A little rest leads to a lot accomplished.

What a week!

Last week was such a crazy week. Life normally flows for me but this week it was all out of wack!  Sunday my mom started throwing up and getting sick. She was sick Sunday and Monday and went to her family doctor on Tuesday. The doctor told her she had a stomach virus and sent her home. On Thursday morning she still wasn't any better so dad took her to the emergency room.  Ended up, she had a gallstone and had to have it and her gallbladder removed.  The gallstone was over 2 inches long and that was what was causing her to be so sick.  She got to come home on Friday so the family has been taking care of her for the last few days.

On Friday afternoon Sammy and I went to see the new Hunger Games movie.  It was a good movie and if you had never read the book you would think the same thing.  The only problem is that if you've read the book, you notice things that are different or notice small details that they left out that could have made the movie better.  I guess a movie can never be as good as a book. We are going back to see it this afternoon with a friend so I'm ready to see it again.  Funny thing is, I purchased the book on Thursday for my mom to read while she was out of work. I can in Saturday afternoon and my dad was reading it.  He told me this morning that he stayed up until after midnight last night reading the book. He is over 3/4 of the way done with it.  I have never in my 30 years seen him sit down and read a book like this. I went and purchased him Catching Fire this morning so that he can start it when he finishes the Hunger Games.

On Saturday we had our 8 year anniversary sale at the shop.  I wasn't thinking that we would be super busy but boy was I wrong!   We were so busy!  A lot of our customers can out and participated in the festivities.  We had a record breaking day and it was awesome!  I love to have big sales because people are so excited to save money but I'm so glad when there over because they take a lot of work to get ready for.

This coming week is going to be even crazier.  Monday I have to sit with mom and try to get 2 videos done for the website, get the yard cut, and get all the clothes washed. Tuesday I work and then Wednesday Sammy and I leave for the beach. We are going away for a few days to refresh for the upcoming summer season.  We come home and Monday and then Tuesday I go get my new braces put on.  Gonna be interesting!

Hunger Games Frenzy

I don't know about anyone else but it seems that me and all my friends are in a Hunger Games Frenzy. The movie comes out Friday and me and all my friends who have read the books are so excited! Most of us already have our tickets. I'm so excited but I know that it's going to be one of those movies where you will cringe, cry, and feel warm fuzzy feelings inside. If you haven't read the books then you defently need to. They are fantastic!

Hogarth Crystal Curve Necklace

For the last few months I haven't gotten a chance to bead much for myself.  Easter is coming up and I wanted to make a new jewelry set to go with my new brown and blue dress. Last week one of my customers came in and we started working on the Hogarth Crystal Curve Necklace that is in the April issue of Bead and Button Magazine.  We both started making the piece into a bracelet last week and I loved how easy the design was to do.  As soon as I finished the bracelet sample for the store I then set out to work on my necklace for Easter. It took me two days but I got it finished and I love the results.  If you get a chance, be sure and try the pattern because the components are really easy to make. The hard part is trying to piece them together. Once you understand that you are good to go.

Montee Ecliptic Earring Samples

On Saturday we had the Montee Ecliptic Earring Class. Three of ladies let me take pictures of their earrings. I loved the colors everyone picked out and I wanted you guys to see how great they looked.

In other news...NC seems to have skipped spring and went straight into summer. My peach trees are blooming and they are beautiful!  It was in the low 80's today so after I got my morning chores done I went to the lake and sat for awhile. It was nice just to sit and enjoy the outdoors. I took my beading and worked on a necklace i'm making for Easter and listened to the Hunger Games on my iphone. It was so nice and relaxing!

Finally Finished

Sammy wanted to rent and watch the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie last night so while he watched it I worked and finished the bracelet I showed earlier in the week. I loved how it turned out.  The coral, purple, and magenta looked great together.  I also made a pendant using some of the larger beads.  I do believe that this is going to have to be a youtube video!

New Bracelet from Bead and Button

One of my regular weekly customers came in for her appointment today and we decided to make a new bracelet that we seen in the brand new bead and button magazine. If you don't have it yet then you defiantly need to get it! Great issue this time. (The cover is above) The original pattern is for a necklace but an alternative design was for the bracelet. Anyhow we started working on it and I was able to finish my bracelet.  I used Aqua, peridot, and violet in the Thunder Polish Crystals. The original pattern calls to put an 8mm round in the center of each component but I decided not to and just left it blank. I was so pleased with the design that I decided to make my Easter Jewelry in this design to match my Easter Dress. This bracelet is going to look great in Brown, Royal Blue, and Light Blue!

My Friend Heather from Beach Beads in Surfside SC came to visit me yesterday. She and her husband make beautiful glass beads. She brought me this great bead. I can't wait to make something with it!

New Pearls

I love to work with pearls.  I think that there is a beauty about them that no other bead can match or touch.  They are classic and regal looking.  I ordered some new bold color pearls for the shop from China and they arrived last week.  They are so pretty!  Beautiful bold teals, reds, greens, and coral colors arrived at my door step and it was like Christmas getting to open each package. Anyhow two of the colors that came in were Coral and Magenta Pink.  I was packaging them and was thinking about how great they would look together.  I started playing and messing around with a really old pattern that I found and started out making a pendant.  I got halfway through the pendant and changed my mind and decided to make a bracelet.  I got the first little component done and was hooked!  The magenta and coral looked great together.  I have 3 of the components done and am going to try to finish up the bracelet today or tomorrow.  I will post pics of the finished product but for now here is a preview....

Braces

Well its official!  As of Tuesday April 3rd this girl will have braces.  I went to the orthodontist today and she was fantastic.  Made me feel at ease about the whole situation but I'm still not looking foward to the whole process.  I have to go next wednesday and have impressions made of my teeth and have "spacers" put in between my back teeth...whatever that is. Then on April 3rd I go and have the braces put on.  I am going to have to wear them 2 years :(

I told Sammy that once they are on it's going to be so weird to look at myself in the mirror.  I hope that in the end this will all be worth it.

Beach Tones

I am addicted to Pinterest and one of my favorite parts about it is my color inspiration board. I find a lot of people who have color swatches posted and I pin them in my color board.  I have decided to step out of the box this week and make something in the above color scheme.  I do not do coral's or red's so this should be interesting. I am going to give myself one week to make something with these colors so we'll see what happens.

In other news....tomorrow is going to be really interesting. I am going to the Orthodontist for a braces consult.  A few weeks ago my jaw popped out of place and my dentist feels that because of my overbite it may pop out more often. So he suggested braces. I'm 30 years old and fixing to get braces...how weird is that?!  I guess we'll see what tomorrow holds.

Hoity Toity

2 Years ago when I went to the Bead and Button Show I took a class called Hoity Toity by Shelley Nybakke.  It was the absolute worst class I have ever been in.  One of the prerequestest for the class was that you know how to do Right Angle Weave.  A lady sat next to me who had never done it before.  So...guess who ended up having to help her? Me! She would ask the teacher a question and she would come over for one minute and then walk away.  This poor lady had no clue. 

I went to the show to learn new techniques and projects...not to have to teach someone while I was there.  To make matters worse the teacher sat and talked about her ex husband the whole time and how they were getting divorced.  All in all, it was just a bad experience.  It was supposed to be an all day class but at lunch I left and didn't come back.  I paid over $300.00 to take the class and it was a total waste of money.  I'm not ragging on the teacher because we all can have a bad day but the whole experience for me was just bad.

I got 3 circle components done in class and haven't touched it since.  Last night I found the pattern and kit and decided to sit and work on them for awhile.It was nice just to sit and work on something for myself.  I ended up making two more components and can't decide if I want to continue and make the necklace or if I just want to stop and make it into a bracelet.  The piece is pretty cool because one side is crystals and the other side is pearls so you can wear it two ways. The more I sit and look at it the more I think it may become a bracelet. What do you think? Continue on or stay as a bracelet?

The Vow

Last night I went and saw the new movie "The Vow."  It was a great movie but I could have cried like a baby.If you get a chance to go and see the movie then do it because you won't regret it.  They showed the previews for the new Nicholas Sparks Movie of which the title I cannot remember.  It got me to thinking though.....I wonder what it would be like to be the Nicholas Sparks and Stephanie Meyers of the world?  What would it be like to write books that were so amazing that they pretty much would all be made into movies? Do they know how great they are or are they humble?

TGIF!

Today it's really rainy here in NC and as I look outside it seems so dreary and sad so I decided to make a list of good things to help me perk up a little bit:

1. Thankfully my jaw has popped back into place! YEA! Went back to the Dentist Wednesday and he said that it had popped back in but would be sore for a little while. But....no more hard candy or chewing gum EVER!  Also he is sending me to have a consult on braces. I'm 30 years old and having to get braces.  Thankfully they make those clear braces now so maybe my pocketbook will be able to afford them. If not, get ready to see me with my new metal.  Hey I wonder if there's a way they can cement rhinestones to the braces?  I might want to re-think that though because I might look like a rap star wanna be. :)

2. I was blessed enough to be able to get out of bed and have good health.

3. I get to write patterns today for earrings and work on a pattern for this weeks free video.

4. Today is my last day of work for the week. Tomorrow my best friend and I go to class to receive our concealed handgun permits.  After tomorrow I will be a pistol packin annie!

5. As of today there are only about 22 days left until the Hunger Games comes out.  If you have not read the books then they are a must!  For them to be young adult fiction they sure to do have some deep political views and insights.  Team Peeta all the way!

6. My new favorite show on TV is a show on CMT called "My Big Redneck Vacation." This show is hilariously funny and I about pee my pants every time I watch an episode.  This stuff has to be put on because no family can be that screwed up.  As stupid as it is, it makes me laugh and in my current state of mind that's all that matters.

I can never leave well enough alone!

My most favorite pair of earrings that I have are a pair of hoop earrings that was actually a necklace component from Bead Work Magazine last year.  I wanted to try my hand at making something similar but more blingy. So a few weeks ago I posted a picture of some montee hoop earrings that I have been working on.  I sat down today to write the pattern for them and ended up tweaking the pattern quite a bit.  I loved the new hoop and was going to scrap the idea of the first earrings.  Connie told me not to because she really liked the first pair too. So I guess two patterns will now get written for them. I guess it just depends on what kind of look you are going for. Now that I've made the new pair, i can't stand to even look at the old pair. The new pair I made today has less seed beads on the sides and I used the new Rose Jade bicone from the Thunder Polish company. Its a really pretty milky pink. I pair it with a light amethyst seed bead and it made it look more purple.   Below is a picture of the old version (left) and the new version (right).