My New Work Space!

I finally did it! I went up to Target, blew some money on a couple extra folding tables, and moved my formerly cramped and completely disorganized working space from the dining room (where I was crushed in between the fish tank and a wall) to the living room.
















I've got a little more space to spread out without having to worry about burying the dining room table for days or weeks at a time. I can write, take my photos, print things out without having to dig for the printer, and get to my files and beads much easier!

I promised Tom that I would keep the chaos to a minimum, since it is still our living room, after all.

Now I am just patiently waiting for the batteries to charge so I can play with the new camera... Macro lens, here I come!

But first, I smell a poopy diaper that needs changing... Where's that kid o mine?

Sick, sick, sick...

That's what I am right now. I have an awful summer cold - like it's not bad enough being sick with a sore throat, stuffy nose and a bad cough, it's like 93 degrees outside. I've been miserable all week - and last night, I think I got a grand total of about 2 hours of sleep. Between the discomfort from the stuffy nose and the chest congestion and the gross heat outside, I was just the most miserable that I've felt in a long time. But the snot is making a mass exodus from my nose, so I'm hoping that means the worst is over and that I'll be better in time for the Sunday farmers' market. Like Tom said, leave it to me to get sick in the middle of the summer!

Once again, summer is bashing us about with these horrific temperatures - 90s during the day, 70s at night. Impossible to get comfortable. And I just finished this absolutely beautiful necklace, the one I posted earlier in the week, with a big peyote stitched flower and a pearl-embellished spiral rope, and it's so damn hot, I don't want to wear it.

Temperatures supposedly cooling off tomorrow. Maybe I'll wear it tomorrow...

Mondays

I love Mondays. No, seriously. Especially after a weekend of shows and running around and heat and craziness (it was 95 degrees when I left Marcy Field yesterday afternoon!!!!), it's nice to be able to just relax a bit, get organized and make a plan for the rest of the week.

Of course, then there's always Fridays, when I sit and panic at what I have not accomplished during the week...

But anyway. This Monday was particularly good. I decided to take a break from all of the custom orders and make something that I wanted to make! I started the flower for this piece a long, long time ago - pre-Colden - and it has been sitting in the top drawer of one of my bead cabinets since then.
















I was inspired by Laura McCabe's new book to add an embellished spiral rope to the piece, and then I found an old vintage button amongst my stash that works perfectly for a clasp! Since there are three loops on the back of the flower, I will also add a dangle of embellished spiral rope that hangs from the center. I worked the spiral rope with size 8 beads for the core, because I was a little nervous about breaking beads if I used size 11s. What I discovered is that the size 8 beads make the rope very, very loose - that's not necessarily a bad thing. And it worked up super-fast, too.

Today was also a good day because my new (to me) digital SLR camera in the mail today!!! I'm so excited - I can't use it until the batteries and charger arrive late this week or early next week, but it came with a MACRO LENS. A REAL macro lens! I am so excited about the prospect of being able to take good closeup shots of my beadwork - at last!!!!

It's very late right now - about 10:45 - and Colden JUST went to sleep. I am near exhaustion myself, but the question remains: do I go to sleep and try to get more than five hours of sleep before we have to get up and start running around tomorrow, or do I stay up for another two hours and try to get everything finished today that I was supposed to do?! Hmmm...

2010 High Peaks Art & Antique Show

Well, the show was a little slow. A lot slow, actually. It started out as a gorgeous day as we were setting up - a little bit of wind gusting through Marcy Field, but I put up the back wall of my tent, and that took care of that. It was nice and cool, but as the day wore on and the sun came out, it got hot, and I was very glad for the shade under the tent and the cool grass on my feet when I kicked off my shoes around lunchtime.

Sales were just okay, but what was better was seeing all of my friends and customers from the last few years at the farmers' market. Since the Art & Antique show is held in the same place as the Keene Valley farmers' market, there were lots of friendly, familiar faces. I love that - my customers really know me, and some of them come to the market looking specifically for me.

One of the vendors is a husband and wife who are silversmiths and make and sell some incredibly gorgeous silver and gold jewelry. Lots of big, bold gemstones and beautiful Native American style work. I think the husband is actually Native American, but I can't be sure. Anyway, he came to admire my work this morning, and we chatted, since I'd only seen them once or twice this whole summer, and he mentioned that he had a couple of trays of cabochons for sale. On my way to grab a bite to eat, I took a peek at the trays - boy, oh boy. That was a mistake.
















This is what I wound up taking home with me. I was just in love with the cabs that had the druzy (crystals) in them, and the gorgeous green one in the upper right hand corner is actually a drilled bead! The big agate cab in the center is going to become the focal point for one killer necklace... I've got some beautiful agate beads that will match it perfectly!

Aaaaah, now to just find some time to bead them all up!

One of my customers today had emailed me a few days ago about the possibility of doing a jewelry party at her camp in New Russia in October, and she mentioned it again today when I saw her. If we can get it together, this will be my first home jewelry party! I was really excited about the idea - I may see about having a few of these over the winter. It would be a great excuse to get some people together, have some food and some wine and put out some of my new work...

And speaking of new work... I've been working on lots of new projects lately. I need to do some photos and some blogging about them, and then I need to actually finish them!

A Milestone...

The other day, I reached the 50th sale on my Etsy shop! It was the sale of one of my Back to Byzantium beading kits - a favorite of mine.






















Kind of a big milestone for me. I celebrated by giving the lucky buyer a nice package of goodies including some of the goodies I recently bought from Laura McCabe's eBay store!

Who knows what I might do for my 100th sale?

Big weekend this weekend. After spending 7 incredibly tortuous hours in the ER yesterday because my doctor's office said they couldn't give me an appointment until Monday, I am looking forward to setting up at the High Peaks Art & Antiques Show in Marcy Field. It's going to be a beautiful weekend with two days of sun and warm temperatures forecast, my friends Heather and Robin will also be setting up at the show, and I get to spend the weekend outside with my friends and my beads. And maybe a few customers, too.

Pardon the Name of This Post...

To those of you who may be offended by a swear word, I mean no harm, but I wanted to call this post "More Hormonal Fuckery", because that is what I am dealing with the last two weeks. Actually, the last two months, now that I think about it.

The doctor thinks I had a period about two weeks ago. Then I stopped bleeding for about three or four days. Then it started up again. Now it's stopped again, but I'm still passing uterine lining. Tonight I have a hormonal headache. (I know that's what it is, because it feels exactly like the headaches I get right before my period.) The bleeding isn't heavy or bad - it's just annoying. When I was having my period, or what the doctor thinks was my period, I was scared to death that I was going to start hemorrhaging at any second. I'm sick of wearing pads every single day. I'm sick of worrying about what my body is going to do next.

My hCg levels have gone back down to zero, which is a good thing, because it means that there is no more tissue left from the pregnancy. And we think that now it's just a matter of waiting it out to see when my body will get itself back to "normal", whatever that is for me. It's just the waiting that is driving me out of my bloody tree.

I have total faith that my body will do what it needs to do to heal itself. The acupuncture and the Chinese herbs are helping me tremendously, as are the antidepressants that I was given to help me get over the hump so that I stopped crying all day, every day. But my body has always been a bit slow in the healing process, so it's really just mind over matter at this point, I think. I know my body will heal itself. I just wish it would hurry the hell up.

That said, I've been taking my multivitamins every day and trying to eat lots of iron-rich foods with a side of foods rich in vitamin C to help me absorb the iron so that I don't become anemic or iron-deficient. (Think lightly steamed, tender leaves of kale with chopped up tomatoes and balsamic vinegar - one of my favorite ways to get more iron!) I don't want to take an iron supplement because frankly, I can't swallow those huge horse pills, and I certainly don't want to have to deal with constipation at this point.

I have definitely noticed an increase in my energy levels lately, even with all the crazy running around and my insane work schedule. So I think that's a good thing.

Maybe it's just a matter of giving myself some more time to relax and heal. And that's always been a hard thing for me - the waiting. I have always been terrible at waiting for things.

I did have a good post office day today, though. In my mailbox, direct from England, was my copy of the latest in the Adrian Mole series: Adrian Mole, the Prostate Years. I can't remember exactly when I fell in love with the Adrian Mole books by Sue Townsend, I can only remember them being a huge comfort to me during my times of unemployment and uncertainty. I can remember reading, in one day, the entire book "Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction", a book that I re-read several times during the course of my pregnancy with Colden when the nausea was almost too much for me and I needed something to take my mind off of things. I have all the other books in the series, too - including a hardcover copy of "Adrian Mole - The Cappuccino Years" which is one of the best-loved books in my little library. My original copy of "The Diary of Adrian Mole" is so worn by now that I should probably replace it.

There's something I just love about the character of Adrian. He's totally clueless - and he doesn't really know it. His love life is almost always a complete disaster. His family is the very definition of dysfunctional. And yet somehow, Sue Townsend has kept him as a disarmingly innocent, charming and intelligent man who loves his family and always finds a way to redeem himself throughout his misadventures in life.

So, there. That's my little book review for the evening. If you want to read more, start at the beginning and pick up a copy of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4". I don't know if there are e-reader versions of it available - go for the hard copy. There's still something utterly comforting and satisfying about holding a real book in my hands...

Start the Music from "Mission Impossible"...

That's what I'm going to listen to all week, because I've got a ton of work to do and a very limited amount of time in which to do it!

I went to the farmers' market this morning in the pouring rain. When I got there, I debated just turning around and going home - I had Colden with me, it was cold and gray and raining - but at the last minute, I just decided to set up and see what happened.

Colden was such a good kid! He wore his raincoat, we walked up and down the market a couple of times, and then he started dancing to the live music that was being played by a two-man-band down at our end of the market. After Tom came and got him, I got four more cabochons bezeled and glued to Ultrasuede, so that's what I'll be finishing the rest of this week!

This Saturday, the 28th of August, is the annual High Peaks Art & Antique Show at Marcy Field (where the farmers' market is held), and I need to replenish the inventory that has been selling so well this summer. It's a big show - it literally takes up the entire airfield - and I've always done very well there, so I want to make sure that my tables don't look quite as empty as they looked this morning.

So this week, before Saturday, I want to finish the four cabochons (plus the other three that I have had sitting on my work pad), make three more Venus necklaces in different colors (I am consistently selling those every single week at the markets), and get a couple of new beading project tutorials done for About.com.

It is most definitely going to be a challenge. But I can do it, oh, yes I can!

How Much is an Artist's Time Worth?

I've been contemplating this a lot lately. Ever since I made the decision to not do the fused glass this weekend, I've been thinking about the prices I put on my beadwoven and bead embroidered pieces.

Back when I owned a fine craft and bead shop, I wanted to try selling my finished beadwork. When one of my business partners saw the price that I had put on one piece, I was told:

"You can't put that price on your work because you don't have any name recognition."

Huh? So, just because no one knows my name, my beadwork isn't worth anything?

I hate to admit it, but that's a comment that still stings when I think about it. It implies that my time is worthless because I am, for all intents and purposes, a nobody.

When I was set up at the Jay Day festival a few weeks ago, there was a goldsmith set up across the green from me who was selling her handmade gemstone jewelry. She came up to my booth and looked at my prices and then asked me if I had sold anything and if anyone was complaining about my prices.

I told her that I hadn't sold anything, and that I didn't let the complaints about my prices bother me anymore. If someone complains about my prices at a show, then they aren't going to buy from me, anyway.

She told me that she had people who were complaining about her prices so badly that she was beginning to feel like she was trying to steal money from them.

I've probably said this on here before, and I'll probably say it again, but this is how I feel about including a charge for my time in my work:

If I worked in an office or in a place like a hospital, I wouldn't work a 40 hour week and then tell my supervisor, "Hey, that's okay - just pay for the gas I used to drive here and my lunches this week and I'll be okay with that." But by not including a charge for my time in my work, this is exactly what I would be doing.

My time is precious. If I sit and put in the 10 hours it takes to make a handmade piece of beadwork, why shouldn't I be compensated for it? Is the time of an artist worthless when compared to the time of a secretary or a nurse?

Maybe you can't compare beading for a living to being a doctor or an attorney or working to save the rainforest. But I feel like I am still doing something worthwhile with my time when I sit down to bead. I'm creating a piece of art, something of beauty. In some cases, I'm designing a project that may appear in a magazine or as a pattern in my Etsy store - and in those cases, maybe I'm helping someone who uses beadwork as a way to relax. I'm making someone feel special and unique when they wear my one-of-a-kind pieces. Maybe I'm even teaching someone about the significance and history of beads and how they make the human species very unique. (We're the only species on the planet that creates and uses objects purely for self-adornment.)

Whatever the case, I am tired of the stereotype of the "starving artist". Artists shouldn't have to be poor if they choose to pursue their craft - they should be encouraged to create and compensated fairly for their time, just like anyone else who holds down a job.

I hate when I go on Etsy and see someone selling a peyote-stitched bracelet or a hugely intricate beadwoven necklace for a pittance. I understand that some people consider themselves hobbyists, and they "don't care" if they make any money selling their work. I don't think they are doing anyone any favors, least of all those of us who are trying to earn a living with our craft.

My advice to them? If you "don't care" about making any money from your work, then don't sell it at all.

I know that my feelings on that matter are hardly going to win me any friends, but it's how I feel about the whole thing. I ask for what I feel is a fair price for my work, and that includes a charge for my time.

What I really hope for is that more artists will follow suit and start to treat their work like it's the precious commodity that it is.

Hard Work

I know it might sound crazy, but on my way home from the Salute to the Arts Day yesterday afternoon, it occurred to me that beading for a living is hard work. Now, don't get me wrong - I almost feel guilty when I need to make time in my schedule to sit down and work on a beading project, mainly because I love beading so much and I find it so relaxing (most of the time) that it just doesn't feel like "work".

But after the beading is finished, there are other things that need to be done...

Photographs need to be taken, uploaded to the computer, cropped and adjustments for light and color levels need to be done. If the piece is for sale, I need to list it on Etsy. If it's a project or tutorial for About.com, then I need to include that on my work list for the week. If it's for a magazine or pattern that I intend to teach or sell, there are directions that need to be written and diagrams drawn.

There are the shows and markets where I sell my work. That's a lot of physical activity - hauling around a 65 pound tent and setting up and breaking down all require a lot of energy. If I'm lucky and it's a busy day, I will be on my feet most of the day talking to customers and handling transactions. Then when I get home, there's the time it takes to process the credit card payments and preparing the bank deposits. There are taxes to be filed and paid. Inventory needs to be taken periodically so that I don't run out of important things like business cards, boxes and bags. (And beads, of course!)

Back in 2008, I had a great re-design done of my website, a beautiful portfolio created and new business cards done by Stellar Marketing Solutions. But since I've sort of changed my focus from the glass work and the beadwork to just the beadwork, I think a new set of designs should be done this winter. Since I can't afford to hire the wonderful folks at Stellar Marketing again (it was part of a business mentoring program that I am involved in), I'll be doing that this winter as well.

So there's a lot more to it than just sitting around making pretty things all day. Of course, in between everything else, there are diapers to change, dishes to wash and laundry to be done. And with Colden running around, some days, things just get put off until we can't put them off any longer. (Like getting and installing a new dishwasher.)

That said, I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world. I love being able to stay home with Colden, even if my days are a little more stressful than they used to be, and I love what I'm doing now to earn my income. I wouldn't change it a bit!

Another Piece Gone to a Good Home!

So there I was last night at 10:30 p.m., stitching away on the last of seven new Swarovski crystal bracelets for the Salute to the Arts event at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. I was making them because I didn't want my bracelet tray to look empty - with only four bracelets, it was looking pretty empty - and because I wanted to make some lower-priced items, just in case.

Imagine that swooping in my stomach when this petite, funky woman with beautiful blonde, spiky hair came over to my booth, picked up "The Thief", wore it for about thirty seconds, and then asked me if I could make it smaller. I almost didn't know what to say! But of course, it was just a matter of removing some of the bamboo beads on the back of the piece to make it smaller, and I had it all done within an hour.




Once again, when she tried on this necklace, it looked as though I had designed it just for her. It matched her coloring, her style and her hair perfectly. It was one of those moments when everything just sort of...clicked.

Of course, I was a little sad to see it go. I made that piece for a wedding that I never got to attend because it was the summer that I was sick when I was pregnant with Colden. And I finished the fringe after I found out that I was pregnant with Colden, when the exhaustion was so bad that it was hard to just lift my arm to thread the needle. It was also the piece that resulted in many lovely emails and convos on Etsy from admirers, including Carol Dean Sharpe of Sand Fibers.




















As a little gift to myself, I picked up this ultra-funky, long chain necklace from Edison Collections. I wasn't planning on buying anything for myself today, but when I saw this necklace, it just reminded me of all of the pieces of my grandmother's jewelry that I used to play with when I was a kid. It's made with vintage chain and a recycled watch face that still keeps time! And of course, there was that cool, sparkly Swarovski crystal hanging from the bottom...

And it's getting very late now. 10:30, and we finally just got Colden to sleep, so I need to go write a couple of blog posts and then get some sleep!

Finding a Good Home

Well, it was a crazy day at the farmers' market yesterday. When I arrived at 8:30 to start setting up, the wind was already tearing through the valley. I guessed that some of those gusts were pushing 35mph or more. The canopies on the tents were flying right and left. Anything that was rubber-banded together, under a rock, or glued down was being knocked about in the wind. The woman who had originally started to set up next to me was selling stationary and paper goods - her metal racks were falling down, her inventory was being scattered everywhere, and she finally decided to pack it in at 9:45. (The market opens at 9:30.)

We kept seeing these dark gray clouds to the south, blowing over the mountains. We all kept waiting - hoping that once the rain came, the wind would stop. But the rain never actually got there. Just those dark, gray, threatening clouds and lots and lots of wind.

Early on in the day, a young woman came by my booth and was absolutely in awe of my piece, "A Distant Star System". I originally made this piece for a science fiction art show, and it used some of my best black onyx and carnelian cabochons, with some little 4mm amethyst rondelles. Well, this young woman came and tried it on and she was wearing a little black dress - and with her dress and her coloring, she totally rocked this pendant.




















What I didn't realize was that she was another jewelry vendor at the market! She makes some incredible recycled and up-cycled jewelry - I'll have to post a link after I find her business card. She came back at the end of the day and told me that she had had a good day at the market, and she decided to buy the necklace as a 30th birthday present for herself. Good choice!

Now the race is on for my next show - I decided, at the last minute, to do the Lake Placid Center for the Arts' "Salute to the Arts" day and market this Wednesday. It will be great if I have a few sales - but now I have to stitch up a quick couple of necklaces and finish a couple of bracelets to replace what sold at the farmers' market yesterday. Could be worse - if I can't make enough to keep my table from looking empty, I'll just work on my custom orders and skip the market on Sunday!

What? Friday Already?!

I can't believe the week is GONE. Just like that - GONE! Last I remember, it was Tuesday, and I was trying to keep my head above water while keeping Colden amused and get some work done. Next thing I know, I wake up this morning and it's Friday again! I think the nice weather makes the days go by faster, too... Just sayin'.

Anyway, my farmers' market weekend last weekend was great. On Saturday, I set up at the annual Jay Day festivities down the road from my house. Like, literally thirty seconds by car down the hill from where I live. I didn't really expect to make any sales, and I didn't, but it was still a nice day to sit outside and bead. I got to hang out a little with my friends who live in Jay, saw Colden's friends from playgroup (and their Mommies!), and got to hang out with my friend Heather, who also makes jewelry, and who was also set up on the Green with us.

Sunday morning, I headed over to Keene Valley for the Keene Valley farmers' market. The weather was beautiful, and I felt very optimistic about setting up without my fused glass inventory. And I was right to feel that way - I sold a whole bunch of pieces and took deposits for two special orders. It was a wonderful day, and my other vendor friends were all glad to see me back in action. It didn't hurt that it was the 20th anniversary of the Adirondack Farmers Market Cooperative and they were handing out free cake, coffee and tote bags!


















This is my new display, using risers that are actually wall shelves that I found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They work perfectly for displaying the smaller necklace busts that I have, and they stayed up nicely in the wild wind that sweeps across Marcy Field where the market is set up.

Oh, and I should also mention that two of my sales were to repeat customers who come to the area every summer for vacation and who come to the farmers' market to look for me! Wild, huh?

I have other things to write about last weekend, but they'll have to wait. I'm feeling absolutely exhausted tonight, and even though I wanted to at least give a brief update on the blog here, I really think I need to go home and get some rest. It's been a crazy week of trying to balance Colden, work and housework, and I need to just go chill out with my boys for a little while.

More farmers' market goodness this weekend - I can't wait!

My Day Has Gone Like This:

I was going to write this nice blog post about the farmers' market this weekend, but I have been so stressed out today, I just need to vent. Anyone who is a work-at-home mom or a stay-at-home mom, I know you've had days like this:

• Woke up way too early, but couldn't fall back to sleep. Figured I might as well get up and going, so got up and went.

• Colden woke up and wanted waffles, again. No problem. I made some waffles for us. He ate about four bites and then decided that he had had enough. Cleared off the breakfast dishes and sat down to get some work done. "Beads!" Then, "Piggyback!" Numerous requests for juice and milk, which was okay, since it's about 90 degrees and humid again today. Numerous diaper changes. Huge, smelly poop in Colden's diaper less than five minutes after a diaper change.

• Colden takes a small Ziploc baggie of small cabochons and empties it onto the beading mat he's put on the floor under the dining room table. Then he dances in them. Cabochons are flung into every corner of the house.

• Finally decide to have pizza for lunch - have to go to the store for cheese and sauce, but that's okay. It will get us out of the house for a few minutes. Put on shoes and get buckled into the car.

• Two minutes before we reach grocery store, Colden falls asleep. Really asleep. Eyes closed, hands limp kind of sleep. Make u-turn and go back home. Remove sleeping child's sandals and unbuckle car seat. Sleeping child opens eyes for a second when I remove him from car seat, but he snuggles into my shoulder and I think he will go back to sleep. I am wrong.

• Colden lies in bed and asks for a cup of milk. Give him milk. Asks for blanky. Give him blanky. Asks me to lie down with him. I lie down with him. Colden finishes milk. Colden opens eyes wide and starts giggling.

• At this point, very hard not to lose my shit and start throwing things. Go back to store and end up buying pizza fixings, Nutella, chickpeas, crackers and tahini. Get home and realize do not have any tin foil to cover pizza pan and no olive oil to make hummus.

• Call from doctor's office regarding my hCg levels: levels are going down, which is good, but they are at 7. Need to be at 5 before they are considered normal. Need "one more" blood test next week. (This is, oh, fourth time I have heard, "One more blood test". Veins in arms cry whenever I go to Plattsurgh.)

• Come home and make pizza. Colden doesn't want pizza - takes box of waffles out of chest freezer. Make Colden a waffle. Eats two bites and doesn't want any more. I have 1/4 of pizza that I have just made. (Too much pizza.)

• Pile of work is still sitting where I left it this morning when diaper changes and piggyback started.

• Colden asks for milk. Give him more milk. Moose eats remainder of Colden's waffle and tries to eat fork as well. Wrestle kiddie fork out of dog's mouth.

• Realize that dishes are still piled up in sink, where they will remain until either Tom washes them or a miracle occurs and they wash themselves.

• Hang laundry from this morning outside to dry, thinking maybe Colden and Moose will run around a bit. Moose runs into neighbor's yard. Drag Moose back. Moose runs towards street. Drag Moose back. Finally give up on hanging laundry and lock Moose on back porch while hanging laundry.

As of right now, I have given up on doing anything that resembles work. I am going to just clean the dishes and kitchen and wait until Tom has come home, showered and changed before I sit down and try to get anything accomplished. It's just been one of those days...

So Much Beady Goodness!

It was a crazy weekend. First, I set up at the annual Jay Day community celebration sponsored by the Jay Entertainment and Music Society. I didn't expect to make any sales, but I figured since it was right down the hill from me on the Jay Green, I might as well. Then on Sunday, I FINALLY got set up at the Keene farmers' market in Keene Valley. That was a great day, too, and I'll write more on that tomorrow, but for now, this is what was in my post office box this morning...



This silky, soft, beautiful lariat from Sand Fibers! I won this piece in a giveaway that Carol Dean Sharpe had on her blog to celebrate her 1,500th sale on Etsy! (I had hoped that it would have been there on Saturday, but Saturday is such a weird day for our little rural post office, since they close at 11:00 a.m., and mail doesn't really get put into the boxes until Monday morning, anyway.)

And then there was another package stuffed full of beads for me from Laura McCabe's eBay store:
















Four big sandwich bags stuffed full of Czech beads, each in a different color palette; a few bags of some funky peach and gold Czech glass beads; and a huge hank of black and silver peacock "petal" beads. (Wait 'till you see what I do with THOSE!)

Lots more to write about, but it will all just have to wait until later this week. I have finished the bezel for Catherine of Aragon; I taught two bead classes at JEMS; and I'll share everything about my first farmers' market of the season!

Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge Piece - Finished Before the Deadline!

And I am so happy with the results! I stayed up late, way past my bedtime to finish this piece - lucky for me, Colden decided to make that night one of the rare nights when he sleeps straight through without waking up, so I actually got six full, uninterrupted hours of sleep after I finished it.

The gorgeous Red Magma Swarovski crystal stone in the center as well as the Red Magma rounds were courtesy of Artbeads "Blogging for Beads" program. I have been trying to find a project for them for MONTHS now, seriously, and when I found this bag of leftover Czech glass pearls in my stash, well, it finally hit me. (Took long enough, right?)

I was absolutely thrilled to be able to post the piece in my Etsy shop before the deadline of August 5th to enter it in the Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge! I've been a member of the Etsy team for quite a while, but have never been able to get a piece in for their monthly challenge. Now the fun part begins - the piece will be posted as part of a blog post on the Etsy Beadweavers' Blog, and you can go vote for your favorite piece. The winner gets to pick the theme for a future challenge.

The theme for the September challenge is "Bollywood" - and boy, does that sound tempting! I'll have to dig back into my stash of Swarovski and gold-plated Delicas and see what else I can come up with!

I am Going to Make a Deadline for Once in My Life!

Wow! I decided that this month, I was absolutely positively going to make the deadline for the Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge - the theme is "Silver and Gold", and the idea is to try to make a piece of beaded jewelry that resembles more traditional fine jewelry.

This is what my piece looked like last night:
















And today, while Colden was busy amusing himself with his toy cars and his bubble machine, I managed to get the Swarovski stone attached to the pearl strap and the crystal rounds stitched on as embellishment. I started the clasp while he was taking his nap, but didn't get a chance to finish it - but I will when I get home this evening.

I have absolutely no idea what to call this piece, but I'm thinking about it. It was inspired by the Renaissance and the opulent jewelry worn by the wealthy and the privileged of that period. The gems, the pearls, the gold - all of which make a feast for my eyes when looking at the portraits from the 1500s and 1600s.

Once that piece is done, I am going to start working on some of the other unfinished pieces I have sitting on my work table. I actually decided to declare this month "UFO Month" on the About.com Beadwork site, hoping I could inspire other beaders to pick up an old UFO and finish it!

Look What I Won Today!

This incredible lariat by Carol Dean Sharpe of Sand Fibers!










































Carol gave away this gorgeous Ndebele (herringbone) stitch lariat to celebrate - ready for this? - her 1,500th sale on Etsy! What a cool way to celebrate! I had entered the drawing by posting about the giveaway on Facebook and on my blog with links to Carol's blog. I never really expected to win, but I thought, what the heck, and gave it a shot. Sure enough, Carol's random number generator pulled up number 37 - and that was me!

Ironically, 37 was the street number of the house where I grew up as a kid. Weird, huh? Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket...

I stumbled across Carol's Etsy shop, SandFibers, looking for beading patterns. She designs the most beautiful peyote stitch cuff bracelets - and finished jewelry, too! - and I have become completely addicted to her patterns. I love that most of them are in 2- or 3-drop peyote stitch, because they seem to work up much faster than just single drop peyote. And the designs - Carol definitely lets her sense of humor come through in some of them! When I'm feeling completely burnt out from my own designs, Carol's designs are beautiful and soothing to stitch. I'll wait for Colden to go down for his nap or to go to sleep for the night (or for a few hours after dinner, anyway!) and then I'll sit down with a pile of Delicas and one of Carol's patterns and I'll just go at it. Her patterns remind me of everything that made me fall in love with beadweaving ten years ago when I first discovered how relaxing and meditative it was to stitch those tiny little beads together...

So later this week, I'll have two packages from Carol waiting for me at the post office! Hooray! (Now, if I could just find my post office box keys to actually get into the post office box...)

And speaking of the post office... Carol and I are cooking up something fun in the next few weeks. I can't say what it is just yet - but you will definitely want to stay tuned to my blog and/or my Facebook page to find out just what it is and how you can be a part of it!

And that's all I'm sayin'...

An Idea for a New Project!

I had about ten minutes of free time today, and in that ten minutes, I managed to come up with enough new beading project ideas to keep me busy for, oh, the next six months.














These little ceramic faces were made by Diane Briegleb, and they are leftover from a wholesale order of them that I placed years ago when I was part-owner of a bead shop and fine craft gallery. They have been sitting in a little plastic drawer for the last five years, waiting for me to fish one out now and then and use it for something. Well.

Like I said a few weeks ago, I've been reading a ton of books about British history lately. And I'm reading some new books about British history and important figures in British history. Today, I got to thinking about the six wives of King Henry the VIII, and the whole annulled/beheaded pattern that arose from his quest for a male heir. Ironically, his second daughter became one of the most influential leaders in human history, while his sole male heir, King Edward VI, only ruled for about six and a half years.

So while I was thinking about these six women and their lives, and then I started thinking about some of the other great queens in British history - namely, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth I, the aforementioned daughter of Henry VIII - and I thought how I would love to do beaded "portraits" of them using these ceramic faces.

I went and sat down with my little drawer full of ceramic faces, and then I wrote down a list of names on a couple of pieces of paper. I looked up some official portraits of the women online and then went back to my ceramic faces and found the faces that I felt connected with the names and the portraits. (The internet can be a wonderful thing!)

Now my challenge is to actually find the beads and stitch each one of these faces into a beaded portrait of one of the queens of England. I'm giving myself a deadline for each one - I want to complete one beaded portrait per month.

I know who to start with, too - Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. The woman who was first married to King Henry, who believed she was still his rightful wife until the day she died after a 24-year marriage. She carried six children, but only one lived to adulthood. She was, many believed, unjustly ousted as queen because Henry VIII wanted to marry Anne Boelyn, who had been one of her ladies-in-waiting.

The ceramic face that I thought would be perfect to portray Catherine was one that I had glued to a piece of Stiff Stuff a long time ago with no particular project in mind. She looks almost virginal, and indeed, there are portraits of Catherine depicting her as the Virgin Mary as well as Mary Magdalene.

What's going to drive me nuts now is that I will have absolutely no time to start on her until maybe Sunday at the farmers' market. Monday at the latest. I've already got the Delica beads picked out to start stitching a bezel around her...

Am I Myself Again? Please?

So, thanks to precipitously dropping hormone levels, I've been feeling almost like myself again since yesterday. My doctor appointment on Monday was uneventful - she said that she thought the drugs did their thing, and that I could go on my way. I still need to go get one more blood test, which I'll do on Friday while I'm running errands in Plattsburgh.

Today, I'm going to see the acupuncturist in Lake Placid to see if she can help me. I don't know why I didn't think of it until someone on Facebook mentioned it to me - I was like, d-oh! I should have called her first! I spoke to her yesterday when I made the appointment, and she has a treatment plan for me already and she has a tonic that will help me, too. After those horrific side effects from the methergine, I am really looking forward to this session of acupuncture.

On a lighter note, my friend Carol Dean Sharpe of Sand Fibers has had her 1,500th sale on Etsy! It's not that amazing when you check out her Etsy shop - her peyote stitch patterns are totally addicting. Any time I need a little "fix", I buy some of her patterns and raid my stash of Delicas to whip up a few new cuffs for myself.

Carol is having a giveaway on her blog - all you have to do is leave a comment and you're entered to win the gorgeous lariat that she has posted on the blog! Earlier this year, Carol and I did a trade for a couple of our beadwoven and bead embroidered necklaces - and her work is absolutely incredible. The piece I traded for with her is one of my all-time favorite pieces of jewelry, and I get so many compliments on it! Yes, I'll post some pictures of it here as soon as I find them - it's an amazing piece.

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think this Sunday is going to be my first farmers' market of the season. Since I'm feeling back to myself, and since we really need the income, I'll be setting up at the Keene Valley farmers' market this Sunday from 9:30 until 2. I'll have my line of bead embroidered necklaces, pendants and cuff bracelets available, along with a couple of special close-outs from my other lines of jewelry that I was selling in years past. And every purchase made will get a free piece of dichroic glass jewelry! (Same goes if you make a purchase in my Etsy shop - buy anything and get a free piece of dichroic glass jewelry from my remaining stock!)

Tomorrow I teach a class in African beadweaving for a group of kids at the JEMS theater in Jay, right down the road from my house! I'm very excited - I missed teaching last week because of all the nonsense going on with my uterus, but I'll be teaching the next two Thursdays. This Thursday is African beadweaving and next week is basic jewelry making. I'm very excited - I love working with kids and I love teaching, so this should be great. I just have a ton of things to pull together before tomorrow afternoon, so off I go!

Iron Man Lake Placid

When we bought our house, we were so excited about the workshop in the garage and the finished basement and the hardwood floors we found under the ugly carpet that we never stopped to think, oh yeah, we're right on the Iron Man race route...















Once a year, on a Sunday morning, thousands of athletes race their bikes up the hill right past our house. The roads are closed, of course, so in years past, we've gone for day trips on race day. One year, Kathy and the girls were here for the race, and we all stood outside in the pouring rain while the bikers went past the house, and Kady and Kinsey cheered them on and played in the rain.

While the Iron Man does bring some business to the area (mostly to Lake Placid - the only thing Wilmington and Jay get are headaches from the road closures), it also creates a lot of traffic hazards during the months leading up the race. Athletes who are training on the bike routes tend to travel in packs - and sometimes they ride four or six across the middle of the road. And they can be rude. More than once have we exchanged unpleasantness with a biker who made a rude gesture or shouted at us as we drove past them. And it drives me insane to see them biking through Wilmington Notch, a very narrow, twisty road nestled between steep cliffs and the AuSable River. Cars absolutely fly through that road - much faster than the 35 mph - 50 mph speed limits - and the bikers just don't seem to care that there are so many cars on the road.

That said, it is amazing to watch these men and women. The Iron Man, for those of you that don't know, starts out with a 2 mile swim in Mirror Lake, followed by a 112 mile bicycle race and then a 26.5 mile foot race. The winners usually finish in about 8 1/2 or 9 1/2 hours, and some of the participants don't finish until midnight, when the race officially ends.
















I read this morning in the newspaper that the man who finished first overall walked over to get some congratulations from his friends and supporters and then COLLAPSED and had to be carried off by medical personnel. Nothing else about his condition this morning, though, so I hope he's okay. I can't imagine pushing my body to such limits - some days it feels as though I'm pushing my limits just taking care of Colden and working and taking care of the house!

The Last Night with the Girls

So, on the last night that Kathy, Kady and Kinsey were here, we went over to see everyone for dinner. Before dinner, Tom blew bubbles with everyone in the backyard. It was hilarious - the kids loved the gigantic bubble wand, and once Tom got the bubble machine working, everyone was dancing in the bubbles!















After dinner, I promised the girls that we could make necklaces. Since Kady didn't have a chance to come over and make a necklace like Kinsey did when she first got here, I brought over a whole bunch of beads and tools and clasps and let the girls pick out the beads they wanted to use to make a necklace. Colden helped pick out the beads.















Kady finished her necklace first. She used all the cool lampwork beads that I got years and years ago, back when I was still a "beadweaving whelp", to use a phrase by Rachel Nelson-Smith. Her necklace came out so nicely!

'













Then Kinsey finished her necklace, using some gorgeous blue Chinese crystal and some black Czech glass beads. I really love the colors that she picked out!















And then it was time to go home. It was sad to say good-bye, because we won't see them again until next summer, unless Tom and I decide to pack it in for Christmas and go out to Reno. But flying from up here in the winter can be dicey at best - you never know when we're going to get slammed with a storm and wind up sleeping at the airport.

So, this morning it seems that most of the nasty side effects from the drugs have gone away, except that my abdomen feels like someone spent the last 24 hours kicking it with a boot. The hot shower helped a little bit, and I'm hoping the painkillers kick in soon. But the good news is that it appears that the spotting has stopped, and maybe I'll get some more good news at the doctor tomorrow.

Tom and Colden are outside mowing the lawn and doing gardening and taking care of the chickens. I'm going to get caught up on my blogging for the week on the About.com site, get my newsletter edited, tackle the mountain of dishes sitting on the kitchen counter, and then sit down with my beads for a little while. I actually feel good enough to bead today, so I'm taking full advantage of it!

Saturday Again...

I can't believe how fast this week went by! Amazing... And because I'm trying to deal with round two of the uterine-contracting drugs from the doctor, I need to do something to keep my mind off the chest pains, headache, and incredible cramps. Tom and I decided that we are going to cut this round short - it's treating me way worse than the first round did - and instead, I'm going to call the acupuncturist on Monday morning. There must be a way to do this without wrecking my body any more.

Anyway, this is a picture of the piece I started last week with some of the goodies that I got from Laura McCabe's eBay shop:















It's not a great picture. I used some of the seed beads that I got from Whimbeads to stitch sections of netted lace beneath each of the faceted calcite beads. Then I used the gray daggers in the very last row of lace. I attached a peyote ring to each end of the work. I think these are going to be the side pieces and I'll just work a big, elaborate piece of lace for the centerpiece.

Those faceted calcite beads were a steal - I think they were like $5 for the bag. Makes me want to go back and get some more.

Sunday morning, we went blueberry picking with Kathy and the girls. It was hot, but we went early in the morning before the heat got too bad. And it went faster - we managed to fill up all the quart containers we brought with us in half the time it took us to fill just five of them when we went the Sunday before.

We stopped at the farm stand to pay for the blueberries, and Kathy came back with a bag of cider donuts. Colden promptly chomped right into one, then fell asleep, covered with sugar and donut bits:















Had my doctor check up on Monday, which is why I was given the uterine-contracting drugs, then we managed to sneak in a visit to ECHO in Burlington. We got to take the girls on the ferry, and Colden was so excited! He kept saying, "Boat - 'Mont!" (Boat to Vermont, LOL!)















After dinner, we cracked open the geodes I bought for everyone from the gift shop at ECHO. We did this last year with the geodes that I brought back from the Syracuse Gem & Mineral Show, but I had to cancel my plans to go back for that show this year. So I think I'm going to have to find a source for these geodes so we can do this every summer when the girls come out to visit.















Colden looked on very patiently until it was his turn to whack his geode with the hammer. Tom finished the job for him!














I've got some more pictures from the last night we spent with Kathy and the girls before they went back to Reno. I'll write about that later, maybe tomorrow, because this post is getting way too long, and I need to get some other work done before I go to bed.

And another giveaway is coming soon - I swear! As soon as I figure out what I'm doing with my life this week, I'll post the details here!

Catching Up

I spent the last few days trying to catch up, or at least get started, on some beading projects that have been sitting around for a year. Or more.














These delicious little plum blossom beads were designed by Chris Prussing - I think they are actually icosahedron beads, or something along those lines. (It's early in the morning, and my brain is still a little fuzzy.) Chris used to sell them as a kit in her Etsy shop, but her shop has been in vacation mode for some time now, and the message says that she is undergoing medical treatment. I certainly hope that she is feeling well and that she can get back to her beads soon! The directions are available at Bead-Patterns.com as Item 9296. I love the way Chris writes and illustrates her directions - you have to concentrate on what you're doing, but you also have to disconnect in a weird sort of Zen way. I love stitching up her beads because they allow me to do that Zen disconnecting thing.














This here is "Old Blue". I found this gorgeous 27mm Swarovski stone while shopping at Beyond Beadery at Bead Fest Philadelphia last summer. I bought this one and one other stone, which was a beautiful yellow/green/turquoise color. But this one - I've got plans for this one. I've had an idea for a necklace for the longest time called "Lady Sings the Blues", and I think I have FINALLY found the centerpiece for it. I've got a huge bag of 30mm blue iris bugle beads, a couple of tubes of silver lined purple and navy blue seed beads, and a huge Swarovski teardrop in the same shade as the stone. And that's all I'm sayin' for now!














And then, there is my latest stash from my first session of Retail Therapy. (Thanks to my sister for helping to fund this session, ha ha ha!) I kind of went nuts in Laura McCabe's eBay store, HighEndBeads. And the nice thing is, I got a ton of beads - including some gorgeous Swarovski Margaritas, Czech glass tulips, Czech glass fire polished, matte grey daggers, and faceted Calcite beads, all for around $40. Those Calcite beads and the grey daggers already have a design waiting for them - something that I dreamed up on one of those nights when I just could not get my mind calmed down enough to actually sleep. I'm looking forward to playing with the design today while I have some time. It's a variation of square stitch that I started playing with two years ago, and I have combined it with the flat spiral stitch I've become so fond of lately. I think this is going to be an awesome finished piece. Maybe worthy of Bead Dreams in the spring...

So, that said, everyone has gone off to the Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center for the day, leaving me some peace and quiet to get my work done for this week and next. Tom and I decided today that I shouldn't try to get to the farmers' market until August - I am just still not myself, still having wicked headaches in the mornings and evenings, and pushing myself in this heat and humidity is probably not a smart thing to do.

Aaaaand, I am going to do another giveaway next week. This time, it will be for a pair of earrings made from those yummy plum blossom beads pictured above! Stay tuned for details! (This one will be a little harder than the last one!)

The Wild Center

It was disgustingly hot again today. Even Kathy thought so. When I finally arrived so that we could all go to the Wild Center, I told her that the heat and humidity were killing me today - and she said the same thing! So, we weren't nuts. This heat is out of control.

That said, it was the perfect day to take the kids out to Tupper Lake and the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, also known as The Wild Center. The place is pretty cool - lots of huge tanks of native fish, turtles, ducks, snakes, frogs, lizards, and a couple of river otters. The river otters were a huge hit - we went back after lunch and had, as Kathy put it, our own "private viewing" of the otter just doing his thing. Playing with his little blue Kong, swimming, rolling, frolicking... Colden would just scream with delight every time that otter swam past him in the tank.

So, as usual, not enough time in the day for everything that I want to/need to accomplish. I've been doing as much writing as I can from home, since we are spending most evenings over at Tom's parents' house having dinner with everyone. (I so wish we could see them more than once a year!!!) I think I'm going to have to spend most of Saturday cleaning out the car, finishing up my new price tags and story cards, and just getting organized if I'm going to make it to the Keene farmers' market on Sunday.

My body continues to clean itself out, which is a huge relief and at the same time, gives me incredible sadness. My hormones continue to take me on a wild ride - I cry at the drop of a hat, and I seem to lose my temper much easier than usual. I have had a headache, on and off, for over a week now. Most likely hormonal. Cramping comes and goes, and when it gets bad, I tend to lose it and start crying about anything - everything. My face is breaking out again, I'm dizzy, tired, etc. - it's just like having my period, every single day for the last ten days. I know this is just my body trying to get itself back to normal, so I'm doing the best that I can and just kind of going with the flow. Not much else I can do, really. I just take it as it comes, and when I feel terrible and need to lie down, I grab a magazine and a movie and try to cuddle up with Colden. (I try to cuddle with Colden - it doesn't always work. Sometimes, he just wants to grab on my hair and yank, and that's not good for either of us.)

Tomorrow, Kathy and I are going to get pedicures in the morning. I'll have to post some pictures of my pretty toes later in the afternoon! I just realized that I have loads of things sitting in my light tent that need to be photographed - maybe I can do them tomorrow afternoon after we get back, or they'll just have to wait until I get a few minutes on Saturday. Plum blossom beads; a huge, bezeled rivoli I got at Bead Fest Philly last summer; and a custom bead embroidered cabochon pendant. Cool, cool stuff.

Designing New Displays...Again.

Every year since I started selling my work at farmers' markets, art shows and craft shows, I've been looking for new ways to display my work. And since this year I'm focusing on the high(er) end embroidered pieces that I do, I've decided that I need to change them yet again.

I loved the displays I had last year, but I always felt like my tables looked like a garage sale. The colors were all mismatched. And I didn't have any consistency between the types of displays, either, except that most of them were black.

So, this year, I went out and bought a couple of new tablecloths - the ones I've been using for three years have been officially retired to in-home use only! - and then last night, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a set of wall shelves that I am going to use as risers and display cubes. I also decided that I need more necklace busts - I've only got about a dozen of them, but they'll do for now.

I want to try to do a mock up later today or tomorrow to see how it's all going to fit together, so I'll get some pictures then.

Cramping came back with a vengeance last night, and I was exhausted already from not sleeping well the night before. I think I was also just totally discouraged and upset that the cramping is not over yet - I had been thinking that my body had emptied everything out already and that I could get on with it. But no, my body (and my hormones) had other plans for me last night. So I laid in bed and watched "Ratatouille" (which I need to return to the library today) and tried to sleep. Still crampy this morning - we'll see what happens.

Strawberry Picking in the Summer

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to go strawberry picking up at Rulf's Orchard in Peru. It was a gorgeous day, but just a little hot and humid. I only picked one container full before the heat started getting to me, and then I went and sat in the shade of the van with Kathy, Kinsey and Colden.














Picking berries was hard this year. They were tiny, and you really had to bend down and look under the leaves to find any of them. An intense smell of warm strawberries came from the rows of plants, and in places where the berries had been crushed or nibbled or started to rot, it almost smelled like strawberry wine. (Fermented strawberries, yikes!)

Tom asked when the blueberry picking started, and the attendant told him that we could pick blueberries right now, if we wanted to. I think we might do that this weekend, if it's a little cooler - I don't think I can handle standing out in 85 degrees again to pick blueberries. Kind of gives me a whole new perspective on the whole issue of migrant farm workers. It's one thing for us to go out there and do it for fun with the kids, but for the people who do it to earn a living, that has got to be a hard job. After less than an hour, I thought I was going to pass out from the heat - what about people who have to stay out there all day?

Anyway, I don't want to get into a whole other social issue today. It's too hot, and I'm too tired, and I have too many other things to do today. But maybe after we go blueberry picking, I'll get into that can of worms, so to speak.

I've Been Featured on the Beads of Clay Blog!

Wow, well this is exciting! I went to the farmers' market this morning (as a buyer, not as a vendor - I just couldn't get organized this week, once again), and when I got home, I found an email from Mary Ann of Beads of Clay. Earlier this week, she sent me a list of interview questions that I answered (it was something good to keep me occupied), and the interview went up this morning. You can read it here: Stylin' Sunday with Beads of Clay.














She used this picture - which I love - of me and Colden at "work". It's not always like this - I can't usually bead when Colden is sitting on my lap, because he wants to "help". But this is the general idea - I work from home so that I can spend time with Colden. It was an awesome interview, and I was really excited when I read it on the blog.

So, like I said before, once again, I could not get my stuff together to go to the farmers' market this Sunday. I think I was just completely unprepared for the pain I had the first few days of the week, and then I was just trying to catch up with all the work and the emails that went neglected while I was trying to recover. But when Kathy and I went to the market this morning, I realized that I've made some great friends at these markets the last few years. Everyone had a big smile for me, and they all wanted to know if I had set up as a vendor, and then they all wanted to know when I was coming back! It's just been a rough summer so far, unfortunately.

I'm still on the fence about whether or not to set up next week, since the Mason's are having their annual "craft fair", and when they share the space with the farmers' market, it's never done very well. Last year, the weather was horrible, and there was so much arguing between the farmers' market people and the Masons' show organizer that the setup was just totally not conducive to having a good flow of customers through the grounds. On top of that, they had me and my friend Heather (both jewelry artists) set up right next to a woman selling SILPADA! Silpada! At what is supposed to be a handmade craft show! I spent most the time there looking daggers at this woman, who obviously hadn't made a single thing on her table, and the rest of the time I tried to occupy myself with writing some articles. It was not a pleasant day. If the weather is good, maybe I'll go.

So. This afternoon, Tom's cousin Dave and his wife Mary Kate are coming to visit, and we're all going up to Peru to pick strawberries! I didn't get to go last year, since that was the weekend I was in Syracuse. But today, it's a beautiful day, if not still a little hot, and picking strawberries sounds like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon...

Under the Mast

The week before things went entirely to pot, I ordered myself a treat - one of Marcia DeCoster's incredible "Under the Mast" kits. She had an extremely limited number of kits, and she put some of us on a waiting list. Thankfully, my wait was only for a couple of days before my kit was shipped and appeared, almost miraculously, in my mailbox just two days later.

I chose the medium green Vitrial color - I love metallic green - and the Swarovski stone is absolutely wonderful.

For me, the fun part was figuring out what to write on the piece of paper I slipped under the stone between the stone and the backing. I won't reveal what I wrote, but I will say that it is a word that has helped me immensely in the last two weeks, and it's probably the reason I've been wearing this piece every day since I finished it. It's a subtle reminder and a source of strength for me as I get through these days.

One More Reason to Love Artbeads!

Okay, I know I haven't been a customer of Artbeads for very long, but wow, so far, I have never had a bad experience with them. They have fast shipping, everything is well packed, and their customer service is absolutely superb. I especially love the fact that they are a small, family-owned business.



But when I opened my mail last week, I got yet another reason to love Artbeads. As one of their Design Partners, they gave me a coupon code worth 10% off all purchases until July 31, 2010, and they told me to share it with my blog readers! So here it is:

SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0125

So, after my sad news from this past weekend, my sister and I agreed that a little retail therapy is in order. I've got some great ideas for a few new pieces made with those gorgeous Swarovski stones - their aquamarine fancy octagonal stones are just calling to me! - and I've been perusing the online auction catalogs for Sotheby's and Christie's, and I've decided to make an entry for the August Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge.

I can't think of a better way to spend a hot, gross summer afternoon than sitting in the air conditioning, shopping for beads on my laptop. (Unless, of course, I'm in the swimming pool with Colden.)

Anyway, we're off to have dinner with the family tonight, and I'll be watching Colden blow bubbles again outside, if I can stand the heat!

Some Things are Just Not Meant to Be

This was a rough weekend. I had a very unexpected miscarriage that started on Friday, and I've been just completely wiped out ever since.

It started on Friday morning, but I didn't think anything about it, since I had similar symptoms when I was pregnant with Colden that turned out to be nothing. But by Friday evening, I was concerned enough to call the midwife who was on call from my OB's office who told me to stay in bed and drink a lot of fluids. Sitting around all day Saturday was enough to drive me insane - I wished that I knew what was going on, since nothing seemed to be improving. I was hesitant to go to the emergency room and run up a huge bill, but then when things changed, Tom and I headed for Plattsburgh around 8 p.m. They did some blood tests and an ultrasound and found that there had been no growth since 7 weeks and no heartbeat was visible. My hCg levels (the human growth hormone that you produce when you're pregnant) were way too low for someone in her 10th week of pregnancy, so it was determined that I was about to have a miscarriage.

The biggest relief to me was that I finally knew what was going on. Once I heard everything from the doctor, as disappointed and sad as I was, I at least felt like I had a direction to go in. So now it's just a matter of getting through the physical part of losing a pregnancy, and then Tom and I will just try again.

We decided that there's no sense in stressing out about what went wrong. It just wasn't meant to be this time around. That was the attitude we took when we decided to try having kids in the first place: if it happens, that's great, and if it doesn't work out, then that's okay, too. No sense in driving yourself crazy over something that just isn't meant to be. And sure, we're disappointed, and we were a little shocked, because everything with my first pregnancy went so perfectly that it never even entered into our minds that something could go wrong with the second.

So, now it's just time for us to let the dust settle and get on with things. I still have a week full of other emotional things to deal with - the arraignment of the suspect in my uncle's murder is tomorrow, then the day after that is two years since my mom passed away. In between all this, I'll have to get to the doctor's office to follow up.

But there are things to look forward to this week: Kathy and Kady are flying in tonight, and Tom's birthday is Saturday, so we'll probably do something with his parents and Kathy and the girls, and maybe we'll get to go do something on our own, if I'm feeling up for it.

Maybe this is one of the reasons I've always wanted to keep myself busy. It keeps me moving forward and it doesn't let me drag myself down when life throws me a curve ball. I've still got Colden, Tom, Moose, the chickens, and my friends to keep me going.

Guess the Lucky Number Sale in my Etsy Shop

To celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend (and to celebrate the fact that I am not going to be sitting outside in 90+ degrees for 6 hours!) I am having a Guess the Lucky Number Sale on all of my finished jewelry in my Etsy shop. This sale is effective immediately and expires at midnight EST on Sunday, July 4, 2010. All of my finished jewelry (including custom orders) are eligible to receive a discount of between 10 and 50%, but the discount you receive is up to you!

Here's how it works:

When you purchase any item of finished jewelry in my Etsy shop, don't send a payment right away. (Don't worry if you do - I can correct it or refund it later.) In the "Notes to Seller" section of the Etsy checkout, specify a number between 1 and 9. I have pre-assigned discounts of different values to each of those numbers, so you will receive at least 10% off your purchase. The folks who guess the "Lucky" number will receive 50% OFF their entire order of finished jewelry!

For example, if you put the number "8" in the "Notes to Seller" section, you will receive a 35% discount. If you put the number "5", you will receive a 40% discount. (Those are just examples - maybe.)

Only finished jewelry (and custom made jewelry) is included in the sale. Kits, patterns and tutorials are NOT included.

Good luck, and have fun shopping!

It's very late...

And I'm very tired, but I didn't have much of a chance to write today, since my niece was here most of the day trying to finish up her first beaded necklace project. (More on that later on!)

First, I'd like to congratulate Kassie Inman of the Beading Butterfly and Lethea Benson, the winners of my first blog giveaway! Each of them will receive a set of handmade fused glass jewelry that includes a pair of stud earrings and a wire-wrapped bracelet. Congratulations, ladies!

Second, since circumstances have dictated that I will NOT be attending the Keene Valley farmers' market this Sunday as a vendor, I am instead having a huge sale on my finished jewelry in my Etsy shop starting Friday, July 2. More details about that sale will be posted here and on my Facebook page tomorrow morning.

And last but not least, my wonderful niece Kinsey came over to play the other day, and after watching me stitching away on my "Under the Mast" kit by Marcia DeCoster and looking at a couple of my beaded necklaces, she decided that she wanted to learn how to stitch beads. So we waited for Colden to go down for his nap, and then I let her pick out some beads to make a necklace. The stitch that she wanted to learn? Right angle weave!

Not wanting to discourage her, I decided that a simple one-row necklace of right angle weave would be something she could learn. I laid out the beads for her, helped her thread her needle, and then showed her how to make a basic unit using Czech fire polished beads and seed beads.















To my total amazement, she picked it up like she'd been doing it for years. There were a couple of times where I had to stop and show her which direction she needed to be stitching in, but most of the time, she knew exactly where to go and she managed to create a beautiful piece of beadwork!














We picked out a vintage glass flower pendant and a vintage Lucite flower to use as her centerpiece, and I think she's decided on the Lucite pendant. (We were supposed to attach the pendant tonight, but Tom had to go back to work unexpectedly, so that won't happen until tomorrow. That kid must be going nuts - she wanted to finish it TODAY!)

So, it's nearly 10:45 right now, and I am starting to fade. Tomorrow will have to be a nose-to-the-grindstone day to get my writing done and uploaded, in addition to doing some serious housecleaning. Lately I find that when I feel like my life has spiraled completely out of control, the one thing I can do to make myself feel better is clean! I think it will be one o those move-the-furniture-and-roll-up-the-rugs kinda cleaning, too... I've already made a mental note of where Tom stashed the Clorox wipes and the new box of Swiffer pads!