Amybeads

2012-02-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

It's that time of year where I complain about how busy I am because of the big wine & food festival that is my biggest project of the year. Good news is that it takes place next week! Woo hoo! But I'm awfully tired of looking at this all day:

It's 9:15pm and aside from walking my dogs for 40 minutes and running out for quick dinner with my husband, I've been sitting her staring at this computer since 7 this morning! ugh. So this won't be too long a post...and mostly pics!

I finished my fourth square for the Bead-It Forward Quilt project...

...worked a bit on my FOCUS pendant...

..and began a new project of a beaded band to go around my son's Cub Scout Arrow of Light arrow...

...thankfully I came up with a relatively simple pattern....cuz I'm doing it for two other boys' arrows too! I better hurry up as well because they need to be ready by Feb 18!!! Yikes!

And that's about it over the last couple weeks! I'm excited to watch the Patriots in the Super Bowl this weekend!

Oh - and here's a small free pattern...it's the same size as the bird quilt squares! I see a quilt of my own in the future!

Bird Pattern

2012-01-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a free bird pattern for your use! I have been creating them for the Bead-It-Forward quilt project. I'm just finishing my 4th square!

Lovebirds:

Math 101?

2012-01-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

A mathematician, I AM NOT! Although one could argue that as a beader, one has to be fairly proficient in the subject.....

So I'm starting on my Beading Babes project, Runway of Pearls (I made a valiant attempt at Ravishing Rosettes....but that is a blog post for another time...)....and after viewing the different pictures in the magazine, I thought I'd try it out with the 2mm Czech FP rounds. Plus, the idea of doing Right Angle Weave with triangles seemed icky to me.

At the bead show a couple weeks ago, I had 2mm FP on my list to find. And I found some! This vendor had every color you could imagine and I selected these yellows.

For some reason that I can't quite understand...I had it in my head that I needed 180 of them. The packages contained 100 each...so to be safe I picked up 300. I asked the vendor, do you have an online shop?! She said no, but you can just give us a call any time and we'll send you what you need.

And off I went...however, when I first opened the magazine and it said I needed to make a base of "43 units wide and 5 rows long with 4C per unit"...I had a sense I might be incorrect on this random thought that I needed 180.

And I was incorrect indeed....this is how far I got:

Only 26 units wide.....

But no biggie right? I figure I'll just call the vendor and order more! NOT! The number was disconnected!!!

Very well then....I went on an internet search for 2mm Czech FP rounds....and found....they are not very easy to FIND!

I finally found some though at Land of Odds and ordered 500. Yes. 500.

They came today.

Great, right?! Well....then as I was admiring my new lot of 2mm Czech FP rounds....I thought to myself...wait...is 500 going to be enough? 300 wasn't enough.....

So then I started doing some math....
First I did 43X5X4 = 860

But then I realized that, the first row is has 4 beads per unit...sort of, really 4 beads for the first unit, then you only add three beads for the next bunch of units..

.then when you start a new row, one will have three, and the rest will have two.....

....then I remembered the upgrade of BeadTool4 now has RAW as a pattern selection....so I popped on there and created "43 units wide and 5 rows long with 4C per unit"....

So jeesh....what is it?!!? 860? 688? 478? 929?

Stay tuned for what I finally figure out!!!

In the meanwhile - the free pattern for Free Pattern Friday was not turning out so great so I will keep at it and post tomorrow! Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Books and Blessings....

2012-01-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

What have you been reading lately? The last year was a great year for my reading log! I read the "Millennium" series (Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, etc...)...which was great! A little graphic for me in some places, but a fantastic mystery series. I absolutely ADORED the Hunger Games series. I seriously mourned having Katniss around when I finished it. And I'm not gonna lie, I may very well have feigned an upset stomach one weekend when all I understand that this plot is not altogether original - but I LOOOOOOOVED it! I thought it was incredibly quick paced, and very well crafted. But most recently, The Glass Castle has found its way to my list of favorite books of all time. This book is a memoir, and although you won't believe what this writer dealt with in her youth, she doesn't write it in such a way that she comes off as a martyr or wants you to feel sorry for her. It's a true tale of survival with such love and affection, that I found to be just spectacular. I just started Game of Thrones. It's a bit tough to get into, there are a LOT of characters and settings....but I'm 3% into it (lol, according to my Kindle), and I'm really starting to get into it.

Reading for me is usually done for 30-60 minutes before I go to bed. And if I am really into a book, I'll just go to bed early to get a little more reading time in!

There are also a lot of 'self-help' or 'self-improvement' on my bookshelves. I tend to gravitate towards them when I'm in need of some pick-me-up. There was a time many years ago, when these types of books were that I read. That time was in the year or so leading up to leaving my career in the restaurant industry. I was in a very low place emotionally and spiritually. One book that I read religiously during that time, and used the daily quotes as affirmations (never mind daily, sometimes hourly....heck...sometimes every 15 minutes!), was this one:

I literally opened this baby up every day and read and reflected on the daily lesson/essay. And I did so for a couple year or so after....

Now and again, I'll come back to it and just flip the book open to one of those dog-eared pages for a little dose of inspiration.

Yesterday I picked it up...not because I was feeling particularly low, but because sometimes I chide myself for only working on self improvement when I'm in a low place, when really it would be most effective to work on myself regularly......

Instead of randomly opening the book, I decided to open to the date....

When I got there, I forgot all about the fact, that I liked the lesson on January 24 SO MUCH back then, that I ripped it out of the book and carried it around with me for a long, long time.

It was a great reminder for me when I saw this yesterday...so I thought it would be fun to share. And on that note, I am off to write my 100 blessings of which I'm sure I have that and more!

Purple Shmurple!

2012-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hah! There is a lot of "Purple Friday" talk going on around here! Humph! On that note - here is the free pattern for Friday!

This pattern should work up to be just about 7 inches long and 2 1/4 inches wide...and as always - if you use one of my free patterns, I'd love to see a pic! ;)

Yes, being a New England Native, I gotta say - I love me some Patriots. Not only is Tom Brady easy on the eyes, he's a pretty amazing quarterback!! Now, here is where I insert my disclaimer - I don't really follow a lot of sports....in fact, even though I like football, I don't think I turned a single game on this season until last weekend - and wow - impressive!!! And I will surely be watching this Sunday!

I'm a sucker for team spirit though, so even though I am not a Ravens fan, I do enjoy seeing all the spirit around here. The excited, positive energy is pretty awesome. I think it was last year, when I swore to my husband, I could actually FEEL the excitement taking place 16 miles away during a Ravens home playoff game!

So enough football! I've been pretty silent...but busy with my real job! Also my husband turned 50 last weekend so I threw him a semi-surprise party!

Thankfully, although I'm working anywhere from 10-12 hours a day with the festival coming up in three weeks, I've been able to steal away at the end of the day and work on some beady projects...

I also have been working on my fourth square for the Bead It Forward quilt - a hummingbird. I have this tray in the kitchen so when I'm sitting with my guys after dinner or coffee in the moring I can work on it!

Did I mention I am starting to hate square stitch?!? It works up TOO SLOW! I'm ALL peyote from here on out!

A couple weeks ago on New Years Day, I had the pleasure of joining a group of women at Bead Soup in Savage, MD for an event called "Flocking Together" where everyone attending made a square for the quilt! There were at least 20 beaders there! How cool is that? The store provided patterns and beads and the beaders worked up the pattern.

Check out a handful of the squares that were made!!!

(mine is the swan in the upper left!)

When all was said & done, Bead Soup collected 41 squares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bead Soup has the oriole patterns on their site....check it out!..

Finally - I just have to share this pic of my sweet 5 month old puppy. If it looks staged....well, that's because it is....sort of....little Bingo likes to lay his head on pillows....my husband put the blanket over him! LOL! How CUTE IS HE!?!?!?

(Yes, he is wearing a sweater, but we just got his hair cut and he shivers without it!)

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!!!

TGIF!

2012-01-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

Even if it is Friday the 13th! and even if I am just finishing work at 8pm (after having started at 7am!)...for in a few minutes, I'll be heading up to my bead room to do some beading and watch some shows on Netflix with my son!

In the meanwhile - it is Free Pattern Friday. Maryanne posted a gorgeous picture of a woodpecker on her blog today. She and I live near each other and while I see lots of woodpeckers in the back yard, I rarely see one up close like she did! What a gorgeous shot! In any case, it inspired me to do another bird pattern for the Bead-It-Forward quilt project!

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It's also time to announce the winner of my bead giveaway. I used the random number generator on random.org:

Which makes Karyn from Releases from Rufydoof the winner!!! Karyn, I'll email you for your address!

I've been busy also making earrings whenever I have a chance to send to that certain host of a certain television show.... now I'm totally undecided on what to send....will probably make a few more pairs and send several pairs!!! Will post pics of earring soon!

Word Cloud & Bead Show & Free Beads!

2012-01-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

First I saw it on Sally's blog, Wild Sally Road....then I saw it on Shirley's blog, Beads & Bread....and I think it's so cool, I had to try it!

You just go to this site, click on Blogger and type in your blog name and voila! And while I really enjoyed all the words in my cloud....I think I am going to try to stop saying "my" so much! LOL..... that giant "my" took me by surprise.....do I sound like a three year old??? MY beads, MY blog, MY challenge piece, MY project, MINE MINE MINE!!!! Is it awful???

In other news I went to a bead show this weekend and it was MARVELOUS! It felt really good to splurge on a few things, and to grab some things I felt like I really needed!!!

I picked up a bit of yellow, in preparation for entering the Fashion Colorworks competition. Although having gotten them home, most of the hues seem a little bit off from the color requirement...but we'll see when I get going!!!

I'm dying of happiness with those "farfale" beads in the last photo. They are crystal lined with gold a/b luster.....they are scrumptious.

I also picked up some things that I would like to work into a challenge/hop. I am thinking of making kits out of these beads:

or these:

I thought they were so cute!!!! They were from a bead vendor there called Priscilla Beads. I had a hard time selecting from her because there were so many adorable decoupaged beads at her booth.

I also picked up this strand of beads that has lots of word on them:

In honor of so many bloggers selecting a Word for the year, I would like to give this strand away!
All you have to do is leave a comment. I will draw a winner on Friday night.
And for a double entry - let me know if you would be interested in taking part in a bead kit challenge with those decoupaged beads! I'm thinking definitely $10 or under including shipping.....also wouldn't start until the big festival is over mid-February!

Happy Friday!

2012-01-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

Every morning I take my sweet pups outside right around sunrise....not because it's sunrise, but it's usually time for one of them to.....

Anyway this morning's sunrise was so spectacular in color I had to run (and I ran) back into the house to get my camera. The pictures don't even do the this morning's colors justice, but I had to share, because the colors just made me so glad. Here are a few taken with different camera settings and then a shot of the sky when I looked up!

Did I mention the pictures don't even do this sunrise justice!?

Anyway - I am ridiculously excited to attend the Baltimore Bead Society's Winter Bead Show tomorrow!! I have a budget and I plan to stick to it!! (crossing fingers anyway!!!)

Also - tomorrow will be the sign-ups for the Bead Soup Blog Party!!! After such a huge turnout last time around - Lori has understandably decided to do a lottery for 200 lucky Bead Soupers! I have SOOOO loved this event I am really hoping to get in!!! Totally rubbing the lucky ear for this one. But hey - if I don't get selected - would someone like to do a swap with me in the spirit of the Party?!

And finally - as promised - here is a free pattern for "Free Pattern Friday"! If you use it please send me a picture, I'd love to see it! (same with the other patterns!)

(just right click and "save image", then enlarge when you print!)

New Year, New Goals

2012-01-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Well hello there, 2012! I can't beleive it's already the 4th, and I'm still mulling over my resolutions!

But the truth is, my biggest event of the year is going to be taking place in (gulp) 37 days, so I'm a little swamped. Sometimes I think the beginning of my year should be the day after that festival ends!

In any case, I have a long list of things I'd like to work on this year, but the beading section of my list looks something like this:

Earrings a day
Bead SOMETHING everyday
Do self challenge with stash I won
Free pattern Friday
More stuff on etsy
Tutorial / kit

I already have not made good on the "Earrings a day" part! Although I have made two pairs! But the idea is really to get me to do the second item on the list, which is bead something every day. That is definitely do-able....if I just FOCUS. (which needs to be my 'word of the year' - more on that later).

I was the very lucky recipient of a huge stash last month:

It was from the lovely Erin at Treasures Found::Inspiration is Everywhere...and the part about "Inspiration is Everywhere" is surely true with this spectacular win. There were more than a dozen baggies of beads and pendants in this stash mostly divided by color. So my plan here, is to pick a baggie each month and create something - kind of a monthly color self challenge!

I've been having so much fun creating these patterns for the Bead-It-Forward quilt - I'd like to start offering more patterns of different varieties other than birds....so expect to see more patterns pop up on my Free Patterns page!

Upon looking back over the year and all my photos, I have produced a pretty huge amount of beadwork....however, I have not posted anything new there in MONTHS!!!! So I definitely need to sell a little more to sustain my hobby! So I plan to focus on posting more items in my Etsy shop!

And finally - I've had so many folks ask me about a tutorial for this style of earrings - of which I have made dozens of pairs!

I had a fleeting thought of making a pair of these every day in hundreds of color combinations. Hence the 'earrings a day' idea. But instead, I am thinking of creating a tutorial and maybe even doing some kits to go along with it. It's a very simple circular peyote disk! I also may do something with this style of earrings as well, which also works up very quickly:

This will probably all happen after mid-February however, when my festival ends!

So those are all my bead-y resolutions....you should see the rest! It's a long list with a lot of your standard resolutions: eat better, exercise more, clean the house more frequently, drink less coffee, drink more green tea, brush the dogs every day, give more, waste time less....etc, etc, etc.....

But one of the biggest ones I need to work on, is to focus. This doesn't necessarily mean I'm playing too much Angry Birds (which I probably am - but that goes into the waste less time category)or I'm on Facebook too much (which is an oxymoron because I manage the FB pages for 11 clients! LOL)....what it means is that sometimes I have SO much going on that I am all over the place sometimes, getting only little bits and pieces of everything done, reading all emails the second they come in etc.... .

So I've lately taken to writing out daily schedules that reflect what I should be doing every hour of the day! HOWEVER at this current time of writing, I am already going a bit over on the time intended for blogging today! (and I guess I should add "work on my penmanship" as one of my resolutions)

Seems a little ocd, but I really think this is going to help me stay focused!

I somehow missed it at the beginning of last year, but as I read a lot of bloggers' year end wrap-ups, I saw a lot of bloggers had picked words for the beginning of the year - like "grow" "learn" "be" "dream" etc..... so my word of the year is FOCUS!

So, in the vain of focusing, I am planning to use this "FOCUS" focal pendant, as my January self challenge from the TFIEBSW ( from here on out, stands for "Treasures Found::Inpsiration is Everywhere Bead Stash Win"):

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In other beady goodness....here are a few more of the Looking Glass Pendants I made for holiday gifts:

And as a Christmas present to myself, I picked up a few patterns from Ellad2. Here is one of them:

This pattern worked up so quickly (about 45 minutes), I would recommend it to all bead weavers!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T05:29:00.000-08:00

Wow - is today really the last day of 2011?!

It's been a busy year

120 posts
831 comments (thank you so much forthem, it really warmed my heart to re-read some of these)
10 challenges/hops/parties
1 broken bone
2 new dogs
2 loved ones lost
4000 miles put on my car between June and October (it should be noted here that I don't commute, and I work from home!)
2 amazing bead stash wins
1 bead competition first prize
3 Artbeads design partner piecescreated
8 times I mention on my blog, how happy I am thatit's Friday
3 Beading Babes project pieces created

At the beginning of the year, I imposeda challenge to myself to not buy any beads the whole year! Havingrealized that I was spending on beads rather frivolously, and havinga look at my financial situation, I decided it would be a great moneysaving venture, not to mention a great challenge to be forced to “usewhat I have”. That being said, it wasn't as if it was a hugehardship to go without purchasing new beads for a year, I've been beading for over 15years now, so you can imaging the stash size when in the past I'vegiven myself free reign to purchase beads at will!

And it isn't as though I didn't getany new beads this year.....back in May I won a contest at my localbead shop and won a $75 gift certificate. For Mother's Day Ireceived a Michaels gift card.

On my birthday there were two crisp $20bills with instructions to be spent on beads at the store of mychoice.

I participated in two Bead Soup Blog Parties in which Ireceived two gorgeous packages of beads. And just a few weeks ago Iwas the very lucky recipient of an amazing bead stash – that win isstill blowing my mind!!!

So WOW! I'm amazed at how many new beadscame into my world this year when I was worried about how hard itwould be to not buy any beads.

I did have one slip up when I wasworking on the first Beading Babes project and noticed I had somesort of aversion to 6mm beads. So I bought some 6mm crystal to make the bracelet! But to my defense, I found thecrystals I "needed" in the $1 bin at Walmart.

So all in all it was a huge success. This challenge really pushed me creatively when I didn't have thefreedom to go get whatever I needed any time I started aproject.

Now as 2012 is upon me, I need todecide on my bead purchasing plans! I will definitely be attendingthe 2012 Winter Bead Show put on by the Baltimore Bead Society nextweekend. Tomorrow I'll be going to Bead Soup for the Flocking Togetherevent (where we will be making squares for the Bead-It-Forward Quiltproject.) And I definitely plan to treat myself with some beads on both occasions. This year I hope to approach my bead buying with a defined budget for so called needs, and for beads I simply want!

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And now, for a little something from the 'warm your heart' files (at least in my opinion, ha!)....so my son loves to play with pipe cleaners make little sculptures (he does this with aluminum foil too) and so I pick up packages of them periodically. Sometimes single colored, sometimes in multi-colored.

Earlier this week, as I was pounding away at my keyboard, working at my desk, Jackson came down from his room and said, I made something for you.... and then he handed me this!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year filled with pink-pipe-cleaner-LOVE!

Happy Holidays!!

2011-12-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to wish a happy holiday weekend to all!

Things are finally calming down in my neck of the woods. I picked up a few tutorials this week (Merry Christmas to me!) which I plan to tackle next week.

This year I made 5 of the Looking Glass pendants from the pattern that Marcie so generously shared back in September.

Marcie is right - for about an hour and under $10, you can make some pretty awesome, beautiful, and unique, hand made gifts. I like the colors on the above pendant so much, I made two in that color combo! Thanks for sharing this one Marcie!

Tonight I will finish up a few more beaded pieces as gifts, and then tomorrow night we'll host my stepdaughters. Then on Christmas we will have my mom, one of my clients and one of my neighbors! I'm really looking forward to all the company and good cheer!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

"It's the Most Wonderful Time...of the Year!"

2011-12-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

When I tell the story of what led me to leave the restaurant industry, I tell a story about what it was like that last holiday season of being the director of sales, for a restaurant group that had four popular restaurants in DC. I was working 70-80 hours a week, hiring babysitters I barely knew, pulling dirty clothes out of the hamper to send my kindergartener to school in. All the while I was a single mom, and both myself and my son were so stressed out by my hectic schedule, we were in tears just about every night in the month of December. It was somewhere around the 19th, I decided - I simply couldn't do it anymore. I gave notice two months later, and finally (sort of ) left the industry three months after that!

That was five years ago, and I slowly grew out of being accustomed to the madness of holidays! This year however, was a bit chaotic.

A few days after Thanksgiving, my colleague and I got the green light, to produce a farmers market in one of the most desolate areas of D.C.

They (the city of Washington DC) wanted us (Kelly & I), to do two of them in December! Yikes! Needless to say, it was crazy getting this ready. We did a little bit of work ahead of time, but didn't want to do to much because the contract wasn't signed....and then well...it was signed and we had to make it happen 10 and 17 days later!!!

Suddenly I felt like I was going back in time and right back into the madness of December!!! But thankfully, I was able to work from home, which means, laundry still gets done...dinner, well, not all the time (I have ordered a bit of take out in the last three weeks!), but at least I get to eat with my family.

And both days went great. Frankly - this is one of those projects that you work on and feel pretty good having done it.

Part of the concept was to make it feel like a community event....so I sent out an invitation to every school in the ward (about 30) to have their chorus or band perform, and only one responded....and THEY WERE GREAT!

This was a local elementary school - how FABULOUSLY IN SYNC are these two in the front!?!

I can't lie - these kids were the highlight of my day.

Although....one could argue that the next part of this story would definitely be the bead-y highlight of my day!!!

We also had chef demonstrations at the market.

Her cauliflower soup was divine.....

But later on....after all the photo ops

...ss I was thanking our wonderful chef for participating in this event, she stopped the conversation, and reached over to my ear and said "ooooooooooooooh these are soooooooooo cute!"

(I made these to go with my Bead Soup Blog Party piece!)

And my two colleauges both piped in "Amy made them! She makes beaded jewelry!" And then the chef said - "I love wearing earrings" and I said, "well I will hook you up!" And she said, "if you do, I'll wear them on my show!" And then.....we worked out the details of where I should send them!

Okay - so maybe that was the highlight of my day.... :)

So I am UBER excited about this opportunity. Really!?! My earrings on a major television network!? I cannot wait to get started on this once I'm finished with my Christmas presents!!!

I finished a few pieces over the weekend and only have about 4 more to go this week!

A beautiful bead from BeadsByEarthTones!

I forget how much I enjoy stringing sometimes!

Now my main focus is to get my packages ready to ship to Massachusetts. I was freaking out last week that I may not get them there on time....but now I'm feeling very peaceful and if they get there before Christmas that will be great, but if not they will get there a day or two after - and that will be okay too!

Inspiration IS Everywhere!

2011-12-12T17:44:00.001-08:00

I am a LUCKY girl! After taking part in Erin's 2nd Annual Challenge of Color Hop , I was fortunate to have my name drawn to win this AMAZING bead stash! Perfectly in theme with the challenge, Erin sent me a little something from each of the colors we had to select from! I'm stunned by the generosity of this prize. So many amazing artists contributed to the stash! I think a personal challenge is in order to work my way through these gorgeous beads and pendants! (sorry for the excessive use of exclamation points - but I'm so excited!!!) A HUGE THANK YOU to Erin Prais-Hintz for this great opportunity and for arranging this great stash!

My package arrived in this sweetly ribboned box....what I noticed right away that the box was very heavy!

Imagine my delight when I pulled ALL THESE beauties out of the box.

Something from Jeannie Dukic:

An assortment of glass beads and crystal elements:

How delicious is this pendant?!

A truly UNIQUE pendant from Gaea - I cannot wait to play around with this one:

Some glass beads and an enamel ceramic bead from Sally Russick:

A little piece of sunshine from Sally, Birgitta Lejonklon and Julsbead!

In love with this ceramic hear by Round Rabbit:

Gorgeous gray stones:

Lava beads!? I didn't even know - these are so cool:

Neatly neutral beige beads:

My gosh - rhodocrosite is one of my favorite stones:

This adorable key holes by Marsha Neal were the first thing I pulled out of the box and I adore them, there is some green silk cord in there - perhaps it's time for me to step outside my comfort zone and try some fiber with my beadwork....

This red combination by EB Bead & Metalwork is stunning. I don't make a lot of jewelry in red, but I can already think of some wonderful beads in my own stash that are going to go wonderfully with this:

Orange - it is one of my favorite colors and these are like sherbert:

This fabulous and final pendant, made by Marsha Neal, was one of the last things I pulled out of my box. The fact that I got the word "focus" is actually quite meaningful to me. I've been having a lot of trouble with FOCUS lately. Now - I am not complaining - but my 'real job' work load has been completely out of control busy! Just when one project ends I get three more! I am truly counting my lucky stars. It was a challenge at first, becoming a private contractor as a marketing and project manager. But now that I've spent the last two years working out of my home office, business is booming. My problem is that there is SO much going on - and such a variety of clients and projects (A food & wine festival, two farmers markets, two restaurants, a shopping center, a pet care company, a writer's workshop, a grassroots political organization and more coming out of the woodwork each day...), that I truly have a hard time focusing and prioritizing. I sometimes stare at my piles of paperwork...or my email inbox and freeze. Lately I feel like I am constantly telling myself "FOCUS". I have to-do lists with little notes to myself like "Do it" or "this won't take too long" hahah! So when I saw this wonderful pendant, I felt like the universe was speaking to me! (It was probably saying - put the beads away and get back to work!!!)

Once again I have to say thank you so much to Erin of Treasures Found::Inspiration is Everywhere.

Blogging was on my list of tasks for today! So now I can check that off!!! (And hopefully check a lot more off so I can sneak away to the bead room tonight!)

Happy Friday!

2011-12-09T17:12:00.001-08:00

As you may know if you read my blog, some of the projects I take on are for event planning/management and marketing. Tomorrow I have a new event, the first day of another farmer's market...so I am a wee bit stressed out! First contract with the city (Washington, DC), so that is adding to the pressure. And also - not so thrilled that there is a high of 40 degrees tomorrow and I'll be outside from 7:30-3:00!!!!

However, in spite of the big event happening tomorrow, I've shockingly been able to squeeze in a little beading!

Somewhat inspired by so many who picked gray in Erin's Paint the World with Your Palette: 2nd Annual Challenge of Color Blog Hop, and the fact that I had a meeting on Wednesday and needed something to wear with an outfit with a lot of gray....I made this piece:

I mostly am happy with how it came out, however I feel like the medallion is too much dark gray. But as it stood, I was out of the lighter gray delicas! So c'est la vie! I could only work with what I had!!

I've also been working on this embroidered piece....I'm enjoying the colors, but I think I may have crowded the focal stone with the first round... hmmm...any ideas on how to remedy that?

Wish me luck tomorrow! Have a great weekend!

Help Colin Get His Boys Back!

2011-12-05T08:19:00.001-08:00

I know Colin from many years back when he dated my friend and roommate. I spent plenty of time with him, including several road trips from DC - Boston and back! Whenever I hear stories about kidnapped children my heart breaks, but it is especially hard to hear about it, when you know one of the parents. Here is what Colin posted on his page today "Help Bring Noor and Ramsay Home":

"Hi all, here is an FBI public service announcement asking for your help to track down Mirvat el Nady. This is the same type of PSA which led to the arrest of Whitey Bulger. This shows the FBI has not forgotten Noor and Ramsay, and is continuing their move forward. The PSA is being translated to French and Arabic, and circulated globally. Please post, Tweet and forward to your communities so we can help the FBI generate as much awareness as possible. Thank you all, on behalf of myself, Noor and Ramsay. http://www.fbi.gov/news/podcasts/wanted/current"

Please listen and pass long this podcast!

Beading Babes Project #2 Reveal

2011-12-04T07:33:00.001-08:00

It's time for the second installment of Beading Babes to reveal their project(s)! This time around we had to choose from (or do both): Carole Ohl's "Earthly Hues" or Hatsumi Oshitani's "Sleek In Silver". I was able to finish up "Sleek in Silver" so quickly - that I decided to both!

Here is my Sleek in Silver piece:

This pattern was really easy to follow and it worked up really quickly. I have always been a fan of St. Petersburg stitch and this is a modified version of that. I didn't have any briolettes, so I used top drilled swarovski crystals that I had in my stash. All I had were clear ones and they are so hard to photograph!

I do want to comment on the tila beads. While I VERY much liked the way the 'snap together and the tile look they create, I wasn't incredibly impressed with the quality of each bead. They felt brittle, and the finish on them - mine were a/b finish - was quite poor. I would be willing to try another finish - maybe opaque, or matte finish, but I didn't like these translucent ones I worked with.

The "Earthly Hues" pattern worked up quite nicely and quickly too! I just learned and started loving herringbone stitch this year and using these large beads makes a rope really fast! On the flip side, the size 6 beads felt a little clumsy with herringbone and I don't like they way you can see the thread so easily in the hollow of the bead.

I knew when I started, I wouldn't have enough of either 6's or cubes, but when I did as many as I could and finished the necklace with a size 11 herringbone rope. I like the pendant, however, I couldn't figure out how to get the tow top cubes to sit correctly for the bail - eventually I improvised but I didn't find the directions especially clear at that part.

All in all though I really enjoyed doing both of these pieces and I'm sure I will be revisiting these patterns for future use! Thank you to Karen who is the ringleader of the Beading Babes group!

Friday free patterns!

2011-12-02T15:56:00.001-08:00

Hello all! Wow - it was SO fun taking part in Erin of Treasure's Found Paint the World with Your Palette: 2nd Annual Challenge of Color Blog Hop! I had a blast doing my piece, but I can honestly say it was even more fun going from blog to blog and seeing everyone else's creations.

I was giddy with anticipation from the time I saw each palette to the time I scrolled down to the creation. All the creativity and originality was astounding! I loved seeing so much use of art beads as focals. And I saw overwhelmingly, many artists stating that for this challenge they were only going to use what they had in their stash....a challenge I gave myself for the year of 2011 (more on that in a few weeks as I end this personal challenge!)

I can't wait to see everyone's reveal for the second installment of the Beading Babes project! Check back on Sunday for that!

And finally - just for fun, here are some more patterns (free to use for the Bead It Forward quilt project!). I thought I'd try out some light-hearted birds this time around!

Happy Friday!

I Love a Color Challenge!!

2011-11-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the reveal for the Treasures Found 2nd Annual Color Challenge and a special thanks to Erin for putting on this fun challenge and blog hop!

Unfortunately I finished my piece yesterday and the rain was coming down hard all day. I had hoped when I got a glimpse of this little beauty that the sun might make an appearance:

Of course I am only sharing this fact because the lighting was HORRIBLE all day and I haven't quite mastered lighting a photo on a rainy day...in fact...I rely completely on sunny days! (I guess if I continue to do so I should stop procrastinating!!)...so I am not particularly happy with how these pictures turned out....

Anyway! I'm so glad I got to take part in this challenge. I really do love a color challenge! It is especially great when you are forced to put colors together you might not normally do so on your own.

As was the case with this challenge. I was able to pick my 'main color', orange, but then Erin selected a palette for me with orange as one of the colors. The palette came from Design Seeds and my palette was called "Winged Tones":

I fell in love with my palette immediately and knew I needed the perfect focal for my challenge piece and so I was delighted to call upon my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Alison of BeadsByEarthTones! I showed her my palette and asked her to create a custom piece for me.

Here's what she came up with!

If you haven't been over to Alison's Etsy shop, you should really check it out. She makes beautiful polymer beads also - but I'm really in love with her Imprint Series!

So without further ado, here is what I did for the color challenge!!

I am excited to see a lot of familiar faces on the list of challenge participants and I can't wait to check out some new faces too!

Cassowary

2011-11-23T11:53:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am getting my house and kitchen ready for tomorrow. We'll have 8pp altogether which is totally do-able and should be lots of fun!

I was able to finish up one of my squares for the Bead It Forward quilt.

We are lucky to live relatively close to the National Zoo, and I absolutely love the bird section of the zoo. I especially love the cassowary exhibit. I love their ancient look and their shimmery colors. This was from a trip this past June:

And here is the beaded up square:

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sneak Peek and more free patterns

2011-11-19T08:25:00.001-08:00

I've been having some very busy work weeks lately...but I have managed to spend a bit of time beading! I am almost finished with my second Beading Babes piece and am looking forward to seeing everyone's creations! Here are some sneak peeks of my pieces so far:

I just love the way the St. Petersburg stitch feels when completed. It's like fabric!

To my other Beading Babes...how are you liking this Earthly Tones piece? I love the way the cubes come together in the tubular herringbone, but I have never done any weaving with size 6 beads and I'm finding it a little challenging! I almost wish I had some yarn to weave them with!

I am starting to think about my piece for the 2nd Annual Challenge of Color blog hop. My color palette by Design Seeds is "Winged Tones".

I absolutely love these colors and started selecting some beads to start my project. To kick it up a notch, I've commissioned my Bead Soup Blog Party partner to create a focal piece for me! I'm so excited!

Here are some more bird patterns for any fellow weavers who are interested in creating a square for the Bead It Forward quilt project! I am planning to conquer one this weekend!

Feel free to contact me if you need a larger resolution pic of the pattern or if you would like it in a pdf.

Have a great weekend!

Bead Swap!

2011-11-12T16:13:00.001-08:00

Went to a local bead store today, Bead Soup, in Savage Mill for a bead swap! I thought it would be easy to put together a bunch of beads to offer for trade, but the bag I took was rather small. Truth is, I didn't really want to give up ANY of my beads!!!! Even still, I was able to make a few trades and I ended up with a nice little bunch of beads to take home. And it was nice to meet a few other local beaders.

I've been hankering for some donuts and one of the lovely ladies took a cloisonne off my hands for them.

I started working on my Beading Babes piece, Sleek In Silver (though in this case it's Sleek in Purple, Pink and a little bit of silver), this morning. It is true, that the pattern works up very quickly.

I only had one mishap so far when one of my Tila's broke, and then proceeded to cut the working thread! Ugh!

I don't have any briolettes for this project, however I found some top drilled beads that will do the trick.

And just in case you haven't had enough of my cute dogs (I'm so modest about my pups, huh!?) this is my new view from the bead table:

I am planning to finish my "Sleek in Silver" piece tomorrow morning and then dive into the next piece, "Earthly Hues".

Lost & Found

2011-11-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

So the truth is....I lost my beading inspiration some weeks ago...to my defense it was probably around the time we had a death in the family and in the meanwhile I picked up two new work contracts...and my food & wine festival is less than 100 days away (pressure!)....and so on and so on and so on...

I tried a bunch of times to go up to the bead room....I would set up my computer to watch Hulu, and would put some beads on the table (my regular routine)....but then I would just stare at the beads, and really just watch tv...kind of pathetic actually!! Then I got so irritated with myself that I just stopped going upstairs altogether.

Two weekends ago I met up with my girlfriend down in Virginia. We have an annual fall tradition of taking our kids to the pumpkin farm and goofing around for a day:

Bridget showed me a dress she would be wearing to a wedding the following weekend that looked very similar to this:

So when I got home that day I thought I could get my inspiration back by throwing some earrings together for her to go with her dress (I had grand plans for a bracelet too...).

I figured I would make them on Monday, put them in the mail on Tuesday, and she'd have them by Wednesday.....plenty of time before she got on the plane on Friday...however I must have known better, which is why I never even mentioned it to her. I started them on Tuesday....and finished them while the wedding was actually taking place....(these earrings take about 40 minutes total to create) :(

Again - pretty pathetic!!!

BUUUUUUUT - it did get a spark going for me. although I was ready to call it quits in the bead room, I decided to push it a little more and forced myself to bead up one of the patterns I created.

It's a tiny little piece - 1.5inchesx1.5inches....but I swore I wouldn't do anything else with my spare time until I finished the little guy....and you know what?! Picking out the colors...seeing the pattern come to life....it really made the magic happen for me. I found my inspiration again. Thank you little blue jay!!! Big things really DO come in small packages.

Now I feel refreshed and positively itching to get back into my beads! Which is why I signed up for the color challenge over at Treasures Found. (For this challenge, Erin assigns all the participants a color palette from Design Seeds) And I'm dying to get started on my Beading Babes pieces. Our group has two patterns to choose from this time around and I'm planning to do both!

My inspiration has been lost and found many times over the last 17 years that I've been a 'beader'. But it's been a few years since I've hit a slump like the past several weeks! I am thrilled that the fire has been lit again.

What do you do when you're in a creative slump?

Bead&Button Bead-It-Forward

2011-11-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

So I haven't spent much time in my bead room lately...much to my chagrin. I have enjoyed reading my new Beadwork and Bead&Button and I love the concept behind Bead & Button's Bead-It-Forward project...in which the founder: "corralled squares of beadwork from around the world and pieced them together to form bead quilts that were donated for" their annual [charity] auction.

Since I've had a huge workload lately and been spending most of my time in front of the computer I decided to draft some bird patterns for this great bead-y cause. I haven't worked any of them up yet, though I intend to try one or two of them this weekend. But if anyone would like to work up a square, you are more than welcome to use one or some or all of the pattern's I've created! The deadline for submission is March 12 and I hope to post several more bird patterns between now & then!

Happy Beading (and here's to hoping i get a few hours in the bead room this weekend!)

And in other news....my new puppy is doing great...and could he be any cuter!?!

...and if you are so inclined...and can spare 1 minute and 13 seconds...here is a video that (in my humble opinion) is pretty cute and funny!

2011-10-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Gosh, has it really been nine days since I've surfaced?! I keep meaning to get to my blog....and keep WISHING I could get to my bead room....but alas - I haven't been able to do either in over a week! I can't stand it. But the new issues of Beadwork and Bead &; Button have got my creative juices flowing!!! Over coffee this morning I flagged a few things I want to work on!

And in spite of the chaos...or maybe because of the chaos...and the need to put a smile on our faces...we visited an Amish farm yesterday and brought this little guy home!

Meet Bingo!

We'd been looking for a playmate for our other dog, Molly, for quite a while since we've seen how much she loves other dogs. Bingo is getting acquainted with the family very well!

This weather is crazy!!! Is it snowing in your neck of the woods?

Beading Babes piece & a loss...

2011-10-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

In case you don't know about it...Karyn over at Releases by Rufydoof, started a cool group called Beading Babes. The object is for a group of us to tackle the same pattern and discuss it and eventually reveal it! The reveal was Sunday - so I'm a little late (but I have a good excuse...more on that later).

The pattern selected was Carol Ohl's Camelot Cross. This pretty pattern worked up very quickly and I really love the way the center crystals sparkle!

When have a little more time on my hands I really want to try this pattern with smaller crystals and smaller seed beads!

I haven't had a chance to check out and comment on all the other Beading Babes' pieces. I took a quick glance earlier today and really loved the different colors and finishing on the others!

Now sadly onto my loss. My father-in-law has been in and out of the hospital and rehab facilities since June....father's day to be exact! We got a call Saturday morning that just before midnight, they found him with no vitals, but were able to revive him...however we were told it didn't look good. After three days of continuing deterioration, he passed on Tuesday. We are all doing okay, albeit sad.

Upon sorting through his things, we found a HUGE treasure of old photos! It was so neat. Maybe it's my recent obsession with my past and ancestry...but I just loved seeing these old photos. So in a nod to my late father-in-law, here are some of the photos!

This is REAL sepia tone - not an effect!

This pictures was about 2X2 inches, I'm shocked at how well it scanned! Circa 1950's. (FIL far right)

Serving in Korea - circa 1951 (FIL center)

RIP Ron (1931-2011)

TGIF!

2011-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

I love Friday nights. I love the nice feeling of the completion of a week (a.k.a. 'thank goodness this week's over!'). The pending weekend. The relaxation. The pizza. The movie. The glass of wine. And thankfully tonight is no different!

My day started so special today though, that had to share (even though my photos I took to share the moment aren't very high quality!).

Every morning I take this little pooch of mine along the WB & A trail for a morning walk.

It's a wonderful trail and we are lucky to have an entrance to it just at the end of our street (about 5 houses away).

Because there is sort of a forest along both sides of the trail, we see lots of wildlife. On the walk above, Jackson saw a fox. On another walk we saw this crazy looking caterpillar! Does anyone even know what kind of caterpillar this is!!! This guy was about four inches long and one inch wide!

Some mornings I'm the only person on the trail and I get lucky and see a few deer literally cross my path. The dog goes nuts and spooks them usually. But I never tire of seeing these lovely creatures.

This morning however, I was walking along the trail, at a section where the land dips beyond the trail and some of the tops of the trees are close to eye level, I caught a creature staring at me!!!

haha - this picture is so grainy I feel like I'm trying to document Saskwatch! (maybe tomorrow morning!)

This barred owl absolutely moved my spirit this morning! He was so BIG! Almost 2 feet tall! And he just stared and stared as I moved around the edge of the trail trying to get a good shot of him! On this lower shot, he actually has his back to me but turned his head all the way around to watch me.

I'm almost finished with my Camelot Cross bracelet for the Beading Babes reveal this weekend. Here's another sample patch I did....but it's not the color scheme I used for my final piece! Tune in Sunday the 16th for the reveal!

What's It To Hue? Tuesday! - new color palette

2011-10-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a week since I posted?? I guess it has. I had an amazingly wonderful weekend. My best friend of almost 40years came to visit me, with her lovely daughters, and we had such an enjoyable time together!!

If you'd like to learn more about What's It To Hue?, just click here. Won't you play along?

For this month's colors, the selection is the Brilliance palette (from Olympic Paint's Audubon Collection...you can pick one up at Lowes or download here).

Upon reviewing all the Audubon Collection palettes, I was very drawn to this one. The quote attached to it is pretty fantastic too, in my opinion.

How do you go wrong when working with nature's colors!?

If you would like to play along, I will do a reveal on November 1st, with a linky tool to everyone's blogs!

What's It To Hue? Tuesday!

2011-10-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well...I was worried about not finishing my What's It To Hue? piece...and that worry perpetuated itself and I did not finish!!! I am ALMOST finished though, and I have a plan for a pendant to add to this:

I hope to have it finished in the next couple of days. Did you make something for What's It To Hue? I have a linky tool below, so please link up if you made something within that palette!

To my defense in not completing my What's It To Hue piece....I have been working on this piece (and taking it apart and starting over quite a bit!) for my friend Jean...

My Weekend

2011-10-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday to all! It's been a fun weekend, and was able to get quite a bit of beading in. With the family, I also attended our town's community day on Saturday,

Jackson preparing his styrofoam 'boat' for a race....I didn't have high expectations of this event,
but it was actually a lot of fun - we all had a really good time!

and today we went on a long hike with the dog!

Haha, we couldn't get this dog to swim ALL summer, but today, when
the weather was 50 degrees we couldn't get her out of the water!

I had hoped to post earlier this weekend, but the truth is, I have a new addiction which I will get to a little later in this post. I was also hoping to take some photos of my beading progress this weekend, I haven't seen the sun since Friday and all my attempts turned out futile!

I've been working on my friend Jean's bracelet for the Pink Rocks the Runway fashion show. I am starting to feel a lot of pressure on this one and really need to calm down! My original vision has completely changed and morphed into something new. I still like it, but now I have all this pressure (that ONLY I have put on my self), to make sure this is really spectacular. I'm 80% done, but now I need a different clasp than I originally planned for and I can't decide if I should make my own or go get a slider clasp that I think will work perfectly as well!

I have been very bad about working on my What's It To Hue? piece!!! I hope I can finish by Tuesday!!!

A couple weeks ago I was the VERY lucky winner of Mortira's (Inspirational Beading) faux crystal giveaway!!! They came in the mail on Saturday and I have been drooling over them since!!

Source: http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/

Source: http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com

At first glance, it is hard to tell these aren't real crystal. They are very light, but they are sparkly and the colors are very rich!! THANK YOU SO MUCH Mortira!!! I can't wait to play with them!

So...onto my new obsession/addiction. Back in August, I received a membership to Ancestry.com as a birthday gift. Usually when I sit down to my computer with free time I tend to read other blogs, check out facebook, post on my own blog.... but since I have been a member of Ancestry.com, every time I sit at the computer, I can't stop going on the site and researching!!! I AM ADDICTED!!! Of course, I've been lucky as well. As it turns out I have long lines of relatives that have lived in this country a very long time. Some of my ancestors lead me to dead ends. These are the ones who came to this country two or three generations ago. But others.....WOW! It's so fun and exciting to learn where you came from! Once you start entering data (name, date of brith, date of death etc...), Ancestry.com searches their databases and lets you know if they've found anything that might help you learn more about your lineage (censuses, death records, marriage records, immigration passenger lists etc...). It is so fun and it's hard to stop once you get the little hints popping up when you add new names.

After getting a taste of the genealogy but...I took a class at my library on genealogy. I learned A LOT at this class. Most importantly, I learned about a lot of free databases I have access to through the library.

So when I got home and started plugging in names, I was rewarded with a lot of amazing data!

Such at this obituary and gravestone photo of my great-great-grandfather (and great-great-grandmother):

How cool is that!?!

Most of my dad's grandparents died before he was even born. So now at 65, he is having a hard time confirming the names of his grandparents. But last week, he was going through some of my paternal grandparent's things and found a family tree! I receive that in the mail on Saturday too! (Saturday was a great mail day!) That opened up a whole new line of ancestors for me and I spent a good part of the weekend learning about them!

In another post I'll share some of my findings. It's been pretty amazing locating and reading old documents and books about my ancestors!!!

Ultimately, I hope to put together a book or scrapbook of some kind to share with my brother, my son and my nieces.

What's It To Hue? Tuesday

2011-09-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've been very bad with beading lately! But I just started working on my What's It To Hue? piece. In case you didn't have a chance to take a look at the online brochure, here is the front side of the brochure:

And here is the inside with the palette:

I just love looking at this palette! And I finally got started a little bit on it, inspired by a bracelet that I saw on Mandy's blog not too long ago. I just love that picture of the Grand Canyon on the outside of the brochure. In my youth, my grandparents lived in Sedona, AZ, and I was blessed to have several visits there.

circa 1980ish

And we were lucky to visit the Grand Canyon a few times and the images of true grandeur have always stayed with me! Are you working on a piece for What's It To Hue? I will have a reveal next Tuesday!

~~~~~~~~~

I have also been working on another project that I am very excited about! A dear friend of mine is modeling in a very special fashion show called Pink Rocks the Runway. All the models are survivors who were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40. I am working on a bracelet for Jean to wear with her couture gown! Her designer wants a cuff that is sparkly with lots of crystals and so I began working on this Bellisima ring pattern:

I don't have the tension quite right on it so I will have to fiddle around with it a bit, but I'm planning on making 10 of them to stitch together for a cuff style bracelet.

BTW - oh wait - it's Thursday!

2011-09-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Click here for Beads Soup Blog Party Reveal and participants!

Well - I had intended to blog on Tuesday to talk about how my What's It To Hue? project is going....but it's not really going yet...I only so far have picked out some beads.

Next Tuesday I will post up some more progress and more on the palette! Don't forget if you would like to play along there is more info here, and the reveal for What's It To Hue? is on October 4th.

So then I was planning on doing a Bead Table Wednesday (BTW), and time slipped away again yesterday, but the above photos are what is on my bead table, and also the piece I'm working on for Beading Babes:

When I began to collect my materials for this project, I discovered a funny thing....I seem to have something against size 6mm beads!!! Seriously! I have been beading for some 17 years now....and I have also procured quite a large stash. So I started by looking for the bead that was called for - a 6mm bicone. So I wnt through my Swarovski stash and found 3mm's, 4mm's, and 8mm's - but not a single 6mm! So then I checked through my Czech glass and had plenty of the previously mentioned sizes, but only ONE SINGLE strand of 6mm fire polished rounds! (Then strictly out of curiosity I inspected other categories of beads and found NO OTHER 6mm beads in my stash!!!) In any case the pattern seems to be working out with the rounds, but during a pass-through of the craft section at Wal-Mart, I picked up a couple strands of 6mm bicones just so I can also try to stay true to what is called for on this pattern!

(I am on a self-imposed bead purchasing moratorium for the year 2011, however, these were in a clearance bin for a $1 each! And....well...you know...I just need to try this pattern with the bicones!)

So are you checking out all the Bead Soup Blog Party reveals?! I have to say - thanks - I am really humbled by all the nice comments I received over the past few days.....it's really true what they say about comments, they are like crack to a blogger! In the meanwhile - I am getting STUFFED consuming all this Bead Soup. But I'm loving it. The last time I tallied it up - I am about a third of the way through the list, and I truly plan to visit them all! The creativity is mind-blowing. I especially love seeing the ones where the beader had to step far outside their comfort zone.

Earlier this month I completed these pieces for my best friend's birthday! I saw this pattern in a recent bead magazine loved the quilt-like quality of the pattern. I used a vintage Czech button for the clasp and actually pulled the colors for the bracelet together based on the button!

Bead Soup Blog Party - REVEAL!

2011-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

First off, I would like to thank Lori Anderson, for hosting this very fun event - and for pairing me with a terrific partner. Next I want to thank my Bead Soup partner - Alison at BeadsByEarthTones, for such a beautiful bead soup!

While I typically select brighter colors for my beading, I am a nature lover at heart, and these beads really spoke to me. I immediately honed in on the handmade focal and matching clay pieces from Alison's Organics collection.

I liked the way the lapis stones had a creamy tint to them and decided to add that to the piece I wanted to create. The copper beads were such a perfect compliment to the focal, so I whipped up some peyote beaded tubes to go along with the rest of the copper. And without further ado - here is my first BSBP piece:

I also had some blue died wooden beads and some copper colored fire polished beads to complement.

I bezeled the smaller clay pieces with denim seed beads in a right angle weave bezel...and for the focal I embroidered around the focal and did a small netted bezel.

Usually - I buy clothes and then make something to go with them....this time I bought a shirt to go with the piece I made!

But alas - I still had many beautiful beads left from Alison's awesome soup!

I especially loved the dark carved wood bead and wanted to be sure to highlight that. As I began going through my stash I came across some very old beads.

I received these beads many years ago. They were a gift from one of my employees at a restaurant I used to manage.....in 1997-1999! Florcita had visited her home country of Peru and I was in my third year of beading...it was so sweet of her bring these back for me! However, in all these years, this string of actual SEED beads, stayed in a box labeled "natural beads". When I pulled them out, I knew the ridged dark brown seed would be perfect for this portion of the soup. (As an aside, these were a wonderful re-discovery in my beads stash, I look forward to exploring the other 'seed beads' in this collection.)

After a bit of culling the cracked seeds, I put them together with some round jade stones for my second BSBP piece!

I also had some blond colored wooden beads I added to this piece.

This was a spectacular BSBP experience for me. My husband even commented on "how much fun" I was having with it and noted my excitement for the reveal. I plan to visit all the participants' blogs, no matter how long it takes. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!!

Here is the soup I sent Alison and I can't wait to see what she did with it!

And finally - here is a list of all the participants - happy blog visiting!

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York

2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson

3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino

4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner

5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier

6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins

7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor

8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen

9. Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller

10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare

11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman

12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps

13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka

14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson

15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy

16. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price

17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland

18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John

19. Anna Sabina and Erin Siegel

19. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel

20. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou

21. B.R. Kuhlman and Deanna Chase

22. Barbara Bechtel and Bryna Lumb

23. Barbara Blaszczyk and DaviniaDesign

24. Barbara Judy and Holly Westfall

25. Barbara Lewis and Cathie Carroll

26. Barrie Edwards and Lyn Foley

27. Becky Fairclough and Jana Tarhala

28. Bella Borgouise and Gillian Lehman

29. Beth and Evie McCord and Erin Prais-Hintz

30. Beth Bricker and Heather Pyle

31. Beth Emery and Cassie Donlen

32. Bobbie Rafferty and Cindy Cima Edwards

33. Candice McGinnis and Sally Anderson

34. Carol Bradley and Cece Cormier

35. Cathy Khoury and Molly Alexander

36. Carol Tannahill and Hilary Frye

37. Carrie Tahquechi and Cris Peacock

38. Cat Pruitt and Cindy Gimbrone

39. Charlene Gary and Doris Stumpf

40. Charlotte Pevny and Kate Gardenghi

41. Cherrie Fick and Cathie Carroll

41. Claire Maunsell and Cherrie Fick

42. Cheryl Roe and Jenny Vidberg

43. Chris White and Norma Turvey

44. Christa Murphy and Kathy Alderfer

45. Christie Murrow and Dana James

46. Christina Miles and Collette Collins

47. Christine Brandel and Elizabeth Woodford

48. Christine Damm and Cynthia Deis

49. Christine Hendrickson and Debbie Goering

50. Christine Stonefield and Dee Wingrove-Smith

51. Cilla Watkins and Johanna Rhodes

52. Cindy Wimmer and Riki Schumacher

53. CJ Baushka and Cory Celaya

54. Courtney Breul and Joanna Matuszczyk

55. Cristi Clothier and Kathleen Robinson Young

56. Cryss Thain and Serena Trent

57. Cynthia Tucker and Kitty Durmaj

58. Dana Johnson Jones and Eva Sherman

59. Davinia Algeri and Janet McDonald

60. Deci Worland and Lara Lutrick

61. Diana Ptaszynski and Kristy Abner

62. Diane Cook and Kerry Bogert

63. Diane Hawkey and Jen Judd Velasquez

64. Dorcas Midkiff and Jill Harris

65. Doris Radlicki and Heather Goldsmith

66. Dot Lewallen and Gaea Cannaday

67. Elisabeth Auld and Jennifer Justman

68. Erin Fickert-Rowland and Geanina Grigore

69. Erin Grant and Julie Jones

70. Eszter Czibulyas and Helena Fritz

71. Fiona Christie and Michelle Heim

72. Gail Zwang and Genea Crivello-Knable

73. Geneva Collins and Jana Haag

74. Gretchen Nation and Heidi Post

75. Heather DeSimone and Karin Slaton

76. Heather Marley and Terry Carter

77. Ingrid McCue and Jennifer Pride

78. Jackie Ryan and Nicole Keller

79. Janna Harttgen and Joanne Tinley

80. Jean Yates and Lori Anderson

81. Jelveh Jaferian and Jenny Davies-Reazor

82. Jenni Connolly and Jennifer Heynen

83. Jennifer Cameron and Kristi Bowman

84. Jennifer Geldard and Lisa Liddy

85. Jennifer VanBenschoten and Kim Hora

86. Jess Italia Lincoln and Lori Greenberg

87. Jill MacKay and Lori Bergmann

88. JJ Jacobs and Karen Tremblay

89. Joyce Becker and Kathy Welsh

90. Judy Glende and Karen Sinkowski

91. Judy Riley and Kelly Morgan

92. JuLee Wolfe and Julie Bean

93. Julianna Cannon and Julianna Kis

94. Julie Nordine and Lesley Watt

95. K. Hutchinson and Shea Zukowski

96. Karen Firnberg and Karyn Bonfiglio

97. Karen Williams and Kimberly Roberts

98. Karen Zanco and Polly Barker

99. Kari Carrigan and Laura Twiford

100. Karin von Hoeren and Laura Blanck

101. Kate Richbourg and Lorelei Eurto

102. Kathleen Lange Klik and Maria Clark

103. Kathy Engstrom and Keri Lee Sereika

104. Kay Thomerson and Loretta Carstensen

105. Kelley Fogle and Laurel Bielec

106. Kelly Ramstack and Sally Anderson

107. Kim Stevens and Tiffany Long

108. Kristi Harrison and Mandy Williamson

109. Kristi Kyle and Lana Kinney

110. Kristina Johansson and Sue Hodgkinson

111. Kym Hunter and Laura Sanger

112. Laura Zeiner and Susan Kennedy

113. Laurel Steven and Mary McGraw

114. Laurie Hanna and Lisa Boucher

115. Lesley Weir and Liz DeLuca

116. Linda Djokic and Tracey Weiser

117. Linda Inhelder and Pam Brisse

118. Linda Landig and Lori Dorrington

119. Linda Murphy and Lisa Hamilton

119. Line Labrecque and Marianne Baxter

120. Lisa Lodge and Monica Johnson

121. Lois Moon and Melissa Muir

122. Lola Surwillo and Therese Frank

123. Lori Bowring Michaud and Marci Brooks

124. Lupe Meter and Norma Agron

125. Maggie Towne and Marge Beebe

126. Malin de Koning and Susie Hibdon

127. Mallory Hoffman and Shirley Moore

128. Marcie Abney and Patty Miller

129. Marcy Lamberson and Melissa Clarke

130. Margot Potter and Suzann Sladcik Wilson

131. Maria Grimes and Wendy Blum

132. Maria Horvath and Melinda Orr

133. Maria Rosa Sharrow and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp

134. Marian Hertzog and Melissa Mesara

135. Marianna Boylan and Sandi Lee James

136. Marina Dobrynina and Michaela Pabeschitz

137. Marsha Neal and Miri Agassi

138. Mary Ellen Parker and Melissa Meman

139. Mary Elliott and Tamara Soper

140. Mary McGraw and Laurel Steven

141. Melissa Pynn and Michelle Buettner

142. Michelle Hardy and Niki Meiners

143. Michelle Mach and Moira McEvoy

144. Missy Rappaport and Mags Sarri

145. Molly Alexander and Poranna

146. Mylene Hillam and Nicole Rennell

147. Nadezhda Parfyonova and Stacey Curry

148. Nan Emmett and Nancy Peterson

149. Nancy Boylan and Natalie McKenna

150. Natalie Monkivitch and Niky Sayers

151. Natasha Lutes and Pam Ferrari

152. Noemi Baena and Penny Ilagan

153. Pamela Petry and Rebecca Sirevaag

154. Pat Haight and Mary Shannon Hicks

155. Patty Gasparino and Vonna Maslanka

156. Penny Neville and Sandi Volpe

157. Pepita Bos and Wendy Chamberlain

158. Raida Disbrow and Rebecca Watkins

159. Rebecca Anderson and Sabrina Staub

160. Regina Santerre and Rose Binoya

161. Rhea Freitag and Tari Kahrs

162. Rochelle Brisson and Teri Baskett

163. Sally Russick and Tracy Bell

My world...

2011-09-15T02:59:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share the news about a new group I'm joining! Karyn over at Rufydoof is starting a new Facebook Group and encouraging beaders of all levels to join. The idea is to pick out a readily available pattern for everyone in the group to create. As the group is creating the pattern, members can share their struggles or tips with others and get encouragement from each other! I love this idea! Go on over to her Facebook page and let her know you want to join!

In other beading news....I am getting myself ready to visit blogs for the Bead Soup Blog Party!

I am taking Lori's advice. I copied and pasted the list onto a Word document. But because there are so many wonderful participants - it was FIVE PAGES LONG! So I formatted my page to have 1/2 inch margins and 2 columns...then changed the font to a size 10. The list is now taking up only 2 pages of all 362 participants!

And in the rest of my world....Jackson is working on a K'nex project. He's only on step 15 for the instructions- I can't wait to see the result after he completes all 92 steps!

Nothing made me laugh harder this weekend than when my husband invited the dog up to the table Sunday morning...

Oh....and the Hurricane Irene felled tree is finally gone!

What's It To Hue? Tuesday - new palette!

2011-09-13T05:51:00.001-07:00

I started out What's It To Hue? with the intention of exploring color. I still plan to do so, however picking just one color seems limiting. This past weekend I was in Lowes with my family running some errands, and I walked by the paint chip area.

I have always loved this section of a home improvement store with all the colors splayed out like they are! Not unlike opening up a new box of crayons,

or standing in the seed beads section of a bead store - I just love seeing the myriad of colors laid out!

But I really got excited when I saw some of the collection brochures! Olympic Paint has several of palette series. They have "Inspiring Color", "Connecting Spaces", and the one that really caught my attention was the "Audubon Collection"!

While I wasn't inspired to repaint any rooms, I was absolutely inspired by all the colors!! Check out the link - or run to your nearest Lowe's and pick up some of these inspiring color palette brochures!

For the foreseeable future I am planning to use the Audubon Collection color palettes for What's It To Hue? Tuesday. I'm still going to stick with the schedule of announcing the color palette on the second Tuesday of the month, and revealing on the first Tuesday of the following month.

For this edition of What's It To Hue? Tuesday, I will be using the "Majestic" color palette:

If you click here you can see the palette fill up your whole computer screen! I love the contrast of the reds, pinks and neutrals. The very pale blue is a darling surprise in this palette. With Autumn around the corner, it will be fun to play with these colors.

If you'd like to play along and create something with this palette, I will have a reveal and a linky tool posted on October 4th!

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

In 2005, I took a memoir writing class. One of the assignments was to write something that could 'be a chapter in your memoir”. Here is that assignment(actual photos of DC were taken last week!):

What a beautiful day. The bright blue clear sky is gorgeous. It is in the low seventies, no humidity, not too hot, not too cold. The kind of day that makes you feel happy to be alive; makes you want to breathe a little deeper; makes you want to play hookie. But alas, it is my second day back from maternity leave, so I cannot. It is still paining me to leave my sweet little angel for the day; I wonder how women do this regularly. Yesterday after leaving him in the child care center at the USDA Yates building, I cried for an hour when I got to the restaurant for work. Today, I will be strong. The past three months have been glorious, but money is running out, autumn is here - a busy time in the restaurant business - and I need to return to work so I can start earning some money again.

I arrive at the center a little bit early so I can run a few errands. I need to get a federal ID that will allow me entry into the Yates building. The center was recommended to me by a client at work. It, was difficult to get a space in the center and I'm happy to be there. It is very secure and affordable.

I drop my son Jackson off in the able hands of Ms. Evelyn. She has been a teacher at the center for over 20 years and formerly worked as a nurse. She seems to be in her late 60's. I hand off my 12 ounces of breast milk and leave her instructions on how to care for his arm throughout the day. Jackson had a birth injury paralyzing his left arm. He is in physical therapy, but his arm must be slung properly and exercised periodically if he is ever to gain movement in it again. Ms. Evelyn listens with care and interest. Jackson is busy charming the other teachers in the room; he is jovial and so adorable in his "Got Milk" onesie.

As I give him a kiss good-bye, my lip begins to quiver; I feel better leaving him at the daycare today than I did yesterday, but leaving him still inspires a few tears.

There is a bus stop on 14th Street & Independence Avenue. After I pick up my new ID, I don't have to wait long before the #54 picks me up. The weather is so gorgeous, though, I wish I could spend a little more time waiting outside. The bus turns to go north on 14th and we immediately pass the Washington Monument on the left. The traffic is moderate with all the commuters heading into town; 14th Street is one the few major thoroughfares to get into Washington D.C. from Virginia. The bus takes me up the remaining eight blocks to 14th & K, where I work. I get out and walk the one block to my bank. Then head into work at about 10:00am.

I step into the restaurant and there are a few servers, bus boys and a line cook huddled at the bar, enrapt with the television. At that hour they should all be dispersing to start their morning shift. As I approach them, I start to give them a little bit of a hard time because they are not on the floor polishing the glassware and flatware at their tables:

"Oh so this is what you've all been up to while I've been away! Sitting around watching TV" I say.

"A bomb went off at the White House," a server says.

Another server shouts "A plane crashed into the Pentagon!"

"There's bombs going off all over D.C." adds the line cook.

I jerk my head to the direction of the television and smoke fills the screen. Nothing else is discernible.

(this is the actual program we were watching!)

"Where's Jackson?" someone asks.

"In a federal building, my baby is in a federal building." I feel hysteria coming on but at the same time I try to make sense of what they are telling me. The restaurant is only two blocks from the White House. I did not hear bomb go off while I was doing my pre-work errands.

I panic anyway. The restaurant I manage, is a two story establishment on the corner of two of D.C.'s busiest streets, 14th & K. The entire two walls are made of enormous glass windows.

I glance out the 14th Street side and see a 54 bus heading south. I dash out the doors and run to the bus. I don't have to go far, the bus is already stopped because traffic is gridlocked. I bang on the bus door pleading with the driver to allow me to board even though I'm past the actual bus stop. I get on and he doesn't even bother to check my bus pass or ask me for a fare. There are only three other people on the bus. The bus is just sitting there. All I want is to get to my child. It is more than want- I need him in my arms. It feels as though my heart will stop beating if I do not get to him soon.

Gratefully the bus starts crawling along 14th Street. But it is a free-for-all; no one is paying attention to the traffic lights; horns are beeping; anger and anxiousness fill the air. Along 14th Street, every building's fire alarms are going off and the little strobe light like bulbs are flashing near their entrances. As we pass the MacPherson Square Metro station I see people funnel down the stairs and escalators like water going down a drain.

Things slow down again as we approach Pennsylvania Avenue. There are more law enforcement agencies in D.C. than I can count on my hands and toes. As I look out the window, police are scrambling - there are D.C. Metropolitan Police, Secret Service Police, White House Police, Capital Police, National Park Service Police, Metro Police and others.

We cross Pennsylvania Avenue and a Metro Police officer bangs on the door of our bus as we are stopped again. The driver opens the door:
"This is crazy shit, man," the driver says to the officer.

"Shit's fallin' out of the sky man, be careful. God bless, brother." The officer takes his fist and gently pats his own heart and walks away.

The driver closes the door. He turns to me. I am quietly sobbing.

"Where you headed ma'am?"

"I'm just trying to get my baby . My baby is in the USDA building. I just want to get my baby."

The lady behind me, a young woman of Indian decent, pats my back.

"How old is your baby?"

"He's only twelve weeks old," I cry.

Silence overtakes the bus again. We approach the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center on the left and traffic comes to a halt again.

The parking lot is being emptied. Cars speed out of the basement, while officials spin their arms around and around in a circle hurrying them along. At least five minutes pass and this is more than I can stand. I ask the bus driver to let me out. He reluctantly agrees and lets me out on the six lane street that at the moment resembles a parking lot.

I make my way to the sidewalk, on the right. It is not as crowded here near the Mall and museums as it was further north where I started my trip. I sprint down the street. I am not crying anymore. The enormous building of the US. Chamber of Commerce takes up the entire block. As I approach the end of the building which ends at the National Mall, I smell a strong acrid odor. It is pungent enough to make me slow down and start looking around. I walk nervously at a brisk pace. As I get to the end of the block it is stronger still and smells as though something is burning, like rubber or metal or something, I can not place it.

When the Mall comes into view the smell is no longer a mystery. I am at the corner of 14th and Constitution. On the other side of the Mall on 14th, is the Yates building. Just to the right is the hill that the Washington Monument sits on. Between them, thick black smoke possesses the air. I know that behind the hill and the building, is the Potomac River. Beyond that, Route 110. And then the Pentagon.

My stomach lurches. Is it a bomb? Did a plane really crash over there? Is it an accident? Did someone do it on purpose? And is there really 'shit fallin'out of the sky?' I begin to run again.
I arrive at the Yates building and it is loud.

All the doors are open and there is not a guard in sight to check my ID when I come in. The fire alarm is deafening and every few feet there is a red light flashing alternatively with a white light.
When I get to the day care center door, it too, is wide open and even louder. In this space, competing with the sound of the alarm is a woman's voice repeating over and over, "There has been an emergency, please leave the building." The center seems deserted and I fear that they have taken the children somewhere else.

But when I get to the infant room, Ms. Evelyn is wandering aimlessly wiping down surfaces. Jackson happily swings in an infant swing. There is one other infant in the room, a baby girl. She is on the floor screaming. In spite of the aural chaos, I feel weightless as relief washes over me. I calmly take Jackson into my arms.

"Do you know what is going on Ms. Evelyn?"

“Honey, I don't know. One minute we felt the buildin' shake. A few minutes later one a the per'nts came in hollerin' HAAAAARRRY HAARRRRY HARRRY. Then he grab his baby an' run outa here. Then the alarms started goin' on and one by one all the per'nts came and get their babies. There's an explosion or something." She slowly shakes her head.

"Well, there's so much smoke coming from where the Pentagon is." I tell her.

"That'ed explain the build in' shakin' like it was. The Pentagon. So close by. It was like an earthquake in here, honey!" She picks up the baby on the floor, puts her on her hip and begins wiping surfaces again.

Jackson was content. All the noise didn't seem to bother him. I grabbed his Baby B'jorn carrier and left the building. There was not a single vehicle in the northbound lanes - so I wouldn't be able to take the bus. I would later learn that they closed all incoming roads to the city.

I start the walk up 14th Street towards my house. The Mall is more crowded.
Sitting on a bench, there is an old man listening to a transistor radio. A crowd has huddled around him.

I stop on the outskirts of the crowd. I untie the sweater around my waist, put it on a grassy area and lay Jackson there and begin playing with him. The black smoke still billows behind us as we listen to the static laced news report. We learn the facts about what had happened within the last hour. We get more details about the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Our group is grave.

Now that I know what has happened I realize that my mother is, no doubt, terribly worried about Jackson and me. No calls are going through. Finally, after some thirty or forty attempts, I get through.

I tell her about my morning so far and mention that I am on the Mall and can clearly see and smell the smoke from the Pentagon and the way it ebbs and flows. Upon hearing this she is silent. She is almost crying.

"I've been talking to Annie." (Annie is my mother's partner and Annie's sister-in-law, Debbie, work at the Pentagon.) "From what they've seen on TV, they think her office is exactly where the plane crashed."

“Oh no.”

“Aim, Debbie was just at the house last weekend. I just can't believe it."

"Oh no." I ache for Debbie's two young children ages 7 & 5. I hug Jackson a little closer and begin to cry myself.

Moments later, a herd of horse-mounted police come over the hill of the base of the monument. They announce through their megaphones "You are all in danger. Leave the area at once. This area must be evacuated immediately. "

I am exhausted, emotionally and physically. I pack Jackson back up in the baby carrier and begin my trek north on 14th Street. My apartment is at the intersection of 14th & N. About 15 blocks away. Now droves of people crowd the sidewalks. Traffic is still atrocious. As I pass the historic Willard hotel,

a Metro Police officer pulls me aside and emphatically suggests I seek shelter in one of the hotels, he tells me there is still a plane in the air and it is purportedly headed to D.C. I'm not sure why he shares this information with me. Maybe because I am carrying an infant and sobbing as I walk down the street.

I realize though that I have been dilly dallying. I really do not want to be around if another plane drops out of the sky. I pick up the pace since I am in a small radius of what I assume to be targets - such as the White House or the Washington Monument.

It doesn't take me long to get to the restaurant. There are only a few people hanging around: one of the other managers, a chef, and a few employees. I get a big hug as I walk through the door and I am happy to pass Jackson to someone else to hold as my arms are so sore. But he wails in hunger so I sit down to nurse him. I am irritated that I left all that breast milk at the center. I know they will throw it away. It's the rule.

We get word that we are going to close the restaurant for the day, but the owner asks that we hang around to answer the phone for a little while. I lay some tablecloths on the floor of the lounge and set Jackson down to nap. The chef cooks a nice lunch for all of us. There are six of us and we each take a seat at the bar as we watch this horrific day's new unfold.

After the phone not ringing for a couple hours, our group decides to lock up and go. It is easy for me to get home. The others plan carefully how they will get home as many of the bridges and roads to Virginia and Maryland are closed.

It is oddly quiet outside. There is not a person in sight and not a single car on the road. We are all surprised to see a military tank on our corner with a few soldiers pacing around it with machine guns. We have a laugh that we missed the tank arrive there.

Our group disperses on the sidewalk. 14th Street resembles a ghost town. With Jackson in the carrier I walk the few blocks north. At each block there sits at least one armored tank and several armed soldiers. It is still so quiet. The only noise I hear and will for the rest of the night, is the roar of fighter jets patrolling the sky.

Anticipation and Sneak Peeks!

2011-09-09T16:52:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I finally finished my seven season Hulu Plus marathon of Grey's Anatomy! I miss those interns and residents! But now I have the eighth season to look forward to in a couple weeks.

I also finished the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy! Oh my goodness. That was quite a ride! If I thought I missed the interns and residents of Grey's, I am all but heartbroken that I don't have anything more to read about Katniss and all those around her!!! But I guess now I can anxiously await the movie adaptation!

I am also very excited for the BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY! I can't beleive that will be here in a week. I was able to make two pieces from my soup that was provided by the talented Alison at BeadsByEarthTones. I can't wait to see everyone's creations!!

In non-Bead Soup Blog Party news, in the bezeling department, I bezeled this beautiful cab made by Lori from Out of the Flames.

And I also recently finished this bezel that was back in the June issue of Bead & Button. This was called Lemon Squeezy - as in Easy Peasy. And it was! If you have some 14mm rivolis laying around these are really fun to make:

What's It To Hue? Tuesday, reveal

2011-09-06T02:23:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed working with blue for this edition of What's It To Hue? I picked up this pattern ether in a recent Beadwork or Bead & Button. It was really easy to put together these circular peyote discs. You should give it a try!

And I went back to one of my old favorites - the St. Petersburg stitch for this one. I loved these A/B finished matte magatamas. And the pink lined blue beads are so pretty!

If you would like to play along with What's It To Hue? please add your link to the linky tool below. All you have to do is make something blue! Anyone who plays along will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of earrings very similar to these:

In other news - I received the sweetest treat in the mail over the weekend - a collection of seed beads!!! A birthday present from my best friend! What beading fanatic doesn't LOVE a present like that!

(sorry for the photo quality - from my cell - couldn't wait to start playing with them and now they are all over the place on the bead table!!!)

2011-09-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Usually I stay calm. People who work with me have been known to describe me as 'she is always so calm'. But today I have been having a day. Filled with the fallout of daring to go on vacation last week.

Thinking maybe I should have just worked a few hours each day of the vacation.
It's funny how in the beginning of the week you have your ginormous to-do list and it's so neat and detailed next to your piles of work that are piled up nice and tidy. It all seem so do-able. But then days pass....a conference call with your biggest client happens....county schools are closed for two days because 200 streets are still impassable from the hurricane....a new project is out on your plate...etc...and by the time Thursday rolls around you are feeling buried...overwhelmed.....stressed....and in the meanwhile, you have a cub scout meeting looming for the evening....and despite what they say, it isn't an hour a week

...preparing takes time and going takes time and socializing on either side of the meeting takes time ...and then as you are preparing notes to discuss with the parents at tonight's meeting, you begin to feel your ever-growing piles encroaching on your space....the inevitable happens....you heart starts to beat faster, your hands get a little shaky, you have butterflies in your stomach, you become a little snappish....

And this is how I found myself tonight when my husband called to let me know he leaving the office shortly ( oh great! I think...now it's time to get dinner ready). And so I inform my husband to stop talking to me the way he is (which really isn't any way at all!), and then I warn him...look, I'm in a bad way today. What!? why? Tell me what happened? To which I explain...nothing happened I'm just stressed out and feeling really nervous and anxious. And you know what he said....he said, well, let me do cub scouts tonight and you just eat something and go to sleep (his cure all for just about everything). I, of course, resist because he wont be prepared, he already said he was tired and so on...but then I realize....wait - let him help you! So instead of martyring myself, he is taking Jackson to cub scouts tonight!

(Thanks for being there tonight hubs!)

And just like that, about half of the weight lifted off me. I eyed the new issue of Bead & Button that arrived today with fresh eyes. And so I am feeling grateful that I stopped trying to do it all and that I have someone to help take the load off. I plan to tackle my work piles and get them into manageable stacks. Revamp my to-do list and then kick back on the couch with a glass of vino and my B&B....because after all, tomorrow is another day!

I beaded quite a bit last weekend. Most of it I can't post because some of it is for birthday gifts of people who might read my blog...and I haven't quite sent them out in the mail yet.

And I finished a few things for my blue What's It To Hue?...which I will reveal on Tuesday. I hope you will play along!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm.....

2011-08-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as the rain from Hurricane Irene began, I settled into my bead room to work on my piece for the Bead Soup Blog Party. The rain came steadily, but we weren't too impressed. I watched five episodes of Grey's (I'm almost done with the 6th season!) which totaled nearly 4 hours of beading! And I'm very happy with my progress so far!

And after careful consideration yesterday, I think I'm definitely going to be doing two pieces with this soup! This soup is so tasty and today I came across some beads I've been sitting on for over 12 years and I can't wait to incorporate them into this piece!

After my beading marathon it was time for dinner. We had some delicious ground turkey tacos. I knew the dog needed to go out, but the winds were picking up and she refused. I took her out on a leash at 7:30 and she did her business. A couple hours later, at 10:00, I was getting ready for bed. I always take the dog out right before so she can have a chance to relieve herself and tried again at 10:00 last night. I went out into the middle of the yard with her, but she was nervous and didn't want to go. Suddenly the winds became so fierce I literally ran inside. If you will recall my view from the bead room:

....those big trees in my yard, combined with the wicked winds were making me nervous. So the pooch was going to be out of luck if she had to go, but she didn't seem to mind!

And so...I went to bed feeling a little nervous about the wind and those trees. I was reading my book (Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - loved it), and began to have such an anxious feeling I got out of bed and went into my husband's den:
Me: I'm nervous about the trees. Do you think we should sleep in the basement?
Hubs: Nah, it'll be fine, they are just hyping up this storm
Me: I don't know. When I was just outside with Molly, I got so scared of the wind, I literally ran back in the house. It's really, really, really, windy. Like, a lot.
Hubs: Don't worry, the trees won't fall in this direction.
Me: That doesn't make me feel better. You don't know what direction they'll fall if they fall.
Hubs: Well, if you feel more comfortable, we can all sleep downstairs.
Me: (pause) That bed's not made up.
Both of us chuckle because I'm too lazy to make up a bed even though I fear my safety.

Fast forward to the middle of the night....I was woken from my slumber at least 6 times through the night with things going bump outside. At one point I heard something bang around so loudly I became quite nervous. But I figured it was maybe the picnic table being lifted by the wind and dropped down again. I considered moving down to the basement but was too sleepy to get up. I slept fitfully the rest of the night.

This morning - both my husband and I woke at about the same time but it was so dark in our room I thought maybe we should go back to sleep.
Me: Hey - what time is it?
Hubs: 6:30
Me: Wow - it's still really really dark, do you think the storm is still over us?
Hubs: I don't know but I can't beleive how much noise there was overnight.
(Hubs opens blinds in our bedroom window as I have my back to him finding my glasses)
Hubs: Uh....that wasn't there yesterday.....
Me: Oh ..... my ..... goodness

Shocked to find a large branch in the bedroom window, we both dressed quickly and headed out the back door...but we didn't get very far into the back yard because it was blocked by a tree from our neighbors yard that had been uprooted into ours.

And might I add, narrowly missed falling on our heads!

It was a big tree.

So it's no wonder I woke to sound of it falling!

I'm still a bit unsettled that this tree came so darn close to falling on our house into our bedroom while we slept!!!! I get excited about big weather events, and find myself in awe of what Mother Nature can do. I don't take her lightly, I just find myself amazed. So I was amazed this morning that she did a little trick in my own back yard. Then I was flippin' freaked out that it came so close to our house, to our bedroom. I can't lie - at 7am when I was finally preparing my cup of tea, I really felt more like pouring myself a glass of wine!!!

Another emotion I feel is LUCKY and BLESSED that what could have been a tragedy was not!! Of course I don't know if this tree fell hard enough that it would have gone through the house had the fall been about a foot more to the left...but still!!! Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

For the time being, here is the new view from my bead room!

From Sunny to Stormy!

2011-08-26T16:43:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm laughing to myself at the title of my last post since I'm sitting all cozy at home now, having been ordered to evacuate Cape May county!

We had been watching the news carefully and then last night we heard about the mandatory evacuation. Knowing home is only about 3 hours away and since Irene wasn't due to it NJ until Saturday we decided to stay one more night and head into Stone Harbor so I could stop into the bead store there.

But I didn't have any gas in my car. So on our way to Stone Harbor, we tried to stop at a gas station, but they were packed - right near the Parkway, so I figured I'd head away from the Parkway and get gas closer to Stone Harbor.....not so much...the next two gas stations were out of gas! So I looked for a gas station on my GPS, and the closest one was 4 miles away...so we headed that way. As we approached we saw 3 police cars and policemen directing traffic - there was a line 3 blocks long at both entrances!

Thankfully - they were very efficient and it only took us about 40 minutes until we got gas.

Then we headed back to SH, and I was starved. We got pizza and by then, the bead store was closed. :( So we puttered around SH and saw that everyone was indeed preparing for the impending hurricane!

Lots of boards and sandbags.
We were all cracking up at the Life Is Good store front:

(These pics are from my phone - so in case it's too blurry - they wrote in tape: "Life Is Good, Irene is NOT")

We slept well last night and woke up to a beautiful day. The calm before the storm I suppose!

This morning, traffic didn't look so bad when we first headed out....but then it mostly looked like this for the first two hours of the trip getting home:

Our normally 3 hour trip took about 5 hours today. But I'm glad to be in a safer part of the country. We have a tropical storm warning in my part of Maryland, through the weekend. Thankfully, we have everything we need here at home. And of course I have a great bead project and millions of beads to play with, while I'm confined to the house! I'm looking forward to working hard on my Bead Soup project before getting back to work on Monday!

I hope everyone on the East Coast stays safe!

From Sunny South Jersey

2011-08-23T17:02:00.001-07:00

No What's It To Hue? Tuesday today. I am on vacation on the shore of south New Jersey. We have had fantastic weather and I am grateful for the time to relax! I have been having a wonderful time working on my bead soup! (sneak peek!)

And there is a wonderful bead store a few miles from here that I am going to hit one day this week!

From what I understand, plenty of people felt the earthquake here in Jersey. I was in the ocean when it hit and didn't feel anything! Did you?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lucky Ear....and My Bead Soup!

2011-08-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

I am out-of-my-mind-excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been anxiously awaiting my bead soup from my bead soup partner, Alison of BeadsbyEarthTones. When I received my partner information I was thrilled to be paired with Alison. While her beads aren't in the style of what I normally use, I looked on her site and was so excited to see all the beautiful beads she creates!

The reason I was anxious is because tomorrow we are leaving for vacation for 8 days and the thought of my bead soup waiting for me at the post office while I was away was making me crazy! AND, I really wanted to play with my soup while relaxing this coming week.

So this morning, before Jackson and I left the house to run some errands, I said to him, "Can you please use your lucky ear and make my beads come today!?" A bit of a juvenile request, I admit.

What about this lucky ear, you ask?? Well, pardon me while I digress:

Jackson was born with a crimp on the top of his right ear. From the beginning I loved that little crimp, though I feared it might some day be the catalyst for name calling and poking fun at. And while those fears have come to fruition as he has gotten older, from an early age I explained to him that it was his lucky ear. This idea wasn't mine. Ten years ago, I was once waiting at the bus stop in D.C. when a woman approached me and said "DIOS MIO! Mira! La oreja!" while pointing at his ear. I looked at her quizzically, and she added "Ear, he will have lucky life!" And then she continued wandering down the street.

(Jackson, circa June 2005)

And so the idea was born to help him cope with this small deformity. Pediatricians often asked if I wanted a plastic surgery consult, but I really always liked that special part of him. When he was old enough to understand his ear was different from others' ears, I just went with the "It's Your Lucky Ear" explanation.

In recent years kids have become crueler about it. And now I'm the one asking if he wants to start looking into plastic surgery for it. But he refuses. I'm glad because I don't want him to feel like it's anything to be ashamed of. And because he really believes it's lucky.

I am happy to report the beads were in the mailbox when we returned this morning!!!!

So without further ado - here is MY BEAD SOUP!!!!

How deliciously gorgeous is this soup!?!?! I LOVE IT!

This focal is awesome:

While I would have been happy with any of the beads from Alison's collection, I had been secretly drooling over items in her Organics collection! Lucky ear? Intuitive bead soup parnter? Either way I'm happy!

THANK YOU ALISON! I am thrilled and I have about a million ideas on what I want to do with this scrumptious soup.

Hats off to our Bead Soup Blog Party host, Lori Anderson as well, who works so hard at making this a fun event for everyone!

What's It To Hue? Tuesday

2011-08-16T17:32:00.001-07:00

My favorite shade of blue is the 'Montana blue' shade in the Swarovski crystal line. If you aren't familiar it's the darker blue crystal in these earrings:

and I also have a huge stash of 15/0 seed beads in a nearly identical color which I used in these earrings:

I've mentioned before that pink and orange are my favorites. And while those two may be on the top of my list, I feel like I love all the other colors equally!

When I first moved into the house I live in now, about four years ago, this Montana blue kept creeping in as my favorite color. I was so drawn to it for about a year or so. It kept surprising me when I bought clothes or sheets or slipcovers in that color. For goodness sake, I thought pink and orange were my favorites, yet when given the choice I kept picking this shade of blue!

It is said that blue is a color that calms and relaxes and maybe that was my influence. It was a tumultuous time in my life, and maybe I was drawn to the color because I sought peace! In any case, I was left with a lovely assortment of blue beads in this shade.

So what does blue mean to you? What's it to hue???

Park Quest 2011

2011-08-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I learned about the great program put on by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources called Park Quest and knew I wanted to be a part of it! There are 20 quests in all, and so far we have completed three.

It's been so much fun for both Jackson and me. The quest part of it has really grabbed his attention. Although we like to hike anyway - it's just been a really fun element. We've discovered parks in Maryland that we might not have ever gone to.

Here is a little taste of what we've been up to!

Sandy Point State Park - a "treasure hunt" through the park with little treasures along the way.

Patapsco Valley State Park - which is one of my favorite parks, close to my house, however for this one, we were directed to a section of the park I'd never been to, and it was amazing! There were tons of deer and lots of beautiful creeks.

This past week we had the pleasure of visiting Cunningham Falls State Park. It is about 90 minutes from our house, but the ride was pleasant. This Quest took us to the peak of "Isabella's Rock".

What's It To Hue? Tuesday - Blue

2011-08-09T04:48:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Kristen, blog author of My Bead Journey - you win the drawing for last month's What's It To Hue?

For this round I tried the color wheel picker a few times but nothing was jumping out at me. (I know, I know, that kind of defeats the purpose of using a random color picker!) In the meanwhile however, I've been feeling a tightness in my throat, I even got a cramp in my throat the other day (boy that hurt!). So I thought, hmmm, let me see what color that chakra is, and if I haven't done that color yet, I will use that for What's It To Hue? Tuesday.

As it turns out I haven't done this color yet - it's BLUE!

Here are some tidbits regarding the throat chakra I picked up off of of About.com:

Color - blue
Sanskrit Name - vishuddha
Physical Location - throat, neck region
Purposes - learning to take responsibility for one's own needs
Spiritual Lesson - confession, surrender personal will over to divine will, faith, truthfulness over deceit
Physical Dysfunctions- sore throat, mouth ulcers, scoliosis, swollen glands, thyroid dysfunctions, laryngitis, voice problems, gum or tooth problems, TMJ
Mental and Emotional Issues - personal expression, creativity, addiction, criticism, faith, decision making (choices), will, lack of authority
Information Stored Inside Throat Chakra - self-knowledge, truth, attitudes, hearing, taste, smell
Area of Body Governed - throat, thyroid, trachea, neck vertebrae, mouth, teeth, gums, esophagus,

I could probably write an essay on why I think my throat is tight based on what I read about this chakra, but if I did that, I would have to title this post: "Things I Should Maybe Talk to a Therapist About". LOL!

I'll have some more info on BLUE next week....but in the meanwhile, if you'd like to play along, I will have a reveal on September 6! I'll be working on clearing my throat chakra while beading! All you have to do is make something blue, and blog about it! I will have a giveaway again, just haven't had a chance to photograph it yet!

P.S. Fellow Bead Soup Blog Partiers - how excited are you!?! I put together my soup last week and I'm so excited to send it to my partner.

What's It To Hue? Tuesday - reveal

2011-08-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed working with these colors.

Orange is one of my favorite colors, and blue and orange as complimentary colors really make glad! Many years ago I began a rather large project with blue & orange as the theme. I wanted to make a beaded quilt. I'm not sure why I stopped, but after this What's It To Hue? challenge, I think I may have to finish this project up!

For this month's What's It To Hue? challenge, I decided to try out the "wavy triangle" pattern, which I saw on Beads For Brains' blog. IN fact, I've been seeing quite a lot of it in the bead blogger community! So here is my wavy triangle in the orange colors with a splash of that teal!

Disclaimer: I think this triangle looks pretty awesome on this side - however, the back side is not quite right and crimped in a few places. The pattern was very easy to follow - but putting the two pieces together was somewhat of a challenge. And while I am happy with how it turned out, I wasn't really feeling it for a piece of jewelry. My son on the other hand, hovered around quite a bit while I was making it telling me 'how cool' he thought it was. So instead of creating a piece of jewelry with this wavy triangle, I gave it to him as an amulet!

I can't deny, I briefly thought about the Miami Dolphins when I first started playing with these colors. But with the high percentage of orange in this piece, those thoughts went away! What about you - what do you think about orange? What do you think about orange and blue? Orange with a hint of teal?

Did you try out these colors this past month?! If so - please leave your link below and you will be entered to win this stash of orange & copper beads!

I will leave entering open until Monday, August 8!

Bead Soup Blog Party - sign-ups

2011-08-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you are a beader with a blog, and you would like to have some FUN, you can now sign up for the Bead Soup Blog Party!

I participated for the first time back in February and it was a blast! Already I am filled with excitement in anticipation of who will be my bead soup partner and the bead soup I will be receiving! The challenge alone is so fun, but also seeing all the creations during the party is so inspiring. I was really blown away by all the blogs I visited for the last party.

I had the pleasure if having a cup of coffee with Lori Anderson, the generous creator and hostess of the Bead Soup Blog Party, shortly after the last party. Let me tell you she is so committed to making this a spectacular event for everyone involved. Thanks for all your hard work on this Lori!

Sign-ups are going on now through August 3. You do not want to miss this blog party!!!

Happy Friday!

2011-07-29T07:52:00.001-07:00

I have a confession. I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. I only started watching it about two months ago when I discovered that Hulu has all seven seasons available to watch. The good news is I have my computer set up in my bead room and tend to get lots of beading done while I'm watching....which any time I think I can sneak away for 45 minutes, I dash up there to see what happens next!!

Here is what I completed while watching the two part season finale of season 4.

Last night as I was starting up some earrings during the beginning of season 5, I realized I really, really love the 'canvas' of starting a new project.

I get such a feeling of happiness and excitement at this point! Of course completing the project is a great feeling too - but there is something special about that moment when you've decided on a project, selected the colors and laid out your materials. (That cab up there from Lori, is on deck for my next project!)

These whipped up quick - just one episode!!!

And in the meanwhile - my son was making me hysterical all day yesterday when he happened upon a birthday gift of fake mustaches!!!

And finally - if you are so inclined - the What's It To Hue reveal will be this Tuesday. There will be a chance to win these beads:

All you have to do is:
1. Create something (anything!) with these colors:

2. Blog about it on August 2.
3. Add your link to my reveal post on August 2.

Have a great weekend and hope to see you around on Tuesday!

A Bye Week

2011-07-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ususally on Tuesdays I like to post regarding What's It To Hue....but this week will be a "bye week" sort of.

Next Monday is my birthday, and traditionally my husband takes me to Innovative Bead Expo that takes place the weekend before my birthday for some beady treats. I had to unexpectedly travel this past weekend however so I had to settle for using my bead money at a bead store in Pennsylvania. But I'm not complaining!

Beadweaver's in Luzern, PA wasn't in the fanciest part of town, but the store was so cute. As far as I can tell, they carry every single make and model of seed beads ever produced! And they also had a gorgeous selection of jewelry on display. On my way to Luzern, I thought long and hard about how I wanted to use my pre-birthday bead money, and realized I couldn't find the exact shade of tealish/aqua-y blue that I was using for this month's What's It To Hue.

I found what I was looking for almost immediately upon entering the store. And I found some other great colors to add to my seed bead collection!! It may not have been a bead expo, but it was still a nice treat!

So anyway I had to travel to Massachusetts again. The past week has been a trying one. I haven't blogged about it much because it makes me weep, but last weekend I lost my uncle - who, at only three years older than me, was more of a brother.

We grew up together. And although I knew he had an incurable form of bone cancer, it was still a huge shock to me that he died so quickly. Really, I was expecting a couple more years. I do feel blessed however, that I got to visit with him one last time when I was in Massachusetts last month.

So to make the road trip less arduous (flying was just not in the picture financially), I picked a half way point in PA to stay over on the way up and the way down, thus breaking my driving into four hour blocks.

My son, happens to love staying in hotels. He thinks they are the greatest thing! So even though he had to sit in the car for 16 hours in a three day period, the hotel stay made it worth it for him! LOL! And in the quiet city of Wilkes-Barre, I was able to get a lovely 3-star hotel at a bargain!

In the two nights we spent at the hotel, we just chilled out, watched movies, ate yummy take out, popped microwave popcorn, and played with beads(well...I played with beads, he played his DS):

And I had a particularly glorious moment yesterday morning when I woke quite early and while Jackson was still sleeping, I spent nearly two hours relaxing on this comfy chair, reading blogs, surfing the net, flipping through magazines, sipping a cup of tea and well...just enjoying the quiet.

And speaking of glorious moments...on our way back to the hotel on Sunday night, a couple hours after the memorial service, I snapped this shot of the clouds....maybe I was under the influence of hoping that lost loved ones were now angels among usl...but don't those clouds next to the sun look like wings....

Beading To Beat Autism

2011-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Just about two weeks ago, I came across Sig Wynne-Evans' blog post about Michala Riggle's efforts in Beading To Beat Autism. Michala Riggle is quite an amazing young lady in what she has already accomplished. Check out this compilation of some of her appearances:

Here is a link to her site: Beading To Beat Autism.

It is heartbreaking to see the frustration that victims of autism have to go through. Life is not easy for them, or their families. If you are a parent with an autistic child, or know someone who is, than you know the lengths many of these parents go to, to help their children lead normal lives.

So when I also saw that Sig had graciously provided this pattern for anyone to use as long as they used it to help in this cause, I had to do it!

I have the item for sale in my Etsy shop and all proceeds will go directly to Beading To Beat Autism!

What's It To Hue? Tuesday - Orange

2011-07-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Another Tuesday, another What's It To Hue? This week we are talking about ORANGE. Although orange is one of my favorite colors, I don't have any strong associations with the color.

Orange is the 2nd chakra and it is associated with creativity and sexuality.

When this chakra is blocked, we experience guilt, stiff lower back, restlessness, confusion and lack of pleasure.

I'll have more on orange next week, but I found these quotes and really enjoyed them:

"There is no blue without yellow and without orange." ~ Vincent Van Gogh
"Orange is the happiest color." ~ Frank Sinatra

Also - don't forget if you participate in the reveal on August 2, you will be entered in the giveaway for this orange-y bead package:

And all you have to do to participate is create something (anything! it doesn't have to just be beady), using these colors:

...blog about it on August 2, and link it to my reveal post! So easy! (also - if you would like an email reminder, please go ahead and sign up on the right on the mailing list)
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In other news, I am uber-excited for the Bead Soup Blog Party coming up so soon! Sign-ups are August 1-3 (which I will easily remember because August 1 is my birthday!). It's an awesome time where beaders from all over the world exchange a "Bead Soup" and create something and blog about it. The Bead Soup must contain a focal, coordinating beads, and a special clasp. Click here to read more about it and join in the FUN!!!!

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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of trying out an easy new pattern, compliments of Mariposa's Treasure Chest...which I heard about from Mandy over at Beads for Brains (you should check out her blog, she's fairly new to the beading world, but she is in the middle of a create something every day challenge and it's pretty neat!).

Where Bloggers Create 2011

2011-07-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

Where Bloggers Create 2011, a blog hop hosted by My Desert Cottage where bloggers "share their creative space". Thank you for clicking on mine and letting me share my space with you!

I love hops like these, and after every event such as this, my blog reader list gets longer and longer. That is the one of the beauties of blogging. "Meeting" like minded folks, making a connection, and like this very blog hop intends - sharing your creative space. So many of my blogging friends are also beaders. It's so fun and inspiring to share in that with them.

This is my actual, physical creative space...but this blog is definitely where I share it!

This is the view from my window these days:

....and it is not secret that I like to share stories about my favorite creation of all! ;)

So much of my blog is composed of sharing pieces I have worked on for contests and challenges. Here is a sampling of some of my challenge/contest pieces from the last year or so:

Earlier this year I also became and Artbeads Design Partner which also comes with some fun challenges.

And since I love doing these challenges and hops so much, I also started my own little hop a few months ago called "What's It To Hue?".

One of the biggest challenges about a wonderful hop like this is attempting to visit every participan's blog. But I am challenging myself to visit them all!

Thanks for stopping by!