Shew...........

I am back....at least in body. I need to desperately catch up on sleep and then emails and orders. I had way too much fun, but really didn't sleep much. So after I catch some zzzzs I should be able to think more clearly. :)

All better

Everything seems to be fixed now.... at least internet wise. :) The lightening wiped out the box outside and my modem. The modem was under warranty so I'm happy. I also got my tower back yesterday which has been out of commission for over a week with a bad sector on the hard drive. I didn't lose any information, but it has definitely slowed me down . The good news about that is I have been torching like a mad woman and am in really good shape right now. Orders are shipping within a day or two of payment. I haven't been this caught up since I first started taking orders!
But......
I am going away this weekend. I will be attending the 3rd annual Missouri Bead Retreat. The main focus will be lampworking, but there are also workshops in macramé, PMC, chainmaille, viking knit, dying silk, watch making, silver lining, and I can't remember what else right now. It will be a jammed packed weekend hanging out with a bunch of bead freaky people. I will be leaving Friday and returning on Monday.
After I get back, I believe I am going to close down my eBay store to revamp it a bit. As you might now, postage fees have gone up again. While I have no desire to increase my shipping fees (in fact, I think I am overcharging at this point for ebay orders), I do need to make some adjustments. Glass prices keep rising also. I think I might just offer a flat shipping fee for orders of a certain value while increasing my bead prices just a bit. Personally, I hate being overcharged on shipping and I think everyone would appreciate getting a huge handful of beads shipping for only $3. Any feedback on this would be much appreciated.

Lightening Strikes Again

Once again lightening has killed my modem. I do believe this is about the 8th or 9th modem I have lost, but this time it took out the phones and a satellite receiver also. (I am over at a friend's house catching up on emails.) I certainly hope that everything gets fixed tomorrow. I have already been without my main computer for over a week and now this. I really hate it but I am going to have to put a few things on hold until I get everything put back together. Hopefully, all those that are waiting on something from me will read this and understand.

I've Been Seen

I've been seen is what the email said. It was a nice little surprise in my inbox yesterday morning. And it came from a blog I find myself reading on a regular basis - the Art Bead Scene blog. Its a interactive blog of 5 bead artists. Their media includes not only glass, but polymer and earthen clay. I have a huge list of blogs that I think I am going to read regularly, but find myself truly keeping up with only a small handful. A couple more of my favorites are Kab's Creative Concepts and Timothy Adams Designs. I find both of them refreshing and inspiring. You never know what Kerry or Tim might be discussing for the day, but I hardly ever find myself skimming over their posts because I don't find it interesting enough.
I highly doubt I could ever turn this blog into something you might feel the same way about, but I would love to hear about what other blogs you find yourself reading on a regular basis.

Monday morning eye candy

Just some bead porn to start off a dreary Monday morning. These are all some custom orders I worked on over the weekend.

A new batch of coral called apricot in disks and crystals.

An offshoot from my Triple Blues in purples and green - they shape is a bit wonky, but I am drawn to the colors!

The center bead is fit for a pandora bracelet with a matching earring pair.

Peacock lustre lentils with a newer color (for me anyhow) called Gold Ruby.

LEST is more

Have you been shopping on etsy yet? If not, it is a wonderful place to find all things handmade. They have created amazingly fun ways to window shop - like searching by color, location, time machines, categories, or even the treasuries (the display on the front page is a treasury plucked from the hot list). Its rather easy to get lost in the sea of beautiful things. If you have already discovered this online marketplace, then you probably already found your own favorite ways to window shop. Now there's a new way.
Another fantastic feature of etsy is the Street Teams. Teams work together to promote their shops, share skills, and support each others creativity. One of the newer teams is LEST. It stands for Lampwork Etc Street Team. As a group of self-representing artists already hanging out together on a forum, it only made sense to put all that energy together in a new way. It is lots of fun working together with such a creative and energetic group of lampworkers. Now all you have to do is search etsy with the tag LEST to find all the items from this supportive group of beaders selling their own wares. You can read more from and about the individual artists from the LESTers blog too.
So go get a fresh cup of java and enjoy yourself!

Working with one hand tied behind my back

That is how I feel without Mike here. Its just odd and really kind of boring. I don't feel incredibly motivated, but am finding a few advantages to him not being here. Like I get to snuggle with my favorite 5 year old even more. I also got the opportunity to ruin dinner last night. Yup, I did it. But in all fairness, it was doomed from the start. I found a bag of frozen shrimp that wasn't looking so fresh. I figured it was now or never. We, that being #1 and I, decided if it wasn't any good, we would just go out. I quickly fried it all up in a bit of butter, but it was just too chewy and dry. Here's my tip for the day: Don't eat freezer burnt shrimp! Oh well....I tried. Not sure what's on the menu for tonight as I have lots of orders I need to finish up and quite a few packages to get in the mail. Its going to be a long day away from the computer. I hope, at least, because if I sitting here that means I am not getting something done over there.

Later........