Want a good laugh? I’m still here. I discovered late lastnight that Aveesh had given me the wrong flight information. I was under the impression that I would be on a plane, flying high at 7:48 this morning. I discovered lastnight that I won’t be flying high until tomorrow morning. This is, of course, after being in panic mode all day long, trying to get everything done, packing my suitcases, and laying out my clothes for an early morning departure.

The upshot? I have an extra day to relax and get in vacation mode. I slept late, went and got a salad from my favorite Cafe for lunch, and have enjoyed some time to unwind.
The downside? I was in panic mode for no reason, because I had an extra 24 hours to get it all done; I just wasn’t aware of that.

It’s really quite funny, now, but it wasn’t at 11:30 lastnight when I couldn’t tell whether Aveesh was kidding or not. This is all part of living with and loving a spontaneous, laid-back person. It’s good for me to get thrown a curve-ball every now and then. I tend to get a little too serious and tied up in all that I have to do. Life doesn’t always have to be so serious, and this is a good reminder of that!

One thing that I did today was to dig into the large stack of books that I want to read.

I made it!

It was a beautiful weekend for me, and I hope it was for you too. It was the first time in quite a while that I did “me” things. “Me time” is important. I have had so much going on lately, from bead shows to house guests to filling orders, that lots of things have fallen by the wayside. Important things, but not top-of-the-list things. I love taking the weekend to clean the house, do laundry, walk Finn, and let my mind wander. I love mundane tasks that need to be done, but don’t require lots of thought (that is, I love them when I have time to do them). All of these tasks that I’ve been ignoring for a month or so, I’ve finally tackled this weekend.

Yesterday, I started the day with a massage at Chakra Salon Spa in San Francisco. It was quite luxurious and pampering. Here’s a little peek at the waiting room on the massage floor. This picture doesn’t do it justice; if you are in the Bay area, you should go see for yourself.

I had accumulated enough Aveda points to get a gift certificate, and it was about to expire. I decided that was just a total waste of a good opportunity, so I made an appointment for an Aromatheraphy massage with an add-on head, neck, and shoulders massage. It was truly blissful. I am sore today, but I figured I would be. My masseuse was excellent, and she honed right in on a knot in my right shoulder that did not want to go away. It hurt, but she got rid of it. So my whole body feels much more limber and relaxed now.

Then I walked around the city a bit and took in the sunshine. After that I went and got my hair done. Cut, color, wash, blow-dry. I feel like a new woman! No bright colors this time; I’ve toned it down a bit, but it’s still a fun ‘do. Just shades of browns and reds.

And to finish of the day yesterday, I completed the remainder of my UncommonGoods order. I’ve been working on this one for a while. Here’s the last bunch of necklaces that I strung lastnight while I watch the Olympics and ate pizza (please excuse the poor photo quality; I took this with my phone at night :

Today has been a day of cleaning house, organizing, and practicing the accordion. I still have a few more necklaces to string, but I am really coming down the home stretch here in terms of things that need to be done before I vamoose for 2 weeks. I’ve done all of the laundry and am now pre-packing my suitcase for Italy! I don’t believe it, but I think I am actually going to be able to come home from the office tomorrow night and go to bed at a decent time. Usually the night before a trip is frantic for me, and I only get a few hours of sleep. Wouldn’t this be a nice change?!

So I’m off to do the last few things on my list, and then go for a stroll with my precious furry friend. I got a really cute picture of him this morning that you know I can’t resist sharing:


And it’s time again for the Beadblogger’s Skidamarinkylinkydink. See what all of these crafty ladies are up to this week:
About.com Jewelry Making
Art shows and sites like Ebay and Etsy are packed full of jewelry makers. When is enough enough or too much? Are there too many of us?

Art Bead Scene
The Art Bead Scene editors are a busy bunch! Read what they’ve been up to.

Art Jewelry Magazine
Robert Dancik’s work is featured in the September 2008 issue of Art Jewelry magazine. Check out his project in the magazine, then watch the video on the Art Jewelry web site.

Barbe Saint John
Barbe talks about the new Naughty Secretary Club book.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi turns an embroidered hankerchief into a bracelet.

Carter Seibels for Divali Glass Jewelry
Carter shares some of the inspiration behind her creativity, and invites you to do the same.

Jennifer Jangles Blog
Jennifer’s been felting for fun, see what she came up with

Jewelry & Beading
Whip up a simple square stitch bail for that stone donut you want to wear. In fact, whip up a whole batch of them!

Naughty Secretary Club
Take a tour of the Naughty Secretary Club studios to see where the magic happens.

Strands of Beads
Melissa reviews Tammy Powley’s new book, Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry

Inspiring Creativity

It comes in all shapes and sizes, all colors and forms, subconsciously and quite consciously. As an artist, my mind is drinking in the world around me all the time. I never know when the urge to create something is going to hit me. Yet I also know that the act of creating fuels new ideas. Often-times I find that the act of making a bead I’ve made 1000 times before, is all the fuel my creative fires need to come up with something new. Really, we are all creating something all of the time: our realities. But what I’m talking about here is the creation of an object, a concrete creative result from a conceptual idea. The bringing to fruition a visualization of the mind. Our lives are scattered with inspiration from morning till night, and all the hours in-between. Color combinations and patterns for beads will arise out of the corners of my subconscious mind; sometimes I am able to trace those visual pairings back to a moment in my life, and other times, the impetus never reveals itself to me. This is subconscious creative energy at work.

I read a lot of other artists blogs, and I am frequently amazed at how quirky and similar we all are. How there seems to be this vein that runs through all creative souls, that can’t really be characterized or categorized as anything other than energy. But it’s energy comprised of very similar stuff. Here are some of the other blogs I visit on a regular (read: daily) basis, to explore this comraderie of creative folk:

Notes from the VooDoo Cafe, Rice Zachary-Freeman
Cynthia Thornton from Green Girl Studios
Margot Potter, Bead Queen of the Universe
Swoondimples, Heather Wynn
Ornamental, Nina Bagley

And here is a visual list of the things that are inspire me, refuel me. Most of these images are ones you’ve seen before, but it’s nice to see them all together, in one collage of inspiration:

Ciao Italia vengo qui!

I went to the grocery store tonight to get a frozen pizza and a bottle of wine, and a few other nibbles to hold me over for a few more nights, so I can just come home from the office and get straight to the torch.

Sweet dreams are in store for me.

I’m at the Pasadena Bead and Design show down in LA, selling my own beads and working the Bead Trust booth.

Aveesh and I have a bit of a female vs. male/order vs. chaos disagreement when it comes to organizing the booth. I have finally convinced him that it looks better to organize the beads on the table, rather than dumping them in haphazard fashion. So for the first time ever, we have a semblance of a rainbow going on on the table, and I am tickled pink….er, tickled rainbow

Oooh, here’s a chance to get some feedback from you fellow bead shoppers: Do you like to shop from a nice and neat table of semi-precious, or do you prefer to rummage through the gems in disarray? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to have some feedback on this for our booths in the future.

Things are a bit slow so far, but it is Thursday and things are usually a bit slow during the weekdays. I’m having a great time, though, getting some ‘puter work done, and listening to Michael Franti with our neighbors. The song “Yes I Will” just came on, and I realized once again what a beautiful song this is, for the positive energy in the lyrics:

I believe that what you sing to the clouds
will rain upon you when your sun has gone away
And I believe that what you dream to the moon
Will manifest, before you rest, another day
So stay strong, and sleep long when you need to
let the mornin’ take you right on through the day
And when you find you’re at the end of the road
just lift your head up
Spread your wings and fly away

When you’re lost and alone
That’s when the rainbow comes
When you’re lost and alone
that’s when the rainbow comes for you
-Michael Franti

Doesn’t that just make you feel good?

Just before we left to come down here, I recieved my copy of the new issue of Bead Trends Magazine.

I have 2 projects for Bead Trust inside! This is a nice magazine, in a smaller size, so it feels like a book in your hand. It’s not chock-full of ads, and it has a variety of projects for all skill levels inside.

Just a quick check-in from me, as we are on the way out the door to LA for the Pasadena Bead and Design show. Talk about a whirlwind…..whew, I think I might fall off the face of the earth if I don’t hold on tight.

We’ve had a great time with Saki and Liz of Saki Silver, and Greg from Green Girl Studios. Talk about a house full of creative energy, good times, and lots of laughs! We had a “pod” of booths together at the ISGB Gathering last weekend here in Oakland, and now we are all heading down to LA together. My bead sales were ok; not as great as I’d hoped for and expected, but such is life. I have lots of beads for Pasadena now, and it gave me a bit more time to work on my Uncommon Goods order.

I have a few pics to share of our good times, and then we’re off. I’ll try to check in from LA if I can find an internet connection and time.

My display at the ISGB show. It was the talk of the show, so I’m excited that everyone else liked it as much as I did!

Greg brough me a special delivery of new charms from Cynthia at Green Girl Studios!

Oops, I’m late in sharing the Beadblogger’s Linky Love!