Heck Tick!

I wonder what the search engines will do with that... I'm sure you've figured out that I really mean "hectic." That's the current state of affairs here.

I just had to take some time out of the schedule to show you the newest listings - three different pieces, all very different from each other:

First is my Giraffe bracelet. I actually created this design more than a year ago (!), but the giraffe was visiting my friends at Interweave Press, waiting to see if he was going to join his buddies in one of the magazines. He didn't make it, but his pal the Limelight Leopard appeared in the June/July 2009 issue of Beadwork. Giraffe is back at home with me now, but he's looking for someone else to take him in and love him. :-)

You'll see more animal prints appearing in my Etsy shop soon... more versions of the Leopard, a couple of Zebra, and a Tiger! And there will be some interesting color combinations also... since some of these animals will be "living" in the cities, I had to change their coats.

Another of my new pieces is called Lothiriel. One of my Etsy buddies, Deb DiSalvo (aka ArtisticFlair) suggested a red, white, and black caterpillar. The one I created just prior to this one, called Galadriel, is done in those colors, but since the base is the only part of it that's black, it's kind of hidden. Not so with this one! Doesn't this one really look like a caterpillar?! You know, one of those you're not supposed to touch because you'll get stung...

I made a comment when I uploaded the pictures to my flickr photostream that someone had suggested these colors, but then my cosmic sister Carol Dean Sharpe (aka SandFibers) pointed out to me that no one really needed to suggest to ME that I use red, white, and black. She's right - they're my favorite colors!

The newest listing I have is for a design I came up with a couple of weeks ago. The design was inspired by a piece of fabric (now carefully packed away and ready to be moved), but I had to come up with a different name for it. As I looked at the design, it occurred to me that it looks a bit like a topo map. So here's the first version of Topography, created in some ultra-cool retro colors.

Although I've spent most of my beading time since I returned from the Bead and Button Show working on custom orders, I just had to make something with one of the beads I bought from Lisa Peters at the show. These little tube beads of hers are so cool. The colors are wonderful, and I really like the tall, skinny shape! I gave this one a very simple treatment -- just an ndebele rope done in colors to match the bead, with a loop and toggle closure. Named for the colors in the bead, this one is called Curry and Sage.


If you've visited my shop recently, you may have noticed a sharp reduction in the number of items listed... Work continues on taking inventory of all my stationery so I can turn that part of the business over to someone else! The only cards and tags I have listed now are ones I actually have on hand. I'm still taking custom orders from some of my repeat customers at this point, but I won't be listing any new stationery items. And I'm offering a 25% discount on all stationery purchases over $10, good only for the inventory I have on hand, so if you've been wanting some this is a great time to pick them up!

I'm kind of sad to see the stationery go, but I really want to be able to focus on my beadweaving (not to mention how much I need to focus on preparing to move!!!). I know the person who's going to take them over (her name is Allison, but I can't give you her shop name yet because she's going to open a new one) is going to have great fun making the Captioned Critters, all the Alice in Wonderland things, and all the other pieces!

Time to get going... after one more latte!
:-)