2012 in review

Well, my friends, it's time to play every one's favorite game of what did I do this year?

My resolutions were as follows:

I resolve to get taller...again-Again, no dice. But I bought some spiky heeled boots :)

I resolve to bead at least 10 ornaments, throughout the year or all at once doesn't matter, either way.
Yes! Jellyfish, snowman, Northern Lights(in Old Age), Jelly-fish sojourn(blue w/chains), Christmas in July, Cubed, Ring around the Rosie(a pocket full of spears), Greyscale, Creamsicle florette, and House of Cards I even did one or two more! But I didn't photograph them! Nor blog about them! I also frogged a few, which started out with great ideas, but then went south. Souther...Past the bayou and the swamps south.

I resolve to blog at least once every 2 weeks, preferrably more, but 70+ hours of work doesn't leave much time :(  FAILED MISERABLY..stupid blogger...

I resolve to finish one quilt completely on my own without having to say Moooooooooooom! fix this? YES! The Halloween quilt was all me and my on mstakes :)

I resolve to start an OBW quilt. And piece no less than 30 sets of triangles OR start my friends' quilt involving circles in a fractal design. Yeah...didn't happen. But I did start a dresden plate quilt. Seriously, like 2 days ago...and have pieced 2 plates and cut out for 4 more.

For 2013-
2013 is going to be about paring down and using the things I have.

I resolve to appreciate things more

I resolve not to sweat when I don't post for a few weeks(months). I WILL post, just not regularly. For that, I'm sorry. But it is unfair to myself and to loyal readers to tell you an outright fib. Also, I've just delved into another quilt.  They are perpetual works in progress, and quite boring to show progress on a block that looks just like it's brother.
I resolve to save more money. I do not need to break $100 at the craft/bead/fabric store to make the trip worth it. Each is a half hour or less away.

I resolve to not buy more fabric. I will plan and jot down ideas and colors, but not purchase more fabric. I have fabric for 6 quilts in my stash. I have 3 in various states of progress(read block or less). I need to use what I have before I buy more. (Note-fabric to finish project excluded.)

I resolve to not grow a new hobby, and to use things I've already got. On that note-can I interest anyone in some polymer clay canes?  I'll post pictures later-I like making the canes, but don't like how the things I make with them turn out.

NO MORE INCOMING MTG CARDS! Self, you are never going to play again. Really, we've been over this...sigh  Pick the pretty, make your cabs, and sell the rest.

Participate in OTTBS every month and pare down that absurd bead stash

Open an Etsy store? This is iffy. I want to sell my canes and cabs, and some beaded whatnot. I would also like to sell some catnip toys.  (They're a big hit with the 6 cats who got them for Christmas this year)

Oh, and get taller :)

And so this isn't a photoless ramble, here is a picture of a kitten with a catnip toy. Rest in peace Suki. We miss you.

The blessings of being able to chew

So the dry socket seems to have healed, nearly, if not totally and I'm able to eat stuff requiring chewing again.  I can't yawn as enormously as usual yet, because the "hinge" is still tight, but it should loosen up.

I made a necklace with one of my upper teeth(the one from the last post, actually) 

I took it, in its unfinished state, to the dentist last Thursday when I had a revisit for more tooth hole packing, and the dentist who was taking care of me was super impressed, and called for more dental professionals.  There were photos taken and such.

I showed my mouth jewelry to my family as well. They were all like wow that's so pretty! Then after a closer look..what is that in the center? OHMYGOD its a tooth ewwwwwww!

A few of my cousins were impressed, but they're teenage boys, so...

I made a spiral rope with matte transparent blue and green delicas, and opaque size 15/0s.

I also added a few FW pearls and silverlined gold delicas near the pendant.

 

The tooth itself was wrapped with the same blue and green delicas, with green fringe ending in black 3.4mm drops.

 

A simple toggle (that toggles!) ended the ordeal.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and if  I'm not back by then, Happy New Year!

Wisdom of 100 Posts

This is my 100th blog post.  Can you believe it? In all honesty, this should have happened a long time ago, but due to my obstinance and blogger's butt-holiness, it hasn't. 

I've met some really great people through my blog, you know those internet friends that just make you smile?

::Huge grin::

OOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Oops...

Segway to the wisdom of this post.

A few weeks ago, some popcorn and I had a nasty run-in.  I hearts popcorn lots. but, as luck would have it, I got a hull wedged somewhere unpleasant.

Behind my 2nd molar.  Ick.  I didn't realise it was back there until a few days or a week later when I spit it out with my toothpaste.  The next morning my gum woke me up.  It was having a party. All its little bacterial friends came to visit.

My gum doesnt really have much space. See diaagram of the goings on below:




the white blobby things are my teeth, the crooked white blobby thing is my wisdom tooth. the pink stuff is my gum, the yellow is a nerve, and the white graffiti is my bone, i think. the pink gum does go up over top of my existing tooth. it always has, and stuff, namely popcorn, gets stuck between the gum and my tooth and follows the blue stuff down. the blue stuff is the place where future infections from food being caught may occur. yay...

I got some antibiotics and a referral to an oral surgeon.

Fast forward to this past Thursday:The forcible eviction of my wisdom teeth.

I tried to convince the surgeon to not take all 4, but he told me my mouth was a ticking time bomb.

Ok...This is a top molar, saved from the wreckage. The top two came out whole, the bottom two, well one is nearly intact, the other, I have 2 random pieces of shrapnel...

I was good and doped up Thursday and Friday, then Saturday and Sunday I felt better. Monday OHMYGODSANDOVERLORDS I WANTED TO AMPUTATE MY HEAD. 

Dry socket at the removal site of the above tooth. Ick...

They packed it with some clove oil gel stuff yesterday and it's all good this morning, so I suppose I'll live...I am still on squishy, non-chewy food, and can't smile or open my mouth wide...

Also, I'm working on a necklace using one of my teeth.  The surgeon's assistant thought I was nuts when I asked to keep them.  She was like, what do people do with their teeth?  I thought about telling her the truth, that I wanted to finally prove or disprove the existance of the tooth fairy. I told her that I was going to make jewelry with them.  I grew them damnit, I'm keeping them. And it may end up being the most expensive jewelry I own.  More on that in the next post, though.

That behind my tooth?  You want to know about that?

Ok.

My father-in-law shot an elk this year.  It has some antlers.

He likes my beaded whatnot, so for Christmas, I decided to bead him an antler mount for his elk antlers.

I beaded it in size 11/0s on Ultrasuede, then E6000'd it to a storebought mounting kit

I've been working on it pretty steadily since Thanksgiving.  It was a LOT of work, and my glue-job isnt the best, but you won't see that part anyway.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I really think he'll love it. 

We sent it off for tomorrow delivery, so I'll let you know how he likes it.

Well, until next time, bead well my friends, and keep your teeth!

Cubed

I bought a book about cube beads.



I've aquired a collection of the little squared boogers, and it was only a matter of time before they got stuck to an ornament.

You all know me well enough by now that if I see something I like, it will most likely end up on an ornament right?

This pattern is really cool. It also works up surprisingly easily and in no time you have a great strap of squiggly beaded stuff.  I had to adapt as I could find no 2mm cube beads anywhere, but triangles and/or hexes work perfectly.

 

I used black beads for one of the sides of the squiggle, and AB black beads for the other side.

 

The pictures do not show the ab/plain contrast AT ALL, but it's there! and it looks pretty sweet. 

Ring around the Rosie

A pocket full of spears.

This is a Karen DeSousa pattern, modified to suit my attention span :)

I used AB orange rivolis, that read a nice copper-y red in person, Dirty penny 4mm rounds, red delicas, and red 15/0s and silvrlined gols 3mm bugles.

Note to anyone trying this ornament cover, the flowers wont stay the shape you want them to be.

I really like it, however.  I think the matte white ball sets off the colors beautifully.

Greyscale

I asked my favorite couple (our go-to co-Halloweeners) what their Christmas colors were this year, and after some thought, they decided upon greyscale.

Weird.

And fun!

And a bit of a challenge!

How to use blacks and greys, but being translatable to other multi-color years...hmmmm

First a quick dip into the beads. I had some silver 4mm, and 6mm rounds, some pewter colored plastic roses in 6ish aand 8ish mm, some smokey grey bicones, and black 11/0s and 15/0s.

I found a pattern for a pendant in an old Beadwork(the issue has a large brownish beaded basket on the front)

Using the roses this way, obviously not intentionally sideways, took away a bit of their obvious plasticity, and made them grow up just a hair.

I harnessed them to the ornament in a pretty simple manner, and stuck the thing on a matte white ornament.  I think I accomplished the task at hand, as it looks the same in black and white.  The above photo is not black and white, but it could be!

 

Creamsicle Florette

I used this color scheme-Orange, pearly white, etc, last year, and I liked it then.  It follows that when the beads leapt forth from my stash this year in that same colorway, that I would like them again.  And I did.

 

 

I used Smadar's pattern Sparkly Wreaths but omitted the steps for the back of the pendant, as I didn't want the medallion to poke out quite so far. 

 



 

 

I used silver lined orange Delicas, orange mettallic 11/0s, peachy-orange pearls, gold lined white translucent 11/0s, fire opal Swarovski 4mm bicones, and paprika? rivolis. There are also some bronze AB 15/0 for distinction. 

 

I'm pretty happy with it.  Also, that's my finger in the corner...oops :o)

 



House of cards

There is a superintendant where I work who goes by the name of Frank.

He is my favorite superintendant.

He is also a big fan of cards, dice, and slots. 

I was wandering around Walmart one day and found a keychain that had 5 card shaped charms on it. They were the 10, J, Q, K, A of spades.

EUREKA! Thought I.

I'll use these on Frank's ornament!!

Now for a pattern...hmmmm

Karen DeSousa's Exotic Ornaments "Festival" seemed to fit the bill. I wanted almost a harlequin look, so I chose black and white.  Then I threw in some red to keep with the card theme.

It was working really well, I didn't have to buy any beads, save the charms.

I began beading this as an on-the-plane ornament(I fly a LOT don't I...jeeeeeeez)

Well, we got to our destination and as I was just hanging out later, I decided to bead some more.

I left the book on the plane.

I left the book ON THE PLANE

ON. THE. PLANE.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP.

There were no bead stores where we were. I had no backup beadwork with me. The only time in the history of beads where I don't have a backup project, and I need it.

I got desperate, and crafty. I pulled up the picture of the ornament from her website, and as I had packed only the necessary beads, I was able to figure out something close to the orignal. It isn't perfect, but it looks really nice, and I'm happy with it.

I learned a valuable lesson. Make a copy of the pattern and take that instead of the book.

Now I have to go buy another copy.

Oh well, hopefully someone picks up the book from the plane and a new beader is born.

 

This ornament uses black 15/0, 11/0, 3mm bugles, jet Swarovski 4mm bicones, and black 4-sh mm firepolished crystals, white 15/0s, 11/0s, silver 3mm rounds, silver lined red 3mm bugles and light siam 4mm Swarovski bicones.

Let's build a snowman!

Let's build a snowman
We could make it tall, or we could make it not so tall!
A snowman!
It could have a happy face, a happy smile, a happy point of view.
If you build me a snowman then I'll build one for you!
Sooooo let's build a snowman we could make it our best friend.
We could name Bob, or we could name it.....Balewolf!
We could make it tall or we could make it not so tall. A snowman!

Big into for simple ornament!

This one was done in bronze colored 11/0s, red 11/0s, and white 11/0s.  It has bronzey snowan charms and a few pearls, for zest.

The northern lights, in old age

This is another of those droopy Victorian ornaments. I make one every year.  Every year since the first, they fail to meet my expectations.  It's like an addict forever chasing that first high.

However, they give me a reason to buy the seed bead mixes from Hobby Lobby.

The mix I couldn't live without is a mix of black, clear, pale blue, gold lined light blue, hematite, clear grey, etc.

 

I used clear Tilas for the ladder stacked supports, which I actually prefer to the traditional bugles. I also used AB clear bugles as the other half of the swag.



I definitely prefer this ornament to 2010's not so great swaggy ornament.  The colors work pretty well.  I might have to do another ornament in this colorway seeing as how I have an enormous amount of beads left over.

Stabby cake stabby cake, baker's man

So, I have this tendancy to create slightly morbid baked goods.

These were baked for a Christmas get together at my Aunt's house.
These cookies depict a dark place in the mind of every gingerbread man.

It follows that when I see something like this at my local Walmart, that I am going to do something with them.

I made stabby cakes

Red velvet cupcakes(from a box mix-I did the the hard way once, and there is still red splatter all over my kitchen) with cream cheese frosting(from a can-I got lazy)

I made my own blood though! It's about 1/4-1/3 c Herhsey's syrup and most of a little pointy hat gnome bottle of red food coloring.  

It grosses out husbeasties when its dripping from the corners of your mouth.

Also, it is the most realistic fake blood I've ever seen. Texture, color, opacity, perfect.

Pumpkin butter, and things to do with it

My husbeast loves pumpkin pie. I mean, who doesn't. It's a fantastic vesituble for loads of whipped cream.

But he loves the pie itself.

This unnerving love of pumpkin pie transcends the crust, however. He loves all things pumpkin pie-y. Like the Pumkin Spie Latte from Starbucks.

He rarely drinks coffee, but when he does, it's pumpkin flavored.

I was thinking about apple butter a few weeks ago and BANG! it hit me. He would he love pumpkin butter.

To the internet!

I found a recipe here for crock pot pumpkin butter. The crock pot is my go-to cauldron, considering that I have neither the time not setting for a giant black cauldron, suspended from a wooden teepee over an open flame.
 
This is pretty much the recipe and what happened along the way This recipe makes 4 pints+ a little kfc bowl

Pumpkin Butter
2 6-8" Pie Pumpkins
3.5 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Juice of 1 small lemon

De-goop pumpkin then cut into easily manageable chunks and roast at 350 degrees until soft(alternately steam or boil)
After cooled remove skin from flesh (I used one of those weird little pumpkin scooping spoon things from a jack o lantern kit)
Puree pumpkin flesh (I had to add a little water to the blender to get mine to do anything useful-may have better luck with a food processer or potato ricer)
Add pumpkin puree, brown sugar, lemon juice and spices to crock pot

Cook on low for 2-3 hours stirring occasonally
Place a spoon or other device under edge of lid to allow steam to escape and cook for another 2-3 hours until proper consistency is reached.
Butter will thicken slightly after cooling.

During cooking, adjust spices to your taste.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator for 2 weeks, freeze for several months. Due to low acidity, canning of pumpkin butter is not recommended, unless you like botulism butter.

*Note-for my pumpkin butter, I originally mashed the pumpkin then cooked everything for about 3 hours, refrigerated overnight, blended the next day then cooked another 2-3 hours, then refrigerated overnight again and cooked another hour or so the final day before transferring to containers.

The instructable has directions for canning the pumpkin butter. The entire internet says not to can pumpkin butter. I don't want to kill people with breakfast spreads, so even though I did follow the canning directions,even processing for 50 minutes, as opposed to the recommended 20, I am still storing mine in the fridge. I brought the KFC bowl of butter to work and tested it with my pH testing apparatus here. The pH is close to a 5. I'm not risking it. 4.6 is inhospitible to botulism.

So now I have 4 pints of pumpkin butter for my husbeast to eat. Now what to do with them...hmmmmm


Excuse the photo-I grabbed these out of his lunch box this morning before he left for work :0)

Pumpkin-Pecan-White Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 C Flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c pumpkin butter
3/4 c butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped pecans

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and pie spice in small bowl
Beat together sugars, butters, and vanilla in larger bowl
Beat in eggs one at a time
Beat in dry ingredients in thirds (else you end up with flour EVERYWHERE)
Mix in chips and pecans

Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes(optional, but the second batch I made was easier to work with using refrigerated dough)
Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet with 2-3" between. These cookies SPREAD so make sure you have good spacing.
 Bake 9-11 minutes until golden brown.
Cool on cookie sheet 2-5 minutes before transferrng to a wire rack.
Eat with Pumkpin Spice Latte, obviously not all at the same time(maybe not so obviously-my husbeastie was thiking about it, but a Starbucks run would have required real pants)

Jelly-Fish Sojourn

This was another June Ornament.

  I bead on planes, it's how I roll-er-fly...I needed a bead project to take with me on a fill-in trip to Texarkana back in June. The jelly fish was NOT going.

I had a vision of blue-grey beads, silver chain, and some other whatnot. I was thinking "kinda bad-assed ornament that a guy could hang on his tree and not think, OMG this is the frilliest thing I have ever seen, I'll just grit my teeth and smile and say thanks..."


So I picked out some beads, a pearly light blue, some 4mm crystals, some twisted Michael's crystals in blue/grey from the clearance rack, I think there were pearls involved, some steely gray chain, and some little metal findings.

I began with a rough idea, found a pattern that kinda went along with it then deviated severely :-)
Be not fooled by how this one sits on the wine glass.  I need a photography tent. And a hanger thingy if I'm ever going to be happy with a photo I take of my beadwork.

Everyone loves tie dye

My uncle suffered a stroke just before July 4 this year, to help cover medical bills, his family had a huge yard sale.

They asked for donations, crafts, baked goods, anything.

Our family is very close knit, and when one of us is in trouble, we all come together.

I did my part from 500 miles away and began tie dying. 



Everyone loves tie dye, whether they know it or not.

Everyone REALLY loves a baby in tie dye.

And so I began.



I think I dyed close to 80 shirts and onsies. My hands were purple for weeks.

There are more photos somewhere, and yeah, a few of them are pretty ugly, but with 80 something onesies, you're bound to have a stinker or two...

I also spent every car ride making hemp necklaces to send. Since these were for a yard sale, I didn't send a lot of beadwork, due to yard sale mentality of get it cheap! And I feared that people wouldn't want to pay a fair price. $5 for 15-20 minutes a few beads and a length of hemp seemed more in line.

They did very well at the sale and I'm really, really happy I could help.

Christmas in July

As I sat and tried my best to decide what to get my BFF for her birthday, I realized that I could get ahead of the game and also send her her ornament! Hark!

Seeing as how I had just picked up a strand of these snowman beads from Joann's, I could put them to good use.

This was another Karen Desousa Ornament based on the Celestial Series. 

Again, I have squat for fire-polished beads, so some substitution was in order. 

I used matte white 6/0s (of which I have great abundance, due to a botched bead excursion in which the buyer did his very best, and I am still very grateful! ) for the belly band, light blue and a darker blue 11/0's, snowman beads and their corresponding spotted round beads, and some weird spoon beads that I'm pretty sure came from Spokane.



I am fairly pleased with this ornament, and my friend really likes it.  Mission accomplished. 

I made something and then wore it!

One of my closest friends got married on October 6, 2012 and I couldn't be happier for him. 

He is a dear friend, one of the few from college that has really changed my life.  We got mono our freshman year from the same bottle of Apple Puckers(we think, it wasn't from kissing)!

We worked at Wendy's together! We had bubble fights and took turns being "dish bitch" together!

He told my first love that I was crazy for him.

Anyway, enough hanging out on memory lane, it'll be dark soon. 

This bracelet was made to go with the cocktail dress that I had to purchase for the occasion. The dress was picked out by my dear husbeast, who also purchased his first suit for the occasion.

It was black with a purple and black stripey skirt. Actually...here is a picture...



I knew I wanted a wide bracelet, with a little sparkle.

I had about a quarter of a pattern drawn up for another endeavor but, due to a few missing key Delica shades, it was tabled.

With my pattern in hand I selected my colors and charged ahead.



I like the finished product.  It is a little bit tapestry, a little bit sparkly, a little bit woven looking, and a little bit awesome.

I used S/L wine-y purple Treasures, hematite Delicas, black Delicas, and nickel plated Delicas. 



The clasp is hematite colored with a few Swarovski 4mm bicones.

What happened in June

So, I've been following OTTBS for a while now, not that you'd know from the lack of things to show for it-I'm eyeballing you Blogger-and the challenge for June was Colors of the rainbow.

I'm kind of a huge fan of brightly colored things-like tie dye and neon pink beads that I'll never use and I thought, I can do a rainbow colored Ornament! Yes, that is exactly what I'll do. It was settled.

I decided to tackle one of the patterns from Karen DeSousa's Heirloom collection

I then dove in picking beads out of my stash including matte transparent pink, matte orange, matte yellow, trasparent green, S/L blue, and transparent purple.  As I have a dinky collection of fire polished beads, I used S/L clear 8/0's for the belly band and S/L clear for most of the other structural elements.

I had some crazy bright stars from Hobby Lobby that decided they wanted to be included too, and some of those dastardly peanut beads that I get all dewey eyed over rounding out the short list. (Seriously, try them in a kumihimo rope, you will not be disappointed).

Then I tackled the pattern. 

I quickly realised that fringe is mind numbing. Twisted fringe is mind numbing and hand numbing(shakes semi-numb fist at Carpal Tunnel!!!)

That ornament just wouldn't get done! Hours and hours and hours I worked and it never got complete. It just sat there on my bead tray like some illicit love-child of a unicorn and a jelly-fish.

I started this ornament June 1.  I think I finished it in mid-July.



The worst thing is that I have issues cutting things apart once I've committed to them.  The flaws are just...there.  But on we move with life and the next ornament...

3 bracelets and some new beads

I began this post in March. March!!! Thats how long I've been neglecting you, and how long I can apparently hold a technology grudge! Now that blogger and I have made up, I will try to get some of the back-logged stuff I've been working on up and posted!!
I have been productive this month!

I've made 2 bracelets from this month's Bead and Button. 

The first used the Power Trio by Isabella Lam. This one would have been my OTTBS entry.  The challenge this month was to use purple and grey. 



I used hematite 8/0s and silverlined dark purple Delicas and 15/0s.  I've used this color combo before and many times it gives a really cool dimensional effect.  Maybe it didn't work that way here because the beads were different sizes and not right next to each other.  (I'm serious, use some hematite colored beads and some silverlined dark purple Delicas(or any color silverlined Delicas).  The Dels recede.  Its pretty cool...)  I finished it off with a hematite colored toggle. 


I liked this pattern, even though it used cubic RAW.  I haven't tamed the beast, but I got to at least pet the beast with this bracelet, figuratively speaking.

And I made another one (I've been trying to upload photos to this damned blog since 3-19...) It uses glow-in-the-dark 8/0s with matte transparent blue Delicas and matte black 15/0s.

My second piece was also from this month's B&B.  It is from the pattern called Fantastic Features By Amanda Shero Granstrom. 

I did NO stashbusting on this one. I bought permanently distressed copper wire to make my rings, a new mandrel which is really one of thise big crochet hook knitting neede thingies, green 10mm sequins(pattern called for 12's, but I couldn't find any).  And I even had to buy a hole punch! 

I think it's worth it though. I got to play with chain maille.  I like chain maille. 


I also got a wild hare up my ass and decided that I had to make some polymer clay beads.  Of course this required me to buy more stuff.  Like clay, and blades, and a pasta roller, and seriously. I have a problem.  I don't need new hobbies.  I need to deplete some of the hobbies I currently have. :)

Anywho, here they are fresh from the oven.  I need to drill, sand, buff and glaze them still, but they're pretty.

I then went on a polymer clay book buying spree.  One is about canework.  Canes are really easy once you get the hang of them.  You just start with a picture about the size of the base of a pop can and break it up into small simple shapes. 

This is Spinal Tap!

I'm not afraid to dye.

These are some t-shirts I've done recently. When I say some, I mean I've dyed like 25 shirts in the last few weeks and a small heap of onsies for my co-worker's new grandson. Tell me the one on the left doesn't look like a spine. SO FRIGGIN COOL. I love to dye. It is like a surprise every time you unfold one and rinse it out. I am highly upset with the blue from the Tulip Carosel color pack. It faded from a nice cerulean to periwinkle :( Here are some more cool ones...

I'm trying to expand beyond the basic spiral, which always looks great, butdoesn't give me the variety I want. I also need to get away from pre-packaged color kits. If I went back to the soda ash then dye I could do smaller batches because my dye wouldn't have a shelf life of 45 minutes and I wouldn't get as many stinkers. Gotta run Peace! By the way, the pics are clickable to see the other shirts. there are 3 per photo...

Stupid blogger...

I have 3 posts that I haven't been able to make now since the end of Feb because I can't load the photos :( I feel like I'm neglecting everyone. I'm not, blogger is just a butt. I'm still reading everyone's posts though, just can't make my own

May you stay Forever Young

The Challenge of Music is here!!!

And my piece is done on time! (its kind of a big deal 'round here)

For my inspiration, I picked a Joan Baez cover of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young"

I can't think of a more beautiful song, or a more beautiful voice to carry it.  Have a listen...I'll wait

Beautiful right? And the words are beautiful too, in case you missed them, have a read:

"May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young"

This song means alot to me.  My dad's friend who passed away last year taught me to play it on the guitar.  He believed in me.  Alot of people have believed in me since I was little.  I hope that I have done them all proud, and I hope that I will always stay forever young. 

My piece is an embroidered cuff, on white felt.  The central focal is a My Little Pony magnet that came in a book my sister bought me for Christmas.  I have an enourmous collection of Ponies...its a bad habit that I'm really not willing to break.  Its a habit I've had since I was really little.

I have also used two pink AB 8mm rivolis to accent the pony, because they are in the same colorway and because they are kindof glamourous and all grown up.  I've also used some purple-y margeritas

I used LOTS of seed beads to try to make this bracelet convey the feeling of joy in this song.  There are no hard angles, and I tried to make things flow. 

So have I done Joan and Bob proud?

(yeah I totally took my photos waiting for a plane in the Knoxville airport :) )

You've heard my song and seen my work, now go see theirs!
Erin Prais-Hintz

Marcie Abney

Christine Altmiller

Elisabeth Auld

LJ B

Lori Bowring Michaud

Shannon Chomanczuk

Cece Cormier

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Malin de Koning

Beth Emery

Michelle Escano-Caballero

Erin Fickert-Rowland

Therese Frank

Amy Freeland

Tanya Goodwin

Stephani Gorman

Amy Grass

Beth Hemmila

Kristina Johansson

Jennifer Justman

Tari Kahrs

Susan Kennedy

Ema Kilroy

Kathleen Lange Klik

Kirsi Luostarinen

Paige Maxim

Beth McCord

Natalie McKenna

Alice Peterson

Cat Pruitt

Bobbie Rafferty

Johanna Rhodes

Cynthia Riggs

Sally Russick

Sarah Sequins

Amy Severino

Staci Smith

Kristen Stevens

Lola Surwillo

Stefanie Teufel

Sandi Volpe

Holly Westfall

Shaiha Williams

Happy beading everybody!!