Thanksgiving 2011

Hey there, I'm back. I had a very nice Thanksgiving with both my sons - Kody came home from college for two days and his girlfriend Lacey joined us as well from Santa Barbara U., my Mom - who made the most delicious dinner ever, and of course dogs and cats all underneath the table drooling and waiting for a scrap. It was a pretty day outside and has been a gorgeous weekend. The window in my room is open and the sun is shining. The evening of Thanksgiving I started feeling worse than usual and that night came down with the flu. Stomach, fever, achy all over. Jeez! I recovered enough by Saturday to get back to work on a bracelet I'm making for a friend. I actually have to finish two bracelets, a necklace and a secret pal gift before Christmas..... without going nuts! Uh Huh. I'm not panicking.

If I could ask Santa for one gift this year it would be a more comfortable chair to sit and bead in. I like the office type that swivels since I have my workspace set up like an "L" shape. It's not long before my butt's totally numb and my back is jacked. There has to be the perfect chair out there somewhere...just sayin' Santa!

I'm listening to "Any Other Day" by Wyclef Jean feat. Norah Jones. Such a pretty song. Well it's back to work. I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and took the time to reflect on all that we have to be so thankful for.

I KNOW WHERE ALL THE LOST SOCKS GO...

...Because I have been there.  It's a very lonely place but I found my way back.  I'm amazed I could fit in the dryer!  That's the only excuse I can offer at this time.  I wish I had a better one but the truth is always more boring and not worth hashing out.  I have begun to get my muse back.  Little by little.  I've been doing more stringing than bead embroidery the past year and I have even become more interested in metals and gemstones.  Of course they all require $$$$.  So on a budget I have been dabbling.  I want to re-reach out to my friends who I have lost touch with this year.  There are some truly wonderful people who have touched my life in the last few years and I let my illnesses, my tendency to isolate along with my frustration and physical pain cut me off from them.  I saw life passing me by and I couldn't keep up based on my personal physical restrictions and I guess I just turned away from it when it became too much.  I mean here is this laptop on my bead table and did I open it and talk to the people I love?  No I chose to wallow in self-pity when things got too tough.  It's easy to do when battling multiple illnesses but definitely NO EXCUSE! I miss going to bead meetings, the very thing that breathed life back into me.  I miss hugs from my most loving friend, Arline,  and talking to other members.  Never mind all the inspiration they provide.  I know that because I am a type A with control issues I have to learn to accept my limitations and more important let people in and let people help when I need it.  That said I pray that I can be welcomed back into the fold with the understanding that I am only human and trying very hard to adjust to my current set of circumstances.  You'd think after almost 5 years I would have it sorted out but I don't.  I found beading and I found CCBS and Arline and BJ and Becki and all the women I love and appreciate for a reason.  I need to remember how precious those gifts are every %$#$#@$%$^ day!!!!!  I'm not alone unless I make it that way.  Please forgive me and let's get back to beading and living, O.K.?
My son, Kody was home from college this past weekend for a little visit. He works at Ambercrombie and Fitch which I don't know how to spell but he likes it.  He is about 6 ft. 3 in. or maybe taller and all muscle.  He and his girlfriend Lacey made peanut butter choc. chip cookies.  He should come home more often!  Unfortunately he had a bout of the stomach bug for the first two days and I lived in fear for the rest of the time that I was next but it missed me!!!!! Yeah!!!!!  They left a few hours ago.  He's driving his g.f. back to Santa Barbara State U. and then he will drive back to college in San Luis Obispo.  Ahhhh to be young again!  He's doing fantastic in school and his g.f. is very smart, funny, cool and we love her.  Kody was lucky to find such an amazing and beautiful young lady.  They are best friends and that is a great foundation for love.
I made 3 new original necklaces last month and I wish I could always remember to get a photo before they go.  I love the necklace I made and traded in order to turn my hair back to blonde again.  It was a lariat using a polymer clay focal and little PMC feathers from Klewexpressions and used lots of stones and chips and wire and even braided the  leather rope it hung on.  I am proud of that one.  If I get a picture of the lady wearing it I will post it.  I will stalk her if I have to.  Just kidding.  The other 2 are still here waiting to find homes. One is a lariat with  gunmetal colored chain and 3 metal rings that were made off center and really cool looking.   I then embellished the end of the chain that I threaded through them with the beautiful agate teardrops I purchased a long time ago on one of my trips to the coast with Arline.  Then I made a big chunky necklace using large agate nuggets -black - dyed aqua blue, some of my old, dwindling, Bali silver stash beads and some man-made turquoise large chips, some wood beads and a glass focal.  I strung some brown iris CFP rounds on a piece of ring size memory wire and encircled the focal with it.
I'm working on my second Bohemian Lace Necklace in my fav. colors -(earthy tones with some gold and silver to make it pop) for a good friend.  I made the first one in lavendar and silver/gray and got burnt out so this one is taking some time!!  You can see the original design at themagpie.com along with many other gorgeous jewelry she makes.  It's time consuming but worth the effort.  

earrings I made for  secret pal

Schmuel making off with a tube of beads

Caught Chewie trying to use ebay. Hmmm...

I'm tired and my dogs are telling me it's dinner time.  Already???? Did you remember to set your clocks back an hour last night?  I didn't but my pugs did.  I'll try to get a couple pictures up to commemorate this occasion... my return from the place where lost socks go.

Need to bead freely now.

This was a cuff I made last year using a raku button as the focal bead. I was really beading free when I made this one and it felt so awesome as it came together. It's probably my favorite piece I made. It's a reminder to me that I do have it within me to let go.

Well January is almost over and I haven't started my first BJP. I was afraid this would happen. I'm trying to relax about it. It's been such a busy month filled with mounds of paperwork which I cannot stand anymore. (And I used to be a bookkeeper!) I just checked out Arline's blog and Whoa girl! She is on fire. Already starting March's page. I'm happy for her because I know she must feel really good creating something so beautiful. She is amazing. It's pretty neat when you can look at a beaded page and actually feel the cold outside. January's page is one of those. That's art. Art inspires feelings/reactions in you. Good or bad, uncomfortable or warm and fuzzy or even repulsive. As long as it makes you feel something it is art. Start with a blank piece of felt and start sewing on one bead at a time and before long you have an emotion or a story and that's incredible. Of all the art mediums I have tried on, beading is the most challenging and rewarding.

I thought I should have something important or really introspective to say with my January BJP because it's my first one and this has me hung up. I need to just get out of my head. I might just bead something that is just fun and it's only meaning is to let me feel free. I have so many fires to put out right now, so much weighing on me in my personal life. I think this month shouldn't be a "heavy"! So with that in mind I should probably get beading and let this blog go for a bit. I am new to this but I am learning. Learning to be gentle with myself, thank you Robin.

Have you ever experienced this beadblock and if so what have you done to remedy the situation? Let me know!

* Time to bead freely, no matter what it looks like, it's a part of me.

Coming Up: I just finished a new necklace and my friends tell me that the rope looks like a hair scrunchy. Need to take the picture! And I will be posting my first BJP next time I log on!

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe it's 2010. Sounds like a space odyssey movie title or something. I remember when I was a kid and I would imagine life in the year 2000...cars that hover, robots, crazy stuff. Well with all the new-fangled techno gear we have I wasn't too far off. It's just weird to be here and realize that not too much has changed. My car has wheels for example and they are bald at the moment.

Today is my birthday and I'm old enough to know better I guess. It's a beautiful, crisp, sunny winter day and I'm headed to the library with my Mom to do my third favorite thing...find the perfect book(s) to escape with for the next couple of weeks. I haven't blogged for a while and since I haven't really given out my blog address yet I guess it's no biggy but I miss it. I have a few resolutions like losing some weight and doing more yoga...hope it sticks this time! Oh and to bead more! I'm happy to report that I'm finally emerging from the beading rut I was in earlier this winter. I made a slew of pretty earrings for Christmas gifts and knitted some nice scarves and ponchos for friends. I got invited to some great Christmas parties and celebrating with my closest friends was the perfect end to the year. Now it's time to begin my Bead Journal page adventure! I'm brainstorming right now.

Since it's my birthday I am posting a picture of a necklace I made using my birthstone, garnet, and sterling silver. It's not my design though. I got the idea from a beautiful necklace made by Mary Champion that was published in the Sept. 09 issue of Bead Style Magazine. It was a real inspiration and an opportunity to use the silver that I've been hoarding for several years.

I'm going to try to blog more often. I just watched the movie Julie and Julia about the gal who blogged about Julia Child's cookbook: The Art of Mastering French cooking and then made over 500 recipes in 365 days, phew! It was such a good movie. I felt guilty for not getting my butt in gear and blogging more! At least I don't have to cook!

Happiest wishes to everyone out there for the new year. Hopefully our economy will improve and there will be more peace around the world.

Amber cuff

I guess I tend to post long messages so here is a short one. I like making cuffs the most but I occasionally string. This is my amber cuff. I incorporated things I found around the house like some old earrings. This piece is what I call my aching back because I got a little obsessive about getting it done and it took a lot of hours!

Life is a journey home. Life is a circle...so is a beaded cuff!

Well I never do things in order so now that it's Saturday I have a few minutes to talk a little about myself and my reason for blogging. I live in a small town near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park. Talk about good fortune. I have an endless supply of inspiration right outside my door. I walk my three pugs three times a day and these are my favorite times since I can take in all the beautiful scenery around me and dream about what I'm going to make next. I live with my Mom and two sons ever since my divorce a few years ago and we have formed a special family unit. I am eternally grateful for my Mom. A real survivor, she inspires me and pushes me to keep going when I feel like giving in. She has a favorite saying: It is what it is. It's something I tell myself every day. My sons are amazing. My oldest is 16 and preparing to graduate this year. I'm so not ready for this! He just got his SAT's back and he got a 1780. Yes I'm bragging here. I am so proud of him. He's in the drumline, marching band, etc. and a whiz at math and science. College is the next step and I'm muddling through the financial aid process and dealing with the idea that he is really growing up. He has a good job after school and likes to hang out with his friends. My youngest son is my heart. He is comical, a guitar player, likes to make experiments, still a hugger and a heck of a photographer. My kids are my life and they keep me striving to do bigger and better things. I buried the creative artist that I was before husbands, jobs and babies so long ago that I nearly forgot who she was. I am in a very special place in my life right now that really excites me. I am slowly rediscovering the artist in me and remembering how much I loved to make things. I have more time and energy for self-discovery.

I took a beading class just for the heck of it back in 2008 and met my dear friend, Arline , (her blog is : Sharedstuffbyarline.blogspot.com) who took me under her wing and taught me all about beading and introduced me to the Central California Bead Society. Their website is: www.centralcaliforniabeadsociety.org This incredibly talented woman has become like a second Mom to me. She got my reluctant butt onto at train to the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza (website:www.beadextravaganza.com ) She took me to the coast and taught me the basics of bead embroidery which inspired my first beaded cuff. Her faith in me and her inspiration has helped me to create some pieces that really surprised me. I met many wonderful women in the club who took me in and showed me the ropes and showered me with so much love... just what I needed after the trauma of the past few years. They helped me heal my wounds and gave me hope. I no longer feel that life is full of pain and disappointment waiting to happen. Life is incredible. I only wish I had met them sooner but this was meant to be and they were brought into my life when I needed them the most and so it is!

During our trip to the coast I met another amazing bead artist named Anja (you can check her out at: www.anjasbeaddesign.com.) She teaches and designs and has a warm and loving way about her that is such a pleasure to know. I can't wait to see where our friendship goes.

So this is the beginning of my journey. I'm learning about my true self and expressing that through my beading. My dream is to turn the passion I have for this artform into a business. This blog is a way for me to connect with other beaders/crafters, share their love for art and hopefully take a hobby to the next level. I'm not really hip to the computer so I am learning as I go here. I love to get comments so I can check out your blogs so drop me a line if you have time. Happy Beading!

A new piece

I made this necklace last month right after buying the materials. I usually don't do that. I get the supplies and they end up in my stash for a few months but something about the brass leaves really moved me to get going. I will try to find out the artist's name who created the leaves the next time I'm in Fresno. I don't like to leave that out and I'm assuming they weren't mass produced. They feel incredible in your hand with all the detail of the leaf veins.

It was a fun project with kind of a funny twist. Before I attached the crimps and clasp I had one end held together with a piece of scotch tape and the other end with a little metal bead stopper. Well I stood up to hang it around my neck to check length and suddenly felt something moving down the back of my pants. My initial reaction was that it was a bug (I don't know why!) and I began grabbing at my rear trying to get it out and the whole necklace flew off the wires landing scattered in my shag carpet or as I call it: land of the lost. There was no bug...it was the bead stop and it had somehow fallen down my back into my underwear. Luckily I had taken photos of my work in progress as made it and after my son Kody dug all the tiny crystals out of the carpet for me I was able to restring it. Phew!!! Sometimes I am such a spaz. I got busy putting those crimps on and the necklace was saved.

There is a story behind every piece we make and sometimes it happens while we are making it!