Another Holiday Has Passed

Mother's day hasn't been the same since my mom died almos2 years ago so I wasn't terribly upset that it went by as quickly as it did.

Today is a new day and opportunities are right around the corner. If you don't look, you might miss one.

Today we'll be packing bead orders and making more beads. I have settled into a life where bead making brings me peace, brings order into my life, and it helps to pay the bills.
At the moment, Life is Good!

Here's what I'm up to lately. Please disregard the grey and white stripes....Today is also a day I find out what's going on with my camera!!!

Our new Facebook Pages

Sometimes when times are tough, we reach for the impossible. As an artist (and I finally feel comfortable saying that) we sign up for shows, we work hard to make sure we have inventory, and we prepare, clean, price, label, and take pictures. Then, they don't come. Not like we prepared for. I did a show a few weeks ago. The weekend before that weekend was beautiful. Hot, slight breeze, and just an all-around beautiful day. I was getting exicted about the show as I always do. I bought last minute supplies to help me finish the projects that needed finishing. We always work late into the night before a show. Even after one, were dead tired but replenish stock for the next day.
This year however, it wasn't exciting. It wasn't even fun. Our booths were taken and we were put towards the back. Against the freeway where the wind comes from. The winds gusted up to 65mph. We ended up having one tent break. No one came. Too cold to go way in the back of the isles. No sunshine all day. 5 layers of clothing and hundreds of safety pins holding out items to the table. There were no displays. There wasn't a torch with fire blazing. There was nothing but what looked like a cheezy, 5 minute set up of cheap jewelry.

So, what do you do? You create a few awesome sites on Facebook! You tell your friends, they tell their friends, and soon you have a community of sellers and buyers coming together. Sales are made. Sometimes we put up items for sale and they sell but then sometimes they don't.

It's a new process, it's a fun adventure and I'm ready to ride it for as long as I can. I hope you'll join us :-)
Blessings to you all.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/artisanlampworkbeadsforsale/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/suppliesforthelampworkbeadartist/ 

Top of Form

https://www.facebook.com/groups/beadsgemstonesandfindingsforsale/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fusedartmarketplace/

2:30am....

Soooo it's been a long time s4 I have been unable to sleep.   I am laying in bed with my phone and trying to type a post about whatever comes to mind.  My thoughts seem to be scattered everywhere. Could be why I can't sleep.  Anxiety has been with me for many years but has been much better than before.   Typing seems to help as it keeps my mind focused on something else......

I bought paint!!!! "Banana Split!

I drove to Lowes today to try and find a color to paint my office in. I knew I wanted yellow but I didn't want a yellow that turns green when it goes on the wall.
Help at Lowes is hard to find so I ended up taking the samples and driving to Home Depot. Along the way, I see a Volkswagon Beetle in the color I was looking for. Gosh I wish I could have taken that in as a sample lol.

But anyhow, I chose a color close to it. It's called, "Banana Split!" Pretty pastel yellow. Not bright enough to make you close your eyes but yellow enough to make you feel warm, as if sunshine is on your back :-)

Now I need to paint!!!!

A bit of the ocean today

Everywhere on social media, my friends are talking about how horrible the weather is. Living in Southern California all my life, we get to see some really cold days but nothing compared to back east!
That's probably why I live here. We have oceans, mountains, lakes, and deserts. We truly have it all.
Even though it's been cold here, I have been wanting to start on summer beads. Beads that are bright or reflect the beach somehow. I long to move to the beach but until then, my beads will have to do.
These beads aren't anything special but I love the colors. Beautiful blues, aqua, greens, and white make these beads perfect to add into a nice summer piece of jewelry.
Hope you like it too!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/179223983/clear-waters-blue-aqua-greens-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_1

Is it 2015 yet?

Everyone's been writing on social media that 2014 is "Their year!" That problems they have been dealing with will be over, that losses suffered, will be restored, and that heartache turns back into a smile.
I don't know about anyone else but I don't see that happening yet. So far this year has been bustling with busyness, and total disorganization. Friend's are getting physically hurt, and others are fighting to live.
If this is 2014, I'm ready to take a nap and be woken up at midnight 12-31-14.

Ah, but that would be the easy way out and I don't do easy. Seriously! I don't seem to do easy on anything that I attempt to do.

So we keep going, we keep trying, we keep moving forward with an occasional on step back! It's okay. Just keep going forward, struggles are overcome when we don't stop!

Working on a design for my Pastor's sister. I have beads made but will gather all my materials and show you what were going to do with it. First, beads need to be cleaned.
And with that........I'm off!

The significance of a Heart

I have been making hearts for a long time now. There's something about a heart that draws me in. So what's the significance of a heart? Well, some would simply look at it from a logical viewpoint and tell you that the heart is the main organ of the body. It keeps us alive by pumping blood to all the other areas of the body. If it didn't do that, we would die. So basically, the heart is...."Life!"

From an emotional perspective, the heart signifies so many different things. Broken, Happy, Depressed, Cold, Warm, Loving, and Content are a few words that come to mind. You can tell alot about a person by "their heart." That may not be true but I do like to believe that the heart is more than an organ. When we talk about it from this perspective and we say, "He has a great heart!" We don't mean that his ogran is working just perfectly or vice versa. We use a heart as a symbol to tell the goodness of someone's soul. When a person is said to be generous, he has a "big heart." In medical terms that would be called, "Cardiomegaly." If a person is mean, we say he or she is "Cold-hearted!" Some people have "broken" hearts when they end a relationship or lose someone dear to them. I've been there! Alot, in the past few years. They say a heart can be mended over time which is kind of funny because the heart was never broken....from a logical standpoint. 

Most of us view the heart as the biggest emotional part of us, bypassing the brain where emotions are actually created and stored. Alot of artists use different techniques in creating them but we look at them and they touch us somehow.

This first heart, when I look at it, shows a darkness or brokeness on the outside yet the heart is blooming on the inside. The little twists and turns of color was the process it took for that heart to start blooming again. This heart was made by a lampwork artist and her store can be found here. Stephanie's Hearts

This heart also reminds me of a rebirth of the heart. It's taking on a adventurous nature as if it is being given wings to fly. The color orange is "fiery" and overtakes the soft violet as if to take on the world. You can find that heart here Calypso Hearts

This is my heart. I created it in 2012 and it isn't for sale yet. I don't know why I haven't listed it but it has alot of emotion tied into it. Heart is blackened, broken. This was after losing my mom, sister, job, and marriage all in October of 2012. The red inside was not a sign of rebirth or healing but the red is fire! Anger within a broken heart. It was where I was for a long time since.




 I think it might be time to make another heart like this. This time however, there will be rebirth.