Twenty Question Tuesday

In your eyes, what’s Paradise?

No alarm clock, no commute during rush hour, comfy clothes and puttering around the house. Tropical islands and other dreamy vacations are great too.

Prized Possession

My camera. I asked for a digital SLR a few years ago for Christmas and I now take it everywhere. Taking pictures of jewelry is a great new subject matter, but 95% of my pictures are of my family and our adventures.

Favourite medium to work with and why?

Beads, beads, beads! Why? The possibilities are endless. I can start two projects using the same amount of stringing wire, the same number of beads, even the same clasp, and the two necklaces will look completely different. The fact that beads can be neat and orderly and still completely random suits my personality to a T.

Flowers or chocolate?

My husband and kids would NOT agree with me on this, but I love getting flowers more than I would love getting a box of chocolates.

Who influenced you the most?

Growing up it was definitely my Mom and Dad. My Mom is incredibly organized, a working Mom kind of at the dawn of the era, and an insatiable reader. Even if I am crawling into bed after midnight I have to pick up a book and read a page or two. My Mom was born and raised in the house her mother was born and raised in, but she couldn’t wait to get out and see the world – she was very adventurous and enjoyed having fun with her kids, as I do now. My Dad was incredibly creative in an engineering sort of way. He built some incredible things over the years, to include a race car shaped bed for my brother that my son now uses. He was a huge believer in doing things right the first time.

Who would you most like to go to Dinner with?

My husband! Like so many families, we don’t get to spend too much time alone together. He’s definitely my best friend, and the first person I call when I have news during the day. We can always make each other laugh, which after a long day makes everything better.

Top Cat or Banana Splits?

I’m afraid I had to Google these… I was more of a Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo gal. Add a large box of Alpha Bits cereal, eaten right out of the box, and I was a happy kid on Saturday mornings.

Today I wore:

During the day I wore boots and a uniform (I’m in the US Air Force) but right now I am in a t-shirt, sports pants (we call the wish-wish pants at our house because of the sound they make) and slippers. Please, please do not report me to “What Not to Wear” – I swear I glam it up a bit more on the weekends.

Do you have a favourite online {bead, craft or textile} place to shop and would recommend

Hmmmm, I am kind of all over the map on this one. For the basics, I like Fire Mountain Gems, ArtBeads.com, and Rings-n-Things. For handmade there are a couple Etsy sellers that I love: Julsbeads, AlishaWhite, Floridity and SueBeads. There are many, many more I am stalking, but my “bead budget” is so in the red these days I am trying to exercise restraint.

What inspired you to do what you do?

I’ve always had crafty tendencies, and I love making people happy with something that I have made. Jewelry making basics you can teach yourself, and in short order you can make something wearable. It’s addicting. And the more classes I take, the more people I meet, the more blogs I read, just inspires me to read more, learn more, and try more. Enamelling, lampworking, wire wrapping, forging...so much more to learn!

McDreamy or McSteamy?

I don’t watch much dramatic TV (the result of keeping TV kid friendly in our house and an unfortunate addiction to American Idol) but if either needs a date to the Golden Globes or the Emmys I would happily oblige.

If you could do anything else, what would it be?

Hmmmmm. My life is pretty crammed right now, so my goal is to actually remove some things. I aspire to a work-from-home job that gives me more flexibility with my family and more time to bead, naturally. Oh, and if it paid me REALLY well that would be nice too.

Favourite item of clothing

Anything that makes me feel like a million bucks. Right now it’s my brown clogs and favourite jeans, they make me feel taller and leaner, and a gray embroidered denim coat, because it is one of a kind.

Best childhood memory

I am lucky to have so many great ones, and am close to my Mom and my brother and his family, so there is lots of opportunity to laugh over our childhood adventures and mis-adventures. One is when, against my Mom’s wishes, my grandfather let me drive his riding lawn mower. I promptly ran over the neighbors bushes, completely destroying them, and still laugh picturing my grandfather pleading that I not tell my mother.

Most cringe-worthy moment

Unfortunately there are so, so many. I am queen of unintentionally saying something that turns out to be completely insulting to someone, and then of course I must obsess over it for ages. One example… “I hate University X, their athletes are criminals, their football fans are obnoxious,” I say loudly at work. Then the next day my boss is wearing a hat from said University, WHICH WAS HIS ALMA MATER. This happened in 1995, and I still remember.

Favourite holiday destination

Every winter we take a week off and go skiing in Vermont, to the same resort. It doesn’t sound very adventurous, but it’s been a great mental “reset” for our family. What’s been fun is that we can really see how the kids have grown and developed over the years as they move up levels in ski school.

Which celebrity would you have as your best friend and why?

Definitely Kate Winslet. She seems exactly what I aspire to be – down to earth, into her family, likes to laugh, works hard at her profession. And I am sure Kate would give me the scoop on some of the dishes she’s worked with (Leonardo anyone?)

Best “crafty” tip you can offer

Neatness counts. My friend Jen V. (an accomplished jewelry designer and long time friend, her Etsy shop is jenjuddrocks) re-instilled in me what my Dad taught me about doing it right. No one likes to unstring a complicated project because the first bead on the string has a chip or the color is off, but trust me, you will feel so much better if you do. And the camera does not lie.

What’s your Star sign?

Aries – I think that’s Greek for sometimes stubborn. Nothing motivates me more than someone saying, “You can’t do that.”

What would you most like to see happen next?

There are professional changes ahead for both my husband and I, plus I want to keep learning and growing my side business. What I most want to happen is for our family to navigate the challenges together and continue to have adventures and lots of laughs. Although it would be fabulous to live off of my craft someday, I want to keep my expectations reasonable. I hope to make enough of a go so that I can continue to learn and get into some more equipment intensive areas ($$$) like lampworking.

Thanks to the lovely Elisabeth at Beads for Busy Gals for contributing this week ~ I have never been skiing {much prefer warmer climates} but, over the last few weeks, if you live in Britain you could ski to your hearts content!!!! ;oP~ 

Pop on over an say "hi" to Elisabeth....sure she would be happy to welcome you :o)

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx