Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bead Table Wednesday

I have been very diligent the past couple days working to get my beading act together.  When the weather is hot, it is difficult to work in my beading studio so the beading gets carried into the house.  After several projects accumulate, it is difficult to find the couch (my temporary studio).  So the past couple days have been cooler, and I have transported the beads back to the porch.  However, after doing this dance all summer, my table in the studio porch is a WRECK.  See for yourself.
Sure, I would love to be one of the "organized" people.  But I am not.  Quite frankly, I am lazy.  Clean is great, but I easily get overwhelmed even before I pick up the first item.  I probably need therapy, I definitely need the help of a professional organizer and house cleaner, and perhaps even the assistance of the local fire department.  Seems to me torching, and starting anew might be simpler. The really sad part is that this is after I have worked on the table for 2 nights, many hours each time!  (Of course, while I was proofing this post, I realized that it is easy to complain, but I am truly blessed to be able to have beads to work with, and the means to purchase them).
A good portion of my problem is how to store it?  I have boxes, I have sectioned containers, I have baggies enough to never need another the rest of my life (except no matter  how many I have, there is never one the "right" size).  Consequently, I work at putting away the items I can, and then where do I go with the rest?  I have boxes for findings, chain, wire, my VAST seed bead collection, and crystals.  However, there are far more beads to be classified, and I haven't gotten there yet.  Another problem?  Sorting and touching the beads gets the creative juices flowing, and soon I am making jewelry rather than cleaning up the bead table! 
This is a project I purchased supplies for LAST fall, and never got around to making the piece.  Guess what I found when cleaning the table!  Thankfully I had the foresight to put all the beads for the project together in the box with the leaf, so they were all ready to go after they were excavated from the pile of beads!  I am still working on it, but this is my current project on the table and when it is finished, I need to start on my Bead Soup project.  Look for some of the bead table disaster to soon be added to our Etsy shop, De-stash seems the way to rid myself of some of this flotsam!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Ideas=Zero

So when I sat down to write this post I had no ideas.  Zero, Zip, Nada.  Now that I am writing it, still few ideas.  I did come across the "Shadowbox Challenge Blog Hop" hosted by Lorelei Eurto while reading some of the blogs I follow.  Here are my favorites:
Necklace 31 by FryeStyle

by Lorelei Eurto 
By Maria Grimes
If you would like to look at the participant's pieces, just click the links below the photos (which I borrowed from each site) to be connected to the full list of participants.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Artbeads Design Partner Galleries

Artbeads put up our design photos on their Facebook page today!  This is my piece from the post back in May.
To view the Blog for Beaders post on Artbeads blog: go here.
To view the galleries on Facebook (I am in the 2nd gallery):go here.

If you would like to see it in person, I have entered it in the Nebraska State Fair which opens today!  It is in the Fine Arts class.  You can see our other designs at the Highland Park Farmers Market tomorrow in Hastings from 8am-12pm and we just took new inventory into Graham Gallery.  There is an art reception tonight, the first for the new Gallery owner, Donna Alber.  Stop by and see what's happening!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Completely Random...

Watering The Herd

custom wine stopper order for couples gifts for a September wedding

Suki getting comfortable on the "princess pillow" formerly known as the kitchen chair cushion

Chris's Marbles and Beads at Hastings Art in the Park

custom wine stopper order for couples gifts for a September wedding

The "princess" has perched

Our cutie patootie birthday girls.  Mina (on the left) and Zoe (on the right) share their birthday.  They were born on the same day, in the same hour, 12 years apart and are the only girls in the family!

custom wine stopper order for couples gifts for a September wedding

Another "princess" in the family.  Waiting to have her 14 candles lit on her cake.
I had difficulty finding a topic for the blog the last couple days so I went to our photos and picked randomly from the past couple months to share with you.  Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Color Trends for Fall

I don't usually pay much attention to fashion forecasts for colors or style.  Living in the Midwest, by the time styles get to us they are long gone in the "fashionable" places such as New York, California, and Paris.  I do enjoy seeing what colors will be the "in" colors and I am surprised at how right those predictions can be.  I have seen this panel in several posts and emails recently:
Pantone
I went shopping at one of my very favorite stores, CJ Banks, yesterday.  I purchased clothes in these colors:


And believe it or not, they had items in most of these colors!  Now do the designers pick the colors or do they look at what everyone has made first and then say "these are the colors"?  I don't really know, but I do feel slightly fashionable at the moment!
Here are some of the items I purchased:
Find Your Fit Tee in Praline Cocoa

Lace Trim Cami in Praline Cocoa

Crochet Bolero Cardigan in Seed Pearl Beige

Trim Crochet Tee in Spirit Red

Blue Multi Strand Necklace
The reason I went into CJ Banks (all of my pictures came from cjbanks.com) was that I spilled ice tea down my shirt and had lovely brown stains on my aqua blue shirt.  This happens all of the time and I get quite a few new shirts by having to change after a meal malfunction.  Anyway, so I wore the red shirt out of the store and I love the design details and the gorgeous red color.  I also purchased the brown tee (got it on clearance for $7), a brown, a blue, and an orange lace cami (all half off) and the crochet sweater (half off with my coupon).  The necklace also had to come along because it went will almost everything I bought (30% off with coupon)!  I think I did well, now if the silly weather will cool off so I can wear the sweater!

Friday, August 19, 2011

My Goodies Have Arrived

Today I got my package of Bead Soup ingredients from Valerie! 
This was the beginning!  A lovely card, how pretty is that envelope!
The card is a Mary Engelbreit card!  I love her designs, they are so happy and bright!  How did Valerie know?!
This fun "paint" can was the container for all my beady goodness!  How cute is it!  I love that the opener is attached to the handle with a pretty ribbon!  I am fairly sure that was Valerie's work and I love how she added the stickers for decoration.  I love this little container, it could hold so many fun things to give as gifts!  I will have to find out where Valerie got it!
Not the best picture of my goodies.  The plastic bags and dimming daylight conspired against us.  I will take a picture when I take all the beads from their baggies.  I received:  2 handmade pendants, handmade wire links, a lacy sterling silver clasp, some black silky cord, mother of pearl rings, freshwater pearls, silver and copper spacer beads, Czech glass, spiny oyster shell, and Swarovski crystal.  All of my favorite things!
The gorgeous dichro pendants hand forged by Valerie!  Aren't they awesome?!  I love them both and they have such different design potential!  The one on the left makes me think of the 80s and the one on the right brings to mind a fall design.  Valerie said in her note that she couldn't decide which to send, so she sent both!  I am a lucky, lucky beader!  I have my work cut out for me to make something to showcase Valerie's beautiful work!  Stay Tuned!
P.S.  My cat, Sabrina liked the Bead Soup too!  I had to pry it from under her to list all the items.  She has a "thing" for paper!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Bead Soup Ingredients For Valerie!

Valerie posted the ingredients we sent her so it is safe for me to share them here too!  Drum roll please...
Autumn Beaky Bird Focal made by Chris with matching spacers and beads.
The whole deal!  Freshwater and Biwa pearls, crystals, Picasso jasper, faceted agates, C-Koop toggle, clock face, key, spacer beads, chain lengths,  and of course Chris's focal right in the center!  I love this mix of beads and it was so much fun putting it together for Valerie!  You can check out her post here
Valerie thinks my ingredients should get here today!  Can't wait to see what she sends me!


I Wish I Had Thought...







Source for all: Pinterest

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