MaryLou's time2cre8

It's been a busy week already! I've been beadweaving up a storm lately, probably due to the fact that I recently replenished my stock of Delica beads and just can't seem to get enough of them. They're so nice to work with, with what one of my fellow beadweavers described as that little "click" as they fit themselves into place.

So what's been going on that's made this week busy? Well...

On Sunday morning I went out for breakfast with a friend of mine, Fiona, who I haven't seen for a couple of months, so it was nice to catch up with her. She and another friend and I have attended the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee for the past several years, but this year we weren't able to go because we all had something else going on that weekend. Fiona's birthday falls near the dates of the show every year, but since we didn't get to attend this year I didn't have a chance to give her a birthday present. She LOVES giraffes, so I made her a special bracelet using my giraffe design. (I have some original patterns for animal print designs that will be making their appearance in my Etsy shop pretty soon.)

On Sunday afternoon I went to the Lake County Fair with another friend of mine, Colleen. I don't attend the fair every year, but it's fun to go and people watch, check out all the exhibits, and eat "fair food." We only stayed for a few hours, but during that time I managed to consume some of the required delicacies... roasted corn on the cob, dipped in butter; two giant freshly-squeezed, heavily sugared lemonades; one giant corn dog doused with a hefty helping of mustard. Yum. (Yes, I watch what I eat. I paid careful attention to make sure I ate every kernel of corn and every crumb of corndog.)

Monday was spent creating special gifts for the people who purchased the Evolutionary cuff and the Copper Rose necklace from my Etsy shop. I was participating in the Etsy BeadWeavers Midsummer Madness sale, and my offering was free shipping and a gift for anyone who purchased anything over $25 in my shop. I was a bit surprised that I only had two sales that qualified. It's just tough to get the word out about sales, I guess. There are soooo many sellers on Etsy these days that it's just hard to get noticed. Anyway, I don't want to post pictures here of the special gifts, because I know at least one of the purchasers reads my blog and probably hasn't received her surprise yet... but I'll post them soon. :-)

I also listed a new cuff design on Monday. This one features the leaves of a plant called monsterosa deliciosa. I had to look up the name, but I've always been fascinated by the shapes of these leaves. I created this one, which is called the Yellow Windowleaf (another name for the plant) using yellow and gray Delicas.

I already have ideas for doing this in some other color combinations.











Speaking of other color combinations, I just listed two new cuffs (yesterday and today).

For someone who's not all that interested in hiding, I created a version of my Camo Cuff using all reds and pinks. This one's called Camouflage in the Carnations.















The other new cuff is called Autumn Abstract and features the same design from my Evolutionary cuff, in dark brick red, deep pumpkin orange, bright orange, mocha, and light beige.
















See? Busy. :-)

The other thing I managed to fit into my schedule was going to see The Dark Knight. I really enjoyed the movie, but I also found myself feeling sad that someone as incredibly talented as Heath Ledger is gone. His performance in the movie was amazing and (for once) lived up to all the rave reviews it's received. I'm sure I'll wind up with this DVD in my collection when it's released.

One more thing before I shut up and go for another cup of cappuccino... I have to post something here about the new Etsy team, Bead Art Originals. Together with Carol Dean Sharpe (SandFibers) and Regina X Jiron (BeadJewelryShopgirl), I'm one of the founders of the team; and I'm so excited to be working with such a talented group of artisans! You can read more about the team, its purpose, and its members on the Bead Art Originals blog. When you visit the website, make sure to sign up for the Newsletter; and sign up for the blog feed so you can keep up with everything we're doing.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I guess it's obvious that I'm not one of those participating in Wordless Wednesday.
:-)