Porn Before Pain

I refuse to allow the oh-so-important (life-altering, really) delivery of bead porn to be de-railed by my stupid, defective back.

Even though it REALLY hurts.

I've had back issues off and on since about my mid-20's, but I thought I'd finally defeated the problem since the last major incident was back before Ryan was born. I found out otherwise on Monday.

And no, I wasn't doing anything strenuous (sorry, but people keep insisting on trying to figure out a way that this whole thing is my fault and it's getting kind of annoying). If you must know, I was setting up to do some jewelry-making and getting out my supplies when I found a dead spider in the bottom of one of the bags.

Ewww, right?

I grabbed a tissue, picked up the unfortunate deceased and headed to the trash can to give it an appropriate burial. As I dropped the "package" into the trash can, there was a sudden, ripping pain across the lower left part of my back and the next thing I remember, I had stumbled to my bed and was laying there screaming.

I have learned from past incidents to at least make it to the bed or sofa because wherever you drop when this happens? That's where you're staying for a good long time.

Don't believe me? Try getting up off the floor WITHOUT using your back muscles. Yeah, ain't happening. And since I REALLY didn't want to spend the next week on the floor staring into space with nothing to do...I made it to the bed.

Needless to say, no jewelry got made this weekend. I had to spend the rest of Monday flat on the bed on an ice pack and popping ibuprofen like it was candy. Mom came over to help get dinner for Ryan that night.

I'm still experiencing pain, but at least I'm back to about 75% functional...until the other side of my back goes. Which, based on my past experiences, usually happens right about the time the first side has healed.

But, like I said, I would not leave my loyal readers high and dry without their Friday bead porn so please enjoy! I'm shuffling off to grab some more pain pills.

I went on a vintage kick and got myself a pile of fabulous Lucite at great prices from BlackSheepBeads.

How totally delicious is this yellow?

Most of these beads are in what is called a "moonglow" finish. It makes them extra yummy!





These beads look pink in the photo, but in real life, they are actually more of a lavender color.

Love the texture on these.

Perfect for late summer-into-fall designs - these look just like ripe berries.

A pretty, summery coral pink.

And pink rondelles.

Black Sheep carries lots more than just Lucite - these are tiny lavender GLASS rose beads.

And as long as I was in a vintage mood, I decided to pick up these unusual gold and pink teadrop beads from Tammy'sTreasures.

Seafoam-colored shell heishi disks.

Lapis teardrops.

Dyed purple crazy lace agate ovals. All three of these stone/shell items came from UncommonBeads.

Enameled disks from Gardanne. SUCH incredible colors!

Cast pewter drops with icy crystals in the center from Lynn Davis.

Lynn also made thise gorgeous pewter scroll bar. LOOK at the detail on this piece! It's amazing!





A master of many different media - Lynn also created this pendant which mixes polymer clay in a "faux ivory" technique with one of her own metal bezels.

And speaking of polymer clay...check out what I found at AslanCrafts! Y'know, besides the whole C.S. Lewis/Narnia books name tie-in (which grabbed me right off as I've been a fan of those books since I was about 9 years old). Yep, that's right, these are polymer...NOT lava! The texture on them is incredible and so are the colors.

So, you know what happened next, right?

Yeah, I had to buy more from her. I loved this incredible color combination. And these beads are SO nicely finished! Incredibly smooth and shiny and almost looking like lampwork. I find that many polymer artists tend to neglect the sanding/finishing/sealing part of their craft so I love it when I find someone who does it RIGHT!

Yeah - had to get a 3rd set. And you can bet there are more in my Etsy Favorites, too!

I am such a huge fan of Summer's Studio. I intend to own at least one of everything she makes LOL! Well, it's not intent so much as...ummm...obsession? Compulsion? One of those OCD things which means I'm not really responsible for my actions LOL! See the CUTE dragonfly on this pendant? LOVE the detail!

And then there's this incredible, 3-D flower she made in delicate tones of sage and coral. Soooo pretty!

And really...how could a So Cal surfer girl like me resist a starfish pendant? I already know what I'm doing with this one! Woulda had it made already if my stupid back hadn't gone out (grumble, mumble, bitch, moan!)

I'm addicted to these darling little pansy beads from Serena29. They are so tiny and perfect. I have a few sets now in different colors and I'm trying to figure out a way to wire-wrap them all together into a bracelet so it looks like a whole riot of pansies in a garden. Haven't quite gotten there yet - but I will!

Incredible enamel and glass lampwork beads from FlameCrazy. Love the grape/teal color combo with the black accents!

And, well, Loupiac. What can I say? The beads speak for themselves, really.

Okay, that's it for this week. I'm hoping to be back to blogging regularly next week assuming my back decides to cooperate!

KJ