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.

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.

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. 

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...

Better late than never right?

Six, Seven, and Eight, respectively

I made number 6 on the way from Tennessee to my home near Pittsburgh. 

I used clear Tilas, magatamas, 11/0s, and some dagger beads over this super deep purple semi-matte ornament. 

 The pattern was loosely based on a project in Beadwork involving Tilas, but I didn't have the magazine accessible in the truck, so I went by memory.  This one is for the husbeast, whose favorite color.


Number seven was made while I was at home.  This one will eventually make its way to my parents-in-law.  I used some beautiful deer antler buttons that I found at the Powder Horn Trading Company in Kalispell, Montana. 

I also used peachy-ish colored pearls that I found there.  The idea with the buttons came from Bead and Button (I think...) there was a pattern using vintage shank buttons.  I altered the 2-hole style of the buttons with a bit of wire to work the pattern.  I covered the wire with a few 11/0s.

I used 4mm pearls and 6mm pearls, buttons, 11/0s in dark matte brown, silver-lined blue 11/0s, transparent blue 8/0s (in place of the 3mm beads)

I made number 8 on the way back from Pittsburgh.  It happened after a failed herringbone attempt at a rivoli bezel, then a failed netted bezel, and a failed peyote bezel.  I don't know what was going on, so I gave up and did other things with different beads.  I seem to have forgotten to take photos of number 8.  Crap.  Well next time, I'll tell you all about it :)

Then I got sidetracked when I got home and startd back on the Hallowe'en quilt.

5 and a bag

I have been beading in my free moments.  I really really have...
I started working on an ornament using Laura McCabe's Eiffel Tower Ring pattern from Beading Across America but, when she says size 15 Czech Charlottes, I think she means it.  Now I have  weird purple thingie sitting on my bead tray.  It kinda looks like one of those little tables that comes in a pizza box.  I didn't get to the add the rivoli part. I gave up.  Poor little guy.

I did finish another ornament.  I'm calling it Creamsicle.  It has lots of silver lined orange Delicas and pearls. 

The focals are beads from Hobby Lobby.  I like it.

I also finished my medicine bag for my father in law.  I decided, afte seeing a magpie for the first time over Thanksgiving, that a magpie would be a most fitting creature to represent me.  They are smart, they like shiny stuff, and they hoard things.  Me to a tee. :)

He is black, white, and iridescent blue/black Delicas and Treasures and 15/0s in black and white, beaded on felt, on leather, with an elk ivory, obviously .

Ding Ding Round 1!

Ornament time is upon us. Damn near passed us by! EEK!

Here are numbers 2, 3, and 4.

What happened to #1? (remember the flamingos?)

Anywho, the second ornament of the year features a black shatterproof ball, beaded over with rainbow sherbert colors. (11/0sin magenta, orange, and electric slime green)

It is simple netting but the progression of colors does really cool stuff, dunnit Ern?

Looks even cooler spinning around in circles :)

Number 3 s a gift for two of our closest friends. They made mention that they have never received an ornament, so I asked their Christmas colors, and they replied magenta and turqouise, but its a dusty magenta and a blue-y turquoise. I think my colors are a bit vibrant, but I am pleased anyway.

It features magenta 11/0s turquoise 11/0s, turquoise fire polished beads, turquoise acrylic flowers and magenta drop beads.

Finally is number 4. I am all about rivolis and ornaments now. This one has blue rivolis with a peacock finish, small blue-green rounds, and gold 15/0s.

I like it even if the cover is too loose in one place and too loose in another. I think I'll call it blue jean.

And the winner is...

I printed out the comments...


I balled them up...


Shook them around in my hands and the first one to fall out was...



Kelly of Beadativity !!
Kell, I think I still have your address, but I will ask you to send it to me again just in case...

I did the drawing yesterday, but had several false starts, so I'll be working on it again tonight with a new plan :)


Kristen of My Bead Journey was the first place runner up, and the only other entrant, so if she would like to send me her address, I would like to send her something too :)

Thanks girls and Happy Holidays!

Number 13 and a giveaway!

First thing's first-Number 13? What happened to Number 12?

Well, seeing as how number 13 is considered unlucky by some, I didn't want to have number 13 be the giveaway ornament! Ha!

Number 12 will be the ornament given away, but more on that later...

Number 13-Normally I hate to repeat a pattern twice in a holiday season, but since I didn't get a photo of number 7, and I really liked it, I made number 13 in the same pattern.

This ornament started as a silver Walmart ball, which I covered in a netting of 1.5mm cubelings with teal Delicas.


I then started at the top of the netting and added blue acrylic flowers in three sizes, green acrylic leaves, 3mm teal Swarovski 3mm crystals, and a few Delicas.



I added these accents in a swath around the ornament, following the netting lines.



My inspriration was a plant called Mile-a-Minute, which I think is a wild variety of morning glory. It grows on a vine, and really does seem to grow a mile per minute. It is a weed on our wetlands, because it creeps up any stationary object with little thorny stickers and chokes out anything living in its path to the sun. As morbid as it is, I think its a very pretty plant, and when you see a huge patch of it creeping over a hill in the sun...ahh pretty :)




Now, for the giveaway.



The prize-a covered ornament, made by me, shipped to you :)

You can enter by:

Commenting on this blog with the answers to the following questions
1. What is your name (email address)
2. What is your favorite color
3. What is the average wing speed velocity of an unladen swallow? **
4. Which is your favorite ornament that has been posted on this blog thus far? I ask this so I know where to begin. *Note if number 13 is your favorite, it cannot not be replicated at this time-I haven't got enough flowers in NJ to do another one :( I have more in PA, but I wont be there until next weekend...

Bonus entries:
1. Following my blog-and leave a comment stating you are
2. Post about my giveaway on your social media of choice-leave a comment linking
3. The name of the movie in number 3 above and the proper response. Post this n a separate comment please :)

There will be a super quick entry process in order to get the ornament to you by Christmas, so the winner will be chosen Monday night. Perhaps I should have done this sooner :) The winner will be announced here on the blog, and an email will be sent to the email address provided above. Good luck!

Number 11

Eleven. Eleven is one of those numbers that people tend to forget about. It is that number between 10 and 12, both of utmost importance. Eleven is the number of toes that some people have. Eleven (as written 11) has a bit of cool, as it appears in binary through decimal numbering systems. Eleven as an age is rather anti-climactic. You aren't a teenager, aren't almost a teen, but you are a bit too old to be considered a kid. You're in 5th/6th grade and its all rather meh, if I recall.

This ornament certainly isn't meh, it's actually the most Christmas-sy of all the ornaments I've done this year, in my opinion.

I used Delicas in an AB semi-matte bluespruce color, matte lima bean colored Delicas, brass colored Japanese 11/0s, and Red Velvet Chinese crystal rounds.

The inspiration for this one came to me over my Thansgiving break. Standing on my in-law's back porch at night. The evergreens were silhouetted against the purple snow sky. I wanted to make Christmas trees, and have them encircle the ornament. I pulled every type of green seed bead I have with me and began working in Russian...um leaf stitch? There is a name for that stitch, but my brain just went *derf* blink blink.

I made the first tree, and it wasn't quite right, nor was the second, then I just got caught up in the moment and accidentally made a leaf...oops :) Then I kept going.

I worked 4 parts in a Russian Leaf style with the Delicas, and used the 11/0s and crystals as "veins"


I then used the Japanese 11/0s and crystals to connect, but separate, the leaves


From there, I worked down the edges of the leaves with a dense vertical netting, ending in a crystal finial.



I finished the whole thing with a few strings of 11/0 and crystal swag. This ornament is unlike alot of my ornaments in that the ornament ball itself can be changed. I think it looks quite nice over matte white, but if someone doesn't like it, it is easily changed.



And just because he looks so cute and innocent in this picture, here is the Cat-Beast. That face doesn't say "I got into the mini marshmallows and sprinkled them all over the hotel room", does it?

X

Number 10! Woohoo! Officially into the double digits now :)

I am really proud of number ten. I hope, I think, I know that when this baby goes on someone's tree, it is going to reflect some MONSTER light!

I am trying to find patterns that bezel rivolis and end up with a nice flat back so they lay nicely on the ornament. I started this one with a pendant pattern from Smadars Treasure I was looking for ways to use the new long magatama beads and this pattern seemed perfect. I got the front of the pendant finished, but found that once the back half was finished, it was a bit too bulky. Off the back came, resulting in what you see below

I used 14mm rivolis in AB olivine, Japanese 11/0s in silverlined green and purple transparent, Japanese 15/0s in dark silver/light gunmetal, dark amethyst 3mm Swarovski bicones, AB olivine 4mm Swarovski bicones, 8/0 Japanese seed beads in black and silver, and long magatamas in a deep forest green

This is a startlingly easy pattern, with breathtaking results. I highly recommend a visit to her shop . It is difficult to determine which way the magatamas should be picked up though. Nothing to do with the pattern, they are just a pain in the hiney. My mantra became boat 8 hoof 11 11 boat 8 hoof 11 11...


I adapted the pattern to make a collar for the ornament, then started working in netting down to a point where I could attach the medallions. I then made a bottom netted cap and connected with 11/0s, 8/0s, 3mm crystals and 4 mm crystals.


I got it all done and ready to photograph when this happened! DOH! I think I trimmed a thread that wasn't ready to be trimmed yet, as in wasn't woven in. Ah well, I get to play with this beauty for a little while longer before it goes into the "to gift" pile.

And her shoes were Number Nine (and loot!!)

Number nine was created using mainly loot from my spree-it consists of 3 ladder stitched strings of bugle beads in a weird AB matte translucent amber, lots and lots of strings of Czech 11/0s in a red and purple blend



The ladders end in finials made using the Czech 11/0s and red velvet crystal rounds. In certain lights the colors on this ornament are gorgeous and work really well together. In other lights, not so much. I think the cover would work well on a larger ornament, but, sadly, I don't have any larger ones, and don't plan to buy any. My mother may have a few stashed in her attic so I'll have to check when I get home.


The real star of this post is the loot! I love my husband. And he spoils me rotten :)

I got a bunch of silver feather charms, 2 wolf charms, a strand of red and green mottled crystals and Husbeast picked out 2 turquoise Zuni bears and a greenish shard (not sure what it is-it was in the bargain bin)


I acquired 2 strands of daggers, one a stripey blue and the other is clear with blue, pink and green spots, 2 strands of 3mm Czech fire polished beads, and a strand of half mirrored blue drops


From the seed bead bargain bin, I got a tube of long twisted black bugles, a tube of the bugles used in the ornament above, a tube of Japanese 11/0s in a basic opaque mix, size 6? seeds in black and black and white, and 2 half and half tubes of size 15/0s. Their bargain bin kicks butt. I love picking through for size 15/0s. I only buy 6" tubes of the ones I know I will use regularly (golds, silverlined, silver, black, etc) I get all my other colors from the bargain bin. Really, at 5 tubes for $7, who would blame me...(one of the tubes was $2.00 in this picture)



I really needed to add to my bugle collection. I want to try my Indian Ornament using bugles as opposed to the craft store 10ishes. I also picked up a tube of silver short bugles. I believe these are the ones that are fire polished after being cut, so as to not butcher one's thread


Not too many crystals this time, but I found I was seriously lacking in terms of blues, so I picked up a strand of Dark Indigo and a strand of Montana Blue 4mm bicones. Also at the top are the remains of my hank of Czech 11/0s in reds and purples. Finally a strand of silver 13/0 Charlottes, seeing as how I had none in silver.


Finally, we get to what makes this bead store so amazing-nearly every color, size, shape, etc of seed bead. This makes me such a happy girl! They always have the latest shapes and sizes of things-example, peanut beads-I bought some 2 months before they made it into the What's New section of Beadwork, same for 2.8mm drops, and the new long Magatama Daggers.

Anyway, back to the loot! I got a tube of blue 1.5mm cubes, dark silver 15/0s, a tube of mixed opaques, red metallic 11/0s, bronze(color) 11/0s, brass(color) 11/0s, AB Clear peanut beads, silver drops, red-lined red, and green-lined pale violet 3.4mm drops.


Not picured-packet of split rings and Dec/Jan Beadwork

One day I am accidentally going to move at Beyond Beads North of Spokane. They will find me just sitting and staring at the seed bead colors. That or staring at the wall of Swarovskis. I may be drooling... So much color, so few eyeballs to drink it in.

Seven, Eight

Lay them straight...

Let me tell you about the ridiculous travel this past weekend. I booked tickets from Newark NJ to Spokane, WA on Delta. I selected seats and everything was cool. Until I checked us in. My seat selections were changed. Crap. I tried to change them back over the internet. No such luck. I tried upgrading our seats to first class (usually about $200-$300/ea with United, and totally worth it for a 4-5 hour flight) $984 each through Delta. Are you serious? Holy WTFBBQ Batman?! Not that into first class folks. I then asked the agent if it was possible to just get seats together on the plane. No I cannot help you was the response. OK...Just out of curiosity, I looked at prices for first class on the internet. It would have only been $940 ea to purchase them there. Something wasn't right with the customer service agent. I called them back. This agent told me $1650 each to upgrade. Nevermind. She also told me my best bet for changing seats would be to get to the airport early, which I do anyway. Methinks I was getting the runaround. We ended up asking someone on the plane to switch. He was more than happy to trade his middle for my aisle. The second leg of our journey went a bit better-the gate agent was more than happy to move our seats so we were together. The guy next to me was deathly allergic to cats though, which he should have mentioned when we asked "you aren't allergic are you?" But he got moved after the sneezing and gagging and wheezing...and we got to sit next to a Crazy Cat Man. (We've all heard of the Crazy Cat Lady?-this must have been her brother :) )
The fight back was interesting-we were delayed out of Spokane due to copious snow in Salt Lake City. This resulted in our missing our flight out of Salt Lake and having to get a hotel for the night. Thank goodness we brought a real cat box, and not just the butchered (disposable) Fed-Ex box we had used on the way to Spokane. Kitty litter always gets searched at security, FYI. We got a whole row of three seats on our new flight back to NJ though, so everyone was happy.

Marvin the Cat-Beast doesn't mind flying. He was better behaved than most of the kids on the planes...He doesn't care for going through security, as he equates it to being snuggled (a cruel punishment for a cat-beast.) He also learned that his Auntie Rascal is a grumble butt and a mouthful of her long tail fur sticks to one's tongue and is hard to spit out. He spent much of the weekend following her around saying "will you play wif me now"? to which she would reply "grrrrrrrr". He seemed to have fun though, and is all pooped out.

We had an awesome time visiting the Husbeasts family. His dad does the best smoked turkey ever. And his mom made 6 pies. Six! and all sorts of other wonderful delicious whatnot. I also went cross country skiing for the second time ever. Husbeast thought it was great fun watching me fall down. 2.5 miles of skiing. 2 miles of which was a long hill. He also couldn't tell me how to stop or slow down. Apparently the best way to go about it is to just fall down once in a while if you're going too fast.

The good thing about long flights is the amount of time one can spend beading.
The bad thing is that one's camera and phone are in the overhead. You'll just have to take my word for it that I really did make a seventh ornament. But since it's the internet, I guess "pics or it didn't happen" is in effect.

It was a silver ornament, overlayed with cream 1.5mm cubes in a netted pattern with silverlined purple 11/0s at the points. It had a swatch of purple acrylic flowers and green leaves training across in a semi-spiral path. I should make another one... :)

Number 8 was completed during the flight delay in Salt Lake City and on the flight back to Newark.

It has 6 vintage foil backed crystal gems (I don't have any idea as to the maker). They are a pale seafoam color. I'd been wanting to put gems on an ornament for some time now, but as I suspected, they scratch the finish on the ornament. These don't have pointed backs, but they still did a bit of scratching




I bezeled them in transparent green Delicas and dark silver 15/0s (not quite hematite, not quite silver). I also added silver 3.4mm drops to the edges, you know, for zest.

I then beaded a collar with the Delicas and drops and ran stringers to the crystals. My count was off for the top collar, and I ended up with a funny 13th point that I didn't need...My solution-pretend it isn't there and everything will be fine :)



This one could have been the overworked ornament(as seen with the amoeba fringe startng on the bottom), but I reigned it in (and the plane landed). This one doesn't look complicated or time consuming. In truth, it wasn't. It just took a while to bezel the stones.



Remind me to show you the fruits of my Husbeast's Christmas present to me :) Shopping spree at Beyond Beads North in Spokane!

Number 5 alive!

Gol-LY! I caught hell getting this ornament from its infancy to its current state. I am finished with it. I am not overjoyed with how it turned out, but I am moderately pleased with it. I also stepped outside my comfort zone and used right angle weave extensively on this ornament. I am quite happy I did that.

The inspiration for this ornament came from Bead and Button-(I think) It was either that or Beadwork. There was a collar there-in with right angle weave blocks with strung swag in between. I thought the idea would lend itself nicely to an ornament, and in I dove. I found an 8-pack of white frosted and white opaque ornaments at Walmart, thus opening up the non-silver parts of my stash. I love gold at Christmas!





Anyway, I started out with brass colored Japanese 11/0s and made four long strips of RAW beadwork. Using the directions in the magazine, I built up layers on the strips, with purple lined purple Japanese 11/0s as my final layer. I then made a choker-collar for the ornament ball, with 4 triangular pendants and attached the strips.



I then began beading the swag sections with the brass 11/0s and Purple Velvet 3mm Swarovskis. Unlike the new red velvet crystals, these aren't opaque and dont have that depth. I would say they are more Grape Jolly Rancher.


Then I realized I was running out of the brass 11/0s DOH!

I thought I could I make it work by adding danglies of brass 11/0s, 3mm and 4mm Swarovskis. Of course, they wouldn't dangle. My fringe endeavors could really use a lesson from Forrest Gump in how to dangle properly.

At that point, I gave up. I wrangled them around the base of the ball with the last of my brass beads. (seriously-I have like 6 left)



I then photographed it and upon inspection on a larger screen this morning-all the pic were blurry.

I give up.

At least I get to move on to a new ornament this evening. Preferrably one that will go smoothly. :)

and...And...AND I won Mortira's Christmas bead giveaway over at Inspirational Beading! Score! I'm already thinking of the ornament I want to make!