On My Table

I don't have any finished pieces to show you today, but I can give you a hint as to what I'm working on.  No, lol, I'm not working on all of this!  I'd lose my mind if I had that much on my table.  Would be fun to sit and go through to get some wheels spinning though.  I've definitely got some much simpler things going on.




First, I'm working on a necklace?  bracelet?  Oh, I don't know, in these colors...

They do look kind of boring sit side by each like this, but hopefully they will look pretty once they are all finished getting beaded up.

Then, I've also got something started (I also don't know what the finished piece will be for this one yet) in some colors I found in a bag I haven't used in a while.  They're not my typical colors, but I found them so I decided to see what I could do with them...

I hope it looks ok when I'm all done with it.  The first thing I tried with these colors was the horrible mess of ugliness I mentioned the other day that I ripped out.  The second project is going better.

Finally, I also found these tubes of beads that I haven't started working with yet, but I really like them and I'm trying to figure out what to do with them.  I probably won't put all of these in one project...that may be too much.  But I'm really liking the colors.  Something different for me, but I'm really loving that blue and that green.

I have started to become very good friends with someone I inherited from my mil, Beth A.  She's very creative herself and does work with scrapbooking and card making.  I'm going to take some of her classes.  Next to my son Matthew, Beth says she's my biggest fan.  :)  She's been a great promoter for me, and I am really happy to have her as a friend.  I told her about my new bead classes here in Scottsdale / Phoenix that will be coming up, and she has been helping me spread the word.  Turns out that I may have 3 or 4 students already!  So my first class will be scheduled for June 11.  I'm really looking forward to it!  Thank you Beth!

And, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't show off my kids?  Here is a very short video (just over a minute) of highlights from the game on Monday.  Come on, you can spare a minute to watch some great kids play ball, can't you?

Hope your day is a happy one!

All in the Family (and some beady things too!)

What is more wholesome and family-oriented than little league baseball on a spring evening with families all around rooting on the kids playing the all American game?  Nothing in my book.  It's about as good as it gets.  Just some highlights from Monday's game.  Matthew pitched a great game, as usual.  He doesn't have the strongest arm and fastest pitch yet, but he is very accurate and gets them swinging and missing.  Sara plays 2nd base and when Matthew isn't pitching he plays Short Stop.  So the batter hits the ball - a pop fly - and Sara catches it for an out!  Then she is quick enough to realize the kid on 2nd ran on the pop fly so she turned and threw it to Matthew who ran over to cover the bag.  He caught it and made the out at 2nd for a double play by the Criswell kids!  woohoo!

As the game was winding down, the other team had the last at bat.  We were already ahead by 6 or 7 runs, so there was no way we could lose the game.  In our league at this level you can't score more than 5 runs in an inning to prevent anyone from getting completely crushed and dominated.  So even if the other team scored all 5 of their runs, we'd still win.  So Jeff, my DH and the kids' coach, decided to have some fun out there.  He switched everyone's positions and told them where they were going to play.  All but Sara.  She asked where she was going.  He said, "You're pitching!"  She had a serious heart attack and you could hear her panicked scream, "Noooooo!" in the bleachers.  He whispered to her, put one hand on her shoulders and one hand on her chest (which he said later her heart was racing like crazy) and gave her his vote of confidence in his calming daddy way.  So she went up to the mound and gave her first warm up pitch. (Mind you, she's never ever pitched before.)  It went straight down the pike!!!!  Let me tell you, once those kids got up there to bat she really held her own.  I think we have another pitcher in the family.  With some practice I think next year she's going to be pitching and striking a whole lot of boys out.  We were so proud!  So much fun, let me tell you.

We also got their baseball photos on Monday.  Here is Sara (9) and Matthew (11)...

And this next photo is pretty special.  It has 3 generations of Criswell's participating in Little League.  Jeff is the head coach, my fil is an assistant coach, and our two kids...grandpa, daddy and little ones.  How neat is that?!?

I'm so proud of my family, and I love them all so very much!

On to beady things to give you an update.  I worked on a new necklace for two days, thought it was a horribly ugly monstrosity and ripped it apart and resorted the beads today.  Started working on another new stitch, once again inspired by Mandy over at Beads for Brains: 365.  Maybe will have something new to show in a few days.

Also, I am going to formally start promoting myself as a teacher and work on getting together some small groups to teach stitches and techniques to in my home maybe once a month.  Won't that be fun?!  If you live in the Phoenix Metro area and want to take some very affordable classes and make your own beautiful custom jewelry, please contact me.  If you haven't beaded before, don't be afraid...I'll make it very understandable and enjoyable!  For those of you who have done some beading, maybe you'll learn a new thing or two and have some good company for a girl's afternoon.  If you know people who live in my area, please pass along the word.  I will provide a kit in their color choice to include beads, clasp, etc., a set of written instructions to take home and a link to a private youtube video showing how to finish off the clasp if they don't get to that point by the end of class.  All that for a mere $25!!!!  A screaming deal!!!!!  So please help me out and spread the word.  I would really appreciate some help in the blog world network...remember...sunny Phoenix!  (Actually I'm in Scottsdale, but easy access from anywhere in the Valley.)

I hope everyone is having a very happy week!  Getting kind of bored and lonely all day here by myself...drop me a line!

Teaching!

Lucky me!  I've got two ladies who want me to teach them some things about beading.  I'm always glad to have new beady friends.  They got some of my patterns from The Bead Coop and we are going to start with square stitch on a bracelet.  Then when they are comfortable working with the beads and charts we are going to move on to the loom for more complex tapestries.  I'm really very excited.  They have to order the beads first, so that may take a week or so.  Then we have to coordinate schedules, and that may be a little tricky.  I'm hoping that Jeff is working by then which means my afternoons would be more tied up and we'd be stuck with either evenings or weekends.  But it will work out.  If anyone else out there reading my blog lives in the Phoenix area and wants to get together for a bead day with some new friends, give me a holla.  If they let me I will take pics and show our day.  Fun fun fun!!! 

In the meantime, I don't really have any pics to show today because I am trying to finish up a project I started about a month ago.  It has sat unfinished for quite a while and I don't like leaving unfinished things around.  So I'm going to finish that before I move on to my brandy new handmade cabs.  I made a little headway today...got about 3 inches done on my rope, which I'm aiming for 34".  I'm almost half way!  Hope I don't run out of beads before the end.  I'm using leftovers of things, so it might get nip and tuck there at the end. 

Ok, kids.  That's all I got today.  My in-laws are coming over for cake and ice cream tonight at about 7 (it was my mil's bday yesterday).  Made a super delicious black forest cake!  Can't wait to dig into that!!!!!  But first, it's what my husband calls Jimmy's Casserole.  (Frozen burritos layed out in a baking pan, covered with cheese with green salsa poured on top and baked for about 45 minutes.)  It's a quick and easy night.  But still surprisingly tasty nonetheless.  It's best with my amazingly awesome homemade guacamole, but avocados are still a bit pricey.  So it's just topped with sour cream for tonight.  I've rambled on quite long enough for one day.  Have a very happy weekend everyone!!!

A Couple of Firsts

Here is the cuff for my first sale.  I'm very happy with it!  I have to give a great big shout out to Bobbi at Beading at the Beach for giving some awesome advice on making my peyote better.  I think her tip worked, because my peyote around my cab is nice and even with no strings showing. 

Jennifer (the lady that ordered the cuff) only said that she liked the colors in my mom's cuff and that she wanted gold beads in it.  I think I have filled her requests with this one.  My husband is not too interested in my beading, but even he said this one was really good.  That made me feel spectacular!

I wish you could see it in person.  My picot edging was really nice and even too, although you can't really tell in the pics.  Rather than looking at the top edge, because I think the front side and back side overlap and make the edging in the pic look messy, look at the picot on the bottom edge.  It's my best yet.

I for sure undersold myself on this one.  I gave her a price, but after looking on Etsy and stuff later, I could have at least doubled what I asked.  But it was my first sale, and I was just happy about it.  I can always go up a little in the future.

AND it was confirmed yesterday that I am going to teach my very first class!  It will be on improvisational bead embroidery.  I specifically asked for the class to be small...not more than 5 people...because I have a lot of problems with nerves and anxiety.  I don't want to get overwhelmed my first go around.  It wasn't that long ago that I was agoraphobic and wouldn't even step out, let alone be in front of people.  I wrote up my handouts last night and either today or tomorrow I will be going to the bead shop to pick out beads for the kits.  We haven't set a date yet, but it will be in the next couple weeks.  I'll take my camera and see if anyone minds if I take their picture to write about it and post on my blog after it happens.