New Year's Resolution

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, but it seems a good time to resurrect our blog. What's been happening? Basically, both Denise and I retired from our teaching jobs to persue glass bead making full-time and life has been busier than ever. We look forward to seeing all our old beading friends and making lots of new ones at our 2009 shows. Happy New Year and happy beading to you!

The Best Laid Plans...

Well, it's Friday night and Denise and Mom are in Syracuse setting up for the bead show. I'm home, sick with the flu. I had grand dreams of making the 2 hour drive to Denise's house this morning, but had to change my mind when I couldn't get up one flight of steps to take a shower. So for this weekend it's "One Bead Sister and Mom". So if you brave the snow and make it to the bead show, be sure to stop by and say hi to them. Denise promised me hourly phone calls during the show to make me feel like I'm a part of it, but you know that won't happen if she's surrounded by beads. (Only kidding, Denise). Fondle lots of beads for me and have a great weekend. And stay away from flu bugs, this one is horrible!

We just had a well-deserved weekend off and are now getting ready to head to Syracuse this weekend. I hope it doesn't snow! Somehow we'll manage to get there. This weekend we'll have Mom with us again. She loves meeting our 'regular' customers and has a lot of fun doing some shopping for herself. This weekend she's bring her bead collection and Denise and I are going to help her make some new jewelry for herself. (What else would we do after spending 8 hours surrounded by beads?) Since it's our first trip to Syracuse, we'll be looking to meet many of you for the first time. Please remember to wear jewelry you've made. We love to see people wearing their own creations.

It's the biggest snow storm of the season and Denise and I are stressing out over our trip to Fishkill. I'm sure the show weekend will be fine (weatherwise), it's just the getting there today. Hope to see a lot of our old friends and make some new bead friends this weekend. Stay warm and keep beading!

Mid-Winter Snow

Today looks like one of Diane's beads...the trees stark brown, the snow falling, the sky purple....they are always the first beads to sell and each time I think I should have asked her for them before they sell. The colors she gets out of glass are amazing!

It was a very exciting first show of the year. I apologize to anyone who got lost becasue of my address on the web site, we were lost too! The firechief published his HOME address rather than the firehall...so he had about 400 cars pulling up to his home looking for the bead show. I hope you all found us!

Stay warm, keep beading!!!!!!!

No time to make beads

Denise and I are looking forward to our first bead show of 2008. We'll be at the Aetna Fire House this Saturday and Sunday. All the details are on our 2beadsisters.com website. Meanwhile life continues to spin around me faster than I can handle. It seems that there are so many things that compete with my limited bead-making time. For example, Tuesday, the oil in the car needs to be changed after work and then I have to be back at work to supervise 20 fourth graders during our winter concert. Bye bye beads. Every day has its challenges. For now, I'll just keep designing beads in my head. Some day they'll appear for real. Happy beading.

This photo came from a series of pictures I'm working on to show the making of a bead step-by-step. My kids bought me a digital photo frame for Christmas and I'm putting together a slide show to use as a display at bead shows. One thing led to another and I decided to figure out how to post photos to our blog. It was a success! (I hope you are able to see the photo). I'm bored these past few days, It's just too cold to make beads. I'm hoping for temps. above freezing. Stay warm and happy beading!

The package arrived!

The surprise is WONDERFUL!!!!! I'm now a card-carrying member of the Frit of the Month club. Every month a new package will come in the mail with two new frits to sample. Now I have a real incentive to learn to use my new digital camera, so I can share my frit beads with you. Stop by and see Denise and I at an upcoming show (see the website for details) to see the Christmas present I received from my children - really. Keep warm and keep beading!

Surprises!!

January has been good to us, we are on the torch enough to be happy and have been accepted into 3 more shows! being on the torch is highly creative, experimental...cold, and allows me to do what I love best, being alone with the glass and allowing it to express what is inside of me. But being at shows allows me to watch all of you find your treasure of a bead, carry it home and make something wonderful from it....

Anyway, I am rambling. I have a surprise, and knowing Diane, she won't even read about it here. I have a package in the mail to her from mom and me...a present!!!!! that will keep giving to her all year because 10 years ago Diane quit smoking and I am celebrating my sister and best friend!!!!

I mention it here because I hope she blogs about it, giving details like where her present came from and even comments. Wow, it is hard to write about it and not say what it is!!!!

Anyway, it is something to consider in your own life, how doing something healthy for yourself is a present to everyone who loves you. Diane gave me the best present 10 years ago by quitting.

Diane, you absolutely rock!!!!!