Off to the ball!

This weekend:



Pictures on Monday, I promise!

Overcoming and being conquered

So last night after making my post, I realized that while most of my normal crafting pursuits would put strain on my left arm, there was one that I could do mostly one-handed - stringing! The beads went into a shallow lipped tray, and with my right hand I managed to string the beads with very little difficulty.

I had to make a few loops with the wire with both hands in order to secure my strands to the clasp, but those were minimal, and I prevailed! I made multi-strand strung necklace. I have pictures of it and everything. I'd post it, except the PC won't recognize the memory card from the camera. Gah, I say.

I am also being given a raspberry by the printer. Since all my technology is being uncooperative, I'm going to go wash my hair and retire to the sofa with a graphic novel.

A scarcity of posting

The official word from the doctor is tendonitis in my left forearm. I have horsepill anti-inflammatories to take for the next 30 days, and a physical therapy appointment on Monday.

Between that and the laptop going off for repair, and also two major events in the next two weekends, the annual Vampire 's Masquerade Ball in Portland, Oregon followed immediately by Norwescon, things will be a little thin here for a bit. But don't worry, I'll be back! There will be reports to be made of places conquered and people met to come, I promise!

A Year in the Making, day 199

Some of you may remember I'd posted about a set I made where I accidentally "stole" a bead from my daughter. Well, I finally returned her bead to her, as I found a replacement pendant for the set this week!

Clear Faceted Glass Necklace and Earrings



I'm also playing around with some different backgrounds, a few different sheets of scrapbook paper I picked up today while we were stocking the munchkin up on craft supplies.

And a new set for the day, more Swarovski crystals. Have I mentioned before how much I love them? No? Well, really yes, I know. But I have to keep saying it. I am a magpie girl.

Sweetheart Romantic Fuchsia Swarovski Heart Earrings



I also began, and the husband finished (which is how a lot of these projects go) repainting a stand a friend found for me. I've been needing something on which to display my pouches at shows.



Here's how it looked originally, covered in glitter:



You know the saying about glitter, right?



Just in the 10 minute drive home after picking it up, it completely infected the back of my van. Poor van! It's had two turns with the shop vac and there's still some sparkle left. I sanded as much of the glitter off as I could, and then the husband primed it:



And then he painted it nice and black for me:



The stand will have its premiere with me next weekend at Portland's Vampire Ball:



That's six days from now! Eep!

Another Talented Jewelry on Etsy Teammember

And one of my first forays into a styleboard on Kaboodle:

Malves1009 by dbvictoria

Meet Michelle, malves1009 on Etsy. I've got a pair of her cameo earrings that I adore, and that I always get compliments on whenever I wear them.



Her collection has an antique style that I adore. So elegant and classic!

A Year in the Making, day 198

Well, day 193-198 - this is what I've been working on all week, another installment in Artbeads' Beaders who Blog program:


Swarvoski Spring Waterfall by *dbvictoria on deviantART

The theme this time was "The Beauty of Spring", and I decided to try to recreate the look of a field of wildflowers. Sparkly wildflowers. Make another necklace with Swarovski crystal beads? Twist my arm!

The style is the same as I used in my Manna from Heaven necklace.



Their shipments always come so nicely packaged!



I used 3mm peridot bicones and fuchsia flowers in this set:



And here's some more close-up images of the finished product:







There will be a second installment to this post, as I have a dragonfly pendant from their Sterling Silver Components section that has flown away and is looking for more flowers someplace in my living room or dining room!

And now off to rest my arm. It seems I did something horrendous and violent in my sleep, as when I went to bed things were fine but this morning my left arm is very unhappy. I can't extend it all the way without painful twinges, and it's letting me know that it very much does not like picking anything up or typing. Luckily I am a master of one-hand typing, thanks to the cat. And I'm grateful that if one arm has to go out, at least it's my left arm.


***Disclaimer: I have received the products showcased in this post free of charge from ArtBeads, and I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for my endorsement of the products received.

The hedge and I

Today, a gorgeous sunny but slightly chilly day, was the perfect day to finally chop our hedge down to size. It's not 100% done, because there's some parts I just can't reach, and even if I could reach them after an hour of wielding the hedge trimmers my arms were screaming for mercy.

Here's what it looked like before:







and after:







I got the sides fairly straight, amazingly considering how much trouble I have drawing a line with a ruler, but the top is a bit raggedy still. I need a ladder, though, to be able to finish the job right. I also need a different tool to assist, as there were a couple of branches too hefty for the trimmers to chop.

I've been making cuddly with my heating pad, moving it back and forth from shoulder to shoulder this evening, and will probably pop a couple of ibuprofen tonight, just in case. It was the lifting and holding the trimmers perpendicular to my body and at head level that was the really tough part.

Another "I got nuthin" post

Laptop needs to go away for repairs. My poor baby.

Tuesday comes, Tuesday goes

Today, I got nothin'.

I'm in the middle of a big necklace project at the moment, and ran out of light in which to take a good picture, Daylight Saving Time notwithstanding.

Hubby is enabling my time-wasting by encouraging me to pick up the expansion for Dragon Age, which came out today. Wheeeee!

Jury duty this week. In a different courthouse from the last time I did this. Very small. I did clear my wire cutters with the policeman on duty, though. Provided entertainment today for one of my fellow jurors who'd forgotten her book. Every single pair of boots I own set off metal detectors. Talent. Sheer talent.

A year in the Making, day 192

Playing with the picture from my previous post in Photoshop:


The Gunslinger II by *dbvictoria on deviantART

A day in pictures

Another long picture post, starting from last night's dinner:



Boneless chicken breasts, flattened, filled with a mixture of tomato paste, minced garlic, fresh oregano, and salt and pepper. Rolled, topped with more of the tomato mixture and baked. Pasta tossed in a white wine reduction, with a dollop of cream and remaining tomato mixture whisked in just before serving.

Today, we started out at Top Pot Donuts. Mmm .. chocolate iced custard donuts - manna from heaven!

They've got a fun little display, an old TV cabinet set up with a vintage picture:



And the two side walls are covered in floor to ceiling classic leather-bound books:



Munchkin shows off her new Barbie (we went to the toy store because she WAAAAANTED new Legos. She's worked for the last two weeks to earn them, but as soon as we walked in the door and she saw this Barbie, Legos were history)



From there, we moved on to the Emerald City ComiCon. 11 years living in Seattle, and this is the first time we've ever attended. Shame on us!

Of course, we had to make a beeline for one particular booth:



The crowds were fierce, but the munchkin was ready to defend us from the masses:



My photos of Wil Wheaton didn't turn out, unfortunately, but I did get to see Lou Ferigno! What a walk down TV memory lane:



His forearms are still bigger around than my thighs, I'd say. !!!

I didn't get up the nerve to go and talk to him. But, really, what man wants an almost 40-year-old-woman gushing at him about how she loved The Incredible Hunk when she was a child? If I'd even managed to get that much out in a coherent fashion. Gak.

I waited in line for a good forty-five minutes to get a Toy Story drawing from Nate Watson on the cover of the ComiCon special edition comic for the munchkin.



She was ecstatic, and he seemed to be amused by her reaction.



A couple of the costumes I saw, standing in line:







Husband found this to be intensely amusing:



So inanimate and slothful they weren't even there!

And to top the day off, we spotted the Batmobile on our way home!



After changing clothes and getting a spot of lunch, we headed to the park, where I finally got pictures of the bridge there - been meaning to do that for about seven years now! But I always forgot my camera.



(More pictures here)

There were also ducks to be fed:



Mating season seems to be upon us, as there was much posturing and flapping:



Also managed to get a couple of very nice shots of my handsome husband:



And now I am home, buried in purring kitty again, and sipping on my new favorite poison, Mike's Hard Mango Punch.

Oh, and the outfit for the day, the basic framework for my gunslinger outfit:


The Gunslinger by *dbvictoria on deviantART

A Year in the Making, day 190

Should have been posted yesterday, but I forgot. I finally finished the vest for my gunslinger outfit for Steamcon II - Weird, Weird West!



Here's the back view, with the lacing:



Still to do: sleeve garters and holsters for the guns.

A Year in the Making, day 189

I was going to make a big post about being halfway through my year in the making, but I just realized I missed it by a week! Boo on me!

So I'm halfway plus one week through my year of creating and blogging. Over the hump, rolling downhill, and as an earlier previous post proves, collecting moss along the way! I'm still ahead of the game. As of today, I'm at 241 items in 189 days! Go me!

Today's piece, calling out for spring to come back, because we went back to cold dreary rainy weather after a week of gorgeousness:

Dangling Flowers - Lavender and White Glass



Whenever I think of flowers and jewelry, I think of one of my fellow Jewelry on Etsy teammates, Erika Price. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry, with lampwork beads, and my favorites are the pieces she makes with flower glass beads, like these Pink Violet Pansy earrings:



And my favorite, the Symphony Opus 8 necklace:



Yeah, I'm jonesing for my springtime. Bring it on, Mother Nature!

On bookkeeping

I spent the evening entering all my sales and expenses into my 2010 spreadsheet today instead of playing with the sparklies and shinies. I'm always very good at it normally up until about June or July and then I slack off, and am always scrambling at the beginning of January. Every year I say it won't happen this year. We'll see if I'm saying that again in 2011, yes?

I've also started using my stylehive account again. You can peek through my virtual closet and jewelry box here:



Now all I need is a winning powerball ticket.

Yesterday's mystery stone, by the way, is most likely dyed serpentine, with dyed turquoise as the runner-up. My JETs came through again, helping me with the identification!

Now I'm putting down the laptop and stepping away from the virtual world for the evening. I've got that feeling behind my eyes that says unless I go baby myself I could possibly come down with a migraine. Don't want that. Nope.

G'night, all!