had to scatter all the eggs. A bunch of us moms carried bags upon bags of eggs and "hid" them all over the playground. It got to the point where we were hurling them all over the place because we just couldn't walk anymore without crushing plastic.

Then all ten of the Kindergarten classes trooped out and made a ring around the yard. Was everyone acting like they were already full of sugar? Oh yes, they were.

Zack made sure I knew he hadn't cheated and snagged an egg before the whistle blew:

And then he just acted a little goofy. I don't know if he thought he was the Easter Bunny or the Easter Monster at this point....


And then, mass chaos. In 45 seconds, it was all over. Hundreds upon hundreds of eggs were snatched up.

I was very proud of my munchkin -- and actually, proud of his entire class. Some of the kids didn't get as many eggs as others, and there was a lot of trading and giving away of eggs. Zack was a sweetheart, passing out eggs to friends. I couldn't have asked for a better kidlet.

Asked how he thought the day went, he said, "It was Number One!"

And that was Zack's first Pandemoneum-Style Egg Hunt.

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Eye Candy Night

Not much time to write tonight, so I thought I'd do an eye candy night! As you can see, I've been playing a lot more with metal, experimenting and playing around, so expect to see more of it in the coming weeks!

You can visit http://www.lorianderson.net/ to see more of my hand-crafted jewelry~!

RAK Update

Wow, that was fast! I have the first five (and remember to post your own RAK in order to make the game complete, guys!) -- but if you missed it, take a look at these great blogs who are playing and have their posts up!

http://rasmussengems.blogspot.com/

http://terrisbloomingideas.blogspot.com/ (tell her I said you can have my spot!)

http://herartnest.blogspot.com/

This is a fun thing to do, and it's not just about getting things -- it's about that wonderful warm feeling you get GIVING. If you have a bad day, try this -- do something nice for someone random. Pay the toll for the person behind you, buy the next person in line's cup of coffee, or just compliment someone's outfit. You will make their day and and make your own happier.

I promise.
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Book Review -- "Those Who Save Us"

I haven't shared a book review in a while so I thought I'd share this one. I am a WWII buff and like to read history and historical fiction alike, and this one was absolutely amazing. I also read "All But My Life", which is a fantastic memoir about life during the Holocaust.


Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing story about WWII and how it affects lives -- not just during the atrocities of the war, but afterwards, when the effects pass on to the children. If you are given the chance to save your child by doing things that repulse you, would you do them? And how do you cope with your feelings towards a rescuer who is a monster?

The book moves back and forth between Anna's life during the war and her daughter Trudy's current-day struggles. I won't write any more, because to do so would give away the story, and it's a book you really need to read.

View all my reviews.

When I'm not reading, I'm making jewelry -- you can see it at www.lorianderson.net

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RAK (Random Act of Kindness) Alert

Give Away & Pass It On - Random Acts of Kindness Alert - my turn to pass this on after participating with Beks.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

-I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.

- What I pick will be just for you.

- It'll be done this year (2009).

- You have no clue what it's going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be a handmade card, or jewelry, something lovely made out of paper, beads, or a random treasure (like candy!) Who knows?

- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

And in return, all you need to do is post this text into a blog of your own and make 5 things for 5 others.

Won't this be fun????

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New Jewelry on the Web Site!

Finally! Now that I've gotten the two big shows out of the way, I can get some things on the web site!

Tonight I added four fun pairs of polymer clay earrings -- each with their own personality. I hope you'll check them out!

www.lorianderson.net
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