ZooHeart Babies!

November 20th ~ I have been having so much fun lately! I was inspired to make these ZooHeart babies by my latest custom order.
They are each on sale for $15, e-mail me if you want to snag one. I won't be posting them in the store since I will be taking them to the show on the 2nd and 3rd of December.

The Longneck and the Sharpteeth (the two beads done in the nile green color) are free-standing! The present goes the Mr. Elephant, I accidentally used the gray stringer for my "wasgoingtobeChristmaspresent" and it won't match anything now!
Ha, ha, I thought something seemed strange as I was making it and it wasn't till the very last that I figured it out. I wear purple-lensed glasses to protect my eyes from the bright flame and to block out some of the orange flame color so I can see the beads when I am working on them. The problem is that I have such a mess on my work bench that I grabbed the light gray instead of white! I have trouble with the ivory and the light purples too because of the purple lense.

November 18 ~ Tomorrow, the 19th, is Nate's 4th birthday! We are celebrating tonight with my sister's family because her son, Peyton, has a birthday tomorrow too. It's also my father-in-law's birthday too! We like this time of year, Birthdays are a great way to start off the holidays!

Nate and Peyton had a great time at the restaurant we went to, they especially loved it when the waiters all sang their birthday song! Afterwards the boys opened presents at my house. Nate was quite rude however when he opened the red gift to find three horses inside. His exact words were, "Ponies! I hate ponies!" We all laughed at his complete honesty! My initial thought was that he sure isn't a day older than 4, or he might have acquired some tact... I hope :)

November 15th, 2005 ~ Here is some of the latest here. Saturday we went to BSof A's Scout-o-Rama and the boys had a great time!

I also made this adorable bracelet recently to bring in the holiday cheer!

Maria is gleefully holding her precious Christmas bracelet as she dances in circles (she couldn't hold still and was too close for a good picture).

Monday, November 7th ~ Saturday's bead show at the MAC was great! I had a good time making a frog on a pink bead for a demonstration and the weather was not to shabby. I hope some of you were able to make it. The week has begun here and I am feverishly working on my winter beads. I am participating in a show and sale on December 2nd and 3rd, so I need to have plenty of things to choose from. If you see anything you like here, chances are I will be taking it to the sale and it won't be available after the 1st - you better get your favorites while they last! Have a great week!

Friday, November 4th ~ Here's a couple new things! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Thursday, November 3rd ~ I made some more beads today! I hope to have them up tomorrow, so check back soon. Maria

November 2nd, 2005 ~ I'm finally posting our Trick-or-treating pictures, this was the best year yet at our house. The kids were just the right age to enjoy it thoroughly and they didn't get too tired before feeling satisfied with their loot!


Maria is checking out dads funky wig and you can see in the picture below she's not too happy about this strange guy holding her!


It didn't take long for Maria to appreciate the value of her bucket of candy, she loved the suckers the best.

x z
Will the Jedi Master, Maria the sweetest Candy Corn, and Nate the Ninja!

Saturday, October 29th ~ Today was a BUSY day! We had the other block wall put up, Travis helped a couple families organize their moves from their homes, I had to help clean the church (the Young Women were in charge this Saturday), then I helped in the face painting booth at Will's school carnival. Travis came later when I was finished and brought the kids with him. We didn't get to stay too long thought because at 1:00 Will had his soccer game and Nate's was at 2:00! After that we dropped by my brother's home because it was Zane's birthday party at 2:00, we were late but it all worked out. Last of all we went to the church for chillie and the Trunk-or-treat! Whew!

Wednesday, October 26th ~ My sister, Janie, and I took a workshop this past weekend with Kim Fields from North Fire Designs. She was well worth the money and effort! Not only was she fun and great to work with, she had some awesome things to teach me that I might never have figured out without her instruction. I can't wait to make some floral beads for you with my new skills!

I don't have my encased floral to show you, it was annealing in the kiln when I had to leave. I will make some more when I am feeling better! We all ended up with a cold of some sort this week :(

Monday, October 17th ~ We went to the Phoenix Zoo this last weekend! They have a new Endangered Species Carousel now and so we had to ride it!

Look at Maria's worried face below! She was a little nervous so I had to ride with her to calm her down!

We ended up running into my brother, Bruce, and his family at the end of our visit! It seemed like a much more fun party with cousins to play with. The kids are all checking out the turtles in the lake below.

10/14/2005 ~ The outer wall is up, no more floppy wood fence!

Friday, October 7th >afternoon~ I just had to show you this last picture of Maria Hannah, A.K.A. "BabyZilla."

Now this is what I call product quality-testing at it's best! If you look in her mouth you can see one of the three beads she is trying to eat, it's a frankenstein bead and I can't blame her for eating the candy corn and heart bead (they do look yummy). I came across her sitting on my desk "enjoying" today's new beads that I had just taken pictures of and placed in that Tupperware bowl for safe keeping. I was only outside for 2 minutes, taking pictures of the construction for you guys when I found her. I was glad to have the camera handy!

MariaTheBeadEater! You can see Frankie (in her teeth) a little better in this picture!

Friday, October 7th ~ Will and Nate are really into the costume thing these days. I need to run to the cloth store and get the material to make their Halloween costumes for real. I can't wait to make them so they can enjoy them all month long!

There is lots going on with the backyard renovation this weekend. Travis is removing some tree stumps and roots to make way for the new block wall. Apparently that tree and its sprouted saplings were some of the major support for the wooden fence. Now that those have been cut down and Travis bumped into one of the posts with the tractor, it has basically fallen down! I feel a little vulnerable now that it's all floppy. You can see the 2x4s holding it up!

On Saturday Travis and my two older brothers jack-hammered all this out of the Jacuzzi! We don't have the tractor here any more, so it's all muscle! I think it might sit there until it's time for sprinklers and grass... there's too much other stuff to do around here!

There's tons of other projects that Travis is working on too, his job never ends!

Here's the Jacuzzi! You can see the first step, retro-blue tiles! I think that's actually coming back in style! Ha, ha! He still has to make the area grade for the concrete. If you look hard to the upper right, you can see where Travis ran over my electric lines and busted them. The line wasn't buried as deep as it should have been.

Here's a close-up of the investigations on how to repair the line. Now Travis has to redo the whole thing and that means starting at the beadery and taking it to the breaker box. I can tell he is not excited about that one!
I'll be glad when the patio is finished and we can think about painting! Look how old the beadery looks, I hadn't paid much attention since this area has been a rock pit for the last year. Well, heck, it's what happens on the inside that counts anyway! Right?! Paint will have to wait for a tax refund! :)

I temporarily fixed my electrical problem in the beadery and made a few beads yesterday. Travis bought me an electric plug strip so I can plug my kiln, oxygen, vent, and a small lamp into that and run an extension cord to my bedroom! It works well during the day, but it needs a bit more light at night. I hope to have some pictures up this afternoon of the few things I made during the short 1 1/2 hours I had while Maria was sleeping and Will and Nate were at school.

Have a great day and weekend!

Friday, October 7th ~ Sold my things on eBay, accept for my Pride and Joy set. I think everything is going to a good home.

Monday, October 3rd ~ Well, my tator beads sold on eBay, but I chose to re-list the bracelet at a lower price to see if it sells. If it doesn't sell, I'll keep it for myself. I also listed a my Pride and Joy set of beads and my Tea Time focal... hope some of you enjoy them! Have a great day! Maria

Saturday, October 1st ~ eBay items are posted and the auction ends Monday! I'm afraid I may have priced them a little hight for eBay, but I am really attatched to them and I justified my actions by listing the prices lower than my store retail prices. Besides, I wouldn't mind it too much if I was stuck with them in the end, I would love to have them for my own jewelry and everyone else can "get their own tots!" :) I do still kind of hope someone finds value in them, they are just too cute!

Friday, September 30th, 2005 ~ It has been a very busy few days, and I wish I could say it was spent making beads! Quite the contrary, there was even a mishap today that proves detrimental to my bead making for the next week or so. :( We are working on our backyard landscape and it has been a huge task. I wish I was more help, but I am not much more than the residential nag and water-girl. I'd be jack-hammering if I weren't 6 1/2 months pregnant! We invited some of the boys from church to first rip out all our brick patio last weekend and that was a great success thanks to their many hands! This week Travis had to rent a bulldozer/dump tractor and trailer to get the rest of the job done. The first day he removed a rather large slab of concrete at the east end of the yard (there is way more than necessary on that side of the house) and today's task was the old Jacuzzi that takes up all of the covered porch area. It lays between the house and the beadery and for this last year has consisted of pool decking around a hole full of rubble that was placed there when I, the residential nag, made Travis fill in the so-called child "deathtrap." Next, we are getting a block wall for the west and east sides of our house and then comes our new concrete patio!!! I can hardly wait because then we can run sprinklers and plant grass just in time for Arizona's finest weather!

I mentioned a "mishap," while tearing out pool decking, Travis was a little over zealous and cleared a deeper path of dirt in that area and discovered the electrical wiring that feeds power to the beadery :O Now I have no lights to work by. :( My only hope is that Travis will find some time in the next week or so to fix it. Here are some pictures of the demolition.

There is only a little piece of the brick patio left in front of the sliding back doors, but it basically encompassed the majority of the picture! No room for kids to play hardly!! We have other

The Beadery has a new panel of siding up and still needs trim and paint from where the previous owners of the house had build a stucco wall that took up that area and extended out, partly across the covered patio. There was another wall opposite as well and then they had a little gate in between. You can't see any of the work that is hidden in the shadows and below ground level that remains to be done. Today was quite productive though, Travis took all the deck out with the tractor and now only has the walls of the Jacuzzi to jackhammer out. Easier said than done!

Nate and Will looked so adorable that I had to get a picture of them playing Legos so nicely together! Besides I didn't want to be accused of never putting any pictures of them up and have a billion of Maria!

Here are some pictures from today, she brought her box of shoes from her closet so she could dress up! She loves shoes and always asks to put them on, it is mostly cute. Her other thing is her blankie, she loves to take it everywhere and suck on her two middle fingers! It's adorable, so I posed her with it so I could take pictures for my mom to watercolor a painting of Maria sucking her fingers and loving her blanket.

September 8, 2005 ~ Well here's what I've been up to lately! I took pictures yesterday and am working on getting them put on the site today. I hope you find something you like... there are so many cute things!

Nate was sick with the puking flu yesterday, I think it's little Maria's turn today. Only my second day teaching and I had to switch preschool days with a friend! I hope Will doesn't get sick at school, he would be pretty embarrassed. I gave him the "if you have to puke, don't wait for the teacher to see you raising your hand for permission" speech. He was in denial that he would ever have to run out the door to vomit, and I hope he never does.

Hope you don't get the flu this fine week! Have a good one, Maria

Thursday, September 1st ~ I just finished reading the latest update on my favorite lampwork artists website. She lives just 50 miles outside of New Orleans. Kim Neeley, from Bluff Road Art Glass, really shed some light on the realistic nature of the crisis surrounding Hurricane Katrina. It made me think about how unprepared I am for an emergency. I went through this feeling of desperation a couple years ago when there were some pretty horrific fires going on in northern Arizona. I even had a dream that aliens had invaded Earth and gave us 30 minutes to pack supplies and evacuate on their ships. I spent 15 minutes of the time just trying to get home through the shadows to my baby! Then I only remember grabbing a duffle bag full of diapers for the trip! It was awful feeling so desperate and that was only pretend! I can't imagine how desperate every homeless, hopeless person suffering that disaster must feel right now. My heart and thoughts go to them and I will feel a lot more grateful for my blessings now too, I have it pretty nice here.

Well, on that note, I think I feel like making some beads too in an effort to escape reality. All the kids are napping, snug in their beds thankfully. I wish you all well and safe at this time.

Tuesday, August 30 ~ Good afternoon everyone! I hope your week is going well so far. Mine started out pretty great since I had some fun playtime on the torch Sunday. I made a few fabulous things, but the items I make Sundays are not ever for sale... it's a Sabbath Day thing. I probably shouldn't even go to the torch then, but it is often the only time I can make beads during the daylight hour since my husband is around to manage the kids. I'm just so addicted that I've justified my bead making on Sundays as long as it's not for profit. I feel even better if I call it "service," since that's when I make my son's teacher-gifts and other gifts of gratitude for my family and friends. I made some Halloween beads and a few Christmas snowmen too! Here's a set I made for my sister, Vicki. Thanks for all your help and advice these last few months, Vick!

August 24th, 10:30pm ~ Hey all! I have this totally funky set of beads that happens to be spoken for already, it's reputation preceded itself, but you've got to check it out! I've been working on it for quite some time, and I plan to create some other similar sets as well. This movie cracks me up!!! I have to put my plug in for the comentary... if you haven't watched it with the comentary yet, then do it already! It makes all the difference. So here it is, inspired by our favorite stupid movie of all time....

Napolean Dynomite!

"Gimmie some a yer tots, Napolean!"

Wednesday, August 17th ~ Nate started preschool yesterday and enjoyed it for the most part. When they played letter bingo he was complaining and after finding out that they would be playing that every time he exclaimed, "Well, I'm never coming back then." Little stinker! He cracks me up some times. I'm not worried about him going back, he is pretty resilient. Here's a picture of the little guy...

I promise I have been working on putting the latest items in the store, but my cox Internet has been acting up these past two days! It's driving me nuts and I would send a strong-worded e-mail to them but.... my Internet is down!!! I'm kidding, though I have been tempted to call. You know, all this technology talk is reminding me of how times have changed so much for us in the last 30 years. Will and Nate have been playing pretend a lot lately and I found it odd that I kept hearing a certain phrase whenever they had to stop playing for a moment. Remember how it was always, "Time Out!"? Well now, thanks to all those wonderful video games, it's "Pause The Game!" I just think it's so funny and on that note I will leave now so I can upload this to the site before good ol' cox changes it's mind and decides to take a coffee break!

Have a good one! ~ Maria

Monday, August 15th ~ Today is the first day of school! Will is in kindergarten this year and glad he doesn't have to go all day just yet! Here's a picture of the bunch ~

~ the classic first day of school picture. Nate starts preschool tomorrow, a bunch of us neighborhood mothers are trading weeks teaching!

Saturday, August 13th ~ Hi everyone! I am so swamped this weekend, but I had some adorable beads I wanted to show you... So here is a preview and I will post them in the store on Monday. I hope you like them as much as I do!

These kilt pins are one of the latest ideas here at SnozberryBeads. Super cute and yours free with each of these mini-sets. These silver plated kilt pins are available individually for $1 each. The mini-sets are $20 a set, the little FrankiePals are $14, the individual CandyCorn is $5, the FunkyFocal is $10 (wound on a 3/32 mandrel and will fit on a leather necklace too!), and the spacers are $8 a color set.

This is a picture of the backside of the beads, you never know when a bead might flip around on your jewelry! As you know, jewelry is all about detail and the beads have got it all in the right places! :) click on the pics for close-ups!

Sunday, August 7th ~ It's been a nice weekend, for the most part. I would have to say the highlight was Ikea and the rest of my Friday night date. It was amazing to see the Ikea setup. The food at the restaurant tasted decent and the best part was the price! Of course we cleaned up after ourselves so we could do our part to keep store prices lower... he, he. It makes perfect sense to clean up and "do our part" to lower prices, but feels funny to see all the signs for it and to conform to it as well. I think I would like to go back and check the as-is section pretty regularly so I can get a deal on a dresser for Maria Hannah.

Friday, August 5th ~ Happy Birthday Suzette! She is my oldest sister's daughter and is turning 9 today. She is very cute and loves to collect my beads. Hope you have fun bowling for your birthday, Suzette!

Tonight I'm going out with my husband and friends to the IKEA restaurant and check out all the variety of things they offer there. I've never been and I'm starting to feel left out of the loop! Ha, ha! I'll let you know how the food is. We are going to get some fancy dessert after that so it won't be all shopping. I hope you all have a great weekend! ~Maria

Wednesday, August 3rd ~ Finally some news to share! Last night we celebrated two wonderful birthdays at our home!!! Their birthdays are actually today so, Happy Birthday Gary (my little brother) and Maria Hannah!!!

Gary is 24 today and Maria is 1 year!!!!

Maria is checking out her loot and seems pleased~~~Will took a picture of "the girls."

More good news, Travis fixed my AC by running a separate electrical line from the box for the AC alone and we think that will do the job and keep the breaker from flipping every 10 minutes. :) This means that we should see some beads here pretty soon!!!!

Here's a little piece of news we found out on Monday...
Will, Nate, and Maria would like to announce:

We are excited to have another boy around the house come Dec. 31st!

Monday, July 25th ~ I've been holding out for something fun to share with you before I update, but there has been nothing real exciting :( I am pregnant as most of you know, and find out next Monday what were having!! That will be exciting to tell. I plan to make more beads when my beadery AC gets fixed, and that will be exciting to take pictures of and share. As you can see, not much new. I wanted to let you know in case you were curious and tired of waiting. I am thinking about you all and I am going through serious bead withdrawal too. I will try to get something exciting drummed up here so I can tell you about it. Until then, have a great week! ~ Maria Haynie

Saturday, July 16th ~ We just got back from a church pioneer day celebration at the park! It was so nice to take a hay ride from the church to the park and eat catered food. The kids loved it too because there were games to play as well. Tonight is the program, my DH, Travis, is playing the harmonica with one of the musical presentations! The fun never ends around here!!! :)

I thought I had finished one set, but it's missing something still. It is agonizing how it takes me so long to get these beads together. Being pregnant takes its toll and the AZ heat also plays a part. My AC unit keeps flipping the breaker and working in front of 1200 degrees propane/oxygen heat while sitting next to my 900 degree kiln with 118 degree AZ weather beating into my studio is a recipe for disaster! :( My wonderful husband has to do some rewiring for me soon... what would I do without such a handy guy?

Thursday, July 14th ~ Good news, I can still make beads!!! Bad news is that my shoulder is still sore. I woke up with it feeling better, but I haven't babied it so much today and as a result it's hurting. I'm tired of the pain... oh, well. It could always be worse.

I made a few beads here and there this past week, but they are still waiting for the rest of the sets to be finished before the final unveiling. E-mail me if you would like to be on our mailing list and I will inform you the moment I update my site!

Wednesday, July 13th ~ Hey everyone! Hope you are having a swell day. I have high aspirations to get some beads made today, but I hurt my shoulder yesterday when I tried to lift my 50 lb five year old to the top bunk. It started out as a slow ache and I wasn't sure what had happened, but that must have been it. :( It occurred to me this morning that it might effect my bead and mandrel spinning process, so I have to try making some beads this afternoon while Maria is napping to know the status of my injuries. Wish me luck!

Friday, July 8th ~ We had a wonderful California vacation this last week! First to my sister-in-law's for cousin fun to the max, then some site seeing and the aquarium in Monterey, followed by Knott's Berry Farm! It's great to be home too. Lots of laundry and a few things planned for this weekend too: My mom's family reunion, a baby blessing on Sunday morning, and a mission homecoming for a cousin in Tucson Sunday afternoon. Busy, busy, busy! Hope you are all having a nice summer.

Last summer 5 little babies were born in my family, one for my sister, twins for my brother, one for me, and one for another sister! On Tuesday we'll kick of the 1st birtdays with my sisters little baby girl! I can't believe they've been around that long, they are so sweet and adorable. I can hardly stand to have Maria grow up so fast!

Sunday, June 5th ~ Hello all! I am in the middle of getting packed for GIRLS CAMP! This is one of my all-time favorite things to do with church, I get so hyper... just like old times. I made the CUTEST camp bracelet to wear all week, it has charms that correspond to some of my favorite camp songs! My favorite was "Bill Grogen's Goat," the goat looks so funny with a red shirt hanging out his mouth... I will have to write down the lyrics for you to truely appreciate it. I'll take some pictures of it and post them after I get back. I did make a set yesterday, but the pictures will have to wait until next week.

Hope everyone has as much fun as me and I will report back later this week.

Monday, June 12th ~ I'm back and into my groove finally! I hope everyone has had some summer fun in the last week, I know I have! Girls camp could not have been any more fun... non-stop work and play. I was so proud of my bunch of girls because they were great youth leaders, teaching and helping all their little 1st year campers. I took a picture of my camp bracelet too!

Every bead has a meaning. Each of the hearts is an LDS Young Women's Value color that stand for: (from white to purple) Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowlege, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity.

The first charm is Bill Grogen's goat eating one of the three red shirts, I really expected his horns to pop off at some point, but it looks like they are sticking around! :) I promised the song for you so here it is... if you are dieing to hear it, you can e-mail me with your # and I will call you up and personally sing it to you!!!

Bill Grogen's goat, (repeat each phrase) was feelin' fine, ate 3 red shirts, right off the line!
Bill took a stick, and gave a whack, then tied him a railroad track!
A speeding train, came drawing nigh, Bill Grogen's goat, was doomed to die.
He moaned and groaned, and wriethed with pain, coughed up those shirts, flagged down the train!!!
(do it again with your tongue stuffed in your bottom lip!)

Then there is the most adorable hiking boot and bumble bee, a spider/bugs bead, and my "Sweet Violets," (a song). The little tool box with tools sticking out was given to us a camp as part of this years theme, "Build Strong." The large heart represents my "camping friends we'll always be, throughout eternity." I have Sherrie and me on that side and on the other is Shellie, J. Caffery and Josie (most of them my cabin mom partners at different times). The last charms are my pearly shell and my pine that represent another favorite song, "Pearly Shells."

I'm sure you can tell by now how much I absolutly LOVE girls camp! I was so glad to find that my husband had survived so well here with our three little ones that he said he wouldn't mind me going next year too. That's saying a lot because we are going to have a new little baby December 31st, and a six month old isn't the easiest to care for in addition to the other three children. Yep, that's right, I am pregnant with my 4th baby!!! Hence the serious decline in inventory. I have felt so icky and tired every night, but I think I should feel better in the next couple weeks when I am past my first timester.

Well, for those of you who come here to buy beads, I do have a black and cream set to list still... I will have Travis take those pictures since they come out so much nicer when he does it. Talk to you soon and thanks for checking things out around here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, May 31st ~ We had a great weekend and I hope you did as well! I hope to make some new things this week and have them posted by Saturday. I will be very busy next week because it's time for GIRLS CAMP!! Take care this week and stay cool, I hope to get back to you soon with some goodies to share.

Friday, May 27th ~Schools out for the Summer! Will had one day off only and this morning he was already mentioning that he missed school a little, it's going to be a long summer! :)

Travis and I are going to Star Wars III with some friends tonight, it's going to be great. I've watched all the other episodes, several times (thanks to the kids), in preparation.

Hope everyone else has a great and long weekend! Don't forget to spend some time thinking of the soldiers on Monday. I understand that there is a Nation-wide "moment of remembrance" for our soldiers at 3:00PM (local time) May 30th. It would be great for you to participate too!

Wednesday, May 25th, 2005 ~ Happy Birthday to my sister Julie! She is a big supporter of Snozberrybeads.com. She's the one who tells me when she's tired of looking at the same old thing and that I need to take some pictures and update my site! Thanks Joobs, and have a great day today!

Monday, April 25th ~ Hello everybody! Hope you have a great day and I hope you are enjoying the weather as much as I am. I think today will be a good day if I can get moving! :) I've got lots to do and I don't want to get overwhelmed so I better start checking off the things on my list... UPDATE SITE- X
Bye for now ;)

April 21, 2005 ~ I wanted to show you a picture of something I tried the other day. I was a little hesitant to post it in fear that someone might copy me, but it's not like it was an original idea to begin with! So in admiration of my favorite lampwork artist, Kim Neely, I just had to try something like her fabulous tea rose. I came up with "Gardenia," and it's a good thing I took a picture of it last night, because Nate dropped it on my extremely hard and unforgiving porcelain tile this morning! I was bummed, but the sweetheart gave me a hug and made me feel all better.

April 20th, 12:15 AM ~ It's official! I am a true lampwork artist now in every sense... I just had a piece of hot glass fly down my shirt for the first time! Fortunately it wasn't too hot and it didn't stick around for too long! :) What next? I'm sure I'll let you know... Have a good day today and enjoy the weather while it lasts, summer is here in good ol' AZ!

Saturday, April 16th, 2005 ~ I arrived home not too long ago from a girls camp training and retreat! I have had a great time getting ready for camp, it is so much fun teaching and getting to know the Youth Leaders who are going to camp this year! It keeps me young and I love it. Have a great Sunday! ~ Maria

Thursday, April 14th ~ I finally did a quick clean up job in the beadery! I can remove "Larrys" poem now!

A Poem~
"In Memory of the Bee"

There once was a bee named Larry,
His little legs were quite hairy,
Though his death shall not be forgot,
I do hope someone else would do me the favor of cleaning him up and all the other bits of dust and scrap that lay littering my bench because as you can see he has been there long enough for me to make his bee and also a set of daisy beads to go with as well as clean them and make them into a bracelet...oh boy

The effort to clean him up takes a lot!

FYI - I found a little bee dead among my scraps of glass on my work bench...
I felt bad for him so I decided it was necessary to commemorate his
pollinating life via bead.

Wednesday, April 13th ~ Happy Wednesday! I wish I had something new to post, but I've been busy getting ready for girls camp. I am so excited to go, especially since I am going to be involved with the 5th and 6th year girls who serve as the Youth Camp Leaders. I get so hyper and have such a rejuvenating time every year. It just gets better and better!

I have some great ideas for my next sets and I hope to have them ready soon. I just realized how close Mother's Day is too! I plan to have some great things for then.

Have a great day!

Monday, April 11, 2005 ~ I was feeling pretty lame about my production level the other day, but then I remembered that even though I haven't made too much to sell lately, I have made quite a few gifts. Travis of course was questioning if I was making/earning enough to support my habit, and I have to wonder if I am too! I would much rather give everything away... that of course reflects poorly on my business! :) I'll figure out a balance somehow...

Here are a few of the things I've made lately, and there were a few more but I didn't take pictures of them because I made them last minute and the pictures don't turn out too well at night since a don't have a photo set up yet. These pictures are pretty scary too, you can tell I took them! You get the idea. A couple were for a baby shower and one was for my dear friend who loves frogs, and another for my good friend who loves polar bears. I made one for Will's kindergarten teacher when they went to the zoo for their field trip and I made a patriotic one for my sister-in-law who is married to an air force officer and a pretty white one for my other sister-in-law when her husband graduated with his wings from air force pilot training.

There are so many deserving people, and lots more I wish I could give bracelets to! I guess the only thing to do is make more things to sell so I can "support the habit."

Have a great day and I hope you have a minute to e-mail, riachik@snozberrybeads.com
It feels good to know that someone actually looks at my site, I love meeting new people too!

Uh-Oh!
We were at grandma's on Sunday along with my brother and sister and all our babies! It is always a site to see FOUR little babies all just weeks apart in age as well as the other 8 other children ages 2-7 playing together. There is always an adventure to be had...

Here Carter has gotten hold of a cup of milk that one of his cousins left on the table and accidentally dumped it on Maria Hannah! It was so perfectly played out that it seemed just like in the movies! While quite a shock initially, moments later we see that Maria has recovered even before getting cleaned up :)


I changed Maria's clothes after the incident and her Aunt Julie couldn't resist doing her hair, curlers and all! Her hair was so cute and fluffy!

Happy Easter!

We have had a fun one so far and there is always more to look forward to!

Friday, March 18th ~ I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day with minimal pinching. I am so glad my husband reminded me about wearing green or my brother & sisters and their kids would have pinched the heck out of us since we spent the day at the zoo together!

I didn't make it to the torch yesterday, but I have some fun ideas for this weekends projects. Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, March 16th ~ I've been making lots of goodies lately and can hardly wait for my DH, Travis, to take pictures of them!!! He is also going to be updating my gallery pretty soon too (I'm hoping that this casual announcement might encourage him to do it sooner rather than later, especially since he has probably forgotten that it's on his "list" of things to do). My sister, Vicki, has made quite a few pieces of jewelry from my beads and let me take some pictures for the gallery! It will be great to have them on display.

I also just updated my links page too. I have a couple new things to see there! Beach Babe's Jewelry is one of them and I don't think you will be disappointed :)

March 7th, 2005 ~ Here is the latest picture of Maria Hannah...it's a little out of focus, but she is laughing, which is more than I can say for most of her pictures! She has grown so big, as you can see by her newborn picture! We love having her, she is pure joy. :)

February 28th, 2005 ~ I finally made a few things to offer for sale, but it is taking soooo long to find the time to post the items in my store. I hope to put links on each of these to the store in the next day or so, but until then you may e-mail me if you feel like you can't wait to lay claim on something in particular! :) I will gladly answer any questions you have or reserve something for you if you need. I would also love to hear any comments you have about my latest pieces, e-mail or make a guestbook comment!

Thursday, February 24th ~ It has been too long since I last updated, but what's new?! I have been finding it tough to balance the whole home/mom/bead thing so after some discussion with my DH we decided that Thursdays are my new afternoon and evening time to make beads. He will do the home/dad thing and I will have a solid block of time to create!!! I am very excited, but I can't help but be a little skeptical. I'll know by Friday if it's going to work.

Another fun "new" thing is that my sister, Janie, has been thinking about getting a bead/torch set up ever since she got a taste of mine! She is a very good artist and I know she will do so well. It probably won't be long before you start seeing some of her things here (probably this summer, she teaches the rest of the time).

I guess since I haven't had many accomplishments in the bead department you may as well see what I am spending my time doing. Nate, my 3 year old, is officially potty trained! Aside from the going pee on the kitchen floor this morning (even then he didn't get wet, just took care of business w/out the toilet), he is pretty capable. He assured me it wouldn't happen again... we'll see what else he comes up with! ;)

Proud Nate is holding his potty chart, after he checked off all 100 squares he earned a new pack of underwear. He is wearing the new Shrek and Donkey ones he picked out!

February 12th, 2005 ~ I haven't had time to fill you in on any details of last weekends big event so I'll tell you now. OK, so maybe I was a little nervous at the Flame Off competition. It just so happens that my first bead took me twice as long as any of the other beads, ironic that it was the chicken bead that I made first... that was exactly how I was feeling! Days before and after the event I had dreams about hurrying and messing up and all those jitters you get before a race/competition. I was feeling great towards the end of the competition though and I even had a few extra minutes to kill. So my mom and I decided to add a rooster to the set! It was so great because I have never made one before and he turned out the best! :) For some reason I have this "beginners luck" or curse (whaterver you want to call it), a lot of the sculptural items I make are really great the first time I make them. The problem is when I try to recreate them they hardly ever turn out as well! Oh well! lol

I was surprised to see a bunch of the Mesa Arts Center teachers and students in Tucson particpating in the event. It was a lot of fun sitting next to my teacher, Laurie, during the competition. I might not have been as good as the rest of them, but I still felt pleased with the results. Especially when I concider that I have only making beads on a minimal basis and just since June '04 at that. Some of them have been doing this for years. Their work was very inspiring in fact. I am really starting to consider the boro glass classes coming up at the MAC. We'll see! Talk to you soon... it's getting too late to make much more sense, let alone spell correctly. Have a peaceful Sunday.

February 7th, 2004 ~ Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O, and on that farm he had a...
bracelet?! Err... no, wait. I made the bracelet, or rather my mom and I did for the Sonoran Art Foundation's annual Flame Off event :) We had a great time participating and it's something I would definately do again.

Don't tell the other participants, but my mom and I actually had another team member (you're only supposed to have two). Maria Hannah was there with us for the entire event! :) She practically stole the show with her cute pony tails and bows. Daddy held her during the competition, though I'm sure she was wishing she could make some beads too!

February 3rd ~ Well, I'm getting us ready to go to Tucson tomorrow for the Sonoran Art Foundation's annual Flame Off event! Please wish me luck! In fact, I would love an e-mail! I could use the boost. After a "team meeting" with my mom last night, we decided I should go with an animal theme charm bracelet. I really want something that will demonstrate my strenghts and creativity... and as we all know... I love sculptural beads and bright colors! I'm nervous about only having two hours from start to finish. I will really be pushing it, I'll be lucky to make 8 charms, and that's at only 15 minutes a bead! I'll post pictures when I get back. Talk to you soon!

Maria sits without any help now! She is growing up too fast!
I can't hardly get her to smile for pictures because my camera has a long delay and the flash ruins any great expression on her face before the picture finally takes! :(

February 2, 2005 ~ So my mom won my ebay last night! Not a bad deal either... and since she is my very best customer, I am sending (I mean, handing her) extra goodies! Thank you so much mom. Some day I am going to make beads all day, every day and give you beads to match every outfit!

Happy last day of January! I am looking forward to Valentine's Day. I am glad Will is in school so I can partake in all the hooplah!!! I made his teacher a special Kindergarten Valentine pendant yesterday... the first of many of it's kind. Will gave it to her today so she could enjoy it all month, though, I think it's something that could be enjoyed all year if you are a teacher.

I am busy this week getting ready to participate in the Sonoran Art Foundation's annual Flame Off event that takes place during the Tucson Best Bead Show this weekend! I haven't been this excited about an event in a long time. I haven't done anything big for myself (where I get to use my own talents for my own enjoyment) like this since high school cross country invitationals (over 10 years ago). It's all me, baby! Actually, I talked my mom into coming with me too :)The Flame off is for a bunch of glass artists to compete in a two hour glass creation competition, while spectators watch, and the finished creations are judged and then silent auctioned off to raise money for the Sonoran Art Foundation glass studio. My Mom is going to head up the jewelry design for assembling the charms that I am making at the competition. Wish us luck! I can hardly wait!!!

January 27th ~ I have one new thing up on the store with more to come! My "Frog Lovers" are now on Ebay!!! Hope you are as excited as I am!

January 26th, 7:45 AM ~ Good Morning All! I have some new beads!!! Travis is going to take the pictures today... most of them are sculptural because that's my favorite thing to make. Several frogs and some other things as well. I hope you have a good day and come back later tonight and tomorrow to see some fun changes to our website! :)

Happy Birthday to my sister, Janie
and my sister-n-law, Alicia and her daughter (my niece), McKenna!
They all share the same birthday(when you're in a huge family like mine you better like to share :) !

January 14, 2004 ~ I put a bracelet together for my aunt last night, She is turning 100 years young! She is a beautiful watercolor artist, one more reason for my lasting enjoyment of art! My Grandpa, her brother, died shortly after his 100th birthday. I think there is a good chance I will be around for a while longer.

Well, I better get a move out. I have a party to get ready for. Some friends are coming to BBQ and play DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION!!!

January 13, 2004 ~ I've been working at a new style of bead lately and hope to have something to show you by the weekend. It's been hard to get anything new, the latest have been gifts and have been pretty last-minute so I even forgot to take pictures of some of them. I've been pretty wiped out lately and it's hard to feel motivated to go out to the beadery and start to make beads at 9:00pm. It's especially hard when my DH, Travis is watching a great movie! I'll have him wait till I'm out in the beadery to start tonights movie! lol

I want to send a special thanks to Karen from Florida!
She is my first (non-family) Online-Store purchase! Thank You Karen! I am sending you extra goodies because of your great support!

January 12, 2005 ~ We just walked in the door from going to the zoo! My sister gave us a year membership to the Phoenix Zoo for Christmas and my goal is to go every week. I took some pictures and thought I could add something new for you to look at (even though I'm sure you'd rather see some beads).

January 11, 2005 ~ My sister is on my case about updating the site. I am sorry to those of you who keep having to see the same thing over and over. There really isn't much to tell bead-wise, so I hate to bore you with my everyday details. I could tell you that we have been potty training Nate and that is anything but exciting! He is getting tired of it and hates changing his clothes everytime he 'forgets'..

Here is my favorite picture of Maria Hannah! Anything to keep you from being bored.

Happy New Year!
I think my favorite resolution is to make more beads! Maria Hannah and lampworking have been the best two things that have happened to me this year. I am just so glad it's finally 2005!!! I can only say that 2004 was by far the most challenging year I've ever experienced... and I'm a very optimistic person! That in mind, I say it can only get better and I am looking forward to it :)
Hope you have a great 2005!

Maria Hannah's Pig tails! ~ The annual Gibnie Christmas hike & Nate with his cool hiking stick!

December 28, 2004 ~ Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone got what they wanted, I did! Travis bought me an oxygen concentrator for my torch. It was a surprise because I thought we weren't going to spend very much this year on each other since we had already splurged on ourselves earlier this year. It will be so nice to not have to go get my oxygen tank filled every other weekend. We had a great holiday filled with fun. I even learned to ride a motorcycle... hope Travis doesn't start getting ideas for next Christmas! :)

12/15/04 - There's not too much to say... I've been working on keeping up with the house and kids lately and doing beads in my spare time... guess what, I haven't had any spare time! That means no beads this whole last week. :(

I did manage to finish a couple custom orders that turned out great, if I do say so myself. I also have some gifts to make on the torch. I started those yesterday while my sister, Janie, watched my kids. I have a long list and very little time... typical!

12/3/04 - I just finished editing some pictures and wanted to show you the latest bracelet and frog we made here in the beadery. My sister-in-law was visiting from out of town for Thanksgiving and so we just had to make her a fabulous bracelet and one of my trademark frogs. I call them "Janene Bean Pinks" and "Fly Pie." She made the bracelet and she even made one of the beads. It was only her second time making a bead and I bet you can't even tell which one she made!

Janene's nick name is "Bean," short for green bean. Hence the green bean charm! LOL

We had so much fun staying up late and making beads! The frog was last bead and by then our husbands were threatening to turn of the oxygen mid-frog! It was 11:30 PM and she and I were getting up at 3:00 AM to go celebrate BLITZ Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving shopping) in the best way possible... 5 sisters, 5 lawn chairs, 4 blankets, an economy size pecan pie, and first in line at Target!!! Yippee!!!

It may have been the sleep deprivation, but when Janene's frog was finished annealing (this was after blitz), she had the crazy idea to have a fly bead on the dangle as well! I didn't waste any time and so by the next day we had, what I like to call "Fly Pie!" The fly jiggles/flies around the frog in a very realistic manner. I'm beginning to think that Janene can be classified as mostly "normal" with a touch of "nuttiness"... maybe more. She definitely adds pizzazz and that's my kind of person. Thanks for the way fun weekend Janene and family!

December 3rd, 2004 - We had a wonderful day playing around yesterday. We were at the mall from 10:00 to 3:00! I hate shopping with a passion, so we only went into ONE store the whole time. It was all about the kids. We went to Kids Club and saw Dewper! Then the boys played at the soft-play area forever(love those places). We also rode on the carousal and ate at the food court, I even ran into my favorite University Professor! After that we decided to see Santa and sit on his lap. The boys rehearsed what they were asking him for while we waited in line... It's a Legos Christmas this year!

11/29 - I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I hope you did as well. I haven't been making very many things lately, but hope to soon. In fact, I'm cutting this short so I can go torch something right now! Later today we are going to start the process of decorating for Christmas. Can't wait to have it all up and get into the spirit of giving! Have a great day!

11/22 - Well it's Tuesday morning and I still haven't gotten my pics up! I had a dentist appointment yesterday, so that bit into my "nap time" work schedule. Stay tuned, I'll get them up soon... though I won't make any promises of when this time! LOL

11/21 - I finally have some pictures of my new stuff! Travis has to help me because for the life of me, I can't take a perfect picture. My framing is O.K. but it's almost always out of focus. I can spend an hour taking billions of pictures just to see that two pictures turned out and the rest are junk! With limited time to do anything, I can't afford to have that happen. For now I have to rely on my DH, Travis. That means Saturday afternoons or quick lunch breaks because we take the pictures outside between 10:00 and 2:00. Bear with me please, I'll learn eventually... or maybe it's time I got some glasses (four of my older siblings already need/use them, must be my turn). If that's the case, we'll have to wait a year (that's when my husband can renew our insurance and sign me up for eye coverage)! That being said, I still need to post the pics! LOL At least I can do that myself now! :) You can expect them sometime on Monday. Have a great day!

11/19 - Happy Birthday, Nathan!!! My son is 3 years old today. We are getting Happy Meals at McDonalds (they have Incredible Toys) and doing the cake and presents thing with his cousin, Peyton. It's Peyton's Birthday today too, he is 6! Nate's Grandpa Gibson has a birthday today as well, we just saw him and gave him his present.
Happy Birthday Guys! We love you!!
This is a fun time for us, we love to share special days!
Hope you all have a special day today too!

11/18 - Well I finally made some beads and I'm cleaning them today! I still have so many more ideas to bring to life... wish me luck. The boys did a great job at the dentist and an almost perfect report! :) Will does have one trouble spot we need to floss between his back bottom molars, but that should be no problem. I was worried about Nate since he is so fond of juice, but so far so good!

11/16 - We're home from Utah! The play was awesome and it was so much fun hangin' with the family. I am one of those lucky wives who actually has nice in-laws and enjoys them! I always have a great time visiting and getting to know them better. Well, as usual, we could use a vacation from our vacation... we are wiped out! Lots to do and I am sad at the prospect of not being able to torch anything today... too many chores after being away (I feel like Cinderella). I left the house a mess on Friday and now I have that and our trip mess to clean up too. My boys also have dentist appointments today, though I haven't told them yet. I think I'll get them in the car first and then surprise them! I have been talking about going some time for the last week, I just didn't want Will to worry constantly about it like he usually does. I'll have to let you know how well the "surprise" gets received!

Have a good one!

11/12 - I'm heading out of town for the weekend!! My sister-in-laws family is doing a community production of "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat", and her husband has been cast as Joseph. For those of you who have never seen this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, it is an adaptation of the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob and his Coat of may colors that is found in the Old Testament. So, we are headed off to Ogden Utah for the weekend! I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend, and I'll talk to you next week!

11/8 - I can feel the holidays upon me... too close almost! I have so many great ideas, and so little time. Hope I get to do a few of my ideas before long and that you get to see them. Have a great day!

11/7 - Happy Sunday! I enjoyed the bead show here in Mesa, Arizona at the MAC yesterday. It was so great to see everyone's different styles and I got a lot of great ideas. I saw so many wonderful boro sculptures, that I see that as a big possibility in the future... you know I'm a sucker for all sculpting mediums! Whatever the future, I know glass is in it!

We had a garage sale yesterday, too! It was more fun than I thought it would be and the kids weren't too crazy, so that helped. I had a good time spending the morning with my oldest sister Vicki and her family, they brought some things to sell too. My oldest brother and his family participated in the last half and I think having family around took the drudgery out of the whole ordeal. By the end of the day my kids were ready to get out of the house so we decided to see The Incredibles! It was worth every penny, but one time is just not enough! I can't hardly wait to see it again.

11/1 - I'm finally starting to post the new items. My DH Travis showed me how to upload the pics to my site this morning and I'm going through the process of updating the store. If you see some items without complete descriptions, I'm still updating. I'm just too impatient and want to have some new things up a.s.a.p. E-mail me if you have any questions about an item.

11/1 - Happy November! I had a great Halloween with the kids and hubby, but I've had enough of it to last me a year. I don't know what it was about this Halloween that I have even decided to implement my mothers rule, "No talk of Halloween until school starts again." Will kept changing his mind about what he wanted to be, that wears on me because I love to sew the kids costumes and I don't want to risk going through the ordeal of it if he is just going to change his mind at the last minute. Will borrowed his cousin's Power Ranger costume and wore it for a week straight, Nate was an adorable cowboy, and Maria Hannah was a bumble bee. I even made her a keepsake bumble bee anklet to go with her 1st Halloween costume. Her favorite cousin, Hope (she's my sister's baby who's just 3 weeks older), got a black cat charm keepsake to go with her costume. I still need to take pictures of the two together in there costumes with their lampwork charms!

10/29 - My DH Travis just put a Guestbook on my site!! Sign it and let me know who is visiting! I want to hear what you like and any suggestions you have. Thanks!

10/28 - It's raining!! This is special because I'm in Arizona, we don't have that name for just any ol reason! I've worked hard and have some new things to post. They are pretty darn cute too. Some will go Ebay and some for the site. If I play my cards right, I can have everything ready so Travis, my husband, and I can have time to post them tonight. I still have a bit to learn as far as posting goes, soon I'll be able to update my site during the kids afternoon naps.

I have met another friend from Artzee.net! Marianna Boylan [stargirljewelry.com]. She makes some nice beads a wonderful jewelry too. It has been fun getting to know her a bit more with every e-mail. Turns out that she is great friends with Carrie Mckinney, another friend from Artzee. Small world!

Have a great day, everyone!

10/25 - Happy Birthday, Zane! It's my nephew's 4th birthday today. He, like my big brother, is a fun character! I hope he had a great day. I have your present in the car, I'll bring it by soon!

10/24 - Today one of my best friends, my Mom, came over to help me with the kids while I made her some beads. She bought my "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" set and found that she needed a couple more beads to complete her bracelet! We decided that there was just enough room on her charm bracelet for a teacher and some children... they turned out so cute! What she doesn't know is that after she went home and the kids were in bed, I made her one more child! It's the cutest one yet, a little bald boy with a red baseball cap! I can't wait to give them to her. I will take some pictures of it all when she finishes making her bracelet.

Speaking of friends, I met a new friend from Artzee.net (please vote for me). Her name is Carrie E. McKinney~ http://www.cemlampwork.com And she, like my good friend Jodi @ beadworx.com, is nice enough to let me pick her brain for info! The lampworking world is so nice, it is great talking with Carrie because we seem to have lots in common. There is always someone out there who can relate to your own experiences. Thank you Carrie, I'm glad to call you FRIEND,

10/20 - I made a measly 5 beads yesterday! I can't ever get to the torch, my little princess likes to stay up until 10:00PM on most nights. It'll take a bit of time and work to get her going to bed earlier. I did get to pick up my beads today from an ASGB bead exchange! That was great, I loved to see all the different ideas everyone had. It was my first exchange, so I was pretty excited to make some beads to share. I made beads with a candy corn theme. I didn't want to make them all the same so I did candy corns with a toad, a ghost, a bat, or a miniature frankenstein on them! Then I decided to dress my candy corns up for Halloween and I had one dressed as a bunny, one a frankenstein, and also a ghost! It was so fun and I loved getting all the great beads that the others in the group had come up with.

"Corny Halloween Costumes"

10/18 - Whew! I had a fun and crazy weekend with the family - Jones 2004 Reunion took place and I was in charge. That means my husband was too. We both had fun planning it and found that it was all worth the effort. Everyone said they had a great time. I can't wait for some torch time, but the house has been seriously neglected and I need some catch up time.

When I get it together, I plan on finishing some classic beads to go with a gorgeous fall set I started last week and I'm thinking up some great Christmas ideas. Let me know if there is anything you want to see on my site, I would love some outside ideas! riachik@snozberrybeads.com

10/12 - Afternoon, everyone! I have so much going on this week... it's hard to keep up. Travis listed more of my items yesterday, check them out in the store. I just love the new items. I can't wait to make more! Some of the descriptions are lacking a bit, I am still trying to get the hang of this. Most of the time it's hard enough to get the torch time to make the items! I wish I had 8 hours a day to make new creations, but a kindergartner, an almost-3-year-old, and a 2 month old baby are very time consuming. If anyone has any questions at all, just e-mail me (don't feel like you have to be buying either). I could use some feedback on my site and my lampwork anytime.

My friend Jodi is doing very well at keeping her store stocked with all her cute new things, you can check her beads out at her site; Beadworx.com. Hi Jodi, and a big welcome to visitors from her site!

10/7 - Hey all! We just got home from eating and playing at Burger King. The boys finagled me into going out rather than eating one of my fabulous recipes (French Toast was on the menu). I'm a sucker for eating out and I had $5 cash burning a whole in my pocket! Good times, and a must if I am going to retain the title bestowed by my two boys as"The Best Mom."

I made a few new things and hope to have them in the store by Saturday. I have the cutest flowery frog pendant made up and ready to wear on a chain. I am in the process of making a set of beads to go with it. I love the colors! I also made a set of tiny sculptural beads, one for each month of the year! I put each one on a wire so you could have 12 adorable dangles on a bracelet or wear each one individually on a necklace when the month comes up. I can't wait to show you!

My baby, Maria Hannah, seems to have recovered from her shots and is back to normal. She actually slept a little more than usual so it worked out nicely. I got a bit more done and even had time to play cards with my 5 year old, Will. I was the Old Maid, but only because he tricked me by moving his hand of cards so that I would grab her. I actually knew what he was doing, but I couldn't resist giving in to his well thought out strategy. He and I had a nice laugh about him tricking me so I would loose!

Hope you have a fun and laughing day!

10/5 - Today is a busy day as usual. I hope to have lots of torch time, but who knows what challenges await me?! My little baby, Maria Hannah, had her two month doctor visit today and just got four shots today! She may be a little grumpy today and she's entitled. So far, so good, but I might not be able to do as much as I would like.

My friend Jodi put a link to here from her page, so welcome Beadworx visitors! Jodi was the one who introduced me to lampworking and gave me my first lessons. I still call her up and pick her brain here and there. We go to the ASGB meetings together when we can, too. She is amazing and I will forever be in her debt! Thank you, Jodi!

I made my first sales on Ebay! Funny thing is that they all went to family. They get the advantage of seeing how great they are in person. My Halloween set was going to my mom when my sister out bid her... they then decided to share the set and the sale ended with my sister Joobs the winner. Upon delivery my sister decided they were too cute to separate and she needed all of them for herself. My mom wasn't very happy, but it pleases me that my beads are so loved! My Patriotic Daisy set went to my mom so at least she isn't left totally without. I threw in a few extra spacers for her because I was feeling like you have to have at least 15 beads to make a decent bracelet (I just made my first one over the weekend with my new lavender beads). I also made her some candy corn beads to go with the Halloween set she ended up not getting. Last I knew, she WASN'T going to share them with my sister! Ha, ha!

Have a great day!

This is the adorable bracelet my Mom made with her ebay purchase!

10/1 - Happy October, Everyone! I can almost tell it's autumn here in Arizona. Ha, ha!

Well I've been out of oxygen since the 27th and I've been going through withdrawals. Today Travis (my second half) is off to get some for me so I will make something tonight. I have been working on this idea, of course it involves sculptural beads, and I can't wait to finish it for myself. Then I'll make a similar one for the site or Ebay. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

9/28 - I have 2 new sets in the store as of midnight yesterday (this morning). Midnight Daisies, and Buzzy Bear. Check them out and let me know what you think. I also made the lavender set, per my homework assignment, and it turned out O.K. I don't think it's selling quality so it will end up as a family gift or I might string it up for myself! We'll chalk it up to practice. You'll see a lavender set here pretty soon...just keep watching.

The white called to me again and I made a few ghosts and I also made some other fun things! It's just like I said yesterday, I can't resist when those bright colors speak to me. Sculpting is my passion! Have a great day everyone...feel free to e-mail me too!

9/27 - I am having so much fun with my new business and web site. I can't wait to get on the torch each day, it gets pretty hard to find the time with a new baby and my boys. When I finally do get the chance, it's hard to feel motivated to make something "normal." The glass calls to me, I pick up the white to pull some stringer and it says, "Wouldn't I make a cute ghost?" I answer back with two ghosts and a frankenstein! My A.D.D. gets the best of me sometimes! Luckily the results aren't so bad (like the my sculpted Honey Bear that is going on my site today).

I want to send a special thanks to my mom, my biggest supporter (besides my hubby, Travis). They're probably the only ones who read this anyway! Ha ha! I know she must watch my Ebay stuff almost as much as I do! She said she was tempted to buy my daisy set, but she wanted to give me the opportunity to sell to someone besides family... she is so nice. I'd feel bad taking her money anyway. She gave me life after all!

I have two new sets I will be listing on my web site today. I just need to take the pictures and have my husband upload them, I'm still just learning how this web stuff works. Thank goodness for Travis, jack of all trades!

Well, I'm off to the torch! My husband gave me homework in hopes that I might stay a little more focused, a "normal" lavender set should be appearing soon!