Dream big

I made earrings this weekend. After practicing for awhile, I decided I was ready to move to sterling silver wires, so I went out and bought some, and made four pair of earrings, all very different. I'm having a really good time with it. I have a couple of partitioned boxes that I've gradually filled with beads and crystals and metal findings and beads. I sit down with the boxes and start pulling out things and trying them out to see what looks nice together.

It's also a nice change of pace from sitting in front of the computer all evening after having done the same thing all day. Last night I called up a new episode of Raines (my new favorite television show, although I've yet to see it on television, having only watched episodes on iTunes and NBC.com) on the computer, and sat down at the dining room table with my beads and tools and made a couple of cell phone charms.

It also gives me something different to do in the evenings now that Bob is working a lot of nights. I don't tend to fall asleep over them like I do over a book or my knitting.

I sold this one yesterday:

They're all up for sale at my Etsy shop; I'm thinking about building a store here at the site sometime soon. I haven't sold a lot of stuff, but enough to build my confidence. I've been told before that I need to dream bigger, so I'm kind of trying that this time, albeit tentatively. Worst case, I've got Christmas well in hand.

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Insect parts

Bob was off yesterday and today, so we took advantage of it and went out to dinner last night when I got home. We went to Jason's, and it was just nice to sit down at a table across from each other and talk. Afterwards, we took a little drive, and drove by the water retention basin to check on the swans. They weren't in the pond where we've normally seen them, but Bob had figured out that there is a tunnel underneath the street that leads to another pond on the other side, in an office park. So we drove by there, and there were four of them swimming around over there.

When we got home, Bob went upstairs to his office to watch Casino Royale, which he had rented earlier in the day. I put The Incredibles in my computer, and sat down at the table and made cell phone charms. I've been really enjoying making things with my beads, laying them out and figuring out what looks best together, what works and what doesn't. I made four of them--one with purple stones and beads, one with topaz colors, and one black, white and silver. And another turquoise dragonfly one for myself, because I loved it so much.

When I was ordering charms the other night, I noticed that I was ordering a lot of insect parts. I got the shipping confirmations last night, and yup, a lot of insect parts:

2 Acorn Antique Pewter Charm
2 Fancy Fly Antique Pewter Charm
4 Fly Charm
1 Flying Cicada Antique Pewter Charm
2 Leaf Antique Pewter Charm
2 Mini Spiral Goddess Antique Pewter Charm
2 Pine Cone Antique Pewter Charm
2 Spiral Goddess Antique Pewter Charm

Also pinecones and leaves and acorns.

2 Pewter Dragonfly WIngs
1 Pewter Small Honeybee
2 Pewter Spiral Butterfly
1 Thai Hill Tribe Silver Bee
1 Thai Hill Tribe Silver Heart

A lot of natural stuff. I like sparkly things, too, but I'm mostly attracted to things that are (or look) organic. Almost everything I've been making lately is antique silver, with polished stones, and when I use glass or plastic beads, they're mostly pretty organic looking, too. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm going to have to order a bunch more dragonfly wings, I really love them.

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Charming

I know it's no surprise that I tend to obsess about stuff, and to get excited about making things and buy a lot of supplies that I may or may not ever actually use. I've got a big box in the basement filled with wonderful rubberstamps, and a box of ephemera and origami paper for collage, and that's not even considering the yarn . . . Oh yeah, and the soap and the polymer clay . . .

So I could be doing that with the beading, too, but these stitch markers had only been up for sale for two days, I think, before I got a wholesale order! Not a huge one or anything (thank goodness, actually, because right now I'm just buying supplies retail), but significant enough that it makes me think I might be able to actually make some money at it. One of our friends (Kelly, who goes to Mexico with us) sells a lot of stuff that she makes on consignment and at craft fairs, so I know that it can be done.

I was ordering some supplies online the other night, and when I checked out, I saw that I had been charged sales tax. I thought, that's odd, they must be located in Kansas somewhere. I went back to the site (Auntie's Beads), and discovered that not only are they in Kansas, they're here in town! So yesterday I went there and spent a really fun hour or so looking at everything they had. I didn't buy very much, but I got a good idea of the things that they carry so I'll know where I can go when I need to.

There's also another bead store here in town (Heartland Bead Market), and I went there, too, and did basically the same thing--looked at absolutely everything. It was a fun day. Today I actually made a couple of things:

These are cell phone charms--they attach to the little loop that most cell phones have. I have several and switch them out periodically. It's something that isn't widely used, or known, I guess, but I always get compliments on mine, so I figured maybe it's something that other people would enjoy. I need to figure out how to take better pictures of them, though.

It's Spring! We've had the windows open all weekend, and the kitties are enjoying the outside air.

After I took that picture I went out and took a picture of the pear tree that's blooming in our front yard. Bradford pears are a pain, because the trees are brittle and prone to break in big stores, but they're all up and down our street, and when they're in bloom, it's breathtaking.

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Crafty

This weekend Bob was out of town -- he got two days off in a row and drove down to the lake to spend a couple of days fishing with his friends.

So I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time: I made jewelry. It's something I've always been interested in, but I had never tried it because I was afraid I wouldn't be any good at it. But I finally realized that if I never tried, I'd never know, so I did the the circuit of the local craft stores--Joann, Michael's, Hobby Lobby--and looked at absolutely everything.

What I really wanted to buy was sterling silver wire and pins, and real stone beads, but I was smart and bought a bunch of inexpensive stuff to practice on, because I knew I wouldn't get it right the first time. I only ruined about half a dozen pins, I think, before I got the hang of turning them. They still aren't perfect--far from it--but at least now I know I can do it, and I'll get better with practice.

They're not really my style, more "dressy" than I normally wear, so I put them up in my Etsy shop. That still feels kind of weird, but I sold a couple of sets of stitch markers, which felt really good, so I figured, why not? It's interesting--I make a living making things--websites--but I think this is the first time I've ever sold anything physical that I made with my hands. It feels different. Nice.

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Daffodils & stripey socks

Spring is really moving in, although, as is usual here, warm days alternate with cool days. It was probably in the high 70s yesterday, and today is going to be in the 50s. I remembered to go out and check the daffodils this morning; I wanted to cut them if they had bloomed, in case we get another freeze. They're planted close to the house, so the soil there stays warmer than it would out further in the yard, and they always bloom early and almost always get frozen.

They were blooming, so I cut five of them and brough them in to work for my desk. I left a few out there. I can't really have them in the house because the cats mess with them and usually end up turning the vase over, and since it's Thursday, I'll only have today and tomorrow to enjoy them at work. But anyway, they smell wonderful, and I love having flowers on my desk. I need to try to remember to buy them sometimes, they really do make me happy. Bob buys me single roses or carnations every once in awhile, and it's always wonderful to get them.

While I was taking the picture of the flowers in my office, I also took a picture of the cute little table I have, with a little pewter lamp that my sister gave me for Christmas (actually she probably gave it to Bob and me, but I confiscated it for myself). And the picture of Dinah and Pye in the dryer, and a little bird tealight holder that I got at the dollar store.

I'm catching up on my sock knitting this year after a shaky start. I had started a sock out of a Trekking ombre yarn, and that's what I took with me to Mexico, but I didn't do much work on it. I did finish it, but the yarn was splitty and difficult to work with. After I finished it, I started another one with an Opal limited edition yarn (meaning it's not a regular item, just a one-off), and I've been loving it. I finished the first one, and started the second, and I never do that--I never do them one right after the other, I'm always so bored that I move on to a different yarn and come back to do the second one later.

I'm not sure why I loved this yarn so much, but I do.

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