Wake up call

Well, we had a very interesting wake up call this morning. Quite suddenly, all the dogs in the neighborhood started barking like mad, the kid behind us began yelling in great excitement (and did not stop!), and there was a very loud Whoooooooosh! Whoooooooooosh! Woooooosh! sound right on top of our house.

I looked out the window, and there were half a dozen hot air balloons going right over our house! Yup, our town is having a hot air balloon festival, and we are on the flight path. We opened the blinds and watched all the balloons drift by while laying in bed; they floated by, in groups of two or three, for about half an hour.. It was really cool. We'd toyed with the idea of going out there, but we abandoned the idea when we found out that we would have to get there by 6 in the morning to see the launch.

Little did we know that all we had to do was open the blinds.

Detour!

Yup, I had to make another beading detour; I wanted to put up a tut in my Etsy for a filigree piece, and I had an idea for earrings that I think turned out rather well.

Check 'em out!

They're not too big, and they are very light weight. They also work up very quickly; and I'm already thinking of variations for them.

The other day, a friend of mine commented that I may have found my signature style with this filigree stitch . . . and she may be right. It does seem to have endless possibilities.

Back to my Steampunk piece

Well, I had a lot of things that took me away from it this week, but today I got back to it. I added a couple more inches, and decided what to do for the back of the neck part. I'm funny about that; I don't like to finish elaborate collars off with just a chain or spiral; though I have seen some very lovely ones done that way, it just doesn't feel comfortable to me.

When a necklace has a bit of weight to it, I want a wide piece going around my neck. I think it's an internalized backpacker type of thing: my instinct is to spread the weight out. However, I don't like to make the back too wide, or too eye-catching, so some of my more elaborate design ideas just won't work.

So there it is: wide, but not too wide; interesting, but not too elaborate. And different. It absolutely had to be different. This piece is a journey into fantasy, and it is nothing if not fantastical.

Have I piqued your interest?

I did it!

Finally! Anyone have any idea how long I've been saying that I wanted to write tutorials and put them in my Etsy store? (Don't answer that. I really don't want to know how long it's been!)

Well, there is one in there now: Woodland Treasure.

It's for all levels of beaders; it's not difficult to make, but I think it's very pretty. It uses stick pearls, seed beads, and a cute little lampwork bead for a pendant.

I'm offering it at a very reasonable price, and, included in the price, is a license to make and sell as many copies as your hands can stand to make. I have come to the realization that I'm not the selling jewelry type, and I'm hoping that others will be able to make my designs and sell them in my place!

Hah!

I've removed most of the multi-tasking nonsense from my plate. Yup, today was a very productive day. I finished off the article for Bead and Button and emailed it to them; I finished off Mom's present; and I even wrote a tutorial for it. I need to photograph it, but once that's done, I'll put the tutorial up in my Etsy shop.

I even cleaned the bathroom.

Funny, I really didn't feel stressed or anything about juggling so many different projects, but today I just had the motivation to wipe the slate clean. We're all ready for the planting mix delivery tomorrow morning; the section of the driveway where they will dump it is clear, and the tractor and cart are in the backyard, ready to begin hauling dirt. All I have to do tomorrow morning is move the jeep.

I'm ready!