Nuthin' to say...

Haven't posted because I've had nothing to say. How's that for dismal? It's hot, I'm hot, the house is hot, even with the air conditioning on. The girls sit around panting. One thing we've done this summer to cut down on the electric bill (yeah, right) is to turn the central AC up quite a bit at night, and turn on a small window unit that's basically about a foot from my end of the bed. Which is where Ruby gets every time it's turned on! So, any heat-relief I'd get is blocked by her big self. And, no, I do NOT make her get down. And, to top it off, Piglet still thinks she's freezing, so under the covers she goes. Wants to sleep right next to my hip. And, no, I don't maker her move, either.

Hope to get some beads made Saturday. For whatever reason, last Saturday was not at all productive. I spent about 5 hours on the torch, and had a grand total of 8 beads - 2 focals and one set - when I finished. And, both of the focals, IMHO, look like crap, so you won't even see them for sale....

Where should I post?

With two blogs, it's sometimes hard to decide "where" to post - if I don't talk about beads, is it okay to post in the "bead blog?" If I don't talk about dogs, is it okay...well, you get the idea. The bead blog won today, as the dog blog was more recently updated. Logical thinking. Gee.

There's really nothing much going on in my world. I'm still very busy at work, which gives me a bit of the queasy with regard to the semester starting back - if I'm busy now, what's it going to be like when zillions of students descend on us?! But, it seems like I have a lot of August 1 deadlines, and I'm hoping that on August 2 I can breathe at least a tiny sigh of relief. And, of course, I'm busy at home, too. I always let a lot of stuff slide before a show, and this time was no exception. I dusted the bedroom Sunday, and it was so bad it took me a good 30 minutes. Most of the time I really hate having such a small house, but NOT when it comes time to do housework!

We went to the home-moanership stores on Sunday, to look for new kitchen flooring and counter tops. You want HOW much for that counter top?! Would you believe that the faux stuff - Silestone, etc., is coming in at $40 to $60 (and yes, even more) per SQUARE FOOT?! I figure I have about 32 square feet of counter space...and the square foot price doesn't include all the little extras like back splash and the front dooby thing and backer board and what-not. We're talking $1,700 EASY. There's just no blanking way. None. The flooring is a bit more reasonable - there's a chance I can afford it in this lifetime - as in without waiting for the life insurance policy to pay out...LOL And I don't even cook - how's that for irony?

In looking for a picture to share, I came across one of the container planting I did a bit more than a year ago, as well as one of the same planting from last weekend. What a difference a year makes! Maybe there's hope for my kitchen after all!

Hmmmm....shiny.....

I'm pretty sure this bead went home with somebody...although I haven't really gone back through what's left. Anyway, it's SHINY! All the stuff you see "going on" in the bead is mostly reflections. One of those newer silvered glasses, ya know...in fact, that little circle looking thing towards the top right is actually the camera lens reflection!

It was great to see all of y'all!

Literally just two minutes to post a bit...first, OF COURSE, thanks to all of those who came by the trunk show! It was a BLAST! The store stayed pretty crowded all day Saturday and most of Sunday. Needless to say, I left the store with a LOT fewer beads. I'm sure they all went to good, loving homes. A couple of people stayed right in the store to make up bracelets, necklaces, even some earrings, and everything that I saw made up came out just gorgeous. It's a great deal of fun to see it translated from my torch to a little piece of temporary copper wire to a beautiful creation.

I'll fill y'all in on a few details later.

I'm here I'm here!

It's just been a crazy of couple of days. I actually AM ready for the trunk show - thank god. I can't imagine what my life would be like right now if I weren't! I do a LOT of academic counseling in my day job, and I get almost all the private appointments for time management/procrastination. And what I usually tell students is to 1) think how good it would feel to be ahead of the curve rather than behind the eight ball, and 2) what happens if you wait until the last minute to do something, then everything else goes to hell? (Yes, of course I tell them more than just this, but I always hit these two points.) Anyway, these are my words to live by. So, today finds me tired, but relatively calm none-the-less....and, as I've been absent a day or two, you get TWO blings! I used to worry that my style was all over the place - as you can see, these beads look completely different from each other. But for me, that's the fun. I'm easily - EASILY - bored, but the glass never disappoints because there's just so much you can do with it.

Later!

Bling!

Just a little bling today - one of the sets that will be at Nomadic Notions. I usually use a sage green with this purple, but decided to try a bit brighter green this time. I'm happy with the outcome.

Yum, pink and black

What more needs be said?

Hope everybody's holiday was great - ours was very low key - perfect!

Happy 4th of Julie!

Another bead made with DHG Terranova2! And, this - really - may be my favorite bead that I've ever made. Those of you who know me know I don't say that often...This glass is just delicious. I've always loved florals, and really thought that they'd always stay my favorite, but as I get older I find that I like simple graphics more and more. Even my clothes have started changing to reflect that - I'm much more likely to wear something "plain" as opposed to the "ditzy" prints that used to pretty much make up my wardrobe. Anyway, have a great "Fourth of Julie" (as my Uncle Scott used to say - and no doubt somebody in your family as well!). Stay safe, eat junk, drink a little, play with beads. That's exactly what we're gonna do!

Serious lick factor!

I made two focals last weekend using one of the new Double Helix Glassworks newest glasses, Terranova 2. I just can't even TELL you what serious lick factor this glass has - even at $100 a pound! Unfortunately, a camera just can't capture everything that's going on. Here are three pictures - while the decoration looks mostly blue or ruddy-blue, it varies from deep blue, to electric blue, to electric green, to an almost pigeon-blood red. Absolutely glorious. And, hands down, my favorite DHG glass to date.

Pictures, pictures

Gee, it's nice to have a choice of pictures to show y'all....I'll have to REMEMBER this feeling. Maybe it will prompt me to take pictures more regularly! Anyway, this is a bead made entirely of dark silver plum. In the rod, it's a blah gray, but in the flame turns iridescent.

I did take a collection of the big-holed beads to Nomadic Notions yesterday, and I'll have an instruction sheet available (with the purchase of a BHB) for how to make your own bracelet for this type of bead. Mick will have a couple of samples, made up, too. Trust me, it's not rocket science, and you can most likely figure out how to make one from just looking at the sample, but a little take-a-way instruction sheet will be nice, too, yes?

Enjoy the rest of your day! I'm working today and tomorrow, then taking off for a long 4th of July holiday - Monday off, too! Woo hoo!

I say hello.....

And I say goodbye....

(Sorry, you'll have to provide your own tune...)