Fire

Time is the fire in which we burn.
-- Gene Roddenberry

Beware of Thief - Block Capt Ron!

In the past 24 hours, several beadmakers have had over $1000 in tutorials and physical goods stolen from them through chargebacks on Paypal. His/her Etsy user name is sundown487. Paypal user id is Capt Ron. JameyLynn at Howaco alone has had over $600 worth of chargebacks through a credit card - backed echeck on PayPal. Although the e-check was backed by a credit card, the e-check "bounced" after the goods were shipped.

Please check out this thread on LE for further details on what has happened.

Another Destash

Tonight I listed a collection of etched organics. They are earthy, soft, in blues and greens.

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, Dodge!

I joined a local dodgeball team and our first game was last night. I had a lot of fun, although I was rather useless the first couple of matches while I tried to get into my groove. Sadly, they no longer use those hyper-inflated red rubber balls that make me nostalgic for the pain of elementary school.

*twang!*

Have a Heart for Tanya

Tanya of Aardvark Silver needs our help. She is an Australian living in Thailand and she needs surgery to repair an artery before she loses her right hand and then her arm; her surgery must be paid for in full before they will do it. I have purchased from her before, and she is is very kind woman. Please take a moment to check our her pledgie page. So far, 78% has been raised. I took the liberty of copying part of her posting from her Pledgie page:


"I went to see my surgeon yesterday (6th Jan) and he wants me to have surgery as soon as possible.This Sunday actually (10th Jan).I am not able to do that as I dont have funds yet and if I go into hospital without it all in place it would be stealing.I have now rebooked it until 31st Jan.Maybe we can make that deadline.
My right hand and arm now has patches of dead tissue.The circulation is breaking down as there is not enough oxygen getting into the tissues.It is now a matter of a very few weeks not the 2 months I thought I might have.I do need to reach my goal as fast as possible or else I am going to die very soon.All that because of money.A basic plumbing problem that can easily be repaired in about 4 or so hours.What a waste.I send you all Light and Love and want you to know that every cent counts and is so very much appreciated.Thank you are very inadequate words but I hope you understand how much I mean.Light and Love Tanya"

More Beads Listed

Listed some more beads in my Etsy store today. Check it out for some really great deals!

Destashing My Beads

While cleaning and organizing my work desk, I decided to destash some of my beads. Over the next few days, I will be listing soem groups if my handmade beads. Tonight, I listed a collection of read beads and a collection of goddess. Check out my Etsy store for some great deals!

mmmm, Blue Chalcedony

At our monthly Bead Cult meeting, Jamey Lynne from Howaco Glass Supply brought some goodies. Like so may other flameworkers out there, I am on the eternal quest to conquer Raku and all of its brethren. Chalcedony is yummy, and I hav ebeen able to bring out so many more colors out of it than I can can with Raku. Now, Gaffer has Blue Chalcedony. I can't wait to see what this one brings to the torch...

Also, Jamey brought some Red Lustre, which strikes and reduces to a golden shine as opposed to the silver shine of most silver reduction glass.

Ah, I love my addicitons!

Before & After

I spent last weekend cleaning & organizing my work desk. Now the trick will be to find eveyrthing...

Please Vote for Beads of Courage

Beads of Courage was recently nominated for an LP&G KitchenThinkTM ideation session and has made it to the finals and they need your vote!

What the heck is that anyway? Here is how LP&G describes it:
KitchenThink is an intensive brainstorming session where we come up with a ton of creative, doable ideas to achieve a client’s goals. Our clients have found KitchenThink to be effective, very valuable and a lot of fun too. One Tucson organization will have the benefit of our thinking to come up with ways to promote their cause, raise funds, boost awareness, educate the public… whatever their greatest need is.

So, what Beads of Courage needs from you? Either email LP&G, Inc. (givesback@lpginc.com) with your desire to vote for Beads of Courage, or vote on LP&G’s Facebook page.
Doesn’t that sound fun? We hope to bring more really great things from Beads of Courage, Inc. with the help of LP&G, Inc. if we win!

(reprinted from Lori Greenberg's blog. Check her out, the beauty of her beads are only surpassed by her generosity.)

Our Tree

I tried a new color theme for our tree this year - chocolate brown, green, pheasant feathers, and lots of sparkle!

And glass, of course!

Duh

I just accidentally signed up to follow my own blog. Duh. Now how do I unfollow?

If you were the cable to my camera...

where would you be? :)

I've been long absent. My tree is up and I took pictures, which I'll post as soon as I can find that cable...

Digging in, when I should be kickin' it...

It's been typical Michigan weather lately; blustery, cool, and rainy. I enjoy this weather, but it makes me want to just curl up on the couch with dogs, my husband, and a good book. Unfortunately, it is difficult to melt glass and then sell my beads and jewelry just sitting on the couch. So, time to find some motivation and kick it into high gear!

Come see me this weekend!

This little sparkly is up on Etsy.


I'll be at the West Michigan Bead Expo in Grand Rapids. Stop by & say HI!

Had a lot of fun!

I had a great time at the Tipp City Mum Fest last weekend! I met some wonderful people, made a few sales, and laughed a LOT with my family.

Also, just listed on Etsy, Stormy Skies.

Neglected Blog

I've been very busy getting ready for the Tipp City Mum fest September 26th. By getting ready, I mean waiting til the last minute to do, well, everything. Some sick part of me feels a greater sense of accomplishment when panic is thrown into the equation.

Inspiration, Star Trek style...

My friend Suzanne sent me a link to inspirational posters, a la Star Trek. Check them out!

Julie & Julia

I had the pleasure of seeing Julie & Julia last night. It was a very enjoyable film; the two story lines were well-meshed. Although it was to be expected, Julie's constant talk of Julia got to be be bit much by the end of the film. Meryl Streep's performance was just spectacular! She was a joy to watch, and they way she expressed Julia's sheer and utter joy with not only cooking, but her life was uplifting. I've seen quite a few movies that draw me in, but this is definitely the best. It made me feel happy and joyous without being smarmy.

Creative Every Day

In my never-ending attempt to do something Creative Every Day and escape the my usual ruts, I thought I would make one post a week to summarize what I've done. Last week, I was largely creative, although it lacked variety. I made beads 4 days out of 7, and I adapted a casserole dish into a (slightly) lighter baked dish.

I'm a wild woman, so I'm sure you need a moment to catch up...