Oh Crap! I Forgot to do Thursday's Thing*

Whole Lotta Love

Last night was a Big Ol' Lovefest here...rated PG...or rather, PG-13 (thanks to Mr. Page and Mr. Plant). 
We played Pigs, we ate, we sang, we laughed. 
The Birdman sent me a dozen roses the day before.  The Bug made dinner and dessert.  Sunshine Girl made us all really sweet Valentine's cards and poems.  On mine she wrote about having a whole lot of love.  Naturally, the Birdman and I sang Led Zepplin non-stop for the next half-hour.  After dinner, while the Bug was preparing dessert, I pulled up "Whole Lotta Love" on youTube.  The Sunshine Girl suffered through it and mostly thought it was a freak show.  So I tried  "Immigrant Song".  She loved it when she was younger.  But apparently not anymore.  So I moved on..."Black Dog" was a bust.  I knew she would love the groove of "Dyer Maker".  She said it wasn't terrible.  So I reigned it way in and played "Going to California".  I knew this one would bring her in.  She gave it a "not bad" rating.  I wanted to play "Kashmir" and "Tangerine" and every Led Zepplin song in the world until she saw the light, but she took over and played Brad Paisley for the next 2 hours. 

I spread a little Love around myself...in the form of heart shaped rocks. 

I made this for the Sunshine Girl.  She made the clay beads herself and gave them to me.  I thought they matched the rock very nicely.  She bought the crystals to make a necklace for her teacher last year and gave me all the leftovers, so I used them here.

I made this for the Bug.  She was my arm model for the lariat post and loved the look and feel of it as a wrap bracelet.  Now she has one of her own :-)











I think Valentine's Day is kind of a BS holiday.  These people know I love them.  I tell them 20x/day.  But the kids get really excited about it so they make me want to put a little effort into it too.  I adore that about children.  They suck you in to the things you might otherwise ignore.  They have such a lust for life and beauty and happiness.  What a gift they are to us...a constant reminder to bring our best into each day. 

Thursday's Thing*

                                            

*Appreciate what you have.  Want for less...unless it is beads or music. 
(and I am very appreciative it wasn't more snow than it was...and for the beauty of the morning, no matter how fleeting)

L O N G Time Coming

I started this Lariat poolside in August and finished it last night.  What took me so long?  I only worked on it when I did not have to concentrate on anything.  I could mindlessly weave this one. The simplicity and the rhythm of this one really speak to me.  It is all about the color and the length.  And the possibilities.  I used 54 inches of a picasso mix and put pretty glass beads I got in Michigan at the ends.  I am getting a lot of mileage out of Michigan beads and rocks :-)

Here are a few ways to wear it (again, I apologize for photo quality...Eastern US=Grey Day) :

In other jewelry news~

I took Kim's Holiday Ornament she send for the Ornament Swap Hop and put it on a chain...YAY!  It will go back on the tree in December, but for the other 11 months, it will be worn on my chest :-)  What a beauty!

And lastly, Therese and I will have a She Made~She Made reveal on Thursday, February 28th.  We will be using these beads Therese picked for the occasion~fire cracked agate and Juli Cannon's Studio Juls heart.

Thursday's Thing* (It's Back!)

 

My Bag.  My Very Cool Bag.  My Very Cool Strangers Ask To Touch It Bag.

I walked in to a bead store a few years ago and the owner had several leather bags for sale.  She bought them all in Africa years and years ago, enjoyed using them through the years, and was looking to downsize her stash.  Lucky me!  I was willing to pay any price for this.  She asked for $15.  FIFTEEN DOLLARS!!!  Of course, being me, I said, "Fifty Dollars?" (which I was willing to pay) She said, "No. Fifteen."  Then I bought $250 in beads and went home.  The Bird Man said, "Cool bag."  I said, "Thanks!  I paid $15 for it!"  He said, "Wow!  I would have even bought it for that price."  He never asked what was in it :-D

So now, whenever I go bead shopping, I bring my Bag.  It hold lots and lots of beads.  And the Bird Man never asks what is in it.  

  *Appreciate what you have.  Want for less...unless it is beads or music.

She Made~She Made...aka: the Brightness in my Dreary January

 This month's edition of She Made ~ She Made seemed almost impossible to work with.  I was the one who picked for this month so I only have myself to blame.  Here is the selection I made:

I adore those vintage brown beads so much and I thought the red blister pearls were perfect for this time of year.  But I struggled.  And then I made this:

And put it down for a day or two and I pondered my next step with it.  In the down time, Therese called me and told me she was beading around the vintage beads and I squealed, "Me Too!" so we promptly exchanged photos of our unfinished work.  It was funny how we both went in the direction of beading around these babies.  It wound up being the only one I beaded around.  Here is the end result (I deeply apologize for all my photos.  Sunshine is a big ol' ZERO in these parts of the woods.  So I had to do it in the dreary weather with a flash.  The first two necklaces I made photographed relatively ok, but the last one...YIKES!):

 

I used lava beads for the chain and a drilled bone piece for the center. I had other intentions for those lava beads but I will be back at the bead show in March and will pick up some more then.   

The red blister pearls seemed like they would be fairly easy to work with when I selected them.  Hahahahahahaha!!!!  I cannot tell you how many way I strung them.  I lost count.  I should have photographed all my pitiful attempts so we all could have a good laugh.  But it all worked out in the end.  Whew!

 I used tila beads and seed beads and the pearls for the front of the necklace and this gorgeous antique button for a side clasp.

 For the back of it, I made this chain out of twin holes and seed beads.  I know that this chain is going to become a regular in my repertoire.  I really love how it looks and feels and how sturdy it is. 

My final piece has the same button clasp as the one above.  I added freshwater pearls and seed beads and twisted two-cuts and this grey jasper to go with the red blister pearls.  Here she is:

( Please excuse the dog hair)

I am really happy with the results of all three necklaces and cannot wait to see what Therese made!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ Hope you have a great week!

Last Post of Goodies I received ( I think!)

I really do think this is the last of the embarrassment of riches I received in the mail from people spreading their kindness and warmth.  I was just fortunate enough to be in the path of all that generosity. 

First up is a bracelet from my friend Beth.  She learned Herringbone for one of our A Time to Stitch hops but was unable to participate.  She presented this to me at an AHL hockey game.  I love it!  Her first time trying Herringbone, with 3mm bugles and these awesome amethyst cubes we keep coming across.  Love it!  Thank You Beth :-D  Looking forward to Springtime weaving with you in my Little Bead Haven (we really need a name for the place!)

I won these beauties from Jenny Davies-Reazor!  She is a super talented clay and ceramic artist (plus other mediums...go see for yourself).  The polymer snowflakes have a front and back side.  Both are equally beautiful.  I am digging the idea of people seeing me from behind.  They can focus on the pretty backside of the snowflakes instead of my fat ass.  She also sent these lovely ceramic components.  I wonder what they will become?! 



(the front)

 (the back)

(the extras!)




Thanks SO much Jenny!!!














And last, but certainly not the least in the least~~~~~A surprise from Cynthia of Antiquity Travelers!  This link takes you right to her blog post about this piece she sent me.  She was inspired by Native American headdresses, the rock I sent her from Michigan, and the St. Petersburg Stitch.  Her post tells it all so go take a look, then come back!
I can tell by her photos from her blog, that Cynthia made it to be worn with the leaf bail on the front of the necklace, but I keep putting it on with the  bail in the back and just the heart showing.  Looks good either way, really.  What absolute creativity and beauty and a real statement piece!  I was an Anthropology/American Indian Studies Major in college.  So the inspiration behind it, coupled with the heart shaped Michigan rock I thought I would never see again, makes it a very treasured necklace.

 (full heart showing)


Heart Shaped Rocks are said to bring good luck.   Once you start looking for them, they are everywhere! 

(leaf bail showing and it is so pretty this way too!)










Cynthia also sent me beads she got when she was in New Zealand and some sea glass that came from Cuba, Scotland, NJ, and Maine.  We commented to each other that no matter where the sea glass comes from, it all really looks the same :-)

Thank You SO much Cynthia~for EVERYTHING and especially for what is not material...friendship and camaraderie.