Can someone give me a clue?

It's a bead problem.




I bought these "beads" probably 2 years ago. I don't remember what they were called or what they are made of.




I have made them into a bracelet which I can't really put in my shop unless I know how to describe it!




Do they look like silver? Is that glass? I know those are tiny little flowers, real ones.




I don't like to misrepresent anything but I just don't remember! Does anyone recognize this type of 'slide' bead? Expert opinion maybe? Hell, I'll accept guesses. Thanks so much!

Off to get the laundry out of the dryer.

No, I didn't forget to put the stockings away, I just miss Christmas and all the decorations already. But yes, these have been boxed up and put away for next year.

And here, on my cluttered kitchen counter, with fun-fetti forced into the frozen frosting on top and smoking candles - is the cake. THE cake. Isn't it sad? It's the first time one of my kids did not have their name on their cake (it was melting) and the first time one of my birthday cakes has ever looked even close to inedible. It's also the first time I did not put all the candles on one of their birthday cakes as well, but the time element and closeness of fire (warmth) seemed prohibitive. While I learned a lot about what NOT to do if I attempt an ice cream cake again, and it looked downright nasty, it tasted fabulous! Chocolate cake with Fannie May mint melt-away ice cream. Mmm-m-m...

This is what I have been doing the last two days. Going through beads and sorting the good stuff from the not-so-good - threw a lot out and organized a lot. Discovered there were beads I bought more than once because I couldn't find the ones I already had. Mostly spacer beads and stuff. But - I will be organized soon!

Oh, and the snow? I'm not sure how much we actually got, but they are predicting more tomorrow when I AM going to work. And this is my car in the deep freeze - if you look close there is even a layer of ice across the grill. If I were smart I would have warmed it up and cleaned it off when the sun was shining this afternoon, right? Not that smart.

Br-r-r-r-r!!!!

Okay, I feel a bit better now.

~ * ~

So being in my usual state of "I got nothin'", I decided to see if I could go into my bead room and not freak out about the mess it is in there. I discovered it was worse in some ways than I was thinking because my sweet and timid (toilet paper and paper towel eating) cat Norah had been running a-muck with sheets of bubble wrap, knocking some jewelry boxes on the floor and snacking on the cotton filler. Nice. Thanks Norah!


I managed to clear a place to sit and after a few fits and starts, I actually made something! And I figured that since this blog is called A Bead a Day - maybe I ought to show some beads now and then. It's been a long long time. I made a bracelet, yes, only one. But it is made with all handmade lampwork glass beads and sterling silver and I am quite pleased with how it turned out since I am SO out of practice.


And I feel a little better now cause look! I got somethin'!

A search is a search is a search

I love reading posts where bloggers talk about the searches people have used to find their blog. Most of the time I’m laughing at the bizarre things people search for and the rest of the time I’m saying “what on earth..?” Too funny.

Someone found me with “how does a June bug know it’s June?” Why do you want to know?

There was “what does it mean when a cat holds it’s foot up?” Hmmm, well I imagine there is something keeping him from putting it down. Usually pain!!

“Should I shave my legs every day I’m abroad?” They could have given some details – is there going to be a beach involved, or is this a winter vacation? Who are you going with? They might care.

“How angry am I?” Is this person really asking this? Cause I think they would know better than anyone else about their pissed-off-ness. Leave ME out of it!

“How many lives does a dog get?” I have it on good authority dogs only get one. That’s it. So if you want your money’s worth out of a pet, you might want to consider a cat.

Which brings me to “How many lives does a cat get?” Seriously?

I get a lot of cat searches and unfortunately a lot of vagina searches combined with things I don’t want to think about after I wrote about the Vagina Monologues. Lots of bead searches, but the one search that keeps coming up a lot, is titanium breast clip, or mammogram titanium clip. Titanium clip pain. I just wanted to say that the teeny tiny little clip they left in my breast is about the size of the tip of a pencil, and the ONLY time I think about it, or remember it’s there? When I see another search for it.

I understand, I am sure I searched for it before my mammatome too. But honestly – you searching ladies – it’s nothing. Truly. You will never know it’s there unless the doctor points it out to you on an x-ray or something and even then – it’s tiny. Don’t bother feeling for it because you won’t find it. It’s just the idea of it that’s weird but unless you have a blog and write about it – you will forget it’s there too. So worry about the results of the procedure, not the clip. Just sayin’.

I am not worthy

Somehow when I have not been around, not posting – reading or commenting much I have managed to receive an award! And not only a sweet award, but from 2 different ladies who write beading blogs! I am so ashamed. Because this is what my bead room looks like right now. You would not believe what the floor in there looks like!

I’m glad the award is not based on my beading because I haven’t created anything new in at least a month if not more. I sold something this weekend in spite of myself because I have not been putting any effort into it at all while my bead room is slowly moving forward. Apparently this award is based on my sparkling personality and that’s so much better anyway, isn’t it? (am I hiding my shame well enough?)

The first wonderful and talented lady is Jo from Gem Heaven. She has so much talent when it comes to creating jewelry I would wear everything she creates. Every. Single. Piece. Seriously. Gorgeous jewelry with incredible handmade beads and beautiful silver! If you want to see what a true jewelry maker can do, please check her out. Thank you Jo!

The second lady to give me this award has a different type of beading blog. Her name is Pearl (yes really) and she writes The Beading Gem’s Journal. She teaches people how to bead, offers tutorials and really interesting articles on beads and techniques. I’ve learned from her and frequently bookmark her articles to go back to. God knows I can never absorb enough information on the subject! Thank you Pearl!

Both of these ladies bestowed upon me the You Make My Day Award! How fantastic is that? I appreciate it so much. I’ve met some terrific people through blogging and they never cease to amaze me. I am not worthy. *see me bowing down* Thank you Jo and Pearl! Truly.

There are rules and regulations and guidelines to follow when it comes to awards and I am afraid I am rebellious when it comes to these things. There are times when I follow all of the rules and times when I follow none. I think I am too tired to follow the rules right now. I apologize. Or not.
:) But believe me when I say - you, ladies, have made MY day!!!

THANK YOU!!

I am SO ready for this!

For Christmas this year, one of the gifts from my BF was to help me make my bead room into a real craft room. Putting up shelving, getting the proper containers for supplies, and moving everything around so it all makes sense is what I am hoping for.

Playing musical furniture the other night started the process. A previous tenant left the desk we moved into the bead room - in the house. It is ugly, pink, heavy and it is huge. It had to be taken apart to be moved and even the pieces weighed a ton. Put back together in the bead room it takes up a third of the room. Did I mention it is huge? Of course the bead room is fairly small, maybe that’s part of it.

Still, I am so excited about it, I cannot tell you. I am not the most organized person in the world, but I don’t like the chaos of disorganization around me. It makes me cranky. So to take this room that started out as a small bedroom with a tiny table in it and accumulate the amount of beading supplies I have in it, it got to the point where I did not even want to go in there.

Now, I am going to have a room where I can keep my beads and tools, my fabric and sewing machine, my craft books and magazines. Funny, because I never understood why anyone would want a craft room of any kind. I didn’t do anything “crafty” until I reached 40. Then it was as if someone turned on a switch and inside my head I heard; “what are you going to do when you’re old and have no hobbies??” Okay, that isn’t exactly what I heard, but all of a sudden the urge was there. And now the room is too.

I am looking forward to having designated areas for my mailing supplies, my jewelry boxes and my mannequin head, as well as finished unsold jewelry. Of course I don’t *cough cough* have much of that.

Most of all I am looking forward to having a bead room that is a pleasure to walk into because I am not stepping over boxes and bags and where the kleptomaniac cat (that would be Norah) won’t have access to my beads.

I am hoping this change will make me a calmer and more productive beader! Or maybe I should say – make me a beader again – because I haven’t been doing much. For me, organization will breed creativity! Go me!

Stuff to do, people to see

*
Quick post this evening! My daughter is home from school so we had a Thai food feast for dinner, one of her favorites. She and my son are making plans to go Christmas shopping tomorrow, but it sounds like they are leaning more heavily toward going to the Field Museum to see the Darwin Exhibit. They are so much more intellectually curious than I am.

I'll be heading back into the bead room after I post this, and I wanted to put at least one picture up of some bracelets I have made. I'm loving them, I hope you do too! My picture definitely isn't the best, but click to enlarge and see more detail. :)



Before I run off to create - I want to say thank you to Holly over at The Spiritual Dog Blog who has decided that I am fabulous!! Woo hoo! I always wanted to be fabulous and I think Holly is fabulous too. :)


I would like to head south to pass on this award. I'd like to tell Dixie at Deep Fried-Southern Style how fabulous she is - but I tell you what - she already knows! She looks marvelous in green hair and she makes me laugh out loud. The next southern gal is Honeysuckle Rose who writes at Not Much Southern Comfort. Her posts frequently make me think but more often make me laugh. And that second bracelet from the top up there? That's named "Southern Comfort" after her because she suggested I make a bracelet with blues and browns. I think both of you women are fabulous!
*

The new phonebooks are here!

It's been an exceptionally bad day. Work, bad news, friends and loved ones getting bad news, bad news all the way around. So coming home and getting a bunch of gorgeous silver in the mail really perked me up!

There are some really huge sterling silver toggles I cannot wait to use!!

See the circle and the diamond shapes? Those are sterling beads that I can put a bead right in the center of and string them together - as the focal point of a bracelet or a necklace. Exciting stuff!! Well, to me anyway. Can't wait to see what I come up with!

Finally

*
I listed the green aventurine and sterling silver necklace in my Etsy shop tonight. Finally. It has literally been months since I have listed anything new. Now all I have to do is keep at it. I took tons of pictures yesterday and this evening, so hopefully I will get at least one or two pieces listed a day for the next week. Uh huh. I'll believe it when I see it too. :)

Now I have to clean up my photography mess, get an order ready to go out, make my lunch and get ready for bed. Hopefully I will be able to get to bed before 1:00 am but who am I kidding? I don't generally move that fast.

My jewelry is why I started this blog but for some reason I got this notion that people would be interested in my electrical problems, my kids, and whether or not I grow chin hairs these days. Okay, I won't stop talking about that stuff, but I really hope to at least do a bit more with my beading. Balance, right? Balance.

I'm going to get up now and listen to my ankles snap crackle and pop as I make my way about my business. They do that all the time now, man, does this aging process ever give up any happy surprises???

I haven't seen any yet!
*

My intentions

*
I have been having trouble getting motivated to get back into my bead room, and I have sold a few pieces lately in spite of myself. I haven't been trying. I think one of my problems is that my beads have so over-taken that room, along with my daughter piling some of her stuff in there, that the room itself is not appealing to me to go into. Must get that room in hand and hopefully I will pick up those stones and bits of glass and wire and get to work again. Because I really do want to.

There is something else I really want to do. Some time ago I decided to take up quilting. I had no idea what I was doing but I bought fabric and a pattern and I commenced quilting. Sort of. I made a quilt for my former boyfriend and I wish I had photographed it because it turned out really well. At least I think it did - it was my very first quilt and I gave it as a gift. Didn't realize what an ambitious undertaking it would be when I formulated that plan!

After I made that one, I started hoarding fabric. I do that. I hoarded fabric, squares already cut, fat quarters, fabric by the yard if it was a good deal. I even cut out an entire queen sized quilt, sewed some of the pieced blocks together, and when I laid it out to see how it would look as a finished quilt - I hated it. So I have those 12 inch blocks all neatly piled waiting to be sewn together in an unappealing color scheme. Expensive fabric too. Sigh-h. I want to finish it. Even if ends up being the quilt on a closet shelf you pull down when you need that extra blanket, I want to finish it. I have too many unfinished things around here.

But first - I want to finish this one. This quilt is a scrap quilt, made from every color and pattern, even some old shirts and pajamas have contributed fabric. Some of the rows are uneven and my stitches aren't straight. I have not bound the edges and this poor quilt has resided on an ironing board in my bedroom for the better part of 2 years! The cats love it. Argh-h-h.

This quilt was intended to be the one you see folded up on the end of the couch in front of the TV, the one that could go onto the floor with a child rolled up in it. It was supposed to be that 'all things' quilt that was old fashioned and quaint and maybe even a bit ugly but would have fond memories attached.

So in order to keep myself honest and give myself a push - I intend to finish this quilt. By Christmas. That's a generous amount of time considering what is left to be done on it. I'm stating it here so that I will actually do it - and can come back and post some pictures of it when it's complete.

I'm really hoping that a person or 2 will remember this abandoned quilt and ask me about it sometimes. As in "so, how's that quilt coming?" I need support here. Or a swift kick in the behind, but I'll start by asking for support. Make me do this!


*

So many beads ..

*Click on pictures for larger view~

I made a necklace and bracelet out of these beautiful stone beads. They are green for the most part, but I do not know what the stone is. I know I wrote it down somewhere but of course I don't know where. I'd like to list these in my shop because they are so pretty - and done ( !!! ) but I need to find out what the stone is first. They look like rhyolite but I suspect they are something else. Any ideas? Anyone?


And these, these are a whole pile of yummy slab beads I got recently that I really need to create some necklaces with. The last necklace I made with slab beads sold within 10 minutes of listing it. I like that!

If you look you can see there are rose quartz, tiger eye, silver leaf jasper, lemon chrysoprase, brecciated jasper, fancy jasper, and classic howlite irregular slab beads. Gorgeous! These are going to make some lovely jewelry!

It IS July!

I guess I missed it! I have been off work for a few days - and I can't keep track of the dates when I'm at home. But I know it's the 3rd because tomorrow is the 4th and by all accounts - it's a holiday! Stuff blows up in the sky and everybody oooooh's and ahhhhhhh's over it. Okay, I do too. Who isn't a little kid when watching fireworks?!??

I should mention that "day dreamer" over there at Candid Yammering nominated me for Rockin' Girl Blogger! Thanks so much! I STILL have to find out what that is - but it sounds good - I can't imagine it's secretly the geekiest bloggers ever award - so I am happy for the nomination!

One thing that has come out of blogging - is being able to take that peek into other people's lives, make new friends and have some laughs together. I think most people think they are a bit weird, their family is the wackiest or most dysfunctional. But everybody has something. So we write and let other people in and they respond - "oh I know what you mean" or "been there done that" - and it makes you feel a bit more normal. On the other hand - it might make you feel like everybody is just freakin' crazy!!!!! :) But whatever it does for you - it doesn't do anything bad. It's a good thing.

I was going to introduce one of the cats tonight, but I really think I need to throw a load of laundry in and then head to the bead room. Spent yesterday afternoon and then today too - out at the picnic table in the backyard taking pictures of jewelry. Did you know there are things that fly and crawl around out there? And things that bite sometimes? Ee-e-e-w-w!

When I came in today I went through all my pictures and updated some of my older listings with better pictures, but the job of sorting, sizing, cropping etc - all of those pics got a bit overwhelming so I have pushed it aside for the moment. I tell you what though - the digital camera and memory card are things of beauty! Add to that a laptop, a wireless connection and an awesome printer too - and you have all I need to list all the jewelry in the world in my shop! Now I just have to make it!

The pictures here are all from older listings - pics I took today in the backyard, and then updated in my shop. There is just something about that natural light to bring out the beautiful colors in stone! None of these have had the color altered at all - and if you click on them you will see how beautiful the colors really are. And if you notice - they are all necklaces and they are all being modeled by Roberta. She is here, lower left. What a wonderful investment she has been! She doesn't usually wear glasses but I was just showing that if you're beautiful - you're beautiful with glasses or without! Okay, I was really just trying to show that Roberta is one of us - not glamorous at all when she's not working!

OH! How could I forget an update on the diet! Dani and I have been following the Nutrisystem diet, eating out of the massive boxes of food sitting right in the living room, and I can't speak for her but - what the hell? You've seen the commercials - "I'm a size TWO!" she says in that most annoying really thin person voice. "All I did was eat the food!" I can almost feel her finger poking deeply into her cheek. Well I've been eating the food! I've been eating the salads and the fruit and the freeze dried concoctions I am paying about 10 dollars a day for - and I don't think I've lost a pound! Of course I was prementrual last week so that was hard to judge, and still menstrual this week, but still!!

This has not been incredibly fun.

It might be different if before you started the diet you already knew what foods you would like and which foods you wouldn't. Everything you order would be something you know you will like. Not knowing ahead of time makes it a real crap shoot. Really, just because it says tuna cassarole - who says it will really taste like tuna cassarole? Plus - you get a week of food for free - but THEY pick the food for that week. I figured though, they would know that if I didn't order any split pea soup - it would be because I don't like split pea soup! Or black beans and rice! Yuk! Okay, so I'm a picky eater. But - still!!!

There is one food that is exceptionally good - and that is the lowfat granola. I mixed it into my lowfat yogurt this morning and didn't even feel like I was dieting! Num! The chocolate chip pudding is okay, the chips save it. The reconstituted all beef patty I had for dinner this evening was quite interesting - a science experiment in rehydration you might say! The texture was a little weird but it tasted okay. Most of the food is just that, okay, and a lot is Chef Boy-Ar-De-like too. All in all it has been difficult to eat this food day after day - I feel I have been on it a lot longer than I actually have. My daughter and I both agree that lunch is our least favorite meal of the day. The whole thing would be easier to tolerate if I felt I was getting some return for my effort. Hmm. Well - maybe tomorrow I will weigh myself and get a good surprise.

But then again - maybe not.

**********************

Maybe I should have just introduced one of the cats. God knows that will be a show stopper! :) One thing I haven't done for a while is close with a pretty picture. I am going to do that tonight. It's raining outside, there is a cool breeze and I can hear distant thunder. It's gonna be good sleeping tonight!!!

Okey Doky

Is there a proper way to spell that?

So. My daughter and I both recommend the Nutrisystem sloppy joes. Dani HATED the apple toaster pastry while I thought the strawberry was okay. She thought the texture of the cranberry orange pastry was "spongy" - I really enjoyed it. I think she is more sensitive to texture than I am. The food as a whole so far has been a bit disappointing. I guess I was expecting it to be at least as good as Lean Cuisine or something, but on the other hand it was important to me that it not need to be refrigerated or frozen because I simply don't have the space. So I suppose there is a trade-off there. I particularly DID enjoy the chicken fettuccine I had last night, as well as the meatloaf I had tonight. The mashed potatoes were pretty weird though. Dani gave the mushroom risotto a high rating as well. I've been holding off on weighing myself - I don't feel any different I don't think. Hmmmm.


On an entirely different note - I managed to get some nice pieces made tonight. I finally used the agate slab beads I had, made a really nice necklace. Got about 5 pairs of earrings done, a couple necklaces and bracelets. I like to get several pieces done and then do all the picture taking together, etc. I'd like to get a few more things made before I move on to that step this week.

Made a sale tonight, sold one of my favorite necklaces. One of those things that I would look at and think - why hasn't that sold yet? It's so pretty. But - obviously - to each his own, there's something out there for everyone but it's not necessarily in my shop!

Oh! I almost forgot! HerRoyalMajestyBags posted in the ETC section of Etsy's forums - that her neighbors are giving her a hard time because they don't like that she hangs her laundry out to dry in her own backyard. Well, HerRoyalMajestyBags got fed up and posted a request for underwear! She wants to make some kind of prayer flag made of undies - although I think it's gotten bigger than that at this point. I got my contribution ready and it will go out tomorrow. She has promised to post pictures - so hopefully all of us who have donated to the cause will get to see the results! What a hoot! :)

I guess I never realized that it was considered "trashy" to hang your laundry out to dry. Have people gotten so far away from their childhoods - or did these people grow up in the city? I don't know. I remember having to go into the backyard to hang clothes for my Mom (probably not very often) or to take stuff down. The only equipment needed - a clothesline, laundry basket, and clothes pins. Such a simple thing. But is it not an acceptable practice now? Boggles MY mind! Women,menopause,peri-menopause,osteoporosis,feminism,complexion,shoes,hair,
makeup,manicure,motherhood,pregnancy,breastfeeding,hormones,daycare,health,young,hip,
bling,home,family,decorating,shopping,divorce,boyfriend,girlfriend

Accuracy

I am posting a couple pics so I can ask for some help with accurately identifying these beads. They were sold to me (in order of appearance) as:



natural agate

onyx

moss agate

citrine quartz

cherry quartz

iolite quartz



Now, taking what I have learned recently, that means the first 3 are real stone and the last 3 are manmade stones. Or glass I guess. My question is - how come SO many people sell beads labeled as quartz or jade - knowing they aren't? Hmmmm.

Revelations and disappointment

Last night in Etsy forums a thread was started called Opalite is not a gemstone. At least I believe that's the name. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5135256 It was all about the trend toward gemstones (or not) being misidentified. It is something that started to disturb me not too long ago when I started to realize I did not know enough about the stones themselves - that I was using. This thread really brought home how you cannot just believe someone because they sell it as say - pineapple quartz. That's not quartz - it's glass! There is no such thing as pineapple quartz. I did not know this. When I started to make jewelry I bought my beads based on how pretty they were, how unusual, etc. But now I kind of feel like the dumb blond with her finger in her cheek and vacant look in her eyes!

The result of the whole thread - which last time I looked had over 400 posts and was still on the first page under Buying and Selling - is that I have decided I must educate myself to a greater degree. There isn't anything wrong with using synthetic stones. There is nothing wrong with glass or acrylic or whatever people choose to use. But if you don't identify them accurately you are misrepresenting what you are selling. Oh I hate the thought! I identify the beads in my jewelry as what they were represented as to me when I bought them. But I need to know what I'm buying - not just what people TELL me I am buying. I am glad that I do not charge in the upper ranges for my jewelry, I think I DO charge what it is worth. But my goal has been to get more skilled at what I am doing and this is just one more aspect of that. I need to educate myself and have ordered the books that were recommended last night. I guess I'm going to get an edumication!!! :) By choice. :)

Quick note on the diet - I did fine today - there are enough different things you eat during the day to keep most people satisfied I would think. I missed my afternoon snack, but I will make sure I get all of it in tomorrow. I will say that I am heartily disappointed in my dessert option tonight though. And unfortunately it is the option I ordered the most of. :( It is the chocolate cake. It wasn't nearly as chocolaty (is that a word?) as I was expecting, and the texture was kind of mushy. Icky. I will have to cook it a bit longer next time, but my microwave is one that you generally don't go over a normal cook time with so we will see. I have a huge sweet tooth so I was really counting on that dessert option to be good. Still - everything else I ate today was good - and tomorrow I have planned a bit better since Dani and I ran to the store and stocked up on produce and the like. I know what I am having for breakfast, lunch, and snack because those are all during work hours.

It's good to have a plan. :) Disappointed in the chocolate cake but not discouraged. Onward! Search for women's issues like menopause, peri-menopause, osteoporosis, feminism, complexion, shoes, hair, makeup, manicure, motherhood, pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormones, daycare, health, and everyday concerns.

Feeling accomplished

Oops - just as I started to type the thought just came to me that I have a load of laundry to get out of the dryer - and a load in the washer as well. Yikes. I went into the bead room and that was all she wrote. Oh well. Soon, I will get to it soon.

I know I made a necklace last night that I love, but I made one tonight (email - I just sold something - woo hoo!!) that I am just crazy for! It is all Soo Chow jade and Swarovski crystals, sterling silver and I am not sure about the connector I used, I have a feeling it may be plated. But anyway, I am very pleased with this necklace. It is unlike anything I have done before and I am really excited! The picture isn't the best, I may have my daughter model it for Etsy, we will see. Roberta (my mannequin lady) is lovely - but she does only have one shoulder so she can be a tiny bit lop-sided.

I just had a cat jump up and curl up on my lap, and she is making it difficult to type. She's the evil one we are still trying to socialize, (after over a year!!) right now she will sit on my lap when she wants, and I can pet her if I do it right - but if she decides one of us is being aggressive (looking at her side ways) - she will bite. And boy can she bite! Her name is Abigail Grace and she is a beautiful tortie. Looks are deceiving with her though. One of my daughter's friends found her, she was abandoned in an apartment, for how long I have no idea. She obviously missed out on mothering and socializing with siblings and or humans. So - I tend to let her sit on me when she so chooses - hoping to win her over someday. I hate to think she's not able to be lovable. She hates the other cats though, which is not my favorite thing, but then - neither is getting bit! Just trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't want to sleep on top of the hot water heater, but she likes being up high and I guess it's nice and warm!

Oh well, I must get that laundry out of the dryer, as much as I would like to just go off to bed! One more day to be off work - I love having so many vacation days! Nite!!

Exciting!

I'm still sick, but I got a few things done that I wanted to - not that I needed to. I mentioned to someone earlier that I am SO undisciplined - I am really bad with time management. There was silent agreement to that statement. :)

I made my first ankle bracelets today, I'm excited about that. I know this post says Sunday - but to me it's still Saturday night. Anyway, I made a few of them, as well as a necklace and a couple bracelets. I have an idea for a necklace in my head but no explanation as to why I didn't do that!

Anyway, wanted to post a couple pictures and I will be done for the day. For Saturday. I did finish getting all my earrings on cards and into baggies today, took pictures of earrings on Roberta that I needed to and updated listings with the new pictures. So I got some stuff done today, just not the stuff I was planning on, and not the stuff that needs doing around here.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

A couple things

Another late night for BetteJo. I am just proving that I'm not very bright, aren't I? Hmm. But I had fun tonight, messing around on the Internet on a site I found called Freeweb - or is it Freewebs? Anyway, has anyone heard of it?

I am too tired to remember how I even found it tonight but I DO know that I found it and said to myself - ooooh - another place to put pictures and get my name out there! And I started to play with it. Didn't research it - have no idea what kind or how large a community it has - I just created a site.

VERY much in it's infancy, hell - I'm not even sure I'll keep it. I might trash it and start all over. But I'm curious if anyone else has seen it - used it - any word about it at all? Here is the link to my baby-site - http://www.freewebs.com/bettejosbeads/ . Please let me know if I am last to the party on this one or not. :)

The OTHER thing. Driving home from work tonight I had a random thought - for some reason I cannot explain I was thinking about shopping on ebay - and that I hardly do it anymore - I shop way more on Etsy now of course. But for some reason I remembered something I saw on ebay that if nothing else made me laugh and that you will never see on Etsy! One reason it made me laugh was because I WANTED IT!!!!!!

Someone listed a huge Ziploc bag full of Lucky Charms - charms! They had pics of themselves - about 3 guys and 1 gal I think - probably college age - all sitting around a table with rubber gloves on and bowls in front of them for sorting the charms out from the cereal. Now I have a sweet tooth unlike anyone else I know - so that really appealed to me! Forget the fact that I would experience severe gastrointestinal problems for DAYS after eating even an 8th of the amount pictured - it still looked like a whole bunch of marshmallow goodness to me!!

Of course I didn't buy it, the idea that a bunch of college students were sifting through cereal (even though pictured using the correct universal precautions) gave me a case of the heebie jeebies. I imagined them drinking beer and taking off the gloves when the camera was put away, probably randomly petting a pet sitting in their lap. Gack!!

Still ... Lucky Cha-a-r-r-r-m-m-m-s-s-s ... with NO cereal!! I can only dream about it because I don't trust college students to get me an unadulterated sampling. Just sounds SO good.

Now if someone were to ask me - what is your blog about - what could I tell them? There is no good answer. :) That's okay, I like it.

..and .........they know me here. :)

Ver-r-r-y-y-y Interesti-i-i-n-g!

Yesterday and today were very interesting to me. In my quest for Etsy knowledge I went into several forum threads, read, posted some, hate to be only a "lurker". I have a lot to learn - I think it's a good idea to just kind of keep my mouth shut about some things - I am forever conscious of being a seller. I know I can be turned off very easily by small things sometimes, and not want to buy from someone. Having been a long time buyer on ebay - I am very familiar with the way different people handle themselves as sellers, and what I respond to as a buyer. The difference is - on ebay I never went into any forums to see what the sellers were talking about behind the scenes.

A couple of weeks ago there were technical difficulties on Etsy that kept the site down for over 24 hours. The forums were down but the blog was up and people were using it like a forum. There were people who were whining and complaining and demanding something be done -- that admin start treating Etsy like a "real" business and give the sellers the support they pay for - yada yada yada.

More people were very light-hearted about the outage, cheering Haim on, thanking admin for working 24 hours straight and trying so hard for everyone. I had to laugh at how many people listed all the chores - mostly housework - they got done because they weren't in front of their computers!!

When it was pointed out that Etsy does not charge that much, is growing by leaps and bounds, and working very hard to correct the problems - some of that first group got downright nasty - dropping the F-word and railing against admin, Etsy, and anyone who was daring to be patient! It was also pointed out - by me - and by several others - that buyers read that stuff and people might want to keep that in mind. But apparently being angry yelling about being treated unfairly was more important because they kept on.

So, putting on my customer cap right now, I can tell you there were 2 sellers in particular that were so demanding, ungrateful and nasty, that even if they have an item I want in their shops - and it is the only item of it's kind available anywhere - I will pass it up rather than buy from them. Such is the mindset of a customer. Not just "BetteJo customer" - but all customers. Not all are turned off by the same thing - but you never know what it may be so why be offensive if you don't have to be? It's funny because I think political correctness has gone to such an extreme in this country these days that less gets done because everyone is afraid to speak their mind. But there is a difference between being PC - and trying to always remember that online - I am always in view of a potential buyer.

So today, in "etc" there were a couple of threads that struck me as being in very bad taste - and WAY too much information for anyone trying to attract customers to their stores. I am aware that Etsy has targeted the the artsy, edgy, contemporary younger crowd out there. More "artists" than crafters, and that's fine. But not all buyers are young and certainly not all buyers are edgy! I can guarantee you right now that I could name 5 people off the top of my head who would be turned off enough by those threads to not buy from those seller's shops. So what happens? Censor them? Oh no, of course not! I just wish there was more common sense. Really the people engaging in that type of behavior are in the minority, but I do think it reflects on the rest of us to a certain extent.

I have come to really enjoy the community feel of Etsy, how nice people are and how personal it all feels. But seeing someone I have already bought from - and thought was really really nice - in a forum thread being irresponsible with their language and thoughts - makes me feel a tiny bit betrayed - like the person I bought from was fake. I don't know about anybody else - but I want to TRUST the people I buy from. HMMM.

So I suppose I need to ask myself right now - are these thoughts I should keep to myself? I dunno, I really don't. I feel a little like - how dare I - being so new to Etsy and all. I think I just like it so much - I want to believe it - and the people in it - are all wonderful, honest, and peaceful people.

I suppose I'm not too worried about what I'm saying because I have done nothing to bring people to my blog - until today when I posted it in my shop. But it's not a flashy blog, probably boring in comparison to others - and I guess I don't really think many people will read this. I still want to emphasize that anything I am saying is because I want Etsy to be good - to STAY good - and to get even better. I really like it - I want to LOVE it!!! I really have the best intentions.

On a completely different note - I am working on my big pot holder order and need to get back to it. My girlchild is home from school (college) and I was excited when she expressed an interest in actually - maybe - possibly - beading!! How fun!!! The boychild picked up a cake for Mother's day, and my JD brought me a bunch of flowers to plant in front of the house - his Mother's Day gift to me, just like last year. I think this will be a good weekend, I just have so much to do!!

Hope all the Moms out there have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend, and treat themselves to something special - hey - maybe something from my shop? LOL!! Shameless I tell ya!! :)

Nite! Hope it's a good one!!!

BetteJo

TOO Long!

It has been TOO long since I sat down and did this! I meandered off in a different direction, beading in my mind while I made pot holders! Actually, I went up to Michigan to visit my Mom, and while my son was driving - I made pot holders. Then when I got to Mom's house - she said thanks - so I guess I had been making them for her! When I got home I still felt the urge to use the loom - so I made more. I ended up listing them on Etsy, even though I feel like a bit of an artistic whore doing it. :) But they ARE nice potholders! Besides. They put me into housewares and may bring some different people to my site. If they don't sell at all I will take them off, lower my head and avoid all eye contact.

I love the photo of this necklace, the picture of the woman in the center is a vintage ad for some product I can't remember. I just thought it was so beautiful and feminine. Obviously I am still searching for who I am on my site. I like being funny, but I also like a bit of an edge and out of the ordinary. On the other hand I am very aware of not being 'out there' - I need to be what sells. Still - I very much want to be me. There's an honesty I want to show - I don't want to play at being something I'm not. Sigh-h-h.

In that way I guess I'm floundering a bit, trying things that occur to me - and then the next. I wonder how come other people don't seem to have multiple personalities like I do. Hmmm. Might need to check into that.

I DO have some wonderful ideas for some bracelets that I am dying to try - that will be next. I have ordered the beads that I need, have rec'd some and I am sure I will get the rest in a day or 2. Yay! Can't wait. Problem is - if these bracelets turn out the way I am thinking - I may not want to sell them! :)

Well, Sanjaya finally got sent home on American Idol, so did Phil and Chris this week. Elvis sang with Celine Dion - look at what has happened since I was in here last!!! My girlchild is almost done with school for the year - I am proud of her - all A's last time we talked about it. My boychild is in the midst of finals and writing papers too - but he never talks about his grades. When we went to Michigan - he took off to go to Meier (sp?) Gardens and then to the Gerald Ford Library. He is SO interested in museums and art and things I never associated with him in the past. Funny - the kids we think we know. Proud of him coming into his own and understanding his interests.

The Boyfriend is out of town for a few days, family stuff he needed to attend to. I miss him while he's gone, totally, but it always feels so good when he comes back I think it's good to be separated now and then. I always get a lot done too, although I never get to bed early enough. Night owl that I tend to be.

So, the dishwasher has finished running, I am off to get my tea set up for the morning and put together some kind of lunch. Although the boss was talking pizza today. Oh everything is so complicated. :) If that's the least of my worries I guess I am doing pretty well.

Nite!

BetteJo