F.F.#4 - Spring Blooms, plus Ramble

Welcome back, kiddies :D

Before we get going, I'm gonna try a a little something new here... I totally stole the idea from fanciful devices ;) Btw, if you haven't read her blog, go check it out! AnvilArtifacts, too :) Hmm... maybe since I won't be doing much of a check in on Sunday, I'll do a little feature containing all my favorites pieces from a bunch of the blogs I follow ;)

Alright.. off track already, tsk tsk tsk lol Back to the 'something new' … instead of replying to all the comments through email ( and have you guys thinking I don't reply at all ;p ) or in the comments section ( and totally clog things up and confuse me with email notifications from me to me..O.o ) , I'll try answering any comments here in my blog posts :) That way... it'll be you guys getting confused and having to go back and look up the question so the answer makes sense ;) buwhahahaha!

… that was my evil laugh, btw ;)

On with my answers – don't worry, there were only really two ;) My readers generally save all their commenting for the beading forums ;) lol

~ Pine Ridge Treasures / Lisa L./ Lisa Lodge – I'm generally too lazy to check the name you guys entered under vs the name you post under when I go to announce the winners. I do that to verify the entries before the drawing... then don't remember who's who ;)

~ Kristen - Ty :) Of course, as par for the course, I just used the limited features on photobucket because my photo program takes forever to open.. and I was too lazy to go through the hassle ;) Plus, as soon as I posted the teaser pic, I found more flowers... thus I mentioned doing the additions throughout the giveaway... Because... yeah, you got it, I was too lazy to retake the photo with the new beads added in and redo the teaser :)

For those who've heard me whine, yes I'm feeling better :) I'm not as exhausted, no more fever, my nose has stop being a faucet and returned to normal 'cold' mode ( meaning I still need that box of tissues within arms reach... but I don't reach for it as much. Nor do I have to stuff tissue up up my nose and look like a walrus in order to go to sleep >.< lol ). I still have a wicked cough and some congestion in my chest, but that will be with me for a while yet. Plus, lucky me, gets to deal with the side effects of the antibiotics.. which are sporadic attacks of nausea, and my fave … the most HORRENDOUS taste in my mouth that refuses to leave me alone >.< Just when I think it's gone and I'll be able to enjoy a cup of coffee or something... wham.. it returns >.< Luckily today is the last day for those pills so that should be history soon ( please please please >.< ). As for my eye, yes I do indeed have an infection. On Sunday my eyelid was swollen so large I could barely open my eye. When cool compresses helped a little tiny bit to bring the swelling down, I got a bad feeling that I knew what it was.. and I was right >.< I can't remember the name the doc gave it, but it's a type of sty, kinda... only instead of appearing along the eyelash line and going away fairly easily, it appears on the inside of your eyelid, higher up... I've had this before... once, at the same time, I had it in both eyes. The solution? They need to remove them surgically... it only takes a few minutes, but because the so called 'freezing drops' they put in DON'T WORK .. it's a few minutes of agony as they flip your eyelid inside out, cut open the bottom of the stupid little bump... then SCRAPE it out >.< I'm telling you, it's worse than the dentist when the freezing starts to wear off too soon >.<

Grossed out yet? Cringing in sympathy? Thanks, but just cross your fingers. Last time I left it too long for them to do anything else.. this time I caught it when it's still forming. I've got some eye drops ( did I mention I hate eye drops? ) and the doc said that 50% of these go away on their own. If it's still there in six months they'll have to remove it the hard way... so.. here's hoping it goes away on it's own >.< lol The swelling has already pretty much gone.. it's just a little bit puffy now and hardly noticeable.. which means I should be able to see that little lump starting to pop up.. and I don't :) hoping that's a good sign.

*Looks up at the page*

Wow... that was a long winded explanation and gross out session, wasn't it? Yes, I'm done with the wince-inducing talk now :) good news is that I AM feeling better and that the eye infection is no longer getting in the way of my making jewelry :)

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've been considering hosting a little design challenge. I've decided to go ahead and do it, so whenever I empty one of my bead trays so I have room to sort out some beads and buttons.. and maybe some components.. I'll play around with some combinations until I come up with a little kit. I don't know how many I'll be making.. and therefore, how many participants there'll be. Don't worry, I'll let you know how this plan is coming along... maybe even give you a sneak peek at some of the ingredients at some point.

But on to what you're all laboriously reading ( or scrolling past) all of this to find out about :)

The 'Spring Blooms' giveaway bundle :D As I mentioned in my last post, for every ten entries I receive, I'll be adding additional flower beads ( and buttons... I have a little bag of those sitting here waiting to be added in, too) into the bundle :) So the more people enter, the bigger the bundle gets ;)

As well, if I get people dropping in and leaving comments saying where they heard about my blog or the giveaway, the people who sent those nice commentors my way will be entered to win a little extra something. I think I'll leave it as a surprise-prize.

Photos now?

Yes...I thought you'd all say that ;)

See all those adorable felted beads, flowers & leaves ? Those are all from the little 'between soups' bead swap I participated in last fall/winter with Lori McDaniel Anderson - she sent me two packages of her beadsoups, the ones that will soon be for sale in her new shop ;) This is most of one of those packages – I kept a small bundle of acrylic beads out of it, plus I used a couple of the little felted balls... but my brain has been blanking so badly on the rest I decided I'd share and give you all a taste of what you'll be able to buy from her soon :)

In the top right corner there is a selection of little lampwork bead pairs. Directly below that is a purple turquoise pendant. On the other side , we have some light pink acrylic flower 'bead caps', and beneath them, some purple & white flowers....I think they're acrylic too.

...and because the 'group photo' is crap for detail on the smaller beads... some close ups...

Flower Lampwork Bead Pairs

Purple Flowers & Pink Lucite 'bead cap' flowers

So that's to start with.

The basic bundle.

The first ten entries will have me adding that little pile of flower buttons.

The next ten after that will see some more flower beads added.

After that, maybe some light 'Easter' type colored beads? Or maybe I'll decide to add in those acrylic beads from Lori after all ;) Haven't decided yet :) Gotta reach thirty entries before I have to decide ;)

So click on Rafflecopter to leave your entries ( comments don't count unless it's for whoever sent you to win an extra prize ;) ).

I'm gonna go grab another coffee, then slip downstairs to check my mail and see if there are any beads waiting for me. Who knows? Maybe there'll be some in there I could add in, too ;) ( for those of you reading this in the wee hours wondering how I get my mail so darned early... I'm writing this Thursday afternoon and scheduling it to post  :p  )

...And..I just noticed a useless piece of trivia... I have 33 blog posts .. and 33 followers :) .. well.. NOW I have 34 blog posts... catch up followers! Keep even! lol

Oh, and I promise... next post .. no whining, ranting, or gross outs :D

…. although that means I'll have to post lots and lots of photos ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~ Skye