Possibilities

I'm so excited by all of the possibilities that lay before me right now. I don't want to spoil anything in case nothing comes of it, but I'm so excited that I could burst! I'll keep you up to date on any developments. Sorry about all the secrecy, but you understand ;).

What a relief!

When I came home from Charlotte,NC, my dishes were done, the laundry was folded and put away, there was food in the house, and my husband had dinner made for me, personally mixed me a margarita, and we spent a romantic evening together enjoying eachothers' company and catching up.
Okay, I'm done with the fiction version. Here's the real deal: My sink is full of dishes, the laundry is still in the dryer, there was hardly a pickle in the house, I cooked my own Ramen Noodles, had a half a glass of water, and passed out on the couch within a half hour of planting myself there. so much for my romantic evening.
In my husbands' defense, I think he did take out the garbage, which is a feat in and of itself :)

Where are you now?

Right now I'm in Charlotte, NC for my second (and last) tour of the year. I taught my Crystal Drop Necklace and Fancy Beaded Toggle at the Beadlush this past weekend. I met tons of new people, and saw old friends, and I'm exhausted. I fly home tonight and it will be nice to be back in my 'normal' surroundings with Chris. I have a ton of ideas I would like to put into play with Christmas coming up, and I'll keep you apprised of any developments in that area.

I've got some things in the works for the transfer of my website Gypsybeads.biz to Gypsybeads.com (yes, I finally acquired it after all of these years:), and I would like to add a favorite bead shop tag, or maybe do a series off of this blog. Of course, favorite bead shops are inspirational, so that might fit in better with my vision of Muse of the Magpie....what do you think? And speaking of Muse, I realized that I've been posting things there that would fit in better here; any suggestions as to how to either transfer those, or do I just post them regularly?

What happened?

What happened to you?:

Yes, I dropped off the face of the Earth, I know. I've been swamped with deadlines, and have had a death in the family, and I'm basically just re-connecting with the world in general.

I started another blog called 'Muse of the Magpie' in late June. It was an experiment conducted with my beady friend Michelle to see if we could both keep a daily blog about something, anything. I had some success for the first couple of months (my writing was more every other day), then I realized that a daily blog just wasn't for me, so I write in it about once a week or so. I may keep the blog to post things and people that inspire me.

What happened with THE Bag?:

I have worked on THE Bag a bit and am happy to be able to post a more recent picture than previously shown. I continue to work at a snails' pace to get it 'done'. Could be years honestly, but I'm trying :).

What happened with your Bead Room?:

I'm still in the process of cleaning and organizing my bead room. I know. I'm finally narrowing down how I want things to be situated. For starters, I removed my sewing machine and cloth, and promptly took over another bedroom for them. In case you're wondering if my husband minds; he's now taken over part of the garage to start his own micro-brewery with our friend Brad. I'll keep you up to date on how that goes.

What happened with the bellydance? :

Essentially, after much viewing of both studios and contracts, I chose a venue to start with. I printed out flyers, promoted, taught a couple demo classes, and promptly received a letter from the studio telling me that they were moving (again), and they were sorry to have to cancel. I can't say I've thought about it much since then, so it must have been a whim more than a pursuit. I continue to make and sell reuseable bindis for bellydancers and beyond, and still dance occasionally as the mood hits me.

Leaving on a Jet Plane....

I'm currently gearing up to leave Wednesday to Charlotte,NC to visit some friends and teach at the Beadlush! I have a lot to do before I fly out, such as make the deadline for the BeadFest Philadelphia, and pack up all the kits for my classes, as well as update my directions for the Wicked Witch, and many, many other things.. I have a new colorway for the Crystal Drop Necklace for these students and, although I haven't formally worked up a sample yet, I know that Black Diamond and Crystal will be a hit! The only wrench in my plans? Due to unforseen circumstances, some of the seedbeads for my classes won't arrive until the day before I leave! Geesh! Can't a girl catch a break? Apparently not :). If you're in the Charlotte area, and are looking for something new to learn, sign up; I'd be happy to have you :). See you there!

What I'm working on now...

I have a lot of projects in the wings (as usual), and I'm trying to reorganize my Beadroom in a serious way (easier said than done, but it's getting there). Having created the jewelry for several friends this summer, I'm looking at ways to incorporate a bridal line into my general repertoir. To be honest with you, I don't know how I'm going to do that. My regular line is fun and colorful, and sometimes a little naughty, and these aren't the things I think about when I consider a grand victorian wedding. My friend Shannon said garters would be nice, and she's right, but that seems like a supplementary line (not to demean the persons who are making a living creating only garters, mind you). And how deep do I want to get in? Just necklaces, earrings, bracelets, or the whole shabang? Only time will tell. I have posted a pic of a necklace idea in the making for you to see. Very Victorian. What do you think?

Other than that, I've been working on a thin herringbone lariat made with transparent light grey ab beads. It looks like liquid smoke with a sheen, and I love it. I may incorporate Swarovski Pearls in midnight blue into the mix once I have the 48+ inches of the rope done. We'll see. I have several ideas for new styles of earrings involving rivolis and peacock feathers, have many new bindis in the making, and will someday start that bubblegum machine for all to see...no pressure.

I'm getting ready to approach more bead stores in the hope of, one day, being able to travel more extensively to teach. I am also getting ready to apply to BeadFest as I did months ago with Bead&Button. Submitting some work to magazines wouldn't be a bad idea, although I have a serious fear of rejection either way. I may be writing for A Grain of Sand Bead University soon, so keep an eye out. And I may be running a contest during the holiday season, so look for that as well.

Burned Out Beader

It seems as if the last few months have been nothing but deadlines and beading for a purpose. I haven't had much chance to try many new things, or to work out the ideas that I have floating around in my head, and that needs to change. In my attempt to keep my Etsy jewelry site Gypsybeads up and running (and profitable), I have been spending all of my time creating bindis, and simple jewelry, which is lovely, but hardly any beadweaving has happened for me that wasn't set to go to a show for a deadline, or to a shop for a class. I need a break, and I don't see one in site anytime soon. I have a show this weekend, a deadline next week, and I'll be flying out to Beadlush in Charlotte the week after that, so I need to buckle down and pull myself together so that those things can happen smoothly. In the midst of all this, I managed to get a little bit done on THE Evening Bag in the last month, and here's a photo of it. I got the chance to put a few beads on it last night as well, so I hope that is a good indication of what's to come this month. More beading please! Only the work that I WANT to do ;) Never going to happen, but a girl can wish can't she?