Pretty Things

Welcome to the Cup of Bead Soup Reveal!

2012-05-18T22:32:00.000-05:00

If you've been a follower of my blog, you're already familiar with my Cup of Bead Soup project. In 2011, I purchased beads, sight unseen, from various bead makers and tasked myself with creating things with components I didn't choose myself. It's been a fantastic way to push my design skills and break out of making the same old/same old. In essence, it's a one-woman-production of the Bead Soup Blog Party (and sign ups for THAT are coming so SOON!) Anyway, I changed the process for 2012 to include three additional designers, the same set of beads, and made it a mini-hop. Each Cup of Bead Soup, you'll have the chance to sign up to participate and be chosen randomly.

This month's bead artisan is Nan Emmett. Nan and I met online when she first started making beads and I've loved her work ever since. To remind you, this is the set the four of us used:

I started with the bird pendant. I wanted to make something spring-like, and thought of tree blossoms on the branch. I followed the color of the pendant with the green and the yellow matching links and the blue in the Czech glass and lucite flowers. To stay spring-like, I added purple, pink cording, and to top it off, a leaf toggle clasp.

To make the pendant piece, I took a 10-gauge piece of sterling silver and hammered it as flat as a I could into a slight curve. I touched the ends of the silver to the torch to round them out a bit, as cutting this heavy a gauge of wire usually leaves some rough ends.

Next, I took 24-gauge wire and lashed a profusion of flower charms to the branch. On either end, I made sure to leave one loop slightly above the surface so I could connect the pendant to the rest of the necklace. The flowers are a mix of Thai silver and vintage lucite.

I used one purple patinaed link from a chain by Miss Fickle Media to attach the bird pendant. I just liked transferring the pastel colors instead of adding a silver jump ring, and it's all about the details for me.

Once again I challenged myself by using waxed linen instead of wire linkages or beading wire. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable with it!

My next piece is much more delicate, and uses Nan's disk with the hole in the middle, a few of my lampwork beads, Czech glass, and seed beads.

I took one of the leftover Thai silver flowers and gently mashed the round loop to a narrow rectangle. I then threaded a piece of wire through the rectangle and the hole in the disk, bent it upwards, and make a bail. Again, details -- a pretty dangle on the end of the extender chain. I like doing this because it also adds a small amount of weight as a bit of a counter-balance to the necklace.

Next, I used Nan's organic faceted ceramic beads in blue and green, one of my lampwork beads, and a few purple patina beads from Miss Fickle Media. This is a double-stranded bracelet, incorporating the remaining purple chain I'd taken a link from for the first necklace and a matching purple toggle clasp.

Once again I went for the waxed linen, this time in purple. Fiber and cording works wonders on large-hole beads! The silver beads are a recent find from AD/Adornments.

Lastly, Nan gave us all a surprise -- a Cup of Soup pendant! This one I worked up in copper, blue Czech glass from the first necklace, the last of my Miss Fickle Media purple rings, a bit of peach and ivory to balance the pendant's colors, and some touches of coral pink. A double strand of copper and a hook clasp that closes on the side of the necklace complete the look..

Now visit the three jewelry designers who used

the same components

but put their own style into them!

Lorelei Eurto

Carrie Tahquechi

and

Patty Gasparino

Please visit Nan Emmett's shop
for limited edition Cup of Bead Soup sets!

(Convo her to reserve one if you don't see them right away.)

Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/SpiritedEarth

Blog: www.spiritrattles.blogspot.com

Stay tuned for the next Cup of Bead Soup lottery sign ups

featuring a special focal from

Lea Avroch!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Some Pretty Things

2012-05-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

Sari silk waiting to be put into Bead Soup Kits for the upcoming store.

A tiny house on a hill by Elukka.

I love collecting her "My World" pieces.

The latest edition to my vintage camera collection:

a Revere Hanger video camera.

A little sneak peek of one of my

Cup of Bead Soup creations

with beads by Nan Emmett.

Visit me Saturday to see what I and three other designers

made with the same components ....

how different do you think we'll be?

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Ask the Color Queens!

2012-05-16T16:54:00.000-05:00

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I love color -- I'm definitely one who likes to play with the big box of rainbow crayons! So I was excited to be asked to review an online publication authored by Margie Deeb and Beverly Ash Gilbert. It's called "Ask the Color Queens" -- click here to see a sample!

I'm familiar with both Margie and Beverly because they contributed to a wonderful seed beading book called "Beading Across America", and I had the pleasure last year at the Bead and Button show of watching many of the designers for the book work on various projects. It showed me what a close-knit community there is in the beading world (and I wanted to know how to make such amazing, intricate things as what was around these women's necks!).

But back to their newest endeavor! Not only is the 15-page online full of beautiful pictures that will make you want to jump up and start snagging beads out of your stash, but it talks about color theory and how to break out of your usual color "rut". This particular issue (linked above) also contains a color-centric interview with Jamie Cloud Eakin. And one of my favorite features is when Margie and Beverly create their own color palettes from the same photo. It's interesting to see how two people interpret one picture!

I hope you'll check out their work!

Margie's Links

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/margiedeebpage

Column: http://margiedeeb.com/html/muse.php

Web Site: www.MargieDeeb.com

Beverly's Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EyeForColor

Blog: www.beverlygilbert.blogspot.com

Web Site: www.GilbertDesigns.net

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

A Peaceful Weekend with Zack

2012-05-14T15:19:00.000-05:00

What a lovely Mother's Day weekend!

Friday we went to Pennsylvania to visit Rick's parents. I spent some time on the porch crocheting....

... and I got pie both days -- cherry, Dutch apple, and coconut cream. Yes. Yes I did. Three pies, two days.

I tried taking some experimental shots with the camera -- first of a shed door (no retouching other than the border!).

And then a rusted, weathered thermometer with the barn in the background.

Sunday was the Button Blog Hop and an overall peaceful day -- making beads, playing games, a quiet dinner.

One of the best things about Mother's Day is thinking back over all those "mom" moments. I can't even put into words how I feel about my son. He arrived with a lot of fanfare, and I couldn't believe he was mine and I could actually KEEP him! How could I be trusted with something so awesome? So I found a few photos out of the 12,301, 982 that I have of the kidlet.

Zack at six months old.

(photo by Jen Fariello)

Zack in 2006 with his engineering creation.

And later that same year with his own box of beads.

(And a snack. Snacks are important).

Antique hunting last year.

Teaching Zack to shoot photos last year

at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Sharing a day out gardening with Daddy.

Being a mom is the hardest job I've ever loved with all my heart.

Thanks for letting me be your mom, Zack.

Quote of the Day: Be Love

THREE Book Reviews!!!!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Button Swap Blog Hop

2012-05-12T22:09:00.000-05:00

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The fantastically talented Cindy Wimmer is hosting an awesome blog hop today, all about BUTTONS. Cindy and I have shopped for vintage buttons in the past, and photos she's shown on her blog would make anyone want to raid her button stash.


Buttons in a vendor stall at a show Cindy and I visited last year.

I've loved buttons for a long time. Before I made jewelry, I had a line of greeting cards that I made with vintage wallpaper, vintage fabrics, and vintage buttons sewn onto the cards. They sold in stores and galleries for a little while and then I discovered jewelry. For the longest time, my buttons have served as decoration.....


Not only buttons, but a vintage zinc-topped jar and vintage sewing notions.

... but they've also become treasures to sort and play with.


Zack stealing the buttons.

So when Cindy announced the button swap, I was all for it -- even though, I hate to admit, I'm not that great at putting buttons into my JEWELRY. I haven't quite gotten the knack for it and so far have only made a few pieces with my favorite hoard of mother of pearl buttons.

My partner is Niky Sayers, and not only did she send me this lovely stash of buttons....

... but she wrote an amazing letter on pretty stationery with the story of each button. (An aside -- Niky's handwriting should really be a font, it's that pretty).

The black button is very special, and while I haven't fleshed out a suitable design for such a worthy button, I want to share the story.

The back of the button is marked "V A" which stands for "Victoria and Albert". In 1861, after the death of her much-loved husband Prince Albert, Queen Victoria wore nothing but black until her death in 1903. So the fashion at the time was to follow the Queen's lead and wear black. So you can see why I'm holding off until I can REALLY do this special button justice.

I'm also holding onto the beautiful handmade ceramic bird button with the heart pair (made by Ruth Robinson -- and owl, whale, frog, and bird lovers will ADORE her shop!) -- I have an idea but the parts didn't get here in time.

So what DID I make?

Well, Cindy suggested we think outside the box and the buttons could be used in something that was NOT jewelry, so I decided to do something I'm not good at -- thus increasing my challenge. I took the pink and white buttons (all from Niky's daughter's baby clothes) and decided to do a mixed media collage.

Zack gave me help with this. I cut out a page from a children's book for the flower, used a watercolor wash on the paper, used some floaty-feathery type of pink paper, oil pastels, and rubber stamp ink. I sewed the buttons onto the paper, and then glued on a poem about children by Robert Louis Stevenson. I thought the poem was apt since the buttons were from a little girl's dresses.

OK, I've got a long way to go when it comes to art, but it was fun to try it out. Zack and I have big plans for more artistic joint efforts.

Then I got inspired by both Cindy Wimmer and Diane Cook and made a necklace with the completely awesome button Niky made herself out of a silver three-pence. LOVE that button, and I knew I wanted to rivet it but then realized the part I wanted to show was on the domed part.

Well, that's a thinker.

Several weeks ago I'd cut a piece of copper and hammered the heck out of it with a texture plate (my kingdom for a rolling mill) and left it on the counter, where it taunted me. "Make something with me!" it kept muttering as I walked past. And two days ago, the idea hit me. Punch a hole in the copper, and use thin-gauge wire as thread to stitch the button onto the metal. But I needed something to fill in all that extra copper space -- so I pulled out some vintage lace Createology sent me.

This took me hours to make because this isn't my normal style, and I really wanted to do Niky's button justice. I used brass rivets at the corners of the copper half-circle and then used oxidized sterling silver to string on buttons and cool rhinestone beads I bought from AD/Adornments a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea where the button links came from -- I lost the bag! -- which is too bad because I want more.

The detail of the three-pence is awesome, and look below --
the date is 1935. Very cool.

I made a hook clasp and wove and wrapped 28-gauge wire around it -- I couldn't get the clasp oriented to show you the detail, but it's there! (I'm actually rethinking that clasp -- I hate to waste the silver but I really think I need to redo it). The chain is copper with a white patina from Miss Fickle Media, chain that's been in my stash a long time. I'm glad it finally found a home, and I really think the white works so much better than either silver or copper would have. And I only had one of the mother of pearl "leaf" buttons, but I think it fits in perfectly. The clasp hooks through the textured copper washer.

I hope you enjoyed the visit,

and stay tuned for the rest of the buttons

to make an appearance in jewelry soon!

And now for the rest of the button enthusiasts!

Alice Peterson

Angie Blasingame

Billi R.S. Rothove

Birgitta Lejonklou

Bonnie Coursolle

Brenda Salzano

Cat Kerr

Cece Cornier

Celeste Thurston

Christine Damm

Christine Stonefield

Cilla Watkins

Cindy Wimmer

Cynthia Machata

Cynthia Riggs

Dana James

Diana Ptaszynski

Emma Thomas

Erin Prais-Hintz

Erin Siegel

Heather Powers

Holly Westfall

Hope Smitherman

Janet McDonald

Jayne Capps

Jeannie Dukic

Jenna Meyers

Jenna Tomalka

Jenny Davies Reazor

Julia Johnson

Kalaya Steede

Karen McKillip

Karen Mitchell

Karla Morgen

Kay Thomerson

Kim Ballor

Kim Bender

Kim Dworak

Kim Roberts

Kristi Harrison

Kylie Dickman

Kym Hunter

Laurel Steven

LeAnn Weih

Linda Djokic

Line Labrecque

Liz DeLuca

Lorelei Eurto

Lori Bowring Michaud

Lori Finney

Lynda Moseley

Marianna Boylan

Mary Govaars

Mary Harding

Mary Jane Dodd

Maureen Baranov

Melissa Martin

Michelle Hardy

Mimi Gardner

Nicole Valentine Rimmer

Niki Meiners

Niky Sayers

Pam Farren

Pam Ferarri

Patty Gasparino

Peggy Johnson

Rebecca Anderson

Rebekah Payne

Renetha Stanziano

Rose Binoya

Sally Russick

Sandi Volpe

Shannon Chomanczuk

Shanti Johnson

Sharon Borsavage

Shirley Moore

Stacie Florer

Stefanie Teufel

Sue Hamel

Sue Kennedy

Tania Hagen

Tania Spivey

Teresa Gagne

Teri Baskett

Terry Carter

Theresa Fosdick

Tracy Bell

Tracy Statler

Veralynne Malone

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Art With Zack (and eBook sale)

2012-05-11T06:51:00.001-05:00

Come see the result on Sunday!

Weekend sale on my Blogging Inspirations eBook!

Use code WKNDSALE (then click update cart) and receive $1 off.
Find the 59 page eBook in the right column ----->

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Cup of Bead Soup with Nan Emmett

2012-05-10T09:27:00.001-05:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control:

solar flares, global warming, bad hair,

a slightly crunched car, sneezing fits,

telemarketers,

and getting, for no good reason,

"Hotel California" stuck in my head,

the Cup of Bead Soup reveal

will take place

May 19th

(next Saturday).

Thank you for your understanding.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Today, in Quotes

2012-05-07T10:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I made lampwork beads using new techniques.

I knew none of them would be usable,

but it was incredibly satisfying to know I was on my way.

I think this is so important.

I'm amazed at how my son knows to do all of these things,

yet so many adults could use a refresher course.

You know....

sometimes we all need a day off to do

absolutely nothing at all

and the freedom of mind to enjoy it immensely.

I have to tell you...

I'm not always very good at the words bit.

But I would like to think

I'm decent at heart-felt apologies.

I love this.

It helps to remember this

when I step on the scale

and see it moving downwards

way. too. slowly.

(But at least it's moving in the right direction!)

'nuff said.

Hug your loved ones

and have a beautiful day!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Winner of the AD/Adornments beads is....

2012-05-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

Rhea of Starrgazer Creates!

Congratulations!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

One Crayon Color Challenge Reveal!

2012-05-04T22:20:00.000-05:00

(Looking for the AD/Adornments giveaway? Click here).))

Sally Russick of Studio Sublime came up with the clever idea of a One Crayon Color Challenge. Sally is a lovely person I've had the pleasure to meet in person at ArtBliss last year. Her work is also pretty darned amazing.

The premise of the challenge is to pick one color and make monochromatic jewelry with the various shades of that color. That's harder than you would think! You would think that beads all of one color would go together easily, but certain shades of that same color can clash like crazy.

I chose purple as my color. Love pink, love purple, love blue, but purple it is!

I made some lampwork beads, tried by hand at enameling with some glass frit, and pulled out a couple of awesome polymer clay beads by Barbara Bechtel. I thought about several designs but ultimately ended up using the enamel beads.

Recently I went to a bead show in Maryland and picked up some interesting dyed coco shell disks. I also raided the AD/Adornments table and found these amazing flat silver flowers and clasp. I added some opal purple Swarovski crystals and here you have it.

The bracelet is so lightweight! Love it. I'm just sad I used all of those silver flowers and don't have any more left! I think this is the fastest I've dug into a special stash!

I made another piece using a bead I've been hoarding for a long time. Barbara Bechtel made me a bunch of birds in various colors and I saved the purple one. I had NO idea what I'd do with it but knew I had to keep it for myself. I rarely make jewelry for myself, interestingly!

I love the stone pendants from River Stone Bead and had hoarded this pendant (what IS it with the hoarding????). I connected the bird with heavy-gauge silver and wrapped that with much thinner wire and oxidized it all. At the bead show, I found the cool faceted silver beads and used those right away.

I used Swarovski crystal again (who says you can't use bling with a stone?) and some cool Czech glass ovals. I'm not 100% happy with the purple suede lacing at the back, and I think I'm going to have to order some wider silk ribbon to make it a little more substantial to balance out the pendant.

And now for the rest of the challenge participants!

Hosted by:

Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com

Red

Therese Frank http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Rochelle Brisson http://acreativechelle.blogspot.com

Lisa Lodge http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com

Malin de Koning http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Orange

Linda Landig http://LindasBeadBlog.com

Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.com

Beth McLarnan http://threetrees-art.blogspot.com

Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com

Jean Welles http://jeanawells.blogspot.com

Amy Severino http://amybeads.blogspot.com

Rebekah Payne http://treewingsstudio.com

Lola Surwillo http://.beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Judy Turner http://silver-rains.blogspot.com

Yellow

Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com

Rose Brisson http://ahteesblog.blogspot.com

Kim Bender http://www.kimmykats.com/

Heather Powers http://humblebeads.blogspot.com

Shelly Joyce http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com

Blue

Cherie Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com

Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com

Hope Smitherman http://craftyhope.blogspot.com

Patti Vanderbloemen http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com

Michelle Buettner http://MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com

Alicia Marinache http://allprettythings.ca

Charissa Sloper http://blog.obsidiansoda.com

Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com

Maria Grimes http://mariagrimes.blogspot.com

Nancy Saccoccio http://risingdesigns.blogspot.com

Sandi Volpe http://sandivolpe.com

Joanne Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com

Catherine Pruitt http://boobeads.blogspot.com

Green

Mary Harding http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Karin Gilman http://www.qaygee.blogspot.com/

Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Lorelei Eurto http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com

Melissa Meman http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com

Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com

Melissa Essenburg http://chinookdesigns.blogspot.com

Regina Santerre http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com

Lauren Streets http://ornthoughts.wordpress.com

Elizabeth Auld http://beadsforbusygals.com

Purple

Tracy Mok http://bumblebeadsdesigns.blogspot.com

Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com

Marti Conrad http://marticsclay.blogspot.com

Lori Anderson http://prettythingsblog.com

Donna Bradley http://strandedbeads.blogspot.com

Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com

Linda Younkman http://lindysdesigns.blogspot.com

Susan Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy http://Lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com

Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com

Brown

Diana Ptaszynski http://suburbangirlstudio.com

Shannon Chomanczuk http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com

Karen Williams http://Baublicious.blogspot.com

Black

Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com

Heidi Post http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com/

Birgitta Lejonklou http://lejonklou.blogspot.com/

Holly Westfall http://silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

Karin Slaton http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

My First Published Article (and a give away with AD/Adornments!)!

2012-05-03T19:51:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, I've always wanted to write. So far, my writing has been blog posts, private journals, short stories for the fun of it, and the Bead Soup beading book. I've been trying to do something other than tutorials so wrote the blogging inspirations eBook, "Follow the Path" (you can find that in the column over on the right). But I was SUPER excited some months back to get a writing assignment for BeadTrends' May issue.

I wrote an article for their Jewel School section called "The Art of Simple Strung Jewelry". I feel strongly that strung jewelry sometimes gets the short end of the stick. I've taken classes in everything from metal smithing to soldering, lampworking to macrame, yet stringing never fails me.

One of the things I wrote about was how being a "stringer" is not a bad thing. Some forums have had heated debates about what constitutes handmade and how stringing is simple and for beginners.

Not so!

Strung bracelet with dyed howlite,

handmade clay gingko bead by Courtney Breul,

and clasp from AD/Adornments.

Through the article, I give some of my tips and tricks for making strung jewelry even more special. In the piece above, I made a bracelet with dyed howlite, a handmade polymer clay bead, and a subtly textured clasp. The smooth double-drilled square beads, paired with the texture of the chips, gives the bracelet visual appeal, and the addition of an art bead and a special clasp makes simple turn into stunning. And if you're new to art beads, using just one in a bracelet is a great way to start your collection.

Strung necklace with handmade lampwork beads by DudaMart,

Swarovski crystal, matte onyx,

and clasp by me.

This necklace lets the beads speak for themselves. With such decoration, I knew all I had to do was string, but I also had to consider the continuation of the pattern at the back of the neck. I didn't want to just string plain round beads that matched in color but lacked in flavor. Eventually, I found some matte onyx beads that matched the shape of the black and white stick beads, and there you go. The addition of a simple but handmade clasp gives the necklace an ending that doesn't overpower the decoration of the glass.

Strung bracelet with polymer clay beads by Barbara Bechtel,

vintage acrylic, and Green Girl Studios winged heart.

In this bracelet, it's a mix of texture, color, art beads, and vintage beads. The beads are chunky but lightweight, so when I decided to use the pewter heart, I knew I needed to counterbalance the weight with a large toggle. Keeping in mind not only the weight of your beads but the balance of the entire piece is important -- use a clasp that's too small, and your entire creation will look less "finished". With sterling silver as expensive as it is, I've experimented more with pewter, and in this bracelet, was able to use a large pewter toggle at a fraction of the cost but equal impact.

And now for the giveaway!

To celebrate my first magazine article, I'm giving away a beautiful selection of beads from one of my favorite suppliers, AD/Adornments. I remember vividly discovering Kathy's amazing beads and chains at my first Bead and Button Show years ago, and I love, love, love her shop!

You'll get a pair of vintage rhinestone charms, a large ornate bronze cube bead, four very cool silver-tone cylinder beads, a pair of silver-tone filigree earring findings, and a large matte gold-tone clasp.

To win, leave a comment answering the following question:

What is your favorite stringing tip, trick, or style?

(Be sure I can contact you,

and Facebook or blog about the giveaway

for extra chances!)

Winner will be announced Sunday May 6th

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Could this be better than pie?

2012-05-02T17:21:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, y'all.

My friend Jen, who has been my friend since we had lockers next to each other, sent me a package today, and while I rarely talk here about things people send me, you MUST know about this. (And speaking of gifts -- holy cow but Zack is a popular little dude and is always amazed at the things you guys send him. He says an exuberant THANK YOU!)

But back to the Public Service Announcement, for which I hope you'll be thankful in the long run.

There's actually something I love as much as pie.

Bacon.

Ohhhhh crispy bacon. And I haven't had it in a long, long, long time, either. But I can put away some bacon if it's right there in front of me.

Jen, who writes a hilarious blog Jen on the Edge, used to have a long-running series of posts about chocolate. To keep us from the calories, she graciously tried this one and that one and wrote up her thoughts on that one and this one. And one that had me fascinated ---

Chocolate. Covered. Bacon.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Is the next thing chocolate covered scrambled eggs?

No, because that would be gross. And packaging could prove problematic.

But BACON. That I can wrap my ~~brain~~ teeth around.

Thanks to migraine-tummy, I'll be trying these out tomorrow, but I'm already savoring them in my mind.

And my mind thanks you, Jen.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

This is Who I Am -- I Choose Authenticity

2012-04-30T16:58:00.000-05:00

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You may have noticed that for a while, I've had a badge on the right side column stating "I Choose Authenticity"

Well, what does this mean?

According to Brene Brown,

You can read more by clicking here.

I have always tried to be real on this blog. It makes some people uncomfortable and I've been told by a few people that I shouldn't be as open as I am. For a while I've been keeping myself in check. Holding myself back has, no kidding, physically hurt. It's not me! YES, I love participating in beading challenges and YES I like to show my jewelry and Etsy finds and Zack hilarity, but I also find immense relief in writing from the heart.

Life can be HARD. It can be because of illness, family issues, artistic angst -- anything. At the same time, when something amazing happens, many of us wait for the other shoe to drop, as if we don't deserve the largesse that fell in our laps.

How we respond to both the pain and the joy can truly define who we are, not just to ourselves, but to other people.

I recognize there are a lot of private people out there. Some of these are people who email me and tell me they're glad I wrote what I wrote because they didn't have the courage. There are also people who email me and tell me I'm full of crapola. And that's OK, too. Everyone is allowed to their opinion, and I'm not saying mine is the right one. But I like what I write, I like who I am, and I want to be real without fear of what people might think.

One thing I've been guilty of is not having confidence in who I am and what I'm working towards. I second-guess. I look around and think, "They're doing it better, I should give up." Or I worry about what people will think. The horror of one bad email among many that aren't can still crush me -- if I let it.

Being afraid to be me -- that's not helping anyone -- you, or me.

EVERYONE has worth. Everyone has the ability to reach deep inside and find that confidence. Will you? Will you find that one good thing in each day even in the midst of sadness, pain, or fear? And will you allow yourself to celebrate your triumphs, no matter what they are?

This is what I try -- try -- to do.

I ache and hurt. I go to the gym anyway and feel energized. I have a migraine. I allow myself to go to bed because I no longer allow myself to feel I'm letting everyone, including myself, down. I see things around me that surpass what I'm trying to do, and while it's human nature to pout, it's better, ultimately, to cheer them on, because you never know what the future may bring. They could be in the grand-stand later, cheering you on as you parade down the road in pride.

Life isn't perfect. I embrace this, because I learn from it. I've made some doozies of mistakes, mistakes that pain my heart and live with me for years. But at some point, if no one else will, you HAVE to forgive yourself. Apologize if need be, but don't forget to apologize to yourself.

Then let it go.

Life is meant to be lived and not mourned if at all possible. I'm not saying everything will be chipper chipper from now on -- that's impossible. What I AM saying is authenticity is more important to me right now than much else. What you see is what you get, although I'm fairly awkward in public. I vow to write what I am feeling, with all the happiness and joy and heartache and foibles that entails. I don't want to be scared any more of being me.

I'm not perfect. But I'm authentic.

Book Review: "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The Winner of the Nina Designs goodie bag is....

2012-04-28T18:07:00.001-05:00

Erin S.!

I'll be emailing you for your mailing address!

Stay tuned for a giveaway for AD/Adornments goodies!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The Messy Workshop Blog Hop

2012-04-27T06:07:00.000-05:00

It's probably no surprise that most artists have completely chaotic work spaces. But out of chaos rises some of the most beautiful things in life!

Brenda of B'Sue Boutiques created this blog hop to show the "dirty side" of the jewelry designer's life. Our pieces may be made with precision, but our table tops, that's another case entirely!

So welcome to my little spot of chaotic heaven!

First, an overall view. I moved my work recently to the library part of the living room (an addition we built a couple of years ago) because the lighting was much better than where I'd been working before.

I have a storage cabinet for tons of beads, but it's on the other side of the room. When I used to work at the kitchen table, this cabinet was right behind me, but now I get a little exercise jumping up and down for this and that.

Because I kept piling boxes upon boxes of beads onto the floor in order to avoid jumping up and down so much, I bought a dresser to store the beads I reach for all the time (sterling silver, wire, etc). I'm not 100% happy with it -- I really wanted something that was either flush to the top of my table or even able to be slid underneath it, but how often do you find furniture in the same color as your sofa and chairs? So if I end up changing my mind about this storage situation, the dresser will work elsewhere in the living room.

As you can see, there's still stuff on the floor! Under the table, I have two metal bins to hold magazines and things like that, but I always seem to have something underfoot.

The top of the dresser holds yet more and more beads. I have a bad habit of going to grab one bag of beads and then seeing tons of others I have to work with RIGHT. NOW! So that pretty box (and a few others you can't see!) have lots of baggies of beads waiting to be played with. Sometimes this random assortment of beads helps me when I'm in a rut, because I can just reach in without looking and grab something and I'll make myself work with what I picked, no excuses!

In the above photo, the large plastic box is full of earring pairs of all types. I like having that box ready and waiting so I don't have to go searching out doubles of this or that.

Then there's the top of my table (which we bought at IKEA).....

The organizer is from either Marshalls or TJ Maxx and is supposed to be for stationery and what not, but it works beautifully as a tool caddy. All of those little red tins are jump rings of various sizes and metals. The handmade cups are special to me, made by my friend Ayenne of Whimsee Pots. I have a ton of her stuff and I love having pretty things all over the place. One holds tiny snips of trash and the other holds silver scrap, waiting to be melted down.

The drawer holds the tools I use the most. I have a cookie jar on the desk that Zack painted that holds less-often-used but nevertheless important hand tools.

More mess. Organized rings, but a messy desk.

To my left is another IKEA find, a wooden silverware caddy. This holds daisy spacers and ear wires that I use constantly, as well as beads that made a move from the pretty purple box above to a step JUST a little closer to actually being used. And I couldn't make a bracelet without a bracelet sizer! Measuring a bracelet linearly doesn't give you a correct measurement -- you need the inner circumference measurement, and that's what this cool invention does!

To the right of the bracelet sizer is (again) an IKEA goodie. It's a three-tiered caddy from IKEA's bath section, and I put a selection of clasps in each tray ... sterling silver, pewter, and copper/brass. I have a larger drawer in the bead cabinet for toggles and clasps, but it's nice to have at least some right there at my fingertips.

Of course, beading has a way of taking over a home. There are many days when work flows over into the living room.

There you have it -- my mess. I love it. It works for me. I try to keep it neater than this, but as soon as I clean it up, it comes apart at the seams again. Beads are EVERYWHERE, it seems. But there's never a lack of anything pretty to look at in this house!

Now it's time to visit the other messy studios!

Brenda Sue Lansdowne, (hostess)

Robin Delargy

Kim at CianciBlue

Jennifer Jazwick-Smith

Mary Shannon Hicks

Tracy Swartz

Jacqueline Marchant

Lynnea Perry Bennett

Terry Matusyk

Laurel Steven

Dr. Brassy Steamington

Pamela Takeshige

Kris Lanae Binsfeld

Outre Art

Linzi Alford

Deb Davis

Tamara Jones

Harry Wood

Gerry Nickerson

Elizabeth Owens-Dwy

Georgene Lockwood

Charisa Sloper

Jennifer Justman

Beanzie

Mary Deis

Cheri Reed

Sondra Kolner

Sonya Ingersoll-Stille

Sandra McGriff

Shelly Joyce

Joan Williams

Kashmira Patel

Deb Beechy

Ginger Bishop

Kelli Jacobson

Natalie McKenna

Andrew Thornton

Mary Govaars

Kate Mulligan

Lisa Lodge

Tami Luchini

Monique Lula

Lee Koopman

Jayne Capps

Susan Lloyd

Cynthia Wainscott

Stephanie Amanti

Alicia Marinache

Sam Hamp

Lennis Carrier

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Echo Creative Club challenge reveal!

2012-04-25T06:42:00.000-05:00

Jeannie Dukic has created the Echo Creative Club, a jewelry design challenge club where she sends out beads she made and we in turn make something and "send it out" on our blog (thus, the "echo").

I asked Jeannie to send me beads of her choice, and she sent me these:

I was immediately challenged because other than pearls, I really haven't made a lot of jewelry in white. This was a GOOD thing, though, because if I'm not challenged, I'm not growing.

I actually had a lot more of the white beads than are shown -- I've been hoarding various strands of her beads in anticipation of this blog hop. So with all those white beads, I knew I wanted to make a long necklace.

I used Jeannie's polymer clay beads in various sizes, copper-plated pewter, and some of my own lampwork beads.

Next I used some very pale pink and silver polymer clay beads. I added a darker pink Swarovksi crystal, some bright silver bead caps, and a pretty toggle. I like to make my breast cancer awareness jewelry unique, and this fits the bill, so I added a "survivor" charm from Nina Designs and a cluster of crystal.

And then some matching earrings.

Next, I had more white beads, but this time with silver leaf. I decided to go for a vintage glam look.

I love those tassels (wish they weren't so expensive!) and those vintage rhinestone beads from AD/Adornments are to die for. I think this one surprised me when it all came together!

Next is a bit of a do-over. Jeannie sent me this bracelet, and I kept it almost exactly as it came to me. I wanted to make a pair of matching earrings, though, so I took out the polymer clay disks that were originally there (I'll use those in a later project) and replaced them with Tierracast floral rondelles.

Now we come to a pretty cherry blossom pendant Jeannie made. I kept this one very simple, only adding some Czech glass flowers. Sometimes less is more.

And finally, my favorite piece, made with Jeannie's gin blossom pendant. I used my favorite chain from AD/Adornments, blue cultured pearls, white Tibetan beads, and a Green Girl Studios floral heart connector. The clasp lies on the side of the neckline.

To "fluff up" the chain on one side, I linked pearls into the chain.

And there you go! All my creations with Jeannie's polymer clay beads. I hope you enjoyed the visit!

The following people are also participating in today's blog hop:

Jeannie K Dukic
Birgitta Lejonklou
Cindy Cima Edwards
Kristen Stevens
Lola Surwillo
Michelle Buettner
Molly Alexander
Shannon Chomanczuk

You can see more at:

Jewelry By Jeannie
Echo Creative Club
Flickr group

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The Random Post

2012-04-24T16:36:00.003-05:00

Today's post is brought to you by total randomness.

Zack had a violin recital yesterday. I'm so glad his school had someone come in for the past ten weeks to teach the kids.

But this morning, Zack was not feeling good.

Big Kitty had a sleep-in out of sympathy.

I finished organizing the book shelves.

This photo makes me happy beyond reason...

I just love books.

I decorated a bulletin board.

I love to keep postcards from art bead makers!

A while ago I held a bead swap on my Facebook group and I had two partners because I (of course) goofed something up. I was going to show photos of what I received from Peggy and Cindy but things got cleaned up and put away before photo day. Luckily Cindy had a photo of some of the altered art goodies she sent me:

I got my buttons for the Button Swap Hop from Niky.

They all have a story which I'll be sharing on blog hop day.

Tomorrow is the Echo Creative Club blog hop, and you can still enter to win beads from me and Nina Designs by clicking here.

I'm wondering what I can make with these? They were my splurge at a recent bead show (they're made by American Trade Bead, who has a really interesting bead mission), I have the matching pendant, too. And I just learned his work is going to be in the Smithsonian soon!

And the thought for today:

The Dalai Lama is very wise.

Love to all.

Book Review: "The Lady of the Rivers" by Philippa Gregory

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Nina Designs Blog Partner Reveal (and giveaway)

2012-04-23T18:52:00.000-05:00

When I first started making jewelry about eight years ago, one of the first bead vendors I learned of was Nina Designs. I loved her philosophy and appreciated that she was "fair trade before there was a name for it". Her designs are unique and fresh and each bead or finding makes your piece extra-special.

I was fortunate to be selected this month to participate in Nina Design's Blog Partner program. She sent me a selection of products to work with, and when they arrived, I was excited (and challenged!) because they were golden natural bronze. Absolutely stunning, and a challenge for me because I don't do a lot with gold metals.

This necklace is a new favorite of mine. I used polymer clay beads by Alison Sachs and several pieces from Nina Designs -- the coral branch pendant, feather charms, and three-circle rings that I really think would make gorgeous earrings all by themselves, but I wanted to bump it up a notch and think outside the box.

I wanted to use the feather charms as links, so I pulled out a metal punch and said a little prayer and punched a hole. Worked!

And then those lovely rings that I am going to have to go and buy more of so I can have earrings....

These pieces are natural bronze, but the polish and patina matched PERFECTLY with the gold-filled jump rings and chain I had on hand. That's some pretty bronze!

These earrings are made with onyx, ceramic, and Nina Designs lotus petal charms and ear wires.

And oh ARGH, why is it I don't see mistakes until I photograph things? One ceramic bead is topsy-turvy. Sigh. Must fix that.

These earrings are a bit different. They are a combination of industrial and elegant. I'm not sure how well they'll be received, but I thought they were unique. I took hardware store steel fittings and brushed them with a nail file to take off some of the black. Then I wired amethyst to Nina Designs key charms. When worn, the keys face front and the hardware rings face like regular hoop earrings would.

So what do you think? Is it a yes or a no?

Now for the giveaway! Nina Designs sent a delicate 18" finished brass chain (complete with clasp) and matching jump rings. I'm adding a secret stash of beads to go along with them!

To win, leave a comment with your favorite Nina Designs bead or finding (click here for their web site).

Feel free to blog, Facebook, or Tweet about the giveaway.

The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 28th.

Good luck!

The materials above were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The winner of You Supply the Caption is....

2012-04-23T07:50:00.000-05:00

Before I announce the winning caption, let me explain what was REALLY going on when I shot this photo:

This was taken in 2008 at the annex of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center. This museum houses, among other things, the Air France Concorde and the space shuttle Enterprise. Within the museum was a McDonald's, something we rarely visited back then (and never now as Zack has declared himself a vegetarian) and McDonald's had a special edition toy just for the museum -- the space shuttle.

The museum is a very modern building with huge floor-to-high ceiling windows and a metal roof. And this is where the expression on Zack's face comes into play.

A very sudden thunder storm hit. The sound of torrential rain on that metal roof made quite the scary noise, and pair that with thunder, you can imagine. Thus, Zack's expression -- a true "What the heck is THAT!" expression.

So now! The winner of The Beadin' Path's enameled Lucite beads is:

KokoPellieGirl

with

"What? No Pie?"

Zack thought that was hilarious because he knows how Mom loves her pie (but I haven't had any in ages, and have lost 10 pounds, say hey!)

Thanks for playing, and look for another caption contest soon!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Beads for the Echo Creative Club

2012-04-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

Jeannie Dukic created a wonderful collaborative bead team called the Echo Creative Club. I'm up for the month of April and while these are the beads she sent me:

... I've been hoarding a Gin Blossom and some other colors of her Peeled Paint beads. So I'm going to try to make as many things as possible for the blog hop, which occurs Thursday, April 25th.

The other participants:

Jeannie K Dukic
Birgitta Lejonklou
Cindy Cima Edwards
Kristen Stevens
Lola Surwillo
Michelle Buettner
Molly Alexander
Shannon Chomanczuk

Some awesome designers are in this group --

I hope I can keep up!

She also just started a Facebook group called the Polymer Clay Collective -- whether you make beads or just love using them, you can join by clicking here.

See you Thursday!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Zack as Ben Franklin

2012-04-20T18:56:00.000-05:00

This week we had a wonderful school day -- a play about early American history put on by the 3rd grade of Zack's school.

This was such a monumental achievement for Zack, as during previous years, he absolutely refused to get up on stage. Last year, his teacher gracefully handled this by letting him run the lights for the play, but this year, he was VERY excited to play Ben Franklin.

I had to patch together a costume -- and I'm not a sewer. We ended up getting an Easter suit for the vest, I cut the pants off below the knee, and then put him in a pair of my trouser socks. Tuck the pants in, add a pair of reading glasses, and there you go -- Ben Franklin!

But first, let's start early in the AM when Zack was buttoning into his costume. I digress because as I was cropping photos, I had a laugh-out-loud moment. I took two photos one right after the other as Zack buttoned his vest, and noticed something that proves without a doubt that our two cats constantly stalk each other. To wit:

and two seconds later....

(And my photos aren't very good this time around -- shaky hands that day. Sorry about that.)

We headed to school early, and when Zack was offered a hat complete with ponytail, he LEAPED for it. Which again was a big surprise because part of what he said he hated about plays was wearing any type of costume. Granted, last year he would have been a slice of bread, and Ben Franklin is way cooler than bread.

He's so cute I could just cry whenever I see these.

I helped some of the other kids with hats and wigs and they headed to the stage for a rehearsal. I got these photos during that rehearsal and I'm glad I did, because even though my photos aren't great, they would have been impossible when the actual play took place because of the stage lighting.

The play was about early America, so we had George and Martha Washington narrating (one of the George's is there on the far left), Native Americans, and early settlers. We also had the History Police (there in the middle) and a game show host with three game show players who tried to answer questions about the colonies but all they could come up with for an answer to anything was an exuberant "IDAHO"!

Zack started to get a little nervous and was quite deep in thought at one point, in true Zack fashion...

(And yes, that's Leif Erickson trying to keep his helmet on -- because he was thought to have really been the first to find America).

There were a LOT of songs to sing, and Zack sang every single one. In fact, he's been singing them for weeks here in the house, particularly while soaking in the tub. And I tell you, it's a happy house when you hear your little guy singing with gusto and abandon.

Then there was the dance.

OMG, y'all. It was absolutely adorable. I got a little bit of film, thankfully, because it was absolutely too cute for words. He did a typical mommy stumble in rehearsal (and is it awful that I find that so endearing?) but was perfect during the play.

He had three lines, all Ben Franklin-isms, and he played them to perfection and to laughter and applause (all the while marching back and forth across the stage with his hands clasped behind his back while George Washington tried to get him to stop for an interview).

Rick and I both were proud as proud could be -- this was such a huge achievement for him! He's come so far from shunning the stage and public performance to being just fine with it. And even when he had a little stumble, he kept going and didn't let it stop him.

Not stopping when we stumble -- we should all remember that.

Books: Laura Lippman and Nicholas Sparks

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The eBook on Creative Blogging Prompts is DONE!

2012-04-18T10:05:00.001-05:00

The eBook is done!

The book has 59 pages,
65 photos (many from fellow jewelry designers),
dozens upon dozens of blogging prompts
(and it's not jewelry-centric!)

The cost is $15
and the button to buy the eBook
is to the right, in the column.

I hope you enjoy it!
(And let me know if you have any troubles downloading it)

A couple of photos to get you started...

By Diane Cook

By Jane Haag

Thank you!

You still have time to enter the
"You Supply the Caption" contest
to win vintage Lucite beads!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

You Supply the Caption!

2012-04-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

This edition of "You Supply the Caption" has a specific prize involved -- four strands of vintage Lucite enamel finish beads from Beadin' Path -- I think if you click here you can see what's still available.

But first, the photo for you to make a caption for:

This is Zack in 2008. So, what's the caption?

And here are the beads you could win:

To win, leave a comment below

and make sure you either have email on your profile of your blog

or leave your email address.

I'll pick the winner

Sunday, April 22nd.

Have fun!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The WINNER of the stamps and hammer is....

2012-04-17T06:47:00.000-05:00

There were 285 entries for this stamp set and hammer! I have to say, that hammer is pretty sweet.

So the winner is ....

Linda of "Hi, I'm Linda"

Congratulations!

I have another give away planned soon, so stay tuned!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

I think I'm doing too much. And this post is rambling.

2012-04-16T12:49:00.001-05:00

This quotation was like an "a-ha!" moment.

So THAT'S what's been going wrong.

I've been burning the candle at both ends, which is not at all surprising to anyone who knows me. When I can stay out of bed, I'm busy busy busy. I've always liked to have things to do. I like to make lists and see things get checked off. I no longer question WHY I like this pace -- it's just an integral part of who I am. I don't know why. It just IS.

My eBook is thisclose to being done -- I just need to write the ending page and figure out how it delivers via email since it's almost 60 pages with lots of photos, and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take all of the text and turn text into a photo because I'm not sure the fonts will translate. But either way, it's almost done. And I'm nervous about how it will be received. But.

Check that off the list.

Lately, though, I've felt like a big pile of Fail. I went out to the glass studio today and picked up enameling again after forever. I experimented with adding glass frit, but at the end of the day -- I have four beads that made it. And then head:slap. I dumped out enamels from bags into tins, and then, when faced with putting them back into their bags, realized how white, transparent, and this one pale pink look SO MUCH ALIKE. So. Next time I enamel, I'll be in for a color surprise.

Also, after over a year of not lampworking, I picked it back up again -- and what happened? Any skill I had is gone. And the practicing isn't working. I've signed up for a class at Bead and Button and if I don't get my stuff together, that class will be a waste of time.

I have a screaming headache. No really. I heard it scream "guess what you're in for today!".

Mail is piled on the table. Packages need to be opened. Emails need to be answered.

I have to make a Ben Franklin costume today. Just a random factoid.

I have to -- when did it become "HAVE" to, and not "WANT" to? I need, MUST, make that distinction between what is on my calendar and my plate and what is actually going to happen any time soon.

I have this overwhelming need, compulsion, neurosis, whatever you want to call it, to do as much as I can possibly do every single day because I know there will be days, at least once a week, when staying in bed is all I can manage that day. I never know when that will happen, so procrastination just doesn't fit into the equation.

This month has been a Comedy of Errors. I even taught Zack what that phrase means yesterday when we were trying to put back together an intricate Star Wars LEGO structure. The harder we worked, the worse it got. Push one piece on, the back falls off. Put the back on again, the front falls off. You just have to laugh because what else is there to do? Nothing other than laughing helped.

Working with Zack on that project made me realize that it might be a good idea to start slowing down, stop trying to keep up with an imaginary agenda. Play more LEGO.

This is such a rambling post -- but it felt good to write it all out.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.