Just Ridiculous

Here is one of those things to post under "kids say the darndest things"...

Last night when the kids went to bed, Lauren decided she wanted to sleep in Andrew's bed. I said fine because Ron and I were desperately trying to watch a movie. We would have done anything for a little bit of quiet. Naturally, it was anything but quiet. We had the movie paused and we listened to the most hilarious exchange between Andrew and Lauren.

Andrew: This side is your side, this side is mine

Lauren: This is your side and this is your side

Andrew: Nooo this is your side this is my side

Lauren: This is my side and this is mine

Andrew: Nooooooooo this side is your side and this side is my side

Lauren: THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS!

I tell you Ron and I started laughing so hard we nearly peed our pants. Or at least I almost peed my pants. I had my knees pinned together tight, and I was wheezing for air trying to catch my breath. Okay, maybe you had to be there. But, you have to remember Lauren is just 3 yrs old and in speech therapy. So for a sentence like that to fly out clear as a bell, it is just unheard of. She was just so frustrated, it was funny for us and infuriating for her. She said it at least 3 more times, getting madder and madder at Andrew until she realized she was saying something funny. Now she knows, thinks its cute, and says it all the time. Now it's annoying. But yesterday... FUNNY FUNNY!!

So, I didn't get anything done today but running those errands I didn't get to yesterday. Lets see if I can come up with anything new for the weekend.

Oh... Free Beads Winner.... CONGRATS TO MARYLOU E!!!! Yoo HOOOOO!!! I'll get the new beads posted asap.

New BEADS!

Alrighty, the new beads are up! Let me know what you think!!

Lauren and I never ended up getting out to run our errands. My Aunt Helen came by with a couple of my little cousins (John & Eve) for a visit. Helen is Jacob's godmother and had been wanting to stop by for a while with a belated birthday gift for him. It was great getting to sit and visit with another Mom. I really don't get to do it enough. Plus Lauren and Eve are just 8 months apart so they got to play together. It was great!

Something has got to change with my camera or lighting situation. I am starting to pull my hair out. I would have had those beads posted an hour earlier if my camera was taking better pictures!! GGGRrrrrr. I just can't seem to catch the colors right in the final photos. For example, the "Wrapping Paper" beads, the brown in that bead on the end is a rich dark red brown... it looks almost black in the photos. I am going to have me a chat with Santa to see what we can do about the photo problem. lol. Same goes for the photo of "Round Wrappings", the second bead on the right is PURPLE!! Again, it looks black! How frustrating!! Trust me girls, these beads are sooo pretty. I love 'em.

The boys should be barreling in the door any moment. I'll hang out around the laptop to mark beads "sold" as they go. Hope you all find something you like!

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Yep, I got beads already to go. Lauren and I need to run some errands so I'll put them up when we get back.

Monday evening

What a crappy blogger I have been lately. Sorry gang! Tis the season for the crazy and lazy. It seems if I am not getting ready for a show, then I am at a party, teaching or beading my brains out. It was great just relaxing this past weekend. I told you about my Thurs, Friday and Saturday... yesterday was my friend's brithday party. Which went great. Julie is just awesome and very much a big sister/great girlfriend. She had a wonderful location at Lake Ontario, a place called "The White House". I got there early and helped set up. Julie had a great idea to do a wine tasting at the party. She picked out a dozen wines from all over the world for every one to try. It was a catered by a local Italian resturant, so needless to say the food was killer. I ended up staying late and helping clean up too. By the time I got home I was toooooo tired to update my lowly blog, sorry.

I have several sets of beads already for you gals to go after tomorrow!! So till then :)

Streaking!

I have had a wild and wooly couple of days. They have been a little hectic and a little relaxed. Typical holiday weekend type things. Thanksgiving was great! My Mom put on a fantastic spread. She made FOUR different pies!! There was a Dutch Apple, Mince Meat, Pumpkin Cheesecake and a real Cherry Pie with fresh cherries. Ron swears he will never eat another cherry pie again. Mom's was hands down best he ever ever had. My favorite was the squash. I HATE squash!! But Mom peeled and diced butternut and acorn squash then mixed them with chunks of apple. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and a little brown suger then bake... you have the best squash on the face of the planet. I cross my heart and hope to die... it is the best! You have got to try it!!!

After dinner my Dad turned on some tunes and we were all dancing around having fun. My Dad has an old jukebox full of 45s right in the living room. The kids love pushing the buttons and picking songs. There are 200 songs! My favorite is 249 "Usta Be My Girl - by The O'Jay". My Dad used to sing it to my daily when I was little. And it was my father-daughter dance at my wedding.

Friday morning I was being sweet to my husband and decided to make coffee just the way he likes it. He likes it stronger then I normally take it. It was a BIG mistake. I got so gittery I started cleaning... and couldn't stop!! I am talking clean the blades of the ceiling fan, washing the serving platters that are on top of the kitchen cabinets kinda cleaning. I didn't stop until almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. But at least now my house is nice and spic n' span. It smells so fresh and clean! If now I could just make a dent in the mountain of laundry I have. Ugh.

Here is a photo of what I did today:

(edited to remove photo of my hair that Ron, Mom, and Bonnie all said was terrible!)

Check out the hair cut!! And the streaks of BLOND!! My hair is sooo blond in some spots that it is CLEAR, lol. I need to get used to it, but I think I really like it. I love the cut. It is so light and bouncy. It is all stacked and layered in the back, really cool. It's really hard taking a good picture of yourself, lol. I hated every picture I took (encluding this one) but I had to show you something. Here is a side view.... just look how much yellow is in there.

(this one I will leave here)

The lighting has my base color looking pretty light but it is really rather dark. Almost black. And my hair is really really really straight. I have always faught the straightness but I have come to terms with it and actually like my straight hair. Just needs the right cut so I don't start hating it.

After my sister worked her magic on my hair, I went to my in-laws for our Thanksgiving get together with them. Afterwards Ron went out to play poker with his friends and I took the kids to see Happy Feet. It was a cute movie. So here it is, almost 9pm and I am just getting home. I am beat.

But enough of my boring couple of days... you wanna know about beads. I have been making a couple of sets a day the past few days and plan on making lots more tomorrow. Depending on how tomorrow goes, I may wait and post beads on Tuesday. That way I get an each couple of hours of torch time in on Monday too. Ron is loving the beads so far. So I think you'll like them too. I don't know how "Christmasy" you are gonna think they actually are. I guess we are just going to have to wait and see.

Tomorrow we will be hanging Christmas lights and my dear friend Julie is turning 40!! We will be going to a birthday party for her tomorrow afternoon. Should be a BLAST! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow :)

Cranberries & Cinnamon

Yesterday's lunch with Bonnie went very well. She decided she wanted to go out for fish fries so that is just what we did. Afterwards, we decided to hit Old Navy for some birthday-gift-card shopping. Bonnie, unfortunately, came out empty handed. She couldn't find a thing she liked. Lauren, however, was decked out with a whole new outfit. We found a cool pair of cowgirl boots on clearance and a cute newsies style hat. Plus, a sweet pair of striped tights. I loved the colors in the striped tights and was thinking... they'd make cool beads.

When I got home, sitting on my kitchen counter was a catalog from Pier One that I had saved as inspiration. Hmmm... same colors as Lauren's tights! It seems I have dark red, purple, and pink on my mind... I grabbed my sketch book this morning and that Pier One catalog. I pulled out inspiring shots of wine glasses, paper napkins, and wrapping papers. I drew awesome ideas for beads and I am all set to get started blazing at the torch. I think these alternative Christmas colors are going to make some fantastic beads (if I do them right)!!! I am so excited. Ron should be home from work any minute (half day for him & the kids) and I already have the kiln waiting for me. If all goes well, I should have Bead Box Beads galore.

Anyone actually go all out and decorate your home with crazy tendy seasonal stuff like this? I wish I could deck my halls with pretty Pier One goodies but alas... I am too traditional. I am still using all the stuff Ron and I bought together our first Christmas. Plus the new ornaments the kids bring home from school each year. Maybe someday, when we have a new BIGGER house, I'll get to go all out with the decor. Right now I just don't have the storage space for lots of boxes filled with Christmas stuff. We seem to have a mini heat wave apon us right now with temps in the 60s for the next 5 days. I think I will take this oppertunity to twist Ron's arm into hanging our Christmas lights on the house. Who wants to hang lights in a blizzard, really now? Gotta get 'em up while the weather is willing!

I updated the bracelets page with all the "Fallish" new bracelets left from the past two shows. I have one or two more around the house that didn't get photographed, but it is a big new batch for now. I still need to update earrings, lariats (once I decide where to stick them) and neckwires/bangles. Once everything is current, I will work on updating that "Sold Items" page. Lots to do huh.

Alighty... what ya all got planned for tomorrow? We are heading over to my Mom's for dinner. She hasn't had a holiday at her house in a while so it should be a good time. She is making some new things too. I'll let you know how the Pumpkin Cheesecake turns out. We'll be bringing over appetizers and candied carrots. Even though my Dad hates cooked carrots. He can eat the squash, right. LOL. So it'll be our gang with my parents and Bonnie too.

Have a wonderfully HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Super BonBon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE SISTER!

Today, in case you couldn't figure it out, is my sister Bonnie's birthday. She is a ripe old 26. And she is single. If you know any handsome, 25-35yr old, tall, down to earth, single, car loving, that's into music, with a good job, that live in the Rochester area guys, set the girl up! Jacob and Andrew are desparate for Aunt Bonnie to have cousins, lol. My Mom, Lauren and I will be taking her out to lunch. And maybe I can finally convince her to cut my hair. I have been begging her for days. It is time for a change. I haven't had my hair cut or colored in over 6 months. I finally found THE CUT I want, and she is the only one I will let do it. I want to chop it all off and highlight it blond. Wild HUH? See, Bonnie used to be a hairdresser that specialized in coloring. This photo, which she will probably complain about me posting, was at Andrew's birthday party a few years ago. Hard to imagine that her hair is as curly as Lauren's huh. She straigten's it everyday. It's an endless battle... curly haired people want straight hair... straight haired people want it curly. It's a no win situation. Just have to come to terms with your hair and deal with it, lol.

Well, on the agenda for today is... lunch and maybe some beads. I haven't been at the torch since Thursday and I am already itching to start. I have a couple special orders to work on... I promised some reds... I have bead box ideas... I want to do an ode to my favorite Starbucks Christmas flavor coffee "Peppermint Mocha"... I am dying to do a spree shaped "Artist's Ghost" set... the list is just endless! The bead making will have to wait until Ron gets home from work so, I will work on photographing jewelry this afternoon. Watch for new pics :)

FREE BEADS WINNER!! Drum roll please.... CINDI H!! Congrats to Cindi! YOO HOO!! I will get a fresh batch of beads posted later today. Thanks everyone for your on going support of my website, beads and jewelry! I love ya gang!

Time for Wine

Welcome to Anthony Road Wine Company! Isn't this iron sculpture great!?! This winery is just beautiful. It is HUGE, and full of wonderful bright light. My sister and I arrived there bright and early yesterday morning for our set up. Seneca Lake is about an hour and a half from my house so we had to leave pretty early. The winery opened at 10:00am, and there were people already waiting at the doors.



When you walked in the front door, here is what you saw... me! It looks like a large space but it was actually rather tight. There is less then two feet between my table and that back wall. Bonnie and I were taking turns sitting in a small folding chair tucked under the table. Good thing I bartended for years and I am used to being on my feet for hours at a time. My poor feet were hurting puppies by the end of the day though.

More then 900 people ended up going though for the "Deck The Halls" tastings as well as regular visitors to the winery. Everyone had one thing on their mind... wine. I did end up having an okay show with a number of pieces selling, but it wasn't stellar show stopper yoo hoo sales kinda day. I have been so worn out from the build up for the past two weekends, that I decided to pack up last night and just do the one day. Plus, had I gone today, I would have had no help. And although I am very capable of setting up and taking down by myself, I didn't want to spend 3 hours alone driving as well as the 7 hours at the winery and all that packing and moving.

I will work this week on updating the website with all the new jewelry that is available. I got lots ya know. And then, I hope to have new beads by next weekend. I am not one to go nuts shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but I wouldn't mind going nuts making beads that day. I will keep ya posted!

T'was the night before...

As promised, here are more photos of what will be heading to this weekend's show with me. The top photo here is of neckwires. I know what you are thinking... "but Kerry, those don't look like your usual neckwires." And right you are! Leslie over at LR Glass Art had asked me to direct her to where I get my neckwires, when I did, she redirected me to these "soft" neckwires she found. They were a huge hit last week so I made more for this week. I have about half and half now soft & hard. Plus, they are easily interchangable. It works.

These are the black and white bangles I promised too. Not as many as I would have liked to have, but still a few to choose from. I had some extras that were made into more lariats too. All in all, I think I am well prepared for this weekend. I have about 2 dozen of both bangles and neckwires, lots of one-of-a-kind bracelets and some stunning necklaces. Not to mention wine stoppers and earrings too! I will take lots of photos and update the jewelry shop on my website next week with the things that are left.

I have the batteries for my camera all powered up and the memory card is already to go too (yeah, I checked, twice). So I will be back tomorrow with lots of photos for you! Wish me luck!!

My Sky

Hey gang... I just had to come back and share these photos. Moments after I updated this blog this afternoon, they sky did THIS. The top photo is of the perfect double rainbow that arched right over my house. I tried to get whole raindow in one shot, it just didn't work, it was too big. That photo was facing north east, do a 180 and the bottom photo was the sky in the south west. TOTALLY AMAZING. The colors and light were just so amazingly rich.

Conferenced In

I couldn't remember if I showed you what became of the "Rainy" beads from last week. If it is a repeat photo just blame it on my over tiredness, lol. I have another batch of bangles to show you too, but I am saving those for tomorrow. As for this bracelet, I love it and it is getting a very special home. It is going to one of my book club pals. Here Mom (who is also in book club) asked me to make something just for her. When I put the finishing touches on this I knew it was the one for her. Her husband is a painter so the droplets of what looks like paint are perfect.

I totally forgot that I am teaching a new class tonight!! This time it's "GET HOOKED" an intro to wire earrings. Hmmm, I almost forgot I knew how to make wire earrings, lol. It'll be a couple hours of playign with styles and shapes. Should be fun! And I am working on the winter schedule too. That should be on the Studio's website in just a few weeks. Speaking of the studio, they are havin a big huge OPEN HOUSE the first weekend of Dec. They asked if I would participate but I am just to fried. I need a break. But, if you are in the Rochester/Buffalo/Syracuse area, you should stop out! Go to www.studio34beads.com for more info and directions to the studio.

Today was parent-teacher conferences. Anyone else got those going on right now? Jacob is going great, he sailed through the first semester of 4th grade with 5 As and 1 B. GO JACOB! Andrew is doing awesome too. He has always struggled with reading and writting but this year he is a writting fool. He has earned a bunch of "smarty pants beads" for good writing. I am so proud!!

All righty... gotta dash... it's pouring so I need to leave for class early. I'll be back tomorrow to share that latest bangles with you :)

Bored to Tears

Check out last nights bangle beads. I can't seem to pull myself away from turquoise and purple. I just love it. I played a bit with layering dots again, this time with a little kaleidoscope effect mixed in. Check out the first on the left in the photo when you click on it. It's my favorite.

I am sneaking this post in while I am waiting for the enchilads to be done in the oven. Ron is at class. It is his last night of the semester. Technically this is "finals" week but he is doing a presentation of the database he created for my business. I am anxious to hear how he did!

Wondering what my kids are up to? Well, Jacob is in his room. He was literally bored to tears this afternoon. It seems having a paved driveway that you can't play on is just too much to handle. When he gets like that, he gets mean. So when I told him I wasn't going to give him a new brother that liked to play sports more then Andrew, he said he hated me, and I said go to your room. He'll be out when dinner is ready. Man nine is a rough age. He wants to be so independant. We both need to find some middle ground. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Andrew and Lauren are having fun making "Monster Books". What are monster books? We'll they sneak into my room , get a spiral bound notebook out of my school supplies box and draw loads of different monsters. I like Andrew's 10-eyed heart stick monster best right now, lol.

I got another batch of beads made today while Lauren was at school. I went with Black & White again. I thought it was the best way to go since I sold out of all the b&w stuff on Saturday. I am still undecided as to which colors I will use tonight after Ron gets home, when I am out there beading again. But I saw this really COOL IMAGE of yarn on a knitting website and I am LOVING these colors! Hmmm... good ideas!

Shivering...

Were you wondering where I disappeared to yesterday. Well, right around the time I was going to update this blog yesterday, the phone rang. It was the paving company we had accepted a quote from in August. The plague of nasty weather had us thinking they weren't going to be able to get our driveway in until spring. But last night they let us know they would be here at 7:30 am. And that is just when they pulled in this morning! That phone called sidetracked my train of thought and made me forget to update. Oops. Anyway... check out the workers grading our driveway in the drizzle. I stood out there in that drizzle with them for three hours! I was bringing them coffee and banana bread, I was moving rocks in my gardens that were in the way, and I was rearranging the garage so they could pull the roller in and out. What is amazing is that they were done by 11:30! Fast! And the driveway looks great. The kids are super excited, they'll be rollerblading and bouncing the basketball on it by the weekend.

Those hours in the drizzle has had me shivering all day. Coffee, hot showers and heavy blankets can't seem to warm me. I'll take another hot bath tonight before bed and hopefully the shivers will be gone by morning.

As promised here is a snap shot of my set up at the Open House this weekend. I would NOT recommend clicking on the photo, it is very blurry. So it goes using someone else's camera. Oh well, I will get a better one this weekend for you.

Speaking of this weekend, I made beads yesterday but I am not thrilled with them. I made three wine stopper beads that I really like but the bangle beads are just not doing to for me. And I am supposed to be heading out there now to get a few hours in at the torch before bed, but I am so unmotivated. I am over tired and cranky but I know I should go make an effort. Then I will be out there again tomorrow afternoon and probably tomorrow evening, not to mention Thursday evening too. Then Friday I will repack the van and load up the jewelry. I can't wait for next week. I'll be done with shows for the year, and I can focus on making beads just for FUN! I have ideas for Bead Box Beads and Ebay sets. Got everything all written down so that as soon as I can get some free time, I will be all over it!

Alrighty, enough avoiding... time to blaze!

WAIT! FREE BEADS!! The winner is ALICE P! Yoo HOO Alice!!! New beads are posted, thanks for the votes :)

It Begins...

I know, I know you all were hoping to see pics from yesterday's show. And I hate them, I promise, but one problem... they are on my Mom's camera. See, when I got to the Open House yesterday and had finished setting up, I pulled out my camera ready to take some pics when... I FORGOT THE MEMORY CARD! Grrr.... so I called my Mom (who was planning on coming by anyway) and asked her to bring her camera for me. I got a few great display shots to share. But first, I need to get them from my Mom's camera to her computer, to a disk to my computer. So, you'll just have to wait for tomorrow.

The Open House went GREAT!!! We had such a great time. Our hostess Susan was wonderful and we had a super turn out. Around 100 people went through, which doesn't sound like a lot but it was a very steady flow of people all day. I am really starting to learn my crowds and what to expect from them. In an open house environment, most people go straight for the bangles, neckwires and earrings. All the least expensive items. At the art shows, everyone dives for the one-of -a-kind bracelets and necklaces. Either way, I love my customers. I got wonderful feedback. Everyone loved my stuff. And, somewhat thankfully, I only need to work on the neckwires and bangles this week. I did sell several of the nicer bracelets but I still have a pretty good variety to choose from.

Now, on to next weekend. On Saturday you all will be able to find me at "Deck The Halls" inside Anthony Road Wine Company. This is such a cool event. You purchase tickets in advance and then as you visit each of the 2 dozen wineries on Seneca Lake, you given a special orament to hang from a grapevine wreath. You also get a special tasting and little side dish. Like last year AR was serving a wild rice with a nice white wine. Most couples get together and rent a limo or get on one of those bus tours. It is a wonderful way to spend a day. And from what I hear, the weekend is already sold out. AR is one of the wineries that carries my jewelry so they are gracious enough to open their doors and set up an extra spot for me. My sister will be coming to help me out too. Should be a great time! Plus I got a call that they need to go shopping too at the end of the night, seems they have run out of jewelry again!

Are you wondering why I titled this "It Begins..."? Well, next week is my 10yr high school reunion and what is starting is seeing all those faces I know I know from somewhere. I WON'T be attending the reunion. School was aweful for me. I was tortured (bullied, picked on, called names, everything) on a daily basis for years and have no desire to see most of the people there. Anyone I would want to see, won't be there. The friends I am close with, I can see anytime and I don't need to spend an arm and a leg to do it. I will probably go to the next one, but this one, it is just not one I am anxious to go to.

So... on the bead front, I will be trying to make some later this evening, then I'll have a few afternoon and evenings to work this week too. Lots to do, I will have loads of photos to share along the way :)

Nine & Fine

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!!
As promised, this is what my little man looked like at 11 months old. He was such a cutie. I dug through loads of old photos to find a good one. Man has technology changed. Compare the photos of Jacob as an infant with those of Lauren as an infant and they look like completely different decades, though it's only a few years different. But it was fun getting to go through my old boxes of photos. I really should get a scanner though, this is a digital photo of the photo sitting on my kitchen table.

Pulling out Jacob's photo reminded me that I never shared one of Andrew's baby pics. So here is one of him at just about a year old. Andrew had a smiggen more hair then the q-ball Jacob up there and HUGE feet. LOL. I had such sute kiddies.


Well, the party is about to begin so I have to dash. We are having a small family party and Jacob is having his best friend over for a sleep over. FUN! I will back tomorrow with SHOW PHOTOS!!

I ♥ Beads

I love beads... I love 'em... just adore them. Beads just make me so happy. I find them amazing and intriguing. I can never get enough of them. Everyday, no matter how busy I am, I find time to look at beads online. I think I may be addicted. I have a bunch of sites that I check out each day. One site I check out at least every couple of weeks is www.sssbeads.com . Stephanie Sersich's beads are just fan-freaking-tastic! I hope we are in teh same place sometime when she is teaching because I have heard her classes are awesome. So yesterday was one fo those days that I popped into her site. I was admiring her Heart Pendants, when I thought... what if you take that and simplify it. Make a simple solid lentil with a flat dot and a cute heart. The thought stuck with me ALL day.

You know how when something is right it just works. Well that is how it was last night when I started making beads. It was late (after mindnight) but I literally made 12 pairs of lentils for earrings and enough beads for all these neckwires in just about an hour and a half. I just kept having new color combos pop in and out of my head. I wish I had a higher temperature torch that melted glass faster, I would have made double. And the best part, every single pair is different. No two turned out the same. My favorite of the neckwires is this green one. I like green but it definately isn't my favorite color, but for some reason I just love how this one turned out.

This is what the earrings turned into. Obviously the photo is making them look HUGE but they aren't. They are just the right size, not too big, not too little, just the perfect POP of colors. I am thinking (and it has also been requested) that the next batch of Bead Box beads be colorful. I had every color I have out on my desk while I was making all these. I love doing that! Could you see these with a touch of plaid in the background? YUM! Oh and what better way to say "I Love YOU!" during the holidays then a sweet pair of heart earrings, come on now, it is just too perfect! I can't wait to make more of these for Valentine's day too. You all will remember that my birthday is the day before Valentine's so it is my favorite time of year. A whole season of hearts.

I ended up having another crazy day. (So what's new there). Lauren and I gave the boys a ride to school so that Jacob wouldn't need to take is party treats on the bus. Party Treats? you ask... yep... tomorrow my baby boy turns NINE! I can hardly believe it. He has gotten so big! I will have to show you one of his baby photos tomorrow like I did for Lauren on her birthday. After we dropped them off we headed to Target for some present shopping. I know I know, nothing like leaving something until last minute, but you know I have been busy. Then this afternoon I spent more then three hours working pricing and packaging. Everything has been bagged and tagged so I am taking the rest of tonight off. Ron and I will watch our must see TV then head to bed. I will see what more I can get done tomorrow between the festivites, but over all I really feel like I have done everything I can to be ready for Saturday.

See ya'll tomorrow :)

BBBangles

More new bangles. Here are the beads that came out of yesterday's kiln. I am not thrilled with all of them, but they'll do, lol. I really love the first one on the left. All sorts of different lines. Love them lines!

Sorry to cut this one short today. I have loads to get done. Lots of packaging, pricing, more jewelry and beads to make too. Hopefully I'll have more pics (and to say) for you tomorrow.

Even More New Stuff...

Ya know, I wasn't gonna do an update today. It has been a long day and I am super tired, again. But then I checked my email and had a wonderful note asking me to keep sharing all the new stuff. So, after dinner, I took a bunch of fresh photos and here you go... another bunch of new stuff to show.

This morning was a bit crazy, I had a 9 o'clock dentist appointment when the boys get on the bus at 8:30. I had Ron stay home to get the boys on and I ran Lauren to my Mom's. After my baking soda facial/teeth cleaning, lol, I headed back home to fire up the kiln. Mom kept Lauren for the day for me, THANKS MOM... and I made beads for hours. I got enough from several bangles and a few lariats too.

After the torch time, I went to town assembling new jewelry which leads me to today's show & tell. The top photo is new beads called "Rainy". You can't see it really well but when you put transparent aqua on ivory it turns a swapy green. I love that reaction... I don't know why it happens, I just know it happens. I layered on mre ivory and turquoise for a cool Mod Dot/Dripping Water look. I wish you could see those in person. Because where there is opaques on the transparent aqua it is as if you are looking inside the beads, it is really cool.

I did manage to make that bangle I mentioned yesterday, although I have yet to come up with a new name for it. Suggestions are welcome. This one is by far my new favorite bangle! It is awesome on! I am talking really really sweet and sparkly.


This little number ended up a little too little, lol. I need to remake it with one more bead. It turned out tooo tiny. But I like it alot because of the round and square contrasts. I used big square silver ceramic beads with the very round sprees. I think they offset each other really well. Again, nameless... feel free to suggest!

This one is called "Shooting Stars". And it is a close second as my new favorite. I made very basic black ovals, then took pure silver wire and while the bead was hot I used pliers to wrap the wire around the bead. In spots the wire "balled" up and gave a twinkling star look to the surface. The beads are sooo pretty. I LOVE SILVER! I made earrings to match and there will be a sparkling lariat too. I may even do a full necklace like this too, but not until next week.


I was up in the air for a while about what to do with these. I decided to let the beads do the talking. So, I give you "Saturn Rings"...

I have been working on my cording pieces more too. I wasn't happy with the bracelet "Warm Holidays" from a few weeks back. It just wouldn't lay right so... I reused the beads with a bronze cording. The photo looks aweful, the colors really look much better together in person. I am much happier with the results now.


This was another "rework". I while ago I made a necklace and bracelet set called "Mermaid Rain". The necklace sold instantly but the bracelet has stuck around a while. I took it apart and reworked it with a wonderful rich blue cord. I left the space between the knots bigger so the beads could move and slide. I think it looks great now!

There you go... I still have loads more to make in the next few days. I will try and update everyday with more pics. Something is going on with my camera or lighting or something... the pics just aren't how I want them to be. I am going to need to send Ron on a camera hunt... good Christmas idea.

The kids are glued to CARS right now, so I am going to go check on the morning beads and maybe make a few more. I need more neckwire beads :)

Be back again tomorrow!

Busy Bee

Yep yep yep, I have been a very busy beading bee. I have loads to show you and tell you about. First up is a new bracelet called "Rusted". If you look at my "Sold Items" page you'll find a bracelet called "Fresh". This one is just like that with yummy fall colors. This bracelet matches just about every warm weather outfit I own. I love it!


I went wild again with colors on these new ones. The brightly colored one is just like my "Fiesta" necklace except this time it is a sweet bracelet of ovals. I love all the color here. Any outfit that doesn't match the "Rusty" bracelet will definately work with this one. The only color this one doesn't have is purple. I don't know, but when I was making the beads I had a rod of purple there to use and just couldn't bring myself to add it, it just looks off with purple in there. The other bracelet is another "Flings" with all black glass disks and pops of ceramic colors. Kinda Cool huh?


This next number is called "Cinematic". Same style as the bracelet "Passion" but now in black & white. I love black and white jewelry. Heck, I love black and white beads. But you can wear it with EVERYTHING. Wearing jean and a lime green sweater... wear this too... got on a black pencil skirt and white button up blouse... wear this too. It is a gotta have bracelet!

I was on a black and white kick for most of the weekend. These little beauties were a pain in the backside to make, lol. They are very intricately layered dots. That's all... JUST DOTS! I have a special wire bangle design in mind for these that I hope to get done tonight. I will let you know how it goes. Next photo is of the beads that I made on Saturday. I had planned on updated this blog yesterday with a photo of what I did all day the day before but it turned in to a very busy day and I never got to it. This single photo shows about 5 hours of work. There are spree Mod Dot beads, wine stopper beads, lots of bangles beads, disks and those layered dot beads too. The photo is cropped a little bit, but you get the idea. There is about 50 beads there!


Last is my secret revealed. Remember the other day when I told you I got a new book but was waiting to tell you what it was. It was "Chinese Knotting for Beaded Jewlery". Why would I get such a book? Well, a week or so ago I went to Deepwood Art's website and saw that Fran had taken down all her beautiful hand dyed silk cording. I had wanted to get some for Christmas ideas and to try at shows. She said she has been so overwhelmed with cording orders that she doesn't have time for beads. I told her how bummed I was asked if she had any left overs or old lots. I couple days later I had a wonderful package in my mail box with 14 different colors of cording!!! I had to get the book to learn to knot. This is my first attempt, and I have to say, it's definately different but I LIKE IT!

I used my "Hawiian Sunset in the Snow" beads with a color called "Bordeaux". I would love to hear what you think!

Ron is at class tonight so I am doing this update while helping with homework and cooking dinner. I have a huge pile of beads that needs to get transformed into lovely jewelry things. Hopefully I will get to it later tonight. I did make more beads this afternoon, today's colors were ivory & turquoise. Who remembers what happens when you mix ivory & aqua? I'll show you tomorrow for those that have forgotten. Tomorrow is going to be a bangle bead day. Considering I have about 2 dozen one-of-a-kind bracelets made, I think it is time to focus on those oh-so-very popular bangles. Then Wednesday is earring pair day with Thursday dedicated to assembly/pricing/packaging. Told ya a was a busy beading bee :)

OH... FREE BEADS! This week's winner is JULIE V. YOO HOO JULIE!!! Thanks so much everyone for your support of my site with your votes. It really is appreciated! Keep up the good work. The new beads are posted... go check 'em out!

Hawiian Sunset in the Snow

I don't have any new jewelry to show you today... can you believe it? Not for lack of trying though, that's for sure. I made beads yesterday the minute Ron came in the door from work. I was all "Hey Honey... gotta go" and he was wonderful enough to put together dinner, keep the kids in line and not totally trash the house. I was so thankfull. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked (when do I ever get as much done as I would like, really now, come on). But it is my own fault that I didn't get more done. I was doing beads that were taking a long time.

The first photo is of beads that were really pretty easy. I used Hawiian Sunset Frit (crushed glass) rolled in white. Simple enough. I picked that frit because it is all pinks, oranges & browns... a whole lotta fall in one frit. The photo is very misleading though. Those beads are BIG! At least a half inch round each. I have a pretty cool idea in mind for them which will combine with that secret book I got yesterday. You are just going to have to stick around to find out the big secret. Oh don't get too worked up, it isn't that exciting but I think it is pretty cool.

Now these ones... they took time! I started with a teeny tiny white bead, rolled it in the frit the encased it in clear. I mashed it in to it's lentil shape then took a tool and dragged the glass around and around. The colors all mixed and blended, but the cool thing is the clear... you can see the layers of swirls laying on top of each other. I took a close up to show you what I mean.

Pretty cool huh? I showed these to Jacob before school this morning and he said they reminded him of the rings around Saturn. So I am going to call whatever they turn into "Planet Rings". They will probably be turned into a simple wrapped loop linked bracelet, but I may change my mind at last minute. I'll show you photos of whatever I end up doing.

While Lauren was at school today (which is is loving every minute of by the way, I am so happy I switched schools) I stayed with these colors. I made beads for bangles and neckwires, plus enough for a few other bracelets too (what till you see my attempt at spree mod dot beads). I just love these colors. My desk was so lush with transparent browns, coraly oranges, deep reds and crisp white. Makes me want to grab a sweater and go for a walk. Speaking of which... IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT WHILE I WAS MAKING BEADS!!!! The first flakes of the year! Ron came out to tell me while I was working, he turned on the porch light for me so I could watch it while I was making beads. Nothing stuck, but you know it will sooner or later.

So... for tomorrow I am thinking I am going to do black, white and red stuff. Everyone always wants black and white. Plus some red stuff for the holidays too. Red is so hard for me to work with. It is one of my least favorite colors and nothing really goes with it. I might just do a bunch of solid red beads with swirls of clear. You'll have to look close to see the clear, but I think it'll give it a cool look. Then I am still up in the air for Sunday's colors. Maybe I'll go bright again with really summery blues & greens. I also have an idea for striped copper beads...hmmmm.

Oh, before I forget... I could use some help. Or rather, Ron could use some help. You all know Ron is in school working on his Master's right? Well the class he is in right now is a Database class. Where he is learning to build just that, databases. Well, for his big huge final grade class project, he decided to build Kab's Concepts a database. He is making all sorts of tables and screens. I will have all my customer information in one place, I will be able to keep a complete inventory of my jewelry, he is creating a cost calculator that will price jewelry for me based on what's in it, it'll have suppliers all listed with contact info and what I order from them and I can create invoices with it too. So here is where you come in, I need data to input for him. I could go through old Paypal receipts (and I probably will anyway) but it would be so much easier if you all could shoot me an email with some "Data".

Here is what I want: Name, Address (city/st&zip too), Email Address, Phone #, the last time you purchased something from me (if you remember), Any comments (ex: you really like spree beads & purple) and if you want to be on my Email List &/or Mailing List.

This is totally voluntary, you don't have to if you don't want to. I can "make up" people and info if I want. Anytime I have this weekend that I am not spending beading, I'll be spending inputting data. I have to dig out reciepts for things like swarovskis, sterling wire, my mykonos beads, and stuff like that. Should be a great tool though once it's done!

Alright, enough babbling... I got stuff to do. See ya'll tomorrow!

Pillows & Bubbles

More new jewelry! Check out what I made today... first is yet another lariat... I seem to be on a lariat kick lately, I love 'em. This one is made with funky pulled pillow beads. It is hard to tell but the dots are actually slightly raised so there is a lot of texture to the beads. I had fun making some "bubble" beads too and hung them off the bottom. A bubble bead is a simple round bead with a giant dot. I am talking HUGE! It looks like a big bubble on it. I have seen them loads of places. So it is hard to narrow down where I saw them first. I am thinking I saw Debi's at The Artisan Nook's first. She makes them with lots and lots of bubbles. I actually made about a dozen of them. I slide a few on a bangle wire and think it looks sweet...


I love aqua, teal and ink together. It is one of my most favorite color combos. I thought I made more rounds then I actually ended up with. But, there were enough for a few other bangles. I was making beads for an order that used copper green so I added just a bit of copper here and there. I have showed you before that etched copper is gorgeous! So all those were etched today. I think the copper green made this usually summer color combo feel a lot warmer and more fallish, don't you?




Last, but not least... a simple pendant. I usally like to have at least 2 dozen pendants on hand at a show. So, one down, 23 to go, lol. I thought this one looked a little butterflish. Bright and FUN! I ordered the sterling silver box chains from Fire Mountain Gems, I love 'em.

So besides cleaning these beads and making this jewelry, Lauren and I spent the day shopping. I got a new book from Barnes & Noble, that I am saving to tell you about later. And we found some SWEET deals at Old Navy. Lauren has a fab new winter coat that is gray and pink for only $8.40!! Talk about a good deal. I am waiting for Ron to get home from work. I am anxious to get to the torch before dinner. I am thinking I can get a few hours in before dinner, homework and Survivor! I am still not sure what colors I want to play with but I am thinking... ruby red. I let you know how it goes.

My spooks

OOoooo... what a scary bunch of characters my kids were last night! At last minute, Lauren decided to do away with a the fairy costume and go back to her original ghost idea. I threw together a little something for her and she looked great! We had so much fun last night. There is a giant bag of candy now residing on the top of the fridge. I will be spending every moment until the bag is empty trying my darndest not to eat it all. I am a true chocoholic! This candy temptation is aweful.


Check out this cool front yard. I told ya my Mom's neighborhood is kid friendly! The woman who did this yard will now spend the next 6 weeks putting literally hundreds of lights in her yard for the Christmas. She lights up the whole neighborhood, I am talking Griswold Family Christmas style lights. The area where my parents are is beautiful wooded, which leads to loads of leaves! Look at the size of this one pile. Every street was lined with piles this big and bigger. I know it takes my Mom hours to blow all the leaves out of her front yard. She barely makes a dent.



Here is the first set of wine stopper beads. I am not jumping up and down over them, but I think they are alright. I need to ask some questions of the experts over at wetcanvas to see why my etching solution is streaking. Hmmm.... weird. Anyway, I used these same colors this afternoon to work on bangle beads and some more bracelets. I will be sure and share photos of what I come up with!


I need your help again people... I need some color combo ideas. I am in a bit of a bright and wild color mood but I am thinking that is only me. Give me some ideas! What should I work with tomorrow? I have just NINE days to get ready for next weekend's open house! So I could use every suggestion you could give me!!

I have to add, I have tried at least ten times today to update this blog... grrrrr. I tried posting all these great pics at 10:00 this morning, and it's now after 7pm! Frustrating!!! Hopefully tomorrow's post is easier.