The Bead Spot

A heart my daughter made for Father's Day. Yesterday, with less than five hours left until Father's Day, my 4-year-old whispered in my ear that she wanted to make a heart out of clay for her daddy and cover it with glitter. We had none of the supplies at home, but, because the idea was hers entirely, I wanted her to be able to make it. We headed off to Hobby Lobby for clay and glitter, making our way to the checkout just as the store closed. When we got home, I settled in to balance my checkbook, while she molded the heart. Every so often, she'd call out, "Mommy, come look!" to show me how it progressed. I'll be honest, it looked a little rough, but she's just 4, and she was proud and so was I. She made the bulk of the heart out of pink clay, adding three purple clay hearts on top. She used up the bulk of the pink clay for the project, I had a feeling that using that much clay would prevent the heart from drying in time, but she was so proud of...

Round beaded earrings. My grandma called a few weeks ago to ask if I had any round earrings. She was asking on behalf of a woman who works in her doctor's office who likes Native American crafts. I told her I had some but no longer do. She told me her next appointment isn't for six months or so, so I've got plenty of time to make some for her to take to show the woman. I made round earrings once before, and they took a long, long time. On the day I started them, I invited a niece and nephew over to keep my daughter entertained. I foolishly thought I could knock out a pair or two over the two hours the kids played together. Instead, I got just one only half finished. I loved the way they turned out, though. So I plan to have some for my grandma to take the next time she goes to the doctor. My other project in the pipeline is an "N" for my daughter's bedroom door. On a recent trip through Target, my daughter got very excited when she saw wooden let...

Now that I'm a mother , I find myself enjoying Halloween more than I ever did as a child. Case in point: Halloween 2015 was less than a week past when I began wondering what my daughter will wear next year. On a trip to Walmart, I sought out the Halloween leftovers and sifted through the costumes hoping to get an awesome costume — one that normally costs out of my price range — at half off. But I know two things about my daughter that made looking through those costumes a waste of time: She has growth spurts every few months. I could buy the next size up, but by next Halloween, she might be two sizes taller — or three even. (She's very tall for her age.) Her tastes come and go quickly. In the week since Halloween, she's already told me that next year she wants to be Wonder Woman, then changed her mind and said, "I think I want to be Sofia the First. " Once I realized the perfect 2016 costume wasn't on the rack, I got ambitious. Despite knowing l...

I had no idea so much time had passed since the last time I blogged here. But then, it's been at least August since I've tackled any beading projects, so it's not like I've much to say. Back in August, I made some feather earrings like the ones I made last year, and I started bracelet that ultimately, I unraveled because I had messed up in the middle. I thought I was able to mask it, but once it was complete, I realized I didn't do as well as I had thought. That's about it in a nutshell. My hope, though, is to get back regular beadwork and blog posts.

Boxes on the mantel, bags of beads in my desk drawer, tote bags with projects in progress, a bolt of fabric behind the door. My beads and beading supplies are pretty scattered around the house these days. After I recently spent 20 minutes looking for my flush cutters, I said to myself, "It's time. It's time to go through all of this stuff and get it all organized once again." The last time I went through it all was right after my daughter was born. She'll be 4 next month, so yes, it's definitely time. I wish I was more naturally organized. You know, one of those people who put everything back where they got it. (A have to give a shout-out to my hubby on this. His alphabetizing and categorizing skills could leave any librarian envious).

Now that I'm a mom and my daughter is at an age when she wants to play outside often, I imagine my summers will be filled with more pools and outdoor activities than I've become accustomed to in adulthood. Growing up, I spent summers swimming at the lake and playing softball with my siblings in the front yard. As an adult, I've spent so much time in air conditioning that just the 10-second walk to my car when I head out the door to go to work prompts me to whine about the summer heat as if it could -- literally -- melt me. But, as I write this, I'm seated at a picnic table watching my daughter and her cousin run through the sprayground at a local park. I have ideas for bead projects, but beading isn't generally thought of as an outdoor activity. But I think that over the next few years, I may be learning how to make it into one.

Earlier this week, I bought this handy little gadget at Big Lots . My aunt, who also does beadwork, was using one when my daughter and I dropped by for a visit a few days earlier. I've tried several types of lamps to get decent lighting for beadwork and other craft projects, but each had its own shortcoming. Moving the living room lamp, for instance, left the rest of the room too dark. A lamp I had that could be clamped to a table came apart, and the flexible flashlight I bought worked great but was too easy to knock over. This headlamp, though, gives off enough light and can be adjusted to shine just where I need it without making the rest of the room dark or running the risk of knocking it over into a pile of beads. I love it. I don't know why it never occurred to me to look for something like this sooner.