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Before I know it, the holidays will be here again!  I just received my acceptance to the St. John's School Holiday Show of Hands.  Its held November 30 through December 2 - the weekend after the Crocker Art Museum Holiday Art & Craft Festival.  I have a lot of jewelry to make between now and then.  My pieces are one-of-a-kind and I put a lot of thought into each one.  I have some new jewelry pieces - necklaces and earrings -  to post to the website but my photos have not been as crisp as I'd like recently.  I'm going to borrow a tent filter tomorrow to see if it will help and I have a new camera on order.   I'm excited about my recent pieces....I can't wait to get them posted.  Its so much fun working with different stones.  One piece is out of Aqua Terra Jasper, then I switch to Amazonite, then to Tourmalinated Quartz, then to a necklace out of Kazuri beads....I look through my boxes of crystals, beads and stones and I never know what I'll choose to create next?????....I love to mix it up!

So stay tuned....I should have some new items posted this weekend!

Last Thursday we boarded a bus to attend the annual event called Bouquets to Art.  It only lasts a week because all the flower arrangements are fresh and beautifully displayed.  We had such a fun time.  Snacks were provided, along with wine on the way home, and we had a wonderful bus driver named Ernie.  The bus was very comfy with overhead bins for storage, restroom in the rear, and a good amount of legroom.  It drizzled on the way but we talked and laughed and didn't even notice the rain.  It was so relaxing not to have to worry about driving in the rush hour traffic.  The exhibit at the De Young was wonderful.  We were told that it is one of their most popular events during the year and it was fairly crowded.  I took lots of photos.  We had a relaxing lunch, shopped, then hopped back on to the bus for a leisurely ride home.  I'll definately go again.

 

The Creative Arts League has another tour coming up on Saturday March 31 to the Asian Art Museum in S.F.   There are spaces available and if I can change a few commitments, I'll go to that one too.  Really, I can't stress enough how relaxing it was to not have to worry about the details - like driving and parking, etc.  Ernie dropped us off and picked us up right in front of the museum.  This was my first time as a co-tour guide with Lesli.  She is very organized and had purchased all the snacks and drinks, pins that everyone wore signifying they were with our tour, special logo bags, etc.  A lot of pre-planning goes into putting on a tour like this. It made it extra special though and everyone commented that they want to join us again.  So it was a win-win for De Young, CALS, and attendees!

My birthday just passed....as a Pisces I really should have been born more in the flower child era....my free spirit has always been hovering just underneath my business exterior and now that I'm no longer in the business world....it is coming out more and more each day.  I got a guitar for my birthday last week and have started lessons.  I used to have a guitar in my teens but the "skill" never took hold so I did the hunt and peck on the strings hoping by osmosis that I would wake up and know how to play.  So years later, I've realized that this is something that I've always wanted to learn so I've jumped in with both feet (and hands) and started lessons.  Playing the guitar, and seeing progress each day with my technique, is a lot like learning to bead.  Boy, when I decide that this is the thing for me, I jump in whole heartedly and really study.  My husband is concerned that I won't be able to grip the beads with my fingers when I develop calluses but after a week of intensive playing, my finger tips on my left hand are numb with the calluses and I figure its not that bad.  Its a wierd sensation as they really do feel numb but since I'm right handed, the real intricate beading is done with my right hand so I should be fine.  Nothing really will keep me from doing both! 

So.... my next lesson is tomorrow and I've been really concentrating on staying ahead of the lesson plan.  Meanwhile, I finished another necklace and a few earrings this week.  This new time change really throws a wrench in my schedule.  Since I'm a night person, I lose out in the morning with the time change pushed forward.  If I have no plans, then great.  But I have a creative arts league meeting to attend on Wednesday at 10:30 - which is the old 9:30 - which is about when I usually wake up.  Yikes.. Its worse on Thursday....I've volunteered to assist as a leader on the creative arts league bus trip to De Young Museum to see the Bouquets to Art exhibit.  It will be a fun day - but early for me.  I'll need to be at the bus to get things ready at 8am....what you say???? That's the old 7am....I'm usually just hitting my rem sleep at that hour.  So if you're on the bus with me on Thursday, forgive me if I yawn up and back on the bus.

I read an interesting article this week in the Sac Bee that talked about creativity.  Since I'm a night person, my creativity really hits its stride when I'm starting to get tired - that's when I'm the most open to new ideas and develop new jewelry pieces.  For me, that's about 2-4am.  Some people have asked if I've always been this way.  From as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to stay up late and sleep late in the morning so yes, I think its in my genetic makeup.  I'd love to be a morning person that gets up early, but I'm not able to drag my sorry a** out of bed unless I absolutely have to.  Its just not pleasant!  Get me late at night though, and I'm ready to party!

Last Thursday I went to St. Johns Parrish in Sacramento for the judging process to get into their holiday arts and crafts fair in December.  The judges were very organized and it was fun to talk with some of the other "prospective" artisans waiting to show their items.  I brought a lot of my jewelry and felt good about the interview process when I left.  Now I have to wait until after Easter to hear whether they have a booth reserved for me.  Its nice that they do this so early in the year.

I was going to submit my application for the Town and Country Art Festival but after reading their FAQS, they won't offer guard service at night and can't guarantee that I'll have an electrical outlet.  My booth will be outside and the event is two days so I'd have to pack up and re-pack each morning and be ready by 9:30.  My booth is pretty elaborate and I'd have to bring everything home each night since they won't have a guard.  While I'd like to do this event, I'll wait and opt for one that is inside rather than outside at another venue. 

Right now, I figure I'll have the Crocker Art Festival and St Johns Parrish (Nov and Dec) to gear up for.  I'm looking at one in September - when I get it firmed up, I'll post the schedule on the website. 

Maybe you'll see me at the next event with my guitar doing some serenading during our breaks.  Or...if you keep me busy enough buying my new jewelry items, I won't put you through that horror.  I've only been training for a week so I wouldn't want to put anyone through my hunt and peck for quite a while.  Its up to you!  Be sure to stop by my booth and keep me busy ...or I'll have to get out the guitar!

 

 

Well since my last blog, I've been to the Marin and Roseville Gem Faires where I realized that the only reason to drive to the Bay Area gem faires is to gab all the way there and back with fellow beaders.  That's a pretty good excuse but we had hoped to see a few new vendors that might not be as inclined to come to Sacramento.  Instead, all the same vendors were there but less of them....they were at the Tuscan show.  Whaaaa.  We had talked about going to Tuscan this year but decided to wait another year - too much going on.  Meanwhile, I've been reading stories on Facebook about all the wads of beads that everyone is buying and I'm soooo envious that we didn't bite the bullet and go.  I've been hearing that Bead and Button is really the one to attend if you can only go to ONE of them.  Maybe we can combine it with a visit to the Harley Motorcycle factory.  We've been to Sturgis so this might be an excuse to attend the Harley anniversary party.

So back at home....I've finished a few necklaces and earring sets and have posted them to the website.  I wore one set for the first time on Saturday to the Folsom quilt show and sold it right off of me to a vendor.  I felt naked...but happy as I handed out quite a few cards.  I wish I'd brought more with me!  I finished another necklace with similar polymer beads this morning however its two-toned (tangerine and teal).  I wore it today for Valentines Day as it has two hearts in the necklace (I know...ahhhh you say....so sweet). 

I went rowing last weekend - weather was beautiful and the lake water like glass - perfect rowing conditions.  Why then after owning my boat for 15+ years did I fall into the lake??? I could say I caught my oar on a log...but the truth is that I was feeling pretty good and trying to be a bit aggressive and whallah...one of my oars went in too deep and I couldn't compensate fast enough and like slow motion...over I went.  Obviously I'm hear to write about it but I must say, "It was soooo cold".  Life goes on and I'll be back on the lake again on Thursday for another go at it!

I keep looking at my bins of beads and could sit here for hours thinking of different designs.  I'm not sleepy yet its 3am.  I've gotta get some sleep because I need to be up at 8:30.  I wish I was an early riser like my husband....but opposites attract (or so I keep reminding him) and I'm a night owl that likes to sleep late in the morning.  I get a lot done at night though - I get a second wind about when everyone else in the world is heading to bed.  I'm drinking some tea right now in hopes that it will wind my down.....

I so love my new configuration of my bead room.  I can work in here for hours and its like my "wo-man cave" with everything I love surrounding me - beads and more beads, TV, ITunes, my laptop to keep up with Facebook and my website, and my pup sleeping on her pillow next to me.  Life is soooo good!

 

I went to UBeadIt today (El Camino and Watt) and the shop was packed.  A class was ongoing that looked full and lots of good vibes throughout the store.  Has there been a change in management? Need I say more....except it was a very pleasant experience.  They have the best stock of seed beads then I found some ceramic beads that I just HAD to buy that will be perfect in valentine necklaces.  The best thing was at the register  - all items purchased for resale (with your resale license) are automatically discounted 25%. Now that's worth shouting out about!  Another store that gives a discount for resale is the Bead Gallery.  Their discount ranges from 15 - 25% depending on their promotion.  The Bead Gallery is the place to purchase chain - lots of choices and the BEST prices.  They have a large variety of bead and crystal strands too.  If I need a specialty lampwork focal bead, I always go to Piece of Mind.  Lots of different artists to choose from and a range of prices to fit the pocketbook.  I also go to Piece of Mind for their knowledge of beads.  I've sat for hours with Gretchen, Kim and Deanna going through my stash of beads trying to figure out what their names are because I no longer kept the documentation of when I bought it - or I've used 1/2 a strand,,,this is part of my learning process.  When I come home with a bag of beads I sort them out and write their price on all their bags so I can more easily determine the cost of the finished item later on.

 

Where's the rain today?  It was supposed to rain all day but its been fairly light off and on.  Maybe tomorrow. I'll be at the bead table most of the day tomorrow - gotta get some projects in motion.  I like to work on a variety of things - some I only work on at home but others, like a lariat, or a necklace made of a lot of different squares of seed beads, I can take these with me in the car, to Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, etc and they are easily transportable.  I love this type of project.  So that's where I'll be tomorrow - hopefully with the fireplace on and rain outside. Nice way to spend a Sunday.

CALS Tour #1: To be determined

CALS Tour #2: Thursday March 15, 2012 
Bouquets to Art at the de Young Museum, San Francisco 

CALS Tour #3: Saturday March 31, 2012 
Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco 

CALS Tour #4: Wednesday May 16, 2012 
The Art Glass of Tiffany Era at the Reno Museum of Art, Reno 

CALS Tour #5: Wed July 18, 2012 
Castello di Amorosa in St. Helena - shopping and gallery hopping (For CALS members and Friends of CALS members ONLY!)

Please visit the website for detailed information and the registration form. Be sure to download the Waiver Form to complete your registration.

Throughout the holidays, our house was in a state of flux... it all started when we made the decision to put new wood flooring in my bead studio, then shelving, then we purchased a new tv - for those times during the day when I can multi-task and keep up with my favorite shows, etc.  I love the layout now.  We liked the flooring so much that we next changed out the 2nd bedroom's flooring (our workout room).  Everything was moved back into place, dusted, cleaned, tossed, donated....then we decided to change out the family room flooring.  We moved all the furniture out to other rooms and after two long days the wood flooring was installed.  Next we moved everything back in, did some touch up paint, toss, donate, rearrange everything....then we liked everything so much that we placed the order for the dining/living room.  The only carpet left now is in the master bedroom, plus area rugs here and there on the wood flooring. Oh, we also had tile installed in the master vanity.  I love the new look.  Our furniture fits our polynesian style theme as does our artwork.  You can imagine what its been like.  One room is done then the next room of furniture moves into the one just finished so basically both room are now unuseable (blah).  And the amount of dust was more than I expected.  It did make me do some heavy "early spring" cleaning!  So now its done....whew....Not the usual relaxing holiday season I'd anticipated  but I'm so glad we jumped into it with both feet! Talking with other friends they have made comments like how did you come up with the idea or how did you envision this based on the small sample.  All I can say is its part guts and part confidence that we can tell its going to look good.  While we were confident of the timeframe and what to expect, our sheepdog was quite in the dark (so to speak).  We kept moving her bed around with us so she could be with us all the time and in the beginning she barked and ran outside when the workmen were making noise but close to the end of the project, she stayed in the house with us and sniffed the men as they entered the house but then ignored them.  However, I think she's happy that its behind us now.

I'm a late night beader (When I realize that I'm wide awake at night, I get up an bead).  This happens most nights and its one of my favorite times of day.  The house is quiet, my dog joins me and sleeps by my feet, and I can concentrate on coming up with new designs.  My bead sessions often go until 5am then I crawl back in bed and go into a deep sleep until close to 10am.  With so much going on during the day, its been good to have insomnia to build up my stock of earrings and necklaces so that I'll have enough on hand for the next event.  When I get it scheduled, I'll let you know.

I am glad for the rain this week - staying inside, keeping cozy, watching favorite tv programs, and BEADING.  What a wonderful life!

I'm working on a new seed bead lariat right now using Kazuri beads as my two focal beads.  I use quite a lot of Kazuri beads from Kenya and paper beads from Uganda in my jewelry.  I hand out brochures with my Kazuri jewelry and I'm out - I need to order more.  I was searching through their website and thought I'd draw attention to how this Fair Trade Organization started.  Its rather fascinating how one person had an idea that has now turned into such a positive impact to others.

The Kazuri Founder, Lady Susan Wood was born (1918) in a mud hut in an African village. Her parents were missionaries from England in the Ituri Forest. Lady Wood was sent back to England to be educated and married Michael Wood, a surgeon. They came to Kenya in 1947. They were dedicated to making a difference and Lady Wood started a coffee plantation on the Karen Blixen estate, famous from the award winning movie "Out of Africa" , at the foot of the Ngon'g Hills, about 30 minutes from the bustling Nairobi city center in Kenya. Lady Wood was a visionary, an unsung hero of her time. She assisted her husband in founding the East African Flying Doctor Service, which expanded into the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) of which Michael Wood was Director General for 29 years. Michael Wood was knighted in 1985.

The Kazuri workshop started with a couple of employees and has grown to over 370 women, mostly single mothers. It is equipped with a Clinic, providing free medical care for the employees and their immediate family. Kazuri also absorbs 80% of the medical bills outside the Factory Clinic.

I only touched on the highlights. There is a lot more info about this non-profit, Fair Trade Organization at:

 

 

We've sure had some beautiful weather this winter.  Hard to believe its January - it feels like Spring.  Many of you know that I've been rowing for about 18 years.  Lake Natoma is a premier rowing venue and I'm so fortunate to belong to the rowing club and live nearby.  I took my scull out yesterday morning and the water was flat and perfect to dip the blades in and out.  The birds flew overhead and the shoreline is very picturesque.  My scull is 27 ft long and skinny as all get out.  Its easy to get psyched out as I'm rowing out to the middle of the lake...a couple wrong dips of the oar and whoops!  Luckily in all my years of rowing, I've only taken un unexpected dip once...knock on wood.  It was with Kathy who assisted me in my booth at the Crocker event.  We had taken a double scull out and we both took an unplanned swim. Luckily water is a soft landing and we've come a long way since that day.

I went to Piece of Mind Beads after rowing yesterday and bought some beautiful focal beads.  It was nice to catch up with Gretchen, Kim, Alice and Becky.  I have been so busy this month that I've not been to our Friday bead club sessions recently.  I'll return next week - I need my girlfriend time!  I always get some great ideas when beading with the group.  I'm in the process of taking photos of some new earrings I just finished and will get them posted to the website shortly. 

Cheers -