Mandrel Dipping

Thank Goodness It's Friday!  

This has been a busy week and I have gotten so much done.  

I have been prepping for an account review presentation for several weeks that I delivered today.  I felt like it went well and it is a relief to be done with that.

I have made a TON of new egg beads this week...YAY for nightly torch time!

Today is the last day of school for my kids and then I will be the mom of a Kindergartner and a 2nd Grader.  Wow!  How did I get here so quickly?

I hope you enjoy my video about dipping mandrels!

There are to be no comments left about knowing where my children get their bizarre tendencies to make faces or other questionable behaviors.  It is ALL from their father!

Crossing my fingers it does not rain tomorrow.  My friend Tabitha and I are planning on driving the kids up to a college campus in North Georgia so we can play with our cameras and the kids. :)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!!

More Jewel Toned Eggs

I have been on a roll this week making eggs!  I got these pics taken just a few minutes before I lost sunlight.  But in addition to these, I have more.  DOZENS more!  I have 45 eggs on hand now, so hopefully I should start rocking through this wait list.

There are two lapis blues on the left, then two violet, one dark red, one light turquoise and one ivory.

Two pajama blue, olive green, one sandstone, one mosaic green and then back to lapis blue.

I will be emailing Gail her pics and pricing later today of all the eggs I have available.  :)

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my kids.  They are so excited.  Then the boy can say he is a Second Grader and the girl child can tell everyone she is a Kindergartner.  After school, we can have picnic dinners of fruits and veggies at the pool several nights a week and they will sleep good.  

I LOVE SUMMER!

Jewel Tone Eggs

I am now working on eggs for Gail and she requested jewel tone colors.  What do you think so far?

Olive green, dark red, mosaic green and ochre are in this line up of colors.

Sneak Peeks of my Eggs in Action!

Check out this new bracelet now in Michelle's Etsy shop. 

Look how she used my eggs!

You can see more pics HERE!

Productive Weekend

I finished cleaning, photographing and listing dozens upon dozens of eggs.  To keep myself from getting burned out on the eggs AND to more effectively use kiln space while I work, I have been working on other bead orders between every 2-3 mandrels of eggs.  I am almost caught up on non-egg orders and they are mostly keeping pace with the eggs as to when the orders first came in.  Big sigh of relief!

The kids' last soccer games were on Saturday, then a little awards ceremony and grill out afterwards.  I found Chloe poking at this guy and giggling when he moved.  To save him from the torture of five year olds, I rescued him and released him far, far away from the action.  Before I let him go, I asked her if she wanted to kiss him to see if the frog would turn into a prince, but she politely declined.

When we got home, we found the downstairs of our home flooded with about a half inch of water.  The hardwood floors are now showing signs of warping and wrinkling. :(  Chloe left the bathroom sink running by accident before we left for the soccer games.  Which wouldn't have been a big deal, except the drain plug had been removed last week to pull out objects blocking the flow of water and clogging the sink (your kids don't clog your sinks with rocks, dirt or the rolling art eyeballs, do they?).  So the water leaked out of the bottom of the sink into our bathroom, the hallway, the foyer, the living room and the family room.  It took nearly a dozen large beach towels to mop up the mess.  

After that mess was cleaned up, I started in on cooking for a big birthday dinner bash with barbecued ribs, that wonderful pasta from ThyHandHathProvided, asparagus, corn and then a chocolate cake.  While I cooked, Todd spent a good three hours in the backyard pulling weeds, straightening landscaping bricks and cleaning off the back porch.  We can now eat out there again and the backyard looks soooo much nicer!  What do you think of this close up shot of my echinacea/cone flower? Pretty cool, eh?

On Sunday we were all supposed to drive downtown to walk for Autism and a cure, but the boy child was on Todd's last nerve and a little separation between the two was needed.  So he ended up just taking the girl child and spoiling her with fun on the kids' bungee jumping, moonwalks, face painting, hair beading and spraying (her bathwater last night was BRIGHT ORANGE!).  While she got spoiled, I put the boy child to work cleaning out Maggie's crate (first time that has ever happened in the 7 years we have had her) as well as the cat boxes.  He also cleaned out his room and re-organized his bookshelves.  The best part was he was HAPPY to help me with all this cleaning.  While he was cleaning out his room, I cleaned up the guest room and it is not useable/viewable again.  Yay!  It is both Todd's and my favorite room in the whole house.

So now I'm back to working on more eggs as the weekend is over.  The last of the extras for Karyn are in the kiln and I'm now working my way through the colors that Gail noted on her wish list.  I don't know if it is the satisfaction of completing orders, getting the house and yard in order or just the promise of summer coming soon once school ends this week, but I am filled with excitement and anticipation.  There really isn't anything big or exciting happening in my immediate future, so this feeling of contentment and positivity coming out of me isn't sparked by anything in particular.  Perhaps I am doing better at living in the moment and enjoying each moment with my family.  I feel like I have more patience.  I am happy with how so many paths in my life are moving and don't recall another time in my life where everything just felt so at peace.  Someone please slap me and let me know this isn't a dream, ok?  It makes me a little nervous, like this is too good to be true!

My New Wristlet and a Bead Video

Lori of Waterstone stopped by to personally deliver the gorgeous wristlet I won on her blog.  I roped her into doing a video with me as she melted glass to make her first ever lampwork bead.  Not everyone would have agreed to doing something new for the first time, but I think it gives an accurate idea to folks that the first time is not easy to work out the multi-hand coordination needed.  If you're new to lampworking, then don't give up.  It wasn't easy for me the first time I tried it.  Or even the first dozen.  It felt so unnatural to me.

Thank you for agreeing and being a good sport, Lori! 

Latest Eggs

These are the first half of the batch of eggs I am making for Karyn.  The others should be done tomorrow.  Or Saturday, if she wants more :)

Two light brown eggs with white and blue speckles are on the left.  Pajama blue is in the middle and three chocolate brown eggs are on the right.

This light brown is my new favorite!

I'm a Winner! :D

Wow!  I never win stuff.  Anything.  Evah!

But I won this gorgeous little handmade leather wristlet from Lori Plyler of Waterstone on her latest giveaway!  How cute is this little wristlet!  I LOVE the little strap and the darker brown flower!!!

Lori shops around to find leather coats or big leather bags that she can reclaim and sew into gorgeously unique handbags, totes or wristlets.  She gives old leather new life and I LOVE it.  And not only does she make handbags, totes and wristlets, she also makes jewelry.  You can check out Lori's etsy shop HERE. 

I am so extremely excited about this!  I had the pleasure of meeting Lori in person about a month ago when I was sneaking around etsy buying up Lorelei's favorites as surprise birthday gifts.  After I bought this cute little wristlet from Waterstone, Lori emailed me and asked if I wanted personal delivery because she literally lives just a few miles from me!  So I have already seen in person what extraordinary workmanship and care goes into Lori's items.  Did I tell you I'm excited?!

The last time we met, I did not pull out my camera to document the occasion.  I'm sure Lori would have declined having just come from the gym and I was a mess from spending a few hours in the yard and still had leaves/branches in my hair, I'm sure.  This time, I'll make sure I'm showered so we can take pics and I can properly introduce you to Lori on my blog. :)  

I love when I find out that bloggers/artists I admire turn out to be my neighbors!

Eggs tonight.  Pics tomorrow!

Another Visitor

Yesterday morning while I was working, I noticed a small movement outside out of the corner of my eye.  But then I didn't see anything.  I went back to working and noticed another small movement, but saw nothing that could have caused the leaves to move.  I wondered if the chipmunks were back.  It went on like this for close to five minutes before I saw the source.

He was a little guy, but with beautiful orange markings.

Look at this ridge down the back of his shell!  It's like it leads directly to his tail.

He was a shy guy.  As soon as I touched his shell, he pulled in his head, legs and tail.  Then he closed up his shell.

Tight!

Not at all like the last turtle who probably hunts deer and wild coyotes.

I removed him from the backyard so he wouldn't be harassed by the cats or dogs.  I released him in the side yard and within an hour he was gone.  I just loved those orange spots on his front legs!

Got the latest egg order shipped out yesterday.  It is going all the way to GERMANY to Nicki.  I can't wait to see what she does with them, but I will certainly be sharing pics. 

Todd got home yesterday after playing five tennis matches in four days in the USTA State Championship in Augusta.  His team made it to the finals and lost in third set tie breakers.  If you don't understand tennis scoring, then just know they were close enough to taste the title of State Champions.  And they were pleased.  After driving the three hours back, he was so very sore.  I'm pretty sure that soreness and stiffness will last throughout the week and be a lovely welcome to his 45th year.  Today is his birthday.  Tonight we are having a mini-celebration before going to the girl child's little graduation ceremony from pre-Kindergarten.  The big family celebration will be Saturday night and combined with my Uncle Mike's birthday, since he will be in town.  I will be spending a good four hours in the kitchen making an Italian creme cake for these two deserving men.  I'm looking forward to it!

Today is also the birthday of my good friend Lorelei.  Please stop by her blog HERE and leave your birthday wishes.  I know good things are in store for her this year.  I can feel it!

Tomorrow night I will be back on the torch and making eggs again.  Karyn, you're up next! :D

My Weekend and New Eggs

Here is the view from my table, although it might be hard to tell how many tennis courts there are surrounding me.  I was a sponsor at a local tennis tournament in a neighborhood with over 5,000 homes and 25+ tennis courts.  Driving by the homes was AmAzInG!  They range in value from $180K to well over a million dollars.  Brick everywhere with impeccable landscaping.  I wonder what these homes look like inside.  And how much happiness there is inside.  I wonder how similar and different these families are from my own.  But then, I wonder that about almost every home I pass.  Are the people happy?  I hope they are.

A close-up shot of my table.

I was enchanted with the clouds.  Until it began to rain and then I packed up and went home early.  Sigh.

In between making eggs, I made another worry stone.  This has a blue base and was supposed to be purple swirls all around.  But they look more pink since coming out of my kiln.

Cindy, this is the back of the bead.  Tell me if you like it better than the red worry stone in the other post.  I'll send you your choice.  Or make another, since you did ask for blue and purple. :)  There are a handful of large bubbles inside that are easier seen from the back.  I really like how the bubbles look.  What do you guys think?

And now for the eggs.  I have been working on these since the middle of last week for Nicki.  She is next on the wait list for eggs.  That wait list has grown to eight people now.  Wow!  You guys rock!!!

From left to right....on the back row are four ivory with brown/white and then two light turquoise.  Middle row is three pajama blue and two dirty martini.  Front row shows two khaki, one opal yellow, one mosaic green, one ochre yellow (almost orange in places!) and one light pink/lavender.  I received an email this weekend from one more person asking to be placed on the wait list, but she wasn't sure which colors she want and didn't know how I was naming them.  Thought I should probably start specifying the colors on here so 1) you guys know what you're looking at and 2) folks can specifically request the colors if wanting to be added to my list of egg buyers. :)

Here's a shot of the first egg bead I made Saturday night after my kids were in bed.  Doesn't look much like an egg, does it?  The glass was not my friend.  At all.

Here are some closer, standing-up shots.

There is a pot on my deck that I have had for almost ten years.  I don't remember ever planting bulbs or iris, but these iris bloom every year.  They are large and I LOVE them!  I love the stripes of yellow, which I hadn't noticed there were actual stripes until after I took this picture.  And if you look close, you can see dew drops on the white bloom near the top and also on the yellow.

See Little Horse napping?  This is his favorite spot throughout the day if I am not keeping him tied to me.

It has been on my mental To Do list to trim the lower branches on all my cypress trees and I finally got to it during the kids' nap time on Sunday afternoon.  I still need to get all the branches into bags to go out with the trash on Tuesday.  If you look closely, you can see Little Horse behind one of the piles of branches.

Todd has been in Augusta since Thursday of last week.  His USTA tennis team was a wildcard draw and now they are in the finals.  Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow morning (weather.com says it is supposed to rain.  boo. hiss.) so they can play.  He is a happy, happy man.  And I am even happier that he will be coming home tomorrow night.  Yay!

How was your weekend?  Do anything fun or exciting?

Eggs in Waiting

Here are the eggs I made last night.  As you can see, they are still very much on the mandrel and not even close to being cleaned or etched.  But I wanted to show you that five came out of the kiln last night. 

My phone camera doesn't do much justice for details or colors, does it?  I didn't want to waste time with swapping lenses on the real camera, uploading and cropping pics tonight when I am chomping at the bit to get on the torch.  My kiln is already warming up!

There are two pajama blues, two khakis and one dirty martini egg up there, as well as one purple and blue worry stone.  Hoping to make more tonight, but we'll see how long I stay awake enough to be safe.

The Latest Visitor

Last night I sat down to the torch and turned the knob and clicked my lighter.  Then I clicked my lighter again.  And again.  

And again.

It was out of fluid. :(  I had no fire.  But I do tonight and that is a good thing.  I've already got three eggs in the kiln!

This morning I noticed we had a new visitor in the back yard. 

This guy was as big and as heavy as the cats!  He posed nicely for me to take pics and didn't even blink or move.  But the moment I put my hands on his shell, he raised himself four inches off the ground and spun a 180 to try and bite me.  He even hissed!

I gave it a second attempt of trying to grab his shell gently in the middle on each side, but I learned his legs and toes were long.  Long enough to push away my fingers.  I was worried he was going to turn into Kung Fu Turtle and pull some jujitsu on me.  I kept watch on him throughout the day and he shuffled around the backyard.  I think he probably fell off the retaining wall in our backyard and landed with a surprise to be face-to-face with our cats and dogs.  Look at those spikes on his tail!

Owen rides the bus home on Wednesdays for his weekly tennis lesson.  Since Todd was away on business, I walked down to the bus stop to pick him up and enlist the help of two of the stay-at-home dads.  Steve was much more successful with the shovel and getting the turtle into the wheelbarrow.

And off we went on an adventure to the nature trail at the bottom of our street with the turtle in the wheelbarrow.

Steve took the wheelbarrow down the steps.

The kids gathered around and said their goodbyes to the turtle.  They each had their own name for him.  Owen called him Cliff because he is still missing the bullfrog from our backyard.  Another called him Twist.  That made me smile because Twist is a little nickname we have used for our kids ever since they were old enough to cause trouble.

There he is safely down by the creek.  He should be much happier now that he is away from nosy cats and little horses.

As we walked home, the kids discussed the fact that by saving this turtle we were helping the environment....major Earth Day topics and Reduce/Reuse/Recycle songs being pounded into their heads at school.  And then there was concern that this turtle might be missing his Mom or Dad.

Glad tomorrow is Thursday and the weekend is getting closer.  I'm looking forward to Saturday and setting up my jewelry in a booth at a tennispalooza tournament.  I'll catch you guys tomorrow.  With pics of the beads soaking now in my kiln. :)

Everyone Needs Their Own Cheerleader

It's not always the same person, although my Mom has always been at the top of the list for instilling me with the belief that I can do anything I put my mind to.  I have never doubted that and only hope I instill the same strong beliefs in my kids.

But every now and then, or maybe just once a year around the beginning of May I start to wonder.  I chide myself for dipping down that bad path, but it seems I always have one friend who pulls me out.  Knowingly or not-so-knowingly.  Last week was a rough week for me, although I tried hard to hide it.  There were silent tears and the wish for time to pass a little more quickly.  Time didn't pass any more quickly than normal, but I had a couple of cheerleaders come to my rescue.

One of whom was Mallory.  I have known Mallory online through twitter, blogs, etsy and facebook for well over a year now.  Through her tweets and blog, I know this woman treasures her dog Pixie and cherishes time with her grown children.  She always has something nice to say and ends the week with Three Beautiful Things posts.  (Yes, I'm the nerd who wrote an email to a local radio station in Atlanta when they started up about ten years ago and complained of nothing but bad news and asked them if really was so difficult to report on something good....so they started up Good News Fridays and found enough good news stories to fill up a whole three minute segment on Friday mornings.  They have since discontinued that practice, but that's ok because I rarely hear the radio now with a 2mile commute taking the kids to school each day.)  I had the pleasure of meeting Mallory in February when she flew down to Atlanta to take a lampworking class.  She was every bit as nice and kind in person as I had come to know her online.  And everyone in our local glass society said the same....."Oh, that Mallory. She's so niiiiiice."  And it was true.

Anyway, let me find my point for you.  I was feeling crummy and Mallory really helped turn my attitude around.  She reminded me of a few important things in private convos and wrote THIS incredibly kind blog post Saturday morning.  Being acknowledged by a peer is so validating.  They can truly understand the difficulties or complexities of what you face, and appreciate your efforts so much more than someone who has never been in the same boat.

Thank you Mallory for being my cheerleader, right when I needed a pick-me-up!  Your timing could not have been any better. :)

Please go take a look at Mallory's blog and etsy shop.  She is a kind soul with a good spirit.  I have enjoyed watching her try new things and experiment with so many different lampworking techniques.  Her enthusiasm for life really shows in her work...she chooses bright colors and creates fun designs in jewelry and beads.  I love that her shop covers every part  of lampworking, from selling her beads to jewelry designers to jewelry for those who want unique, one-of-a-kind items to glass supplies for other lampworkers.  She has it all!

My favorite is this modern day Red Riding Hood!

Go take a look in her shop and come back and tell me what is your favorite item?

Mother's Day Weekend

It was a good weekend.  The kids had soccer games Saturday morning.  Owen did great and Chloe, well Chloe mostly played in the dirt.  On the field.  While the game went on around her.  The coaches promise it is the age group and she will grow out of it.  

Temperatures were a little lower yesterday with overcast skies.  I hit a bird while I was driving.  Sniff.  All I saw was feathers in the rear view mirror.  It made me feel bad.  I slowed down as much as I could, but there were cars behind me so I couldn't hit the brakes hard as I saw her flying in front of my car.  I spent the majority of the day cooking while the kids played outside or helped Todd wash his car.  

 

My Mom and Grandma came over for dinner, as did Todd's sister.  Our dinner table was filled with family, laughter and good food.  There was a lot of story telling going on as we recalled family histories, many involving events where one of us had had the snot scared out of ourselves like this.  Funny the things that get us giggling.

I made my mashed sweet potatoes, a meatloaf using crushed gluten-free crackers instead of oatmeal (my mom was just diagnosed with celiac disease, so gluten is now a no-no), stuffed shells which were the BOMB, asparagus salad which was also very delicious and this raspberry jello salad for dessert.

These are all recipes from Thy Hand Hath Provided blog that my mouth has been watering to try for weeks.  They were so delicious and I know I will be adding them to my book of favorite recipes!  Thank you Thy Hand for sharing your recipes on your blog!!!

The kids had fun with two of their grandmas.  They played scrabble together and had a close game.  We wished our other grandmas could have been with us to celebrate Mother's Day, but Minnesota is a long hike from us.

The weekend was so jam packed with family that I didn't get any time on the torch.  And it's not going to happen tonight, either.  Tonight is the last night Todd will be home for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow he is flying out to Washington DC for work.  When he returns, he will be leaving the same day for a tennis state championship.  The house will be quiet and empty without him.  I hate when he travels.  But while he is gone, I will be filling every evening with time on the torch after getting the kids in bed.  I have a bunch of egg orders needing to be filled and they won't get done by themselves.

Here is a pic of some of my beads all grown up, in their new home with Thy Hand.  She found this birds' nest and now has it sitting in her kitchen window sill.   I am still on the hunt for my own abandoned bird nest because I think it will be great for etsy pics and also to keep inside the house to look at when I need a little smile.

I hope you had a great weekend!  I look forward to jumping back on the torch tomorrow night and showing you all pics of the new loot.

Happy Friday!

These 25 eggs are on their way out the door!  

Can you believe someone snatched up 25?  

Out of the 32 I had on hand?  

Wow!  I am so thankful! 

Which puts me back close to square one on making beads to fill orders.  Nicki is next.  Out of the five color choices she wanted to see, I have zero.  That's right.  Nada.  The seven loners aren't even on the list.  Oh well, this is a good problem to have and I am certainly not complaining.

I had intended to get on the torch last night.  But I was so tired.  Staying up past 11pm or midnight EVERY night for two weeks has not been good.  Almost every single one of those I was on the torch.  I have absolutely enjoyed all of the torch time I am getting after the kids go to bed.  All the time to play with new colors.  Yesterday it caught up with me.  I know if I got on the torch, I would not have been safe.

I did not get the video made as promised for this week.  Perhaps for next week.  Maybe?  We have soccer games for the kids tomorrow morning that start at 9:30am.  But they overlap and we will be done before lunch time.  After that, perhaps I will get free time on the torch.  Sunday will be busy.  Church in the morning and I've gotta be there extra early because I'm getting dunked in a big tub in front of a few hundred people.  I'm a little nervous.  I don't like being the focus of attention.  But.  It is something I need to do. 

Many of you have purchased beads from me.  I would love to see pics of what you have turned them into.  I always wonder about what becomes of my beads when they grow up.  Sometimes they come home to me, but that is rare.  I couldn't stand it with these aqua nuggets that Keirsten of Lune Designs created.  The southwestern color combination, the hammered S hook clasp and the double cross drew me in.  It wouldn't let me sleep at night.  A week passed and my ability to say no disappeared.  (Don't forget to enter her giveaway HERE for a cool pair of earrings she made!)

So.  Getting back to my point.....if you have my beads and have used them, I would LOVE to see pics.  I want to do a few blog posts in the coming weeks highlighting different jewelry designers and their shops.  Please send me an email if you are interested.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  

If you are a Mom, I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day where your family celebrates you and everything you do for them.  May you get the best handmade cards, fresh picked flowers and relief from cooking/cleaning for the day!