A Case of the Sillies

I took a brief break from posting grown-up jewelry to upload a few kid's things, and maybe I have a case of the sillies, but I decided to have fun with the descriptions. Before I got to the nitty-gritty of "this bracelet is made with blah blah blah", I wrote a little goofy story.

Like this one, which I will repeat here, in case the thing sells before whoever is reading this reads this.

Once upon a time, there was a Princess. She saw that the Queen had a purse, and oh she wanted that purse very badly. So the Queen took the Princess shopping.

The Princess was amazed at all the purses. She wanted a pink one. And a green one. And a blue one. And a yellow one. But the Queen said she could only have one. The Princess pouted.

But then the Queen (who really was a Very Cool Queen) pointed out the Perfect Purse.

It had all kinds of colors on it.

And the Princess took it home, and asked her Fairy Godmother to make her a matching bracelet to go with it.

And here it is.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Then I put up two more bracelets, Monkey Shines and Powder Puff Pink. I kinda like Powder Puff Pink, as it has a song that is "best sung while wearing a tutu and twirling around with arms outflung".

Tomorrow I'll be back to my regularly scheduled jewelry, but I have to admit, that was fun!

See more of the jewelry at http://www.lorianderson.net/ and http://www.lori2.com/

Breast Cancer Survivors

Today I went to Baltimore to be one of three vendors at a breast cancer survivor luncheon. For the past three years, I've been invited to participate, and it's such an uplifting event. About 150 women, all breast cancer survivors who did the Race for the Cure in Maryland, attend and have a yummy lunch and listen to a guest speaker. They get to do a little shopping and a lot of visiting and laughing and the energy level is incredible.

I usually donate some jewelry for door prizes, but this year they weren't doing door prizes. So last week I got the idea of making a combination bookmark/gift certificate for everyone. But that looked a little boring, so I added a zipper pull to each one.

There were a lot of beads involved:

And then after a couple of mishaps at Staples and the color copier, I got the bookmarks printed, scored, cut out, folded, hole-punched, yarn-adorned, zipper-pull-decorated -- and here's what 150 look like in a bowl --

One side has the gift certificate on it, with the web code, and the other has the "gift for you" message. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, and think that next time I do something like this, it won't take quite as long because I'll know what I'm doing!

Zack's Preschool Graduation

Indulge me a bit while I write again about Zack, a Proud Mommy moment yet again. Yesterday was Zack's preschool graduation from Christ Church. I got a picture of my little nugget right before we left home... isn't he just the most?

I absolutely loved how they did the graduation ceremony. Instead of a formal cross-the-stage kind of thing, they staged a mini-class session in the fellowship hall for all the parents to see what their kids had been doing all year. Here they are saying the pledge of allegence, right after they sang a song to the flag.


They then did some of their daily routines, like the calendar, weather patterns, and favorite songs. Some of the songs were utterly hilarious and are still running through my head as I write -- in fact,today as Zack and I were walking to the library, we were singing and making up silly rhymes to the "Down By the Bay" ditty.

Then they did give out little diplomas. When Zack got called up, he was so excited -- he shouted, "I knew I'd get a green ribbon!", green being his current favorite color -- much to the enjoyment of the audience.

That shirt he's holding is a surprise shirt he got -- everyone got one. A bunch of friends of his had painted things on it, and the teachers wrote some things that certain friends had said that they liked about Zack. One was, "He has smart ideas and I like to play with him, Love Emery". Another was "We like to knock down blocks. We play together! Love Isaac". How cute is that? Every kid got one.

Because of the way the class was oriented, I got a lot of "back of the head" pictures, and a lot of blurry action shots, but I kept them all, because isn't that what kids are -- fast-on-their-feet, growing-like-a-shot, amazing creatures?

I got a huge folio of his artwork that was saved and not sent home with him and I can't tell you how amazed I was at it. Christ Church is top notch, the absolute best thing I've ever done for Zack. I have no idea how Kindergarten is ever going to compare. Being in the afternoon class, he only had eight other kids with him, and the ability to have that kind of attention is amazing. But it wasn't only the attention -- it was the creativity, the things they did! I'm going to take photos of all his art work and put it up in a Flickr album for people to look at as soon as I can, just so you can see. Totally amazing stuff, and hopefully inspiring to people for ideas of things to do with your own kids.

So there's my little guy, done with preschool, and ready to launch himself into the world of Big Boy School. He's so ready. I am so not. I'm terrified that this is the end of his innocence and I know he has to grow up one day, but since he's my only baby, it's hard for me. Every night I lie awake and just remember and remember and remember. He's just the most, you know?

Color and Insomnia

You can read my latest post called "Color and Insomnia" at the Watch Me Create blog by clicking here -- it's about what happens when you mix a tired mind and an inability to get out of a creativity rut.

You can also expect to see two more tutorials from me in two separate magazines this fall! I just finished off one of them, and the other one has been in the works for a while. I'll keep you posted!

Come and see the latest jewelry at http://www.lorianderson.net/ -- click the "What's New" button to see new things every day!

Popcorn and Jewelry

After making some very cool, very retro Jiffy Pop Popcorn (on the stove, with the puffing-up-like-a-mushroom-top, much to Zack's delight), I got some major photography done.

I have a lot going on this week, with Zack's pre-school graduation, and preparations for a private event (I have 150 zipper pull/bookmark/gift certificates to make) so I'll leave you with some pretties that will be hitting the web site this week....

A bracelet of blue lace agate with a unique winged heart toggle.

A pendant slide -- this is too cute for words! A flamingo lampwork bead, and I made legs out of Swarovski crystals.

An interesting necklace made with nuggets of pale pink Peruvian opal, natural amethyst, and pearls.

For your little girl -- a cute kid's bracelet with a polymer clay monkey, aptly named "Monkey Shines".

And finally, an amazing lampwork bead charm bracelet, featuring the glass art of Gina DeStevens.

You can see more of my handmade jewelry at www.lorianderson.net

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is so much fun when you're a Mommy to a young child. Zack was so incredibly excited about today, and about giving me presents and cards.

First, he gave me a card he made with his teacher at PreSchool:

It's a Question-and-Answer session that goes like this:

Guess how much I love you? "To a far away aquarium and back!"
What makes Mommy happy? "ME!"
Mommy's favorite color? "Purple"
What my Mommy does while I'm at school: "She exercises"
Where Mommy takes me for fun: "To aquariums"

Cute, huh?

Then he brought me a gift-wrapped and very heavy box, which was this:

What a tug at the heartstrings. His little handprint, and then he decorated it himself with carefully chosen beads and buttons and butterflies. He described each one to me and why he picked it.

He then gave me a greeting card that was totally a card meant for a grown up man to give to his mom -- "To Mother" with a flowery poem inside. But Rick told me that Zack would NOT be dissuaded, that THAT was the card he MUST have, because it had a pink flower on the front and beads on the edge. Which makes that card all the more precious to me.

I hope you had a wonderful day!

Book Reviews

I've read a ton of books but have been putting all their reviews on GoodReads rather than here -- if you haven't seen the button over there on the right (you may have to look up or down a bit, but it's there ------------------->

then click here to read my latest review on "Atonement" by Ian McEwan, and find my others!

The Saturday Sparkle

I was featured today in The Saturday Sparkle on Capitola Girl's blog. I've started posting photos on Flickr (more on that in a minute) and joining various photo groups, one of which is called Saturday Sparkle. My Madison necklace was picked as the feature for this week, and I was interviewed, which was fun!

So what is Flickr?

Flickr is really cool. If you enjoy taking photos, or just enjoy looking at cool pictures, Flickr is an awesome site. There are tons of pictures, lots of groups that are themed, and if you create an account, you can do amazing things. To the right, you can see that I've created a cool motion picture thingee called a "badge" of "Bracelets Past" -- bracelets that have been sold.

If you're interested in visiting my Flickr album, you can click here and see my various photo sets. I add things to them pretty often!

Enjoy!

It's here, it's here!

The book is here!

I got my advance copy of "Easy Beading Volume 4" -- I'm on page 122-125. I am so completely tickled. My very first magazine tutorial, and it was chosen to be part of BeadStyle's annual book.

And I got an extra jolt of surprise when I flipped it over to find the ISBN so I could look it up on Amazon.com, and realized -- one of the three photos on the back of the book is of my necklace! Holy crow, but it's things like that that just give you a little boost, you know?

There are some fantastic contributors to the book -- one of my favorites, Rupa Balachandar, whose work is on the cover, makes the most striking jewelry out there. I hope you'll visit your local book store and take a look (the book comes out May 27th) and get inspired to make some jewelry!


You can visit my web site at www.lorianderson.net

I'm really behind. Really, really behind. But the past few days, it's just been way more important to do extra stuff with Zack. Fridays there's no preschool, and we always have Adventure Days, but our Adventure Day went the entire day, even when Daddy got home, and on into the weekend, and I just never felt like stopping for more than five minutes to ship an order. And I don't regret that.

The best part of yesterday for me was sitting in the driveway at 6:30pm, with a nice cool breeze, blowing bubbles with Zack (we have some KILLER bubble wands we've gotten at craft shows -- BUY HANDMADE!), listening to the distant sounds of the ice cream truck, waiting for him to get to our street. That was a memory I'll revisit often.

Today, after our family bike ride, I was faced with my desk, and Zack is having a Daddy Day so I can catch up. Here's the to-do list.

1. List a couple things on Etsy (http://www.lori2.com/)

2. Ship a ton of packages

3. Enter last months receipts into Quickbooks

4. Run outside and hug Rick and blow some bubbles with Zack.

5. Finally weigh all those larimar beads I sorted and price them

6. List some bead destash for sale

7. Tickle Zack (he loves tickling, don't ask me why)

8. Coffee, where's the coffee....

9. Write some more articles for Watch Me Create and Collective Creatives

10. Make jewelry after I get Zack to bed (with stories and tickles)

And that's the short list.

It's a good life, you know?

Chain Maille class in Easton, MD

If you want to come learn to make a chain maille bracelet with me in lovely Easton, MD, sign up now by clicking here.

I'll be teaching again at Evergreen Cove in June, and this time I'll show you how to make a Byzantine Rose bracelet out of sterling silver. Chain Maille is an ancient technique, originally used in medieval times to create armor, that has now been adapted to gorgeous metal jewelry. You don't need a soldering iron or torch, just a pair of pliers and a lot of jump rings. Oh, and patience helps.

This is an example of the bracelet we'll be making (minus the amazing turquoise clasp):

This particular bracelet is made with a very heavy gauge sterling, and the class will be using a lighter gauge, to make a more delicate bracelet, but the weave is the same. My thought process behind choosing this weave was it was a combination of two bracelets -- the Byzantine, and the Rose -- so by the end of the class, participants will actually know how to make THREE bracelets.

I hope you can join me!

(See more of my work at www.lorianderson.net)

Some jewelry pretties

Some pretties that haven't quite made it to the web site yet:

"Imperial Peacock" -- a very lush lampwork glass bead and Swarovski crystal charm bracelet.

"Flowers and Raindrops" --large clear vintage lucite topped by double caps of vintage enameled metal -- these will probably go to http://www.lori2.com/ first.

"Blue Brushed Gold" -- Oh, and you know I love larimar, and judging from how fast it gets snapped up at shows, my customers do, too! This is a bracelet made with large 19mm larimar beads and brushed vermeil. Classically simple. (And there are earrings to match, of course).

"Daphne" -- part of my bridal collection, but you could wear these to any special occasion. Opulent and lavish, there are lots of Swarovski crystals on these!

I hope to get these on www.lorianderson.net soon, but if you just can't wait, please send me an email to grab them!

Hey Little Guy......

There has never been a day when I have not been proud of you, I said to my son, though some days I'm louder about other stuff so it's easy to miss that.

(From www.storypeople.com)

Swimasaurus

Another cute project from Zack's preschool (which ends in a few weeks, much to my dismay -- it's been SO good for him).

The kids made dinosaurs out of modeling clay, and then told the teachers about their dinosaurs. Zack brought this little guy home, along with the story Mrs. Baron printed out:

"Swimasaurus Fast Speed: He lives in the ocean. He is a plant eater and he eats seaweed. He wins all the races because he's really fast. His big tail swishes and helps him go fast. He sleeps on the sand."

I think Swimasaurus is pretty cool!

Watch Me Create -- Insomnia Talisman

You can read the last installment of my series in metalsmithing at Watch Me Create by clicking here. I write about how I made my Insomnia Talisman, pictured below.

Zack and Soccer

Zack loves swimming. He's not so sure about soccer. He loves the practice, likes running around, but when it's a whole herd of kids racing after the ball, he's more apt to decide he's had enough.

I did manage to get these cute pictures of him at practice, though....

Very serious....
Goofing around with the coach....

Enjoying his new water bottle....

And I guess I qualify as the above, at least for the next four weeks (good thing I sold this bracelet already!).

Check out non-soccer-inspired jewelry at http://www.lorianderson.net/