Giveaway

A Very Big Thank You to all the kind people who visited my blog and left lovely comments during the Bead Soup Blog Hop! The response was overwhelming...in a good way :-) Thank You Thank You!!!

My Round and Round Earrings are in this YouTube Video :-)

Lori Anderson has a necklace in the video too!

YAY!

I made a Facebook Announcement a couple weeks back that once I hit 40 followers on the blog and 70 followers on Facebook, I would have a giveaway on each site. Since the blog hit its number first, the giveaway will be here first.
I will give away a pair of earrings in the same style as the ones in the YouTube video (soon to be in Bead Trends!). Only the color will be different.

Here's how to win:

Be a follower, Post a comment, and Tell me what Colors you like.
Keepin' it simple :-)

I wish I was computer literate to put the actual video in the post, but I am not. Maybe someday.
In the meantime, enjoy this picture of my Sunday :-)

Bead Soup Blog Party

The day is finally here!!! My fabulous and inspiring and hilarious partner Amy at Copper Diem sent me the greatest stash! She did not know it, but I have had an obsession with Vincent van Gogh since before I could talk. When I opened the package she sent me, all I saw was van Gogh, van Gogh, van Gogh! I think I may have shrieked. And I know I did a happy dance! All I added to the stash was 6 Swarovski crystals and the size 15/0 orange Miyuki seed beads.
The earrings were something fun and entirely unplanned. Both my daughter and I think they look like the banana plant that was once in her fish bowl.

Hop on over to Copper Diem and see what Amy made with the stash I sent her!

And after that, go see Lori Anderson at Pretty Things, the organizer of this fantastic event! See what she made and check out the entire list of 362 participants in this Bead Soup Blog Hop!!!

Michigan Rocks!!!

The First Michigan Rock is making her debut! So many of the rocks I collected there this summer were too small to drill. I collected them anyway. And whipped out the E6000, fried my brain, and made this little beauty. She was the first to be made and the first to be strung. Some E6000 oozed out from under the center rocks, so for the other ones I made that day, I used far less of the stuff and it all stayed underneath where it should be. When it dried, I could still see some of it on this first one, but I don't care. I love this one and her colors and that she was my first. Imperfect and lovely.

Good Lovin'

I tell them every chance I get :-)

Rain Rain Clouds the Brain

I feel thick and dumb and tired with all this rain. And entirely unmotivated to run my errands (who wants to be out in this relentless wetness?!) or get my haircut. And I am a month overdue in getting it cut. My hair grows up, not down. I currently look like Don King's twin sister. The kids don't want to be seen with me. They come home every day and say "You STILL didn't get your haircut?!" I tell them the beads don't mind my hair. They tell me to not to make excuses. I tell them I am going to start teasing it out and see how big I can get it. They remind me Back-to-School night is next week and they URGE me to not meet their teachers looking like THIS. I am kind of enjoying watching them squirm. How high can I take it?

So while I am avoiding the hairdresser and the bank and the grocery store and the liquor store, I am not doing nothing. I am beading. And listening to music. Daniel Lanois helped draw this one out of me.

Who do you listen to when you create?

August Reader's Challenge

RED is my Muse. Well, Red and Gram Parsons. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of Gram Parsons to to had, while Red is endless. Every time I shop for beads, I buy a small stash of Red. I never have any ideas for them, no vision for how to use Red. I just like having them around. This new school year,(which coincidentally starts today)one of my many self-induced challenges is to use Red. A lot. So when Sally sent me the info for the Andrew Thornton August Reader's Challenge, I knew I had to climb on for this ride!
I opened the package and instantly saw two separate necklaces. The "Magic" needed to be fringe and a bit bohemian and reminiscent of the early days of my beading life. And ALL RED.
The Copper Sunburst Pendant made me squeal when I opened it~what an understated beauty! I collect Rocks and when I saw the pendant I knew I had to use a Rock as the backdrop. And I had the perfect Rock from my recent visit to Michigan. I added some of my own earthy size 15/0 seed beads to make the Red pop. These gorgeous lampwork beads and rich colored Swarovski were alternated with jasper rounds and freshwater pearls. I love blending Earthy and Elegant.
Long ago, my Mom told me that some quilters see Red as a neutral color. I may have to explore that theory this year. Next stop for Red?! Check back soon and see where I take the her.

Please take a few moments to see what the other participants did with their Red packages.

Jessica Nelson
Andrew Thornton
Leslie Todd
Holly Westfall
Alice Peterson
Cilla Watkins

Sally Russick
Beth Emery
Patty Gasparino
Jeannie Dukic
Norma Turvey
Rebecca Anderson

Darby Lohrding, Marian Howarth, and Kari Asbury will all have pieces featured on Andrew Thornton's blog

Simmering Soup

My beads arrived from Amy at Copper Diem~check em out!!! I am so excited to be paired up with Amy, who is witty and welcoming and very talented. The colors are Fantastic, aren't they?! I had an idea as soon as I spread out all the beads. Now let's see if I can implement it. Chances are it will become something completely different than what is in my head! More to say but I will save it for the September 17th Bead Soup Blog Hop. Hope to see you all then!

What about you---do most of your creations come out the way your mind sees them or as something totally different? These beads we work with have a mind of their own sometimes!