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!

Spring is in air...

...well, it's on its way in the US anyway. As most of my sales are online to customers in the United States, I usually try and use colours that match their upcoming season. That, and the inclusion of some lucsious pinks in my recent glass order, has had me on a bit of a pink fix this week. So, new auctions today are 'Strawberry Ice-cream' and 'Pink Petal Power'.

'Spearmint Pastille's'

Well, just to keep the momentum up, these sparklies are up for grabs on JB in the morning. 'Spearmint Pastilles' were made using one of my new cattwalk presses I won in the fundraising auction at the ISGB Gathering last year. Just click to go to the auction.

Getting back in the groove!

Well, I sat down at the torch to play with the fabric ideas last night. As I didn't go to bed till 4 am on saturday night, my torch session didn't last long, but at least I had some play time. I'll post some photos later in the week. I also started working on some Angels for a custom order I need to get done this week. I also spent a lot of time yesterday photographing beads, editing photos and posting auctions, ready for this week. So stay tuned for a range of new sets from me up on Just Beads this week. Starting up the week, two new sets - 'Red Frenzy' and 'Bonbon Delights'.

One more auction

I have a new set up on JB this week called 'Mermaid Tails'. I have a feeling I've shot myself in the foot regarding the lack of a seasonal colour scheme (remembering that most of my customers are in the US, and heading into Winter...) but I just couldn't resist this Bullseye odd lot colour (yep, the same one as last week) and I'm absolutely no good at hoarding sets. I have also been furiously making Christmas decorations and long tube beads for pens the last few week - I'll try and post some photos soon.

I have 2 beautiful new sets up on Just Beads at the moment. I was playing with Bullseye glass for awhile instead of my usual Effetre. The colour palette's are quite different. So here is 'Cranberry Treasures' and 'Dewdrops'.

And as if I'm not already blogging enough (here, Let's Talk eLearning, Flaming Hot and Modern Savages) I have just joined another artisans collective blog, Collective Creatives. This new one has participants from various mediums, who will post articles once a month throughout the year. I'm looking forward to it - I have really enjoyed writing so often over the last few months. When I started this blog about a year ago to record my overseas trip, I never would have thought it would lead to this - so thanks for 'listening' folks.

New challenges...

Well, its official. I have a new position next year as an eLearning and Innovations Coordinator. Its a Leading Teacher role at a suburban secondary school, and will allow me to continue the work I have been doing with elearning, ICT implementation and teacher mentoring, combined with classroom teaching. So, I will have to put 'my money where my mouth' is and 'practice what I've been preaching' for the last three years - should be exciting... and challenging. (Can I fit any more proverbs in one sentence?). In the meantime, my current project still has a couple of months to go, and then I will no doubt be using the Christmas holidays to get my curriculum together and prepare to go back into the classroom for the first time in 3 years - eek! :)

On the glass front, I have 2 new auctions up this week, 'Ruffled Granite' & 'Smoke on the Water'.

New beads and some favourites...

I realised today that I am a bit behind with posting my latest auctions. I have also just finished packaging up a parcel of beads to send to the US, so some new sets will be up for auction next week. In the meantime, we have 'Cobalt Blooms', 'Rasberry Swirl' and because its a favourite of mine, and hasn't sold yet, another look at 'Some Like it Hot'. I absolutely love these flame beads, and if I wore more black (or owned a Harley!) they would not be leaving my hot little hands.

Latest Beads on Offer

I have 2 new auctions up this morning... 'Fairy Garden', and 'Rippled Granite'. Things are really slow at the moment, but I'm trying to keep a slow steady stream of new work up. I have 3 new sets ready to photograph this week, one that I'm especially happy with. I've been playing with Bullseye odd lot colours... mmmm yummy!

Chocolate Heaven

I've been really good with my eating habits the last couple of weeks. Taking lunch to work everyday, eating breakfast, not drinking soft drink etc. But yesterday we had a great sunday outing, ending at the wonderful Koko Black in Lygon st. We saw 2 movies at imax - Deep Sea 3D which was great, and Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia 3D, which was good, but not as engaging as the Sea Monsters one we saw a few weeks ago. It has been great to make use of the teacher previews at the Melbourne Museum imax. We added morning tea at Koko this weekend. We shared a Belgian Spoil - mini pots of choc ice-cream and choc mousse, a shortbread, a mini choc cake, and 2 handmade chocolates. I had an ice chocolate as well, which was made with homemade choc and vanilla ice-cream. Wow, talk about chocolate heaven.... That should last me another few chocky free weeks. :)

To change the subject slightly - what is it with Women and shoes? or handbags? I just don't get the attraction. I mean, I can appreciate pretty shoes aesthetically - I wouldn't be much of an artists if I couldn't, I guess. But I just cannot see the attraction of spending so much money and time on finding the perfect shoe...and don't even get me started on the discomfort of so many of them. I was reading The Impatient Blogger last week, and after reading all the comments, I realised I am most definitely in the minority. So, any body else out there not get the female shoe fetish? Just Beads is a bit quiet lately, so I don't have any new auctions up yet, just a few relists. I have a lot of new stuff to post... so lookout for new pics this week, but I might give the current lot a few more days first. Hopefully we will see a rise for the Christmas season soon.

Coming in Three's...

I have three new auctions to show you today - two focals and a set. It's nice being able to try focals out on JB, with the postal savings from sending them all over together. It's all a big experiment though - I have no idea how focals are going to go for me, so keep your fingers crossed for me (or uncross them long enough to click and bid! :) ). Another thing coming in three's this week is job interviews. The end of this week is going to be a bit stressful and hectic, as I have 3 interviews in 2 days. Eek! I'm not going to get too excited about any of them yet...no point counting unhatched avians. There are two ICT Leader/eLearning roles, and one Art/Tech Key Learning Area leader. So, while your fingers are crossed anyway, think positive job vibes for me, OK?

'Shaken Not Stirred' 'Amethyst Blooms'

'Smoke Get's in Your Eyes' 'Desert Blooms'

Without further ado...

I wasn't expecting to post again tonight, but I've been scheduling auctions and I accidentally started more than I intended tonight (or this morning US time). So, I figured I might as well blog them while I'm thinking of it. So, without further ado, here is 'Tropical Blend' and 'Desert Blooms'.Desert Blooms continues the series of wildflower beads I have been working on recently. A slightly different direction, thinking more of Australian desert landscapes than lush fields of flowers. After all, most of the country is in severe drought at the moment. I think we might be seeing more of this style in the future (I guess I'll see how the auction goes!).

Dance of Love

...is the name of my latest offering on Just Beads. This month on Modern Savages our theme is Surrealism, so here is my response to Joan Miro's 'Ballerina II'. If you would like to read more about this theme and my inspiration, checkout my posts at Modern Savages.

Today I demonstrated at the Victorian Blacksmith Convention. I go every year. It's a great chance to show people lampworking - spread a little education and glass love. Every year I take a selection of jewellery, assuming Jane Public is more likely to want ready to wear. This year I was caught unawares, and as I rarely make jewellery anymore (as most of my beads sell online) I decided to take all my 'orphans' and see what happened. I also marked down all my jewellery (and mine is already a lot cheaper than similar work elsewhere) hoping to shift some stuff that I've had around for awhile. Wouldn't you know, I barely sold any jewellery, bargain or no (just 2 pendants), but the loose beads went like hotcakes. I'm not about to retire anytime soon, but it paid for the order of odd lot bullseye glass I made last week.

So, I'm a pretty happy camper at the moment. And I just heard that my beads just arrived at Lisa's - so I can schedule a bunch of new auctions for this week. So, stay tuned for a new direction from me - focal beads at auction (now that postal costs wont make them unattainable!)

Lights, Camera, Action!

The blog topic on Flaming Hot this week is about photographing beads for sale. I used to be a bit haphazard about the style of my bead photos, but after experimenting quite a bit over the years, I am now fairly consistent with the style I like. A lot of bead artists photograph their beads as strands, sometimes even with crystals or silver spacers included. That works really well for some people, but I have never felt 100% comfortable using that approach. I feel like I am putting preconceived ideas into the heads of potential buyers, as to how the beads could be used in jewellery. And I know that jewellery designers can come up with some amazingly creative ways to string beads (Just check out my friend Lisa's site for an example!). So, I have discovered that I am happier with a more random display of my beads, what appears to be a haphazard arrangement, (but that usually took ages to arrange!), generally combined with some clear overhead shots of the beads arranged flat, so that all the details are clear. I also think its really important to ensure the holes/ends can be seen clearly (as these can often be 'problem areas' on newbie beads), and both sides of major focals. I love being able to include multiple images, to show a range of combinations and viewpoints. I'm so glad I finally worked out how to use a html template for the auctions sites, so that I can upload as many images as I like, while only paying for one image to be hosted. The other thing about the way I photograph beads... I am a shocking procrastinator. I only seem to take photos when I have a great pile of beads cleaned and ready to go, and then I force myself to my little 'studio' set up. I have a very small, portable, fabric softbox to diffuse my lights - high wattage from the hardware store, and they are incredibly bright and hot. It is physically uncomfortable due to heat and glare, and I have burnt myself on the lights more than once. So, I do have an excuse for putting it off... really.

Finally Catching Up

I have been torching a lot these holidays. But I've been a bit slow to get some new auctions up. Mainly because I'm stockpiling beads, to be sent to my friend Lisa in Arizona. She has kindly agreed to post my USA sales for me, to cut down on postage costs for my customers. Of course, it means those auctions will only be available in the US - would be crazy to post them back here again afterwards :) . So, when they go off to her next week, I'll have lots of new items up for auction. In the meantime, I've put two new sets up that I'm keeping here, one on Just Beads and one on Ebay.

'Some Like It Hot' 'Opal's Fire'

Lazy Days...

I am on holidays at the moment - term break. And I have been taking it easy, reading, blogging (My other 2 blogs) and torching. I always plan to stock up on my inventory on holidays, but I sometimes find it hard to get going. I have torched quite a bit this week, but I have been experimenting, playing around with some new ideas, which isn't always hugely productive. But, I will have new beads up on auction this week. I have also been busy job hunting last week, and lots more applications to write this week. The whole process is very ironic. You have to build yourself up in your application, and be the most self confident you can be... and at the same time, the whole process is one that can very quickly strip your confidence away. Interviews and applications, its all very stressful. Especially when you are torn between the jobs you want to do to fulfil your career goals, and the ones you have to consider for financial reasons ... and all the associated politics. Ugh, I think I'll just head back to the torch where I can forget all that. Yep, Queen of Procrastination, that's me! I have just realised I didn't post a pic of my most recent auction. Its a Modern Savages set, 'Wildflowers in Bloom', and it has been re-listed this week.

There is a distinct lack...

...of exciting news to report I'm afraid. Work has been a bit quiet since I returned, although I was able to get stuck into a new project today, which was great. I haven't torched a lot lately - but I do have one more new auction up (and a few relists), 'Cosmic Stones'. I am running an SCA feast next weekend, so I am involved in a lot of planning for that, and will spend several evenings next week cooking in preparation. The kitchen at the hall is not great, so cooking most of the meals in advance is the way to go. I am missing all my American friends. It was great to finally get to meet them all, but its harder now to be so far away and not be able to have quality girl time. I guess it will inspire me to sell lost of beads, so I can go back another year and catch up again. In the meantime, Australia is a wonderful place to visit girls!

New Education Blog

From now on, all posts regarding education will be made at my new edublog 'Let's Talk eLearning'.

I will be getting some new auctions up this week, starting with these ones.....

7 Days & counting....

So, this time next week I'll be winging my way to the USA! I'm getting very excited, but I've also got lots to do to keep me busy. I've been torching a lot - I want to have trade beads and gifts ready for other Lampworkers I meet at the Gathering. I also want to have some new jewellery to wear - I tend to give away or sell my best beads - I have very little jewellery made from my own beads, and nothing recent. So, I'm building up some new pieces to take with me. here are some pics of my first 2 pieces. I'm loving making the chainmaille too!

2 weeks to go!

Its 2 weeks today till I leave for the USA!! I am getting really excited about the trip, especially about the chance to meet so mnay of the beadmakers i have 'met' online. Its going to be an awesome trip. As I'm going for work I'm going to have my laptop with me, so I should be able to edit and post pics here as I go, so check in to keep up with my travels. For today, I have 2 more auctions up. These will be the last ones before I leave.