Saturday 21 November 2015

A Time to Stitch 8



A Time to Stitch Eight - What's Your Bag 

I love joining in on the fun of “A Time to Stitch” blog hops. It stretches my creativity and allows me to step outside my box.  I have always wanted to stitch an amulet bag and this I thought gave me the perfect opportunity…..well my creative juices just took me somewhere else….the amulet bag will have to wait for another time.

The first bag I made is just in time for the holidays…a tiny evening beaded extraordinaire…perfect little bag for the holiday season and it holds just the right stuff – credit card and a lipstick! I love the color turquoise and all variations of and I love just using random beads to create with, as I have said before – it’s like painting with beads! This little bag consists of pearls, crystals, drops, flat glass and seed beads. The opening is hidden in one of the sides and it stands on little pearl legs and has a ribbon wrist strap. So much fun to make and can’t wait to use it.



The second bag is my version of a carpet bag reminiscent of 19th century purses. This bag is slightly bigger than the evening bag and will hold all the essentials.  I have a red felt hat and I needed something to complete the outfit and this fits the bill. I first knitted the bag and then felted it- it turned out so cute but the addition of the felted design with beaded highlighting is exactly the look I wanted and took it over the top. The seed beading added such depth and dimension to this little purse; it is such a unique one of a kind purse.




Thank you Therese and Christine for yet again hosting a super fun hop, so looking forward to the next adventure. You two are the best!

The rest of the participants on this adventure!

Friday 28 August 2015

... a little sidetracked lately....

I not saying that I am not working on some beautiful beading projects, but lately I have been working in my art journal......it is a journal of love for my husband and for my girls and I am having so much fun.  My very talented sister had guided me along, because this is all new to me. I have painted in the past...as a matter of fact...that was my chosen passion until my life took a drastic change....another story. I love my life and simply put I love my family and this is for them.



I am also loving photography, once behind the lens time just slips away. I love post production and creating my own little master pieces. The little ponies where taken at Fort Edmonton and the abandoned row boat was taken in Deep Cove, BC.



Loving my life!

Monday 27 July 2015

Burberry.....love it!

My daughter loves Burberry, not just likes but loves, loves, loves it. Clothing, jewelery, purses, scarfs....you name it. So, while perusing the very addicting Pinterest site and coming across some patterns for Burberry cuffs I thought what a great surprise for her. Although I thought it may be difficult, it was super easy and worked up so quick she was wearing her bracelet by the weekend. 


Now as I worked this cuff I started falling in love with the pattern as well, and after the bracelet went home with my daughter, I kind of missed it.  So yes I whipped up another one for myself. This one has a 3D bow attached; super cute and looks awesome on...very chic!


Saturday 4 July 2015

Love makes the world go around....

....time for a few days off and getting out of the city....time to relax and regenerate. What better way than to pack up the RV and hit the road. Now when I pack up it involves deciding on a project (or multiple projects) to take along. The only downside to going away is not having all you supplies at your fingertips, so it is crucial I give this a lot of thought.  There is my camera of course and all the lenses and tripods and accessories to go with, there is also the latest knitting project (in case it rains and I am stuck inside) and we can't forget a beading project or two. One thing that is a must and that I tend to do only while sitting around the campfire in the evenings is carving. The carving  I did this weekend is for my wonderful husband, my other half. The lovespoon I carved symbolizes our entwined lives,  always joined in love. One side has my birthstone  (garnet) embedded and the other side has his birthstone (amethyst) ; the diamond crystals symbolizes our eternal love.

A Lovespoon is a wooden spoon decoratively carved that was traditionally presented as a gift of romantic intent. The spoon is normally decorated with symbols of love.


 I carved the spoon with a fairly soft wood, easy to carve harder to sand smooth, and as I didn't have stain on hand (my husband does draw the limit on what I can pack) but was anxious to finish I used maple flavoring and olive oil to finish. Not only did the maple flavoring give the spoon a glorious rich taupe brown it also smells so delicious. My mother always told me that necessity is the mother of invention!

The camera came out a lot, the sunsets where glorious!




Sunday 14 June 2015

Feeling the waves

I have that feeling, that summer feeling....wanting to spend time at the water...any water would do but the ocean would be the preference. Just counting down the days until we take vacation. We are headed to the West Coast again as it is one of my favorite places to be, comes in second though to being with my family and most importantly my beautiful granddaughter. This is such a joyous time in my life but especially in my daughter's life. Everyday is a blessing and a joy...
Ah Beasty
 
Speaking of summer I had wanted to make this necklace for a long time (Jimmie Boatwright pattern featured in Bead and Button). I love how it lays on your neck in soft waves....speaks to me of the ocean and all things peaceful.  I  made a version of the pattern into a bracelet, such a beautiful calming set to wear!

Oceania
Love the waves!

Saturday 6 June 2015

A Time to Stitch 7



It is time for another "A Time to Stitch" hosted by Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller, this round is number seven and I am so happy to be participating because it is my favorite form of beading…. Bead Embroidery.

I fell in love with Bead Embroidery a long time ago, and have always held a soft spot in my heart for it.  To me it is like painting on a blank canvas but with beads. The creative juices just flow and I find that once I start a piece it is almost impossible for me to put it down until it’s completed. 

I love working with seed beads and special stones, stones that have deep meaning to me and then adding different elements and pieces that make each piece a statement of their own and a work of art. 

As most of you know I was recently blessed with the most precious gift ever, a beautiful granddaughter.  

Zoe Amelia
I wanted to make something very special for her to come home from the hospital in and as I am a knitter as well as a beader, I wanted to incorporate both into something spectacular. I made her the most precious one of a kind pair of slippers; fit for a princess (for that’s what she is to me). I knitted a pair of tiny “Mary Jane” type slippers in the softest pink wool, felted them and then went crazy covering them in beautiful pearls, crystals, seed beads, and small tiny silver beads. I showed my good friend who had just become an auntie to an adorable little niece and she asked that I make her a pair as well. Both pairs are very unique and I am sure will become heirlooms. To go with each pair of slippers I made a tiny seed pearl bracelet for each precious child.



Princess Zoe Amelia Slippers

Princess Everly Slippers



I was having so much fun making these that I made the little mice slippers as well, and even though there are not as many beads on these one’s they are just as cute – let’s call them everyday slippers with beady little eyes.
Little Mice for tiny feet
I have made many bead embroidery pieces, large and small, bracelets and necklaces – they still intrigue me, see here and here. My tastes have shifted slightly and I now wear simpler designs, see here. That being said bead embroidery can be used to make some pretty awesome pendants.  The first pendant was made to showcase the beautiful mauve iridescent crystal I had in my stash. I may be wearing simpler designs but they are still sparkly. The crystal is such a pretty color and luckily I had some perfectly matching and complimentary drops, a glass cab and seed beads to go with it. I loved how the pendant turned out but was undecided on the rope. I tried many different rope designs and was actually getting quite frustrated. Then when visiting my LBS I saw the prettiest mauve wire and knew that a Viking knit rope was the answer - perfect combination in my mind.

Ishtar
 
The second piece I made features a large ruby drop pendant. I loved the stone as soon as I saw it and as my husband and I were on vacation I thought I would get it to celebrate our time away. The price seemed exceptionally reasonable for such a large ruby so I eagerly took it to the counter to purchase. I was a bit shocked to find out the price was per gram not for the whole pendant and it was substantially more than I originally thought. That is a little secret we just won’t mention to my husband. Considering the price of the stone I wanted to do something special with it but couldn’t think what, it sat for a long time. Then ATTS7 came along and it begged to be used.  I love East Indian clothing and jewelry and this being a ruby fit so well. I used pearls, seed bead, crystals, garnets and of course the ruby. Again I had trouble deciding on the rope but settled upon an embellished RAW rope. I love how this turned out – I just need to find some ruby drop earrings to go with it.

India
 
Thank you Therese and Christine for hosting this awesome event, here's to many more.

List of participants:

Saturday 16 May 2015

Art of Awareness



After joining Lori’s Art of Awareness  Blog, and excitedly ordering and receiving some of Heather’s adorable awareness beans – I panicked. I had to write what the awareness beans meant to me and even though deep in my heart I knew what I what I wanted to say; actually writing it down and putting it out there for the world to see was something I found quite daunting.

The awareness beads I chose express my sentiments perfectly: Love, You are my Home, and Hello Sunshine.

I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters, and growing up we were each others best friends. We moved around a lot and it was hard to develop friendships but I always knew I had my family. As we grew into adults and started building our own lives we drifted apart and the closeness we had once felt didn't seem to be there any longer.  It is so sad not to have that brother sister bond with all my siblings – 2 have become completely estranged and I cannot share the joy, the sorrow, the achievements made and the failure experienced  and just day to day life with them. I really do miss them both so much and wish them happy lives that are filled with Love. I still have a great relationship with two of my sister's and one brother and that makes me feel grounded and part of something, I wish it was with all my brothers and sisters...maybe someday!


viking knit chain, handmade polymer clay pendants, "love" swoondimple" bean, seed beads

I  have my own little family now and they give me the greatest joy. With the birth of my granddaughter everything fell into place, the reason for life became very clear. She is a treasure and everyday is such a blessing. For ZoĂ« it was definitely my "Hello Sunshine".

 Heather stamped ZoĂ«'s name on the back and this will become something for ZoĂ« very soon.

"hello sunshine" bean for Zoë

And to always wear my family close to my heart because they are  “You are my home” this is what I made.  My daughters are symbolized by the opal crystals, my husband by the blue pearl, my son in law by the blue sapphire crystals, me by the garnets and my precious precious granddaughter  by the diamond crystals!
Silver chain, silver key, blue pearl, sapphire crystal, opal crystal, garnets, diamond crystals, "you are my home" bean

I am a truly a lucky person, Love fills my life.

Thank you Lori and thank you Heather for this awesome hop and now for the rest of the Awareness participants.
Lori
Heather
Anderson
Millican
www.PrettyThingsBlog.com (hostess)
www.facebook.com/swoondimples (bead artist)
CandidaCastleberrywww.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
mischelleandradehttps://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
PaigeMaximhttp://delightfullittlegems.blogspot.com/
Laurie Vyselaar www.lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
MarybethRichhttp://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/
AlicePetersonwww.alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
KimDworakhttp://www.cianciblue.blogspot.com/
AudreyBĂ©langerhttp://esperianterra.blogspot.ca/
Karenmitchellwww.overthemoon-design.com
JoanWilliamswww.lilrubyjewelry.com
JeanWellsJean A. Wells
AnnSchroederwww.beadlove.wordpress.com
GailAccinellifacebook.com/oregonmadejewelry
TaniaSpiveywww.moobiegracedesigns.blogspot.com
Mallory Hoffmanhttp://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/
Mary KMcGrawmkaymac.blogspot.com
ShaiWilliamswww.shaihasramblings.com/
BethEmerystoriesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
CatieDomanhttp://drcatie.blogspot.com
LoreleiEurtoHttp://lorelei1141.blogspot.com
LeeKoopmanwww.stregajewellry.wordpress.com
TammyAdamswww.paisleylizard.com/blog/
KatieNelsonhttps://www.facebook.com/katiebead
PattyMillerhttp://pattymillerbeads.blogspot.com
ChrisEisenbergwww.wanderware.blogspot.com
CassiPaslickhttp://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
CharleeGriffithhttps://www.facebook.com/charlee.griffith
KelliNelsonwww.afamilyaffarekelli.blogspot.com
CatherineKinghttp://catherines-musings.blogspot.com
MelissaTrudingerbeadrecipes.wordpress.com
SusanBowiehttps://susanbowie.wordpress.com
JenniferJustmanwww.soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
CassiPaslickhttp://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
KHutchinsonhttp://jumbledhutch.wordpress.com
VeralynneMalonewww.veradesigns.blogspot.com
Evie and BethMcCordhttp://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/
MihaelaGeorgescuhttp://michellemaya2005.wordpress.com
RebeccaAndersonWww.songbeads.blogspot.com
Charlene Jackawww.clay-space.com
KimStevenswww.pickingpoppies.blogspot.com
SusanMcClellandMistheword12.wordpress.com



GinaHockettwww.freestyleelements.blogspot.com
MonaArnottbijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.ca
SandiVolpewww.sandivolpe.com
AndreaGlickhttp://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
JanineLucashttp://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories
LoriBowring Michaudwww.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
ChristieMurrowWww.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
B.R.Kuhlmanwww.mixedmayhemstudios.com
LupeMeterwww.gesmpccorner.blogspot.com
LucyBejaranowww.lucybejaranojewelry.blogspot.com/
StephaniePerrywww.mustardbeadbystephanieperry.blogspot.com
ElisabethAuldwww.beadsforbusygals.com
CarolynLawsonwww.carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
HeatherPowerswww.humblebeads.blogspot.com
KatieHackerwww.katiehacker.blogspot.com



Gail Vanderster-Zwangwww.angelmoose.blogspot.com
ElizabethHodgeshttp://thewhisperingseas.blogspot.com/