Just a semi random update
lesse...
i got some slightly banged up grid wall for cheap from my friends at Gershel Bros (local store fixture place). it has some barely noticeable scratches from shipping.....which matters not one bit since i am using it for storage/organization in the basement.
no matter how many storage drawers i buy i apparently need more.. sigh.
As usual i have almost everything i need except for just a *couple* of components to finish some jewelry. which means i cant even start those pieces until the next shipment arrives.
Swarovski (tm, C, and loads of other little symbols that mean "we have lawyers") crystals are gorgeous, but they cost! big time! its amazing what a gross or two of those bitty little things can run you. I don't have much choice about buying them, since i need the sparkle and flash for Faerie Con stuff, and no way can i afford to put something like Moissonite in them... but i am not used to buying anything but natural stones.
So here i am buying a gross here, and a gross of grosses of that, and .. hmm. hows about 1,440 of those itty bitty things there just to round it out? YOWCH!
oh, yeah. and i blew the budget on some finds form a friends store.. you see Jubili Beads and Yarns in Nj has an entire upstairs section full of Vintage beads (insert dangerous crackling noises, and the sound of my Visa card screaming in agony) anyway i got some Vintage Lucite (which is the only plastic i like to deal with) and then the evil lady showed me the Vintage Rhinestones and Swarovski...
they are not as flashy as the modern Swarovski... but i can't resist the word "Vintage".
most of this stuff is from the 20s to 40s. She also has some beads labeled "Made in Occupied Japan" that are to die for......
In the meantime i had my Glass Bead Making Class at Carlisle School of Glass Art (which is NOT in Carlisle PA, but over in NJ.. the Family name is Carlisle..... They Make torches and glass working and metal working tools...)
anyway it went well, i didn't set myself or anything else on fire that i didn't intend to, and i suspect i will even have a few usable beads.... The class was full, and the teacher was a tad overwhelmed i thing by trying to manage TWO full tables of newbies with torches.. but i had fun. i will be picking up my beads when i go up there tomorrow (Thursday) for "open torch night" when you can just walk in and play with the equipment for a small fee.. i figured i may as well pick up the beads i made in class at the same time. so i guess i get to find out how they came out then......
Other than that?
My brother has some kind of pulminary thing he says is "bronchitis" but he has been getting steadily worse for weeks now. his doctor is being completely unresponsive to the fact that he is continuing to be less and less well... mom and i spoke about it and we think their doctor is not "getting" the severity of this because my brother is deaf.. and so is his wife.. and we suspect the doctor is not understanding how severe this really is.....
Of course brother is not too good at getting him self to a doctor, so it took him a while to even see the regular doctor.. he finally got a referral to a pulmonary specialist, but not for 3 months! hopefully mom will get this straightened out.
other than brother's issues its the same old same old..... trying to get stuff done, dealing with neighborhood issues, Wayne is still job hunting, parents are doing well, had dinner with them for my birthday.
hope everyone is well, see you at events, i hope.
i got some slightly banged up grid wall for cheap from my friends at Gershel Bros (local store fixture place). it has some barely noticeable scratches from shipping.....which matters not one bit since i am using it for storage/organization in the basement.
no matter how many storage drawers i buy i apparently need more.. sigh.
As usual i have almost everything i need except for just a *couple* of components to finish some jewelry. which means i cant even start those pieces until the next shipment arrives.
Swarovski (tm, C, and loads of other little symbols that mean "we have lawyers") crystals are gorgeous, but they cost! big time! its amazing what a gross or two of those bitty little things can run you. I don't have much choice about buying them, since i need the sparkle and flash for Faerie Con stuff, and no way can i afford to put something like Moissonite in them... but i am not used to buying anything but natural stones.
So here i am buying a gross here, and a gross of grosses of that, and .. hmm. hows about 1,440 of those itty bitty things there just to round it out? YOWCH!
oh, yeah. and i blew the budget on some finds form a friends store.. you see Jubili Beads and Yarns in Nj has an entire upstairs section full of Vintage beads (insert dangerous crackling noises, and the sound of my Visa card screaming in agony) anyway i got some Vintage Lucite (which is the only plastic i like to deal with) and then the evil lady showed me the Vintage Rhinestones and Swarovski...
they are not as flashy as the modern Swarovski... but i can't resist the word "Vintage".
most of this stuff is from the 20s to 40s. She also has some beads labeled "Made in Occupied Japan" that are to die for......
In the meantime i had my Glass Bead Making Class at Carlisle School of Glass Art (which is NOT in Carlisle PA, but over in NJ.. the Family name is Carlisle..... They Make torches and glass working and metal working tools...)
anyway it went well, i didn't set myself or anything else on fire that i didn't intend to, and i suspect i will even have a few usable beads.... The class was full, and the teacher was a tad overwhelmed i thing by trying to manage TWO full tables of newbies with torches.. but i had fun. i will be picking up my beads when i go up there tomorrow (Thursday) for "open torch night" when you can just walk in and play with the equipment for a small fee.. i figured i may as well pick up the beads i made in class at the same time. so i guess i get to find out how they came out then......
Other than that?
My brother has some kind of pulminary thing he says is "bronchitis" but he has been getting steadily worse for weeks now. his doctor is being completely unresponsive to the fact that he is continuing to be less and less well... mom and i spoke about it and we think their doctor is not "getting" the severity of this because my brother is deaf.. and so is his wife.. and we suspect the doctor is not understanding how severe this really is.....
Of course brother is not too good at getting him self to a doctor, so it took him a while to even see the regular doctor.. he finally got a referral to a pulmonary specialist, but not for 3 months! hopefully mom will get this straightened out.
other than brother's issues its the same old same old..... trying to get stuff done, dealing with neighborhood issues, Wayne is still job hunting, parents are doing well, had dinner with them for my birthday.
hope everyone is well, see you at events, i hope.