Where Have All the Genea Beads Gone?

Hello friends!

Well it's been an interesting couple of weeks.  It was so nice to move and get unpacked. We had no idea we would run into so many problems with the plumbing at our new place. So the saga continues with our drain. Apparently when this house was built they used metal pipe for the drains and after time they get rust build up inside. If you can think of an older drain with rust build up inside you can use the analogy of  clogged arteries. This makes is very hard for the water to go anywhere since the opening in side the drain is so small. We had a new pvc pipe installed to see if that would help with the water flow. 

The old pipe.

The new one.

The tech going to town on the drain. 

So looks like since he wasn't able to fully unclog the drain that they will need to go into the closet next to the washer and break open the floor to replace the drain and then pour new concrete. Damn... Apparently it's not as bad as it sounds. 

In the mean time my studio is STILL not set up since I have no idea if they will need to rip up more floor in the basement where I would be working or not. Ah boo.

So I have been up to other things to fill my time while we wait to work out all of the kinks. I am pretty sure this is the last one until we are all fixed up and back to "normal". *crosses fingers*

Mom has been cleaning out her house while they prepare to get their place on the market. When she cleaned out the garage she came across the old Mapp gas canisters from about 10 years ago! If you didn't know they pretty much don't take them ANYWHERE anymore to recycle them. My friend Melissa came up with the genius idea to list them on Craig's List as scrap metal! Within a day they were GONE! What a relief! Here are all of the 105 of the canisters.

I am so glad they are out of my hair after to much trouble trying to recycle them.

I finally had the pleasure of checking out a local gem here in down town KC called Pigwich and The Local Pig. They have a food cart out front with a butcher in the building right next to it.  

The Local Pig is the butcher side with many delectable treats! Just look at this case of meat and eggs! Yum!!

They have all different kinds of bacon, and cuts of pork. You can even see the local honey at the bottom.

Holy crap! they even have scrapple. Staci introduced me to this the last time I was in PA for Bead Fest. I was excited to see it here!

I was super stoked to be able to order their bbq brisket sandwich sans bread. They make their own chips and pickles too! The piled my meat on top of a bed of arugula(which you can't see buried under the cheese and pickles). Yes folks, it was as good as it looks! Just looking at it makes me want to go back for more. This is the Tuesday special too. Hmmm... I wonder who is around to go today? :D

I treated myself to some new ink at one of my fav local tattoo parlors, A-1 Tattoos. Brennan the shop owner and guy on the far left in the facebook photo was my tattoo artist. He is AMAZING! I can't wait to go back to start work on my full sleeve!

Here is my tattoo all finished. I got another African Adrinka symbol called Ananse Ntontan "Spider's Web" which is a symbol of : wisdom, creativity, and the complexities of life. I plan to get another 2 symbols that will stagger around my arm. I was excited to have my other tattoo next to it touched up as well. Now it's all solid black. You can see the white lines in the tattoo from before where the ink came out of my skin when it scabbed. 

I even picked up some new tattoo ointment from another one of my local favorites, Indigo Wild. You may recognize them in your local health markets. They are the makers of Zum Bars. This ointment is AWESOME for your tattoo that paired with an excellent artist makes all of the difference! 

Ricky and I picked up some awesome stuff for your new place and It's a Beautiful Day, one of our favorite hippy shops that is still going strong since I used to go back when I was 16(when we first moved to kc)! So glad they are still around! I love the sound of this wonderful bamboo? wind chime. It makes a nice hollow sound when the wind catches it.

I also love the sound of this tinkling bell Om wind chime :)

Leeloo and Kayla enjoyed the front deck with me this morning while I drank my coffee. I just love this spot!

Have you seen the newest issue of Bead Design Studio? You can find the tutorial for my "Olympia" necklace inside! I will be creating the components as soon as I can work out the whole studio issue so stay tuned for that....

I am also excited to announce our tutorial  for my "Ancient Tapestry" earrings featured in Soda Lime Times digital glass magazine. This is one of those issues you DON'T want to miss! It's full of some incredible tutorials and some awesome neutral palette eye candy!

I got some time to sit down and design some jewelry. Remember my "Loving Lotus Rays" earrings from the 8th BSBP? This is the next design I want to create as soon as I can make more of my smaller "Sacred Om Lotus" beads. The link takes you to the full size focals.

Front side design idea.

Back side design idea. I want to use interchangeable lever backs so you can wear the earrings on either side. 

I had the pleasure of trying out Darn Good Yarn's new suede ribbon. I love that they sent me suede in my favorite colors! 

Here is my "Hoopin' Vortex Star" necklace! I was excited to pair my vortex flower focal with Staci's star focal, wooly wire, and these awesome tumbled beach glass hoops by Trinket Foundry.

Here is how it looks worn. Awesome huh?! I love it!!

I was able to go make some beads at my friend Melissa's house. It was awesome to melt glass again. Luckily we even have the same: torch, and kiln :) I was feeling a little rusty and only got a few beads made, but it was nice to get in the motions again. I will have to go see her soon to see how the fruits of my labor turned out.

Thanks for stopping by to check in. 

See you soon!

xo Genea