Good morning everyone! As you can see, I am happy that it is Friday. Nothing too new or exciting to announce on the egg front. I've finished the two quail egg necklaces I was working on, and now I need to get around to adding them to the For Sale page.

It is interesting (and sometimes vastly enraging, but mostly just interesting) to see how you can never exactly duplicate an egg you've done before. Those two quail egg necklaces are two of my favorite designs that I have reproduced many times before, but they never look quite the same. Sometimes the dye takes to the shell in a different shade, sometimes the design doesn't come out quite the same, or fits the shell differently. Sometimes the quail eggs will develop magnificent cracks down them (this is due to the plaster inside the shell expanding slightly as it hardens). The cracks do nothing to weaken the shell or harm it as it is still plaster filled and coated with a thick varnish, but they can still change the way the finished egg looks. For these reasons I can never use the same picture from a previous egg with the same design, which might to some extent explain my laziness in updating the page. ^_^

In other news, I did a short interview for a local magazine recently. If the article actually makes it into the magazine, I'll post the link here for you all to see. Should be exciting.

Lately the majority of my free time has been spent drawing comics (which I am woefully behind on, but catching up!), hence the lack of new eggs. As our readership at the comic expands, I've found there is a neverending list of things to get done, from drawing new strips to updating and expanding the website. On the plus side it is a lot of fun and very exciting to be working on. But fear not, I'm not giving up on eggs, just juggling too many things at once!

Unfortunately, nothing new and exciting to report. Those two quail egg necklaces that were almost done a few weeks ago are still in the same stage of almost done-ness. I've been working on quite a few other projects lately, but I will get those necklaces posted soon, I promise! Also another Northwest Coast rhea egg in the works, coming soon.

In other news, I opened up a shop on Etsy, just for kicks. Nothing you can buy there that you can't buy here, but hopefully it'll help me get some exposure.

New ostrich egg globe egg added to the For Sale page:

Aside from getting out of bed in the morning, I would have to say the hardest part of my day would be motivating myself to do absolutely anything in the evening when I get home from work. I am usually at my most productive from about 9am to noon or so, and as excited as I am then about getting home to work on eggs, the excitement usually fades by the time I am home, tired, and daylight is fading fast.

Despite all this, you will be happy to know that I have somehow managed to be productive lately, and great things are in the works. Last night I finished an ostrich egg globe that I have been working on, and as soon as it dries I'll have photographs up on the For Sale page. I also have a few new necklaces on the way.

I also have a bunch of new ideas that I'm considering trying out. One idea is an egg raffle. I'd probably run it for a month, and tickets would cost something like a dollar. If it went well maybe I would do a new raffle each month, and give away eggs of all sizes and designs. I'm also considering the idea of a daily desk calendar with egg images on each page. Maybe postcards? Or a poster? Possibly a design book at some point for the other egg artists out there. Anyway, I know you are all shy, but I would love some feedback about these ideas. Tell me what you think, tell me if you would participate in a raffle, and let me know if you have any other great ideas. You can leave a comment on this post, click "contact me" up there at the top of the side bar, or visit the Contact page to send me an email.

While I'm at it, I have to promote another project I'm involved in. You should all go and visit Do You Work Here?, a joint venture webcomic that my husband and I author. It's for anyone out there who has ever worked in or shopped at a retail establishment. Tell your friends, family, strangers on the street!!