Tangible Tidbits 2012 #1: A New Year And A Clean Slate

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your respective New Year's celebrations. I went to a family-friendly party, complete with children's activities. My nieces were there and they got a kick out of saying "see you later" after midnight, since I had dinner at their house on New Year's Day. :)

First order of business: the new Focal Piece of the Month is up, highlighting a Garnet necklace. I've already ordered and received some Amethyst beads for next month, so I will have to decide what to do with them in the next week or two. I think the majority of the pieces featured in this birthstone series will have to be new ones. Although I have created numerous gemstone pieces in the past 2+ years -- believe it or not, I started this business two years ago this past October (October 26, 2009) and I totally forgot about the anniversary! :o -- I don't think many of them incorporate birthstone gems. :\

I received word this morning that I can pick up my remaining items and a check -- although the email was a general one to all participants, I am being optimistic that there will be a check for me ;) -- from Woolpunk Studios in Jersey City next weekend. The owner of the gallery said the STOCK'N STUFFrz event was a big success, so that's good news. :) In addition, I was invited to participate in a display of pieces by members of the Montclair State University Metalsmith Guild this week. It will be at the The Allwood Branch of the Clifton Public Library, 44 Lyall Road, Clifton, NJ. My participation has not yet been confirmed, as I cannot make it to drop off my pieces tomorrow morning because I'm working. I am hoping they will let me drop them off in the afternoon, between work and the first Bead Society of New Jersey Board meeting of the new year. Wish me luck! ;)

As I mentioned last week, my younger niece made me a woven scarf for Christmas. I wore it to the office on Friday and received A LOT of compliments on it! Unfortunately, though, my bracelet got caught on it and I am afraid it will easily unravel. So, I've decided to add a Picot edge of seed beads all around the edges of the scarf. I'm hoping that will minimize the opportunities for it to unravel, although the center of the scarf may still get caught on something. :\ I started working on it on Saturday, and showed my niece my progress on Sunday. Thankfully, she approved. ;) Luckily, I have seed beads here that almost perfectly match the two colors of the scarf, and I'm also using black ones because that is the base color she used in the scarf. I'll post a picture when it's finished. :)

A number of people at the office want me to make them very large aluminum earrings with dangling chain and accent beads on them. I made one pair for a coworker a while ago, but they were not big enough for her. Another coworker purchased them, and she wore them to the office one day last week. Thanks to that "walking advertisement," I now have orders for three more pairs! LOL Luckily, I have plenty of leftover scrap aluminum from my Chinese take-out box set. In addition, I found a vendor who sells pre-cut aluminum circles in multiple sizes, and I ordered a dozen each in three-inch, four-inch, and five-inch diameters. If the five-inch diameter discs aren't big enough for some people, then I can't help them! LOL One coworker suggested I use squares instead of circles, since cutting the circles is so time-consuming for me. I ended up cutting, filing, and sanding two rectangles, which do look pretty kewl dangling from the ear wires. ;) In any case, I will be working on those requests this week.

I've finished about ninety percent of the projects we started at the Chinese knotting workshop last month. I still have to work on my Double Connection knot, which needs a lot of work! :p I also have to finish the Star Gazer Bracelet from Laura McCabe's November workshop. I stopped working on it because I can't find the crystals used in the center of each flower, and also because it was uncomfortable to work on my bed with my bad knee. I had been working on it while watching television in the evenings, so now that my knee is better (more on that in a minute), I can probably start doing that again. I'll just have to order more crystals in the required size and color. :\

About my knee, the doctor wants me to use a heating pad on it rather than an ice pack, and he also suggested I start some light exercises on my own. I ordered the heating pad from a catalog that people who have been working at Registrar and Transfer Company for five years received. I achieved that milestone in July, but it was announced at a company-wide meeting about a month or so ago, and I was presented with the catalog at that time. Am I practical or what? LOL

Back to the "real world" again tomorrow. Have a great week, one and all! :)


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Tangible Tidbits 2011 #51: Holiday Season and Year Wrap-up Report

Hello, everyone! I just got back from having Christmas dinner at my sister's house. My younger niece made me a scarf in a weaving class! I keep thinking she will join the "family business" one day...maybe in high school to make some extra money. ;)

We spent yesterday afternoon/evening with my extended family on Mom's side, as we've done for as long as I can remember. I received a couple of unexpected birthday gifts, which was really a nice surprise. :) Mom and I exchanged Christmas gifts this morning before heading out to my sister's. I also received a couple of presents from a family friend in Florida, who obviously reads this blog! ;) She gave me a gift card to Kmart for my birthday, so I can get a couple of items from Sofia Vergara's clothing line there; and a gift certificate to Fire Mountain Gems and Beads for Christmas. I guess she won't ever have trouble figuring out what to buy me ever again! LOL

My knee is much better after a month of using a cane. I was determined to get rid of the cane by Christmas, so I started getting around without it a couple of days ago, and today was the first day I didn't use it at all. :D The knee is still sore...I've got an ice pack on it as I type...but the doctor thinks I may be able to resume working out twice a week with the trainer by mid-January. I won't rush back into my old 3-5 days a week workout schedule, as I don't want to push myself too hard. I will work out with the trainer for a month or so before trying to expand my workouts beyond those "supervised" workouts. :)

Of course, being as accident-prone as I am, I now have a burn mark on my chest from baking cookies with my nieces on Friday. I had just put the cookies on the counter to cool, and I pulled the cookie sheet back from the counter, scraping the corner of it on my chest. I was trying to get it out of the way of the girls, who were hovering nearby. :o I'm putting A&D ointment on it, so it will hopefully heal without leaving a scar. I'm not safe anywhere, even in my own house! :\

As for business, I've completed a number of pieces I started at the Chinese knotting workshop a few weeks ago. I'm really pleased with how they turned out! :D I still have a couple that are incomplete, but I will hopefully get those done sometime this week. I'm working a lot of overtime at the office until the end of the year (we're short-handed again), so I will cut myself some slack if I don't finish them until later in January. ;)

The STOCK'N STUFFrz sale at Woolpunk Studios in Jersey City was extended through Christmas, so I will find out one day this week if I sold anything. Fingers crossed! :)

I'm off tomorrow, so Mom and are are planning to see The Descendents with George Clooney in the afternoon. I worked at the Maplewood Movie Theater in grad school, and the manager recently reached out to me via Facebook. She has some beads she wants restrung and also a bunch of materials she thought I could use, including some 14K gold beads! If she's there tomorrow, we'll chat about it...if not, she will call me after the New Year. :)

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and got everything on your "Wish Lists." ;) Since my next post will be on New Year's Day, I will wish everyone a fun-filled -- and responsible ;) -- New Year's Eve! Catch you in 2012! :o

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Tangible Tidbits 2011 #50: Still Unconnected and Making Changes

Hey, all! Sorry I missed you last week. I had my nieces over all weekend and I'm still experiencing computer problems, even though the malware scanner the guys at work gave me keeps coming up clean. I am writing to you from my Netbook in my kitchen, as the idea of turning on the computer upstairs and "fighting" with it does nothing for me. I dragged out the Netbook on Tuesday night, and I still have some upgrading to do before I can more or less use it as my primary computer. In addition, I keep getting a "no connection" message on my phone...in my own house that has a WiFi connection! Needless to say, the Universe seems to be conspiring to keep me unconnected. :p

I stayed up until 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday night, getting my five pieces ready to submit for Woolpunk Studios' STOCK'N STUFFrz event this weekend. One of the clasps on a necklace I made early on needed replacing, but I hadn't connected the piece to jump rings between the chain and the clasp, so I could not disconnect the clasp without destroying the piece. I have to remember not to do that anymore! :p Anyway, I ended up coiling thin wire around the toggle hoop and bar, so it looks better now. I showed my coworker the next day, since she was delivering the pieces for me. She said it looks like it requires a lot of patience! Especially that late at night. :)

My pieces sold fairly well at 1978 Maplewood Arts Center the previous weekend. I sold the beaded Crystal Geode, a ring, a bookmark, and another pair of earrings, in addition to the necklace and earrings I sold from the exhibit to a friend. I also sold another necklace and two more pairs of earrings separately last weekend. All in all, this Holiday season seems to be going fairly well. :)

As you may recall, I attended a Chinese knotting workshop last Saturday. I had a lot of fun learning how to make four-, five-, and eight-strand braids, Snake knots, Button knots, rolled satin nylon chains, and a criss-cross knot that I am still having problems making. We covered a lot of material in a relatively short period of time, so I spent some time this week working on these techniques to help commit them to memory. ;)

I am seriously thinking about discontinuing the Virtual Mall in the New Year. I've been spending a lot of time, money, and energy on it...and after 1-1/2 years, I don't feel I'm getting enough back from the effort. I'd rather spend the money updating the store on my website, as I have not had the time to do that myself for quite a while. Originally, I took that over from the web designer to save money, but it's not working out. I don't think I've updated the store in almost six months, if not longer. And the time I spend posting links to the Virtual Mall Facebook page could be better spent on administrative tasks or creating new pieces. I haven't updated my financial spreadsheet since the summer, and I have to get working on that to give it to the accountant for tax preparation. Ideally, I will have more time to keep on top of these things, rather than constantly playing catch-up at the last minute. :\ I won't shut the Virtual Mall down completely right away, as I have to meet minimum commission rates in order to close out some of my affiliate accounts, but I hope to have everything resolved by the summer.

Although I have completed my Christmas shopping, I still have gifts to wrap. My little elves (read: nieces) helped me wrap the gifts I had here last Sunday, but I was only about half done shopping at that point. They are coming over this Friday afternoon to help me bake cookies for the family party on Saturday...so if I don't get it all done by then, they can hopefully come to my rescue again. ;)

As next Sunday is Christmas and Hanukkah is this week, I believe, I will wish you all Happy Holidays now. Best wishes to you all! :D


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Tangible Tidbits 2011 #49: Holiday Headaches and Menacing Malware

Hey, everyone! Sorry I'm late, but I had a bunch of malware on my computer, so I had to take it to the office and let the "computer gremlins" there (someone else's phrase, not mine!) clean it out. I was offline all weekend, but that wasn't such a hardship with my knee problem. I am seriously behind on my emails and other virtual business, though! :o I'm doing most of my Christmas shopping online, since walking around a mall is out of the question right now. :o

I still have a bunch of pieces to price out for the chiropractor's office tomorrow -- with my injury, I am seeing him weekly instead of biweekly, so I have the opportunity to change out the merchandise more often leading up to Christmas -- so I will make this brief. ;) My doctor's ex-wife wants a pair of custom earrings, and they are also buying a pair for their daughter for Christmas, so I made those over the weekend. I also beaded a small glass heart-shaped ornament. I saw a pack of six at a holiday bazaar kind of thing, and picked them up so I could experiment. I'm thinking about doing completely different things with them...this one is sort of wearing a red-and-green necklace, as the shape makes it look like a bust. :)

The most recent Focal Piece of the Month is up, by the way. :)

The Nunn Design Innovation Team folks contacted me already and I was not accepted. The big surprise was that I heard back so quickly...it often takes months to hear anything about one of these kinds of applications, if you get a response at all. :\

I met an old friend at 1978 Maplewood Arts Center yesterday to show off my display, which I did get to deliver on Thursday. He purchased a couple of Christmas gifts from the display, so I'm happy about that! :)

On the deadline date of November 30, I did finally apply to the STOCK'N Stuffers exhibit at Woolpunk Studios in Jersey City. No word back on that, but the sale is toward the end of December, so there's a little time yet. Fingers crossed! I haven't heard back from my friend at GAS Gallery And Studio's Holiday Art Days in South Orange, so I don't know if that will happen or not. :\

The good news for me is that my colleague at the office has only 2-1/2 vacation days left to use up before the end of the year, so I won't have to work as much OT this month. And I have my own last vacation day next Monday. I have to put my car in for maintenance, so that will take a chunk out of the middle of the day.

Unfortunately, the pain in my leg is still disrupting my sleep. The chiropractor will use ultrasound on it again tomorrow...that seemed to help a lot for about 1-1/2 days last week before it wore off. :p

I've gotta run if I want to get the pieces priced for tomorrow and still watch Hawaii Five-0. Enjoy this rather mild December weather we're having and have a great week! ;)


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