Therapy Thursday ~ 15 Minutes of Fame

Curtis the Compact Hippo made it to the big show last night. There he is top and center on my computer.

Last night I popped onto Facebook for a quick check before bed, and there was a post from my page that said "My shop has been featured on Etsy.com." But I hadn't made that post. I was confused. Then some of my bead buddies start congratulating me, but I was still kinda clueless. After some swift detective work, we figured out that Curtis the hippo made it to the big time, the Etsy Front Page. Dun Dun Dun. What a huge thrill! I'd like to thank my mom and dad for always believing in my artwork despite never voting for my pictures when my sister & friends and I would do little art contests as kids. I know you didn't vote for mine because you didn't want the other kids to feel bad. Sure. And I'd like to thank my agent and my kittens . . . But mostly I want to say thank you all my Etsy and Facebook friends for celebrating with me, and for taking the time to take pictures and screen shots of little Curtis in the limelight. I think it's going to his head. But it's not going to mine.

A great big thank you to laraandmedolls, who curated the sweet treasury that landed Curtis and lots of other wonderful items on the front page. Her shop is filled with the most adorable handmade-from-scratch dolls, like Elsie above, who is waiting for a hug.

Deirdre from AnkleBiterBeads was flipping out with me last night, and she gave me the idea to just snap a picture of my computer screen with my camera. Thanks, Deirdre! Some bunny was looking out for me. You'll find this Monster in a Bunny Costume only in her shop, nowhere else.

Alison from glassali was also there cheering me on. I have been a huge fan of her shop since I found it on Etsy. She not only makes gorgeous beads, but she incorporates them into stunning jewelry pieces. I love the colors in these Striped Lampwork Disks.

And my friend Jennifer over at GlassAddictions kept asking me for my autograph. Just kidding. She was snapping screen shots left and right for me - thanks, Jen! She has a ton of new and exciting beads in her shop right now, including this set of big hole Triangular Jewels ~ absolutely stunning!

And Jenny from EmbellishYourself, ewe are awesome! Jenny made me a screen shot and posted it on my Facebook page - thank you so much! Jenny's shop is filled with the most adorable necklaces, for real people and for Blythe dolls. This Love Ewe Necklace is one of my favorites. It is perfect!

And Janel from JanelDudleyBeads just emailed me a screenshot - thanks, Janel! Have you seen her shop? Her beads are striking, like this aptly named Striking Glass Bicone.

I just heard from Curtis' agent, Holly Dare, of HollysFollyGlass. She said Curtis deserves a place of honor in my shop, and demanded I put him back in the featured section, or he will walk (she didn't actually say that part, but it sounds dramatic). I can't believe I overlooked that detail - so please forgive me Curtis. Have a gigantic Red Velvet Cupcake from Holly's bakeshop. Sweets will win him back.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing in my excitement. I'm really glad I was awake to see Curtis in all his glory. He has become quite popular - lots more hearts and over 700 new views. He has requested his own section in the bead box with green M & Ms and Diet Coke no ice and a lemon. The front page is a powerful place. I only wish more glass would show up there. It's one of the most difficult things to photograph, and the glass artists on Etsy do an outstanding job (as you can see from the pictures posted here) getting clear and provoking pictures. They deserve the limelight, too.

Happy Thursday! Pay It Forward!

Wordless Wednesday

Murrini Monday ~ It's all about self control

Murrini are tiny pieces of glass with intricate designs in them.

Sometimes the murrini spreads out just a bit on the bead, but still maintains its shape. I love the little flower on this one.

Other times the murrini spreads out over the bead and it's a color explosion.

For owl eyes, I have to have some control to keep the murrini from melting all over, and to keep the eyes as uniform as possible.

More owl eyes.

More owl eyes.

Aptly named Guacamole, this is one of the new blends by Lori and Kim I've dipped into ~ can't you just see the guacamole turtles already? I'll have pictures for next week's edition of Murrini Monday.

You may think I'm obsessed with murrini, or even, gasp, addicted. I'm not. It's all under control. But I'll humor you and allow an intervention ~ Super Wiener Dog to the rescue! But I don't need rescuing - I can quit murrini any time. Really.

Happy Murrini Monday!

Finding Inspiration

Mmmm. Cupcakes with frosting heaped up on top, then decorated with cute frosting farm animals. Do they make your mouth water? Or do they inspire you in some way?

Louise, from Fire Seed Beads, posted this picture on Facebook the other day. Then she wrote, simply, "Inspiration?" You betcha! When I commented on how cute the cupcakes were, she said "I'll try if you'll try." So we both went to the torch to turn that sweet farm animal frosting into beads. Here are our results:

Louise's cow thinks she's made of frosting ~ she's trying to have a taste. Can you blame her?

Why the long face? You're awfully cute, and I have a feeling you'll be horsing around with other horsey beads soon.

I'm a huge fan of Louise's sculptural animal beads, but she also makes beautiful wearable art beads, too. Find her on Etsy and ArtFire. And her ArtFire shop is filled with her wonderful little Monkee beads:

Glass Monkey Bead - find more of these adorable monkey beads at Fire Seed Beads on ArtFire.

The above cow and horse beads are my attempts. I love making cows, but this one is a little different from my usual bovine. And I've only done a couple horse heads, but they could become a habit . . .

What's kind of ironic about finding inspiration in frosting, is that I nearly took a cake-decorating class instead of the bracelet-making class that eventually led me to lampworking.

So, what has inspired you lately?

Therapy Thursday ~ The Bright Side of Life

When I was in junior high, I had a friend who would come up to me and say "I have such good news!" And she'd be jumping up and down and I'd get all excited, but before I could ask her what the good news was she'd blurt out "I made the high honor roll!!!" Wow. That was great news for me, a struggling B student who didn't even know there was a high honor roll. This friend loved to share her good news. It bordered on showing off, and I learned to put up with it. But there's something to be said for sharing good news. It can be a day brightener for the person sharing and for the person listening. There's a local radio guy who, on Fridays, has people call in with their good news. It could be something as simple as their kid passing their driving test after three tries, to something as wonderful as finishing chemo. It's really a nice segment, aptly called "The Bright Side of Life." It's fun to hear everyone's good news, be it big or small. It's all good.

Today I woke up to a bright, sunny day and could hear the birds chirping, and I felt like it would be a good day to share good news. So I'd love it if you left a comment about what's good in your life at the moment. I'll start:

I'm almost done vacuuming the house, and when I'm done I'm going to make beads. :o) Oh, and I figured out how to listen to something besides Jersey Boys on my iPod. I love the Jersey Boys soundtrack, and for a while it was all I would or could listen to because my iPod was stuck on it. But now I've got access to all the other albums on there. Yay me!

Wordless Wednesday

Stepping Up

I'll let you in on a secret - I wear a pedometer. I clip it onto my waistband every day and it keeps track of how many steps I take. It makes me accountable, and at this point in my life I need that. I've always been pretty active. I used to be an avid runner and I love going for brisk walks. But since I took up lampworking, and especially during the winter months, I've become much more sedentary. I mean, my very favorite thing to do (making beads, in case you didn't know) involves my arms only. And in the winter I have less reason to move about. In the warmer months I walk my girls to school - about a quarter mile each way - then walk pick them up. I had a treadmill for about 10 years, and I ran that thing into the ground. So instead of replacing it, I got an elliptical machine. Sadly, the elliptical is not for me. I still use it, but I'd use a treadmill more. Too late. So, I'm wearing my pedometer and really trying to get in my recommended steps for each day. I've read that around 10,000 steps is the goal I should be shooting for - so I'd like to top that. And I'm not going to accept any excuses for not hitting my daily goal. Today I went for a walk, got on that darn elliptical for 25 minutes and did a bunch of cleaning. I'm just over 8,000 steps and it's only 11 am. I know I'll hit my goal today, but I've got to keep it up.

By the way, I got my pedometer at Wal-Mart for $5. There are fancier ones out there, but this kind works fine for me. When the battery runs out, I usually just get another one. I think batteries cost more than the pedometer. The only drawback is that if you lean on a counter or something that lines up with the reset button, the pedometer can reset itself. That is so frustrating! So, if you join me on this stepping quest, check your pedometer every so often to make sure it hasn't reset, and if it does you'll know about where you were at when it happens.

There's only a few more weeks until it warms up around here, and soon it will be shorts weather. I'm going to step it up!