They're Here!

Wow -- I was taken by surprise this morning.  Holy smokes!  The Best Little Bead Box(es) showed up on my doorstep while I was indulging in my morning coffee.  And my day is full - I've had too much work to do on my tech job to dive into those boxes.  But this evening... oh, this evening is going to be glorious!  Stay tuned for a first-hand account of what's making its way around the country...

In other news, I've listed two new beads in my Etsy shop.  I'm hung up on flowers these days - maybe because my back yard desperately needs a face lift.  :-O

Well, I'm heading back to tech land - YOU go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Hiatus is Over!

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.  I took a much-needed break from the blogosphere, but I'm back - happy and, hopefully healthy!

What a busy summer I had, making stuff for my Etsy shops, selling at shows, teaching classes, working and travelling for my high-tech job, and taking care of my declining mom who has Alzheimer's.  Phew!

I signed up for the Bead Journal Project, and only made it through April.  I signed up for a creative drawing class and didn't get through that either.  I think I'm going to have to stop signing up for things until my life calms down a bit (hmmm... maybe that will be in my NEXT life.).  However, I DID sign up for a project that has me really excited.  See that new logo on the right side of my blog page?  It's the Best Little Bead Box project to benefit the Beads of Courage program.  You can read the inaugural post HERE to find out exactly what this project is.  Then follow along on the Best Little Bead Box Blog  -or-  follow along on Facebook - to see what leaves the box and what's being added.  Then stay tuned to find out how you can win win win!  It's going to be a dream stash, for sure!

Here's a preview of what I'm going to put in the box.

This doesn't include any of my lampwork - that will be a  surprise until I actually make it this weekend.  And I haven't finished raiding my own stash yet.  When it's my turn to fill the box, the Best Little Bead Box Blog will have much better pix of my additions to the treasure chest!

And now I'm heading back to tech land.  It's nice to be back here chatting with you folks!  And a big THANK YOU to all of you who came to see me at the ISGB Bead Bazaar in Rochester, NY as well as those of you who cheered me up at B.A.B.E.!  Soon I'll be adding more fiber to my diet... ah, I mean, my Etsy shop.  Stick with me, people!

Now go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Getting Ready for Rochester

Wow, I can't believe that I'm leaving for Rochester, NY in 3 days. I also can't believe that time has slipped by so quickly... AGAIN ... You'd think that after all this experience with that time thing, I'd be used to it by now.

The International Society of Glass Beadmakers is having their annual conference, called "The Gathering", in Rochester this year, which is why I'll be on a plane at 6 a.m. Monday morning heading east.  We have a 1-day bead bazaar at the Gathering that's open to the public.  If you're in the Rochester area on July 31, please come by the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on Main St. and stop by my booth to say hi!

Here are a few items I'll have with me for sale.  A few beads in my "Mudcloth" series...

And a brooch that I made on a piece of my handmade felt - with a lovely bird by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  I'm hoping to have a few more of these finished before I head to the airport.

I've been a member of the ISGB since 2000, and I've been to every Gathering since then except one.  I wasn't going to miss this one - but getting to Rochester from the San Francisco area isn't easy.  Not much choice when it comes to flights, and the cost was horrendous.  Ah well... next year it will be in Louisville, KY - a much easier destination!

So today I have to do my high tech work, tonight I'm teaching a class, but tomorrow I'm dedicating the entire day and evening to making as many items as I can before I pack up on Sunday.

That's the Friday scoop.  If all goes well, I'll have a few more pieces to show you before I take to the skies.  Now I'm off to high-tech land - and you folks go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Oh... and PLEASE don't forget to vote for Beads of Courage at the Pepsi Refresh site - we need your help to get into the top 10, and we're almost out of time.  Thank you so much!

Packing, Packing... Heading For Booth 1221

Well, this is it.  I'm leaving in the morning for Milwaukee - another year at the Bead & Button Show.  I am really looking forward to getting away for awhile, looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting new folks, putting faces and voices with many of my cyber-friends - this show is always such a pleasure for me!

If you are planning on being at the show, please stop by and see me!  I'll be in booth 1221 - same bat time, same bat channel.  If you are not planning on being at the show... well, why the heck not?!  LOL!

I'm off to run some last-minute errands and get back to my packing.  See you at the show - and if not, I'll be back out here when I return.  I fly home on June 14, so you should get an update shortly after that.

Now go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

A Few New Florals

This has been a very trying week for me.  My 86-year-old mom, who lives with us and has Alzheimer's, is really sliding downhill.  It breaks my heart to see this.  She was always a very spunky lady, but she's just not with the program anymore.  She can still understand some of the things that we say to her, and she still recognizes us, but she's in a rather confused state most of the time. She hasn't been able to speak in quite awhile, so it's very difficult for us to know what's bothering her when she needs something or is in pain or distress.  My heart goes out to all of the folks having to contend with this dreadful disease.

We did have a bright note earlier in the week.  I finally got to spend some time over the weekend making a few beads.  That sure was a good thing, because I'm leaving on Tuesday for the Bead & Button Show.  On Monday, I put a bunch of the beads that I had just cleaned out on the kitchen table for mom to look at.  She immediately went for one of the floral beads that I made.  Then she looked at another bead, and went back to that floral and picked it up.  She did this with every bead she looked at - as soon as she finished looking at the bead, she put it down and picked the floral back up again.  When she was finished looking at all of the beads, she picked up the floral bead, got up, and took it into her bedroom.  I guess she decided that since she liked it so much, it was hers.  I found that rather touching.

I'm actually quite fond of two of the florals that I made over the weekend.  I like the color pop of the flowers against the "directly across the color wheel" background.  I hope I get a chance to make a few more that are similar.  This one is mom's favorite - the one that found its way to the top of her dresser.

And this one is my favorite.

And now I'm going to go pack up my tubs that will be going to Bead & Button.  I have to deliver them tomorrow to a friend who is driving to Milwaukee and offered to take them with her.  Now, you folks go have a happy and creative day!

Where's My Alter Ego?

As the Bead & Button Show approaches, and my deadlines in the high-tech world keep right up with it, I'm trying to figure out how I can split myself in two.  It would be marvelous if I could send my alter ego out to the glass lab, armed with my list of beads that I MUST make, those that I SHOULD make, and those that would be nice to have.  Then when I do get a chance to spend some creative time on the torch, I can let whim take over and see what happens.

This past weekend, I left my list of must- and should-makes in the house and let the wicked-expensive silver-laden glass guide my head and hands.  I had a rather tough time of it - the bead release (the stuff that coats the mandrels to keep the glass from permanently sticking) kept breaking every time I tried to make a normal-sized bead.  So I resigned myself to making long or larger beads, and I was pleased with what came from the kiln.  I'll put them into my Etsy shop soon - here's a look now to see what will be coming.

Yes, there's definitely a theme going on here.  When I look at my Etsy shop, I see mostly neutrals, blues, and greens - very earthy stuff.  One of these days I'm going to shock everyone and create some bright primary Crayola-colored beads!

On the fiber front, I've finished my March BJP vessel as well as another small vessel that will be for sale.  They're out getting photographed "as we speak".  More vessels will be coming, as well as some new brooches.  But for now, it's back to my high-tech job.  And YOU folks have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Where Has Shirley Been?

Wow - way too long since I've blogged!  But I've been really tied up with my tech job lately, so much work to be done in such a short period of time.

So this weekend I've taken a few breaths and a few breaks.  I actually spent a good amount of time on the torch yesterday.  I'll show you the fruits of my labor a little later in this post.  But first, I want to show you my finished February BJP "page".  I finished beading the other side, and now I'm going to wet and reshape it a bit.  Here are both sides of the vessel.

The influence for this February vessel was all the pink trees and bushes that start blooming around here in February.  But that's not the only month in which the 'hood turns pink.  The pink bushes right outside my front door get really full around the end of March, and every time I walk down my hallway I can see what looks like a big pink wall through the window in my front door.

On the weekend, we usually have breakfast at the local bagel shop.  On the way home from breakfast yesterday morning, I saw a rather shocking front yard.  So today I drove by it with my camera - talk about pink, yowza!!

Now back to beading projects - I've also been working diligently on my tall blue vessel.  I beaded the other side of it, and as soon as I'm done here, I'll start working on some kind of collar for it.  Then I will attach the Lisa Peters piece that was the inspiration for the beading that I did and it will be finished!  Here's the other side sitting in front of my big pink "wall".

And here's what came out of my kiln this morning.  These are supposed to accompany me to the Bead & Button Show - but I think I'll put them out into my Etsy shop tomorrow.

So this is where I've been for the last few weeks.  Despite all my tech work, I've been having a bit of creative time.  Now you go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Finally - a Torch Day!

I'm back from another biz trip down to Los Angeles, and wow - I sure was tired when I got home Friday night!  We spent 3 days doing "think tank" sessions on software requirements and design.  I'm starting to think that I'm getting too old for that stuff!

I hadn't been able to spend much time making stuff prior to my trip, and yesterday I decided that I desperately needed a torch day.  While I was in LA, my "boss" commissioned a bead from me to hang on her gorgeous new purse.  It was the perfect bead to make yesterday after 3 days of structure - this was a totally free-form, organic, let-your-mind-wander kind of bead.  I was enjoying myself so much that I made 3 of them.  And since I was in a free-form frame of mind (say THAT 6 times real fast...), I made another organic bead just for the fun of it.

Here's what came out of the kiln this morning...

I was hoping to come back to some nice mild spring weather.  What I got instead was another incoming storm.  Yesterday, Peanut was following the scarce sunshine around the house, and she almost put herself into the bookcase.

Today I was so cold today that I had to put on my fleece pullover.  This is just wrong!!  But all the stuff that's growing around my yard seems to like it - I have a few color explosions here and there.  Here are my Oste-ohmygosh-spermums, a.k.a. African Daisies, causing a riot.  I read somewhere that they have a "nice branching habit".  I'm not so sure about the "nice" part of that - these things take over everything!

On the back side of the yard, the trumpet vine is starting to call out to the humming birds.  Love those little creatures!  It looks like something's been chomping on the leaves - I'll have to get after that.

I really wanted to get out the clippers and trim back the overgrown front yard, but it's cold, windy, and raining today.  Too bad - these things are getting out of control!

Since it's a stormy day, I'm going to head out to the wet lab and listen to the rain on the roof while I create another vessel to embellish.  Time to make the proper home for that Lisa Peters star button of mine.  While it's  drying tonight I'll continue embellishing the tall vessel that was to be the original home for that star.  That vessel is coming along very nicely.

Now go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

One World One Heart is Here!!

Comments Are Now Closed For This Event On My Blog

      There may still be some blogs open for comments - click on the Magic Carpet logo to find out

Thanks to all of you who participated - and thanks for all the new follows!  I'll be getting those random numbers shortly - stay tuned for the 3 winners!

Welcome to my blog - today is the day!  Do you know about One World One Heart?  This is an international event that was created in 2007 by Lisa Swifka. It's a way for bloggers to meet and get to know each other a bit.  Curious?  Click on the One World One Heart logo to find out more.

Now that you're here, I have a couple of creations that I'm giving away for this wonderful event.  I'm going green!  The first item is one of my lampwork leaf beads which was made on a 1/8 inch mandrel.  It's 2 inches long (51mm) and just shy of 1 1/2 inches wide (38mm).

And the second item is a short strand of my lampwork beads along with a Hilltribe silver bead and charm.  These beads were made on an ivory base, encased with amber, gray, and peridot glass, trailed with silvered ivory, and lightly etched.  Yum!

How can you win one of these items?  Leave a comment on this post along with a way for me to contact you in the event that your comment is chosen in my random drawing.  That would be either a link to your blog or your email address.  Now, how exciting is that?!  We'll be drawing for these giveaway items on February 15th.  Make sure you post your comments here by 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on February 15th to be eligible for the giveaway!

On February 15th I will announce the winners of the giveaway on my blog.  Thank you for visiting me and leaving your comments.  Good luck to you, and enjoy your Magic Carpet Ride!

>>> Wow!  I've had such a great response to this event that I've decided to add another item to my giveaway.  In keeping with my "going green" theme, I'm adding this small set of my leaf beads that were made of a creamy yellow glass with patches of green added here and there.  Now you'll have another chance to win some of my beads!

Wooly Weekend Weather

We've been having quite some weather all week - this weekend it was rainy. Yesterday was kind of a kick, it reminded me of the weather I was familiar with back in New England. It would pour down rain, then stop, then the sun would come out for a bit - next thing you know it was pouring again. Toward the end of the afternoon I finally went out my back door to see what was going on outside. I wish I had gone out earlier, there were probably a bunch of these off and on during the day. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera and came back out again, it had mostly faded.

I decided it was time to take mom out to Starbucks for a jolt of caffeine, and stopped on the way to try and catch this piece of rainbow.

But the prettiest sky I got to see was while we were sipping our cappuccinos - the sky was continuing to clear in places, just enough for the setting sun to splash a tiny bit of color around.

Today, it was raining and overcast all day - no sunshine for me - but that was OK, since I was down in San Jose at the glass institute. It was "Super Sunday", which is a 4-hour practice session for my torchworking students where I'm available to answer questions and to help with any issues. I brought a bunch of my own glass with me and managed to make a couple of beads myself. By the time we were finished, I really wanted to get home and hop on the torch. But alas, it was time to rid mom of her cabin fever and get her out of the house for a bit. This evening, I'll have a chance to satisfy my "make stuff" urge - I have another vessel that I have to embellish. I made it last night, which was lots of fun. It was pouring again last night, and the rain on the roof of my "wet lab" makes a ton of noise. It was rather mesmerizing...

Here are some of my students during today's session. There's usually a bit of chatter going on during these sessions, but today I think everyone was really concentrating on the glass.

Here's Melissa, cooking some sauerkraut - ah, I mean melting down a bead. :-)

And it looks like Lisa is about to make a 2-color twisty.

Here's Bonnie, about to pull out some cane.

And here's Yoshiko at the torch. Check that out - how on earth did I manage to snap this picture right when her bead was between the 2 arms of the lamp?!

The kiln was nice and packed when we finished - I think it was a pretty good day.

And now it's time for me to get mom motivated so we can all go out for a good Chinese dinner - yum! Have yourselves a happy and creative week ahead!

When the frost is on the punkin...

Well, last night was calm. No rain or wind. But holy smokes, we woke up in a frost-laden deep freeze! OK, OK, so you folks who live like Nanook of the North are laughing at me for being such a wuss. I can't help it, my blood has thinned out since I left Connecticut ages ago. And after just having looked at the weather that they're having in my former home town of Newington, CT, there's absolutely no difference between here and there. Sheesh!

My poor Niki was totally freaked out about the frost - she's afraid of just about everything and I'm sure that in her little doggie brain, something really bad happened to her stomping grounds overnight. I, on the other hand, was thrilled. After I donned my jeans and fleece pullover I headed out to the back yard with camera in hand. Here are a few scenes that are very rare in this neighborhood...

Perhaps these will inspire some new beads, or perhaps a "frost-covered" vessel. I'll just let the images float around in my brain for awhile. Funny thing is, we have oak leaves all over the place but I'll be darned if I can find the oak tree in the neighborhood that's shedding onto our yard.

Now it's time for me to get back to work. And it's time for you to go have yourselves a happy and creative day!