Beadblogger Sunday

I found myself home alone this weekend, so after teaching two really fun classes for the UMBS on Saturday, I took advantage of my solace and went into full-on deep-clean mode.

You know, I've moved around a lot in my lifetime, but have been planted in this house for about 9 years now. When we moved in we didn't have enough junk to put into all closets. Now it's like a Fred Flintstone-style nightmare every time I open a closet door, complete with boulder bowling ball hitting the head and pterodactyls flying around the growing bump.

My biggest hoarding item, I've found, is printed matter. If I like anything printed, I seem to keep it. For years. For example, check out these paper doll clothes I guess I've hung onto since 1969. I found them in a sealed brown envelope. There was no doll left--just these sassy outfits, but who cares? These clothes are straight out of an Austin Powers movie and I love them. (I must love them...I've moved to St. Louis, 3 homes in Minnesota, 3 homes in Los Angeles, and 2 homes in Colorado...sheesh!)

You know what else I seem to keep? Letters. Dozens and dozens of them. And not just love letters from old boyfriends (you CAN'T throw those away, right? ). I seem to have kept every letter from my mom as well as from my first grade teacher. Hmmm. Seriously starting to wonder if I have an issue? Could quite well be.

The happy thing is that I completely cleared out 5 closets and a store room in the last 24 hours. Both the recycling bin and the garbage can are full. So, if I have a hoarding issue, I've just wiped the slate clean. And you can call me by my superhero name: The White Tornado...

(Thank you, f5hunter.com for letting me swipe this photo you took of a nice funnel in Sleepy Eye, MN.)

Want to know what my beading buddies have been up to this week? Read on, dear reader, read on...

A Bead A Day
Looking to make some super-sized jewelry just perfect for a princess? Lisa uses large blueberry briolettes and a swarovski mix to create just that!

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy ask in this quick poll about how you use social networking to promote you and/or your jewelry business.

Art Bead Scene
ABS is here to help you with your business. Check out Zazzle to customize your earring cards for your jewelry business.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Book Review: Wrap, Stitch, Fold and Rivet

Beading Arts
How many people out there are participating in the Bead Journal Project this year?

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi's button maker is the reason for this new vintage image necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
This week's Wednesday Wire is a free tutorial, "Matchin' by Wrappin'."

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Learn about the Raku firing process and see the results of Melanie's new Raku adventures!

Humblebeads
Heather shares some time management tips for creatives.

Jean Campbell
Jean reviews Kate McKinnon's wonderful new addition, Sculptural Metal Clay.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Bead storage has been a question amongst my fellow beady peers, and so I thought I would share a link to how I utilize my bead storage.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is delighted to review Totally Twisted by Kerry Bogert! You will LOVE this book which focuses on wire and art beads!

Strands of Beads
Melissa discusses the process of reworking a weak necklace design - the revised version of which now appears on the cover of The Best of Step by Step Beads.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Like Czech glass? Andrew hosts a giveaway courtesy of Raven's Journey. Find out how you can win these luminous beads!