What's new?

Double sided Blue Burst Pendant/Connector
Things finally settled down around Artisan Clay land and I was able to get a few new beads listed in the etsy shop this evening.  

Side 2 of the piece above

With such a busy spring, It feels like I've needed to square away a lot of details this week in order to keep it all running smoothly.  It seems like squaring things away has included tons of time emailing and phone calling and working out schedules with a lot of people.

Blue and Turquoise Recycled glass pendant/charm

I booked plane tickets for 6 to go to Kansas City for Easter weekend, and I booked a plane ticket for myself to run away to Oregon for a week in May.  It feels great to have that all settled.  I almost have all the arrangements made for my children while I am away. 

Set of 2 bronze/black rectangle connectors

I still don't have a Oregon Trunk show lined up, but I am talking to someone.... I mailed beads out to Kansas City on Friday and I got word today that they have arrived. 

Blue and green Flattened oval
Some of you that know me on facebook might know that I have a Girl Scout troop for my 2 daughters.  This weekend we went on our first camping trip.  The girls are mostly in second grade and my younger daughter is in kindergarten.  It was crazy this week trying to figure out what I needed to do to get ready for a camping trip with 10 little girls....  Because I never would have thought that I would at this place in life, but I am.

Aqua/Burgundy/Black Connector pendant

I am trying very hard to do a lot for my daughters this year.  I have done fine art and bead shows since I was pregnant with my oldest and that made me very unavailable for them on the weekends.  This year I am trying very hard to do my work in a way that also lets me do things for them socially....

  I am really lucky to have been matched up with a wonderful lady as co-leader.   We are just there to build some positive happy little ladies and give them some tools for life :-)  and just let them be them :-)  And they are so freaking cute in their bunks keeping each other up at night and cleaning latrines and cooking for each other and roasting marshmallows.  It's been a real learning experience for me.  I am learning a lot about different personalities.  There are 2 girls who are always appearing right by my side.  My co leader is a therapist-- so that really helps!  I'm often asking her what to do with the kids emotional issues and she is so great for building them up.

Stone age Stoneware Clay Disc Beads

We are taking the Girlies out next month for a 2 night camping trip.  This time it will be all the Girl scouts in our area at the camp at once.  There will be @250 ladies there and we are supposed to run an activity for all of them.... with the theme of Colombia....

Double Sided Bronze Pendant

And that is when I started emailing with my Zumba instructor trying to hire her to work all of that out for us......  It turns out there are a few traditional Colombian dances.... Because... what the heck are we to do with 250 kids running through an activity station in a day.  Yeah... I'm not really sure about that one.  I may be MIA around the end of April while I try to figure that out.

Side 2 of Bronze Pendant
Our troop was also asked to start seeds for a veggie garden that we are supposed to plant for our local food pantry... I don't know how that is going to work out either.  Wish me luck! and if you have any tips PLEASE let me know :-)   I have not had much success starting seeds indoors in the past.

Slate Blue Pendant

So -- this explains why I have been a neglectful blogger these past months.  Planning trips and trunks shows and doing the things I can for my girls. 

Powder Blue Connector Pendant

I still haven't planted my early spring veggies in my own garden.  I did get a few potatoes in the ground and I moved my strawberries to a sunnier location, but I still need to figure out how to trellis my peas so that I can get them started.

Teal and Powder Blue Charm

So that's what's new!  Life!  Family! 

Do you plant any early veggies?  Which ones? 

Look What Staci Made! And what's new?

I love it!
I made the Flower-cupish bead at center.
Staci bezeled a fossil for the bottom part of the focal.  She's so super fancy!
Check out Staci's Blog here

I'm been a busy bead maker this past few weeks.  My birthday sale was a much bigger success than I imagined it would be and so was my last trunk show and so I have been a very busy bead maker.  I fired the kiln again yesterday and made a bunch of new disc beads for Heather Power's Bead Cruise.  I also have my next Trunk show lined up in Kansas City, Missouri....   because I'm taking myself and my daughter's to Kansas City for Easter and why not schedule my next trunk show to be picked up in person???  Yes!  Why the heck not? 

Next I should schedule a trunk show in the Portland area I think...  Why the heck not?  I'm sending myself on a vacation to see my great friend Debra.  Because I love her and I miss her.  And I don't let many people close to me and she is very close to me.... yet very far--- Eugene Oregon to my Philly burbs far.

I can't really believe how busy my spring is with travel and camping trips.  I haven't been on a vacation in 2 years and now I'm going on 2 vacations and 2 camping trips before June!  I am very excited, yet very nervous that I'm not going to be able to handle my workload with all this fun.  --And be the awesome momma my kids deserve at the same time.

I am 99.99% sure that these little hearts are in the current issue of Stringing Magazine..... I have seen a photo of the layout online and I have been told by a customer that they saw the earrings in the Magazine, but I have not yet seen a copy or received my earrings back in the mail.  I think that there is even a second pair of earrings in the issue that I designed... but these things get fuzzy for me, as they happen so far in advance and I don't usually contribute very often.   So... once I get a copy, I'll do a little "fancy like in the magazines" post.

So all the beads in this post are in my etsy shop as of this moment and more new pieces not pictured.... and soon I will add things from yesterday's firing...  As soon as I pick out pieces for the Bead cruise and for my greedy little self!
Oh yeah!  I get to go to the Berks Bead Bazaar in Reading this weekend with my girlie Staci and squeeze some hugs out of Joan Miller and Lisa Peters!  Watch out ladies!  I'm gonna get you!  It's been too long!

new

Contemplating things about my business this week.
Thinking on a new project- don't know where I found the energy for all the scheming, but I'm happy for it.
Ideas, plans, talking with friends-- if it goes nowhere, so what!  The scheming is dreamy, the doing is grand.  I'm not in a rush.  Enjoy
Planning a trip, too.
Spring is in the air, drip drop, thawing.  I saw some fresh green in a moss today.  The light is brighter.
Anyway-- I found this in the bottom of a warm kiln this morning.

What's new?

I added a few new pieces to the etsy shop this week.  Three of the four pieces here sold the same night to facebook fans. 

The top left piece with three stinging loops is still in my shop here. http://www.etsy.com/listing/60537272/plum-purple-connector-handmade-stoneware

Black and White set  Lilac and White set

Orange and Black Set , Black and White single Medium Charm coming soon, Green and Brown set

I went to a really fun Halloween party this weekend.  Everyone had to dress like an old school photo.  It was SO funny!  Everyone has known each other a really long time, so we all could relax and really be goofy about it.  We ended up revisiting dance moves from school dance days and I laughed like an idiot so much and it felt so good.  My husband dressed up as his kindergarten photo and wore my Aunt Helen's blond wig to make up for missing hair ;-)   We had a drum major in uniform with a sparkly big stick, we had a soccer player in the actual shirt he wore in high school (that's pretty awesome! though uncomfortable) we had mullets and bead-dazzled jeans, crimped hair and a run on aqua net hair spray.  Pure Silliness!

I got my Thriller dance on~~ Which I REALLY really enjoy. 

Someone needs to take me out dancing.

Top-- Both photos Square #12

Bottom -- All 3 photos Square #11

Today I was a rock star since I was given the task of driving the delivery truck at my other job.  It's fun to drive the big flat back, flat front truck.....  I don't think I would like driving the bigger box truck that we have quite as much but I do love going out on deliveries.  And I think I'm pretty dang cool when I get to do it.  

I feel like I have gotten away from showing my personality here on the blog.... I've been kind-of nervous to show myself.  It seems like a lot of people are watching-- even when not a lot of people are commenting.  That makes me feel weird.  I wonder how many of you are nice and how many are critical....  I wonder what people think about my fragmented sentences and crazy ideas.  I don't know.   I really like fragments.   Blogger has been playing tricks on me too.  I really don't have the time to argue with blogger or try again later.   I've started adding picture mosaics since I have a lot of trouble getting individual photos to upload well.  So any who..... I feel like it is either stop doing it, or take it back as a place where I can be me. 

So there!  ;-)

What's new with you?  Did you go to any Halloween events?  Did you get to drive a big truck?

Do you still rock crimped hair?  and Keds.... with all you friends names written on them with puffy paint????