Happy Fourth of July!!

Hi Everyone!!

Hope you're all having a happy 4th. I'm looking forward to fireworks, bbq, pool time...maybe not in that order. So it's been a strange week with the deaths of superstars and then Billy Mays too. Michael has been the toughest to comprehend. I wasn't surprised but I didn't think it would happen so soon. I thought he had a little more time. It's so sad. But we must remember how amazing he was! And try to keep that smile on your face. Making stuff brings that back. Making goodies and jewelry and other fun things makes me smile.

So I cleaned up my torch space so I can create more stuff. Stefanie's visit really brought my attention to what a pig sty (spelling?) my torch area had become. I was working on terra cotta tiles since they are fireproof. But the dust factor and glass bits were just too much. I had recently picked up some galvanized sheet metal to use when I'm out demoing or teaching and thought that would make a great surface. Easy to keep clean...the bits don't fall between the tiles any more. Check it out.

It's so clean and tidy!! I love it. Soon there will be new beads!! Yay!! And the glass bits that I leaned up go into my glass bit box to be taken over to my friend Leigh Adams' studio. She works with homeless and low income people teaching mosaic and glass fusing. The bits will be made into beautiful art pieces that they will then sell. It's a great group...Piece by Piece is the name. Makes sense. And they make beautiful art. So everyone wins by me cleaning up.

I'm going to start making super jumbo beads for a macramé project I've got coming up. I'll be Artist in Residence at Hands on 3rd for the month of August. So I'm doing up the window with macramé and glass beads. What else could I do? I'm inspired by The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and their fabulous windows.

This is one of the windows.

And this was one of the others. I love this place!

So I'm getting myself some cotton rope and maybe a bit of hemp and creating something inspired by these windows. My take on jumbo macramé. Now I must go make beads in my clean and tidy work space...and now you should go make something too! Happy 4th of July!!