Hand Dyed Dominos

Here is another fun thing that I like doing...hand-dying dominos.  They make awesome pendants for necklaces.  You can put a glue-on bail and then just a strand of leather with a simple clasp to make a cool, unique necklace.  Or you can use them as cabochons and bead around them for fancier designs.  I have used a domino in my bead embroidery before and it turned out really neat.  Although my camera couldn't pick up the shades of red very well, so I was kind of bummed about that.  Anywhere that you can use a stone cab, you can use a dyed domino.  The colors are permanent and won't rub off or anything like that.  Here are pics of some that I have done.  If you would be interested in having one of them, let me know here or contact me offline.  I will sell them for $12 each, including shipping.  They measure 1" x 2".  Either way, leave a comment and let me know what you think of my designs.

As always, you can click on the pic for a larger view.  I am still working diligently on the embroidery piece that I showed the sneak peak of beads for.  I am about 2/3 of the way done.  I am hoping that I can get it done by tomorrow or the next day.  So stay tuned for that!  :)

I hope everyone is having a fun holiday weekend.  Please stay safe!

I love it when the mailman brings me presents!

OMG!  I got the most fantastic presents in the mail today!  A while back my friend and I (Beth from Bellesanbeaus Crafts) decided to make a trade.  She is just getting into beading so I sent her a stash of beads to get going with.  She had quite a few 11/0's from what I understood, so I sent her a lot of 15/0's and some 8/0's, 6/0's and bugles to go with what she already had.  In exchange she was going to send me 3 of her gorgeous painted lady cabs.  But much to my surprise, I got more than I bargained for.  She sent not 3 but 4 of her cabs!  On top of that she sent me a pkg of blue beads, a stunning square cab that I'm guessing is some sort of jasper, and some cylinder beads to go with it.  She said that she thought of me and my cuffs when she saw this square cab.  How thoughtful was that???  Now, I'm going to have fun making a "Beth" cuff.  Take a look at these treasures that she sent to me!

These are the beads to compliment the square cab.  Pretty, aren't they???

The cab is 1 3/16" square and will be just the perfect size for a cuff!  It's gorgeous!

Just take a look at these face cabs!

They all measure about 1 1/2" x 1" and are made of polymer clay then hand-painted.  They are just exquisite.  Please stop by Beth's blog (Bellesanbeaus Crafts) and take a look at the other wonderful things she has done.  She is so very talented!  lol  I just realized there is a blue bead stuck in the eye of the first cab.   I thought I got them all out.  She packed that one in the bag of blue beads and the beads got packed into the eyes of the mask and I had to work at getting them out with a needle.  Oops...missed one! :)  And you can click on any of the pics for a larger view.

THANK YOU BETH!!!

Amazing Free Resource...Check It Out!!!

Robin Atkins is an amazing beader, author, teacher, mentor, friend...the list could go on and on.  She has decided to no longer print one of her books, One Bead at a Time.  However, she has made this book available as a FREE DOWNLOAD!!! 

I highly recommend this book to all bead embroiderers, whether you are experienced or even just thinking about taking on this wonderful hobby.  For more information, please visit her blog, Beadlust.  Also, take some time to look at her website here as well for other must-have books. 

There is also a lot of discussion floating around out there about what to use for backing.  I buy my interleaving paper for backing from Robin, and you can look at her supplies to order some from her.  It is lightweight, acid free, and it becomes soft and pliable the more you bead on it.

This is a fabulous book, and I highly recommend downloading it to your computer for some valuable reading material!

Sneak Peak

Here is the palette for my next bjp piece with the beads I received from Artbeads.com with their theme of "Summer" in mind.  I've told two of you in private emails what I'm going to be attempting...shhhh!   Don't tell.  Why so secretive?  I don't know other than the fact that if I can't pull off what I've got in my head I can change my plan without feeling embarrassed about it. lol

All mushed together like this in these pics it does look like a strange rainbow combination of Toho colors.  And what's with the boot, hat and cactus charms?!  And stars on top of that?  Looks kind of like a decorated circus clown at this point, just sitting together like this.  This piece will be my biggest challenge yet, like I said...IF I can pull off what I'm thinking the way I'm thinking it.

Also, I found out this morning that it has been confirmed for sure that my pieces Disconnected and Love Blossoms will be in an article called Beading Trends in an upcoming issue of Creative Beading magazine published by Woodlands Publishing.  The two photos were approved by the editor.  It is an Australian publication, but does anyone know if it can be found here in the states?  I asked the author to let me know when she finds out for sure which month it will be published in...then of course I will let you all know!

Disclaimer:

Artbeads.com has sent me product free of charge to use and review on my blog.  I am not compensated in any way to give my honest opinions of their products  (btw, I will write more reviews of the products shown in another upcoming post.)

And the winner is........

It's after midnight EST and I have done the drawing for my beaded pin.  I put everyone's entries on a list in the order they came in.  Then I used a Random Number Generator.  There were 22 total entries and the number selected was 21.  That means that Pattee from Odd-Dolls has won the pin!  Congratulations, Pattee!  Please send me an email with your full name and address to indigosbeads@live.com so I can get it sent off to you.  btw, Pattee makes very unique and fun dolls, and she has really adorable chicks and ducks so check out her blog too.

I wanted to say thank you to those of you who responded to my giveaway, and for the links and the new followers...welcome!  Keep coming back...you never know when I might have another giveaway!

Lemon Squeeze

I show my mother-in-law all my work, and she ooohs and aaahs and thinks my bracelets are so pretty.  She's talking about taking them to work with her and showing them off, and maybe getting a sale or two.  She works at a pretty large high school, with LOTS of female teachers and staff.  Well, she seems to be obsessed with me making something in "blond colors".  She keeps thinking about her boss and that she might like to have one.  Then she keeps mentioning a particular outfit that is yellow and black.  I'm not a big fan of yellow, and wasn't sure what to do with it. 

I finally found this Serpentine stone that has pretty shades of yellow in it, swirled all around.  So I got that, and then didn't know what to do with it.  I bought a tube of transparent lemony-yellow seed beads that I thought were kind of pretty.  And then I got some pale yellow glass bicones.  So I got home and set everything out, and thought it needed something.  Well, I had to add some black to go with that outfit she keeps talking about, otherwise I might have done some complimentary purple or something.  I also found some pale minty transparent green seed beads that went really well with the yellow ones I bought...in the tubes anyways.  Thing is, once I started beading with them, you could hardly see any color at all.  Bummer!  So I sprinkled in some shimmery yellow delicas, which livened it up a little.  The photos really show a stark difference with the delicas, but in natural lighting the delicas are a little more subtle.  I added the bicones tipped with a black 15/0 hex cut in a pattern of two on a row, then one, then two, then one so there were 9 bicones on each side.  I got the the backing on and then the beading on the form and got the edging done.  Then I decided I hated it.  The bicones on there looked ridiculous to me.  I took the scissors and cut off the black tips, took off all the bicones, and then used nail clippers to snip the threads as close as I could (with nightmare visions of cutting the bead threads and ruining the whole dang thing).  It is very plain jane, but it looks so much better than it did before.

So here I am now with a yellow bracelet that I made with the urging of my mother-in-law, not even sure if this lady is remotely interested in a new bracelet to go with her yellow and black outfit...so I may be stuck with a yellow bracelet.

I read a blurb from one of Etsy's email newsletters about signing or tagging your work.  So I thought what the heck and I initialed my name with "Indigo's Beads" on the back of the microsuede lining.  You can click on the photos for a larger view if you want.

Lemon Squeeze

Also, there are two days left to get your name in the hat for my giveaway.  Read the next post if you haven't seen about it yet.

Giveaway Day!

I made something new and decided that I would like to share it with one of you.  It's a brooch that is 2" wide and about 2" tall.  The fringe hangs 2 1/2" below the main circle part.  I used felt to bead on, a beautiful color of silver-lined transparent brown bugles surrounded by a great Czech mix called Tortoise.  The main cab is wood, and the fringe is various shapes and sizes of glass and metallite beads.  It was a lot of fun to put together.  I'm not sure how many people out there are into pins, but I do think this one is pretty (if I do say so myself :) and the photo doesn't show the colors in the tortoise mix very well.  It would look great on a jacket or a blouse...keep it for yourself or gift it to someone special.

SO....Here's what you do!

You can have up to 3 chances to win!  (you don't have to do all 3 if you don't want to...but you do need to leave a comment.)

1) Leave a comment to this post
2) Be or become a follower
3) Post a link to my giveaway on your blog  (see note below under rule change)

So, in your comment tell me if you are now or are becoming a follower and let me know if you are linking to your blog.  I'll also need an email address to contact you.  Either leave one in your comment, or email me at indigosbeads@live.com with your contact info.

That's it!  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  Oh...the deadline for commenting is midnight EST on Wednesday 5/12.

RULE CHANGE
lol.  Mary-Frances brought up kind of a funny point.  If she posts a link she'll be potentially adding to the competition.  hehe  I didn't think of it that way.  Well, if you post a link I'll put your name in TWO extra times.  Does that make it a little better?  lol.

10 Silly Questions

I just read a fun post from Carol over at Beads and Birds.  She got these 10 silly questions from another of her friends.  I thought it was fun and decided to pass it along.  I had a lot of fun, too, finding the photos for my post.  (btw...after many re-edits, I can't get the highlights of some of those questions and THAT is making me crazy.)

10 Silly Questions

1.  Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? 
When I had big closets, they would be closed.  After all, you never know when a poltergeist is going to invade your room and suck you into oblivion, right?  But now I have a tiny closet in a tiny house with no storage room and there's too much stuff in them to close the doors.

2.  Do you take the shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotel rooms?
Yes, I take them.  I'm all about free stuff.  Although I can't remember ever actually using them once I got home.

3.  Do you like to use Post-It notes?
When I used to work I used them ALL the freakin' time!  I couldn't live without them.  And the more colors the better off I was.  Now I keep all my numbers, notes, etc. in a steno pad next to my computer.

4.  Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
Our mattress is really thick so it's hard to tuck our sheets in all the way around.  I get really angry in the middle of the night if the sheets creep up over my feet.  I've been known to fly out of bed in a rage, rip the blankets off the bed and my poor sleeping husband and remake the bed.  We all know I'm crazy, but at these times he thinks I'm REALLY insane!

5.  How many languages can you speak?
Two.  If you can count gibberish.  :)  It's a great language...come to think of it, I'll have to teach my kids.

6.  Lincoln Logs or Legos...Which are better?
That's a hard one!  I really like them both, but I think I'm going to have to edge towards Legos.  I had both as a kid.  Hours of fun.

7.  Take a daily vitamin?
No...I already take a fistful of meds and don't think I need anymore pills in my system.  My therapist keeps trying to get me to take them, though.  I get so irritated with her over it.

8.  Wear Slippers?  No!  I can't stand for my feet to be hot.  It drives me up a wall!

9.   First concert?

The Cars in 1987 or 88.  My new boyfriend (future ex-husband) took me.  I didn't care for it at all.  Hmmm.  Funny...I don't care for him at all either.

10.  Can you swim well?

I used to swim like a fish.  Now I'd swim more like a blowfish...all puffed up and floaty like.

Have a beadiful day!!!  : D

Drops of Honey

I finished my newest bracelet this afternoon.  I wanted to get this up tonight before I call it quits.  You know, dealing with mental illness and extreme anxiety takes it toll on me.  I was so excited to get a facebook message today from my high school best friend who I haven't talked to in nearly 16 years.  I've tried to find her over the years, but had no success...then *poof* there she is!  We talked for nearly 2 hours on the phone, and it was so great to hear from her and to catch up on our lives.  BUT, as soon as the phone call was over, I started having a panic attack.  I don't know why.  The only thing I have figured in dealing with all this crap is that my body doesn't know how to handle and process extreme emotions whether it be fear, pure happiness, excitement, (fill in other emotions here).  So it comes out in the form of a panic attack.  It feels as though my skin is peeled back and all my nerves are exposed and even the slightest breeze from the fan makes me feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin and go through the roof.  It is the worst feeling ever.  My head is pounding, my heart is racing, my breathing is shallow and fast, I clench my teeth so much it makes my face and jaw hurt, I'm shaky and jittery.  I could go on and on about the affects of a panic attack.  And here lately they have been lasting 10-12 hours at a pop before my adrenaline levels start to come back down and I can relax again. 

I guess there is no point really to my ramblings except to say that I had just a little bit of the edging to finish when I got off the phone with Angela.  I knew I wanted to get it done, and man were those last few inches ever so hard to finish!  My hands were shaking so badly, I kept poking my fingers with my needle and my thread kept getting tangled the wrong way and I had a heck of a time keeping it straight.  But I powered through.  I call it Drops of Honey because the amber shell discs looked like, well, big drops of honey.  The color in them is so rich and yummy.  There are 5 discs going around the band.  The bracelet is 1 1/4" wide.  It's very simple in it's design...I wanted the honey drops to stand out and take center stage.

I have so many new and wonderful beads to work with, thanks to my generous Dad and his birthday gift to me.  However, given my current state, it looks like this attack with last through the night and I will probably need tomorrow to recover.  And tomorrow is therapy day...those are always rough.  So it may be a day or two before I start on something new.  Who knows.  I'll just have to see how it goes.  You can click on the photo, btw, if you want a larger view.

I'm a Lucky Mom

I am so lucky to have 4 of the most beautiful, intelligent and healthy kids on the planet.  I am blessed.  It is amazing to me how 4 kids growing up with the same parents in the same home can all be so completely different.  My oldest son, Tyler, is 19 (omg...i can't believe he's going to be 20 in July!!!) and he lives with his girlfriend Michelle and her family.  Both of them came over Friday night for dinner and I got the pleasure of having all 4 of my kids under one roof!  It was the first time I've seen Ty and Michelle since Christmas.  It gets crazy, hectic and definitely funny, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Tyler has lost weight and is looking kinda pale...he needs to stop being nocturnal.  And he needs a razor. lol  Sara is my youngest...you've seen pics of her before...Matthew is next, then Samantha is my older daughter and then there's Tyler.  I was going to say how well they get along together, but I realized I'd be a liar.  Sami and Sara don't get along so well.  But I bet when they're older and the age difference doesn't matter as much they'll be good friends.  So, I just wanted to share my happy weekend moment when I got to be with ALL my kids.

Tyler and his sweetheart girlfriend, Michelle

And, yes, I am working on another bracelet!  Of course!  It's coming together pretty quickly so I should have it done in the next day or so.  Is anyone getting tired of seeing my bracelets?  I hope you all had a great weekend, too!