Ribbons, Ribbons & Yet More Ribbons!

I had a ton of fun dying silk dupioni ribbons and then serging the edges. These turned out really well and I listed them in my Etay store today. I've got more colors ready to serge and list next week, including Emerald Isle, Woodland Moss, Tahiti Seas, Purple Majesty and Liberace! It's like doing cut and paste in kindergarten, only without the paste and with alot of dye! Each ribbon is about 36" long and around 5/8" wide.
I hope you like them.

What's in a Word?

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

What's Your Word?

More Boro!

I'm having such a great time playing with boro glass! I ordered a few jars of frit and some different rod colors to use as a base and I'm so pleased with the results. Even plain ol' clear does remarkable things when used on certain colors. Here's my favorite pair of beads so far. These have great red and lavender colors in them and they're the perfect size for a pair of earrings. I've listed them, and two other pair in my Etsy shop. Although it takes my torch forever to melt boro glass, it's definitely worth it to me if I can continue to get such great color in my beads!

I'm The Star

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Boro! Boro! Boro!

Ok, it's not as catchy as the movie title, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" but if you've only been playing with soft glass and then finally take the plunge into boro, it's definitely as exciting as the movie!
Boro is stiffer than soft glass, takes longer to work (at least on my torch it does) and reacts differently. I find it somewhat unpredictable and I have trouble getting consistent results but it's so much fun to experiment!
I've started using boro frit and I've got some more on order that should arrive tomorrow. New glass-how exciting!
Here's a pair of boro beads made using some frit. These are very soft colors but also very eye-catching, with swirls of golds and pinks encased in clear. I listed them today in my Etsy shop. I'm hoping to make some more like them this weekend. Hope you like them!

Editing Bead Photos

I'm not sure why, but my Photoshop Elements program is so slow that it makes me want to pull my hair out! It takes 2 minutes, yep, 2 minutes, just to load a photo so I can edit it. Drives me crazy. Anyway, I took some photos and added a few listings to my Etsy shop today. More to list tomorrow, if I can stand to wait 2 minutes every time I load a photo.

Here's some sneak peeks of some earring pairs that I'll be listing next:

Treasury!

My friend Maggie of BeadTowne featured me in her Etsy Treasury on this historic inauguration day. Titled "Change we Can Believe in," Maggie included several members of the newly formed Wet Canvas Street Team, Wetsy, in her Treasury. I'm honored that she chose my Copper Ice bracelet for her Treasury and it's such a delight to share the page with such talented jewelry artists. Thanks Maggie!

Maggie's an incredible lampwork artist and I've admired her beads for years. She makes glass disks, faux beach glass and very realistic-looking chocolates. Her shell beads are a special delight. Definitely worth checking out Maggie's Etsy shop!

Here's a picture of one of her currently listed shell beads:

Gem Faire

Armed with a get-in-free card, a wee bit of cash in hand, a debit card and a desire to add more beads to my stash, I headed over the hill to the Gem Faire location. Yowsers, what a sight! Vendors galore. Gemstones and beads and crystals, oh my!

Several hours later, with significantly less cash in hand, I headed home with my haul. Visions of necklaces and bracelets danced before my eyes and I can hardly wait to play with some of my new goodies.

99 Things

There's a thing going around the blogging world where you go through a list of 99 things, indicating the ones you’ve done, the ones you haven’t done and never ever want to do, and the ones you haven’t done but would like to do. So, without further ado, here's my list, with:

* Things I’ve done in bold.
* Things I haven’t done but would like to do in italics.
* Things I haven’t done and never, ever want to do in plain text.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band — or musical.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden a Gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.(But only as the attorney for one of the parties, never as a litigant)
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.