Still Working on it...

I've gotten about half of the beads cleaned and sorted. I think I'm gonna stop with these for the time being and get them listed first. I'll have the first batch up sometime today. I wish I could be more specific about what time they'll be ready, but with the kids home I really just can't!

Beads, Beads, Beads

I'm up to my armpits in beads!

I'm almost done cleaning and sorting into sets right now. Next comes the photographing and listing...

Switching Gears

Aside from a few small orders that I still have to finish up, I'm pretty much done with making Christmas beads and will be marking them back up to regular price in the next few days. I do have ideas for 1 or 2 more sets of a holiday flavor that I'll make before moving on to new and different beads. I guess what I'm saying is if you need any holiday beads and want them mailed so that you actually have time to design with them, it's time to "get while the gettin's good"!

Speaking of different (but not exactly new because I've made animal print beads before), I made some awesome large lentil beads with the idea of having them be mix and match in whatever combination makes your little heart go pitty-pat. I've got more designs coming, some are animal print and some are coordinating, but they will be available for purchase a la carte. I'm also trying something new with the pricing. The normal price will be in the $12 per bead neighborhood, but I've decided to offer them for the first week at $10 each. Sorta an "introductory offer" type thing, ya know? Could be goofy, might sound hokey - - who knows - I just wanted to try something different! *grin*

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

So much for an Indian Summer... *sigh*

We got our first hard freeze last night. I'm not sure how cold it actually got, but I remember hearing that the temperature was going to bottom out in the low 20's. I certainly believe it. (In fact, I don't think it has gotten much warmer than that so far today.) I took Gracie outside early this morning and while she was taking care of "business", I wandered around taking note of all the shriveled corpses of plants that were, until yesterday, thriving. Now that the growing season is over, I've got my work cut out for me. There are roses, Black-Eyed Susans and sedum to deadhead. Coleus, impatiens and annual sunflower that need to be dug out. Weeds to pull, leaves to rake, bushes to prune, azaleas to fuss over, planting beds to mulch and an enormous Japanese maple to transplant. And oh yeah, I have to remember to prune my so-called dwarf butterfly bush back to the ground this year. I forgot to cut it back last Fall and boy - that sucker is HUGE!

Anybody wanna come help? I pay in beads, hot cocoa and back rubs!! *grin*

I've Been a Baaaaad Girl!

I bought two, count 'em TWO, tutorials over the weekend. Did I need them? Not really, but I wanted them! Plus, I'm considering that purchase and a small re-stock on certain glass colors my Christmas this year.

Which ones did I get? I got Andrea Guarino's Mothwing bead tutorial. I've always wondered how they were made (and there is the fact that I've taken a class with her before and just think she's a stand-up kinda lady!), so I jumped at the chance at learning for myself.


The other tutorial I purchased was Amy's (Forever Grateful Beads) Rainbow Bead tutorial. Yeah, I already knew how to make that style of bead and have included them in several sets before, but I like learning other bead artist's techniques in the hopes of learning something new and different. Guess what?! I learned something new and different!

That Christmas Feeling

My Mom was off from work yesterday and we spent most of the day together shopping and running errands. Everywhere we went: from Kroger to BJ's (checking it out - free trial membership!), and from Kohl's to Pier 1, Christmas decorations and music were out in full force.

Now normally, I'm a bit of a Scrooge and I like to experience my holidays in the right order; Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas. So... when retailers hit me with the Muzak version of "It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas" while I'm busy shopping for cranberries and dressing, I get irritated.
Yesterday? Not so much. After being aromatically assaulted by the scent of cinnamon pine cones for the third store in a row, I realized that I was actually enjoying myself!

Maybe it's unwinding from the stress of the Presidential Elections or just plain exhaustion over worrying about things beyond my control, but I found myself tapping my toes and singing along as I wandered the aisles yesterday.

So...for the next week or so, I've decided to mark the Christmas/Holiday beads on sale. Who knows? Maybe they'll lift your spirits the way yesterday's cinnamon pine cones lifted mine!

Happy Feet and Happy Wallets - A SALE!

For the next week or so, I've marked all the holiday beads on sale - just to help get everybody into the holiday spirit!!!

Are We Sure it's Not Monday, Still?

'Cause it sure feels like it...


And by the way, that's one of the new color combinations I'm working with right now.

Halloween Pictures

It's really sad that I'm just now taking the pictures of my children in their Halloween costumes off my camera's memory card. It's also very sad that it took my looking closely at the pictures while editing them to notice that my little hobgoblins got dirt all over the door frame when they were playing outside last weekend!!

That said, here are my little monsters in costume!!



Davis' costume is fairly self-explanatory. He had originally wanted to go as a CIA agent in a tuxedo and carrying a briefcase. When I asked what he needed the briefcase for, he looked at me as though I'd grown an extra head. "To carry my guns, grenades and spy equipment in, Mom - what'd ya think?!" Uhhh... I think somebody has been watching too much tv!! When I told him that razor wire was completely out of the question for a 7 year old, he kind of lost interest and was happy with the SWAT costume I found.



Elinor was never specific about what she wanted to be for Halloween but she was thrilled when I brought home the witches' costume. She really liked the velvet burnout design of spider webs on the sleeves. Truth be told, that is my favorite detail too! It was her idea to put the make-up on but it was like wrestling a rabid monkey to get the little bit that I did manage to apply to her face. She's my "au naturelle" girl, God love her, and fortunately she has the yummy olive complexion I always wanted so she won't ever need to wear make-up unless she wants to!


Now Tilly was adamant about making her own costume this year rather than buying one. Considering that she has usually been the most label-conscious, conspicuous consumption proponent (think Alex P. Keaton in the old Family Ties sitcom) in our family, I was a little surprised but pleased by her about-face. She debated being a vampire (and recycle an old costume), a werewolf (old costume plus add from her own closet), a were-pire (you can guess that one, right?) and a farm girl. In case you can't tell, she's carrying a little animatronic piglet named "Francis" (Bacon - get it?!?! She's a clever girl! *grin*)

Back to Work

Oops! I hit something wrong and accidentally posted just my title, rather than the entire entry (which I, of course, lost). I can't even remember what all I had written and it's probably just as well that it's lost to the ether. *grin*

The facts are these:

1. The election is over - wahoo!!

2. My kids are back in school today - wah!

3. I got a bunch of new orders to work on - again, wahoo!

4. I've already spent waaaay too much time on my computer this morning. Yikes!

The Sun'll Come Out....Tomorrow!

Wahoo - Election Day is finally upon us! And seriously, I don't care who you vote for tomorrow - JUST VOTE.

Tomorrow is also a teacher workday, so the kiddos will be at home with me all day. What that actually means is that their schools are polling places and they don't want the students and the voting public overlapping. (Which is cool - I'd rather they didn't come into contact with each other either!)

I'm working on orders still, but will be finished by the end of the week. Then it's on to New and Different! I've got an idea for a new series in my head - even got a name all picked out: "Zephyr", meaning a westerly wind or a gentle breeze.

Oops! I've gotta go start working on breakfast!