Sunday 30 January 2011

Into the Woods.....learning lines....or not!!

This post is going to veer off the topic of beads so bear with me (or just don't read it!) if you are not interested in singing! I am currently taking part in a production of Into the Woods, a musical theatre piece by Stephen Sondheim, one of the best known composers of musicals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It's a great show - not one that I knew before we started rehearsing for it at the end of last year but it's well worth checking out if you are a fan of musicals (Erin, do you know it??!). The story revolves around several well-known fairy tales - Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood - and weaves them together. Up to the interval that is....the second half asks, what would happen next...???! it's funny and poignant and clever and unexpected....a great show. I'm playing Jack (and the Beanstalk)'s mother which is a great part for me - I have quite a bit to do but I'm not a 'main' main part so not too much pressure...you would think....

Now, I haven't had to learn spoken lines for years...literally...ten now I think, when I was in Anything Goes in my last year of secondary school. And God knows how I did it then, because I JUST CAN'T MAKE THEM STICK IN MY HEAD. We open in two and a half weeks now, and I really barely know any of my lines. Not that I haven't practiced them; I have, I just promptly forget them. When it comes to speaking them in a rehearsal or even the day after I've gone through them again, and again....and again...my mind just goes blank. I panic. It's bloody awful, quite frankly! And I'm starting to get quite stressed about the whole thing!

So my appeal is to you guys out there - some of you must have had to memorise stuff in the past. I'm used to learning words set to melody off by heart and whilst it's not something I find particularly easy but I can manage it. How do you remember things? Do you have any tricks for remembering stuff for presentations at work, say, if you've not ever had to learn lines? Any tips?? I could really do with some! I'm sure I will get there in the end but I would like it if I could put my script down BEFORE the opening night!



I searched and searched on line for a wee pic of something related to Into the Woods that I could share here but alas, none that look like they wouldn't be a copyright infringement. So here's a picture of a bracelet I made yesterday instead! Another of my silk cord numbers, you can spot it on my Bead Table Friday post from a couple of days back. Loving the Sarah Downton lampwork beads - they are magical!

Friday 28 January 2011

Bead table...Friday

I don't seem very good at doing things on the days that I am supposed to! Here's my travelling bead table or tray (very tiny as I am naturally a clutter bug and very messy and this is my attempt to at least keep the mess contained!) and what was on it this morning. I think it has a very gentle, faded vintage feel to it. Pretty. Vintage lace ribbon, some pale blue clay birds from Sandra Lee, a semi-commission bracelet using silk cord and Sarah Downton lampwork beads, some tiny clay beads from Gaea, Hope and bird pendants from Barbara over at Floridity, a gorgeous lampwork egg from Ellen over at Starcatcher beads on etsy and various strands of and loose beads, mainly gems from my favourite bead shop, precioussparklebeads. Oh, and my Lorelei/Fusion beads challenge bracelet. Love checking out everyone elses bead tables! They all look very neat and tidy compared to my messy pile...surely you can't all be super neat and organised??!





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Thursday 27 January 2011


Brigitte Lejonklous is having an awesome giveaway, drawing tomorrow evening, Swedish time! Hop over here to enter. Aren't they absolutely stunning??? I love them! 

Monday 24 January 2011

Have beads, will travel

My earring challenge travelled all the way to the Brockley Jack, my friend's local in Brockley, London. I made these using MissFickleMedia notched purple hoops and vibrant turquoise freshwater pearls, and gave them to our host and one of my very best friend's, Anna, to say thanks for putting us up! We are both mega turquoise fans...





This morning I made a trip to Liberty's of London...oh my goodness!! The full story of that trip/shop will have to wait until I can include more photos/links but needless to say I could have (but sadly didn't!) spent a BOMB....

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Sunday 23 January 2011

Laaandon taaan!

A new notebook purchased from Foyle's on the South Bank - all the pages have different birdie patterns printed on them! So pretty.








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Saturday 22 January 2011

Blogging on the fly

I'm on the train to London for a mini-break! Sooo excited. Off there for just a couple of nights but I LOVE London and am really looking forward to being there and catching up with a couple of my friends who live down there. Just opened my post for the day and look what I found! Thanks Julie of Lush Lampwork!


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Friday 21 January 2011

Lorelei/Fusion Beads Challenge - Take 2!







So, the Fusion Beads challenge....here's how it went for me! Just a quick note in point - I have mislaid my camera...so all these photos were taken with my phone and uploaded via BlogPress. The photos are often very poor quality but if you click on them that should improve them slightly!

I was one of the folk who requested an extension as my Fusion bead hadn't arrived by the due date; in fact, they came a week ago. And my owl clasp hasn't arrived yet! I think I need to email and see if/when that one was sent out as it normally takes only a matter of days to get things posted out. I am pretty sure it was Christmas that did it! So, no owl clasp here - but I have used an Andrew Thornton charm instead to keep the Thornton family theme :-) .







When I placed my order, they were all out of leaves so none of them either...and, I have a confession...I lost the leather cord. I did have it, but when I was going through my beads last night (last night OF COURSE, why can I never do anything before the very last minute?), the leather wasn't with them. So no leather. But, I have added lace, wire, findings and the Andrew Thornton charm, nothing more. I'm pretty pleased!







I used the little gold drops to wire wrap around a large jump ring I had. I am really pleased with the effect (I have quite an obsession with loops and circles at the moment which my earring challenge has really shown!) although it took ages as each tiny bead needed double wrapping due to the size of the holes.








I am still experimenting with the exact construction of this cuff but when it's on, it looks great! In my humble opinion at any rate :-) can't wait to see everybody elses designs, please hop over to Lorelei's Blog to see the whole list of participants (I'll turn this into a link later, on blogpress and haven't worked out links from here as yet...). Thanks Lori for a fab challenge once again, so glad I could join in this time around!


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Lorelei/fusion beads challenge...take one...




It's 1am and I can't be bothered having a battle with my partner's camera (as mine is temporarily - i hope! - mislaid!) or sorting photos on my computer which is being VERY temperamental today....so here is my Lorelei/Fusion beads cuff, finished approximately 20 mins ago! Better photos and details to follow tomorrow...night night!






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Thursday 20 January 2011

Earring Challenge so far...

I thought I should try and take some proper photos of my earrings so far - my Thursday morning class hasn't started up yet so I am snatching a few minutes of daylight at home to photograph some pictures for a beading project and snap my earrings from the last three days. They go chronologically from left to right, plus another pair I made about a week ago, I've stuck them in there just because! Not the best pic as I'm in a rush but a bit clearer now.


Earring Challenge - Day 3




Sweet and simple today - MissFickleMedia loops, Vintaj bead caps, Swarovski pearls, vintage Czech rondelles, and hand forged ear wires from SpunSugarBeads.etsy.com - one of my new favourite sellers on etsy, I'm a bit addicted. I love the wee bird on my wallpaper peeking a look at them! Happy Wednesday. X

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Tuesday 18 January 2011

Earring Challenge - Day 2













Today I made two pairs. I won't deliberately make a habit of it but I was feeling inspired - hurrah! That's the aim of this little game, after all. First pair on the left featuring notched hoops from MissFickleMedia.etsy.com and enamelled beads from silvermeadows.etsy.com. I decorated the ear wires with tiny brass rounds. The second pair feature some stunning lampwork beads I've been hoarding for a while - from Alison Davies, google her! (I just don't know anything about HTML, or even what it stands for....so I'll just have to give you the names.) I've used cool paddle headpins from PatinaQueen and funny wee notched Vintaj jump rings which are a new find for me - I really like them! So, a productive evening. Again, if you click on the photo, you'll hopefully get a more focussed view. Thanks for all your positive comments on this little challenge!



Monday 17 January 2011

Earring Challenge - Day 1

This is just going to be a quick post as I am super tired and must go to sleep - but I wanted to share my temporary solution to my creativity block. I have decided that as long as I'm feeling as I am - tired and slightly swamped by life! - I am going to challenge myself (in a nice way!) to make one pair of earrings per day. That's all, just one pair. If I do more, that's great, but one pair should be enough for my creative spirit to feel fulfilled. Sure, it's a snack rather than a meal but it's better than nothing! So without further ado, here are my day one earrings. The photo will be quite fuzzy but if you click on it it should vastly improve hopefully. To the left is a bracelet I made a week or so ago which I am in love with, if I do say so myself! Lots of MissFickleMedia. Let me know what you think of my wee plan. X




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Friday 14 January 2011

Tired...

I'm really feeling the impact of going back to college and work all at once this week...I don't know if anyone else is the same but I can totally tell when I'm 'run down' tired, not just 'I've had a late night' tired. My mind starts getting a bit paranoid and I start worrying about every tiny wee thing. I can tell I'm doing it but that doesn't mean I can stop it! I also have full work days both tomorrow and Sunday and then of course my week is always full...I've a feeling something has to give; I can't continue with these mega-long days and still be well at the end of the month! I've been getting really bad headaches, bordering on migraines, which I'm pretty sure is a post-viral thing as I've had them before. 

Another thing that tells me I'm run down is that I just can't make anything. I sit with a load of beads and wire, and cart them around with me in the hope of snatching an hour somewhere in the day to sit down quietly with a cup of tea in the college refectory and make something....I can't quite explain this to folk who don't make things but you guys understand, right?? Nothing more frustrating than sitting down with some beads and not having the mental or creative energy to make a thing. Like tonight - I was scheduled to have a rehearsal 5-7 but my eyes were watering with a headache and I just knew I had to go home. My head cleared up by 8 and I sat in my bed, a bag of fabulous stash in front of me, and nothing happened...so frustrating. Somehow it feels like a waste! Does anyone else experience this too? What a whiny pain in the bum you must all be thinking, if you've made it this far in the post!!

The upshot of this is that I have no new photos to share...and as I've said before, a blog post just isn't a blog post without a photo! So I will share something from last month's creative spree with you.


Wee Hootie

Featuring a gorgeous owl bead from Barbara of Floridity and Second Surf and golden rutilated quartz. I keep saying how I don't generally like polymer and then keep finding big exceptions....like Barbara. I just adore her beads, especially her lovely bird beads. The owls are extra especially cute; I ordered some more as I sold this bracelet just before Christmas and they arrived a couple of days ago. Very exciting package to open! I should take some photos of them really - 4 little owls, 4 tiny pendants and a little coral birdie that Barbara snuck in. I love them - thank you Barbara! If you haven't visited her lovely shop or blog, I suggest you do, posthaste!

Well, hopefully you guys are all in a better creative and mental state than me - hope you all have great weekends ahead of you! x x x

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Bead Table Wednesday...or Tuesday!








I've taken my cue from Heather from Humblebeads on two counts - one, joining in with the Bead Table Wednesday (even though it's Tuesday!) and also from using the v cool iPhone app Instagram to put filters on my otherwise slightly weak iPhone photos! Happy Tuesday (and Wednesday!). X

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Saturday 8 January 2011

Silk Bracelets

So, how's 2011 going for everybody? Ok so far? I went back to school on Friday and had a beading class this morning so everything's getting back to normal...We took down the Christmas tree last night which is always a sad event. The spot where is stood looks so empty! Poor wee Maisie rabbit was bereft - she scampered around the place where the tree had been looking very puzzled. However, the festive period isn't totally over for me - tonight is our friends Andrew and Tom's Winter Wonderland Extravaganza! They have a big formal dinner for their close friends every year after Christmas and we all exchange presents, eat turkey and drink lots of pink fizz! I was poorly last year and missed out so I must say, I am really looking forward to tonight.

I've done loads of beading these past few days - a kind of last minute reaction against all my free time being eaten up as of Monday when I'm back to college and work full time! Here are some of this weeks results - all available in my Folksy shop. As you can see, I've completely fallen in love with the silk cord I've been using, from Sowzere Designs and I think it goes perfectly with Julie's Lush Lampwork beads, which I've used in the top two bracelets. Poisoned Apple features beads from Loupiac - they have a gorgeous silvery sheen to them. Let me know what you think! Hope you're all having a peaceful weekend. 











Sunday 2 January 2011

Happy New Year

Some new pretty pieces in my Folksy shop to bring in the new year! It might be January but I'm looking forward to the coming Spring.














Hope you all had a grand Hogmanay and are already enjoying and happy, peaceful and healthy 2011!


*** 03.01.11 Update! I have put a few more pieces in the shop but just had to share this one with you as I was so pleased with how it turned out! ***



Grade AAA freshwater pearls, chrysotine and lots of lovely patinated ember chain and links from Miss Fickle Media.

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