First I want to start off by thanking those of you who have reached out to me about my previous post. I truly appreciate the support and encouragement. It seems as though many of us use our hobbies as therapy. :) 

Secondly, I am happy to announce that after many days of working my tail off, I finally have my Calla Lilly PDF Pattern available in my Pattern Shop! You can read the details here. 

The pattern will be available on just this website for the next week. After that I will be adding it to my Etsy Shop as well. Thank you all very much! 

My boys were sick this past week. I don't normally talk about personal matters on this blog, but today I am a little. They had some kind of stomach bug, and it was a hellish four days (and nights). My oldest (he's 5) was starting to look like a skeleton and it was really scary to not be able to help him. I came pretty close to taking him to the hospital for fluids because we just couldn't keep anything down him. His face was sunken in... He slept all the time and we had to wake him up to get him to take a few sips of anything. Sometimes it was difficult to get him to wake up at all, which is just plain frightening. But, he did finally bounce back just a couple days ago. My 2 year old was ill too, but not as bad. They are back to being my darling little stinkers now, but it was pretty rough there for a while. 

During the times when I wasn't snuggled up on the couch with a weak and miserable child, or desperately researching more ideas for how I could make them all better again, I worked on some new designs. Even though my house was a complete disaster, I chose to spend my time working on beaded flowers because I was hurt and scared. I really don't like having to watch my children hurt. It's the hardest thing. Some people can handle their children being sick more calmly, but I just really can't. It makes me feel like I need to DO something to fix them, while realizing that there's really not much I can do but wait. And it sucks. 

Those who know me know that I have an anxiety disorder. It's something I've had to struggle with my whole life (only 25 years so far, but still... those are the only 25 years I've got) That's one of the reasons why I took up French Beading in the first place. Because creating is healing. It heals the soul and helps to shake loose all those fears and hurts by redirecting energy away from anxieties and chaos and destruction, and into creation and beauty. As you triumph over a difficult design, or complete a large project and stand back and view the final result of your labors, it builds self-esteem. To take raw materials and transform them into something beautiful is quite remarkable, really. As I string and wrap I can feel a little transformation within myself, too, so it has been helping me. Still have a long way to go, but I will get there someday. :) 

Here is what I've made this past week since we spoke last. 

This is a new hair vine. I went a little crazy with crystals and Freshwater Pearls. But hey, they were just sitting there. 

I had a new idea for a hair comb, so I had to get that out of my system. :) I think it's pretty cute. 

A couple mini alligator clips and a little orange barrette. I'll be making more of these in the coming weeks.

And last, but not least, I have started working on a bunch of Calla Lilies. I've done a little redesigning of my original pattern, and I think I'm pretty happy with it. I'm planning on making at least three single stems in a few different colors, and then a full plant in white. I will also be making a PDF Pattern for my Calla Lily design which I will have available in my Pattern Shop sometime this month. 

-Lauren 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that my newest pattern is now available in my Pattern Shop! Because it's a little late (was supposed to be my March pattern, but life and all those darn responsibilities got in the way), I am offering it at 10% off until April 10th. Use Coupon Code: LATEIRIS at checkout. (The coupon code is good for only this PDF.)

It is available only here on my website for now. After the first week I will have it available on Etsy as well. 

This is a reworking of my previous Bearded Iris pattern. I believe the improvements I made really add to the aesthetics of the flower and make it look more realistic. 

Read details about the pattern and purchase it on the listing page here. 

On another related note, Payhip (my Pattern Shop venue) now has a Shopping Cart! This means that mulitple PDF's can be purchased at the same time instead of having to check out separately. Yay!! 

My Iris Sculpture is, however, incomplete as pictured. It will be finished here soon. I plan on adding another full bloom Iris and then building some kind of stand . Hope it works out the way I want! If not, it will end up potted. 

For April I will be making some mini hair clips, Calla Lilies (and the PDF Pattern), and hopefully some more flower stems to stock my shop a bit. I have some neat ideas for larger projects (specifically wall hangings and more sculptures), but need to get some small stuff done first. 

I hope you all are having a fabulous week!