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Hello, I am Licia and I craft and sell jewelry at my Etsy store LiciaBeads and sell gemstone beads at LiciaBeads Vault. Stop on by!
I live near Mukilteo, WA USA A little seaside town North of Seattle, complete with lighthouse, ferry crossing and waterfront train. There is even a tiny park with an ancient looking pear tree that has been spared in memory of the woman who kept an orchard long ago.
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| Mukilteo, WA |
I have lived in this region my entire life and even when I travel I miss the water the feel of the air that is here. There are many inspiring aspects to this area. We are set between mountain ranges with Puget Sound lapping at our feet. All four seasons are distinct and that lends to a rather short but lush growing season which allows us to make a living designing and building gardens for our other work. In winter the days are short and the nights cold which makes the holidays a perfect time to shift gears a little and concentrate on beads while the plants go dormant for the season.
I do a wide variety of jewelry work simply because I cannot keep my hands out of the pie and am always excited to learn new things. When I first started (in 1990) I worked mostly with seed beads and czech glass simply because that was what my birthday income would buy. I was delighted when I got my first custom order from my keyboarding teacher (yes, it was an actual typewriter) which included actual gemstones. Her necklace contained Rose Quartz and Malachite with gold and it was the most expensive thing I had ever had the chance to make. Thru the years my seed bead work developed into weaving, and I started wire wrapping with gemstones and precious metals. Since finding Etsy and realizing that I could make additional income with the massive amounts of beads that I had hoarded away, I have been delighted to share! I have also began teaching individuals in a one on one basis at my home. I like the repetition of simple work, and hard work, and the mingling details. I like that after a while it becomes something larger than itself and it can contain as much variety as I like. It's wonderfully rewarding to receive compliments and feedback from people who like my work and encourages me to carry on with it despite the sometimes silly things I weave up. I also adore gemstones and the characteristics unique to each one. They all deserve a special setting like the earthly treasures that they are. I picked up wire wrapping about a year before finding Etsy and am awestruck by some of the work that people can create.
My Toilet Paper jewelry has gathered the most attention and is quite the "hit". People like to be silly and jewelry is not usually the typical way to do that so they are most startled to see it. I have my own and it does gather attention and strange looks. Since they started I entered the Humor themed Beadweavers challenge with a special version of the TP pendant and won. As an added surprise, I sold the necklace and a custom order bracelet to go with it. http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/2009/06/ebw-june-challenge-humor-has-winner.html
In fact, for the holidays this year my mother gifted me some of grandmas (faux) pearls and strung along them was an actual, full sized TP roll. The whole family laughed for a while over that one. I still have it next to my desk... I suppose for emergencies.
In fact, for the holidays this year my mother gifted me some of grandmas (faux) pearls and strung along them was an actual, full sized TP roll. The whole family laughed for a while over that one. I still have it next to my desk... I suppose for emergencies.
In addition to the massive bead compulsion, my husband and I also enjoy creating beautiful and useful spaces. We have another home business: Blue Wheelbarrow Landscapes that allows us to take rather uninteresting home garden spaces and transform them into useful and cohesive family sanctuary's to enjoy nature and grow nutritious food and herbs. We hope to change peoples mind and habits about the beautiful natural world one colorful garden at a time.
If you are interested in reading several useful and entertaining articles see the Blue Wheelbarrow blog, it's really great!
Also high on our list of life priorities is living a sustainable lifestyle. In addition to basics like composting, recycling, working from home and carpooling, I also drive a vehicle that is 100% powered by local waste oil (biodiesel), yay!
In the future I hope to be able to run my pottery studio and home(another home based business in the works) on solar power. We currently subscribe to hydroelectric power through a special program offered in our area.
We also have 2 wonderfully insane cats who keep our sleeping schedules on track.
