Have "Bright" Faith!

Well, after a lonely weekend I decided to take Monday off and make beads, without question. This decision came after reading Danielle LaPorte's White Hot Truth article, "On bright faith and why falling in love is uncool". If you want to know more about me, read it! You will probably find out more about "you" in the process. I love Danielle LaPorte's newsletter/blog; she inspires me to personal growth EVERY time I read it. She's on Facebook too; go check her out.

"Bright faith is primal to creativity. Bright faith is essential to falling in love--with people,with causes, with your own unfolding self. Bright faith can be unnerving, slightly embarrassing, and awkward. We are trained to resist it, and we do so at the cost of innovation and the passion we crave." When I read this I had a little more appreciation for who I am when I'm having an exciting moment, and it gave me permission not to resist who I am at the expense of the innovation and passion I crave. So, I made beads.

My bestest friends have been asking me for specific beads. Joely wants a Buddha, Doug wants anything made by me, and Isaac wants ... well, other than to stay my baby boy, he loves anything I do or make for him. Doug loves everything Pink Floyd and Egyptian. Joely is pretty specific. I showed Isaac the beads that came out of the kiln this morning; it's a good thing his favorite is the one not made with other people in mind!

The Buddha was fun to make; he's the second one I've ever made. I love making sculptural beads; they dissolve all my worries. The scarab was made on a whim and I love it, but I'm afraid it will break when I take it off the mandrel (had problems remembering to keep it warm!) It has an eye of Horus (a bad one) on the back.

The bicone bead was an experiment that didn't work but gave me another idea for technique. It was Isaac's favorite and I'll string it for his Valentine's gift. And I know just the beads I'd use from Rings & Things; and they're having a free shipping deal right now!

These bicone vaseline glass trade beads (I have a lot left over from using some in my virtual necklace)! They're perfect for Isaac because he loves the color, it looks great with the celadon dots on the bead, and they glow in the dark!

I knew I'd find a use for these Mirage "mood" beads! They are the perfect shape and color for the scarab, which is made with green and blue dichroic glass.

Designing the necklace for the Buddha bead makes me want to keep it for myself! I envision tons of silver for a Tibettan look, heavy, with a tassel type pendant focal. How about this Karen Hilltribe Pendant to hang below my Buddha?

I have fun sharing my growth with you, and hopefully inspiring you with what inspires me. Please let me know that you are having fun too; subscribe to my blog by clicking on the right banner, and all comments are more than welcome!

Cloudy With a Chance for Sunshine

It's a cloudy day, both physically and figuratively. There's a State of the Nation and a State of the State Address (both of which I avoid watching and being depressed by), and today I realized there's a State of the Town Address...reality slapping you in the face on your drive to the post office where you eventually run into every one who lives in the small town of Arnold, California. How sad to see a minimum of 8 business either for sale or rent in one small 2 mile stretch. How are we going to survive this economy?! In a moment I go from "Wow, there are so many opportunities" to "Wow, where is everyone going, and how are they surviving?"

I'm also continuing my journey to live fearlessly, but on a day like today I struggle with believing it isn't all just lala land diversions from the harsh reality of life. But, I have a choice and a voice. Reality is what we perceive it to be and it is possible to perceive opportunity in the face of hardship. And it is important to use my voice and let the Universe hear it, so today I say, if the sun won't come out to play, I'll play in the rain, joyously and optimistically. After all, what choice do I have but to live or die? Some say, "go with the flow"; dead fish go with the flow...I say, "Let's make a new wave!"

Okay, there's the pep talk. Now let's play with beads! I've been practicing stringer control. I am inspired by Melanie Moertel, JC Herrel, and Dora Schubert (to name a few). Yesterday I was reminded of Holly Cooper; she is truly the best lampworker in the world when it comes to stringer control!

Today I installed and began playing with Craft Board, the online jewelry designing program. I'm trying to understand from the points of view of both a buyer and a seller. It is a completely free program and can be used online or offline. There seem to be a lot of options, and no immediate "tutorial", so it will take a while to check it out. I did find a button that sent me to their blog; it seems to be a constant work in process with the last post in December stating that January would be a "boring" month. I subscribed and hope to see a new post soon, since January is over.

In the mean time I want to play with beads. I want to make jewelry. I want to show you the first piece of jewelry I made with my own, beginner's lampwork beads. It is the same necklace I sold the other day.
It is an 8-strand necklace strung on Beadalon stringing wire. Each strand is made with a different combination of gold lined seed beads, seashell chips, rose quartz, agates, amethyst crystals, lampwork rondelles (which you can custom order from me), deep purple metallic cut bugles, purple fire polished faceted ovals, fire polished green/blue seed beads, etched purple rounds, light pink silver lined bugles, seed-pod-shaped purple glass beads, purple metallic pearls, rose quartz seed beads, and lavender disks, and a carved, flower shaped, pua shell focal. The focal is secured by copper metal rings to a bail made from looped seed bead and crystal strand. Strands end with faceted light green metallic ovals and are attached to a silver 3 loop bar clasp.

I've linked the components to the Rings & Things catalogue. When I couldn't find the exact bead I linked to a suitable substitute. It only took an hour to find ALL these components! I followed David's image-search suggestion he left in comments to my They Say The Truth Hurts... post. I love it when people leave comments on my blog!

So, spread a little sunshine and "follow" my blog (click on the right column) or play joyfully in the rain and leave a comment! And when you do both, you make a rainbow in my life!