Kind of hard but thought-provoking and fun. Answer the questions with only one word.
Where is your mobile phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Bed
Your hair colour? Dishwater
Your mother? Dead
Your father? Dead
Your favourite thing? Music
Your dream last night? Forgotten
Your dream goal? Huh?
The room you're in? Messy
Your hobby? Beads
Your fear? Pain
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
Where were you last night? Home
What you're not? Fit
One of your wish-list items? iPhone
Where you grew up? Portland
The last thing you did? Game
What are you wearing? Jeans
Your TV? Off
Your pets? Funny
Your computer? Slow
Your mood? Anxious
Missing someone? Yes
Your car? Red
Something you're not wearing? Shoes
Favourite shop? Bead
Your summer? Short
Love someone? Deeply
Your favourite colour? Purple
When is the last time you laughed? Tonight
When is the last time you cried? Forgotten
Tag - I'm "It!"
My friend Barrie, "tagged" me in her blog, Barrie's Jewelry World, to tell you all seven random things about myself. Barrie's list was quite fun - she was such a rebel when she was younger and definitely had some interesting jobs! I, on the other hand, am totally boring and conventional. But since I've been tagged, I'll play along and try to come up with seven random things that you probably don't know about me.
1) Although I've lived in Oregon for most of my adult life, I was born in the South to parents who were from the South and I still consider myself a Southerner. I miss the South - the fabulous food, the friendly people, the more neighborly way of life, the basic values. If my husband wasn't an Oregonian with all of his family in the area, I'd live below the Mason-Dixon line in a heartbeat!
2) I used to practice law and was a halfway decent attorney. I passed the Oregon State Bar in 1990 and practiced law until late 1996. My caseload was emotionally draining - family law, criminal law and juvenile law. I closed my practice in 1996 and took a job as a picture framer. I still do framing and absolutely love it.
3) I'm a music fanatic. I hate TV and will almost always have music playing. Most any kind, but usually 70-80's rock, old time country, gospel and folk music. If it's by the Eagles, I love it. If it's by Gordon Lightfoot, I love it. If it's country from the 60's, I love it. And traditional gospel is probably my favorite of them all. Nothing beats "Amazing Grace" or "How Great Thou Art!"
4) I love to read and will read almost anything. The classified ads in the local Scappoose newspaper, the sides of cereal boxes, books, CD jackets, receipts, etc. Doesn't matter what it is, I like to read it.
5) I once tried out for "Jeopardy" but didn't get very far. Answering those questions when you're playing along at home is easy, but doing it when you're time pressured and competing with other trivia buffs is alot harder!
6) I'm socially inept. Put me in front of a classroom or a group full of people to give a talk or lecture and I'm not the least bit nervous. Put me in a social setting and expect me to make small talk, I freeze up faster than snow on Mt. Everest. I get so uncomfortable that I almost get physically ill. Maybe it's because I used to be painfully shy, or maybe it's because I don't see the point of small talk, but I'd really rather do almost anything else than try to be social at a party.
7) I love to dance. I'm not good at it but it's fun and I enjoy the heck out of it. My favorite song to dance to is "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by the Temptations. Or "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood. Just can't keep still when I hear those!
Okay, so my secrets are out. I'm a music-loving, former legal beagle, Southerner who can't make it onto Jeopardy and would rather listen to old gospel music and dance to The Temptations than go to a party! So now, I get to tag some other unsuspecting bloggers. Let's see, who will it be...
Rita
Julie
Maggie
1) Although I've lived in Oregon for most of my adult life, I was born in the South to parents who were from the South and I still consider myself a Southerner. I miss the South - the fabulous food, the friendly people, the more neighborly way of life, the basic values. If my husband wasn't an Oregonian with all of his family in the area, I'd live below the Mason-Dixon line in a heartbeat!
2) I used to practice law and was a halfway decent attorney. I passed the Oregon State Bar in 1990 and practiced law until late 1996. My caseload was emotionally draining - family law, criminal law and juvenile law. I closed my practice in 1996 and took a job as a picture framer. I still do framing and absolutely love it.
3) I'm a music fanatic. I hate TV and will almost always have music playing. Most any kind, but usually 70-80's rock, old time country, gospel and folk music. If it's by the Eagles, I love it. If it's by Gordon Lightfoot, I love it. If it's country from the 60's, I love it. And traditional gospel is probably my favorite of them all. Nothing beats "Amazing Grace" or "How Great Thou Art!"
4) I love to read and will read almost anything. The classified ads in the local Scappoose newspaper, the sides of cereal boxes, books, CD jackets, receipts, etc. Doesn't matter what it is, I like to read it.
5) I once tried out for "Jeopardy" but didn't get very far. Answering those questions when you're playing along at home is easy, but doing it when you're time pressured and competing with other trivia buffs is alot harder!
6) I'm socially inept. Put me in front of a classroom or a group full of people to give a talk or lecture and I'm not the least bit nervous. Put me in a social setting and expect me to make small talk, I freeze up faster than snow on Mt. Everest. I get so uncomfortable that I almost get physically ill. Maybe it's because I used to be painfully shy, or maybe it's because I don't see the point of small talk, but I'd really rather do almost anything else than try to be social at a party.
7) I love to dance. I'm not good at it but it's fun and I enjoy the heck out of it. My favorite song to dance to is "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by the Temptations. Or "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood. Just can't keep still when I hear those!
Okay, so my secrets are out. I'm a music-loving, former legal beagle, Southerner who can't make it onto Jeopardy and would rather listen to old gospel music and dance to The Temptations than go to a party! So now, I get to tag some other unsuspecting bloggers. Let's see, who will it be...
Rita
Julie
Maggie
Flowers in Glass
A new tutorial by Lydia Muell helped my encased floral beads enormously. This particular bead took an hour to make and each floral "panel" has 9 layers of glass. There are five panels going around the bead. Time consuming but one of my favorite beads now. I'm anxious to try some with different colors. I used pre-made goldstone stringer on this one and it's a little washed out so I ordered some goldstone chunks to pull my own stringer. That should give me a narrower, but more eye-catching gold outline around the panels.
Speaking of color, CIM glass has a color called Crocus that is drop dead gorgeous. It's almost translucent and it positively glows. Not quite purple and not really pink, but a very soft color that works up beautifully. Here's a shell and spacers made from it (borrowed the shell idea from Maggie (maggieet on Etsy). Isn't it yummy?
Been Away too Long!
But I'm back now. Seems like the summer got away from me. Did a couple of local festivals and sold some jewelry and beads. Also sat up the Blue Lagoon Bead booth at the local Farmer's Market and that's always alot of fun.
I've been playing with some different tutorials and learning new techniqes. One of my favorites is a tutorial by Sarah Hornik on using Rubino D'Oro glass. Here's the first bead I made following the tutorial:
It's like stepping back to the 60's Flower Power days! I've always burned my rubino in the past but Sarah's tutorial has been hugely helpful as I learn to control the heat and where I hold my glass. I'll be making more flower power beads!
I've been playing with some different tutorials and learning new techniqes. One of my favorites is a tutorial by Sarah Hornik on using Rubino D'Oro glass. Here's the first bead I made following the tutorial:
It's like stepping back to the 60's Flower Power days! I've always burned my rubino in the past but Sarah's tutorial has been hugely helpful as I learn to control the heat and where I hold my glass. I'll be making more flower power beads!
Lovin' these Silver Lined Beads!
These are really addictive! I'm doing them by hand with dapping tools and a chasing hammer and I'm thinking about selling my bead liner tool since I have better luck doing it by hand.
Scenes from a Small Town Independence Day Parade
It all starts with people getting ready along the parade route.
It's coming!
Honoring those who've helped preserve our nation's freedom.
And every parade needs kids and tractors!
And horses too!
And the fire truck brings up the rear.
Happy Independence Day!
It's coming!
Honoring those who've helped preserve our nation's freedom.And every parade needs kids and tractors!
And horses too!
And the fire truck brings up the rear.
Happy Independence Day!
I Finally Did It!!
I've been trying to add a silver core to my lampwork beads and it's been a frustrating process, resulting in cracked or broken beads, collapsed sterling silver tube, and more than a few creative combinations of swear words. I finally gave up trying to do it with my bead liner tool and figured silver coring wasn't going to happen.
Then a fellow lampworker posted a tutorial on the Lampwork Etc. forum and armed with a dapping set from Harbor Freight tools, I gave it another go. Done entirely by hand with the dapping punches and a chasing hammer, this was the first bead I've ever cored without cracking or breaking the bead. It still needs polishing and the picture isn't the best but hey, it's a totally usable, uncracked silver cored bead! Yep, I'll be doing that again!!
Then a fellow lampworker posted a tutorial on the Lampwork Etc. forum and armed with a dapping set from Harbor Freight tools, I gave it another go. Done entirely by hand with the dapping punches and a chasing hammer, this was the first bead I've ever cored without cracking or breaking the bead. It still needs polishing and the picture isn't the best but hey, it's a totally usable, uncracked silver cored bead! Yep, I'll be doing that again!!
Summer's Here!
Summer has arrived here in the Pacific Northwest with temperatures in the upper 90's and no breeze. It's hot. Some watermelon would be just the ticket to cool down. I listed these beads in my Etsy shop this week. They were alot of fun to make - using two shades of green wound together to make the "rind." I used Bullseye glass for these since they have such great pink colors and I've got so many more colors of Bulleye than the other types of glass. Hmmmm - that just means I need to buy more of the other types of glass!!
But What KIND of Bird is It?
We've seen this bird and some of his friends at our feeder for a few weeks but we couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was. Slightly larger than a sparrow with Oriole or Meadowlark coloring, but a thicker beak. We finally snapped a picture of him and went page-by-page through our bird book until we found out what he is - a Black-headed Grosbeak. He eats heartily but he's pretty and brings his friends so we'll keep setting the table for him!
New Etsy Listings!
I finally got some time to take and edit photos for my new listings on Etsy. The first is a bracelet featuring some swirly lentils in turquoise and ivory, along with a lampwork conch shell and a unique mermaid toggle clasp. I love this bracelet and need to remember to make another one for myself!
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And here's another lampwork conch shell. This one's made with a Bullseye oddlot glass that I got when I took my class in Chinook, Washington. Called "Agate," this glass has swirls of coral and ivory and makes beautiful shell beads.
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I finally photographed these silver-blue lentils and listed them. I love this glass but find it frustrating to work with. Sometimes I get color and sometimes I burn the crap out of it in my effort to get color! These turned out nicely though and will make a nice addition to a bracelet or necklace.
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I'm hoping to get some torch time tomorrow to make some more fish and shells. I think I'll try some starfish too.
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And here's another lampwork conch shell. This one's made with a Bullseye oddlot glass that I got when I took my class in Chinook, Washington. Called "Agate," this glass has swirls of coral and ivory and makes beautiful shell beads.
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I finally photographed these silver-blue lentils and listed them. I love this glass but find it frustrating to work with. Sometimes I get color and sometimes I burn the crap out of it in my effort to get color! These turned out nicely though and will make a nice addition to a bracelet or necklace.
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I'm hoping to get some torch time tomorrow to make some more fish and shells. I think I'll try some starfish too.
I took a fun lampworking class with Judy Carlson of Jujee Beads and learned to make fish, shells and starfish. Here's some of the fish that I've done recently:
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One of my biggest problems is keeping the fins or eyes from breaking. It's a bit of a struggle to keep the whole fish warm while working on just one side of him, but I'm slowly learning. Guess who's hooked on fish beads now?!
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One of my biggest problems is keeping the fins or eyes from breaking. It's a bit of a struggle to keep the whole fish warm while working on just one side of him, but I'm slowly learning. Guess who's hooked on fish beads now?!
Where Have I Been???
It's been forever since I wrote a blog entry! I got out of the habit and it's so easy to stop doing something and much harder to start doing it again after an absence. It's too hard to go back and catch up (besides being boring as hell to read!) so I'll sum things up and start fresh.
One of the more noteworthy events in our life has been the addition of a new dog back in late November. She was about 7 months old when we brought her home from the local animal shelter so she's about 10 months old now. She was hopelessly rambunctious and ran rough shod over poor Dodger dog but some obedience training and a routine have helped quite a bit. She's still rambunctious but a bit better behaved than she was when she first came bounding into the house. She's a sweetie!
It's been a wet and wild winter in Western Oregon this year. If it weren't for a couple of trips to Reno and Houston, the rain might have made me nuts! Felt like I needed these:
We've had a bit of snow, lots of rain and very few sunny days. I'm hoping spring comes quickly and we see a bit of sun!
One of the more noteworthy events in our life has been the addition of a new dog back in late November. She was about 7 months old when we brought her home from the local animal shelter so she's about 10 months old now. She was hopelessly rambunctious and ran rough shod over poor Dodger dog but some obedience training and a routine have helped quite a bit. She's still rambunctious but a bit better behaved than she was when she first came bounding into the house. She's a sweetie!
It's been a wet and wild winter in Western Oregon this year. If it weren't for a couple of trips to Reno and Houston, the rain might have made me nuts! Felt like I needed these:
We've had a bit of snow, lots of rain and very few sunny days. I'm hoping spring comes quickly and we see a bit of sun!
