Status Reports & Other Ramblings

"Dis MY sunpuddle. I sleeps here. You takes photos somewhere else. Also I keeps dis box of papers, k?"

...this is an argument I have pretty much every afternoon, as the cats feel that all of the sunlight is rightfully THEIRS, and are very offended that sometimes I need to use it for work. 

Anyway! It's Monday! The short human is at school! And today I am launching full-speed into Operation Stop Getting Distracted At Work, which means that I have locked myself out of my phone for everything except the handful of apps I actually need. Which means that I will NOT see anything on FB or Twitter in a timely manner, so if you need to reach me about something time-sensitive, please email! (kythryne @ wyrdingstudios . com) I will be checking social media 2-3 times a day, before and after work and sometimes on my lunch break, but for the sake of my sanity and my attention span, the rest of the time they are Strictly Forbidden to me.

In no particular order, a recap of last week:

• I made a lot of shinies! I am actively working on kicking my production volume up several notches, Because Reasons. *headdesk, repeatedly* (Hence also trying to get my OH LOOK A BUTTERFLY tendencies under slightly better control. YAY ADULTING.)
  
  
• Many of which were spirals because I am just a tiny bit obsessed
  
  
• and when they weren't spirals they were usually Sundering Persephone pieces and yes I know most of those are sold out already DON'T WORRY I AM MAKING MORE TODAY
  
  
• You can now request extra business cards to make it easier than ever to enable your friends, family members, co-workers, and random people on the street! No purchase necessary - I'm happy to pop a handful into an envelope and stick a first-class stamp on it. (Although you can absolutely also add some to any order, in which case they'll go in the padded mailer with the rest of your goodies.)

Also in no particular order, things I am up to this week:

• Making a lot of shinies, particularly more Sundering Persephone pieces, but also Halloween stuff will start showing up this week because I'm planning ahead for once! (Also it's never too early for Halloween.) Also ALL THE AUTUMNY COLORS EVER and yes that also means it's time for me to start sticking things in acorn caps again. 
  
  
• Instant Gratification on Wednesday from 9am to 4pm! Shinies made while you wait, more or less. I might do a livestream, we'll see. If you'd like to get in the queue now, please EMAIL your requests (kythryne @ wyrdingstudios . com) to me; I need to know what you want, how big it should be, and how much you want to spend on it. $10 minimum, $50 maximum, one request per person please, and please be specific because I am very bad at mind-reading.

[actual photo of me questioning my life choices yesterday]

I had planned to work yesterday, but then I hit myself in the head rather spectacularly while doing last-minute back-to-school shopping (note to self: when pulling down the hatchback door, make sure your head is NOT in the way) and then there was a lot of pain meds and napping. GO ME I AM SUPER GRACEFUL AND COORDINATED.

That's okay, though, because the short person went back to school today (I SURVIVED SUMMER Y'ALL) and my productivity is going to be AMAZING from here on out (I probably just jinxed myself) and also DID I MENTION THAT SCHOOL STARTED FINALLY?

...kiddo is slightly less excited about it than I am, as you can see.

• Despite the chaos that was the final week of summer vacation, last week was pretty productive! One of the Morning Wire Meditation pieces resulted in me developing a really interesting new technique/design, which I promptly spent several days exploring - after so many years of working with wire it's very exciting to stumble across something that feels this new and different to me, and I'm learning all kinds of new things about how wire can be manipulated from this design. 
  
  
• Today is my first day at the workbench in September, which means... TIME FOR ALL THE FALL-THEMED SHINIES! First up: a reprise of the Sundering Persephone series, because I found some aaaaaaamazing golden labradorite this summer and I have Many Ideas. And there will be leaves. And stuff in bronze and gold wire, and... well, you know how I get once the leaves start turning. 
  
  
• Also in the works for fall and winter: expect this year's sales to be spectacular, because guess who has two thumbs and a hundred-year-old house with twenty original windows and a bunch of estimates from contractors? That's right, THIS GIRL! Last winter I scraped up both hands and dislocated several joints and very nearly fell backwards out a window while trying (unsuccessfully) to wrestle one of the ancient storm windows into place, and after I patched up my wounds and took a handful of ibuprofen and calmed from the shock of almost finding myself head-first in a rosebush, I did a very credible imitation of Scarlet O'Hara's famous pre-intermission scene, only it was more along the lines of "as G-d is my witness, I'll never injure myself on one of these @#$^%!?&*#!! storm windows again!" Unlike Scarlett, though, I don't expect to have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill - working my butt off for the rest of the year should suffice. 
  
  

That's... pretty much it, I think? So if you'll excuse me, I need to go play with labradorite until it's time to retrieve the short person from school and see if we are going out to dinner and then to choir tonight or if the traditional first-day-of-school meltdown will result in us coming home and eating pizza in front of the tv. COULD GO EITHER WAY! I'll find out at 5!

I know, it's not morning anywhere in the US anymore, but in my defense the short human had her school physical this morning and then grocery shopping needed to happen and shipping needed to happen and I am TIRED, y'all, but I am also trying to be consistent, so I'm doing a blog post! Like a grownup! Who is very tired!

• I got sandalwood beads last week! They smell AMAZING. Well, the green ones do. The purple ones don't have much of a smell, but they're pretty. (However they do NOT have a good flavor, and I'm not saying how I know that.)
  
  
• A couple weeks ago I got some very cool electroplated lava beads that remind me of asteroids, and I've been having a lot of fun with those. 
  
  
• The Morning Wire Meditations project continues to teach me new things about working with wire, and people seem to be liking the results, so I'm going to stick with it for... let's say at least the end of the year? Maybe it will be a permanent thing, I don't know. 
  
  
• I will be doing an open-to-the-public Magpie Party in the not-exactly-a-secret Facebook group (which you should join if you haven't already) this weekend, starting Thursday and running through Monday. If you're considering hosting a party this fall and want to see what it's all about, here's your chance... or you can just come hang out and oogle shinies and watch me be ridiculous on a livestream and maybe snag something in one of the giveaways!
  
  
• ...I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something but I have no idea what because ACK THIS HUMIDITY HAS MELTED MY BRAIN somebody please come take it away. (I moved out of Florida for a REASON, y'all.) I'm sure I will remember at 2 in the morning.

Me, upon reading Marie Kondo's advice to only have 30 books: *OHNONONOCAT.gif*

Me, upon trying to cram the latest shinies into the inventory bins and failing: "TIME FOR A SALE!"

(Shush. I'm allowed to have double standards sometimes. Books don't count as clutter. Neither does yarn. Or plants. Or beads. Or art supplies. Or earrings. Or... okay, fine, I'm a packrat, but I'm a very ORGANIZED packrat. Usually. Sometimes. Mostly.)

ANYWAY. I have too many shinies, which means YOU don't have enough shinies. Or something? And to fix this, I have poked at the website and now everything in the clearance section is buy one get one free, or BOGO as the cool kids on Instagram say. (I'm old, as my child likes to point out at every opportunity.) No coupon code necessary, the cart will work some sort of magic for you. And you don't need to stop at one! Buy two, get two free. Buy twenty, get twenty free. You be you, I won't judge.

(I'll just be over here organizing my own earring collection.)

There's... not much else to report, because last week involved a lot of Things That Are Not Work, and also aliens invaded my sinuses and I spent most of the weekend napping. Which is what I will probably do after lunch too.

Oh, wait, I keep forgetting something! It's time for me to start scheduling Magpie Parties for the fall and winter!

...what's a Magpie Party, you ask? Well, it's kind of like those parties you keep getting invited to by that one friend who's forever starting a new career selling vibrators or leggings or whatever, only without the high-pressure sales pitches because eh, buy some shinies or just look at pretty rocks with me, it's all good!  And also all of the money goes to an actual person who is selling things that she made with her own two hands (that would be me) and also you don't even need to wear pants because it's all online.

(I actually CAN do the parties in person if you're within driving range of me, and for those everyone is encouraged to please wear pants, or a skirt, or something.)

If you think you can lure at least 15-20 Facebook friends into looking at shinies with you, all you need to do is invite people - I take care of the rest. Everybody who orders gets a free gift, there are multiple giveaways, and the host gets a percentage of the profits in store credit. 

I'll do a public one in the Magpies Facebook group later this month so you can see how they work before you commit, but if you think you might be interested, get in touch and we can start looking at dates. I generally do these from late September through early December, since they're great for holiday shopping.

Okay. Now lunch. Then nap. Shinies later, maybe.