Bead Soup Update!

be-loved by pleasebestill on Etsy


I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the most wonderful comments on my bead soup. It really warms my heart to read all of the nice comments! I'm still hopping and leaving comments as I'm able but I'm far from being finished. I wanted to make sure to spend quality time reading everyone's posts and making an informed comment, so if I haven't visited you yet, I will be!

Lori was such a wonderful hostess and did such a great job and did you see she's already planning the fall hop? She's an amazing lady.


I also wanted to thank everyone who was able to bid on the eBay auctions for Beads of Courage. There is still time to bid and the prices are still pretty low!

Small Disclaimer: This is my personal eBay account and I also sell used stuff there, I didn't have any up over the weekend because I didn't want to give people the impression that I was driving traffic to my auctions. But now that the party is winding down, if you go there, you may see a few things that aren't related to the bead soup/BOC auctions. In no way do I remotely want to plug my auctions :)

MONDAY MILITIA!!

Oooooh!


I'm back and on time! (Thanks m.d. It was a big boost for me!)

This weeks mission (if you choose to accept it):

PATIENCE.

I've been reflecting on patience a lot this week. My own patience and lack thereof.

Other's patience and lack thereof.

And it led me to some pause for reflection.....

As an example, I drive like a complete granny. And my partner does as well. While we were out recently, a man started honking relentlessly behind us.

Eventually, he got the opportunity to pass us by and gave us the finger all the way past.

Which got me to reflecting:

What was his hurry? (we were going the speed limit)

Why should this even bother me?

but it did. and I stuck my tongue out at him as he passed. (with great restraint, I might add, instead of flipping the bird)

....I also realized that sticking your tongue out at someone is so much more fun and more offensive than flipping the bird!!!!

HOWEVER,

Why should this even happen? Why are we in such a hurry?

And I used this man as an example but I think we could all be used as an example as well. We've all been guilty of getting annoyed in a line or waiting, waiting, waiting....

and, really,

WHAT is our hurry?

I really don't think there is a hurry. EVER.

And if there is...please examine the cause....because LIFE is so, so

SHORT.

We're here a very, very short time.

Shouldn't we be enjoying each moment?

And not be worried about how many moments can be packed into each time frame?

PATIENCE.

Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one's character can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

Preface to BEAD SOUP! Beads of Courage

I wanted to spell this out in a bit of detail beforehand TO GET YOU ALL EXCITED....

Tomorrow is the Bead Soup Blog Party and I'm doing a giveaway...but not just any giveaway....it will be for a good cause.

You'll see my gluttony tomorrow.... but I got DOUBLE SOUP from my partner Diana of Suburban Girl Studios and I want to pass along the love and good karma....

So I will be giving away 2 or more pieces, but to win these pieces, there is a caveat...

I will be listing many more bead soup pieces that I've made on eBay. To win the pieces I'm giving away, you must bid on the Ebay auctions. The auctions will be uploaded on Saturday to coincide with Bead Soup Blog Party.

All proceed from the eBay auctions will benefit Beads of Courage. To read more about what Beads of Courage does, go here.

SO that is the footnote. You will get 2 (or more) for 1 and you will help out a good cause....

You don't have to be a follower.

But here is the fine print:

1)You must comment on TOMORROW'S post AND bid on at least ONE AUCTION. There should be a away to contact you via your comment i.e. I can contact you via blogger or leave your email.

2) You must state in your comment your eBay auction ID...so I know that you actually bid.

3)If you blog, tweet, FB this giveaway, you get an extra vote, but only if you bid on the eBay auction. PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT AND A LINK IF YOU DO THIS to be considered.

All of the auctions will start at 99 cents! International bids are welcome!

MONDAY MILITIA!! on Wednesday!

Ooooooh.... So I totally dropped the ball this week, eh?

I had a good reason, I promise...

I'm on a tight deadline for all my posts...I post as I'm able and I post for Monday Militia basically on Sunday night and I had some {good} interferences so that is why I'm late....


I was doing this....

This is my much loved nephew whom I love with my whole heart!
ummm, and we got to spend time at the beach!!!!





hey, if that's not a reason to interfere with Monday Militia, what is?

So, that's my kindness for this week...

So, if you didn't fulfill your mission this week, what did you do? Did you have smiles at the beach? Did you enjoy a story with a small person? Did you live a joyous moment abundently? and share your joy?

Do tell...

How are you enjoying joy and SPREADING it???

OR, perhaps you had the most CRAPTASTIC week ever...did you?

Did you want to wallow in your own crap and just die?

Well, STOP!

SMILE!

YOU!

YES!

YOU!

are not alone....

and tomorrow....

will.

be.

better.

or. not.

but perhaps the day after.

and.

we always have....

HOPE!

LOVE YOU ALL!

A project for this week...

I've been finishing a stack of beads that I made earlier this week and am beginning to upload them to the shop. One of the projects on my to do list has been to find the right background set up that is neutral enough to accommodate several different styles and is also portable. In the past, I've used ceramic tiles, a rusty old white chair, and a worn out table. I never dug the way the photos looked on the tile, and the rusty chair and worn out table weren't portable in that they stayed outside all the time so if there was rain, it made it difficult to shoot photos.

The worn out table is getting really worn out. The other day, I tried to drag it into better light and one of the legs began to crumble away so I decided it was finally time to come up with a more permanent solution.

I pondered all of the different solutions: nice scrapbook paper, my stash of handmade paper, old books etc. but I really wanted something that was mine all mine, and differentiated my work from other's work out there, especially in the glut of mixed media work that is on Etsy already.

So, I decided to paint my own background.

I painted 2 base pieces for shooting pieces flat. Then I also painted several small blocks to match that I could stack and get a bit of height for laying out finished pieces or leaning pendants.





I painted to base pieces so that there was extra room to butt them together if I needed more space or alternatively, I can prop one up to make a wall behind if need be.



I'm really pleased with how the first batch of shots turned out and I'm digging the finish I put on them. I feel like the careful consideration and all the trial and error up to this point was worth it.



*Little tip, make sure you use a matte paint or else you'll still get a glare. Use decorator acrylics, or if you're using nice acrylics, mix in a bit of cheap craft store acrylic to matte it down a bit.

There are some new things in the shop today and a few more over the next couple days to come as well. Be sure subscribe to my RSS feed on Etsy to stay up to date or become my friend on Facebook.