Do you guys ever look at the I Can Haz Cheezburger website? It’s my very favorite daily visit, and I’m finding myself talking like the cat captions.
After my panicked posting yesterday I was so grateful to get an email from a beady friend of mine reminding me that she’s available to help put together kits pretty much any ol’ time. I’m really lucky that so many people are willing to step up and help me in this crazy business building journey. I don’t take a single bit of it for granted. I think that surrounding myself by positive, happy, joyful (beady!) people is a gift that I need to be thankful for every day.
The wonderful people I meet through beading are overall the most caring, compassionate, and funny crowd. Of course there are a few clunkers. But so few that they’re easy to ignore or work around. I try to limit myself to a few days a year of being one of those clunkers! Seriously, though, it’s interesting to me that beaders are such GOOD people. What is it about beads that lures in those personality types?
I taught the second half of Smashing Spiral Ndebele tonight, and we had a good time gabbing and beading. It’s now 2am on Tuesday morning, and do I have the instructions written for tonight’s Foxy Mama class?
Well, nooooo… but I was working on another sample to refresh my memory and I’ve discovered over the years that making a sample is an efficient way for me to mentally run through what I need to talk about in class. Yes, there is actual forethought that goes into my classes. Not only do I just need to reacquaint myself with the basic bead counts and directions in the stitch – after all, I made that darned sample two months ago and haven’t touched it again since – but I’m also planning the flow of the class. Looking for where I think students will get stuck and planning how I can explain the path the most clearly. In this case, there are 3 components to the class. The seed bead base, the clasp, and the crystal embellishment on top. Because this is a 2 night class, I have to figure out how to logically break out the steps given the time constraints. While the crystal embellishment could be added at the same time the base is being woven, I’ve decided to concentrate just on the base for Night 1. Then next week we’ll come back and create and attach the clasp and add the crystals.
And, if I screw up along the way, I’ve already got the bribe goodies for the class purchased. I’ve got to stay popular somehow!! And food bribes have gotten me this far…
I’m off to start work on the instructions while I’ve got it fresh in my mind. I won’t finish tonight unless I get a second wind, but I’ll get the basics down. Then it’s bed time…mmm…bed….