Faded Pictures ... Of The Way We Were ...

It was the 60's and fashion ... well what can I say about fashion in the 60's other than it was a time of women's lib; fashions were wild, crazy and short, very short ... the shorter the better.

Photo above - Taken December 1969 of friends and family.  Notice the lady standing at the back of the group, her flamboyant dress had a 3" hem of  black fringe.  It was the fringe alone that made the length of her dress almost respectable.  But that was Gin, she liked her legs and as Flip Wilson used to say; "If ya got it,  flaunt it." 

Burrowing deep into our photo albums, rummaging amongst yellowed, grainy photos of a time long ago, old memories surfaced.

Photo above - This is the full version of the cropped photo at the top of my blog post.  Most of the ladies in the room showed a lot of thigh when seated. The 2 young men in the foreground are brothers, Steve and Terry, their mother, Patty, is seated next to them in the blue dress.  Steve is the older, taller brother; Terry, the younger was a free-spirited young man who later lost his life in a silly car race of "chicken".   Perhaps had he not been so drunk and not had that teenage sense of immortality he would be alive today; married and with a family of his own.

The year was 1969, the occasion my wedding to John, a marriage that has lasted 40 years and counting. No big fancy church, no rented hall or catered services, just a few close friends and a quiet civil ceremony performed at the courthouse by a judge. Funds were low as we had just purchased our new home and, since it was a second marriage for both of us, we decided that a lasting marriage was not built upon a formal ceremony with all the bells and whistles.

Photo above - John and I, the bride and groom; next to us, Jan and Don, our best man and maid of honor.  I always thought Don and Jan would end up together but fate had other plans.  Dig the skinny tie on my darling hubby.   I had on at least 3 inch high heels, otherwise the top of my head would barely reach John's shoulder.

Yes I have to admit that I've use photo editing to remove the yellow patina of the old photos and corrected the contrast to compensate for what time had faded but my editing program was not sophisticated enough to do much about the old grainy look.

Small Space Photo Studio

Many of us find ourselves searching for more space; a cabinet in which to stash that large crab boil pot that we use maybe once a year or a cupboard for the old set of Grandma's china that we've inherited. Constantly we're seeking places to store our old and newly acquired treasures.  In today's life style not only do our belongings need space, so do our hobbies; it may be well and good to commandeer a corner of the dinning room, a nook in the living room or even converting a small closet into our "studio" but what happens when space runs out?

For some time now I've been using the top of our guest bedroom dresser as my "photo studio". With a top that measures 20 inches deep and perhaps 40 inches long, plus a large mirror that infringed upon this space making photography awkward, something had to be done and adding an addition to our home was not an option.


Then a friend gave me a great idea on where I could garner my much needed photo studio space and though it may work for me you may find it unfeasible in your own situation.


My home is small but it does have 3 full bathrooms.  The smallest of the baths held little usable space; counter tops are small, floor space meager...however there is a tub. Could this tub alcove be used as a workable photo studio ? Well I'll let you be the judge of that.

Photo above ... John, my darling hubby, cut a large sheet of 3/4 thick plywood to fit across the top of the tub. He knew the weight of the plywood would not be enough to keep it from slipping about on the tub rim, therefore he measured exactly where restraints would have to be placed to prevent the plywood from shifting. I certainly would not want to be photographing items and suddenly have my photo studio dumped into the bathtub. Chunks of 2 x 4's are securely screwed to the underside of the plywood sheet and act as a brace keeping it from sliding.

Photo above and below ... Using more plywood and 2 x 4's, John constructed a table that pretty much fills the space within the tub alcove and then anchored it firmly to the foundation sheet of plywood. Everything is a solid as a rock; no wiggles, no jiggles, no sliding, no slipping.

Photo above ... The table is covered with a white sheet to hide the less than decorative  wood and now all is ready for setting up my "photo studio".

My light box, camera stand and a couple of halogen light fixtures were acquired by way of a lucky eBay bid, in the finale moments of its auction, I made a bid that was just $1.01 over the highest bidder and won the light box set...a $60 value (supposedly) for $21 with FREE SHIPPING ! I figure I probably couldn't beat that price again even if I had a baseball bat to do it with.

The aluminum reflector lights were purchased at my local Home Depot for about $5 each. A friend, who's a semi-professional photographer, suggested I get some daylight energy efficient bulbs to use in my reflectors, even gave me the name; "GE Energy Smart Daylight 6500K" .  They are fantastic and I'm passing the recommendation on to you.

 

So there's my "Photo Studio" and when I wish to hide it...no problem.

Red and White Was Picked For A Treasury ...

News Flash ... Blog update ...

Just listed my Red and White necklace with the red marbled Alaska Boro bead today in my etsy shop and just got an email telling me it is featured in a treasury and a truly lovely, sweet as a candy cane treasury  at that.  Check it out and please give it a little love as it could use a few more comments.  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9394784a586d9131c21a17/original-red#4c939772c7768eefb5723174

If you haven't read my blog about my beaded rope necklaces and Alaska Boro Beads but you'd like to, then please scroll down  to the next post and catch up. :)

North To Alaska For That Elusive Large Hole Bead

Lately I've been occupied with making a few beaded rope necklaces using tiny 3 mm Czech glass beads. So far I've crafted 3 ropes in a combo of sapphire blue and deep garnet; and 1 each in a combo of red and white pearl opal and in deep red and light wine. These ropes look lovely on their own but are striking when used as a necklace for a slider pendant or large hole glass art bead. My only problem was trying to find large hole glass beads with a truly large hole.

Jim of Alaska Boro was able to solve this dilemma for me. Jim took on the challenge and began to experiment with creating a bead that would fulfill my requirements. This was no simple task as glass has its properties and a glass artist must recognize and respect the limitations that molten glass has. But Jim persevered, ultimately using not only a much larger bead mandrel but a hollow one to allow the metal mandrel to attain higher temperatures more quickly than the solid metal one. He also had to somehow intensify the flame on his torch so that it would produce more heat. 
To be truthful I didn't understand the technical details but did get the general idea of the challenges that had to be met and vaguely comprehended such things as;  a hotter flame but not necessarily a bigger flame was required because these large holed beads are made on a larger steel mandrel the mandrel itself takes more heat.   The exact "HOW" all of this was technically accomplished is in the realm of the true glass bead artist and totally alien to me.  However, I got my large hole beads and I have  Alaska Boro (Jim ) to thank for helping make my vision a reality. :)

Since I have recently taken up the art of kumihimo these large hole beads will be doubly useful. If there are any jewelry makers out there that fabricate either beaded rope necklaces or kumihimo braided cord necklaces Jim's large hole glass masterpieces might be just the perfect element to set it at center stage. The beads can vary slightly in diameter but the center hole measures very close to 1 centimeter or 3/8 inch. Be sure to check out Jim's website at: http://www.alaskaboro.com/


Below are some photos of my beaded ropes and the Alaska Boro Beads that I purchased. I think the beads are stunning and the perfect adornment for my simple beaded ropes.

I would sincerely appreciate your viewpoints and comments about my beaded ropes, Alaska Boro beads  and the combination of the two.

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Our local hawks come visiting with frequent regularity and for some reason this particular utility pole is a favorite perch.  Unfortunately I'm still packing my old camera around, yes the one held together with a big purple rubber band, so I continue to be without the zoom capacity that is required for sharp close-up shots.  Earlier Jr.'s dad was perched on the wire alongside of  him but since I had to approach so close the older, wiser patriarch flew off to a branch of a tall tree just a short distance away. 
Our front yard is a favorite hunting ground for them,  I certainly hope they've been busy catching the little moles that have created a major highway system of burrows in our yard.

Hoarders ... Living in the Rubble

TV's Hoarders is strangely mesmerizing, in the same way that a train wreck is...no matter how much you want to avert your eyes away from the carnage, you can't.


Over a year ago I watched my first couple of hoarder shows and it was obvious that people afflicted with this problem have some type of mental aberration that compels them to acquire, accumulate, salvage and save all that they can. It is a mental condition much like obsessive/compulsive, or bi-polar disorder or a number of other real and tangible mental conditions that affect humanity. Even with today's advances in medical technology the human brain is still a complex mystery and the cause of a number of mental disorders remains elusive.

The people in the first few episodes, a year or so ago, seemed more believable, more genuine, theirs was a problem that wouldn't, couldn't go away in just a day or two. They along with their therapist spent months trying to cope and get control over their obsession; this compulsion that made them cling to any and all objects, unable to discard or relinquish the smallest thing. At the end of the first few episodes the hoarder was still in a struggle with their disorder, their living spaces may have been cleared enough to allow for a semblance of normality in perhaps a room or two, but definitely not more and some were not able to achieve even that level.


With this past week's latest Hoarders episodes, the people affected were given time limits and ultimatums, doing all the things that psychiatrist said were counter productive in this disorder. Teams barged through the homes like a swarm of locust and in a short amount of time all garbage was tossed, all clutter ditched, things were cleaned up and the home returned to a habitable condition. Can it really be so simple?


It was during my first viewing of a hoarder's program that I realized my stepfather had been a hoarder. He was forever buying items at garage sales, liquidation sales, going out of business sales, as long as the item was at greatly reduced prices he could not resist the bargain and soon his basement storage area was packed waist deep in clutter; items stashed so compactly that it was impossible to gain access into the basement. Every nook and cranny of his small apartment was filled with broken phonographs that he wanted to repair, boxes of old LP records, knick-knacks and bric-a-brac. My sisters and I just laughed and said that dad was a pack rat but now I see it was really more than that.   Once, while dad was away,  the owner of the apartments, Tom, came in and cleared everything out of the basement...every thing !  Tom said it took two dump trucks to haul it all away.  Tom and dad had been good friends for a number of years but when dad returned home and discovered the basement empty, he was enraged over the loss of his "things".  It was a loss that terminated their long standing friendship.


To this day I wonder what would have happened if my sisters and I had the knowledge that we have today about hoarding. What would have happened had we gotten together and actually helped dad have that yard sale that he always talked about but never got around to having? Could we have intervened some how? Could we have made a difference ? In hindsight there are always so many more questions...so many more could've, would've, should'ves.

A 2nd Etsy Shop ? ... Oh Bother !!!

I would really love to open a second shop on Etsy but I find the idea of having to open another email account to do so a big turn off.  Etsy admin says they're going to be working on a feature that will allow us to have multiple shops under one email account, however the question is "When?"

The last few days I've been preoccupied with doing seed bead jewelry and when I pick up my beading needle and seed beads it becomes like an addiction.  I become consumed with the desire to complete the project and find it hard for me to break away from my creation.   Busy as a bee I completed not one but 4 beaded rope necklaces.

This Sapphire Blue and Dark Garnet Beaded Rope is one I would love to post on Etsy but since my only shop is a Beading and Jewelry Making Supplies shop I don't want to saturate it with my handcrafted jewelry. 

Photo above...Beaded Rope Necklace made with small 3mm glass beads. 

Photo above...The beaded rope is very flexible and has my unique hand beaded ring and loop clasp.

Photo above...Shown with clasp towards front.

Photos below...Now to dress it up a bit with my own handcrafted beaded pendant.

Photos below...show that my pendant is reversible, for 2 different looks.

Photo below...Here's the blue side.

Photo below...And here's the deep garnet side.

I think it would make a fabulous gift for the holidays or a lovely Christmas present, but I'm afraid that the holidays of 2010 will long be over before etsy gets around to implementing its multiple shops under one email account.   So my dilemma is should I open another shop now or wait ?

Gorgeous Pillow Giveaway

As I was tripping through blogs I fell into another lovely giveaway ... Beautiful pillows the winner gets a choice of either pink or blue ...  over at The Penny Candy Blog ...

The prize a lovely handmade pillow.   I think they are just divine and yes, they're very special,  designed to be a baby's keepsake pillow or just as lovely as a ring bearer's pillow. 

But for me, should I be so fortunate to win, I have my eye on the blue pillow and it will hold a special place of honor in the very middle of my pile of decorative bed pillow.  So go on now, check out Jamie's :  The Penny Candy Blog.   I figure the more giveaways I enter, the better my odds are of winning something. :)

REMINDERS

Plantress has taken some new photos of her large baroque pearl earrings and they look better than ever in the proper lighting...hey, don't we all, hee, hee.
What a pair of gorgeous earrings and they will be absolutely free to the winner of Plantress' Giveaway Drawing...but hurry as the drawing is just about coming to an end, only 1 day remains.

ANOTHER GREAT GIVEAWAY.

Lately I've been finding that giveaway fever has seemly struck the blogging kingdom. So for those of you who love giveaways, and I haven't met many who didn't, I've discovered another great blog with an amazing giveaway.    
One of my lovely blogging friends is having one outstanding giveaway!
The blog is Freely You Have Received - Freely Give

The prize is :

A GOLD LIMITED EDITION IPOD SHUFFLE. Now there's a giveaway prize just about anyone would love to win.  Post a comment on her blog and let her know you found her through A Beader's Blog.

A Pearl of a GIVEAWAY from Plantress...

Now confess, you love getting something for nothing...right? Well I know I sure do! That's why we all love to enter giveaways, the chance to win a prize, get a lovely gift, a little freebie.

Well here's a wonderful giveaway that you have to check out. Plantress has a pair of enchanting pearl earrings that would look divine on any girl or lady and her requirements are simple and easy...Just head on over to her blog and check it out ... tell her aBeader'sBlog sent you. :)
But hurry as this Giveaway ends on Sunday...

MysticWynd

I have been away from my blog for a little while and allowing my batteries to recharge but this morning I received a notice from Karen at the  MysticWynd  blog, that drew me back into the lovely world of blogdom.  Karen has featured my handcrafted beaded flower bead in her blog post.  Today's MysticWynd post is all about plum and purple, it begins with a mouth watering recipe for plum pierogies, followed by some absolutely gorgeous etsy finds in rich and regal plum-purple.

HOPE FOR A CURE

Rose Quartz Heart Pendant with Sterling Silver awareness ribbon bail.

This morning I listed a new item in my supply shop on Etsy. Being that October is not that far away and happens to be Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought there'd be many shops featuring a few Hope For A Cure items in their inventories. I went into the Etsy promotions forums and proudly posted a thread encouraging others to post their own Breast Cancer Awareness items. Pink ribbons, hearts anything!

Now I'm not sure if no one really had absolutely nothing or if everyone was so eager to participate in all the many BNR's on the promo forum that they could not take a moment to check out what they might have had in their own shop that would qualify.  All I do know is that October is just around the corner and people should be focusing on a very important calendar event, a reminder to all women ... as we all share this common fear and if we haven't battled this enemy personally we all know someone who has.  Breast Cancer has left no life untouched by its indiscriminate hand ... any color, any race almost any age. 

Maybe I just expect too much and find this subject close to my heart as I've lost a couple of close friends to this disease and have had several other friends who've had to go through mastectomies and chemo.   All that's left to say is I pray and HOPE FOR A CURE. 

SHADES Of GREASE

Not long ago I had a mishap with my camera.  As I attempted to extract the photo memory card from its safe little recess, the door (or cover) to the card access literally fell off.  On inspection I found that one of the plastic hinge pegs had broken. 
To make a very long story short:
1. Camera will not turn on without door/cover being completely closed.
2. Having this cover replaced entails sending the camera back to the manufacturer which means it would be cheaper to just purchase a new camera.
3. My camera is currently being held together by a purple 1/4" thick rubber band. Thankfully my hubby did not use duct tape or chewing gum.
4. This is definitely not the best solution and hopefully only temporary...of course if I have to buy a new camera with profits from my Etsy shop it could well BE a permanent situation.

So today I post  pictures that my daughter took of my granddaughters gone retro...shades of "Grease", Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.  Can you tell which girl is the ham in the family?

Oh yes Grease is back and better than ever, that fluff of a feel good movie will never die and neither will its music.  Remember; "Beauty School Drop Out" ? "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee" ?

GORGEOUS ALASKABORO BEADS...

One of AlaskaBoro's divine beads

Slept last night...what a blessing !!!  We never fully appreciate something so simple and so basic as sleep until we miss it.

Just wanted to share with all of you a most fantastic website and artist.  The art; beautiful handcrafted glass beads, in particular Beautiful Boro Beads.  Please take a moment to visit Jim's website (Jim lives in Alaska) any one of these beads would look amazing on a simple little chain or cord.  Jim's site:  AlaskaBoro  .  Or visit his lovely glass pendants:  PENDANTS  ( just click the highlighted link to view, may have to use the forward/back buttons to return?) 
Jim's beads are stunning and very, incredibly, reasonably priced.  Now all that's left to do is decide on which one's to get;  as for me I want them all and I bet you'll find at least one that catches your eye. Let me know what you think.

TO SLEEP...Perchance to...sleep...

Sleep, blissful sleep.  We never fully appreciate the simple act of dozing off until we can't.  For the past 4 nights sleep has been elusive for me and today I am running on empty...head feels like its filled with sawdust or cotton...keep losing my balance and bumping into things.  I've never had it this bad before.

The first night it started out with a fitful night of no sleep, a night of tossing and turning, of getting up countless times until the early light of dawn drug me out of my torture.  This  followed by 3 nights of finally falling to sleep around 3:00 am and waking again at 6:30 am.  Last night was the same, unable to shut down the brain and fall into soothing deep slumber. 

Insomnia, perhaps...or perhaps just the constant worry of having a failing business and what to do next.  Since Google took over the syndication of all of etsy's shops my views and sales have basically flat lined and nothing I've done seems to resuscitate it.  It's as though Google has stopped crawling my site and even my new listings have been known to sit there for days with only 1 view...which of course is my view !
So perhaps it's worry over what am I going to do with over $10,000 in beads and jewelry making supplies...all I do know is right now I would gladly pay $10,000 for a full night of restful, refreshing sleep.

An Award to Present

The other day I was obliviously minding my own business, much like this little duck all alone in this pond,  when I a get a comment on my blog..."Hi I have something for you over at my blog."

Kristen, the creator of the blog Kristen-Bead Journey, has just bestowed me with the Versatile Blogger Award. I am very honored to accept this award though I realize that versatility is almost a prerequisite for maintaining a healthy and current blog.


Kristen's own blog, http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/ , is one filled with delightful posts about items ranging from the practical to fantasy and each of her posts makes our life as a reader, richer. Kristen, I thank you deeply for this honor and will gladly pass it on, as is expected. True it is a very difficult choice to choose from so many wondrous and diverse blogs and one I wish could be passed on to each and every blogger on my "Blogs I am Following List" but like all things there are rules and the rules of this award is to thank the giver of the award and pass the award on to 7 others so the honor may be shared.  One must also list 7 things about themselves to  share with their readers.
So...drum roll please....

1.   PrettyMuchArt  - A gorgeous blog filled with stunning finds, lush, rich and colorful. A blog that makes you dream of having the moon and the stars within your reach.


2. Wired4Style13 - Does beautiful wire work using gorgeous cabochons, this blog is more than just eye candy it is inspiration for all of us.


3. LittleGrayFox  - Whose blog is cute, entertaining and full of whimsy, a blog to lighten your soul and make you feel good.


4.  Southern05Belle  - A real southern belle with a blog that is picture perfect and a joy to visit.


5.  KateAndOli  - With a blog that is fresh and sweet and simply lovable, like getting a warm hug.


6. Hauplight  - Fantastically written blog, intriguing to read. This one is on top of my favorites list as her blog is delightfully addictive.


7.  Alygatr  - Yes another favorite of mine, don't let being number 7 fool you because in this case, I've saved the best for last. Aly's blog is filled with humor, wit and charm. Wonderfully written by a charming young lady that is one of the busiest around and one gifted with an abundance of talent.

Most honorable bloggers ... your prestigious award, may you display it proudly ...

Now 7 things about myself...


1. I can't imagine eating escargot, perhaps they taste great but I can't get past what they were before they were cooked.



2. There are at least 2 things I absolutely can not and will not eat without milk...peanut butter sandwiches and cookies. I usually eat brownies or cake with milk, but if the milk jug's empty then it has to have a scoop of ice cream to make it ala mode.



3. I think laundry is a dirty word. You can never get caught up with laundry, the best you can do is stay just one step behind it.



4. I really don't mind growing old...it's the falling apart that I object to.



5. Some people love the desert, some love the sea, I love mountains. So why am I living in the flat land of south Florida ?



6. Show me a craft store that I don't like and I'll show you a store that has gone out of business.



7. And for heaven's sake don't take me to a huge bead shop as you'll never be able to get me out again.



Kristen really had 2 awards that she was passing on to others, this second award I share with any and all bloggers. It is here for you to download and display on your blog it is your award for creating and caring for your blog. For the work you put into it, the time and thought you spend, for having it constantly in your mind night and day. For always striving to give your followers, your readers the best of yourselves, I present you all with the "Sweet Blog Award" for all you sweet bloggers ... Bravo. Keep up the good work ...
 

Working With Beads...

A few years ago I attended a Bead Expo where I picked up a couple of rather expensive kits for beaded beads. One was for a beaded flower bead, I thought it was cute but wouldn't really call it a bead as I'm not sure how one would string it in bead-like fashion. However when I attempted to follow the instructions my flower fell apart...time and time again, also had the same problem with the other beaded bead kit. It seemed that whoever wrote the directions had left something out, finally I gave up on the directions and constructed them my way, the way that seemed most logical.  After incorporating a couple of small changes, the flowers were quite secure...only, what to do with them ?

Photo above...one side of flower has a white center.

Photo below...the other side of the flower sports a black center.

With experimentation I found they could be adapted for use as a small pendant in beaded necklaces.

Photo below...Beaded Flowers in use

Even to this day I can't help but wonder about those poor souls who, with little beading knowledge, faced the frustrations of misleading and incomplete instructions.


I'm considering offering these in my shop AlmostPrecious for use as focal pendant beads but I'm not sure if there'd be any interest. I would truly value and appreciate your input and opinions on this.