Quick note

Just a note to let you know that the Etsy shop is now closed, and I've removed the link from the sidebar.  BUT - soon to appear in it's place - info regarding my 'shop' on Facebook's Alabama General Store site!

Stay safe.  Prayers and thoughts to those affected by Mother Nature's fury this week.

Peaceful beading,

TTFN

What a day!

Who knew that a little "Square" attachment that fits on your smart phone could make a WORLD of difference to your jewelry sales?   If you aren't already using a mobile credit card device, such as Square - DO IT!  You won't be sorry.  Unless of course - you try to go with ANOTHER service, that ultimately never sends you the little attachment in time for your show.  THAT could be a problem.  Lucky for ME I have great friends.  I simply signed up for SQUARE like I should have the first time - and borrowed a friends reader for the day.   Voila!    She will be getting a HUGE discount (she's having a special private shopping day of her own today!)

So here's what my Bead! Celebration looked like - for the most part.  I did sell both beads, and jewelry - funny thing - MOST of the jewelry I sold were pieces that had been listed in the Etsy shop.  It's currently in vacation mode - but I will be closing it shortly.  I have a new plan.....but I digress.   So much fun with the girls yesterday:

This is just ONE of the rooms.  I'll have to show you the 'bead room' photos later. (can't find 'em!)    It was a fun day - not a huge lots of customers, but just enough to make it fun and profitable!  Got to visit with old friends, new friends, and family from afar-ish.  :)  FUN!

Now, about that 'new plan' - if you are a jewelry seller, you may want to take the time to check out the Facebook group/selling site Alabama General Store.  It started out JUST for southern artists - but has grown into a HUGE site for artists of all types from all over.  I'm hearing and seeing good things - and I'm going to open a store of my own in the next week or two.  All you need is product (of course), and a Paypal account.  It seems pretty simple, and Lynda - one of the directors - is very prompt about answering questions.   Wish me luck!

Hope your weekend was filled with fun and abundance too!  OH - and speaking of abundance - another weekend surprise - I received a HUGE savings certificate for ZNETSHOWS merchandise just for being on their design team.  As if FREE beads every quarter wasn't enough! What a fun way to get 'paid'! BEADS!  Just placed a huge order and can't wait for it to arrive.  Along with TWO credit card service readers.  I wonder which will come first?

If you can't tell - HUGE was the word of the weekend!   In a good way!
Peaceful beading,
TTFN

Beauty surrounds us

Finally.

It's warm.  It's sunny.  Things are turning GREEN.  And most importantly - I can return to my usual state of footwear - NONE!  Barefoot weather!  My favorite!
Another beautiful thing about Spring?  Our sunrises are amazing.
This particular one was taken a week or two ago by our cousin in Portland.
And sometimes it's just seeing a beautiful photograph such as this that sparks a bit of creativity

that turns into this:  Sunrise Song.   

I added just a few more leaves than we actually have at the moment, but otherwise, the colors I wanted to portray turned out perfectly.  

Thanks, Shelley, for giving me such gorgeous inspiration!

Another beautiful thing about Spring?  A country drive to Owosso, to put in new pieces - and bring home the 'old' - some of them have been there since NOVEMBER!  I can't wait to have them available for my home show next weekend.  I am no where NEAR ready for it, as I thought I would be.  It's hard to turn your house into a showroom when you have to live in it - with DOGS.  :)  

I do have the front room turned into a bead store, minus a table display.  I LOVE doing displays though, and am looking forward to a week free of all other commitments just to concentrate on them (ok, I think I mean obsess, but you get the idea!).  Photos when it's complete, for sure!  And if you're local - 2pm to 6pm on Sunday, April 27th.  Message me for directions if you don't have them!  $1.00 bead strands and bags (selling out my remaining store inventory) fun projects, lots of clearance jewelry and NEW jewelry, and FOOOD!  FUN!  and Friends.... I hope to see many - old and new....

And finally - on an important but rather sad note - I've made the decision to finally and completely CLOSE the Etsy shop.  FOREVER.  Not going to give it another go.  I've tried 3 times to make it work, but I'm afraid Etsy has changed things that make it more difficult for us 'little guys'.  I am going to try something new, but have to research it a bit more first.  I'm hearing buzz about actually selling things through a special shop on Facebook - but gotta find out the gritty details.  SO - keep in mind that I'm having a 25% off sale in the Etsy shop until FRIDAY (coupon code Mom25 at checkout).  And then it's gone.  Done.  FINITO.  FOR GOOD.  Something better is on that beautiful horizon..... I know it!

Peaceful beading,
TTFN

The beads are singing

This is "Aria".   After having most of the beads and the ribbon together for months and months - she finally sang to me.  There was so much hemming and hawing about starting this piece; add the ribbon?  Don't add the ribbon?  Showcase the orange? The blue?  What to do?  I kept setting it aside, and setting it aside until one day she sang from afar.  Oddly enough, it was my trip to Meijer Gardens and the butterfly exhibit (as well as the sculpture garden) that struck the final chord.  My mother in law and I took the tram trip through the sculpture exhibits, and one of them just happened to be named "Aria".  It was an abstract.  Big. Loud.  And ORANGE.  But for some reason - once the name "Aria" was in my head, all of the questions were answered - and it came together in just a day or two.
A few of you may remember that the ceramic focal piece was blogged about back in September.  I went to an art festival in Rockford, where I found the OTHER Cheryl Stevens (spelling different but art at heart just the same!).  I bought this piece, as well as a few others, and then sat on them until well into the holiday season.  This piece really started coming together after I purchased the ribbon, not the Shibori silk that so many are working with, but a pretty watermelon-y pink sheer organza that made all those colors just pop.

 
So I started beading, and creating - and then another question arose - do I put it with the blue amazonite pieces pointing downward - or UP?  I rather liked them up - and had planned to finish it that way.  Alas, along comes hubby - taking one look at it, and proclaiming it to look like a FOOT.  Toes and all.  Crap.
Now that's ALL I could see with it 'toes up' too.  Darn it!   So back to pointing down (because for some reason, I then see no toes, thank goodness), and the song is now sung.  I MAY finish the necklace portion with a pretty spiral rope at some point - but I'm going to see how she does with the big  hole beads/spacers and ribbon at the art gallery first.  Some of the clientele like the embroidered pieces, but not the higher price of the completely finished pieces.    I hope they like this one, A LOT.

Oh, and one more thing before I head back to the bead table to start blending seed bead colors for another peacock themed piece - I am having a SALE in my Etsy shop right now!  Use coupon code Mom25 for 25% off all beads AND jewelry until Friday, April 25th.  Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11th!  That's less than a month away!  There's sure to be something YOUR mom would love.... I hope you can quick check it out.
And also - for any local readers - or those that may wanna road trip! - don't forget that SUNDAY, April 27th is my IN HOME Bead! Celebration - from 2 to 5pm.  $1.00 bead strands and bags (major clearance!), clearance jewelry, a create your own project, a POSE and POST corner where I'll be snapping pics (with the new PHONE!) and posting them on Facebook during the show, and MORE!  It will be fun - and bring a friend - have fun with TWO!  Message me if you need directions or an address for that GPS....

Peaceful beading,
TTFN

A part of the IN crowd

I finally did it!  I finally manifested myself that new fangled SMART PHONE!

Now comes the fun part - if you can call it that!  It's actually a really good way to find out just how SMART you really are!  I've already called and been to the 'phone store' twice for OPERATOR ERROR issues.  But as I hear from many of my other friends - most that grew up with the old fashioned rotary phones like THIS

 It has taken them many months of THIS

to figure theirs out too.   So good to know it's not just ME!
I have one friend in particular that needed a SORRY email because 

we used her phone number for teaching purposes - and then kept hanging up before she answered!  And then accidentally deleted her number when we were done!  Poor girl probably thinks she has a stalker.  So I messaged her - FROM THE LAPTOP (safety first!) to apologize.  :)

Once I get it figured out, hopefully sooner rather than later, I will be able to start accepting credit cards at SHOWS!  HOORAY!  And really, this is THE number 1 reason I felt I wanted to BE a part of the IN crowd with a smart phone.  Otherwise - I was happy being little old ME with my prepaid minute basic do nothing but call and text flip phone.

Off to play, and ??, and figure things out, and of course - BEAD.

Peaceful beading,
TTFN

The Butter-blog :)

Just like many other places in the country, it's spring break week here in Michigan!  So today my mother in law and I grabbed my 10 year old great niece drove up to Grand Rapids to meet up with another niece and her 5 kids for a day at Meijer Gardens.  Their Butterflies in Bloom exhibit is very popular, and I've ALWAYS wanted to go.  Today I found out why it's so popular.  It. Is. AWESOME.  So many butterflies flitting and floating, and landing sometimes right on your shoulder, or your finger - or even, I would imagine, your nose. 

 I couldn't believe that this one in particular - a Swallowtail of some variety, according to my guidebook - sat still for me (as well as several other folks lucky enough to be in the right little cove at the right time). 

Here's the kiddoes - they grow so FAST!

There are literally 100's of butterflies all over inside this beautiful facility; there was no way to capture very many at one time.  Constant fluttering....

So fun to spend the day with family; don't get to see them often enough.  It was just a wonderful day - warm weather (the FIRST we've had this spring), and no traffic issues.  And if that wasn't enough- came home to a wonderful gallery commission check!  YAY!  What an AWESOME DAY!

Oh, and I probably should mention that I'll be participating in another one of  ZNetShows challenges next month, too!  So stay tuned for the post about what is sure to be another generous pile of beads from them to work with, and then - probably sometime in early to mid June - the REVEAL.
Hope you're finding some awesome in YOUR day too!

Peaceful beading,
TTFN