Got crabs? What? I mean, isn't that an awfully personal question?

Well, I did it again!  I joined another charm exchange on Lampworketc!

And, yes, it's another charm exchange.

This time, we have a theme, and that theme is the beach.

It was really hard to narrow down my choices since the beach is so full of interesting life.

A surfer was a possibility, but that didn't work.

I thought of shells, too, but there is usually an abundance of shells when the beach is the theme,

so,

no, not this time.

So, here are the crabs.

Stay tuned for the finished charm.

I think we have until after the holidays to send in our finished charms.

I better check the date!

I'll show the finished charms before I send them in, that is,

if I don't forget.

However, I have to admit, I sort of like these little guys.

Some of them might find their way into my Etsy store in the future.

We'll see!

Stay tuned!

Spring Charm Exchange Hosted by Jennifer Cameron!

You know how exciting it is,

when the day comes to reveal a suprise.

Well, the day has come,

and now we get to reveal our bracelets from

Jennifer Cameron's Spring Charm Exchange.

with a twist!

What was the twist, you ask?

The twist was that each participant include an extra charm to be auctioned off for Beads of Courage,

where every bead tells a story of "strength, honor and hope."

Now, this "twist" made this exchange even more fun!

The list of participants in my group included:

. Jennifer Cameron: Glass Addictions by Jennifer Cameron

2. Sandi Lee James: Do Be Do Bead Do

3. Mallory Hoffman: For the Love of Beads

4. Sue Kennedy: Sue Beads

5. Sally Russick: Wireworked

6. Erin Prais-Hintz: Treasures Found

Be sure to blog hop a bit and look at their bracelets, too!

Now, for the revelation!

Ta! Da!

Isn't it great?  Don't  tell, but I've cheated, and worn it already.  I did received many compliments on it, too!

Thanks, Jen!

You did a great job organizing this exchange.

I hope there will be more in the future!

I almost forgot,
here are the links to the auction to benefit Beads of Courage.
Click here for link #1

Click here for link #2.
Remember, it's for a great cause!

The Charming Exchange is Almost Over! Wow!

The day began with sunshine and a great deal of optimism!

Both Paula and I went about our day under the illusion that this would be easy!

We knew it would be fun.

So we started out by going out to lunch.

We stopped at Barnes and Noble and at Pet Expo.

Pixie needed food.

Foolishly, we returned to my house thinking that, at most, an hour to an hour and a half would have us finished with the sorting.

We started out by sorting the hostess gifts and the charms that were sent in for Jenny.

What a wonderful selection of gifts for us!

This should have been an omen!

Do you notice the small boxes behind each bowl?

That was what I thought would hold everything!

We switched to large mixing bowls very quickly!

Paula and I started the sorting.  Notice the happy smile on Paula's face!

I thought Paula had the sun in her eyes, but she was starting to feel a bit upset!

The sorted charms began to take over the house.

First the window, then the love seat and then...

Pixie's couch!

Poor Pixie!

She didn't know what was going on!

Pixie didn't know what to do as the charms took over the house!

Envelopes took over the floor.

Diet coke helped.

Even the Charming Table was full!

We kept track of things, but the envelopes got mixed up at times.

They were straightened out, but there were a few moments of panic.

It was after five when we finished.  Talk about tired!

The good thing is that Paula is still talking to me!

and

Pixie has her couch back!

The mailing starts Monday!

Thank you, everyone, who participated!

The Charming Exchange on LE - charm prototypes

Deb Batten and I are hosting a charm exchange on Lampworketc.

You can take a peek at it here.
I still don't know what I'm going to make,
but I do have some prototype ideas.

This is what I call my Zen Charm.
The beads are smooth and can be touched to soothe stress.

I stamped this "charming" charm.
I'm still not sure.

This is my mantra for this year.
I'm still not sure.
Any other suggestions?
My guess is that I'll have so many prototypes that I'll have enough charms made for my 15.
I'm anxious to see what other people are making!

A Charming Adventure On Lampworketc

Deb Batten and I have participated in many different exchanges on Lampworketc. As a matter of fact, that's how we "met" in Cyberspace. Since then, we have become good friends, and on some evenings, you will find us chatting away on Skype. You have to realize that Deb lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, and I live in Minnesota in the USA.

Through the years, our friendship has grown to the point, where one of us can start a sentence and the other one can finish it. Now, we do have a bit of confusions about this charm exchange. I said to Deb, "You had a great idea about this exchange." She said to me, "No, it was your idea." We aren't sure whose idea it was, but we both feel it was a good one. Our minds melded on this one.

Anyway, we, whoever "we" is, decided that a way to overcome the winter blahs here and the heat of the summer there, was to host a charm exchange on LE. The bracelet you see is mine, and it was from a previous exchange there. I don't remember who hosted this exchange, I just remember that it was fun. There was a lot of chatter in the thread, and I got to "know" a lot of people.

If you check here, you will learn more about our charm exchange. We are encouraging a lot of growth in a very supportive environment. Charms are not restricted to glass, and we encourage everyone to explore what they would like to do! Another great thing is that Deb just posted a fun Valentine related activity with prizes. You'll have to read the thread to find out what's going on because that's all I'm going to say.

So, hop on over to LE and check this out. I'm sorry, but our 50 openings are filled. Maybe there will be another one? We'll have to see what happens when our minds meld again.