I'm completely beat. Tired. Fatigued. Dead on my feet. And it had nothing to do with beading.
Professionally, February is usually a slow month for me. And, as luck wouldn't have it, all my major yearly dues are due in March. Professional membership/insurance, MT license, business license, plus the usual monthly round of bills. So, I headed out to the retreat centre today to pick up some hours. I did six, and apparently did so well they want me out again tomorrow. Well, that will cut into my beading time, but a girl's gotta make some money to spend on beads! And fabric, since the Hot Flash Tour with C2 is coming up on Tuesday and I need to have a smidge of money put back to buy patterns and novelty fabrics I can't find at my local stores.
So, I'm crashing out, and I hope I'll have something more interesting to blog about tomorrow. Which I should, since the plan is to spend the afternoon at Got To Bead. Yay!
Oh, and if you haven't voted yet, please check out my previous post and go vote. Even if you don't vote for me. We're trying to get 1000 votes and we're just over 300. Pass it on! Thanks!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
EBW vote - March challenge
I need y'all to go vote. The voting is up now for the Etsy Bead Weavers March challenge, themed "Stormy Weather".
http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com
Mine are #3 (Storm Front) and #24 (Storm on Mars).
It takes about 2 minutes, and less than 5 clicks of your mouse. Voting will be up for just 5 days, but I'd really appreciate the support.
Feel free to not vote for me, it won't hurt my feelings. But definitely do go vote.
And pass along the link by posting this in your own blogs. We're trying to reach a goal of 750 votes this month.
Thank you so much!
http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com
Mine are #3 (Storm Front) and #24 (Storm on Mars).
It takes about 2 minutes, and less than 5 clicks of your mouse. Voting will be up for just 5 days, but I'd really appreciate the support.
Feel free to not vote for me, it won't hurt my feelings. But definitely do go vote.
And pass along the link by posting this in your own blogs. We're trying to reach a goal of 750 votes this month.
Thank you so much!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I might have had a small breakthrough...
Got the closure done on the tumbling blocks cuff and I should be able to snap some photos tomorrow. Also try to get some pictures of the citrus ribbon cuff, the spring freeform, the pink bracelet and the daisy chain from last night. That will be a load off, just getting caught up with all that stuff. I hate when the weather is crappy, because I can't take pictures of stuff as I finish it. Then I can't remember what I've listed and what still needs to be listed.
I'm slowly but surely working through the beading block. I have a few ideas now, after having a decent brainstorming session with Ms. P in LC. I'm going to try a few different components and see how they shake out. Some might get used for the F&F project, some might be sitting on my design wall for a while. I still have 2 tubular netted ropes to finish up, one in blues and one in orange/red. I've reassigned the fire-colored rope to the F&F grouping and now I've added some gold into the mix. So far I'm not sure about it, but if nothing else I can use it for what I originally intended it for.
I'm going to have to brainstorm a bit about some "hot" things, maybe then I can have some fun with the April EBW challenge of "Fire & Flowers" and not stress on it as much as I have been. I mean, beading is supposed to be fun, right?!
I'm slowly but surely working through the beading block. I have a few ideas now, after having a decent brainstorming session with Ms. P in LC. I'm going to try a few different components and see how they shake out. Some might get used for the F&F project, some might be sitting on my design wall for a while. I still have 2 tubular netted ropes to finish up, one in blues and one in orange/red. I've reassigned the fire-colored rope to the F&F grouping and now I've added some gold into the mix. So far I'm not sure about it, but if nothing else I can use it for what I originally intended it for.
I'm going to have to brainstorm a bit about some "hot" things, maybe then I can have some fun with the April EBW challenge of "Fire & Flowers" and not stress on it as much as I have been. I mean, beading is supposed to be fun, right?!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
A semi-productive day
Better day today, beading-wise. Had lunch with an old friend. I should know better than to eat Chinese buffet food. It fought back most of the night. Went by the bead store on my way home to pick up some black delicas and see how many people were signed up for tonight's class - 5 plus the owner. Came home, wrote up the instructions for class, grabbed my bead bag, stopped by the polling place and voted, then spent the night at the bead store. I told them I'd help out by doing some repair stuff, but the only repair they had left for me was a rework/restring. No biggie, took me about an hour to rework a bracelet and pair of earrings. And I got a lot of thanks from the owner because she dreads doing that kind of work. I find it meditative, plus I score brownie points when help out. :D
Class was a lot of fun. I ended up with 3 of the 5 students that were signed up. One lady called and said her whole household of 6 had strep, and we told her to please stay home. And the other one never showed or called, despite T. giving her a reminder call about class. *shrug* Oh well, she missed a very fun class. I did a bracelet with the class and though I didn't finish it, I was able to complete it when I got home. With the black delicas, I've finished the cuff part of the bracelet and now I just need to get the closure done. Not sure yet how exactly I want to close it, but that'll be something to do tomorrow.
I'm still stuck on the F&F challenge. Maybe if I buy some more beads, I'll feel more creative.
Now I just need to come up with some money for them.
Class was a lot of fun. I ended up with 3 of the 5 students that were signed up. One lady called and said her whole household of 6 had strep, and we told her to please stay home. And the other one never showed or called, despite T. giving her a reminder call about class. *shrug* Oh well, she missed a very fun class. I did a bracelet with the class and though I didn't finish it, I was able to complete it when I got home. With the black delicas, I've finished the cuff part of the bracelet and now I just need to get the closure done. Not sure yet how exactly I want to close it, but that'll be something to do tomorrow.
I'm still stuck on the F&F challenge. Maybe if I buy some more beads, I'll feel more creative.
Now I just need to come up with some money for them.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Beader's Block
So I sat down to work, hubby in the other room playing video games and I was completely alone with my beads. Perfect working environment, right?
Wrong.
I've been struck with beader's block.
I had a cool idea to do a netted collar in fiery colors. Didn't come out like I wanted it to, so I took it apart an hour later, after trying to rework it three times.
Have another idea to do a herringbone rope. Didn't feel like starting a new project at midnight.
Still have no clue as to how to go about doing the flowers that I'm going to need for this piece.........................................................................................and hubby just stepped on the cat and scared the shit out of all of us and I've lost my train of thought.
I give up. I'm going to bed. Maybe with less distractions tomorrow I can be more productive.
Gah.
Wrong.
I've been struck with beader's block.
I had a cool idea to do a netted collar in fiery colors. Didn't come out like I wanted it to, so I took it apart an hour later, after trying to rework it three times.
Have another idea to do a herringbone rope. Didn't feel like starting a new project at midnight.
Still have no clue as to how to go about doing the flowers that I'm going to need for this piece.........................................................................................and hubby just stepped on the cat and scared the shit out of all of us and I've lost my train of thought.
I give up. I'm going to bed. Maybe with less distractions tomorrow I can be more productive.
Gah.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Time for beading!
Class was canceled tonight because one student had to take her granddaughter to an appointment and the other student has the crud that is going around. So, I got a night off, and I got to bead! Yay!
Time for beading is always good.
I think I'm done with the spring freeform piece. To be honest, I could add a lot more to it, but I'm kinda tired of looking at it. So, I decided I was done with that one, had some wonderfully garlicky pizza for dinner and then sat down to work on a few more things. When I say I had time to bead, I mean it. In addition to the freeform piece, I finished up the pink bracelet and got to a stopping place on the tumbling blocks cuff. I want to wrap up the design and then finish the ends in a different color, but I don't have a color in my stash that will work with blues and cream. So, I'll be off to the bead store tomorrow to pick up some black delicas.
The new challenge of Fire & Flowers has me a bit stymied. I know what I want to do with it, but not sure how to accomplish it. And I don't want to copy another work out there, despite my vision looking similar to a particular piece that's been done (and won awards). And, I have a good amount of red beads due to the January challenge of "Red" but I don't have much in the way of oranges or yellows. I guess that's another thing to spend some money on. Like I need much of a push, honestly. :P
Time for beading is always good.
I think I'm done with the spring freeform piece. To be honest, I could add a lot more to it, but I'm kinda tired of looking at it. So, I decided I was done with that one, had some wonderfully garlicky pizza for dinner and then sat down to work on a few more things. When I say I had time to bead, I mean it. In addition to the freeform piece, I finished up the pink bracelet and got to a stopping place on the tumbling blocks cuff. I want to wrap up the design and then finish the ends in a different color, but I don't have a color in my stash that will work with blues and cream. So, I'll be off to the bead store tomorrow to pick up some black delicas.
The new challenge of Fire & Flowers has me a bit stymied. I know what I want to do with it, but not sure how to accomplish it. And I don't want to copy another work out there, despite my vision looking similar to a particular piece that's been done (and won awards). And, I have a good amount of red beads due to the January challenge of "Red" but I don't have much in the way of oranges or yellows. I guess that's another thing to spend some money on. Like I need much of a push, honestly. :P
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Copy vs. design
I just read this blog on copyrights and it definitely gives some food for thought...
I agree with her statement of the lines blurring. And I'll throw one more out there - what if you see something that inspires you to do something similar? Do you have to give credit to someone's idea, even if you only saw a picture of it? What if you come up with your own way of going about it, using their idea as a jumping off point?
I think beading is like movie plots in Hollywood - there are only so many plots. You can remake a classic while giving it a nod, or start with a basic outline and take it in your own directions. There are only so many ways to do vampire movies. Sure, there are a few plot twists here and there, but the inclusion of vampires has been done over and over (and will continue to be done). Same thing with romantic comedies. The couple either ends up together or doesn't. Action flicks - hero gets bad guys while car chases ensue and stuff blows up. Beading is the same way. You can use a particular device (peyote, bezel, herringbone, spiral rope, RAW, etc.) to get your point across and use colors to evoke a particular theme or mood. Pink for soft and sweet and romantic, blue for calm and restful, hematite for something a little edgier, etc. But there are only so many ways to do flowers or cuffs or chains. The interest lies in the combination of those elements, and that's what separates those who copy from those who design.
Are you a copier or a designer?
I agree with her statement of the lines blurring. And I'll throw one more out there - what if you see something that inspires you to do something similar? Do you have to give credit to someone's idea, even if you only saw a picture of it? What if you come up with your own way of going about it, using their idea as a jumping off point?
I think beading is like movie plots in Hollywood - there are only so many plots. You can remake a classic while giving it a nod, or start with a basic outline and take it in your own directions. There are only so many ways to do vampire movies. Sure, there are a few plot twists here and there, but the inclusion of vampires has been done over and over (and will continue to be done). Same thing with romantic comedies. The couple either ends up together or doesn't. Action flicks - hero gets bad guys while car chases ensue and stuff blows up. Beading is the same way. You can use a particular device (peyote, bezel, herringbone, spiral rope, RAW, etc.) to get your point across and use colors to evoke a particular theme or mood. Pink for soft and sweet and romantic, blue for calm and restful, hematite for something a little edgier, etc. But there are only so many ways to do flowers or cuffs or chains. The interest lies in the combination of those elements, and that's what separates those who copy from those who design.
Are you a copier or a designer?
Just another slow Sunday
Well, I did get to bead for a little while today, but schedules didn't mesh well and I only got about an hour or so to play. And most of that playing was helping T. pick out colors for a bracelet she wanted to make out of B&B magazine. Since she was making it for herself and she's the owner of the bead store, she could pick out some really awesome stuff (vintage rhinestone buttons and Swarovski crystal with delicas - really hot!).
I added a few things to my spring freeform bracelet I've been working on but didn't get much else done. I'd really like to get that done and listed so that I can move on to other things. Still have three or four other projects half done that I'd like to finish up so I can get started on the April EBW Challenge, which is Fire AND Flowers.
I have some terrific ideas for this, but it will definitely require me to add some skills to my toolbox. I can see this challenge taking me all month to do, if I do the piece that's swimming around in my head. Now, if I can just get it cohesive, I'll have a direction to go and a place to start.
To everyone reading my blog, thank you. Keep the comments coming! I'm trying to post every day, if for no other reason than it keeps me focused. I'm going to head into the workshop and try to make a little headway before bed. Tomorrow I have an early appointment with a client, then the afternoon to bead and class to teach in the evening. Maybe a little bit more bead time in the evening. At this point, Tuesday is completely open. Here's to a planned day of beading! Yay!
I added a few things to my spring freeform bracelet I've been working on but didn't get much else done. I'd really like to get that done and listed so that I can move on to other things. Still have three or four other projects half done that I'd like to finish up so I can get started on the April EBW Challenge, which is Fire AND Flowers.
I have some terrific ideas for this, but it will definitely require me to add some skills to my toolbox. I can see this challenge taking me all month to do, if I do the piece that's swimming around in my head. Now, if I can just get it cohesive, I'll have a direction to go and a place to start.
To everyone reading my blog, thank you. Keep the comments coming! I'm trying to post every day, if for no other reason than it keeps me focused. I'm going to head into the workshop and try to make a little headway before bed. Tomorrow I have an early appointment with a client, then the afternoon to bead and class to teach in the evening. Maybe a little bit more bead time in the evening. At this point, Tuesday is completely open. Here's to a planned day of beading! Yay!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
A finish, a start and why buy local
Finished up one cuff last night and started on another bracelet. Right now I've got 4 projects in the works and I've been switching back and forth between them, depending on what I feel like working on. I had every intention to work on them today, but I've been dinking around in front of the computer instead, getting some work done for my real job. Granted, that entails stuff like surfing the web and printing up things that I've already got saved on my computer, but it's still massage-related stuff and not bead related. Now if I could just find some time to get my taxes done (no thanks to TaxCut) then I'll be set and I can get back to playing with beads.
No pictures yet of the new cuff, I hope to have some either tonight or tomorrow. It's a peyote cuff with a twisting ribbon pattern in citrus colors on black with a beaded toggle. Turned out better than I expected, especially since I wasn't sure how to finish it when I got started on it. Sometimes you learn as you go, lately it seems I've been doing that alot.
The other projects I'm working on include another peyote cuff in a tumbling cubes pattern, a double spiral rope bracelet in purple, lavender and silver and a netted, draped bracelet in pale and medium pinks. The pink bracelet is based on a pattern I got at Bead Culture. Some of their patterns don't interest me (I'm kinda beyond basic stringing) but I do like some of their woven and stitched stuff. At the very least, I can use their patterns as a jumping off point and deviate from them somewhat. Or use bits and pieces of different patterns and combine them to make my own pieces. I think that's what a lot of designers do. There aren't that many things that are new and different anymore, the truly great designers are the ones that reinvent classic designs or the ones that add their own interesting twist on it. Once I get some of these pieces finished up, I'd really like to try my hand at making some 3-D stuff, like the ones in the new Bead and Button magazine. I just don't want to copy someone else's work and it seems like every time I have an idea that I'd like to run with, someone else has beat me to the punch. One of these days I'll come up with something TOTALLY different. But I'm still building my skill toolbox, so to speak.
Ooh, and I stopped off at my local bead store, Got To Bead, today and got invited back after hours to play with the owner. She's such an amazing lady. I swear, if I ever win the lotto, I'm going to just give her a bunch of money to invest in the store. It really pisses me off when people come in and talk about where else they've bought their items. And then expect her to help them make something with them! I know NO ONE out there buys EVERYTHING from one store. There's too much good stuff out there, it would cost a fortune for one store to stock everything. But here's the thing: if we don't support our local stores, they won't be there for long. Yeah, I can get a lot of things cheaper on the internet. But by buying local, I know that she'll be there for those times when I want something NOW. It's okay to spend a few dollars more. I think it's worth it in the long run. Anyhow, I'm going to pack up a few things and go spend a lovely evening with a truly terrific woman who is probably one of the best cheerleaders a bead weaver could ask for.
No pictures yet of the new cuff, I hope to have some either tonight or tomorrow. It's a peyote cuff with a twisting ribbon pattern in citrus colors on black with a beaded toggle. Turned out better than I expected, especially since I wasn't sure how to finish it when I got started on it. Sometimes you learn as you go, lately it seems I've been doing that alot.
The other projects I'm working on include another peyote cuff in a tumbling cubes pattern, a double spiral rope bracelet in purple, lavender and silver and a netted, draped bracelet in pale and medium pinks. The pink bracelet is based on a pattern I got at Bead Culture. Some of their patterns don't interest me (I'm kinda beyond basic stringing) but I do like some of their woven and stitched stuff. At the very least, I can use their patterns as a jumping off point and deviate from them somewhat. Or use bits and pieces of different patterns and combine them to make my own pieces. I think that's what a lot of designers do. There aren't that many things that are new and different anymore, the truly great designers are the ones that reinvent classic designs or the ones that add their own interesting twist on it. Once I get some of these pieces finished up, I'd really like to try my hand at making some 3-D stuff, like the ones in the new Bead and Button magazine. I just don't want to copy someone else's work and it seems like every time I have an idea that I'd like to run with, someone else has beat me to the punch. One of these days I'll come up with something TOTALLY different. But I'm still building my skill toolbox, so to speak.
Ooh, and I stopped off at my local bead store, Got To Bead, today and got invited back after hours to play with the owner. She's such an amazing lady. I swear, if I ever win the lotto, I'm going to just give her a bunch of money to invest in the store. It really pisses me off when people come in and talk about where else they've bought their items. And then expect her to help them make something with them! I know NO ONE out there buys EVERYTHING from one store. There's too much good stuff out there, it would cost a fortune for one store to stock everything. But here's the thing: if we don't support our local stores, they won't be there for long. Yeah, I can get a lot of things cheaper on the internet. But by buying local, I know that she'll be there for those times when I want something NOW. It's okay to spend a few dollars more. I think it's worth it in the long run. Anyhow, I'm going to pack up a few things and go spend a lovely evening with a truly terrific woman who is probably one of the best cheerleaders a bead weaver could ask for.
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