Solving the Mystery of Bracelet Sizing

Hi all!  My apologies for my lack of attention here, but it's certainly not for lack of desire...  I've been working on a lot of custom orders lately plus helping my father with some family matters.

A student of mine came to me for some help with bracelet sizing and after helping her, I decided to make this one page tutorial on sizing bracelets for anyone who might benefit from it.

I created a PDF and have uploaded it to Google Docs for your convenience.  Just click on this link!

Hope it helps!  :)

This weekend Iwill be exhibiting at the Christmas Gala in Russellville, AR.  If you happen to be in the area, stop on by and mention you saw my blog and receive 20% off on your total purchase in my booth.

Would love to see ya!

The Odd Couples

Hello all!

For now, I shelved the whole website thing in favor of beadmaking.  I think I've made the right choice, don't you?  Making beads is SOOOOO much more fun than trying to learn a difficult web design program.

I've been listing all my new creations on etsy, so be sure to check it out!  Lotsa different stuff!  I have a trunk show/demo next weekend in Eureka Springs, so it was important that I have some new items to show.  After that, I have a couple more shows next month.  No rest for the weary!

Molly and Zuko seem to have settled into their new home quite nicely.  They play together all of the time, while Phoenix and Fidget just watch.  In a way, it's really neat that Molly and Zuko have a special bond, and Phoenix and Fidget have theirs.  They are like two couples living in the house!

Now that the show season is winding down, I had hoped to use this time to redesing my website - especially since I have discovered that my new computer's operating system is not compatible with the program I've always used to edit and manage my site with.

So.... I purchased Dreamweaver for the purpose of recreating the website but I have found that the program is a lot more complex and challenging than what I used to use (FrontPage).  I then purchased a book, "Dreamweaver for Dummies" and I have found that I really need the "Dreamweaver for Dumber than Dummies" book because I can't make heads or tails out of it at all.

I learn easiest by doing rather than reading, and since the book is so entirely way too confusing, I've just dived right in, knowing full well that doing it this way will no doubt necessitate many mistakes and corrections along the way.  Oh well!

Meanwhile, life, otherwise, is pretty normal.  We have two new family members.  Molly is a golden retriever puppy, about 7 months old and Zuko is a black cat and I really don't know how old he is.  At the moment he is at the vet getting neutured and when I go pick him later today, I expect to get more information regarding his age and such.

Molly was adopted about a month ago from a shelter in NW Arkansas, and Zuko just recently appeared.  He started coming around over the summer and has become a regular entity around here.  He was pretty feral at first, but has really become a very loving cat.  He and Molly have developed quite a bond, so we felt it was time to formally make Zuko a member of our family.

So, now that my pet food and pet care bills have more than doubled, I have found that I need to work extra hard to make ends meet.  It's worth it, though, now that I have three cats and a dog, I am one happy momma!  I love all my furbabies!

Here's a photo of Molly and Zuko, taken yesterday.  Aren't they sweet? 

Leaping Lizards!

Just listed a whole bunch of new lizards for your viewing pleasure.  :)  Hope you enjoy them!

Making Lemonade from Lemons

Hi all,

You know that saying about best laid plans?

We were supposed to go on vacation yesterday.  We had planned to go up to Pennsyvania for a visit with Tim's brother and his wife.  We were really looking forward to it.

Then, Tuesday, out of the blue, Tim suffered an accident at work.  It was not serious but it did render him unable to travel, at least for now.  So... we cancelled the trip.  Actually, post-poned it.  In a deal he struck with his boss, we will post-pone the trip until August and we'll be able to travel longer, since he'll be able to add two more days.

In exchange, Tim will return to work tomorrow for two days, and then have all next week off.  So, we may still do some fun things, maybe visit some friends, splash around in the Buffalo River, or whatnot.

So, at first, we were really bummed about having to cancel the trip, but now we realize we'll have an even better time in August since we'll have more time.  It's all good!

Meanwhile, I figured I might as well work, so I've spent the last two days making lizard beads, which I hope to start listing tonight or tomorrow.  Gotta get them off the mandrels and cleaned first!  Next on the agenda are frogs.  I'm going to be doing a show in Tulsa next month and those two are perhaps my best sellers, so I want to be fully stocked.

Besides, lizards and frogs are just too darned fun to make!  I LOVE them!  :)

New Hollows!

Howdy!  Just listed six new hollow focal beads on etsy.  Each one is encased and etched which gives a glowing appearance.  VERY cool, in my opinion.  :)  Check it out!

New Beads!

Woot!  New items just listed on etsy!  Yay!  Life is finally getting back to normal around here.  :)

The After Shot

Well, it's finally done!

I finally finished my booth makeover.  It has been quite a project!  It was fun, but it was a lot of hard work.  I made several trips to Hobby Lobby, Lowe's, Wal-mart and ordered stuff online, too.  I could not find the glass shelves locally at all.  I wound up ordering them online and paid more for the shipping than I did the shelves.  But, oh boy, do I love them!

I purchased eight glass blocks to use for shelf supports.  I added 2' panels of lattice to complete the lattice walls, I added a lush border of silk floral garlands around the top.  I turned my gridwalls sideways and hung them on one side of the booth.  I created new earring cards and hung those on the gridwalls.  I put lavender fabric behind the gridwalls to add some color there and to provide a back for the earring cards.  I brought out my old lavender table squares and put them back out (it has been a while since I used them).  I spray painted all of my black and white fully formed necklace busts lavender.

I recovered my dark twin towers and the smaller trio of towers with lavender fabric and spray painted the trio of candle holders.  I even spray painted the easel my books are displayed on.

I photographed four pieces of jewelry and had a friend of mine from the local art guild print them out in 12" x 12" size, (Thank you, Jim! You're a doll!) and framed them with purple-painted frames.  I spray painted the small choker bust on the table the same color of purple.

My goal with this project was to create a light and airy feeling to my booth and to definitely de-clutter it.  I have always been one to cram as much merchandise into my booth as possible, but I realize now that to give the classy gallery look and feel I need for better shows, I've got to integrate a lot of extra space.

This is fairly easy to set up.  The walls take longer than they did previously, but with less merchandise to put out, that part takes less time.  I guess it evens out.  I'm usually the last to leave any show, and I suppose that part won't change, but I am really much happier with my booth now.  It is something I feel I can be proud of.  I'll let you know if it helps me getting into better shows!

In the process of this makeover, I did find a lot of great useful information on the web:

http://bermangraphics.com/ is a site by Larry Berman, an artist who has tons of experience with shows and jury slides.  I even emailed Larry my images and he gave me some pointers on how to make them better.  I really appreciate Larry's help!  Thank you, Larry!

I also discovered http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artfestivalguide/ which is a yahoo group for art show artists.  Lots of great info there for anyone wanting to do shows!

Anyway, thanks for your patience, sorry to have kept you on the edge of your seat so long!  :)

Debby

The Before Shot

Hello all!

Now that there is a lull between shows, I have decided to take on the huge task of doing a booth makeover.  It is my goal to get into some finer shows and since I've been rejected a grand total of three times to such shows, I started to wonder if it wasn't my booth shot that was getting me disqualified.

I started researching booth photography online and sure enough I learned a few things.  The big ones are A) the shot must have an uncluttered look, B) NO signage of ANY kind and C) no people.  Well, obviously, I failed at all three:

This is the booth shot I've been using.

In addition, booth shots should NOT be photos take at actual shows, and should be taken with the three sidewalls up, in the shade or on a cloudy day, and using a tripod.

After reading all this, I realized I need to retake my booth shots and since I have to do THAT, I might as well do a booth makeover.  So... that's what I've been doing this week.  Things are coming along swimmingly!  I cannot wait to show you the AFTER photos.  I'm making some big changes, I think will be for the better.  I hope to finish by next week sometime.

Meanwhile, school is out and Ginny (the one in the above photo) is home.  She had an amazing year - the only kid in her class to make straight A's all year - and we are all very proud of her!  I can't believe she'll be in 3rd grade next year.  Time really flies...  We have some wonderful things planned this summer, which will bea lot of fun...  It'll be great just watching her get to be a kid for the summer.

Easier to Get Into Fort Knox

Hi all,

I am not very fond of Facebook right now.  I'm in Memphis, on my old laptop that recently had all of the software reinstalled.  Come to find out if A) you are in a new location AND B) using a computer that FB is not familiar with, you have to go through a series of seven questions before they will let you access your account.

If you have 208 friends like I currently do, and yes, I admit, I don't know them ALL that well, FB shows you random photos of seven people, and give you about seven choices as to who that person could be.  You can only pass on two, and the remaining five must be answered correctly or you will not get in to your account.  Fail three times and you will have to wait an hour before you can start the insanity all over again.

The photos FB shows you to identify are NOT "profile pictures"...  No, that would be too easy.  And, the photos might not necessarily be from their own accounts.  They could be tagged photos that someone else uploaded.  Using Sharon's (my show buddy) laptop, we searched for every photo in my list of friends and never found one that matched.  Some of the photos were artwork - as many of my "friends" are artists - and there was even one photo that showed 1/4 of a person's face and they expected me to recognize it.

Trying another approach, I tried logging in and clicking "I forgot my password".  FB sent a link to my email, and I clicked on that link from the email, fully expecting to access my account that way.  Even though I used the email they sent me, FB still did not trust that I was who I said I was, and attempted to test me again, and again I failed to get in.

I give up.

Anyway, needless to say I'm not fond of Facebook right now.  I will have to wait until I can return home tomorrow night and use the other computer from home before I can get on FB - and believe me, I will gripe!

Meanwhile, on a happier note, I had a great first day at the American Bead Show in Memphis today ~ still tomorrow to go!  :)

It's Show Time!

The Altus Springtime Gala went very well, I'm happy to report!  We had a little bit of rain that morning, but it cleared out and the rest of the day was beautiful.  :)  I had a great show!  Yay!

Now I am ready for the American Gem Show in Memphis this weekend.  I am SOOO looking forward to this show.  I've really missed the fine folks of the greater Memphis area.  It will be good to see some familiar faces again.  I have plans to meet up with some of them for dinner tomorrow night and again on Saturday.  My show buddy Sharon will be with me and we will have a great time, I am sure.  Sharon is such a hoot!  She is really fun to be around.

Anyway, I am all packed and ready to go so I think I will go relax in front of the tube.  If you're in Memphis this weekend ~ be sure to come see me!  :)

A Not So Simple Life

Today was the Blooms n' Blues Festival in Altus, Arkansas, and I was planning to exhibit at this event.  I sent out discount postcards to people in the area who might be interested in going.  I packed up everything and loaded the van.

Then, the weather came.

Storms brewed up yesterday afternoon and continued throughout the night and this morning.  I decided not to go.  I really hated that I had to miss this event as it was to be my first show of the season.  It has been unusually calm this spring, very little rain, and this was really the first storm so far, and it just so happened to fall on this weekend.  I was really bummed, and... admittedly, a little pissed off with Mother Nature.  The typcial "why me?" scenario completely dominated my thoughts this morning.

A friend of mine, Jim, a wood turner who is the president of my local art guild, did go and set up.  He called me about 10 a.m. to tell me that I had made the right decision.  He went on to say that his canopy had blown over in the wind and was now a pile of twisted metal.  I feel so bad for him.

Now I am hearing reports on the news that tornados broke out in Mississippi and destroyed many homes.  This brought me back to reality and my "woe is me" attitude is completely gone, replaced with feelings of gratitude that the outcome of this morning's storm wasn't much worse for me.  I still have my home.  I still have my family.  Some people will have no homes to sleep in tonight.  To those people, I apologize for having felt sorry for myself.

Next weekend is the Altus Springtime Gala, a small, yet, fun event in the small town's city park.  Altus was made famous several years ago when Paris and Nichole spent their first season of The Simple Life there.  I cannot think of Altus or visit the town without thinking of that show, and that Paris Hilton walked on the same park grounds, sat in the same bar, or frolicked in the same gazebo as I have.

Last year the Gala was rained out and I did not go.  Let's see if this year we'll actually have a good day and good weather.  Only time will tell.  Meanwhile, I am leaving my van packed all week for the show.  At least I won't have to reload it.  There is always a silver lining in everything that happens.  We just have to know where to look in order to find it.

Dogs, Lizards and Frogs, Oh My!

OK, I've been busy!

Busy making beads!  Yes!  I said beads!  I need to update the slide show there, but yeah... been makin' beads.  Yeah!

OK, so I'm excited.  Can you blame me?  I've made a whole bunch of critters:  Dogs, kitties, lizards, frogs -- and an Arkansas Razorbacks!  What the heck?  Lotsa Hog fans in these here parts.

I finally got caught up on my listing, so most of them are on etsy.  Go check it out - you know you wanna.

Don't know when I'll update my ol' website.  Haven't tried to log in to publish changes since I got the new computer.  Probably requires a fair amount of head-scratching configuration.  Just don't wanna...  I'm sure you can dig that.

Anyway, shows are coming up!  Two in Altus, AR, on the 24th of April and on May 1.  After that, a show in Memphis, TN and another in Branson, MO both in May.  Anyone nearby should come see me.  Mention the blog and get 20% off on everything in my booth!

Yeah, now that's exciting!  :)

The Land of Oz

Oh my!  Has it been that long?  I'm sorry...  I just fell off the face of the earth it seems...

Well, I'm here.  Short on time and long on projects as usual.  Up until last weekend, things truly were in a whirlwind--almost to tornado status--as I was trying to prepare for a needlework retreat in Heber Springs.  This was my first time teaching at this retreat and I had a wonderful time.  All of the ladies were really fun and lively, and I enjoyed listening to their stories.  Many of them have built long-lasting friendships of over twenty years and it was obvious by the way they were so relaxed and jovial with each other.

My classs went well, but this group had a way of striking off to do their own thing.  I think I only had one student that followed directions!  That was fine with me, as long as they didn't blame me if their project didn't quite come out the way they wanted.  They were all very gracious about it and seemed to enjoy taking my classes.

Next up is a polymer clay bead and macrame jewelry class next Saturday here in Clarksville.  I'm pretty much already prepared for that, but I may want to refresh my macrame skills sometime during the week...

Then, two weeks after that is a Blooms and Blues show in Altus, with two more shows coming up in May.  I will be doing the American Gem Show in Memphis with my show buddy Sharon Stoffel the weekend of the 15th and the weekend after that, we expect to be at the Plum Nellie Arts and Craft Show in Branson.  I am still waiting on confirmation from the promotor on that one.

So my crazy world continues to revolve around like some whirling tornado...

Still looking for that yellow brick road...

Not so Tough...

Well, Dori died last night.  I felt so bad.  We had a nice little funeral in the bathroom.

Dori, the Tough Little Goldfish

Oh my!  I let time slip away.... again...  sigh!  Well, what good is time, though, if we don't spend it?

I've been spending my time lately on several projects.  I have been trying to finish designing a book, I've been creating a magazine, I have been rearranging the living room, I've been making a few beads here and there, and I have been trying to learn how to build a website using Dreamweaver.

Oh yeah, and I have been trying to help save an injured goldfish.

Dori, the goldfish, managed to somehow squeeze through a tiny hole in a colorful ceramic rock I have in the fish tank.  We noticed she was stuck inside the rock and could not get out.  My hubby stuck the net into the water and sort of nudged her backward and up to the largest of the three small holes in the rock.  Finally she popped out, but not without injuring herself in the process.  Poor baby!  She was pretty banged up; several scales had fallen off and her fins and tail were a bit ragged.

Then, with each passing day - although she continued to survive - her tail looked worse and worse, and now there is little more than a mere stump at the end of her body.  We finally realized if we didn't "do something" we might wind up losing her in the long run.  I felt bad.  How do you treat a fish?  It's not like I can take her to the local vet, right?  I googled fish injuries and learned that I should treat her with Melafix and isolate her in a seperate tank.  Yesterday, I got the Melafix (I was SHOCKED to find it at the local Walmart!) and a small plastic one gallon tank.  I got her transferred to the tank and treated the water, only to discover the water was turning too cool.  We've never used a heater, but Google had suggested I keep the water close to 80 degrees, to aid with healing.  Well, that wasn't happening on it's own, so I went and got a heating pad and tucked it under the tank and against one wall.  That worked real well. 

But, I want my heating pad back!  I usually sleep with it warming my cold feet.

Today, I got a little heater for the tank.  So far so good.  Dori is swimming around more, but she has a tough road to recovery ahead of her.  She's a tough little cookie.  Maybe she'll make it.

Keep your fingers crossed OK?

Debby

The Magic of Muffins

Happy Sunday to you!

What are Sundays like at your house?  Do you go to church?  Being Jewish, I have never been one to attend church, but I can sure appreciate the value in a spiritual peptalk once in a while.  For me, if I find I am in need of some spiritual advice I can turn to the many books I have on spirituality or turn to the internet.  There are virtual churches and synogogues and what not, if you know what you're looking for.  While I haven't really felt the need to step my virtual foot into such places lately, just knowing that they're out there if I needed one, is enough for me.  I do OK I guess.  I'm basically a happy person and like to think that I am a spirtual person.  I think of, and talk to God a lot.  I even listen and sometimes get answers to the important questions that plaque my dreams once in a while...

But, today was just an ordinary day here.  Foggy out and cool, a typical January day here in the Ozarks.  I woke up to the cries of both my kitties begging for breakfast and got up to feed them to find they already had food on their plates - food that they just didn't like, and they were wanting something else.  I grumbled at them and considered returning to bed, but decided to make muffins for Ginny and me instead.

Sunday mornings are good for making waffles, pancakes, french toast or muffins at my house.  I like to treat Ginny to something special, but here lately she's been favoring muffins.  Good thing those are easy to make.  I buy the mixes where all you have to do is add 1/2 cup of milk, stir it up and pour into the muffin pan.  Easy as pie.  Easier than pie, actually.

Since my non-stick muffin pan is not really non-sticking, I have come to start using paper muffin cups.  That at least makes cleaning the pan much easier, but really, it's still cumbersome to eat the muffins.  The muffins always stick to the paper.  But, this morning, it hit me:  What if someone invented edible muffin cups?  Wouldn't that be da bomb?  I would so buy those!  LOL!

I sat there, considering the awesomeness of such a thing as I devoured my blueberry cheesecake muffins in pure bliss.  I knew, just by eating those muffins, that my day was going to go much better just because they were so good.

It's not a particularly spectacular day, but it sure isn't bad, either.  Thank God for muffins.

Debby

Before and After!

I wish I could say this post was about Before starting a diet and After ending a diet, but nooOOOoooOOOO!  Although I did take Before photos of me when I started dieting last June, I still haven't gotten anywhere NEAR my goal, so the After photos are still waiting... if they ever come at all.  Sigh!

Fortunately, it is much easier to redo an office than it is to lose weight!  Yay!  So here ya go...  I am actually embarrassed to show these before pictures, but to understand the undertaking of such a project, you just have to see what I started out with!

Before:

And now... Are you ready for this?

Drum roll please.............

After:

As you can see, I have MUCH more room now, I can actually back up in my chair without bumping into the table behind me - I don't even have a table behind me now!  And, if I want to switch from computerin' to beadin', I actually have to scoot my chair over a few feet!  Whoa!  I told my sweetie I need to get one of those plastic floor coverings to go over carpet so that the chair doesn't ruin the carpet, and he reminded me that the carpet was already ruined, and then I said I should get one to make scooting over to the bead table easier then!  LOL

Granted, it's still nothing fancy, but it's much more functional and I am happy momma.  The big desk was a donation from my sister-in-law and I love it.  I love that I can stack all my bead storage boxes on it.  I got rid of one of my "bead walls" and am using those cute little plastic storage drawer units instead.  I think I'm gonna find that to be much easier to use.  Now to get started on all the UFOs (unfinished objects) I have stacked there in the corner!

Debby

It's Friday already?  I know, I know, you're probably thinking Thank God it's Friday!  But for me, the week seemed to just fly by.  I have ben redoing my office, which is still not done, but almost there...  I hope to get some pix taken this weekend and show you.  I got rid of one my "bead walls" and am now using small plastic storage drawer units for a lot of my seed beads and delica beads.  Storage is a huge issue to us beaders, right?  I'd love to hear your storage solutions.  I use a lot of those craft boxes, and the stackable bead jars, but I still need to organize a lot more.  Honestly, I just need to get rid of a lot of stuff, but how can I?  Ya never know when you're gonna need that special bead..  Sigh.  I'm cursed... or addicted... or both.  Yeah, probably both.

Anyway, got new stuff up on Etsy, including a set of really special hollow beads.  Be sure to check it out!  Don't forget about the 30% off sale!  :)  Have a great weekend!

Debby

30% OFF SALE!!!

Just a quickie!  I've got a sale going on in my etsy site - everything is 30% off until the end of February!  Go check it out!  Lotsa great deals there!

Debby

Lotus Bead Fun

Here are the photos I have from the "Bead Daze" at Glass Concepts.  We played around with making lotus beads, raked starburst beads (Tom Holland), Laurie's "portal" pendant beads, and played around a little with silver glass techniques...  These photos are of Grace working her magic on the raked starburst beads and the lotus bead I made as instructed by Grace.  It was great fun!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044796&id=1007088453&saved#/album.php?aid=2044796&id=1007088453

Good to be Home

Boy, am I exhausted!  I can't believe how tired I am...  I could soooo go to bed right now.  I spent the weekend with my daughters in Little Rock plus I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday hanging out with my glass pals at Glass Concepts.  It was so much fun!  I learned some new stuff.  I only made one bead, and when I get it cleaned up, I'll get a photo of it and post it here.  I can't wait to make more of them, and some of the other things I learned.  Thank you Grace, Vicki, Laurie and Angie!  You all are so nice and so much fun to hang out with!!!  :)

Once I was home today I continued working on my office which is MUCH more roomier now.  I love it!  There is still much work to be done on it though.  I'm a long way from finished.  Sigh!

Following the Yellow Brick Road

Well, I'm off to see the Wizard!  Well, not really, but I am off.... off to see my daughters in college in Little Rock and off to see my glass pals tomorrow.  Ginny and I will be spending the night and visiting with her sisters.  They have a new ferret, and I understand that Dookie the kitten enjoys playing with it.  That should be fun to watch.
Tonight it's dinner at my favorite restaurant (Macaroni Grill) and then tomorrow I head over to Glass Concepts for some torching fun with my glass buddies.  I'm looking forward to it.

I wanted to mention here that Chelsea made the Chancelor's List and the Dean's List for her first semester in college!  WAY TO GO, Chelsea!  I am proud of you!!!

I don't have any new beads to show because I have taken on the overwhelming task of revamping my office.  My SIL is giving me her awesome desk, so I have to rearrange everything.  It has taken me two days just to pack everything up, move it to another room, and clean up the furniture.  I will have "before" and "after" pictures when I'm done, so be on the lookout for that!  Wait til you see!  :)  It'll probably be Monday or Tuesday before I'm finished with it.

Right now I'm waiting on a guy to come pick up the freezer, but I still need to pack and would like to be on the road within the hour.  So, I'd better gett off my duff and get on that yellow brick road.

Off I go!

Debby

Well, day two of the blog!  Not sure if I'll blog daily, but that is my hope.  We'll see how it goes.

Today I struggled with that lovely slide show you see to the right.  It was a bear to get it the way I wanted it, but now I'm happy.  Next, I'm going to be tackling the way the etsy and artfire listings show up.  Words?  Blech!  Give me pictures!!!  Yeah!

Other than that, a pretty quiet day in the neighborhood.  We went for dinner to our favorite Chinese restaurant.  There is only one in town.  There aren't a lot of choices for restaurants in Clarksville unless you like Mexican.  There are probably twenty Mexican restaurants and very little of everything else.  I like Mexican, but GAH!  Not THAT much!

Debby

Joining the Blog Bandwagon

Hi all,

Well, here I am... This is my blog! Welcome! I hope you enjoy your visit here and I hope you come back again to see me sometime.

Since I already have a website, (http://www.starlight-beads.com/) you are probably wondering why I am bothering with blogging. Well, a blog seems to be all the rage! Not only that, it seems to be an easy way to manage a website without all the work, so I'm gonna try this and if I find that I like it, I may eventually ditch the website in favor of this. I have plenty of time to make the transition, since I renewed my site in November.

Here I hope to post more often than I do on my site (since it's easier to do) and I hope to post new work, both in lampwork beads and in jewelry to keep you undated better. I'll post sales and specials here, too. Just let me get my feet wet first...

More later!

Debby