Julia and Jill

In one of my more recent blog entries (which ended up on the cutting room floor when I moved my blog) was about the love I have for the movie "Julie and Julia." Oh how I love that movie! I have watched it about four times and continue to love it and learn from it. Patience -- big lesson! Going for what you want in life -- big lesson! LOVE LIFE -- huge lesson!! It's a good thing to keep these pursuits always in sight. It makes life more challenging and fun.

Anyway, back to Julie and Julia. My husband pulled out our own copy of the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and decided to make something interesting and delicious and a challenge for him -- he doesn't cook a lot. He decided on Coq au Vin. Which basically is chicken simmered in red wine with a bunch of other stuff thrown in for more flavor and to make your day in the kitchen long and stressful if you are an inexperienced chef.

After spending hours cutting, snipping, weighing, pouring and simmering, we sat down to this absolutely beautiful meal. It was such a proud time for him, knowing he had accomplished such a big deal. The meal was delicious -- chicken tender and moist, the sauce was so good you almost wished you had a "to go" bottle so you could sip on it all night long!! :-) But the absolute best part was the accomplishment! He set his sights on a goal and he followed through, even when dark clouds rolled overhead.

Isn't this what life is like? This is what owning your own business is like. Heck, this is what it is like when you are setting out to make an extravagant piece of jewelry. Keeping your eye on the prize. Not forgetting why you are where you are: It's because of where you've been that's giving you the strength and knowledge to keep going forward. If you are fortunate to own a small business, you realize the huge responsibility it takes to keep it moving along. Keeping your head when things get crazy. If you are trying to make a difficult necklace and all the small beads fall off the table onto the floor and you have to pick them up.....acckk!! Been there too many times! But the bottom line is, you have to get down on your hands and knees and pick up those beads. Life is always a set of self-imposed and "nature made" challenges. How you will handle these challenges is the big question.

Answer??? YOU CAN DO IT!

You can pick up the beads (by the way -- here's a tip. Take the hose end of your vacuum, slide a knee-high sock on the end. Turn on the vacuum and the small beads should suck up and "stick" to the knee high. Then start scooping them off the end of the vacuum.") You can balance your business books. We know you can find new and exciting designs to make. Make something. Sell something -- tada!! Income!!!! You are now officially a business person.

And like my husband found out, he now makes coq au vin. And he did it all by himself. Yes it was stressful. Yes, it felt like the beads fell all over the floor. But at the end of the day, we sat down to a beautiful and delicious dinner. Sort of like tying off that last strand of thread and beholding the fantastic piece of jewelry you just created.

Bon Appetite
Jill
www.brassbouquet.com

Color Influences for 2008-2009

I've been doing some peeking around the Color-Forecasting websites and it's looking really interesting!

They always start out with the same things:

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THREE PRIMARY COLORS. That's right....those magical colors we all learned about when we were little children. They take those colors and begin mixing. Adding a smidgen of this and a tad of that and before long they've come up with "Rattan Creme" and "Zhun Gold" and "Old Bronze" -- you get the drift.


Committees come from all over the world and play with color. They use spices, paints, swatches of fabric, flowers, dishes, make-up, beads, foods -- whatever they can put their hands on that has color. They refine, mix, and come up with new, distilled colors that really are not all that different from colors of the past. They are just a new spin on blue, red and yellow. What a great job! Sign me up.


So Here's the Scoop....

1. Metallics will go warmer. Look for warmer shades -- coppery, deep brass, bronze-y tones -- to prevail. YeaH for Antique Brass!


2. Globalism continues to inspire our love for ethnic accent colors. They’re coming to us from India, China and Latin America. To Moroccan reds and glowing oranges, add rosy pinks, sunny golden yellows and ochre/tumeric colors.


3. People want things they wear and things they use now to look "green," no matter what color they are. In 2008-2009, looking stylish means looking natural. Materials will look hand-made, un-dyed and unbleached. Products will look more like what they're actually made of, with lots of texture and all the natural imperfections proudly showing through. Off-whites, sandy and linen-y colors, rock and soil colors, brownish-greens – the colors of nature are seriously fashionable now.


Once Again -- another YeaH! for vintage-aged and antique jewelry...we're on the cutting edge...who would have thunk it....we're still growing in popularity.

BEADS! What Have I Done!?????

What I have done is gone out and bought a ton of beads. They will soon show up on the website in handy little bags. I've ordered Bell-Shaped beads in oodles of colors. I've ordered Picasso's in oodles of colors. I've gone a bit bead crazy!

Oh! And I have also purchased an entire new collection of seed bead mixes from ToHo beads.....They are luscious color mixes. I hope you'll love them as much as I do. They are gorgeous!

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Well -- that's about it for now. I've got so much to do: Orders to process. Brass to patina. Folks to email. And it's going to be another scorcher in Portland, Oregon!

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Until next time: Pay it forward! -- Jill

Email me at: brassbouquet@comcast.net

Visit the website: http://www.brassbouquet.com/