ONE MORE TRY

Since selling options are limited I am giving Etsy one more try, but I don't have high expectations.  There are several shops locally they have an interest in my jewelry but they want 50% of the total sale.  Somehow that just doesn't seem fair to me.  I supply the glass, make the beads, design the jewelry, using my sterling silver clasps etc and other findings.  Then I deliver the finished piece to the store.  I would go 60/40, but 50% is just too much.  Here are two pictures of the bracelets I have on Etsy right now.

                                           

I am not ready for Thanksgiving yet, although I have a good start.  We will be small in number this year, just HB, me, Sara, son and the three grands.  Looking forward to that.  Son's GF might be here too.  That will be nice.  It's great to see him happy again.  We all are adjusting to our new normal, but it has been a difficult and extremely emotional experience for all of us. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!  

A FRESH START

I spent the better part of two days working on cleaning my studio.  Here's a before picture of my work table followed by an after picture.

Now the trick is keeping it like this……yea, like that's gonna happen.  I kind of got renewed at the last show I did though, and have decided to kick myself back into high gear.  I want to do some more indoor shows.  I have a couple of ideas for displaying my beads and am looking for someone who can help me construct what is in my mind.
We are off to see the out of town grandkids this weekend!  About 11 hours in the car, but well worth the trip :)

A SMALL RANT…OK A BIG ONE

Recently Etsy decided to accept wholesalers as sellers.  This is a crushing blow to those of us who are artists of handcrafted merchandise.  We will be over run in no time by mass produced items at rock bottom prices.  For beadmakers, like myself, the quality of beads you will soon find on Etsy will be inferior.  Beads that are made by wholesalers are often made by children in sweatshops.  The beads are not annealed.  Annealing is a process by which the molten bead is slowly cooled down over an 8-12 hour period.  This insures that the bead is strong and it will not break under normal use….now, if you take it out in the street and let a Mac truck run over it, that's a different story.  Kiln wash is used on the mandrels, which are the small stainless steel rods on which the beads are made .  It keeps the glass from sticking to the mandrels.  Beadmakers, who make beads as pieces of art, clean the kiln wash out of each bead and smooth the holes, where the mandrels were, before they sell their beads, not so for most wholesale beadmakers.  Etsy used to be a wonderful place.  A person could find many beautiful, one of a kind, items there.  Now you will find an item listed as one of a kind, but if you do a search you might find 20 other items that look exactly like it…….So I had to tell you this before I could tell you want else I wanted to write about tonight.  I play candy crush saga…..OCCASIONALLY.  It is not working like it used to, which is kind of making me a little grumpy, and that could be because I am getting bronchitis for the FIFTH time this year.  After a trip to the doctor I started on antibiotics and PREDNISONE……and we all know that I am never at my best when under the influence of PRED.  Well, it does make my joints feel better, but my sweet disposition just gets lost in the shuffle of all the madness, so I wrote this on FB tonight


Dear Candy Crush Saga,
Yes, I play your game periodically and to me it a great time waster, but there are parts of my day (or sometimes night) that a time waster is exactly what I need. I don't have to think about anything but getting little candies all in a neat little row. Kind of sad, but true. I know you are a money maker for Facebook, which is why I don't understand why I, and so many others are having the problems with you that we are.  For the last 10 days I have not been able to collect one gifted life or extra move.  Oh, I've been gifted many.  It's just that every time I start a game you refuse to work, so I have to restart you several times. Restarting makes all those extra gifts disappear. I've cleared my cache, tried Google Chrome and Firefox.  They all do the same thing, eat the bonuses and require a restart.  I'm wondering if this is a ploy to get players to spend more money?  You wouldn't do that to your faithful players would you? Seems like there are other venues on the web who are changing the rules so they make more money.  Etsy comes to mind  See, I don't have to win, I just keep playing the same game over and over, because it's kind of mindless, like I said.  However after playing the same game for 10 days with no extras that were gifted to me, I'm getting a little cranky and I'm thinking I will go back to one of the other games I play…on another channel.
Just my two cents


  I wonder how long it will stay.  Okay, I'm done.  Just pretend you never read this.

ELLEN THIS PICTURE IS FOR YOU

I'm showing you a picture of my workbench in the final days before my show.  I have a dear friend named Ellen whom I've never met in person, but we've been cyber buddies for years.  She always freaks out when she sees my table pictures.  I get the feeling we are polar opposites when it comes to jewelry making :)  I'm one of those people who just functions better in chaos.  Believe me, I don't seek it, but it always seems to be nipping at my heels.  I cleaned my whole table off tonight before I started, yet by the end it looked just like this picture….sigh.
I don't think I have enough inventory for a two day show, but it is what it is.  I've been having a terrible time with arthritis in my hands and fingers.  It runs in the family so I am not surprised.  Just wondering what form of entertainment I will take up next.
Okay here are the pictures.  First is my torch area and then my work table….see, I can't create unless I have lots of choices in front of me…I'm sorry Ellen, I know this probably made you twitch :)

                                                     

NEW SHOW

I was juried into the Louisville Artisans Guild this year.  I'm really psyched about it.  We do a two day Holiday show Nov 2 and 3.  I'm psyched about that too, but in a much more frazzled way.  My jewelry inventory has been low recently so I've been torching, making many many beads !  I feel okay about what I've been making and slowly I am accumulating  more and more product.  The thing that worries me is setting up my booth.  I have a general idea about what it's going to look like, and we set up the day before, but will it all come together the way I envision??  Stress, I know I could use more of that :)  Here's a picture of one of my new bracelets. It has an antique button clasp and copper findings.  Standing on my arthritic feet for two days will be an adventure, but I love doing shows because of all the interesting people you meet….and the things you hear.  ("Don't buy that bracelet, Sally.  We can go to Michael's, Walmart, etc, and get some beads and make the same thing.")……….Oh really? :)  I'll show you some more beads later next week.  I need sleep !!
P.S.  A stink bug actually dive bombed my face this week while I was torching…….the nerve of some bugs.  HB got him!!
                                       

  

CASSIDY

This little girl is a trip.  I never know what she is going to say.  She's brutally honest which just cracks me up sometimes because she says what she is thinking.  A couple of weeks ago I was helping her Dad get her in the car.  She looked up at me and said "Happy, why do you have all those cracks in your face?...Oh that's right, I forgot, you're old...never mind."
Just when I thought I was having a good make-up day !! :)

HOW CAN SOMETHING SO TINY....

freak me out?  Stink bugs!!  I hate them!  I am being attacked nightly as I try to make beads.  Think about it.  I am mixing fire, my fingers, molten glass, and intense concentration with flying things that dive bomb me.  It happened on three separate occasions tonight.  HB was called each time and he came with his fly swatter and killed the pesky offenders, BUT I don't like it when they land in my hair or make a quick pass very close to my torch.  Sometimes they are so blatant that they land on one of my rods of glass and just sit there looking at me.  Last week one landed and became entangled in my hair.  My loud shrieking brought HB pretty quickly to my studio.  By then I had shaken the vile thing out of my hair, but as I turned away from my husband he saw two of them on the back of my shirt!!  Really, I need to complain to HR about my work site.  I wish I could figure out where they are getting in.  At the top of HB's "honey do" list for tomorrow is how to keep stink bugs out of my studio.......I'm such a wuss.  Anyone have any ideas?

DON'T LOOK IF YUCKY MAKES YOU SICK.

So I mentioned that I recently had eye surgery, although I said it was my right eye and it's really my left.  I had cataract surgery several years ago and my eyelids fell as a result of this...who knew?  So the doctor lifted them, which was really kind of cool since it was all covered by insurance.  Not to mention that it was necessary, since I could barely see out of either eye since my lids were so squinty.  For about a year all was going well and then the left lid fell again, apparently not too unusual, but requiring yet another lift.  This is not a brow lift, but a lid lift.  They cut into your lid and stitch it up into the muscle that is behind your brow bone....Yikes!!  You have to be awake for this because they want you to be able to open and close your eyes.  They do give you a local anesthetic, which, I might add, hurts just a tad more than the bee sting they describe!!  Here's what I have looked like the last 4 or 5 days  This may gross you out.......sorry.  I will show you an after pic in a couple of weeks. It will be better, I promise.
                                       

                                                 

NEW LOOK...KIND OF

I changed things around a little bit, and it took forever.  I had more surgery on my right eye so I haven't been able to make beads.  Out of complete boredom I decided to tidy up my  blog.  I can't help it, I just like orange and pink together :)  Life is great right now.  Baby Jake is growing so fast.  I'll post a picture soon.  Son is happy and grandchildren are doing well.  Life if good!

MAYBE NOT

I've been re-thinking this bead thing.  I don't think I want to quit yet.  I've been in a slump for so long, but for some reason, lately, I feel renewed.  For one thing, a woman with an upscale shop had closed due to her father's death.  She called while I was down at my mom's and talked to HB.  She's re-opening and wants to have my jewelry in the shop again.  That made me smile because my pieces always sold well there.  Recently, I applied, and was juried into the Louisville Artisan's Guild.  They have a 2 day show in mid Nov.  Another positive opportunity.  So, for the time being, the wheels are back on the bus :)
I bought a new photo tent, which I love.  It makes picture taking so much easier.  Here are a couple of photos.