Bead table Sunday

It's amazing how much work you can get done while "watching" tv.  Tonight I sat down to start working on a necklace to go with my Humblebeads owl bead, and after a couple episodes of House Hunters, an episode of NCIS, and most of a Harry Potter movie, this is what the (almost) finished necklace looks like:

The colors are much prettier in person, but I kept my spot on the couch with my bead tray in my lap to snap a pic.  This is my favorite way to bead--the couch, the fireplace, the dog, and the tv!  
 
 

Santa was good to me

Apparently I was a very good girl this year, because Santa was extra good to me.  For starters, I received these beautiful beads from Humblebeads:

I was creating designs for them in my head last night when I fell asleep.  I can't decide which I like the most.

The topper, though, was Trav signed me up to take a glass bead making class with Robbie Gentry from Heirlooms in Glass.  I've seen her work for several years at the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, VA, and every year I talk about how someday I'd love to take one of her classes.  Now I get to!  The class is on Jan. 19 and 20, in Knoxville, TN, which is about 3 hours away from home.  I'm beyond excited!  I just hope I don't burn myself too badly with the torch.  I'm a bit accident prone! 

And, it looks like we're getting a new addition to our family (and, no, I'm not pregnant!).  Hannah's friend is giving away her guinea pig, and guess who's taking it?  Yep--us.  As if one mostly human dog and two sassy cats aren't enough...  

Off to "do" Christmas with the inlaws now...   
 

Waiting for Santa

It's Christmas Eve and I've been busy!  The shopping is done, the wrapping is almost done, and the house is only a semi-disaster!  Tonight it's off to my parents' house to open presents with them, a quick visit to the in-laws, then back home to wait for Santa. 

With all the chaos, I have managed to make a few pairs of earrings as gifts for friends.

Now it's off to finish wrapping, bathe the dog, etc.  I hope everyone has a wonderful evening!
 

One more button necklace

I was asked the other day by my boss' wife to make one more button necklace, just like one I had made earlier.  The style is the same, but the button was slightly different, so I had to use slightly different crystal colors.  

Only a day and a half of work left until break!  Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the girls from the office, followed by a doctor's appointment.  I could do without that!  I know she's going to tell me to lose weight and exercise--as if I don't already know that!  I do look in the mirror, you know!

I've finished shopping, but I still have a couple of Christmas gifts to make.  Three to be exact, I think.  And, lots of wrapping.  Fun times!

Baby bracelet

My friend, Nikki, is getting ready to have her second child, a little girl she's naming Susanna Nicole.  Since it's important to teach little girls to accessorize from the start (well, in my little world that's important anyway), I made her this tiny baby bracelet:

I used pearls because, after all, pearls are for girls, and blue crystals that are close to her December birthstone.  Nikki said she hadn't given any thought to what her birthstone would be, so obviously the little one will need lots of time with me! 

Easiest earrings ever!

I made these earrings the other night, and I believe these are the fastest, easiest things I've ever made.  

All I did was take some silver earring hoops that I found at Hobby Lobby, and strung on some silver faceted cube beads, also found at Hobby Lobby, and they were done!  I love them.  They're a slightly jazzed up version of plain silver hoops.  I've got friends who may be getting some of these for Christmas.  After all, what girl can't use (another) pair of silver hoops? 

'Tis the season to be...gaudy!

Okay, this piece really isn't gaudy, but I do sometimes have a tendency to overdo it when it comes to accessories--especially around the holidays.  My sister used to make so much fun of me for all my holiday jewelry, socks, etc.  But, then, she didn't have the passion for accessories I do.  I made this necklace the other night, and I love it.  It's another long one, but the white bead isn't as big as the red one I used in yesterday's post.  

The bead catches the light so well, and looks very pretty against red or green.  I have more of the white beads, so I may have to use some with blue, for wintery pieces.

I hope to do some more Christmas shopping tomorrow evening.  So much to do, so many gifts to wrap, so many Christmas movies left to watch...  I love this time of year!
 

PicMonkey

I've been hearing about a photo editing program, PicMonkey, for a while now, but had never used it.  I've been a Photoshop girl since I started my Etsy shop.  I finally decided to give PicMonkey a shot, though, and I love it!  It's so much fun, and I think it's considerably easier to use than Photoshop.  You can add text, borders, etc. very easily.  I played with this pic a little, and wound up simply adding my shop name to the corner.

So cool!  And, yes, it takes very little to excite me!

This necklace is made from the large beaded bead I found at Hobby Lobby last week.  I really like that bead!  I put it on a long necklace (probably about 30 inches--I didn't measure) and I'm wearing it today.  The bead is so big and sparkly--just what I need on a dreary day like today!
 

Shopping

Travis and I did our marathon shopping day yesterday.  It's the day we go out and try to finish up all our Christmas shopping.  I have one thing to say.  We're getting too old to do this!  By the end of the day, various parts of my body ached, and I think it might take me all weekend to recover.  Oh, and we didn't finish!  It's okay, though.  We'll get it done.  

We did go to Hobby Lobby, where I found this big, sparkly red bead:

I know exactly what I want to do with it, and with any luck, I'll be able to do it tonight.  If I don't fall asleep first, that is!
 

O Christmas Tree

I found this piece of sea glass in my (store purchased) stash of sea glass.  It's shaped like a triangle, and is green, so I automatically thought it would make a great wire wrapped Christmas tree.

I used red and silver seed beads for the decorations and suspended it from a piece of red cord.  Something different...

This Thursday Travis and I are planning to spend the day Christmas shopping.  We have a marathon shopping day like this every year and are usually pretty successful.  He makes an Excel spreadsheet with a column for all the folks on our list, another column for ideas, a column for what we plan to spend on each person, and a column for what we actually spent.  I make fun of his spreadsheet every year, but the one year he didn't make it I couldn't find a thing!  I just go armed with a notepad with various lists on it.  Between the two systems, we manage to get it done somehow!

At any rate, we always have a good time.  Besides, shopping is always more fun than being at work, right?!