I've been extremely lax in my blogging lately, and I blame the end of the semester for my failure to post anything. :/ Not to say I haven't been working on new pieces...but it usually occurs spur of the moment late at night when I've just completely become burnt out on studying. I'm stressing out about my final project -- especially since apparent the 19th is Tuesday, NOT Thursday like I thought it was...anyways, here's the happy pretty stuff that always make my day:

Going Green

Well, I'm participating in the Bead Unique bead swap again this year -- and once again, its for summer. The nice thing is, there isn't a color theme but there is another kind of theme. If you couldn't already guess by the title of this post, its going green. No, not green in the color, but green as in eco-friendly. Not quite sure how I'll address that since most of my beading is in the form of jewelry making, but we'll see...

I have serious hair regret...

So much so, that I am now contemplating purchasing a wig. This is because my hair is still too short to purchase the Jessica Simpson/Ken Paves natural hair extensions I've been desperate for...

I found a super awesome shop courtesy of Etsy run by LadySolo who has wigs that are personally cut and styled by her. I'm especially fond of this one: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23866135. (Sorry I have no idea how to hide links behind words. :/)

Anyways, that was on my mind so I thought I
would talk about it...

Christmas in April...

I've been giving it some thought, and depending on what Jimmy's school schedule is like, I think I'd like to do the craft bazaar in Pahrump this year. I did it a couple years ago and actually sold wreaths, not jewelry, but I'd like to give it a try with some jewelry. Fortunately, the overhead isn't very high (other than the trip from San Diego,) and it'll get us out of town for a few days. So, in anticipation, here's what I've been working on...

I know that I'll be making multiples of items, but I'm trying to decide how many of each would be appropriate without making it look so "factory" as opposed to "handmade"...we'll see. I'll be posting more in the coming weeks (I would have had more but my camera's battery died on me,) so look out for those!

I know that I can't make them too expensive because the crowd that goes to the bazaar doesn't exactly want to pay a lot for anything, handmade or not, and even with my wreaths, they haggled a little. That's why I'm thinking of just using plated metals along with brass and copper, but also offering some of my "nicer" pieces made with gold-fill and sterling silver just in case. I know that the ladies who sold jewelry the year I was in it didn't sell anything at all and I think it was partially because of high pricing. :/ That and some of the items were just really too nice to be sold in that kind of "market"...

Pay It Forward Giveaway

I was actually checking out AMIdesigns' blog and she was running this awesome "Pay It Forward" giveaway that I decided I would also like to try. Albeit I was too late to "win" but I've been wanting to run a promo for a while now, so here it is:

Here are the Rules:

1. Be one of the first three bloggers to "follow" my blog and leave a comment at the end of this post, which entitles you to one of the pairs of earrings that I design.

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who "follow" you and leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift you send can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love

5. If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own 'Pay It Forward chain', and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.

I hope that even for those who don't "win" you decide to continue the "Pay It Forward" love!

Don't forget to leave your email and blog (if you have one) so I can "follow" you along as well!

>.<

Just an observation from your humble reporter...

I don't typically like getting involved in political matters, but the blurb reading "TEABAGGERS GO NUTS" just really bothered me...

Whether or not I'm a conservative or a liberal, when did it become okay for supposedly objective news reporters to actually verbally attack people they were interviewing simply because they didn't agree with what they were doing? And when was "Teabaggers Go Nuts," appropriate on a national news service? Look, you may feign innocence, but that can only go so far when the only certain news stations are using the derrogatory phrases to essentially criticize legitimate, first amendment protected, PEACEFUL protests. And should I add that these "Tax Day Tea Parties" were not the first of their kind? The first set of tea parties (NOT affiliated with Fox News, despite what other "objective" news sources may assert) were actually conducted February 27th with very little bruhaha from the news at the time. What ever happened to free speech? Or is the Constitution only applicable to "liberals?"

If the President "succeeds," then great for him. But is even remotely possible that he might not either? This is not a Democrat/Republican issue. Anybody can succeed or fail. ONLY TIME CAN TELL. We are not God, or the Deity or whatever else you believe in. We don't have the power to say definitively that he will succed nor do we have the authority to say he will fail. Whatever happens, success or failure WILL NOT be on account of somebody else. We are all humans with free will and a choice. The president is an adult. He will make choices based on the information he is given and the experience that he has. Some choices will end in failure, and some will succeed. That is what it means to be human. Whether that failure or success will lead to something worse or greater, WE WILL SURVIVE and WE WILL MOVE ON. Policies have failed and succeeded in the past and we have gotten through it. Since when did the blame game do anybody any good? Why don't we stop blaming and JUST START DOING. Does anybody look at anything objectively anymore? Its not our government that will cause our implosion, its our own failure to STOP TAKING SIDES before hearing all the facts. We base so much of our "knowledge" on personal preference and opinion that we've seriously become blinded to the fact that we're all suffering for it in the meantime. Let's get a grip people. This isn't some kind of popularity contest. We're trying to keep a country together. Or did we forget that in our special interest groups, pork-barreling and other ridiculous quid pro quo that's happening on both sides of the aisle...

I am so burnt out on school right now...and sadly, I have 2 more years until my undergrad is finished and then onto another 3 years of grad school. GRRREEEAATTTT.

Anyways, here's some new stuff. :)