Mailman brought something besides bills!

I love it when the mailman brings me something that starts with a "B" that's not "Bills".  I got beady goodies today!  Two packages!!!  Last week I was so lucky to win a giveaway by Spyder Jewels.  She got a screamin' deal at a going out of business :( sale and decided to share the love with two lucky blog readers.  I am new to her blog, and I'm glad Mandy over at Beads for Brains: 365 posted about the giveaway because I have really been enjoying Spyder Jewels blog.  (And speaking of Beads for Brains, you should go check out the stunningly gorgeous beaded bead that Mandy made today!)  I'm going to show you pics of everything I got from Miss Spyder Jewels...

Look at that pile of beady goodness!  Let's take a closer look...

All the blacks...bugles (they have a very satiny/silky look to them), magatamas, delicas and cubes.

Some crystals...6mm cubes in garnet and 4mm faceted rounds in green.  Also, I have never had Tilas before...wasn't quite sure what to do with them.  Now I get to try them out!  Lucky me!

Some more delicas and tear drop looking crystally ones.

Some purple 15/0's.  I love purple!

Look at all these yummy delicious colors!

And finally, some more of my favorite things...metallics! galvanized silver, nickel plated, copper and a raspberry metallic hex.  Very cool!  Did I make out like a bandit or what???!!!  Please go over and visit Spyder Jewels.

Next, I ordered some things from Believe Jewelry Supply on Etsy.  I chose two really gorgeous cabs.  I made a mistake, though.  I fell in love with the photos, checked the sizes and went ahead and ordered.  Then I went back and read the description.  You shouldn't do that.  It said that the photo of the Picasso Jasper was much brighter in the photo than it was in real life.  Oh no!  That's what I loved was the vibrancy and the lines and gradients.  So I was very worried that I wouldn't like it when I got it.  When I nervously opened the package and unwrapped the pretty pink tissue paper, it literally took my breath away.  It. Is. Simply. Fantabulous!  It's true, it's not quite as reddish as the photo, but I am so in love with this stone.  I am so happy I clicked that "add to cart" button!  Take a look at the front and back of this 30mm cab...

You know what it reminds me of?  The name of the place escapes me, but it's down in South America in the deserts where there are mysterious lines and gigantic drawings made with rocks that you can only see from a plane...do you know what I'm talking about?  This stone immediately reminded me of the desert sands, dunes and mysterious alien runway lines.  Now, if that isn't some inspiration to make something cool, I don't know what is!

The 2nd cab I chose was a purple Crazy Lace Agate.  I loved how the colors blended from pink to purple and even some coral in dramatic waving lines.  And when I opened it up I was not disappointed at all.  It is really beautiful.  It is also 30mm high and I think 20mm wide.  Check this one out!

Was the mailman nice to me today???!!!  Thank you so much from Spyder Jewels and Believe Jewelry Supply.  Oh, I forgot!  The prices at Believe Jewelry Supply are really super reasonable and there's LOTS to choose from, so go check the shop out.  The seller was also quick to put the cabs in the mail; the service was very good.

I got an email that one of my orders from Artbeads.com shipped today.  For some reason it seems to take a really long time to get things from them once they have shipped.  I mean, Spyder Jewels mailed my package on Friday and I got it today, Monday.  But Artbeads usually takes about 4 days.  I mean, it's not like it's an eternity or anything, but when you want something now, you just want it now.  Right?  When that comes I'll have more goodies to show you.  Then after that I have another Artbeads order and one more from Fire Mountain Gems.  I was such a bonehead!  I spent soooo long calculating how many beads I would need of a certain kind for one of my book projects.  I needed I think 6 strands.  Dummy me only clicked in 1!  I had to put in another order and pay the $7.65 shipping all over again!!!!!  GRRRRRR!!!  I guess that's a lesson to double and triple check your calculations with your order to make sure you got enough.

Ok kids.  That's all I got for today.  I hope you enjoyed seeing all my fun stuff!  Have a very happy week!

What Is It??? And What The Heck Do I Do With It???

Since my last post I had a terrible headache for two days and didn't do any beading at all.  Then I felt like I was just in a funk or had the doldrums.  I missed my bead therapy!!!  Needing to bead, I sat down and started working more on my current project that is taking forever.  I measure it every 30 minutes or so to see how far I've gotten, then I get bummed that I didn't get more done...because I just want this one to be over!!!  It's been on my table for what seems like an eternity.  But did I stick with it?  NO!!!  lol  I started something else.

A while back I did some clay cabochons if you remember, and I was looking forward to beading with them.  I ordered some beads from Artbeads.com to go with the pink and white cab that I made.  It's been sitting there for quite a long time.  Every now and again I would pull it out and wonder what the heck I was going to do with it.  Some of the beads were not the right shades of pink...one was too pale and the other was too hot.  And then I thought, "That sure is a whooooole lotta pink!"  Dang.  I just remembered my last post when many of you said you didn't like pink.  Now I'm going to be embarrassed to show this to you.

Ok, onward anyways because it's the only thing I have sort of done to show you.  I promise my next something or other won't be pink.

To try to counterbalance some of the pink I added a little green, and there is white to also soften it.  When I got to the outer edge I felt soooo dumb because I couldn't do a picot.  I thought, how basic is that and I can't figure it out???  So I stopped thinking about it and took a break.  Wouldn't you know it?  When I wasn't thinking about it a light bulb went off in my head and I could see in my mind how to do it.  Yea!  I'm not so dumb after all!!!  But I don't know.  It kind of looks like a cake.  Or the top view of a frilly hat.

I have no idea what to do with this.  (It's 3" x 2.75")  Put a pin back on it and call it a brooch?  Make a beaded bail, bead a rope and make a pendant on a necklace?  Or, put it in a drawer and call it practice, never to see the light of day again???  Well I can't do that.  That would be a waste.  Should I rip it apart and salvage the Swarovski's and other beads to be used another day?

I think I need to ponder this one for a while and go back to my boring project.  What do you all think?

Up All Night

Had an anxiety attack, and when that happens it takes my body a VERY long time to get back to normal.  Therefore, I didn't sleep a wink.  But you know what that meant?  An all night clay-fest!!! 

I got some molds in the mail, but I wasn't altogether happy with them.  It was partly my fault.  I didn't look at my measuring tape to see exactly how big they were going to be.  I wanted BIG.  Sadly, 25mm isn't really all that big.  And one mold was so tiny I know I'll never use it.  But also, one that was big has a floral pattern in it and the pattern is very shallow so it doesn't give the best impression.  Bummer!  I decided to make my own molds.  I dug and searched and hunted for any cabs I had and larger beads with an interesting shape, got out my mud clay and made me some molds.  I don't know why I didn't think of that before I spent the $27, but it was because I didn't know to make a mold from the clay itself.  'doh!

I played around with some colors, some translucent, some mud, some glitter and some powder pigment.  How can you go wrong with all that???  Making cabs, I discovered, will take some time to learn the nuances of; but I think I came up with some interesting things.  After baking some I sanded and buffed and some I didn't.  I coated them all in Diamond Glaze.  The only problem with that is that it left some eeny weeny bubbles.  Bummer again!  Could be my cheap paint brush too though.  Ok.  Here's what I made in my all night party of moi...

These were made from my mud from my canes the other day.

This I used some kind of brownish color, gold and a hint of red.

This was made with slivers of my cane from the other day covering a base of clay.

For these I used translucent and raspberry and glitter and threw them in an ice bath after baking.

These were interesting.  I used a translucent light blue, a royal blue and some blue pigment powder.  When I mixed them there were large streaks throughout.  After baking it looked solid blue.  But after sanding and buffing, some little details came through that I think are kind of cool.  Love the color!!!

This was made with a lot of translucent white and a little blue.  I threw it in an ice bath after baking.

There you have it!  My party for the night.  I am pretty happy with what I created, and my mind is already working out what I'm going to make with these babies.  I'm thinking the pink ones will be first up!  Oh, I forgot to say...don't pay any attention to the edges.  I didn't quite get the hang of nice clean edges, but it won't really matter anyhow because they'll be covered up with beads.

BASEBALL HIGHLIGHT!

Watch Matthew's great at-bat from last night's game.  We won, btw, 13-3.  Go Bulls!

My Project Is Done!!! :D

What does this little daisy clip art have to do with my newest project?  Not much, except maybe that I felt like my latest project really "blossomed".  And, hey, I think it's cute.

Ok, on to my project.  I felt so good making this necklace.  That's what I find so gratifying about beading.  I get to be creative, and it makes me feel good.  It's great therapy.  This piece really flowed for me.  I didn't have to think about it...it just came together.  No forcing it, no second guessing it.  You ever have a great project like that?  I hope to have many more because it was so utterly enjoyable.

The centerpiece is a cab by Beth Evans of Bellesanbeaus on Artfire.  She does amazing work.  It turns out this cab was a little bit of a mistake.  I had asked for shades of blue, but she mistakenly sent me shades of green.  And it's a good thing she intuitively knew exactly what I needed better than I know for myself because the green cab is PERFECT!!!  I also used Nicole Campanella's wonderful-to-work-with Beadbacking.  It's so easy to work with when doing bead embroidery.  You don't have to worry about backing your fabric with lacy's or anything else.  You just bead right on it, you can cut around it in the shape you need, and it won't fray or stretch.  And it's acid free.  PERFECT as well!  You can get Nicole's Beadbacking from her Etsy shop, Beadwright.

Another awesome thing is that I used everything from my stash.  The only thing I bought for this project was the clasp.  The little green cabs Beth gifted me.  That was so nice of her!  Again, she intuitively knew what I needed.  I also mixed in some orange, which is not a color I normally work with.  I find it a very difficult color and orange and I don't play well together.  But this week we called a truce, and look how the orange just shines with the green.  I love the orange lucite flowers that rest near the collar bones.  (They're a little higher on my "model" because he's only 11 and a little smaller than a person it was actually meant to be sized for.)  But Matthew was a good sport and jumped right up when I asked him to model for me.  He's kind of funny because he's in his underwear only and he was real paranoid that I didn't show his boobies in the pics. hahaha.  Kids are fun.

I've never made a necklace where I did bead embroidery and had to put the pieces together.  I wasn't sure how to do that.  Then I remembered the wise words from Robin Atkins, the bead embroidery goddess..."Just do it!"  I don't know how other people do it, but my way seemed to work!  Yea!

Enough, enough already!  I know...let's get on with it!  Ok everyone.  Here are the pics.  I realize that this probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's just stunning.  And I guess that's what counts.  Matthew doesn't want me to try to sell it, but he reluctantly said I could lol.  Someday it will find the perfect home.

I originally was going to call it Lush Green, but I just had the idea of Greenman in Springtime.  I've always loved the Greenman, so maybe it's fitting that I make a tribute to him.

Greenman in Springtime

Normally I take my photos in the daytime in a nice shady area to get the beautiful natural light, but I was too anxious to wait until tomorrow to show it off.  I also learned how to do a spiral rope for this necklace.  I was pretty happy with it.  It took the 3rd try to get the color combination I was happy with, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  You can click on the photos to see a larger view.  Isn't that face cab fabuloso!?! Comments anyone?

3 - 2 - 1 Blast Off!!!

I am very excited to bring you this news.  My very good friend Beth over at Bellesanbeaus Crafts is an enormously talented woman.  I look at her work and wonder how she can do what she does.  She has many talents, but the one I want to tell you about today is her creation of face cabochons.  No two are identical.  The painting and details are wonderful.  They are so unique and interesting, I just love them.  I have to admit that I don't particularly care for face cabs.  I think they're weird.  Maybe even creepy.  But THESE face cabs are so phenomenal that I knew I had to own some.  You want to know the really good news?  Now you can too!!!

Beth has launched her first online store over at Bellesanbeaus Crafts on Artfire!  I think they are a complete steal, too.  You will not find artwork of this nature and caliber anywhere for this price.  I'm not kidding.  Just go to her Artfire shop and see for yourself.  Each one is molded and hand-painted, and you can even tell her your unique specifications so she can create one (or lots!) especially for you.  She even has created one with glitzy glitter, which is a lot of fun.  She will also be opening an Etsy shop, but it isn't done quite yet.

I thought I would include here pics of some that I own and also some pics of ones currently for sale.  Take a look at these beautiful painted ladies!

She calls them Mardi Gras, but I call them Masquerades.  I love the mask and the swirly curly q's.  The eyes themselves have great detail.

The next one she based on the concept of the Greenman.  I love it!!!

The Moon Face is unique and has double dimension to it.

Here are some more recent ones in the past couple weeks...

This last one is the one that has the glitter and sparkle in the paint.  Cool, huh?  So please won't you go visit Beth's new Artfire shop?  These cabs are really awesome with bead embroidery around them.  I'm positive you will be more than happy with what you receive!!!

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!!!

A Giveaway

I just wanted to let everyone know that my good friend Beth over at Bellesanbeaus Crafts is giving away this gorgeous hand made/painted cab in tribute of Mother's Day.  You only have a few days left (April 30) so go see her right away!  She does amazing work!  Take a look at these beauties...

Made by Beth Evans at Bellesanbeaus Crafts