Having a better week

Feeling a bit better today and determined to make it a GREAT week! I finished up some projects that had been hanging around for a while and finally finished a bead pen for my friend Jackie. I think it turned out so cool! I love the colors...

I also finished up a bracelet for a special order for a fantastic gal. I sure hope she likes it!

And, finally, following the "getting stuff done" theme - here is a big set of beads that I finished yesterday...

What's up with the economy?

Watch out, here comes a Debbie Downer moment...

I feel like I am making some of the cutest beads I've ever made and yet there are no buyers. It's making me sad and insecure! I wonder if I should go back to selling my beads on eBay or if I should just save up all my beads and do a bead show instead. It's so hard to figure out what to do and I feel like I'm just stuck in this indecisive hole right now.

I am hoping my next blog entry will be made on a more upbeat note.

Getting back into 'normal' mode

Mom is back home in MN, Mark has started his new job and I find myself with more time to get beads made again. I miss them but I'd better make use of the time, right? I started out slow, doing some little sets I've been meaning to do for a while. The little red and gold set has been simmering in my brain since I spied a long-forgotten book of gold leaf in one of the drawers in my garagio (garage studio).

The flowers I just had to do because I got a bundle of delicious Reichenbach gold violet cane and had to try it out. It is even more delicious on the flowers than it was in rod form. YAY! Very pink, very beautiful.

I'm trying out a large triangle press and just felt compelled to make a slice of watermelon with it since summer is surely on the way, despite all the rain and gray skies we've been having this week.

The bracelet was done for my friend Jackie. I just love it and my have to make one for myself now, too. So sparkly!

Well, now I have to get back to the garagio to do more creating before the A/C guy shows up. And he better show up or I am going to have a complete conniption. He was a no-show last week and never even bothered to call. Grrrrr...

Inspiration is everywhere!

Check these out:

Happiness, found in the little things

I have had an outstanding week, really. Desiree and I have jumpstarted her job search again and are going at it with renewed vigor. Mark has started to get some bites on his newly reformulated resume. I have been drawn to the torch in a way I haven't felt for quite a while. All in all, good things are in the air.

One of the reasons I have felt a renewed zest for torching probably has to do with the overwhelmingly positive response to my new bunnies (YAY!) and for that I am truly grateful. I love them but that's never a good guide as to whether or not others will. The response has really bolstered my drive to create. YAY!

The other really great thing about this week is the weather. It is truly spring here. The temps are mild. Sunny but breezy and cool. Just perfect sit-on-the-patio-sipping-your-morning-coffee weather. Days like this make me wish I had a window in front of my torch.

Poofy Clouds

Here's an entry at Watch Me Create from Lori Greenberg that deals with the subject of cute:

http://watchmecreate.com/?p=3223

Specifically, white poofy clouds. I love the word poofy. Well, that inspired me to create a poofy cloud bead of my own - take a look at the result...

I think that it is a simple, silly bead that gets the poofy cloud concept across pretty well and I think it's pretty cute, too. :)

Beads and Tech

I don't know if I have anything much to talk about this week but maybe if I just start writing, something will come...

My APC battery backup/surge protector thingie has been periodically cutting power to my computer and letting out this high-pitched continuous alarm. So, while I am panicking about the work I just lost or whether or not my email will be able to recover from yet another improper shut-down, I also get to wince at the pain inflicted in my earholes. I'm pretty sure that the APC is gasping its last breaths at this point. Ah the joys of technology...

On the other hand, I discovered TWITTER recently! I am following some interesting characters, along with other beadmakers and jewelry designers. One is Dr. Drew Pinski, who I just adore (VH1's Celebrity Rehab is one of my favorite guilty pleasures) and another is Leo Laporte, who hosts tech related shows (I'm a geek!).

I had a funny thing happen the other day... I received an email from someone who left a message about my YouTube video, liked my blog and wanted to add me to their Facebook so I twittered them my ID. It was at that moment that I realized I had gone social networking supernova. Awesome. What a great time we live in.