Gimme a hand, will ya? Okay, okay, that's corny and makes absolutely no sense whatsoever UNLESS you know that I just received my order from Nile Corp of my new hands. I used to photograph all my jewelry against a flat surface or using a pretty bottle or drinking glass, but it's sooooooooo much nicer to have those little hands for the photos. Once again, Carol Dean (SandFibers) came to my rescue. I was emailing back and forth with her a few months ago, and she suggested that I use the little hands and then pointed me in the direction of Nile Corp. I started with a small white hand, a very stylized tall arm/hand, and a white leatherette bust (for necklaces).

Well, I dropped the little white hand and broke the little finger. Drat! I glued it back on, and it works okay, but I always have to remember to touch up the photos to remove the fracture line.

I don't have a particular photographic "style" for my jewelry. I'm bored easily (have I mentioned that I have the attention span of a gnat?), and I'm always experimenting. I decided that I wanted some new hands, so off I went to order more; and I really love them! I bought a black one that has a different shape than the white one I've been using, and I also bought a translucent one that is just beautiful! They're like little sculptures.

They also do great things for showcasing my beadweaving.

Here's a simple little bracelet, called Hip to be Square, that I listed in my Etsy shop just a couple of days ago. Doesn't it look wonderful against that translucent hand?

And here's my latest original pattern. This is The Foxxy Cleopatra Cuff, a bold and beautiful piece of beadweaving, even if I do say so myself! I created this design from a pen and ink drawing I did years ago, and although the drawing was just in black and white I think this looks really cool executed in two shades of pink/mauve, brown, and black. I'm trying to decide whether to enter this piece in the Etsy BeadWeavers June Challenge. I still have a couple of days to think about it, as the deadline for entries is June 5. Whether I enter or not, be sure to check the Etsy BeadWeavers blog on June 7 to cast your vote for your favorite entry!

Doesn't this look wonderful photographed on the black hand I bought? (I put that picture at the top of this post because it's one of my favorites.) :-)

Susan (aka ClinkscalesArts) assembled a beautiful Treasury yesterday, and I'm really thrilled that she included my Victorian Ruffle necklace in it. (That's it in the third row down on the left.)

I am constantly amazed at the variety produced by the members of the Etsy BeadWeavers group. We all start with these tiny little beads and some thread, but then we go in thousands of different directions. Anytime one of the members gets in a beading rut, all she has to do is to try to think of something for one of the monthly challenges. They're always fun, and even though I haven't participated in one in awhile, it's fun to see what everyone else creates.

I didn't have a chance to do any beadweaving at all today. :-(

In fact, I don't think I did any yesterday. :-(

We're trying to get ready to move, so I'm focusing on clearing "stuff" out of our house. It's slow going. Wednesday we had a big pile of boxes and bags picked up by the local Vietnam Vets chapter. I've been posting a few things on craigslist and on eBay. And still, it seems like it's barely making a dent. I'm sure it'll be different when I finally get around to listing some of the furniture and larger things we don't want to move.

One thing I've been doing is trying to eliminate some of my collection of arts and craft supplies. It's really hard to part with them because I know I could still use everything I have (well, okay, I'd have to live to be about 125 years old), but some of it just needs to be gone. I've done my own framing for a long time, and I have quite a stash of matboard. That's not something that's particularly easy to move, as the sheets are 32" x 40", so I've been cutting up all my matboard into ACEO size blanks and listing them on Etsy. That's keeping me pretty busy. Apparently there are lots of ACEO artists out there who just don't want to cut their own cards! It's great because the stack of matboard is dwindling, and I'm almost out of the stack of chipboard I had; but it's a LOT of cutting!!

When I'm not trying to eliminate "stuff," I'm packing it into boxes so it'll be ready when we finally move. I have to admit to being somewhat obsessed about the way I pack things. Every box is coded, and the contents of every box are recorded in a spreadsheet.

Is it wrong that I use spreadsheets for just about everything!??!? I think not. I've used the spreadsheet method before, and it worked wonderfully. (By the way, we don't move very often.) It makes a great household inventory, which will come in handy if we ever need to file an insurance claim for a fire or flood (fingers and toes crossed here that that never happens). It also makes it VERY easy to find things. No more trying to read the labels scribbled on the boxes. I can figure out ahead of time where every box will go in the house, and when I'm looking for something I just have to search in the spreadsheet and then go to the correct box.

See?

There's method in my madness.

:-)