Been in hiding...is anyone still out there?

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted already!  Is anyone still out there paying any attention to my little corner of the world?  Raise your hand and say, "Here!"  I heard something faintly, so maybe there are a few of you left.

I have not been hiding.  I've actually been very very busy.  I am getting my projects done for the book, and that has taken up all my time.  One project I did and redid 6 times to get it just right...whether it be something not quite right in the beads or not quite right in the photo.  If it was a problem with the photo I'd have to redo the project to get to that point to retake that particular photo and get it right.  Another project I had to take 4 inches out of (and that was A LOT of work!)

In addition to the beading I take all of the step by step photos and correct them all in Photoshop to get them as ready as possible for publication.  One photo takes 20-30 minutes.  That equals out to approximately 5 hours per project just fixing photos.  Then I had to write all the instructions, pass them back and forth to the author for edits and tweaks, and then do the final copy in the final formatting. Oh and then put them on CD. Whew!  There's been a lot to do for 3 projects!  And I still have one more project to do.  But this one is a little tougher because I need an extra set of hands to take photos.  In one of my projects in the book you'll see my son Matthew's hands!  :)  He was being such a good hand model for me.  :)

On top of all that, it's about the end of summer and I've been getting the kids ready for school to start.  They go back this Monday, the 8th.  Matthew has been soooo bored and can't wait to go back.  Sara is somewhat excited, and Sami just wants to stay home.  I think she'll enjoy this year a little more than last because she was able to take a couple of electives that she is really interested in...photography and intro to psychology.  So maybe it will offset all those Honors classes she has to work so hard in.

Had to take the two little ones to the pediatrician's office.  Matthew had to get a physical for football, get his asthma med prescriptions written, and get two immunizations that are required for 6th grade. Lots of money has been emptying out the past couple weeks!  ugh!  We try and try to get a little ahead, but there's always something.  I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

When I was in high school we got our schedules in the mail and we showed up on the first day.  Now it's an entire production and huge ordeal...and expensive.  I never had to pay for anything in high school.  Now it costs a fortune to go to public school.  In order to register for school you have to show up on registration day, go to the library and take a number.  Take a number.  Really?  I don't want to go to the school and take a number and sit.  oh well.  When your number is called you have to go down the line and hand in certain papers to specific people out of the packet we were mailed and told to fill in ahead of time.  Then you had to go get your schedule.  Sami was a lucky one who got a blue paper, which meant there was a problem with her schedule and we had to take do an extra step and go see the guidance counselor.  After we dealt with that we went to the lecture hall and guess what we did!  Took another number.  And sat and waited.  Then we had to pay all the fees, get a locker assigned and then take the photo and get a student ID.  Then, finally, you got in line to get your text books checked out.  What an ordeal!!!! 

On the beady side, I got something in the mail today!  Do you remember the Picasso Jasper cab I got a while back? Here is a pic of it again in case you forgot...

Gorgeous, isn't it???!!!  Well, I got something in the mail today from over at Believe Jewelry Supply on Etsy.  She has amazing beads, some very pretty finished work and FABULOUS prices!!!!  Go check her out!

Anyways, I got a fantastically beautiful string of Picasso Jasper coins to go with the cab I got.  What do you think of these?

And the other sides of all of them...(click for a larger view)

I am SO excited to work with these and make something stunning very soon.  I'm still in book mode, but soon I'll switch gears and get back into create for myself mode.  I'm very sorry I can't show anything I've been working so hard on, but of course I can't ruin the surprise of the finished book, right?

Drop me a line and tell me what you've been up to.  I know I have been neglecting a lot of blog reading and commenting, and I apologize for that.  I will get back into the swing of things very soon.  Hope you all have a super weekend!  Bead Happy!

Shopping for beads and more stuff

Hi, everyone.  I hope you are all doing well out there in Blogland.  This post may seem a little incoherent as I am seriously sleep deprived.  My pillow is softly, sweetly calling my name.  I will do my best to stay focused!

The past few days I have been doing some major bead shopping.  At least for me, it's been huge.  I have orders in with Artbeads, Beadaholique, and Fire Mountain Gems, and I am going to be ordering some wire here pretty quick with Bello Modo.  Honestly, I would rather have one place to shop because going to all the different sites trying to find the right colors, sizes, textures, etc. is so exhausting.  And then to meet the minimum order amount so I don't have to pay shipping.  ick.  Hey!  Did you know that Bello Modo has no shipping minimum and ALL orders ship free?  Yea for Bello Modo!  Artbeads is still reasonably low at just $10.  It's not hard to come up with $10 at all. 

Then there's Beadaholique which I think is pretty steep at $25 for no shipping.  I don't usually order that much at one time from one store unless I am doing a major purchase.  That's why I went to them this weekend.  That, and they had the colors and things that one of my students picked for our class later this month.  I still had to put in some few random items that I have no plans for to meet that  minimum.  Although I do like their Preciosa crystals and the prices on them.  It's just coming up to that $25 that's hard.  Of course I could spend less and pay s+h, but if I'm going to give them money, I want to get product in return for it, you know what I mean?

Now, FMG...they're a whole other story.  I doubt that I will order from them in the future.  I needed just 1 thing from them for less than $5.  Shipping and handling was almost $8!!!!!  So, $13 for a $5 item?  No thanks!  I ordered a couple other random things with them, too, just to feel a little more justified in my purchase and paying such high fees.  But I HAD to go to them to get the color I needed.  Do you remember the last post about needing an apple green color in a 6/0?  They had something close.  But I totally feel like I got robbed.

Exciting News!!!!!

I don't think I'm at liberty to give away too many details, but I will give you the basics.  You may not see much of me the next couple months.  That's the bad news.  But it's for a good reason.  A friend of mine who is a bead goddess just got a deal to write a new bead book.  She has asked me to contribute projects for the book!!!!!!  How awesome is that???!!!  I will be doing 2 for sure and possibly 4 projects for the book in different sections of it.  This will be quite a challenge for me, and I am learning so much about the process it's unbelievable.  That's the main thing I have been shopping for...supplies for the book projects.  And all 4 are due with instructions in both a photo story and written step by steps on a CD to the author with the finished pieces no later than SEPTEMBER 1st!!!!!  Yikes!  I better get my groove on, huh?  The bulk of my book supplies is coming from Artbeads, and they haven't even shipped my order yet!  Crazy.  I got my order in the mail today from Beadaholique, and my Artbeads order that I made at the same time hasn't even been picked yet.

So all I have to show today are my goodies from Beadaholique.

The gold and silver 3mm are just because I wanted them.  They are sterling silver plated and 22k gold plated.  I have beads like this in my stash, but they are the cheapies.  I wanted some nice ones like this.  So I got them.  The clear crystals are to finish a bracelet I've had in my UFO pile and the black bicones are for one of my students for our class.

These are the other beads for the class.  This student is addicted (I mean seriously addicted) to green.  These are the colors she chose, and they do look very pretty...more so in person than in the photo.  But isn't it always that way?

The tube clasps are for one of the book projects.  The red 8mm are just because I liked them...and I had to buy something to get to the $25 mark.

I just liked the color and look of these 8mm's.  Also a "no reason purchase except to get free shipping".

These are the most gorgeous color of capri blue I have ever seen.  I mean ever.  They are super gorgeous.  It will have to be a special project indeed to get these babies!

And that's it.  $27 worth of beads so I could get free shipping.  lol.  Am I crazy?  Should I just have paid the shipping fees?  No, I don't think so.  These beads will be the perfect ones for a future project.  It always works out that way. 

And my other exciting news?  I was a winner winner chicken dinner on a blog giveaway the other day!  I haven't got my prize package yet, but as soon as I do you will be the first ones to see it.  I won it courtesy of a great new blog I was introduced to, Spyder Jewels.  Thank you Mandy at Beads for Brains: 365 for the intro!

That's all I got today.  Hope you all have a super fantabulous weekend!

What a lucky girl I am!!!

Do you all know Cyndi from Beading Arts?  Well, she has a great blog full of fun, interesting and inspirational things that you should definitely check out!  As I got familiar with Cyndi's blog I used her category list on the right bar if you scroll down and clicked on topics such as beadweaving or bead embroidery.  I like the fact that she often includes the exact materials she used and often the instructions on how to make what she did.  What a great thing to have! 

So one day about two weeks ago Cyndi was having a giveaway of a book that I thought looked like it would be really fun, so I left a comment and crossed my fingers.  I had really forgotten about the giveaway (I never win so I lose track of deadlines and win days) when I got an email.  I WON!!!  Wow!  This was the first time I had ever won a blog giveaway, and I was truly so excited!

What is my prize?  It is a great little book called "Making Elegant Jewelry for Special Occasions" from the publisher of BeadStyle magazine. 

My copy came in the mail today, and I was excited to get into the book right away.  It has beautiful projects with sections on Crystals, Pearls and Wire.  Wouldn't you know it?  Those are my 3 favorite things!!!  If you've been following my blog you know I've been learning about wire, I almost always use crystals, and pearls top the list of my favorite things next to crystals.  Lucky me!  The directions are easy to follow, which is good for me because I have a hard time following printed patterns for beadweaving, so this is much easier.  I don't know that I will follow the designs exactly, but what awesome inspiration!

Thank you Cyndi for giving such a wonderful gift!

Amazing Free Resource...Check It Out!!!

Robin Atkins is an amazing beader, author, teacher, mentor, friend...the list could go on and on.  She has decided to no longer print one of her books, One Bead at a Time.  However, she has made this book available as a FREE DOWNLOAD!!! 

I highly recommend this book to all bead embroiderers, whether you are experienced or even just thinking about taking on this wonderful hobby.  For more information, please visit her blog, Beadlust.  Also, take some time to look at her website here as well for other must-have books. 

There is also a lot of discussion floating around out there about what to use for backing.  I buy my interleaving paper for backing from Robin, and you can look at her supplies to order some from her.  It is lightweight, acid free, and it becomes soft and pliable the more you bead on it.

This is a fabulous book, and I highly recommend downloading it to your computer for some valuable reading material!