Lezlie B's Beady Reflections

Soooo Proud!!

2010-10-04T11:12:00.000-04:00

I'm always proud of my kids but this week, just about bursting! My daughter has officially turned her excellent baking and decorating skills into a business! Exciting!! You can find her scrumptious goodies at Dany's Cakes on facebook .She's doing a special "Cookie of the Week, and is now shipping I believe) I think she'll expand to offer things like her cinnamon buns (decadent, best I've ever tasted) and Pumpkin Whoopie pies and things like that. Hummm...wonder if she'll do her bourbon brownies. Absolutely to die for!
The picture is her "Cinnamon spice Fall leaf cookies" Yummm! Place an order! :)

My son Chef Zeph is going to be cooking at the James Beard House in NYC in Feb with his boss, Chef Salmon from the Hartstone Inn in Camden Maine.They have cooking classes at the inn regularly (and the best food...simply divine) and are traveling to Italy in November to give a two week cooking class at a beautiful Villa in Tuscany. Wouldn't I love to be a little birdy sitting on his shoulder for that trip!

In the picture: His award winning Maine Lobster Salad with Daikon, Crispy Bacon, Ginger and a Warm Ponzu dressing

Pandora Veggies

2010-09-23T09:56:00.000-04:00

I'm really pleased with the Harvest Veggies made with large holes so they'll fit on Pandora or similar jewelry, or most chains or cords. I was a little worried they'd be a problem to balance properly so they lie right side up.

My beads were featured in another Etsy artist Lisa Reichert's blog! Such a nice thing to do! Glass Notes
I really need to get up to speed with networking. I let so many things go when I had to deal with the whole cancer thing. Time to get back to business!

Pumpkins!

2010-09-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

I took my grandkids to the local orchid on Sunday. I love this time of year when the apples are ready to pick and you begin to see pumpkins stacked in wagons or piled high at the road side veggie stands.
I've been trying my hand at blowing glass pumpkins with a mini blow pipe. It's a natural extension of my experiments with hollow blown beads and shells, but I've found the pumpkins with their ribbed sides quite a bit more of a challenge than the shells and rounds. They're fun to make though and I love to challenge myself when it comes to glass.

Of course I'm making harvest veggie beads like crazy too! Tis the season!
I even tried a set with large holes to fit Pandora (and similar) bracelets and necklaces yesterday. Pictures will follow if they come out ok.

2010-09-08T10:07:00.000-04:00

I made mango-banana-lime smoothies for breakfast, with vanilla yogurt and kale (you really don't taste the kale, but it's so good for you and it makes it a pretty green)
I'm on a smoothie kick! I got a knock off version of the VitaMix ....sort of a super blender that emulsifies so you can throw in just about anything and it comes out smooth as silk! I'd been reading about the health benifits of raw veggies and fruits VS cooked and how good all the peel and pulp is for you. ....Next thing you know I'll be doing something silly like joining the gym again! DH and I are actually doing a daily walk and I've been making the route a little longer every day. Yesterday we were out walking for 45 minutes!

My daughter is my inspiration. She did a crazy obstical course race a couple weekends ago and I took two of the kids to see her and cheer her on. Figured they should see their Muma doing exteam sports. They ran up the mountian (it was held at Sunday River Ski resort) through the woods, over logs and through streams, and culverts, up hills that needed a rope to help them pull themselves up, down a slip and slide, over a net bridge (that was the funniest!) through a mud filed that they had to crawl through since there was barbed wire strung low over it! all the while at choice places along the trail the snow making machines were blasting them (comes out water and mist instead of snow in the summer time)

It was a blast and so inspirational! She went with some of her running group buddies and they were all amazing! Two are cancer surviviors and that really made me think, heck, I can do more...maybe not that kind of race, but I can work up to 5 k walks at least!

On the beady front It's a rainy day, perfect for torching. I have some more Harvest veggies and gourds to make and some Halloween beads.

I also want to add a link to a brand new (still in progress) Etsy shop that has some wonderful and very affordable jewelry, quite a few pieces use some of my lampwork beads! I've been dealing with the shop owner for many years and she's a real gem to work with!! So, with my glowing recommendations: 4SeasonsBeads

2010-09-07T13:26:00.000-04:00

Sept 7! Where did the summer go? We had a lovely one here in the North East, especially compared the the last couple summers before when we had so much rain! The local business's really needed a great summer.
We did have a spell of days when the temperature made torching a little too uncomfortable so I took advantage of the "down time" and worked on honing my skills in silver work, making bead caps and lining a bunch of my big hole beads. I love the results, though I must admit that my favorites are the ones I bought already textured.
Now the kids are back in school I am going to try to be more regular in posting here on the blog and updating my website. I also have a business page on Facebook and have been better at posting pictures of new beads and beads I'm selling on ebay. I even have a couple sets of beads on a Facebook store page but I'll admit I'm not quite sure how that's going to work.

Here's the pictures of the latest beads and I have more Harvest veggie beads ready and some Halloween witches and sets as well (no pictures of them ready yet though)

Bubble Bubble Boil & Trouble

2010-07-09T10:39:00.000-04:00

You guessed it! I'm still making witches. Here's the latest one, a large (for me anyway) portrait style witch, just right for a pendant. I love the look she has in her eyes, you can tell she's a witch with a sense of humor and a little mischievous. Her spells are sure to be the kind that are for your own good, though probably not what you may have had in mind.

Summer Witchs and Hollows

2010-06-20T13:14:00.001-04:00

That's what I've been up to in a nutshell!
Oh, and making teeny tiny flat cupcakes, now that was a challenge! I love it when someone asks me to try something entirely different, something that I would never have thought of making myself.
Here's a picture of the first witch of the year, holding a poor froggy, ready to drop into her cauldron ...or will she change her mind and keep him as a pet? Still need to make the cauldron, but she's almost ready to put up for sale.

The hollows are made with handmade "twisties", layered with at least three colors of glass, and sometimes more. I love making hollows and they're soooo light and comfortable to wear. I love bigger beads but if I wear a necklace made with large beads that aren't hollow, I know I'm going to be taking it off after a few hours.
With this style I was going for a textile look, woven glass.

The picture doesn't really give an idea of just how tiny the cupcake flatties are....I should have taken a picture of them on top of a coin before I shipped them out. They went to Julie of Rockerjewlz so she'll probably have some great pictures of what she makes with them. Her pictures are always so much better than the ones I take, and I love to see what she makes with the beads I send her way!

flowers & mulch...non beady past-times

2010-05-18T19:10:00.000-04:00

I've spent the last couple days digging, planting and spreading mulch. I even buried a soaker hose in the perennial flower beads since they are hard to reach with the hose to water, and I'm away for days at a time for chemo and Dr appointments quite regularly. I'd really hate to lose any plants if it's dry when I'm away.I got a timer thingy for the hose so it should take care of itself Now to see if it will actually work!
Maybe the flowers will inspire some beautiful beads!

Sea Shells

2010-05-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

I've been on a sea shell kick. They've evolved from the simple blown hollows and I have a ton of them, I can't stop making them...like eating chips, just one more and then I'll be done....NOT! LOL!
I have played around with colors, shapes, sizes, and how and where to put the holes. I'm thinking of putting some into some of the local shops for the summer season and I think I'll need to supply a chain or cord so they're ready to wear.

2010-05-14T19:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted , it's been a busy spring and time just flys by!
One thing I have to do is to start selling off some of my bead stash. For some strange reason I've been dreading the time it takes to photograph the beads and get them posted, so I tuck them into trays and boxes and drawers with the intention of getting to the photos ....later......

Each drawer is filled with layers of trays and boxes so it's even worse than it looks!

And there's more piled up around the torch table too!

2010-05-14T18:14:00.001-04:00

I'm still here, though it's been so long since I've posted that a few people have emailed to ask if I'm allright.
It's been a busy spring! We had to have a new roof...to the tune of over 12 grand!!! AKKK!!!
It should never leak even in the worst conditions, one of the problems of living right on the water! The weather can be wild, especially when the wind kicks up.
So there goes my budget. Oh well. More incentive to sell off my out of control bead stash! I used to rush to get pictures and put beads up for sale as soon as they were out of the kiln, but I've been dreading the time away from the torch that the photography and computer end of the business takes. So now I have overflowing trays and drawers full of finished beads!

I've been making blown beads for the past couple months. They started out round, like big hollow marbles, and evolved into hollow sea shells. Don't ask how that happened, I'm not sure myself. It's one of those magical things that happen when I have plenty of quiet time to torch and "listen" to the glass.
I've also been making beach glass beads since I want to make myself something fun to wear this summer. I picture a bracelet and necklace with lots of tiny "beach glass" dangles on a base of silver chain, or maybe some of those silver curved tube beads....or I may even try something with copper since it should get a nice patina in the salty air. I've found that my silver is tarnishing at an alarming rate and, after doing some research I think it's the sulpher in the air near the ocean.

Swashbuckling Pirate Bunnies

2010-04-03T11:32:00.002-04:00

Swashbuckling Pirate Bunnies! I made a bunch of my mulitcolored baby bunnies with the intent of giving one to each of my grandsons and nephews for Easter. After making them I got thinking....these are cute but don't seem quite right for the boys (ages 4 thru 11)
I tried again and these pirate bunnies came out. Much better match for the boys I think, and something unique as well. Not your traditional Easter Bunnies, but I think they'll like them!

Sculpture Mama and Baby Bunnies

2010-03-25T15:02:00.000-04:00

I'm really thrilled with this one! Just put it up for sale on Ebay....though I'm tempted to keep it and give it to my Mom, or my daughter, since I think of them and how loving they have always been to their babies every time I look at it.

Mouth Blown Hollow Beads! Something new!!

2010-03-24T10:27:00.000-04:00

Mouth Blown Hollow Beads! Something new...for me at least! I've been wanting to try it for ages. OK....I'll admit it, I've tried now and then over the years and never quite got it "right". I think I've finally got it down, at least the basic technique. I adapted the techniques that the"real" glassblowers use to work on a smaller scale and with the softer glass that we beadmakers usually use. I did a few in boro but the learning curve on getting the colors to come out in boro is ginormus!
I love how wonderfully round and light they are! Now to try making some really big ones and playing around with some different patterns. Doing the beads with a blow tube instead of making them on a mandrel opens up some different design possibilities. The beads so far have been coming out about 19 mm round, which is big for me and a great size for jewelry that makes a "statement"!

Dreams!!

2010-03-18T11:54:00.000-04:00

I've been having the strangest dreams lately! Last night I was making parrots on a hot head torch (they wear chubby little parrots, really cute) The last one kept getting bigger and bigger and ended up to be life sized.....huge! I was almost finished, just had to add the beak when my tank of gas started running out.
I woke up thinking if I could just put it in the kiln maybe I could still add the beak.
Even stranger, last week I had a dream that I was working in a cancer center, helping to prepare the patients for some special tests....and I was pregnant! EEEKKK! Then my Mom came in and she was pregnant too...and proceeded to give birth to a beautiful little girl...a sister, finally!
I remember a nurse looked at me seriously and asked if it was planned....I said "Planned? She's 77 years old! It's a miracle!" A sort of disturbing horrible miracle.
Then I found myself planing a baby shower for one of my old best friends, Crystal, who was actually pregnant at the same time I was when we were young, She had twins a month after my daughter was born. At the baby shower who should walk in also hugely pregnant but Crystals mother, Geneva! I woke up (thank goodness) and got right up before I could dream up anything even more disturbing !
They say pregnant dreams mean change, something new....and there should be something really big after a dream like that.
I wonder what it might be?????

Sushi Decadance

2010-03-05T14:48:00.001-05:00

My son took me to Suzuki's for sushi last night. It was beyond wonderful! We got SHUMAI (shrimp dumplings), a flame seared appetizer trio and a big sampler platter....a little hot Saki to share, and sorbet for dessert. It was over the top! We had a slow relaxing dinner and left with a tummy happy sushi glow. I think my favorite was the hamachi nigiri, which is ( I think) a small yellowtail tuna with rice and ...magic.

They also had sea urchin served in a little scoop of the urchin shell, very good, creamy and tastes like....fresh seashore... and so pretty! Makes me want to make some sea urchin beads.

I kept thinking, Noah would love to have a special birthday dinner here. He's a little sushi fan. Not surprising since he's always been a very adventurous diner. He was just a toddler when his uncle Zeph lived with them and would run to the table when he brought spicy Thai Noodles. He'd climb up on his lap and and dig in. I think there's still a little video of him taking a bite, and, with eyes watering exclaim "Spicy Noodles!" and dive for more.

The picture is of one of the new bunnies I made last week. I've been experimenting with different colors since the plain white "chocolate" or dark "chocolate" bunnies were getting to be a little old hat for me. Time to change it up a bit. I like the new bunnies, what do you think?

Countdown to the dream house drawing.....just ten days!!

My Dream Home

2010-03-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but you know the HGTV Dream house? It's going to be mine this year. I'm sure of it! It's the perfect floor plan...it would work absolutely perfectly for me, and my DH has been wanting a place to get away from the winter weather. The decor is a style I could easily live with and there's a great place for a workshop in the garage. I decided it's got to be mine, so anyone else who might have their eye on it, forget about it! It's mine...all mine!!

Blow Me Down

2010-02-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

Isn't that what Pop-Eye used to say? Well, a couple nights ago that's just about what happened to us! A particularly windy and rainy winter storm had been buffeting the coast for a couple days and I thought I'd seen the worost of the wind right on the ocean alraedy. Was I ever wrong! I love the sound of the wind and was lulled to sleep with it, when, about 1:30 in the morning a horrific banging and clattering sound woke me with a start. I couldn't figure out what was causing the sound. I thought perhaps a door had blown open, or a gate was slamming open and shut, when we saw a white ....thing....like a foot wide rithing snake, slamming against the window. Turns out it was the aluminum fascia that had been torn loose, but was still attached at one end. By the time we figured out what it was and devised a plan to try to capture it, it had broken in one of the living room windows and torn up the screens. We're lucky we caught it without it slicing into one of us! The force of that wind was crazy! The good news is that the repairs we had done last summer to prevent leaks on the first floor all held up to days of horizontal wind driven rain....but other places leaked instead, so now we have more repairs to make. Eventually this building will be calulked and sealed up like the Ark and we could bob out to sea with no leaks at all!
On the beady front, I have a bunch of bunny and Easter sets in my Etsy shop. I think I'm going to use that as my vehicle for placing Specials since the web site form has turned out to be a little expensive to use for Specials and I've priced them as low as I can possibly sell them.

Spring is around the corner!

2010-02-21T20:47:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping anyway!! We've had a really unusual month, weather wise, not that I've heard anyone complaining. Almost no snow and the temps have been fairly mild for this time of the year! We had the grandkids here for a few days and took them to the winter festival at the Owl's Head Transportation museum. We brought hats and mittens but didn't need them at all. We went for a Model T ride and saw oxen and draft horses pulling some antique log haulers. There was a blacksmith doing demos and antique snowmobiles and plows. They made Styrofoam planes in a workshop...a very interesting day for all of us! We did lots of fun stuff and today my sis in law and I took them halfway home to meet their mom.
It's great that they enjoy coming to visit as much as they do. I know one of these days visiting grandparents won't be on the top of their list of fun stuff to do so we're enjoying it for all it's worth now!
I was on a roll of bead making till I went to Turner last week. Since the kids were on vacation I spent time with them and not much at the torch....and got chemo out of the way too. Now I have 2 and 1/2 weeks to catch up before it's time to go back for more.
I have a few bunny sculptures finished and made a whole line up of tiny bunnies as well as quite a few other beady goodies. I'll be putting them on Etsy, ebay and possibly some on the website too! Look for them this week if you need some beads.

Early Easter Beads

2010-01-25T10:37:00.000-05:00

Spring is just around the corner (at least tht's what I keep telling myself!) I'm totally enjoying the perfect weather ....perfect for torching anyway. I've been making Easter and spring beads, spent one whole day on making teeny tiny parts for the Easter Basket beads....actually the finished product is more of a sculpture than a wearable bead, though they could be worn if someone was very gentle with them. All the tiny details make them more fragile than a normal bead, but the details are what makes them so special!
I actually thought about the possibility of encasing one in a clear resin egg (like miniature paperweight) I'd really love to be able to encase the whole thing in glass but would need a lot more equipment to be able to do that.
Each tiny bunny, egg and peep are made, kept warm and then slowly and very very carefully added to the basket. Each addition threatens the rest of the goodies already in the basket. The chance of melting too much and ending up with a misshapen mess is great...almost as great as not keeping an area of the sculpture up to temp and having a piece crack. Definitely not relaxing to assemble, but I love a challenge!
I still have a few dog designs to work on and a sock monkey bead to make. I haven't done any of those for ages! Soooo, back to the torch to get more done before heading out for chemo on Wednesday and then hopefully I'll stay thru the weekend to catch up on the family before coming back to Rockland and the torch.

PS.....I have a lot of Easter and a few Valentine beads on Etsy and on the website for sale so check in if you need some beads!

This and That

2010-01-17T22:08:00.001-05:00

Just finished listening to Wolf's Hall. It took me a while to get through it, kept rewinding (or whatever you call it in this digital age) since every time I wasn't concentrating I'd find I missed something important,
Hard to believe that I making happy little bunnies and eggs while I was listening to the behind the scenes plotting that lead to the beginning of the Church of England and all that went along with Henry the VIII's reign. Fascinating times! Thank goodness we're living in a different time!
Now I'm on a historical kick and just checked out The Twentieth Maine, a book about a volunteer Regiment from Maine in the Civil War. I feel smarter just thinking about reading it!
I've been on the torch a lot this week, a real lot! Enjoying every minute of it, doing lots of Easter eggs and bunnies and romantic little hearts and flowers. I'll have some "seconds" of my encased floral focals up for sale, probably in a couple batches, and will be adding spring sets to my Etsy store page.
I'm planning to gather beads from my bead stash to auction for some fund raisers for Haiti Earthquake relief.

I knew I was holding onto those beads for so long for a reason!

Spring Beads

2010-01-12T23:10:00.001-05:00

Working on Spring beads in the middle of a cold snap. Somehow I always seem to have one foot in the next season! I'll have some specials tomorrow if I get the pictures taken. I have some florals and hearts and Bunny sets, along with some stone style focals, and maybe an angel or two.

I'm listening to Wolf's Hall, a historically based novel with Thomas Cromwell as the main character. I've always been fascinated with the era and Henry the 8th's reign. So much intrigue! Have I said how much I love listening to Audiobooks? I got my Mom a little MP3 player and set it up to record audio-books and she's enjoying them too. Wish I'd discovered last year that you can download a lot of audio-books from the library....free.

American Idol started a new season tonight! Yahooo! I still love that show and the try outs are so much fun to watch. It should be fun with Ellen as a judge!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-02T11:29:00.002-05:00

We're in the midst of a big snowstorm that began on New Years eve and is still going. It's a winter wonderland here! I had to share a couple of pictures of the ice and snow. I love it when the pine trees are under a blanket of snow. So beautiful!!
We had a wonderful holiday. The kids are such great ages right now and make the whole season a magical one!
I hope you got everything on your list....I didn't really have anything on my list, but got some unexpected goodies. My daughter and her family got a Clairsonic brush thingy that is amazing. I've already seen a difference in my skin!! My son got an I-robot Dirt Dog shop vacuum (figuring it would work on picking up the threads of stringers that always end up on my floor) It works and is fun to watch. Now I can set it going...plug into my head phones and turn on the torch....and have nice clean floors when I'm finished!

I got a super powered Kitchen Aide mixer for my hubby (and for myself of course) He burned out the motor in the old one years ago when he tried to use it to grind beef for hamburg. His father was a butcher and he decided to get a 1/4 side of beef and butchered it at home. The whole house smelled like a slaughter house and the hamburg was a lot more than the mixer was designed to handle. Needless to say, that won't be happening ever again....though with this mixer and it's super sized motor it should be able to handle the occasional sausage making project, or anything else he decides to do with it....and Zeph can pop upstairs and use it for any of his culinary experiments (yummmm.....I'm hoping that happens a lot!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

2009-12-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

I know, a strange image for a few days before Christmas isn't it? I got an email form my youngest grandson this morning (sent with a little help from my Mom who was babysitting) He wants me to make him this costume for Halloween....nothing like planning a little early! LOL! He'd live in costume 24/7 if he could!
On the beady front, I have some more snow-kid style snowmen ready and more in the kiln. I'll put them up on the website or maybe try them on Etsy or eBay, Some of the "shopping cart" buttons didn't work for people on the last batch of specials on the website. Not a good thing. So far Etsy has always worked for everyone, though there is that pesky registration thing for anyone new to Etsy....maybe Artfire is the answer to easy shopping for new bead specials.
I also have a ton of earthy style focals . Something I love to make and my favorites to wear, but I'm not so great at selling them. Maybe I'll try putting some of them up in small batches.
I'll try to update before Christmas but just in case time gets away from me....I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year!!!

New website

2009-12-16T09:55:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on the new website adding pictures and more beads for sale. I have a big drawer full (and I do men full!) of beads I've made over the past year and a half and just never sorted into sets or gotten posted for sale. I should just divvy them up into a few big batches and sell them as "pot luck beads" .
I hesitate only because there are some really nice ones in there, the one of a kind "gems" that I know I'll regret parting with....even if they are just sitting in a drawer right now.
I'm working on a few custom orders and toying with a design with a Jack Russell dog ....they're so darn cute and ful of personality that I'm afraid I won't be able to capture them in glass. But I'm going to try!
Right now I'm headed back to CMMC in Lewiston for chemo and tonight is the "baby's" Christmas program, I'm thrilled to be able to be there to see it! He's very excited!
I had all three grandsons this weekend and we had a super time. I think I enjoy them ore and more as they get older, though I miss that baby stage. They are turning into such interesting little people!
I'll be back late tomorrow and then I'll have a chance to put up a few more "Snow kid" beads on the Specials page, been in a snowman state of mind at the torch!

Website Link & new specials going up later today

2009-12-07T12:56:00.000-05:00

Thought I better put on a link to the new (a work in progress) Website and also let people know that I should have some specials ready to post later today.

The old dog trying new tricks

2009-11-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

I am trying, once again, a new website, this time on Artspan.
I finally figured out how to put up some new beads for sale there, like my specials page, but so far I can only figure out how to put the beads up in a Beads for sale "Gallery" on the gallery page of the website.
The shopping cart seems to be a really good one and allows a larger picture to be shown of the beads than the website I've been using. One wonderful feature is an easy way to be updated when any new beads are listed for sale. As far as I can tell, you just click on Notify me of new art by this artist link
and fill in your email address and that it! Any time I add new stuff you get an email! Short and sweet!

On the beady side of things I've been making some cute little snow-kids in fun little hats, dainty angels, and angel wing hearts. I got some wonderful glass that has a crystal content and the shine and sparkle is just amazing! I'm having fun at the torch and I think it shows in the beads!
The heart on the right is filled with the new dichro that comes on copper sheets, very different look than regular dichro. I like it a lot!

2009-11-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

I've been in Turner for much longer than I anticipated. I thought I was heading back for a Dr's appointment and a Pet scan, but on Monday the oncologist ordered a whole battery of tests (what fun!) The last one is on Saturday, they really did jump through hoops to schedule them all as soon as possible, so I can't complain.
Of course this trip I figured I'd be back on Monday to pop any beads that might need to be shipped into the mail and didn't bring any with me! I usually pack up all the beads that I have listed in Specials, on EBAY and Etsy, so that they're with me just in case I need to ship any of them. This time I didn't and I have a few that I really should have shipped out earlier this week. Wouldn't you know?

It turned out to be nice to have a little extra time in Turner to spend with my parents and the grandkids. I got to go pumpkin shopping and carved pumpkins with them and went Trick or Treating, went to a ceramony honoring my Dad and some other Veterans, which was really moving. There were two veterans that fought in WWII, several in Vietnam, including my Dad, and some were in Desert Storm and Iraq. Nice to see people honoring the vets for their service. When Dad came home from Vietnam he said they felt like they had to "sneak in by the back door". No thank yous for their service and sacrifice and all they had to endure for their country back then. Thank goodness that has changed and, even if we don't agree with a war, we respect and honor the soldiers.

As for the tests, so far so good! Knock on wood! It looks like I'll stay on the chemo I'm getting now for the next few years, or as long as it keeps working and it doesn't affect my heart function. Need to get back to the gym so I can keep the old ticker going strong!

New Website & Happy Halloween!

2009-10-28T12:39:00.000-04:00

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, I know....it's a little weird. A day that anyone can dress up and become someone else, whatever or whoever they can dream up....can it be anything less than a magical day? Add candy to that, and pumpkins and crisp apples right off the tree...what could be better?

I'm heading back to Turner where my parents, and nearly all the rest of the family resides, for a few days of Halloweeny fun, and a Pet scan and some tests and Oncologist appointments. The timing happened to coincide so I have the fun stuff to look forward to when I'm doing the not so fun medical stuff.

I have a long list of things to ask the DR about, been doing my research about the new trials, new drugs, and the new vaccine that's looking promising.

On the beady front, I've been making Autumn leaves like crazy but they are flying out the door as fast as I cam make them. I'm also doing some Christmas/winter theme beads, started really late on the holiday beads this year and I've been tired so not getting as much quality time on the torch as I had hoped.
I've been working on a new imporved website...I know, you're thinking "what's new about that"? ; P
It's something I've struggled with for years, tried nearly every different program or tool, but I think I finally found one that I can stay with. It's part of a group called Artspan and my own site is http://www.lezlieb.com/
I love the clean simple lines and the elegant slide show features. Artsapn was developed for artists so their formats are geared to showing lots of images, which, after all, is what's important for beads or jewelry or any sort of art.
My "home page" is still blank and I have lots of images to upload and work to do on the rest of it. Something to keep me busy for the next few...months! LOL!
I hope to put up a lot of the old images of different styles of beads I've made over the years in some glaaery pages and the format for Sales looks like it will allow me to use large images (my recent web page only allowed tiny images on the "shopping cart page, something I really didn't like) I know when I'm shopping I like to see a big picture so I know exactly what I'm buying. If I can just see a tiny thumbnail image then I usually pass.

Brass Compass

2009-10-21T14:41:00.000-04:00

It's a gorgeous fall day today, bright and sunny, Indian summer is here! We decided it was the perfect morning to take a walk along the harbor, enjoy the views and salty air and sun and....ended up at the Brass Compass to try their Lonster Club for an early lunch.
Ever since Bobby Flay was here in Rockland for a Lobster Club "Throw Down" and our local breakfast/lunch cafe won, we've been wanting to try the winning sandwich. I woke up this morning with a craving for "lobstah" aand decided this was the day! It was really good, but I have to admit that I prefer a simply plain lobstah roll.
The bread was just like my grandmothers, simple homemade white water based bread, nothing fancy, just big thick slices. Made me think of all the mornings I used to sit down with Gram and have a hot cup of tea (Teatly or Salada, nothing fancy) with a thick slice of her homemade toast, slathered with salty dairy butter and the strawberry, or strawberry rubarb jelly. that she made every summer.
Hummm...makes me wonder what my grand kids will remember about breakfast with Nana....since I rarely cook any more. We do have Jingle Bell Waffles when they sleep over when I'm at my parnets. My Dad has turned into the family waffle chef so he makes them waffles and I add the Jingle Bell fixins. Just peppermint striped chocolate chips and butter and syrup. It's really a tasty combo (according to the kids)
I also keep horrible sugar cereal like Count Chocula and Cocoa Crisps and even those cereal straws every once in a while. Like adding frosting to cereal and calling it breakfast! LOL! I was the sugar and additive police when my own kids were growing up, but I figure, what the heck, they don't have breakfast here very often so I can spoil them with forbidden treats.
We also make rice pudding for breakfast, like the stuff in the Poky little Puppy book, sprinkle with cinnamon and delicious.
I guess we do have our own special things they'll remember, just different from my memories of breakfast with my Grandmother.

Fall is here!

2009-10-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

It's fall for sure! I've been so busy I've neglected the blog terribly. I went back for chemo and then spent the weekend so I could make it to the grandkids games, soccer and football. It was pretty cold, but exciting to watch them play! They are really fun to watch now that they "get" the fundamentals of the games!
It was also great to see the new deck on my parents house! It's huge and it's going to be such a nicespot for grilling and for morning coffee on nice summer days. Dad will probably swear at it a lot this winter when it needs to be shoveled but I hope it's worth the trouble.

As soon as we got back I had "paperwork" to finish to make the final date for taxes (filed an extension this year since I was too wiped out from chemo and surgery to make the April 15th deadline last year)
Even the delayed deadlines eventually come sneaking up on us!! The good news is that it's all finished and I have a lot done for this coming April. Have I said how much I hate the paperwork end of making beads?

On the bead front, I've been busy making Autumn leaves and veggie beads, in fact I just posted a new auction of harvest veggies on eBay with 25 percent of the final bid going to Susan G Komen for the Cure. Third one this month! I'm hoping to get in a few more fund-raising auctions during October since it's breast cancer awareness month.

2009-10-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

I just saw this ...Sylvie, a fellow beader posted it on Facebook and I just had to share it. It's a Saturday Night Live skit just waiting to be produced.....or maybe it really is a spoof. Can you believe people actually waering something like this? Winkers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyYhdY-A_Hs

2009-09-29T03:49:00.000-04:00

I've been making more Halloween/fall beads, doing a few special requests and working on metal. Actually doing more research and practice than anything productive, so far at least.
I did manage to solder together a handy dandy tool that I use to make the flat disks. I had used a ton of superglue before and it would hold together through a few torch sessions before the glue gave out. I am so totally proud of myself and my sturdy soldered tool!
To put my new found "expertise" into perspective, I discovered this on one of the jewelry forums I've been reading. Discovered in a recently plowed field by a guy with a metal detector. A huge hord of gold and gemstone sword parts, evidently buried in the 8th century. Can you just imagine a plow raking over all this ancient art and mixing it up in the mud? It was just discovered this summer. Amazing!! How did they make such detailed and beautiful work way back then without the tools and resources we have today? It boggles my mind!
It's being called the

Staffordshire Hoard

Here's another amazing collection of ancient artifacts...this one has some incredible workmanship and lots of remnants of everyday things

Sutton Hoo collection at the British Museum

And here's my latest creation in silver: rather humbling after seeing the intricate work the ancient artists accomplished! I'm still proud and pleased though.
I hand cut the silver, hammered it for texture, cut the hole, shaped it in a dapping block, did the same for the smaller circle, made the balled silver pin and soldered the whole shee-bang together then polished it up, trying to leave a bit of the hammered look. It took me a crazy amount of time to do it and so far it doesn't have a mate. It was a fun practice piece though!

A new book with some of my beads! !

2009-09-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

I just got a copy of a new book that used some of my beads in a couple of the projects!! Exciting to see some of my "babies" in print, and a real honor that the author to use them!! !

The name of the book is Elegant Knotted Jewelry (techniques and projects using Maedeup) by Becky Meverden. She's been living in Korea and learning traditional knotting techniques and wrote the book to share the art with us Westerners. Now I want to try some of the projects in the book! One more thing to practice!

Speaking of practice, I worked on a trial bracelet and pendant using copper and a little nickle silver, and some of the spiral glass disks I made last month. I used tube riveting, and a little soldering, and a multitude of cutting and hole punching techniques (not to mention tons of filing and sanding)
It's just practice but I really enjoyed it and plan to do more, honing my metal-smithing skills as I go. Eventually I'll move into more silver as I get better, but am practicing on the cheaper stuff...and besides I love copper and bronze and some of the more "rustic" metals!

What do you think? Should I give up and go back to just melting glass? I figure I can "play" a day a week with metal and then I'm even more eager to get to the torch and make beads!

Wedding....flowers and cakes and fun!

2009-09-16T10:38:00.000-04:00

The wedding is over and it was fantastic! My goal was to make sure the bouquets were as pretty as I could make them and all three grandsons were accounted for...with no injuries...by the end of the weekend. My daughter and son-in-law had their hands full being in the wedding party, and in my daughter's case, she made the wedding cake and played the flute as people arrived and waited for the bride to come down the aisle. It was held lakeside near Rangely lake in Northwestern Maine, a gorgeous spot, and, since most of the bride and grooms family and friends came from across the country, they made a weekdend of the affair, renting a whole cabin site for the young people and a few big cabins in quieter locations for the older set. I took the grandsons to the quieter spot, but had to drag the two oldest from the reception. They had a ball and danced their little hearts out! The band was great! They're good friends of my daughter and son-in-law, and really outdid themselves! The bride and groom are beautiful people inside and out (actually the whole wedding party was really photogenic) , and my youngest brother was the photographer....the pictures are simply

amazing! The cake was delicious too, totally made from scratch, chocolate with chocolate ganache filling for one layer and one with home made strawberry filling
It was one of those weddings that was a total celebration, fun and meaningful!
Today I'm going to chemo in the afternoon and then back to Rockland for a couple weeks to do house stuff and get back to beads, catch up on shipping and email, and relax a bit.

Busy Week!

2009-09-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

While I was rummaging through old photo files I discovered some that I love ...old favorites made many years ago. It was fun walking down memory lane and I thought I'd share a few here.

Working on more harvest beads has been my main focus so far this week, with a little foray into some focals with a dichro wrap and some organic stone style focals.
I have a few new sets for Specials and hope to get them listed before I take off for a wedding weekend on Friday morning. My daughter's sis in law is getting married in Rangely, a big lake in Northwestern Maine. I've never been to that part of the state before, believe it or not! My daughter is making the wedding cake, (she's so talented!) a pirate them grooms cake (her hubby is doing some of that one to take a little of the load, and he's super creative so it'll be fun to see what he does) She's also playing flute before the ceramony, and I think during the beginning of the reception. My son-in law is going to be dudded up in a tux and in the wedding party. That leaves three little boys who'll need someone not too involved with the wedding to keep track of them ...my job! They're quite excited and have matching outfits, including neckties, a big deal for them. They're mostly excited about the mini corn dogs that are on the menu.
Since I have chemo on Wednesday I'll be out of town till Wednesday night, so there won't be much going on bead-wise till I get back.

Customer Appreciation

2009-09-07T08:38:00.000-04:00

I've had a "Freebie" bead giveaway going on for several years. Actually I tend to pop in an extra bead or two with nearly every set I sell anyway.
Truth be told, if I had unlimited funds I'd still make beads and just use them for fundraising for good causes and random give-aways.
With the new location and look of the website, name change and all that, I think it's a good time to change up the method of my Freebie drawings as well. I've been pretty lax about the drawings in the past year, but really intend to get back to a better schedule.
I think instead of just drawing, using the emails I get from people who cast votes for the website, I'll add the people who bought beads during the drawing time. It seems more fair, and might prompt me to stick to at least a once a month drawing from now on.
This month it's going to be a little set of harvest veggies!
On a personal note, I had all three grandkids over the weekend and we had a great time, shopping for a toy for each, getting a movie...first time I've tried using "The Red Box" to rent a movie. The kids walked me through the process and it was really easy, and cheap! They loved picking out what they wanted , something about kids and a big machine you put money in....and something ops out.
We went mini golfing and their uncle Zeph brought up some pumpkin lobster soup to sample....yummo! They practically licked their bowls! Me too! It's beyond heavenly!

New Website, new name

2009-09-02T19:52:00.000-04:00

Well, not actually a new name but my own name. Canterbury Keepsakes made sense when I lived in Canterbury NH but not so much now I'm back in Maine. One thing that will stay the same no matter what is my name so I decided to try it out and got a new web address. I still have the old one, so it;s still experimental. I can always go back if the response isn't favorable.
I already sold one Special from the new page so that's a good omen!
Almost forgot ....the new website is http://www.lezliebeads.com/ Lezlie Belanger Beads & Jewelry
I'm still playing around with the web site design but so far I love the shopping cart/catalog page feature. It makes it so easy to add new items!

On a personal note, my DH bought some scallops at Jesse's Seafood Market tonight (the best place to get locally caught fish and seafood) and made the best seared scallops and green beans from a Jacques Pepin recipe. Simply heavenly! The weather has been cool and sunny, just beautiful. The harbor is filled with sailboats, and the breeze off the water is so salty and refreshing! I've been making lambs, yarn balls, cupcakes and the tiniest ice cream cone beads imaginable....it's perfect torching weather! Life is good!

Web Site headaches

2009-08-30T19:38:00.000-04:00

I tried making some changes to the web site and really messed it up big time. I got up bright and early this morning to work on fixing itand the internet connection went down again...then the cable went out. Evidently the whole area was down for most of the day.
I think I got the links working again (I hope) and put picture links to the current auctions back on the home page. If you see anything there that needs fixing please let me know!

Here's a picture of a "Fat Cat" that I did a couple weeks ago. Still trying to decide if I should put him up for sale or not. He needs a walking stick or a cane to go with his Top Hat and his attitude.

2009-08-30T19:26:00.000-04:00

I think I finally got the home page of my website back up and working.....more or less. I'm not nearly finished yet but at least the links all work properly (I hope)
I put a few auctions up, a new Roly Poly Santa, a harvest set of veggies and a set of black and clear hollows.
Here's a silly cat I did a couple weeks ago but haven't decided if I should put him up for sale yet or not. He has an attitude and looks like he needs a cane or walking stick to go with his top hat.

New Specials are up!

2009-08-23T02:45:00.000-04:00

I just got the new Bead Specials Posted!! I don't know if the web pag will all work, change can be a struggle and this sure was.
There's lots of beads, mostly Halloween and Winter themed.
It's almost 3 AM so I'll send out the Specials Mailing list tomorrow when my mind is a little less foggy. Too much time at the computer learning new HTML code and techniques. I'm a little slow but I was determined to get those Specials up!

2009-08-22T19:47:00.000-04:00

In the past few days I ran into a big problem with my internet connection, frustrating!!! During which I was trying out a couple new Web design programs....even more frustrating! I think I finally found something that'll work and it's free. It's a new thing by Mozilla (the people who make Firefox) and it combines a browser, much like Firefox, with a web composing element that switches between an HTML and a "What you see if what you get" sort of program.
I should have some specials up soon,just have to run to Staples with my Dad who loved my little Dell netbook and wants to get one...NOW! LOL!

Crazy Kiwi ...creativity takes a wierd turn

2009-08-18T17:06:00.001-04:00

It's been hot hot hot here! Can you believe that I can complain about heat after the cold winter spring and ...up till now, summer, we've had in this part of the country? Last week we were wearing sweaters and saying it felt like fall already.
I whimped out and hauled the portable airconditiong unit that's been in it's shipping box, unopened in the back of the closet for the last two summers.

I'm sitting right in front of it packing up the beads that I should have shipped out yesterday.
I made just two beads yesterday before I gave up. I did a crazy Kiwi (or could it be an olive?) wearing a fake nose moustache, eyebrows and glasses a-la- Groucho Marx. Must have been the heat getting to me! It's a strange bead but I love it! It's one of those beads that makes me smile, bizarre and a little silly. An example of what can happen to my creativity when I'm overheated I guess!
I also did a Sylvester Tab with the same face on each side. It's gotta be the heat getting to me. Neiter one is like my usual beads!

There should be Specials tomorrow. I have the pictures and just need to get the HTML finished so I can post them on the website.

2009-08-18T17:06:00.000-04:00

It's been hot hot hot here! Can you believe that I can complain about heat after the cold

Sunday, Aug 16

2009-08-16T10:13:00.000-04:00

This little Woodland Santa is one of my new Roly Poly Series, one of my favorites!! He's for sale on EBAY right now.

I'm still getting used to this blog site, so far it seems easy to use with a small learning curve.
I should have some new beads ready for Specials soon, but am having camera problems (if it's not one thing it's another!) It may be time to invest in a new one but first I'll check with my photographer brother and see if he might have a camera that would work for bead photos that he would like to sell. He has some awesome cameras, though I doubt any of them are the point and shoot kind that I could master easily.

It was too hot yesterday to torch much so I fiddled with the web site and a new web site program, one that is a "what you see is what you get" type. I'm so used to doing it the old fashioned HTML way that I felt a little out of control. I'm not certain I'll keep the new one, but it should load up quickly. I'd love to hear what people think about it.
Should I keep it or go back to the old style?

2009-08-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

Hi,
I decided to try using one of the "blog" websites for my blog instead of putting it on my website, where it's been since the beginning.
My "blogging" started years ago as a little update, mostly for family after my parents 50th wedding anniversary. We have a rather large and far flung family and the relatives enjoyed seeing what was happening.
Over the years I found that there's something cathartic about writing, so my blog is sometimes a sort of journal, though my main intent is to keep my bead customers and fellow beadmakers updated with what I'm doing and thinking and the direction my creativity is taking me.
It's also great to let anyone interested know when new beads are available.

I'll be putting up pictures and hopefully regular post, and will post whenever I have new beads so if you subscribe you'll know when there are new bead specials!