Awesome Blog Award

I received this from Gunilla last week.  Thanks Gunilla!

I am to post 7 things about myself that you may not know.

1.  I took piano lessons for ten years as a child.  I once played a duet in Spivey Hall at Clayton State College with Mr. Roger's wife.  I was able to teach myself most of a Bach invention, but never finished.  I got just a few measures from the end. 

2.  I was born in Chicago, moved to St. Charles (the first Capital of Missouri), then to Salt Lake City for a year and finally to Atlanta.  I have been here since 1983 and still do not consider myself a Southerner.

3.  I know how to crochet, but don't know how to knit.  I want to start crocheting again and make blankets for my kids.  Nobody got back to me the other day on sending extra hours in the day to me.  Hello?  Anyone out there?

4.  I love to travel.  Perhaps this was instilled early on as my Dad held every position on the ground with Delta Airlines.  I love the smell of jet fuel, walking through the airport, take off, flying through the clouds and over crop circles, landing, meeting friends and family outside of baggage claim.  I love that I still have flight privileges through my Dad and can fly (easily, at least by myself) at reduced rates if I fly stand by.  I also love road trips and will choose that whenever I can and it won't eat up more than 40% of the vacation time I have allotted.

5.  I used to be an avid reader, oftentimes in the middle of 10-12 books at a time.  I could pick up any one of those books and immediately start reading where I left off without scanning and remember exactly what was happening.  I'm lucky to finish two books a year now.  I think that speaks to how much time I have alone (it is impossible to read to myself when any other member of my family is around.  they all find reasons to speak to me and ask questions).

6.  I use a curling iron maybe once every five years.  It normally gets pulled out when there is a wedding to attend, but I am debating on tossing it as I am coming to the realization that if my curls fall out within the first hour it is just not worth the extra effort.  I use hair spray on an even fewer/farther between basis.

7.  My Mom instilled in me the belief that I can do anything if I put my mind to it.  I have no doubt that I can learn everything I want about photography (it was just unusual to have that little panic attack last week about meeting people and whether or not I was really qualified to be in the workshop) and become successful at it.  There isn't much that I haven't tried to build with my hands, from bookshelves to a 12 foot shed in our backyard.  I hope that I am able to pass that on to my own children.

Feel free to nominate yourself and play along.  Come back and let me know if you did!

Featured!

Kristi Gruel of DreamSome used my beads in her lovely earrings.

Marsha Neal included my beads in her treasury.

Bearsneststudio included my skittled black beads in her fun treasury.

BlueBassinet included my headpins in her headpin treasury (wow, look at all the different kinds!)

Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs used my beads in this fabulous necklace.  I love all the wire work and how she flattened the spirals.

She also used one of my beads in this bracelet.

And some of my raku and clear eggs in this necklace!

Lorelei just used one of my eggs in a new necklace.

And this one with my little orange and white polka dotted bead.

I'm betting there are more pieces out there featuring my work, but these were just pulled from convos I received over the last couple of weeks.  If you would like me to share your work using any of my lampwork, please send me an email letting me know where to look.  I always ALWAYS love Love LOVE seeing how my beads grow up and sharing with others.  You all have so many great ideas on jewelry designs!

Have a fantabulous weekend!  I know I will be since I will be in sunny San Diego :)

Friends

Tabitha gave me this for my birthday.  I love getting birthday presents four months after the fact.  It's like a never-ending celebration.  :)

I love my friends.  They have been here for me this morning, as I am trying to ward off panic attacks about my trip to San Diego.  I didn't realize how nervous I was about going and feeling like the new kid on the block who doesn't know squat and has no right to be in attendance.  Not having my laundry done yet or having started packing probably doesn't help my level of anxiety about being ill-prepared for this, either.

I wanted to share a few of their comments, as they are good reminders for us all when questioning our abilities or worried about how we will fit in.  But mostly so I have a reference point to come back to later when the conversations have long since disappeared from my instant messenger windows or scrabble sidebars.  Or when I look back after this weekend and see my fears were completely unwarranted.

Pssbbbbt!  If everyone in the class knew everything, they wouldn't be there.  You have just as much right as anyone else.  It will be a great experience and you will learn lots and grow so much!  But...you may be the only midget, so just go ahead and accept that one (ok, this probably doesn't apply to everyone).  

Don't be nervous, you are going to do great.  You're moving towards your goal.  Everyone starts out where you are!

You have the important part, the instinctual ability to take great pictures (I still feel like such a beginner at times, but this is so nice to hear!).  Turning it into a way to make money is a totally different skill set and I would think most people would need to get those tools from somewhere else.  This will just jump you ahead by quite a bit.  I bet a good number of people there will have the same fears as you (Lord, I hope I'm not alone!).

The Week is Flying!

Suddenly, Thursday is almost here.  The day when I have to be packed up and out of the house before 6am to fly out to San Diego for five days.  I'm excited and nervous. 

Do you think geese ever get nervous about their travels?

I have fallen behind on my Project 365 on Flickr.  Maybe I can catch up while I'm out in California next week.  Or maybe I can be more realistic and say the weekend after I get home from California.

Tonight I will be testing out of my white belt for an orange in Tae Kwan Do.

Yesterday, Jezzie climbed the willow tree in the backyard.  I climbed up to get her the first time.  Two minutes later, she was back up in it so I decided she could get herself down.  She ended up dropping about 10 feet, but landed on all fours.  Jez walked away rather slowly and stayed away from the tree for much of the rest of the day.

I still need to do laundry so I can pack tomorrow.

There will be no time for the torch before I leave on Thursday.  Boo hiss.

Todd got home (late) last night after spending a long weekend in Minnesota to surprise his mom for her birthday.  They got over a foot of snow on Sunday.  The Minneapolis airport canceled 700 flights on Sunday.  I was thankful he got out yesterday.  Todd said he had to have seen at least 80 snow plows busy clearing runways and the ramp while he was on the plane.  And many, many de-icers.

Maggie is snoring on my floor with no regard for the noise she is making.  At least she isn't making stinks, so that is good.

I will be closing my shop tomorrow night.  So tomorrow will be the last day to take advantage of my little sale (there's a link on the upper right of my blog, if you didn't know).  I will re-open my shop on Tuesday, March 1st.  Still contemplating taking that day off from work so I can spend it on the torch and readjust to the Eastern time zone after having just enough time to acclimate to the Pacific time zone.  :)  This really cool focal is still in there, just waiting to find her forever home.

This girl will be testing for her orange belt on Friday night.  I will miss it.  I missed the boy child's test from white to orange before Christmas, too (I was at the girl child's Christmas concert).  I am bummed.  I will also miss out on Owen testing for his yellow belt.  Sigh.

I can't wait to see my friend Sara and her boys after I land in San Diego on Thursday morning.  This time, she won't be confined to the hospital like in November when I was out there.  When I got to hold her second baby who was 30 minutes new to our world.  She has promised a trip to the San Diego zoo (working to coordinate that so I can see Mellisa, too!) and to drive me to/from the airport and up to Oceanside where my photography workshop is on Friday/Saturday.  I'm so excited!

My boy child is gradually becoming more and more helpful around the house.  If he sees the recycling basket overflowing, he grabs it on his way out to the car in the mornings before we drive to school (without being asked).  I really like eight.  And the girl child helped me clean out all the cat boxes and the laundry room this weekend.  She even washed the walls (without being asked).  I think I also really like six.  :)  

We have had exceptionally warm weather over the last week and a half.  This time last year, we had snow on the ground.  This weekend, we ate out on the back porch.  In short sleeves.  And it was good.

Peter, Paul and Mary is in the back of my head.  All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.  Except they aren't and I'm not.

I am really hoping for a lunch at Jack in the Box on Thursday.  It has been a good eight months since I have had one of their tacos and I think I am over due.

I think I have watched less than five hours of tv since the start of the year.  The sad reality of no 24 this year or Jack Bauer to watch.  Instead, I try to keep up with my photo editing, family blog, laundry and scrabble duties.  I'm behind on all of those, too.

If anyone has any extra time in the day, please send it to me.  Kthxbye.

TGIF Randomness!

I am so thankful today is Friday.

I think I am going to start shooting for a theme each week when making new beads.

Swirls one week.

Nuggets the next.

I have already started beads for the update after tomorrow.

 I think they will all mostly be etched.

My shop has been low on etched beads for quite awhile.

I haven't made sea glass beads in ages.  So there will definitely be a few sets of those.

My goal is to also continue to update the shop with eggs at least once each month.

And new buttons with each update.

I'm liking this little button.  Because of how I squashed her, her holes are aligned a little differently than the others.  Must make more of these.

We are in the middle of a week of temps in the 70s and glances of the sun.  I'm so happy.  This weekend will be filled with trips to local parks for the kids to play and wear themselves out.

Check out my shop tomorrow after 2pm EST to see all the beads above get listed.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sneak Peek - Saturday Update

I thought you'd like to see what came out of my kiln over the past week.  Lotsa new beads.  Some smashed.  Most round and swirly.  Two worry stones.  Two buttons.  One focal.

I am so thankful tomorrow is Friday.  And that we're having such fabulously warm weather.

Pop over to Studio Waterstone and on her FSS (Featuring Studio Spaces) series you will see my interview and lots of pics of my studio.

Tomorrow, I will show you close-ups of all the new bead sets going into my shop this Saturday.  TGIF tomorrow!

Santa in February from Studio Marcy

My kids had asked Marcy to make Mr. and Mrs. Claus beads for them. My boy child explained it was because Santa Claus gives so much to other people that he wanted to be able to give back something special to Santa this year. His little copycat sister was immediately on board, nodding her head and saying she wanted one, too.  Marcy is super talented when it comes to making sculptural glass beads and I am in awe of her abilities (Owen had originally asked me to make the bead, but it was a disaster.  I knew we needed to involve a master).

Please check out Marcy's blog and shop.  She is great at custom requests and makes THE best puppy dog beads!  She also snuck in a surprise of the sweetest little pin that she made just for me.  Marcy, you totally ROCK!

I'll be back tomorrow to share pics of beads landing in my shop this weekend.  I am halfway through cleaning out the six new bead sets and have two worry stones to clean, too.  I can't wait to show you!

Annual Review

I just had mine at work and it went well.  Today is my three year anniversary with Etsy, so I thought I'd go over my accomplishments and struggles before asking for feedback from you all.  And this happens to be my 400th KBS post.  Wow!

Even though I opened my Etsy shop on February 15th, 2008, I didn't get my first sale until March 26th.  My friend Cassie scooped up some nuggets.  I think she felt sorry for me that I hadn't had any sales yet.  And she was the reason why I started selling on Etsy in the first place.  Some pieces of jewelry I had made and other beads sold, but it wasn't until May that I had my first 'real' customer (meaning it was friends or family buying pieces to help improve my rating and my sales #s).  In June, Lorelei bought some beads from me.  I was new to Etsy and hadn't started following blogs yet, so I had no clue what a massive following she had or how successful she was at making/selling jewelry.  I was just thrilled to have a new customer.  Little did I know that she would become one of my best friends, which is really so much more valuable to me than all of my sales combined.

My Etsy business slowly grew, as did my photography abilities.  Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking using the lighting I did or the backgrounds I chose.  I think I have come far in some aspects.  But others, I don't feel or see the growth.  So many of my bead designs are the same.  I like spirals and waves and swirls and have consistently stuck with those over the years in making new beads.  Something about the way the rod of glass moves in and out of the flame to make those waves and swirls is so calming for me.  I'm always a little take aback when someone says that my beads are getting so much better or so much cooler.  I'm stuck in my own mindset of doing what I do.  I'm just melting glass, like I have for the last five years.  Perhaps the novelty has worn off a little?  Or perhaps I have nothing to compare my work to because I follow so few other lampworkers (the ones I do follow all have their own styles that are much different from my own)?  I don't know, but I am always thankful for the compliments.

Over the last year, I branched out and tried new things.  My eggs were in phenomenal demand (I am still in awe of how many weeks people patiently waited to get some of their own).  I started making headpins.  And buttons.  Which makes me wonder, what will I do this year that is new?  Perhaps a twist on my buttons.  I have some ideas brewing, but haven't put them into effect yet.

Over the last six months, my focal bead sales have increased.  As a result, I have started making more of those.  Those sales continually surprise me because some of them are expensive (at least in my opinion).  I suppose all of my sales surprise me, but that is more because I'm just not a true beader.  And the sales are constant reinforcement that people like my work, which is so wonderful in itself.

I need to make more worry stones this year.  I'm out of all of them right now and don't even have a spare to keep in my pocket.  Worry stones make me happy.  My torch time over the last year has been more limited, so I have not devoted as much time to worry stones since they take me upwards of 30 minutes each to make.  Honestly, I've got bills to pay and have focused on making sets of beads that are more likely to sell faster than the worry stones.  Maybe this will be the year those two factors change for me.  We'll see.

As far as blogging, I feel I've been pretty scattered.  Some weeks, I'm on a roll and diligent about posting and setting up posts in advance.  Other weeks are spent flying by the seat of my pants, with days passing between posts.  I'm pretty sure the number of pics of my kids have increased over this last year, but you have stuck with me through them all.  I apologize to those of you are here strictly for the beads, but do appreciate the fact you are good, kind people and keep coming back to check in.  I think my number of random posts has also increased, which says something about the state of my mind and lack of focus or planning.  Whaddya think, is it part of my charm?  :)

Many of the blogs I follow, I follow because I'm more interested in getting to know the blogger and what they do in their day-to-day lives moreso than the beads/jewelry they are creating.  Sometimes I tend to zone out a little on the bead/jewelry paragraphs (it feels a little like work to me and I admit I just don't feel I fit in as a jewelry designer) and scan for the tidbits about personal lives, pets and kids or even vacations.  I feel safe with you all, being able to share bits and pieces of my personal life with you on my blog.  Thank you for that.

I have struggled to keep my torch top clean and organized, but am pleased I am keeping my glass cabinet neat and tidy.  I don't think either one of these things will change.  I have struggled with setting time commitments on when I will finish custom orders, which leaves me wondering what do I need to do to change that going forward.  Buckle down and just meet the commitments?  Or be better about adding a disclaimer about when I will have beads cleaned and photographed for approval.  At some point, I know it will no longer be okay to hope people will understand.

This past month, I have felt like I am on the slow climb of the first roller coaster hill.  I am filled with anticipation for this new year.  New plans are in the works to push me on a different path, but it is without a timeline on the events.  I feel like I'm wearing a blindfold on this roller coaster and have no clue how many more little clicks and ratchets I will hear before I reach the top.  There is no one sitting shotgun to whisper in my ear that it's just another breath or two away before plummeting down the hill at breakneck speed.  I am excited and a little bit terrified.

One of my beads was included in the book Chainstyle (and on the cover, no less!) and others were included in magazine publications when other jewelry designers incorporated my beads into their work.  That was a major thrill being able to walk into my grocery store or book store and pull out a beading magazine and see my beads.  My own dash with a little celebrity.  ;)  I also paid for an advertisement in the Artisan's Village section of BeadStyle magazine last year.  That was pretty cool, but I have no way of knowing if that really brought me any new business.  I have heard that some of my beads are featured in Lorelei's jewelry designs in the new book Wire Style 2.  Now I have to buy myself a copy!

So that is as far as my brain is stretching right now on my lampwork and blogging.  If you have new ideas on things I could do better or differently, I would love to hear what you have to say.  It is national de-lurking month, after all.  ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I must admit we did very little to celebrate this Hallmark holiday.  Todd and I looked at Valentines cards for kids when we went out on our date Friday night.  We left empty-handed, agreeing the cards were cheesy.  So last night before we went to bed, I made cards for each of the kids.  I cut out construction paper in different sized hearts, glued them together and wrote love notes thanking my children for being exactly who they are today.  Both kids wrote out their names and their classmates names on cards yesterday afternoon.  And this morning, Owen pulled out his special box he made for Valentine's Day last year.  I'm thankful my kids are fairly low maintenance and happy to celebrate the smaller moments on a day-to- day basis without expecting baskets of candy or large sums of money on holidays.

This was a good weekend and filled with sun for us.  Friday night, the karate studio had a glow-in-the-dark ninja nunchuk night for kids.  Todd and I went out for PF Changs (LOVE their kung pao shrimp!) before going to the cell phone store.  I traded up and now have a phone that doesn't make me gnash my teeth or grumble at the provider.  We spent a little time at Barnes & Noble where I bought two books on night photography and Todd picked up a book on TCP/IP.  Because that's exciting technology.  Kinda.  We walked the aisles of Target, wandering aimlessly for the last 30 minutes before it was time to pick up the kids.  They had a fantastic time running around in the dark, trying to avoid an ever moving ball from tagging them out while they were covered in glue sticks.  I'm wondering when they will have a night like that for adults.

The boy child scored three (the only three) goals in his last indoor soccer game of the season.  He was so excited, I couldn't get him to stop doing cartwheels.  Lately, he is obsessed with cartwheels and has moved onto one arm or elbow cartwheels.  We got him signed up for the spring season of outdoor soccer through his elementary school that will start at the end of the month.  My Mom and Grandma came over and I got her electronics listed on Amazon here.  I have a good friend who knows tons about guns/rifles who will be helping me with that.  And following up with Barbara (thank you for all of your suggestions last week!) with pictures and information on the silverware this week when I find time to breathe.  I got my hair chopped, but it doesn't seem like a big change since most of the action happened in the back where it got stacked up and then angled down towards my chin.  Pics to come later...once I figure out how to photograph the back of my head.  :)

I started to catch up on my family blog, so our family can finally see pics of the kids opening their Christmas presents.  And we went to an Atlanta Thrashers (ice hockey) game last night downtown with a bunch of other families from our karate studio.  The kids LOVED it and I thought it was cool how easily we could see the players (not quite as big as a baseball/football stadium where so many seats are soooo much farther away).  Todd had fun pointing out different buildings downtown that were lit up when we drove home and ended up googling the world's tallest buildings to talk about with the kids.  An all around fun evening.

I have four new sets of beads waiting for me above my kitchen sink to be cleaned and already have a couple of buttons ready for my next shop update on this coming Saturday.  Woo hoo!  My shop update over the weekend went well and now I have a package on its way to Finland.  Double woo hoo!

More Buttons and Headpins for the Shop

These two buttons will be going into the shop tomorrow.

As well as these headpins.  Thought you should see the sets they will be in together.  :)

And this set of eggs :)

And this focal bead that I made in Sara Sally LaGrand's class last month.  I won't be making any more like this one again.

Today is my last day with longish hair for awhile.  I'm getting it chopped off tomorrow.  Not sure how much or what I want, but it will be at my jaw or above (right now, it is almost shoulder length).  I get maybe two haircuts each year and normally go in and tell her to do what she wants because I honestly don't care.  I'm looking for low maintenance and something that isn't going to look crazy as it grows out, thus requiring more hair cuts.  Or be too crazy for corporate America, because I do occasionally have face-to-face customer meetings.  Which definitely means no pink hair for me. ;)

My Mom and Grandma will be coming over tomorrow afternoon so I can take pictures of two of her cameras that she wants to sell, as well as some of her Great Aunt's silverware.  And a rifle that belonged to her brother and is 50-80 years old (it could have possibly been her Dad's as a child) that is in good condition.  How does one even go about selling rifles?  I know so little about weapons.  Over 12 years ago, I dated a police officer and he took me to a shooting range a couple of times.  I don't remember how badly I sucked at hitting the target...I just remember how extremely loud it was, even with the protective ear covers.

Sunday afternoon will be filled with the kids making Valentine's cards for their classmates.  And relaxing, enjoying the good weather (we're supposed to have SUN and temps in the high 40s). 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  I'll be getting everything listed around 1pm EST tomorrow in my Etsy shop.