August 2011 Jewelry Classes at Michaels

This is the schedule of classes that I'm scheduled to teach at the Rutland, Vermont Michaels store during August 2011:

- Tuesday, August 9.....Fundamentals of Wire Wrapping
         6:00 to 8:00 PM
- Wednesday, August 10.....Kid's Friendship Bracelet
        10 AM to Noon
- Monday, August 22.....Bead Night
        6:00 to 8:00 PM
- Monday, August 29.....Fundamentals of Wire Crochet
        6:00 to 8:00 PM



UPDATE, JULY 9, 2012:  If you live in the area, I'd love to see you in one of my classes.

For class details and photos of the projects, go to my website:
http://www.lindasartbarn.com/jewelryclassesatmichaels.htm

Upcoming class schedules are here:
http://www.lindasartbarn.com/apps/calendar/

Online Friendships

I retired five years ago and now I'm able to work on the art that I never had time for when I had a real job.  I also spend a good amount of time on the computer each day, reading email messages and newsletters and looking at endless websites and blogs with information on decorative painting, polymer clay, and jewelry-making.  It's so easy to get lost for hours when those sites have links to other sites--it's like being on a treasure hunt!  My husband thinks I'm just wasting time, but I've learned so much from all those places I visit.  It's sort of like going to art school where I get to determine my own curriculum!
 
I've also joined several decorative painting, jewelry, and polymer clay groups, forums, and blogs.  I'm amazed at how many friends I've made in those groups--people I will probably never meet because they live in places that it's doubtful I will visit at this point in my life...although you never know.  They're all so generous with their help and information. 
 
One of my friends is Bonnie from Arizona.  She has a fabulous blog and she posts there frequently with all the gorgeous new polymer clay beads and jewelry that she makes.  I'm amazed at how much she gets done on a daily basis!  She also has a wonderful, dry sense of humor.
 
A couple of weeks ago Bonnie was helping me with some information I needed and she informed me that she was going to send me a pair of earrings that she had made.  A few days later the mail arrived and there were two, not one, but two pairs of earrings!  They are both beautiful and I love how they sparkle.  What makes them even more special is that Bonnie designed them herself.  She is one very talented woman.
  

These are the earrings that Bonnie sent to me. Aren't they beautiful?

The light green ones go with my favorite summer dress.  The irridescent blue/black ones go with almost anything because they pick up so many colors.  They work really well with the Manhattan Skyline bracelet that I made, which is great because I didn't have earrings that looked right with that bracelet. 

Thank you, Bonnie, my friend.
 
Check out Bonnie's blog at and plan to spend some time there!
 
http://bleekreations.blogspot.com/2011/07/celebrating-200-and-oh-my-its-resin.html

Can't Make a Comment to Blogger?

It's funny what a small world it is.  I was having a problem with Blogger and spent quite a bit of time searching around the Help files trying to resolve it.  It took me about a week to find the answer.  OK, so I wasn't searching constantly for a week--but I did use up a lot of time trying to find an answer.  Tonight, I was reading info from a polymer clay artist's Blog and linked to a second Blog from the first one.  Wouldn't you know?  Both of those Blogs told me how to fix my problem!  If only I had found them a week ago!

The problem was that I was unable to enter a comment on my own Blog.  Therefore, I was prevented from replying to a question that was asked in a comment to my last Blog entry.  I had no difficulty going to my Dashboard, where I was automatically signed in and able to work normally.  I ran into a roadblock when I viewed my own Blog. 

I tried to reply to the Comment but I couldn't because I was not signed in.  Every time I tried to sign in, I was redirected to my Dashboard page, already signed in.  So...I was signed in on the Dashboard, but I couldn't get signed in to my Blog page.

The first solution I found was to try a different Browser.  My computer is kind of tight for space, so I really don't need to be installing Browser files that will use up more of my computer's space--and I really don't want to spend time learning how to use a new Browser.  This was not an option for me.

The second solution was to Sign Off (from my Dashboard) then Sign In again.  This time, I was instructed NOT to check the box that says, "Stay Signed In."  Or words to that effect.  BINGO!  This solved the problem and I now can reply to comments on my Blog entries.

So if anyone is having problems getting signed in or staying signed in to Blogger, try out one of these two solutions.