Two simultaneous special offers: Free pendants and free shipping!

This week (through Sunday, Dec 6) get a free wire-wrapped pendant with any purchase of an item with a floral motif. Search the shop for "flower" or "floral" to find all the eligible items!


Available here.

Just enter the code "peruvian" in the Notes to Seller section when you buy.



And from November 27-30, I'm having my very own Black Friday-and-then-some sale. Buy one item and get 10% off any second item, AND take free shipping on the second item. And there's no limit -- you can make as many BOGO pairs as you like!


Available here.

All discounts given as refunds through PayPal. Use the code "tgiving" in the Notes to Seller section. And yes, you can combine this with the above!

The college fashionista accessorized

Posting from the class I tutor (my entire function today is to sit here until someone wants help with the peer draft review; not intellectually stimulating), and one of my students just walked in wearing the following ensemble:

*Oversized menswear flannel shirt, sashed at the waist, sleeves rolled to just below the elbow, in blue and grey plaid
*Shorts in yellow, aqua and green plaid
*Footless tights in grey tartan
*Black sandals and a navy paisley headband

I am reasonably sure this isn't "everything that was clean" college-student dressing, as this student's dress sense runs long on multiple patterns, visible garters and kawaii -- sort of a Goth-Lolita look without the Goth but with a dash of hippie chic. It's growing on me.

So I have decided to make a necklace and name it after her. (Maybe not the best idea, actually; she shares a name with one of President Obama's daughters, they've been exploited enough lately). Anyway. I have grey tartan beads and floral beads and possibly still some polka-dot beads. These must come to coexist. It is a mandate upon my soul.

It's kind of an interesting fashion trend, though, when you think about it. An import from Asia, possibly? When I was little I had to be discouraged from pairing red striped pants with pink polka-dot shirts. But from where I'm sitting, I can see the following combos on representatives of 18 college freshmen:

* the abovementioned three plaids and a paisley (on a girl)
* black and white checks with tie-dye (on a boy)
* a subtle grey and white camo with a jean vest and kente-like bandanna (on a girl)
* plaid flannel shirt over white-on-white stripe tee (on a boy)
* narrow vertical stripe jacket over horizontal stripe blouse (on a girl)
* argyle sweater with subtle floral skirt (on a girl)

Surely these sets would have once been unthinkable ... two different stripes together? Camouflage and kente cloth?

Now my fingers are itching for beads and I have 90 minutes and a shopping trip to get through before I can get my pliers in my hands again. Gaaah!

Wire and Bat-Squid and Rings, oh my!

A busy weekend for us! M has no fewer than three squid commissions going (Ron Weasley, Batman and Harley Quinn) so she sewed all yesterday. Batman is adorable. He's made of black fleece and deep grey suedecloth, and has a dark grey mask behind his eyes and a yellow fleece toolbelt (pockets and all) around his head. His heart/mouth (she always puts a heart patch between the tentacles, so it's both mouth and heart at once) is the Bat-signal. Tonight we have to get a fabric marker, because I'm going to draw a chess knight on Ron's heart.

We also organized a lot of my beads, pendants and findings. Since M is obsessive-compulsive on a wonderful, wonderful level, she organized them all by color last Christmas when I was struck down with the demon mononucleosis -- and we hadn't done it in a while. God, the number of beads I have.

Finally, I photographed a whole lot of inventory, which means two things:

a.) New items are being posted at last, and
b.) I get to give a blog preview of the new wire-wrapped rings!

This one is in Christmas colors and distressed copper/black wire. It has a nice layered look.

Available here.

This is a pendant-ring set. Unfortunately, I think the bead arrangement on the ring is a little too broad for comfortable wear.

Available soon!

And this one uses a nugget of rich, chocolatey agate and some brass beads that match the ring base. I think this is where I best pulled off the balance of metal tones.

Available soon!

I'm still playing with the technique (combination of wire gauges=yes, nylon-jawed pliers to flatten the wire=no), but those are the three I like best.

New Special Offer through November 29

This week, get free shipping on any item in my shop that is wire wrapped when you use the code market. Just enter the code in the "Notes to Seller" section when you purchase and I'll refund you through PayPal. To find all wire-wrapped items, search for them with the box just above the shop banner.


Available here.

This includes several items in the shop and a few I'm going to be posting this week and the next, including the new rings, some pendants and earrings and a vintage bead bracelet.

And yes, this offer is entirely so I had a good excuse to show that photo. :) I was rushing through items since I was just starting to lose that nice diffuse light of cloudy early afternoon, but the harsh shadows hadn't quite fallen yet, so I got that awesome diffracted sparkle. Gorgeous.

Overheard in the English department yesterday

"Well, is it sullen or angry? Because sullen needs toast. I wouldn't get into a car with an angry stomach."
"It's more grumpy and sullen than rageful."
"That's good. Rageful stomachs are bad."
"Rageful isn't a word."


(sung to a tune vaguely resembling "The Street Where You Live")
"If the tomato ... is yellow ... don't eat it ..."



"How can you possibly function in society without having seen Robot Chicken Star Wars?"
"Because I'm a raging dork in other areas?"



"Buggering ... BUGGER!!!"



"I'm sorry about your body."

Some thoughts for the ... morning? Noontide?

* I would really like to know what I'm doing right with Alchemy bids.

Seriously. I've had tons of interest and two commissions in the same number of weeks. What gives? What changed?

* Wire wrapping is AWESOME.

I've always loved heavily wire-wrapped pieces -- the ones that have that woodlandy, chaotic beauty with wire wrapping in on itself in layers and layers -- and yesterday, with some brass ring bases I got on clearance and leftover silver and brown copper wire, I think I got the hang of it. I'm wearing one of the rings right now (a piece of what I think is agate and fluted antique brass rounds, with a spiral of goldtone and wrapping in silvertone wire, on a wide antique brass ring base) and it gives me a little flutter of joy every time I look at my left hand. I also did a pendant with Czech pressed glass blossoms and leaves over a leftover square glass bead, and it has a WONDERFUL fairy-garden look. I feel like an artist.

* Condescending people suck.

I understand the need to distinguish between art and assembly, but this leads to a certain ... attitude in the Etsy forums. Technically under the Etsy rules putting a purchased pendant on a purchased chain qualifies the result to be sold as "handmade." And I understand that putting beads on a wire doesn't sound any more "handmade" to someone who hand-solders recycled metal, or some such. But statements like "Even the beader does SOME design work" make my hackles rise. Quilters select fabrics to go together in a pattern, I select beads and components to go together in a pattern, if you look at my pieces you can see I'm not just putting stuff together randomly or putting the same bead on the wire thirty times, don't dishonor my art form. *sigh*

* The average high school graduate has no understanding of tone.

I judge this by my own students. They're bright, bright kids, and they think they know it until I ask them to identify it, and then we both suddenly realize the kid has no clue what I'm trying to point out.

* I saw an EXcellent play last week.

"Doin' Time in the HomoNoMo Halfway House: How I Survived the Ex-Gay Movement," by Peterson Toscano, is a phenomenal show. I share an office at work with the performer, Vincent Cervantes, and he's as kind, funny and wise in person as onstage. Also, he's got enough acting talent to make you both laugh out loud and get a lump in the throat within the same three-minute section of the show. Anyone who has acted knows how hard it is to make a mood whiplash like that effective. If you have a chance to see this, run-don't-walk to get tickets. It's both roaringly funny and touchingly meaningful.

* I have GOT to be more careful about cutting chain.

I have a charm bracelet I may have to remake tonight because I misjudged and clipped it too short by one. Freaking. Link. It's a fun charm bracelet, though; 60's music flower-power themed with some I *heart* NY stuff. So not as bad as it could be.

New Special Offer through November 15

This week, I've got a very special offer in mind.

Nothing makes a better gift than something you've had custom-made. From now until November 15, get free shipping on any custom order from TangoPig Jewelry Creations. I take custom orders through either email or Etsy!



A previous custom order is shown above -- what ideas do you have that you'd love to see translated into real life?

Just mention this post when ordering to get the free shipping!

And remember, anything you order from RhumbaSquid can be combined shipping with your TangoPig order!


This offer occurred to me because I actually have a custom order going at the moment; I'm doing a sterling silver charm bracelet for a seven-year-old girl. On that note, 1.) since when is "sterling silver plated" an acceptable metal-content description? and 2.) where have all the "princess" word charms gone? Seems they were everywhere a little while ago, and now I can only find one style. No time to special-order one, either, because the bracelet needs to be done this week.

Two other bids seem to have gotten interest, too -- a great Alchemy week, all in all.