There She Goes . . .

Paperwork to do and then I am out of here for the day to help Carol set up. This weekend is the San Antonio Bead Market is this weekend, February 28^th through March 1^st, and I will be there helping Carol Wille with her booth. If you have never seen Carol's booth, you should not miss it this time. She has such a selection, it would take me all day to describe it, BUT she has hand painted silk ribbons, chain, Vintaj brass filigree, the most wonderful Czech glass beads, and much, much more. Come see us!

Whew!

Okay. Now I have time on my hands. What to do? (besides the laundry) First and foremost, I need to get the new studio set up and make a few goodies during breaks. Ack! I really need that replicator now! Then one of me could move beads while the other of me makes jewelry. Oh crap! I'll need a third to cook and a fourth to clean. Do you remember them movie "Multiplicity"? I'll just need to remember not to make copies of copies, right?

Don't forget, the San Antonio Bead Market is this weekend, February 28^th through March 1^st, and I will be there helping Carol Wille with her booth. I happen to have it on good authority that there will be a new shipment of acrylic flowers and leaves on Carol's tables, along with some seed bead mixes, glass beads, fibers, Vintaj brass, and did I mention beads?? Come see us!

Bead on, beadlings!

Done!

All that's left is photography, filling out paperwork and a trip to the post office. The pieces are gorgeous, if I may say so.

What on earth will I do with my time now?

Three More Flowers

And they go on today for a nice, bright finish!

One Down . . . .

. . . . one to go! I can see a teeny little light at the end of this big, long tunnel! Happy Monday.

Drive By

I'm feeling a bit like a certain white rabbit right now. The only saving grace is that I am not yet late for anything. I had to totally unbead and rebead the clasp function of the flower piece yesterday which cost me an entire day of work, and there are two more flowers to be stitched. Tomorrow will be spent with the Friday beading group, whom I have not seen since before Christmas. So, if you don't hear from me for a few days it is simply because I must, must, MUST stitch my fingers to the bone so that these last two projects are completed and sent off on time!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I've been stitching more flowers and leaves, and the current piece is just about complete. Then I'll move to a little vineyard and make some grape clusters and leaves, and then everything gets sent away for approval or rejection. I feel like I'm holding my breath until the end of the month, when I can put them in a box and watch them fly away. Then I can get on with other things, like web site updates and adding items to the Etsy store, and a few other tricks I've been hiding up my sleeve.

It's another gorgeous Central Texas day, following another damp and dreary Central Texas day. Last night the fog was so thick we couldn't see from the back door to the pool, and the coyotes sounded like they were IN the pool. Fog makes sound carry so oddly sometimes. At one point in the wee hours of the morning, they sounded like they were in the front yard. The reality is that they were probably a quarter of a mile away. The abrupt weather changes have caused T-man and Ariel each to come down with a cold, which yours truly is fighting tooth and nail. I do not have time to be ill.

Don't forget, the San Antonio Bead Market is February 28^th through March 1^st, and I will be there helping Carol Wille with her booth. I happen to have it on good authority that there will be a new shipment of acrylic flowers and leaves on Carol's tables, along with some seed bead mixes, glass beads, fibers, Vintaj brass, and did I mention beads?? Come see us!

It Came!

The new computer is here. It's sitting in my lap. Today is learning day, since I've not worked with Vista yet, plus getting acquainted with a new machine. Hey kids, I can update the web site this week! Woo hoo!

Hugs And Kisses

A big Happy Valentine's Day and a huge thank you to all my readers. I just want you to know that I appreciate you. Have a great weekend.

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood!

You would think it's spring here. Sunny, warm -- who could ask for better weather? I've got good music in the background. I can open the blinds and the windows. Hopefully I'll get lots done today since I've got plenty of inspiration. I love days like this.

Artistic question of the day: What inspires you to create?

I Saw Something Prophetic

"Today will be happier than a bird with a french fry."

And I didn't even have a fortune cookie to get that one.

Beads And Beading

Well, what else am I supposed to talk about? The San Antonio Bead Market is February 28^th through March 1^st, and I will be there helping Carol Wille with her booth. Beads, fibers, Vintaj brass, and did I mention beads??

And I'm going to the Bead and Button show with Carol in June. I'm probably not going to take classes, but I'll get to visit a lot of beady folks that I would not otherwise see.

So, I had a stressful day yesterday and little sleep last night and today I'm going to take my time making some more flowers. The first proposal is on its way, which is a little weight off my shoulders. I got one more thing marked off the list with a red pen, thank the stars above. Now I've got to move on to the next item. I love my red pen. And speaking of pens, check out this link that Gaye sent me. Michael and Sheila Ernst make lampwork pens, knitting needles, crochet hooks and a whole bunch of other BEAUTIFUL goodies. Happy browsing!

It's Raining Hearts Part II

I've reopened my Etsy store and the bracelet pattern is ready for its new home. It's available in full instruction mode or simple pattern. There is still time to make this. It only took me 24 hours of total stitching time. That's plenty of time for the upcoming forced romance day! If you don't want to go the Etsy route, email me and we can make other arrangements. I'm flexible.

The remainder of the day (doesn't that sound elegant? "the remainder of the day" sigh) is going to be spent with writing proposals and getting them mailed off. So, I'm off to hunt up my padded pockets for the beadwork and my submission forms. And realizing that it truly is Monday, I still wish you a very happy, calm day.

It's Raining Hearts

This is just in time for all the speed beaders out there. I'll have this in my Etsy store some time Monday. You'll have the option of just a full-color pdf of the chart with no instructions or the full instruction packet in pdf form with detailed instructions and stitch how-to, including step-by-step instructions for making the button clasp. Stay tuned!

Flowers!

Look! They're purple and green!


Wild verbena are always the first thing to bloom here since they are pretty cold-hardy. Their scent was so strong last week that it was amazing. And just because Laura asked:


One flower of several is complete. I've still got at least four more, plus leaves and vines and buds -- it's a veritable garden that needs daily tending. Then it's on to the vineyard! HAH! Don't you wish you lived inside my head?

I've been following Carol Dean Sharpe for a while, and she just blows me away. She is so prolific in her work and she is the essence of "less is more". But she has sparked something in me. I look at her work and I just want to bead more and more and more (if that's possible). The point of my story is this: Yesterday, while looking at a photo of some woman on the Internet, I had a sudden jab of inspiration, pulled the Mac open, and designed a Valentine's Day (I know, forced romance) bracelet pattern which should be available in just a day or two. That's plenty of time for you speed beaders. Let's just say I beaded until everything was fuzzy last night. Okay, maybe that was the second glass of wine . . .

Have a beadiful weekend.

25 Things You May Or May Not Know About Me

Carol Dean Sharpe tagged me with this on Facebook last week, but since everybody and their dog has done it and been tagged there, I'll put mine here. Prepare to be stunned and amazed (snort):

1. I am a native Texan and have never lived anywhere but Texas.

2. I have never been to Europe.

3. I have a Bachelor's degree in French.

4. I originally wanted to be a translator (please don't send anything in French, because you truly lose it if you don't use it).

5. I was married to a college sweetheart many years before I met T-man.

6. I have one sister who is a blue-eyed blond. The other sister, my brother and I are all brown-eyed brunettes.

7. I grew up in San Antonio.

8. I love San Antonio.

9. I want to live in the mountains of West Texas.

10. I cannot not bead for more than a day.

11. I used to rock climb, and I did it well.

12. I believe in past lives and reincarnation.

13. I used to belong to a live-action medieval role playing group, during which time I played an elf-queen.

14. The first time I saw T-man he was wearing medieval tights and tunic.

15. I have written and won small awards for short stories.

16. I have a tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve.

17. Some people think I'm snobby but that's how I try to hide my painful shyness.

18. I wish I knew how to paint.

19. I didn't realize 25 was such a big number when I started this list!

20. My first date with T-man was a spelunking trip through the worst cave in the Austin area.

21. My second date with him was when he taught me how to rock climb.

22. I am a descendant of Clan Keith. There are actually photos of my brother wearing out family tartan on this site.

23. I love vampires! Are you old enough to remember Frank Langella climbing up that wall? How about when Lestat first became popular?

24. I don't do housework.

25. I am fiercely loyal to those I love. No not like a dog, more like a lioness.

HAH! Me, in a nutshell.

It's A Beautiful Morning . . . .

. . and I would probably enjoy it a hell of a lot more if I were a morning person. I am so definitely not, so very far from being, so totally on the opposite side of the spectrum from a morning person. Yet here I sit, already up for a couple of hours, musing in front of my keyboard.

Let's discuss color combos. A couple weeks ago, Heather posted an article on this subject over on Art Bead Scene, and it's pretty timely what with Panetone's spring color report being issued and all. So, armed with this information and your memory I have a few questions.

First, what is the most startling color combination you have played with? Me? I made something in deep violet (you Delica lovers know the one, #610) and paired it with metallic, mustard yellow. Since I don't have it anywhere around, I must have sold it to someone. I do remember the oohs and aahs whenever I brought it out, and it was just a color wheel experiment that truly was startling. Okay, so what was your most startling color combination

Second, what color combo did you use that made you step back only to say "I really need to take that apart, what was I thinking?" but your artsy friend (GG) said "Never take anything apart because there is a person for every piece you make", then someone came along and said "Oh my goodness, that is my favorite color combination. It's like you made it just for me"? Did you get all that? Okay, true story. I made a necklace I called Make Lemonade. It was lemony yellow, lime green, smooth cream, well here's a picture: I couldn't stand it, didn't know what had come over me. I took it to two art shows in 2006, and at the second show that person came up to the display, tried it on, and bought it because it was her favorite combination and she felt I had made it just for her. Your second question? What was the color combination you used that made you question your sanity?

Third question: What is the most boring combination you have used that gets oodles of compliments/attention?I've done patterns in black-on-black and white-on-white. The first becomes glamorous, the second becomes elegant. To me the colors are pretty but boring simply because of the lack of spark, to my customers they are necessary objects and continue to sell every month. By the way, the are sooooo difficult to photograph!

So, there you go. Discuss, muse, question, feedback, color combinations: love 'em, hate 'em, gotta have 'em!

Groundhog Day!

My sympathies to those of you further north. Apparently there are to be six more weeks of frozen hell.

I don't watch the Super Bowl but I love the commercials, so I eagerly await the Monday following the game. With this computer, that could take a couple of days! But today is for cyber work. It's that time when I try my darnedest to kill this moaning, groaning box (without trying to watch 31 videos). As it is, what I have for you today make take the entire day to do.

First, new web site links:

Go Make Something

Lisa Vollrath

Marcia De Coster

New blog links:

Inspired Pink

MAD Designs Beads

Sand Fibers

As for my day, I still have lots of cyber work ahead of me. What little bit I've done here took three hours, most of which was just twiddling my thumbs while the computer churned away. Soon, my beadlings, soon I will have a new machine! Enjoy the new links.

I Don't Want To Work

Nope, I don't wanna. It is sooooo pretty outside. I've been out there for a while. T-man tilled the first garden area and we brought the chickens out to scratch in it -- pest control and fertilization in one easy step. And now Bella wants to go out and herd them. Yes, it's true, I own one of the rare Wheaten Chicken Herder breed of dog. I feel so lucky! And she herds them at top speed right into the hen house! And right through the little door she will go!

It's not like I don't have plenty to do, I guess I just really want a play day. Crikey. This is the part of working at home that doesn't always WORK, if you know what I mean! I hope the weather is nice wherever you are!