Learning New Stuff

I am really feeling like I want to add something really fun yet meaningful to my line. So I have designed these bracelets which are designed to add personalized charms to it. I am in the process of designing the charms for these...you will have to stay tuned to see them! I will be firing the first batch Monday, so I will get them posted soon!

I also went to Bead Expo and met so many wonderful people - Hello All! Thank you for a great time and for your generosity. I am loving everything I learned and will be adding some new things to Etsy...Glass clay beads and - I have been working toward this for a long time - Recycled Glass that will really be so beautiful! I love the idea of recycled glass and have been moving in this direction for a while now. I think it is definitely time to take responsibility for what we are doing to this earth. I am trying to do my part and add some beauty to what might otherwise be ugly waste. I have some great surprises in store...Pickle Jar Beads, Veedub vases, Plate Glass Dishware. Big Dreams, I know. Lots to do!

Sewing seems to be strong in my future as well. Still teaching some great classes at JoAnn's and meeting some really amazing people there. This is such a great skill to have and has opened many doors for me. I will teaching at the Parks and Rec starting this fall so come and join us if you can. Lots of class choices! Sewing, cooking....which is really funny for those who know me. I don't really have time to cook or sew these days, so it is interesting that these are the things they needed me to teach. I am looking forward to it! I think the lesson is that the skills we gain in life can really open doors that may otherwise remain closed to us so get out there and learn as much as you can!

I am actually blogging! So many of you have asked for me to do this and with the Holidays I never seemed to catch a moment! I think we were all crazy busy! But like everyone, I am back to work and have some really fun new things going on!

Over Christmas I was preparing for a show and decided to make some new cute little critters. I have had so much inspiration from the desert and the short (and sometimes LONG) car trips with my husband. I keep complaining about living in the Nevada desert, but there are really some cool things here that you don't see just anywhere. The inspiration for the dragonfly you see here came from just such a trip. We had been driving through the desert and came upon a small pond. There were butterflies and dragonflies everywhere. They were really enjoying the water and the colors were so amazing! They were very playful flying over the water and even dipping the tips of their wings into the water from time to time. I took picture after picture and one is of a giant orange dragonfly resting from his play. He was absolutely gorgeous. So of course I couldn't resist making some in glass of all the various colors! They really turned out cute! Unfortunately my show was canceled and so you are the first to see the new creations! I even made each a birth certificate!

Just got a new shipment for silver art clay! I now have some new backgrounds! I love this system which is so easy to begin using the metal clay and make a jewelry piece that will become a true family heirloom piece, especially because you made it yourself and it is pure silver! I have been having so much fun with this! When i first started using the clay it was pretty frustrating. It was still really new and there wasn't much information on it. I struggled through and figured things out on my own. Then I found this system and WOW! Truly anyone can do it! It's so fun!!!

Well, probably enough information for one day! Remember, keep playing and creating! It's the good stuff that makes life worth living!