Wrist Critter

This is a flirty little bracelet that reminds me of a friendly pet you wear around your wrist. A caterpillar or "woolly worm" perhaps.

"Good Night"

Classy little bracelet of glittering black seed beads with delicate pearl bead border.
One of several different styles I've been playing with.

Another Door

Threshold
Passage from the profane to the sacred, from outer profane space to inner sacred space; entering a new world. As a boundary symbol it is the line of meeting of the natural and supernatural; this is ritually defined in the ceremony of “beating the bounds,” redefining the realm of space in the same manner in which New Year ceremonies redefine time. Sinking in water, or entering a dark forest, or a door in a wall, are threshold symbols as entering the perilous unknown. Vestal goddesses of virginity are goddesses of the threshold as are the Lares. Guardians of the threshold, who must be overcome before the sacred realm can be entered, are dragons, serpents, monsters, dogs, scorpion men, lions, etc. In the psychic and spiritual realm guardians prevent man from going too far or too fast and meeting or seeing more than he is capable of bearing in occult or esoteric knowledge.

Magical Door Series

Door
Hope; opportunity; opening; passage from one state or world to another; entrance to new life; initiation; the sheltering aspect of the Great Mother. The open door is both opportunity and liberation.

I am enjoying creating magical doors, fairy doors, doors into the otherworld through a stump, a tree a castle wall. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have creating them.

earrings

These are fun to make! Bright and colorful, and flashy enough to draw attention.
Habit forming to make. The original pattern was in an early Bead& Button and the design was taught by Alice Korach. I have more to show you soon.
Meanwhile I keep doing outdoor chores while the sun shines. Still picking tomatoes, cutting lettuce and chard. The honeysuckle, nasturtiums, dahlias and zinnias continue to bloom and I don't have the heart to cut them back, (yet.) But a fire in the fireplace, on the other hand, is a blessing!

Autumn thoughts

The last few days have been sunny and warm, indeed very lovely. Autumn making up for a summer that was scant and sparse. never-the-less it's autumness is apparent. I feel the Kore/Demeter aspect grabbing at my soul.

Suddenly two days ago, list be damned, I felt the need to examine and arrange cupboards. Noting duplicates, moving extras to the food and water storage area in the garage. I checked the fruit that I'd recently frozen and moved it to the back of the freezer with 06 and 07's produce to the front.

I remembered the message of mouse ad squirrel and smiled at the vision of their nearly frantic activities with that first hint of frost in the air. It's time to put the gardens to bed, to set up the greenhouse and move the still blooming tomatoes, chilies and eggplant pots to their waiting shelves. I'm getting ready for winter although I am very much a summer person. I feel the need this year, to slow down, to pull with in, to inventory the stack of waiting books, to change to the warmer bedding, replace the tablecloth and chair cushions. Summer is over whether it looks like it or not.

Hummingbird totem

I learned a lot from this little exercise. i made hummingbird for a young friend whose totem at this time is the hummingbird. It is unfortunate that the photo after uploading no longer shows the iridescence n the neck beads.
They are in blue/green/violet and catch the light beautifully. Next time: I will leave lots of room around the square (or circle) of fabric I am working with so that I can use a hoop to stretch the fabric and have edges to turn under and pull to stretch and stitch. In not leaving this allowance it was difficult to pull the fabric taut. I ended up using batting for fill to make the fabric fir better. I do like the way the little wing tip extends beyond the framing circle. The clear beads below the wings indicate the flashing, almost invisible movement.
The painting is 5 1/2" in diameter.

Greenman mixed media

Green man is nearly completed. Unlike lizard which was all beading Green man encompasses paint, ink and fiber as well as beads. I didn't know what I was going to do with him but he guided brush and needle and showed me what he wanted to be. The work is 81/2 x 11 and will be mounted on illustration board and stretched before framing. A matching Maiden is in the works.

Larry Lizard

Larry is 13" long from nose tip to tail crook. And he has been a joy to bead. I still have to make his spinal spurs but this is best done after he is stitched to a jacket or bag or however I decide to complete him.

I first saw an embroidered lizard in a 2002 Bead&Button by Laura Holder. Hers was all green and she'd use a t-shirt transfer to bead over. I sketched Larry out with colored pencils and used the sketch as a color guide. Blues of course. Wonderful cobalt (and other) blues!

back from the beach

With a bag of beach rubble. Small flat round rocks for polymer clay bases, and bits of little drift wood twigs to work beads around. Small kelp "berries" for lack of a better word. I will experiment with them to see if dipping them in liquid pc will make them strong enough to stitch into bead work. NO I certainly didn't have way too many craft items collected already and of ourse I needed a bag or two more. (I wonder if I am going to be able to get my tongue out of my cheek or if it's permanently embedded.)

A-lure-ing fish key chain

This is fun and easy and one of the few things that includes beads that will work for guys.

First find a lure with lovely iridescent colors that you can duplicate with beads. In this case the fish sported turquoise, magenta, cobalt and greens, favorites of mine so it was easy to find match ups.

Next pick up or dismantle and old key chain clip. Now get a nice tough pair of wire cutters to remove the hook. Push the cutters far up into the belly of the fish so no poky wire will protrude. Now the only metal showing is the little loop at the top where you can attach the key chain.

Thread a long needle with Fireline and knot the line. Poke it through from the top near the loop and come out at the belly thread on 10-12 beads and skipping the last bead you put on, come back up through the others and back through the fish belly near where you started. Now repeat and do another fringe of beads until you are happy with the look. Four or five should be about right. This is fun, easy and makes a nice guy gift!

Bracelet Hibiscus

Darla named the previous bracelet. I admit I didn't know what a hibiscus looked like and had to go to Google images to find out. They are lovely and come in a myriad of colors from brilliant to pastel, so actually describe the bracelet very accurately.

Out my dining room window I have some very tall columbine. They came in a wildflower packet I planted last year but seem much larger and more brilliant than the ones I've see in the wild. I had to get Bill's talents going to create a series of three mini-fence-trellis things to support them.

I'm so glad he likes that kind of chore.

you-name-it

Yellow, aqua, blue, magenta and light green, goes with most summer outfits. A really fun bracelet that made itself. (Along with a handful more.) Addictive little guys just keep on coming. Come back often and I'll try to get good pictures up more often.

Not that I am not happy to be getting big therapeutic doses of gardening. And yes, I need them.

Grounding. That's what garden-therapy does for me. In more ways than one.

Wish I could wear gloves. I mean. I do, for some jobs, but not weeding, nor planting, have to have that connection for it all to flow properly!

I know you get it!! Right?

Citrus Fizz

lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, mmm, a tangy tasty really fun bracelet.
I'm started on these and I can't quit. what I must do though, is slow down and take some pictures as these scans aren't really showing how cool this is.

The second bracelet looks very different due to the choice of colors, It looks to me like a tropical breeze in the jungle at the edge of the beach.

fire walker bracelet

This bracelet was created by doodling with beads. In recent evenings I've created three using a similar methods but with very different colors.

computer woes

Lost the hard drive. Ack. Two years and two week s old. Had an extended warranty though and that will pay for the new hd and putting it in. Meanwhile I get more crafts done. Report soon.

Colored Wheels choker

This choker has been both fun and a challenge. The original directions from a Bead&Button magazine designed by Erin Robinson, naturally called for specific sizes of beads and a certain type of beading line. Right away I decided to use my stash which meant slightly different sizes of beads and different stringing options. I looked Fireline, and when it wasn't available nearby I bought some fish line of the same weight but found it would not go through my size 12 beading needle. If I used a needle that would accept the thread it would not go through the seed beads. Ack! The next dilemma was finding if I followed the directions closely the wheels looked more like wide cones. Okay I needed to change how many spokes the wheels had in order for the wheel to lay flay. The original pattern also had wheels of the same size whether it was the picot wheel or the accent seel. Mine has 2 different sizes.
Well all this was new to me. I bead but am not practiced at designing or re-designing. But I am learning!
I am anxious to try this same idea again, with more sizes, more colors. I will let you know what happens.

a video to watch

I've added an URL to a video that I think everyone should see. It will teach you, and inspire you, and very well may leave you with some new and different thoughts. It takes a few minutes but it is well worth it.

Three Little Fishes

Three little fishes are stonewear focal beads which would look great in a beaded creation using send beads, pearls, shell beads oe aomw "beachy" combination.
They are pastel colors with a nice wet shine. Check out my Etsy site, click on "Three Little Fishes" above to see more.