Geordie's first portrait

It's about time I did one of these:

Geordie's first portrait! He is such a character. Today I was working on this in my office and he wasn't finding a good spot on the air mattress in here so he started climbing into the closet where I have some blankets and pillows piled up. He can zero in on those blankets like nothing else! I had to scold him and tell him to get out of the closet since I have some artwork in there and I didn't want claw marks on them. He is crazy. Italian greyhounds truly are velcro dogs. They need to be next to a human at ALL times. My Iggy belives he IS a human:
Enough said.

Geordie/Geordo/Jorge "hor-hay"/Twinkle Toes/Bubby

New addition to the family

Introducing... Geordie!

Well it was QUITE a process but he's finally ours. Geordie is a 6 year old Italian Greyhound (aka Iggy) we adopted from the Italian Greyhound Rescue Foundation. He was abused in his previous home. His owner surrendered him after she decided she couldn't take his "behavior problems" anymore which of course, she was at fault for. Now that he's being properly cared for he is such a sweetie.

I made my first official sale on Etsy which was exciting. I've been trying to work on beadwork. I made an Iggy Mom bracelet for Geordie's foster mom as a thank you. I may be making more of those to donate to the annual IGRF Iggy 500 gathering. I finished my first bead embroidery project. It turned out alright, I'm just trying to figure out how to finish the edges:

Back to work...

This past week I have enjoyed my first week-long vacation of the year. I used this time to complete my Etsy store Laurengstudio.etsy.com and work on some artwork for an amazing musician (and my Auntie and roommate) Sarah Alicia. You can find her at www.sarahaliciamusic.com and listen to her music for free at http://soundcloud.com/sarah-alicia/. Her EP is available on iTunes and her full length album comes out very soon.

Take a listen to her single "16":

01 Sixteen by Sarah Alicia

The gorgeous scenery you see in the background is the Cayman Islands where she was born and raised. She is actually there now to do a concert. As I said her full length album comes out very soon. I did a multi-medium piece for the inside leaflet of her album. I'll post pictures of it after her album is released. I don't want to spoil it for everyone! I am honored to have been a part of it and I had a lot of fun working on it.

LaurenGStudio on Etsy!

Yea! Yea! We are finally up and running. Check out:

http://laurengstudio.etsy.com/

Go there now! Thank you mother for being such an excellent wrist model. As always, I welcome custom orders. Ok, now I'm off to make more!

Mariah, you are the Christmas music queen

Christmas music in my home is in full swing. I feel as though this season has crept up quite quickly so I need to make up for that by playing Christmas music 24/7. I downloaded Mariah Carey's new album and oh my... let's just say keep those kleenex handy! Once you get to O Come All Ye Faithful... (I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.) It's like you try to keep it in as the choir chimes in but by the time they get to the "glory to God" part your eyes just give out and tears start streaming! I've listened to it 5 times now today just to see if I can get through it without crying and I can't! I'm sure I'm just crazy but Christmas just means so much to me. It really is my favorite time of year.

ANYWAY, I've got my Paypal business account up and running and I've secured my LaurenGStudio name on etsy.com. The store policies are being drafted and logos being created. Exciting!

Coming soon to Etsy

I've decided Etsy would be the best place to post these bracelets for sale. I will direct you to my shop as soon as it's up and running. It's quite a process, but that's expected. As always, if you have any questions just e-mail me! Have a lovely day.

What make the best gifts? Handmade gifts of course!

Reasons to buy handmade:
1. Handmade gifts say, "I really put in the time to find you something unique."
2. It supports artists doing what they love.
3. You can be green by buying local.
4. Avoid a crowded mall.... (what other reason do you need?)
5. It makes you feel good!

Stay tuned for Lauren G. Studio's collection of handmade bead-woven bracelets!

Friday morning coffee and muffins from scratch!

I really don't like my 1pm - 9pm shift but today I love it because it allowed me to wake up early and make chocolate chip muffins and a cup of coffee, catch up on my podcasts, and post some pictures here. By the way, if you're a creative person, the CraftyPod podcasts http://www.craftypod.com are a GREAT source of inspiration and encouragement.

My latest set of projects have been beadweaving projects. I am certainly a beginner and I have only conquered one type of stitch but I've found this to be a very fun and portable craft. I purchased the book 200 Beading Tips, Techniques, & Trade Secrets by Jean Power that has the best illustrated instructions I've found. I have also used the assistance of videos on YouTube. The combination of these two have been most helpful to learn stitches.

This is a peyote stitch bracelet. This is the second one I made. Good materials are essential. Fireline is a must for the thread you use and invest in quality seed beads. I've quickly found out how cheaper beads are not always uniform size and it makes your bracelet uneven and you waste time trying to pick out bigger or smaller beads to use in a particular area. Also JoAnn Fabrics is not a good place to buy seed beads. I bought some shiny blue ones and it turns out the beads were really clear but had just been coated with the blue and it ended up coming off all over my fingers and now it just looks clear anyways! Hobby Lobby has a better selection. I'm sure a bead store would have the best but if you don't have access to one or don't want to wait and pay shipping by purchasing online, Hobby Lobby has a much better selection.