Update on The Bag

It's been a while since I posted a pic of The Bag, so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.  It looks like I don't have far to go with this piece, but there's more to it than you would think.  After I finish this piece, I have at least 2 more embroidered pieces, and then likely some free-form netting for the sides.  I have decided to add some kind of short lift (like a stud) to the bottom so that that beadwork doesn't get marred when you put it down.

My New Delica

Many of you are aware that, for some time now, I've been looking for a forever friend to travel between work and home with me.  With my husband out of town, I had to make extra sure that I found a friend who could really fit in with me and my shop.  Yesterday, while surfing Craigslist for the umpteenth time, I came across my new best friend:  a 6 month old, 3-1/2 lb Min Pin who was named Stella.  She had been purchased as a companion for the family's 9 year old Boston Terrier who promptly let the family know that she didn't like the Min Pin.  And I watched this in action, that Boston was a definite Diva, and actually picked on the much smaller Stella.

After spending some time with her, I decided to take her home, and rename her Delica....she is so tiny afterall.  So here she is, making her blog debut.....Delica!

 With her new best friend the chewy swizzle stick

 In mid-stop on hardwood floors

And a pic of her next to my computer bag to give you an idea of size

Next comes the potty training, and I'm told that Min Pins are notoriously hard to train.  I guess I'll have my work cutout for me there..... ;)

A few reasons why Beads are better than Men....

1. Beads will never tell you that your butt looks big in that dress.


2. Beads are always there to spend the evening with you when you just want to watch a sappy romance movie (see Great Movies to Bead by...) without complaint.

3. Beads never get jealous if you shop for other beads

4. Beads don't care if you're having a bad hair day, or if you wear your pajamas the whole day on your day off!

Anything to add ladies?

Great Movies to Bead by....Forbidden Love Edition

Persuasion (1995)

I love most of the Jane Austen remakes from this era, but this one holds a special place in my heart. Anne Elliot (Amanda Root) is both adorable and endearing. When placed next to her ridiculous sisters, pompous father, and grasping extended relatives, she's a complete saint!

Her love for Captain Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds) runs long and deep even though her family had deemed it an unsuitable match 10+ years ago. When the Captain moves back to the area after a long and successful stint at sea, her world is turned upside down.

Does he still lover her? Will her family let them marry now that he's rich? She's much too modest to ask, and practically elopes in the end.

My favorite quote of the movie? "If I may, so long as the woman you love lives, and lives for you, all the privilege I claim for my own sex, and it is not a very enviable one - you need not covet it, is that of loving longest when all hope is gone." Anne Elliot.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

This movie will always be on my list of romantic movies to watch. Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) is a sexy dance instructor from the wrong side of the tracks who longs to shake things up a bit on the dance florr, and Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Jennifer Grey), the younger daughter of a doctor who is expected to go to college to join the peace corp. The two meet at a resort where he's teaching the Mambo to the rich crowd. The sparks fly, when she offers to fill in for a dancer who's gotten herself into some 'trouble' with a guy, but they're shut down when her father finds out.

I love the story, I love the dancing, and who can forget THE line 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner'? I know I never will. There's a surprising lack of 'dirty' dancing in the movie considering its namesake, but we'll forgive that in favor of the water scene ;)

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

After the death of her beloved father, Danielle De Barbarac (Drew Barrymore) becomes a servant in her own home, waiting on her step-mother, the Baroness Rodmilla De Ghent (Anjelica Houston) and step-sisters (Melanie Lynskey and Megan Dodds) hand and foot. Years pass, and the estate which once afforded a high living, has now been reduced to a practically fallow state thanks to ill-management on the part of the Stepmother. When one of the other servants gets sold off to pay for a debt, Danielle 'borrows' her step-sisters' clothing and sets off to save him. When Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) happens upon her attempt to barter for the servant, she's caught in a lie that leads to a whole string of lies that she can't untangle. The big problem? The Prince is looking for a wife, and she's at the top of the list, as long as the truth doesn't come out.

Leonardo DaVinci makes an appearance as a guest of the Prince, and a band of Gypsies rounds out the antics when they're invited to the ball.

Anjelica Houston plays a fabulous villainess, and Drew Barrymore is appropriately charming. You even come to like one of the step-sisters, who is a disappointment to her mother.

Action, a little adventure,beautiful gowns and jewelry, and a star-studded cast....how can you miss?

My Favorite Quotes:

"What bothers you more, stepmother? That I am common, or that I am competition?" Danielle

(referring to a brooch that pins on the front of a bodice)

Rodmilla: No, too small, it needs to draw some attention.

Sales Person: I fear Baroness, anything larger might make her fall over.