New Link And Giveaway

You know I love giveaways! Check out Sweet Bead Studio. Cindy has redesigned her blog and it rocks, her jewelry is drop-dead gorgeous, and she's giving away fabulous prizes. I love it. Everything on her page is just gorgeous.

I've been drug kicking and screaming into the techno toy age. Next week you can start following me on Twitter as well as Facebook (or click on the Facebook badge at the lower right-hand side of this page). Details to follow. I must run. I need to clean up soem bead mess since Kay and her B-man are coming for dinner and cards tonight, and it's been way too long since we've done that. Have a great weekend, beadlings!

Angry And Working On It

So the LBS has changed one of the pictures for the bracelet class, making it look a little less like my Fields of Gold, HOWEVER, it is still the same bracelet and I am still offering you the instructions for only $5.00. All you have to do is email me at theresa AT tbuchle DOT com and we can do a Pay Pal transaction, after which you will receive a wonderful PDF for your use. Be sure to include the email address you use for your Pay Pal transactions. In the meantime, I'm taking photos to add goodies to my Etsy store and trying to stay cool. I sincerely hope no one else is melting!

Still Pissed, Or SSDD

I'm still very angry. Read Saturday's blog post. Many, many thanks to all of the beaders who have been so generous in their support. I will keep you updated. In the meantime, I'm putting together instruction packets for a few sales and it's going up in my Etsy store later today. If you would like your very own copy, please email me at theresa AT tbuchle DOT com.

Bitchy, Vindictive Me Who Does Not Want To Play Nice

I AM PISSED!!
Would you like VERY INEXPENSIVE instructions to this bracelet with color keys for the peacock/gold, blue and purple variations? Yes, I said ROCK BOTTOM CHEAP.

Now, I don't happen to have a picture of the purple variation, but trust me when I tell you that it was eye-catching. This bracelet is full of physical and visual texture. You will learn square stitch, basic fringing and color shading with my easy to follow instructions.


It seems that a local bead store has started teaching my bracelet (by the way, it's the only one around here that teaches seed bead techniques). I'm sure that the teacher thought that if she (1) made it a bit more narrow, (2) changed the colors and/or (3) added a fourth color plus (4) changed the clasp that it would be okay, because, hey, she changed 10% of the original. What a crock! In case you have not learned by now, that is a total myth. It does not matter how much you change, unless you have permission from the creator of the work (and this means the written instructions or the finished piece), it's a violation of FEDERAL LAW. AND this store apparently has no qualms about teaching the work of others without permission. This is something I made sure never happened in my store. If a teacher didn't own the copyright or have permission from the owner (and yes, I asked to see WRITTEN permission), it wasn't taught in my store.

So now you can have, for A MERE $5.00, my copyrighted instructions. You get clear, easy-to-read instructions with full color graphics plus a large easy-to-read graph for color shading of THREE or FOUR colors (yes, these are the original instructions). In addition, you will receive exact purchasing info for the Toho beads used in this beautiful creation. That means you get the color numbers and the amount you will need of each color. I always receive compliments when I wear this bracelet. It is as much fun to make as it is to wear. $5.00 means no teacher fees, which is a substantial savings to you. In fact, it is a savings of $30.00 plus whatever gas you need to get there. Want more information or want to buy the pattern (downloadable PDF or I'll mail hard copies to you), contact me via email at theresa AT tbuchle DOT com. This is not a limited-time offer. It is offered until they stop teaching my bracelet and probably a little longer afterward.

Blah Humbug

Crikey, it is such a nasty day here on the prairie. *sigh* Sometimes I think I would be happy living in Hawaii, where the sun shines almost every day. Then I remember things that occur in Hawaii, like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. Nope. I guess I'll just stay here for a few more years.

I do not like this time of year. I used to like it, when I was younger and had a sense of wonder. But now it's just too stressful, too commercial. I detest going into the stores right now. There was a story on one of the local news channels about how this year we seemed to move from Halloween straight into Christmas, with no Thanksgiving. Did you notice? There wasn't much said about Thanksgiving itself, and little was said about Thanksgiving sales (what happened on Black Friday?). I totally understand why craft stores start putting Christmas items out in July, but the grocery and hardware stores?? That started in September!! And the stress, oh my stars, the stress is just horrendous. T-mas is already feeling it, which makes me worry about him. It's not just monetary stress, either. There is the stress of which house do we go to on which day, traveling when we want to stay home, putting up with things we'd much rather not, what should we get for whom, etc. And I'm a bit sad that Thanksgiving was just glossed over. I appreciate that day, even if it is solely an American holiday. It reminds me that I should be thankful for all that I have, like a good husband and wonderful children, my supportive family, a good house, food to eat, loving friends. If we could channel some of the appreciation for what we have, rather than the commercialism of the season (which grows longer by the year), back into Christmas maybe it wouldn't be so depressing for so many people. By the way, A pointed out to me that we could make presents for everyone this year and boy, is she ready to get started! She may have an idea there.

So, on this dreary, wet, cold, dismal day during this overly commercialized, stressful time of year, I leave you with some tasty links.

Melanie at Earthenwood Studios has this great ornament in her Etsy shop. She has several "queen" ornaments, so there is probably one for each of us! She also has a wonderful step-by-step post on her blog of how the ornaments are made.

Heather Powers has free gift tags with her original art on her Humblebeads blog.

Suzanne Cooper has some holiday freebies on her site. And free box templates which are just the right size for jewelry here. A few bright spots in this horribly dreary day. I'll post more as I find them. I hope you are having a good day, wherever you are.