How Time Flies!

Has it been over a year and a half since my last post??? It hasn't been due to a lack of anything to say. "Life gets in the way". How true those words are. Since my last post, I have graduated to wire work. And, once I conquer my fear of fire, a torch is in my future! Hmmm, since my marital status will soon be changing back to "single" maybe I'll find a use for that torch afterall.
So, since my last post: I have opened an Etsy shop, BeadsOnHand and joined an Etsy street team; in fact, two teams. I have found that I enjoy teaching braiding, and often learn somethin new with each class. I got up the courage to do two Christmas craft fairs last year (and did fairly well, thankyou!). And, a very important "and" here, have learned how to use an easy version of PhotoShop. It's an older version and much less expensive (okay, so I'm a cheapskate, but it does everything I need).
Oh, and the beads have started talking to me again. Maybe someday they'll tell me where the bead holes go at night?

What a Difference a Color Makes

What a difference a color makes! This is the same focal bead as in the June 1,2007 entry but with a new braid. I had intended to mirror the focal's colors: turquoise, dark amber, and black, in a braid. Unfortunately the result was busy, busy, busy. So, let's put things away and play another day.

I love this bead. It was hand made by Tim from The Beaded Lily in Italy. It's gorgeous: all blue, warm orangey honey, cream, and black; even a couple spots of goldstone inclusions. I happened to take it with me to a bead show. It was a good excuse to go to the show (if we really need an excuse) hoping to find some other beads and finish that necklace. A very nice saleslady from http://www.kazuribeadseast.com/ helped me pick out some nice warm caramel colored beads to bring out the amber in the focal.

Next: how to bring everything together? Better braid colors!!! What goes better with caramel than chocolate? And: just a little flash of a brighter orange (paprika, actually).

And of course, every time I look at it I get a really bad craving for chocolate. Isn't it a good thing this is for sale? (Yup, you guessed it! I am selling something, my secret is out. And if I can figure out how to get the address of my Etsy shop in the conversation, you'll be the first to know!)