Thoughts on changing seasons, skulls, tutorials, lucet cords, and my beautiful Pixie Marie. It's long, but it's worth the read!

The seasons are beginning to change.

Here, there are a few small spots of leaves already turning yellow.

Soon, they will all be the glorious colors we know as fall!

This means the holidays will be coming up soon,

much sooner than we might like,

but it's happening!

Fall always makes me think of Halloween.

As a kid, I loved the holiday.

Who doesn't love free candy and treats?

Now, I still love free candy and treats, but I have a hard time with Halloween.

I don't know why.

I can't seem to make beads that go with the holiday.

However, she said, one bead I make any time of the year, but seem to load up in my Etsy store this time of year are skulls.

Look at this one!

There's such a worried look on what's left of its face. Once covered in leaves, it only has a few left and they are changing colors.  I like this little guy! 

He's so melancholy, and he speaks to my heart!

I have a Tiger skull in my shop, too, but that guy doesn't look as good as he does in person!  He's also very big!  I think he's a bit happier, too!

I've been playing with my lucet, too

Look at the great yarn I found the other day!

It's bamboo and silk.   Look at the cord it made.  I love it!

I've decided that when it comes to lucet cords, I like them in multiples with a lot of texture rather than in singles.  Even this bamboo and silk cord will look better combined with other colors, I think.

What do you thnk?

I'm making these cords to go with a bead I made to honor my neighbor and dear friend who died day before yesterday.

I plan to wear the bead and cords to her memorial service and her wake.

I want her to know that she brought a lot of joy into my life.

I'll show the necklace when I am finished with it.

I will miss Betty.

I already do.

I made a decision last week, and that decision was to begin featuring tutorials in my Etsy Shop.

I listed this one a couple of days ago.

It's a tutorial for some cool, dangly earrings.

It's had a lot of views, but, so far, no one has purchased it.  Well, it will happen.

I plan to have another one in my store next week.

It will combine fiber beads to make some funky jewelry.

Just wait and see.

We all need things to do when the weather cools off.

I'm looking forward to the cooler weather, not the cold and snow and ice.

With the cold and ice, I stay in more. 

Pixie will like that.

As much as she likes to w-a-l-k,

we can't do it that much in the winter.  

Well, right now we will look to the fall.

Here's my sweet girl.

Since I adopted her in September, I'm going to have a different photo of Pixie on Facebook and on my blog to share my joy!

It will be 2 years at the end of this month!

Wow!  

Okay, thoughts are over for now.

What are you thinking about as the seasons begin to change?

Random Thoughts of Thanksgiving

1) Even though they aren't supposed to get along, they do!  I'm thankful.
2) The stem cell transplant is over, and Jenny is coming home early.  I'm thankful.
3)  I'm tired and worn out, but that means I'm alive.  I'm thankful.
4) I have two wonderful children who have proven the strength of their characters in this time of crisis.  I'm thankful.
5) Life will become more routine again.
I'm thankful.
6) Life goes on.  I'm thankful.
7) We have been changed for better or worse.  I'm thankful.
8) Our lives are certainly NOT dull.
I'm thankful.
9) Lemons into lemonade--the bitter with the sweet.  I'm thankful.
10) True friends and family, they've been here with us.  I'm thankful. 

What are your random thoughts of thanksgiving?

Rambling Thoughts on a Warm Cold Day

As I write this, I am writing for tomorrow. Right now, it's today. When you read this, it will be tomorrow.

At the present time, it's 25 degrees outside. That's very good considering how cold it's been. Tonight, our low will be 4 degrees, and our high tomorrow will be 5 with a lot of wind. Brrrrrrrrrr! I'd rather stay home, but I will have to go out.

The discs you see in this picture will be listed in my etsy store by tomorrow, I hope. When I finish with this post, I hope to go to etsy and list them.

Topic here: setting goals for 2009.

I've been thinking about these things a lot today. I don't know why. They just seemed important to mull in my mind while I worked.
Marcy of Studio Marcy has increased my awareness of the need to set goals not only for business purposes but for our creative endeavors. I've been thinking about that a lot, and as a former special ed teacher, I am well aware of how a goal should be written.
A goal needs to be measurable. A goal needs to be realistic. A goal needs to be achievable.
Whew! That's a lot for one year.
Although I need to set more goals, and I will, this is the one I need to work on the most at this time.
Goal: To improve the quality of my bead photos by 80%.
Now, how am I going to achieve this goal? How long will I give myself to achieve this goal? How will I know that I have achieved this goal?

1) By January of 2010, I will have improved my bead photos by 80%.
(So, I'm giving myself one whole year to accomplish this.)

2) I will practice with my camera using different functions of the camera each time I take photographs.
(I honestly don't know how to use all the functions of the camera nor do I know what they are for.)
All right, that's something I can do.

3) When possible, I will use my tripod to insure that my photos are not blurry when I download them into my computer.
(I have two different tripods, but I rarely use either of them.) Again, that is something I can do.

4) I will work on ways to improve the lighting I use when I shoot photos of my beads.
(This is a real challenge for me. DD gave me a photo tent that she was making me for Xmas. She had some more work to do to finish it. When I get it back, then I will use the photo tent and work on ways to improve my lighting.) This is reasonable. If anyone has any suggestions about lighting, I am so open to help on this one. I think this is reasonable, and I think it's achievable. It will just take a lot of work to complete.

5) I will shoot at least 10 photos of each bead.
That shouldn't be difficult.

6) I will try to use some creative and innovative ways to shoot a bead.
That's where I might need a little help. Any ideas? I'm open to them.

7) I will make and use a photo journal to review my progess at least once every two months. By using the photo journal I will be able to, subjectively, assess whether I have achieved my 80% goal.
Does that sound reasonable?

Well, now, that goal alone should keep me busy for 2009! If you have any suggestions, please tell me. I will need the help.

And when I develop more goals, I will blog about the goal or goals and the way or ways I plan to achieve them. It's just the special ed teacher in me coming out again. She does that.

Now wouldn't that make a great bead? How would you make a special education teacher bead? I think I'll have to work on that too.