Let the Sunshine!

Its good to be feeling better! Although its chilly out, the sun is shining and boy that feels good. My cough is getting better everyday and I'm getting my energy back! THAT feels GREAT! Tomorrow I can get back to yoga......I've missed almost all of March due to illness...either mine, Peters or the instructors.

Well, I'm out in the studio making beads today and I'm so happy to be doing so. I don't have tons in the kiln but I do have some things. I have orders I'm working on so that comes first. I hope to have something new to show you soon.

My birthday was this week and even though I was sick, it was still enjoyable. Peter bought me this leather bound sketchbook that I had admired during Christmas time, took me to dinner at Edibles (a favorite spot) and we went, at my request, to the Strong Museum of Play to see Grossology & the Butterfly Museum. We took or youngest niece, Summer, and it was a fun time for all of us. This is Summer at the Operation game.....


When inside the Butterfly conservatory you can get a chart that lists all the butterfly species to look for. Summer had ours but I really didn't pay attention to the chart since I was constantly looking at something new. You also had to be careful not to step on the butterflies....they were literally everywhere.




There was a beautiful butterfly I wanted to get a picture of but he just wouldn't open his wings (the best part). We did get to see newly born butterflies take their first flight however. I liked the bright green one.


The blogger was taking forever to upload images today.....sorry, I had more to share but I rather bead than wait for them to load!!!

I'm not kidding.....sick again!

Generally, I'm a very healthy person. This March however has been tough. As you have heard on the news, the flu has been particularly harsh this year and the vaccine was the wrong one to boot. Well, I haven't had the flu but I have had a nasty long lasting illness that has been a big bother. I won't bore you with details but UGH! I've had it! Tomorrow night I have my monthly massage & hope I can get through it without coughing.

At my energetic moments I have been working on things that I can do like stringing or making silver pieces for my work. I'm working on filling a large order for a new Gallery and should be done with that soon. I'll let you in on the Gallery once I've sent out the package.

The jewelry piece I'm currently completing is named after one of my new customers.....Nicole, if your reading, its named after YOU! Nicole ordered some items from me and I was inspired by what she selected. So, I made a double order of some of the items and added some things of my own choosing. Wouldn't it be fun to see what Nicole did with the beads and what I did......what a fun!

Glass Resin Cups...Hmmmm, what to fill with?

Hmmmmm, what will I fill my Glass "Resin" cups with?? I'm going to do something hopefully today with them. Words, images, stuff? Who knows what I'll do but these little cups have been sitting around here for about a month and I have to do something!

Well, Happy Spring everyone! I love the beginning of Spring. You just know the nice weather is just around the corner. On my way to work I like to look up at the trees to see the buds waiting to open up to leaves. I like to hear the geese come home and I love the smell of hyacine plants...all signs of Spring that I love!

This week was busy with things at school. I had Parent Art Day which is extremely fun but very stressful to arrange & implement. Everyone had a great time however and we had loads of parents creating along side their children.

We've also been experiencing computer problems recently. Our computer basically crashed and has left me without some of my needed programs. The good news however is that I purchased a Mac & I LOVE it! Nice large screen, wireless keyboard, great graphics abilities and extremely easy to navigate. I was a bit hesitant at purchasing it thinking I wouldn't like it but boy was I wrong! So, web updates will be a little behind since I have to purchase a web design program for my Mac.

I was a little blue a few days ago since my Etsy shop really wasn't doing anything for me.....no sales. No sooner had I quietly worried about this I made my first sale! An international sale going all the way to Rome Italy! I feel pretty honored to have someone purchase something from me who lives in Italy......the mecca of great glass workers........so I've been doing the happy dance for a day or two now!

Something New: A Glass and Silver Ring

Here is my first try at a glass and silver ring. What do you think? I love it. There are a few things to work on for the next one but I think this first one is great! I got the idea from watching HGTV last year when I saw someone make a glass cupcake ring....very cute....so, I thought I'd try my own version of a glass ring. I've got some other ideas too that I'll be working on but for now I get to keep this one!
:) Linda

A Whack on the Side of the Head: Stimulating Ideas

Sometimes ideas just don't come easy. So, when the mojo is no where to be found, this deck of cards can help stir things up! Recently, I used these cards to help me develop some interesting ideas. Below is a sketch of a new piece I'm working on that can be worn as a necklace or two bracelets.....I've got the plan, now I just have to create it and work out any problems along the way. Check back in a week or so to see how this piece evolves.


The Whack Pack is a fun tool to jump start the creative juices.

Lunch Line

I've slowly begun to get back to bead work. This illness stinks. Although I've been back to work for 5 days now, my stamina just isn't up to par. But, I have been working on some things that require less energy so that is a good thing. I expect to be back at the torch either one evening this week or most definitly by the weekend.

I've really been a much better blogger than I had expected to be when I made the switch from a journal page to a blog this past June. Its challenging at times to come up with interesting or useful tidbits but when my husband emailed me these photos....I thought, AHHH, HAAAA! I have a blog entry!
Here's Pete, my wonderful husband slinging food in the school lunch line. He was part of an event(don't know the name of it) where he had to serve lunch at a school in his district. I like it when he spends time with students....to much adult stuff makes you.....stuffy. Doesn't he look cute? I just wondered why he didn't choose to wear fruit on his head?! I must make something for him :)

Here's the big group shot. The taller guy with the fruit on his head is a principal. He's also the lead singer in the local band, Reporter. Don't you just love knowing the "real deal" about people & their lives outside of the daily grind? Makes them more relatable....is that a word?


Well....sorry there isn't more to report. I'm working at getting better and I will have some silver work to show off soon.
~be well

It has been a wintery weekend here in Rochester but it has also been a fine weekend to continue my illness recovery. To cold, snowy, wet and windy to do much of anything so indoor r&r has been the ticket. I'm not completely better but MUCH better than I was last week around this time. I took this picture looking out my kitchen window....we had a bit of freezing sleet/rain yesterday and it covered the window as you can see....made for a cool picture.

I do have a few things to share however to show you what I've been up to over the last few weeks or so. The first item is a pin design I've been playing with. What sparked this was I had left over beads on my bench and thought they made for a good challenge to myself...."what would I do if I just had these beads?" type of challenge. I took a silly face bead I made in October to use as my focal & quickly sketched out several ideas. Then I played with some copper wire to get the steps thought out.....and here it is done up in silver~

Kinda expresses how I've felt lately too! I think this pin is great! Silly, fun and definitly different.

My next piece to share demonstrates how I have been thinking about & working with combining PMC & glass. Last summer I introduced a number of pieces that began this mixed media adventure....bracelets, necklaces, etc.... Currently, I'm playing with the idea of combining glass with pmc in a different way. This piece is actually my second...the first one was....well.....a good first try but nothing I want to share. Look for more of this concept in my work soon!


I would love to get some comments here on my blog please :) So come on....post a thought here!

Featured Artists

This has been very unusual for me. And I don't like it one bit. Actually, I don't think anyone like this. BEING SICK! I've been home from work for 21/2 days!! Thats unheard of with me....I had to even e-mailed my lesson plan in for the day since I couldn't bare the thought of possibly being seen looking pale, hair askew and smelling of vicks! I know tomorrow has to be better...I planning on it!

I do have some work of a few other talented people I'd like to share with you today for my first Featured Artist posting. The first artist is Rebecca Collins from Art Paw After posting my Pushing Boundries entry I recieved a very nice comment from Rebecca about my pet portrait. I then looked into her website and was even further honored by her comment after seeing her fantastic work. We have had several e-mail conversations since and we have discovered many similarities in our lifes....she claims she would be a bit fearful of teaching children but I assured her it was like working with a room ful of puppies!


She and her husband Dan began their pet portrait business in 1998 and they were the very first to offer contemporary, hip, cool pet portraits. I hope you check out their site to learn more about them and their work.

The second artist I want to recognize is Jenipher Brody of Cherry Runway Jewelry Jen and I have had a number of e-mail conversations over the past few months and we just connected with one another. Each time I visit her site it seems to be looking better & better. Oh, and I found a Pet inspired bracelet that is adorable!


Jen has been making jewelry for about 15 years and finds inspiration everywhere. Jen tells me that her worked is continually evolving and she is encouraged by family & friends. Her ultimate goal is to one day open a boutique that sells not only her handmade work but that of others too. Once this dream is realized Jen is looking to combine her love of art, craft and charity work.

I hope you enjoy looking into these two wonderful artists! I plan on featuring working by other contemporary, hip, cool (where did I see that wording??)people on a monthly basis...got someone you want to tell me about? Well just email me!

Pushing Boundries

Each year around this time I get, well, itchy. No, not itchy in the literal sense but antsy, itchy, restless, cabin fever....whatever you want to call it. Its the winter doldrums and I want OUT!

During this spell I often find myself pushing the boundries of my creative endeavors. I experiment, explore and just try new things. This restless period seems to unleash something inside me and I am more accepting of the "crazy" ideas I might dream up. I just go with the flow....or maybe I just stop procrastinating and act on those things that have been stored up in my brain somewhere....Anyways, I've been busy with things.

I've worn many creative hats in my life....graphic artist, advertising representative, art teacher....among others. When I was beginning to spread my artistic wings I created Pet Portraits. I didn't do tons but I did a number of them. This gave me a reason to paint and possibly make some money at it. Needless to say, that was short lived. I just didn't pursue it.

But.....Pet Portraits have come back into my life!!! And I think they might stick around for a while. Just to help connect the dots in my creative process...at school we are beginning to talk about recycling and recycled art. I'm also a member of a glass guild and we too have been discussing recycled art....so, my NEW Pet Portraits incorporate Recycled Beads and painting!!! Check out my dogs portrait....not quite done yet but you get the idea. Beads, paint, collage.....its all there! I will be offering custom pet portraits on my website to see how this NEW thing goes so be looking for them.....very reasonably priced I might add.