Uncategorized

Happy 2011!

You know, I was thinking last night, wasn’t Y2K just a few years ago? How did we end up in the double digits of this century so fast??? It kind of makes my brain hurt!

You know what else makes my brain hurt?… Read More

Participating in The Best Little Bead Box project!

Please forgive me for cross-posting, but I wanted y’all to know about this cool project I got to participate in if you don’t know about it already!

I really don’t know how he did it, but my postman managed to get both GIGANTIC Best Little Bead Boxes stuffed into one of our community mailbox lockers.… Read More

Holy Cannoli

Man, when I owe you a blog post, I REALLY owe you a blog post! I have yet to tell you all about the fun and interesting Beaducation video shoot (went great – I’m known as One Take Wiseman there!) And I do have stories and photos.… Read More

BABE report

Bead people are SO MUCH FUN! I’ve discovered it over and over again as I travel to new places from coast to coast and it makes me happy. We share passion for color and texture and beautiful things. We have a joie de vivre that shows in our faces and interactions.… Read More

The annual technology meltdown

At least once a year you get one of these blog posts, don’t you? The sad, frenzied madwoman, trying to cobble together a host of printers and faxes and scanners and whatnot to get her danged job done! Where’s my IT Help Desk when I need it??… Read More

A little of this, a little of that

I think I’ve mentioned before that while I used to be a great multi-tasker, age is taking it’s toll, and I now function best doing one thing at a time. I don’t actually hate it. I do think my focus is much better that way, and I don’t make as many mistakes.… Read More

Sluggin’ and Chuggin’ Along

Somehow I thought I’d be done moving back in the house by now, but I certainly should have known better. But massive progress is being made. Tonight I was up all night working on the monster known as The Bead Room.… Read More

Blues Clues

From June:
The day before we were having the laminate floors done in the house, Jill convinced me to paint the bead room. I’m not sure which of us is crazier. She picked the Tapestry Beads turquoise as the main color.… Read More

Picking a class for the Texas Bead Retreat

I need your help again! It’s time for me to pick a project to teach at the Texas Bead Retreat in January 2011. I’ve got a number of ideas, and I’d love to know what y’all think! So I created a poll over there <--- to the left. Please vote! I’ve been wanting to do my own gorgeous version of a grapevine bracelet/necklace for years now, but I never finished the sample I started in 2007. Yeah – really 2007. In all the house ruckus, I rediscovered it, sitting sadly in a box, waiting for some attention. And now I’m reinvigorated to work on it again – especially since there are more options for drop beads these days and I will be making the grape clusters with several different sizes and shapes for a textured look. Tila beads are all the rage at the moment, of course, and I’d love to have an excuse to play with them! I’m thinking of a layered 3-dimensional type of bracelet. One of my Austin students has been pestering me for an all-earrings class. What do y’all think?? It would be three completely different styles of earrings. I think we could accomplish that in the time frame allotted there. If you have something entirely different you’d like to propose, I want to hear it! Send me an email or a comment, okay? On a different note: a further update with photos of the house renovations is coming soon! I can’t believe what a change has gone on in this house in the last 30 days. Don’t pinch me….I don’t want to wake up if it’s a dream!

Read More

The Tile Work is DONE

From June:
Jill is still asleep (anyone surprised?) But she had a very stressful day yesterday. She had to deal with tile laying mistakes and non-English-speaking tile layers while I went to work. If you are friends with Jill on Facebook, you know a little of what went on during the last few days.… Read More

Evolution of a bracelet

One of the things I worked on this past weekend while in my hotel room is a lovely bracelet by Martina Nagle. I purchased this pattern from her Etsy store a while back and I even bought beads for it in June, but haven’t had time to sit and work on it until now.… Read More

And the winning name is….

Twining Vine Lariat! What’s really freaky, is that Nikki’s comment suggesting that name had just been published mere minutes before Mom stumbled out of bed from a nap and said, the name of the lariat is Twining Vine. I was sitting there trying to figure out how she’d seen that blog comment when I had JUST published it!… Read More

Fred: the Lariat

We are stuck, and we need your help. Mom and I have hit a brick wall as we’ve tried to come up with a name for Mom’s new lariat design. Please keep us from naming it Fred. Or Larry Lariat (because we like alliteration).… Read More

Procrastination techniques

I fully own up to my endless ability to procrastinate. It’s something I’ve fought with all my life, and I don’t see it changing any time soon. Because I’m such a professional at it, I realized I could actually pass along some of my favorite procrastination techniques for those of you who aren’t quite so naturally gifted in this area.… Read More

Hot news!

I’ve got to confess: I’ve been holding out on you!! But I can spill the beans properly now and I know you’ll be as excited as I am. Drum roll please….

I am joining the staff of Beaducation as an online video class instructor!… Read More

What happened to the home classes??

I know the local ladies are frothing at the mouth, wondering why I haven’t had any home classes in months. Don’t despair! They will be back! You might start looking at your December calendars….

What happened is that I needed to clear some space on my calendar to get my life back in order here at home.… Read More

Plans vs. Reality

What I had planned on getting accomplished this weekend:

  • Finishing a Rosetta necklace sample, and possibly getting a second substantially done.
  • Mailing out all the packages that need to get mailed
  • Pedicure
  • Writing a bunch of instructions
  • Making some kits that we’re out of stock on
  • Installing my new bed headboard

What really happened this weekend:

  • Emergency babysitting of my nephew while my sister-in-law took my niece to the doctor for pink eye
  • Flooring shopping with Mom – we picked our laminate wood floor and two kinds of tile (one for the kitchen/laundry, and one for the bathrooms)
  • Working on the Rosetta necklace sample, but not until late Sunday night.
Read More

Moving without moving

Mom and I moved into our current house three years ago, and while we love it to death (especially the natural light shining from a skylight that bathes the kitchen in a reverential glow) there have been changes we’ve wanted to make.… Read More

Back from Bead Fest Philly

I don’t even know where to start reporting about the whole Philly trip! Should I start with how Mom got all irritated with me at 6am the day we were catching the plane because we had planned on leaving then, and I still hadn’t showered?… Read More

Finally, the long awaited BnB Show stash

I think I promised y’all these photos about a month ago. Maybe even six weeks. But here they are! Now remember, I hardly had a moment of time to shop while I was at the Bead & Button Show this year, so it’s not as extensive a shopping haul as I would have liked.… Read More