New Focals

Here are the focals I made last week and over the weekend that will be going into the shop this weekend.  

I like the softness of the yellow on the seafoam green near the top.  But what I really like, it the unintentional little wisp of smoke coming up from the bottom.  Like a fire is going to start up any moment.

Hard to capture, but all of these spots are very metallic.

I'm digging the hints of purple coming out from the green glass spiraling around the black base.

With all the clear, the light really shines through this one.  LOVE!

After making a set of little pink beads with my garden frit, I needed to make a focal to match.  :)

There may be more coming into the shop on Saturday, besides these focals and what I showed you yesterday.  Will just depend on how much time I get to clean and photograph the rest of the beads coming out of the kiln this week.

Beads Coming Soon!

I finally have pics of all the beads I made last week and over the weekend.

Loving the dark outline around this delicate pink against this gentle seafoam green.

Still one of my favorite glasses that mixes these two colors.

More delicate pink on a darker green.  But no cool outline where the colors meet.

I am loving this translucent yellow.  They are almost milky in person.

Raku on black.  Lots of greens that came out of this batch.

Sweet pinks.  Has been too long since I used this garden frit with anything.  It was one of the first frit blends I purchased years ago and remains one of my favorites.

Silvered ivory spirals on ivory.  Love the crackling and the occasional dot of silver raised to the surface.

Bright speckles on black.

Did you notice I was on a bit of a nugget kick?  The smashing was therapeutic for me :)  I love the peach tint in the clear glass between the white wisps spiraling through these beads.

I thought the seafoam green glass needed its own set with no distractions.

The yellows were more brown when they went into the kiln, so I was excited putting them in and a little disappointed pulling them out.  Still a cool combo, but not what I was expecting.  What do you think of these?

Ivory spacers that are all a little bottom heavy.

A bunch of headpins got made and there will be more made this week.  Hoping to have them all ready by Saturday to list at least five new sets.

I also made a bunch of new focals, but will save those pics for tomorrow.

That is all for now.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Productivity

That would accurately capture my weekend activity.  I helped the boy child thoroughly clean his room AND his closet.  Now I just want to stand in his room with the closet doors open, just gazing at the cleanliness and order of it.  He was so good at helping throw out junk and putting things in the trash or recycling.  The boy was ruthless and I was proud of him.  One item off the To Do list that has been there for over a month.

I also helped the girl child go through her room to clean and organize.  Her closet wasn't as bad as the boy's but now she has more hanging storage space (I bought hanging organizers for both kids almost two months ago on a trip to IKEA...finally hung them up and filled!).  Another item off the To Do list!

I went through all of the clothes in their dressers and pulled out ones they have outgrown.  The boy's clothes filled a large black yard bag!  Those will be leaving the house tonight when my friend Tabitha comes over so we can go out to dinner with Cas and then to the Roswell Photographic Society meeting.  The girl child's outgrown clothes were not as many, but still filled a large bag and need to be dropped off later at Goodwill.

Both Friday and Saturday evenings after the kids went to bed, we vegged on the couch together and watched movies.  I don't remember the last time we did that, but it was so nice and relaxing.  It seems like we have been non-stop go-go-going every day of the week since before Thanksgiving.  We have been crazy busy with Tae Kwon Do at least three if not four nights a week (the kids aren't going to bed any later for it, but it is requiring more planning on my part for meals to be ready).  Soccer every weekend.  Friends and family have been a part of almost every weekend for the last four months straight.  

It was nice to take it easy this weekend and make it all about us.  We got things done around the house that needed doing (including re-attaching an organizer rack in my pantry that has sat on the counter for the last two weeks since a crazy girl child went on a quest for pasta one night when she was cooking for us).  I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour to play games.  And to the carwash (I think my minivan still had Orlando dirt on it from Thanksgiving).  Note-to-self: take more pics of the kids at the carwash.  The lighting is awesome and they're happy at the carwash!

Todd had two tennis matches this weekend, but helped me find multiple hours on the torch.  As a result, I made 18 new headpins and over 100 new beads!  Can I get a woot?!  Now to find the time to clean them all.  :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend doing exactly what you wanted to be doing.  And that you were warm doing it!

TGIF! Lunch with Lori of Studio Waterstone!

Gosh this week has flown by!  (Yes, I know I am not supposed to end sentences with prepositions, but it's my blog and I will taunt the rules of grammar from time to time)  Even in spite of the rain, it has flown.  Work was crazy for me and I worked many extra hours.  Boo hiss.  Which also means, I still have beads soaking in my kitchen sink, waiting to be cleaned.  Rather than cut my sleep short to get them all cleaned and hope for better weather tomorrow to photograph them in a hurry, I am delaying my shop update until next Saturday.  By then, the beads should all be clean and there will be many more sets.  I hope.  :)

Today I did break away to have lunch with my friend Lori of Studio Waterstone.  We ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant, where it has been weeks, if not months since I have been there to eat.  I love this woman.  Even though she had me in tears several times while we talked and ate, I still love her.  And, I am known to be a big cry baby, so it wasn't all her fault.  We talked about work, working in our studios, motivation, family, the directions in which our lives are headed, her model, my babysitter, the fact that Todd and I still haven't gotten our white belts.  But that will change tomorrow.  We are going and that is that.  By lunchtime tomorrow, I will have my white belt.  I will be exhausted.  I will have been schooled by a bunch of teenagers yet again.  I will be sore for two to three days following.  And I will love it all.  Yes.  I.  Will.

So with that, I bid you a wonderful weekend with sunshine and laughter and plenty of rest.  Here is a picture of Lori and me from the end of our lunch together when I made her scoot over to make room for me and look silly in front of other folks eating while I snapped away in a corner with my arm out as far as it would go.

It's the Simple Things

That make me happy.

Warm silverware and plates as I unload the dishwasher

The last sweet kiss from my kids before they get out of the car to walk into school

Even when I get ocular migraines (where my vision gets all pixelated and screwy), I don't feel any pain and the residual headache after my vision returns to normal is just a little, dull one that a couple of ibuprofen ends quickly

The last words I hear every night are "Sweet dreams, honey.  I love you."

My hounds and my cats like to keep me company in my office while I work every day

Jezzie perched on my shoulder like a little bird as I walk around the house

My heated mattress pad cranked up to high a good nine months out of the year

Shadows of the leaves blowing on the tree outside my window.  I see the shadows on the grass and in my office on the floor and my desk

These two buttons will be in my shop update this Saturday afternoon.

I'm not sure what else will be going into the shop, but I'm on the torch tonight (hooray!) and plan on making as many beads as I can before I pass out from exhaustion and hit my head on the torch.  ;)

And in honor of this being the month where I begin my third year with Etsy, I'm taking 30% off everything in both shops if you use the coupon code THREEYEARS during checkout.  Through the end of the month!

Looking Back

This week, I am finding myself looking back.  These things have been on my mind, running in circles that just won't stop.  Good and bad, but I'll alternate so hopefully the bad won't be too overwhelming.  I just need to get them off my chest and feel better after writing.  I promise to have cheerier topics next time.  :)

My cousin's Mom died last week.  Between divorces and geographic distances, it had been years since I saw her Mom Nancy.  Nancy was an incredibly crafty woman and made some of the most beautifully smocked dresses I have ever seen.  She battled breast cancer two decades ago and had a slew of other health issues, but was always quick to laugh.  And I'm doubly sad for my cousin because both of her parents are now gone and she is too young to be without parents.  I took Chloe on her first plane ride when she was barely two weeks old when we flew back to St. Louis to see my Uncle Phil shortly before he died six years ago.  Sigh.  I know both are in a better place and free of cancer and so many other ailments that plagued them for years.  But I am still sad.

Nancy posted a youtube video here re-capping our trip to NYC two weekends ago.  I had so much fun with these girlfriends and wish we all lived closer.  Preferably in a warmer climate.  Like mine.  Where we had mid 70s this past weekend and opened up doors and windows in the house!  I even took a short nap outside in the front yard after the kids had a picnic with friends.  It was such a wonderful reprieve to see the sun again after weeks of snow, rain and downright dreariness.  I want the sun to come back soon!

I spent two hours on the torch last night.  I didn't make as many beads as I would have liked, but I did make my way through a custom order and that feels good.  Maybe I can make more beads tonight.

My friend Beck's dad died recently.  And for her, I am happy.  She never knew a life without abuse and fear because of how horribly he treated her.  Now she is sleeping through the night and finding some semblance of normalcy in her daily life without a nagging horror in the back of her mind wondering if/when he will show up again.  I couldn't be any happier for her knowing that she is able to have more than fleeting moments of happiness and calm.

I have been waiting since Thanksgiving and counting down the days for my photography class with Karen Russell to begin.  Yesterday, it began.  I couldn't be more excited about this 9 week course and everything I expect to learn.  Karen is super organized and even has audio and mp3 files to listen or download in addition to the written PDF files!  So.  Very.  Excited.  Her website for the class also makes it very easy to see what has been added (by herself or other students) since the last time I viewed it.  Woo hoo!

The girl child's Kindergarten teacher emailed me today about her wearing her older brother's boots and leaving marks on the floor throughout the school.  Chloe helped clean them up during recess, but isn't allowed to wear the boots to school anymore.  I replied, apologizing for her being a nuisance and promised the boots will not make any more appearances at school.  Her teacher wrote back, saying Chloe had not been a nuisance and how much she loves having Chloe in her classroom.  That she has matured incredibly over the last five months and is a complete joy to have in class.  Such nice reinforcement to hear when it is easy to question our parenting methods and wonder if we're on the right track at times.

Little Horse is now half way through his first month of treatment for heartworms.  He gets six horse pills of antibiotics daily and a decreasing dose of steroids throughout the whole first month.  He is enjoying the peanut butter that covers the pills and drooling even more on my kitchen floor while waiting on meals to be set down in the mornings/evenings.  I didn't think more drooling was possible, but it is.  I'm just happy he isn't in any pain and is so far not showing any side effects to the meds, other than increased panting.  But then, we're used to his panting after having had him as part of our family for the past year.

Since the kids are both signed up for Tae Kwon Do, lessons are free for Todd and me.  Tonight is our third lesson and we will receive our white belts.  Thursday night will hopefully be our third lesson when we can earn our white belts.  Todd is feeling really crummy and not up to going tonight.  :(  It is excellent exercise (I'm still sore from our class on Saturday morning), even if I am getting schooled by a bunch of teenagers.  At least they are gracious and kind, which helps lesson the sting.  ;)

Twenty three more days until I fly out to San Diego for a two day photography workshop with Blue Lily Photography.  Meg is in the same workshop, so what a treat that will be to meet her in person!  Not sure what I'm looking forward to the most, but seeing my friend Sara and being with her family is right there with the photography workshop.  And the warm temps!

My company made this documentary video and it sends a solid message on not texting while driving.  Texting while driving became illegal in Georgia just last year.  It is still legal in many of our states.  The consequences are sobering.

Thank you to the wonderful people who came to my jewelry and bead shops this weekend.  I hit 670 sales in my bead shop.  A number which sounded completely unattainable to me when I opened my shop two weeks shy of three years ago (hmmm, perhaps a three year celebration sale should go into effect this month?).  I am so very grateful for those of you who support my glass addiction by buying my creations and those of you who just stop by and leave encouraging words about my work.  You all rock!  My family thanks you, too...this has allowed me to buy a wonderful camera and take pictures better than I thought I would ever be capable of capturing.

I hope the pictures helped lighten the mood somewhat.  I hope I sleep better tonight for having put my thoughts into written words.  If you're still reading, thank you for sticking with me :)

Etsy Shop Update Tomorrow!

Here are all the beads going into the shop tomorrow around 1pm-ish EST.  

These didn't make it to the etching tub.  I rather like them shiny, especially with so much purple coming out of the raku.  But if you want them etched, just leave a note to seller upon checkout and I will etch them before sending them off to their new home.  :)

Baby pink rings on baby blue beads.

Love the tropical blues that edge the swirls on these sea grass green beads!

Mmmmm.  Bits of raku and gold aventurine speckle around the baby blue flecks on these clear beads.

I think these white cored beads look like they are wrapped in candied sugar!

Can you tell I'm ready for spring/summer to get here already?  I'm not normally a green and yellow kinda gal, but I need something warmer fast!

 Apricot swirls.

Purple, blue and aventurine speckles on grey.

Eggs!  These aren't etched either, but I would be happy to etch them before sending them on their merry way.  Just let me know upon checkout in Etsy tomorrow.  :)

Tree on rainbow sunset.

Metallic bumps on purple and green.  Can you tell I'm braindead this late and have no creativity left for naming tonight?  Perhaps tomorrow I will have some good music on to steal song titles from to name my beads :)

Green shimmer.

Sprouts

Sunsprouts!

Squiggles on yellow.

I've got nothing at this point.

Blue swirls.

Fat disk with dots, swirls and crackles.

If you have name suggestions, throw them my way and help a sister out!  I'll be online tomorrow around 1pm to start listing everything in my Etsy shop.

Our weekend will be busy with soccer, karate, family and friends.   I think we should get an extra day or two to fit everything in, but unless we win the lotto (which we don't play) or a miracle comes our way, I'm sure Monday will be here before we know it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!