Saturday was the annual recognition of small businesses everywhere. To celebrate, my local bead store (Fat Cat Beads) had a raffle for door prizes and offered a huge sale on everything from kits to precious stones. I was there for the day. Besides hanging out at my favorite bead-n-bitching locale here in town, I offered to make samples of a few kits, too. Truth be told: I needed the break. I have a lot on my mind and a ton of writing to do. Now that the weather has cooled off, I don’t need to hide in my cave anymore: I am planning on making great use out of my office.

But I digress. The first picture you see here is the Lotus Ring. This took me about a half an hour to make. The time-consuming part, is to decipher the instructions and figure out your ring size.

The second picture you see here is the Sunburst Ring. This ring took me about an hour to make; you can see from the close-up the reinforced stitches as I weaved back and forth through the transparent crystals.

I started (and stopped) two other bracelets that were a lot more stitching oriented. Those require counting and focus, so I didn’t finish them. This last one is my favorite of the day. Citrine gemstones were on sale, so I picked up these and made a bracelet with Size 6 Clear Crystal Japanese beads. These are often used as filler in between other beads or in a beginner’s kit of beaded kumihimo. I love the texture of this one and — better yet — it’s supposed to signify “focus.” Whether or not that’s the case. . . Well, the sentiment is a nice one, anyway, and it feels good to wear natural stone.

I’m also working on some original designs, homemade Pandora beads, and a “few” holiday-related gifts. No pics until AFTER the holly-days, ’cause that’d just be rude! (Apologies for the camera phone blurry-ness, by the way. I’ll probably make some rings for myself and upload pics after the calendar new year along with the others.)

Mood: Back hurty.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One with the potential for several more.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: I lifted a needle and thread. That should count…
In My Ears: The dishwasher.
Game Last Played: Dragon Age: Origins
Movie Last Viewed: Spiderman the new one.
Latest Artistic Project: In progress!
Latest Release: “Dig” The Lovecraft eZine Issue No. 19