Friendship & Etching

My friend Lisa called this morning. We spent the better part of last night working on the ISLAGA postcard together, well, she did most of it because she works in a land of Photoshop that I don't visit. I offered opinions and helped keep track of changes but mostly I learned alot.

Anyway, I told Lisa I was going to update my blog and she started giggling. She knows I have trouble keeping up with my blog that writer's block keeps me from posting more often but telling her and having her giggle at me made me resolve to do it. Well, that and she said she was going to check up on me later so if I don't want to hear about it, I better do it.

Lisa was just finishing cleaning her house. Neither of us enjoys housework but we both really enjoy a good cleaning purge or at least the result of it and we both get to a point where we obsess about getting it done and relishing the reward. It's liberating in a strange way and I think we both feel a "slate cleaning" sensation that gives us a lift that carries over into our torch time. We can confess and discuss this weirdness because we both know it but telling someone else about it doesn't always translate.

What I mean to say here is that a friend is a powerful force in our lives. We teach each other what we know when we know something, motivate or bait one another out of our comfort zones, and share satisfaction in weird stuff that most anyone else doesn't appreciate. So, I value having Lisa as my friend and hope that I am a good friend to her.

Oh yeah, I etched some stuff yesterday. Mostly vessels and weessels but a few bead sets as well. Getting out the chemicals, gloves, and working with the solution is something of a project so I tend to just keep a box of stuff I want to etch and then do an afternoon of it. A few of the above pictured will be posted on Etsy but mostly I am trying to build up inventory for Bead & Button coming up June 10th.

And the Winner is....

Stephanie of Lulu's Cottage! Congratulations Stephanie!
Please visit her blog and see what an amazing studio she has!

Thank you to all who participated and I am thankful for the new friends I have made because of this event!!

One World One Heart

I just heard about this amazing event from my bead buddy Lisa Atchison. One World One Heart is a global event to unite bloggers everywhere. To find out more or to participate, please visit the One World One Heart Website.

This stop on the magic carpet ride is the beach!

I will be giving away one of my favorite items; a beach ball necklace. This handmade glass globe is filled with tiny sea shells, driftwood and coral to remind you of a beautiful day at the seaside. It's capped with sterling silver and has a fine sterling bail. The size of the globe is about 23mm and the length of the necklace is 18 inches.

This beautiful necklace will be given (and shipped freely) to one lucky winner on February 15th. Here's how to enter:

1. You must have an active blog

2. You must leave a comment below to be eligible and you need to include contact info so I can contact you if you win.

Please visit my bead buddies who are also participating; Samma Parcels at Samma's Studio Lockdown and Lisa Atchison of Touch of Glass Designs.

January Special

Hi!

Wow do I ever stink at blogging! So, to make sure I at least post once a month, I will be having monthly specials for Etsy shoppers. For January and this frigid cold weather, I was going to offer your city's temperature as a percent off but that would just be rewarding those lucky stinkers that live in warmer climates so I will go with something easier; free shipping. In order to qualify you must put "free shipping" in the in the notes to the buyer. I will then refund your shipping fees and send your package on its merry way.

The photo above is of the back yard from last Spring. Before the new herb garden was planted around the fountain. I had an "after" picture but I can't find it. Hopefully this will remind you of what green really looks like and help tide you over until we see it again.

After the Show...I will

Well, I made it back from Bead Fest in Philadelphia! We rolled in at about 6 in the morning on Monday which is way too early for me but being nearly shot at a Waffle House in Ohio gave me the adrenaline I needed for that last push in to town.

I had a good time and a good show; thanks to all who stopped by to say hello including Julie Ryan. My email address is jewelrybyjules0@aol.com and if the zero after jules is left off then the email goes to Julie Ryan. This sweet lady has been forwarding my emails for over a year now and I thank her tremendously for this kindness.

I’m good at remembering to pack the camera but not so good at taking pictures mostly because I’m afraid I will be caught in front of the camera and be digitally reminded of how I really need to get my butt on a treadmill. Anyway, no pictures of the show; sorry!

I started making a list of stuff to be done “after the show” but since I had Bead and Button in May with only a little torch time in between, I opted to keep adding to the list until after Bead Fest here in August. That was maybe just a little too long.

One of the big items on the list was a clean out and reorganization of the studio. It’s been unnavigable since April but I had my excuse. No excuses now so that’s some of what I did this week. I didn’t take any “before” pictures but hey, if you don’t know what a mess looks like… The big part was the closet. It became one of those where you throw something in and close the door really fast. Everything had to come out. The left side has all of the mismatched storage drawers stacked up on either side with a board running across. This gives me a little workspace to package things up for shipping and, bonus, all of my shipping supplies are in one place now. The other side of the closet has my EZ up and light bar in the corner with a shelving unit to hold bins full of my show display stuff.

All of this new space gave me a chance to clean out my work bench area and even give the right half to Ann (my mom). As you can see, she is gearing up to do some serious jewelry type stuff including making jumprings.

Lastly, I hooked up my new torch, a Mega Minor. This is a small upgrade from my Minor but…well…it’s red and that’s cool! I need to tighten up the front screw so it sits upright without the film canister to prop it but it works and is ready to go.

I have a class with a bunch of lampwork buddies at Boca Loca Beads this Sunday so I’m looking forward to getting back to work next week creating some new goodies.

List and Notebook Obsessed

Where's my note book? No, my other notebook. No, my other, other notebook.

Hi, my name is Julie and I am obsessed with lists and my notebooks.
There's a little memo pad I carry with me for grocery lists or items from the store. In a pinch, I might use it for ideas that should go in the other notebooks and I staple them in to the correct notebook later.
My glass notebook never leaves the house. I would die if anyone ever saw how badly I draw. Worse, that I draw so badly I have to add arrows and explanitory post-its to my drawings so I know what the heck I was drawing in the first place.
Another notebook is for the list of appointments and things I need to do each day of the week. I HAVE embraced technology in that most of this is on my Outlook calender but not everything. A foot in each system and brains in none.
The last notebook is Big Red. He keeps my check list, lists of inventory I want for a show, what sold well at which show and ideas for the next year. He helps me budget my time for deadlines although not as well as I would hope and he keeps track of the signs I will need to make for my table.
The back page of a notebook is very important. This I reserve for stuff I will need through out the life of the notebook. Lists of movies to look for in the discount bins. Mere proximity to any place where movies or CDs are sold automatically erases the mental list of such and I have just finally accepted this about myself. The back cardboard is a really good place to keep phone numbers. I know I can program them into my phone and I have done that before but I think it's just like texting...I'm never going to "get it."
I can't even bring myself to get rid of my old notebooks. Lucky thing too since I had to reconfigure the router the other day and my list of steps was in my old lavender notebook from 2 years ago.
I think I'm a part of the last generation to remember life before computers or atleast home computers. There were those big ones in large rooms administered to by really smart looking scientists and the computer the Superfriends used each week to figure out who kidnapped Aquaman (why did they bother...he talks to fish and that's his super power?!?!). I guess I just thought by now I would be using a computer for everything and it seems like the more they do, the more attached I am to my notebooks.

Bead & Button

I've been "getting ready" for Bead & Button for months but now is crunch time. Yep, like Sunday night 9pm with a book report due the next day, I'm a torchin' fool. The countdown on their website says 54 days until the show and my bounty of inventory is feeling a little light. I know I'm short on vessels and weessels and I have no buttons for this year. I've had a plan that was supposed to put me right by the end of April so I could enjoy the chaos that is the month of May in my family. In addition to Mother's Day, there is Mom's birthday and my Niece's birthday. We are also Memorial Day traditionalists which means visiting the family graves around Terre Haute and decorating them with flowers. Virtually every weekend has something big all over it and I will have to be careful not to slack off on my "work" days. That's a big temptation when you work for yourself. Afterall, if you slack off, you can fire yourself but eventually you will just re-hire yourself when you do get out of bed or up from your nap. On the other hand, with no health insurance, a nap might count as an alternative therapy.

I will be at the Bead and Button Bead Bazaar in booth #2 and for those who are interested in a sneak peek, the pictures above show some of what I will have. I look forward to seeing you there!!