back to the grind

It’s always hard to come back after 5 days of being away from home, and get back into the grind of every day routine. It’s Monday morning. It couldn’t FEEL any MORE like a Monday.
We had a great time in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. I got to see my little Max and Alex, cuties! We had a good time playing with them and catching up with relatives. Thanksgiving dinner was a small get together of 6. It was delicious! Luckily we were able to bring home some homemade turkey soup too!

We had planned on going to Joe’s 20th high school reunion this past weekend. Saturday morning we decided to head to Ikea for the day and then come back, nap and get ready for the reunion which was at a local banquet hall at 7:30. As we were getting ready, Joe got an email from a high school friend that said, sorry we missed you last night! Joe ran for the invite and read that the reunion was Friday night, the night before. We missed it altogether! DOH!
We had a good laugh and picked on Joe about it all day. Usually I would have been able to catch that blunder beforehand but since we got the invite months ago, I’ve always just believed Joe when he told me it was Saturday night. Never even read the invite.

So anyway, we headed to Ikea and I lucked out and found a cool new computer desk, and a new bistro style table and chairs for the kitchen. Joe put them both together last night.
I’m happy with our choices. I think we are going to plan on staining the legs of the table to more match the dark legs of the chairs. They weren’t a set, we got them separately.
So the bead diet is going well and kind of useless since all I do is spend my money on big things like pieces of furniture from Ikea. What’s up with that? Aren’t I supposed to be saving my money for an iPod? I guess it was just burning a hole in my pocket. Actually Joe bought the table and chairs and I bought the desk with my own money. It worked out and lessened the blow for Joe a bit, which he was thankful for.

This week is going to be CRAAAZY. My open house is Saturday! I have to make a TON of new jewelry for it. Get the house decorated for Christmas. Come up with an appetizer menu. PLUS make a couple of more pieces and write tutorials for another project. I don’t know how I’ll ever do it all with my pesky full time job.
Hope you all have a good Monday.

6 things

For those of you who were secretly hoping I would blog in the midst of this holiday madness,
here you go…
How it works (in case you forgot): I will answer the below very random questions – then you can answer the questions as a comment.

1. Today I feel… Thankful that my family is healthy. and a little tired.

2. This week… is going to be crazy busy and chaotic as I try to whip up many many pieces of jewelry to sell next weekend at my open house!

3. Last night… I was stuffed with turkey and all the fixings, and then enjoyed watching Home Alone with my nephew Max.

4. Lately the song stuck in my head is… “Paparrazzi” by Lady Gaga. over. and over. and over. and over.

5. Whats your favourite pet memory? In Marley’s younger days, she used to be a very good acrobat and play on the railing of the stairs inside my apartment.

6. What is currently at the top of your Christmas wish list? I want many things. Like this. and this. and this. or this.

Reminder: Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale: 20% off your purchase. Coupon Code: ABS Thanksgiving. Check out like normal and I’ll send you a revised invoice reflecting your discount!!!

Garden of Good

now listed on etsy!

Important News!

1. I will be away for the holiday – Wednesday through Sunday. I will be reading blogs, but will not be blogging til I get back.

2. My shop will stay open while I’m gone but all packages won’t ship til Monday November 30th.

3. As part of the Art Bead Scene crew, I’m participating in the Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday sale- Take 20% off of your purchase! USE COUPON CODE ABS THANKSGIVING.
Check out normally, do not pay, leave your email and I will send you a revised invoice. SALE STARTS THURSDAY and ENDS MONDAY night!

4. I am so lame and haven’t been able to blog about my fun day with Kerry. She wrote a great blog yesterday about our day together, on Sunday when she drove up. And Kerry took all the pictures too because I forgot my camera. We had a blast. Lunch was great, and shopping around the antique mall was the BEST. Kerry is a pro at spotting really cool things that I wouldn’t normally see! So I scored some cool things like a special gift for my Sister for Christmas, some cute bird postcards that will make great props, I got a small pink hardcover Black Beauty book, it’s the sweetest! I found these really cool and rustic and RUSTY metal plates that having chipping green paint. I bought one and already used it as a photo prop. And Kerry assured me that it was okay for me to buy the buttons on my bead diet because they are not beads. So I went a little nuts and have enough buttons to last me 3 lifetimes. I’ll be divvying them up and will listing some button destash in my Bead Pod shop.

5. Oh yea! The winner of the giveaway for the Classic Bead set!

CONGRATULATIONS NICKI!
You left your email so I’ll send you a note to get your address for your beads!
Thank you for the great participation in the this giveaway!

Thanks for stopping in and I’ll see you all when I get back!
xox
L

A great cause, and a new SHOP!

I was approached by my friend, Marsha Neal, of Marsha Neal Studio a little while ago, and was asked if I would be interested in helping her raise money for a good cause. Marsha’s mom passed away in 2007, after battling Leukemia.

Marsha, that clever girl, had an idea to open an Etsy shop. All of the proceeds from the item sales from this shop will be donated to a non-profit organization. Right now the monies are being collected to donate a room to “My Mom Pattie” at the Tri-State Bird Rescue (DE) annex project. Marsha’s mom loved feeding, providing habitat in her garden, and watching birds. And with the help from your purchases, there will be a permanent place in her memory where sick or injured birds can be taken care of.

I couldn’t be more proud of my friend for her bravery and feel so honored to have been asked to be one of the contributing artists.
So, basically you’ll be able to find handmade jewelry made by me (and a few other talented designers) that all incorporate Marsha’s awesome ceramic components!

Take a minute to read through the My Mom Pattie blog, and then run over and start your Christmas shopping early- I’ve listed 8 new pieces in the shop, adding to Mary Jane Dodd’s collection. The shop can be browsed by artist, just click the name in the menu on the right.

Thank you, in advance, for all of your love and support! I hope you find something you can’t live without!

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Weekly Links

See this cool ceramic charm?
My friend Marsha Neal made it.
She’s having a HUGE sale right now, BUY 2, Get one FREE! In both of her shops!
Etsy and her online store!
Don’t miss this one because, this will be the last big sale before her baby Riley arrives.
Not only that but she’s having GIVEAWAYS too when you spend a certain amount in her shop, you’ll get put into a drawing. Check out the details on her blog here.

I am waiting patiently for Kerry to arrive! She’s driving 2-1/2 hours to come hang with me today. I am excited to see her.
The last time I got to see her was when I went to her house, and picked up the Bead Cabinet. Remember that?
Don’t really have a day planned, just lunch, maybe some antiquing… if we can places open on a Sunday. The bead shop is closed so that’s out, good thing, because I don’t need another temptation on this bead diet.
Sorry for not blogging yesterday. Yesterday is a blur and I’m not even sure what I did all day, but the day was gone before I knew it.
Til tomorrow, please enjoy this weeks cool LINKS!

A Bead A Day
Do pearls go with everything? Lisa pairs glass pearls with chain and interesting findings. What do you think?

About.com Jewelry Making
What do you do with a weird piece of chain made from wood? How about making a fabulous necklace out of it.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene gives you the scoop on findings worth finding – check it out!

Barbe Saint John
I’ve been a bad blogger!

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi makes a brooch with a cameo and other odds and ends.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy has a new shop on Etsy – the bleeding heart. Check it out!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shows the piece she made for the new book Chain Style, and talks about her struggles with letting go of her published jewelry pieces.

Jean Campbell
Jean kicks off a new era of self-indulgence with a funky Steampunk necklace.

Jewelry & Beading
Gather up some little beaded flowers and turn them into a very special necklace!

Lorelei’s Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei’s annual craft fair adventure is over and she share’s some photos of the Aftermath.

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Artbeads teamed up with Nintendo DS to create a fantastic virtual learning game for jewelry lovers! Style Lab! Jean shows it off in a youtube clip! FUN for the HOLIDAYS! 🙂

Strands of Beads
Melissa discusses the virtue of buttons in jewelry-making

A lot on your plate?

Why not have some fun with a challenge, right?

Since I’m the over-achiever type of beader, I created a bracelet for each
of the bug pictures in KJ’s blog challenge.
Excuse the blurry and nasty dark photos.
It’s raining and dismal today and well, I just couldn’t help it.
But you can get the general idea of what I was trying to achieve here.

the beetle: glass rounds, copper metal seed beads, a Marsha
Neal Studios ceramic charm, wood slices, Vintaj Brass bead caps,
handmade brass hook and eye charm with filigree round.

the catepillar: Playing off the colors in this lovely creature,
I used an orange lampwork flower from Gardanne Glass, lampwork glass
nuggets in that perfect teal, black and pale blue color palette from
Crazy Cat Glass, Black vintage buttons used as “bead caps”, bronze artist
wire

the grasshopper: Ok, so I cheated a bit on this one. I had made
this bracelet over the summer but it fits so well into the color
palette of this picture. Ceramic toggle: Mary Harding
Glass drops, vintage glass tulip bead, Sue Beads lampwork, The
Orange Bell lampwork, Kelleys Beads lampwork,
and an inside out painted glass bead with grasshopper.

the moth: It’s hard to see in this photo but I take that color
on the top of the moth as a light lavender color.
So I beaded this simple elegant bracelet with
Grass green heishi pearls, and top drilled lavender pearls,
with small lavender seed beads in between. Silver lobster clasp,
and silver flower charm from Hip Chick Beads.

the butterfly: This is my favorite out of the bunch.
I used a new Transfer ware toggle ring from Marsha Neal Studios,
Vintaj Brass toggle bar, heavy cable cahin, and lampwork glass from Kelleys Beads,
and a nice little Jade Scott charm. I went with colors from the butterfly,
and not the flower in the photo.

I hope you all enjoyed my challenge pieces! I had fun diverting my attention to something a little more challenging and FUN!
TGIF!!
xo
L

happy thursday

Good Morning.

Another day another dollar. But all I want to do is bead. Isn’t that always the case?
Thought I would tell you that the bead diet is going really well. It is day #11 already! But I must confess. I have been tempted by beads on more than one occasion. And yes, The Orange Bell is holding a set for me til my diet is over. 😉
Seems like we are all gearing up for the craziness that is the Holidays. I’m not looking forward to all that. Every year we go through the same issues. Buying gifts at the last minute and dealing with crowds of people and settling on gifts for family. gah.
I wish I could do without all that this year.
Since my show this weekend, it seems like all of these deadlines and projects fell in my lap and I immediately felt overwhelmed. I wish I could tell you all about what I’m working on but one of the things is top secret, and super exciting, and work intensive.
Other things… I was asked to create jewelry for Marsha Neal’s Mom’s shop, My Mom Pattie. I’ll talk more about this in another post. I’m busy trying to restock my studio for my open house in December. A nerve-wracking event that could be really super great if I have enough stuff. And then of course, the deadline is really quickly approaching for Stringing magazine and I’ve only got 1 project finished. *sigh. There is never enough hours in the day. Seriously.
For me it’s easy to get caught up in all the busy business stuff and forget to slow down and enjoy life for once. But this weekend I’ll have a day to do that. My friend Kerry Bogert is coming to spend Sunday with me, and I can’t wait to see her. We are gonna hang out, let our hair down, relax, have lunch, and just enjoy some girl time together for once. Enjoy LIFE for once.

Hope you have a relaxing Thursday- and enjoy life!

The Classic Bead- Giveaway No. 1

Tracee Dock, of The Classic Bead, loves you.

Wanna know how much?

So much that she has donated this super hip and cool pendant and bead set for a giveaway!

This will be the first of 2 giveaways- the 2nd will come in December. So stay tuned for that.

In the meantime- relish in this current gift!

Large funky swirl Ceramic pendant in a matte black and matte gold metallic finish. Comes with a set of 6 coordinating ceramic round beads, and a coordinating ceramic button for the clasp!

Create a whole masterpiece using everything on this card!

Please leave 1 comment, include your email, and I will draw a winner on Tuesday November 24th!

Cold Winters Night

Feeling overwhelmed today.
Many many things on my to do list.
Trying to take it one step at a time.
Deep Breath.
Just take a deep breath.
……………………….