Monday misc.

1. I had a minor freak-out yesterday about wrapped loops - mine are just not as perfect as I want them to be. I'll get there with practice, I guess, but I also decided that if I have to put some stuff up on Etsy with simple loops, so be it. I've never had any trouble with my simple loops coming apart, so I don't know why I think there's this unwritten rule that says I can't use them. I need to get over it.

2. (I've actually had these a week or two, but I know I haven't posted the picture!) Here's part of the stuff that came in the Beads of the Month package for October:

(Blogger's photo-downloader is being wonky, so this is direct from Flickr, and if you click on the picture it should take you to the bigger version!) There were some great beads - I've already made earrings out of some of the agate leaves, and I really love those moons. There were more skulls besides the small ones pictured - there were some more of the bigger ones like I had on my necklace, in the 1" range. Which is cool because I'm thinking I definitely want to make one or two more of those necklaces next year!

3. Today I got a huge package full of decoupage beads in the mail. They're beautiful but I'm going to have to figure out what to do with them. Some of them have really gigantic holes, so I'm thinking cord may be the best solution. (The person who made them, however, has voiced the opinion that they should be on sterling. I'm inclined to think that that would be a waste of sterling wire, since you wouldn't be able to see it under those huge beads, anyway!)

(There's a saying around the internets that "5 random things make an entry" - I've always wondered who made that rule. What, 3 random things isn't an entry?)