Quiet Bloggy

I haven't been around much lately.  The week of Labor Day, Mom and I went on the annual Beach vacation.  This year we actually got on the beach for two of the five days.  Nice change from the daily rain of last year.  Dodging hurricanes and other ugly weather is the boon for going when we do.  However, the room rates are cheaper, and lots of the kids and family units have gone back to school.  I don't mean to sound anti-kid or anti-family, but these parents with the SUV sized baby strollers bumping people out of the way are very annoying.  Nobody is more important then them or their kids.  Oh well.  That's how it goes.

Of course I took the big toolbag with me. 

With all intentions of doing all sorts of beading and chain mailling.

Of course, it didn't quite work out that way.  I had books to read (both paper and Kindle) I've gotten myself into this geometric peyote stitch and I did a lot of that.  More like experiments than things to sell.  Which is okay, it's practice.  I did manage to put together a really easy peasy chain bracelet with some cool elements from my friend Yvonne.  Yvonne sells 'sweeps' from her studio, which are grab bags of awesome. 

So now I've not gotten anything made for the fall shows, and I'm down to 2 weeks.  Crisis motivated much?  Yesterday I got some new rings from C&T Designs.  Their prices are great, the ship time is nearly instant, and they get to my mailbox fast.  I placed my order on the evening of the 11th, and they were to me in Pennsylvania on Friday the 14th.  Plus the package always has a great sticker on the front, "Caution this package contains AWESOME"  Indeed!  Plus a couple temporary tattoos from them.  They're aces in my book.  I liked another ring supplier, but like all great things, they got real popular, and their lead times aren't working for me.  Oh well.  I still like them, and probably will order in bulk when their ship times improve.  Anyway, the new rings are aluminum and copper, and will be going in to some of these bracelets:

Not my favorite weave by a long shot, but I like the look of it, and they feel fabulous. I figure if I make three or four of these, I'll stop hating the weave and embrace it a little.  I can't make just byzantine and Japi varations all the time. 

Again with the buying, I found some cool lampwork discs on Etsy,

And I plan on some awesome earrings with them, or maybe a nifty collar type necklace.

Or I'll hoard them like I do with the legions of other stuff I've bought lately.  (So much for the 'no more buying' thing) 

I'm also still fooling around with the torch fired enamel.  Luckily, my Aunt has an Etsy shop, The EnamelWarehouse, so I can get new enamel as much as I want, and happily a little lesson or two or three every time I go.  Bonus!

That's why it's been bloggy quiet lately here.  Oh the hatband got finished, but the hat got blown into the ocean and swept away before the hatband was applied.  Chagrin all around.  So now there's a sparkly hatband without a hat!  Guess I'll go hat shopping for Mom with the band in tow.