Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 Beads in Review

Perhaps that title should be "Beads in Rearview" (as in mirror).  It is hard to fathom the quick passage of time!  The minutes, days, weeks, months, and almost another year have blown by.  It seems to be this way for everyone I speak to.  Don't know whether that means we make our days too busy or if life has just hit fast forward?  Oh well, here is a collage of some of the favorite beads Chris made this year!



Beads in order from upper left around the edge:
  1. Ladybug Garden (techniques learned at his Melanie Moertel class)
  2. marble from an old stained glass window from a church that had been torn down
  3. Lovely teal frosted birds for my earring design
  4. Autumn Beaky Bird focal for my Bead Soup Swap partner
  5. Cream and Blue Dragon
  6. Weird Monster Guy (started out as a hollow, and took on a life of its own!)
  7. Olive Dragon
  8. Chalcedony Hearts made into necklaces
  9. Shy Witch
  10. Orange Marmalade Beaky Bird
  11. Zombie Guy
  12. Ooops there is repeat photo!
  13. Triton's Treasure focals
  14. Gone Batty necklace (Chris made the beads and the necklace!)
  15. Two marbles same glass (church window glass)
  16. Gold and Orange Dragon
  17. Mushroom and Sheep (off mandrel sculptures)
  18. Clucky Beaky Bird
  19. Crystal Flame Dragon
  20. Gone Batty in a pile
  21. Penguins in Love (special order necklace made for a young girl from South Carolina at one of our summer shows-also the photo of the year for our business Christmas cards).
Well there you have them!  Next on the year in review?  Our cats!  They are the only other thing we have LOTS of pictures to use!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011 In Review...Favorite Jewelry Designs

This time of year I like to look back at all the posts for the year and choose my favorites.  I thought I would break this up into several days posts, and today's feature is my Favorite Jewelry Designs for the year.

 
In November I started using Picnik to help edit and arrange my photos.  I really love the collage feature that puts a bunch of photos together in one lovely collage photo.  My beading has changed a LOT this year with all of the Bead Soup Blog Party challenges and the other challenges I have participated in.  I am blessed to be able to be involved in the fun and challenging projects I have participated in this year!

Speaking of the Bead Soup Blog Party, sign ups for the next round are January 7-9th and the reveal date is March 3rd.  If you would like more info, click on the link below!
5th Bead Soup Blog Party

Stop by tomorrow for the Bead year in review!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Voting Link for The Hole Bead Shoppe Is Now Active!

Kelli Burns and the Hole Bead Shoppe now have our photos on the blog for voting.  I would appreciate if you could stop by and vote.  You need to list my name, photo# or the name of the piece in a comment to place your vote.  The piece is called Garden of Skulls and it is photo #1.
Garden of Skulls by Stephanie Haussler
Thanks so much for your help!
You can now VOTE on our Day of the Dead Challenge by leaving a comment. The comment should be for your favorite piece/designer. Share this link with your FB friends, family, whomever. These votes will be used in conjunction with votes on Kelli Burns page, The Hole Bead Shop fan page.
Our offsite judges PalmtreeQueen Lampworks Glass Beads and Lauren Vasil will help the staff at The Hole Bead Shoppe select the other three prizes. Let the voting begin.
http://www.theholebeadshop.blogspot.com/

Monday, December 19, 2011

Stephanie Recommends...


Often I tell people about products, books, and websites I love.  So now I may just start a new feature with "Stephanie Recommends".  Here are this weeks recommended items!


My first "new" love is for B'Sue Boutiques.  Since discovering Steampunk style jewelry, I have been hooked.  Often it influences designs that have no other look of that style, in the charms I choose or the metals in the chains or findings chosen for the beads I am working with.  Currently, I LOVE antique brass and gunmetal the best.  Those are the ones I want to use above all others, but I still design in the "what goes best with" style.  I truly believe that some beads call for certain colors of findings, though I am surprised at how designs turn out when I tune out that line of thinking.  I think it was in September when I was reading a post by Katie Hacker that showed the "creepy" metal pieces she had gotten from B'Sue Boutique.  I am always on the "hunt" for funky and unusual findings and pieces to add to my designs.  THAT is what B'Sue specializes in.  To be frank, I have never seen anywhere the pieces that they carry.  They also have different finishes on their metals that add a wonderful change to my designs.  My favorite of their finishes is the Rusty Black Patina finish.  Kind of a cross between antique and gunmetal.  Here are some of the items I purchased in the Rusty Black Patina (all photos are from B'Sue Boutique's website)
                                                                                                 
Aren't they amazing?!  I love them, and all that I have purchased.  The quality is high and the prices are low!  Perfect.  Not only do they have an awesome product line, Brenda Sue also makes videos, lots of technique driven videos!  They are amazing.  I have watched many but still have many to go.  Here is the most recent:


There are lots of videos to choose from!

The next wonderful thing I would like to share is the latest books I have been thrilled with!

Looking Glass Wars Book 1by Frank Beddor
I listened to the audio book of this last week, and of course, the 2nd in the series "Seeing Redd" isn't available on the audio download.  So I got the book at the library and am currently reading:
and I have the audio for book three "ArchEnemy" on hold on the Overdrive Media system, so I hope I finish book two before book three comes up for my hold!

I hope you enjoy my recommendations, and will share more soon!


Monday, December 12, 2011

Voting Link for Facebook

Facebook Day of the Dead Challenge Voting link

Here are the links for the voting on Facebook for the designs.  Mine is listed on the second row and is called "Garden of Skulls".  It is listed with my name in the design, and you have to click the photo and then LIKE my photo to vote for me.  Clicking LIKE on the main link page will not cast your vote, and votes will be tallied from all three links.  Voting runs until January 10, 2012.  Thanks for your votes!

The Hole Bead Shoppe Link

Kelli Burns Page Link

The Hole Bead Blog

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Wait is Over! Here it is!

It began here, with a post from October 19th:
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!


It continued in this update from October 25th:
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!

At this point I sounded very optimistic until... this post on Halloween.

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!

This was the sneak peak I gave you at Thanksgiving:
Now I promised you all a sneak peak, and here it comes.  In a couple weeks, my Day of the Dead Challenge project is due for submission to The Hole Bead Shop for judging.  I finished it at the end of last week, so that I could get it to a professional photographer to do it justice in a single photo.  Amy Sandeen helped us out and did a terrific job.  I would love to show you how great the photos are, but that would give away the design before it is time!  So here is a morsel to tide you over!
And now without further adieu...My piece for The Hole Bead Shoppe Day of the Dead Challenge Kit:
 I am so pleased with the end result!  
  • Lampwork focal by Palm Tree Queen,
  • Loads of Lucite flowers and leaves 
  • Crystals (Swarovski & Chinese)
  • Seed Beads (size 11, 15, and Tilas)
  • Tierracast charms and pendants from the Viva Mexicana! line
  • pewter and sterling spacer beads
  • Czech glass dagger beads and Fire Polish beads
  • sterling silver skull toggle
  • my beading wire, crimps, crimp covers, and Parawire for the stringing, wire crochet, and wire wrapping.
  • 20 to 25+ hours (I honestly lost track) of my hard work and a few bad words (the herringbone incident)  
So now what?  Let the judging begin!  I am going to ask you to stop over on Facebook and vote (for me PLEASE) as there is an additional prize to be awarded for the vote of the public.  I will get that link posted here shortly!  


Thank you for following my journey through the largest design I have ever undertaken!  Thanks especially to Kelli, Michael, and Tarlee at The Hole Bead Shoppe for coming up with this wonderful challenge and to Debi Cogwell for the beautiful and fun focal bead to design with!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ooops...Not Today, Tomorrow!

I apologize!  I thought our Day of the Dead project went live this morning, but contestants have until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT to submit their pieces.  SO the reveal will be tomorrow morning instead!  I will have it go live at 6:00 am, so stop by again tomorrow, PLEASE!  Sorry!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Coming Saturday!!

Reveal day for my Day of the Dead Challenge project from The Hole Bead Shoppe is on this Saturday!!!  I will be asking you to vote for my piece on Facebook also as there will be an award for most votes on there as well as the other judging categories!  Please Stay Tuned!!!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Busy..Busy..Busy

Pinterest

Silence.  Crickets chirping. Yep, that has been what you hear when clicking over to the blog!  Sorry, time just never goes far enough, does it?  We had our second to last show on Saturday, and also welcomed the first blizzard of the season that day too.  Thus, not a good show.  Oh well, if I could control the weather it would be sunny and 80 degrees every day!  So in the mean time, I have been tired and getting over the cold that came on last week, making jewelry for special orders, and folding laundry.  Clearly we have too many clothes!  Folding 2 weeks worth of laundry, and we are still not naked tells the story.  Tonight I plan to try working on our Christmas cards and by the weekend would like to have our decorations up.  So how are your stress levels?  I hope you find something wonderful to relieve them!  We did a show a few weeks ago, and there was a massage therapist there with her massage chair.  Not the kind that vibrates and moves around.  The kind that you "hug" while she massages your back, neck, arms, and hands.  Oh My Goodness!  She was wonderful, and you got 15 minutes for $12.  Best $12 I could spend!  She hadn't even started massaging me and with her first touch said, "Oh wow, do you have a lot of headaches?"!  Only almost every day!  I am always amazed at the benefits that can be gained by the homeopathic type care chiropractors, massage therapists, and aroma therapy can provide.  I go to the chiropractor regularly, every six weeks.  The massage not as much, but I did get a gift certificate for one for my birthday!  So I guess I have prattled on long enough, hope you have a lovely, low stress day my friends!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Blue Hill Christmas Bazaar

Hi!  Just a quick reminder that we will be at the Blue Hill Christmas Bazaar tomorrow 9-3!  If you are in the area please stop and see us!  I hope the weather holds out long enough, sounds like it may get ugly this weekend!  Hope you can spend it in the warm embrace of your loved ones and snuggle in with your favorite beading project, a good movie, and a warm cup of your favorite beverage!

Don't miss the annual Blue Hill Holiday Bazaar from 9:00-3:00 at the Blue Hill Community Center this Saturuday! Baked goods, gift ideas, home decor and so much more! Santa will visit from 10-noon. Soup and sandwiches will be served. Memories to Cherish/Craft Corner will be having their open house and vendors as well. (They are right across the street from the CC) Also, be sure to stop in at Blue Hill Floral & Gifts Open House. Enjoy some coffee or cider and some Eileen's Cookies while you shop around!

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