The Cat's Meow

Busy Day

2012-02-20T19:50:00.001-05:00

After losing my muse for such a long time, I’ve been back in the mood with a vengeance the past few days. I finally finished my Czech tile bracelet, and I love it! Beside the tiles, I used some reddish Czech size 11 seeds, gold size 15 seeds, and 4mm gold Swarovski pearls. It’s too big for me, though. I always do that when I make bracelets. I underestimate the size of the clasp. Plus I have a very small wrist. Oh, well, it’ll either be given away or sold, and I’ll make myself another one. I want to try and write down the thread path I used, also, so that I don’t forget how I made it. I added a magma color Swarovski heart to the clasp. It matches the red in the beads perfectly.

I’ve also made a few pairs of earrings. I made the ones with the green Swarovski margheritas that I’ve been planning to make. I also made two other pairs. One is made with some black and gold wooden beads that I found at the bead shop, and the other is made with a milky white pair of beads that was in their bead soup mix, so I don’t know what they are. They’re kind of hard to see. I couldn’t get a good picture of them, even using a dark background. I’ll try again tomorrow outside, maybe that will help.

I’m so glad to be beading again and enjoying it! I missed it so much. Maybe having my new wallboard helped me out. It really does make me feel like I have a little studio, even though everything is really in a small 4x3 foot space in the corner of my bedroom.

Well, I’m going to get back to beading while I’m still in the mood for it! Maybe I’ll have some more pictures in a few days.

Cat

More Storage

2012-02-19T11:33:00.001-05:00

Look what my boyfriend put up for me yesterday! Lots more storage! My neighbor was giving away the pegboards, and we got a beginner set of hooks and storage stuff at Lowes. Isn’t this cool?

I can hang everything up where I can see it easily, and get to it quickly. He is so good to me.

Now I just need to see which hooks and accessories I use the most so that I can buy more of the ones I like.

And on the bottom right, you can see my current work in progress, a Czech tile bracelet which I will hopefully be finishing today and have pics to show soon.

Cat

A Bargain at Any Price

2012-02-09T08:01:00.001-05:00

Head on over to Jen’s blog, The Cheeky Kea, to find a good short read. She tells us why buying handmade jewelry (handmade anything, really) is such a great bargain!

It’s a good thing we all love what we do, because very few of us are going to become millionaires from it. I’m happy if I can just keep buying more supplies.

Speaking of supplies on hand, since I’m sharing links today, Operation Tackle That Bead Stash is a great blog that does exactly what it says. Sarah helps you to use up the supplies you already have before you go out and buy more. (well, except for those times when you really can’t hold yourself back, haha) And even gives you a chance to earn prizes while using up your stash! Plus there’s great eye candy from some very talented beaders. If you haven’t visited yet, you should check it out.

Cat

Finally, Some Prototypes

2012-02-08T20:53:00.001-05:00

After all my agonizing, I did finally come up with a couple of things to do with my tile beads. I’m still experimenting, but the more I work with them, at least I’m learning which thread paths are possible with these.

The first one I made is part of a bracelet. You don’t want to see the earlier attempts that got me here. But at least I ended up with something I like, and I may even embellish it some more if I can figure out how. Here is what the piece of it looks like so far. Not too bad.

Then I attempted a beaded bead inspired by Anna Elizabeth Draeger’s bangle bracelet design in the latest B&B. This is actually embellished cubic RAW. The cubic RAW is Anna’s, the embellishments are mine. I think I’ll be taking this one apart. It doesn’t seem very useful. I’ll wait awhile though, you never know. I may need a rectangular bead for something.

I know the pictures are phooey. That’s the problem with having my photo studio downstairs, and having to set the whole thing up every time I use it. I never get down there and do it. I just go for the quick pic upstairs on the bead mat. I can be so lazy sometimes. Oh, well, you still get the idea of what I’m working on.

I like working with these beads better than I do the Tilas, though. The walls are thicker, so I don’t have to worry about them chipping when I make multiple thread passes. And I like the Picasso finishes. I don’t like the ones I’ve seen that appear to be metal-finished. They look like someone gave them a coat of metallic spray paint, and it doesn’t look like it will last very long.

Cat

Where’s My Muse?

2012-02-06T19:03:00.001-05:00

Aaaack! For days I’ve been playing around with my new Czech two-hole beads, trying to make a bracelet design. Except nothing is working out. Every design seems to look good in my head or on paper, and then when I start fiddling with the beads it just doesn’t look like what I’d imagined. Or it doesn’t hold together firmly. Or it looks like a design I’ve already seen. I love these beads! I want to make something with them so badly.

I guess I really only have a few choices. Keep fiddling around and see if something useful comes out of it. Move on to another project until my mind clears, and bring these beads out another day. Buy a Tila project and work on it to get my juices started.

I’ll probably end up doing all of those things. Right now I just feel desperate and frustrated.

What do you do when you want to use a particular bead or type of bead but it doesn’t want to cooperate?

Cat

Finished!

2012-01-30T03:13:00.001-05:00

I finally finished my little box! I’m quite happy with it too. It’s from Julia Pretl’s book, Little Bead Boxes. This link is to a newer edition than mine. The book I used had 4 boxes in it, this one has 12. It looks like she also added more shape variations and more pattern designs. There are also additional patterns on her website.

It took a long time. I didn’t keep track, but I’d say there’s at least 20 hours of work in it. And I’m not a slow beader.

I used doubled Nymo, so the sides are quite stiff and don’t need any extra reinforcement. But I normally bead with very tight tension. If you tend to bead with looser tension, use something like Fireline. And I’d still double it.

The diamonds pattern wasn’t hard to follow, but for the lid I got to a point where the pattern wasn’t working as written, so I just had to wing it. I’d done enough of it by then to know how to make it work though.

It was also difficult getting the handle bead on the lid. My needle broke in half, and I just kept using it that way because it was actually easier with a shorter needle, but I was terrified of breaking another bead while weaving in. I might even wire on the top handle bead next time. There is a small open circle at the point where you begin the lid, so wiring the handle on wouldn’t be difficult. (haha, now that I’ve discovered wire, I want to add it to everything! Maybe I can wire the feet on too.)

As I said before, add the feet before you start the sides. It would just make it easier to weave them in without hitting the sides or trying to get your fingers inside the box.

I broke about 8 beads during the process. Every bead that broke was a matte bead. They seem to be thinner. I’d skip using matte beads and stick with the opaques. Julia even tries to tell you this, but of course I didn’t listen.

I only charged $60 for it. If I’d known how long it was going to take, I’d have charged more. Ah, well, live and learn.

Also, buy extra beads of the main color, in my case black. Since the entire bottom is black, I went through one and a half 10 gram tubes of black delicas. The pattern only called for 7 grams.

I only spilled my beads once during the entire time I was working on it.

Could a beginner make this project? Maybe a very determined one, but I’d say no. You need a good understanding of peyote and structural beading.

Would I make another one? I sure will! Julia provides blank graphs, so I look forward to making my own designs. I also want to try some of the shapes in the newer book.

I can’t think of anything I left out. Leave a comment if you have a question, and I’ll answer it. The answer will also be in the comments, so you’ll have to check back for it.

Now on to my next project. I’m making a wired amethyst pendant for a friend’s birthday. It’s coming along smoothly, but I hit a brick wall with three wires left to play with. I’m tired of spiral embellishments, need to try something else. I don’t want to just cut them off, because there is a small flaw in the stone that I want to cover up. So I set it aside for the night, maybe I’ll get a grand idea in one of my dreams.

Cat

Almost There!

2012-01-29T02:56:00.001-05:00

I am almost done with my little box. I only have to add some finishing touches to the lid and the rim of the box, then add a handle to the lid and I’m done! The lid even fits properly on the inside rim that I made for it. The entire box is very firm and sturdy.

I already have the beads that I’m using for the handle, so tomorrow is the day. I’ll finish it up and then have a photo of the completed project to show you. I’ll also share my feelings about the whole process, and whether or not I’ll ever make one again.

I can’t wait! I’d finish it now but I’m too tired at the moment.

Cat

It Has Feet

2012-01-26T00:24:00.001-05:00

Slowly but surely, my little box is getting done. It has feet! And that was no small task, let me tell you. If I ever make another one, I am putting the feet on before I even begin the sides. It would be so much easier that way.

I’ve also begun working on the lid. You can see the little piece of it there in front of the box. I can’t wait to finish it! I just hope I do the lid and the rest of the base correctly so that it all fits together.

I also made a pair of earrings. I love these earrings! They are so flashy, and I just adore bling. They are made totally of Swarovski crystals, so I had a hard time trying to get a clear picture of them. But I got one, so here they are.

I think I’m going to make another pair using green crystals. They’ll be great for St. Patrick’s Day.

Cat

Random Questions!

2012-01-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

I feel like blogging, but I have no idea what to blog about today. So I went to the Googles, typed in ‘random questions’, and actually found a blog by that name! It is, if you haven’t guessed already, filled with questions just waiting for answers. So I thought I would answer a few and see what happens. I picked her question list from March 28, 2007. So here goes:

Have you ever met an internet friend in real life? Yes, but I’m not allowed to say who it was, by their request. Suffice to say it was a very pleasant meeting.

Have you ever been in the newspaper: your photo or something you’ve written? Yes, I was in a Cotillion (kind of like a coming-out party/dance) when I was a teenager. The whole group of us had our photo in the paper.

Would you rather dress up or dress casually when going out with friends or your husband? Casually, always.

What are three things you’ve got planned for today? Work on my little beaded box, teach my daughter some basics of wirework, take a nap

Have you ever won a trophy? What for? No

What kind of music do you dislike most? Has to be a tie between rap and hip-hop

Are you registered to vote? No, I’m not able to register, due to our laws. I wish I could vote. Everybody who can should take full advantage of the privilege.

What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep, get up and do something else, or toss and turn? I usually read on the internet until I fall asleep, or if I really can’t sleep I get up and bead.

What is your favorite pizza? Hawaiian

What kind of water do you drink? (tap, flavored, bottled, etc.) Tap

What shoes do you regularly wear? sneakers

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? make jewelry

When was the last time you were sick? with a cold? I can’t remember, it’s been very long. With a chronic illness? always (i.e. chronic).

Does your DH / SO workout? Regularly? Not so regularly? What does he do for exercise? Yes, he works out three times a week

If you had a choice of birthday cakes, what kind would you want someone to make for you? Fudge lava cake. I love chocolate.

When hanging around the house, do you wear shoes, go barefoot, wear socks, or wear slippers? socks, fuzzy ones with rubber treads

What one thing would you really like to own? Why? My house. I would like it to be paid off so that I wouldn’t have a mortgage payment every month. The good news: It’ll be paid off when I’m 60 years old. The bad news: That’s not all that far away. Only seven years to go!

Okay, the list got too long so I skipped a few questions. I should have picked a shorter list. And now you know a whole lot of useless stuff about me. Except what to buy me for my birthday. Fuzzy socks or chocolate.

Cat

Late Night Bacon Recipe : Rachael Ray : Food Network

2012-01-23T00:30:00.001-05:00

I was reading Regretsy (yes, I do it’s entertaining), and one of her readers linked to this recipe for what is named Late Night Bacon by Rachael Ray.

Now, anyone can make microwaved bacon, but the best part about this recipe is the 152 comments following it. Comedy gold, Jerry, I tell ya’, comedy gold!

You have to go read those bacon recipe reviews. Right now! Some of them had me howling with laughter. It even has it’s own Facebook page with over 1800 fans.

Also the day I realized xkcd really does have a comic for everything.

Cat

Little Box Progress Update

2012-01-22T03:09:00.001-05:00

This box is coming along much slower than I thought it would. Part of that is my fault for using matte beads. They are much thinner than opaque beads and have a tendency to break at stress points, namely the corners in this piece. I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Julia Pretl did say in the introduction that some of the beads would break, and I should be prepared to replace them. Also, part of the slowness is that I am using Nymo, and must use shorter lengths, therefore tying off more often, due to Nymo’s tendency to fray.

So far, I’ve had about 5 beads break, all in the corners. I suppose that’s because I keep folding the corners tightly so that it doesn’t turn into a round box. I have a feeling that when I get to the decrease rounds that problem is going to take care of itself, so I have resolved to stop squeezing it, because it is really a pain to replace broken beads!

Here is where I have gotten to so far, and it is really satisfying to see the pattern coming together and begin to look like something. You can see the gold bead on the bottom of the middle corner that I had to replace. It sticks out a little more than the rest. Not that anyone else but me would notice it, mind you. Especially the person I am giving it to, as she is not a beader. Just four more rows, and then I can begin the decrease which will create the lip that the box top will fit over. I am really getting excited to finish it.

Not the least of reasons that I want to finish is that I want to start playing around with my “not-Tila” beads and see what kind of designs I can come up with for them. Working from a pattern is relaxing, but there is nothing like spreading some beads on your table and letting them take you wherever your mind can wander!

All-in-all though, I am pleased so far with how it is coming out. Julia offers blank graphs at the end of the book and on her website, so I’m sure I will be tempted to design and make another little box. Just not immediately after this one. I need some pure play time in between boxes. One can only follow a pattern for so long.

Next box update after I start the decreases.

Cat

Czech Two-Hole Beads

2012-01-21T18:05:00.001-05:00

My local bead store finally ordered some of the new (non-Tila) two-hole Czech tile beads that I've been asking for! They have about ten colors in right now, I only bought three, but I think I may go back and buy the rest. They don't seem to be much cheaper than the Tilas, a 50-bead strand was $6.99, but they sure do look a lot sturdier! You may be able to find them cheaper elsewhere, my bead store tends to be higher-priced than most, but it’s close to my house and great for instant gratification.

My biggest complaint about the Tila beads is how easily they chip. These beads have thicker walls around the holes, and do not look as if they will chip like that. I also like the rounded corners on them.

I haven't tried using them in a project yet as I have to finish my little box before I can start something else, but I can't wait to use them! Here are a few pictures.

Here is how they compare in thickness to a Tila bead.

I must finish my little box as soon as possible so that I can start playing with these beads!

Cat

Little Box Beginning

2012-01-17T09:03:00.001-05:00

As promised, here is the beginning of the little box I’m making. I really need to put more hours into it if I want to get it finished on time. Yes, I have a deadline. It’s just that once I get on the darn computer I go from here to there to somewhere else, and before I know it hours have passed. Need to stay off computer! Maybe the SOPA protest/blackout tomorrow will help. Many websites will be blacked out for the day.

Anyway, I digress. Here is what I have so far. As you can see, I’ve completely changed my colorway. No surprise, for me. I can’t get the bead colors to come out right in the picture because I’m too lazy to walk downstairs to my photo cube, so I included pictures of the beads from Red Panda Beads that show the colors more accurately. I like these colors. They have a little of an antique feel, without being over the top. They are all Delicas. Black DB10, Matte Op. Golden Olive Luster DB371, and Matte Dk. Capri Blue DB798. The blue is dyed, and I don’t really like to use dyed beads, but since it isn’t jewelry I think it will be okay. Plus I fell in love with the color.

I’m using Nymo thread off the large spool, doubled. I don’t like the way Nymo frays so quickly, but this box is thread intensive and Fireline is too expensive. It’s working out well, as long as I use short lengths of thread. Lots of threading in ends though, ugh.

I still want to get a lampwork bead for the top “handle” if I can find one at the store that matches the box. If not, I’m going to use a black pearl, which is what I’m using for the feet. If I have time, I’m going to also make a pair of earrings and put them inside the box when I gift it.

I’ll do another update when I’ve made some progress.

Cat

Little Bead Boxes

2012-01-15T03:42:00.001-05:00

I’m going to attempt making one of the boxes from Julia Pretl’s little boxes book. The 5-sided one, on the upper right on the book cover. I’ve had this book forever, and haven’t used it yet, so now is the time.

I’m not worried about being able to make the basic box structure, that looks pretty straightforward. I’m just wondering if I’m going to get confused at the top. It looks like I have an older edition of the book. I can see some errors in it, and the errata sheet on Julia’s website is for the new edition only. The instructions in this book leave a little to be desired, she must have written this edition before she really got a handle on writing tutorials. Although sometimes when you’re just reading the pattern it looks confusing, but once you have needle and thread in hand it all comes together. I hope that’s the case here.

I already overcame what is always my biggest hurdle - choosing colors. I have the hardest time with that. You’d think with all the beads I have that I could find three colors that I’d be happy with, but I had every bead tube from my stash out on the bed matching colors. I finally came up with these:

But now I’m thinking there isn’t enough contrast between the two blues that I picked. Ah, well, I have to make a trip to the bead store because I need to buy another tube of each of these anyway in order to have enough beads, so I’ll check out the other colors while I’m there. I also want to buy a pretty lampwork bead for the top of the box.

Well, wish me luck. I’ll post regular updates on my progress, unless it mysteriously turns into a UFO.

Cat

Secret Discount Code

2012-01-14T13:14:00.001-05:00

If anybody likes folded fabric origami flowers or knitted bunnies, I know of a discount code for Folded Frippery’s Etsy shop. Even though it’s a “secret” code, I have her permission to pass the code and the savings along to you. Just use the code MOVINGSALE at checkout for 50% off. She didn’t say when it expires, so I’d move quick if you want something! Her prices are pretty good to begin with, so you’ll be able to pick up some real bargains on her cute handmade goodies.

Cat

My First Wire-wrap Cabochon

2012-01-11T23:49:00.001-05:00

Remember when I won the free class at my local bead store? After delaying it due to all the madness of the holidays, I finally took the class today. It was great!

I finally had someone to show me how to hold the pliers properly, and how to coax the wire to do what you want it to do. I wire-wrapped an oval cabochon, unfortunately I’ve already forgotten the name of the stone. Ugh! I’ll check what it was next time I go in there.

We used Beadsmith craft wire, Antique Bronze, 21 gauge, square and half-round. This was my first time using anything but round wire, so it was a good learning experience for that. One thing I learned is that it isn’t easy to find the half-round side on half-round wire! Maybe it’s easier with larger gauges than 21.

Even though I learned a lot, I don’t feel like my cabochon turned out so great. The class teacher said it was very good for my first time, but I’m a perfectionist, and I can see every mistake I made. Still, I learned a lot of technique to build on. I want to keep practicing so that I can have perfect wire-wraps in the future.

My daughter took the class also to see if it was something she would like, and boy did she like it! She wants to run out and buy all kinds of wire and tools immediately, if not sooner, lol. I told her just to wait until she knows what she really needs and wants so that she doesn’t end up with a lot of unused stash sitting in her house. She can come over and share my tools and wire, so now I have a beading buddy too! (well, a wire buddy)

Here is a picture of my not-so-great wire-wrap. There is a bail on the back, but you can’t see it in the picture. I didn’t like the spirals the way I had them, so I moved the ones on the right more to the left. Did I make it worse or better? Remember, it’s my first time…so be gentle…

Take care,

Cat

In Sickness and In Health

2012-01-10T03:55:00.001-05:00

I found this picture on a Facebook page called Politics Nerd. It makes me feel so sad. I don’t usually like to write anything about politics because it makes people act so divisive. (just click on the picture below and read some of the 1000+ comments on FB to see what I mean) But it sums up why we need to find some way for Americans to have affordable health insurance that is not tied to what type of job they have or which company they work for. And this hits close to home for me, though I don’t have cancer like this person, because I’m paying off some pretty large medical bills myself right now. I have been unable to buy insurance due to the exorbitant cost and to pre-existing conditions, nor do I work for a large corporation where I would receive insurance as a benefit. And I have also been told by a hospital that I could be stabilized and sent home, but not treated unless I paid up front. So I understand completely what he is saying.

Cat

Earring Challenge 2012 - Week One

2012-01-08T22:02:00.001-05:00

Over at the Beading Daily message board we’re having a challenge to make a pair of earrings per day for the month of January. Well, one week in and I’m woefully behind. I only got four pairs made.

In my defense, I will say that I’ve been working on making a birthday present for my daughter, so that’s been taking up some time (and has had some problems of it’s own). But that’s not really much of an excuse. I probably could have squeezed in the time to make three more pairs of earrings somewhere!

Anyway, here are the earrings I’ve made so far.

If you are participating in the challenge, have you been able to make all the earrings you planned to?

Cat

What A Deal!

2012-01-03T19:18:00.001-05:00

Our grocery store has a FuelPerks program, where for every $50 of groceries you buy, you get 5 cents off a gallon of gas. Plus, they often have specials on certain items when if you buy that item, you can get an extra 5 to 50 cents off per gallon.

So, after a couple of months of shopping, we managed to earn so many FuelPerks that we bought gas the other day for 79 cents per gallon! We filled up both mine and my daughter’s car for under $16!

What a great way to start the new year. Hope you are getting off to a good start as well.

Cat

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T00:33:00.000-05:00

Have fun and safe celebrations tonight.

My best wishes to all for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012!

Cat

Santa Scavenger Hunt

2011-12-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

For any of you who do not receive Suzanne Cooper’s newsletter (and if you don’t, you should sign up for it here) I wanted to let you know that she is having her annual 12 Days Of Christmas Santa Hunt. I always have fun searching for the Santa pictures.

Click around the pages on her website, and if you see a Santa, click on him. When you do, you’ll receive a free peyote pattern, immediately. There are 12 Santas to find. But hurry over there, because I’m not sure when it expires. And while you’re looking for Santa, enjoy looking at everything Suzanne has to offer.

I found all of them. Can you?

Cat

Xmas Gifts - Done!

2011-12-24T15:02:00.001-05:00

My back is finally starting to feel better, so I’ve been beading up a storm getting Xmas presents ready for the girls.

I made them each a bracelet, but I didn’t get pics of those before I wrapped them, sorry.

I did take pictures of these pendants that I also made for them. These are from Marcie Abney’s tutorial on her blog, La Bella Joya. They were a lot of fun to make, and I want to make some more trying out some different variations. I’d like to try putting drop beads around the outer edges, for instance. I hope the girls like them.

I’d also like to wish each of you a very Merry Xmas and a happy and healthy New Year! Here’s to all the best in 2012!

Cat

Fun With Photos

2011-12-21T03:24:00.001-05:00

Here’s a fun timewaster for you. We all know we need more ways to waste time on the internet, right? This one is really fun though. At Photofunia, you can upload photos and make all kinds of special effects out of them. I made my wire spiral earrings into an art gallery painting. (they were just the first picture I had handy to play with)

Then I pasted them into an old book page.

Then for even more fun, I turned them into graffiti art.

I even put them outside in the snow.

There are all kinds of fun things you can do with your pictures! And it’s easy. The hardest part is picking which special effect you want to use. After you make your picture, you can save it to your computer. And some of the effects give you a choice of saving it as a 100x100 size avatar. I think I’m going to play around with it and make a new message board avatar.

Have fun! And don’t say I didn’t warn you when none of your housework gets done!

Cat

Little Piglet Brick Stitch Pattern - Free

2011-12-14T08:38:00.001-05:00

I was looking for some graph paper the other day in the organized chaos that I call my craft area. I wanted to graph some peyote patterns for the beaded beads that I’m making. (yes, I still do it all by hand, on paper) When I found the graph paper there were some older patterns on there that I had drawn long ago.

I can’t remember why, but for some reason one of my daughters had wanted a little piggie, and I still have the graph, so I’m sharing him with you. Keep in mind, this is from when I first started beading, so it’s a very simple pattern of a piglet on a diamond-shaped background. I think she used it as a decoration on top of a little box she had in her room.

It’s done in brick stitch. Start at the middle row and make a ladder stitch going across. Then brick stitch your way up to the top, decreasing one stitch on each side as you go. If you want it to be a pendant, when you get to the top add a little circle of beads, by coming up out of the top bead. Pick up about 7 beads or so, depending on the size, and then go back down into the top bead. You may want to go through these beads a few times for strength. Weave in your thread and cut.

Now go back to the ladder row and weave in a new thread. Then work your way down to the bottom in the same way as you did the top. It may help to turn the pattern upside down for this second half.

Here is a link to some basic brick stitch instructions if you have never done this stitch before. There are many free brick stitch tutorials on the internet, but I picked this one because it shows you how to do the edge decreases.

I used pink, light pink, white, and black beads, but you can use any colors you choose.

Thanks to Easy Bead Patterns for giving away free the program that allowed me to graph the pattern on the computer and make a jpg out of it so that I could share it. If you also want to share this pattern, that’s okay, but I’d really appreciate it if you would please link back to my blog.

Cat

Linda Richmond

2011-12-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to make the beaded fish at the top of this page on Linda Richmond’s website for a long time. Previously, it was only available as a kit, as were most of her designs, and was way out of my price range.

I got an email a couple of days ago letting me know that Linda has changed her business model. She is now selling all of her projects as downloadable instructions instead of kits. And she has some beautiful designs! Take a look.

Now I’m off to get myself the fish instructions!

Cat

Spiral Earrings

2011-12-12T01:30:00.001-05:00

I did manage to do a little work with wire today. I had started working on these earrings from a tutorial by Pat Capostato a while ago, and I was itching to work on something so I thought I’d finish them up tonight.

I’m going to make them over again, this is just a practice pair, while I’m trying to get the “feel” of working with wire and doing different things with it. The bends in the wire aren’t very smooth and there are marks on the spiral from where I held it with my pliers while making it. (How do you hold a spiral to wind it without marking it? I couldn’t get a tight enough grip using nylon pliers.) And I took this picture right at my workspace, so having a bad photo doesn’t help.

They are a very pretty design, but aside from all of the mistakes, I feel like there is something just “off” about them and I can’t figure out what it is. I’m thinking that maybe I used a bead that was too big in relation to the dangle, so they look top-heavy, unbalanced. When I re-do them, I’m going to try with a smaller bead on top since the little dragonflies are so dainty. Maybe that will fix it and I’ll be satisfied. I’ll let you know.

While I was playing around practicing with spirals though, I found out that if I use a file straight across the top of a spiral it looks almost like it was hammered. But without the noise, LOL. Interesting. I don’t know when I’ll be able to use that little tidbit, but it’s filed away in my head for now.

I found a great website with some beautiful patterns. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Have a great day!

Cat

Withdrawal

2011-12-11T05:53:00.001-05:00

I’m in withdrawal! Beady withdrawal, that is. I haven’t been able to bead except for a few minutes at a time, and I have so many projects going on right now that I want to get done. So I’ve been drawing some peyote graphs with designs for my beaded beads. That helps a little, but I want to bead them up! And I still have to finish my daughter’s rock, work on a bracelet that I started, I still haven’t finished the wine bottle for my friend, and I have wire designs that I want to get to, and many earrings in my head.

And I’ve been a crab to everyone around me. I feel bad, and I keep apologizing, but pain makes me crabby, and beading relaxes me.

I’ve been going for therapy every day this week. No results yet, but hopefully I will start feeling better soon. First they relax my muscles with a heating pad for a few minutes. Next I get a little massage with an electronic wand. Then I lay on a table and they lock this device around my neck (cough, cough). It uses traction to create space between my vertebrae so that hopefully the herniated disc will move back where it’s supposed to be and I will be pain-free. Each day the time on the table increases by one minute and the traction weight increases by one pound. It’s not so bad, because at the same time the table is massaging my whole back. That part feels good. Then I put ice on it for half an hour, and then “see ya tomorrow!”

I really, really hope this works! I will just think positive about it and wish for the best.

Have a great weekend!

Cat

I Won Something!

2011-12-04T16:26:00.002-05:00

Before I get to the news about what I won, I have to tell you that I was in Michaels yesterday and I found a new toy!

It probably doesn’t look like a toy to you, but wait. I made this out of it.

I wanted to wait until I had more than one bead before I took pics, but I couldn’t wait. I love it! It makes a simple peyote beaded bead look so much more professional. I can’t remember where I saw this idea, but I’m happy that I did. They come in three different sizes (this one is the largest, it’s 22 rows of Delica beads around, 6 mm across according to my calipers), and also in colors with a little flower shape on the end. Now I want all of them, lol. If you’re going to go looking for them, I found them in the scrapbooking section.

I can’t wait to make more beads, and then turn them into something!

Now for the really exciting news….I went to the bead store to get some E6000 to glue the eyelets in, and while I was paying (with my gift certificate..cha-ching!) I saw my name and phone number sitting on the register. I know I’m a regular customer, but not that regular. So, I asked Ella why it was there, and she said I won the drawing that they had on Small Business Saturday! I can’t believe it, this is my first time to win something. I get a free class of my choice! I’ll probably pick a basic wire class, since I’m starting to teach myself how to work with wire. Wire-working is a bit harder to self-teach than beading because there is a right and a wrong way to hold and position the tools if you want to get good results. It would be nice to learn the proper way to do things right at the start.

Hope you have a great day!

Cat

And Now, Finally, Something Beady!

2011-12-02T20:56:00.006-05:00

YAY! Ahead of the anticipated delivery date, I received my copy of Artistic Seed Bead Jewelry by Maggie Roschyk. I’ve already read it from cover to cover.

Before Maggie even gets to the projects, there are 26 pages of luscious goodness, including how she comes up with designs, how to choose colors and finishes, what she hopes you will get from the book, a rundown on tools, and more.

Here’s a couple of sentences that will whet your appetite. “I consider starting a new beading project akin to having a small party on my beading tray. I’m going to gather together different and interesting characters and let them mingle.” She does have a way with words, and will make you look at your beads with new eyes.

There are 13 projects in the book, and while I will probably not make them all, each of them has techniques that can be used as a springboard for new ideas. She also demonstrates a totally different way of doing cubic RAW, so some who may be having trouble with it could possibly try it her way and see if you can grasp it easier.

The project instructions are written in a way that some knowledge of basic stitches is assumed and there aren't very many diagrams, although there is a glossary of stitches in the back of the book, so an enthusiastic beginner would probably be able to work through them. Maggie’s famous Poppy Pod Beads are in here! Although I think there is either a mistake in the directions for the narrow band bead on page 46 or I am reading them incorrectly.

All in all, it looks like a great book, and I can’t wait to get started using some of the ideas in it.

As soon as I can use my arm without pain, lol. I have been beading some small snowflakes for Xmas cards, but it’s a slow process, 10 minutes beading, then 30 minutes on the heating pad…

Cat

The New Neurosurgeon

2011-12-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

Well, I went and saw the new doctor today. He was certainly friendly enough, and thorough. He looked at my MRI’s and gave me lots of tests. He’s also getting my records from my pain doctor and the other “neurosurgeon”.

But one thing he said really pissed me off. When I was telling him how much it hurts (because I thought it might be relevant that he knows this is not just some derpy level 5 pain), he said, “If you’re here looking for drugs, I’m not going to give you any.”

You asshole, you have my medical history right in front of you. Including two MRI’s that show substantial spine damage. I am already taking more drugs than I want to be taking. I have a pain management doctor who takes care of any medicine I might need for pain. Did I ask you for drugs? I told you I am here to try out your Groundbreaking New Method^TM that controls pain without surgery or medication. WHY would you say something like that? I guess all the idiot people who do go around to different doctors looking for drugs ruin it for the ones who really are in pain.

Now I only wish I had said all that to him. Just because doctors don’t even think about how what they say might make somebody feel. Instead, I meekly said no, I am hoping that this treatment will allow me to decrease my medication back to normal levels. So he says he’s glad to hear that. Good for you, Doc. I’m happy you’re “glad”.

I’m still going to give it a chance. I go in Monday for a nerve test, then I start a physical therapy regime 4 days a week that uses a combination of heat and cold therapy, and some sort of traction-therapy to stretch the muscles. This is supposed to give the discs more room and relieve the pain. He might want me to wear a neck brace.

Also, I was worried about the co-pays, because I can’t afford a $40 co-pay four times a week. As it turns out, I was talking to another new patient outside the office. He told me that when he said he couldn’t afford the co-pays, the office offered to reduce his co-pay to five dollars. So, when I am negotiating with the office, I will be sure to tell them that I know they offered another patient a five dollar co-pay and that’s what I want also. I’m sure this place is making out like a bandit from the insurance money they’re collecting.

I really am still not sure if this is some kind of legitimate therapy or some insurance scam. (I gave you the website last time. What do you think?) But I guess I’ll never know until I at least try it. And at this point, I’d be willing to let someone stab me in the back with a fork if it would stop the pain I’m in.

So, I guess I’ll have an update on the back issues some time next week, if therapy begins that soon, which I hope it does. And I hope this stuff works.

I hate doctors. Even the ones who pretend to be nice.

Cat

PS…Sorry for the long rant. I’m just so tired of all of this.

Trying Another Neurosurgeon

2011-11-29T14:05:00.001-05:00

After the depressing news about what my surgical outcome might be, I have been looking for non-surgical options. I found a neurosurgeon right around the corner from my house who practices something called “neuro-muscular re-education”. Has anyone ever heard of this, or tried it? I’d love to get some feedback.

He has a website, which I’m not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. Here it is. The only thing is that you have to make 20 visits in one month, which also means 20 co-pays in one month. I can’t afford $800 ($40 times 20 visits), but they said they will work with me on it. Supposedly, they have a 90% success rate.

I was able to get an appointment for this Friday morning to have a consultation. Hopefully I can find out more information, and not get yelled at for asking questions.

I’ll let you guys know what he says after the consultation. I have to get rid of this pain! It is soooo bad, but I think I’ve mentioned that before.

Cat

Wowee! What a Birthday Surprise!

2011-11-26T17:08:00.001-05:00

Even though I’ve already had a great birthday month, since my boyfriend took me on a trip to Mexico to celebrate, I got a wonderful surprise today!

I went to the bead store to pick up a few items during their Small Business Saturday sale. Spend $25 and get a $25 gift card back from American Express. Can’t beat that!

Anyway, when I walked in, Ella said “I have a surprise for you.” I said, “Oh, did you get those jewelry polishing cloths in?” (I’ve been waiting for them) She said no, they hadn’t come in, and handed me an envelope. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t even process what I was seeing. She had handed me a $125 gift certificate from my daughter to use at the bead store!

I was so stunned! We don’t even usually buy gifts for each other in our family, we give each other a card and spend time together doing something fun when a birthday rolls around. I had to pay for today’s purchase on my Amex card so that I could get the $25 gift card from them, but that’s OK. I don’t want to spend my store certificate yet, I just want to…..hold it for a little while. Then I will use it little by little when I need, or even want, beady things. $125 is sooooo much money to me. I can’t believe I actually have that much money, just to spend on beads and nothing else.

As soon as I got home I called my daughter and I couldn’t thank her enough. She was happy that I was happy, and blah, blah, blah, we had a happy-fest, lol.

So that was a much better surprise than a polishing cloth. And when they do come in, I’ll have the money to buy one.

Cat

“Surgeon” Visit

2011-11-24T09:48:00.001-05:00

Well I finally saw a neurosurgeon yesterday, if one can call him that, and what a wasted effort that was! The man should not even have an M.D. license. I left his office in tears.

My pain management doctor sent me over there because I am having terrible pain in my back and arm. An MRI showed three herniated thoracic discs. She did not want to try an epidural because I had such a bad reaction (seizures) to the Medrol I was given, so she is afraid to give me any more steroids.

The “surgeon”, and I call him that very loosely, took a look at my MRI. He tersely said that the only thing he could do is remove a disc, but it might not work and might leave me paralyzed from the neck down or just paralyzed on the left side. I asked what are the chances of that, and he said 20% of being paralyzed from the neck down. I asked him what are the chances of just the left side (like I would really try the surgery after hearing the first answer anyway!) and he said “Why are you asking so many questions? Don’t you trust me?” I told him of course I trusted him (ok, I lied to him about that), he has done surgery on me before (failed surgery, I might add) but that I needed some facts to base a decision on. He said I don’t need to make a decision, he is the doctor.

I won’t bore you with the whole conversation, but at one point I finally asked him what he would advise if it were his daughter sitting before him. I can’t live with the pain, not even with medication, what options do I have?

He actually told me that I ask too many questions and that he cannot work with a patient like that, and did not want to be my doctor anymore! Even though I was in tears, I remembered to ask for my co-pay check back on the way out of the office, because I am not paying to be treated like that.

I went back to my other doctor, and she said she will refer me somewhere else, and will not refer any more patients to this “doctor”.

In case anyone is interested, this guy’s name is Dr. Yonas Zegeye. He practices out of several offices in South Florida and a surgery center in West Palm Beach. Don’t ever go him, EVER! If you are referred to him, run fast in the other direction. He has a God complex so big that you could fit the entire world inside of it and still have room.

So what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? Besides the normal family and friends, I am thankful that I realized what a jerk-head this doctor is before I allowed him to come near me with his knife.

Cat

Beads from Mexico

2011-11-23T16:29:00.003-05:00

I didn't find all that much that was very different from what we have here in the USA while I was in Mexico, but I did find a few surprises. And who can resist buying beads in any bead store?

Here’s a picture of all of my loot.

At the top left, though you can’t see them very well, are silver-colored cell phone/purse charm holders. I never see them in silver color here, so I picked up a few. I also liked that they have lobster clasp attachments instead of the split ring I usually get on mine.

Then, on towards the right, just some different colors and sizes of seed beads. I can never have enough hematite, heehee.

At the top right are some round colored disks. The holes are in the center, and I think they are some sort of thin shell. Just underneath those are one of my favorite finds. Flat oval beads made of wood in several colors. The hole is on one of the ends of each bead.

The four red hearts are for Xmas earrings, and I couldn’t resist the two cute little pieces of turquoise to make earrings for myself.

I couldn’t resist picking up the two finished pieces of beadwork. If you can’t see them well, they are a butterfly and a puffy stuffed peyote fish, and both are keychains. I’m not sure if I will keep them or give them away as gifts. They are both very well made, and sold for less than $7.00 USD each. I feel bad for the girl who makes and sells them, she could charge more than that, they are well worth much more. If she had been a street vendor, I would have paid her more for them, but I bought them in a gallery so there was no way I could ensure that any extra money would get to her.

Here is a better picture of the fish and the butterfly:

The black round beads are just glass pearls that I thought I might use with my hematite. The holes are large, about 1 to 1½ mm, and there is no color flaking around the holes. I feel lucky to have found this strand. The ‘pearls’ are good quality. They are strung on a twisted nylon cord.

The other necklace with the charms and also the small group of bluish glass beads are vintage pieces. I don’t know what kind of beads those are on the charm necklace, but I’m sure I’ll be saving that set for a while before I get a really good idea for it. The clear round glass beads (if you can see them) appear to be vintage Swarovski. There are three of those silver charms on the necklace. I don’t know what kind or quality of silver it is. One of the silver charms is tarnished in the center with a greenish color.

I saved the brown beads for last because I’m hoping someone might know what they are. Here is a better picture of them.

The tag says “ivory chip”, but I’m sure they aren’t ivory. They are very pretty, and kind of pearlescent. I’m not very good at identifying stones. I tried looking on the MineraliA company website, but can’t find any similar looking stone chips.

The one other thing I bought lots of, because they were only a dollar each, were rubber bracelet blanks. It’s funny, we were just discussing something similar to these on the Beading Daily forum because we don’t find these bracelets with clasps like this in the USA. I think the ones pictured in the forum are leather, though, and the clasps are different. The clasps on these are stainless steel, and I intend to use the bracelet by making a beaded “slider” design around the rubber. They came with stainless steel sliders already on them, but I am going to remove those. They are just folded around the rubber. Here are some pics:

The top four pictures are clasp open, clasp closed, back of slider, front of slider. The bottom picture is all the different designs on the front of the sliders. They are made of stainless steel.

If I can get the sliders off neatly, does anybody want them? I will probably never use them. Maybe one of you metalworkers could use them as templates? I think I have about 20 of them.

@KipperCat, I don’t know if you read my blog, but I know you’ve been obsessing over these. If you do read my blog, let me know and I’ll send you a couple of the rubber bracelets to play with.

Cat

New Blogger Template

2011-11-22T16:55:00.005-05:00

I finally got so tired of looking at that dark green page that I changed my template to a light blue/white color scheme. I like it a lot better. Much brighter! It was very easy to change it.

Also, I changed my comments so that the little box pops up. I like that better because it doesn't take you away from the page that you're on.

I also like that the change moved my "fish tank" to the top of the page instead of the bottom, so now people can see that it's there, and they can play with my fish. Move your mouse around the tank and they'll follow it. Click your mouse to give them some food, and they'll follow around eating it. I have lots of fun playing with them.

The only thing I don't understand is why there are black lines around my pictures, but maybe when I add new pictures those won't be there. We'll find out on my next post.

What do you guys think of the changes?

Cat

Notes From Mexico City

2011-11-22T13:03:00.002-05:00

What a great trip! Even though I have 3 herniated discs in my back, so I was in lots of pain during the trip (seeing surgeon tomorrow), I still had a great time. I brought my heating pad and used it often.

I have a few notes, all unrelated, just things I observed and did during my trip.

I would never be able to drive in Mexico City. I don’t drive that well here in the US, LOL. There don’t seem to be any rules of the road. At least nobody ever seems to get pulled over for violating any. At one point, we were standing by a circle (or glorieta, whatever you call them). People were driving around it in both directions. I have no idea how they didn’t all hit each other. There are other intersections with no signs or lights, and it just seems to be whoever can get through fastest, goes. It’s crazy, and you have to be a bit of a maniac yourself to drive there.

The people everyplace we went were the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met in any country. Those who didn’t speak english struggled to understand my bad spanish, and we all made it through our conversations with a good laugh. Even people we met on the street tried their best to help answer our questions.

David found a casino there (he can find one anywhere, lol). He went there twice, and ended up winning 9000 pesos, about $650 US dollars. That was a nice highlight to our trip!

Xochimilco, an afternoon or evening boat ride, is one of the most fun things to do in Mexico City. If you visit, don’t miss it, and bring lots of friends if you can.

I haven’t been there for several years, but the city was much cleaner than the last time I was there. They are into recycling in a big way. Both the air and the streets were cleaner. There is no longer smoking allowed indoors anywhere.

The food was as good as ever! I couldn’t get enough of it.

We went to Chapaltepec Park. Plan on spending two days there. There is LOTS to do and see in this huge park.

Take a trip to Coyoacan on the weekend. Lots of street vendors, and the best ice cream in the world!

Also not to missed, the Frida Kahlo museum. Both her’s and Diego Rivera’s paintings are amazing, the history of their lives is interesting, and their studios are wonderful to see. Especially their very eclectic book collection.

We took a three day trip to my favorite little town in the world, Buenavista de Cuellar, which is so small you can walk from one end to the other. All of my friends there remembered me, and one offered us his house so that we didn’t have to stay in a hotel. I still want to move there one day. One day…

We rode the regular bus to Buenavista. The buses there are great, reasonably-priced, with large comfortable seats, bathrooms and TV. Nobody tried to board the bus and kidnap us or cut our heads off. We felt completely safe both inside and outside of Mexico City. Most of the stories you hear are greatly exaggerated. Just don’t go looking for drugs and you’ll be fine.

Speaking of bathrooms, I have always wondered (and this is a little gross), if you can’t flush 2 squares of toilet paper down the toilet (you put it in the trash bucket), then how does it manage to flush Number 2 without clogging?

I rediscovered Micheladas. Even though I don’t drink anymore, I had to make an exception for these. I had forgotten how good they are! And horchatas…non-alcoholic and a great drink. I found out you can even get them frozen.

I noticed a much increased police presence, both in cars and just walking on the street. Probably Mexico’s answer to our silly governments warnings against traveling there.

I’m sure there is lots I’m forgetting to say, so don’t be scared by reports of heads cut off and take a trip down there yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Edit to add: I forgot to say, we saw "Occupy Mexico". There was a small peaceful encampment in front of the Mexico City equivalent to Wall Street.

I also bought some interesting bracelets. I’ll do a separate post for those because it’s image heavy.

Cat

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-11-22T11:30:00.001-05:00

I have not bought anything for myself for quite some time due to budget issues. My recent vacation, and all the bead purchases I made during it, were a present from my boyfriend. (what a great boyfriend and great present! He’s the best!)

But my birthday is Monday, so I have just placed two books on pre-order at Amazon as a birthday present to myself. Heck, I can cut out $32.00 from somewhere else. It’s worth it.

First is Artistic Seed Bead Jewelry: Ideas and Techniques for Original Designs by Maggie Roschyk. It is scheduled to be released on December 19, so I’ll get it fairly soon. I just love Maggie’s designs, and I’m sure her design hints will be invaluable!

My next pre-order was for Beaded Fantasies: 30 Romantic Jewelry Projects by Sabine Lippert. It is scheduled to be released on May 1, 2012. I’m sure by then I will have forgotten all about the order so it will be a surprise when I receive it. Exciting! I have always been a fan of Sabine’s work, and can’t wait to have this collection of her projects. Plus, this book is a hardcover!

I can’t wait to get them, and will write reviews of both as soon as I do! Hop on over to Amazon and get your own!

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ …Happy birthday to me… ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Cat

On Vacation

2011-11-04T00:29:00.001-04:00

I’ll be away for two weeks. My dear boyfriend is taking me to Mexico since this is my birthday month! We’re leaving tomorrow morning. My daughter will be manning the house while we’re gone. Please, no parties!

I can’t wait to shop in all the bead stores down there! I have a friend there who will be taking me to the best bead stores.

See you all when I return on Nov. 20!

Cat

QR Codes (those funny square barcode things)

2011-11-02T13:34:00.001-04:00

This is so cool! I found a website where you can make your own QR code to connect to any website you have!

A QR code is that little square picture that people can hold their phone up to, and it magically transports them to your website. Of course I can’t use it myself, because I still have a ‘dumb” phone, but people with smartphones can do it.

I made one for this blog:

One for my ArtFire store:

One for my jewelry Facebook page:

This is fun! I almost wish I had more web pages so that I could keep making these all day, heehee.

Cat

Earring Spinner

2011-11-02T09:43:00.001-04:00

I found this at Marshalls after-Halloween clearance sale. Four dollars, and I think it will make a great earring display! It even has a lazy-susan bottom, so it spins around.

My boyfriend says I should leave it orange and black, I’m thinking I should paint the orange parts black. What do you think?

Cat

Yuk! Hospital Stay

2011-10-24T15:15:00.002-04:00

I've been out of the loop for a few days. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital. Nothing serious, I hope. I had 3 siezures over a period of two days so they admitted me. I think they took half of the blood out of my body doing blood tests. One day they took so much blood in such a short period of time that I actually got nauseous from it.

They did tons of tests on my heart and my brain, and everything came back normal, so nobody knows why I had the siezures. I had just started taking Medrol (a steroid) for some pain I was having in my shoulder, so I don't know if it was related to that or not. I've taken Medrol before with no ill effects, but now I'm afraid to ever take it again.

Anyway, it hasn't happened again, so I'm hoping it was just a flukey thing and that was the end of it.

I just got home yesterday and I've been resting, but I'm feeling like beading again now, so I think I'll work on my wine bottle today. It's about time I got that thing finished up! I am also eager to try some more designs with beads and chain. I'm having a hard time trying to get the finished work to look like the ideas in my head though.

Hope all of you are in good health!

Cat

Woohoo!

2011-10-19T17:18:00.001-04:00

I told you I would have some news to share this week. Here it is. Look what I received today!

Yay! Woohoo! Yippee!

Cat

Earwires

2011-10-16T14:53:00.001-04:00

I’m really having fun playing around with my wire. I’m pretty slow at it though, I have to work on that. I made a pair of earwires with little crystals on them. But, oops, I made the little loops backwards!

Does it really matter which direction the loops face? Does the dangle part hang differently if the loop is faced around backwards? I guess I’ll find out. I’ll make something and hang it on there.

I can’t wait to get good at this. I really want to work with silver, but I don’t want to make any mistakes, it’s too expensive. I’ll just keep practicing with copper for awhile.

Cat

Another Addiction

2011-10-15T23:15:00.001-04:00

I’ve had some (well, a lot of) wire stashed in my beading supplies since years ago, when I thought I would do something with it and then never did. I’ve made a few simple loops and wrapped loops here and there when I needed to, but never took it much further.

I finally got out all my wire today and went looking for tutorials. I found plenty of them at Jewelry Lessons. After I finished drooling over all the pretty things, I picked a tutorial marked ‘beginner’ by Pat Capo, called Single Spiral Ring. Her directions were fantastic, and I managed to make this:

One thing I definitely learned – It’s important to file the cut ends of your wire! I tried to put the ring on before I filed it and I cut my finger. Ouch! But now that I’ve filed it properly, it fits well and it’s very comfortable.

And I think I have a new addiction. I downloaded a bunch of tutorials in my thirst for wire knowledge. I think I grabbed every free one they had, and once I pick up some basic skills I can go on to the more advanced paid tutorials. Jewelry Lessons is a great site! Many experienced teachers with lots of knowledge to share.

On another note, I think I might have some exciting (to me, at least) news to report at the beginning of this coming week! Stay tuned.

Cat

My Crazy Heart

2011-10-11T00:31:00.003-04:00

I had to take a break from working on the wine bottle for a while. I have taken it apart so many times it isn't funny. I thought decreasing in less spots would make it look rounder, but it made it look like a triangle, lol. So I will undo the top of it again, and hopefully this will be the last time I reconstruct it.

Meantime, I made a quick project today. I wish I could link to where I got the instuctions, but I can't find the blog now. Cute little heart, only took me about an hour. I think I'll make a few more of them, try some different variations.

But as I was adding the jump ring, I realized that not all the jump rings in this package of closed rings that I have are soldered properly. Darn! Now I'm going to have to inspect every jump ring in the package before I buy them in the future? I'm a perfectionist, I can't help it.

Cat

A New Look?

2011-10-04T19:44:00.002-04:00

I've had this green blog for years, and I'm starting to get a little tired of it. I think I'm going to play around with some of the templates here on Blogger, and maybe change my blog to a brighter color.

Knowing me, I'll push a wrong button somewhere, though, and wipe out my blog. Well, we will see what happens.

Cat

Wine Bottle Finished

2011-09-26T17:04:00.001-04:00

I finally finished the little wine bottle. Here it is. It’s 1 3/4 inches tall.

I don’t like it though. I might do it over. The label is too high, it should be closer to the bottom of the bottle. And for some reason, it looks more like a beer bottle than a wine bottle. I can’t figure out why. Maybe the neck is too short in comparison to the body?

OK, I just measured a wine bottle to see what the actual proportions are for neck to body. The bottle is 11½ inches tall, and the neck starts at 6 inches. So, I do need more neck and less body. Alright, I’m going to try another one. I guess it would have been a good idea to measure the actual wine bottle before I started. Oh, well, live and learn.

And look at the bright side. I know how to make a beer bottle!

If I can do a good job on this, I might be able to sell some. My friend is a wine consultant, and she said all her colleagues go crazy over any kind of wine decoration. So I could probably make a bunch of these as purse charms and sell them, if I can get it to look like what I envisioned.

Cat

HUH???

2011-09-22T14:39:00.001-04:00

What happened to the spacing in that last post? BlogSpot does some really weird things sometimes. I must remember to write my posts using Windows Live from now on. The only thing is, I can’t edit a previous post from there.

Cat

Google+

2011-09-22T02:06:00.004-04:00

Has anyone tried Google+ yet?

It’s similar to Facebook, but run by Google (obviously…).

I’m feeling kind of lonely over there right now. I signed up for it, but hardly anyone else that I know has it, so I’m following three people: the person who I got the invitation from, one person who I invited, and writer Wil Wheaton. Or I’m friends with three people, I don’t know, I haven’t quite got the concept of “circles” yet, and I don’t know the difference between following someone and being their friend.

If you’d like to try it out, let me know and I’ll e-mail you an invitation. Maybe we can liven up my page, or wall, or whatever. I think Google calls it my “stream”. I’m learning.

Edited to add: Oh, well, that's me, always a day late and a dollar short. Just when I finally wrangle an invite to Google+, sign up, and offer to send out more invitations, they open the whole thing up to everybody, LOL. They probably did it because everyone is so mad at Facebook today and they think they can get a bunch of people to switch over, or at least try it out.

Cat

One bracelet done

2011-09-20T22:25:00.003-04:00

I'm learning a few things about working with the chain. A lot of the designs that I had in mind didn't work, because the chain I'm using has oval links. When I attached the chain to the beadwork, the attached link would move so that the "short" end of the link was attached, not the "long" end as I had imagined. I will have to either work up some designs where that would be incorporated or buy chain with round links, lol.

Another thing I've learned is that chain has a mind of it's own. What looks really great on paper doesn't work out so well in practice because the chain has a tendency to move where it wants to go. Fine, but I just have to plan for that in my design. I'm really determined to merge chain and beads.

After working half the night and all day, I only ended up with one simple bracelet so far, mostly because I just wanted to have something to wear after all that time working. So I just made a simple daisy chain with the copper-colored seeds and some aquamarine AB crystals, and attached it to a slide clasp. Then I attached chains on each side of the beaded work. It's okay, but not WOW. I'll probably end up taking it apart and reworking it.

Meanwhile, back to the drawing board.

Cat

A Look at How a Design Begins

2011-09-19T04:06:00.001-04:00

I thought I would give you a look at how my design process begins.

First I had it in my head that I wanted to do something with chain, maybe a bracelet. So I got some of my chains out to look at them and try to get some ideas. I laid them out on my bead tray – with a handful of jump rings thrown in for good measure.

Then I hunted around in my stash of beads to pick out some shapes and colors that might look good with these chains. I found some beautiful millefiore hearts that just called out to be paired with the black chain, some black snowflake glass cubes that would match either of the silver chains, and some grey Swarovski pearls.

You can see that I also changed the color of the mat in my bead tray. That’s because I put a few handfuls of Swarovski crystals on the tray, and I couldn’t see their true colors on the brown mat. I really like the way the hammered silver chain in the back looks with the dark blue crystals and the copper-colored beads next to them. While I was matching these into color groups, I had a new idea. Anklets! That’s what I’ll do with one of the chains.

Now it will take me about an hour to pull tubes of seed beads, pour little piles of beads on the tray, and decide which colors I want to use. Then I look at them under the Ott light, change my mind, and do it over and over again until I’m satisfied that I have a pleasing color combination.

I’ll take some time off from writing now to do that and finish up this post later.

Cat

Wine Bottle Progress

2011-09-18T15:58:00.001-04:00

I’ve been working on my small wine bottle little by little. I had to take out the bottom, because I used a three-bead start, and the shape of the bottle turned into a triangle. So I redid it with a five-bead start, and it turned out much more rounded.

Then it took me a little while to graph out the letters, since I had such a small space for the label, but I got it done.

Now, I need to narrow the bottle little by little to make the neck. I’ve sewn it and picked it out about five times already. It’s just coming out too angular for my taste. I need to figure out a way to make the decreases more rounded. On such a small object, it’s difficult, but I’ll find a way.

Here are a few pics of where I am so far.

Cat

All About Goldstone

2011-09-16T08:12:00.004-04:00

One of my very favorite beads is goldstone. I love the way goldstone beads shimmer and glitter in the sun! But, did you know that goldstone has no gold in it and it's not even a stone? I didn't, until one day when I stumbled across the way it is made while trying to find out the reason for the wide disparity in prices that I see.

Goldstone is actually a man-made glass! It is made from silica, copper oxide, and other metal oxides, which is heated, allowed to crystallize, and then cooled. It is during the heating process that the metallic copper crystals are formed. Once it is cooled, it can then be carved into beads or other shapes, and polished.

There are also blue, green, and purple varieties of goldstone. These are made with other metals, usually chromium, cobalt, or manganese.

And, as I suspected, there are definitely differences in quality! Most obvious is the talent of the person making the glass. Goldstone is not easy to make. It has to be heated to just the right temperature, with low oxidation, in order to form properly. The copper crystals have to grow to the right size without falling to the bottom of the crucible. If too much oxygen is used while heating, the copper can take on a greenish tinge. If the hot glass is not kept at the correct temperature, the copper crystals can melt. During the cooling stage, it must be cooled in a low-oxygen environment, and very slowly, so that the copper crystals remain evenly distributed and it does not crack. So, you can see all the difficulty.

Once it has crystallized and cooled, it comes out of the vat in a large mass. The outer layers of a batch tend to have duller colors, larger or non-reflective particles, and a more opaque-looking glass. These outer layers, as well as glass that has not been made properly through one or more steps of the process, are more than likely the reason why you will find some goldstone that is less expensive than others.

For these reasons, I always make sure I am buying high quality goldstone. I want a translucent glass that does not have too little, or too much, glitter. I want to be sure that it has been polished smooth, and has no inclusions. A quality bead makes a quality piece of jewelry. One that you will be proud to wear for years and years. So always make sure that you buy goldstone either in person or, if on-line, from a trusted seller.

And now a few "fun facts" about goldstone.
+ Goldstone's associated elements are earth and fire, its associated planet is Jupiter, and its associated zodiac sign is Sagitarrius. (Hey, I'm a Sag!)
+ It is said that goldstone will attract fame and prosperity.
+ Some think that the copper suspended in goldstone strengthens the bones and circulatory system, and eases arthritis pain.
+ Goldstone is believed by some to have properties that ward off stress.

This is just a test

2011-09-16T04:27:00.000-04:00

I clicked a button on my computer’s toolbar (it looks like a little pencil) just to see what it did, and I found out that I can write a blog post without even going to BlogSpot. It does it through Windows Live.

Believe it or not, writing the post through Windows Live I actually have more editing options than I do when writing it through BlogSpot. I could probably do some of these things through BlogSpot if I knew more HTML, but I don’t, so it’s neat to have these options at the touch of a button.

I can add maps, horizontal lines, a table, a video, and smilies. Lots and lots of smilies.

The other neat thing is that the template that I write on looks just like my actual blog page; column width, colors, and everything. So as I’m writing, I can see exactly what my finished post will look like to readers.

It even has a word counter.

Now, I click “publish” and see if this thing really works…

Cat

Can you help me please?

2011-09-14T06:14:00.006-04:00

I don't even think very many people read my blog, but can those of you who do please help me with something? Last post, I told you about the earring stand that I made. In the pictures below, you can see that the earrings are just shy of two inches long. A great tool for on-line selling!

Now I have a couple of questions.

First, should I leave the lines blank or should I write the numbers on them, like a ruler? I think I probably should, it's just that I have terrible handwriting, and I didn't want to ruin the card. I printed the word 'inches' on it using my computer, but I couldn't get numbers to print in the right places. (my computer graphics skills are as bad as my handwriting) Maybe I can find someone with good handwriting to put the numbers on for me. Or maybe I can just buy some stick-on letters at the dollar store, LOL.

Second, can you look at these two pictures, and tell me which way the pic looks better? In the left side picture, I have the edge of the card showing, and in the right-side picture I cropped it so that the lines go all the way off the side of the picture and you can't see the edge of the card. I'm leaning toward the one with the edge of the card showing (the left one), but I keep flip-flopping back and forth, and I can't make a decision.

Thanks for your opinions, and please everyone who reads this, will you let me know what you think, because as I said, I don't get that many visitors.

Cat

Homemade Earring Stand

2011-09-14T05:54:00.004-04:00

I made a special earring stand to help with my pictures when I'm e-mailing them or posting them on-line. I folded a piece of thick paper into a triangle shape, and then I drew lines on it every half-inch mark, starting at the top. I can hang my earrings over the top edge, and this way people can see by the lines that I drew on it how long they are. Here are some pictures of the stand. They were hard to take because the stand is white, and I have a white background, but I think you can see it.

If anyone else wants to make one, feel free to use the idea. It would be great for people who sell their earrings on-line and need to show exactly how long they are!

The first picture is looking at it from the top end, the second picture is the back, and the third picture is the front. Next post I'll show you a picture with earrings on it, because I have a question to ask you.

The Journals of Louviere

2011-09-11T21:24:00.005-04:00

I don't know if any of you have ever been to the website of Brightlings Beads. I had never been there before today.

I found a story on their website, a story about a traveling bead salesman and his adventures. I've just started reading it, and it's kind of fun. The name of it is The Journals of Louviere, and it starts right on this page. I've just finished Day One of the journal. Why don't you read along with me, and we'll follow the travels of Mr. Louviere together.

I wonder what kinds of trouble a bead salesman can get into? Wouldn't you just love to be a traveling bead salesperson?

Cat

It's a start!

2011-09-05T03:18:00.006-04:00

So, this is the first time I've beaded since I *sob* lost all of my bead patterns. I am creating this one myself. Maybe that's the kick in the butt I needed to start designing things.

Anyway, this is a picture of my beadboard (yes, it is always this messy, usually messier, lol), and the very tiny bit of beading you see will (hopefully) become a very small wine bottle. I am going to use it as a pendant on a necklace I am making for my sister-in-law, who sells wine.

I'll keep you updated as to how it goes.

Cat

The cutest tiny things I've ever seen!

2011-09-03T17:27:00.004-04:00

I was blog hopping today, and when I stopped by the Pieces of Me blog, she had linked to an Etsy shop selling the tiniest little crocheted animals I have ever seen.

And when I say tiny, I mean micro-tiny. These little animals can fit on the tip of your finger. How does someone even crochet something this small? Some of them even have movable legs and arms. I want them all! I have no idea what I would do with them, but they are just too cute!

You have to stop by this Etsy shop and see them all!

Cat

ARGH!

2011-08-31T21:44:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't been posting. My computer blew up. Well, it didn't litterally blow up, but a lot of smoke started pouring out of it and it went dead. I've lost everything! All my pictures, my links, papers that I've worked on, and lots more.

And all my BEAD PATTERNS!!!!! Hundreds of them. I have nothing! I could just cry. Actually, I have cried, and I think I'll do a lot more crying.

So, now I've put a new laptop on my credit card. I've been working so hard to pay them all off too, and I was almost there. But I felt like it was a worthwhile purchase.

But I will never get my pictures back. and probably won't get most of my bead paterns back either. I've learned my lesson. Everything that I put on my computer from now on will also go on a backup drive.

If you have anything important on your computer, back it up.

Cat

August Moodboard

2011-08-22T22:55:00.003-04:00

I finally finished my project for the OTTBS August Moodboard. It wasn't a difficult project, it's just that I haven't had much beading time this month. (my rocks are feeling very ignored) There's a really nice prize this month, I hope I win.

Can you believe that I've never made a herringbone twist? I decided to give it a try, and it was very easy. I love the spiral it gives you! Just ignore my wrapped links, they need a lot more practice.

Cat

Long Pearly Tila Earrings

2011-08-17T08:37:00.003-04:00

I made these earrings last night from a pattern that I bought at the JewelryLessons website. That site has lots of great patterns, and even some free ones. The site seems to be more geared to wire-work, but there are enough bead-weaving patterns to keep me busy.

The pattern called for a 14mm pearl and 8/0 seed beads, but the biggest pearl I had was 8mm. So I changed the seed beads to 11/0, and boy am I glad I did! The earring looks perfect as it is, and I think it would have been way too huge with the larger beads.

Also, in the photo supplied with the tutorial, the tilas looked kind of 'floppy', so I ladder-stitched mine together. I think it looks better that way.

I'm going to make another pair with black beads. But I'll still have to use the gold tila beads because those are the only ones I have. It should look good in black and gold.

Cat

Wrap Bracelet

2011-08-14T11:40:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to try making one of these leather wrap bracelets for a while. I had some 4mm rounds that I knew I could use, and I bought some 1mm leather at Michaels for $2.49. I found a video on youtube showing how to make it. It was in spanish, but I could still understand it just by watching the pictures.

Boy, does that thing use a lot of thread! I think I pulled off about 12 feet. I doubled it, so then I had 6 feet, and I used almost all of it. It took a lot longer than I thought it would take too.

I really like it though. I haven't taken it off since I finished it.

Cat

You may be richer than you think

2011-08-11T17:20:00.004-04:00

I know we're all having a tough time in this economy, but here's a little site you can use to put it all into perspective. You enter your annual income, and it tells you how rich you are in relation to everyone else on earth.

How rich are you? >>

I'm loaded.
It's official.
I'm the 669,642,941 richest person on earth!

I may not be considered anything close to wealthy here in the United States, but I'm in the top 11.16% of the richest people in the world! I feel better already. Or maybe kind of sad that there are so many people who have to make do with so little.

Granted, after you find out how "rich" you are, there comes a plea to donate some of your hard-earned money to worthy causes. Maybe some people will be moved to donate an hour's worth of their salary to their favorite charity. It's surely a better use for those funds than another Starbucks coffee, right?

Cat

Earring Binge

2011-08-10T06:51:00.004-04:00

I've been on quite a craze making earrings the past couple of days. Here are a few samples. These are all quick and easy to make, in case you want to whip something up right away. I don't think any one of them took me more than an hour.

The top two pairs are from a pattern by Good Quill Hunting, called Sonja. The pair on the bottom left is from a pattern by Marcia DeCoster, called Medici. The pair on the bottom right is made from a pattern by Leslie Rogalski, called Silver Comet. That one was in an e-booklet I got on the beading daily site called 6 Free Beadweaving Patterns.

I still feel like making more earrings, I like instant gratification, so I think I'll be hunting down some more patterns.

Cat

Green Hair and Bam!

2011-08-06T12:11:00.006-04:00

So, here is my yellow rock with green hair. The hair is actually a more grass-like green than shows in the picture, I can never get my colors to come out exactly right in photos. I can't decide if I should give it more hair or not. Also whether it should be a boy or a girl. I'm leaning more towards boy. Yes, that's it, a boy, named Harry. Wouldn't it be cute to make a girl rock and embellish some jewelry onto her? A poster on Beading Daily suggested that I could even make bugs or animals with them. What a neat idea! Oh, the places I could go with this. What I will do with all my rocks, though, I don't know. Keep them as a mascot team, I guess.

Cat

Look at these beads

2011-08-02T12:11:00.003-04:00

In my wandering around the internet today, I ran across a bead artist I'd never heard of before. Her name is Teresa Sullivan, and she does some wild beadwork! Look at this piece of art that she's wearing!

She also makes little 3-dimensional heads with faces, and makes collages of items mixed with beadwork. Take a look at her website and see some of the unusual things she does with beads. You can also watch a movie of her making one of her beaded heads.

I would love to take a workshop with her!

Cat

Peyote Ring

2011-07-31T14:16:00.003-04:00

I was in the mood for a small project today, so I made a ring. I got to use some of my 2mm crystals. They are so cute! The pattern for it is on Cynthia Daniels' website, Jewelry Tales. But, shhhh, don't tell anybody, I didn't buy the pattern, I just copied it from the picture. Cynthia does have some great patterns, though. I've bought several of them. Her designs are beautiful and her directions are easy to follow. Now I'm trying to think of how I can combine some of them so that I can enter the Bead Mavens Meld Challenge. Of the group, Cindy's are the only patterns I own, and I don't have money to be buying any new patterns. Maybe I can put together this earring and this necklace to make a bracelet with a focal. Or maybe not...I don't know. I'll play around with it and we'll see. The challenge is open until October 15, so there's plenty of time to think about it.

Cat

My Happy Rock

2011-07-29T10:38:00.003-04:00

Since I had so much fun beading the first rock, I decided to take Tara's suggestion and bead a rock with a happy face on it. First I colored the rock with nail polish (thanks for the idea, Mandy), then drew the face on it as a guide. I started with a band of tubular peyote around the middle, and beaded one half first, then the other. I think he looks pretty cute. Now I'm thinking about making another one and embellishing it with some beady "hair".

Cat

My Pet Rock

2011-07-20T19:38:00.002-04:00

I felt like beading, but I couldn't settle on a project, so I decided to just bead around a rock. It was a fun way to practice increasing and decreasing peyote anyway. I don't even know why I had a rock in my room, but I did. I got out a black and grey bead mixture, and a few hours later, voila! My beaded rock was done. It's kind of fun to just hold it and feel the beads. Maybe it'll be my muse. My daughter says I should make one with a face on it. Hmmm...Maybe.

Cat

1000 crystals

2011-07-14T23:56:00.003-04:00

Someone referred me to a seller on eBay who was selling "Swarovski crystals" very cheaply. I went to the site, and when I saw they were coming from China, I had no illusions. I knew they would be fakes. But it was only $11.00 for 1000 crystals! When I go to the bead store, I get 24 crystals for $3.00. I just hoped they would be pretty.

I ordered, and then I waited. I don't know why, I guess because I've never bought 1000 crystals before, but I thought I would be getting a big package in the mail. So when I got a tiny envelope in the mail from China today I thought, "This is my 1000 crystals?"

But it was! 1000 crystals really doesn't take up that much space. Of course, I had to compare them under my magnifying glass with some crystals I have here that are real Swarovski. Just to see how much difference there was, and if I had gotten ripped off for $11.00. The ones I received are just slightly longer and have wider holes. Other than that, I can't complain. They are just as colorful and sparkly as the real thing! They are well-cut and have smooth facets and holes.

I took a picture, but the light is really glaring on the plastic of the packages. This is what 1000 crystals looks like:

It doesn't look like a lot, does it? But each package has 50 in it. There really are 1000 there.

I can't wait to use them! I love crystals, but I hardly ever buy them because they're so expensive. Well, Mr. K. in China now has a new customer!

Cat

The challenge

2011-07-12T11:35:00.002-04:00

The challenge piece that I made is up on the OTTBS blog! It's the first photo. I love the other two entries that are also on the page.

Cat

I have an idea!

2011-07-12T00:43:00.002-04:00

Yay! I have an idea! An idea for a project, that is. Actually I thought of it a couple of weeks ago. But then when I tried to convert it from brain to beads, it didn't work, and I just got frustrated and ripped it all apart, and that was the end of that. So, with all my complaining over the past few days, I realized that the reason I haven't "designed" anything is because I was too impatient with myself.

I guess I expected to get an idea and then just bead it up exactly on the first try. It's looking like I might have to make ten or twenty or even more tries before I get this thing to look anything like what I'm envisioning in my head. So, now that I'm accepting of that, I'm just glad that I have a lot of cheap thread on hand to practice with. ;-)) And each time that I bead it up and take it apart, I'm learning a little bit more about what will and what won't work.

Now, instead of feeling like a failure each time it doesn't look like what I want and giving up, I just try again using the methods that worked and discarding the ones that didn't. And I remember not to use my good thread.

One of these days, I may even have a final product to show you.

Cat

How I started beading

2011-07-10T19:54:00.002-04:00

I really kind of fell into beading by accident, never dreaming that one day I'd have a bedroom with beads in every nook and cranny.

I used to have a small flea-market stall where I sold Mexican arts and crafts. My favorite craft were the Huichol Indian beaded carvings. They carve a piece of wood into whatever shape they want, cover it with a soft wax, then cover it with beads. Some of these carvings are breathtaking!

Unfortunately, business was very slow in the store, so I spent my days imitating the Huichol art by gluing beads onto objects. I started out by decorating the rims of clay pots.

Then I started decorating products. Here are two samples, a cereal box and a laundry soap box.

I pick up each bead singly and glue them on, one by one. It's very slow work, but it's actually pretty relaxing. Even now, when my jewelry beading mojo disappears, I'll work on a beaded clay pot.

Eventually I had a pretty large collection of beads, and I was running out of things to put them on, so I wondered if I could learn to make jewelry. I looked up a few sites on the internet, beginning with Ruby's Beadwork, and never looked back.

I love making beaded jewelry. I love wearing it, and I love giving it away. But beads cost money! I'm in no danger of running out, believe me, but there's always another color or shape that I just have to have. That's why I'm so eager to try designing. I want to sell my creations to earn money for more beads, and I can't sell jewelry made from patterns. I could probably sell one here or there to a friend or family member, but I want to have an ArtFire store, and for that I need original designs.

So, as Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story.

Cat

But if you are a designer...

2011-07-09T19:44:00.002-04:00

As I whined so ferociously about in my last post, I can't design worth a hill of beans. But, those of you who CAN design should hop over to Susan Mandel's blog, and read the post dated June 2, 2011. She gives all the delicious details about how to win three days of jewelry-making classes at Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San San Francisco, including airfare!

The scholarship contest is open until August 15, so take some photos of your best works and send them in! If you just can't wait to sign up, here is the link to the online application for the scholarship.

Cat

Finished The Pearl Bracelet

2011-07-09T15:05:00.005-04:00

I finally finished the pearl bracelet. After making a few toggles and ripping them apart because I didn't like them, I finally made one that I think works well with the bracelet. Take a look.

Here are some close-ups of just the toggle.

(that curved piece of white in the pic above is the edge of a bead with light shining on it, it is NOT a piece of thread. I double-checked the bracelet after I saw the pic.)
It feels good to have the project finished and all the scraps and beads off my beading table so that I can focus on something else. Like my Russian Spiral...thanks for the suggestions, Mandy. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with it.

I really don't know how bead designers come up with all their ideas. I've tried just envisioning things in my head and I've tried putting all the beads I want to use on my tray, but no great ideas ever pop into my head. I really want to start beading my own designs and stop using patterns, but there are days (well, most days) when I think that will never happen. I feel like I'm always going to be a second rate beader, always just following someone else's patterns.

When I bead, I try to fully understand the stitch in my head, not just to follow the pattern, but to understand why a bead here or a bead there makes a difference. And I can change up a pattern with different beads until it looks nothing like the original. But I'm not satisfied. I want to sit down with some beads and thread, and just make something of my own creation. I mean, I made the toggle clasp, that was my own, but that was simple. I want to design a bracelet, and I just don't get how to do it. Maybe creative people have a special gene that I'm missing, or something. I guess I'll just keep working at it. Possibly one of these days it'll click. I hope.

Cat

Belt or Necklace?

2011-07-06T14:27:00.003-04:00

I'm going through all my unfinished projects to see what I can finish, and which ones I should just take apart and use the beads for another project. I found this Russian Spiral that I originally planned to make into a belt for a black dress that I was wearing to an event. It's actually black and gold, but the picture made the gold beads look silver.

I didn't finish it in time for the event, so it's just been languishing in my project box. As you can see, I haven't even weaved my thread ends in yet. I think I may just add a clasp to it and make it a long necklace. I might even have to pull some of it out, because as it is, it would be a VERY long necklace. I had bought a buch of different shaped black and gold Swarovski's to use as ends on the belt, so maybe I can use them to make some kind of pendant for the necklace.

I started the peyote clasp for my pink and pearl bracelet. I made the toggle, but after I made the ring I didn't like it and I pulled it apart. I'll have to try making it again today.

Cat

OTTBS July challenge

2011-07-05T09:58:00.002-04:00

So, I did make something for the July OTTBS challenge after all. It's just a small pendant. I used cubic RAW, ugh! Some people can make cubic RAW look so beautiful, but I always end up with lots of thread showing, so I filled it in with the size 15's to cover up the thread. It's definitely not the best work I've ever done, but I did manage to use orange beads without invoking Halloween, so there's that.

Here's a photo:

Hope you enjoy looking at it, I promise I won't beg anyone to wear it, LOL.

Cat

New bracelet and OTTBS

2011-07-05T05:15:00.006-04:00

I seem to have a problem with finishing things. I just made the netted bracelet from the latest issue of Bead and Button magazine, and now I don't know what to do about a clasp.

A toggle clasp just doesn't seem right for this beautiful bracelet, although I'm thinking that if I make a peyote toggle I can add some pearls to the toggle and that would work better. The picture in the magazine shows it with a magnetic clasp, but this is a heavy bracelet, and I don't think a magnetic clasp would hold very well.

I thought it would be a complicated project, but I finished it in one day, so that wasn't too bad.

So, for now, it's on my bead board just waiting for the perfect finish.

I was also thinking about participating in the "Operation Tackle That Bead Stash" challenge this month, but the colors are oranges. I've gathered up all my orange beads trying to come up with ideas, but all I can think of is Halloween. Every orange bead I have (and, why oh why do I have so many?) is bright, very bright, and none of the colors I've tried to pair them with are toning them down. Believe me, if I try to make a piece of jewelry, nobody would wear these colors.

They don't look quite so bad in this picture thanks to my horrendous photography skills, colors never come out right, but believe me, they are orangy (is that a word?). Plus, they are all size 15's (hex's no less!), except the gold-lined size 11's on the right and of course the crystals.

So, maybe I will or maybe I won't participate. But either way I've got to find things to do with the beads I already own, however ugly they may be or what the hell was in my mind when I bought them, because I have no money for new stash beads. Yeah, I know, boo-hoo and tiny violin. Anyone need a babysitter?

Cat

Now What?

2011-07-03T06:34:00.002-04:00

Besides just reading beading blogs, I have been doing a fair bit of beading myself lately. A week or so ago I made this pendant.

(Add photography to the list of things I cannot do. The pendant is much prettier in person.)

I got this pattern from a Russian web site called, as nearly as I can tell, I Am Creative.

I just don't like the metal bail that I made for it, so I want to make a necklace to hang it on. But every time I start the hunt for beads to use, I am stumped by my utter lack of creativity. I just do not know how to make the perfect necklace to show this pendant off. Should I make a few beaded beads and intersperse them with some Swarovskis and pearls? Should I make a St. Petersburg chain to go with the pendant's Russian heritage? Should I just throw some seed beads on a wire and be done with it?

And so the pendant just sits, mocking me. I wish I could think of something to do with it.

Cat

Now I have to write something, hehe

2011-06-27T02:53:00.004-04:00

Since Mandy from BeadsFor Brains linked to my blog (thanks!), I guess I should write something in case anyone pops over here.

I am an on-and-off beader. Sometimes I get the bug, like right now, and I bead constantly for weeks or months. Then other times I just don't have the motivation to do it. Mandy is really inspiring me though! I just wish she could teach me to take pictures. For some reason, mine always turn out blurry or fuzzy. I use a tripod, so I'm not moving the camera. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

Anyway, for better or worse, here is the best picture I could get of the Star Berry Bead that I made from the instructions at the blog here. Hope you like it.

Cat

Finally....A vacation!

2011-05-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

I finally got to go on a trip. Thank heaven for credit cards, LOL. I didn't go to my beloved Mexico, but the one place that is even better.

I went to see my little mija in Seattle! She has really grown since I've seen her last, but she is still the same lovable little girl. We had so much fun together. Reading, playing games, beading together (she made her own peyote bracelet!), going to the park, out for ice cream, to an event at her school, and much more.

I really have to figure out a way to save up some money so that I can go see her again. In the meantime I will have to satisfy myself with phone calls and letters. *sigh*

Cat

P.S. - In typical "Cat fashion" nothing ever goes completely right...so, if you can believe it...in the first five minutes I was there I fell down in the airport and broke my shoulder. OUCH! Talk about pain! I was one-handed for my entire trip, and am still one-handed. It's really inconvenient, but the doc says it should be better in 4-6 weeks. Let's hope it's closer to four.

Trip coming up!

2011-03-28T17:16:00.003-04:00

I just made reservations to go see my grand-daughter in Seattle! I can't wait, I'm so excited to see her and do some activities with her.

She is having an Elder's Tea at her school and she is supposed to bring a relative. She has invited me to come with her! I'm so honored to be able to see her school, meet her friends, and meet the other "Elders".

I'll be going at the end of April, so I'll keep you updated.

Cat

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T20:04:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope you are all having a great day!

Cat

Tax compromise

2010-12-07T00:48:00.003-05:00

Did anybody watch President Obama's speech regarding the tax-cut "compromise"? He clearly looked anguished and unhappy about it, but I don't think he had much choice. Not only because the Republicans vowed to block passage of the bill unless/until they got their way, but because they also vowed to block ALL other legislation until this issue was settled (in their favor, of course).

And there are very important bills that need to be voted on and passed. The START treaty, Medicare payments to doctors (due to be cut by 25% in January), DADT, and more.

So, it was important to get the tax-cut issue settled so that this other important work could get done, instead of everyone just sitting around while the Republicans stomped their feet like children.

I feel bad that people are saying that President Obama "caved" or that he "has no backbone". I think that he was backed into a corner and he did the best with what he had. To stupidly hold out for something that is never going to happen just for political reasons would have been worse. When all the people who are criticizing him for compromising saw their taxes go up in January, they would have been complaining about him at that time instead, for breaking his campaign promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. He couldn't win either way, so he agreed to extend the cuts only for two years and he at least got a 13 month extension of unemployment benefits added to the bill, among other things. I believe he tried to do what he thought was best, given the circumstances.

For the record, I am part of the 14% of Americans who think all of the tax cuts should just expire. The only reason we even had the tax-cuts is because Bush entered office with a massive surplus, and instead of paying down some of our debt, decided to give the money back to the people via tax-cuts. They were so unpopular with Congress at the time that they were passed via **GASP** reconciliation and were given a set expiration date for that reason. Now that we have a huge deficit, taxes should go back up again. But, that's just my opinion. Obviously the majority of Americans don't agree with me. Oh, well. It isn't the first time I've held an unpopular opinion.

Now let's hope that the Republicans keep their promise, and vote to pass the compromise that they agreed on.

Cat

You Fix The Budget

2010-12-02T20:21:00.002-05:00

Think you can do a better job than our lawmakers at reducing our federal budget deficit? The NY Times offers you a chance to try. It's not as easy as it would seem.

I was able to bring us back in balance by 2015, with a mix of 33% spending cuts and 67% tax increases (I brought back a hefty estate tax and taxes on capital gains), but I was unable to keep that balance through 2030.

I'm sure there are many other choices than this exercise gives, but it's still a fun way to see how your choices would affect the budget. I tried to think of unintended consequences as well. Would reducing federal aid to states by 5% force the states to work more efficiently, or would it cause them to lay off workers or cut social entitlement programs? I chose to think it would force them to work more efficiently.

Try it yourself, here. Let us know how you did!

Cat

How many people have your name?

2010-11-30T23:32:00.003-05:00

I found this kind-of cool website, where you can put in your name and it tells you how many people in the U.S. have the same name as you. I tried my current name and my maiden name, and here are the results.

My current name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are

people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

My maiden name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are

or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I'm the only one!!!

Try it, it's fun!

Cat

One eye down, one to go

2010-11-03T12:42:00.002-04:00

I had the cataract surgery on my left eye this morning. I was so nervous, but they gave me some stuff to help me relax, and the surgery went really quick and easy. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Now I have a patch over my left eye, They told me I can take it off at 2:30. I'm typing using my other eye and a pair of drugstore reading glasses so that I can see the computer. They said when I take the patch off I'll be able to see, but it will be blurry, and then get clearer and clearer over the days.

I wonder if it will hurt when the anesthetic wears off the left eye? I forgot to ask them that. I have three different eye drops that I have to start using on varying schedules.

I go back for a checkup tomorrow. Still have to decide if I want to do the right eye to see distance vision like I did the left, or do it for near vision so that I can see both close and near at the same time. I have always worn my contacts "mono", one for near and one for far, but I am leaning towards just getting both eyes surgically corrected for distance and then wearing glasses for close-up (reading, computer, beadwork). It seems like that would give me the least problems going forward. I wouldn't have to explain to every eye doctor I see for the rest of my life about the mono-vision, whenever I need glasses. Also the beadwork is so detailed, I think I would rather have both eyes the same.

I'll let you know how it all continues to work out.

Cat

Old? B-b-but...

2010-10-28T08:48:00.002-04:00

I found out I have cataracts. I thought only old people get cataracts. I can't have them! Boo-hoo-hoo!

I've been having decreasing vision and seeing glare around lights at night for a while, so I figured I may as well get my eyes checked out and get new prescription. I got kind of a surprise when the eye doctor(optometrist) sent me to another eye doctor(opthamologist) and he sent me to yet another eye doctor(surgeon).

So the verdict is I have cataracts and need to have my eye lenses replaced surgically with implants. They can only do one eye at a time (in case you go blind???), so I have two surgery dates scheduled, Nov. 3 and Nov. 17. And of course, two co-pays to go along with two surgeries. By the way, my co-pays and deductibles went way up this year, did yours?

For over 5 years I have been wearing "mono-vision contacts", which means one eye corrects for near-sightedness and the other eye corrects for far-sightedness, instead of wearing bi-focals. (yeah, I know, I should have realized I was old then.) Little did I anticipate, but cataract surgery also corrects all of your vision problems, no more contacts, YAY, so I am having the lens implants done the same way, as mono-vision. My other choice would be to correct both eyes for far-sightedness, and wear glasses for reading, computer work, seeing the dashboard when I drive, and other stuff like that. Or correct both eyes for far-sightedness, but then wear a contact in one eye to turn myself back into mono-vision. Or get bi-focal lens implants, but that costs $3000 more, so you see why I couldn't go that way.

I'm very nervous about going with the "mono". I really don't know why, I've been correcting my vision like this way for 5 years and it's worked fine, but now it just seems so permanent. I mean, once I do the surgery, there is no going back and changing it if I'm not happy. The surgeon said her mom did it as mono and is very glad. I guess that is meant to reassure me that I'm making the right decision.

Do any of you wear mono contact lenses? What would you do for the surgery? I'm sooo confused, I keep changing my mind. As if I weren't already nervous enough about the prospect of somebody operating on my eye, while I'm awake! They said they'll give me something to relax, but that never really works that well on me. And of course I get local anesthesia on my eye.

At least the first eye is the one being corrected for the far-sightedness, so I'll still have time to change my mind about the second eye before Nov. 17, depending on the results. What to do, what to do????

Want to be my penpal?

2010-10-05T23:32:00.002-04:00

All I ever get in the mail is bills, bills, and more bills. Also lots of junk mail.

I had a penpal when I was a kid, and I was always so excited to go to the mailbox and find a letter from my penpal. I'd like to be able to have a reason to look forward to checking the mail, instead of dreading it every day.

So, if anyone would like to exchange real letters with me, not e-mails, real handwritten letters mailed through the post office, please either leave a comment or email me at catnpr (@) aol.com. (leave out the parentheses, of course. I just put them in there so that I won't get lots of spam.)

I hope I hear from someone!

Cat

2010-10-03T01:00:00.002-04:00

I don't intend to turn this into a political blog, honestly. But I just have to make some comments on the Health Care Reform Law. It needs some serious amendments.

At first I was happy we were finally getting any kind of HCR law, but the more I read about it, the less it seems like it will actually do anything to help me. Except for the pre-existing condition clause (which doesn't go into effect until 2014). But even with that, there are no price controls, so it appears to me that I will be paying out the butt to any insurance company willing to write a plan that covers all my conditions. Speaking of the butt, it also appears that I will be able to get a free colonoscopy now. Yay.

We should have had a Public Option, at least it would have helped keep insurance costs competitive. Even better, we should have gone with Single Payer, like most other developed countries. Yeah, I know, that makes me some kind of left-wing socialist. But at least I would be a left-wing socialist with free health care.

Here is a chart that shows which provisions go into into effect each year. I don't really see anything that great. I don't know what this bill looked like before, but what we ended up with after trying to compromise with the Republicans just doesn't seem to have enough of anything in it for the average American.

And those are my thoughts for the day.

Cat

2010-09-29T22:08:00.002-04:00

UGH. Returned to the back surgeon today, two months after my surgery (to fuse my facet bones together at L4-5 and L5/S1). It wasn't good news. Since I'm still in considerable pain, he took more x-rays.

Then he said that my L5/S1 vertabrae are "collapsed". He says I could have a complete fusion, with hardware and also some cutting away of the bone to make some space between the vertabrae. However, he also said there is no guarantee that this would stop my back pain, and there is a possibility that it could make it worse. Not good news.

He recommended that I just stay on medication management unless (until?) it gets so bad that it pinches a nerve and I start having pain in my legs. This is really a pain (no pun intended). It makes it very hard to look for a job when you have to take pain medication every day. I asked the doctor if he could reduce my medications. He had me on a fentanyl patch, which you wear all the time and change every three days, meaning you are medicated 24 hours a day. Now he reduced it to pain pills, so at least I can take them only when I am actually in more pain than I can handle. Though it sucks not having the patches, which helped a lot, I feel more in control of my medication, and if need be (like an upcoming drug test), I can choose not to take them and just be in agony for a week. I think. I've tried it before, and it's not easy being in agonizing pain when you know there's an easy solution right in your medicine cabinet. And then I didn't get the job anyway, after all that suffering. Bummer.

Oh, well. It is what it is, and I'll just have to learn to live with it for now. I'm still considering trying out the surgery, but he didn't sound very optimistic about it working, so I'm not considering it that hard, but still thinking about it.

License renewal time

2010-09-21T21:15:00.003-04:00

I had to renew my driver's license yesterday. UGH! Besides the 5 hour wait in the office (I'm not kidding), there is now a whole new set of rules about what documents you need to bring with you. Thanks to Homeland Security. And all the prices doubled on the first of September.

They probably could have put more people behind the empty windows to speed things up, but that would have taken a job away from the guy whose whole purpose was to walk around with a stamp in his hand, or the lady whose job it was to check the fax machine every ten minutes. I really want a job there. I even tried to find one online today, but it seems there is no place to find a list of jobs at the DMV. I guess they don't need any more people walking around holding stamps.

I had to bring my original birth certificate or passport, and my original social security card, and two pieces of mail addressed to me at my house. No post office box address allowed on your license. If my name had changed, I would need my original marriage/divorce decree/court order. Luckily I had everything, though it took me a long time to find my social security card. I mean, who uses that thing anymore?

Supposedly this paperwork requirement is supposed to keep illegal aliens from getting driver's licenses, so now I guess more of them will just drive around without licenses or insurance. So that solved that problem.

Oh, well, at least I got my license (yes, the picture is crappy) and I don't have to deal with it for another eight years.

Cat

Civil Rights

2010-09-15T00:53:00.006-04:00

What is wrong with gay marriage? Why are so many people opposed to it?

The first question is easy to answer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. As a matter of fact, I feel that trying to oppose gay marriage is unconstitutional. According to the constitution, ALL persons are created equal and we all have the same rights. It seems inconceivable, especially to those members of society who are too young to remember now, that only 40 years ago an inter-racial couple was forbidden to marry by law. This was changed, and rightfully so, because it is a civil rights violation to treat people unequally. I believe that the laws against gay marriage should be struck down according to the same civil rights violation. And I don't want see any silly compromise, such as, "well, you can have a civil union, but you can't have the rights accorded to heterosexual couples" (i.e., spousal health insurance benefits, right to inheritance, ability to adopt children as a couple, right to file taxes together, social security benefits, right to make medical decisions for your spouse, etc.). I want to see married gay couples given all of the same civil rights as are given to any other married couple. It's just the right thing to do. It is time for our legislators to 'come out of the closet' (so to speak) and stand up for their constituents.

The second question is much more difficult to answer. I understand that some people may be opposed on religious grounds, but one group's religious beliefs do not make another group's civil rights just disappear into thin air. Even aside from religious beliefs, just how does a gay couple getting married hurt anyone else? I really can't figure out the answer to this question. I mean, I would think that even conservatives would value the commitment and stability of marriage, no matter if that marriage is heterosexual or homosexual.

I just look forward to the day when this country's citizens will look back and wonder how we could ever have denied civil rights to a group of us who are deemed equal to everyone else under the constitution. And to the day when it seems so unbelievable that my grandchildren will ask me if this was ever really true.

Cat

School? At my age?

2010-09-06T06:37:00.006-04:00

Thanks to giving almost 25 years of my life to a company where I thought I'd work until I retired, and then being laid off due to outsourcing to India, I have nothing but a high school education and lots of job experience that only means I'm either "over-qualified" or "under-qualified" for the few jobs that are even out there. So.......

I'm thinking about going back to school. Seriously. Even the most menial jobs out there now are requiring a college degree, apparently because there are so many applicants for every job that employers feel they can get whittle down the stack of resumes on their desk by requiring degrees. I've even seen ads for receptionist jobs asking for college degrees. What??!!??

I'm sure I could receive financial assistance, so I'm not too worried about cost. But I am worried if it would be worth the time, at my age.

I thought becoming a substitute teacher would be rewarding, but after checking I found that it requires a bachelors degree. Well, forget that. By the time I got out of school, I'd be 57 years old, and then who would hire me? Plus, I don't have 4 years to spare before I can begin earning an income.

Then I thought about technical schools. Being a pharmacy technician really interests me, and can be be completed in just one year. (It does involve LOTS of math, though.) Then I started looking at the job-search sites for pharmacy techs. Oops, not much demand for employees. I might just go to Borders and buy the textbook, start studying, and check to see if job opportunities open up a bit before plunking down money at a technical school.

Think, think, think, what kind of job would I enjoy doing that would only take one to two years of training? Looks like I need to do a lot of research and soul-searching.

Or am I just crazy?

Cat

A controversial view?

2010-08-28T23:17:00.003-04:00

I know that my view on the Park51 Mosque in NYC is very unpopular, but it shouldn't be. I believe in the Constitution, and I believe that "freedom of religion" means freedom of religion for ALL, not just those religions you approve of. We cannot accuse all Muslims of being members of Al-Queda (an evil and radical group), just as we cannot accuse all whites of being members of the KKK (an evil and radical group). Yet some of us persist in doing so. Why? In my view, that is painting Americans, in the rest of the world's eyes, as being intolerant. That is unacceptable. Our nation is built on diversity and tolerance, that is why it was written into the Constitution in the first place.

One of the most well thought-out opinions I have read yet on this topic was written by Mark Green at The Huffington Post, and you can read it here. He says it much better than I ever could.

Americans have worked too hard and too long to make this a country that believes in civil rights for everyone. Please, let's not take a step backwards.

Cat

ID theft warning

2010-08-15T21:29:00.004-04:00

It really makes me feel sad how a few bad people can take something that's meant to be fun and turn it into someting that can help perpetuate a crime.

I recently started filling out my family tree on Ancestry.com (a legitimate site), thinking it would be fun to see how far I could go back, or that maybe sometime in the future other members of my family could use it to look up their family history.

Then tonight I was watching a Dateline show about identity thieves. They said that after someone steals your credit card number, they sometimes go to the Ancestry site and see if you are listed on it. Then they look up your mother's maiden name so that they can answer the ID questions from your credit card company. Not that anybody would want to steal my crappy credit history, but I immediately went to Ancestry and took that piece of information off my family tree, just in case.

I had never even thought about that. Just another reminder, I guess, in this "information age" to be very careful about what information you are putting out there about yourself.

Stupid criminals. They ruin things for everybody.

Cat

Kitchen anger

2010-08-14T02:35:00.006-04:00

I was in one of those moods today where I was depressed and angry (at I don't know what, or everything, or nothing). I happened to be in the kitchen at the time, and I got to a point where I just sunk to the floor and sobbed. Well, by the time I had enough of a handle on myself to look around, I realized that there was a LOT of built-up dirt/grease in my kitchen that a cat may see on a regular basis, but I sure don't see it when I'm standing around in there.

In my despair, I grabbed a rag from under the sink and started attacking one of the more offending spots. Although I was still angry and sobbing, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was 'attacking' parts of my kitchen that hadn't been seen by a rag in a long, long time. It was some kind of a weird release. I felt like I was hurting something, but I could see the dirt just dissapearing as I worked, almost as if I were washing my anger and sadness away.

I can't say that I felt "better" in any real sense of the word, but by the time I couldn't find anything else to attack in the immediate area, I was spent and tired. I didn't have enough energy left to feel like hurting myself or anyone else. I just went upstairs and laid down, albeit still feeling sorry for myself, but I eventually did fall asleep.

I know that I haven't found some miracle cure for depression, but at least I have found a safer outlet for the ways that I feel sometimes. It's certainly better than some of the other crazy thoughts that I could have come up with. Maybe I'll try it again sometime when I'm feeling like crap. One little bit at a time, depending on my moods, and my house just may become the cleanest house in America. Now THAT would be a miracle.

Cat

My political views?

2010-08-08T18:03:00.004-04:00

I don't normally take online quizzes, but this one at www.okcupid.com/politics had me curious. I didn't have to sign up for the site or even give them any information such as my name or email address to take it. According to the (very short) quiz, I am a:

Social Liberal (63% permissive)
Economic Liberal (28% permissive)
Democrat
"You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness"

Hmmmmmm...

Cat

2010-08-07T08:56:00.002-04:00

I've been putting off writing this post, because every time I start it I just can't finish. But I just wanted any of you who still might read this blog to know that I lost my best friend, my mom, on July 26, 2010 at 2:10 pm.

She had been ill and in the hospital for almost two months, in hospice for the last two weeks. Hospice was kind, and they did not let her suffer. She made her own decision to go to hospice rather than continue suffering. She was a brave woman.

My heart still breaks every time I think about it, and the shock comes again. It is even very hard to write this post.

I love you mom. I will always remember the good times we had together and the way you taught me to live my life. Rest in peace.

Cat