Trust Me - Ideas are Everywhere

I just couldn't help it. My dear hubby got me this cute valentine for the holiday. This illustration so endearing I made a bead to match. I think the little guy is worth a whole series of beads...hahahaha, the puppy. Oh, the DH is worth a few too!

The puppy has a cute little grin so I wish the photo would of captured that better but you get the idea.

Welcome Lionel the Loverboy

I think Lionel had braces! Look at that toothy grin. It was Patty Lakinsmith's Green Meanies (you have to Google Patty - her work is fabulous) that have been the inspiration for my monsters. Making monsters is fun as long as they are the friendly ones like in Monster's, Inc. and I really can't get enough of them. It won't be long and I'll be doing more but for now this is Lionel and I just listed him on Etsy.

Ice Castles

We all know I'm no snow bunny. I hustle from place to place when it's cold with my hands in my pockets and a determined grimace on my face. I'm wondering though if I just shouldn't adjust to it and get in the game. Rejoice in the white stuff and make some snowmen and snow angels. Not that I can handle big snowmen - Doctor McDreamy (the neurosurgeon - really, I have one the nurses call by that name!) says nothing over 10 pounds. But, baby snowmen are better than no snowmen if you're going to embrace the ice. Winters in Michigan mean snow - and in this area they mean ice fishing and a Festival called Tip-Up Town. It's an ice shanty heaven. Other nearby towns have snowmobile races, snowshoe races, ski races. Hmmmm, I wonder why we're the town with the laid back ice fishing contest.

A town north of us really embraces the ice - when I was up there last I took a photo of the ice tree. Every year they have this tree in the center of town. It's cool - in more ways than one!

Maybe all of this is why I like the heat of torches.....hahahaha.

New Style

I've been torching several hours a day. PPP, if you want to get it the best it can be. Here is the latest. It uses the Baleen
technique by Michael Barley and some wonderful silvered Double Helix glass that I'm not quite catching the essence of. But luckily you can see a glimmer here and there. So what do you think? Should I pursue more of these?

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Time Management Issue

I don't get it - well, I do - maybe! When you are at work you are forced to manage your time. If you don't, things don't get done. I'm not at work right now and things aren't getting done, including this blog. Ah-hum. Anyone else having this issue? I'm thinking the studio space needs to be cleaned. Do they have a cleaning service for that? I need one, really. But for now, here's a good chuckle and I think it helps to describe part of the dilemma -

AAADDKNOW THE SYMPTOMS.....PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

A.A.A.D.D.Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water
there is still only 1 check in my check book
I can't find the remote
I can't find my glasses
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today. I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!