Holiday ornaments

Sometimes I just need to giggle.  It is that time of year when I am frantic to make more "Christmas" type ornaments.  Santa's and train, boots and mittens......I get my first custom order of the season and does she want Santa's?  Nope she wants butterflies!  I absolutely love it since my favorite thing to make in the world will alway's be my butterflies!  This picture is her order, I just got it listed for her now on to my next custom order.....Chili peppers.  What fun!

Thinking step by step

I am in the middle of making some major decisions.  Some may be life changing but I am trying to take my time and think things through very carefully.  This week, I am thinking about the fact that I need to come up with a big chunk of money and it's not going to fall out of the sky so, step one.   I know I have boxes and bags of craft supplies that I don't use.  I alway's think I might someday, that's why I keep them.  Well it's time to get a bit tough with myself and list them item by item on ebay.  Will it solve my financial issues?  No but the fact is , it is a step forward and by putting into motion I will be proactive on working on the problem while I think through the next idea that comes to mind.  Maybe if I can keep myself focused and just keep stepping forward I could surprise myself and come up with a few good plans.  So this week I listed a bag of inexpensive seed beads that I cannot use, a bead weaving loom that is the wrong type for me, today a big old bag of sequins.  Now I will go home and dig through a box to decide what's going on the list tomorrow. 

Thanksgiving

Ignoring my sideway's Santa,  tomorrow is thanksgiving and the library is closed so wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.  Going from one extreme to the other, not being able to work again, I am stitching and beading like crazy trying to revive my Etsy shop.  Doing alot of destashing on Ebay, need to clean out and pare down plus work on this sea of medical debt before the next round starts.  I think it feels good to be able to do these things again and making a point of getting on the computer when I get to the library to post new items and be involved in a bit of conversation. 
Hoping you all have a wonderful time with family and friends during the holiday's.

A fresh start

Ready to make some more life changes, soon I will fill you in a bit on what has been going on but today, the short version is that my Dr. has made me stop working again.  I have some very mixed feelings. I am sad about it, I feel like I have let myself and my coworkers down once again,  I am worried about it, obviously I lose a paycheck with no support but I must admit,  I have put aside my beadwork for a long time and I have missed it.  I am going back to creating each day and finding time to be online and all the little things I used to do.  I am learning to be flexible and more accepting of my own limitations.

Missing again?

I was honestly surprised to look in tonight and see how very long it has been since I posted.  Well I have to be very, very honest.  Life has been more than rough and I just haven't wanted to share with any one so I just kind of put everything on hold while I worked,  I worked more than I should have or could without making my illness worse.  But I did.  The sad part is while I was striving for answers to the illness in my house and the means to carry on and move forward I just made things worse.  Not only am I more sick but I am still drowning in a sea of medical debt.  But I do realize that I have been going about things wrong.  I need to get back to what's normal for me.  I need to start creating again.  Even if every beaded item I ever make sit's in my shop for ever, the creating is an important part of me.  I need to get back to the small way's I socialize.  My blog, yes I can find way's to keep up without alway's being down.  My Etsy circle,  being a part of the community is an important part and I have neglected things badly.  I am smart enough to know that is not helpful to me.  Okay, that's all I have to say for now but I promise I am going to start getting back to my life and I promise to share the good parts (or as soon as I can figure out the changes to blogger ;o)

Going in Circles?

I have been home for just about 6 months again dealing with my illness. If you know me, you know that 6 months of being at home is enough to make me stir crazy. I am just not the type of person that can accept that kind of life and be content with it. Sooo a few weeks ago I decided that since I once again have my illness under control, it was time to once again join the living. First I went back to my part time job at Soave Faire. On and off between bouts of illness I have worked there since 1999. As much as I complain about how pysically painful it gets and how completely exhausted I get, mentally this keeps me going and feeling good about myself. I have great friends in my co-workers and enjoy pitching in with them. Then I called my Avon director and told her I was ready to start my Avon business again, so now up to my elbow's in books and literature getting ready to go hunt up my old customers and hopefully snag a few new ones.
I must admit my Etsy shop is showing signs of neglect, just not making room for everything but spent the last day or so trying to get back on track. I have new work to list, just looking for the time and energy to get my pictures taken and listings up.
Now to tell you about today's picture. My daughter was looking for a gift for her hubby. He is a huge Bronco's fan, has a wall of memento's. She asked if I could create a beaded picture with the Bronco logo. I had to really think about it because copyrights etc. But then I decided, I am not selling it, would never try to create a copyrighted work and sell it, it was a gift pure and simple to my daughter so why not? Once I decided it was okay, I grabbed an 11"x14" canvas, painted the background grey and with a little tracing to help me get the logo as close as possible to the real thing , beaded it up!

Trying to work

I am pleased to finally finish another beaded painting. I find it very frustrating to have so many things going on that I can't keep up with the work I love but I am making a committment to myself to carve out the time I need to catch up and stay there. It is time to just put my blinders on and concentrate on what I want to accomplish. That said, I have several half finished projects and am finishing them up and getting them posted before I start anything new. Hope everyone is having a great week.