Beader's Block

With the exceptionally dreary weather and the realization that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, I am completely stressed out. I have several project ideas in mind, but haven't figured out how to make the leap from the brain to the fingers... for example, I found some neat pineapple shaped buttons very similar to these on a cheesy kiddie aloha shirt. They would make really cute upcycled earrings. I have 6 buttons, so I may make a bracelet instead. I just have to figure out how to string them together.

In fact, I've been really "stuck" on the upcycling idea lately. I think my next sewing project will be to upcycle my senior prom dress into a dress for the baby's first Christmas. Maybe I'll post some before and after pictures. :) Speaking of pictures, I have a few more items to list in the store, but haven't gotten decent lighting for at least a week. It really is critical to have natural lighting, no flash, no filter, and no editing other than cropping to properly display a piece of jewelry. Artificial lighting just doesn't look right when it comes to beading.

Mermaids Love Pearls

We've been having massive rains, high winds, and flash flooding since Thursday. Unfortunately, I went to a couple of different stores, looking for red tulle, and so far, nada. I did, however, manage to make it to the post office to ship these earrings off to their new owner! (She's an old friend of mine, from back in the Academy days. I hope she enjoys them!)

In other news, the store's been featured on another blog! Huggermugger is another crafty mom blog. She sews, she writes, she crafts, and she shops! What's not to love about her?

How Cute is This?

Once, again, I should've been doing other things but I was looking for ideas for how to dress the family for Christmas photos. (Scheduled for this weekend with Harmony.) We'll be over at the Ko'olina lagoons waaaaay too early in the morning. All I can say is thank goodness we're all morning people in this family!

Anyway, most of the portrait tips recommend light colored clothing, white and jeans or khakis. Being a Christmas in Hawaii photo, we're thinking maybe red, contrasting with the green foliage? Personally, I'm thinking we should bring a change of clothes- one bright and one neutral. After all, the reason everyone else is in white is because it looks good. Speaking of red, how cute is this?

A bunch of ladies on Etsy have custom made tutus, including the one pictured (listed here). How cute would it be to have a few shots of the baby on the beach in a fru fru tutu? Am I crazy? Probably. I would actually have to make one to have it in time for pictures this weekend.

I am SOOOOOO making these for all the little girls on our Christmas shopping list!!! (Ok, I'm making a Tink inspired one for the one little girl I know well enough to bother making something for.)

Photo Ideas?

Some of the photos in my shop need to be redone. I'm just uninspired at the moment.

Here are some links to photography how-to's:
Digital Photography School
Table Top Studios
MK Digital Direct

And a couple portrait photographers' websites (just wanted to bookmark):
Photogenesis (Alicia Yoshimoto)
Paul Johnson
Chrissy Lambert

Well, it's my first weekend drilling with the reserves, and I have three job interviews lined up for next week so I probably won't get to it in the next few days. Maybe next weekend I'll get a couple of different ideas posted and see if anyone has suggestions. :)

Go Navy! Beat Army!

It's time for the Army-Navy game again!

Every year about this time, I tell the story about how my parents tried to explain the concept of the United States Naval Academy to my 16 year old self, while going through the college selection process.

Mom: Why are you throwing that away?
Me: There are uniforms on the cover.
Mom: But it's the Naval Academy!
Me: The what?
Mom: You've never heard of Annapolis?
Me: Sure, it's the state capitol of Maryland!
Dad: You know, the Army-Navy game... they're Navy...
Me: Huh? I always wondered how it was the Navy had a football team. I mean, how would they have try outs with everyone on ships? What does that have to do with Maryland?

You might say I had no idea what I was getting into. Haha. Ya think?

My Fur Babies

Since you can never really have too many puppy-on-the-beach pictures, here's a shot of my two fur babies running around on Dam Neck Beach in Virginia. They're only 4-5 months old in the picture. Ace (the white one) just turned 3. Roxy (the neurotic one) will celebrate her 3rd birthday next week. Both are German Shepherds. In fact, you can read Ace's pedigree here and Roxy's mom's pedigree here and her dad's here.

White German Shepherd puppies are just about the cutest widdle polar bears you'll ever see. And they make the bestest dogs EVER... unless you have allergies like my fiancee does. :( In fact, they are almost the WORST dog to have in the house with folks who have allergies. (Golden Retrievers are also "up there.") So these two are the first and only German Shepherds I'll ever have.

Charmed, I'm Sure

A friend of mine has sensitive skin and can't wear earrings unless they're gold. She asked for a charm bracelet instead. I experimented with attaching charms to silver chain bracelets and with single strand, beaded bracelets, but was never really satisfied with the outcome. In my opinion, when working with lampwork beads as charms, the heavier chain maille is a much better option. Since it really doesn't make sense to "experiment" with brand new ideas/techniques using top notch materials (likely to be ruined during the creative process), I started making up a few charm bracelets using pre-fabricated nickel bracelets.

I really liked the way this one turned out, and will probably list this as a keiki/teen piece. The others are being pulled/cut apart.

What do you think, in terms of design, etc? Do you wear charm bracelets? Is this too heavy looking? Not full enough?


PS- Go visit Beth's Baby Boutique. It's her grand opening, so "heart" her and check back after the holidays!

Teaming up!

If you're on Etsy, make a profile on We Love Etsy and then add me as a friend! Think of it as myspace for Etsy-ers. I found some new "favorite" Etsy stores, including MadisonGre which has lovely handbags, clutches, and wallets made in beautiful Asian inspired prints.

I've also joined the Etsy Moms Street Team and Etsy Homefront Teams. (The former is for moms with Etsy businesses, the latter is for spouses of active duty service members. You may point out that technically, I am not the spouse of an active duty military member... yet... which reminds me, if anyone has tips on wedding planning, I'm all ears!)

Don't forget- if you Twitter, be sure to follow me!

I've been better...

Unfortunately, strep throat is going around and I've been out of commission for a few days. So here's a picture of my son and two friends at their school's Halloween parade. (My son is the Dementor in the Middle.) Hehe, oh, by the way, I made his costume.


You can also check out my crafty mom friends and their blogs...

Sara is a friend of a friend who has become my friend. She is just a remarkable person who happens to knit and sew. She's how I found out about Connor's Caps.

Myra is a childhood friend of mine who stamps. She makes a total killing on the local craft fair circuit, so you know her stuff is great! Haha, she knows all my dirt.

Beth is a college classmate of mine. She sews and is the sweetest person you'll ever meet! But don't let that Southern charm fool you into thinking that's all there is to her. Beth is one sharp cookie!

Here, There Be Pirates... Yarrrgh!

Ok, so this has nothing to do with beading. Maybe it's just me, but I'm fascinated by pirate stories. How stupid do you have to be to think you and maybe a dozen of your craziest associates could basically cruise around in a speedboat with some rifles, hijack a huge cargo or cruise ship, and get away with it?

Well, believe it or not, while the US has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists (or pirates, for that matter), many other countries (say, for example, FRANCE) have a nasty habit of paying whatever ransom is demanded. So while you may not find a ship full of gold, there is money to be had in piracy. Most of the time, pirates focus on tankers- high value cargo, with only a handful of people. This week, pirates attacked an American operated cruise ship transiting from Rome to Singapore. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Anyone want to guess where all that booty goes?