Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Book Addiction and UFOs





Long before I became hopelessly addicted to seed beads (and all the stuff that has since followed), I was addicted to books. I can’t have enough books. Cookbooks, art books, history books, photography books, gardening books, great fiction, trashy novels, even a book about weeds. (I admit, I bought that for my husband to arm him in his hopeless yard battles.)

That book addiction is manifesting itself here in the shop. We keep getting more and more new books in stock to feed your love of beads, books and learning. I keep ordering more, new books because I’m also addicted to learning new things all the time. I think this is where all my UFOs come from (unfinished objects – what did you think I meant?) When I start a project, I’m learning something new. Sometimes I can’t visualize where it will end up, but I have at least learned something from it and I’m ready to move on. So it becomes one of my UFO collection.

So, I’m learning…..learning new things from books, learning new things from you - my wonderful customers, learning from the classes we offer here at the shop, and learning that a UFO doesn’t have to be something that hangs over my head waiting to be finished . I’ve learned to let go, accept what I’ve learned and to set it aside and move on to the next thing I can learn.
What prompted these random thoughts this morning was the arrival of a new shipment of books – some are titles we’ve had before, and some are totally new to us. Stop by, have a cup of hot tea with us, and sit on the couch a while to page through some of our new books and get inspired. You might just learn something new!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

No Substitute For A Great Bead


I love when I come across a truly great bead, and these Groovy Window tablet beads are a perfect example of what I think of as a great bead. The colors are wonderfully muted and they’ve got a lot of style on their own, yet they will pair well with lots of other beads. We’ve already made up a couple sets of earrings!

So, come on over Thursday night at 6:30 and “make and take” a pair of earrings with these versatile new beads. Michelle will show you how, even if you’re never made earrings before! And, while you’re here, check out our huge new shipment of Czech glass beads. We’re expanding our selection “beyond the firepolish” to bring you unusual sizes, colors, shapes and cuts of the finest quality high end Czech glass we can find. Of course, we still have all the basics, including some fabulous new opaque orange fire polish that will please all our UT fans.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’ve got awareness ribbon beads and charms so you can show your support with your own unique style.

You’ll love all our new beads – they’re truly great beads!