Sunday, August 21, 2011

More and More Links

Toady I posted T - V.  Thank goodness I am an avid blog reader because it has given me an opportunity to keep posting while I am busy with my life. 

Mandy at Beads for Brains has been posting about some of these blogs recently.  See, for instance, Try to Bead.  If you love bead weaving and need a complex pattern this is the place to start. 

I think Mandy may have missed Unicorniopasion.  What a great spot for inspiration.

I know Mandy has mentioned both Vezsuzsi Gyöngyei and Vyolina at Skyrock.  Both are great resources and both are non-English blogs.  Vylonia has posted many free patterns.  Vezsuzsi sells patterns and teaches and if you read through the archives you might find a free pattern or two.  I commented on Mandy's blog that the reason why I love her site is because of her bold color choices. 

Enjoy.  I will get back to scanning my books.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

25 More Links!

I have been neglectful of my blog. I have also been neglectful of my beading- it has been two months since I have made anything! 

Today I posted 25 more links on my All My Blog Links Page. 

Let me point out just a handful.

Olive Bites Home of Uncorked + Polarity should be a regular stop in your blog browsing.  Cat's style is fabulous and very different from my own.  Nonetheless, she is inspiring, creative, and a great resource for those of us looking for professional marketing ideas.  She is also a generous in her support of other artists. 

Next, is Operation Tackle That Bead Stash!  What a great concept.  This blog regularly presents challenges to use your stash. 

On the off chance that you have not discovered Pretty Things be sure to visit Lori Anderson's wonderful blog.  Lori is one of those special people who just make the world more comfortable.  Lori is the organizer of Bead Soup Blog Party; this event draws several hundred jewelry designers from around the world together to exchange components and post the end result.  I love these events.  More than that, Lori is unstinting in her support of other artists and is a great resource for inspiration and practical advice. 

If you love peyote stitch, do not miss either Perlicoti or Perlicoti-Peyote.  Perlicoti is a beautiful French blog featuring finished pieces.   Perlicoti-Peyote is a companion blog featuring patterns. 

Last on my list is Helmitarha's Stories of the Secret Garden.  Helmitarha makes beautiful jewelry.  I added Helmitarha to my blog list on the last Bead Soup Blog Party, her reveal was spectacular, the colors luscious. 

There are still more blog links to come.

On A Personal Note

Warning:  This blog post is only distantly related to jewelry and beads and features no pretty pictures.  In other words, I wouldn't be at all offended if you moved onto the next blog post.

As some of you know, I started a new job in June, in a new city, 9+ hours away from my previous home.  At the very end of June I had my belongings shipped from storage.  I have been unpacking since!

I took my Mother's advice and set up my bed first.   That was not a difficult decision after sleeping on an air mattress for nearly a month.

It only took me a week or two to hand wash and dry 20+ boxes of kitchen wares and organize my kitchen.  Cooking and cleaning is just a daily part of my regular routine. 

I also unpacked and organized the bathroom in those first two weeks.

Thus, after two weeks, life was liveable.  This may partially explain the slowdown.

I am a book lover.  In the process of moving, I lost the pegs to put together my bookshelves.  The replacement pegs arrived in late July.  I shuffled boxes and furniture to set up my bookcases and have been unpacking books since.  Now this is one part of unpacking that I truly enjoy.  This time it has been a bit of chore.  I recently purchased an Android phone and discovered a Book Catalogue application.  Oh My Gosh! If you are an organized book lover I cannot recommend this application enough.  Using your phone you scan in a bar code, or enter an ISBN number and add your books to a database.  You can create shelves, e.g. Beads, to organize your library.  You can export your library to your computer.  Best of all, when you are out shopping you can check the database on your phone and determine if you already have the book in your library.  (Now I need a similar app to catalogue my beads.)  This process has slowed down my unpacking.

Currently, my living room is littered with boxes of hardback books:



I have already unpacked quite a few of my hardback books:

In case you didn't catch it, those are just my hardback books; I haven't even touched the paperbacks:


I chose a two bedroom apartment in order to have a bead room.  You could not guess that was the purpose of this room:

Eventually, all of my beads and supplies will find a home on these shelves:

One final picture:  Below is where my decorations are currently residing.  They will eventually be scattered through the apartment.  If you look closely you will see that I have two beautiful glass cabinets, these are currently filled with beads.  I am going to have to get an extra shelf for my bead room.

There has been a lot going on in my life and I am looking forward to finally settling in and finding the time to create.