A Whole Litter of Kittens

No, not really, but wouldn't that be fun? What I really have is 13 wild tiger beads, all listed on Etsy. Here are a couple of them - check out the store to see the rest! Thanks for looking. xoxo

Wearing the Photographer Hat

It's true, I love taking pictures. Of flowers, and water, and mountains, and my cat, the dog... anything colorful, yes. And I especially love taking pictures of my kid. But taking pictures of beads? Well, I can only think of one thing that is worse - taking pictures of finished jewelry. Seriously. It's not that fun. Sitting there, bead after bead, getting a crick in your neck, hoping that they are going to turn out and you don't have to do them again. Trying to get the light right, trying to avoid the glare. Getting just the right angle... stretching out your neck so it doesn't stick crooked. Trying to make sure there are no fingerprints. No cat hairs. No dust. You know the drill.

Well, several weeks ago I broke down and bought an EZcube kit. Yes, it's very expensive. It took me seven years to get around to caving to this want, to decide it was really a need. Seven years of trying to make my Tupperware box studio work. And then? I let it sit in a box for a month! I know, I know, crazy. It's not that it's hard to set up - it's Very Easy (or Very EZ), in fact. Part of it was I had nothing to photograph, and part of it was, it's very expensive, and what if my pictures were no better than before? What if it wasn't the miracle I was looking for?

So...today was the day, for some reason, I was ready to test it all out. Here it is - isn't it overkill? Apparently the smaller cube is on back order... so I set up the monster one. Look at how little my big bead looks!



And here are two photos of my latest bead. One with the gradient background setup and one with the black.





The glare is gone, yes. I'm happy about that for sure. But. They are still missing something. The magic. Where is the magic? I hold my bead, and it's there. I look at the picture, it's missing. Am I asking too much? Perhaps it's a lesson in letting go of the inner perfectionist? I don't know. I *think* it's possible, because I see other bead artists with magical photos. But maybe their beads are even MORE magical than the photos, maybe they are still wishing for more too? Maybe.

I'm going to figure it out though. Because it's not the day to tell that inner perfectionist to take a hike - she's been with me way too long to just walk away now. She's never given up without a fight before, so there's my hope. I'll find the magic one of these days. You'll know when I do, too!

The Good Stuff

OK, OK, I can do good stuff too.

First of all, there is this "April" Treasury that Patty Lakinsmith put together - she included my bird egg necklace. April is one of my favorite months, probably because it's my birthday month, and this treasury really does make you *feel* April, doesn't it? See, that's a good thing.

Visit Patty's Store to see her great beads, if you like my beads, you'll love hers! And don't miss her "Meanie" series - those things are so cool!



What else? I have a ton of good stuff about my kiddo. You should see what a great reader he's turned into! All that hard work, and now he's just zipping through chapter books, reading some of the good parts out loud to me because he thinks I'll like the good parts too... and planning what he's going to read when he's done with the series he's on now. And you should see him crack the ball in baseball! Batting lessons are paying off. And you should hear him play the recorder! The kid can read music and really has an ear for which note is which. He did NOT get that from me! And... yeah, I could go on for ever about him, but I won't, because I'm sure you don't want to hear me braggin' on my kid for an hour.

Let's see, about the garden, you know, the weed jungle out there... well there are also tulips popping up in places I didn't plant them. I like that. And my Madrona tree is almost as tall as my house now, I bet she gets there this summer. I love that tree. And the magnolia tree has put on the best show this year, and now is sprouting leaves. And the rhodies are about to explode too. All kinds of good stuff out there beside weeds, it's true.

The diet thing. Eh. What can I say about gaining weight? Not much. But I don't really think it's the diet, because Frank and Luke both seem to be slimming down since I've been doubling up on the veggies and backing off on the starches. And I've been learning some tricks to make the veggies taste better, so people are actually eating them instead of pushing them around on their plates. So that's a good thing.

The technology bit? I love my iphone. That thing is the best thing since sliced bread. And my computer works great as long as all Apple programs are deleted... a working-great computer is nothing to sneeze at, right? I'm thinking of giving this one to Frank, and buying myself a mac book. That would be a Very Good Thing, don't you think?

Oh and speaking of buying things, I love my new Italian espresso maker! That thing makes the smoothest, yummiest coffee ever. And my new shoes, even though they are not flip flops, they are making my feet happy. And the new bag I got to go with them - love! (It's my birthday month, didn't I just tell you that? I go a little crazy spending in April. I'm not going to feel bad about it either, so there.)

Ok, that's enough good for now, I don't want go all Pollyanna on you or anything... besides, I need to go try to find that Muse of mine. She needs to get to work so I can start saving up for that new computer.

In Case You Were Wondering

I haven't been around because I don't have anything good to share. Everything right now is a big fat fail. For example:

My beads are not going into space. Space Bead Fail.

My muse has deserted me and there are no new beads to show off. Creativity Fail.

My bead sent to Germany never arrived. Mail Service Fail.

My first ever non-payment sale happened. Etsy Buyer Fail.

My computer and iTunes hate each other. Technology Fail.

Every time I put on flip flops, it gets cold again. Weather Fail.

The weeds are choking out my flowers, and the moss is taking over. Gardening Fail.

I started my first ever diet and get this, gained weight. Body Image Fail.

I colored my hair to hide the gray and the gray is still there. Hair Dye Fail.

My *oh so new and exciting* retail display is spread all over my house and should have been done two weeks ago. House Cleaning Fail, but also Big Time Procrastination Success. Oh wait, that means FAIL too.

So, as you can see... it's probably better off that I stay away from blogger until things improve... because who wants to read about these kinds of things? Which means I can add another: Blog Post Fail.

Beads in Space!

I'm so excited about this! How cool would it be to get your beads out into space and back? And even cooler for the lucky kids who get one of these special beads that they can say went to space? Of course I'm talking about Beads of Courage - the program that rewards kids with special beads for things like going through tough cancer treatments and procedures and the like.



So here's the deal: Beads in Space in case you also make beads and want to get in on it. The deadline is SOON, so check it out right away.

I'm heading out to the studio now to try and make some Keith Graves inspired alien pet beads. I think I'm going to have fun with eyeballs. Wish me luck!

Size Matters

I've been getting a lot of "Wow, that's a BIG bead!" and "Whoa, that is HUGE!", and "Holy Moley, Girl, how much glass is in this thing?" and not enough, "Oh, how beautiful!" lately. I think I've been handed a sign, what do you think? I love making them big... though they have been getting bigger and bigger on me, and I realize, not everyone wants a big honkin' paperweight to wear around their neck. So, I've decided to try to work a little smaller. Sometimes. Not as a rule, but as an option.

This morning I was cleaning my new "little" beads, and Luke came up to see what I had going on.. and he was all excited: "Hey Mom! Your bead had babies!!!", And he went and got one of my big beads and brought it back to show me. He said he really liked these sizes, they were more "portable". Isn't that funny? Portable. I love his vocabulary. He also said he didn't love the rounder fat one as much as the thinner squished one. (One is made with a Zoozi press and one with a masher). I have to agree. He has good taste.

Here you can see what I'm talking about, with a quarter even for reference. How clever! Yes, they are still big, but not BIG. What do you think - are they more "portable"?

Photo Friday: Children

This week's Photo Friday is Children and for once I have the perfect shot for it. I love this, cheesy as it is. Done with one of my iphone apps.

For a Good Cause

The Historic Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle is putting on another one of their great silent auctions and art shows to benefit the Haas Foundation. If you are in the area, you should RSVP - it's a nice night out and lots of great items to bid on.



This year I'm donating three pendant necklaces:

New Glass, New Beads

Last Friday Luke had the day off from school and we decided last minute to take a ride out to the ocean. You know we pass Frantz Glass along the way and had to make a stop there, right? Yes, of course. $300 and a box of new and old colors later, we were back on the road. Driving through the rain and hail and clouds on the way to the beach. Oh wait? You want to know what was in that box? Oh, of course you do! Sorry!

In the box... was some delicious Clio, a silver glass that is supposed to go pink, orange, milky shimmery pretty. I've been wanting to try it for awhile now. And also, some new OX, a green luster glass that I though might have some fun potential - it had just been put out on the floor that day. Some silver pink that I'd never tried, more opal yellow, not enough junky clear (need to order more of that asap), some 14K gold (color, not metal), some more Gaia, new mandrels, and I don't know what else. Oh some of the good Hades, and some Multicolor.

Ok, back to driving to the beach. In the rain and hail. We kept going even though... it didn't look promising. Who doesn't like a stormy beach, anyway? But when we got there! The sun came out and it was amazing. The best beach day ever. This year.





And then, I came home and played with my new glass. So far, I don't like the OX at all, all it's good for is getting a nice metallic luster and maybe storming if you like green storms. It would make nice accent beads... but I don't make them, do I? Not enough magic reactions for my taste, but I'll try again sometime.

But oh, the Clio! I do like the Clio. Here are a few of my beads from yesterday, all available on Etsy now.

Just listed a bunch of Tiger Beads!

All on Etsy this morning:

The Blue Tiger Bead

I'm trying this out in some other colors (though I love the traditional topaz and cream and gold!). So far, this is not quite right, I got a reaction I don't love on the blue - the part that looks a little pink? Not what I wanted. I'll try again though! And I'm going to try purple too!

Another Tiger Bead

Freshly listed on Ebay!

Hear Me Roar

I am so excited. These are the beads... THE BEADS... that have been waiting to come out of me for ever and ever. And they are finally here! My big cat beads, wild cats, beasts of the jungle, the Serengeti, the mountains, and yes, even the back yard. My Tribe of Tiger Beads.

The inspiration:




















For many years, I've been messing around, trying to create "jungle print" type beads. Several years ago, for my birthday, Frank got me a private class with Corina. (My favorite birthday ever, Friday Harbor, kayaking, melting glass with Corina - pure perfection). I remember Corina asked me, what beads did I want to learn how to do - and I answered "animal beads, jungle beads". I'm sure she was thinking, "oh no! not animal beads" but she was great, she pulled out a big encyclopedia and found a picture of a giraffe and another one of a jaguar and we made "animal beads". They were lovely beads, I still have them and will treasure them forever... but they weren't "it".

I tried doing the tiger thing, the jaguar thing, even the zebra thing (I know, that's not a cat!)... but it was never "it", not quite what I was going for, whatever that was. My Rainforest beads hinted at "it". I love those beads... but there was something... else... I was still reaching for.

I finally found "it". Big cats. In glass. Beautiful reactive metallic sparkly shiny glass. My Tribe of Tiger beads. I love them - I hope you do too.

Mermaid

Meet CIM's "Mermaid" - this is my first try at it, and so far... I kinda think it's a lot like Moretti's Petroleum Green. Which I don't love. The frit helps it though, I think.

The Finished Auction Necklace

The School Auction Necklace is done. I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope someone wants to buy it, I'm a little nervous for some reason, maybe it's a good thing I'm not going to the auction!

New Prices on Etsy

I've gone through Etsy today and lowered prices on some of my beads that I want to move along to make room for new things - have a look! Thanks :-)

Lots of New Beads on Etsy

Lots of new beads on Etsy today, and some old ones have been renewed too. Here are some of the newest listings:













Thanks for looking!

School Auction Necklace

Luke's school has an auction every year - you might remember the projects I worked on with the kids the past couple of years - the fabric/paint collages? This year that didn't work out for various reasons I won't go into... but I wish it had, it was fun and the kids loved making them and they were pretty popular with the parents too - oh well! So, anyway.. I decided I'd make a necklace to donate instead. It's getting to be last minute, but I think it's going to be something with this stuff in it. Kind of fun, but I'm not sure where to start now! I think I have a week to figure it out...