Olympics!

I don't know if i exactly "puffed with pride" viewing the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies the other day, but i did have some moments of utter joy: like when the whales spumed their way across the stadium floor, and when Cdn singer kd lang sang Cdn songwriter Leonard Cohen's Halleluja. Video of kd lang's performance the other night is a closely guarded commodity. It was difficult to even find still images on the web. (This one comes from nbc.com.)

Did you see how well-respected aboriginal peoples of Canada are? Hmmm. Perhaps native groups do fair better in BC than they do in the rest of the country. But i suppose it isn't unusual for a country to take pride in the cultural heritage of the native people when it can be a tourist attraction. (Sorry, but i'm a cynic.)

We don't have cable or a dish network, so our Olympics coverage is coming from NBC. I wish the commentators covering the Opening Ceremonies had been armed with the story behind the production. It looked to me like the first part of the show was some sort of aboriginal Beginnings legend being acted out, but there was no mention of what the symbolisms were, etc...great bears, ice flows carrying groups of people in different directions... I think we in America missed out on some of the message.

Spring!

It seems like about 3 weeks we have had grey skies and subzero temps. We've even enjoyed a couple of snow storms. But today the sun was out all day and we got into the 50's (F). Feels good. This is the time of year that i usually get around to cleaning my garden out. The shoots of the early bulbs are poking through now, so i removed the dead material from last year. It was nice to spend some time outdoors!

The snow drops are a little late this year, but certainly welcome.

I had a really nice testimonial from a lady that bought a BirthBones charm for her friend's dog. It was so glowing, i had to put it in my BirthBones shop announcement for visitors to read:

"I left the wrapped "bone" on my friend's desk on Friday and she called me up, all excited and CRYING! She was SO THRILLED!!! K---- the puppy is not "grown up" enough for her big-girl collar, so my friend is going to wear the charm on her bracelet until K---- graduates to her regular collar. I just wanted you to know how happy your artwork made the recipient. These bone charms are a gift the dog owner will cherish long after the last fancy toy has been chewed up! Thank you again - R--."

Bead Calendar

I wish it was more affordable to make these calendars. I used shutterfly.com for this printing project. I am very pleased with the product! I swear the photos look better than my actual beads looked.

Spaced Out Beads

A little bit of eye candy for you today.

I've got a couple of sets of beads to stock in the shop tomorrow. I did a set of my old standby, Aqualith. The subtle green gleam that comes through here and there on the blue band is particularly nice in this set.

And the other set is of some beads that i've made for use in collections of bluegreen transparent bead that i've put together for bracelets, but i've never put a set of them in the shop before. So check them out: i'm calling them Orbits. They are made with reduced silver foil so they have a slight metallic sheen.

I don't know if i showed you the calendar i made using my bead photos! Talk about your eye candy. I'll give you a peak in an upcoming blog entry.

Made-to-order "Love Spikes"

The crazy awesome pink transparent spiky beads are now available on a custom request basis. Yay.

Latest News in the BirthBones Biz

The BIG bone has arrived! My original ivory glass and silver wrap BirthBones are now available in kingsize. This is a much better size for the medium or large dog. So far i only have one listing in my etsy shop for the BIG BirthBone, and will just custom make it for whichever month is required. If i can find the time, i'll make an amethyst one for myself as a zipper pull or a dangle on my bag. They are very handsome in this size.

I've also made some listings for a crystal version of the birthstone bone charms. They don't seem to be drawing hits in the same proportion as the original design. But they are pretty and i'll keep them on offer for now.

I've had several customers tell me that they bought their BirthBones for their own use, not to hang on dog collars. I'm trying to figure out how to tag my charms to take best advantage of the kinds of search terms people would use to find charms for human jewelry use, and pendants.

Testify! Love Hurts! Valentine Beads

Naw, that's not fair. These beads are pretty pink and sparkly, but the spikes don't need to mean anything sinister. Maybe they symbolize, say, reaching out. Yeah, that's it. Love reaching out and spreading and offering warm fuzzies.

Ahem.

These ones have already sold and will be going to France, which everyone knows is synonymous with love. Fitting. Let me know if your want your own set. They are very cheery to make. :-)