The Bead Spot

My daughter and I went to my parents' house Saturday to take my dad a belated Father's Day gift, but once we got there, I found out my dad had to work. So we hung around until he got off work. In total, we were there for seven hours, a rather lengthy visit for me these days. When my daughter's nap time rolled around, I rocked her to sleep. Then wished I had brought my beads with me so I could work on a project during her nap while I visited with my mom and other family members. Therefore, I've decided to keep a mini craft case in my car, just in case I find myself in a place where I unexpectedly have time to bead again. I doubt the opportunity to bead on the go arises very often, probably not even once a month. But those moments when I can are so few and far between right now, I'd like to take them when I can get them.

I've been thinking a lot lately about trying to make enough doing beadwork and other crafts to actually earn a living. I know it won't be easy, and it will probably take far more determination and patience than I currently possess. However, I've toyed with the idea for several years now. I think it's time to either put the energy needed into it to see if I can do it. Building a stock of completed items won't be easy with a toddler , especially if I want to have enough money in savings to tide us over through tough times. My best efforts will have to be made while my little girl is napping and on my lunch hours at work.

On Friday, as I was getting out of my car when I got home, I spied a string of herringbone beading on the ground in the driveway. I have a vague memory of losing it months ago as I was getting my daughter out of the car one night when I got home from work. Her car seat or her shoe or something had snagged on it, and it pulled completely out of my craft bag. It was dark, so I left it. By now, I figured some gust of wind must've carried it away, but nope. A good chunk of the string had been mashed down into the mud between the seams in the concrete. I've just tossed the whole thing into the trash. At the very least, it's been rained and snowed on while it languished in the drive way, so I figure it's probably not wise to wear it. However, finding it did give me a rather big boost back into beading mode. I have some ideas for making beaded figures , but that's something I've never attempted before. I am in the mood to try something new.

I'm kind of a late bloomer when it comes to Twitter , although I've had an account for a few years now. I've mostly used it to interact with businesses that post discounts and other promotions, but I'd go months without checking my account and at one point was debating just closing it down. However, my interest in Twitter has grown quite a bit recently as I have done more exploring on the site. One thing I learned recently is that people have bead giveaways via Twitter. I entered one myself, the rules of which required only that I retweet the post. I'm sure that there is a whole beading community on Twitter isn't news to most readers of this blog, and I know that my chances of winning the contest are pretty slim, but I'm very excited to see what else -- bead related and not bead related -- there is out there. The contest I entered will be closed by the time this posts, but I found another via Twitter. To enter the contest, though, you must connect to F...

I still haven't had a chance to work on any crafts lately (hence the lack of posts) but I'm hopeful that will change soon. My work schedule has changed so that my daughter won't need to go to daycare at all most weeks. However, my husband and I are planning to take her for a few hours a week anyway so that she stays familiar with the other kids and staff there. On the occasions when she does need to go, we don't want her totally freaked out because enough time had passed since the last time she was there that she doesn't remember the place at all. On those days when she's at daycare and I'm home alone, I plan to get some work done. It won't be tons of time, and truth be told, I feel a little guilty about sending her to daycare while I'm sitting at home, but I look forward to being able to get a few projects done.

Because my schedule has been hectic, I haven't had a chance to work on any crafts lately (or to even blog about them), but I have a sneaking suspicion that completing projects may gradually get a little easier. Right now, working on anything when my toddler's around is tough because she gets curious about what I'm doing. She's been known to shake the tray table that holds my beads, sending those teeny tiny things all over my living room. I also have to spend the whole time guarding my tools so that she doesn't pick up my flush cutters or some other device that she could seriously injure herself with. Today, I put her in her high chair and gave her a piece of paper and some crayons, and for the first time, she created her own craft, even if it was just a white sheet of paper with a bunch of scribbles on it. I know she won't be beading, knitting or doing anything else that complicated anytime soon, but I think we're getting closer to the day wh...

My house is small but my ambitions can be big. My mom has three sewing machines and offered to give me one. It comes in a table, so it's not very portable, but I decided to get it. I don't know where I'll put it once we get it here, but I'm looking forward to getting it. I've sewn before, back in high school home ec (eons ago when it was called home ec) but I don't remember anything, not even how to thread the machine. I'll need some good books to refresh my memory.