Spread too thin...

It seems that lately I am behind on everything...my 9-5 job is really annoying me and cutting into my creative time!  If I didn't have pesky expenses, like mortgage and that silly "eat food" habit, I would quit! In all seriousness, I think I signed up for too many things with deadlines...AJE Earring Challenge, AJE Component of the Month, Bead Soup Blog Hop, Focus on Life-52 photos, Challenge of Music...all challenges that motivate me to be more creative, but all require time, thought, and preparation.  I will get there, I just need to plan ahead and stop procrastinating...remember my word of the year - Focus!

My "Focus on Life - 52 photos post for Week 7 was due this past Saturday.  The prompt for the week was Beauty of Flowers.  I love taking shots of my flowers I grow every year in my garden...not much there right now, however but dried out stuff waiting for new growth.  Soon, though!  Fortunately, my hubby is an orchid-lover, so there is always something blooming there.

And here is a shot of one of my African violets at work...they have been blooming almost non-stop since I got this fluorescent task light under my shelf!

This one inspired me to make these earrings...

They are today's post on Earrings-Everyday!

Speaking of earrings...my AJE Earring Challenge Reveal #3...I only got 1 pair finished for this reveal, so will catch up and make 2 for this week (she said)!  Here is the pair that I did get posted...

Embossed copper and Czech glass

There, I feel much better!  A couple of things done.  Now, I need to get my bead soup out the door to my partner.  I'll be blogging about that soon and introduce you to my partner and show you this gorgeous soup she has sent me.

Later ;)

Focus on Life, Week 6 - Feel the Love

This is Samis (white with yellow) and Zelda (gray brindle)...Ben's 2 guinea pigs.  We got them in August, around his birthday.  They are great friends.  They are always snuggled up close in their cage...they love getting underneath the fleecy blanket  and hanging in a little curled-up heap.  Of course, when I went to take the photo, they separated  and played all stand-off'ish.

We named them after 2 of Ben's favorite female video heroines...Samis is a warrior soldier in the Metroid series, and Zelda is the goddess/princess in the Legend of Zelda series.

Wait, what?  Uh, oh...it seems Zelda needs a new name...maybe Mr. Zelda!  Turns out little Samis is going to be a mommy.  Didn't see that one coming.  I mean, really, we didn't see it.  They were sold as 2 females and I double checked.  Even after I realized that Samis was with piglet.  Mr. Zelda is one sneaky pig!

Focus on Life...Week 5 - Capture our Hearts

I cheated with this one, it is from this past summer at the beach!

Ben posing with his "heart hands"

Left over from an old Valentine that J tacked to an old mirror in the garage!

A stash of rhodochrosite and pink opal hearts I remembered I have...as well as some muscovite squares.

Focus on Life ~ Week 4, Create Art

Sally's prompt for the week was "Make Art".

I do 2 things that I consider artistic...I make jewelry and I sing! I do both of them everyday, and while I might consider my daily jewelry making "art," most times the singing is anything but!  I sing in the car with the radio, loudly. I sing with Ben's video game theme music...drives him really crazy!  I sing around the house, whatever comes into mind.  I sing in my head...just mention a song and it will be with me all day!  I sing at church...I am lucky to be a member of a professional choir that sings Solemn Latin Mass weekly.  But this week, I pulled out a few of my old scores from my opera/classical singing days and sat down and ran through a couple of them.  Was it making art?  Probably to no one but myself!

The other art I made, I didn't actually start during the week, but I finally got around to finishing up a few more of my Molten Morsels...I embedded bezels and set some stones.  Not sure if I will sell these as is, or make something from them.

pink coral

carnelian

faceted garnet

Wow, a whole month done...only 11 more to go!

Focus on Life ~ Week 3...Taking Time for Yourself

My favorite coffee mug that I have had for years, and my Kindle Fire.  Of course, I read books, but have also been watching movies/tv shows from Amazon Prime. Recently, like many others, I have been catching up on Downton Abbey, athough one of my guilty pleasures of TV watching is The Vampire Diaries...I know, I know...I love me some Damon!

Focus on Life ~ Week 2...Your Word

I am catching up on posts that are past due...I could have skipped them, but I decided to go ahead and put them out there!

The last couple of years, instead of resolutions, I chose 1 word to make a positive change in my life and work. Last year, my word was de-clutter...my home, studio, life, thoughts...I can't say I was that successful. I believe it was my lack of focus.  So this year, that is exactly what I chose...focus!

I have so many incomplete projects laying on my work table, better focus will help keep me on track to complete more of what I start.  More importantly, I think proper focus also leads to balance, prioritize, and several other words that have run around in my brain.

2013 is going to be the year for me to focus on what I have to do and maintain that focus until the task is complete, be it new jewelry projects, folding laundry, or spending precious time with friends and family!

My photo came about as I was standing on the deck looking at the gray day today.  I remembered this tree in the autumn had the most glorious leaves of yellow...now it is bare.  I walked out to it with my camera, and fuzzed my focus up and watched the limbs and twigs blur together.  Of course, when I took the photo, my sense of focus won out and I took a clear shot.  I played a bit with it in PicMonkey, but I think it came out nicely!

Focusing on Life~52 Photos...Week 1, Self Portrait

I jumped in at the last minute and joined Sally Russick's 2013 challenge...Focusing on Life 52 photos. Each week she will send an email prompt with a specific topic or theme for the week's photo.  Week 1 was a self portrait.  Yikes...I join the numerous ranks of women who really hate having their photo taken. Like many others, I can't seem to look at my reflection without listing all the things I hate about the way I look.  Whenever hubby takes photos of me and the boy, I always have final say in any that are emailed out!  It took about 20 or more shots to get the one I use on my blog and that I include with bios!

I actually put the task at the back of my mind, then late on Saturday, remembered, pulled out my phone and took an Instagram shot.  I decided to go partial face, and used a filter to add a grainy, newsprint look.

Oh, well...maybe if I force myself to do this more, it won't be so painful!!  Thanks, Sally!