It's Official...

... www.etsy.com/shop/cadynspeziale is now where you will find any and all of my beadwork. Don't worry, you can still use my old website address (www.cadynspeziale.com), but it will take you directly to my Etsy page. Crafty, huh? I did a little investigating and taught myself how to do that! With a little help from my website's tech support, that is. You can even get to it on your phone, in case you want to see my latest work while you're out and about being mobile (just please, whatever you do, not while you're driving!)

And here's a recent piece that you actually won't see on my Etsy page (the aesthetic is just a tad different than my other work...) It's a custom headband crown for a lovely customer's five-year-old princess. I'm always happy to do custom pretty-much-anything,  so please contact me if you ever need a unique, personal gift for a little loved one (or your inner child).

New Work

I just completed this collar necklace to add to my collection on Etsy and here at my shop, gathered. This is actually a design I came up with years ago, and have been wanting to recreate it ever since.

Shaded Path collar

Come stop by gathered and see it in person!

Shaded Path for a Shady Day

Bracelet number six! This is an older design I just completed, and it's always reminded me of a stone garden footpath. I've beaded this cuff in multiple colorways over the years, but for some reason never in the obvious choice of stone. Voila. You can view more angles of Shaded Path Cuff on my Etsy page, and the rainbow of colors it has been known to play dress-up in on my website.

Post Script: I've updated my official website to reflect my current, lower pricing as it appears on Etsy.

Family Time

I had a few days off work (the real, paying job), so I took that opportunity to trek down to Savannah to visit the family. My dad knew I was coming, and he was able to hide it from my mom, who didn't know. So I surprised her! I just casually snuck into the living room and leaned on her chair, asking, "Whatchya watching?" I think I might have given her a little heart attack. But it was totally worth it. And then I was the only one who knew that my sister would be joining us the next day, so we planned her arrival while we were all out running errands. She parked her car down the street, and was just sitting in the kitchen like nothing was out of the ordinary. Heart attack numero dos for mama.

 We sat down at the dock a couple nights in a row to watch the tide correspond with the vultures congregating on the electricity poles, then one by one flying off at dusk.

 And has anyone ever seen a squirrel napping? No, scratch that. I mean two squirrels napping??!!

 This is the cuff I finished whilst in Savannah. I call it "Charmer" (Drew's idea was Snake Charmer). When it's being worn, the feather bead resembles a reptilian eye...

When it's flat, it looks like a cobra, ready to strike. I hadn't even noticed any of this until Drew came up with the idea for the name. And it wasn't until I was posting it on my Etsy page that I realized it's a feather bead, completing the full circle of the concept with the evolution of reptiles into birds.

Some Small Improvements

So I've taken a bit of a break from posting, both on this blog and on our Immortal Mountain blog. For those of you who didn't know, my husband Drew has been all over Europe for the past six and a half weeks with his band, spreading around their music. But he comes back today!!! I'll be in his arms in five hours, and counting! It's been a looooooooooong six and a half weeks, I'll leave it at that. One of the downsides is it has left me with very little time for my extracurricular activities, like blogging. Working part-time, commuting, looking after our kitties and silkies, keeping the house relatively fur-tumbleweed free, making tons of chocolates, visiting family (yay!!!) and feeding myself everyday is nothing to scoff at! I have so much admiration for single moms.

Here are two projects I've done recently:

The most simple curtains ever. I had this fabric up in my studio, and the branches came from right outside. I got hooks that I painted the same color as the wall, and voila!

And this is a commissioned piece to match a collar a lovely Etsy customer ordered. Thank you!

It's official... Etsy!

So I finally did it. I started an Etsy page, which is where you'll find the above photo, and more like it! I've listed my current on-hand inventory, including all my most recent (some within the last couple days) work. You can check it out here.

But in case you're too busy to click on a link that will take you to a whole different world (because trust me, Etsy will suck you in-- you'll get obsessed looking at what everyone else has created!), here are my two latest pairs of earrings:

I'm trying out some new earring designs involving multiple layers. What do you all think? I'm still experimenting, but I'll definitely take suggestions. I hope everyone's staying warm this fickle winter! It's snowing as I type this...