Birthday Getaway

For my birthday I'm having the best present ever:  Tomorrow I leave on a weekend getaway in the mountains with friends!  (Woo hoo, go forty!)

After my friends leave on Sunday, the birthday getaway continues.  I'll have five days all to myself in the gorgeous Colorado mountains.  You know how writers always seem to hole up in a cabin somewhere so they can focus on their work without distractions?  That's what I'll be doing, only I'll be designing jewelry!  No husband, work, kids, phone calls, or housework to distract me.  If I get into a creative block, I'll just walk outside in the crisp fall air and take in the mountain views.  I'm planning on making necklaces and expanding into bracelets and earrings as well.

Stay tuned for some great new jewelry listed in my Etsy shop!

Birthday Goals

Today I celebrated my 40th birthday.  This has been a scary birthday for me.  I've been dreading it for years.  When I turned 38, I decided I was going to go out of my 30's with a bang so I'd be ready to embrace my 40's.  Here are some of the goals I set and which ones I accomplished before my birthday:

• Buy and wear a pair of skinny jeans.  I bought them last Christmas and love them, especially with my fake Uggs.
• Run a half marathon.  I ran two of them last spring, just five weeks apart!
• Dye my hair blonde.  I've always wanted to be blonde, so last spring I went blonde.  I loved it, and it looked amazing with my "tan" (thank you Jergens daily self tanner).
• Start an Etsy shop.  I originally planned on selling knitted and crocheted items.  Much to my surprise, it evolved into jewelry design.  I never thought I'd be good at it, but I love it!
• Run a marathon. I was going to run the Denver Rock n Roll Marathon, but had to postpone it for a family wedding.  I'm now planning on running the Surf City Marathon in February.
• Lose 30 pounds.  I never thought I'd accomplish this one.  After 4 kids and not much success on Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, and Jenny Craig, I finally did it!  I've lost 35 pounds!  Good old healthy eating, no processed foods, and lots of running.

I can't wait to see what's in store for my 40th year.  I've always wanted to have really RED hair, so last night I dyed it a pretty reddish, coppery brown.  Another goal accomplished!

Also Known As Love

I saw an ad for the most amazing jewelry.  At first glance it was a simple necklace with a tiny leaf charm and a little bead.  I looked closer and saw that the bead was actually the bottom of a bullet casing and the leaf says "life".

The name of the website is "AKAWELLE",  AKA for "also known as" and wel'le for "love". I read more and was touched by the story of a young Liberian girl named Lovetta Conto who came up with the idea for these beautiful necklaces. The leaf is made from melted bullet casings collected from the streets of Liberia. That a message of love and hope can come from something so devastating is truly inspiring. Please take a look at her website.  I promise, you'll be inspired, too!

http://www.akawelle.com/

Bead Show Part Two

I couldn't stop thinking about all the gorgeous beads I saw at the show (and such great deals!) so I just had to go back.  This is what I got the second time around.

Endless possibilities for future necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. The laser wood cuts are my new favorites!

Denver Bead Show!

I ventured out to my first bead show today.  It was a bit overwhelming at first, there were millions of beads and so many of the booths had similar items.  I spent the first hour walking around trying to get a feel for how things worked, then I looked for things that were different from what I can get at my usual craft and hobby stores.

If I had unlimited funds, I could have brought home bags and bags full of fabulous beads and pendants.  I did the best with what I had to spend, and this is what I brought home:

16 strands of colorful "pearl" beads in different sizes, a strand of crystal rondelles, 8 copper and silver dipped autumn leaves, 2 strands of silver plated chain, and 6 silver plated beads.

The leaves are just gorgeous, I can't wait to design pieces around them!

Craft Fail?

I got a request from a co-worker for more feminine necklaces and this has now become my new obsession.  I had an idea for a funky chain necklace with ribbon beads and a bow, got out the supplies, started watching a DVR'd episode of Warehouse 13, and got to work.

I finished sometime around 1am.  The glue I was using to make the ribbon beads was temperamental and took a few tries to get what I thought I wanted.  When I went to bed last night, I thought I liked the necklace.

Well, that's the nature of creativity.  Sometimes it works and sometimes . . . no.  It doesn't look as cute as it did late last night.  I think this one will be reworked somehow.  It's not so hideous that it's worthy of Craft Fail's blog, but it's not my best.  The best thing is learning from these craft mistakes.  They help me make better designs in the future.

Welcome to East Lake Lane!

I am finally getting with the times and starting a blog. I'll see how this evolves but for now the plan is to post new items in my Etsty store, projects I'm working on, things that inspire me, and maybe some patterns and instructions.

Stay tuned!