The Name Game

As a kid, I remember my family voting on our new kitten's name. We had narrowed it down to "Muffy" and "Daffy." I voted for Daffy. Daffy lost. And Muffy turned out to be the sweetest and fattest fluffy calico cat - her name suited her just fine. She joined our brood of Bootsy, Goody, Daisy (her mom) and Rufus the Irish Setter. But I felt cheated about her name. I wanted more say in those matters. Now I have a bead box full of little critter beads and I can name them whatever I want - you'd think my animal-naming dreams have all come true! But lately I'm finding that coming up with names for turtles, dogs and elephants is not as easy as it seems.

I try to keep a running list of names I'd like to use for my beads. But already I've doubled up on a few. So . . . I'd love some help keeping my list fresh - anyone have some good names they'd like to share?

This is our dog, Chunky. He came with his name, so we didn't get to name him.

Road Trip!

My beads are headed on a road trip! They'll be in their first ever bead show on Sunday, August 30, from 10 am to 5 pm. The Second Annual Suburban Bead Show will take place at the Holiday Inn Select Grand Ballroom in Naperville, Illinois. You can find my critter beads at the TLD Design Center table. TLD is where I took my beginner lampworking class and a subsequent class last spring. It's a wonderful place to learn lampwork, and they also offer a wide variety of other art classes - from soap making to weaving.

There should be tons of bead goodies at the show, and I can't wait to have a look around. I've never been to a bead show before, let alone sold my beads in one. I have sold finished pieces and kids stretchy necklaces at holiday bazaars and such, but this will be my first bead show.

Got any advice, suggestions or bead show stories to share?