MY FIRST FIELD TRIP WITH THE NEW CAMERA..CLICK PHOTO ABOVE.  THERE IS AUDIO

Cameras are one of my passions and something that never became an integral part of my artwork until “digital” came along.  The instant gratification that comes along with seeing your images within moments of capturing them , is right up my alley.  I never was a good one for waiting to have prints developed, and don’t have the extra room to do film processing myself.

YOURS TRULY …WAY BACK WHEN

I never once thought I would get hooked on cameras but I’m a hopeless addict.  Each bigger, badder, better Canon camera that hits the shelves, I yearn for and start saving my money like crazy until I can lay cash down on the table for it at our  PRO PHOTO SUPPLY

BELOW I’VE EMBEDDED A NUMBER OF RESOURCES , REVIEWS AND IMAGES OF THE 7D

This baby is not a point and shoot by any means but worth the big learning curve

My CANON 40D is not that old but I just keep wanting to move ahead with my photography, and my special needs with my eyes were a perfect match to this new and innovative auto focus system on the 7D.  Wow I’m glad I got it now before we go on our next vacation.  It will take me a couple of months to program all the customizable “bells and whistles” . I”m so excited I can hardly stand it!

My  trusty 40 D will now be hanging off one shoulder with my macro or wide angle lens, the new 7D over the other with my zoom.  Now I need to start saving for a tag along masseuse to keep my shoulders in shape to carry these cameras, gear, my stick and a backpack.  If I fall over I’ll be like a turtle on it’s back!

My dear girl Meg, taken with the new 7D

ONE OF THE FIRST SHOTS OFF THE NEW CAMERA OF BEAUTIFUL MEGAWATT!

Much more to come……….and look for the September Newsletter in your email on September 1 for lots of jewelry related goodness!

HAVE A FANTASTIC MONDAY MY FRIENDS!!

ABOVE…THE NEW TOY BEFORE I OPENED THE BOX

BELOW….THESE YELLOW BAGS MAKE ME DROOL.  THERE  IS USUALLY A NEW CAMERA INSIDE!!










graffitvlogobanner

Hi everyone….thanks for helping me test that little chat widget on the blog!!   I decided after dealing with lost logins and a not so great interface to do some more looking around , and I’m glad I did!!   As you can see above I now have my own multi media , cutting edge TV station for the blog, the website, for live jewelry bead shows AND its also a chat room and showcase for my Youtube videos

At the upper right of GRAFFITI GOSSIP you will find this new GRAFFI-TV logo as a button.  When you click it, a new window will POPUP with my TV studio in it.  The things you will see right away are:

  • ON AIR simply means that the channel is turned on and some videos or message Ive chosen to play is ON AIR
  • ON DEMAND when clicked, brings up a listing of videos  organized by my personal videos (travel, dogs etc.)  and Jewelry related tutorials, plus recorded bead and jewelry trunk shows I will be doing in the future.  Click on any video to play in the main window.  click ON AIR to return to my chosen video/message display
  • MENU will also take you to the ON DEMAND PRERECORDED VIDEOS
  • LIVE ..in flashing  red in the lower left is exactly what it says….I am on air LIVE either in the studio or the camera pointed at the garden  a current live project etc.   While I am broadcasting you can ask me questions and converse in the CHAT ROOM to the right of the streaming video.  I may be talking to the audience during LIVE broadcasting so turn your volume on if possible.  There is also audio on most  ON AIR content as well
  • THE CHAT ROOM is also available at all times for you to leave a message if I’m away or talk amongst yourselves!!!  Its much easier to use than that last one…the sign in just involves choosing a name…that’s it!  I would love to hear from you all this weekend to test this new system

  • THE  STATION WILL BE LIVE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS ALL WEEKEND!!
  • TURN VOLUME ON AND OFF WITH LITTLE “SPEAKER” ICON
  • LOWER AND RAISE VOLUME WITHE + AND -

The reason I opened this station was mainly to broadcast the LIVE TRAVEL BEAD SHOW from, but it is proving to be invaluable to showcase all sorts of projects I’m working on.  I hope to do live streaming video from the Iphone when in Chengdu and Thailand as well!! The possibilites are endless.

THE STREAMING VIDEO BUTTON WILL BE VISIBLE ON ALL MY WEBSITES BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND!!!

HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEEKEND MY FRIENDS!! I WILL DO SOME DRAWING WINNERS THIS WEEKEND.  I APOLOGIZE FOR GETTNG BEHIND.  THE BEAD SHOW HAD BEEN TAKING ALL MY TIME AS I WANT TO GET  THE SHOW UP AND RUNNING IN TIME FOR YOU ALL TO BE ABLE TO CREATED YOUR JEWELRY FOR GIFTS AND SALES.

A gaze onto a hilltown in Provence from the passenger seat……SIGH!!!!!!!!

My silk coverlet set I bought in Thailand

I’ve been in the middle of a flurry of late summer cleaning getting ready for my son to visit (and get the place ready for us to leave to the house sitter when we go on holiday) and in one of my drawers, tucked safely away was this INCREDIBLE 100% silk coverlet set that I bought on my last trip to Thailand…a whole year ago!!.  My daughter Liz and I both bought a set since we couldn’t resist the sweet Thai lady and her deal…”buy 2…give you good price”!!!

This is a typical Asian coverlet in that it is a lined silk “throw” of sorts.  Not a Duvet(comforter cover).  I fell in love with this type of bed cover when we were in Vietnam.  So easy to take off the bed and just literally “throw” on in the morning.

A silk sari Im waiting for from India for the window

Once I got this on the bed I realized I needed to add some more of this saffron shade of yellow/orange to the window dressing.  After a quick search on Ebay I found this beauty to replace the existing Sari I have swagged above the window.  This is another Sari which is 6 yards long and has silverish/goldish medallions embroidered all over it. It is 100% silk and matches the coverlet to a T!!!! Even down the the medallion theme!!!  It’s coming from India so I’ll probably get it in 2 weeks or so


A screen print 2x5' that I need to frame for the bedroom

This incredible block print I’ve had for a couple of years which was an auction I won from a local humane society fundraiser.  The artist did a limited edition of a number of breeds and the Chow HAD TO BE MINE!!!!!  It measures about 2 feet wide by 3 1/2′ long.  I now have a reason to frame it and get it up on the wall

Table runner that matches my silk bedspread..just unfolded it

Excuse the wrinkles on this bed runner…I had just unfolded it and wanted to take a quick photo to show you.  In Asia these matching runners go across the foot of the bed as decoration.  This is an easy way of changing the look of a room with neutral bedding and a matching runner and pillow shams.   The simplicity of Oriental decor has always been a huge influence on my art

My batik 3x5feet from Indonesia

Now this is a knockout!!! I got this from Indonesia and it’s a huge batik done in the traditional wax and dye process.  It hangs in the room on the wall from a black curtain rod and is suspended from black cafe rings.  No frame needed.  I can’t have too many textiles in my home.  This is another great way to change out the art without the expense of framing.

I’ll be offering some of my own “batik” art on fabric panels similar to this batik this autumn! Stay tuned!!!

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a glass demo. As I was working on this beautiful flock of Bindi birds getting them ready for the site I figured I should photograph a few of the stages they go through over about a 3 week period of time….not including doing the beadwork on the tails which is next.  Hope you enjoy this little demo and look for these girls coming very soon on the webite!!.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

BINDI BIRD FUSED GLASS DEMO ©Sandra Miller 2009 by you.

TO BE CONTINUED THIS WEEK …….THE GIRLS NEED TO GET GUSSIED UP WITH THIER FANCY NEW TAILS BEFORE THEY ARE READY TO FLY TO THEIR NEW HOMES.

TAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAA…….After a solid week of work on these little impostors, the “Broken Glass Jello” look alikes are almost ready to jiggle their way onto the website for purchase!!!!  Keep scrolling down to see more examples of one of the pendants!!!


As you can see above, I designed a wonderful contemporary setting to bring out the wiggly best in this unique artglass pendant. The long silver oval which the glass is suspended from provides a ton of movement as well as allowing the person wearing it to lift it to the light, revealing all the teeny jello-y goodness  in the transparent colored windows.  Every on of those colored squares were handcut and placed on the base glass mosiac style.  The entire process took a total of 5 firings in a 1465-1500 degree kiln

Above is the pendant held to the light.  The glass portion measures a bit over  1 1/2″ wide

Once the individual squares were cut from the main sheet (see previous blog posts) they were hand ground and beveled on the edges then fire polished in the kiln to bring up a very high shine over the entire surface


The silicone matte black cord necklace with sterling clasp is included along with the silver tube beads that flank the bail.  If you prefer to receive  beads instead of the cord, I will exchange for a selection of fun beads that coordinate with your pendant

Don’t they look good enough to eat???? All 6 will be available on the WEBSITE tomorrow!!!

3 will be suspended diagonally…3 horizontally as you see on the model.

I also have been getting reports of some Broken Glass Jello chefs out there creating the real dessert!!! Send those pix folks!! I’ll post them on the blog


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