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Mom Necklace

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9th!  Enjoy FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING in all of my shops thru Mother's Day! 

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

So, today I decided to try my hand at cooking again, and I made Sweet and Sour Pork Chops using this recipe.  They actually came out pretty good!  I'm excited. I should've taken a picture, but I didn't think about it.   I'm NO cook, but lately I've had the urge to try, so so far I've mastered Hamburger Helper and Green Been Casserole.  (Stop laughing.) My mom's going to come visit next weekend and help me with some more recipes.  I need to get a covered skillet, a 3 quart casserole dish, and a spoon rest.  She's pretty excited that I'm trying to cook as well.  LOL.

Love Tweet Recipe Cards by Recipe Box

Project Active - I have to start exercising!

I have to exercise every day, and now I'm going to blog about it so that maybe I'll actually do it.  I always get started and then hit a setback and then take a month to ponder the setback and then start up again.  Do you exercise every day?  What do you do?

~Lori

Witty and Cuddly Fleece Blanket by Ash Tree Creations

Bad Dreams are Made of This...

If anyone ever wants to recruit me to join a terrorist organization or a fight club, they should hit me with it at approximately twenty seconds after I wake up in the morning. I'm in such a bad mood in the morning that my first thought is almost always, "I should go buy a gun." I think this phenomenon of morning rage is caused by some bizarre dreams that I always have after waking up 4 hours prior to feed my entitled cats. (And the second I typed that sentence, my youngest cat started crying right next to my chair.)

*spends 5 minutes cuddling her*

Now, I know what you're thinking? Why would a would-be-terrorist take any time out of her day to cuddle a cat? Well, she's not just any cat. She's enormous and when you pick her up, she feels more like a chimp that a cat, and since chimps are close to humans via that radical thing called 'evolution,' I can pretend I have a devoted child who wants to cheer me up. And claw me by accident.

Ah, parenthood.

Well, I'm feeling a little better now. My desire to fire a shotgun has faded away. Have a great day everyone! (Or else....)

~Lori

Still time to enter my giveaway.

Nightmares and Vision The Fork by strange fascination..

How to Put a Button on Your Blog

This video uses the Handmade Highway badge as an example. Enjoy! The video looks crazy when I embed it. Just click here to watch it. I talk you through the whole thing.

Lori :-)

Spring Pendant Giveaway from Risky Beads!

It's been a looooooooong time since I did a giveaway, so I thought I'd do one today. This Modern Spring pendant is representative of some new pieces I've made.

The pendant is 40mm x 30mm and it hangs from 18" (46 cm) of the softest brown leather you'll ever way. It closes with a lobster clasp and I can add an extender if you need one or shorten it if need be!

How to Enter:
Simply visit my shop and comment below with:
*a link to your favorite piece
*your email address

Extra Entries:
*blog about my giveaway with a link to this post on your blog and comment below with the link and your email address
*Tweet this post and comment back with a link to your tweet

Limit of 3 entries per person (shop visit, blog, tweet). Giveaway will close next Tuesday, April 20th and winner will be selected by random draw. This Giveaway is open to everyone.

Have fun!

~Lori

Glee and the Handmade Seller

I was watching Glee today as my DVR recorded it, which turned out to be a good thing since I forgot it was coming back this week. That show does a great job of putting a teenage mindset on everything that's happening. Relationships begin and end in 24 hours with extreme fanfare and angst (and musical numbers, No Fair!); alliances and enemies are made and destroyed every 15 min. It made me realize that I often have that feeling about my shop. Make a sale and the world is perfect; go a couple days without a sale, and I'm revamping my entire life, questioning my choice of safety schools that I never needed, and re-pondering the whole Coke/Pepsi thing. It's like living in a fishbowl; you swim and swim and swim, always forgetting that you spend half your time in a castle regardless of where you go.

Oooh, look, a sale! What was I saying?

Keep Calm and Carry On plaque courtesy of Whimsical Xpressions.

Rebranding-I think I'm happy with it....

I made myself sit and stare at my new branding for about a week before I broke down and got business cards, etc. I think I'm happy with it now. I sent off for these new products from Vistaprint today. I'm excited to see how they turn out because graphic design is not my forte!

Business cards: (I went for the glossy finish this time. Woo hoo!)

Return address label:


Postcards:

Well, here's hoping they look okay when they get here. My track record is about 50/50 on that when I do it myself. Do you like?

~Lori

A birthday gift for a sweet little guy....

I'm excited because I'm going to see a good friend of mine for dinner tonight. His name is Henry, and he's 3. I spent ten years of my life working with children 0-5, and I really miss it sometimes, so my nieces and my friend's children get to make up for that. :) He's a picture of Henry from about 6 mos. ago. Fair warning, he's a little heart breaker! (Look at those eyelashes. What a cutey pie!)

I buy handmade 98% of the time and have gotten some great gifts for kids on Etsy. Here's what Henry is getting this year:

Recycled Dinosaur Crayons

Recycled Tractor Crayons

Crayons come from Ivy Lane Designs on Etsy.

And a huge pad of paper!

Oh, childhood. You own me.

~Lori

Things I Wonder About - a linguistic pet peeve...

I've been wondering about this for awhile.  When did 'waiting in line' become 'waiting ON line?'  I get the heebie jeebies every time someone says 'on line.'  As I write this and look at it on the screen, I realize that maybe it's a morphed expression since we're all 'online' all the time.  But as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as 'waiting on line.'  For that act to be possible, a line would have to be something I could get on top of...like a kitchen table or a soap box or Ashton Kutcher.  And it's not.  You don't wait 'on line,' @#%%, you wait 'in line' because you're in the line, you're a part of it just like everyone else.  A line is something you get 'in' like a hot mess or Harvard, or if it's a really good day, Ashton Kutcher.  ::ahem::

So today I was 'in line' at the bank and several traffic lights. I am now 'online' and done sharing for today.  Thanks for playing!

Image from Dumb Fruck by JAmesAP.

Rebranding Risky Beads

You know how sometimes you have an idea that's almost complete but not completely complete? That's how it is for me and branding. I get a partial concept in my head and then stew about it for 6 months until I can finally see it. So last night when I was giving myself a shot of migraine medicine, I looked at the syringe in my hand and BINGO!

Whoever would've believed that a migraine could produce that!

My Underwater Casino Bracelet made it into a Treasury!

Isn't this pretty? Just Charming did a great job!



Please click and give it some lovin'!!

Thanks, Lori

Prices Lowered Across the Board in my Etsy Shop

Over the past few days, I've lowered prices across the board in my Etsy shop anywhere from a few cents to several dollars. I haven't made it over to Zibbet, ArtFire, and 1000 Markets yet...my inventory is so large it takes forever, so for the best deal right now, shop Etsy!!

Today's Tasks and (already) Tribulations!

Well, let's see what's on tap for today....

**Inventory management. I took a great picture of this and then my trusty camera bit the dust. Oy vey.

**Complete a ton of brand new button rings.

**Attempt some more pilates, but this time have EMS standing by, lol.

**Fold laundry.

I think the only muscles in shape on my body are on my hands because all I do is bead, write, and blog!

Wow-Another Treasury!

Many thanks to Jackie Schmitt Silver Works for featuring another one of my pieces, Book of Lust, in a Treasury! Please click and enjoy!




That Leather Rose Necklace is so cool, isn't it??

~Lori

My Key to Success Necklace is in a Treasury today!

Many thanks to Jackie Schmitt Silver Works for putting this cool Treasury together! Please click and enjoy!

Ready for the Oscars?

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the Oscars this Sunday, Mar. 7, 2010 at 8 EST, 5 PST on ABC. Want to cast your own ballot? Here you go!

Trying new things - decoupage, etc.

It takes a lot of effort to run a jewelry shop on a gazillion different venues, and sometimes it's just nice to try something new. Something got me inspired to try decoupage and other different styles of jewelry. I think I get bored easily. One of the nice things about trying something new that you aren't even convinced will work is that you get majorly involved in the process and forget about everything else. Here is my first successful decoupage work: a pendant and matching earrings. The decoupage is only part of the pieces, there was still plenty of beading to do!

I call these pieces, Psychedelic Swamp!

pendant

earrings

Blog-stipation

Argh - I need to update more often! Workspace today... February 22, 2010. Can you tell my muse is generally on a creative crime spree? LOL. She takes no prisoners...unless they're crafty.

Who Wrote the Book of Love?

Look at this cool Treasury by TAGLine Designs! My Love Hurts necklace is in good company!

Enjoy, Lori

The 2010 Valentine Video!

Those of you that follow my blog, know that I like to make goofy videos. Here's this year's Valentine Vignette! Enjoy!!



~Lori

Market Research-2010 Color Trends

I subscribe to Gift Beat, and they had a very interesting article in their last issue about color trends to watch for 2010 from Sherwin-Williams, the paint giant. You can view the palette in detail here. Here's a screen shot of what to expect. If you click the link above you can delve further into the colors. There are 4 themes for 2010: Rooted, Treasured, Simplified, and Refreshed. Pretty, huh?
Color always inspires me like crazy! Hope you enjoyed!

~Lori

Obama-The Perfect, The Good, The Ugly

In case you haven't heard, there's a huge election in Massachusetts today where Martha Coakley (D) is in a Senate race for her life and the life of the Democratic majority in the Senate against Scott Brown (R). Coakley's run a lackluster, obtuse campaign and Democrats are having a collective freak out because Ted Kennedy's seat may go to a tea party candidate whose convictions run as deep as friendships on Jersey Shore. Oy. This is not good. A Coakley loss could mean the 'death of healthcare.'

Throughout the entire lead up to this election, Obama and the White House have made many miscalculations that are probably going to cost them. As a proud member of 'Obama's base,' I offer where I think Obama and the greater 'Obama machine' went wrong.

Incorrect Assumptions...

1. The vibrant base that elected Obama would somehow become tone-deaf once he got into office and behave as sheep pining for a shepherd.

WRONG. Why? Who do you think Obama's base is? Folks who have no access to technology? Folks who ran off into the hills after the election, waiting for smoke signals about the 2012 race? No. The base who elected Obama...their lives are filled with nuance. We aren't ignorant. We understand the difference between a public option and an exchange. We understand what it really means to allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. We're sickened by vote buying and lame-ass elected Democrats. We despise bail outs and pointless wars. This is 2010, dude. We tweet all damn day. We practically know what you ate for lunch.

2. Any attempt at bi-partisanship is better than none. Oh, and it's noble, too.

WRONG: And WRONG. We have a -0 respect for Republicans in general, and quite frankly, we don't understand why Obama has any at all. Why campaign effectively against Republicans and then throw all of that momentum in the crapper the second you enter the White House? Have the Republicans done anything to help you or the country? No. They blew the 2008 election by thinking that running an empty vessel for Vice President was even more fabulous than the empty vessel who ran this country for 8 years. (They called you a terrorist, remember?) They risked the basic security of our country for their own political gain FOR 12 YEARS IN A ROW. Can we please not aim for a baker's dozen here?

This isn't a Montessori school exercise in social graces. This is the United States of America. The Republicans presided over a corrupt war; they drained our economy to fund it with mercenaries from Blackwater and cost-plus contracts to Haliburton and KBR; they tortured and imprisoned people for nothing; they took their eye off the real terrorism ball; they presided over a gargantuan theft of wealth by bailing out Wall Street, and they called anyone who questioned their actions in this regard un-American and un-patriotic. Today, they show up at mis-named rallies with goofy ass hats, tea bags, and absolutely sick posters.

At this point, striving for bi-partisanship in this climate is the actual unpatriotic thing to do.

3. The perfect can never be the enemy of the good.

WRONG. Why not? Sometimes the distance between good and perfect is a country mile on a foggy day. The perfect is always the enemy of the good. They're supposed to be enemies. If they weren't, how would we know what we're fighting for? Where are the standards, the goals, the benchmarks, the platform shoes of our platform? There's a difference between the good (a dirt road) and the perfect (a paved road) when that dirt road runs backwards at no lawful speed limit (dirt road and all that) and crashes into the same trees that it was trying to get away from. Who's going to fix that car? The perfect mechanic who was overlooked for the good one? Turns out 'the good one' doesn't even work on cars. He works on motorcycles. Whoops, our bad. (Come on, he looked so 'good' on his resume.)

4. The best time to expose your backbone is after you've had the crap beaten out of you in a Democratic state.

WRONG. Granted, I'd like to see that backbone again because I'm starting to think it was a temporary medical procedure or something, but mirages aside, if this is what it takes to get Obama riled up, then someone in the White House has let the perfect be the enemy of the good for waaaay to long.

Mr. President, your base was so fired up after your election that we would've moved to the moon to outsmart Al-Qaeda. Now, we can't even outsmart a tea bagger in Massachusetts. We don't want to look that stupid. We're the liberal elite, remember?

~Lori

The Capitol Necklace 14K gold by Lanyapi

My Memory's Not What It Used To Be

I have a difficult time remembering some phases of my life. Part of that is from years on Topamax, or as those of us who tired of it, 'Stupamax.' I took it in an attempt to regulate my migraines, but I don't take it anymore. Anyhoo, there are huge sections of the first 40 years of my life that I don't remember. I've been cleaning out my apartment lately because I have an irrational fear of becoming a hoarder (lol-thank you A&E). In the process of this cleaning, I found a box of years of canceled checks. I started to flip thru them and some of my memories returned. I'm going to use them to reconstruct my life and write about it here.

So, here goes nothing...

January is Organization Time!

January is a popular month for re-organizing. I freely admit that I love organizing my beads as much as I enjoy making jewelry with them. I hardly ever throw away a container without thinking, 'I could put beads in that!' Here are some interesting organizational options from our handmade friends at Etsy:

Distressed Brown with Aqua Flowers Desktop Organizers

Large Knitting Needle Case

Get Organized Chalk Vinyl Labels

Trendy Trash Brown Dots, FREE SHIPPING

Coupon Organizer Jezebel

Tan & Blue Stripe purse organizer

twenty 10 calendar

*whew* Are you inspired yet? You know you are!!

Until next time, Lori