Therapy Thursday - it's physical

Today I started physical therapy. I had knee surgery back in July, and I finally got my PT scheduled. I was a little nervous about it because my knee is still fairly sore, but it wasn't strenuous and I was stronger than I'd thought. :)

Before I went to PT, I gave myself a dose of my own physical therapy and took our dog Chunky on a walk. I may have mentioned this before, but Chunky normally goes to work every day with my husband. In the fall, however, he stays home with me once a week (those are the days my hubby goes right from work to cycling, his own version of therapy). So today I had Chunky at home and it was a beautiful fall day, so we took a nice brisk walk. My knee wasn't super happy about it, but my head sure was. I felt great afterward, and I know Chunk did, too.

It's not too late - take yourself out for a walk. It's a natural upper. 

Happy Thursday!

Turtle Tuesday ♥ ♥ ♥

That's right, I'm bringing Turtle Tuesdays back. Sneak Peak will move to another day - Sneak Peak Sunday sounds good. :)

So back to turtles . . . turtles are one of my very favorite beads to make. What I love about them is their simplicity. My turtle beads are basically round beads with heads, feet and tails added to them. I love to get creative with the turtle shells, but I also love the simple layered spots on shells. 

Recently I've been experimenting with the sideways swirled hearts on turtle shells. I think the turtles like them, because they're smiling.

 This turtle has a pea green shell with a pink heart outlined in darker green. 

And this turtle's periwinkle shell is decorated with violet hearts outlined in lapis blue.  

I've also been playing around with turtle shell styles for my big hole beads. The shells I used to make were much narrower - now I'm trying a nice round shell and I really like the change.

As usual on Turtle Tuesday, I've put one of my turtle listings on SALE! These turtle triplets have been marked down from $26 to $20 ~ but just for Turtle Tuesday. So don't be a turtle - act fast to grab these mini turtle beads.

Murrini Monday ~ a healthy dose of vitamin C

Last week I received my first murrini purchase from FritNChips - tiny slices of grapefruit murrini that flew across the pond to be used in my creations. They are so cool and perfectly detailed! I went straight to my torch to play with them. But first, I had to decide which critters deserved this yummy murrini - let me tell you, it wasn't easy. But I think I made some critters very happy.

Of course I had to give a slice to the alligator - he's from Florida where all the juicy citrus fruits are grown. Also, he threatened to bite my finger off if I didn't give him one. So I did. 

Then I caught this kitty cat goofing around with a slice - something my kids do a lot with orange slices. I love how the murrini looks like an orange slice over the white glass.

Next I gave a slice to this little green mouse, who confused it for an aged cheddar. But that's ok - it looks good on her.

There's plenty more fruity murrini over at FritNChips, including lime slices (now my critters will want to do tequila shots!). You can find the grapefruit slices here.

Have your beads gotten their Vitamin C today?

Happy Murrini Monday!

Saturday is Catterday

This is my boy, pretending to be unfazed by me taking a picture of him in a restaurant. Little does he know that while he's staring me down, the cat on his shirt is taking a lick of his pizza. 

Therapy Thursday ~ it's for the dogs

In need of a good laugh? Then check out this post - My dog: the paradox - at The Oatmeal. It's full of dog humor and sweetness.

Even our dog Chunky laughed out loud - except not at the part about fireworks and staring contests with cats. 

This post at The Oatmeal was so popular that it's been turned into a poster ~ you can purchase it here.

Follow The Oatmeal on Facebook here.

HAPPY THURSDAY!

(it's almost Friday)

Sneak Peek Tuesday ~ What a Hoot

With the holidays on the horizon, I want to have more "ready-to-wear" options for my customers. So I'll be making more earrings in the coming weeks. Earring pair beads are some of the hardest beads for me to make - unless they are mismatched earrings. But not everyone is into those, so I'm trying to make several pairs where the beads match. It usually takes a few tries to get a good match, but yesterday it took only three beads.

I think the two middle owls will work well as earrings. The little guy on the right is a good match size-wise, but his eyes are a little crazy. The larger owl on the left is a new design I'm working on - adding a little heart to one side.

So watch for the little blue and raku owls to be hanging out on sterling silver ear wires in my Etsy shop. The larger owl will likely be listed as a focal bead.

Murrini Monday ~ Sweet New Year

On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we dip apples in honey as a symbol of a good and sweet new year. This year Rosh Hashanah falls on Murrini Monday, so I've found some wonderful murrini for the occasion. 

First there is the apple - these little apples have already been tasted and deemed delicious ~ they are called Bitten Apple by FritNChips. 

And here are some very well-behaved Bumble Bees by Chase Designs - they will make the honey. 

Everything you need for a sweet New Year ~L'shanah tovah.

Both of the above artists have shops filled with much more murrini, and FritNChips also sells glass shards and beautiful twisties. Check them out!

Happy Murrini Monday!

Saturday is Catterday!

Today I'm introducing a new feature - Saturday is Caturday! But I probably should spell it Catterday, or it could be read as "cat turd day" and that's just not what this will be about. I hope. What it will be about is cats! We have two cats - Ernie and Bert. We still call them "the kittens" and they are almost 3 years old. But we got them when we had an older cat, so they were and still are the kittens. They still act like kittens anyway. So on Catterdays I'll post an adorable picture of one or both of our cats or I'll post some cat bead pictures. This being the very first Catterday, I've got both! Bonus! 

Here we have Ernie (the ginger) and Bert sitting on the kitchen table watching a little bird on the back patio. I'm no cat mind-reader, but I can guess that they're thinking mmmmmmm. 

 Here is Bert, again on the table, demonstrating that he can sit in the weirdest positions and still act like he's comfortable. He looks like he has elbows. 

And looky here! Cat beads! I put a group of my cat beads together (they all behaved for the picture, but you don't want to know what went down afterward. Lots of hissing). I've been experimenting a lot with cat bead design and I'm still trying to figure out my cat style. The two kitties on the left in the picture are standing, and notice they both have those classic cat "cheeks." The two on the right are a little more artsy(?) - just the cat face and body and tail - no cheeks or even feet. They can't go anywhere or even mew. They've even been mistaken for owls (with tails). Poor things. The kitty in the middle is sitting and seems to have it all - the cat cheeks and all four legs. 

What style of cat do you like best? Cheeks or no cheeks? Do you like the little spots on the orange cat's cheeks? 

Thanks for your input! 

Happy Catterday!

Therapy Thursday

I'm bringing back one of my old blog features ~ Therapy Thursdays. Every Thursday I'll post something therapeutic - a day brightener or mood lifter. So if you don't have time for therapy, stop by here on Thursdays for some good news or something fun. And it's free! =)

Today's therapy is a sweet video about a guy who builds his cat Rufus (that was my childhood dog's name) the most awesome box castle ever. My cats would love this!

Have a wonderful day! See you next Thursday!

Sneak Peek Tuesday

Now that I'm back to blogging (ok, two days in a row now), I've decided to make Tuesdays Sneak Peek Tuesdays. I'll post a picture or two of beads I've made but haven't yet listed. This week I have some mini beads (my favorites to make!) that I plan on turning into earrings. There are three Halloween beads, so those will be a pair-and-a-spare listing; and two little matching turtles.

Be sure to come back every Tuesday for your sneak peek of things to come in my Etsy shop. 

Thanks!

Murrini Monday!!!

That's right, Murrini Mondays are back! And for that matter, I'm back, too. I can't believe the last time I blogged was in July. So now that the school year is underway and I'm kid-free much of the time, I plan to be more regular - about blogging! So let's dive right in and I'll show you some of the awesome murrini I've been using.

This turtle features four slices of Lori and Kim murrini, all encased in clear. I'm not much into symmetry or making everything match, so I used four different slices of murrini, a twistie and some frit to decorate the shell before encasing it. I love the random color surprises.

Here's a newer style of owl bead I like to call patchwork. Before adding the eyes and other features, I cover the owl's chest will all sorts of random murrini - my collection of rosebud101 murrini works great!  Doesn't it have a patchwork look to it?

I've been making miniature dinosaur beads to benefit the JDRF (Dinobeadies for Diabetes), and they are perfect for showing off one slice of murrini (on each side!). These two brightly colored dinos are wearing murrini from FlamingEck - love them!

Thanks for coming back to visit on Murrini Mondays! I'll have new murrini to show off next week, and new posts in between. Have a great week!