Find Me Here!

My beads were featured in a little collection this morning on Art Bead Scene here!

Beth and Evie of EB Bead and Metalworks used my eggs in this necklace that is now up for sale.

Holly just used another one of my eggs and promises to make more of these lovelies to put in her shop soon.

HarrietsHaven included my lime-alicious beads in this gorgeous lime treasury.

My Moonrock beads (which are now on their way to Hong Kong!!!) were included in this wonderful treasury.

 

I have not been on the torch at all this week.  I picked up crocheting this past weekend after not touching a crochet hook or yarn in 20-25 years.  I'm addicted and can't put the yarn down in my free time.  I will try to get pics today if I get any decent light so I can share with you tomorrow.  Right now, it is very rainy and grey outside, so my whole house is quite dark.

Hoping to find torch time later this week and next so I can have another shop update on the 19th.  The etched beads from this past weekend flew out of my shop, which tells me maybe I need to be making more etched beads :)

Happy Wednesday!

Featured on Art Bead Scene

I am so late in linking back to this and sharing with you, but it was still one of my open tabs and on my mental To Do list.  Heather Powers on ABS included my eggs in her photo collage of beads on her desk getting ready to jump into designs before her annual holiday sale.

My little eggs were in good company with so many other talented bead designers.  Click on that link above so you can see the names and links to all of the other artists' shops!

It was hard leaving Florida yesterday in the shorts/t-shirt weather and being welcomed home with rain and scarf/hat/winter coat temps last night.  However, we were very thankful there wasn't any holiday traffic to slow us down and our drive was close to eight hours!  And our pets were so happy to have us home again!  And it was good to sleep in our own bed with our own pillows!

I will be back on the torch again tomorrow night making new beads.  I will have pics of some new beads I made last week that will be going into the shop update this Friday, December 3rd.

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Tutorial and Giveaway

Hop on over to Art Bead Scene when you get a moment.  Lorelei wrote a great tutorial on making your own photo collage using Picasa.  She was even so thoughtful as to include both Mac and PC instructions.  If you leave a comment on the ABS post, you are entered to win one of my new buttons.

A little catch up from the end of this week.  Thursday was our 10th wedding anniversary and we celebrated in high style when the kids went over to a friend's home (another brother and sister with same age distance as our kids).  Todd and I went through the drive-through.  At Taco Bell.  And we were really crazy and ate in the parking lot.  Then we drove to Wal-Mart to buy posterboard, sharpies and tape to make signs for the garage sale I held yesterday and today.  We were out. of. control.  We can also now walk through our attic again.  Yay!

To make up for our lack of celebratory activities on Thursday, we did go out for a nice steak dinner last night and then a movie.  They undercooked Todd's steak so it was still pink and he REALLY liked it (normally he wants it cooked well done or worse so he knows it won't walk off his plate).  I learned that the trick is dimming the lights so he can't see the pink.  Not that I want my steak mooing, but think medium rare to medium is perfect.  Then we saw the new Ben Affleck movie and enjoyed an escape from our reality.

We stopped at the grocery store on our way home to pick up two sprinkles doughnuts for Chloe to eat for her birthday breakfast as a special treat.  But they were sold out, so I woke up early to go buy two before she woke up.  Chloe is my little rooster and was sneaking up behind me before I had my shoes on.  So she was thrilled to go with me to pick out her doughnuts.  In her nightgown, with non-matching shoes (because that's one of the things that makes the girl child happy these days) and her ostrich named Goggle.  She was happy to stop for sunrise photos on the way home and then eager to help with day two of our garage sale.

The kids had a shared birthday party this afternoon which was a lot of fun.  They enjoyed pizza, cake, laughter, friendship and way too much sugar.  Or at least too much sugar for them because they rarely get candy or anything with sugar.  Which made for two hyper kids and a mom who lost her patience.  Which stunk because I don't like losing my cool.  With my kids.  On one of their birthdays.  I was glad when bedtime came and I'm looking forward to tomorrow when we have all had enough rest and the sugar is out of little bodies.  I was glad that she liked her birthday present, which was a very old, brass ferris wheel that spins when the music box is wound up.  The cars even rock and swing in place!

With that, I will leave you with a picture of Jezz trying to get to the highest point possible on my piano to chase some sort of insect or figment of her imagination tonight.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you all on Monday!

My Studio Was Featured on Art Bead Scene!

I was so honored that Lorelei would blog on ABS about her time in my studio and then want to give away some of my beads in that weekly giveaway.  Seriously.  ABS highlights outstanding artists and studios of the professionals...the well-respected in the art bead and jewelry communities.  It was just last week that I was talking about how one compliment naming me as an artist blew my self-concept and sent me to bed with a smile on my face.  Now I have a new, big silly grin plastered all over my face.

Check it out HERE!  You can read about Lorelei's experience trying her hand at lampworking for the first time and see pics of my messy studio and me looking like a dork. :)

And then leave a comment for your chance to win this set of my beads that Lorelei handpicked for this giveaway that ends next Saturday.

Hooray for the Weekend!

This week has flown by, but seemed to crawl slowly in the moment.  I had thought I would be back on the torch by now, but I haven't.  I haven't trusted myself to play with fire.  For the most part, I am much, much better.  The sore throat is gone.  The body aches are gone.  The fever is gone.  But Geez Louise, I get winded just walking around the house.  I don't need to be playing with fire when I'm getting worn out so easily.  And I still feel like my head is in a bit of a fog.  Go away, strep.  All the way!

The boy child came down with a bad sore throat yesterday morning.  He was friends with a 101 fever most of the day.  The fever returned today, although a little lower.  Along with the sore throat, but that disappeared around 10am.  School/summer camp called this afternoon about the girl child...she wasn't feeling well and spent the morning on her mat and not participating in any activities.  She told the teacher she kissed her brother this morning and then got sick.  Hmmm.  No fever and she said her throat felt fine.  Maybe she just needs more sleep?  Whatever is going on with my family needs to clear up fast.  We would really like to go swimming this weekend.  And bike riding.  So we shall see.  We may all end up staying inside and resting, reading books and watching a movie.

These nuggets are still in my shop.  I'm surprised no one has snatched them up yet.  Lorelei included them in her treasury and then posted about them on the Art Bead Scene this morning.  Thank you, Lorelei!  Click on the treasury and you can see many other talented lampworkers' beads!

Todd promised to give me torch time tomorrow after he gets home from his tennis match.  So back to the eggs for me.  And other orders, too.  Yay for custom orders!  You guys totally ROCK!!!!

I hope your household is healthier than mine!  Have an excellent weekend!!!