Chaos

Sorry about not posting anything lately. I have been so busy with work and with getting ready for the craft sale this Friday that I scarcely have time for anything else.

I am waiting for my brochures to print as I am writing this. I have been having such a hard time with my program. I can't seem to get it to switch over to my new printer (it isn't new, it just never stuck with it). And the weird thing is on my husband's account (which I use) it works fine, but on my account it switches back everytime I close the program. The worst part is that I spent hours making this brochure and now when I went back to reprint it, I had to redo a bunch of stuff that had been changed (it changes the size of the document too). This is the only program I have problems with and I have had it for years, it just seems to be getting worse.

Well it is working right now so I shouldn't complain I guess. I tried to photocopy the brochure on my printer but it cut off the line on the one side - of 10 copies - an ink isn't cheap. That is when I decided to buck up and try to tinker with the program version again.

I have over 10 pair of earrings, a watch, three bracelets, and numerous other things to make, not to mention I have to repack all of my boxes as this sale is completely different than the last. Oh my goodness! I have a lot to do. I better go. Sorry for rambling on .

I promise to write something worth reading next time.
Take care.

Newly Made Products

I just wanted to show some of the things I made this week. I am quite proud of a few and I just wanted to show them off a bit. I must appologize for the photos as there are quite a few shadows. I wasn't taking them to post here but I thought since I had them, why not.

First is my appetizer set in orange and green. I was trying to make a Christmas set in red and green but that is the fun and frustration of using certain glass. Transparent orange and red are both what are called "striking" colors which simply put means you have to bring out the colors in the flame. They both look like pale amber rods when you start so it is easy to mix them up. Right now I am glad I did mix them up because these beads turned out beautiful. The colors are so bold and vibrant. I am very proud of this set.

Second is something I think is such a cool idea. It is a purse key finder. You put your keys on the clip end then hang the hook on the corner of your purse with the beads on the outside. You won't have to fumble in the bottom of your purse again searching for your keys, and the beads add a bit of glam to your purse. All I know is that I need one of these really bad. I may actually keep this one for myself since my favorite color is blue and I do like this one. Then again, I can make another one that is similar if I have to.

And last is the magnifying glasses. These would make wonderful gifts for so many reasons, but the one thing that stands out to me is the thought of my grandmother. She has passed on now, but I know she would have loved one of these and would have used it for sure. She always had her crosswords or the newspaper to look at. Even the phone book could be a challenge to read. A magnifying glass this size would have been easy for her to hold on to and add that extra help she needed to read that fine print, or even the not so fine print. They come in a velvet pouch which makes it nice to be able to take it with you.

Bookmark Blahs

Well my bookmark idea didn't quite pan out. I don't mind the bookmark itself. It looks like a big business card. And the beads are fine. My problem was what I used to attach the two. I originally thought of raffia which I am sure would have looked nice, but the holes in the beads were too small. So I used some blue and white "tie dye" yarn. Yarn of all things! I love yarn in hats, scarves, mitts, sweaters... it looks great. But I find yarn to look cheap and tacky when used the way I used it.

One by itself looked ok but a bunch together looked like a mess.

So I didn't use them. If I add all the time I put in making and cleaning the beads, printing and cutting the paper, and tying it all together, it would be well over 3 hours. For nothing!! Ugh!!!

I tied a few with blue hemp. They didn't look too bad. If I decide to redo them and use them somewhere else, I will likely use the hemp doubled with a lark's knot and double strand knots.

The other problem I had was the yarn was almost too thick to go through the bead, but once I had it tied in a knot, the bead would slip over it. I didn't notice this until I was trimming the ends of the yarn and the beads started sliding off.

Oh, well. Live and learn. At least the comedy at the show was good.

Treasury List

My treasury list has expired. I guess I should have got a screen shot of it. Oh, well.

I tried to post some pictures last night but they didn't load. I will try again soon.

Tonight

I have been working quite a bit lately so I decided to take tonight off in regards to pretty much everything. We decided to go for a walk at the park with the dog. I took my camera with me but didn't realize my card was almost full. It didn't help that the setting I had it on took two pictures every time I pressed the button.

The setting was color accent which took a black and white picture except for a splash of color that you set the camera to. The last picture I was able to take before my card was full were these ones. I was only going to post one but I couldn't decide which one to pick. Saskatchewan has some very pretty sunsets.

The first picture is the original one even though it almost looks like it only has a splash of color.
The color in the black and white one is quite subtle here.

I really like my new camera more and more everyday. There are so many features. I am glad I read up on this one. Now I just need to figure out the white balance for my jewelry pictures.