If you're reading this post, there's a good chance that means you spend what could be termed a significant amount of time on the internet. Right? I admit I spend a lot of time with my laptop in my lap, usually with umpteen tabs open to satisfy my gnat-like attention span.
So what does that have to do with celebrating? Well, as I was trying to figure out what I could write that related to celebrations (the current theme of the Art Bead Scene Carnival of Bloggers), I realized that many of the sites I visit have celebrations going on...
For example:
Judith Bertoglio-Giffin just celebrated the completion of a five-year project, a new e-book called Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes.
I'm a big fan of bead crochet, and I already own several of Judith's previous publications (in hard copy form); so I was doing my own bit of celebrating to see that this e-book is now complete.
Anyone who's ever tried to design a bead crochet pattern knows just how tricky that can be -- getting the right number of repeats in the stringing pattern and getting the pattern to repeat properly without being able to actually see it until you start crocheting. Well, Judith has apparently come up with a new method of patterning that solves those problems.
Hooray!
A friend and fellow beadweaver, Triz, celebrates the completion of a gorgeous beaded leather bag on her blog, Beading Mania. The bag was a long time in the making, and Triz gets to celebrate a little every day as she carries this bag with her.
She's another blogger and artisan who regularly celebrates her new creations. And with good reason!
I am in complete awe of her talent, and I've spent the past couple of weeks drooling over her latest venture into leather and beaded cuffs. They are incredible, as you can see by visiting either her blog or her Etsy shop.
Another friend and fellow beadweaver Carol Dean Sharpe writes lots of celebratory posts in her SandFibers blog.
On Saturdays she goes "window shopping" on Etsy to celebrate the artistry she finds there. Her finds are always drool-worthy.
On Thursdays she posts pictures to the treasuries which have featured her work during the past week, something always worth celebrating.
And being a prolific beadweaver, she often writes happy posts about her newest creations, as in this one entitled: A Brand New Cuff for a Brand New Week!
I know there are lots of occasions to be celebrated: Birthdays, holidays, new jobs, graduations... It's a pretty endless list.
But how many of you celebrate something every day? Even celebrating a small thing will give you a momentary mood lift that might carry you into the next moment with a different outlook. I notice lots of celebrations on Facebook (where I spend an inordinate amount of time). New puppies. New projects just finished. A new recipe. From the biggest, best occasions to the mundane, celebrating something just makes it better.
As I began writing this post, I started thinking of random things relating to celebrations.
Kristen Wiig, as the Target Lady on Saturday Night Live, celebrates every time a credit card is approved. It cracks me up every time.
It's November. And that means pomegranates are in season. I did my own little celebration in the grocery aisle the other day, seeing that big bin of delicious fruity goodness.
My husband celebrates every time he goes to the refrigerator and sees a fresh bowl of Jello I've made for him.
Have you ever played on a sports team? Or participated on any kind of team, for that matter? Doesn't it make you feel great when your team gives you a big "WOO HOO!" for something you did?
It may sound silly, but I think you should find SOMETHING to celebrate every day. It'll make your whole life better. And that's worth celebrating.
WOO HOO!
What a mess! The state of my "studio" right now is an unbelievable mess.
See, I've never had what I would consider a studio. I've had a craft room, but despite the fact that it's a great size for a craft room I've had it piled high with stuff. That's one of the hazards, I fear, of having such an obsession with creating. There's just so much stuff involved because I have to feed the addiction... fabric, thread, sewing machine, batting, yarn, frames, matboard, embroidery floss, polymer clay, beads, cardstock, paper... Argh! I can't say that it was ever truly organized. I made a few attempts at it, putting shelves all around the room to store all the stuff. The problem is that I'd rather spend my time creating than organizing, so there were boxes piled all over the place.
And now it's worse.
You see, I really like spending time with my husband, so I do the bulk of my creating in the living room and dining room. (They're on the first floor, and the craft room is on the second floor.) Last week, however, I decided it was just too much of a mess to have piles of things on the first floor, so I moved everything upstairs. Everything. We thought we had company coming for the weekend (that's a whole other story), so I didn't take the time to truly organize it all as I moved it. Now the room is in worse shape than it was before.
Moving "everything" meant that I made about a bazillion trips up and down the stairs. My knees are not happy. Some of this stuff was heavy! If you don't think this was a task, here's just some of what was moved:
- computer tower >> upstairs
- computer monitor (one of those giant, clunky, heavy ones) >> upstairs
- keyboard, mouse, modem, router >> upstairs
- digital scale >> upstairs
- office chair >> garage
- cardstock, paper (3 boxes full) >> upstairs
- guillotine paper cutter >> upstairs
- shipping supplies >> upstairs
- Etsy inventory (cards, envelopes, beadweaving, etc.) >> upstairs
- camera and attachments >> upstairs
- computer cabinet >> garage
Granted, that doesn't seem like a lot when you see it typed out like that, but it required many many trips up and down the stairs.
And now that it's all moved, I'm squashed into this little space I've carved out. It'll take me awhile to get everything organized, particularly since I'm pretty sure I'll continue to procrastinate the organization while I make new things. I already like some of the new arrangement, though. I now have my printer on the table next to me rather than in the cabinet underneath the keyboard; so I don't have to duck underneath the keyboard tray every time I want to print something. I also have the digital scale next to me instead of in another room, so I don't have to get up and walk to it every time I want to weigh a package. The paper cutter's not in the greatest place, so it's going to have to be moved somewhere, but for now I can make it work.
Now I'm going to experiment with taking my pictures in the guest bedroom. It has a big window that faces north, so I think it'll be good lighting. I just tried it out with one of my newest beadwoven cuffs, the Nine-Patch Quilt. I think it worked pretty well, and it's a big improvement over my previous photography staging area, which was out on our deck. Winter's coming, and I don't want to have to traipse out there every time I want new pictures!
Before I finish this post, I have to send some thanks to people...
To triz, for including my Piano Man cuff in this gorgeous treasury that made it to Etsy's front page!
If you've never checked out Triz' Etsy shop or her blog, you're really missing something. She does absolutely beautiful beadweaving, and her photography skills are incredible. Just check out her newest creation, which she has aptly named the Turquoise Delight Cuff.
I also have to thank Freya, of AFriendlyMonster, for including my Bat Banter captioned critter mini notecards in her blog post about bats. There are all sorts of batty creations included in her post, so check it out!
Now I'm off to do some organizing. No. Wait. I have an idea for something I want to create.
Guess what's going to win? :-)
How in the heck does a week go by so quickly?!?! Is someone messing with the clocks? Seriously. There's no way there were 24 hours in every one of the days that've gone by since my last post.
First things first... I want to continue the THANK YOUs to all the people who were nice enough to feature my work in their Etsy treasuries. You can always check out all these gorgeous treasuries in my flickr.
THANK YOU to DarkEleganceDesigns for including my Alice and Her Chatty Friends notecards in her treasury, Alice's wonderland.
If you check out her shop, you'll see that the name really lives up to her creations. I had no trouble at all deciding on a favorite, though, as soon as I saw this Amethyst pendant and Swarovski choker. Beautiful!
THANK YOU to a fellow Etsy BeadWeaver, Jamie of StudioJMK, who included Black and Blue in her treasury called Beaded Beauties.
I'm completely in awe of Jamie's beautiful beadwoven butterflies! This green butterfly is my favorite, but Jamie also has other beadwoven beauties in her shop.
How does Susan (ClinkscalesArts) make those perfect little beadwoven beads?! I honestly don't know, but don't you just love these? These three little beads, which make up her Spring Green Necklace, are soooo adorable!
Susan included Titiana Speaks to Bottom in a treasury she curated using some of the entries from the last EBW Challenge. Her treasury was called Shakespeare Would Approve, and I definitely think he would have if he'd been able to see all these creations!
THANKS, Susan!
I don't do very much with fiber, although I love the artistic pieces others are able to create with it. Louise, of scarfitup, is particularly talented at knitting gorgeous scarves and neckwear, and now she's ventured into felting with this piece of wearable art, her Nuno Felt Brooch. Isn't this incredible? You really need to look at all the pictures she has and read how this was created to truly understand the process involved.
THANK YOU, Louise for featuring Black and Blue in your lovely turquoise-filled treasury, Beadlieve Me!
Ileana, another Etsy BeadWeaver, curated a treasury called Etsy Magical Beauties. She had some pieces in there I'd never seen before, and my collection of Etsy Favorites grew by at least two as I clicked through the treasury... :-) Ileana included one of my bead crochet pieces, Twist and Shout in her collection of lovelies. Not only that, but Ileana included Piano Man AND Treble Clef in a treasury called Super Sexy; and included Piano Man again in one called My World in Black and White. WOW!!! THANK YOU, Ileana!
Ileana's shop is called enchantedbeads, and if you take a look at it you'll understand why. I'm a big fan of things from the ocean, so one of my favorite pieces from her shop is this Abalone and Pearl pendant, which she calls "Peas in a Pod." Gorgeous!
Okay, this has to be one of the hardest of these posts to write. Why? Because I have such a difficult time choosing a favorite thing from my friend Carol Dean's shop, SandFibers. Her beadweaving is unbelievable, and Carol Dean's pretty unbelievable, too. Having created my very first peyote triangle just a couple of days ago, I decided to show off her Anything Goes peyote bracelet, made from triangles in beautiful fiery reds and oranges.
Carol Dean was nice enough to feature two of my pieces (Piano Man and Autumn Patchwork) in two different treasuries - A Classic Combination (all black and white, my favorites!) and Bring It On (filled with creations by members of Bead Art Originals). THANK YOU, CD!!!
Jean, aka totallytwisted, also featured me in two of her recent treasuries, Do You Raku? (which included Celtic Square, a piece I made with one of MAKUstudio's raku pieces) and Winter in July (which included Long Island Stone, made from a quartz stone I found on a beach on Long Island in April).
One of Jean's recent listings is this wonderful Beaded Fringe Bracelet, called Winter. Isn't this gorgeous!?
I'm mesmerized every time I look at this Fish Stories beadwoven cuff by Sarah (thebeadedlily). The colors are so pretty, and the design itself is a piece of art! You can see more artistry in her shop and on her blog.
Sarah's been making treasuries lately that feature different members of Etsy BeadWeavers (that's so nice!). She included one of my new cuffs, Evolutionary, in the treasury she curated for Anna (arosebyname). THANKS so much, Sarah!
By the way, if you love Sarah's work, she's offering 20% off all her beadweaving for the EBW Midsummer Madness sale!!
Cheryl of littlestonedesign, another talented Etsy BeadWeaver, included my checkered cuff (Check It Out) in a treasury entitled Not Just for Sissies Anymore! Lots of pink there, but she's right - it's definitely not just for sissies. :-) THANKS, Cheryl!
One of my favorite beadweaving techniques is the Cellini Spiral. Cheryl's Regal Purple Cellini Spiral Bracelet is a beautiful example of the technique.
I had absolutely no trouble at all finding my favorite of Patrizia's (triz) creations! This Purple Balagan cuff is amazing!! All of Triz' work is exceptional, as you're sure to see when you check out her shop and her blog.
Triz curated a treasury called Purple Reign (a Prince fan, perhaps?) and included my Passion for Purple necklace/pendant in it. THANKS, Triz!!
Triz is also a member of Etsy BeadWeavers and is participating in the EBW Midsummer Madness sale, so you can find some of her 2007 collection at 25% off from now through July 27.
Another Etsy seller (from Cork, Ireland!), ArguingTheMobius, created her very first treasury (Eloquence) and included my Eloquent Elephant mini notecards. THANK YOU!
I checked out her shop and her blog and found some of the most beautiful origami I've ever seen. Know anyone who's getting married soon? Wouldn't these origami tulips make a beautiful bouquet?
It seems there are always oopses (?) in life, and SunshineandLaughter collected a bunch of them for her OOOPS! treasury. My Celebrate the Oops labels weren't really a mistake... just make for celebrating those inevitable oopses we all have. :-) THANKS for including them in your treasury!
No mistake at all in this lovely Mother of Pearl Bracelet I found in her shop. So pretty!
Last (but certainly not least) in my long list of thank you notes is Marlaine (wMarlaine), who curated an entire treasury around my Pink and Purple Bouquet freeform cuff - time2cre8 Inspiration! What an aboslute honor from a fellow beadweaver!!! THANK YOU, Marlaine!
I love patchwork patterns, and Marlaine does some of the prettiest ones I've seen, such as this Turquoise and Sparkle cuff. Doesn't it look like this design has stitches holding the patches together? You can see more of her pretties in her shop and her blog (beadalicious).
Whew! That's a lot of thanking! It's really fun to browse all the treasuries and then to check out the shops of the curators. Although I try to keep an eye on the creations being listed by my fellow beadweavers, I always find new pieces in their shops.
Now I'm off to have some lunch!!
Etsy Treasuries are hard to get, but Triz managed to snag one and featured some beadweaving in it. It's a beautifully-assembled grouping of creations in blacks and browns, and I'm honored that she included my Industrial Paint cuff (it's in the middle of the third row)!!!
Carol Dean (aka SandFibers) is always on the lookout for treasuries, and she let me know about this one. That's her Beaded Larvikite Pendant in the second row. I'm borrowing Carol Dean's screenshot of the Treasury. :-)
You can check out the pure style treasury on Etsy until Sunday morning.
Kim (aka RegalBeads) also grabbed a treasury and filled it with accompaniments for the ubiquitous little black dress. It's exciting to have TWO of my beadwoven creations in treasuries at the same time! You can check out Little Black Dress until tomorrow morning.
