Crazy days

Wow, what a busy time it is right now. February is always like this. Too many birthdays, too many sports seasons starting, too much work.

On a bright note, my cousin found me on Facebook, so that was cool. We were close as kids. She's only a couple of years younger than me and she also has a younger sister. We have another cousin, Tracy, who is a year younger than I am. When we were little, we all used to have so much fun together. Then, her parents divorced and she moved. Our other cousin lived in Southern Indiana so we didn't see her as much. My mother is not what you'd call great about keeping the family together so I think it's been at least 25 years since we've seen each other.

Isn't that crazy?

But it was great to know she's out there, still getting on with it.

Anyway, I have been utterly swamped with custom orders plus I got a bad batch of glass that set me back over a week but I do have some new things listed, in both Etsy shops:

At Mermaid Glass on Etsy

I've got this little cupcake listed, a la carte!

And, it's Flip-Flop season again! These are the first sets I've listed this season, but I have some new designs and color combos that I'll be putting up next week.

These are all listed at Starfish Cottage along with some other fun things my mom and I have come up with:

This cute little thing is a cozy for your iPod, iPhone, camera or whatever you want to put in it. There are several different colors and designs.

This adorable creation is a baby bottle cozy! Isn't it so cute? It even has a little clutch ring on it.

And here are some gorgeous, beachy earrings that I couldn't resist listing in this shop. A perfect gift item (for yourself?)

We survived birthday week!

Yes, the February birthdays are now over. Finally. And we all made it through with little to no damage. Pretty much.

So, Happy 7th Birthday to Connor!

That's Red Velvet cake batter on his face, by the way.

and Happy 11th Birthday to Anna!

March on

Today I am 40.
I am not one who normally dwells on age. It's always been just a number, not anything to think of, nothing I can control.
And it still is.

But it's with no small bit of nostalgia and a vaguely hurting heart that I look back today. So much time. Some good, some very good, some not so much.

I get it. Time marches on. Children grow up. Friends and lovers and sometimes even family pass from our lives. Youth becomes a memory for reliving over beer and barbecue by the pool. Stories of dancing on tables at the frat party; sneaking out bedroom windows with the neighbor boy, a first love; piercing ears and noses with an ice cube and a sewing needle; taking a forbidden road trip to Chicago to check out that horrible, frightening punk band. On a school night.

Stories that might be from someone else's life.

And the stories that didn't happen and, I realize today, never will. The packpack across Europe; the cross country road trip with that guy I still have a crush on; the move to New York to grit it out until fame and fortune hit.

No, now it's suburbia and PTA. Mortgages 1 & 2 and trips to the same seaside resort with the same friends year after year. I refuse to own a mini-van, though. I don't care about the practicality. But that's life. I'm not the first, last or only one to have this conversation with myself.

Right. I get it.
But that doesn't make the little bruise kept buried deep inside hurt less.
Someday, maybe, but today.

Birthday Blowout on Etsy

30% OFF Everything listed in my Etsy Shop on Tuesday

How it works: Add the items to your cart, but don't pay! I will invoice you with the discounted amount.

Well, tomorrow is the big day, the long awaited - The Birthday.
It's not just any birthday.
This is my 'Middle of Life' birthday.
It's my 'Goodbye to Childish Things' birthday.
It's my 40th birthday.

How did it happen? How did I blink and get here? How did my uniform change from torn lace and combat boots to capri sweats and hoodies? So many things still to do and I know they'll get done. Someday. And so much already gotten done. I hesitate to use the word accomplish. How will I know yet if they are accomplishments? Later for that.

Anyway, in celebration of my own big day, tomorrow I'm throwing a 'Goodbye to my 30's' party on Etsy, so happy shopping!

Mojo

I wanted to post a quick pic of this bead. It's ending tonight on eBay and I've neglected it terribly.

It's called ~HoJo Mojo~ (Get it - HoJo- it's retro looking and it's orange and turquoise like the old hotel/restaurants?)

Great find on Etsy

I haven't featured a seller on my blog in a while, but I just had to feature this one.

If you're like me, you yearn to scrapbook. The idea of putting some of your best and brightest - your most cherished- photos down, surrounding them with beautiful embellishments and then, someday, going back and looking, remembering, smiling at those times gone past.

And, if you're like me, you go out to the craft store and stock up on all of the cute, fun, adorable scrapbooking items available, unable to resist the allure of the dream.

And, if you're still with me on this, you now have a drawer full of beautiful paper, tiny cut-outs, rivets and ribbons and wonderful little candy-colored tags. You also have boxes or discs full of photos that are there, begging you to lavish this love on them. You feel guilty. It plagues you that they don't get the attention they deserve.

Well, here's your solution. Meet Gongy and Squish. This Etsy seller makes pre-made scrapbook albums and a wide array of other inventive, unique crafts. She does all of the work for you. She puts the album pages together for you and all you have to do is glue in your pics.

Perfect. Simple. Beautiful.

I'm lucky enough to have a few of her creations and they are wonderful. Fun, quirky and lovingly made. Check it!

http://www.gongyandsquish.etsy.com/

Budding artist

I took Anna to the Mount Dora art festival on Sunday and she had such a great time!

It was her choice to go, since she'd spent her entire Saturday following us around to Connor's Cub Scout Pushmobile race and then his baseball practice and then working on a school project until bedtime. I thought she needed a break to just do something she wanted to do.

When we got there, I told her, just go wherever you want, I'll follow. Stop in and look at anything you see that interests you and don't be afraid to ask the artists questions about their work. So she did. She really gravitated toward the photography, especially the nature photographs. She looked so carefully and intently. She really knew what she liked and what worked in each piece. She also liked the folk art a lot. If I was one of the artists that she stopped in at, I would have been so flattered by her attention to the details. It was a happy moment.

She's a very promising photographer herself. Here's one of her photos that she took with her little Kodak digital last month. I thought it was quite nice, for a 10 year old.

~Cow Birds at Lake Eola~

Florida winter isn't what you think

So, I just wanted to touch base with all of you who think I'm a whiney baby for not making beads this whole week because my unheated studio was too cold.

I know you don't believe me when I say it's cold here.

I know I live in Florida and it's a tropical climate.

But, seriously, I grew up in Indiana. I know what cold is.

This is cold:

Have you ever seen a palm tree with icicles?

Duhhh

Do ya ever just have a 'duh' moment? I do, and quite a bit more frequently than I'd like.

I haven't been making many beads lately because it's been so incredibly cold in the studio. (I don't care what any of you northerners say, 54 degrees is COLD!)

So, last week, I was at the torch, just playing around, and I made this gorgeous focal. I loved it instantly and decided to make a small set to match. They turned out fantastic. Beautiful depth and color and design. I was very happy with them when they came out of the kiln.

A few days later, I was on my computer, thinking of putting up some listings on eBay, when I ran across a picture of those beads.

Conversation with Self:

Did I take pictures of those? I don't even remember cleaning them. Oh, well, cool. I hate taking bead pics, so I probably blocked it out.

I look closely at the pictures, squinting in concentration. Something is wrong. There are seven beads. I know for a fact I only made six. What the hell is going on? And when did I give them a name, anyway?

And then, I realize -it was a set I made over a month ago. Almost identical to the set I just made.

Duh...

This is the first set

And this is the second set. Are you kidding me? I forgot? What a loser!

Here's the focal. It's so fab, I have to show three different angles of it. And no, I don't think I'm being conceited by saying that. When a bead turns out this pretty, I don't feel like I had much to do with it, other than holding the rods. The glass was just having a great day.

And don't worry - when my beads are crap, I also blame the glass.