After a day of printing patterns with Mom, and working on last minute jewelry samples on Sunday, I got a very special break from work on Monday night. I actually made time to go out to dinner with a friend I’ve known for more than 25 years now.… Read More
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Glamorous day
I did not get out of my jammies all day today. I did not leave the house except to pick up a UPS package on the front step, and spend five minutes in the back yard, enjoying the 80 degrees out there with the dogs.… Read More
Be afraid. Be very afraid
They’ve already passed my house and made a direct hit with Peanut Butter Patties and Lemonades.
It’s my Birfday
Monday was such a lovely day. I had birthday wishes from so many friends and family (including Donna Mehnert of Blackberry Beads who said it was my “Birfday” – that sounds SO much like me, so I’m stealing it!) I was able to sleep to my heart’s content with no guilt over things I should be doing.… Read More
More from Temple, Texas!
I’m pretty sure we all managed to pack several week’s worth of fun and gabbing and beading into a single day today. At least that’s what it felt like! As a regular at the Texas and Shreveport retreats for the last few years, it’s like a mini-reunion each time.… Read More
Tip: Don’t be late to a bead retreat
So a lady walks into a bead retreat….okay, it was a little later than she thought she’d be there…it wasn’t really her fault…okay, really it was. But she had good intentions. And she was THERE after all. And she sees some of her very best beady friends and is so happy and starts giving hugs and catching up.… Read More
Texas Bead Retreat, here I come
Ah, best laid plans. I had scheduled myself to leave the house today at 10am for the quick, 1 hour drive up to Temple, but then the alarm went off, and I’d only gone to bed at 6am, and I was so comfy, and zzzzzzzzzzzz….… Read More
Another sneek peek
Ladies, I present to you, another peek at one of the new kits we’ll be debuting shortly: Ramblin’ Roses.
Gorgeous, isn’t it? Mom’s been doing a great job all of a sudden, cranking out new things that have been percolating in her mind over the last year.… Read More
Surviving Saturday
It took 19 hours of sleep, but I’m finally recovered from the preparations for my Kumihimo classes, and my first ever two classes in one day on Saturday. It was both harder and better than I thought it would be.
Harder because I had to work much more than usual on class prep.… Read More
I have been one upped
Peggy tells me that I am not sufficiently blinged out until I have these and I think she’s right. I’m jealous!
I have been off and on with being focused and working the last few days. One day I’ll get absolutely nothing accomplished, and the next I’m a whirling dervish.… Read More
A few photos for fun
First, let me show you how super duper tricked out I am in my car these days! I mentioned a few months ago on the blog that I’d gotten my very own personalized license plates – BEADS, of course! Well, one of my Christmas gifts this year was a Swarovski studded license plate holder!!… Read More
Bead by bead
I got to check two whole things off my immediate to-do list. Yes, I have different levels of to-do. Something along the lines of:
- To-do before I die
- To-do before someone else yells at me
- To-do or I have to go back to having a day job
- To-do when I’m trying to avoid other to-dos
That Day Job threat one is the one I’m focused on for the short-term.… Read More
Speaking of Tucson…
Who’s going to the Gem Shows in February? Did you know that you have an incredible opportunity to take a full-day class from the combined brilliance of Gail Crosman Moore and Anne Mitchell? It’s a special workshop they’ve put together just for the Tucson shows and it will cover techniques to apply color patina(!)… Read More
New Year’s Eve Day
I haven’t left the house in days, and I love it. I think Mom’s starting to get worried that my butt might grow into the sofa or the desk chair. Alas, I’ll have to venture out on Wednesday – to the Post Office, the bead store, and I think I’ll treat myself to a Chinese food lunch which I’m craving mightily.… Read More
Jill Taking Photos
(From June)
What’s funny about Jill taking photos on Christmas was that Rich’s camera is a pretty high-powered one, and the shutter is very sensitive. Jill couldn’t take just one picture – everytime she took one, it took a second one before she could get her finger off the button.… Read More
Photos from our Christmas
Alexis, running for the tree when we finally let her loose. All the presents were for her. Mom and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, and the rest of us agreed to forgo gifts this year. Rich & Becky got an amazing full kitchen renovation instead.… Read More
Back to freezing again
I had such high hopes of what I’d get done today. Working in the bead room on the reorganization project, a bunch of laundry, and finishing up a bangle for myself. Sadly, it was not to be. Instead I spent a good portion of the day huddled under blankets.… Read More
This, and that, and the other thing
So much to cover tonight! Hold on – it’s gonna be a long blog! We’ll start with a pretty picture… 
These cases hold 4 hours of my life. My Size 15 seed bead drawer was out of control. OUT OF CONTROL!… Read More
I’m the boss!
Everyone can breathe easy again – the big ol’ honkin’ pile of Failures is now a distant and picked apart memory. Today, I regained control of the beads – the herringbone necklace has been tamed and is totally gorgeous. I’m still gonna tweak a little on the embellishment, so it’s not quite ready for an official unveiling yet, but the basic structure and lovely soft drape is there, and that’s what was elluding me the last eleventy billion hours.… Read More
When Beads Misbehave
I sometimes tell my students that you’ve got to let the beads know who’s in charge when you’re working. And sometimes it’s the beads. That’s the little battle of wills that’s been going on in my home the last two solid days!… Read More