Tangible Tidbits 2012 #34: I GOT IT!

Hi, everyone! Well, the BIG news this week is that I was awarded a $900 partial scholarship from the MJSA Education Foundation! That's half of the cost for one class. :) While I was proud to receive the award, I kind of had mixed feelings about it because I wasn't sure I could accept it. The new semester starts next week, and I have a balance due from previous classes -- accrued fees I didn't know about until this past spring -- that has to be paid off before I can register. If I paid it immediately, I could accept the award and register to start class in time...but I don't have the money for the back fees, nor the other half of the class right now. Luckily, both MSU and the Rhode Island Foundation, which sponsors the scholarship, were willing to work with me. I'm paying the fees off monthly between now and the end of the year, and the Foundation will allow the school to hold the scholarship funds for me until next semester! Now, I have to work hard to get the money together to pay the school, in addition to paying off my credit card debt; I was hoping to do that by the end of the year, too. :-O I also found out that the scholarships are renewable annually, so I can reapply for assistance with my future classes! :)

Here's this week's social media poster. The necklaces were made for my nieces. ;) That quote seems to be popular, as another jewelry site used the same one the day after I posted mine. Coincidence? Not likely, IMHO. 8-|

I did finish the Murano glass bracelet for my friend in Florida, and she liked the photo I sent her. Unfortunately, I didn't post it to Facebook and I don't have access to my home computer photo files via my Netbook, so I can's show it to you. :-/ As I feared, the thickness of the glass beads make putting on and wearing the bracelet a bit awkward. I did warn her via email, but she says she has a bracelet from Hawaii with large beads on it that she loves. We both hope she feels the same way about this bracelet! ;)

I also created a Bit O' Bling wire knit pendant for the Soft Flex Company's 2012 Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest last week and submitted it from here on Saturday night. I took a picture of it before I left, knowing the deadline was coming up on Saturday, September 1. B-) I had tried the week before to knit Soft Flex beading wire, but it didn't work out so I had to order Soft Flex craft wire and start all over again, as a requirement for the contest is to use one or the other. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out, but I do kind of like it. I added some leftover crystal cup chain from my Pretty in Purple necklace, which is where the "bling" comes from in name of the piece. ;)

The next contest deadline I know about is on September 30 for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Swarovski Elements Jewelry-making Contest. I still haven't decided what to make for it yet. :-S

The new Focal Piece of the Month is up. I was inspired for next month's piece, so I already have half of it finished. :D

In honor of the first meeting of the new Board for the Bead Society of New Jersey (BSNJ) coming up, I recently posted a BSNJ bumper sticker as the cover photo on my Facebook Profile. The Board meeting is tomorrow night, but I will be MIA...the first meeting I have missed since becoming Board Secretary. We have a lot of kewl and interesting guests scheduled for the end of 2012, so it should be a lot of fun. The first general meeting is on Thursday, September 20. :)

That's all I've got for you today, Take care and have a great week! B-)

Tangible Tidbits 2012 #25: Lots of Challenges, Both Good and Bad

Hello, everyone! Well, I’ve been trying to get everyone I know to vote for Something Tangible on the Mission: Small Business grant website, but with only 61 votes and five days to go, it doesn’t look promising. I think a big part of the problem is the requirement to register via Facebook. I know a lot of people who would be willing to vote for me who do not have Facebook accounts. I think the site was set up to make it "easier" for people to vote because registering via Facebook is a one-step process, but in doing so they have eliminated a lot of potential voters. Even though Facebook’s users equal the size of an entire country -- there were 901 million monthly active users at the end of March 2012 -- that doesn’t mean everybody does it. I guess I will have to look for the grant program again next year, only earlier. I stumbled upon it with two weeks to go, and that is just not enough time apparently. Then again, maybe the time limit is not really the problem! :/

I created a pendant last week for the Wire-Sculpture.com's 2012 Druzy Contest, as that deadline is also coming up on June 30. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, although the rolled satin nylon cord I want to hang it from is giving me problems. It seems to be taking forever to coil to the point it won’t unravel. I guess I have to work on my patience with that. :))

There are a couple more contests that are running over the summer. I have a vague idea of what I want to create for Fire Mountain Gems’ 2012 Swarovski Elements Jewelry-making Contest and Soft Flex® Company’s 2012 Flex Your Creativity Contest. You may recall I entered a Steampunk necklace in the Soft Flex contest a couple of years ago, but I did not participate last year. For this year, they want entries incorporating knitted craft wire or beading wire in them...using their products, of course. I purchased a package of Trios – three coordinated colors of beading wire – recently to use for my piece. I will probably end up making the knit chain(s) first, and then decide what to do with it/them after or while I'm doing that. :P As I mentioned last week, I will probably enter my BSNJ Bead Challenge piece in the Beaded Impressions' Summer 2012 Beading Contest, but I will wait until after the Bead Challenge this coming Thursday night to avoid potentially compromising the anonymity of the Bead Challenge. ;)

Yesterday afternoon, I visited with a couple of "lady friends" (as my mother says!) I haven’t seen in a while. One bought a ring I was wearing right off my hand! :)) The other one, our hostess, had requested I bring a necklace her daughter saw on my website, as her daughter wanted to buy it for a friend’s birthday. Both were very interested in the pieces I was wearing. The one who bought my ring told me to "bring more jewelry" next time we get together! :)) And the hostess wants to throw an Open House kind of party for me in her condo complex in the Fall, leading up to the holidays! Hopefully, that will work out. :) Even if not, it was a real boost to my ego to have people make such a fuss over my work. The friend who bought the ring said, "This must happen to you all the time." I replied, "Not nearly as much as I would like!" ;)

My younger niece will be thrilled to know I finally finished the beaded edging on the scarf she gave me for Christmas! The girls will be with Mom tomorrow, so I will leave it out for her inspection. :P

FYI, the latest Focal Piece of the Month is up!

That’s about all I’ve got for now. Take care and have a great week! B-)