Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Crossed the Line...

I Love My Blog Readers!

I love blogging!  Love almost everything about it, except the amount of time it sometimes eats up.  I really love that Blogger provides us with the Stats of our readers.  Over the weekend, I crossed the 10,000 reader view mark!  When I started in 2007, I never expect to have 10 reads let alone 10,000+!  I am truly honored to have people interested enough to read what I write and interested enough to return to read more!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  I will strive to stay worthy of your time!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Happy Birthday, My Love!

 Tomorrow is my dear husband's birthday!  Chris will then be the same age as me until November (he always jokes that I am his "older" woman!).  So today I want to share some details about Chris:
  • Chris has 4 brothers, two older, two younger, making him the middle child. (look at me do math!)
  • He was born in Grand Island, NE and grew up near Doniphan, but moved to Plymouth just before graduating.
  • We met at Peru State College and started dating our sophomore year.
  • We had government class at 8:00am M, W, F, and it was taught by Dr. Hahn (an oriental man that while having lived in the US for a LONG time, never got rid of his Asian accent, so you could barely understand him).
  • Chris sat across from me in class, mostly comatose.
  • I thought he was cute, started trying to eat breakfast with him at the cafeteria, but again he was mostly comatose over his cereal bowl.  
  • Chris was playing Sherlock Holmes in the Speckled Band when I met him. He was terrific!
  • I got to know him better when I (very briefly) dated his roommate and would talk to Chris on the phone. 
  • We went to a play audition, my friend was student director and I tagged along, and when it was over I pushed him off the sidewalk (thus the start of our relationship) and he thought I was mad at him.  He made a mutual friend call me to check if I were mad at him.
  • After we started dating, he gave me pencil grips and gum.  One of the most romantic gifts he has given me.
  • For the longest time, he had me convinced that his middle name was Alice (it is actually Allan) and I still feel like an idiot for believing him.
  • Once forgot to pick me up for a date.
  • We used to go to Amigo's or Valentino's (when flush with cash) in Nebraska City for dates and I drove.
  • We broke up twice before getting married.
  • Chris loves goofy jokes, one being that when I am prepping bills and ask for the stamps for the envelopes, he starts stamping his foot.
  • He is an amazing, smart, funny, loving man.  I am SO blessed to get to spend everyday of my life with him.  Chris is a terrific father, my best friend, and a GOD to our cats.  

Happy Birthday, Chrysalis!  I love you, always.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Round Robin Bracelet Project Reveal

Find this magazine here.
In January, one of my internet friends, Pam, contacted me and our mutual friend Carla, with an idea.  She had read an article about a Round Robin Traveling Necklace Project in this magazine.  The article was written by Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio.  Pam was intrigued and wanted to try it.  The three of us chatted via email, and decided a bracelet project worked better with our jewelry habits (more commonly worn by the three of us).  With that decided, we sat a few ground rules:
  1.  Each of us would make a foundation bracelet, that fit us and fit our style of beading.
  2.  We would include pictures of what our bracelet looked like when we finished.
  3. We would make a journal of our choosing to go with our bracelet.
  4. When the bracelet was received by the next beader, they would document it before adding their additions to the bracelet, document what they added, and add to the journal with what and why they chose to add the items they selected.
  5. Once completed, it would be sent on to the third participant and the process would be repeated.
  6. When the third beader had finished, the bracelet would return to its owner.
When we started, my bracelet went first to Carla and then to Pam.  Pam's bracelet came to me first and then to Carla.  Carla's went to Pam and then to me.

This is the bracelet I sent out to Carla at the start of the project.

When Pam's Bracelet and Journal arrived, I was stunned.  Pam's ability with journaling, left me speechless (and a bit overwhelmed).  This was the cover, and the next picture shows my "pages" of her journal. 
Pam and I and Carla play Lexulous (a Scrabble type game on Facebook) and she included tiny Scrabble tile letters on my page!  They were also in my favorite colors!  Awesome, huh?!

This was Pam's bracelet when it arrived with her journal.

For Pam's bracelet, I added the silver metal daisies (purchased in Tucson), a C-Koop enameled ring, a globe charm (symbolizing the distance between the three of us), a bee charm (I am fond of bees), brightly colored mother of pearl slices (to add some pop of color), a brass snowflake, and a Lucite flower just like the ones on my bracelet.
I sent Pam's bracelet on to Carla, and received Carla's bracelet and her photo journal from Pam.  Carla's bracelet started with dangles of aquamarine, smooth, lovely drilled beach stones from Lake Michigan, and large holed crystals (which Carla sells in her Etsy bead shop), all of which was strung on silver chain (with the clasp included in the box, but not attached).
I added to Carla's bracelet:
One of Chris's Tidal foiled lampwork beads (looks like you are looking into a tide pool), a beaded dangle of aqua beads from my stash (some left from Carla's brick and mortar bead store in Hastings, NE), an anchor charm (I have seen Carla wear a similar one often), and a double sided peace charm (from Green Girl Studios).  There is a peace sign on one side and a dove of peace with an olive branch on the other.  The silver starfish visible in the pictures is PMC (precious metal clay) and hand made by Pam.  She also added a special lampwork bead, a piece of driftwood (collected in Maine where she lives)  drilled into to create a bead, and antique mother of pearl buttons from her grandmother's button box, which she bravely drilled the centers out of to turn them into beads.




Carla also included gifts for me in her bracelet package!
I received:
A lovely note explaining her gifts!
  Silly bands in Zoo Animal shapes!  I love going to the zoo, and now I can wear it too!

Gorgeous beads for my stash, crystals of course!
And freshly sharpened pencils with neon eraser caps over the tips to protect the sharpened ends!  Did she know that I love the scent of freshly sharpened pencils (and brand new crayons and scotch tape!)?  I have often joked that I became a teacher because I love fresh school supplies!  I was touched and thrilled by her thoughtful gift!
On Monday, my bracelet returned home.
photo edited for security
This is what I received~

WOW, right?!  I was stunned when I opened it.  Tears formed, I was touched and awed at the beauty that lay before me.
According to the journal from Carla

she added lovely, bright beaded crystal drops to my bracelet (she knows me so well).

This shows some of the little vintage details (marcasite, rhinestones, and buttons), as well as a tiny PMC hand made charm with a home on it, and a silver leaf and silver bird charm added by Pam.

When I received my final package, I was amazed at the tiny details included!  The decorative wrapping for the jewelry box (which has vintage Lucite flowers, ribbon, and a butterfly attached) was almost enough to keep me from opening the box.  ALMOST.
Besides my fabulous bracelet, Pam had include a handmade journal for me!  I had secret hopes that she would take pity on my pathetic journaling attempts and make them more glamorous with her talents!  I really love the sparkly, flowery tissue paper my journal was wrapped up in.

This shows what my journaling started out as:

The daisy picture was used with some inspirational quotes, and I used those quotes also on the revolving, stacked  flower shown in the photo below.

(Please note, my efforts for the bracelet AND the journal were completed at around 11pm the night before I left a day earlier than planned for Tucson!  We had to leave early due to a ridiculously fierce blizzard that bore down on Nebraska, and in order to make it to the airport in Omaha, we left a day earlier than our flight date.)
These pictures show the rest of the journal Pam created for me. There is even room to add the photo journal pages Carla made for me.





The last picture shows the note written in the round.  It also has a final picture of my bracelet attached.

This was a terrific, fun project!  I am so glad Pam read the article and include me in the project!  Carla, Pam, and I were all challenged to work outside our comfort zones.  We were challenged not only to create lovely, touching bracelets for each other, but to work as a group.  That is often more difficult than the design challenge, since art is a very solitary and personal adventure.  I am thankful I got to travel this adventure with Pam and Carla!  What's next?  Pam is having knee replacement surgery this week, but she assures us that she has ideas brewing for more projects once she is healed up!

To Visit Carla's Blog
To Visit Pam's Blog

Monday, March 21, 2011

Chris's Class

Here is the group from Chris's Melanie Moertel class on Friday and Saturday.  You should be able to pick him out of the group!  Melanie is the one in the brown jacket in front of Chris.  He brought me home 2 Melanie beads and 2 of my favorite British beading magazines!  What a guy!  Chris was notified yesterday that he won a bead drawing from the class, so he will receive a Melanie bead too!  More pics soon!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Winner of the Violet Garden Focal, Genea, Posted About Us!

Genea's Blog
Genea, winner of this gorgeous bead, posted about it on her blog!  Stop by and check it out!

Chris spent all day Friday and Saturday making beads with Melanie Moertel in Omaha!  Stay tuned and we will post pictures of his adventure next week!

Happy Birthday today to my MOM!  Love you!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Winter Enchantment Gallery II now includes me!

My earrings are in the Artbeads Winter Enchantment Design Challenge Gallery! LOTS of gorgeous bead work! Stop over and check it out!

These were my selections for the Winter Enchantment Artbead Blog Partners Challenge.  We were asked to choose beads with a Winter theme.  I love Swarovski crystals for their sparkle (like the glittery snow). I chose a lovely selection of Swarovski crystals, tiny 1.5mm seed bead cubes in 2 colors and Tila double holed seed beads in 2 colors. Trust me this challenge was DEFINITELY a challenge.   I restarted the project FIVE times before I ended up with these~

I used sterling silver wire and twisted it starting with the wire in the hearts and added the Xilion pendants (look like tiny rivolis with a single hole in the top) in violet and aquamarine as I went up the stem.  I looped the wire for the earring hook and added more pendants as I wound my wire back to the top of the heart.  There on the last pendant, I curled the wire instead of cutting it off.

Even with all the issues I had with my designs not working, I love the way the earrings turned out!




Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I received the Swarovski crystals, Tila seed beads, and tiny cube seed beads free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Shea's Giveaway #2!


Shea's new giveaway!
Shea, my Bead Soup partner, is giving away this gorgeous assortment of her handmade silver findings.  Stop over and get signed up!  I have!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Origins of Pixybug Designs...



We are often asked questions about our business when people find out what we do in our "FREE" time.  I thought you might like to hear the story of how Pixybug Designs came to be.

Where did the name "Pixybug" come from?
From the time we welcomed Mina into our lives, we have called her "Twiddlebug" from the tiny bugs that were friends with Ernie on Sesame Street.
Since we didn't want to be sued by Sesame Street, we kept the "bug" and I love fairies and all things magical and mystical, so we added "Pixy" to the "bug" and there we had our name.  We are often called the "PIXYBUGS" which we have become accustomed to and as long as people recognize us and our business that is all that matters!

How did you get started with your business?
Chris gave me an ultimatum in 2007.  "Either start selling what you make, or stop buying beads!"  Well, by then I had been beading quite a while so I was thoroughly addicted to beads and it seemed cruel to cut the tie to something that gives me so much pleasure, an artistic outlet, and a hobby.  So I started blogging in March (here is my first post) and started our business on April 4, 2007 (the day I got my sales tax number from Nebraska in the mail).  Chris and Mina were rather surprised that I took that step, but pleased too.  In July of 2007, Chris had the opportunity to take a lampworking class in Grand Island at a glass store.  It was my turn to issue the ultimatum~ "If I am going to do this, then so are you!".  It was obvious to me from those very first beads, he had a talent for it.  (As a lab geek, he has melted and sculpted pipettes since high school, so this wasn't much of a stretch!)

Where did your Pixy come from?

In 2007, one of Chris's college roommates lost his battle with cancer.  Kevin had suffered and struggled with it for several years, but succumbed to it in July of that year.   His funeral brought most of our college gang back together to find where we had been, what we had been doing, and to meet each others' kids.  Our friend Doug, a talented artist of many mediums, who is currently one of the department heads for art in the Omaha Public Schools, was a perfect fit for designing our icon for Pixybug Designs.  He listened to what I was looking for, and using his oldest daughter, Kieran, as a model, drew our fairy.

Your daughter must be excited to have all those beads and jewelry around!
Uh, NO.  Mina is pretty disconnected from the business and is happy to be old enough to stay at home, instead of having to tag along to shows.  We are often glad for this too, because sulky, cranky teens don't help with sales!  That being said, Mina is following in her father's artistic steps, and is quite talented at working "the flame".  She struggles with making beads, but is a natural at making marbles!  How many teens can say that?!  Not only is she a natural, but she is an award winning marble artist!  Mina won a Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Key for a dichroic marble she made during Christmas break.  Of 1700 Nebraska Jr. and Sr. High art entries, THIRTEEN were given keys, and Mina was among them.  Her marble was sent on to the National level, but did not win at that level.  We couldn't be more proud of her though.  She is a beautiful, goofy, talented girl, and we couldn't ask for anything more!  (No pride there, huh?!)


Do you do this full-time? 
Uh, NO.  Chris and I both have 3 jobs each.  He is a full-time lab tech in the Nutrition unit for the Meat Animal Research Center, works part-time at Ken & Al's (the gas station I work for) in the convenience store, and is Chief Bead Maker, Car Packer, Chauffeur, Farmers Market Sales Rep, and Equipment Schlepping Officer for Pixybug Designs.   I work full-time at Ken & Al's Service (a small, local chain of gas stations/convenience stores) as a bookkeeper and C-Store manager.  I work part-time (Thursdays and Saturdays) at Julie's Xpression's in Hastings helping with the beads.  I am CEO, Promoter, Head of Blogging, Bookkeeper, and Chief Jewelry Designer for Pixybug Designs. We also have a thirteen soon to be fourteen year old daughter, so yes there is barely enough time for sleep with all those titles attached to our names!

Where do you sell your beads and jewelry?
We have several locations for selling.  Marbles and Jewelry can be found at Graham Gallery in downtown Hastings, NE.  Chris sells his beads and buttons at Julie's Xpressions and Imagiknit also in Hastings. We do the Omaha Bead Show in April and the Lincoln Bead Show in October.  We have added the Grand Island Bead Show this year (April 1 and 2) and will be at Flatwater Festival and Harvest Festival at Prairie Loft in  June and October.  We will be at the Geneva Art on the Green July 2 and at the Highland Park Farmers Market in Hastings every Saturday (unless something comes up) from June to October.  The first Saturday of December is the Blue Hill Holiday Bazaar, and we are featured in the Graham Gallery Holiday Showcase in December.  Exhausting, huh!  We also have an Etsy store and we GLADLY do special orders.  We love the stories behind what we are asked to make.
So do you have any questions?  Just drop us a line in the comments and we will be happy to answer it for you!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Shea's Giveaway!

 My Bead Soup Party buddy/partner is giving away these gorgeous earrings! She does beautiful wireworking, and they are handmade!  Stop by her blog (use the link below) and see how you can register to win them!
Happy Weekend!

Giveaway!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Artbeads Blog Partner "Winter Enchantment" Project

These were my selections for the Winter Enchantment Artbead Blog Partners Challenge.  We were asked to choose beads with a Winter theme.  I love Swarovski crystals for their sparkle (like the glittery snow). I chose a lovely selection of Swarovski crystals, tiny 1.5mm seed bead cubes in 2 colors and Tila double holed seed beads in 2 colors. Trust me this challenge was DEFINITELY a challenge.   I restarted the project FIVE times before I ended up with these~

I used sterling silver wire and twisted it starting with the wire in the hearts and added the Xilion pendants (look like tiny rivolis with a single hole in the top) in violet and aquamarine as I went up the stem.  I looped the wire for the earring hook and added more pendants as I wound my wire back to the top of the heart.  There on the last pendant, I curled the wire instead of cutting it off.

Even with all the issues I had with my designs not working, I love the way the earrings turned out!




Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I received the Swarovski crystals, Tila seed beads, and tiny cube seed beads free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Humor Tuesday

Stress is getting to me.  It is making my chronic ailments flair up and I don't like that.  I decided today we could all use a good giggle to lighten the load.  Enjoy!

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