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.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!
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........
I just did something I haven't done since last November. At least that is my best guess. Its not like I keep a running record of how often I do it, but when when it only happens twice a year on average it gets to be a bit special. So what did I do? I cooked dinner! I might even get a chance to do it again real soon too. See, hubby usually takes care of all the cooking around here. I play with fire and he cooks and does the laundry. The only problem is he is gone for a short bit. He and #2 went to SC to visit with his oldest. Its an extra special trip for him because he only found him again last January after a long 19 years! (You can read more about that encounter by back tracking a bit in my blog here.) Its kind of crazy getting to know your own son who is full grown, but it sure is an opportunity you don't pass up on. Since the kids are off on spring break this week, the two of them decided it was high time for a road trip. It feels odd here without them, but we will survive. :) Now I just have to figure out what else to cook. Got any ideas?
My trusty old camera has been with me through thicket and thin wood. (I was just reading about the origins of the phrase 'think and thin' and thus had that on my mind while pondering this week's Flaming Hot topic. Did you know the phrase was used to describe the determined progress the animals took as they grazed through the 'thick' English countryside dating back to a time period in which the land consisted mostly of wooded pasture. It kind of paints a pleasant picture in your mind's eye, don't you think.) Anyhow, back to th topic of taking pictures. After reading Susan's thoughts, I can see I am not the only freaky bead person out there braving the elements to snap a picture. My set up is overly simple and can be seen at the very bottom of my studio page on my website. I did recently find a little table to rest everything on so it isn't sitting in my lap. I like the angle better too. I always seem to prefer the pictures that are taken down low rather than the ones from a bird's eye view. What do you think? I'd love to hear what angles you prefer and which ones are most beneficial.
Getting a good quality picture can be very taxing some days, but from now on I think I will picture myself headed down a narrow path surrounded by green foliage with a mission - the mission of colorful beads and beautiful pictures.
Ahhh....off to have a beadiful day!
I am so done with winter. Yes, I feel that every winter should include snow, but this is the 3rd storm we have had thus far. The kids are home again and these days off will now have to be made up during spring break. These pictures were taken from my front threshold as the snow is completely covering my front porch. This is my normal picture taking spot so that will have to get put on hold for a bit. The first picture shows the road we live on. It has been plowed, but the few vehicles that are out and about are moving rather slow. The 2nd picture is my driveway. Good thing we have a bit of salt to through down because under that snow is a nice layer of ice. There was freezing rain falling most of the night with snow since early morning and its not supposed to stop until this afternoon.
At this point, I am guessing that there will be no mail going out today.
Where did I go, you ask? No where in particular. I've just been super busy taking care of different responsibilities like, oh...my taxes! I was so extremely negligent about keeping up with everything last year. For pretty much the past month or so, during any free moment with stolen torch time too, I have been number crunching. It has put me in a serious funk and I am hoping this fog lifts now that I am done with all that. This year, I am vowing to keep up with my receipts and accounts and am already off to a pretty good start. Yesterday I worked on everything through the end of February. It feels pretty good! Its just not good for my mental health to put it all off until tax time. So would someone please remind/nag me to keep up with it!
How about some eye candy to get everyone's off of taxes and back on beads! This is a custom order series I am still working on. It stared out with the aqua/turquoise squeezes and has not grown to all these different colors with even more on the way. (I promise!)
If you feel the need to see more of these, the wander on over to my new silvered ivory stripes page for some detailed views. Enjoy...soon this will turn in to a real order page.
Later gators....gotta go look at washing machines before our next snow storm hits. Mine took a dive yesterday and tried to drown itself in my laundry room by filling it with water! Not good.
