I've been thinking about doing more focal beads, so I did this large one and with the leftover clay I made some coordinating beads. I strung them temporarily on craft wire with some commercial beads in between. I hope it gives someone browsing on Etsy an idea or 2 that they could make with the set. Because of the hole placement in the focal bead, it could be turned and used in a different setting as well.

The next 3 sets of beads that I'll be listing in the next 2 days are some that I am trying something new with. The polish that I have been using produces a nice sheen which is perfect for some projects. The 3 new sets have been polished with a diamond polish that creates a high shine end product. They are really pretty, in 3 totally different color palettes.

Working with polymer clay is really rewarding. Like working with paints as a kid, you can blend any colors you want to create a new color. stacking, slicing, and blending and forming create subtle changes in the colors, and the designs you can make with the colors within the shape are endless. Lots of artists like to make "canes" with intricate designs of flowers, etc. You can buy a pasta machine to do all of the blending for you, using charts and recipes for just the right amount to get the color desired. I prefer to handblend because, after all, it's about handcrafting, the pleasure one gets from working with one's hands, and enjoying the different colors that emerge during blending. Many times I am aiming for a certain color blend, but something else emerges partway through blending, and I like it so much I stop blending right there. I like the more organic designs that come from less elaborate stacking patterns. Sometimes a soft blending of 3 or 4 base colors leads to the most breathtaking finished beads.

Working with the clay is therapeutic too!

papercranes

If you've never heard this group, you must check them out. To quote Satellite mag's review, "Rain Phoenix's sweetly organic and ethereal voice guides Gainesville's indigenous papercranes' album, Vidalia, over beautifully painted landscapes and out into the spaciest corners of the music's final frontier." "a modern sonic Monet".

I just love them.

http://www.papercranesmusic.com/

I lived in Gainesville for a time when my ex was going to UF. It seemed an average college town surrounded by little redneck hamlets. I went to nursing school just south of there in Ocala. I totally loved living there and miss it a lot. People were a lot more laid back in FL than here in NC. and generally a lot more open minded. dont get me wrong, I'm appreciative to be able to provide a low crime area with good values for my kids to grow up in, but one of the 2 seem to be gravitating towards the right and buying into what he hears around him. I grew up under similar circumstances and know the perils of that. It took me nearly 40 years to get my head right from growing up in a part of the country overrun with judgemental evangelical fanatics. And here I am raising my kids close to home. Not a well thought out plan, eh?

Sometimes it's hard to know just how narrowminded people are til you spend a little time with them and they start to say things. Although some hide it down much deeper or they don't even realize that there is another way of thinking ....

Well, off that tangent now....I've returned to crocheting and am currently working on yet another scarf, with some yarn I bought just because I like it, with no real project in mind for it. It's a soft novelty yarn in green with little bits of other bright colors. I actually used it recently to ply some handspun yarn that I'll be listing on www.wildblackberries.etsy.com soon.

I thought it'd be great for some mittens and it was not til after starting that project that I discovered that in order to be able to see past the poofiness to see the stitches, it has to be too loose a stitch to work for mittens. I needed to crochet last night at my girl's practice, so I started a scarf. It would be really helpful if I would take note of the gauge and hook size on projects, but I don't. I am so instruction reading impaired that I just usually wing it anyhow. sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

These are some of my favorite beads I have listed on Etsy right now. I made my first sale of a set of purple polymer clay beads on Friday. So exciting for me! The buyer asked if I ever sell "orphan" beads. So, I'm in the process of putting together some of these for photos.

It's getting dark about the time I get off work now, and the kids have afterschool and evening activities 5 days a week, and 2 Saturday games, so I must wait til Sunday to do photos. My indoor photos are never good enough, so I have to take them outdoors.

How about this weather? It just doesnt seem like December does it? But I'm not complaining. I don't want any cold weather unless snow is included.

My god, there is a muppets rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas on the radio right now. Unbelievable. I still love the Charlie Brown christmas song and The Grinch.