Say Cheese!

It's been a crazy week here! I've taken over 600 pictures and have spent the last several days on my butt editing, pricing, tagging, and getting things ready for Christmas shoppers. Yikes, I am so glad that this batch is done! There's more to come though! I have another load of mittens ready for the kiln and more need to be cut. I almost forgot to make more snowmen and penguins so I need to start a list. :) I'd be lost w/o my To Do Lists! I should probably start that now while I'm thinking of it or I'll probably forget again. I think my theme song should be "If I Only Had A Brain". :)

I can't wait to get back to cutting glass! My tail bone is screaming in pain from sitting so much. I need to get back on my feet and give my poor butt a break. LOL TMI? Sorry!! But seriously, I hate sitting!

All in all, life is good. May not all be good news, but the attitude is great and that's pretty much what determines whether life for me is good or bad. I did something I've never done before. I quit. I quit everything. I am sure I disappointed several people but ya know how it is when everyone has to have a piece of you? Will you chair this committee? Will you help me with this? Can you do that for me? We need someone to raise $800 to send a kid to camp....you're in charge of collecting the $$.... Being the ding-dong that I am, the first word out of my mouth is ,"Yes!" Well, I finally realized the importance of putting myself, my family, and my job first. Everything was suffering cuz everyone had more pieces of me than I did. So I quit. It is actually quite liberating! I feel like I finally have a handle on life again and it feels great. I highly suggest if that is how you're feeling, you need to quit some things in your life. If we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of anyone else. So I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm taking time off from work, enjoying my family, not working 18 hours a day anymore. (ok, I'm trying not to work 18 hours a day.....roll eyes here!) I took Saturday off and my granddaughter Chloe and I went to the parade here in town for Horse & Buggy Days. Normally I work the Lost Arts thing for H&B Days. Not this year! Chloe is 2 years old and growing up so fast, nothing is more important right now than spending time with her! We had so much fun!!!!! She was so funny, the first parade she's been old enough to enjoy. Good as gold, even w/missing her nap! Eating watermellon and steak sandwiches, going to the petting zoo, and searching for balloons. We never did find one, how sad is that? Maybe it's just me, but I found it very strange that no one was selling balloons. Not to worry, the grocery store has them and now we have them too! It was one of the best days I've had in a long time. It's good to quit things. Especially when it makes room for doing the things that bring us the most joy. Chloe is my joy, there will always be time for her. :)

I'm also making time to hunt for Christmas presents. I don't think I've ever started this early! :D I'm pretty pleased with myself! LOL I know I'm going to buy too much this year but about now, I don't much care. I've found too many pretty things on Artfire this year so I won't be spending time fighting the crowds and wasting gas. I plan on doing alot of online shopping this year! I love the pieces from Clara's Clips! Just Ducky is so dang cute! But I think I need to buy the pony for Chloe, she sure loved those in the parade. :) http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=25057&op=new&body=1 Very pretty things!! And something that I will never make.... :( I could spend alot of $$ in Clara's shop and I just might! LOL

Another one that I discovered this week (hey, I get to take breaks from photo editing don't I?) http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=23062 Simply Lampwork. LMAO There is nothing simple about her beads!!!!!!!!! I know, I make lampwork beads and these are totally Divine!!!!! I can't believe her prices either. She's nuts. Nancy, you really need to raise your prices! Seriously. These are stunning. Before she raises her prices, get in her shop and buy her out. I'd rather you bought from me but I don't think I could do work like this. It's gorgeous. Lickable! I'd kill to make leaves like hers. Fan-Freakin'-Tastic!

Another very fun shop I found is http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=26650&op=new&body=1 Sweet Whimsy. I have to have the flamingo scrabble tile pendant! Chloe and I have a thing about flamingos. It's a daily tradition that every day she goes outside, heads to the side garden and makes the "mingos go Boing!" I have flamingos on springs and she thinks it's the funniest thing to make them wobble! Besides, I have flamingo pants that are my "party pants" and I made a bracelet and matching earrings. This pendant would be the cherry on the sundae to my "mingo outfit". :)

Not to be outdone by the flamingo...totally dig this paisley one. It's just so funky!

I think the ladybug box might have to come live here too, at least until Christmas...then I think it's going to my other granddaughter. ;)

There's alot of neat stuff out there on Artfire. It's been great fun for me to get out there, poke around, and find some really unique pieces, all handmade and original. No more "cookie cutter gifts" for this family. I'm going Handmade! :) I bet the family will be surprised that they aren't all getting my glass this year. LOL

That's about it for this week's blog. Time to get dressed, load the kiln, and hopefully have breakfast with my darling Chloe. I'm taking time off to enjoy the people and things most important to me. I hope you can do the same. Be blessed my friends!

What a week it's been!

So many things going on in my life these days. I'm sure it's true for everyone. School is back in session, or will be soon. I don't miss the days when I sent my little ones off. As much as we all looked forward to getting the kids back in school, those first few days were always very bittersweet for me. Our house has always been the one all the neighborhood kids would flock to on a daily basis so we usually had anywhere from 3-10 extra kids here all day long. We had the "Barbie parphanalia" (as my mother would put it!) on the porch, hotwheels in the sandbox along with army men and tonka trucks. Water balloon fights w/a big wet mess in the bathroom. Kids running thru the sprinkler, leaving wet towels everywhere! Those were replaced with video games and mtv as the kids got older. Popsicles were always a hit, no matter what the age of the players. By the beginning of August, I was more than ready for the kids to go back to school. Not so much my kids, but I was ready for the extra kids to go! The first few days of school were always too quiet. Made me wonder what I would do when my kids had grown, moved on with their lives, married, with families of their own. Tears were always just under the surface!

Now here we are, the 3 oldest off on their own. Dan's in CA, Ben lives in Madison with his wife and daughter, Kate moved to MD. Only Tim is at home now, going on to college but the house is still full with his little women, Juila and Chloe. I love them both so much, they are a big part of my life! I know the day will come when he's done w/school and the little family will move on, leaving us with a big empty house. There are days when I can't wait for that, but I know that day will be bittersweet as well. I'll be happy to see them grown, matured, thru school, settled in their new home with jobs and "school daze" of their own as they send little Chloe off. It will be nice for us to have the house to ourselves again, but I have a feeling it will be way too quiet for me!

I'll still have my work, I'll probably always have my work. It is a big part of who I am. And there is never enough time to get it all done. This has been a crazy week. Lots of new fans on Facebook, setting up a biz page for the local art gallery, getting all the bugs worked out, making new lampwork beads, photos, and listings on Artfire, and keeping up with the forums. I seriously need some better time management! But good things are happening too!

I was invited to join the Fun Cute & Whimsical Guild at Artfire! Wow. First off it was neat to be invited, then accepted into such an ecclectic group of very talented artists! You can check out their work here;

http://www.fcwguild.com/ It's just chock full of all the best stuff! This piece just cracks me up!

You can find it here;

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=40825

Besides myself, there were 4 other new Artfire shops added to the guild. Check them out!

Antisparkle's shop is just too crazy! I love her sense of humor! http://antisparkle.artfire.com

You know that octopus necklace you've been searching for? Well you can find it here in Patsdesign Artisan Studio!! http://patsdesign.artfire.com/

Remember paperdolls? Oh man! I loved those things when I was little!!!! Shop66 carries them along with other great vintage inspired pieces. I could spend alot of time poking about in this shop! http://shop66.artfire.com/

If you're having a baby, or know someone that is, be sure to check out Blueberryjunkie's Artfire Shop. I adore her handmade goods! I may have missed out on getting one of her teething blankets for my babies, but you don't have to! http://blueberryjunkie.artfire.com/

I am going to have alot of fun as I check out all the great shops that are members of the Fun Cute & Whimsical Guild on Artfire. I'll probably be grabbing my credit card too! lol This is going to be too much fun!

It's been a busy week...YIKES! And now it's time to work on some custom orders due this weekend. Time to get dressed, grab another cup of coffee and hit the shop. Be blessed today my friends, in all you do. :)