It is Stress Free Thursday!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!! We are ONE day closer to the weekend and BOY I need the weekend to get here!!! (not that this weekend will be any more relaxing, but I LOVE getting to sleep even an HOUR later than normal!)

Today isn't a LOT calmer than the others this week... this week has been WAY too full of appointments. I have been running all over the place and have barely gotten anything done at work, in the studio OR at home. I hate that!!! It's been a combo of work-related year-end stuff, legal crap, sick kids and other appointments. I'm thinking next week will be a LITTLE better, but then I looked at the calendar and it's not MUCH better. :(

I hate that!!!!!!!! I want a few weeks where my franklin planner doesn't look all colored in! It's a pretty planner and I love it dearly. (I really do love my planner. I use it for doodling and bought pretty pages that make me happy to look at so that I'll use it) BUT I'm really tired of having stuff in the appointment sections. I'd rather draw there! ;)

(right now I have really cute doodles of Halloween princesses on some of the pages... now doodling valentines queens) and always squiggles and spirals filling the empty space.

I haven't checked the kiln to see the beads from night before last yet. I'm DYING to. I KNOW that there is something really interesting in there. Could be interesting GOOD or interesting BAD, but I'm dying to see it. It's one of many prototypes for the new project.

Speaking of the new project... I bought a magazine the other day and opened it up and there was something VERY similar to what I'm thinking about. I showed it to H with my sketches to see if he thought it was too similar and he said not at all. It's not even the same medium, so I really shouldn't worry, but I do. I came up with this wonderful thing in my head, all on my own and POOF someone else out there was having a similar idea in their head. I wanted to be the only clever girl out there I guess.... and this time (as most others) I wasn't.

I'm going to go ahead with it, even though I've now seen this other thing (that I wish I hadn't). My structure and engineering are different... it's just a similar theme. Wish I could talk more about it here, but alas, I can't.

I'm HOPING for a little beadmaking today, but we'll see. I have to get a kid to appointments today, so it all depends how scheduling works.... but I really would love to spend a few (which means more than 2) hours on the torch.

Wish me luck!!!

time for the tiny blah blah blah....

TODAY'S coffee is brought to me by Maggie!!!!!!!! Thank you SO very much Maggie!!!! She didn't send an annoucement or a shout-out for me to make on her behalf, so I'll just say...

MAGGIE, YOU ROCK!!!!! thank you SO much for my coffee! It's YUMMY!!! :)

coffee - Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte WITH whipped cream

music - Sylvie's long mellow list - currently playing Jackson Browne's - "Stay". Next up, Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars"

It's Thursday... another cold day in Atlanta.... and it's Todd Gilbert's birthday!

Happy Birthday Todd! You are OLDER THAN ME!!!!! HA!!!!!!!!

Todd was in my elementary school classes until 6th grade. Every year he would make a big deal about being older than me. When you're in elementary school, that's cool. NOW I relish the fact that somewhere out there, Todd Gilbert is 2 days older than me... and I think about it every February 5th... that this funny kid is having his birthday somewhere out there, not having any clue that I'm celebrating it for him. :)

Happy Birthday Todd!

back to the beady blog...

I feel like I should have something important to say today, but I don't. I've been reading blogs of friends lately and they seem to always SAY something. Me, not so much. I know my blog didn't begin as something trying to SAY something, but sometimes it seems wasted space... just my chatter.

oh well...

Things I'm chattering in my head about...

I'm wishing I had time to make beads this week. It's just not happened yet. On the days I've had time, I haven't felt good OR it was too cold in the studio. I'm not forseeing beadmaking this weekend either. I'm spending it in a much more important way... with friends.

My mind is FINALLY full of ideas that I want to pursue. It's been a long time waiting for the ideas to start flowing again, but they have. I'm SO happy that I hadn't permanently lost my muse... just shelved her for a while.

Other random thoughts - (need to make a bullet list, otherwise I look totally scattered here)

• I have enough glass, but there are new colors and even though I said I don't want them yesterday... I do. It's HARD to keep away from the new crayons. I want the 64 box... but only have the 48 and need to be content with it!

• I want to play with my new whimsicalities tools!!!! I haven't made beads since I got them.... the studio is just TOO cold this week!

• I miss going to Tucson (I know I keep saying that). Not for the show itself. I really wasn't big on that show... too much wholesale... too long... other reasons too. BUT I miss the comeraderie that show had (has). I am just connecting with a lot of my bead friends again and I know that of all the shows, Tucson is the one where you actually get to spend a little time with friends. I'm missing that opportunity.

• I need someone organized to come attack my studio. I need an intervention...but by a beady person who gets what's important and what's not AND gets how I think because if it's put together in a way that's perfect for someone organized... it's NOT going to stay that way... it needs to be Sylvie-friendly.... just in better structure. I have 2 zones that don't make any sense and could be much better used. One of them would be good for a permanent photo-setup, but has a lot of miscellaneous stuff there now. Miscellaneous is bad. (but fun) :)

• I'm going to a bead show on Saturday! That will be fun. I haven't been to one in Atlanta for a long time, so it will be a learning thing as well as a fun thing. I'm going w/ someone who has NEVER been to a bead show... so it will be fun to see her reaction to having so much beady stuff all in one place.
  

ok... that's it for today. I'm over the "list" thing.... it just shows there are too many things swirling in my head right now.

Oh look... another blog entry that didn't SAY anything!!!! oh well.... you're only here to find out what coffee I drank today anyways! ;)


tiny blah blah blah... (needing a sponsor for next week. Please apply!)

coffee - brought to me by me (and the nice guy in the drive-thru because I was too cold to go inside!) CDL with whipped cream!

music - Lifehouse and Crowded House (guess it's a "house" day???)

Wednesday - Half Way Through The Week!!!! WOO HOO!!!

I don't know WHY this week is getting to me... it shouldn't be. I'm in a really good mood, but BOY am I living for Friday!!!!! I just keep waking up in the morning SURE that it's the weekend. That's the problem!!!

I'm very excited about what I'm going to talk about today. More musings on the creative process. I had 14 people sign up yesterday for my online workshop which is great, but too many people for one class in this format, so I'm going to have to split things.

I didn't expect a lot of people I didn't know to request membership in the group, so it grew faster than I was ready for AND I can anticipate it continuing like this once word gets out. Because it's SUCH a great thing... seeing people develop creatively. (I know that might sound stuck up since it's my workshop, but it's not ME that makes it exciting... it's seeing people find inspiration and develop creatively and have "aha" moments. THAT is what's so much fun!!!

I want to share my own creative development here today and if it gets too long, I'll continue it tomorrow (or another day... we know how that goes!)

When I taught the "creativity class" (as it was first known) the first time, I participated along with the students and one of the beads I made in the class spurred my work in a WHOLE new direction and is really responsible for the whole tone of my work now. This will be funny, but it's all from THIS bead.....

Hard to believe, huh??? That this WEIRD bead could be where my WHOLE body of work today comes from!!!

That THIS bead
<----- led to THIS bead --->

And a whole lot of other things along the way.....

So... How did that happen??

You KNOW I'm gonna tell you!!! (and it won't be short, so non-beady people might want to "fast forward")

Here's the story. In the class, I gave the assignment to make a bead based on a black and white photograph by Karl Blossfeldt. I picked one at random, so my personal preference did not come into play.

<---- this is the picture I also had the parameters that it had to be done in 4 colors... and only those 4. AND if those 4 colors weren't available in the glass I had, I had to do my best to replicate the colors using other materials (such at enamels).

These were the colors (i forgot to add the green square...oops) ----->

So, that's what I had to go with and the funny bead at the very beginning of this post is what resulted from the assignment.

The class met together and gave each other ideas for future beads, based on the bead that they were looking at (they didn't see the photo or the colors). One of the class participants said "it looks like one of those crazy cool cakes where all the layers are different colors" (think "Ace of Cakes" because even though this was way before that show... that was what she was talking about)

I went home from the class and had this bead sitting around and thought... I'll try to make one of those cakes as a bead!!! (it's funny... I just realized that this beadmaker made cake beads herself!! Never thought of that till this moment. Melissa... do you remember this at all??)

ANYWAYS... the bead inspired me to make a crazy cake bead, so I did. I made a funny birthday cake bead. UNFORTUNATELY that bead was in my old house and didn't survive the fire, so I don't have a picture of it to show you. Let me tell you, however, that it was HORRIBLE!!!!!! It wasn't cute AT ALL. BUT it sat around on my table for a while and made me think of something else...

Girls with birthday cake hats on!! I have no idea WHY I thought of that, but i did. SO, I made a bead like that. And it too was HORRIBLE and didn't survive the fire. (be glad... it was truly tragic... very scary to look at!!) BUT it sat around on my work table with all the other bead castoffs that I just couldn't bear to toss.


And one day, after taking a Sharon Peters class where I learned to make multi-bead sculptures... I came up with this ------->

The birthday cake hat made me think of crazy tall hair... very B-52s or Marge Simpson. The candles caused me to make the raised dots on her hair. She was wacky and honestly... her face is pretty scary. BUT I learned something and THIS set of beads was a springboard taking me to the next thing...



My Head Over Heels Project which was a beaded version of the multi-part bead made with seed-beads. Because it was made of seed beads, she was a lot more flexible and could bend over backwards to be a bracelet!!! And my beadmaking life changed right then and there. I won't give you the long story about that. I think I've told it here in my blog at least once.

And Head Over Heels was a springboard to 2 other big projects... The Clothesline and Splish Splash (but we're not even talking about those here... so WOW that cake bead did a LOT!!!)

Head Over Heels led me to doing other things... more "big haired girls" and I started making these fun drawings which were sort of interpretations of my head over heels girls. The pink picture here is an example of this.

And THAT led to something else...

The Halo neckpiece.
<----- In the drawings, the faces were more subdued, so I made beads that were faces more along those lines... angelic. Inspired by those drawings AND by renaissance paintings where the angels have halos that almost look like big hats (or gilded "big hair"), I created these new face beads. I turned them into a necklace.


THEN that piece took me back in a different direction.... making little beady versions of my older fairies, but with big hair. I call them Fairy Godmothers.



THEN I looked at that pink drawing and the halo faces and thought that I could make a vessel where the hair was the vase.... or maybe it wasn't even hair anymore... it was just a face peeking out of the patterns... sort of Gustav Klimt-y....
And the vessel up at the top was born. Taking us to where I am today as a beadmaker!!!

SEE??? One thing led to another. ALL because of that ONE crazy "cake" bead that was an assignment from this class COMBINED with an idea from another beadmaker. THIS is what is possible!!!!!!!!!! And even though it's sort of "tooting my own horn." Not a ONE of those pieces looked like ANYTHING else that was out there in bead-land at the time.

THIS is why I'm teaching this class!!!!!!!!!! and that is the end of my long long story. It made me happy to see how far I've come. :)

Thank you again Melissa. I don't know that I ever realized until this week what a PROFOUND influence on my beadmaking your ONE little "crazy cakes" comment made.

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - Starbucks Mocha - I needed some chocolate today. Some days are just that way.

music - OMG. I was just in a store and they were playing a DANCE version of Total Eclipse of the Heart. That song was BAD the first time around. WHY would they re-make it with a dance track???!!!!!!!! And I have NO music with me here at the office today to get rid of that horrible memory!!!! "turn around bright eyes....." AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

TRAFFIC Tuesday

Traffic was terrible terrible terrible this morning. I hate wasting time sitting in my car. I've got too much to do in my day to sit still in a car!!!

I did work in the studio for a little while yesterday. I worked more on the beads for the Head Over Heels revival (there... I said it. That's what I'm working on... Head Over Heels, but with a twist).

If you don't know what Head Over Heels is, I'll post a picture later right here...

This is not the original one. Sadly, it was shoplifted at a bead show. :(

It was a project that I designed originally just for myself in 2001. It was a crazy time in my life and I used it as kind of an escape. I was just learning to do beadwork (info for non beady people - I had been a beadmaker, but had never done beadwork which is done with tiny seedbeads stitched together) ANYWAYS I had just learned a lot of techniques and created this "doll" (I didn't call it a doll at the time, but that's really what it was) that was also a bracelet as an experiment to try a lot of the stitches PLUS I was entering it in a contest at Beads by Design.

That's sort of how the whole thing came about.... through the rules of the contest. You had to make a bracelet, but it could only have a certain number of larger beads... the majority of it had to be made in seed beads. SO I had to figure out a way that a bead could be a clasp... and that's how the unique shape of the bracelet happened. (and just for the record... not only did I find a way to engineer something that fit the rules but still have my glass beads as a focus...I won!!)

I had it at a show in early 2002 and a well known bead artist NanC Meinhardt saw it and said, "this is what you do now!" I thought she was off her rocker and said, "uh huh....." not really sure how to react. After all... I was the mermaid girl of glass beads!!!

Well, she was right. By the next year I had written it as a pattern and had taught it as a class. The FOLLOWING year, I was making kits, selling them at shows and online and teaching it all over the US. It was a big hit and it paid our bills for quite a while. I created other projects after that, but none of them has been the "big deal" that this project seemed to be. I loved it, but got burned out on it after a while, so I retired it. This was also a big deal because there were a lot of people who still wanted it. I just had started feeling like the old dunkin donuts commercial where he says half asleep "it's time to make the donuts." I'd been making THOSE head/hands/feet donuts for 2 years and was just over it.... so even though it really upset a lot of customers (truly, I got LOTS of disgruntled e-mails about it), I retired it.

Well, coming out of "retirement" myself, I was thinking of how I could bring that project back. It's sort of a financial necessity right now to make things that are marketale and THAT, I know is. So, I'd been thinking how I could do it without compromising myself... make it something new and different and fun for me.

And on Saturday I came up with it.... which is why I was so excited in my journal post. Now I'm doing the "so, how do I DO what I want to" sort of beadmaking. It's lots of trial and error, but I'm getting it and am REALLY happy with what I'm making. I can't wait to introduce it. I'm in a time crunch because... well, just because... so I need to figure it out QUICK and then get to work, get things made and get them out there to sell.

I've got to put together new bead kits too and that takes time. PLUS I think I need to make 2 samples and that will take some time.

HOW am I going to do it all?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess you'll have to stay tuned.


tiny blah blah blah...

Coffee? - nope. It's a chick-fil-a tea day. My throat hurts.

Music - Sylvie's long mellow list. Right now I'm listening to Maroon 5 "Better That We Break"

What I'm reading - I WAS reading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, but I left it at the Dr's office last week and haven't had a chance to go get it. I'm planning to swing by there this afternoon though. When will I have time to read is a WHOLE other question!!

Happy Monday World
(and I do mean world!!!!! We're still at 15 countries, but we've got Iowa joining us now and that makes this blog one step closer to world domination!!!!)

I don't usually blog on Sundays, so any of you that were concerned (mother) about what I did or did not do... I'm about to tell you!!!

Saturday was SO exciting and really could have kept making beads for HOURS more because I wanted to start on my fun new ideas, but I had a puppy to take care of and a party to go to!! Of course, when I got home from the party I RAN to the kiln to pull out the beads I'd made that afternoon and think more about my new idea.

Sunday was church and it was a LONG day at church for me because I worked on the A/V team for 2 services. I love doing that job. Not sure why, but it's really fun. Now that we have 2 services it does make a LONG day when I'm "on duty."

After I left, I got a voicemail from my friend Maureen at Flametree glass (www.flametree.com) telling me to "get my butt up there" and see Patti Cahill who was teaching a workshop. I made a detour to their store. Can I say again how COOL it is to have a REAL GLASS DISTRIBUTOR 10 minutes from my front door??!!!

If you're not a glass person, you don't know how HUGE this is for me. I cannot believe how lucky I am on that one. I don't know that enough people in Atlanta who are beadmakers recognize how lucky we are. They have a top-notch studio (the nicest I've ever taught in I'm pretty sure) and I'm getting the same prices on glass that I would have if I ordered from one of the big suppliers on the West coast. BUT I don't pay shipping, I get to pick colors in person (which is HUGE) and I get to talk to fun people!

And the biggest news....... I get to TEACH at a place that's 10 minutes from my house!!!! Of course, I'm dying to get back out there and teach at other studios and I'll have to fly there when I do, BUT for at least these classes... I'll be able to sleep in my bed, play with my dog and cats, and just drive down the road to teach.

SO here is my upcoming teaching schedule...

October 11th - beginning jewelry 101. (make a bracelet & a pair of earrings) If you are reading this and want to try a new hobby... this would be the class for you!!! GREAT for making gifts for the holidays.

November 15th - Halo Bracelet (pictures will be posted on my website soon). This is one of my seed-bead projects and is a quickie that looks FABULOUS when it's completed. It's a great beginner project, but just as fun for advanced beaders because they can embellish to their heart's content on this one. It's a yummy project. (it's also a fun one for glass beadmakers because it allows them to show off their own lampwork in a new way!!)

and finally (and for me this is the big one) Glass Beadmaking!!!!!!!

January 24-25 (2009 - duh) Intermediate Glass Beadmaking - concentrating on sculpture and embellishment sylvie-style! Mermaids, Fairies, Flowers... TONS of embellishment ideas.

I'm very very excited to make those announcements. Hopefully there will be more to make in other places. (if you're in another place and want to take a class... GO to your local studio and ask for them to bring me. I would LOVE to come and teach!!!)

I'm back I'm back I'm back!!!!!!! (has anyone noticed how excited I am about all this???)

I'm running out of punctuation marks! THAT'S how excited I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yes, I made beads yesterday. I have also "injured" myself twice now making me a REAL beadmaker again (burned my lips which is a major ouch still and yesterday cut my finger...but only a tiny bit... BUT it's pretty much something that goes with the territory, so I'm officially back! LOL) I do need to go and buy a new aloe plant and some bandaids!!

I worked on the new idea and did pretty good for a first-time. I have a lot of tweaking to do, but I'm on my way. I need to move quickly towards getting it together as there is sort of a time deadline.

AND my etsy.com shop is in progress. This is where my storefront will be now. It's a great site for handmade/art items. I should have clothesline and halo kits up by the end of the week. Hopefully by next week (??) I might have some lampwork beads AND really really HOPEFULLY this new thing will be in there! HOPEFULLY.


ok... time for the tiny blah blah blah-og...

coffee - nope. I'm enjoying an ice cold Dr. Pepper this morning. I passed the starbucks I don't like this morning because I took a different route to work and decided to skip it. It's not worth paying for a drink I don't LOVE.... and for some reason, they're just never as good at that location.

music - Sylvie's "new mellow mix" which really isn't "new" anymore. I made it last summer and haven't made another mellow playlist since. Need to. There are a lot of songs that I'd like to add to it. Right now it's playing John McLaughlin's Beautiful Disaster.

Saturday Studio Excitement!

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm REALLY a beadmaker again!!! I was going through the motions the past few times... just trying to make what I already knew how to make... nothing new, nothing creative (from my end), just making sure I could DO the work again.

(If you're not a beadmaker that won't make sense, so think of it like playing an instrument after years of no practice. It's SO physical... getting your hands to do what they need to do without your having to think about it. That's what I was working on before.... just getting back into the groove.)

But TODAY... I was INSPIRED! That's what I live for!!! I was sitting there making things and my brain started flying through possibilities.... things I could make today, things I needed to think more about... WAY more beads than I'd ever have time for anytime soon.

THAT was exciting!!!!! I'm back!!!!!!!!


and do I have something cool in store for my customers!!!! woo hoo!!!! I can't WAIT to reveal it!!! (only mom knows.... and maybe Marcy will because I've got to tell SOMEONE who gets it!)

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!


tiny blah blah blah...

(and this will be a shocker)

NO COFFEE

NO MUSIC

and I had a great studio day anyways!!!!!! (other than burning my lip on a shocky piece of flying hot glass)

So, it looks like I'm a blogger again, huh? I'm not sure why I'm compelled to spill my guts to the internet world, but I think I just need to write every once in a while and this is a good format to do it.

Nothing real beady to say today. I haven't cleaned out my studio from seed-bead mania (more on that in a second), so there were no beads made this weekend.

Seed bead mania - While I was stockpiling beads for my mermaid kits in 2005, I realized that I had almost as many, if not way more seed bead colors than most bead stores. That led to my selling packaged seed beads by the gram on my web-site in addition to the kits I was selling. This was a big venture and I invested more money in it than I probably should have (though I made the money back).

It was VERY time consuming, however and when I took a break from beadmaking, I tried to keep up the seed bead end of things for a little while, but my heart wasn't in it, nor did I have the time, so I closed that portion of my store as well.

The point of this is that when I had stopped making beads a couple of years ago and continued to do the seed bead merchandising, the seed beads took over my studio. So, right now in my studio are BOXES of seed beads and they are all over the place, including in my glass area. In order to make beads again, I have to clear out those seed-beads and get organized. I HATE getting organized, as anyone who knows me well can attest to.

In the past I'd barter with people to come organize for me.... trading classes or beads for cleaning/organizing. Right now I don't have the means to do that since I'm not teaching and I don't have any beads to trade (other than seed beads which I have TONS of), so I'm going to have to get motivated and clean my own studio!!! UGH!!!!

At least I have motivation now... I know I can make beads again. I spent 2 years not knowing if I could or not. I didn't talk about this in my earlier posts, but I had something going 2 years ago that made my hands tremble and shake to the point that I couldn't make even the simplest of beads. It was SO frustrating because they couldn't trace the cause of it. It eventually got a bit better, but at the same time other life events took the forefront, I took a full-time "real job" and beadmaking just became something that I "used" to do.

In the back of my mind I wondered if I could return to beadmaking, if my shaking had subsided enough to try, but I was afraid. I really really didn't want to sit down at the torch and find out that I had lost the ability forever. I had people say "oh, you could make organic beads, things that don't require as much control," but I didn't want to. I wanted to make what I wanted to make... girly, detailed beads. And if I couldn't do that, it was going to be a big disappointment. And I'd had too much disappointment last year. I didn't need something bringing me down, reminding me of my weaknesses when I was fighting so hard to be strong and independant.

So I didn't even try. I hate to say it, because I'd never want my kids to have that attitude, but I didn't want to try something that I wasn't going to be totally successful at. People said "do it because you love it, not because you're perfect at it," but that wasn't working... I WANTED to be perfect or not to do it at all. Thinking of not being able to make beads was depressing, so I didn't think about it at all.

A month or so ago I decided that it was time to try. To at least see if it was a possibility. I'd spent more than 10 years of my life as a beadmaker and I didn't like the idea of just disappearing off the map because of something that wasn't my choice. But I was really afraid of failure. My hands still shake, (not nearly as much though) and I didn't know if I'd be successful or not. I had no idea if I'd be able to make a dot bead, let alone a bead with a lot of embellishment like most of my beads were. I knew I'd have to clean my studio before I tried, so I kept procrastinating.

I finally decided that I'd have to go about it different route. I'd rent studio time through the Southern Flames (local glass bead group) and since I was reserving space and paying for it, it would make me go, the same way that having a trainer at the gym makes me show up. It gives some sort of accountability, no procrastination allowed.

I called and reserved a space and found out that there wasn't torch-time that weekend, but Beads by Design, the beadstore that hosts the torch-time, generously let me use their space for the day and let me try making beads again. YAY!!!!

I tried little beads first... just dots... and I could do it with no problem!!! My dots were as straight as they ever were and even though I was shaking a little, it wasn't really an issue. I moved on and decided to go for it and make a fairy. I got my stringer colors mixed and just went for it! YAY! It worked... no problems!! So then I tried a mermaid... and again, no problems! I was on auto-pilot and was able to do all the same things I used to do.

I didn't try anything huge like one of the mermaid torsos for Splish Splash. Those took SO much time and energy and control, I didn't want to risk it when I'd had such a good day. I can't even begin to tell you (whoever you are) what a big deal it was that I could make beads again! It changed my outlook on life SO much. Not that I was moping around... I definitely haven't had a moping year. BUT I hadn't felt like an artist and this let me see that there was that possibility still out there.

SO, this is what brought me back to my blog. The hopes that I'll be beadmaking again. The accountability of saying it "out loud" with the internet universe listening. I updated my website so that there might be people that looked at this blog and said "so where are the beads??!!" at some point. I'm hoping that saying I'm GOING to make beads will make me clean up my studio and get busy!

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll just check in and talk about whatever floats my boat and keep everyone informed what coffee I'm drinking and music I'm listening to!

Stay tuned....

Beads Made - Zero
Coffee Today - Venti 3 pump Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Whip (which I really need to give up!)
Music - NOTHING! aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! I forgot my ipod, so it's way too quiet!

WOW! 2 days in a row??!!!

Maybe I AM blogging again. I've been working on formatting the blog today, so I'm on my way towards it anyways! YAY!!!

A lot of my recent bead-related energy has been directly related to e-mails that I've received from customers/students who were either looking for beads or patterns that they weren't finding on my website OR were asking when I'd be back OR just checking on me. I've put these e-mails into a file on my computer called "fan mail" (which sounds vain and probably is) and when I'm having a down day, I look at those to remind myself that I have (and still can) make things that bring happiness to people... even if just in a little way.

And this brings us to James Taylor...

Mr. Taylor has a song called "That's Why I'm Here" that talks about his doing the same thing (singing Fire and Rain) again and again and again, year after year for people who come to his concerts and "That's Why I'm Here" is his response to this. I totally get it. I'm not an international super-star like James, but at times I felt like I was singing the same song "again and again and again" making my cute-sy girly things, but they DO make people happy (and me too), so maybe "That's Why I'm Here" too.

I think it's "time to make the donuts" again. (I used to refer to this old Dunkin Donuts commercial all the time on days that I didn't really feel like making beads). It might not start because it's something I completely WANT to do right now, but it's something I NEED to do on several levels. I need that positive affirmation that I make something that makes people happy, I need the camaraderie that exists between beaders, I need the ego boost that selling things brings, and there are other positive benefits that come out of it too.

Are you ready for a big teaser???? A certain bracelet which was retired might be making a return... just because it would be an easy way for me to make a "come back." Something I'm used to making and might not have such a challenge conquering. (I guess I'll have to talk more about why I'd have to "conquer" ANYTHING later... but not today.) SO, that might be news to some of you... the return of ___ over ___. But don't tell! It's not a sure thing yet. Just gossip.

The big question now is WHEN can I make beads?? My life is already SO full (as my battered Franklin Planner can attest to) right now. I'm just going to have to find some time to add this element back into my life. I'll keep you posted (excuse the bad pun!) as to how the juggling is going.


Beads Made Today = ZERO
Coffee Consumed Today - Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte (3 pumps with whip)
Music - Sylvie's Long Mellow List (see newly added playlists on the right hand column)

I guess I'm checking in weekly now rather than daily. Guess it's better than not checking in at all.

I wonder why I am still posting my blog since I'm not really doing posting of pictures very often, if at all, of what i'm making in the studio lately.

What I've been making is mermaid torsos...lots of them. I guess they aren't really a "mermaid torso" until they have fins...they could be just girl torsos too I guess. But I'm making them for the mermaid project and have been trying to get 3 or more made per day. These take such intense concentration that I can't do many more than that. I did do 5 the other day, but by number 5, my hands were shaking I was so tired. It's a little crazy seeing that I can make a whole bunch of regular mermaids per day and they're not all that small. Just one of those hmmmmmm things.

In a quick update for anyone reading this who was worried about my work schedule. My long days are not ALL in the studio. The hours I was talking about include the computer grunt work that I do in the evenings. I am just saying that there are few hours in the day that I'm not doing something that has to do with my business...and that's sad. I've tried, but I get antsy knowing there is stuff that really needs to be done.

Not sure how I am going to be an "empire" of girly-stuff-ness if I have these tendencies. And that's what I want to be. The future Mary Englebreit or something like that with designs based on my glasswork and drawings which have that same feeling. I really loved doing the work I did this fall with the greeting cards. I just don't have time to do everything myself and I don't really know about marketing of such things. For now, my dream is still a dream without a lot behind it.

Ok, I'm off to do work in the office of my father (which is my Wednesday job)...

Starbucks today - Cinnamon Dolce Latte - having it until they discontinue it.
Music - classic rock on the new atlanta station...the river 97.1 (said in my best rock n' roll announcer voice)

Hello world, it's Wednesday.

I have to say after reviewing my earlier happy dance posts that I am TIRED...all that dancing wears a girl out!

No seriously, I'm worn out. Good sales breed tired beadmaker/beadseller/bead enterprise CEO/Bead inventory Foreperson/Bead Website Design Diva and all the other hats I wear. If it wasn't for Marie, I would have collapsed by now.

I am so happy to have a thriving business, but SO SO tired because I've been working constantly since the beginning of January. A couple of nights ago I sat in front of the TV and did absolutely nothing and it felt weird. I'm so used to multi-tasking and almost always working on something that it just felt weird. I've been trying to knit or something else just to keep myself from working 17 hour days, but it's tough.

That sounds horrible, and I truly love what I do. I'm just tired, that's all.

AND my website is pittifully out of date. Must get help with that too I think. I'm going to call someone who might be able to help...just had brain lightbulb thing go off.

starbucks - Venti 3 pump Cinnamon Dulce Latte which is delicious and when they discontinue it (and I know they will since it was a Valentines thing)I'm just going to die a coffe-less death. So until then...Carpe Coffee :)

My last posting sounded pretty ecstatic. It was. The good and bad of that are good...lots of sales, bad lots of tired. So lots of ups and downs since that post. Mostly up, but I'm tired!

I was listening to James Taylor today, though and heard the song "That's why I'm here" and it struck home...mermaids mermaids mermaids. That's why I'm here I think...to make people smile and such with what I do. A nice aha moment for the day.

No big crowds or big bucks like JT, but just an overall happiness with the approval I got from this project.

:)ing

coffee - cinnamon dolce latte which is totally delicious
music - James Taylor

WHOOOPEEEE!

They like me they really like me!!!

(splish splash mermaid is a big success and I'm a happy camper!)

Much more exciting than the Gap selling talls, though that is pretty darn exciting!

off to work,

coffee - no, stomach is sick, so having a coke (and a smile)
music - my playlist on ipod called "if I were a radio station" has TONS of songs with no rhyme or reason that I like. You might hear aerosmith and then carly simon and then beck...you just never know what's going to pop up. very fun

I hate saying "happy dance" again, but it is!

The Gap now sells Talls online!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is huge, (no pun intended) I can buy a t-shirt that's long enough to tuck in!!!!! I love their jeans and their clothes, but had only been able to buy their jeans since they came in long and x-long lengths. Now I can buy shirts and jackets too.

Can you say....BIRTHDAY IDEA?!!!! Yes you can!

Someone tell my husband that I want a jacket! There's a really cute one that comes in black or white and a cute jeans jacket too! Oh my! So many good choices that will actually fit! woo hoo!!!!!

As for beads, which this is supposed to be about. I spent a good part of yesterday beading samples. Will it ever end?! Will I ever be able to MAKE the darn kits?!!

The beads are all here, but I'm trying to get samples and pics done so that I can market the kits. UGH. It's tough being a one-man show!!! Although Marie, the goddess of Beads makes it much less of a one man show than it was before. Three cheers for Marie!!!!!

coffee and tea today.
no music. forgot my headphones. :(

way behind in blogging and in life.

Had a tough month so far, but seem to be returning to normal.

I'm really really hoping that January turns into a much more profitable work month. I've been working so hard designing and making samples that I haven't SOLD anything!! It's the tough part of what I do. If I was a bead maker, pure and simple again, I would just make beads and sell them...voila a business that lasts all the time without starts and stops.

I LOVE doing the seed bead weaving and project designing, though, so I am just going to have to adjust to the ups and downs OR give up that portion of what I do.

So, am done whining and will now return to work. I am so glad to be normal again and wanting to work. It was just a crazy crazy month and I'm glad it's back to some form of sanity.

Coffee today - mais oui! I had a starbucks venti 2%, 2 pump mocha. My drink of choice lately.

No music. Am listening to the Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd on CD (well ipod really), so no music played today.

Off to bead...

Rainy days and mondays (fill in the rest)

I did make beads today...7 focal beads which was a BIG day for me lately.

I need to get my samples finished, but I think that's do-able in the next 2 days. Could be unrealistic, but I really really really need to.

Bummer du jour - my planet smoothie is closing. sniff sniff. good bye shagadelic smoothies after workouts. (maybe it's a good thing, I don't seem to be losing weight lately and maybe this is the reason!)

swimming 2x a week now...whoo hoo.

making darn good mochas on my own espresso maker, so Starbucks is sort of out of business here. LOL

music today - groove tunes playlist and also "chick flick songs" playlist

Happy Day before Thanksgiving!!!

I worked out extra hard this week preparing for the holiday...not really, but we'll pretend that my workouts had those sort of good intentions. I am just trying to keep a regular workout schedule. I'm swimming again because I think that was the main form of exercise that kept my metabolism at a point where I could eat more of what I wanted without worrying so much about gaining weight.

Ok...that had absolutely nothing to do with my studio work. I am trying to keep my blog on-subject, but I guess it's harder than I thought it would be.

Studio-wise, I've been making samples of mermaids. It's been several weeks of me saying that now, but it's true! I had to make the beads to be the torsos of the sample mermaids...choose the colors for the samples/kits which takes the longest because it's lots of beading and tearing out and re-beading until I find colors I like.

I now have 4 out of ___ samples made. One is Sylvie colors, one dark purples and greens and burgandies (a deeper Sylvie-colors), one vivid florida brights, one hot hot hot Rio reds and pinks. I'm finishing one that's autumn-rich tones. I have plans for a blue mermaid and a turquoise-y hawaiian one. It's just taking way too long to get all the samples made. I want to be able to send out an e-mail and say...They're here! Time to pre-order! I just need to have several more hours in the day to sit and bead!!! Work out time does cut into beading time, but it's necessary to keep my beader's butt in check.

having coffee - mocha (with whip full whole milk whipcream thing...not good girl drink)
no music at moment...

It was a dental day...once more. I am not happy about spending so much $ this year on my darn teeth! I could have had a wonderful vacation somewhere for the price of my teeth!!!

Back to beading. working on samples samples samples. Hoping that this is a project that people will really like and ORDER. Hoping to have something ready to roll into a premiere by the beginning of Dec. and that's not far away!

So...off to bead!

no coffee today, but my sore mouth had a smoothie...mmmmmmm

Exercised until I almost near died....well not really, but my legs feel like Jello after swimming for almost an hour. I hadn't been in the pool in over a year and it was time to get my rear in gear, so I did. Ouch!

Back home now, cking e-mail and other junk. Won't say that I'm being health nut today, because I did have caramel corn after exercising. Guess it would be worse if I had caramel corn and DIDN'T exercise.

Going back to making samples in a few minutes. Have 3 out of 6 finished. Woo Hoo!

music - no
coffee - no, Planet Smoothie - Shagadelic w/ Soy protein and no yogurt...took out the sugar and fat by doing that!

to work I go!

Things seem much more sane today, in my life and those of others.

I have such a great support system of friends and family, I can't imagine the life of one without such a great group of caring people. I am one truly blessed chick!

So, back to normal, back to work today. Am beading samples for the new project...can't order beads for kits until I know what colors I'm ordering. I'm really really excited about getting this launched, but I can only bead SO fast! If someone is e-mailing me (cough cough maybe you?) because they've read this blog and they are waiting anxiously for the kits to be ready.....they will....soon! I'm beading as fast as I can!!! :)

Off to bead and watch t.v. (my son asked me if that's what I do all day...watch t.v. I don't think he understands Mom's job!)

music today - no, as I said above am watching my Tivo
coffee today - no, Planet Smootie - Shag-a-delic w/ added soy protein. mmmmmmm

Still working on Mermaid samples

spent too much time today reading things that didn't need to be read.

I don't wish to talk about it here, but lots curiosity about things that I shouldn't be curious about. Would hate it if people discussed my own emotional train wrecks (and we all have them to one extent or another) in such public forums. YET...I am lurking waiting for news that everything is ok...really ok, not just "ok".

This makes no sense, but again, it's my blog.

Made my own starbucks latte today. mmmmmmm

no music - should have played music instead of reading stupid computer stuff all day!