Hola!

Another Thanksgiving in Mexico.

We started the holiday week with a stop at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The weather was nice and it wasn't crowded at all. Some rides you could just stay on and ride again. We rode all the roller coaster except 3, one of which was closed. The family favorite was X2.(Listen carefully to the background, the ride has speakers behind your head and plays a soundtrack that goes to the ride. Aerosmith's (Going Down) Love in an Elevator plays on the first drop.)

The next day we visited with family in L.A, and then off to the border.(I did stop at the outlets in Palm Springs too.)

San Felipe was great as usual. The people are so friendly you always feel at home. On Thanksgiving Day we hung out at the pool drinking Pina Colada's, then went back to our house to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. (We obviously have a lot to be thankful for.)

And on a side note, my friend had a little boy while I was gone. They emailed me lots of pictures and I saw him when I got back. He is adorable.

What Has Happened To Me

In the past I would sit at the torch for hours with ideas swimming in my brain just waiting to come out onto glass. I would then put my precious little masterpieces in the kiln and let them relax in their bead sauna until morning. Bright and early the next morning I would come out to the kiln and check on my little babies. One by one I would look at each bead and criticize it.(I know not very motherly.) It was not the perfect shape, It was not the perfect color, it was not what I had envisioned.
That has changed recently. I am not exactly sure when it changed, but I just realized it this last weekend. Maybe it was my class I took and the support I received from other lampwork artist, I don't know but I am really enjoying it.
On Sunday I was at my torch most of the day, inspired by one of my favorites Marie Antoinette. I made bead after bead with pastels, ruffles, lace, and abundance in mind. The next morning I take my Marie's out of the kiln and take a quick glance. Not what I envisioned. I thew them in my cleaning water and left them there until night. When I pulled each one out I didn't say what was wrong with them, instead the little voice in my head said what was good about them.
" You were not what was desired, but you are no less dear to me."- Marie Antoinette


Love the gold/silver twisty

Love the shape

Love the shape

Love the twisty

Love the hot pink twisty

Love the silver/gold twisty

Love the colors

Love the white twisty

Photo's From My Class

Grace at Graceful Customs Studio(http://gracefulstudios.blogspot.com/)just email me photos from the class on November 6Th. Here are a few.
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Corina & Jelveh (the back of me)

Me concentrating at the torch

The back of me????(Just what I want a picture of my butt)

Me not texting, but taking notes that turned out to be 6 pages typed

Vacation's On The Mind

I have been at the torch much more this last week. Here are a few pictures of what I have been up to. I have been getting a lot of ideas from our trip to the Cook Islands last April. How could you not be inspired by a place like that. It's a true paradise. I am now looking forward to being inspired by Belize, which we are planing on visiting this coming April.

My New Favorite Dessert

Just a real quick post. My friend made the best candy this last weekend. She always makes really good desserts and it is somewhat irritating. :) I make such complicated recipes and then here she comes with the best dessert made in 10 minutes, and with 3 ingredients. This time she made Oreo Truffles. OMG. They were so good I could have eaten 20 of them. The recipe was so easy it didn't even need to be written down.

1 Package Oreo cookies crushed
1 Stick of softened cream cheese
1 Package of vanilla chips

* I used fat free to be a little healthier and I hate cream cheese(For some reason fat free doesn't gross me out so much)
* I also used milk chocolate because my family doesn't like white chocolate

Mix crushed Oreos and cream cheese in large bowl. Roll into truffles and refrigerate while melting chocolate. Roll in melted chocolate and sprinkle with left over Oreo crumbs.

Yummy

Back To Beads

Halloween is over along with sports for the season, and now I can focus my energy at the torch.(That is until after Thanksgiving.) So the kids costumes turned out great. My daughter made her own costume this year, and everyone loved it.


Last weekend I went to Graceful Customs Studio and had a great time. It was one of the best weekend getaways I have had in a long time. It was fun to meet other lampwork artists. Grace and her husband Frank are the nicest people, they make you feel part of their family. Jelveh of Jelveh Designs was also there. She was my first lampwork teacher years ago in Santa Cruz. It was so nice to see her again, she is very encouraging.(And she makes awesome beads.) But the star of the weekend was Corina.(Or maybe her dog Bonzai.) Corina is a celebrity to me and others in the lampwork world. She is so amazing. I am excited to get to the torch , and I am already on the list for Corina's next class at Grace's studio. Here are some pictures of the wonderful people in the class, (Corina is the one holding Bonzai) and some of the basic beads I made in class.