Walking in a winter wonderland

Things have been busy with school for me.  So with this being my winter break I can finally catch up on crafting and gift making before the holidays.  The snow has been falling finally. I was begining to wonder where it was.  Here is a picture taken from my back porch.

New Beads -- Southwestern Sunset focal and set

I haven't had much time to torch the last week as it is getting close to time for me to start my second year of school for my business degree.  But everything came to a screeching halt Sunday when I rolled my ankle.  I did a pretty good number on it as it is now black and blue.  Thank God for Ace bandages or I would still be stuck in the house.  Since my ankle slowed me down however, I was finally able to get some torch time in.  Here are my two latest sets that I will be putting up on Ebay tonight. (username Caprivat).  Also, I just finished lowering my prices on everything currently listed on Etsy, so take a look there too.  Have a great weekend!

New Beads for sale

I have several beads listed on Ebay tonight:
http://shop.ebay.com/caprivat/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

Here is a picture of one set:

Mars is in the house of ..well something....

Why am I up? So my husband wakes me with "hey come see this!" what?? It's one am!!! "you gotta come see this! Mars is in the sky!" what? "Mars, it's here, and it won't be here for another 200 blah blah blah something years" grumbles ok show me... "there look!" where? "there!" That? "no that's a star" that??? "no that's another star!" well that then? "NO, that's a plane!!!" fine where is it??? "there see, right there, that little light!!!!!" What the hell, that? You woke me for that? I was more excited to see the plane! Jeeze wake me when there's coffee! grumble grumble grumble... Night everyone.....zzzzz.....

Treasure Hunting at the Thrift Store

Ok, I have to admit it.  I am a Thrift Store junkie!  I love to dig through Goodwill or the Salvation Army for gently used treasures.  I have made several fun discoveries like brand-new Ferragamo shoes for 5$, A Tommy Hilfiger dress for $4, and Eddie Bauer and Abercrombie & Fitch sweaters for $4 each (with new tags still on it).  No one would realize I didn't pay top dollar for these things unless I confessed.  I also admit to having some gorgeous pieces of Spode, Enesco and Bradford Exchange sitting on my shelves.    I have been happily surprised to find teenagers roaming the racks looking for name brands in the jeans and dresses.  Everyone is this economy should at least consider checking out their local thrift stores these days.  If you see me there, say HI don't be shy!

My Enesco Bunny

How do you find your inspiration?

I thought I would share my little pink book with everyone today.  I am always looking for inspiration in the things around me, and sometimes that just doesn't seem to help.  So one day I started my little pink book.  I took a blank journal and some old magazines and started cutting out pictures that caught my eye.  Some pages I arranged by color, some by type (like flowers).  But, mostly I just splashed things on in random order.  Later I take my book and right down a few words in the blank spaces about what each picture makes my feel or think about.  Maybe even jot down some beading ideas in the margins.  Now I find that when the artistic magic just isn't flowing, I sit down and look over my little pink book and get my spark back.
Here you will see just a couple of the pages inside:

Digital Camera Play

I decided it was time I figure out what my digital camera can actually do. You know, all those gazillion of settings that always overwhelm a person. I took a hard look at the pictures I had been taking of my beads and crafts and realized that I could really improve on the quality. After reading a lot, and messing around with settings, I realized that I actually enjoy taking pictures. I practiced and I have to say that my camera is a lot more impressive than I thought it was. Sorry little camera, guess it was pilot error after all.



On another note: This week the kids will be starting school, which means I have 2 weeks until I start my last year of college. I think I will spend the next weeks organizing my craft areas. Take alook at my glass making area, what a mess. Messy areas make for a messy mind, right? I feel overwhelmed at the prospect of cleaning, but I think I can do it. Have a great week all, enjoy the quiet house while the kids are at school everyone!

New Beads

I just listed a beautiful new bead set on ebay, username caprivat. Take a look

Organic Gardening

I spent most of the day working on my new site on Organic gardening. Still have lots to do and more pages to add, but it's a start. Here it is: http://organicgardenguru.info
I just watched a oldie VHS called The Wraith starring Charlie Sheen, anybody remember this one? Made around 1986 and still one of my all-time favorite movies. Hugs* http://christyldesigns.com

Inside the mind of an artist

Ever want to find out how an artist thinks? Sitting at my desk trying to pick bead colors this is how it goes: Black and white- too plain, Red and white -- stuck as patriotic or valentine looking, how about blue/green -- eeh too much like the ocean, turquoise/ivory -- not feeling like southwest today, red/orange -- too hot, makes me feel like sweating, still not feeling it... pink/blue--too babyish.....pink/purple --- too girlie.... getting closer though... Finally I can land in the pink zone. So here is the picture of part of my beadmaking effort. And yes this is what most artists go through everyday trying to decide on colors for projects and that's not even including styles, tools to use, techniques, don't get me started there.. Have a good day everyone!

Time to get started!

Decided to dust off my blog and start writing again. Only 2 more weeks til the kids start school, whew. I can't believe all the stuff they need this year. Only 10 and 13 and they need flashdrives and scientific calculators each, jeeze I didn't need most of these things until college. My 13 year old was actually helping me with my college algebra a little last year. Sigh! when did these kids get so smart, cause they are making me feel dumb! Anyway, polished off me website this past week and started to overhaul it. I added links, sales, and projects. I am hoping to add several lampworking tutorials in the next few weeks too. http://christyldesigns.com
Also, I am working on a new website about my daughter's adhd. http://livingwithadhdchildren.com this is a work in progress so I will be adding more content to it soon. Lastly, I start my last year of my asst degree next month. Busy busy busy. More soon, hugs* ChristyL