Monday, October 31, 2011

Boo! Happy Halloween!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween!  So fun, so carefree!  Here are some fun things I found on Pinterest today!
Mina Love the movie Nightmare Before Christmas, I thought this was a cool idea!

This phrase always gives me a little shiver up my spine when I hear it or read it.

Combines two of my Favorites!  Beauty and the Beast & Twilight!

Wish I had this kind of time!  Very cool and ghoulish!

Cute!

Fun!  Reminds me of Annette Blair books, which I love!

cool decorations!

Nice make up job, reminds me of my Day of the Dead bead challenge.

Love the vintage Halloween cards/postcard designs!

Clever!  Love pumpkins carved in different ways!

See above caption!
Hope your Halloween is filled with more treats than tricks!

Day of the Dead Bead Challenge update:
After adding an additional 6 hours of time to my project Monday and Tuesday evening last week, I had a thread break on the herringbone spiral I was stitching, and it ALL FELL APART!!  I must say, that put me off the project for a few days, and I believe I muttered a few "bad" words.  Consequently, on Friday night I spent time with those beads doing wire crochet instead.  I think I have that portion done now except for attaching it together.  Stay tuned!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Day of the Dead Challenge Update...

Last week I told you about my newest Challenge project.  As I am sure you have noticed, posts have been a bit thin the past couple weeks.  All of my time is being spent at work at my two jobs or at work at my beading table.  To date I have worked about 13 hours on my project piece.  I have done a right angle weave using Tila beads, fringed with Lucite, pearls, crystal, and LOTS of seed beads, and now I am working a spiral herringbone tube that will at this point wrap around the fringe section.  Next (once the tube is done) I plan to finish the rope hanging the piece using some 8mm Chinese crystal rondelles accented with a netting stitch.  I am amazing myself!  I haven't seeded beaded this much all year, but it is looking amazing!  Stay tuned for further updates!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

New Challenges...

Sorry for the silence, beading has been consuming all of my time!  Friday and Saturday we were in Lincoln for the Lincoln Bead Show which took place on Saturday.  Here are some highlights:
  • The meeting room where the show was held was large and fairly well lit (anyway our area was, people in the back section struggled though)
  • The room we spent the night in at same hotel, not so great.  Think 70's disco movie, with the pool area rented out for birthday parties and there were 4 going on Friday night until Midnight.
  • The "non" smoking room, may have been now, but wasn't for about the previous twenty years.  Yuck, old stale cigarette smell.
  • Bathroom, postage stamp size, but had good water pressure and hot water.  Wasn't too scary if you kept the lights off or your eyes shut.
  • The arm rails on the chairs looked like werewolves had previously stayed there.  
  • The bed was comfortable and clean, though my side sloped to the floor.
  • Mina hung out in the room after we headed down to work in the bead show, until it was check out time.  Check out time came sooner than she thought when she saw the mouse running around in the room.
On the plus side, we had a terrific show and spent time visiting with our other bead vendor friends and had fun visiting with new and returning customers.  The dragons were a huge hit!

On the new front, I am one of ten participants taking part in The Hole Bead Shoppe's Day of the Dead Bead kit challenge.  Here is a picture of my kit supplies:
My kit fee was $50 and I got a $120+ value!  Crazy the amount of items that were in the kit, and WOW do I feel the pressure to create an over the top, fabulous piece!  The kit has a wide variety of Lucite flowers and leaves, Vintaj keys and blanks, fresh water pearls, Czech daggers and fire polish, Swarovski crystals, a variety of seed beads and Tila beads, gunmetal plate spacers, Tierracast beads and spacers, and a Palmtree Queen Day of the Dead lampwork focal.  Here is a picture of the skull beads the Hole Bead Shoppe added to our kits:
Mine is in the second row, second from the left!  They are AWESOME!

I received my kit on Monday, and I have worked on my piece about 5 hours so far.  I have a long ways to go, I will keep you in the loop!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Here There Be Dragons....

Earlier this week, I mentioned that Chris had made dragons and here they are!  Aren't they cool?!  We had a special order for one, and this is what became a new line!  My favorite is the yellow and orange.  I need to name them, but that hasn't happened yet.  This is the "premier" of them and we have already sold two!  They will be with us at the Lincoln Bead Show if you would like to see them in person!  Chris made more last night, but those haven't had their pictures taken yet.  Like the collage?  I am playing around with Picnik for editing our photos.  Not sure I like it, seems to bog our computer down and I haven't learned my way around things yet.  I am trying the "premium" feature for a month and we'll see if it is worth continuing.  I like how the collage turned out though!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Lincoln Bead Show This Saturday!

Vendors for the Lincoln Bead Show:
5Z's Star City Bead Shop: Japanese beads, delicas, beading supplies & findings
Ayla's Originals: furnace glass, sterling findings, gemstones, freshwater pearls
beads etc..: unicorne beads
Carole Rodgers Creative: cabochons, gemstone beads & pendants, books, kits, beads
Designer Beads & Charms: gemstones, pearls, glass, sterling silver, findings
Omaha Lampworkers: lampwork beads, fused glass, jewelry, earrings
Jewelry is Art: metal art clay beads, jewelry & supplies
Papio Creek Gems & Gifts: gemstone beads, pendants, pearls, pewter,
crystal, etc.
Perennial Buttons
Pixybug Designs by Chris & Stephanie Haussler: handmade lampwork beads, buttons & marbles & jewelry
The Jade Dog: vintage components, polymer, Czech glass & pewter
Tanya McGuire: Lampwork beads
Jodie Marshall: Lampwork beads

possibility of Cosecha Beads from MN

Where it is:
Bead Bazaar, Sat. Oct. 15, 2011 9am to 4pm
Guesthouse Ballroom, 5250 Cornhusker Highway, Lincoln, NE


We will be there!  Stop by and see Chris's newest designs!  DRAGONS!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The One Bead....

Howdy everybody!  Guest Blogger Chris here, reporting on how this whole Pixybug jewelry, beads, torching, design thing got started.  It all started with Stephanie receiving one bead.  Yep, only one little lonely bead.  And I share responcibility for the whole thing because the darling daughter and I gave it to her for her birthday.

Back in the day Carla had a brick and mortar store in Hastings named coincidentally Beads and Botanicals.  It was approaching Steph's birthday and I had no clue as to what we should get her.  Mina and I wandered into Carla's shop, searching for something.  I knew nothing about beading so making her something was out of the question.  Looking back, Carla would have set us up with everything we would have needed, but we did not know that.  So after browsing awhile, we happened upon THE BEAD.  The bead talked to me and said "BUY ME!"  So I did.  The bead reminded me of the Tree of Gondor from the Lord of the Rings books.  The first Lord of the Rings movie was coming out soon and being fans of the books, we were excited about the movie. It was a perfect gift for Steph.  And since one bead a necklace does not make, Steph had to take her One Bead back into Carla's and make something with it.  It went through a couple of designs before it got settled in.  And here the One Bead  is...


  As I sit here and write this, the more I come to realize that single one bead is like the One Ring in LotR.

With apologies to Tolkien....

     One Bead to rule them all, One Bead to find them,
     One Bead to bring them home and in the studio bind them....

Now, ten years later, Stephanie has a studio full of beads to play with and mad skills to create beautiful things with.  I make beads with my torch and a bit of jewelry too.  That One Bead is relegated to her jewelry box, with its' sparkly friends.  It doesn't get out much anymore, sort of like the One Ring when it is hidden.  But the One Bead is not forgotten because it started all this.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Motherly Musing

As the mother of a teenage girl, this struck me.  Modesty seems to be an "old fashioned" idea.  In the era of push up bras, bikinis that are barely there, and skinny jeans that leave nothing to the imagination, it is a tough concept to teach a child/woman.  Puberty hits earlier, and I am at odds to wonder if that is a nature or nurture issue.  With all that kids see in the media, do they just lose their innocence more quickly, thus ending childhood sooner?  Or with all the chemicals in foods or beverages, is this the issue forcing hormones to the surface sooner?  I don't know.  I am definitely not a scientist, though I live with one.  I think about the girls wearing those clothes, "Where was her Mom when she bought that?"  I don't have a great deal of influence over my daughter, but I do control the money buying her clothing.  Girls need more role models like Emma Watson (above) who portray smart, clever girls on the movie screen, and a gentile, modest yet lovely woman in real life.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Autumn Designs

Asymmetrical Autumn - Fall Challenge project





Chris's Shy Witch pendant (the necklace is so CUTE)
Fall Flourish fringe bracelet (Lucite from The Hole Bead Shoppe)
Mish Mash Necklace
New post earrings on display at Exeter
necklaces/bracelets/beads/earrings
above and below: chalcedony hearts made by Chris and wired by me
another photo of the Mish Mash necklace and my favorite earrings, coffee and toffee
burst of bubbles necklace
autumn mish mash bracelet (polymer beads by Fanceethat)
time well spent with a new brass and grape necklace
Heirloom Rose Garden Pendant made to match my bracelet
Heirloom Rose Garden Bracelet (kit, design, and photo from Beads by C on Etsy)
Chris and I have been busy beaders!  These are all very recent designs.  Love the Mish Mash designs.  I took a bunch of neglected beads and dumped them in a BIG pile and started stringing.  On the necklace I used copper colored Soft Flex wire and at varying intervals, added crimps and left room for a few beads in the crimped space to have free movement.  Love the way that it turned out and the bracelet is the same way, but I used the pile of beads to make charms instead.  Gals have been asking for post earrings at shows, so I am trying my hand at them.  Design kinks need to be worked out yet, like what type of epoxy to use and ideas for things to put on the posts, and what size posts to get.  Most of what is on the rack for posts that are non-dangle style will be reworked in the near future.  Chris's chalcedony hearts are GORGEOUS and we had lots of compliments on them, but still have both.  The fall flourish bracelets turned out so well, and thought they would have sold during our two weekend shows, but they didn't.  I can never guess at what customers will buy!  I really love the coffee cup earrings, they are hanging with Czech glass coffee beads, toffee colored crystals and tiny miniature coffee cups from the doll house furniture department!  Fun!  The burst of bubbles necklace is made from double ended Christmas ornaments from Hobby Lobby!  The strands had two bubbles with a wire connecting them, so I cut them in half and used them like fancy head pins.  I believe I used the whole package on the necklace!  Carla's Heirloom Rose bracelet was so fun to put together, I made a pendant and earrings to match!  I love kits because with all the beading I do, it is like a bead vacation when I get to make something pretty, quick, and designed for me!  I did adapt it a bit, adding a few extra dangles.  The pendant also has a brass hummingbird tucked into it!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Michelle Mach's Very Vintage Fall Challenge REVEAL DAY!

Michelle Mach's Very Vintage Fall Challenge
A few weeks ago I joined up on "Creating the Hive" to more easily follow some of the blogs I track and to find new ideas and connections. 






I came across Michelle's blog through The Hive (and you can follow me there) and the day I did, just happened to be the day she had posted about her Fall Beading Challenge.  I hopped right over to her shop and purchased a kit (one of only 26). This is the picture I took of my kit items,


 and this is the picture of kit items from Michelle's shop Beads and Books.
 Here is what I made:
front view


right side

left side

full view (without me modeling)

close up for detail

the complete lovely piece
I had a lot of fun with the mix in the kit.  Loved the vintage Lucite pieces.  I received the autumn "peppermint" pendant, the amber open drop, and a cool purple/brown button which I couldn't get to work in my piece.  Luckily I had just purchased metal punch pliers, so I was able to put holes in my branch for hanging.  I made the chain on the right side using Lucite links (from MyElements on Etsy) and pieces of chain looped through them to connect them together.  I love the way the khaki green blends in with the browns and ambers.  I did a couple wire wraps on the side with the green loops incorporating some loose natural stone I had lying on my bead table.  I added a piece of ribbon cut from a decoration wrap on a package of beads from my friend, Carla's shop (Beads by C from beads and botanicals on Etsy).  It reminds me of leaves, which continues the theme of the necklace and add texture with the fiber.  On the other side of the necklace, I used the oval teardrop, did a link with jump rings to the pendant and the branch.  From the branch I added the Lucite leaves and some crystals from my stash made into drops.  To finish out the side, I used chain and made bead drops with some of the mix beads that came in the kit.  I love the finished design, have worn it several times and I am really enjoying playing with the eclectic designs that come with these bead challenges.  It helps me "branch" out (pun intended) and work on my asymmetrical designs.  The first time I tried making an asymmetrical design, I thought I would have an aneurism!  It actually hurt my head to force myself to think in "non-matching" designs.  It has gotten much easier, and now I almost have difficulty in going back to the "matching" way of thinking!  I hope you enjoyed my design, and please visit the other artists participating in the challenge!  Stop by tomorrow for some fun new fall designs!

Here's the list of everyone participating in this current challenge:
Andrew
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Cat
Boo Beads
Chris
beadjewelry.net

Cilla
Tell Your Girlfriends

Cyndi
Beading Arts

Cynthia
Cynth's Blog

Dawn
Morning Glory Beading

Donetta
Simply Gorgeous

Heather
As I Bead It
Holly
SilverRose Designs
Kate
We Can Make That at Home
Kristina
Wild Roses and Blackberries

Lauren
Laurel Moon Jewelry & Beads

Linda
Lutka & Co

Lisa
Lucid Mood Studio

Lola
Bead Lola Bead

Mary
MLH Jewelry

Melinda
Melinda Orr Metal & Clay Jewelry Designs

Michelle H.
Firefly Visions
Michelle M.
Beads & Books

Salla
Blog by Salla

Shannon
Falling into the Sky

Shay
Shaiha's Ramblings

Shel
MiShel Designs

Shirley
Beads and Bread

Stephanie
Pixybug Designs  YOU ARE HERE!!

Tari
Pearl and Pebbles

Terry
Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Tracy
The Bead Junkie

Monday, October 3, 2011

LONG Weekend, need REST and a Preview...


Chris found this on Facebook, and it was appropriate.  Our cat, Luna, looks like this cute baby and is often right in the middle of whatever you are doing.

We had a very long weekend, having two shows in two different places this weekend.  We were in Exeter on Saturday and in Hastings on Sunday.  Mina marched in the Harvest of Harmony parade with Blue Hill's band in Grand Island Saturday.   Chris went to visit with his classmates at his 25th get together in Doniphan, while I ran into Hastings because my Mom had gone to the ER at the hospital.  She has shingles (on top of Parkinson's Disease and osteo arthritis and heart issues) and is miserable from the pain.  I arrived at the hospital as they were getting in their car to head home.  I drove back to Doniphan to join Chris and stayed for a few minutes to meet his classmates.  We left to go to a gallery opening in Hastings, which ended about the time we thought it was supposed to start. Consequently, we didn't make the show, so we ate and headed home instead. 

We covered about 250 miles on Saturday and about 60 on Sunday.  Can we spell TIRED?  I don't know about spelling it, but we sure do feel it!

I am participating in Michelle Mach's Fall Beading Challenge, with the reveal happening tomorrow.  Here is a preview!
See what I mean about interrupting?  As I type, she is determined to cause problems!  Chris says "the only thing saving her is that she is SO cute!". 

This is a tiny part of my challenge design.  Stop by tomorrow for the reveal!

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