Beads For Birthdays!

My package from my secret Beads for Birthdays buddy was slightly delayed, but that's alright, it just stretches out the birthday fun! It arrived this past Friday and I dove right in! In fact, I forgot to take pictures of all the cute white boxes tied with green ribbons... but here's a photo of my lovely gifts!

There are three cabochons, one black onyx, one tree agate, and one super delightful sparkly fuchsite from Siberia.

Three strands of glass: pale green leaves that nicely compliment the fuchsite, little bronze daggers, and big vitrail-like daggers.

One strand of what I think is a lab-grown tourmaline. Each bead is half green, half yellow, and they have a wonderful weight and perfect machine facets.

One triangle dish, which is super-helpful for sorting and cleaning up beads.

One tribal-inspired pendant in a dark brassy-bronzey-gunmetaly color.

Five tubes of assorted shapes and sizes of seed beads, including some yummy marbled 11s. I've slowly been collecting these, and I didn't have the pink-marbled olive yet (which isn't very pink, it's more of a copper).

One slim-line faerie journal. I think this will be very good for keeping to-do lists, and it should fit in my purse so I can take my lists with me.

One sparkly faerie birthday card! The handwriting inside looks familiar... perhaps a BFAC participant? I won't sleuth around and spoil the surprise.

Not shown: one box of Lipton Super Fruit Green Tea with White Peach and Mangosteen. It makes delicious iced tea! I've already had about 4 glasses of it. Yum yum!

Here's a shot of the fuchsite cab, I was trying to capture how awesome and sparkly it is, but the camera isn't cooperating.
Thank you, secret birthday buddy! I love my gifts and I can't wait to design with them :)

Happy World Belly Dance Day!

Today is World Belly Dance Day! And I didn't know until yesterday. What a bummer. If I had known ahead of time, I would have made plans. Instead I need to settle for dancing at home. Alone.

But! Here's a little celebration in my blog... a celebration of how much I love tribal jewelry. Last weekend, I noticed that Beads Galore was conveniently located on the route between my hotel and the studio. I have to avoid their gigantic booth at the gem show (it's larger than most of my local bead stores), because my budget simply can't handle it. But I couldn't just drive by and not stop in... especially not since it was my birthday and I had birthday money to spend! So I told myself that I was only allowed to buy tribal stuff, and not even look at their fabulous selection of Czech glass, and this is what I found!

Amazing green vaseline glass. Most of the other vaseline glass was $50-70 a strand. These rondelles were only $15. I'm pretty sure it was fate.

Black horn beads with metal. The silver-tone metal has a floral design. Very pretty and versatile, and rather lightweight for the size, too.

Horn and bone hairsticks. All but the eye-patterned one have horizontal holes near the top, which will make it easy to attach dangling strands of beads. The eye one has the more standard vertical hole for gluing in a headpin.

Afghani coin pendants and button. All with green glass "gems" set in them. Probably destined for a green coin bra, except the button which will either be a bracelet clasp or get used as the button to fasten an entari (a jacket-vest thing that we dancers wear under a bodice or a gahwazee coat).

Big Afghani pendants. One might also become part of the green bra, one will go with the vaseline glass. I haven't decided which will go with which yet.

Stretchy black skull bracelet. Will remain a bracelet until such a time as I decide to cut it up and use those awesome little skullies for something else.

Since I bought all of this swag with birthday money, it will mostly go into jewelry for me, but I have a feeling that the leftovers will trickle into stock for the Etsy shop! I can't hoard all the gorgeous tribal stuff to myself!

MZ Glass Design Challenge!

Just a quick blog post before I go pick Chris up from the airport (yay!). I wanted to let you all know about the MZ Glass Design Challenge, which I helped brainstorm (I love brainstorming!). The name says it all... Margaret Zinser is challenging you to design with her beads. In return, she's offering up $1000 worth of bead prizes! $600 for 1st, $300 for 2nd, and $100 for 3rd place.

The complete rules can be found in this blog post. I think one of the best rules is that you can enter as many times as you want, so you don't have to try to decide which of your design ideas is best, if you have multiple beads and multiple ideas (I sure do!). Also, the fact that designs in all media are welcome, it's not just for jewelry designers. I for one am hoping that someone will make a doll with butterfly wings. Just saying.

Expect further blogging this weekend, as I had numerous subjects I wanted to talk about today, but this one won because I've been meaning to mention it all week and I didn't have to take any photographs first.

Fire and Tribal and Swords, oh my!

That's my plan for the evening. Sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it? Classes were a lot of fun last week. I'm enjoying learning Palm Flame and Sword, as they're two props that I'd love to be able to perform with someday (not at the same time!), and Tribal is always awesome. This session we're focusing on honing technique even more, layering shimmies, adding zills, and still learning some new moves, because Anaya Tribal has a huge vocabulary and we want to know it allllll.

I also got some new beading books in the mail today, which I've only had a little time to flip through, but hopefully I'll read them this weekend and get a chance to post some book reviews next week, as well as probably posting my Egg Moon necklace, which I got back to work on this morning.

Inana at Dusk

You may have noticed this necklace in the picture from my solo. I created it Friday afternoon, specifically to go with my teal silks. I already had the ceramic and rhinestone-embellished beads, but I needed a focal... which practically landed in my lap on my first day of my new job, when I admired the lovely teal and gunmetal bead and MZ said I could take it. Gunmetal lampworked spacers, indicolite Swarovski crystals and faceted freshwater pearls provide the perfect accents between the larger beads. I also added a floral crescent moon pendant, because it's pretty and I wanted a big focal.
I call this necklace Inana at Dusk, because by the time I finished draping myself in silk and veils, painting my face with makeup and layering on as much jewelry as I had packed, I couldn't decide if I looked like a goddess or a prostitute. And so my crowning jewel is named after the patron of temple prostitutes, the daughter of the moon god, Inana.

If you're enchanted by the lampwork focal in this necklace and would like something similar, make sure to check out MZ Glass. Margaret makes a lot of tribal-appropriate lampwork!

(Full disclosure: yes, I now work for MZ Glass, but I was pushing her beads long before I was her employee!)

Miss July, The Grass Moon Faerie Pin Up

Oh my goodness! Jewelry! New jewelry! On my blog and in my Etsy shop!

It seems like lately, I've mostly been talking about dancing and how busy I am, so it's time to get things back on track by sharing Miss July with you. Yes, my entry for the April challenge is named for July. I thought she looked more like a Summer faerie, since she's wearing bright yellow and orange and running through really tall grass. Well actually, maybe she's a tiny faerie and it's normal-sized grass. It's hard to tell with the wee folk.

I totally blew the deadline on Grass Moon/Egg Moon, but other teammates did not! Visit the FAE Team Blog to see the wonderful Spring creations of my imaginative friends.

My first (official) solo

The above picture was taken by my friend and classmate Jen. Thank you, Jen!

So, I've danced solos before, for visiting friends and family, and at the Tahoe retreat. But Friday night was my first time performing a solo at an organized event, for a decent-sized audience (actually, the audience was so big that I almost freaked out). Judging by the number of compliments I got afterwards (even from people who don't know me), I'm guessing I did pretty good! I haven't actually watched the video yet, so I don't know for sure. I'm going to bask in the glow of feeling talented before I watch the video and nitpick all the things I did wrong.

I performed to "The Hunt" by Niyaz. The song is about a man who goes out hunting, but everything that he sees reminds him of his beloved, so he can't bring himself to kill anything. It's a favorite song of mine, both because of the meaning and because it's both beautiful and energetic. A lot of fun to dance to.

For my costume, I went with simple and elegant, rather than trying to schlep huge skirts and lots of layers up to Tempe with me. I'm wearing olive green flare-leg pants and tie-back choli, over which I layered a teal shantung silk panel skirt and cropped tie-top/vesty thing (with lovely light olive ties). Of course it's accented with lots of jewelry and hair goodies and the malachite bindi that I made the other day.

I was reasonably nervous, especially since I had to follow up a solo by a well-known local teacher, and dance on an actual stage instead of the floor. But not only did Kim of Plaza de Anaya give me a loving and warm introduction, but several of my friends from my various classes were sitting front and center with big smiles, making lots of noise. Their presence really carried me through those first scary moments until I could lose myself in the music!

I'll post the video when I can, but it's currently on Chris's laptop... which is in Texas with him.

(By the way, I did not end up dancing the drum solo, my classmate Marlene did a wonderful solo performance of it!)

Barely home!

Feels like I've been on the go for the past week... From my weekend in Phoenix, to the gym and errands, to taking my brother to the MVD, to starting my new job, to dance classes tonight and then my fun dancing birthday weekend coming up, I've barely been home at all. Housework and beading are both suffering, but should hopefully return to normal next week.

Tonight is a very exciting one for classes, the first evening of a new session in which I will not only be continuing my education in the Anaya Tribal style, but I will also learn tribal-style sword, and palm flames. Swords! And Fire! Two of my favorite things combined with dancing, which is one of my other favorite things. Add a beaded costume with some malachite and faeries and that's pretty much all of my favorite inanimate things.

Assuming we can get the music issue ironed out, my classmate Marlene and I will be performing the drum solo choreo that we learned on Friday, since we were unable to at the recital on Sunday. This means that I will probably be performing twice at the hafla*. I hope I'll be able to get to see a lot of the other performers as well, even if I have to peak out through the back-stage door ;)

I'll try to post a quick update tomorrow before I take off for Phoenix, to let you know how awesome tonight's classes are, then I'll be quiet all weekend again.

Recital Number Two

So, the recital this weekend was fun but crazy. The drum solo performance was canceled last-minute, so I only danced with two classes, which was actually better for me in a way because it meant one less costume change. We had several people just not show up, which threw off our formations, and there was some confusion on exactly what we were doing for zill class... but in the end, it all more or less came together, and if any mistakes were made, well, we all made the same mistake, so only we know that it wasn't supposed to be that way :)

Even though there was a bit of stress involved, I found myself feeling really refreshed as I drove home to Tucson. There's something about spending the entire weekend with my dancing friends and classmates that just makes me happy. I get a real sense of community, especially as we all help each other get ready and congratulate each other on a job well-done (and convince each other that the audience didn't notice that little misstep).

Video is forthcoming. My parents loaned us their nice camcorder, which should have taken some nice footage, it just needs to be transferred to the computer and such.

My BFAC necklace is finally up!

If you've been waiting anxiously to get your hands on Psychedelic Jellyfish, now is your chance! You can also check out the other auctions, because there are some very nice items waiting for your bids. Don't forget that there's only one week of Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure auctions left after this one! You don't want to miss your chance to win a nice piece of beadwork and help a good cause all at the same time (for those who are new to my blog and the whole BFAC thing, we are raising money for the National Colorectal Cancer Research Association).

Of course, you're probably sitting there saying "But AJ, what about the new car? What about your recital?" Well, in the interest of not writing novel-length blog posts, I'm trying to stick to one subject at the time. The short version is that the car is awesome, I had a safe drive up to my friend's birthday party, and the recital was chaotic but fun. More details as time allows this week.

Gone for the weekend

I'll be up in Phoenix all weekend, for a friend's birthday party and the Plaza de Anaya Spring Student recital. I am not taking my laptop with me because I want to focus on friends and dancing. I will also be gone all of next weekend, so I should probably just give up on weekend blogging, since I'm always gone or busy.

Today was exciting because we bought a new car, a 2010 VW Jetta TDI. I would love to gush about it, but I need to finish packing for my weekend away, so gushing will be postponed until next week.

Strangely Cold

It's cold and rainy and windy today, which is very odd for late April in Tucson. I don't know if it's remnants of El Nino, or freaky weather patterns caused by the Iceland volcano, or something else entirely. All I know is that it is NOT going to stop me from going to class tonight, because I need to be there to practice for this weekend's recital.

My Egg Moon pendant is almost done, now I just need to decide what to hang it from, and hope that the weather is nice enough for some photography.

Check out the BFAC auctions!

It's been a while since I've reminded you all to check out the wonderful Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure auctions! We have some great items this week, including Dot Lewallen's hippo doll, Gertrude's New Hat (shown above), which is bringing in some high bids already. The other items could use a little love, though, so if Gertrude is already out of your budget, don't despair! Everything else is just as lovely.

My necklace goes up on Sunday, though, so make sure you save a little money for that :)

Short and Sweet

Well, since I gushed all over yesterday's post, I'll keep today a little shorter!

Sometime this week, I'll be listing my Grass Moon challenge necklace. I finished it on Saturday, but haven't had a chance to take photos (it's strangely cloudy today). I'm also hoping to make an Egg Moon necklace, but I'd have to be fast, as the deadline for the challenge is Sunday, and I'll be in Phoenix all weekend.

I'll be in Phoenix, because I'm going to a friend's birthday party, spending the night, and then my recital is the next day! I'll be dancing twice this time, with the zill class and the tribal class.

Next week will be a big week, too. I'm starting a new job, spending a few hours a week working as an assistant for a friend of mine, plus I'll be practicing to dance a solo on the 30th. Two very exciting things in one week! Not to mention that I'm taking a hula workshop on the 1st... which happens to be my 28th birthday :)

Bad week followed by a day of Pure Awesomeness!

Image shamelessly stolen from Levant al Sonora's Facebook page.

If you're wondering why I've been so quiet for the past week, it's because all I would have been able to blog about was the tedious list of annoying things that happened to me. None of it was truly awful on its own, just the little trials and tribulations that an adult must deal with in life, but they came all together in one week and piled on top of each other until I felt quite irritated by it all, paranoid about what would happen next.

But then I had two wonderful days. The first was Thursday, the blissful retreat of my evening full of belly dance classes. I delivered a custom octopus necklace to one of my classmates (unfortunately, I didn't have time to photograph it before I gave it to her), had a good time in all of my classes, and got some much needed ego-boosting compliments from my teachers.

The big blast of refreshing happiness was yesterday, however. Our local chapter of the Middle Eastern Culture and Dance Association (MECDA) brought workshops and a showcase down to Tucson (they're of course based in Phoenix, which has an unfairly high concentration of amazing dancers). The rundown:

Warning! Belly dance nerd content ahead!

I started the day learning American Tribal Style moves from Lenay of Kamalah (Arizona's only true ATS troupe), and then Shannon of Divine Chaos turned them into tribal fusion combos, complete with cues, so that any troupe could add them to their repertoire. I really liked the dual-teacher system here, and Shannon's combos were really cool.

What struck me as I thought about this class today is how different the belly dance world is from the beading world. At one point, Shannon said (I'm paraphrasing) "So, if you take this back to your troupe and teach it to them, you could do it this way or this way..." There was a clear expectation that dancers would want to share these moves with people who did not take the workshop, and that was OK. In the bead world, it's a big faux pas to take a class and then use the handout to teach your friends who didn't take the class... and that's just fine, I don't blame a teacher for wanting people to pay for the fruit of their labors.

Next was zill class with Mahin, a dancer that I admire very much because she sends out these great "belly dance quickie" e-mails every day, with a new tip or technique or inspirational video. I love people who give to their community like that. We learned three new-to-me zill rhythms, and she taught combinations to practice them with. I had some trouble with the moves and combos because they were pretty alien to my world of 4-count tribal moves, but I look forward to practicing the rhythms.

After a lunch break, Shannon came back and taught a short bonus workshop on double fans! This free class was actually my favorite, because I've always wanted to learn fans. Shannon taught us how to open and close paired fans with natural movements of the arm and wrist, and a few tribal-fusion style combos that look really pretty with paired fans. She even covered dramatic ways to come on stage with the fans. Afterwords, we all posed with our diverse fans for the photo above. Isn't it pretty?

Later in the evening was the Spring Showcase, featuring the teachers from the workshops and other talented Arizona dancers. It was being held at a shop called People's Imports, which seemed like an odd choice to me... dancing in a store? Would there be enough room for the dancers to move? Ample seating? Turns out it was awesome. The shop itself is old brick, decorated with imported rugs and furniture and cool stuff, and they even had a raised stage which the musicians occupied. The dancers performed in a wide open space, half-surrounded by low seats.

I loved seeing a lot of the tribal troupes that I know from the Phoenix area actually performing -- so far I'd only seen them on video, or in informal party-type settings. It was also fun to see some local Tucson dancers that I didn't know putting on some great shows! And Mahin gave a show-stopping glitzy cabaret-style performance in a costume that I'm pretty sure had aurum 2x Swarovski crystals all up in its fringe (there's a little something for my beaders!). After the performers, Divine Chaos's live band played a number for the audience to get up and dance, the perfect cap to the night.

The only bad part is knowing that this won't happen again until NEXT year! Oh sure, I can travel to workshops, but having MECDA bring the fun to me (and my fellow Tucson dancers) was a nice treat!

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And drums.

I'm sure I've mentioned here before that Daisy is my crazy dog. Last week, she had to go to the vet because she broke a toenail while freaking out in the bathtub (OHMIGAWD! WATER! I'M GOING TO DIE! RUN AWAY!). Today, my brother came over with his new gigantic truck, and she fearlessly ran under the truck (because there were people on the other side), and then jumped up into the cab (because an open vehicle door is a clear indication that it's time for a ride, even if she's never seen the vehicle before). I'm always amused by the things that do and do not scare her. She'll lovingly lick the vet and the letter carrier on the face, but she's terrified of the Furminator brush.

I've also mentioned that neither dog approves of my zill playing. They'll fold their ears back, look at me with accusing eyes, and slink off to the bedroom to hide. Well, apparently they just hate percussion instruments in general, because Chris was playing a drum tonight and there was Daisy, sitting in the bedroom doorway giving me that sad look that asked "When is the scary drum going to go away?"

That's my Daisy, a dog of extremes.

I made bindis!

I took a break from beading on Wednesday to delve into the world of super-fancy bindis. These are especially popular with tribal and tribal fusion belly dancers, as we have a "too much is probably not quite enough" approach to costuming and accessorization. In fact, I got tips on how to make these from The Gypsy Kiss, a tribal fusion dancer and costumer of whom I am a big fan. If you'd like a bindi of your own, please click that link and shop with her!

My foray into bindi-craft was inspired by the fact that my friend and dance classmate Meghan recently had a birthday, and had mentioned wanting a bindi with a bird skull on it. When going through my supplies, I found a polymer clay bird skull that was sort of small enough to be a bindi, so I knew I had to do it! It's attached to a repurposed filligree earring, accented with an onyx or sardonyx or some other black stone with bits of brown and white.

But first I had to experiement with proper gluing, so I made myself one with the other earring, a long malachite cab, and a tiny vintage green class cab. Pretty! I think it will look great with the striped skirt that I wore to the Renaissance Festival back in February.
You can see from this side view that the skull has a pretty high profile. Hopefully it won't be too big and heavy to stay attached. Meghan loves it, and I think it will look pretty cool with her rat skull hair clip. (yes, we tribal dancers can be a little macabre, too!)

Spring Break at the Beach

When Artbeads.com invited me to pick out a selection of beads that reminded me of Spring, my first thought was to go for something leafy or flowery... but then I saw this octopus and had to have it, so my theme became Spring Break at the Beach! I eschewed dainty pastels in favor of the brighter colors that come out as Spring fades into Summer, the colors of tropical water and growing plants and my favorite warm-weather clothes!

Once I'd picked out the Sterling and Resin Pendant by Taina Hartman, I thought of CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements, specifically stars and fish! The bright peridot stars were the perfect accent for the octopus. I added turquoise AB 2x crystals and variegated Czech glass as well as chain and a clasp from my own stash to make this simple but adorable necklace that perfectly matches my favorite peridot green t-shirt. You can see the full-length view in yesterday's blog post.

The octopus focal is quite nice, the resin is perfectly smooth, the image shows clearly, and the silver frame/cup gives it a professional finish. However, it's also very tiny, so it's hard to use it as a necklace focal, unless you go really dainty like I did. I think it would be really well-suited to use in a charm bracelet, and other styles would make cute earrings.
My original plan had been to use these clear fish crystals and the Sterling fish clasp to round out the necklace, but they proved to be too big for the octopus focal. Instead, I'm setting them aside to go with this sea faerie lampworked figure from Giggling Grizzly, which I have had forever. There are some Bali fish and Czech pressed glass fish waiting to go with her, too. I'm thinking I might need some medium-weight silver chain, and I'll just dangle all of the fish and hang her in the center.

The fish clasp is just perfect, a hook and eye, with the head and body being separate pieces. It hooks and unhooks very smoothly, and looks nearly seamless when it's connected. It seems like it should be large and sturdy enough to balance out the heavy lampworked focal.

All of my crystals came nestled in the little white compartment trays that Swarovski packages them in, for safe travels and safe storage. As you can see from the photos, both shapes are cut for lots of sparkle. I envisioned the stars as sea stars for this piece, but they'd be just as perfect for a celestial theme.

FTC Disclaimer: As was clearly indicated in the above post, some of the beads in these projects were provided for free by Artbeads.com for promotional consideration. In return, I have posted my honest reviews of them.

I got bored

I don't know what it was, but I just did not feel particularly engaged by the internet last week. I checked things, but I didn't feel particularly motivated to post on this blog, Facebook, or Twitter, nor did I participate on the FAE Team Etsy forum thread, or do as much e-mail as I usually do. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things now.

The above necklace is my latest Artbeads blogging project. I'll do a real post about it tomorrow, after I've photographed the other items I received.

I've also received the crystals for my BFAC project, but I don't know if it will be the next thing I work on. I'm still beading away on my Grass Moon project, Egg Moon awaits, and there are a few other focals I'd like to play with. Clearly, I need to dedicate more hours of my day to beading.

But there's dancing, too! I have so much to practice, so many things that I need and want to drill so I can get really good at them. So I need to spend more time on that, too!

So internet, as much as I love you, I think we may have to spend a little more time apart!

Feeling Healthy

Once again, my immune system has triumphed over the evil tyranny of germs, and I'm back to feeling more-or-less normal. This means dancing, going to the gym, and yeah, working on the game room. It also means more jewelry making. The Grass Moon necklace is already in progress, and I have a pretty clear vision of what I'm doing with it, so it should probably get finished this week, if I'm not too busy.

My BFAC project has been delayed, which is why I'm able to work on FAE Team projects without guilt. My crystal supplier lives in Colorado, a strange place that gets SNOW in the SPRING. I hope to have my rivolis in hand by the end of the week, but I don't know if I'll start the necklace right away, or make my Egg Moon necklace, too, to make sure I don't miss April's deadline.

Workin' in the Game Room

Spent a chunk of today working in the game room, rearranging things and then mudding drywall. So not how I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon, but I'm quite tired of the unfinished state of said game room. I want to finish it and get it properly set up! We've been living here for almost two years and most of our books are still in boxes -- this is not an acceptable state of affairs.

Now that the sun is down, I'm looking forward to a bit of relaxation and dancing!

Mythical Messengers -- Crow Moon

The sunshine was perfect today, so I was able to photograph and list Mythical Messengers, my entry for the Crow Moon Art Dare. I was going to do a normal strung piece, but that wasn't exciting enough, so I dug around in my bead stash until I found this purple ribbon and black chain (the latter has been in my collection for close to 10 years now). Mixed-media isn't my strong suit, but I think this one is pretty cool.

This is a definite return to my roots, too. When I first started out, the vast majority of what I made was black, purple and silver. Goth jewelry sold pretty well on eBay back then. I may not dress Goth very often anymore (greens and browns look so much better on me than black and purple!), but I still love the aesthetic, the music, the literature, and the jewelry. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to further my Goth/steampunk cred by drinking some absinthe (Goth and Green!).

I miss my lights!

You may have noticed that pretty much all of my photos now are taken outdoors, on these bricks. There are a couple of reasons for that. I like natural sunlight, the bricks make a decent neutral background, and I have no clue where my Ott-Lites are!

I used to do photography in a little light box with my two Ott-Lites on either side. But I haven't seen those lights in forever. I went looking for them back in October, because I needed to bring one along to the Tahoe retreat, and I couldn't find them anywhere. Luckily my parents do a lot of arts and crafts and had a spare light to loan me for the trip (a real necessity, the lighting was awful in the conference rooms!). I figured my lamps would turn up eventually, but months later I still haven't come across them. I think I'm going to have to break down and buy a couple more the next time JoAnn's puts them on sale. I'm sure that as soon as I do, I'll find the missing ones in some painfully obvious place.

The point of this is that I made two new necklaces today, but by the time I finished them it was almost 4pm, which means long shadows for photography. I'll have to take pictures tomorrow!

Achoo

I had to stay home from my dance classes today, due to still being sick. It's an annoying feeling, knowing that I missed out on fun and learning due to some stupid germs, and now next week I'll have to work hard to catch up.

There's not really much else to say, I didn't do anything today. Hopefully all this rest/laziness means that I'll be better tomorrow, maybe I'll even finally go back to the gym.

Keep the Sap Flowing -- FAE Team Art Dare!

The weather was beautiful today, so I snapped a few pictures and listed Keep the Sap Flowing, my entry for the Sap Moon Art Dare. The colors in the leaves should carry you through Spring, Summer, and Autumn. I love versatility in my jewelry!

For more great FAE Team dare results, see this post at our official blog. Most everyone else went for the Crow Moon theme, which I still hope to make something for before the month is over! I do so love corvids, and I have the perfect Green Girl bead for it (Oh Green Girl, is there any challenge that you don't make the perfect bead for?).

New jewelry tomorrow, weather allowing

I finished my Sap Moon challenge bracelet today, but it was cold and wet out, so photography was a no-go. Hopefully things will be nicer tomorrow and I can take some pictures. I might even make more jewelry tonight! I'm in a kind of beady mood. It's nice to have full access to my beads again, now that my brother-in-law is no longer sleeping in my guest/bead room. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded me coming in there to get beads, but since I don't like people coming into my bedroom, I try to stay out of other peoples' rooms as much as possible.

I should have the crystals for my BFAC project by the end of the week, so I'll have to stick with small projects until then.

Sarcasm dog sums up my day

This picture of Maggie rolling her eyes pretty much sums up how I feel about today.

It's just been one of those annoying days. My brother-in-law flew back to NY early this morning, and I figured I'd spend the day like any normal, houseguest-free Monday... Go to the gym, go grocery shopping, catch up on some chores, bead, dance, and maybe, just maybe, have a bit of a belated anniversary celebration with Chris. Instead, I woke up feeling sick. Then I had to deal with some internet drama, then my husband's boss decided that he should take a business trip to Phoenix. Tomorrow. Bah.

So Monday, I say nuts to you. I roll my eyes at you, a la Sarcasm Dog.

On a completely unrelated note, don't forget to check out this week's Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure auctions!

Dancing at Faire

Look who danced on stage with the dancers and musicians of Ghazaal Beledi! It's me! And my classmates Jacqueline (in the orange), Meghan (in the magenta) and Jen (behind Meghan)! The other magenta skirted dancer in the corner is Jen Bentz, one of the Ghazal Belede dancers, and the blue skirted lady in the back is the dancer who spotted us in the audience and came up with the idea to pull us up... I didn't catch her name because I was too excited.

This photo comes courtesy of Jen's husband Sam, who took a lot of pictures and a little video while we were dancing. My Mom has video, too, but she hasn't sent it to me yet. I'll share it here when she does.

Sorry that I haven't had time to actually post much this week, it's been crazy and now I have to finish getting ready for class.

This week in auctions!

Grace Danel's stunning beaded bag is just one of this week's beautiful auctions! Be sure to look at them all, choose your favorite(s) and bid as much as you can! You know you'll kick yourself if you let something that you love pass you by. And don't forget that your bid will help Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure make a generous donation to the NCCRA later this year.

Tomorrow I'll blog about the wonderful time that I had at the Renaissance Festival!

Auctions end tomorrow!

Don't forget that the first round of Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure auctions end Sunday afternoon! A new round of beautiful auctions will also start, but I'll be at Ren Faire all day, so I won't post about them until Monday. If you're the impatient sort, like me, you can visit the Auction Preview page on the official LL-BFAC site, which will show you what will be auctioned when. It's also a nice way to see all of the items together!

The above necklace is by Dulcey Heller, and like all of our items this week, it currently has a criminally low bid, so you should consider making it your own. Dulcey always wows me with her imaginative designs. She made one of my all-time favorite LL-BFAC necklaces.

Enough with the rain already!

Those of you who have read this blog for a while know that I usually really like the rain... but seriously. We had lots of rain before my mother-in-law visited, perfect weather for the week she was here, and then the rain came back. It especially likes to hit on the weekends, which makes it impossible to enjoy any outdoor events or do much-needed yardwork (because the rain is of course making lots of weeds crop up). Now my game room roof is leaking, and my Dad generously offered to come over and have a look to see if it's an easy fix... and we haven't had a dry day since Saturday when it started leaking! Thankfully it's finally supposed to stop tomorrow, and the weekend is even supposed to be nice. Finally.

But for now, I'm just going to sulk because it's too cold and muddy to go dancing in the park!

Crow Moon Inspiration

I'm almost done with my Sap Moon bracelet, but I still need to decide just what I'm doing for Crow Moon, the moon I most want to interpret. Last week, my friend Theresa posted this awesome painting called "A Murder of Crows" which I think is the perfect inspiration. The crows look so ominous, and then there's that cardinal, who clearly thinks he's some sort of badass. You should visit Theresa's She Loves Shiny blog to see more of her work and little treasures she has found.

It's Auction Time! Get your bids in!

The 2010 Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure auctions are up! Click Here to view this week's auction offerings. Please remember that as per eBay's draconian shill bidding rules, neither LL-BFAC board members nor their family members are allowed to bid on these auctions. However, their blog readers are, so if you don't fall into either of those two categories, you should be free to bid as often and as generously as you like.

The above necklace is by my friend Deb from Bead Indulgences. I have got to make one of these multi-strand woven necklaces some day. They have so much presence!

Once again, I've written all of the auction descriptions, though this is the last year that I will be providing that service.

New BFAC Kit is the Best One Yet!

That's right, I received my 2011 Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure kit in today's mail! I think it's the most beautiful kit we've ever had, very elegant colors... and that's all I have to say, because I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone else!

I'm already contemplating what I want to do, of course. I'm torn between bead embroidery, or bezeling some rivolis. Decisions, decisions.

The 2010 auctions start tomorrow!

Congratulations

Carol Diane H. is the lucky winner of the earring drawing over at my Facebook fan page! *throws virtual confetti* Congratulations, Carol!

As I mentioned previously, there will be another giveaway of some sort next month, this one not Facebook-centric. I have no idea what the prize will be, but I promise I'll make it just as beautiful as these earrings are.

Anyway, my three hours of classes last night were great! In addition to the usual Anaya-style tribal class that I've been taking since the summer, I'm now also taking a class on finger cymbals (aka zills), and learning a drum solo choreography. I don't usually do choreography, so it's forcing my brain to work in a different way while my body is also learning new moves. Combine this with a stuffy head and the fact that I didn't get to eat a snack between classes, and it will be a miracle if I remember what I've learned so far when I return next week. But still! It was a great time and I'm sure I'll enjoy the classes even more next week when I'm back to my usual health.

Don't forget!

You can still enter to win these gorgeous earrings by becoming my fan on Facebook! The drawing is tomorrow night.

And now I must go get ready to drive up to Tempe for three hours of dance class. Woohoo!

Pretty Stone

My last couple of posts have been really long and rambling, so here's one that's short and sweet! The above picture is the cabochon that I bought when we took my MIL to the gem show. It's opalized flourite, aka Tiffany stone aka Tiffany Opal. The site that I linked to is hideously unattractive and hard to read, but it does contain lots of information about the composition and origin of this pretty stone. I picked this particular cab because I liked the near-symmetry of the shape and the high concentration of purple. Once I got it out of the dim tent and looked at it in better light, I found that I also liked the pattern, which is almost like a lightning bolt shooting down to a shadowed landscape.

Earrings! You can win a pair!

As promised last week, some new goodies made with Valentine's Day Beads from Artbeads.com. These two pairs of earrings feature the glass heart beads that didn't quite match the ceramic heart pendant that I used for The Sun Spirals Ever Onward.

I didn't pay much attention to the description, and thought that the brown hearts in Herbal Love Potion were bronze metallic, but they're actually dark brown pearl. The finish is slightly satiny and very attractive. It seems pretty durable, too, and didn't have as much excess pearl-coating around the hole as some pearlized beads do. There's a bit of angling at the hole on a couple of them, but they still hang straight and are perfectly heart-shaped.

Hearts in Motion features tortoise shell glass heart beads. I love tortoise shell because it's such a warm, earthy color. In these earrings, it's joined by Swarovski crystals and crystal pearls as well as red tiger's eye, for a rainbow of yummy brown shades. These hearts are even more well-formed than the brown pearl ones. I like this size of heart because a 4mm Swarovski bicone nestles perfectly at the top.

Do you know what else is special about the Hearts in Motion earrings? I'm giving them away! To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is become a fan of Erthe Fae Designs on Facebook. Current fans are automatically entered into the drawing. On Friday night I'll draw a random name and the lucky winner will receive these beautiful earrings free of charge.

(Boring official rules: Contest is only open to US residents age 18 or over. My family members are exempt from the drawing, even though I know they're my fans, because that's how these things go. Earrings have a retail value of $25. Winning fan will be notified via Facebook on Friday night).

I know some of you aren't into Facebook, but I have plans to start doing giveaways every month, and each time the way to enter will be different, so everyone has a chance to win something.

Speaking of winning stuff, do you know what's even better than winning a free pair of Erthe Fae Designs earrings? Winning a $1000 Artbeads.com shopping spree! That's a lot of beads. The contest is about to close, so don't forget to enter before it's too late.

FTC Disclaimer: The glass heart beads used in the above earrings were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for promotional consideration. I have provided my honest review of the free products given to me.

Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, and Buttery Spirits

Sky Will Feed My Heart, ACEO by Carapace.*

February is the month of the Snow Moon and the Hunger Moon. Snow and Hunger often went hand-in-hand in the old days. You had to get through the winter relying largely upon preserved foods that you'd set aside during the warmer months, and if the snowy days stretched on, your stores could dwindle down. It's a scary thought, isn't it? These days, most of us take food for granted. If there's nothing in the pantry, we either go down to the store or even treat ourselves to a meal out at the restaurant. We rarely have to think about rationing our food stores, stretching them out until warmer days return.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. The Hunger Moon made me think of Buttery Spirits. These gluttonous faeries eat and eat and eat, but they can only eat ill-gotten or misappropriated food. For instance, an innkeeper who tries to grow wealthy by serving his patrons only the nastiest meat and watered-down drinks may attract such a spirit to his cellar. The implication is not that the faerie is there specifically to teach the innkeeper a lesson, only to gorge itself on the only food it is allowed. Any moral revelations and changes of heart are purely incidental.

It's interesting that the Buttery Spirit does not act out of morality, because faeries are often described as having their own peculiar set of morals -- some of which match up with the traditional Christian values, others which are quite different. They're said to hate lazy and churlish maids, they hate to be spied on, and they often react strangely to gifts. Of course, we won't even get into their habits of abducting babies or beautiful women and leaving changelings in their place. That would be too far of a digression from the topic at hand.

I gave The Hungriest Pixie Ever a light-hearted description, but I could also have played her up as a relative of the Buttery Spirit. Perhaps the owner of the pomegranate tree sells only the nasty, over-ripe fruit, keeping the must luscious ones for himself. Disgusted by his greed, faeries descend upon his tree and devour the best fruits, leaving behind nothing but husks.

As for the Snow Moon, I have nothing more to say about that. Snow and I are not good friends.

Exciting clicky links for related blogginess:
Snow Moon, Hunger Moon on the official FAE Team blog.
The Snow Moon on Mermaiden Creations in the Otherworld.

*Not actually an ACEO. For some reason I thought it was.

Bleh sick

I am sick again, and it is all because of Chris and his friend Rene. So phooey on them. I was enjoying being healthy, thank you very much. The unwelcome germs are being bombarded with vitamins, hydration, tea, and nasty thoughts in their general direction, so hopefully this stupid cold will not interfere with all my fun dance plans for the week.

In other news, it is also raining, so at least I didn't miss a beautiful weekend while I was being sick and cranky. And at least my plants, who are convinced that it is Spring, got another nice soaking.

Bellydance Street Team

This is my favorite shot from last night... Chris managed to catch my classmates and I in the middle of an Egyptian 1/2 turn, resulting in beautiful swirling skirts, perfectly posed arms, and everyone looking dramatically off into the crowd. My two lovely and well-dressed classmates who are dancing with me are Meghan and Jen. Shortly after this photo was taken, our teacher Tiffany jumped in. Fun times!

The entire Street Team event was just a lot of fun. We spent about an hour and a half making our way up and down Mill Avenue. It was a Friday night, so there were lots of people out and about, enjoying various restaurants, clubs, and the few shops that were open late. Most of them reacted positively to the experience, though some people seemed annoyed about us taking up sidewalk space, and we actually had a small run-in with some bicycle cops (I didn't hear most of the exchange, but apparently they were just asking us to stick to larger spaces and leave more open sidewalk, which was fine). There were quite a few dancers and musicians, as well as significant others and friends along for the fun, and even a few random people who followed us for a bit (including a couple of steampunks!).

It was a great experience for me, as a student dancer. My classmates and I danced together twice. The rest of the night I spent either watching, or standing in a U Chorus-type formation, doing simple moves to provide a pretty backdrop for the main dancers. I got to deal with the General Public, practice dancing to live music, and deal with the "fun" of realizing that I messed up in the middle of a move, then smiling and making the best of it. I hope to go up to Tempe for another one of these monthly events!

My new necklace stand

This necklace stand is carved from teak wood, and it's one of my purchases from when we took my mother-in-law to the gem show. I like it better than my velvety ones because it's prettier, and it doesn't attract cat hair. The wood grain is a better compliment to my nature-inspired faerie designs, too. I'll probably collect some more, which will be easy since the company that made them is based here in Tucson.

Don't forget that you can still get free shipping on all $25+ purchases made in my Etsy shop, now through the end of the weekend.

Tonight I'm off to Tempe for the Plaza de Anaya Street Team event. Chris was supposed to go with me and eat delicious Thai food, but he seems to be down with a cold, so I will probably insist that he and his germs stay home.

The Hungriest Pixie Ever -- Hunger Moon Art Dare

The Hungriest Pixie Ever is my entry for FAE Team's February Art Dare. Our theme choices were Snow Moon and Hunger Moon. If I'd had more time, I would have made entries for both themes, but the month flew by, so I only had a chance to make a Hunger Moon necklace. As soon as I saw that theme, I knew I had to use the pomegranate faerie that I'd been hoarding for years, and the little pomegranate charms that I'd purchased to match her.

The pomegranate faerie focal is of course from Green Girl Studios. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you already know that I love designing with their work, because it perfectly fits my sense of style and they're such a nice family. As such, I was pretty peeved when I heard that someone had ripped off many of their designs! For details on this nasty incident, visit Cynthia Thornton's blog. Thankfully it looks like they are making progress on stopping the offender, which is especially important since this person was copying the work of many artists. That's just not cool!

The little poms are also by a favorite artist of mine, Melanie from Earthenwood Studios. Because they work in similar themes (faeries and steampunk and nature), Green Girl and Earthenwood components go great together, and I'm always happy when I can design a piece that combines them (for another example, see Her Airship Sailed Through Time).

It's important to me to continue supporting the bead/component designers I love, especially when they're facing the double whammy of a poor economy and increased design-piracy. I haven't been buying as much as I used to, since I haven't been selling much, but recent events have served as a good reminder that I should be spending a bit more, and giving them a bit more love in my blog!

Closing on a lighter note, the inspiration for the name of this necklace came from my dog Daisy. During the first few months that we had our corgis, I noticed Daisy sitting on the couch, head down, ears back, giving me the big eyes because I was doing something other than petting or feeding her. I declared her "the saddest puppy ever." But because she does everything to the full extent she can, she has numerous "-est puppy ever" moments, whether it's hungry, barky, happy, or something even more ridiculous. I couldn't help but use the same naming convention for the subject of this necklace!

The Sun Spirals Ever Onward

Due to everything that I had going on this month, I am just now getting around to using the beads that Artbeads.com sent me to promote their Valentine's Day category. For shame! Of course, I chose earthy hearts, so the things that I'm making have year-round appeal for heart lovers.

I was especially drawn to this heart pendant by Golem Design Studios, from the Ceramic Pendants section. The design reminded me of spiraling gears, or the cross-section of a nautilus shell. I had originally picked out some nice brown heart beads to go with it, but when they got here I decided that the colors didn't quite match, so I dived into my stash for inspiration. I found Swarovski crystals, chatoyant stones, and vintage topaz-hued glass. The result is this almost-steampunk necklace called The Sun Spirals Ever Onward.

I still have the brown heart beads, and a pretty copper heart clasp to use, so keep your eyes open early next week for more earthy love! I'm thinking there might even be a give-away involved.

In other news, I feel like buying some more dance costumes, and my budget doesn't think I should, so I'm having a free shipping sale! All purchases over $25 qualify for free US and International shipping. Just purchase as usual and I'll refund the shipping fees. This sale ends at 11:59pm MST on Sunday the 28th. Visit my Etsy shop and see what catches your eye.

Edited to add FTC Disclaimer: Some of the items in the above necklace were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for review purposes. I provide my honest opinion of the products I receive, and I get no other compensation for it.

New Jewelry Tomorrow

I made two necklaces today, but haven't had a chance to photograph them yet. They're both bound for Etsy tomorrow, however! Hopefully it will be nice and sunny again so I can get some good outdoor photos.

Tonight, I went over to Reid Park where the SCA meets. Though I still don't want to join the SCA, I did enjoy meeting some fellow dancers and dancing to some live drumming. It was really cold out, so I only stayed for an hour, but I'm going to try to go back often. It was fun to see where our dance vocabularies were the same, and where they were wildly different. I even learned a new move, though who knows if I'll remember it tomorrow, since I only did it twice :)

Fantastic FAE Team!

I've been so busy lately that I keep forgetting to direct you all to the newest FAE Team exhibition, To Melt Winter's Heart. I've also been to busy to submit anything to said exhibition, so you won't see any of my work among the beautiful items.

Things are going great with the FAE Team. We've had a change in administrators, resulting in an influx of new members and new ideas, and our new blog is going strong. Today I posted a review of The Wolfman, which fits well with our monthly dare theme of Hunger Moon.

Speaking of Hunger Moon (aka Snow Moon), I missed the deadline for that, too. I'll have to make a piece and sneak it in late!

Henna!

Check out my henna faerie! Chris snapped this shot right after she was done, because of course I was silly and got my first henna tattoo in a spot where I couldn't see it. I'm really happy with the design and the placement, so I hope it lasts for a few weeks. It's not as dark as it could be, because I got cold and put a hoodie on over my halter top, and it started pulling the dried paste off. But since I'm so pale, it still shows really well... it's a nice mellow brown-orange.

Chris's Mom is now back in New York, which means life will return to normal until his brother visits next month... and normal life means BEAD TIME! What should I make first?

Another Faire Picture

Just me this time! I was trying to strike a bellydance pose, but my posture is a little weird -- I don't know what is going on with my lower arm, and my chin is oddly tucked. Looks like I forgot to tilt my hips forward, too. Really, all I remembered is to lift my chest ;)

My costume consists of brown cotton gauze bathing-suit-cover-up pants, the adorable cotton striped skirt I picked up at the TEP show, and the awesome super-long halter top that I got at last year's Faire (I like it because it gives the bare belly look, while protecting people from the glaring whiteness of my skin). It's accessorized with my totally sweet new pouchy belt, my favorite old kuchi mirror belt, a zillion bangle bracelets (mostly from World Market), the Talisman of Sultry Undulations, and the hair stuff I talked about yesterday. Oh! And my cute bird ring from my tribal jewelry shopping trip last week. I need to get a good picture of that.

Fun and Sun at Ren Faire!

Here's a picture of me with my awesome mother-in-law Marlyn at the Renaissance Faire! I'm a woodlands belly dancer and she's a mischievous imp -- the horns and ears are from the NY Faire, but the awesome wings were purchased yesterday at our Faire. The skirt and belt are from my closet, we're close enough in size that I was able to help her with an impromptu costume. However, while we were there she picked up a couple of skirts, so she'll have her own costume when we return to the NY Faire in August!

This was my first time doing Tribal buns. I put my hair up in two little buns, wrapped the yarn falls around them once, clipped them into place with little barrettes and then added all of the flowers and sticks I could. I really love this new pair of falls, they're perfectly earthy and have more texture than my green and black pair. I could see myself getting addicted to wearing my hair this way. I just have to remember to sunscreen my scalp...

Yes, as usual I got a little too much sun with my fun! But it was worth it. Mediaeval Baebes were back again, this weekend only! We saw their show, two belly dance/world music troupes, and the falconry show, in between all our shopping. What a great time! The weather was perfect, the performers were all at top form, and the booths were well-stocked with beautiful goodies. And I even got my first henna tattoo! Yay!

My desk is covered in yarn

One of my purchases at the gem show yesterday was a cute green and brown striped skirt (yes, skirts at the "gem show") which I decided that I wanted to wear to the Renaissance Faire tomorrow. Then I decided that I wanted to make some yarn "hair" to match the skirt, so I popped over to JoAnn's, picked up three skeins, and supplemented them with some yarn, ribbon and thread that I already had, to make some really wild, mossy, faerie-inspired falls. I'll get pictures of myself wearing them tomorrow!

Fun day at the gem show

Today we took Chris's Mom to her first Tucson gem show. We chose the Tucson Electric Park show, which is half gem show, half swap meet, and all fun. Good times were had by all, and I picked up some pretty Czech seed beads to add some different colors and finishes to my embroidery, plus a pretty opalized flourite cab, and some totally non-bead-related goodies.

The show has grown tremendously since I stopped going a few years ago. While there used to be just a few small stalls behind the main tent, there were now rows and rows of them, a decent-sized food court, and a whole lot more medium-sized annex tents. We spent most of the day outside exploring those, and I feel I may have gotten a bit too much sun! But it was a great time.

A Picture of a Pretty Pixie

Sorry this post is so late, I spent the day running errands and getting the house ready for my Mother-in-Law to spend a week with us... and now I'm on my way out the door to pick her up at the airport! So you'll have to wait for me to gush about this necklace ;)

A Peck of Pewter Pendants

(and buttons)

Here are my goodies from the Green Girl booth! I already have a pretty impressive stash of Green Girl Goodies, so I focused on new designs. I finally got my hands on the Yeats quote faerie that was sold out in September. In fact, I bought two. One for me and one for business. I think mine might end up in a little charm bracelet.

I like the golden mermaid in the seashell, she reminds me of the focal in my Napping Treasure Hunter necklace, but smaller and shinier. The other two mermaids are both buttons, so they'll probably end up adorning some elaborate bracelets.

It was nice to see both Greg and Andrew from Green Girl. The Green Girl herself, Cynthia, was at home with her new-ish baby!

Tomorrow I'll finally unveil the completed necklace with the shibiuchi faerie.

A Selection of Sensational Seeds

This picture only accounts for about half of the size 11 seed beads that I acquired this year, but it gives a pretty good idea of the sort of colors I was leaning towards. Lots of metallics, metallic irises, and matte metallic irises. I wanted colors that will make my work more lush and rich. I wanted different finishes, to add depth and contrast. And because I had about $600 trade credit saved up, I didn't have to pass beads up due to high price tags. I had quite the little shopping spree!

Oddly enough, that tube of powder blue marble luster appears to be the one of the two blue seed beads I purchased in any size. I like blue, I wear blue, I bead in blue... but I almost never gravitate towards blue beads when I'm shopping. The vast majority of my blue seed beads are in the aqua-capri family and I have to make a mental note to look for true blues, or I just don't buy them at all. This year I was so captivated by the greens and earth tones that I never even looked at blue. Of course, I bought no reds, oranges, yellows or pinks at all. But I did get 5 yummy purples.

I noticed a lot of shoppers in our booth were also gravitating towards metallics, whether it was the new-ish Permanent Galvanized, the new Platinum and Palladium electroplates (yum! How did I manage not to buy any?), or the electroplated size 15 24k gold charlottes. I think that even though times are tough financially, a lot of designers are still willing to invest in the luxurious beads that elevate our weaving to the point of rivaling fine jewelry.

A Bounty of Beautiful Beads

The colors are a little off on this picture... but look! Beautiful beads (and one cab)! From gem show! Clockwise from the top:

A coil/spring bead from JC Herrell. Not only is JC fun and awesome, but her team won the Flame Off this year! GO JC! And teammates! WOOO! I have no idea how I'll use this coil, but it's really fun and called to me.

Brand-new butterfly wings from Margaret Zinser. I saw this pair on Facebook and called "dibs." Clearly the bead gods were listening to me, because even though I didn't get out to the MZ booth until 8 hours into the show, and even though the wings were hot sellers, both of them were waiting for me :) I also picked up a little set of spacers that looks nice with them.

Raised floral cab by Dolly Ahles. I liked the flatter floral cabs that I bought in September so much that I had to get one with a raised clover flower this year. Isn't that green just luscious? Dolly is doing some amazing floral beads, too, some even have tiny 3d butterflies on them.

Greek Math Bead, a gift from my friend Deborah Gray-Wurz. Deb is addicted to making Barb Switzer's complicated little beaded beads, and she made me one in beautiful shades of green and brown. I love it!

Keep your eyes open for more gem show goodies and some actual stories as the week progresses!

I'm the worst blogger ever

Cool bloggers take pictures during gem show, and post frequently about their adventures. I am not a cool blogger! I never thought to bring my camera with me to the show, or the party, or last night's dinner. I was too busy and tired to pop in here and update you guys about my various exploits. Shame on me!

It's hard to even gather my thoughts up to do a list of highlights. I'll probably have to wait a day or two, get photos of my swag, and do up an official report.

Best Bead ended today, so I now have a paycheck to go spend tomorrow.

Tiredy McTiredface

That's me! So tired! And on top of that, I have a cold. I think in the 10 years I've been working at gem show, I've only managed to avoid getting a cold twice. I was hoping that my greatly improved fitness (plus the immunity boosting tea I've been drinking all week) would have protected me, but alas, the germs got through anyway. Stupid germs.

The cold meant that I had to stay home from dance class, which annoys me for two reasons... first, tonight's focus was slow moves, which I REALLY need to work on, and second, there's no class next week. Two weeks without class, after already missing one due to weather. Grrr. I am SO mad about being sick. I don't think I can even express it without cursing, and I try to keep this blog clean.

Other than that, I'm having a great time, shopping, working, and seeing lots of friends. I look forward to sharing my finds when I've recovered, but right now I am just too worn-out to even think of messing around with photos.

Tomorrow is the Swarovski party, and I am determined to not be too sick to attend. I want to see the previews of the new items, hang out with friends (without stopping to help customers!), show off my new necklace, and dance.

Bead-moving muscles

Today I put my hard-earned muscles to use and moved beads and tables and things for 6 hours as part of the set-up process for Best Bead Show. It was actually less exhausting than the 1-hour workout that I skipped to be there ;)

Because my boss is sick, we did not go to the Beadwork party tonight. I could have gone by myself, but that would have been weird. I know a lot of the people who would have been there, but only by sight/because I've sold beads to them. I'm a shy little elf (unless I'm dancing), so I would have felt very awkward. Instead, I went out for Japanese with Chris, then worked on my necklace, which is almost done! And I strung some crystals, because that's how I roll.

Tomorrow is my least-favorite day of the show. Staying open until 8 is nice for people who don't get out of work until 5 or 6, but it's hard on us vendors! I know I will be dragging by the end of the day. Still, I hope I'll see some of you there! Come look for me at the Beyond Beadery booth.

Today was the boring day

And by boring, I actually mean, chock-full of chores. Every year, there's a day or two between when I start shopping, and when the show I work at starts, and that's when I get all of my last minute stuff done. As such, there's really nothing to blog about. I'm sure you don't really want to hear about my laundry or grocery shopping.

I did finish the edging on my necklace. The rest will have to wait until Wednesday night. I am so excited about it!