Show & Tell

Sometimes I find life gets so hectic you don't have time to write about it... other times, life seems too mundane to bother writing about it. Not sure exactly why I've been absent the last few weeks - a little from column A, a little from column B...

So, I have some new Jewellery to show, and a new addition to the family to introduce... meet Mojo.

Monty has grown a lot, although we didn't realise quite how much until we saw him with the new puppy. They are getting along like a house on fire, which makes us a little superfluous!

I am still selling at the Abbotsford Convent artist market once a month, and I made a few new pieces for last months market. I'm afraid I wont have much in the way of new stock this week - the last few weeks have been way too hectic.

Just to finish off, here is a bit of video footage showing the initial introduction of Monty & Mojo...

Growing Up

My little furbaby is starting to look like a real dog. Just when he grows out of the cute puppy stage, we will have a new one to 'awww' over. Monty's prospective little brother is about 3 weeks old and has just opened his eyes. It will be great when there are two of them, and they don't need quite such undivided attention from us. Monty is definitely an attention leech. :)
I have a few new beads waiting to photograph, and its market week this weekend. The beads for this new bracelet were inspired by Fox Glacier, that I was lucky enough to visit in January.

More new work...

I spent some time today updating my Etsy and Artfire accounts. I really want to get some momentum behind them, and I realise that I need to do a lot more on the promotions front. Participating in the forums for the sales venues is apparently a good start, so I've been getting my feet wet today.

Anyway, I intend to post quite a bit of new stock over the next couple of days - here is a bead set and a bracelet that went up today...

Spring has sprung...

... well, in my glass it has - and all my American glassy friends are talking about the slightly warmer weather (although some are still getting snow!). But I made some purple 3D flowers last week which have just gone up on Etsy, which are definitely spring-like.

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Unfortunately, we are a long way from springtime here in Melbourne, although we have had some lovely Autumn weather lately. I only have 2 days before I am back at work, so I might have to make some more time to torch this weekend - I think some more flowers might be on the agenda.

Artists Spotlight on 'Heather's Ramblings'

My good friend Heather has included me in her weekly Artists Spotlight on her blog Heather's Ramblings . Heather is another glass beadmaker, jewellery designer etc and also writes a blog on skincare where you can get all your questions answered! I wanted to return the linky love with a heads up to Heather's Artfire store, where she has a range of beautiful goods, from lampworked beads to hand died silk ribbon, including this lovely necklace, Purple Fantasy.

Ups & downs

I've been on holidays this week, so life is at a less hectic pace at the moment. I've even managed to torch several times in the last few days, and I'm intending to tomorrow as well. I'll also make some time to take some photos of some new pieces, so I'll have new work to post later in the week. I made a set of 3D flowers today that I'm quite happy with....

The last few days have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I've spent a bit of time with a very close friend of mine, which has been a joy. Not so joyful is the fact that she is moving to the UK for a couple of years on wed, so we've been packing for her, having farewell drinks etc. It's been quite weird, to have so much fun, and then feel so miserable at the end of it. I don't want to pull her down, it is such an exciting trip for her to undertake, but its hard to feel entirely positive about it when I know how terribly I am going to miss her.

It reminds me of when one of my bridesmaids moved interstate 10 years or so ago... I was so distressed to have my closest friend move so far away, and while we can pick up where we left off when we get together, there is years in between each brief visit. I think a part of my mind is assuming its that final - that I'll hardly ever see her again. But I know she will be home in a few years, with some wonderful experiences under her belt - that is my wish for her anyway.

Growing like a weed...

It's been about 6 weeks since I said I'd keep the puppy pics to a minimum. I think that shows a fair measure of restraint, so it's time for a Monty dose. He's grown a lot, almost doubled his weight, and instead of being a round fluffball, he looks really lanky at the moment - hasn't grown into the new long legs yet.... Getting grotty at the park....

Which means bath time!

Oh, the indignity of it all....

All beautiful again. :)

New pretties...

My artists market market was on again last week, so I spent a bit of time at the torch and got a few new pieces of jewellery made. They will be available at either my Etsy or Artfire stores in the near future. The market was a bit quiet compared to the first month, but its still a great opportunity to promote my beads and jewellery, and my 'Flaming Hot Beadmaking Classes'.

'6 Degrees of Separation', Web 2.0 style...

I am well aware of the power of Web 2.0 - some of my closest friends were 'friends' online for years before I met them (and some of them I've still yet to meet face-to-face). I sell my beads online, and I collaborate and network with educators all over the world. But this morning I had an experience that drove home to me just how interconnected the new Global Village can really be.

I received a comment on my last post from Red Rock Creations. She seems to have found my Blog randomly, either browsing through Blogger, or perhaps through the One World, One Heart event - I'm not exactly sure. Having liked the beads I posted here, she has followed the links in my sidebar to my new Artfire store. One of my floral implosion beads has caught her eye, and she has Twittered about the technique. SquareOneBeads is one of Red Rock Creations many followers on Twitter (she has over 1000) and recognises my work. We have been friends for several years, through our association on 2 Glass Bead Forums. We met f2f in 2007 at the ISGB Gathering. SquareOneBeads lets me know on the forum that someone has Twittered about my beads. That's the first I knew she used Twitter, so I search for her username and 'follow' her, and am then able to find Red Rock Creations on Twitter, 'follow' her, and see the original post.
Wow.

This whole experience has really made my day. I find it incredibly cool how all of my online social networks came together in this way. And there is a lot to learn from this experience, about connectivity, networking, the lack of anonymity online, and the reality that even in the huge realm of the Internet, someone we know may be 'listening'. So play nice!

Artfire Launch

A little while ago I posted about starting an Artfire account. I spent some time adding a few items to my 'Studio' this evening - pop over and check it out. Here are some new organic focal beads, some of which are up in my new Artfire studio.