I'm all done!!!!

I have been working non stop on my latest entry in the EBW monthly challenge. This month's challenge was Fairy Tale. Oh the possibilities. I love fairy tales and fables. They were some of my favorite things to read as a child. I remember my grandfather had this great old book full of classic fairy tales. The pictures in this book were amazing. Even before I could read, I would sit and thumb through the book just to look at these wonderful works of art. Sometimes I miss the old illustrations (no offense modern day illistrators).

One of my favorite stories, well actually two of my favorite stories are Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I have always loved these stories. I'm actually re-reading Through the Looking Glass right now. The characters in these stories are just amazing, so creative and colorful. How could you not love them?

And my absolute favorite character was the Cheshire Cat. I even wanted to dress up as the Cheshire Cat one year for Halloween. I'm not really sure what it is that draws me to this character, I just love him.

As soon as this month's challenge was announced, I knew what I was going to do. I was going to do a two drop peyote cuff, but that would be much of a challenge to me. So I decided to try bead embroidery again.

I used these great Lapis cabs for the eyes. I've had these cabs for a little while and I knew they would work perfect for this project.

I wanted to do a completely black cuff with just the eyes and the smile visible, but wasn't sure how I was going to pull that off, so I compromised with black eyes and smile and a gray background.

I then added a great pink and blue beaded boarder around the edges and backed it with green leather.

I am so proud and excited about this cuff. I am completely in love with it. It has really helped get me over my winter creative slump I've been in. Every night that I worked on it, I got one step closer to the final piece. It made me excited again.

It also has again renewed my awe and just plain wonderment for all of the artists out there that do bead embroidery. This is not an easy task and so many make it look easy. I enjoy doing the bead embroidery, but I think after this project I'll be taking a little bit of a break.

This cuff can be found in my etsy store.

Voting for this challenge begins on March 9th on the Etsy Beadweavers Blog.

Finally!!!

I have so many projects on my bead board right now, I question if I'll ever get through them. And on top of things, I've just not been supper happy with my work lately, guess it's just a winter creative slump. Spring will be here soon, right?!?

Well I have finally finished my ArtBeads project. This month's project had a valentine theme to it (go figure). I chose this great Venetian glass heart as my focal piece. This glass bead is quite the bead. It measures 35mm (0r about 1.4 inches). It's very colorful and makes a great attention getter.

I used some beautiful red and clear 6mm Swarvoski crystals to accent the heart bead. The red is Light Siam and the clear is crystal AB.

Necklace itself is a multi-strand with 6 beaded strands. The ends are finished off with beaded end caps. The center of the necklace is a short beaded tube. This is where the lovely heart bead hangs from. It's simple and pretty.

I then used a cute little sterling silver heart toggle clasp to finish this guy off. I love this clasp so much. I thought it was cute when I ordered it, but when it arrived, I was in love. It's adorable and adds such a fun accent to the necklace. I'll say it again, I'm in love with this clasp.

ArtBeads has a great selection of Valentine's day themed beads. Stop by their website today to check some of them out. Definitely check out their Valentine's Day toggle clasps, you'll love all they have to offer. Also check out their selection of Venetian glass beads. They have so many to lovely beads to choose from. And it doesn't have to be Valentine's day to create with hearts.


Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.

Puppy Update!

It's been a whole month since I shared some pictures of out little pup, Yoda.

I'm also sick right now and just don't feel like taking any new pictures, so you get puppy pictures, hope you don't mind.

Most of you know that little Yoda (the girl pug, mind you) had surgery last October. She had a liver shunt that was causing her to get really sick and she was on the verge of dying, twice.

Well you would never know it if you saw her today. She has been gaining weight and is up to a whole 11.5 lbs right now; and she's going on 9 months. She is probably the tiniest pug I've ever seen, but it makes her all the more adorable. And she never ever lets her small size get in the way of anything. She can jump up on the couch and the bed (even if she's not allowed). She "herds" the cats in the basement, and she always demands attention.

She's quite the handful.

She's been on normal puppy food for about a month now and is doing great. She is also off of all of her medications, which is fantastic.

She is a happy, naughty, normal puppy again. And we are very grateful. Last year was pretty stressful and her surgery was a large financial obligation, but we wouldn't have changed anything.

Who would have ever guessed that I would be a pug person. If you would have asked me last year, I think a pug would be the last dog I would pick. But now that we've had Yoda for about 6 months, I'm in love with her. She has such a little attitude and is really too smart for her own good. She makes us smile and she makes us happy (most of the time). I'm glad my mom rescued momma pug and I'm glad we decided to take a puppy (ok, I decided. J didn't have any say in the matter). She was a great addition to our little family.

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And though Yoda is feeling better and looking 100% better, she still has quite a lot of vet bills that need to be paid. And now it looks like her little puppy teeth are going to have to be pulled because they just don't want to fall out (don't worry all her big girl teeth have come in just fine, those baby teeth just don't want to leave). So I'm still offering free shipping on everything in my Etsy Store and my Art Fire Store. That's FREE SHIPPING on everything. So stop by today and help a little puppy.

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I also want to thank everyone that has helped us through the tough times. Everyone that has sent us well wishes and words of encouragement, everyone that has purchased something from my etsy store, and everyone that has donated money to help with Yoda's vet bills, you guys have really helped us in so many ways. I can not begin thank you enough. It has meant so much to me. Thank you all again!!!

Under The Sea!

I finally have some new stuff to show off. I got the ol' camera out and forced myself to take new pictures (it's not really that bad, but I'd much rather be creating).

I made this necklace for a challenge last month, but decided I didn't like how it looked, so I never entered it.

This necklace has been one rocky road for me. I think I've taken it apart 1000 times. I've made two beaded ropes and numerous flowers.

I've added and subtracted, and just wasn't in love with it.

I finally got a flower I liked, but then thought it overpowered the whole necklace.

Ugggg, I just wasn't happy.

But I finally decided to listen to everyone around me and just keep it as is. J thinks it looks great and K (the grad student that works in the lab) says the flower reminds her of a sea anemone, so it fits perfectly.

I've worn this necklace to work and it lays really nice. So I've come around and I'm really starting to like this necklace a lot. I used some great vintage coral that a family friend sent me years ago (and I'm very happy to find something to use this beautiful coral for).

I'm particularly proud of the flower. I have never ever tried anything like this. I've always wanted to, but I've never been brave enough.

I tried a number of different stitches. I kept asking J if they looked like flower petals, and he would try his gentlest to let me know that they weren't quite flower like.

I had three different peyote stitch and 2 different brick stitch petals. They all turned out "ok". Then I gave up. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore.

But then while I was looking through a bead book that had beautiful sculptural bead work, it hit me. Try RAW. So I sketched something out and rushed home (I was at the book store killing time). And low and behold, I created a pretty decent flower petal on the first try.

Now I'll admit, it probably isn't the best flower (there are a number of unbelievably talented bead artists that can do so much better) and I'm definitely not the first person to think of using RAW for flower petals, but I'm pretty happy with it. I would like to try something else with a flower to see if I can perfect them a little bit more. Lets see what else I can put a flower on.

This isn't on etsy yet, but I'll have it up soon and I'll make sure to update this blog with the link when I do.

Treasury Thursday!

My green and purple beaded hoops are featured in this wonderful treasury; Go Green...... created by Momgen. Please stop by and check out all the other lovely items in this wonderfully green treasury.

Maybe someday I'll be able to snag a treasury and fill it with some of my favorites.

Check back soon, I have a bunch of new stuff that I can't wait to feature.

Non-Bead Related, Boy Related.

So Tuesday was J's band, 4 Aspirin Morning, first ever live performance. Well that's not fully true. They've played at a Trek store for about 10 people and they played a birthday party for the same people. This was there first ever live show not just for friends and family. Their first "paid" show, even if they were paid with pizza and beer.

I have to say it went really well. They played two sets, and J was amazing as usual (I might be a little bias). In all honestly all of the guys were amazing. They really did sound great.

It was pretty loud because the bar was so damn small, but oh well. And a lot of people showed up, which made it even better. It was fantastic to see people really enjoy their music and get up and dance like crazies. Hell, even the locals were getting down.

The night started at about 8:00.

The second band to play was The Cloth Sea. They were a lot more mellow and a nice contrast to the craziness of 4AM. I really liked their sound.

The best part is the bar owner liked them so much that both bands will be playing in a new bar in Beaver Dam this Saturday. It's not really the big time yet. But it's still pretty exciting.

Hopefully this will lead to more exposure and more gigs (maybe in Madison).

I say Madison because I'm not use to the small town bars where they still allow smoking (for now). I ended up with quite the sinus infection, but it was worth it.

I was also put in charge of photographing this shindig. Which was something new for me. I'm use to still life on a macro scale. I told them they had to stand really still and I was only going to take close up shots. But I don't think I did too bad. I've also been enjoying playing around with the pictures in PhotoShop. Hopefully by this Saturday I'll get a little bit better shots.

If you're in WI this Saturday and are looking for something to do, stop by Liquid Therapy and Grill and watch three amazing bands, no cover. The festivities start at 8:00.

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Now I need to get back to the import things, like beading and making patterns. I've fallen behind on that stuff due to this nasty sinus infection. But I promise to have some more beady goodness soon. Take care and enjoy the weekend.

Pictures (top to bottom): J playing guitar, 4Am, The Cloth Sea.

It's February Already!?!

Wow, the end of January has just been crazy for me. I've been scrambling to finish up my challenge piece for the EBW challenge. I've changed my mind a million times on how I want it to look. But hopefully I'll get that finished up tonight and I'll have some pictures later in the week with what I came up with.

Work has also been crazy. I'm on my own for a couple of weeks, and boy has it been crazy. But that's how it works, if you're short staffed, then all hell is gonna break loose. But I think I'm handling it just fine.

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I have some new pieces that I want to share with the world, but I've been putting off taking pictures of them. So I offer you a cuff I just re-listed. This is one of my favorite cuffs; my 80's-tastic cuff.

The colors are just fantastic in it. They are so bright and wonderful. I really wanted to keep this one for myself, but J reminded me that I can always make myself another one. So off it went to my Etsy store.

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Then the last little plug for today. If you live in South Central WI and don't have anything to do Tuesday, February 2, 2010, you should stop by the 1850's Inn in Juneau WI to watch 4 Aspirin Morning (J's band) and The Cloth Sea. No cover charge!!!! Come see some great ska music! TUESDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2010!!!!

The sound quality is crap in this video (it was taken with a camera), but you get the idea.