Back at it!

I am happy to report that I've finally got the OttLite situation sorted out.  It turned out that the replacement bulb I rushed out to buy at Home Despot was not an appropriate bulb for an OttLite.  Now that I have the right bulb - VOILA!

We have light.  And it turns out, I can get a fairly decent picture on the fly.

I said fairly decent.  Observe, the new technique I learned today, perfect for rings!  Sadly, it means I need to beef up my stock of size 8 beads, as I only have a few.  I did put together this combo, to learn the technique.  Needs a little work, but not bad!

It would make a nice bracelet, too.

Today was actually quite productive.  I finished a bracelet.

I made a special order ring.

I made the new style ring, and I started something that could be a ring or a bracelet.  I haven't decided yet.  What do you think?

It was a good day.  I even worked in the garden, and took care of a few other errands!

Crafternoon!

I'm very excited!  I'll be spending the day selling my work at the Brown Lantern in Anacortes.  I'll be very interested to see how things go.  After today I'll start listing my things on Etsy.

Bad Light!

I was so excited about the new OttLite headed my way, but when it arrived today all we got was this...

The bulb it arrived with was cracked, so I ran out and bought a replacement.  After five minutes plugged in, all it did was glow at the base of the bulb.  A helpful friend said point it downward so the light runs down!

Gosh, thanks!

It will take some time to get everything sorted out, so in the meantime I'm still using my okay but not fantastic light.

Sigh.

Despite the lost time dealing with this today, I did still manage to finish a bracelet and make two pairs of earrings.  Not bad!  Tomorrow evening I will be busy getting everything ready for Crafternoon at the Brown Lantern on Sunday!  Very excited to see how things go.  Should be fun!

In the meantime, here's a picture of some bead embroidery I did a while back.

See you soon!

Stars and a sunny day!

The sun came out today and I managed to get a few photos of my work.  Here's the first peak...

Memories...

Still going through old magazines... I do a few each night while I hang out plunking around online.  It won't be long until I've gone through all of them, and decluttered my bedroom in the process!

Today I started on a new box, and it had some of the first bead magazines I ever bought - 1995!!!  Let's just say they're a little bit dated...

I think that one was actually 1997.  Not to be confused with 1995, or the 21st century for that matter! Still finding a few good projects or tutorials here and there, but not quite so much in the oldest magazines.  I have plenty of new projects to try to keep me busy.

The photography is still crap (I've been BUSY) but I did manage to get a fairly decent picture of my latest endeavor.

STARS!!!!

Soon to become earrings, or maybe something else!

Boy.  I really need some better light.

Inspiration...

Returning to beading after a long absence has been kind of a funny thing for me.  It's been quite a while since I've done any major projects - probably close to ten years!  I've really been enjoying my beading time, despite the changes in eyesight I've experienced lately.  I think a good natural light lamp and magnifier of some sort will be an important purchase in the near future.

Good light will certainly help with my photography, too.  Look at this horrible (yet okay) picture of a pair of earrings I made a few days ago ~

I'll be happy when I can get these into more natural light.

Anyhow, the last few nights I've been going through old Beadwork magazines that I've kept on hand, and culling out projects and inspirational articles and pictures to put into a notebook.  You know - the old-fashioned version of Pinterest!

It's been interesting to look at the trends of 8-12 years ago, and remember seeing all of them the first time around.  I'm finding some good projects and technique tips, and reminders of what inspired me to start beading in the first place.

Robin Atkin's book "One Bead At a Time" sucked me in and helped to start me on the road to beady ruin!  Haha.  Robin excels in bead embroidery, and my goodness she does beautiful work!

You can get a free dowload of her book HERE.  Get it - you won't be sorry!  There is something about her highly detailed, textured work that draws me in and makes me want to try my own hand at covering a surface with beads.  I did just that, working a design onto a denim jacket.  Now that I'm back, who knows what I'll do!

Progress!

I have been a busy badger, making things whenever I get the chance.  Not often, seeing as I work all week... but the weather has been pretty crap so I'm trying to take advantage of that!  The garden can wait.

I've made some earrings and rings.  Here's a pair of the earrings ~

Sorry 'bout that yellow background.  I'm eagerly awaiting for more sunny weather, and also hoping to make enough money to snag an Ott Light. Proper lighting is key!

More updates soon...