Happy Thursday my bead friends (and not bead friends too)!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It really WAS a pretty day here in Atlanta today... sunny and a reminder of spring days to come. Yes, I know... there are still a lot of days between now and spring, but my mind is on spring because I've been designing spring things!!

The bead soup I mentioned earlier in the week is for my spring head over heels girl. She's very very springy (obviously since she's the spring girl) and it's putting me in the mood for flowers and green and flip flops!!!! (no, she's not wearing flip flops! I just miss wearing MINE!) I live for flip flop season and I look forward to the weather being warm enough for spring girl to make her debut and for my pedicured toe-nails to do the same! :)

back to work!!! This girl is going to be sooooooooo cute!! (but I say that every time don't I??)

have a great day my friends!!

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - starbucks splurge on my way to bible study. I'm still loving all the gift-cards that I got for Christmas. Thank you bunches to all my wonderful relatives and friends (and students and blog readers too!)

music - Pandora. Steve Fee "radio"

I've got the It's a Week Before Tucson and I'm not Goin' Blues....

(I think that's probably a song... well, maybe not, but it COULD be!)

I talk about this every year I think... my missing and not missing going to Tucson. If you are one of the crazy people who has followed this blog for a long time OR if you're someone that went and skimmed through the archives to "catch up" then you know that from 1997-2002 the Best Bead Show in Tucson was a regular part of my world. I spent every birthday there during those years (because the show always lands on the week surrounding my birthday.) When I first stopped going it made sense... I wasn't doing any wholesale anymore and I felt that it was a wholesale-only kind of show. It's also a LONG show and in order to make a LONG show like that profitable... you have to make big sales... and I hadn't found that to be the case the last couple of years I was there.

I definitely wasn't losing money, but I didn't see the results from it that I thought I should. In hind-sight, I know there were reasons for those things.... 2001 was when my work totally changed and I didn't want to make any more mermaids (thus freaking out my regular customers who came to buy mermaids), I also stopped wholesaling that year... again, freaking out my regular customers. At the same time, that was the year that Head Over Heels went full force... by 2002 my work was really about that more than anything else. I had lost most of my Tucson inventory in our house-fire that year (my studio wasn't at the house, but I'd brought home beads to clean... ALL the beads that I'd made for the show....HUNDREDS of beads) and in the few weeks I had to prepare for the show (2 I think), I went back to making mermaids... because I knew how to do that quickly. It wasn't what I should have been making... it wasn't where my heart was, BUT it was a time when my head was spinning and I needed to just get inventory made. (and when your heart isn't in it... it shows and the work doesn't sell)

So... that was a crazy year sales-wise and I'll never know what it would have been like to take Head Over Heels to that show. I didn't begin selling it at shows for another year after that.

2003, the week before Tucson, I tore the ligaments in my ankle baaaaaaad and ended up in a cast. Not a boot, but a real-life up-to-your-knee cast. I was on crutches and knew I wasn't going to be able to travel easily, so I dropped out of the show.... knowing I was probably giving up my space for good.... but being ok with it because I saw my work moving to being seed-bead oriented and probably not the thing that my customers in Tucson would have wanted.

After that, bead life became about kits kits kits... all my lampwork went into my kits and I didn't know how kits would be received at a show like the Best Bead Show, so I didn't re-apply. I had plenty of places to sell the kits and plenty of classes, so it wasn't a real issue, other than the fact that i missed going.

SO, here we are in 2010... 12 years after I did my first show there and I really wonder if I should be back there. I'm STILL not sure how kits would be received, but I have a hunch (and I'm usually good at hunchy things) that this OTHER thing I'm working on (top secret) WOULD be really well-received and I should think about it for next year and that there is probably a customer base that would love my kits. My customers wouldn't be the same as my 1997-2002 customers... but that's ok! So... is this a possible venue for me in the future? We'll see.

In the meantime, I'll be missing all my friends in Tucson this year. I'll see them (most of them) at Bead and Button in Milwaukee this summer, BUT it's sooooo different in Tucson. The hours and lay-out of the show seem to give a little more time to socialize with friends in the evenings...and even during the day at the show. Bead and Button is different. Even though I see people... a lot of it is just waving as you walk by.

I'll miss you friends!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the sunshine!!!!!

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - I'm in love with Mr. Keurig. He's not Alex the Barista, definitely not as cute, BUT he makes a FINE cup of coffee and he is conveniently located in a kitchen near me!!!

music - James Taylor... my go to guy.

Last night I made soup.

Not literal "soup for dinner" kind of soup (I made mexican food for dinner, for the record... it wasn't soup, but it was good!) ANYWAYS... back to the soup! I made BEAD SOUP last night.

Bead Soup is when I sit in my studio and think about what I want to make and start grabbing tubes, hand-fulls of beads... whatever floats my boat, trying to come up with a color scheme for a project and lay it all on a tray (or in this case a box lid) together and see how it sorts out. Some colors will make the cut... some won't. I'll add some colors to the mix I'm sure... but this is the starting place for a project... bead soup.

The Spring Head Over Heels is swimming in my brain right now and I needed to at least take a step towards getting her in progress (because it really isn't THAT long until mid March when I'm launching her!) So, I sat amongst the beads last night dreaming of spring... thinking fairy tales... and making soup. (there was a hint in there for those of you waiting to find out about the next limited edition girl)

The soup I made is pretty pretty pretty and hopefully the girl will turn out just as sweet!

tiny blah blah blah for today...

coffee - yummy home-made coffee

music - mostly Praise music... and then some Elvis Costello (that's a weird mix huh?)

It's the first day of a very busy week.

Tax prep.

Volunteer as church secretary

work on new patterns

make more beads for existing projects

shipping diva (I'm trying to make it sound exciting... I'm really bad at shipping)

bead inventory and ordering

make beads for new idea I have

make beads for new project prototypes

book retreat locations (CA and MI??)

make kits for rings

send out email announcing new ring project

and that's only part of the list!! I'm exhausted just looking at it!!!!!

Sure... I don't work in a cubicle and I get to set my own hours... but often those hours go into the WEE HOURS and I think this week/weekend might be one of those weeks.

Hope to have fun pictures to share when some of the work has been completed. The new Head Over Heels for Spring girl is going to be ADORABLE!!!! Can't wait to show her off!!

time for the tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - YES! I splurged and used some of my gift card today!

music - not really... but I need some!

It's Thursday!!! And the week is coming to a close... well, almost.

This year is already going by fast and it's only the 3rd week of January! I've been trying to put my calendar together for the rest of 2010, scheduling classes and retreats. Looking forward all those months makes me feel that time is going to speed by this year. (the whole relativity of time thing... when you have too much to do, time flies!)

I booked classes in Detroit, teaching for the glass guild there and I'm really excited about it. I've missed teaching glass and it will be fun to do that again. I love teaching beadwork because it's a very relaxed environment compared to people playing with fire... looking over people's shoulder's helping/correcting/coaching them in a class situation. BUT there is something to teaching glass that beadwork doesn't have. It's more about people creating their own designs using my technical demonstrations as a catalyst. I teach them techniques, but then (hopefully) they make them their own.

The 2 types of classes are really different in their purpose... beadwork to teach a project, beadmaking to teach techniques, so it's nice to have the experiences that come from teaching both. It's really rewarding to see people have AHA moments in glass classes... and it's really fun creating designs that other people want to make for themselves in the beadwork classes. I love that I get to do both this year! Hopefully in several venues!

The cool thing is that I'll be doing both in Detroit! The glass group will be taking both a glass class and a beadwork class. FUN!

I'll keep you posted on the full calendar as it is filled in!

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes! made at home... yum!

music - hymns at bible study... does that count? I didn't have music on today.

Happy Tuesday!!

Kids back in school... me back to work! YAY!!!

Of course, it wasn't in the studio where it needed to be, but I was working today.

unemployment - The state of having no job; joblessness

SO... that answers the question for anyone googling. I was working today, thus, I have a job to do... I am NOT unemployed.

In fact, I have SO much to do in the way of jobs that I'm probably over-employed. :D

So... hopefully that clears things up for you curious folks.

Tomorrow is a full studio day. Hopefully my feet won't freeze since my UGGs aren't fixed yet. I'll just be wearing 6 pairs of socks!

I'm working on heads and feet and heads and feet as well as tiny baby flower faces and some other faces for a new project I'm working on.

In non-studio work, I'm scouting locations for retreats.... it's hard to figure out where to do things and it's a bit overwhelming.

ok... that's it for today.

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes. I enjoyed another cup of coffee thanks to the lovely people who gifted me Starbucks for the holidays and in the tip jar. THANK YOU MARTI!!!! This is a big shout-out to you!! I really appreciate it!!

music - not really a music day. I need one, so I'm cue-ing up stuff for tomorrow!

Monday

Day off... kids out of school... fun day.

Bead stuff returns tomorrow.

Late night posting. Just got back from a wonderful night out and I remembered that I didn't blog today. I was going to be more consistent about blogging and so far this year, I've failed. :(

BUT I am going to continue to strive for consistency and I wanted to make sure I got something posted. SO... when I need quick blog-fodder I turn to my lovely google statistics and see what interesting results they turn up.

This month's craziest google searches that resulted in people coming to my blog were........

drumroll please..........

"Roseanna Shalloe" Again???? Who is this person and why do people keep coming to my blog looking for her???

I don't KNOW anyone named Roseanna Shalloe!!!!

and

"Sylvie Lansdowne Unemployed"

This one is a bit weird. I appreciate someone being worried about my well-being... if they are, but it's a pretty weird thing to google.... almost a bit creepy.

Hopefully none of the rest of the month's google search keywords will weird me out!!! Hopefully there are some funny ones to laugh about!!!!!


tiny blah blah blah.....


coffee - wonderful after dinner coffee at Floataway Cafe

music - wonderful dinner conversation trumps music.... but the music for the ride back home was a mix of fun stuff that included Adele.

Well, it's Thursday.... and I'm still not making beads.

I have TWO very demanding sick kids at home and I'm starting to feel icky. Oh joy!

Making beads when you're sniffly is not fun at all. YET I need to make beads... badly!

So, I continue to work on my ring samples. I don't have the faces made, so it's a bit of a challenge since that's the MAIN PORTION of the ring.... I'm just trying to do what I can do while I can't be on the torch.

There is stuff I want to talk about today, but I'm in more of a quiet mood, so the blah blah blah will have to wait for another day when I feel better.

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - I really want some Starbucks, but I'm going to make do with hot-chocolate at home or make a pot of coffee (but it's just not the same)

music - no. Watching re-runs of Brittish Sit Coms and Food Network shows with the kids. Weird combo!

Good morning world!!!!

Happy Tuesday!!!

I've been away far too long, but it is what it is. It's been very abnormal around here lately!!

First New Years travel, then New Years Retreat, then New Years Retreat Recuperation and vacation THEN snow days!! Yes, you read that right. We had ice and snow here and it has NOT been fun. My street was completely iced over for 3 days!! My driveway for 2. Luckily, all has evaporated for the most part because it really hasn't thawed. There are still some places on my sidewalk that are ice (need to buy some of that melt stuff to have on hand next time!)

The big bad thing was the cold. It's been frigid here... TOO COLD to work in the studio!!! And to top it off, the zipper on my UGG boots broke!!! That might not seem a big deal to some, but it's a big deal to me. My UGGs make it possible to work comfortably in the studio on cold days... I can't work down there too long if my feet get cold. Discovering UGGs saved my studio days during the winter (my studio isn't heated... it's in a basement, so it's somewhat insulated, BUT the floors get pretty cold in the winter AND I have a window open to let fresh air in, so that keeps it cold as well)

So.... no UGGs and below freezing temperatures have made it impossible to get any work done glass-wise.

Having a sick kid has made the last few days fairly futile as well. He's the kind of sick that needs constant attention.... just doesn't feel good at all. :(

What have I been doing instead??? Working on making samples of the You Are My Sunshine Ring in the various kit colors. I figure, that is important for later, so I should use the "down time" doing something productive.

I'll try to be better about blogging... I promise!! I know there are some regular readers that check in daily... or weekly. More on that tomorrow!!! (probably)

See you then!

tiny blah blah blah....

no coffee - hot tea with the sick one. :(

No music either - we'll be watching reruns of whatever he chooses today. Yesterday was The Office on Netflix (gotta love the watch-online feature!!! FREE!!!!!).

Happy Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!

I took the last couple of days off, but figured I needed to check in here fast, before you started worrying! I know some of you check every day (others of you only on Tuesdays or Wednesdays) so hopefully I got this posted in time for your weekly read! (I know you can't live without my updates... said very sarcastically)

I'm back from my retreat which went faaaah-bulously (I think) and I'm exhausted! I'm working on kit-ing (no idea if that's really a word, but I'm pretending it is) the ring so that it can go onto the site as soon as more lampwork beads are made for its center.

The class really enjoyed making them and they all turned out SO cute! I'm hoping that people who took pictures will email them to me soon so that I can share them.

We had 17 people (including me) in the cabin and it was kind of a grown-up slumber party (with very little sleeping for some of the group... crazy upstairs girls... you know who you are!) with a bead class!

I'm looking forward to the retreat back in Ellijay in May... and to getting some other retreats booked soon! This is where my aim is going to be in the coming year.... teaching and hosting retreats.

More on that later... back to work!

tiny blah blah blah.... brought to you by the many people who gave me Starbucks Gift Cards for Christmas... THANK YOU!!!!!

coffee - Cinnamon Dolce Latte

music - no... watching episodes of Mad Men in the studio (not reruns for me... catching up with previous seasons I've never seen)