Newbies

Clack.  Clack.  Clack.

Clack. Clack.

I take a short break from the pull of the thread as I turn it from right to left.

The pause gives me a moment to think.

I start to make the cord again.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The sound soothes my nerves as I think about our little group on Wet Canvas.

We lead diverse lives.

We were brought together by a love for glass.

Some of make beads.

Some of us fuse.

Some of us have gone into metals.

Some of us have gone into spinning.

Our interests are diverse,

and when one of us is happy,

we share the joy.

When one of us is sad,

we share the pain.

We are there to console, to listen, to post, to lurk, to welcome new members into our group.

We laugh with each other.

Occasionally, we step on toes.

We agree.  We disagree.  We agree to disagree.

Clack.  Clack.  Clack.

Clack. Clack.

We have connected through Facebook and Skype.

We text each other.

When one of us in pain,

we all feel that pain.

Right now, two of our group are in pain.

Clack.  Clack. Clack.

We feel that pain.

We all have our lives, and  we come and go, but we are friends!

Some of us have met.  Others we only know online,

but we are friends.

Maggie, Trish, Sueze, Tami, Samma, Paula, Deronda, Debi, Diane, Deborah, Maxine, Rita, Tammie, Debby,

I love you all!

Clack! Clack! Clack! 

Clack!  Clack!

The Newbies are the Greatest

It was September 11, and I was down in the dumps for a lot of different reasons, including the fact that it was 9/11. I saw the mailman drive past my mailbox and up to my front door. I assumed he must have a package for me, but I also knew that I hadn't ordered anything, so I was surprised. He handed me this HUGE box.
This is the box--------------------->.

The return address said, "Newbies."

I was overwhelmed, and I started to cry.






















There was a pink bag for Pixie.
-------------------------------->









There were 3 boxes addressed to
Jenny
Nick
and me.

By this time I was sobbing. What an amazing group of online friends I have in the Newbies from Wet Canvas. Thank you so much my dear friends:
Maggie, Trish, Paula, Gwen, Tami, Louise, Karen, Sueze, Samma, Debra, Diane, and if I missed someone, I'm so sorry! I'm crying again! I love you all!










Oh, and Pixie says Thank you, too! She's already had a treat from her bag, and she loves the toy!

Jenny and Nick will be home on Friday so we can all celebrate Jenny's birthday together and go to a wedding. They will get their packages then. Thank you!

Freely Sharing Information

There are a lot of resources on the world wide internet which provide information about glass, melting glass, and places to buy glass to melt.
One of my favorite places to be when I look for information,
and,
trust me,
this information is provided freely, willingly, and without reserve,
and
to visit with friends I have met online is the
Newbie Help and Coffee House
thread
on
Wet Canvas.
I have met so many wonderful people there,
and,
guess what,
the negativity that has infected other forums
just isn't in this thread.
People actually get along and appreciate each other.
Information is shared freely.
There is no back stabbing or in house fighting.
It simply doesn't happen in this thread.
Here's the link,
if you want to check it out,
but,
I think I'd start at the end.
There are so many posts.
What began as a help line for newbies
has turned into
a place for fun, information, and sharing.
There are very few newbies in this thread.
It's grown beyond that.
There is a lot of positive energy there.
There is a lot fun going on.
Make a visit.
You might decide you would like to stay.
Trust me,
You'd be welcomed.
Here it is:
Newbie Help and Coffee House.
Come for a visit and stay for the day.
I hope to see you there.

My December (Christmas) Exchange

Those of you who know me on Lampworketc and Wet Canvas, know that I truly enjoy participating in exchanges on these two forums. I am presently participating 4 exchanges, one of which is due in less than two weeks. Of course, that's the Christmas exchange!

The way most exchanges work is a hostess posts an idea and people sign up. Usually the requirements are 3-5 beads be sent in to exchange along with an envelope and postage. There is a due date. The beads must be in the hostess' hands by that date. I will mail these beads out tomorrow, since the mailman surprised me and delivered our mail quite early today.

I am sending in 3 beads for the exchange, but if you count them, there are 5. Well, the mittens will be a set. There is an extra bead for the hostess. She gets to choose which bead she would like for a hostess gift. The person sending in the beads needs to label the beads with her/his name and forum name, too. For example, my forum ID is rosebud101. I also include my real name too. Some of us include business cards. It all depends on how you choose to identify your beads. I put labels that I have made on the plastic bag I send each bead in.

Once you have sent the beads in, you wait for your return mail. I have had many bleak days brightened up by my returning beads! They are usually absolutely awesome! What we do with them our exchange beads is totally up to us. I often put them in jewelry for me. I also take them down to the studio to work with to see if I can learn a new technique or two.

I have learned so many glass related things and have improved my skills from participating in exchanges. I have met many wonderful new "friends." Of course, they are all online. I hope to meet these people in person one day. Anyway, now that this exchange is finished, I'm on to the others. I am in a heart exchange, a cat exchange, a reactive bead exchange, and a scrolled bead exchange. I warned the hostess on that last exchange that my scrolling is terrible. Anyway, I hope to improve my scroll work by participating in that exchange. There is the possibility of one other exchange, but I haven't made up my mind about it yet. We shall see. So, there are the beads for December. Tomorrow, I mail them out. I hope their new owners like them. I've learned new things, again. I'm glad I was in this exchange.

Time to Bring the Beads Back to this Blog

There is a challenge happening on the Wet Canvas Forums in the glass section. The challenge is to make one or more beads with 100 dots or more. Hmmmmmm, I thought. Can this be done? Sundaisy, the person who started the challenge, said that it was all right to stack the dots. So, I thought, maybe it's possible. I made my first bead today. I counted dots as I worked. My total was 100. At that point, I stopped and put the bead into the kiln to soak. After the bead cooled, I cleaned it and counted the dots. The total was 92! I really miscounted. If there is a set of stacked dots in there somewhere that I didn't see, I guess it won't count. Oh, well. I really like the bead. I used my "shorts" to make it. I call it a Fragile Start to Autumn. As far as the 100 dots go, tomorrow is another day!