Vacation Creations

I finally figured out what I needed in order to kick my muse into gear: VAY-CAY-SHUN! Seriously, it took one day of movies, a day of shopping, a day of eating (PIE!), and a day of lying around watching all my DVR'd shows and doing basically nothing for me to finally feel energized enough to get out the beads.

That is one serious de-stress plan!

But I guess I had a lot of pent-up creativity because once I started going...I just couldn't stop.

Here are the results:





I'm in love with these sort of blue-green lagoon-looking Czech glass rondelles. I had a whole strand and I used a few of them throughout the following earrings. This pair was sort of an end-of-the-day afterthought as I was trying to use up some of the leftovers on my work table (better to use 'em than to have to put 'em away LOL) I was trying to go for a sort of "messy" wire-wrap thing on the stick pearls...not sure I pulled it off (or maybe that's just my inner perfectionist griping). I named them "Pearl Lagoon."





And, as long as I was cleaning off the work surface, I thought I'd use up the last two of these purple Czech rondelles (you'll see the rest in a design later in this post) along with some pink chalcedony and some abalone shell beads. I needed to make a couple of pairs of earrings for a charity auction here at the office tomorrow and I thought these "Abalone Dangles" would be perfect for that.





These "Dragonfly Dangles" are another pair for the auction. Some of the last of my brass dragonflies along with a couple of faceted rhodonite rondelles. Simple and classic.





Here's another view of them.





I had these swirly flower disk beads in a dark chocolate brown color and used them in a bracelet and earring set last summer that came out really well so when I saw them in this ivory color, I grabbed them. Initially, I had them as the tops for a different earring design (the re-worked version is coming up), but that design ended up being a little over the top (I can get that way with earrings because I like 'em long or large and statement-making). So, off came the pink polymer clay flower art beads and I popped on these simpler faceted pink ceramic cubes. Less exciting, but more wearable. The flowers on the white beads sort of remind me of dahlias so I called these "Pink Dahlias."





Here's another view.





These flowers were originally going to be the bottom halves of the earrings I just showed. See what I mean about too much? Actually, these flowers were "too much" with a lot of things I tried with them. I ended up with a gigantic pile of "nope, that won't work" beads next to me trying to figure out what to put with them. I finally settled on these ivory shell rounds and some turquoise patinated bead caps from Patina Queen. They are still a little on the wild side and yet have that English vintage feeling, too, so I called them "Tea Party."





Here's a closeup of of the wonderful flower focal beads by Menagerie Studio.





Here's another view.





Similar focals from the same artist, but they are a little more subdued. The color is a bit off in the picture as they are more of a peach hue and not as vibrant. I used the brass dragonflies again and more of those "lagoon" Czech glass beads. Since this pair still reminded me of an English Tea, but in a more subtle way, I called them "Tea Roses."





Here's a close up of the flower focal.





And another view of the earrings.





This may be one of my favorites from this round of creation. I used brightly colored polymer clay squares in pink and green from Floridity, then added some mother of pearl shell flowers and wire-wrapped on some sparkling green lampwork. I have been trying for almost a year to set up a Hawaiian vacation for my extended family so I guess I had that tropical vibe going in my brain and this is how it decided to come out. The white shell flowers reminded me of plumeria flowers that are traditional for Hawaiian leis so I called this pair "Plumeria Leis."





Here's another view of them.





I loved all the earrings I'd made so far, but I noticed that there was a decided lack of glam and sparkle (and, okay, so my December "In Style" magazine had just arrived and I was drooling over the jewelry ads and seeing all the sparkley stones I'll never be able to afford). Had to grab these great 14k gold fill twisted hoop components (I've been seriously hoarding all my gold fill and, to a lesser extent, my sterling silver since the prices have gone so totally bananas...I know I'll never be able to afford some of these materials again!) And to them I added some tiny faceted lampwork nuggets in shades of amethyst and peach and small amethyst Swarovsky crystals as dangles.





The colors reminded me of sunset so these earrings have been christened "Sunset Sparkle."





Okay, I will 'fess up. I totally and completely ripped this design off from Shannon Levart of Miss Fickle Media. I couldn't help it - I fell in love with it on her site and had to make my own pair using her hammered copper flowers and patinated hummingbird charms. I did add my own creative touch by popping a sparkling Czech glass rondelle at the top. Originally, these were going to be for the charity auction (not for sale - I don't sell other people's designs), but frankly, they just came out too darned cute so I am keeping them for myself and hoping Shannon will not hate me too much for the copying. I decided that hummingirds could only be these color in a fantasy world so these earrings are called "Hummingbird Fantasy."





Here's another view.





And finally, here's the bracelet I wrote about in the last post - the one that was "on hold" while I figured out a solution to what I didn't like about it (plus, I didn't have a clasp that I thought would work with it). Shannon came to my rescue on the clasp issue as she included a wonderful freebie one in the package with the flowers and birds from the above earrings. It matched PERFECTLY in both color and sized. The rest of the bracelet is built around a polymer clay focal from Floridity, some gorgeous pink and brown "wheel" Czech glass disks, bleached wood slices and, of all things, brown shell dangles that used to be the "buttons" on ladies' shoes around the turn of the century. Years ago I bought a bag of these at the L.A. Gift show and have been hoarding them ever since. I thought it was time they made themselves useful. I call this design "Rosewood Bird."





Here's a closeup of the bird focal from Floridity.





I've been watching (and, yeah, okay, drooling) as LeAnn from Summer's Studio, Etc., started playing with bronze clay, but I was waiting for just the right design to strike my fancy. I finally found it with some pretty snowflake charms like this one and I turned the first one into this necklace by wire-wrapping some purple Czech glass rondelles (the same ones from the Abalonge earrings) onto patinated brass chain. The bronze is a bit tricky because it's darker than my normal gold findings, but not as dark as the brass. I got around this by using the darker brass chain and wire and then adding some brighter seed beads that are not quite gold, but still play up the highlights in the bronze. The purple beads reminded me of wintry shadows on snow so I named this "Twilight Snowfall."





Here's a closeup of the bronze snowflake pendant. I bought a second pendant from her with a slightly different snowflake and I made a necklace out of that one as well, but ran out of time to get it photographed. Hopefully, it will make its debut later this week.





Here's a closeup of the clasp...with my signature dangle.





And one last view. I'm loving this simple, but elegant design.

Whew! That was a lot of creating...and yet I'm sorry I ran out of time because I had more ideas and I know it will probably be a month before I get any more time to play. I'll have to hold out until then!

Hope everyon had a great Thanksgiving!

KJ

Rainy Friday Bead Porn

Yes, I know, it's neither rainy nor a Friday, but it was BOTH...two weeks ago when I originally started this post LOL!

As seems to be the mode for me right now, LIFE happened. Most notably the kid having emergency dental surgery (you know it's bad when you're in for a routine ortho visit and the nurse comes out and says "The Doctor would like to see Ryan's mom, please.").

Oh, and to make it just a perfect cherry-on-top sundae kind of event, I'd hit the annual $ limit on dental work for 2011 already (see previous rounds of dental surgery and fillings...I swear this kid has meth mouth without the meth) so yeah, this lovely bill came straight outta my pocket in its entirety.

Which is also why most of this bead porn? Purchased at least 6 months ago back when I had a bead budget.

I've looked at My Elements on Etsy a number of times, but held off taking the plunge until now. They have some really cool stuff, but it took me a while to decide how to meld it with my style. These frosted, colored rings were a perfect start.





Never one to buy just one color when I can get ALL the colors (I blame my friend Laura for teaching me to do this back when we both used to go to rubber stamp conventions together)...I got the same rings in bright pink, too.





They also had these unusual grass green tubes which I thought would make a unique design element if I can just figure out what I want to do with them.





I initially went to Aloha Bead to look at the amazing lampwork, but the shop has great Czech glass pieces, too, like these darling purpley-blue tiny flowers.





And these two-tone leaves.





And this great set of faceted Czech rondelles in shades of amethyst, citrine and peridot.





I was in a Czech glass mood so next I stopped off at Bead and Ribbon and found these watery long oval beads.





Same shape, but lavender and moss green colors. I was trying to get a head start on Spring designs.





I've been using a lot of this shape of bead in my designs - it's quickly become a favorite. This "seafoam topaz" colorway really caught my eye.





These beads always remind me of ammonite fossils and, like the wheel shape above, are starting to show up in the most unusual color combinations.





I started working a bracelet design with this pink and cream set over the weekend. I hit a bit of a snag around dinner time which I usually take as a sign that my brain is too tired to continue right at that moment. It's frustrating because I know it will probably be a whole week or more before I can get back to it. However, I've learned the hard way that continuing to push past that barrier usually leads to design or construction errors (which I then have to take apart and re-do). Plus, I sometimes get a new insight if I let a design sit for a while and look at it over a few days...I figure out that the proportion is wrong or there's not enough color contrast, etc.

So, here's hoping that flash of inspiration hits in time for the weekend (AND that I get the free time I'm hoping for).





Kristi Bowman's wonderful copper pieces are a new addiction. I love the shapes, the patina colors, everything!





Seriously, how cool are the snakeskin design? And, of course, these just beg to be made into long, dangly earrings...my FAVE!





I know these are supposed to be a floral design, but I see tiny bursts of fireworks in them.





Yeah, I now have at least a year's supply of Kristi's stuff (which turned out to be good planning on my part since bead $ is so scarce right now). I TOTALLY did that on purpose. You believe me, right?





I love the enamel work from Gardanne. This pair reminded me so much of the silver and turquoise concho belts that are such a part of the regional garb in Santa Fe where my family is from. I had a very small belt as a child (was my mother's when she was young) made of connected silver conchos each inlaid with a small turquoise stone. Nowadays, instead of the linked metal, the conchos slide onto a leather belt and fasten. Many of them are true works of art and are worth thousands of dollars.





Not only do I love butterflies, but that electric shade of blue is my favorite color.





And I love this teal with the white specks - reminds me of snow on evergreen trees.





Speaking of butterflies, I got this darling aqua and black dotted pair from Menagerie Studio.





And this pretty white and red flower...the beginning of a holiday design, maybe?





Polymer clay is so versatile...look how what Floridity is doing with it SOOOOO completely different from the Menagerie pieces!





This set I already used for the bracelet I created during my summer vacation. The soft blues, grays and ivories were just perfect for capturing those foggy beach days we had.

I've been collecting Barb's shells for a while now so when I saw this grab bag, I had to go for it to add to my collection. Plus...STARFISH! Score!





And continuing with my obsession with all things ocean-y...another starfish! This one in ceramic from Spirited Earth.





And this tiny ivory dolphin from the same store was just too cute to resist.





Lastly, a really unusual color palette of lampwork spacers from Blue Seraphim. She called it "Midnight Orchid" which I thought was a really cool name.

So, that's it for my "rainy Friday" bead porn. Whether it's actually raining at your house right now or whether, like me, you're just experiencing some stormy weather in your soul, I hope it brought you some cheer.


Next post will be...whenever I have time LOL!

KJ

P.S. For those who've been asking about Ryan...he has an appointment this week to get an EKG. His doctor wanted to make sure he had no heart issues prior to starting him on the ADD meds. So, progress on that front, but the doctor I was referred to in order to actually GET the prescription wanted to re-do all of Ryan's psych testing (and only charge me a paltry $450-not-covered-by-insurance to do it). Ummm....NO. I'm trying to work around that roadblock right now. In the meantime, I have Ryan's parent-teacher conference this Friday which I am NOT looking forward to as I suspect it's not going to be good.

As if all that wasn't enough, Ryan's dad hit me up yesterday for the umpteenth time about letting Ryan resume visits to his house (which is now two hours away and which he shares with the person who has had him arrested for domestic violence 3 times). Granted, it's been about two years since the last arrest, but I'm really struggling with the idea of trusting them again. I'd love to hear your opinions...am I being over-protective, crazy, ex-wife-ish, should I at least consider it or am I doing the right thing to hold the line?

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

5 Things Make a Post*

1. Happy Halloween! I am dressed as a witch for our costume contest at work today and you should have seen the looks I got at the gas station this morning! If I can get someone else to take a picture, I'll post it here later.

*Edited to add photo:

Scary, right?

2. Is anyone else watching "Project Accessory"? Finally...a show for all of us wannabe professional jewelry designers!

3. Is it just me or is original Nyquil the worst tasting thing EVER? If it wasn't the only thing that lets me sleep when I have a cold, I'd never take it again because DAYAMMMM does it taste like sh*t.

4. I have had that "Moves Like Jagger" song stuck in my head for about a week now. It's a great song, but every time I hear it I have to wonder why anyone would hold up Mick Jagger's moves as "cool." To me he looks a lot like a chicken undergoing electro-shock therapy.

5. I'm feeling "resinable"! New artwork, new bezels in different shapes and colors. I did a lot of prep work over the weekend but am still waiting for some of the newer items I ordered to come in. Stay tuned!!

KJ

*short post idea shamelessly stolen from author Sharon Lee's blog.

Book Review: "Crossroads"

First off, thank you so much to everyone for the supportive comments last week. I'm sorry for all the emotional spewage, but I guess I had just reached my limit and couldn't contain things any more. Plus, I figured somewhere out there in Blog-land, there had to be someone (or several someones) who had some experience with these issues and could offer some advice. and I was right! Extra special thainks to those of you who took time to message me privately and share your experiences and insights. I no longer feel so totally alone and that's a HUGE gift!

Okay, enough of that. On to the book review.





This review is for "Crossroads" by Jeanne C. Stein. It's #8 in the Anna Strong Chronicles. Anna is a bounty hunter in San Diego by trade and a vampire as a result of an unfortunate run-in with a particular perp she chases down in Book 1. I'm a fan of the series overall (obviously, since I'm up to Book #8) because of the strong female lead character and because of the way the traditional "vampire" elements of the story are handled. Stein did some careful picking and choosing about which elements she kept and why they work and I think that gives the series some unique attributes that set it apart from all the rest of the vamp lore out there.

Unfortuantely, Book #8 is, for me, the weakest in the whole series.

I'm not sure if that's because the original plot line kind of came to a head in the last book and this is meant to be a "pause" before the action picks up again or if I just find a slower-paced book less interesting personally.

Some other elements that led me to be disappointed in it include a long road trip (hard to have much action when you're stuck in a car for two days), secondary characters that aren't around long enough to justify their existence in the first place and...skinwalkers.

It may just be a pet peeve of mine, but the skinwalker device has just been SOOOO overused. Perhaps it's not bothersome if you don't read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi (or Tony Hillerman!) and you haven't run across it before, but I could name 10 series without even trying that have already used it. I'm just over it.

The one thing I did like about this book is Anna making a conscious choice about whether to remain a vampire and, if she does, what kind of vampire she will be and what type of future she will fight for. It's an important step in her evolution as a heroine and, in my opinion, makes her more powerful as she goes forward on her own terms. It's possible the author was so focused on getting through this element of the overall story arc, that the specific storyline of the individual novel suffered around it.

Oh, and I didn't like that a supporting character that I'm rather fond of essentially gets written out.

If you like vampire stories and strong female heroines, I definitely recommend the series starting with Book 1. I wouldn't start with this installment. If you like the series enough to get all the way to this book, you'll probably want to read it as a means of keeping current with the storyline and bridging to the next book. This is definitely not the entry point to this particular "universe."

Next week, I'll be review "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher. This book came out a while ago, but as this series ranks up near #1 on my all-time favorite list, I've been sort of hoarding it for a while. Being sick over the last couple of weeks was the perfect time to treat myself to it.

Stay tuned!

KJ

Blogus Interrupticus

Wow...the last two weeks since I posted just kinda flew by, right? And there was gonna be jewelry, too. Really, I swear there was.

But then, life happened.

And then sickness happened.

And I learned that life + sickness cancels out jewelry and writing and pretty much anything creative.

I'll just mention now that this may end up being a long-ish and possibly emotional post, so if you're not down with that...well, you were warned.

If you've been reading the blog a while, you know I've been dealing with teacher issues at my son's school since last year as well as facing ADD testing/diagnosis for him.

On the up side, after last year's total debacle, we seem to have a phenomenal teacher this year. She's creative, organized and engaged. She has been patient with me e-mailing her (probably a little too much) and, amazingly enough, she E-MAILS ME BACK!

The down side is that I had Ryan tested last Spring and the results came back showing positive correlation for the inattentive type of ADD. I'll be honest and say I've struggled with that knowledge ever since. It's not that I don't believe in the diagnosis, it's that I find it so difficult to accept that my sweet, wonderful, bright boy is going to have to struggle with this issue all the way through school and beyond.

And yeah, I'm also struggling with other people's reactions to hearing about it. If I have one more person tell me it's my fault for letting him watch too much TV, I may not be responsible for my actions.

Once I got over the news about it, the question became "okay, what do we do now?" I met with the principal at his school at the end of the year last year and got the school to agree that Ryan qualifies for what's called "504 status" which means he gets some special accommodations like getting to sit up front, getting extra time for homework, etc. I also laid down the law about how I expected a better teacher assignment for him this year.

Given that his grades and test scores are all okay (basically B's and scoring at or above grade level in almost everything), I wanted to see how he'd do with a better teacher this year in 3rd grade so that's where things left off at the end of last year.

Now we're almost two months into 3rd grade and I'm starting to see the damage that the crappy teacher from last year did. Ryan is struggling with staying on task in the classroom both from the amount of work and the amount of self-organization and self-direction that is required (neither of which did he have to keep up with last year). He continues to do well on his tests, but he is coming home with piles of incomplete classwork each night that we are having to do ON TOP OF the actual homework.

Now, I would like to say that I am super-mom and can manage a full day of work, pick up the kid, cook dinner, get him through all his classwork AND homework, get the kitchen cleaned up, get the toys picked up, get the shower done, and get through the bedtime routine all with a Donna Reid smile on my face.

And some nights, I can.

But most of the time, I arrive home from work already exhausted, wanting to only provide dinner that we picked up in a drive-thru. I am certainly not in the mood to repeat 3rd grade math and grammar exercises with patience and a smile. I used to be able to leave Ryan at the table working on his homework while I relaxed for a few minutes or got dinner started, but he's reached the level where his inattentiveness does not allow him to stay on task without me at his elbow prompting him to keep going. And I am starting to picture myself glued to his side to get ANYTHING done for the entire rest of his school career - obviously, that's just not practical nor is it good for his ongoing growth.

A new wrinkle is developing in that he is starting to get frustrated with the amount of work, how hard it is for him to push all the way through it and, frankly, how sick he is of me preaching at him about "getting it done." I don't blame him - I'm sick of me, too. But this frustration he has is starting to boil over in some attitude and defiance that he NEVER had before. He's ALWAYS been my super-cheerful, sweet kid. His most frequently uttered phrase (until recently) has been "Sure, Mom."

Obviously, what we've been doing up to this point is no longer working. I need help. So, I tried setting up appointments with the ADD specialists that his testing doctor referred us to. Guess what? NONE of them are in my health care network and my current plan has NO out of network option. So, I was just forced to switch to a plan that costs 3X as much for the whole next year so that I can get to some of these doctors.

Did I mention that Ryan's dad pays $0 child support and $0 towards his health care (or activities or anything else for that matter). Did I also mention that due to the economy there've been no (or drastically reduced) bonuses and no raises or promotions at my job for the last 3 years?

So, yeah, that was a painful decision, but obviously, I need to get him seen by the right people even if it means waving bye bye to the last of my savings.

In the meantime, I've been reading as many books and websites on ADD as I can get my hands on and I've learned a couple of things:

1. It's not my fault. It's genetic. And you only have to look at his dad to see where the gene came from. So, I could have let Ryan watch NO TV for the last 8 years and he'd still be this way.

2. The experts are all saying I have to at least try putting him on medication (probably Ritalin)

3. My logic center is persuaded that's the right next course of action, but my emotions (and certain family members) are torturing me over the idea of putting an 8-year-old on a brain-chemical-altering medication.

All that has led up to several weeks of not sleeping, eating crappy food, and multiple crying jags so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when I started to come down with a nasty cold in the middle of last week. I'm getting over it now, but still dealing with a nasty cough.

Fun, right?

You feel all uplifted and happy after reading this post, I'm sure. And I do normally try to keep it pretty upbeat around here, but y'know, sometimes the crap just hits the fan and I have to let it out or totally lose my mind (partial mind loss has already occurred, but I'm determined to hold onto the scraps that are left).

Happier times are ahead, I hope. I'm going to move forward with trying the medication with Ryan and hoping that helps both of us along with some counseling (mostly for me so I can learn to deal with the stress better).

That's it for today. I know I'm behind on book reviews and will try to get caught up. Look for one early next week.

KJ

Book Review: "Ghost Ship"

Thanks, everyone, for the comments yesterday. It's amazing how bead porn brings out the blog traffic *snicker*.

And now on to this week's book review:

I first stumbled across the Liaden Universe books quite by accident. I was on some other author's website (Anne McCaffrey's, I think?) and there was mention of these books. And then later, I saw a blip about them somewhere else and it just kept going like that with these maddening little hints about how fantastic this series was and how all the SF/F writers were raving about it, but I couldn't find the books in the bookstore.

Thank goodness for Amazon.com because once I got the first book in my hands, I could see what all the buzz was about and I wanted more, more, MORE! I gobbled up every book in the series until I got to the very last page of "I Dare" and went "what do you mean there's no MORE?"

Like a junkie hunting for her next fix I went on the internet, found the authors' website and blogs and discovered what a total mess the failing publishing industry had made of my opportunity to get more of these books. If you want the whole story, you can sleuth around like I did on the website, but basically a publisher went out of business before the newer books could be contracted for and/or published.

Whereupon the authors took a rather remarkable risk and decided to write the next book, "Fledgling", live (without a net) on the internet where the fans could read it for free (although donations via Paypal were graciously accepted). This turned out to be such a success that the next book, "Saltation", was done the same way. Finally, enough interest was garnered that Baen Books picked the series back up again, published "Fledgling" and "Saltation" and now, at long last, "Ghost Ship."

All that was a really long-winded way of saying that while this is a great book, I don't recommend you start here. There are a few different potential entry points into the Liaden Universe:

1. "Local Custom" is my preferred entry point. I think it does the best job of setting up the family lines that are followed in the later books. This is also the best entry point for those who like a little more love story in their books

2. "Crystal Soldier" would be the entry point for those who like to REALLY start at the beginning of things i.e. the complete back story behind the origin of Clan Korval, the Tree, etc. However, in my personal opinion, this book and its sequel, "Crystal Dragon", are much richer and, frankly, make more sense, if you've already read all the later books. But that's just me...your mileage may vary.

3. Finally, I've heard that a lot of people start the series with "Agent of Change" which is the beginning of the plotline that ultimately takes the reader up through the book I just finished, "Ghost Ship." This would be the best entry point for those who want their books to tilt more towards the action/thriller end of things. There's still romance...it just happens on the run.

Now that you know a bit more about the series, its history, etc., on to "Ghost Ship" itself. It has all the normal hallmarks of a Liaden Universe book: romance, action, humor, spaceships, magic, etc. And, after sticking with her through three books (and the years it took to get them from internet to actual publication), it's great to see Theo kind of grow up and come into her own as a pilot and as a member of Clan Korval. Not that she doesn't have problems...I mean how would you like it if a sentient (and potentially deadly) spaceship was following you around the galaxy like a stray puppy?

Meanwhile, back on planet Surebleak, Clan Korval and its new delm (leaders) are trying to get themselves sorted out after the events at the end of "I Dare."

If the book has one flaw, it's that it has SO many plotlines to tie up from the old series and launch for the books going forward that it gets a little bit snippy and short-handed in places. In fact, I know I would have been much more confused by some of the goings-on had I not been keeping up with the short stories (out-takes) that fill in some of the missing bits. Still, I enjoyed it more than both of its predecessors and besides, another hallmark of these books is that the authors really make you WORK for it as a reader. I've often had to go back and re-read certain bits or entire books before I finally figured out "oh, THAT's how that worked."

Truthfully, I can't say anything bad about this book or the whole series. The worst book Lee & Miller have written is still LIGHT YEARS better than just about anything else. You can't go wrong with this series...wherever you start to pick up the storyline.

Next week's review will be "Crossroads" by Jeanne C. Stein.

KJ

Weekend Update and "Lite" Bead Porn

There was supposed to be some jewelry posted here. Really, there was.

Then the weekend happened. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, is SUPPOSED to be when you get to do your hobbies and relax and stuff, right?

It's not supposed to involve a Saturday filled with swimming lessons, dropping the car off for an oil change, delivering lunch to Grandma's house, picking up stuff at the Cub Scout store that we HAD to have for this week's meeting, checking the bird store to see if they had Nutriberries back in stock yet (no...and the parrot is threatening to go on strike any minute now until he gets his favorite treat back!), picking the car up after the oil change and taking Grandma out to dinner.

Nor is Sunday supposed to involve a migraine headache which could only be assuaged with copious amounts of pills, darkness, and (eventually...after partially subsiding for a while) a marathon of Season 2 of the "Vampire Diaries."

Hence no jewelry.

And I thought it would be weird to do two book review posts in a row (especially since no one seems to like them anyway) so, when all else fails, you get porn :-) It's "lite", though, because, as you may or may not have heard, there's a recession on.





These lovely floral bead caps snipped from vintage tins are from Donna Millard. Mostly she makes gorgeous-but-out-of-my-price-range lampwork, however, she has started to sprinkle a few of these into her listings.





Perfect for fall chestnut chain from my favorite color chameleon: Miss Fickle Media. Unlike most of bead porn, this chain has actually already made it into a design which you can check out here.





And since I can never get enough "fickle", I grabbed this ember red clasp, too.





Then it was off to marathon-buy some lovely enamel pieces like these cute birds.





And their darker, more mysterious cousins.





And some hearts I thought would be great for Valentine's Day designs.





So I got more than one color. These are all from Gardanne.





I'm not normally a fan of the "house" shape or theme, but I do love me some madras plaid (yes, the 80's and "The Preppie Handbook" scarred me for life) so I had to pick up this darling polymer clay pendant from Menagerie Studio.





Barbara Bechtel over at Floridity is doing some amazing new designs with this distressed watercolor finish - I love the brighter colors and thought these would make darling earrings!





And, of course, my obsession with anything ocean-related goes on. Every time Heather at Humble Beads posts any of these urchin-themed pieces, I go nuts.





Spirited Earth has quickly become one of my favorite sources for ceramic focals. Sometimes ceramics can be really huge and a little overwhelming to work with so I like it when there are some more "petite" offerings available like this cute little flower.





This green and brown forest moth pendant is also from Spirited Earth. It's an unusual color combination for me, but I am trying to push myself past my "tried and true" colors this year both in my purchases and in my designs.





I just had a necklace published in "Creative Jewelry" featuring one of these copper raku seashells from Star Spirit Studio. The one in the magazine has more blue/gold/pink tones in it while these are more true copper, but they are all great pieces and I love working with the raku and all the different colors you can find in it.





I think the true test of a lampwork bead is when it looks so yummy you have to remind yourself that it is NOT candy and that no, you are not allowed to eat it. These pretty, enamel-dappled disks from Flame Crazy definitely pass that test.





And then I saw these on the same site and was reminded of Monet's paintings, my personal fave, so they had to come home with me, too.





Okay, so these would never remind you of candy, but isn't the finish on them so unusual and FANTASTIC? They really look more like rocks from the desert than lampwork. I found them at Outwest.

I'm still hoping to get a book review and (maybe?) some jewelry up later this week...even though the craziness continues with Cub Scouts tonight (all the Bear Scouts are now considered old enough to be presented with their official pocket knives and start learning to whittle with them this evening...which I'm not sure I'm totally 100% okay with because I'm afraid the walls of the house might start sporting carved designs a la petroglyphs pretty soon), then Back to School night on Thursday, then orthodontist and swimming again on Saturday. AAAGGHHHH!

And yeah, I know, everyone with kids is this busier (or, gak!, even busier), but it's the having to do every single solitary bit of it all by myself with never a break or anyone to split the duty with after working a full day at the office AND getting the kid through his homework (plus the leftover classwork that didn't get done because of his ADD) that is wearing me out. I'm sure the migraine is partially from stress and not enough down time.

It's becoming clear to me that I have got to figure out a way to inject some balance into my life, but how to do that with a full-time job (which I'm stuck with due to being the sole breadwinner and provider of insurance) is beyond me. If anyone has a great inside stock top or surefire lotto numbers they want to pass on, I'll be standing by with my trusty pencil to take notes.

KJ