Dedication is...

driving 80 miles to the nearest Hobby Lobby because my favorite components and supplies are on sale.

I'm loving my resin lately but in order to do what I want I need bezels.  I'm not ready to start making my own with some sheet metal and a torch (someday I will but I've already burned one hole in my apartment's carpet.)   Plus, I don't want to pay a fortune because, well, I just don't want to pay a fortune.  So, I stalked Hobby Lobby and watched for the sales flyer.  I really want to have a big stash for my upcoming class at Bead Haven so students can buy extras in different sizes and shapes.   The flyer came out on Sunday night and I was in luck!  50% off my faves!  Alas, the nearest store is in Richmond which is up the road about 80 miles or so.  So, I took off from work a little early to try to beat traffic and headed north.  I ended up going in uniform because it took me too long to transition out of the office and I didn't have time to go home so I got a few odd looks as I perused the aisles in my blues--uniforms are normal down here but not so much around there.

I splurged a little since I was already going off the deep end of craftiness and picked up some more of this suede cord even though it wasn't on sale.  I loooooove the color and the softness.  I have pics of some of this in use that I'll share eventually.  This pic is dedicated to my friend, Amy, a fellow bead addict who was drooling over colored leather while suffering from a yucky cold...I sent her a little leather pick-me-up and now she's paying it forward with a giveaway at her Copper Diem blog.

I posted about my June goals back on the 1st and one of them was to go two weeks without buying any crafting supplies...I made it to the 13th which isn't perfect but it's actually better than I thought I'd do!!!!!

Other goal updates:

- I want to work on a couple of tutorial ideas that I have floating around in my brain - nope, still floating around.

- I want to finish a couple more lessons in my Photoshop Elements workbook so I can actually start using it for something productive - no progress; book is still closed on the table.

- I want to sell some beach-inspired pieces to one of the gift shops in my neighborhood - in progress - I created a bunch of pieces and now have some ideas for resin and shell pendants so this plan is still on track.

- I want to leave my office by 1730 every evening - yes!  - Heck, last night I left at 4!!

- I want to lose five pounds - work in progress - last night on my little Richmond adventure I stopped at McDonald's but had a hamburger, small fries and a Diet Coke.  Apparently there's a hamburger meal that's only $2.50--it was a total of 13 PointsPlus which is just about half the day's allotment, but it was damned good and I'm proud that I didn't get a quarter pounder like I normally would have a month ago.  

- I want to get mentally prepared to turn 40 in July - uh, not working all that well but I think that's because I keep finding gray hairs.

- I want to work on a project for Operation Tackle that Bead Stash; the color palette is gorgeous!  Plus it works into my beach-inspiration - not done yet, but I still have time and because it's blue I want to put something together for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope project.

- I want to see if I can go two weeks without buying any beads or other crafting supplies.  OOOOOH, so close!  

- I want to get something together Marcie's Margie & Me palette this month - the suede cord is my inspiration but it's not done yet.

Off to the gym...writing about the five pound goal is a little bitty reminder to get up and move.  

Having Goals Might Work - Weekend Productivity

I woke up early on Saturday morning all set to enjoy some coffee, the sun streaming in the windows, and get to making!  I was trying to focus on my June goals, so there were a few different plans, but I ended up really working on summertime pieces.  I haven't taken the time to photograph them all yet, but wanted to share a few shots of the working environment.

Here's what my bead table looked like when I started.  Uh, how many pliers do you need to have right there at hand?  I apparently refuse to put the orange beads away even though I know I haven't used them in weeks--they're just so pretty!  There are ribbons and leather scraps all over the place, too, because I keep wanting to put them in a design and then they end up unused.  I apparently won't put them away either--they're pretty, too!

Since one of my goals this month is to actually sell some things, I spent some time working on more descriptive tags for each piece that can help explain the magic of handmade and give credit to the various bead artists that I love.  It was a bit painful making the labels and cutting and such, but it was a great excuse to finally download Word for my Mac--thankfully I work for the government so I was able to get Microsoft Office for only $10.  :)  Sorry to rub it in, but it's a happy thing!  Here's a tray full of sets of summertime--most of them are leather/suede-based because I found some luscious soft cord on a recent Hobby Lobby stop.  I'm proud to say that all feature beads by blog friends/artisans from around the country!  There's Sue, Genea, Barbara, Heather, Anne & Cherie on this tray.

You can also see a little bit of another June goal peeking out from under the tray...the instructions for my Weight Watcher points counter!  haaaaaaaaa  So far, so good!  I actually ran last night and am getting set for more PT with my unit this morning.  Actually, now that I'm checking the time I should probably get ready to go.  Sad...I'd rather sit here and play blog-girl all day; alas, I will go sweat in the most unflattering PT gear ever with all of my co-workers and then go try to solve the AF's biggest problems from my little office at the end of all the cubicles.  Whoo hoo!

Oh, one more thing I have to share:  Frankie.  He is my skittish boy and I got to take him to the kitty dermatologist the other day for allergy testing.  Uh, if you're looking for a nice expensive adventure, I highly recommend it.  I was lucky enough to never have to go through the skin-pricking of allergy testing but now my little one has...look at this poor thing!

He has that "bitch if you try to pick me up I will cut you" look that matches well with his little shaved side.  What a prince!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Off to PT.