Exciting new things...

Exciting new happenings! Yesterday I went out to the local Hobby Lobby with my Mom, Dad, and the Boychild to pick up some new organizers for the large amount of beads Mom had picked up a couple of weekends ago. Soon after walking in to the store, I happened upon this lovely black hand figurine. It was in the glass section so I didn't figure it was going to be affordable, but then I noticed the 50% off sign right next to it. Really???? 50% off, you say?? I looked at the price tag, and my heart sang with joy. It was TOTALLY affordable.

So why in the world would I want something like this, and how does it pertain to TPD (The Prism Dragon)????? Other than the fact that it's just plain AWESOME... it's a jewelry display. That's right... it's something to hang jewelry from, and then take awesome pictures of it. Or just to set on my desk and stare at every once in a while. Whatever!

Now, I *could* use this for the bookthongs, but really it's designed for jewelry. "But Lanine," you say "You don't HAVE Jewelry to display!" And that would only be partially true. True, I don't have anything up on the website, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything laying around waiting to be photographed. AND that doesn't mean that I don't have piles and piles of beads that can't be used for bookthongs because the holes are too small! Just lying around... staring at me forlornly, making us both wish that I could make something with them. But now I have a display, so you will probably be seeing much more of this little hand. :)

On the same note.. (backwardsly speaking) a co-worker of Sandy's (Mom's) saw my bookthongs, and asked her if I could also make necklaces. You see, her son liked the LOOK of those little hemp necklaces, but just couldn't handle the scratchiness. So I thought about it, and researched the different knots and beads and materials, and finally settled on black waxed cotton as an alternative. I made several 'experiments' in order to figure out length and bead placement, and then I got to work. And guess what?? Her son loved it so much, she ordered a SECOND one (shown on the right. The first one was blue in a similar pattern, which was only supposed to be a guideline because I hadn't really measured it, but she liked it so much she wouldn't let me have it back. haha) So, kind reader... is this something you might be interested in? Something I should be making more of?

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog for The Prism Dragon.

What IS The Prism Dragon, you ask? (or maybe you didn't. Doesn't matter, I'll tell you either way. :D) Why, it's a store. Well, sort of. It's really more of an outlet with vague dreams of occasionally making money.

You see, once there was a Mother and her Daughter. They did the usual girly things like Girl Scouts and crafts, and both grew to love pretty shiny things, while still enjoying the tom boy side of life with horseback riding and camping with the whole family. For (almost) all of the Daughter's school life they were involved in Girl Scouts. The Daughter, of course, hated it. But that's the way of children.

All of those years of the Mother being first an assistant, and then a Leader, and then a Camp Director led to having a whole bunch of 'stuff' lying around the house. Beads, and cloth, and glue, and glitter, and popsicle sticks, and pom poms, and BELLS, and paper, and stamps, and markers, and.. well, you get the point. There was a LOT of stuff. Of course, after the Daughter turned 18, there wasn't a need for it anymore, since finally she was able to leave the Girl Scouts forever (or so she thought, until the Mother decided that the perfect graduation present would be a Life Time Membership to said Girl Scouts. This didn't make the Daughter very happy, but she still carries the card in her wallet for some unknown reason.) And now the daughter is grown, and has a boychild of her own. So the stuff just sat there, collecting dust. Occasionally pulled out for special occasions like special meetups with Girl Scouts and Girl Guides who happened to be in town, the Daughter's baby shower, and baby's first Christmas.

Until one fateful day when one of the Mother's favorite book authors blogged about a neat little bookmark idea called a "Book Thong". As both the Mother and the Daughter were avid readers, this sounded like a cute little project they could do. And of course, we all know that crafting leaves it's mark. The Daughter also braided. Everything. Anything she could get her hands on. A gift from her Grandmother who used to braid horse hair for jewelry, before arthritis had set in. So the Daughter made a book thong. It was rainbow colored though it showed more red and pink than anything, and the beads were very expensive and mismatched. It was sparse in decoration and highly simple. But it's the bookmark she still uses today. So the Mother decided to pull out the beads, and they sorted through them until they found just the right ones, and then the Daughter made some more. And some more. And then she gave some away; to family members, for a baby shower, a wedding, and a couple of birthdays. She had so many she didn't know what to do with them all, but she absolutely loved making them, so she was happy. They kept her entertained while the boychild napped or played by himself, and she was finally stretching creative muscles that had begun to atrophy over the years.

But then someone bought one. Suddenly the Mother and Daughter were buying more beads, and more floss, and more buttons, and more tools, and making more custom orders for people, and making a webpage (http://www.dragonroseadoptions.net/store/prismdragon.html which is still only partially finished), and coming up with more ideas, and making new plans. Thus The Prism Dragon was born.

And then.. the Mother also happened to see a post from someone online, asking how they should go about making a blog for their beads... and WOW, that sounded like a great idea. Thus this blog was born. And hopefully everyone will live happily ever after... but I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. :)

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So what is this BLOG about? Yes it's a craft blog, and yes it's specifically for The Prism Dragon... but it's not just to sell you things. It's where we can tell you about each item that we make, Mother AND Daughter, because we enjoyed making it so much. It's about where we can teach you how to make some of these yourself. It's an outlet for the scars that being all crafty and girl scouty have left on our psyche. But best of all.... it gives us something to do. :D