SO far behind in blogging... here's what you missed....


1. Sylvie goes to Oakland for the BABE show (which is nowhere near as racy as it sounds... but it does sound fun to say I'm in the BABE show. It's the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza) Picture above is part of my display.

2. Sylvie cries with customers at the show. It's always emotional hearing how my work effects others... even though I sometimes see my work as shallow or silly. Long story about this later.

3. Sylvie returns from BABE to get busy making stock for her next show.

4. Sylvie freaks out realizing that her next show is in only 2 weeks!!!!!!

5. Sylvie works all day making pretty things for the people of Atlanta to come buy!


Here are the details on the last show of 2010...

Decatur Holiday Marketplace

December 3-4
Clairemont Elementary School

see their website for all the details
decaturholidaymarketplace.com


back to work!!

tiny blah blah blah...

coffee -not nearly enough
music - CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!

posting 2 days in a row??!! could it be??!!!

I'm taking a quick break from the studio for a few minutes to clear my head and try to get back on track...if there's any chance of that.

I have a show this weekend... a BEAD show, yet I am not making beads... I'm making Christmas ornaments and sculptural stuff. WHY??!!! I can't answer that. I am just NOT in a beadmaking mood and my hands (and brain) just want to make these other pieces.

Let's hope that "my public" in California this weekend is ok with that.... because I don't see myself getting back on track when I go back into the studio in a few minutes.


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes. Cinnamon Dolce Latte which was a yummy way to start the day

music - yes. I started with mellow stuff then moved to the Glee cast version of Rocky Horror Picture Show...which is only adding to the madness of what I'm making.

It's Monday and I have soooooo much to do before the BABE show that I really shouldn't even be ON the computer (but I'm posting quickly then getting to work!)

LOTS of things to make this week to re-build inventory that is thankfully low, but also sadly low and will look bad on my table if that's all I have!!!

The black-board of bossiness will have a looooooong list of what I'm supposed to make. Hopefully I can knock a good portion of the things off the list today.

So, I'd better get busy!

Time to make the Donuts!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - oh yeah... desperately needed for a day like this! CDL
music - starting with Al Green then moving to Adele then onto ???? we'll see.

It's been a bleck week so far. I've been sick and haven't been on the torch except a tiny bit. Coughing and making beads don't mix.

SO... I'm going to give it another try this evening, but not have big expectations. Instead, this morning, I'm.... drumroll.... GOING TO PICK UP MY NEW TORCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!

I'm sooooo excited. It might be a bit of a learning curve getting used to it, so I'm not going to take my old torch out of circulation yet... just in case. If I adjust to it quickly, however, I plan on selling the phantom to purchase one smaller torch for Thing 1 (A GTT Cricket)....and using the rest of the proceeds to rebuild my glass inventory. I seem to be FLYING through glass since I started making beads again AND I'm making bigger stuff, so that makes it even worse.

Off to the glass store... YAY!!!!!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes! CDL and it's yummy on such a cold morning!
music - not yet, but I'll be singing along with the Christmas tunes in the studio later while I make ornaments!

It's Mixed-Bag Monday!!!!

On the "down" end of the mix (I'm putting the down first because it's short and I don't want to dwell on it) I'm sick. Same icky crud my kids had. I guess it was bound to catch up with me...but ick. I want to feel better so that I can get back into the studio tomorrow.

On the GOOD end.... it's another BIG good (I told you guys that there were ups and downs and if there weren't some downs, the ups would be UP at all). The BIG UP is that I won the Flametree Halloween Glass Contest!!!!!!!! This is HUGE for so many reasons.

1. I finally got my nerve up to enter something.

2. I won a SCORPION torch (those of you who don't do glasswork won't know what a big deal that is... but it's the absolute IDEAL torch for doing the work I'm doing AND it's out of my price-range, so I wouldn't have bought one myself anytime soon. But now I don't have to buy one!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! There were SO many great entries that this is a big honor.

3. The piece I made really inspired me to go in some new directions with my work. This filled the void that the "lack of inspiration" posting was talking about. I now have a great new path I can explore. This path will make room for some other non-beady possibilities. I'm sooo excited about it.

4. That win gave me the courage to enter another contest and other juried shows! Watch out world!!!

ok... back to real life and hot tea. Hopefully I'll be back in the studio tomorrow where I can explore these new ideas!!


tiny blah blah blah..

coffee - nope. Hot tea.
music - nope. Project Runway CANADA marathon. It's pretty good, ey?

Happy Friday Bloggy Friends!!

It's been a day of computer-work, which was NOT my intention, but was a necessity and it's DONE! (well, after this posting it is)

I loaded the store-front with goodies (the Sunshine Ring kits are FINALLY in the store) as well as sent out the newsletter!

If you're not on my newsletter list, there is a link on my website where you can sign up. If you can't find it, leave a comment here and I'll help.

Here's a link to the news that went out today...

Sylviebead News Autumn 2010

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Happy Halloween!!!

Good Morning Blog Readers!!!!

Happy Tuesday to you!!!

I had an exciting weekend in a class with a fabulous glass artist, Jari Sheese. She taught hollow beads using a tool called the "puffy mandrel" which combines the type of glass-work I normally to do (which is solid-core) with blown glass. Something I'd been exploring with my Christmas ornaments, but was having trouble mastering. This class really helped! She also taught button-making which was a blast (but I'm really bad at!!!) It will take some practice, but I see lots of interesting applications for the buttons other than use as a traditional button.

The OTHER exciting thing I did this weekend was enter a contest. Those who know me well know that i NEVER enter contests or juried things. My ego can't stand the possibility of rejection. This time, however, I stepped out of my comfort zone and entered. The top 4 prizes are all GTT torches...which ROCK. The TOP prize is a Scorpion torch which I have reallllllllly wanted since they first came out. There are fabulous entries, so I'm not going to hold my breath, but being honest here... I'm holding my breath.

I'm really proud of my entry. It's a direction I've been headed in, larger sculpture, so to put it together and actually get it entered in a contest is a big deal. Watch for other pieces in this manner in the future. Not the same subject matter, but the same idea sculpture-wise.

Here's my entry... and a link to go vote!

She Stepped On Anyone to Get Ahead

(but who did she need to step on to get some arms?!!)

Here's the link to vote:
https://flametreeglass.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=20

(if that link doesn't work, go to the Flametree Glass Page and use their link to the 2010 Halloween entries)

Hope you have a great day! I'm off to make beads/ornaments for my upcoming shows!!

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coffee - Cinnamon Dolce Latte - YUM!
music - not sure yet!

So, I've been avoiding the blog for a few weeks... sorry.

I just haven't had anything wonderful to say. I came home after 2 totally inspiring classes/shows and was truly UN-inspired on my return.

I have SO much to do, SO much to make and my muse has disappeared. I know it's temporary, but I hate that it went on vacation right now when I need it.

Shows that are upcoming are really important for marketing purposes and I need to kick it into high gear... BUT I need to always have something new and exciting on the back burner. My burner is empty at the moment. :(

I hate for this to be a depressing posting, but I'm keeping things real and being honest about the ups AND downs of doing art as a profession. There were some SOARING times in the last few weeks... truly high points of my year.... and for every high, there has to be a bit of a low (otherwise those wouldn't be high points after all)

I'm going to the studio today with no expectations other than making something. Sometimes the good ideas appear in the middle of the mundane. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for that.


tiny blah blah blah...
coffee - I apparently need more
music - too early to tell you what I'm listening to. I'm predicting something motown-ish

It's Monday and this blog posting is LONG overdue!

I have been lax in updating my blog lately. I've just been swallowed up with show-prep/class-prep for all the upcoming fall events and the blog was put on the back burner. There are SOOOOO many readers, however (cough cough... not really...just making it sound good) that I felt guilty leaving them without something to read about me me me! ;)

What's been brewing in the studio???? New beads. Beads for ornaments and kits. I've been experimenting a lot with color, which is really fun, but also can lead to non-pretty beads that go into the "I think not" pile. (which I need to go through and take to the Beads of Courage dropoff!)

I've been really into hollow beads lately...mostly because they are the core of my Christmas ornament collection (and this year the halloween ornaments too). That is what I spent today on... orange, black, purple, lime and a little white. They're really cute and I can't wait to assemble them and see a finished "halloween tree" :D I'm hoping to have a good selection of these for the show in Detroit next month.

So... I apologize for my absence, but hopefully you will forgive me. I will be posting lots of pictures of new things (as soon as I get a chance to photograph them) on the Facebook fan page. If you haven't visited there... check it out!


have a wonderful week!! (but hopefully I'll be back before the end of the week. I'll try to do a better job of blogging)


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes! yummy starbucks cinnamon dolce latte

music - my "Chick Flick or Should be" playlist.

Wednesday... already??!!!

Seems like time is flying by lately!! Maybe because it's getting to be show crunch time and I've got so many things going at once.

After returning from California, I've been tweaking the Flora Flora project, working on my samples for the kits and doing some research for a new project that will be WAY down the road, but I want to do some work on before the idea escapes me.

I'm ALSO working on pieces for upcoming shows in Nashville and Detroit. LOTS to do between now and Detroit especially. I want to have a couple of new special things for that show. (not that Nashville doesn't merit special too... I just don't have time!!!)

The Blackboard of Bossiness in my studio is full of "to-do" list and attitude this week. Hopefully I'll make my way through some of the list. (and for those California girls reading this, the baby faces for Sunshine Ring ARE on the list!!! I promise I'll have more for you soon!!)

ok... back to work!

coffee - oh yes! Today was a Starbucks day... Cinnamon Dolce Latte!!

music - my Christmas playlist...which had nothing to do with what I was making. It was just what I was in the mood for today.

Hi Wednesday Blog-reading friends!!!!!!!

I'm back from California, teaching the girls at Creative Castle. What an INCREDIBLE weekend of fun and beads!!! I love Carole's store and it was soooooooo tempting to snatch up every little bag of seed-beads she had, but I showed some restraint! (I didn't even LOOK at the crystals!! I knew she had some good ones too... but I was a good girl and stuck to what I needed...a thread zapper and size 11/0s and delicas in shades of blue and blue/green)

My classes were full of incredibly fun people who also happened to be talented beadworkers. They made my designs shine...adding their own personalities to their pieces. I loved that!!! The first day was the Sunshine Ring and we had a smaller group for that one, but it really let me get to know those 5 beaders before our larger class on Saturday/Sunday. I can't even begin to tell you how special they all made me feel. I can't imagine another job that would make you feel so personally appreciated...not just professionally, but to be appreciated on a personal level.

By the end of these classes, I knew that I had truly been missed in bead-world. It wasn't just me that missed it, but I was really missed as well. That was huge. I also left knowing that THIS is what I do (which is exactly what NanC Meinhardt told me back in 2001 and I thought she was crazy) This IS what I do...and it's what I love... and it's what I truly can make a living doing. It just requires working my butt off to do it. And I intend to!

So... Flora Flora was a big success. I loved the way all the kit colors turned out (only 2 of the 7 kit colors remained un-beaded, so I need to get samples done of those ASAP... people need to see the subtleties of the pastel one and the richness of the grape-colored one) I'm not going to sell the project on my website for quite a while, so the next months will be dedicated to finding teaching venues for it and then I'll launch it at Bead and Button in the summer (2011)

Between now and then Head Over Heels limited editions will continue, Christmas decorations and glass sculptures will be created and I will work on another new design to have ready to teach at Creative Castle in a year. I PROMISE I will be back there, girls!!!!! You won't have to wait another 7 years for me to teach!!!!

In the meantime, I need to get other classes booked, get all my shows scheduled and get busy making more things!!! Off to do that!! (after I get Thing2 to school)


coffee - oh yeah... I have it in hand. We had an EARLY morning and I needed the Cinnamon Dolce jump-start!

music - not yet, but I'll be playing CHRISTMAS music in the studio today. Time to start prepping for fall shows where I'm selling my new ornaments!

WOO HOO WEDNESDAY!!!

A very exciting week and a lot to do today! Very excited about the new project I'm teaching this weekend. FUN names for the kit colors. YUMMY colors in the kits and more lampwork beads than I have EVER put in one project. (I'm re-thinking my pricing for future classes now that I've done the production work for this one.)

Lots to talk about next week, but had to stop in and say WOO HOO! Class-time is almost here!!


tiny blah blah blah...

music - James Taylor greatest hits.

coffee - definitely! Might need 2 today!

Totally weird blog phenomenon Thursday!

ok.... if you've read my blog for a while you know that I get a little obsessive over my blog statistics... where readers come from, what they search, etc.

So there was this weird thing that happened yesterday... weird weird weird. More than one actually!

1. 25% of my viewers were from U.S. Government servers. CRAZY! I'm paying you to read my blog???!!!! (ok... not just me, but all citizens are paying taxes so people can read MY blog????) weird. At least 2-3 government entities are listed as readers a LOT, so this shouldn't surprise me... it just hit me as a bit weird when I saw the percentage (that said... I didn't have a lot of readers yesterday)

2. WAY weirder than #1 is that 2 different people visited my blog yesterday and read the archives from the same month in 2002 within 30 minutes of each other.... in 2 TOTALLY different foreign countries. I think that's just bizarre. Truly bizarre. It made me have to re-read the entries from that month and see if there was anything worth reading that happened then. Nope. It was same old same old from 2002... me working my butt off making beads for kits and classes. Nothing truly earth-shattering.


SO... that was the weird news of the day.


In other news.... I'm making beads like a mad woman. I'll be ready for my class in California next weekend, but I've got a lot to do between now and then.


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - nope... Dr. Pepper reigns supreme this week

music - Groove Tunes. Singin' with Gladys

It's "Wigging out Wednesday"!!!

No, we're not wearing fun wigs at the studio today.... although that sounds fun. No... I'm just wigging out a little over all the stuff that has yet to be done before my trip next week.

I'm trying to remain calm and just plug through the list, but the list is loooooooong and just seems to get longer.


and typing this entry isn't helping it get shorter, so I'm going to go eat a quick lunch and go back to working and wigging! :)


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - nope. It's an iced tea sort of day

music - Pandora

Happy busy Tuesday to you!

It's been a full 2 days of studio production work for me. A lot of the stuff I was making today was the same... over and over again the same colors, style, EVERYTHING. So, while I sat and grooved on dots and pixie dust, I dreamed of new stuff.

That's the cool thing about production work. The monotony allows me to not think about what I'm doing... I'm on auto-pilot at some point, and I can use that time to create. I can't follow up on those ideas until I'm out of this production phase, but I had some great ideas that I really look forward to exploring in a couple of weeks.

But first, I must finish all my Flora Flora beads! only a week to go!!!!!


have a great day everyone!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - nope. It was a Dr. Pepper morning

music - oh yeah! It was Groove Tunes day in the studio. Lots of Prince, add a little 80s funky stuff, a dose of the Black Eyed Peas... totally danceable!

Happy Happy Friday to you!!!!!

The weekend is here. Which doesn't always mean the work week is through, but it DOES mean that I'm taking a break for the evening to go out and have fun!!!!!

I've been hard at work in the studio this week making flowers and stamens for the Flora Flora project. I still have a lot of work to do getting kits ready for my California class, but it's coming together slowly but surely.

I'll be back in the studio melting glass tomorrow.... but for tonight, I'm signing off!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - much needed Cinnamon Dolce Latte (getting up at 6 is not my forte, but we've rocked the schedule for 5 days now!)

music - my mondo eclectic playlist

Happy Tuesday!

Writing pattern... diagram-palooza. This pattern is sooooo pretty (which sounds crazy...that the actual pattern would be pretty. The project is pretty, but the diagrams are pretty too!)

On a completely different note... my youngest son has commented that my facebook (and probably my blog too, but he doesn't read it) postings look like an elementary school girl wrote them. He's disturbed by the liberties I take with punctuation.

Oh well. I told him that I'm an adult and I KNOW how to write correctly. I just CHOOSE to be creative with my punctuation marks and sentence structure. I've earned that right! :D

back to work! Have a wonderful day everyone!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes!!!!!!!!!!
music - Otis Redding Pandora Station. It rocks! I love that they include Van Morrison in the mix along with Aretha and Al Green (luuuuuuv me some Al)

It's finally here!!!!!!!

The first day of school!!!!!

Back to "normal" work days for me!!

Long to-do list includes finishing my pattern, cleaning the studio, ordering beads for kits.....

ok. I'm already intimidated by my to-do list and that's only a tiny part of it! This will cause a short blog entry, so I can get back to work!!!!!


tiny blah blah blah...

coffee - yes!!!!! treated myself to Starbucks this morning
music - nope. Gilmore Girls on TV... almost as good as background music! Love them!

Happy Friday everyone!

I told you yesterday that I was taking a day off. I am, BUT I thought I'd run this ad in my absence.

I've been using the site Swagbucks.com since February as my search engine. When you do, it randomly awards you with "bucks" that you can trade in for gift cards/merchandise. Since February, I have earned over $120 in Amazon gift cards as well as about $60 in merchandise from other retailers.

There are no strings... it's a google search engine that just puts some extra ads in the search results. Have questions? Feel free to message me. I'm hooked.

Here's a link!



SO... go search and win! (and help me win... when you sign up and search, I get extra bucks too!)

Just a quickie post...

I just saw that I have over 500 people who "like" me on Facebook. I feel like Sally Field, but that's pretty darn cool...that people take the time to click "like" about my work. I don't recognize most of the names, which is even cooler...knowing that there are people out there who like my work that I don't even know.

Kind of mind-blowing actually. (and just about the coolest thing of being an artist...knowing that something I create resonates with people I don't even know. How many other jobs get to say that???!!!! Very cool, indeed.

There are days, however that the "like" number goes down and I wonder... what made someone UNlike me??? I don't take it personally, but it's a bit odd.

ANYHOO...

Monday is back to normal day. I laughingly call it Margarita Monday, the day mothers everywhere celebrate....THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!! In reality, my day will not be spent as a "lady who lunches," but rather a hard-working single mom who is busting her butt to have things ready for all the fall classes and shows....while at the same time juggling regular life with teenage boys. I feel like I'm "one monkey short of a circus" a lot of the time, so I'm not sure how effective my juggling act really is. BUT, I'm having fun and really enjoying the show! :D

(and I realize that the last 2 sentences...and this one too have horrible punctuation and grammar, but I am beyond caring about those things... sorry mom and uptight grammar-police who happen to read this blog. I'm a creative person and I can write well when I want to, but I like extra punctuation marks and I like starting and stopping sentences whenever I please. My apology above is simply to acknowledge that you probably are bothered by my grammatical liberties.)

Have a wonderful rest of your week everyone! I'll be enjoying our last day of summer vacation tomorrow and won't be checking in.



tiny blah blah blah...

FREE Starbucks today! HOORAY for coupons!!!
music - not so much... well, there IS music, but it was chosen by Thing 1 and Thing 2 and today their taste and mine don't go together as well as they do other times!