Merry Christmas, a la Star Wars

My niece made an ornament for us this year. Why is the gingerbread man painted black? Because she loves Star Wars. This is Darth Vader. :) I love being a nerdy family.

ps: it is great to be back after being sick for over two weeks.

Up on Etsy

Up now in my Etsy shop are two new pairs of earrings. These earrings were made with some cute disc beads handmade by Mermaid Glass.

Later, I'll be posting more yummies!

Thank a veteran

I couldn't find a picture of him in uniform, but here is a picture of my dad (r) and Uncle Jack (l). They both served in Viet Nam, and my dad later served in the Michigan National Guard in the 80's until his death in the mid 90's. Miss you, dad.

Goodies from Lori

Back in September I won a spectacular bag of goodies from Lori Anderson. At first, I was overwhelmed by the all the beads; I've been running my fingers through the bag over the past month and just enjoying them. I've finally put all of them into containers, and tonight I started to group things together.

Tonight I made a necklace with some yummy boro beads and copper. I will try and take a picture, but it is dark before I get home from work so I may have to wait til the weekend. Here are the beads I used:

Why we put the devil horns on her...

More evidence of how Kaylee loves to eat things...

Cuteness Alert

Here is Kaylee all woozy from the sedative after having her teeth cleaned. The Devil horns are because she is a demon spawn (this is the calmest she has ever been. EVER). The beer bottle because hubby thought it was funny. :)

VOTE

I may be disillusioned with nearly all politicians, but I voted today. It is a privilege and your civic duty, so go do it!

Studio Space

I thought I would post a picture of my work area. This is where I melt glass, set things on fire, and generally create. Aside from being curled up on the couch with my hubby & dogs, this is the happiest place in my home.

Byzantine Chain

Yesterday I took the Byzantine Chain Class with Meg Tang at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. I had so much fun. The chain is much easier to make than it looks, and Meg is a wonderul teacher. This is the second class I have taken from her. I'm placing an order for more jump rings this evening, so be on the lookout for more chains from me.

I Love Dogs

I love dogs. I've almost always had a dog or two in my life. Nothing beats coming home after a really crappy day at work and having your dog freak out because she is so happy to see you.

They can be somewhat trying, though. This is a picture of Kaylee, our 2 y.o. lab immediately after she had a bath. We let her out, and she immediately ran to the marsh, chest-high into the muck. Her scond bath of the day consisted of very cold water from the hose.

I Love Horror Movies

So October is just a great month for me on tv. Right now I am watching a Friday the 13th marathon. It is the third one, so it is cheesier than scary, but entertaining nonetheless.

The earliest movie I can remember that scared the absolute hell out of me was Phantasm. When the Tall Man raised his hand and growled, "Boy!", I was hooked!

So what is your favorite horror movie?

Some goodies in my Etsy store!

I had a wonderful time at the West Michigan Bead Expo this weekend. I have listed several items in my Etsy store. Pop in and take a gander!

Quote of the Day

"Bitterness is like a cancer. It east up the host. But anger is like a fire. It burns it all clean."
-- Maya Angelou

An Open Letter, or, Non-Adventures in the Void

To my old friend Depression,

Nice try. No, really, it was. You've always been a sly little bitch that quietly creeps in unnoticed, but the sneak attack of nearly overwhelming apathy was a new one. You slipped in, wrapped me up in gauze and stashed me into the corner of my own mind, lost in the Void. I could still feel emotion, but from a great distance. Passion, happiness, sadness; while not gone, nearly inaccessable. To the casual observer, everything seemed to be fine. I got up, I went to work, I cooked dinner, and I did it every day. But, it all meant nothing. I felt (nearly) nothing. I lost weeks.

But we've danced this dance, in one form or another, for a couple of decades now. You may be able to creep in, but I have learned to creep in, too. I rebuilt the connection from me to me, that which makes me. I've learned over the years that it isn't enough to survive. I enjoy living.

So cue the Gloria Gaynor music. I will survive.

In short, my old friend - Fuck. You.

Wordless Wednesday

Rain

Not much to post today. We do have a lot of rain coming, and I am looking forward to it. I love rainy, dreary days. I don't find them depressing at all; rather, I enjoy the peace an serenity of a rainy day.

A Night for Choice

I recently created a necklace for an upcoming fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan. The auction will be this weekend, September 17th & September 18th at the Epic Center in Kalamazoo, immediately following the play, Mitzi's Abortion.

The criteria for the auction was to represent women; their strength, their beauty. One of the most important things for me, and often the most difficult thing to hold on to, is my dreams. For this piece, I created a goddess bead with my favorite glass, Psyche. I crafted all of the sterling silver links myself. I've been holding onto the Bali silver bead with stars and moons for nearly three years. As soon as I heard of this auction, I knew I wanted to create something around it.

Sylvia Ji

Last week I bought a magazine called Hi-Fructose. It is a magazine about contemporary art. I never really like anything "contemporary", but this volume is way cool. Particulary, the article on Sylvia Ji.

From the article:

"In Sylvia Ji's work, Death is the maiden. Her paintings all feature darkly seductive women, and her most well known images are those of her Day of the Dead series: heavy-lidded, full-lipped, calavera-faced vixens; glamorous Catrina images influenced the archetypal skeleton woman of mod of death itself, both seductive and manacing."

Check out her work. I'm in love. I wonder how I can work this into glass...

Check It Out, and Checking Out

My friend Tracy has entered the blogosphere! She is a great lampworker and jewelry designer. Check her out.

Life has been getting the best of me lately. Ok, *I* have been getting the best of me lately. I must create. I NEED to light the fire and make some beads. It is so frustrating how sometimes little things can throw me off the track, how I can lose track of my muse, my creative side, my mojo.

Lori Anderson Rocks!

Lori over at Pretty Things had a drawing for people who donated to assist Kimberly Wilcox after she lost her entire studio to a fire. I was so very fortunate to win the drawing! I cannpt describe to shiny goodness of the box. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I keep reaching into the box going, "OOOOh! Look at that one! OH! Look at that one!" I had a necklace to make tonight that has to be shipped out by Thursday, but I will get some pics of the 3 pounds of wonderful soon!