… and ready for your perusal. Click here to get right to my shop, or on the links below each photo for the individual listings. The good news is I’m not such a hoof for having a sale on Labor Day, I guess everyone else does too. Duh me. Another DUH is that I forgot to be clearer on the free shipping promise for this sale. Shipping to the US is free, and to Canada at a reduced rate of $10, normally $15. Apologies. This offer is good through Friday September 9th 2022.
The bead photos turned out especially great, the colors seem truer than usual and the images were extra crisp and the light was perfect. The only thing that is different is the fact that I swapped two pieces of furniture in the spot where I take my photos. Hmm.
Anyway, that’s that. A Monday holiday in the warmer months isn’t right without hot dogs, so that’s what’s on the itinerary. That, and hopefully preparing for a trip to the post office a bit later. I hope you find something you like. As usual, if it isn’t marked OOAK (one of a kind) it’s available made-to-order whenever you feel like it. Now that it has cooled off, I’m in a better frame of mind in general, but also, work isn’t quite so uncomfortable.
Thanks so much for popping in, I hope you like the beads!
Posted in Uncategorized on September 1, 2022|
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Dingbat that I am, I forgot to tell you where to go for the sale in my previous post. Some of you probably already know, but a few of you are new. So, my shop update/sale will be Monday/Labor Day/September 5th 2022, at 7pm Central Time, in my shop. Set your alarms or reminders, and also, I will post here again when I’ve added the new beads, and if you’re subscribed via email, you will be notified pretty much instantly.
Sorry, I was distracted because Sprinkles turned on the Cat TV channel on youtube on a whim, and Nelson was instantly (I mean INSTANTLY) transfixed by the flittering and twittering of birds, and squirrels running about and stuffing their faces. Nelson has never cared about what was on TV so this is very entertaining indeed. An hour later he is still very interested. I won’t be leaving this on for him unattended, as I fully expect my TV to be completely shredded upon my return.
Anyway, apologies for the oversight thanks to a hilarious distraction, I hope to see you Monday!
First things first: I plan to have a sale on Monday, which is Labor Day and also September 5th 2022, at 7pm Central Time. Probably not a great decision, but it can’t be put off any longer. It’s likely better than Saturday or Sunday, while most folks are in the thick of roasting themselves at the lake or hanging out with the grandkids, so I figure Monday will be good for after everyone gets home. I really don’t know what people do anymore, and I’m tired of second guessing everything. To tempt you a bit, I’m going to offer FREE SHIPPING for this sale, and for whatever else is still available from previous sales, and I also plan on adding a few things from my personal stash. So set your alarm or reminder for Monday. As usual, if you miss out on anything and it isn’t marked OOAK (one of a kind) it’s available made to order whenever you’re ready.
see us AND MORE at the Labor Day Sale
So, yes, I’m still alive, thanks in part to the fact that it has finally cooled off. It’s more like 95 instead of 110, and while 95 is still pretty ghastly, 110 degrees makes 95 feel like April by comparison. I’ve just been busy with life stuff, custom orders and doing jewelry repairs. I’ve been able to flex my repair muscles a bit and learn a few things, but the most important thing I figured out is that I really enjoy making jewelry. That’s how I got started with all of this, way back in high school. I know how to do it and I’m good at it, but I realized how slow I am when left to my own devices. Having deadlines to finish jewelry and repairs has lit a fire under my fanny to get stuff done faster. I know most of you are just here for the lampwork, which is totally fine, really. I still do sell a decent amount of jewelry, and I figure what doesn’t sell can serve as inspiration for what can be done with my lampwork. Below are some examples of past jewelry works.
bead crochet necklaces
Something has been on my mind for a bit. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it one more time with a little more feeling to drive the point home: I hate social media. Facebook is a cesspool. The only reason I got a facebook 6 years ago was to try and get with the times for the sake of my bead business. That didn’t work (they wanted money) and was too complicated to keep up with anyway. But once you sign up, it’s difficult to get rid of it. If you have it, you can’t not look, it’s designed to be that way. My very few facebook friends are pretty drama free, so facebook has got to give me something, so sometimes these random news articles pop up on my feed. When I make the mistake of reading the comments (on facebook, not the sites these articles are published on) I can hardly believe some people are this ignorant, and I’ve started to wonder if any of these people actually exist and aren’t bots or trolls saying outlandish, divisive things. I’m convinced social media/comment culture has made a huge contribution to the dire straits society is in right now. As far as this blog thing goes, you should always feel free to weigh in… with good manners, of course.
And then there is Instagram. I really used to enjoy Instagram. Apparently they are now prioritizing videos, and they are now set to autoplay as you scroll through your feed, and it is ANNOYING. I’d choose quiet photos that I can really study over flashy, fast moving videos with loud obnoxious music, any time of day, but especially when I wake up, which is when I’m most inclined to do my scroll. They’re obviously trying to compete with tiktok, which I definitely don’t care about. I don’t even see posts by some people I follow anymore because they aren’t posting videos. Also, I wonder why I bother when my beads (which are pretty good, if I say so myself) get maybe 20 likes, when a picture of a scantily clad, obviously underage girl with a caption containing salacious lingo I’m too old and introverted to discern gets 17,000 likes. The only reason I knew that post existed was because it was the next photo in line after I clicked on a photo of jewelry. I can’t decide which offends me most – the fact that the content exists, the fact that this type of content is so popular, or the fact that it’s kind of being foisted onto me when it’s not something I even look at otherwise. Let’s face it, the Almighty Algorhythm knows I haven’t sought this garbage out. Didn’t they get in big trouble for something like this already, just within the last year? I didn’t even post on instagram the last time I had a sale. It didn’t seem to make any difference anyway.
boot snuggle no. 2
boot snuggle no. 3
boot snuggle no. 1
Then I went to look at Instagram just yesterday and saw a post by Beads By Laura saying pretty much the same thing; social media is “more stressful than enjoyable” and she’s “going back to old-fashioned blogging and newsletters like it’s 2008 or something”. Yep. I refuse to be a slave to the algorhythm. Emojis are just modern day cave paintings anyway, so it probably wouldn’t hurt me and Laura to go backwards in time a bit, either. I’ve always liked Laura, she had guinea pigs, maybe she still does, and uses words I’ve never heard before so what’s not to like. I reckon we’re about the same age, and we’ve lived long enough to be over the bullhonky most younger people concern themselves with, especially here in 2022. Oh, not to mention we both make beads, long after the lampwork heyday ended and we’ve lost some iconic bead artists and we’re still at it.
I’m also a bit shy on social media, I don’t interact much at all. Unless I kind of know you already, I’m not likely to comment much on your posts, or even like them, and even with just a like, the interaction feels odd to me sometimes. I don’t know why, I’m just weird I guess. Unless I have something truly helpful to add, I keep my thoughts to myself, positive or negative. I don’t follow more than just a couple of glass bead makers who I have established something of a relationship with at some point in the past, and the reason for that is to keep my inspiration pure. Instead, I look at paintings and drawings, textiles, ethnic and vintage jewelry, ceramics and eyeshadow palettes. It has served me well, except for the part where I think I need to take on more hobbies. So pretty please don’t be offended if I don’t follow you back.
So enough of that kind of blah-blah, I’m going to get to work on this sale so it will be ready in time. Thanks for reading!
the z-beads blog 