Fall cold season has begun

Sigh, the kids are back in school for only two weeks before we get hit with some sort of nasty bug the kids brought home from school. All four of us were down yesterday, and thank goodness almost everyone is back to normal today. I've still got Isla at home, as she seemed to get the worst of it.

The bug put a bit of a dent in my studio time, but I did manage to get a little bit of playing in while vegging out on the couch. I've long wanted to make one of those Chan Luu inspired bracelets for myself, but it was so far down on the list of priorities - it's been shelved for a while. I finished mine late last night, and now I'm working on a second one for my mom (the second one is coming up far neater). The girls of course now want one each. I think I may be busy for a while ;-)

I have a love/hate relationship with thread, which is why I very seldom do beadweaving type projects. While working on these bracelets the thread gets tied up and knotted in 'everything' - it even got knotted up on my big toe at one point! Yeesh.  I do love the look of these, and the finished bracelet was worth the frustration of working with the thread. ;-) 

I think I'm going to have to go on a hunt for my button mandrel - These would look fabulous with a nice big colourful handmade glass button!

Thank you DanniandChels for the clear instructions on the video.

Isn't this the most beautiful creature?

Ever? Is it possible to fall in love with a slug? My goodness this little slug is gorgeous - and it's blue! Jewelry/bead inspiration for sure.

from wikipedia

"
Glaucus atlanticus (common names sea swallow, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug) is a species of small-sized blue sea slug, a pelagic aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Glaucidae. This is the only species in the genus Glaucus,^[1] but is closely related to Glaucilla marginata, which sometimes is included in Glaucus.^[2]"

Image by lostandcold via Flickr

Look Ma - I made something!

I've been puttering around the studio for the last week or so since the kids went back to school. It's been far too long, and I think I needed the adjustment period to reacquaint myself with a place that felt bizarrely foreign. 

I've found all sorts of goodies that I suppose I never got around to listing, or maybe they were earmarked for beadFX - but never made it there either. Some I'll list, and some will actually go to the shop this time. :-)

I spent the entire day yesterday on the torch - It felt wonderful, relaxing, and I tired long before my creativity did. I'm looking forward to spending much of the weekend on the torch - I've missed it, desperately.

On my workbench, I have a large coffee tin filled with glass that is literally about 4-7 years old. Treasures can always be found among these old stashes, but it's questionable as to what exactly they are. I always try to keep incompatible glass separate, but this can is a complete mishmash stash of stuff. I suppose at one point, I was cleaning up my bench - and swept it all in there. Anyway, I came across a lovely rod of a glass that looked as though it might shift colour in the flame - possibly a muted orangey red. Not wanting to mix it with any other glass, I decided that leaves would be perfect - and managed to make a dozen of them. We'll have to see what the kiln fairies give me.

Have a lovely weekend!

Summer has flown by...

"The little things?  The little moments?  They aren't little."
-  John Zabat-Zinn 

I'm sure many of you thought I disappeared off the face of the earth - well, I guess I kinda did for a while - at least the online world. I've spent the summer enjoying those little moments of bliss with the girls. They're getting older and starting to grow into independent, funny, smart, and thoroughly enchanting little people. I knew this time was the most precious, and I've cherished every single moment - including the times I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration, or absolute terror. (another story for another time)

They're back at school and I'm both relieved and saddened. I'll miss the days of sleeping in, watching movies, long walks, reading countless fairy books, and of course spending the hot afternoons by the pool.

I am looking forward to getting back into the studio - It's been so long, I'm almost afraid I won't know what to do when I get down there. However, it's all neat and tidy - and I plan to fire things up tonight and tomorrow. No particular goal in mind - just to create 'something'

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things” – Ray Bradbury