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I am on a bead-making roll. I having the best time combining colors and seeing what I come up with. When the boys saw the purple & pink one, they said it matches most of my clothes. Maybe that's why I can't stop looking at it!
I promise, something's getting listed on Etsy this week! I just have to take good pictures!
As always, let me know what you think!
I spent a great day at the torch yesterday. Some of my beads are stuck on the mandrels (advice: never ever buy cheap mandrels thinking you're getting a "deal"--losing beads because they are permanently stuck isn't a deal!). One of them is my favorite...but I can't worry about those. I'll have Jermaine try to get them off when he gets home from football.
I did break a bead. And it was gorgeous! I'm trying to get the swirly look of transparent over opaque and I don't think I heated up the mandrel enough. I think I can recrete it.
These latest beads (from the last few sessions) are a new direction for me and I'm liking it a lot! What do you think?
For the first time, I think I am working on a series! I think I'm calling "I've Got the Blues." And I'm not depressed!! And I can't wait to make these in other colors! These are from Friday's torching session.
The top photo are the blues beads. I got both sides on all but one. I love the tone on tone and can't wait to make these in other colors.
The bottom photo are other beads I worked on. There's a pansy bead. Well, a sad attempt at a pansy, anyway! I do love the enamel I used on that bead. It's a scrumptious teal color. And my all-time second attempt at a pinched petal flower. This one turned out great. I am pleased!
I found a picture in a magazine--"falls new hues"--and love the combos of dark green and navy. So I tried to make some beads using those colors. I'm pretty pleased with these.
I've also been trying new shapes. I've pretty much done what I can with round. And I wanted bigger.
I love the tube bead...but the end chipped because I had to wrestle it from a crappy mandrel. I need to work on that more!
Let me know what you think!
Long ago and far away (well, it was 30+ years ago, but it was right around Roselle...) my husband Jim played guitar in a band. I never got to see him play because I was still in grade school when he started. And I lived in Kansas.
The band played local shows and consisted of people he met while going to Driscoll Catholic High School. Jim didn't stay with the band; he went on to a career in engineering.
I have a picture of him playing back then and he was adorable. He plays guitar most nights and I think he plays wonderfully.
But it was nothing compared to seeing him play LIVE! We found out some of his old band mates were playing at a nearby party, so we went to see them. When we got there they ask Jim to play with them.
He doesn't think he did so good playing the blues, but we (the boys and I) thought he did a great job. It was fun seeing him in a completely different element.
And, hey, I finally got to go home with someone from the band!
Jim & I attended our second Rick Springfield concert at the Arcadia Theater in St. Charles, Illinois, on Friday night. (Overall, it's my fourth Rick concert: I saw him in Salina, Kansas, in the mid-80s; Navy Pier, 2000.) I got us seats in the first row of the balcony and they were incredible!! I could have touched Rick when he came into the seats to do his up-close-and-personal performances!
I should have taken my Canon camera, because I missed a lot of great shots using my Fugi purse camera. I was worried cameras would be frowned upon. Was I wrong! Everyone had cameras!
One shot I missed was almost an entire row of women fanning themselves. When we got there I noticed lots of people had paper fans. Do you think the theater passed these out because the majority of the audience was menopausal?! Or because Rick is just so hot? hmmmm
Again, the audience was primarily women. Not a lot of men there. Hey, if you are a man a Rick Springfield concert would be an excellent place to meet women! Just a thought, guys!
Women were grabbing Ricks hands and putting friendship bracelets on them. I could have made a killer bracelet for Rick! Or a necklace!
I'm leaving the pictures full size for the full effect! If you'd like to see more, visit my flickr site. I have posted every one I took. Scroll down for my favorites!
Today the twins headed back to school. And I was super mom. When Jim left at 4:45am (yes, AM!--the man is a work-out animal!) I couldn't go back to sleep. I read in bed until the Jeremy and Jermaine woke up and then I made them breakfast. Eggs, sausage, toast. They better not get used to this treatment! I'm not a morning person at all.
Then Aaron and I went school supply shopping and the super mom mood ended. This year wasn't half bad. I only had to go to two different stores to get everything needed. I'll get to shop even more when J&J come home with the things they need for their sophomore year of high school.
J&J have football practice until PM tonight. I needed to make a nice crock pot meal so they would have something to eat when they got home. They must be famished. After yesterday's practice they ate a hamburger and fries each. Half a jello cake. Lots of containers of pudding. Someone even took bites out of Aaron's left over hamburger. yum
I'm making crock pot macaroni and cheese. I don't know where I got this recipe but it is incredibly easy and tastes good.
Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
Cooked elbow macaroni, 1#
Sharp cheddar cheese, 2# (I sometimes mix up the cheese; you can get the grated or buy a chunk and slice it.)
Flour
Milk
Layer third of cooked macaroni, third of cheese, sprinkle with flour and repeat until you've used up everything. Then add milk until you see it coming up to the top.
Depending on the crock pot, cook on low 3-4 hours. Or high for less time.
This is great for the way I cook. I rarely follow a recipe exactly--usually just while baking. I hate to measure and I'm always making up recipes. I'll share more in the future!
Art wise: yesterday I started re-organizing The Studio. I'm feeling claustrophobic out there. I threw away boxes I'd been saving for some reason. Gathered up all my bubble wrap. Moved my rods to another location. Vacuumed the gross bugs off the window.
I threw a sea horse into the kiln that had been sitting around for awhile. It didn't turn out so great. FYI: Transparent glass on transparent glass isn't very visible. I'm thinking about outlining things with glass line paints and seeing what happens.
This past weekend I was lucky enough to take a class with Petra Kaiser. We spent the day working with her Kaiser Lee Board.
Petra's book "Introduction to Glass Fusing" was the first one I picked up when I started. I read it over and over, cover to cover. It was inspiring and instructional. So I was pleased to meet my glass "hero."
I was inspired to start fusing something. I had to wait until Monday (the class was Saturday) because family obligations called on Sunday. Lately, it seems I have beads in my kiln more than melting glass. And I know why...fusing takes a darn long time! Seriously, yesterday's plate took all day to fuse!
Here's what I did on Monday.
With the pieces of KLB I got, I can do approximately 17 configurations for different projects. Petra was kind enough to let me take pictures of most of them. Good thing, because I would have forgotten most of them.
All the texture on the piece came from carving/gouging the KLB. The board is soft enough that it can be smoothed with your hand and cut/carved with common household tools: putty knives, emery board, sanding sponge.
Are you into digital scrapbooking? I have the greatest site for you to check out. The forum has been the best place for help and support! http://forum.digitalscrapbookmemories.com/
We're back from the Junior Olympics in Omaha. It was an incredible event and I'm glad the twins and I got to experience it.
We attended the Opening Ceremonies, which were impressive. There were kids from all over the US. Three runners ran the Olympic flame through the stadium and then lit the torch.
Jeremy participated first on Thursday morning in the discus meet. It rained during his meet, but Aunt Darlene and I survived. Darlene did all she could to get us seating. Later I found out that they sent extra seating to the shot put area, not any in the discus! We made friends with a nice lady from Texas. Jermaine was his brothers biggest cheerleader.
Jeremy took third place in the discus. We attended the award ceremony, where the medalists stood on the Olympic boxes to receive their medals. There was a lot of walking on Thursday, but we knew better on Friday and parked accordingly!
Friday both boys participated in the shot put meet. It wasn't raining--simply misting. Which means "very light rain" because we were all soaking wet any way. Jeremy was eliminated before the finals, but Jermaine made it. He took sixth in the finals.
When Jermaine went up to do his first warm up shot before the finals, his shot put flew further than any others before it. But he wasn't able to re-do that shot during competition. He told me later that he felt like the shot was slipping, but he went ahead and threw it anyway!
Aunt Darlene and Uncle Mark took great care of us in Omaha. They live near Burke High School where the meet took place; in fact, many of my cousins went to school there. We ate great, laughed lots, and laughed even more.
But I was glad to get home. I missed Jim and Aaron so much!
