Space Poppies

I am strangely pleased with this set. I love the coral glass - the variations of colour you get with any of the Moretti Coral's (and there are so many variations) but it's the decoration I'm really happy with. I have no idea why, but they make me think of aliens or something sci fi. I told my friend Lisa that, and she came up with the name Space Poppies... works for me. :) They are available in my etsy store.

Getting Results...

Well, after the excitement of the snow on Sunday, life is very much back to usual this week. Back to the daily grind which includes work, rehearsals, and my daily workout on my Wii Fit. I have lost 4 kg since I started using it. I am hoping they will bring out some new software soon, as some of the activities are getting repetitive, but on the whole, it's great. The scoring system for everything, even Yoga poses, appeals to my competitive side, even if it's only myself I am competing against. I am especially proud of my perfect score in heading a soccer ball :) , but Jason beats me hands down in the slalom skiing. I am only 3 points off a perfect score in the advanced step aerobics, which combined with the rhythm boxing is my main aerobic workout.

I am also hoping to get some positive results with bead sales in the coming week. I put an orphan focal auction up on Just Beads yesterday, and I have several new sets that will be up there and on Etsy in the coming week.

A Sight Rarely Seen...

I am glad I wasn't feeling well enough to go to rehearsals this morning. I have had a lingering cold all week and I keep waking up with a nasty sore throat. Heading out in the pouring rain (with worse to come) and icy cold to attend a read-through of the script did not seem a great way to pave my way to a full recovery, and ensure I kept my voice for another week. So, I sent off a text message and snuggled in to enjoy another hour of warmth in bed.

After I had been up for awhile, for some reason I looked out through the curtains to see a very strange sight. Well, unusual, certainly, even if it is the middle of winter. It was snowing, quite steadily. They might call my neck of the woods 'The Dandenong Mountains', but there isn't anything terribly mountainous about them, and we very rarely get snow, even at the peak. And where I live (quite a bit lower) - well I haven't seen it in the 5 years or so since we moved here.

The ground was too warm for the snow to do more than melt as soon as it hit the ground, but it was still fun to stand on the verandah and watch it fall, surprisingly fast. And once I had retreated inside, away from the cold (I thought a mug of Chilli Hot Chocolate was in order!) I noticed that the snow was accumulating on the hills across the valley, so it even started to look like it was really snowing.

After a brief 15 min or so, the snow had turned to rain (and later, to hail) but it was fun while it lasted. What is is about snow falling that is so magical? I'd assume its because we never see it here, but I've heard of people who live in areas where it is common who still love to watch it fall. I found myself laughing for absolutely no reason while I watched. Ironically, Jason was in sunny Queensland while this was happening, but I took some video as proof of my own little winter wonderland today.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, it's hard to believe we are three weeks into a new term, and I've been too crazy busy to blog even once.

I'm pleased to say I have continued to work out almost every day on the Wii Fit (Ive only missed 4 days in 5 weeks). I am really pleased I made that purchase... as a toy, I guess it's very expensive, but as a investment in my fitness, its' well worth the cost. About the same as a years gym membership, but I have never managed to go to the gym 6 days a week, even in the first flush of enthusiasm. And it is producing results.

I have also been continuing my tennis lessons, although the actual games didn't materialise. Unfortunately I don't have a team this season, so I am an emergency player and haven't been needed yet. The downside is, I payed my $110 membership fees so I could play - the upside is, more time to practice before having to face competition. I'm enjoying my lessons - I love learning to play, but I have a tendency to get very frustrated with myself if I don't perform to the standard I would like, so I doubt I'd still be feeling quite so positive after playing (and most probably losing :) ) my first real games. And it's quite entertaining to realise how contrary I am - unlike most players, my forehand sucks, but my backhand (to quote my coach) is 'poetry'. LOL Apparently it's highly amusing to see me run around a perfectly placed forehand ball so I can hit it backhand. *grin*

Rehearsals for Calamity Jane are going strong. It's going to be a great show. Gemma has worn the role of Calamity like a glove since the first rehearsal, and sounds amazing. The lengths to which we are being encouraged to take character development, even in the ensemble, will add a great deal of depth and the production team have some interesting ideas for direction and design. If you are a Melbournite, come along to the Whitehorse centre in Oct and see Calam in action!

I have managed to get some torching in this week, so I'll have some funky new sets to show later this week. They will be going up in my etsy store.

Tomorrow I am off to the opening of my friend Jennie's first solo art show. Check out her blog or website to see her contemporary figurative paintings.

I promise to have pics of shiny glass goodies next post!!

All Good Things...

...must come to the proverbial end. Unfortunately, this includes school holidays. :( It doesn't seem fair that even though we have had an unusually long term, we don't get a compensatory longer holiday. *pout* It has been relaxing however. I've been using the Wii Fit everyday and am actually making some progress, which is great. Its lot of fun too.... I haven't torched as much as I probably should have, but this break was all about recharging the batteries, and for some reason, that wasn't going to be at the torch this time round. I have a student tomorrow though - an official start to the new 'Flaming Hot Beadmaking Classes'. Next week is going to be crazy busy - not only am I back at work with a busy new term to get underway, but I have Calamity Jane rehearsals twice a week, and my first tennis game on wed. Plus my usual lesson. So next week, I'm out almost every night - that means I won't have time to get stressed, right? Right? *sigh*

Sweet & Sour

'Sweet & Sour' is the name of my new bead set up on Just Beads today, not the state of my life at the moment . :) Life has been pretty good this week. I'm on holidays, which was desperately needed - it's been a long and stressful term, and I finally got to meet my new niece yesterday. I've had a nasty cough for well over a month, and haven't wanted to risk passing it on, but I made up for it with lots of cuddle time yesterday.

I also started rehearsals for my new show, 'Calamity Jane' with Babirra Theatre Company on Monday night - I think it's going to be great. The director is a professional performer (he's in Guys and Dolls at the moment) so I'm guessing his expectations will be high, which means a tight show. The MD seems very particular too, which I appreciate, and they already have a full design and model for the set, which looks awesome.

Jason and I have also been on a bit of a shopping spree this week. He bought himself a GPS unit for the car, and I got a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit. I bought it as an exercise unit, but we have had fun playing the games all week too - and I've lost over 1 kg in 6 days, so that's a good start.

Now that I have finished uploading the new bead auction, I must get some work for school done though - I can't slack off everyday!

Almost Holidays

1 more day to go and then I get 2 weeks of comparative peace (no students at least, even though I have a pile of admin work to do). Jason and I are thinking of heading away for a few days, but as its the middle of winter, nothing has sounded terribly appealing so far. We are thinking of spending the money a hotel or B&B would have cost, and doing day trips into the city - maybe go and see Wicked one evening, go to the markets or do a food tour or something during the day - basically play tourist in our own city.

So, I just need to survive one more day without murdering any of my students, and then I can spend some time having fun, and the rest at the torch stocking up on new bead sets! Speaking of which, here is my latest offerring on Etsy, Mauve Garden.

Back in the Market

I have been waiting for the magazine article to come out to launch back into internet sales, hoping to use my website as my main venue, rather than auction sites etc. My wonderful brother has been working hard to help me get my online shop working, but as there have been some unforseen delays I was given the idea (thanks Suzy!) of using an Etsy 'mini' on my webpage as a sales portal. So, for now, my new beads are going up in my Etsy store, and they can be seen there, or the top 15 are visible on my webpage. I'm also going to pop the small Etsy window back in my blog sidebar.

Here are a couple of new sets which are up on Etsy at the moment (edited to add: Well they were, the purple ones have sold already!)...

It's Finally here...

My Artists's Profile in the Creative Beading magazine finally came out this week. It is very exciting, not only to have work published for the 2nd time this year, but to have a 4 page magazine spread is more than I could have hoped for. The article looks great, I am thrilled with how it has turned out. Depsite finding some of their editorial decisions a little odd, its still a great article, and I cant stop grinning whenever I think about it. My new online shop should be up and running in the next week or so too, so guess I better get torching!!

General Ramblings...

It's a bit of a shame when you are too buy living life to blog about it. :) Life continues to be hectic - I think it's a permanent state of affairs now, and I just need to adjust.

I have managed to fit in a tiny amount of torching, since the kiln was fixed, but I don't have a whole lot to show for it yet. I did take some quick snaps yesterday - not my proper photos, but as it's so long since I've posted any, I will put some up over the next few days. I think today I'll start with a floral focal I have made this week. Florals aren't really my thing, but I'm quite happy with this one. And I love the shape. It's hard to describe - its the shape I generally use for my aquarium beads. I start with a large barrel bead, and use my BBQ style lentil mashers to slightly press it in 2 directions - which makes a sort of square, but with curved sides.

On a totally different note, a dear friend sent me a cute email this week, filled with photos of baby pandas. Very cute pics, which I had originally seen a few years ago (I think all those babies are probably quite grown up now). But they reminded me of a video I found when I was originally exploring the site for this Panda breeding centre in China. Check out this video - it's a series of outtakes from a news report at the centre. Very funny, and very cute - you'll find the link over on the right of the page, under the image...