Therapy Thursday ~ do something for you!

Yes, you! It's much easier said than done, I know. My day today was scheduled with appointments - physical therapy for me and a trip to the orthodontist for my daughter, whose brace bracket came off yesterday. But in between these appointments I managed to carve out time for a quick walk with the dog and enough torch time to make a dent in a custom order and also have a little fun.

Later when I got home, my murrini order from Lori and Kim  was waiting in my mailbox. I ordered in on Monday afternoon! And now it's here, in my hands. So that was an upper for me - can't wait to use it.

Did you do anything for you today? The day is not over - take a few minutes and indulge in something you like. You'll thank yourself later.

Happy Thursday!

Turtle Tuesday

What's better than a turtle? Two turtles! 

I've been busy making mini turtles and turning them into earrings. 

 I love making earrings that don't match. At first glance, these turtle earrings do match, but I slightly altered their shells. One is green with periwinkle spots outlined by blue. The other shell is periwinkle, with green spots outlined by blue. Everything else matches.

At a recent trip to a local bead store, I bought a strand of these tiny antique bronze hearts. I love them! And because I also love turtles, I wire-wrapped this pair with the little hearts. ♥♥

And now for the Turtle Deal of the Day - this patchwork turtle is sporting a whole bunch of rosebud101 murrini on her shell. Melted in together, the murrini reminds me of a patchwork quilt. I've marked this turtle down from $14 to $10!

Happy Turtle Tuesday!

Murrini Monday ~ a Cornucopia of Murrini!

This is me:

Oh look, what's that? Brightly colored murrini chips in retro candy colors???

This is me again, under the spell of FunDip murrini by Lori and Kim: 

I'm am in your power. I will resist all attempts to keep these perfect murrini chips out of my shopping cart. Pretty pretty chips.

And oh no, a Cornucopia of murrini! Leaves changing colors, feathers in varying shades of autumn. I am powerless. I don't even know what I'd do with them, but I must own them.

Happy Murrini Monday!

Try to resist ~ I dare you!

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.