We watched a cute movie last night;  Waitress with Keri Russell.  We didn’t really know what to expect and were pleasantly surprised.  Drama, a lot of creative pie baking, and a happy ending.  It was a perfect Sunday night flick, especially after my friend’s farewell party.  Two of my best pals are moving home this week ironically.  One is heading back to Connecticut and the other to Portland.  It’s going to be a hard week to say the least.  And on that note, I’ll share some happy bead blogger links…

About.com Jewelry Making
Are your wire loops perfect? Why not? What the heck is wrong with you!?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie’s Studio Tour continues with a look at the skeletons in her craft closet, and in a new magazine!

Jewelry & Beading
Cyndi has been working on her wire skills, and she’s collected her favorite sites for learning the basics!

Make It Mine Magazine
Spread the word: Make It Mine’s on MySpace.

PearlEsq.
Contest! Contest! Keep Robin busy while she recovers from her knee surgery and send Bandanna Technique Cards-You may win a full set of Ranger’s new Adirondack(r) Pigment Ink Stamp Pads and Re-inkers! Bandanna on, Sister (or Brother)!

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Jean explains why she is so proud of her wabi sabi compliment (concerning a ring she made) by the great Eni Oken, wire worker extraordinaire

Art Bead Scene
Economy Gone Bad? Read ABS Editor Cindy Gimbrone’s series Beading on a Budget to keep you beading in style!

The Impatient Blogger
Madge takes matters in her own hands and collages an imperfect and quirky new bio photo. Just because.

Savvy Crafter
Candie shares a project for Ornament Thursday that she crafted with her mom.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen has a fun DIY project showing you how to make a Tom Binns style No Time Watch in no time at all.

Katie’s Beading Blog
Katie presents an easy wedding jewelry set this week. Check it out!

UR Charmed Mother’s Necklace 
Easy to make and personalize necklace for Mom or Grandma!
http://beading.consumerhelpweb.com/blog/2008/04/ornament-thursday-motherhood.html

The Swell Life – Swelldesigner’s blog 
Make this cool and colorful buckle inspired by the iconic "MOM" tattoo
http://swelldesigner.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-motherhood.html

Strands of Beads 
Melissa and the Short One celebrate motherhood with a little origami
http://strandsofbeads.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-motherhood.html

Mommy-isms by Michelle 
http://fromichelle.blogspot.com/2008/04/oh-mother-ot-strikes-again.html

Modern Glass Link Earrings 
Modern Glass Links for the Mom who’s a classic!
http://lampworkdiva.blogspot.com/2008/04/organic-glass-link-earrings.html

Michelle Zimmerman – http design 
Michelle creates a floral tribute to motherhood
http://www.http-design.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-redefines-motherhood.html

Linda at Make It Mine magazine 
Quilts inspired by Mom’s Mom
http://cs.makeitminemag.com/mimcs/blogs/makeitmine/2008/04/24/ornament-thursday-motherhood.aspx

Katie’s Beading Blog 
Make this easy talisman for new moms or moms-to-be
http://http://katiehacker.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-strong-mama.html

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles 
Celebrating Mother Earth with a ceramic pendant tutorial
http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-mother-earth-pendant.html

Candie Cooper 
See a sweet project that Candie and her mom made together.
http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2008/04/ornament-thur-1.html 

Art Bead Scene 
Add art beads to needle-felted flowers for the perfect Mother’s Day corsage.
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-sneak-peak.html

5 Generations of Mothers 
Hali’s first attempt at an altered book featuring family photos of great grandmother down to her niece.
http://labyrinthgal.blogspot.com/2008/04/ornament-thursday-motherhood.html

Things have been hectic around here.  I needed to take a little, "just for fun" time and make something yesterday.  It all started when I found some cool, old clip-on earrings, so…..

These are so easy to make, you could do it on your lunch hour.  Grab your peeps and make some!

P.S.  I’ve been fiddling with Photoshop.  Can you tell!?!? I want to add text to everything!!!  It’s a tad addicting, I must say. Still trying to balance colors…

THIS is what happens when you can buy ribbon for 25 cents a meter.  Seriously, the poor thing (aka me) can’t help herself.  Toss the ribbon salad and you get…

A whole new assortment.   Heavens to Murgatroid! I’m grounding myself from buying anymore ribbon….well, at least until the lid fits on the box again.  😉

Figure Types-circa fall 2004

Here’s a little blast from the past….  I started making a version of these back in school (you can see one of them in the gallery section of Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects, Lark Books).  When we moved to Ch!na, I left so much behind—that could include simple things like recipes and craft supplies to complex things like relationships and inspirations that affect my work, all for an opportunity to live in a completely different culture.  There is a fine line of leaving too much or bringing too much with you.  If you’ve ever moved, you know it’s impossible to up-root and not leave a few strands still in the dirt.  On a bad day, this can make me a little sad.  On a good day, I kind of look at them like seeds, looking forward to what will bloom when I come back home.  So many wonderful things will be there–people, libraries, markets, my tools in storage and a million more things I’ve forgotten about.  It’s exciting and scary at the same time.  These little figures are made from dominos and typewriter keys.  I fabricated the limbs from sterling with vintage jewel embellishments.  My Indiana roots, make me no stranger to dusty flea markets and dear quirky vendors to haggle the day away with.  Thankfully, I’ve found places like that here…the only difference is dominos have transformed into mahjong tiles…and I haggle in Ch!nese.

About.com Jewelry Making 
With the cost of metals on the rise, many jewery makers are turning to copper. Here are some copper connections for you.

Art Bead Scene 
Free Project at ABS!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles 
Melanie digs in deep and picks at the heart and bones of her creative process.

Jennifer Jangles Blog 
Jennifer shows a sneak peek of a project from her new book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry, due out June 3rd.

Jewelry & Beading 
What do cherry donuts have to do with jewelry? Come find out 😉

Katie’s Beading Blog 
Look what happens when spring fever meets beads! A colorful necklace is born.

Make It Mine Magazine 
A challenge: transform something unpurselike into a purse!

Naughty Secretary Club 
Bead Simple: Essential Techniques for Making Jewelry Just the Way You Want It – A book report by Jen.

PearlEsq. 
Robin reports on her fun trip to Absolutely Everything and her "Kate’s Neighborhood" Creation!

Savvy Crafter 
Hey Everybody, it’s a wrap! Candie shows some finished pendants from the wire wrapping workshop.

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done! 
Jean interviewed Melanie Brooks Lukacs for Jean’s book, Links, as Melanie is a terrific ceramic artist!

The Impatient Blogger 
What’s your Googleability Factor? Madge coins a new phrase and discovers that she’s quite Googleable. Help her select a new promo photo too!

Some pictures from the international school workshop….

It’s always good to end on a smile.  🙂       

Lars and the Real Girl.  We were absolutely clueless about this film when we put it into the DVD player yesterday afternoon.  I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed it!  To quote, Botch, "it had everything you like about a good book."  An endearing story with brilliant actors—the family gives it four thumbs and two paws up.