Beading For A Cure (BFAC) 2010...

I believe I mentioned last year was the first year the annual BFAC included a competition. A request was made to each participant to send five photos of their finished piece(es) to be judged by the BFAC board as well as Jeannette Cook, Marcia DeCoster, Diane Fitzgerald and Sherry Serafini.

The contest included a generous prize list for First, Second and Third place as well as Best Use of Kit and Best Non-Wearable Item

To my surprise and utter delight, my pieces won second place. What you see in the photo up at the top of this blog post is some of the loot that came with that second prize win. Here is a list of what I received:

• Victorian Iris Bracelet kit donated by Ann Scherm Baldwin
• Five strands of African Trade Beads donated by Beads of Marin
• What I believe is Ancient Roman Glass Beads donated by Beads of Marin, I did not receive a certificate of authenticity as noted in the prize list, so am making an assumption on this one, click on this photo and get a nice close up - they certainly look old, don't they? SO cool!

• CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements book - Spring/Summer 2010 Issue 14 and a bag
  
• An assortment of vintage glass cabs donated Marilee Layman
• One bead weaving kit donated by Reeds Beads
• Autographed copies of Steampunk Style Jewelry by Jean Campbell
  
• Beaded Opulence by Marcia DeCoster
  
• Seed Bead Fusion by Rachel Nelson-Smith including a Sea Star Bangle kit.
• Two items previously owned by Layne, donated by Jeannette Cook - one is a vintage glass sew on parrot the other is a green glass connector bead - artist unknown. If all goes as I have planned (in my head anyway), I will use one of these in my BFAC piece for 2011. It seems only right since BFAC is in the name of Layne and these belonged to her.

And last, but far from least are the gift certificates... $50. from Beyond Beadery; $75. from Out On A Whim and $150. from Sylvie Lansdowne.

Now...one thing I have always wanted to do is go to a bead show, a big bead show, a real bead show. Right now, I am toying with the idea of going to the Bead & Button show in Milwaukee next month. It would fill my wish of going to a bead show AND allow me to spend my generous gift certificates since all three of these vendors will have booths at the show. The added bonus is the opportunity to meet some other vendors/people/friends that I have had the pleasure of getting to know online through beading.

Hear Ye... Hear Ye

A new queen has been named... Beadtrice, Queen of Vintage Sparkle. And we all know queens wear crowns, right?




Okay, let me back up just a little. A few weeks ago, by way of Dulcey's blog, I discovered Nancy Eha was hosting an embellished tiara contest and I could not resist taking part.



A wonderful kit was provided as well as clearly defined guidelines, one of which was coming up with a royal name.

The theme for the challenge... 'All About the Sparkle'



The deadline to get the images entered is the same day I leave for the Tahoe Bead Retreat, I managed to get my entry sent off yesterday - one more thing off my 'to do' list before I leave - HOORAY!



Details about the construction of the piece and the materials used - a large piece of 'black crown magic' was provided in the kit as the base for the crown. Since I rarely measure or plan anything I bead, I encountered more measuring and cutting than I am used to and was a bit intimidated by it but am pleased with the results.



Something else I am not so experienced with is fusing. I applied it on the material used for the backing of the crown. For added stability, I ran a thin piece of wire along the bottom of the crown line and added poster board between the material on the back and the 'crown magic'. The finished crown is soft but sturdy.



I used 9 vintage Swarovski sew-on's along the bottom of the crown as well as 6 - 6mm Swarovski margarita beads. Also added are 2 tiny (3mm) Swarovski crystal sequins, 17 purple Swarovski 4mm bicones and two vintage glass sew on jewels in purple and royal blue. Makes for LOTS of sparkle. I added size 11/0 gold beads with size 15/0 violet gold luster beads in a pointed edge stitch as found in Beading with Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin. Not only does is add a golden glow around the edge, it's a great way to attached the back to the front. It is one of my favorite edge stitches.

Speaking of sparkle - how about those sequins? I have a limited number of these vintage sequins in a rainbow of colors. I was lucky enough to find them on EBay through a woman that was selling off wonderful vintage stock used long ago by her grandmother. These sequins were used by the grandmother and great aunt to decorate/create Christmas ornaments. They are so pretty and the colors are like nothing I have seen in newer sequins, they don't fade, rub off or lose their brilliance no matter how much they are handled. Fit for royalty I think.

One of the requirements is to include a photo of the creator wearing the crown. I am not including that photo here, but it will be included in the final entries for the contest.

If you are interested in seeing the entries (and voting for your favorite), you can sign up for Nancy's newsletter through her website (see the bottom of the web page) If you are not familiar with Nancy's work, take a few minutes to view her gallery. There is some great stuff there!

Using the Muse and other things...

I entered the Use the Muse II contest pretty soon after Scarlett made the kits available. Since I had so much fun in the first round, I couldn't resist this one. In reading her blog I see she will host a round III contest in August as well.

banner provide by Scarlett-The Bead Maven

In this round, the colors chosen are beautiful (again!), inspiring and easy for me to work with. I'm doing something I have not done before and that's usually a good thing.



You see 2 teaser shots in this blog post, what you don't see is the 'Muse' - that will be revealed on the Use the Muse website when the contest entries are posted sometime in late July.



Should be good too - the contest went international this round, that many more entries to admire and inspire. In addition to the unseen muse, I have incorporated a polymer clay cab by the fabulously talented Jennifer Martin - the artist behind all the wonderful creations over at GraphixOutpost.



In other news, and for the few that have asked - my newest granddaughter is growing and providing many happy moments for the rest of us. I laugh every time I look at this photo, in my head I hear the 3 Stooges "Oh, wise guy, eh? Why I oughta..."

Last bit of news (for now anyway) that I keep forgetting to share is ... I signed up for the Tahoe Mountain Bead Retreat presented by Bead Unique. I've dreamed of taking classes from the pros since I first began beading 4 years ago, but have always run into obstacles (mostly self made), so this will be my first beaded anything to attend. I'm SO excited. Not only that - the last day of the retreat is my birthday, friends, beautiful scenery and beads - could it be any more perfect?

I'll fly in a few days before the retreat and stay for a few days after to spend time with dear friends in Grass Valley, CA. Friends I haven't seen in a few years that I dearly miss. A great way (I think) to spend the last year I will be in my 40's!

For now, I'm off to go bathing suit shopping with my older granddaughter. I can hardly wait to see what an almost 13 year old considers appropriate swimming attire (yikes! I sound like an old fuddy duddy).

Use the Muse contest - Royal Renaissance

A while back I entered this contest with hopes of being inspired. The beads within the kit were identified before the kit was received with a secret 'muse' component - that was not to be revealed to the participants until the kit was received and to the outside world when the contest was over.



My hope was realized - I was inspired! I was instantly taken with the colors, and the kit itself came bundled up in the neatest packaging.



The time frame was short for this contest, so there was no time to delay in deciding what I wanted to do. The rules were simple, use any or all of the components in the kit and incorporate whatever I wanted from my own stash. The only real rule - must use the 'muse'.



The muse turned out to be a beautiful brass filigree component. I have never worked with such a piece, I found it challenging and fun. You can see it at the top of the gallery of entries page. And while you're there - take a look at all those beautiful entries!

And the prizes for the winners? A treasure chest of mouth watering crystals, brass components and neat charms.

Royalty and renaissance immediately came to mind as I looked at these beads. My added components - size 15/0 Metallic Dark Olive Green Gold Luster beads; size 11/0 iridescent purple beads and 4mm center hole sew on Swarovski stones in Golden Shadow.

After snapping some photos last night, I noticed that the colors looked quite a bit different (on my monitor anyway) when I used different back grounds - the green seems to be much more visible on the blue background.

I look forward to the next contest sponsored by The Beaders Muse.

Celebration winner...

is Noel... of A Muzeing Journey. Congratulations Noel! I know you will put the kit to good use and turn it into something beautiful. I will get it out in the mail by the end of the week.

Thanks again to everyone that participated in this drawing and to those that have followed my blog over the last year. I am thankful for the support and the inspiration you provide with your comments.

In other news - when I returned from my trip to Kentucky, I came hope to an extremely thoughtful gift and wonderful surprise from my friend Kathy Wagner of Kathy's Quilts.


Some beautiful fabrics


And matching beads and thread.

I appreciate it so much Kathy, these are some of my very favorite colors. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You made my day... my week!

More good news - I finished beading my doll for the 2009 BFAC auction. At times, I never thought I'd finish her - I'll hope to post photos in the next few days - once I am able to set aside some time to get the images ready.

Now on to the remaining 3 months of the Bead Journal Project - I'm looking forward to finishing up, I have ideas for the last 3 pages and am already mulling over ideas for the next year of pages.

On things unrelated to beading...I spent some time at my son's house this past week, my grandson is playing soccer and baseball so I try to make it to as many games as my work schedule will allow. I enjoy being a spectator and interacting with the kids which are 7-9 years old.

While at my son's earlier this week he showed me his latest Wii purchase - The Wii Fit. It is a BLAST. Exercise hasn't been that much fun in ages!


The kitten is growing like a weed and is cuter every day. It has the most adorable gumdrop nose. It runs, jumps and tries it's best to be quite ferocious - to no avail, it just makes us laugh. We still have not figured out it it's a male or female

It will be 6 weeks old tomorrow night and is such a delight to watch, I could spend hours just watching it play - such a zest for life in that little body. That baby can be running one minute and fall fast asleep in the next minute. Oh, to be young and carefree.

We have a winner...

I took the names for the beaded Christmas ornament drawing with me to my son's house yesterday and enlisted the help of my grand kids in picking a name. I'm happy to report that Hélène H is the winner. Helene, please send me an email through my profile when you get a chance - I need your mailing address.

I have also added a short video of the drawing for those that might like to see it.

A little background on the video - I set my camera up on a tripod and my son, DH and daughter-in-law were all sitting in front of us as I filmed. Neither of my grand kids are at all shy!

The 2007 Yellow/Violet Color Challenge

Margie Deeb posted this challenge on her website a couple of months ago. I wanted to take up the challenge as soon as I read about it - feeling it would be a good exercise for me. I have struggled with color at times in the past and have referred to (and continue to refer to) Margie's book - The Beader's Guide to Color often for guidance. What could it hurt to enter the challenge, right?

My next thought was that it would be nice to combine one of my Bead Journal pages with the color challenge. The result was 'Justine'. I am particularly fond of this piece. It is a bit different than the other pages in that it is composed almost entirely of seed beads - there are no sequins or cabs. Because of that it is also a bit heavier than the other pages - the weight feels good in my hands. I was happy with this page from it's inception to completion.

The icing on the cake? I was chosen the winner of the Color Challenge. I have looked at all the other entries (you should too - it is a feast for the eyes) and am flabbergasted to see mine at the top. This is such an honor.

A nice end to a wonderful week. I had so much fun with my beaded doll giveaway and now this... I need to pinch myself and make certain I'm not dreaming!