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Monday ~ October 1st
Click on the banner above to find out what I'll be posting about on the 15th of this month. If you've got a blog, you should join in too. |
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Tuesday ~ October 2nd
I received an interesting email from a jewelry designer a couple of weeks ago. Turns out she got tickets to the Oprah Show & wanted to make a special bracelet to give to Ms. Winfrey with my beads in it. Now, I know I've said that I don't do custom orders but for Oprah, well heck, how could I resist? So I pulled out glass in shades of purple with some pink, grey & silver plum. I sent those beads off a week ago, but proceeded to carry on with this color combination & these are some of the beads that have transpired since. Vicki from Wire Mania is the designer & the show is today! I hope she took a photo of the bracelet before she left, I would love to show it here.
I have a confession though, this is not the first time I've been asked to make beads with Oprah in mind. A doctor here in town, arranged to put a package together for Oprah, which included a book she wrote about art therapy for Cancer patients & a bracelet with some of my beads ~
As far as I know, nothing has emerged from that experience, but it was a lot of fun to imagine Oprah wearing Bead Tree beads, heck, maybe she is today?!
Speaking of television, if you live in Edmonton & are around a TV Friday at 8:20 a.m., I'll be on Global during the breakfast show with my torch.
Well, I'm off to the grocery store, it's 15% off Tuesday & I've got to stalk up on meat ~ how's that for glamorous? |
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Wednesday ~ October 3rd
Pink clouds across the field
For the last week or so the winds have picked up, blowing the leaves right off the trees. I can't deny that the days are shortening & the nights are much cooler now. It's inevitable that winter is encroaching on this scenery, and so my fancies have turned from the cheerful chirping of robins & the smell of freshly cut grass to the sound of crunching leaves underfoot & geese collecting in v-formations across the sky.
Now the sun is setting further southwest so that Chris & I can catch the dramatic display of colors from our front porch as they rise & fall towards twilight. This was the scene I spotted last night, heading back into my little studio to make beads after washing the dinner dishes. I stopped in my tracks ~ what a magnificent surprise!
Sometimes I just don't understand where the days go, or the months or how the seasons seem to flip by like pages in a book. It's in the moment of last night, when I looked up from all my busy & saw that the sunset had shifted into my horizon, that I realized I need to slow down a little & take it all in. |
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Here's the bracelet that Vicki from Wire Mania made. Turns out security is a little more strict these days & she was unable to give it to Oprah. C'est la vie. It's absolutely gorgeous though & I guess a nice memento from the experience.
I hear a kitty running around anxious to get outside so I better go let her out & get on with my day. Have a fabulous Thursday! |
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Friday ~ October 5th
Here's a snapshot of us this morning as we were on TV. All the other photos didn't turn out very well, not enough light I guess, but you get the gist. If you saw us & want to know more, like when our show is, email me at carrie@beadtree.net. |
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Saturday ~ October 6th
Black Magic
It's Thanksgiving weekend here & we are off to a Pig Roast this afternoon at Chris' Uncle & Aunt's place in the country. Tomorrow night it's roast beef dinner with my family. Happy Thanksgiving Canucks! |
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Tuesday ~ October 9th
"Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus
The weekend was... very indulgent to say the least so I'm off to the golf course to get in one last game of the season & to fill this body up with some fresh air. I plan to drink at least one pot of green tea this afternoon, maybe two & make glass heart beads. I think I've come up with a new look that I like ~ we'll see where it goes. Back later this week to share a photo. |
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Thursday ~ October 11th
I made these hearts with a beautiful, translucent glass that reminds me of an opalescent quartz with the cloudy, liquid-like appearance of amber. I melted in silver & cubic zircons & used my marver to add tactile edges. Chunky & glowing, I think they'll make pretty pendants.
The weekend is nearing & we are really trying to get things done now in the yard. We're still working on the backyard deck & finishing up the sidewalk & patio. Of course there's plenty more to do, but usually the first snowfall around here is near Halloween so we're just going to plain run out of time. That's o.k. with me, I've got other things to focus on like making beads. November is fast approaching (which I can hardly believe) & I have so much to do to get ready for this jewelry show. I'm trying to keep my cool, but it's getting tougher each day. I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but I'm actually looking forward to winter when things will slow down a bit & I can regroup. No, no, I take that back. |
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Friday ~ October 12th
Have a Rockin' Weekend! |
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Saturday ~ October 13th
The Bead Tree's 5th Annual Christmas Sale is fast approaching!
We will be showing our Fabulous Jewelry Creations made with original Art Glass Beads here in Edmonton ~ November 9th & 10th.
If you would like an invitation, please contact me at carrie@beadtree.net. |
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Monday ~ October 15th
Photo courtesy of Mark Tucker
It's Blog Action Day ~ the theme is the Environment. How fitting after Al Gore shares the Noble Peace Prize for his work (ongoing) at combating climate change.
Here's my contribution ~ a video on our choice to push for change, please take 9 minutes out of your day to watch (thanks for the link Debbie).
This is not a time to cower in fear, but a time to stand up for what is right, "the fight for the global climate is a fight for peace". |
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Tuesday ~ October 16th
I could use a pick me up, you too? Click here & enjoy. |
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Wednesday ~ October 17th
Bead pendant by Jennifer Geldard
My friend Sabine, who lives 10 hours away, drove up here last night & she's staying with me. We are taking a 2 day glass bead making class starting tomorrow with Jennifer Geldard, a bead artist that has been around this "bizz" for 13 years now! It's wonderful to have Sabine in town, we've been talking glass all day & of course we're excited about going to class. I hope to learn some new tricks of the trade & maybe find a little inspiration to lead me down some new roads. |
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Monday ~ October 22nd
Click on the photo above to see pictures from my class with Jennifer Geldard.
By the way, I just sent out some email invites to our jewelry show November 9th & 10th. If you haven't received one & would like to, please email me at carrie@beadtree.net. |
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Tuesday ~ October 23rd
Chris finished the hot tub deck on the weekend - he is so talented, how he has the instinctual ability to put this together, I don't know? And it's so sturdy & beautiful! We still have to put some glass walls up, but it's now functional & private.
I'm getting into a wonderful habit of filling the bird feeder with peanuts just before sunrise. Then I make myself a cup of coffee, go in the hot tub & soak while the blue jays & magpies zip along grabbing peanuts & taking them off to their secret little places. It's a nice way to start the morning. |
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Wednesday ~ October 24th
Since our show is just over 2 weeks away, I thought I would start to put up some "sneak peaks" of what we'll be offering up for sale. My mom has been playing around in her jewelry lab, daring to visit new places with her imagination. Here, she's added all these sparkly jewel embellishments to my beads to give them a flirty & fun edge. They're the sweetest pendants, don't they just make you feel good inside?
And speaking of sweet, you just have to look through the cake & candy galleries here ~ unbelievable! |
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More sneak-peaks! I call these slider bracelets because mom added "life-saver" beads so that they can slide around as you wear them. These are a lot of fun if you're a tactile person like me & the cool thing is that the life-saver (large holed bead) can't come off the bracelet so there's no chance of loosing it. |
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Friday ~ October 26th
We will have lots of silk ties available at the show, including this one above. These are a wonderful alternative to wearing a chain around your neck ~ instead adorn it with hand-dyed silk & some sparkly bobbles on the end, including a glass bead (made by me). |
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Monday ~ October 29th
More sneak peaks coming this week, like this pretty bracelet with smooth, blue beads & silver bands & accompanied with swarovski crystals & furnace glass.
Chris & I had a great weekend! Worked hard making beads & in the yard. Spent some time soaking in the hot tub & saw 3 Northern Flickers at the feeder! Two of them started doing a strange dance with each other for about 10 minutes, bopping their heads from side to side to some imaginary music. I have no idea if they were involved in a mating ritual, establishing their territory, fighting over the other Flicker or what? But it was really cool!
We also went for Dim Sum & bumped into the Mayor of Edmonton who was coming out of the restaurant. We were like, "hey, it's Steven, cool, hey Steven, err I mean Mr. Mandel, nice to meet you!"
And this weekend, we went for our annual visit to a German restaurant called The Mill to celebrate Oktoberfest (or as we like to call it "Rocktoberfest"). I brought my camera to take photos of our food, but then forgot to, so I'll just tell you that I had a delicious bowl of Goulash & dumplings (thanks for the suggestion Sabine). Chris had a combo plate of Bratwurst, Schnitzel & Rouladen. It was delicious & we enjoyed the ambience ~ including this guy in lederhosen walking around the restaurant playing German tunes on his accordion.
It's our nephew, Jamie's birthday today (Happy Birthday Jamie) so we also had a dinner celebration at Chris' parents yesterday. Now it's back to work! Enjoy your week. |
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Wednesday ~ October 31st
HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~ hope you have a spooky, fun day! This photo of the pumpkins Chris, my mom & I carved yesterday is pretty cool. There's some strange flash affect that makes them look like they're on fire, are you scared yet? No? Well how about this:
Bwahahahahaha! Chris outdid himself this time in the "Ugly Candle" contest we have every Halloween (however I forgot to get one this year). Here's what his search produced... At first I thought it was a baby's boot, but now I'm pretty sure it's a sparkle purse & it's frighteningly ugly, ready to light up a pumpkin tonight.
On a more serious note, my niece is having major back surgery this morning. She's such a wonderful kid & this is a pretty traumatic experience. I know it's all going to work out just fine, but it would be great if you could send some good energy this way. |
