More Beads of Courage Beads

These beads

and

these beads,

except for the butterfly beads,

Go into my Beads of Courage Bowl.

When it's full,

I'll mail it in to Beads of Courage!

Feel free to join me.

There are many ways to give to this amazing organization!!!

Make it real for these kids!

 

Three Beautiful Things This Week!

  

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.

 

1) Even though there were some very unexpected events that happened this week, I could only smile about the outpouring of love I felt.  Family and friends are wonderful, even when they don't always know what to say!  Somehow, knowing this, I know that things will work out.  They always do!

2) I started to write my first ebook this week.  I can assure you that it will not be a book that has mass appeal, but it will be available on my blog when it's finished, if only I can figure out how to make it download.  I'm very excited about this project.

3) I made more beads for Beads of Courage.  I admire the courage and the outlook on life that these children have.  It is my joy and pleasure to participate in this program!

Bead Soup Blog Party Time Again

It's that time again!

Tonight, I got my package ready to mail to my Bead Soup Blog Partner

Tanti Sri Hartanti.

You can find her beautiful jewelry on her blog 

HERE!

So, since my Bead Soup is ready, almost, to send to Tanti,

(She lives in Jakarata, Indonesia!  Cool!),

I thought I'd let you and Tanti see what I am sending her.

The only problem is that I have been having some problems with my camera and my computer today.

I hope the pictures are okay!

Here's a group shot!

Darn it!  That camera is doing weird things!

 Oh, no, I missed the focal completely in this shot!  I thought I had it.  That camera!

 Here are the beads I'm sending Tanti!

Oh, no, what is wrong with this computer?

I'll try again!

Here's the clasp.

I missed it again!!!!

That camera of mine!

Here's another group shot!  Wait!  What is going on?

I'm sorry, Tanti!

I guess you'll have to wait until your package arrives!

;0)

Ten Things About Me!

1) In my house, no one gives me treats or feeds me, at least, that's what I tell my friends at Pet Expo.  Then THEY give me treats and THEY pet me. 

2) I really like junk food, at least, that's what my human says it is.  I don't think it's junk!  It's good food!

3) When I get hot, I sure do like those sponge baths!  They cool me off, and then I can sleep really well!

4) I still don't get it, but one day two men came into my house and took away my couches!  There were new couches there when I came back downstairs, and they were really more comfortable, but I don't know why they took my couches away.

5) I have a lot of friends who live near me.  Buck lives across the street with his human.  Gracie lives at the end of the block with her human.  Then there's my Auntie Helen and Uncle Curt.  They live next to Gracie and her human.  I really like all my friends.

6) I don't get it.  I know it's polite to sniff someone's butt, but my human says that we don't do that in this house.  I really don't get it.

7) My human knows Jenny who has two cats.  Those cats scare me.  I have to do what they tell me to do.  One time, I wanted to get on the couch at Jenny's house, Walter told me I had to sleep on the floor.  I did.  I don't get it.  He wasn't even on the couch with me.  Sheesh!  Those cats are sure bossy!

8) My human knows Nick.  I don't get to see him very often, but he sure loves me.  He's always telling me how pretty I am!  He rubs my ears!  He's not like those cats that Jenny has!

9) Another thing that I don't get are toys.  What are toys and why does my human want me to play with them?  Doesn't she know I'd rather sleep?  Then she wants to play "Where's Pixie?"  She can see me.  I don't get it!  Why doesn't she know where I am?

10) Life can be so confusing.   Sometimes I just shut my eyes and I am running in that ring chasing that rabbit.  That's so much fun!  And then I get to meet people!  I love people!  Sigh!   I love my dreams!

An Attitude of Gratitude!

It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to practice this.

Thanksgiving can be practiced any time, any where,

time and time again.

I like to do this exercise, randomly, without thinking.  You might find it useful, too.

Without taking the time to think,

write down 5 -10 things for which you are grateful.

Don't stop.

Just write.

I am grateful for:

my children

my home

my roses

my dog

my friends

my family

my support system

good doctors

good food

lampwork beads

 This exercise took me less than one minute to complete.

I'm also grateful for that!

Naos - Amber Van Meter: Kind, Generous, and an Amazing Artist

Amber Van Meter, aka Naos, is one of those artists who has developed a unique style in her bead making.  

This style makes fellow makers drool with envy.

(I'm included in that group!)

Look at this beautiful set!

See what I mean?

You can find this in Amber's Etsy Store.

Here's the link.

 This is another set in Amber's Shop.

Here's the Link.

See this amazing set of beads?

I have tried for a long time to figure out how to make them.

I've not had much luck.

A week ago, Amber posted a "free" tutorial on how to make them on Lampworketc.

In an age when there are so many wonderful tutorials ready to be purchased,

Amber freely shared the information on how to make this style of bead!

She even stated that she expected to see more beads like this in the gallery.

Wow!

Thank you for this generous gift, Amber!

 I almost forgot!

Here's the link to these amazing beads!

This isn't the first time that Amber has shared her technique on how to make beads, and,

again, she shared freely.

 These beads are called Fire Opals.

Yes, she did it with these, too!

Amber shared her special technique for making these Fire Opals.

Thank you, Amber!

Here's the link for the fire opals in Amber's Etsy Store.

 Look at these discs!

Amber has a unique style in her bead making.

She's a very successful bead maker, too!

I know that I drool when I see her beads!

Oh, here's where you can find these beads.

Click Here.

Other places to find Amber:

Ebay

Naos Glass.com

Bead Artists.com

AGLF store

Amazing, isn't she?

Thanks, Amber, for all you do for the glass community!

 

 

I Heart Macro - It's been HOT!

I Heart Macro

It's Been SO HOT!!

The Fans Have Been Running, 

They are only turned off at night when

I turn on the ceiling fan!

I Heart Macro!

HOT!

What I did today, so far!!!

It's been a busy day today.

I just thought I'd show you a bit of what I did today.

I did a bit of cleaning.

I'm not showing you that!!!

However, I am showing you that I have been having a bit of disc nirvana.

These beads are not yet cleaned, so that will happen as soon as this post is posted.

These are BIG discs!  I can hardly wait to put them to good use!

These are some of my funky, wonky discs!

Some small discs in fall colors.

Falling leaves?

Love this focal!!

Sea Shells anyone?

And then I cut a lot of copper jump rings.

What to do?

What to do?

Soon it will be polymer clay.

I have pieces to finish.

There are lots of new and improved word beads!!

Tomorrow,

I Heart Macro!

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.


!)  It wasn't a bad week!  It was fun!
I made this my profile picture on Facebook.  You can follow me HERE, if you like!   I thought that this would be fun to use!!!  Is it bright enough for you?

2) Lunch with friends is always fun!  Terry and I sat and talked and talked and talked!  I always love these types of get togethers!

3) The weather was beautiful yesterday.  It was the perfect summer day.  The humidity was low.  The temperatures were perfect.  Other than getting stung by mosquitoes as I mowed the lawn, the day was an overwhelming success!!!

The Popcorn Bracelet

It's no secret!

I love popcorn!

I also enjoy making popcorn beads!

I made this bracelet to take with me to the Bead and Button Show,

but,

because I was hooked on red and purple at the time,

I didn't take it with me.

So, I just want to show you the bracelet and encourage you to make one of your own.

It doesn't have to be like mine.

You can design it any way you like.

It's fun to wear, too.

Now, I don't have the photos to show you, but here's how you make it.

You are simply stringing the beads on to the beading wire.

I made 18 popcorn beads.

If you know someone who makes glass beads, or if you make them,

HERE'S

 a quick tutorial on how I make these beads.

You will also need 

21 4mm bicone crystals

The amount might vary depending on your wrist size.

You need a clasp.

I love my toggle clasps.

You will also need beading wire and two crimps.

Crimp covers are optional.

Begin by adding 1 crimp bead and one piece of your toggle to the wire.

Crimp your toggle in place.  

Add and alternate one crystal and one popcorn bead until the wire is a fit for your wrist.

I needed to add 3 more crystals before I added the other crimp and toggle piece.

Add the other end of your toggle and crimp it into place.

Optional:  Cover your crimps with crimp covers.

Ta-Da!  You are finished, and you have a fun bracelet to wear!

I hope you enjoy this!!!

My Beads Came!!!!

They came!!

I am so excited, and I love each and every one of them!

I joined a bead exchange on Lampworketc called

You Pick!

Each of us submitted a picture for inspiration and everyone in our group made a bead based on our photo for inspiration.

Wow!  The results were spectacular!

Take a look at what I received.

The only thing I forgot to do was to show you a copy of my picture.

It came from a JC Penney Catalog, but you'll get the idea.

It's a group photo!

Now for some more organized ones.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3!

and you might want to check out Marcy Lamberson's blog!

She was in this one, too.

Click 

HERE to see her blog post about the exchange!

This was really fun and challenging.

The creative juices were flowing!

 

The Classes - Part 2 - Melissa Manley

Metals and Enameling

Fun!

I met Melissa as we sat down to lunch at a table at the Bead and Button Show.

We start to talk about bifocals, trifocals, and the problems we had working on our crafts with them.

Melissa mentioned that she had an opening in a couple of her classes.

As soon as we left the table, I was registering for her metal and enameling class scheduled for the next day!

AM I EVER GLAD THAT I TOOK HER CLASS!!!

I finally learned how to enamel metals!

At last!  I am waiting to get some time to try them here at home!

Before I forget, here's a link to Melissa's Etsy store.

She's a fantastic metal smith!

Click HERE!

We made puffy hearts.

Then, we enameled them.

Here are the results!

 

The colors didn't turn out exactly as I hoped on this one, but I plan to add a lampwork heart to it.

I'll wire the heart into place.

I think it's going to look great!

This heart is my favorite!!

I love the way the colors interacted and blended.  I also love wearing it!

This is another artist I would recommend that, if you ever have the chance,

TAKE HER CLASS!

You will not regret it!

Our chance meeting was a true blessing!

Stay tuned for more!

The Classes - Part 1 - Christie Friesen and Polymer Clay

This was the first class that I have taken from Christie Friesen,

and

I LOVED IT!

Not only is Christie an amazing artist in clay,

she is FUN!

I learned a lot from her.  She let me make many pieces in her class.

Then, she taught us how to use certain chemicals and make polymer clay look like metals.

I hate the word chemical, but it's the only one I can think of to describe liquid metals, patinas and dyes.

Fun!

Here's what came out of my class!

I need to listen more carefully to directions.  

I thought we were adding more items to the heart after baking.

Whooops!

The green urchin was an experiment using a mold.

It will get better as we go!

I decided that I like the heart the was it was and didn't add metals to it.

The cat is a "lump" cat from one of Christie's books!

More cats will find their way into my Etsy store once I make some eyes.

Octopus on a raft

That was fun!

This was all play!

Thank you, Christie, for showing me how to make this octopus!

Now, on to the metals!

I'm not happy with this, but the great thing is, that as soon as my kit arrives, I can work on it again and improve the look. 

It will be much better later, I promise.

Believe it or not, this urchin started out green.  I added bronze and copper metals.

I added a verdigris patina.

It was then topped off with brass!

Cool, isn't it!

I love this!

The mold is perfect!

The polymer clay looks like a piece of metal that has sat out in the rain and snow for many years!

This is my favorite.

I plan to make more!

Wow!

Stay tuned!

Another class will follow this blog tomorrow.

And,

if you ever have an opportunity to take a class from Christie,

I urge you to do it!

It's a class you will never regret!

I Heart Macro - The Life of a Milkweed Plant

I Heart Macro!

The life of a MilkWeed Plant

Buds

 Flowers

Fading

The End

We wait for the pods!

I Heart Macro!

Aftermath from the Bead and Button Show

Everyone is way ahead of me!

They've posted and shown what their shopping cruise netted at the Bead and Button Show.

Well, I'm finally home,

and

I finally took pictures, so 

HERE

WE

GO!

I decided that this year, I would treat myself to a bit of  Jennifer Jangles,

Aren't these beads fun?

I can hardly wait to get to work on them!

 

 

These flower discs were made by Susan Sheehan.

Aren't they pretty?

These will make fun earrings or a bracelet!

They will be fun!

 

 Isn't this bird cute?

It was made by Amy Walman-Smith.

I thought he was so cute!

Wow!

My Holly Cooper bead!

Love it!

Trade Beads!

From Left to Right

Darcy York,

Amy Singleton Kuczewski

Sharon Driscoll.

Cool, huh?

 

 

Look at this sweet bag from Lori Anderson!  

Lori hosted a get together for those of us who had participated in her previous Bead Soup Blog hops.

It was fun!

Look at the wonderful goodies in the bag!!

Thank you, Lori!

We had a mini bead soup trade.

We all put our "soups" in a basket.  Lori walked around the room with all the "soups" in a basket,

and we got to choose our "soups" from the basket held above our heads.

This is what I received!

Love it!!!

Coming soon!

Classes!

They were fun, too!