Come on! Blog Spam?

I very rarely post on my blog. Posts are few & far between. Something I really need to change, but that is beside the point. This morning I get a comment on my last post from someone wanting me to link to their site where they sell crystals. I'm not sure I like this blog spam. Nope, I'm pretty sure I don't like it at all.

2 Days is a row!

I'm so excited about last night's torching that I actually wanted to blog about it! I did it! I got color from Chalcedony! And what beautiful color it is! Who would have thought that such beautiful purples, blues, reds, yellows, and so many more would come from a single rod that is a dark khaki color in rod form. Here are some pictures, although my photography skills don't do the colors justice!

Where have I been?

I've been told it has been way too long since I've updated my blog. I don't know, you think a year and 4 months is too long? I'll try to do much better.

I've been really excited about the lampworking group we've got going at Glass Concepts, my friend Deb's store. There are 8 of us in all, but not all 8 have been there at the same time yet. We are enjoying getting together and melting glass, sharing tips, working out problems, laughing, talking glass, and did I mention laughing? We do a lot of that! Last week Debby brought her Electric Mandrel Spinner, or EMS for short. We all got to take a turn trying to use it. It's a really cool tool, but boy, did we all feel like newbie bead makers again! I've had it on my wish list for quite some time. After using it it's still on the list. Although it will take some getting use to when I get one. We also played with the new Gaffer glass, Chalcedony. What a gorgeous glass that is! Grace is getting some awesome colors out of it. I've gotten some color, but nowhere near what Grace is getting. I've got to play with it more ;o). Also at the last meeting Rita demonstrated her awesome stringer work and how to pull a millifore cane. After watching her I think we were all inspired to play with stringer control. She does beautiful work! Our next meeting should be really fun. We are going to dedicate the time to making beads for Beads of Courage. Beads of Courage is a wonderful program at Children's Hospitals across the nation where children get a different color bead for different milestones in their treatment.

Let's see, what else have I been up to? Oh, I finally did my very first show! My friend Deb is very encouraging about my work and my getting it out there to the public. She unselfishly agreed to do a show, in 95 plus degree temperatures, to help "break me in". It was also the evening of my 30th high school reunion and she even let me leave early and closed up the booth at the end. What a friend!! Love ya Deb! You're the best! All in all it was a pretty good first show. I actually sold some pieces and am looking forward to doing my next one! Even despite the heat!

Okay, there, blogging is done! Now I'm off to the torch to make something...so I'll have something to talk about tomorrow.

Literary Tag

Well, I've been tagged again...twice! Once by Denies Felton & again by Cyndi at Everything Artsy. This is how the tag challenge works.

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five other people.

So, I grabbed the nearest book, which is The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Mark Bittner. My son gave me this book, and I absolutely love it! Page 123, fifth sentence:

"The cherry-headed conure is said not to be a good talker, while the blue-crowned conure is only slightly better. But the ability to speak has been a curse for parrots. It's one of the reasons human beings have been so eager to possess them."

While I've never shared my life with a blue-crowned, I have had the pleasure of living with a cherry head. As a matter of fact, my son's 14th birthday present was a cherry head named Conor. Conor is now eleven years old and still lives with my son and his wife. While she isn't as big of a talker as our CAG, Gracie, she does say a few words. Some of them being Hiiiii, Mamma(me), Ruff-Ruff(what she calls my husband), peek-a-boooo, yes, one-one-one (when we are singing take me out to the ball game and she is counting the strikes), she makes a snoring noise, and also says burrrrr and fluffs her feathers when she is cold. Conor was our first parrot and as many parrots as we have, or have had, she does and always will hold a very special place in my heart. I still melt when I walk in the room and hear her say "hiiii, Mamma!".

Now, my 5 literary tag friends are:

1. Briana at Nest Handmade
2. Jeanetta at Splendid Things
3. Julie at Willow Tree Creek Studios
4. Julie Rose at Julie Knits
5. Lisa at Bubbles and purls

Tag ladies! You're it!

Surrounded by critters!

I love seeing people wearing my beads! The other day my daughter was wearing this turtle I made, so I snapped a picture of it (I promised her I'd crop out all but the turtle). She has always loved turtles. Well, she just has always loved animals period! It didn't surprise me one bit when in high school she went to work at a pet store. Which is where she got one of her real turtles named Stupid. The other two she had were Mikey & Twitty. The three amigos stayed with us until they became too big for the aquarium in her room. After that they went to live out the rest of their time in a big pond full of yummy tadpoles at a friends house.

When I sit and think about it, we have had such a wide variety of critters in our family. 3 turtles, 2 gerbils, 2 hamsters, 2 geckos, 14 birds, 6 dogs, and dozens of fish. By the way, most of these were brought into our home by our animal loving daughter I spoke of earlier. There have been so many that I'm sure I'm probably forgetting someone in there! Oh, and we don't just give our pets any ordinary ol' name! Well, some of them we did, but most of them are pretty wild. Like birds named Lassie, Phredd, Fishbait, Zhou, Nipper, Screech. There was a hamster named Roadkill, fish named Tater Tot, Tater Chip, Gnocchi & Sweet Tater. And don't forget the dogs Abigail Von Wag-a-tail(the perfect dog) and Tucker Von F***er.

Yep, I love my critters! Each and every one of them! Which is probably why when I sit down at the torch to make a bead the thing I always come back to making is some sort of sculptural animal bead. I find that it is my comfort zone. The thing that makes me feel the most at home.

ETA: I knew I was forgetting someone in my long list of pets! My daughter reminded me of Elvis the Guinea Pig. How could I forget that cute little guy?

I was tagged!

Well, it looks like I need to get on the ball with things! I was tagged at 2 different blogs and didn't realize I was supposed to tag others! Shows you how new to the game I am, huh? Well, it seems my blog was awarded by Denise Felton, and also by Julie Anne at Diamondmeenuh Creations. Thank you ladies! My very first blog awards! I'm so very honored!! So the rules, as posted on Denise's Blog are this:

-Post the award on your own blog. (Post who gave it to you)
-Indicate its original link and link to that site.
-Give the award to 5 other blogs that you enjoy, find creative and inspire you.

So here are my 5!

Denise Felton Denise, I'm going to award you right back! I am really loving the Flying Monkeys! You and Jonathan have both done a fantastic job with your house/cannon! I'd love to see it in action! It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw a couple weeks ago. It said "Don't make me release the flying monkeys!". Yup, I want that bumper sticker, lol!

And you too, Julie Anne! I'm also tagging you right back! I'm so enjoying the Asha Chronicles! I don't want it to end!! You really need to illustrate it and put it in a book!

Ekioart - Brandy has the most incredible taste. I love the whimsical feel of her art!

Cyndi of the Twisted Purl I love going to her blog and Etsy shop to drool over her hand spun, hand painted yarns. Gorgeous stuff!! I think I could sit and watch her spin her yarn all day long. Very relaxing!

Paula at Venerable bead. Gorgeous beads, a fun read, and she is so willing to help out such a computer illiterate blogger like me!

So, those are my 5! Your turn ladies! Got forth and tag!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a wonderful day it has been! It started out bright and early for us. Dave and I usually don't do much celebrating on this day. We did, however, start the morning out with cinnamon rolls & a cup of coffee. I think we had the best time on the drive home when we started pointing out all of the people walking to their cars with their Valentine presents. "Look, she got roses!" "Oh, she has balloons!" "Wow, look at that boquet!". Looks like there was love in the air today!

Our Arkansas Etsy Street Team, AREtsy, did a Valentine's Swap. It was hosted by Sally at Dogwood Lane. It has been really fun to see what everyone received as their Valentine's Day present. My secret Valentine was Cyndi Hansen, the Diva Schmiva herself, from Everything ARtsy. Cyndi made me the most incredible wall hanging and the cutest little heart magnet. When I say the wall hanging in incredible I'm not kidding! She put such a personal touch in it. The hankie on the top left corner was one of her Grandmothers. The appliques were also from her Grandmother. I am so touched that she would include these in a gift for me. I will cherish it! I wish I could get a good picture of it so you could read the sayings. The top one says "Tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic." The bottom one, and I love this one, says "Some people bring happiness where ever they go. Some people bring happiness when they go." Here's a picture of it. Thanks Cyndi!!